Three Dog Island Page 24

  I sat across from the boys, shaking my head in wonder. A lot had happened in a couple days. I had a feeling I didn’t know the half of it. What I did know was that I did not like being left out of the loop.

  Matthew was upstairs in the shower and Josh was at the computer in the kitchen, his favorite place to do school work. I smiled every time I looked at him with his blond hair. I definitely preferred the brown but if this kept him safe, I could learn to like it. I decided it was the glasses that had kept me from recognizing him. They turned him from a rough and tumble teen to a studious intellectual.

  “Have you had any luck tracking down more people who bought imitation sculptures?” I asked him.

  “One,” Josh answered. “They live in Southern California. It was sent to them from Seattle, but not from a gallery.”

  “It could have just been mailed from there.”

  “Right. But I’ll keep on it.”

  “Thanks, Josh.” But I had a feeling all the research in the world was not going to help us.

  “Jenny?”

  I sat down at the kitchen table. The way he said my name, I knew there was a confession on its way.

  “I just wanted to tell you something before you and Matt go over to Waterloo.”

  “What is it?”

  “Be careful, okay? Mark Simpson saw you in the diner, remember?”

  “I do. And I have my own disguise.” I held up a cowgirl hat that Frankie had left behind on her last visit.

  “Good.”

  “The odds are he and Al won’t show up while we’re over there, but I’ll be careful just in case.”

  “Yeah, Al could show but I only heard Mark talk about coming up here once. Most of the time he just sent Al. There’s something else I need to tell you.” He paused and I held the silence, allowing him time to fill it. “I just wanted to warn you. I kinda blew it. I didn’t realize Matt didn’t know about you and Mac and I said something.”

  I was sure my face paled before his eyes. How had I not thought to tell him not to say anything to Matthew? Probably because I had not anticipated the two of them meeting, let alone spending a weekend together. “What did you tell him?”

  “Just that, well, I think I said that you made a good couple. Something like that.”

  “Anything else?” I knew there was.

  “I think I mentioned that Mac had come up for the weekend. And spent the night.”

  I inhaled, struggling to find the words that would wipe the fear from his eyes. It was admirable that he had warned me. And the truth was, it was my own fault. “It’s not your fault, Josh. I should have told you. It’s okay. You don’t need to worry about it.” I would be doing plenty of that for both of us. After all, my son was just getting used to his parents’ divorce. “How did he react? Was he upset?”

  Josh shook his head. “Not really. I mean he was surprised. That’s how come I figured out he didn’t know. But he wasn’t real upset or anything. Actually he smiled, kinda like he expected it.”

  “Like he expected it? You’re sure?”

  “I don’t know. He just smiled real slowly like he got it. You know, kinda like one of your smiles.”

  How was it that I was supposed to be the intuitive one, the wise crone with all the insight when here I was the last one to find out I was in love? How could that happen? I, who had claimed to live a conscious life, at least a fraction of the time.

  Possibly it was because if I had allowed myself to know about these feelings stored deep inside of me, I would have had to look more consciously at my marriage. I would have seen its demise long before my children were neatly tucked away at college.

  Matthew and I made a quick stop at the co-op. Ramona and Alice were there, rearranging the displays to fill in the spaces where sold pieces had been the night before. From there we went to the pub so he could meet Mickey and Pen, who were, after Sasha and Frankie, my first friends on the island. We reminisced about Winnie whom Matthew too had adored.

  “Where is your roommate?” Pen asked.

  “My roommate? Oh! He’s studying.” Matthew gave me a questioning look.

  “Word travels fast on Anamcara,” I said as we left the pub. “Especially when it involves comings and goings.”

  Since there was no direct ferry from Anamcara to Waterloo, we took the ferry to Gael and then Waterloo. It gave me more time to spend with my son.

  Matthew and I had a good relationship, less of a roller coaster than Holly’s and mine had been over the years. We could talk about almost anything, although he did try to keep his love life to himself. I was more than willing to return the favor. Hopefully he wouldn’t bring up his conversation with Josh.

  “What are you thinking, Mom?” He was watching me stare out at the water. “Are you nervous about going over to Waterloo?”

  “No, not really. I doubt Mark Simpson or Al Wallace will be there. I just want to see their set-up for myself and touch bases with Manny.” And make sure I was back in the loop.

  “So, what’s on your mind?” His smile looked like mine felt when I knew he was trying to keep something from me. But until he came out and asked, I was not divulging anything.

  “Just thinking about this thing with Jasper Rosenthal’s sculptures. Josh told you about them, right?”

  “Yeah, Josh told me a lot of things.” Ah, that same smile.

  “He was a dear friend of Winnie’s, you know,” I continued, looking back at the safety of the water. “I can’t imagine that he would sell duplicate sculptures. In fact, I know he wouldn’t. But I can’t seem to come up with an explanation. None of the puzzle pieces are finding their way into place.”

  “What do you usually do to solve these cases?”

  “Nothing actually. It usually comes together when I’m not even thinking about it. I’m riding a ferry or sitting by the fire or throwing a pot or something that has nothing to do with it.” I grinned at him. “Or my son comes for a visit and says something that suddenly makes everything fall into place.”

  “You’re giving me too much credit. Maybe you should try taking a day off. Just relax and don’t think about any of this for a while.”

  He had a point. Stress never helped me solve a case yet. “Tomorrow. I’ll relax and spend the day with you and Josh and not think about any of these cases.”

  “How many are there?”

  “Well, there’s Josh’s case with these corrupt cops who are after him.” At least we were making headway on that one. Thank goodness! “There’s Jasper’s art work, which now involves more than just his model. And—”

  “What, Mom?”

  “We still don’t know who the dogs’ owner is. And there’s an ominous-looking compound on the island where I found the dogs and Josh, Three Dog Island as my friend calls it.”

  “Is that all that’s on your mind?”

  “All? Isn’t that enough?” Again I looked away from his prying eyes, relieved when we docked at Waterloo Island and I had successfully escaped an interrogation about my relationship with MacGregor—at least for now.

  Matthew and I climbed back into the car and drove up the ramp, following the directions Manny had given us.

  “Cute hat, Mom,” Matthew said as I set the cowgirl hat in place.

  “Thanks. Suits me, don’t you think?”

  “Hmm, not really, but I am looking forward to meeting your friend Frankie.”

  I laughed. “Too old for you and already taken.”

  We found Manny and his grandkids at the coffee shop attached to the motel where they were staying. Despite his inclination to disguise himself every time he ran surveillance for Charlie, Manny was easy to spot. Perhaps it was because of the disguises. One thing he could not change was his five feet seven inch stature. But this time around, he bore a beard. He was wearing a cap that was reminiscent of Charlie’s and a plaid vest under his casual suit jacket which had a pipe sticking out of the pocket. I wondered how many Sherlock Holmes mysteries he’d read.

  After a warm hug, he introdu
ced us to the twins, Nadia and Aidan. Same dark brown hair and eyes. Same round faces and broad smiles.

  “Unusual names, “Matthew commented, warding off Nadia’s infatuation. My well-built and handsome son with the twinkle in his eyes that he had inherited from Charlie, had that effect on girls, even fifteen-year-olds. “Is one of your parents Russian and the other Irish?”

  Nadia giggled. “Neither. They just liked the names.”

  “Because Aidan is Nadia spelled backwards,” Aidan explained.

  “And vice versa,” Nadia offered.

  “Very clever,” I said. “Do you like that?”

  “I do,” Nadia said. “And I like it because it means hope or hopeful.”

  “What’s yours mean?” I asked Aidan, nodding when the server offered to fill my cup with coffee.

  “It means fiery,” Aidan said with obvious pride.

  “And he lives up to it.” Manny patted his grandson proudly on the back.

  I was about to ask about the property in question when Nadia continued, “The only thing I don’t like is I can’t find a nickname that works.”

  “I have a friend on Anamcara whose name is Nadia,” I said.

  “Really?” She lit up almost as much as she had when she’d first seen Matthew. “Does she have a nickname?”

  “She does, but it’s a stretch. Her husband’s name is Armistad so they go by Army and Navy.”

  “That is a stretch!” Nadia said. “But better than Nady—too close to naughty.”

  The server came back and Matthew and I ordered bagels, mine with cream cheese, his with peanut butter. He knew better than to bother asking for the almond butter that he would have preferred.

  “So, where is this property we came to see?” I asked.

  Manny looked out the window and nodded across the street. “They couldn’t have made it any easier for us. Across the street from a motel and coffee shop.”

  “No kidding.” I turned and looked out the window, taken aback by what I saw. I had envisioned a rather rustic shed. This was anything but rustic. It was the largest prefabricated shed I’d ever seen.

  “Bigger than you expected?” Manny asked.

  “Just a bit.”

  “The kids call it the palatial shed.”

  Keen observation. “Very fitting. Any movement?”

  “Nope. I’ve got one of Charlie’s cameras set up in our room so at least we don’t have to baby sit it full time. But I check the tapes frequently. No one has come near it so far. And of course they’ve got it locked up tight with a barbed wire fence around the perimeter of the property. And I’m sure they’ve got the shed rigged with some kind of security, most likely cameras.”

  “So, I guess patience is called for.” But now that we were so close, I was beginning to lose patience. I wanted these jerks caught and put behind bars and Josh living a safe and normal life. Suddenly I felt as though the energy had drained out of me.

  “What’s wrong, Mom?” Matthew, my tuned-in and sensitive child.

  “Oh, I just realized that we have an excellent chance of catching Al Wallace in the act of stashing stolen wares or drugs or both or whatever they’ve got going on. And probably some of the others involved. But according to Josh, Mark Simpson rarely comes up here, and if that’s the case, what are our chances of nailing him? Unless the others squeal. Which is not likely.”

  “And he’s probably the ring leader behind all this,” Manny said, equally discouraged.

  “Doesn’t the fact that he’s part of that LLC that owns the property implicate him?” Matthew asked.

  “It helps, but Charlie’s hoping for something more substantial. He and these other guys who own it, could claim they’re leasing it out and don’t know what’s going on there. Probably won’t hold up, but Charlie isn’t taking any chances.” Neither was I. I wanted him caught in the act. I wanted an airtight case. And I wanted Josh out of danger. I did not want him to have to testify against someone who would kill him without a second thought. Nor did I want him to feel responsible for whatever happened to his mother.

  “How long are you going to stay here?” I asked Manny.

  “As long as it takes,” he said.

  “What about school?” Matthew asked. “Don’t you guys go to school?”

  “We home school,” Nadia said.

  “We brought our work with us,” Aidan said.

  My first thought was that they would have to meet Josh. It was always nice to have other home schoolers to hang out with. Maybe at some point that could happen. But not until we had caught Al Wallace and Mark Simpson and put them behind bars for a very long time.

  I didn’t care if Mark Simpson was touted as a hero for trying to save his partner’s life. He was obviously heavily involved in some criminal activity to say nothing of what he was doing to Grace Wallace or what he would do to Josh if he tracked him down before we caught him.

  Chapter 22

  Matthew took the twins around the island for a couple hours while I stayed with Manny at the hotel. They deserved a break and a change of scenery, although Manny assured me that they had gone on plenty of outings and they loved being on surveillance with him. All the same I was glad they had their schoolwork to occupy them because sitting and staring at a camera fixed on a shed surrounded with barbed wire was not exactly fascinating detective work.

  “We’ll have to introduce the kids to Josh,” Matthew said once we were on the ferry back to Gael Island. “If he sticks around once this is over.”

  “How would you feel about that?”

  “About Josh sticking around?”

  “Is it weird? That he’s been staying with me and—?” I caught myself before saying MacGregor’s name. I did not want the conversation to detour in that direction.

  “A little I guess. But I’m okay with it. I like him.” A mischievous grin appeared on his face. “He’s the little brother I’ve always wanted.”

  Despite the teasing, I appreciated his effort to assure me he was okay with it. “You’re a good son, you know that? Actually, you’re a great son.”

  “Aw shucks, Mom.” He took a swig from his water bottle and looked back at me. “He thinks you’re amazing by the way. Wishes his mother were more like you.”

  I brushed aside the flattery. “Sounds like the two of you got pretty close in a short time.”

  “Yeah, he was real quiet at first, but once I started kidding around with him, he loosened up. And once he started talking . . . “ His penetrating eyes told me I could no longer avoid the subject.

  I figured I might as well face it head on. “He told you about me and MacGregor.”

  “Yep.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Why should you be? It’s not like you cheated on dad or anything. He’s the one who—” He sighed and leaned back against the head rest. “I love dad. He’s my father, but I hate what he did to you, to all of us. And yeah, it’s really weird thinking of you with another man but I figure it’s inevitable.” He turned and smiled at me. “Didn’t expect it to happen quite so soon, but hey, if I had a choice, it would be Mac.”

  When we reached the cottage, Sasha was there with Josh. I’d told her he would be on his own for the day, and she’d stopped in to see him. They were standing in the entryway, trying to figure out how to move the armoire into the garage.

  After we told them about our afternoon, Josh said, “We’ve measured it and there’s no way it will fit through the front door or the kitchen door. I think we’re going to have to take it apart.”

  “You can’t work on it in here?” I asked.

  “Too much dust. I have to do some major sanding.”

  Of course. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  He nodded, studying the screws that held the pieces of the antique furniture together. He was determined. He wanted to do something for me.

  “Well, then, we take it apart.” I went to work removing Winnie’s old art supplies and photograph albums and diaries from the armoire, setting them saf
ely on the built-in bookshelf in the living room. Josh, with Matthew’s help, started unscrewing the sections.

  Sasha and I went to the kitchen to put on the kettle. “Thanks for checking on Josh,” I said.

  “No problem. I enjoy him. I’ll miss him when he leaves—Where will he be going after this is all settled?”

  “I’m not sure.” I lowered my voice. “No matter how this comes down, I’m afraid his mother will end up doing some prison time. His grandfather is in a rest home in Olympia so he can’t go there.”

  “Would you let him stay with you?”

  “Of course. But after seeing him with Matthew, I think he’d do better in Seattle. He needs to be around other kids his own age.”

  “We do have kids on the island,” Sasha said. “Or better yet, maybe he can stay with your friend MacGregor.”

  The thought had crossed my mind. “Or with Charlie. Or both.” But it was up to him, once Charlie convinced the system to let us be his guardians, that is.

  “Okay!” Matthew called out to us. “We’re ready to move it. Are you two going to help us or what?”

  Sasha and I left our cups of tea and went into the living room. It had split into two sections quite neatly, obviously having been created to do exactly that. It reminded me of Jasper’s sculptures, the “Boy under Cloud” in particular.

  “Take these, Mom,” Matthew handed me the screws. “Put them somewhere safe. We’ll carry the top section out first.”

  “Hold on, I’ll help you,” I said, sticking the screws inside one of my tall vases that stood on the floor beside the front door.

  “You’re sure you’ll find them again?” Sasha asked.

  “If you remind me where I put them.”

  “As long as you don’t stick them at the bottom of that vase! Do you think you could find anything bigger to put them in?”

  I laughed and retrieved them. “How about this?” I snatched up a small bowl I had sitting on the coffee table.

  “Much better. At least we’ll have a chance of seeing them.”

  “Mom?” Matthew said.

  “Hunh?”

  “Are you going to help? Are you okay?”