On the Hook Read online

  She gasped again as she understood what I was getting at, and this time she did rock backward and I had to catch her. “You mean he was there, dead, when we were there?”

  I nodded.

  “How could I have missed seeing him?” She began to think out loud. “I went down the stairs. And then I went into the master suite. I went in there to do something.” She turned to me. “The master suite was at the opposite end of the hall from the room Logan called the den. I lost sense of everything when I saw Logan’s text. All I could think of was getting us out of there.”

  Elise started to panic. “And I was worried about Logan finding out that I showed the house. This is terrible. It must be a crime to leave a dead body without reporting it,” she said. “Or worse, they could think we killed him.”

  I tried to calm her. “I can keep tap dancing with Barry about the scarf.”

  “But what if he proves it is your scarf and then he interrogates you? You’d have to tell him why you were in that house, and then it would come out who you were with.” She grabbed my hand. “Unless you find out what happened first and settle the whole thing before we all get arrested.”

  She turned back to the table of Hookers. “Can we depend on Adele not to talk? She’s usually such a blabbermouth, particularly when she thinks it’s going to get her a lot of attention.”

  “Adele has her own reasons to keep it quiet. As for your suggestion, I was thinking along the same lines myself. My only requirement is that I be able to tell Dinah about it. She’s my best friend and plays Dr. Watson to my Sherlock Holmes. In other words, I need her.”

  “She’s good at keeping secrets, right?” Elise said, and I nodded. “Then okay.”

  “There’s something else I’ll need,” I said. “I’d like to talk to Logan and find out what he saw.”

  She suddenly seemed hesitant. “Are you sure you can talk to him without giving anything away?”

  “Yes,” I answered.

  “Okay, but it will have to be when it seems natural.” Then she slipped deeper into the dark event area and I went back to looking for the cotton yarn.

  When I returned to the table, Dinah looked up with a question in her eyes. She knew I’d been gone too long and had figured something was up. I mouthed that I would talk to her later.

  I rejoined the group and helped pass out the cones of yarn while CeeCee gave out the patterns. When we finally broke up, Mrs. Shedd and Mr. Royal came in from their adventure of the day and took over, and I was free to leave.

  Rhoda hung around while I got my things and then handed Leo off to me. “I’ll pick him up in a couple of hours,” she said. “Hal said to be sure and thank you. All Leo’s moping around the house has really gotten to him.”

  It was then that I realized that this was as much about getting him out of their house for a while as it was about me giving him dating pointers. What had I gotten myself into?

  The rain seemed over, at least for a while. The street was dry with just some residual water along the curb. Though the air was bracing, the lined hoodie I had on was more than warm enough. Leo was wearing a tan parka with the hood up, which definitely seemed like overkill. He followed me to my car and did a double take when he saw the blue-green color under the parking lot floodlights. “You sure have an old car,” he said rather bluntly.

  The comment and the way he said it put my hackles up. “I like to think my 1993 190E Mercedes is vintage,” I said, trying to keep an edge out of my voice. He got in and immediately buckled himself in.

  “Rhoda wasn’t exactly clear on this. Are we on a date?” he said.

  “No,” I answered, almost before he got to the t in date. “This is absolutely not a date.” I was already regretting agreeing to help him with his social life. I’d do it just this once, and then he was on his own.

  It was a short drive to my house, and he kept his eye on the speedometer the whole way. I pulled into my driveway, and he looked over the exterior of my house. “You sure have a big place for one person,” he said. “It doesn’t seem very economical. If you sold it, you could probably afford a newer car.” I don’t know why I felt I had to explain anything to him, but I told him that one of my sons lived with me and that my mother and her singing group used it as a place to rehearse and that my other son stored all of his sports equipment there. “And I’m perfectly happy with the car I have. All you have to do is put the key in and drive it. And it still locks with a real key,” I said, demonstrating for him. I opened the back gate and we went into the yard. He followed me across the patio, taking in his surroundings.

  “Your husband must have left you pretty well off,” he said.

  I couldn’t contain myself anymore and turned back. “Here’s my first piece of advice: you don’t have to say everything that crosses your mind. In fact, you might want to think a moment first about how the person is going to react to your comment.”

  “Oh, you mean the comment I made about your finances?”

  “That and just about everything else you’ve said.” I heard him make a hmm sound in answer. When I opened the kitchen door, the whole menagerie spilled out—well, not Blondie, but Cosmo and Felix pushed past us and took off into the yard. And thanks to Leo holding the door open, even went I asked him to close it, the two cats ran out. It was dark and I already couldn’t see where they’d gone.

  I put Leo in the living room and went back outside. The ground was soft from all the rain, and I slid more than walked as I ventured into the yard in search of Mr. Kitty and Cat. Thankfully, they didn’t like the muddiness either, and they ran back across the grass and up to the back door.

  They left a trail of little mud prints across the red tiled floor of the kitchen. Cosmo and Felix had no worries about the wet earth and ran around the yard in some game of their own design before they too came running to the door. I caught them as they came in and did my best to wipe off their paws. Even so, they left a few mud balls behind as they went through the kitchen. I secured the door and slipped out of my shoes and put on a pair of shell-pink Crocs I kept by the door for moments like this. I decided to wait until Leo left to bring Blondie out for her chance in the yard. I couldn’t take the risk he’d say something unkind about her.

  He was sitting on the sofa looking around my living room. I could only imagine what he was thinking, and I really hoped he would keep it to himself. To try to head him off, I explained that the coffee table wasn’t always pushed against the fireplace and that it was just because my mother and her group had been practicing.

  “I’m glad to hear that. I was going to tell you that it wasn’t a safe arrangement.”

  I got a better view of him now. He wasn’t bad looking, just sort of blah. I think the slacks he wore were called chinos. I liked them when they were khaki colored, but his were navy blue and washed out at that. The long-sleeved plaid shirt did little to spruce up his look. At least he had taken the parka off. A lock of his brown hair had broken away from the rest, which was combed across his head. It looped across his forehead in an unflattering way.

  I had no idea where to begin, so I asked him if he’d like something to drink.

  “Oh, yes,” he said enthusiastically. “I’d like coffee with two tablespoons of half-and-half—the real thing, none of that fake creamer stuff for me. And my wife always paired my evening coffee with a peanut butter sandwich on white bread with the crusts cut off.”

  Inwardly, I rolled my eyes and looked at my watch, trying to gauge how long it would be before Rhoda picked him up. It couldn’t be soon enough. There was just something about his personality, or lack thereof, that felt like a dead weight attached to a thick skull. Was there anything I could say that would make a difference? I excused myself to make his snack. He’d said white bread, but he was going to have to deal with egg bread. I hoped he wouldn’t have a meltdown at the substitution.

  After a few minutes, I returned with a tray. Cosmo and Felix followed me in. They gave Leo’s pant leg a couple of snuffles, and each let out a sh
ort bark before settling on the other couch as if they were going to keep an eye on him.

  “So you let your animals on the furniture?” he said as I set down the sandwich and coffee in his lap. “We never had any pets. Rebecca was allergic.”

  “Yes, my house is a bit of a free-for-all, and that’s the way I like it.” I wasn’t sure he meant his comment as a judgment, but I still felt the need to defend my way of life. I took my own cup of coffee and sat down next to the two dogs. Meanwhile, Leo’s attention had gone back to my offering. Before he could comment on the bread, I spoke. “No, it’s not plain white bread. All I have is egg bread. You ought to try it. You might find that you like it.” He looked at the coffee, and I knew he was wondering if I’d done any substituting with it. “It’s homemade half-and-half. All I had was whipping cream and milk, so I made my own mixture.”

  I knew he was measuring my offering against his wife’s, which he no doubt considered to be the correct way. Before he could say anything, I spoke up. “You seem like a rather direct person, so I’m going to be direct with you. I understand that you were married a long time and are used to things being a certain way, but if you want to meet someone new, you’re going to have to open up your mind.”

  I expected him to be resistant to my comment, but he actually sat forward with interest. “Okay, then, tell me what to do.”

  I was totally stunned by his comment. “Just like that? You’re not going to try to defend your ways?”

  “Nope,” he answered. “My wife arranged everything during our marriage. She was a lot like Rhoda—she just put things in front of me and I went along with it. It’s all habit now.”

  “Really?” I said, wondering if he was as open to change as he was trying to appear. “Then let’s see about this.” I smiled as I took back the plate with the peanut butter sandwich on it. “How about we give it a little grilling?”

  For a moment, he looked panicked, but then he took a deep breath. “Okay, then, grill away. But can I watch? Rebecca would never let me watch her cook.”

  He stood looking over my shoulder as I dropped a slab of butter in my enameled cast iron frying pan. In no time, it began to sizzle and scent the air. I slipped the sandwich in and it began to brown. Once it was golden on both sides, I slipped it back onto the plate.

  “Do you really want to live dangerously?” I asked with a chuckle.

  He hesitated for a second and then nodded in agreement.

  I put another slice of butter in the pan before grabbing one of the ripe bananas off the counter and, after peeling it, sliced it and let the pieces fall into the bubbling butter. He watched with fascination and maybe a little fear at the idea of cooked bananas. The phone rang just as the bananas almost reached that perfect point of being soft and gooey with a swirl of buttery sweet sauce around them. I cradled the phone against my shoulder as I tried to flip them again.

  “Hello,” I said.

  “It’s Greenberg,” the voice on the other end replied. I struggled to keep the banana slices moving.

  “This is exciting. I’ve never tried anything like this before. Now that you showed me how to do it, let me take over,” Leo said, and I handed him the silicone turner.

  If Barry had heard Leo, he didn’t let on; he was clearly in his professional mode. “There was something I wanted to ask you,” he said in his cop voice. “Could we speak now?”

  “How about you just ask me on the phone?” I said. I was sure it was something about Timothy Clark, and it would be a lot easier to avoid answering when I was on the phone than it would have been if we were face to face. The trouble was, he knew that too and insisted we talk in person.

  “It won’t take long,” he said. “Or interfere with your plans.” His voice cracked a little on the last part. So he had heard Leo in the background. I tried to remember what it was that Leo had said and if it could be taken another way.

  “Give me a few minutes,” I said, figuring he was probably out front. I’d never delayed him before, and Barry grunted in a way that sounded as if he was upset. That’s what he got for just showing up.

  “Okay, then,” he said in a terse voice. “Suppose you just open your front door when you, ah, have yourself together.”

  What did he think was going on? I wanted to laugh when I looked at Leo prodding the banana slices with the turner as I remembered what Barry must have heard. The exciting thing Leo was talking about was watching bananas transform visually as they cooked. Wait until he tasted them. It was going to rock his world.

  I got him situated on the couch in the living room and handed him his plate of food. I would have enjoyed witnessing his expression when he tasted everything, but much as I would have liked to let Barry stew in the images of what he thought was going on, I also wanted to get the whole thing over with.

  I opened the door a crack in what was supposed to be the signal that I was okay to talk and saw that Barry was already standing just outside the door on the front porch. My plan was to keep him in the entrance hall and get whatever this was over quickly. Now that I knew why he was so interested in the scarf, the less I said, the better. I wasn’t even going to attempt to pry any information out of him. I would just stonewall all the way.

  Barry had his cop face on, but I noticed that he sniffed the air when he came inside. The scent of the peanut butter, bananas, and browned butter hung in the air in a delicious bouquet. He tried to hide it, but I was pretty sure I heard his stomach growl in response. I wanted to move him out quickly before his hunger became unleashed. He was a master at ignoring it as long as nothing triggered it.

  I had stopped just inside the door. A partial wall separated the entrance hall from the living room, and from here he couldn’t see into the main room. But the wall only went for a short way and then the two spaces blended together. I suppose he thought he was being tricky, but I noticed that he kept stepping toward me so I’d move back.

  “Do you have company?” he asked as he reached the end of the partial wall. Without waiting for me to answer, he turned and peeked into the living room, and his gaze locked on Leo happily eating the bananas and the sandwich.

  “You’ve opened up a whole new world of sensation for me. It was never like this with my wife. All I can say is, wow.”

  I glanced at Barry and there was a flicker in his eyes, though the rest of his face still seemed impassive. There was an awkward moment, and there seemed to be no choice but to introduce the two men to each other, though I gave only names with no explanation as to who each of them was.

  Leo seemed unperturbed, but Barry kept shifting around. I’d never seen him so discombobulated. Inside, it tickled me.

  “Maybe we should talk in the kitchen,” Barry said finally.

  “Sure,” I said, leading the way. He did his best not to look around the room, but I caught his eyes going to the frying pan, where one slice of banana sat surrounded by buttery sauce.

  “You wanted to ask me something?” I said.

  His brow furrowed slightly, and I sensed that he wasn’t happy that I’d taken to lead. Felix and Cosmo had left the couch and followed us into the kitchen. They gathered at his feet, apparently remembering that he had given them treats in the past. Barry was doing his best to keep his cop aura going and tried to ignore them, but persistent Cosmo reached up with one of his paws to give Barry’s leg a reminder. Cosmo had the unique talent of acting like he thought he belonged to Barry and his son whenever it was in his best interest. Felix just went along for the ride.

  Barry finally looked down at the dogs. “There won’t be any peace until I give them something,” he said. “Are there any of the treats that Jeffrey brought over?”

  “Long gone, but the jar has been refilled.” As I went to show it to him, I brushed against the handle on a cabinet and it fell off. Barry picked it up and then went to open the cabinet.

  “Don’t,” I said, but it was too late, and, as he opened the cabinet door, it came loose from one of its hinges and hung at an awkward angle.
r />   “Don’t worry about the handle. I’ll put it back on later,” I said, taking over with the cabinet door. I knew if I pushed the hinge in just right, it would stay even though the screws had fallen out and disappeared.

  “Are you sure?” he said, and I nodded before handing him the treat jar. When Barry and I had been together, everything in my house had been in perfect order. He was a wizard at fixing things, but I didn’t want to let him think I couldn’t manage without him.

  He handed each dog a treat, though it helped only momentarily. As soon as they’d swallowed the chicken-flavored snacks, they resumed their positions, hoping for seconds.

  “You had something on your mind,” I reminded Barry, hoping to move things along. He seemed to be struggling to hold on to his composure, but I saw his eye go to the frying pan again. The smell and the sight of the food must have cut right through all his supreme control, and I knew he was probably overcome with raging hunger. I had to stop worrying about his eating and remember that he’d come over to grill me, not a sandwich. But I wasn’t good at being tough and offered him what Leo was having without the half-and-half in his coffee—Barry drank his straight.

  He agreed but insisted he would eat standing up in the kitchen. I guess, in his mind, that kept it from being social. “I wouldn’t want to ruin your evening,” he said. I knew he was dying to ask who Leo was.

  “No problem,” I said. “I’ll just go and tell Leo I’ll be with him shortly.” I was smiling to myself as I went into the living room, only imagining the expression on Barry’s face.

  When I returned, Barry watched while I made him a sandwich and fried bananas. He took care of the coffee himself. As soon as it was ready, he leaned against the counter and, as he’d done before, practically inhaled the food while seeming to savor every bite at the same time.

  As he set the empty plate down, he finally got down to business. “I’m curious,” he said, measuring his words. “How is it that you knew Timothy Clark?”