The Wages of Cin (Cin Fin-Lathen Mysteries Book 4) (15 page)

“Oh, I assure you there is more than a bit there.”

He laughed.  He got up and then pulled me up.  He held me a moment.  I thought he was going to say something, but he just let me go and walked out, leaving the door open.

I brushed the tear of humiliation off my cheek.  I grabbed a tissue and blew my nose.  I looked around, but there wasn’t even a trashcan.  I stuffed the soiled tissue in an outer pocket of my purse.

Meyer came in and closed the door.

“I’m gay.”

“I know.”

“Good.  I was wondering if I should come out on the tour.”

“That’s up to you.  You’ll break a couple of hearts but maybe open some others,” I said.

“I hear you.  I have a partner.  His name is Sean.  We were thinking of adopting some kids.  That’s why I need a steady job.  I didn’t like Caroline.”

“She wasn’t easy to like.”

“I fought with her at the party.”

“When?”

“Remember when I saluted you and Stoneridge?”

“Yes.”

“Right before that.  A lot of people heard us screaming at each other.”

“I talked to her after that, so I’d say you were in the clear.”

“But I could have waited for her.  Lured her outside and killed her.”

“Tell me, do you smoke?”

“No, not since my Dad died of lung cancer.”

“Good.”

“Why?”

“Just curious,” I lied.

“You’d be surprised how many people still smoke.  In the old days, I would turn green on stage from the smokers in the audience.  It’s hell on the voice.”

“How many kids are you thinking of adopting?” I asked.

“Three.  Sean wants four, but three is an odd number and lucky.”

“I see.”

“Sidney’s an ass.”

“Thank you, I’m beginning to see that.  Hey, it was only a few days.  I enjoyed myself, and I survived.”

“Kind of a concert hookup.”

“Yes, exactly.  I don’t regret it, even if it makes me look weak.  Sometimes you just have to go for it.”

“I agree.”

“I hope you get your kids.  I’ve enjoyed mine.”

“I keep forgetting that Alex is yours.”

“I have a daughter too.”

“One of each,” he nodded.  “One boy, one girl, sibling symmetry.  I guess Sean and I could rethink this.  We wanted three but then four, and then my mind’s back at two, sibling symmetry.”

“
Sibling symmetry
sounds like a song title.  Or a children’s book.”

“Could be.  I’m not such a nice person, Cin,” he confided.  “I’m angry inside.”

“You’ve got to let that go.  Do you want me to get you some help?”

“No, I don’t know.  Sean thinks that I need to see a shrink.”

“What do you think?”

“Ha, I see what you did there. That’s very shrinkish.”

I laughed.

“I should have warned you that you were just a bucket-list item.”

“Nah, it’s not that important.”

“Cin, most of the guys are alright.  Gareth has changed, but Elijah and Manuel are the same dudes.”

“I’ve not really met Gareth.”

“You’re not missing much.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” I said.

“Why?”

“Instinct.  If you need a character reference, let me know, Meyer.”

“You’d do that?”

“Yes.”

He nodded.  “I’ve got to go. Sean and I are heading to Miami.  Wanna come?”

“Nah, I’ve got work in the morning.”

“Some other time then.”

“I’d like that.”

Meyer left.  I hung around a little longer, but when it became evident that no one was coming, I shut the door and headed for the refreshment room.  Someone had put on a recording of the concert. I stopped and closed my eyes, taking in the richness that was produced by the quartet.  I felt someone near and opened my eyes.

“I was coming to talk to you,” Gareth said.  “Do you mind?”

“No,” I said and turned to return to the room.

“Not there.  Come on.”  He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the stairwell.  “Up on the roof.”

I followed him up the stairs.  He pulled a key from his pocket and opened up the door at the top.  “Come on,” he said.

We walked out onto the roof.  A gust of hot air circled me.  Gareth pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and walked quickly into the darkness.

“Ah, Gareth, where are you?” I called.

I saw the bouncing ball of light and understood what Mandy was talking about.  I walked towards the light.  The closer I got, the more I could make out his form.

“I don’t like you,” he said.

“Why?”

“You’re too smart for your own good.”

“I’d say I was pretty stupid recently.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” he asked.

“I let myself get swept away, but if I hadn’t, then Meyer wouldn’t be alive right now.  So I guess it was fated.”

“You talked to Caroline.”

“Yes, I thought I should clear the air.  Someone has been playing mean little games.”

“Elijah plays a lot of games.”

“All of you play games.”

“How perceptive.  Is your son trying to work me out of the group?”

“No, he has his own band.  Ely’s Coming isn’t his type of music.”

“It’s alright.  I’ve been traveling the world on cruise ships. My ship does the South American routes.  The music they play on the ship is pretty lame, but you can’t beat the appreciation of the audience.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never been.”

“We’re done here.  Go,” he ordered.

“Are you coming down?”

“In a while.”

I walked to the door and looked back to watch the bouncing ball of light for a few seconds before fleeing down the stairs.  In my haste, I must have missed the right floor.  I opened the door and found myself in an unfamiliar hallway.  I turned around but heard footsteps descending the stairs fast.  I ducked into an open office and leaned against the wall in the darkness.  The door to the stairs opened and closed.  I waited.  The door opened back up and closed again.  I waited.  Finally, I left my hiding place.  I took my time and walked over to the elevator.  I looked at the sign and realized I had overshot my floor.  I pressed up.  I heard the door to the stairwell again.

“Come on, come on,” I pleaded.  The doors opened, and I got in and pressed the door-close button.  I heard the sound of running footsteps.  The doors closed before whoever it was got there, but the elevator didn’t move.  The doors opened back up, and Susan Richards stood there.  “Are you coming?” I asked.

“Sure.  I was using the ladies john.  The one upstairs hasn’t been cleaned yet,” she said.

I could smell the scent of cigarettes on her.  I wonder if she had been up on the roof with Gareth.

The short ride up was spent in silence.  I never felt such relief when the doors opened and Harry was standing there.

“Where did you go?” he asked.

“I got lost,” I admitted.

“I can’t take you anywhere,” he teased.  “Come on, get your stuff.  Tom said we can leave,” he said.

I walked into the conference room and picked up my copy of the new schedule.  I walked back and found Harry waiting for me at the elevator.  “Let’s go.”

“Cin, wait a minute,” Elijah called.

“Harry, I’ll meet you downstairs.”

“No, I’ll stay here,” he insisted.

Elijah drew me away from the elevators and down a small hallway.  I found myself in a nest of cubicles.

“Tom has a telemarketing business on the side,” Elijah explained.  “Anything to make ends meet.”

“I don’t like telemarketers,” I said.

“No one does but…”

“Anything to make ends meet,” I finished.  “What do you want to talk about?”

“Mandy and I were talking, and we’d like you to come to the funeral.  It’s going to be a small private affair.  Stoneridge is going to be there, so I understand if you want to duck out.”

“What exactly did the guy say about me?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“He seemed like a great guy?  I’m not a bad judge of character, so he must be a fantastic actor.  We had a great evening together.  He seemed to be so relaxed with me.  He was honest about his intentions, and I’m not looking for a relationship, so I wasn’t putting any pressure on him.  I really liked him, or I wouldn’t have been so easy,” I said.

Elijah looked at me with sympathy.

“I don’t know why I’m telling you all of this,” I admitted.

“I’m honored you are.  Especially after the position I put you in with my little game.  I want to tell you that I’m sorry.”

“I accept your apology.  Let’s put this behind us.  I’ll be at the funeral. I may bring someone, just so I can have a person to lean on.”

“That’s fine with me.  I’ll text you the particulars.”

I turned to leave.  He caught my arm and said, “No matter what you hear, I did love Caroline.”

I nodded.  He let me go, and I walked away, glad to be out from under the scrutiny of those green eyes.

It was late by the time Harry pulled into the driveway.  He opened the garage door and pulled the convertible in beside Alex’s beater.  I was happy to see that Luke was still on a trip.  I didn’t want to deal with any ex-husband stuff tonight.  I was still cramping, and I needed to chill out for a while.  I intended to hole up in my room with a good book before I fell asleep.

Harry and I talked about the meeting.  He was disappointed that no one came to talk to him.

“You’re pretty young, and they don’t know you like I do.”

I told Harry about Gareth luring me up on the roof and my questions about Susan Richards.

“Cin, the guys bathroom hadn’t been cleaned, so it’s possible she was telling the truth.”

“I hope so, but I’m not taking her off my list quite yet.”

“How about Meyer?”

“I have mixed feelings there.  I want to strike him off, but he said some things to me that almost sounded like a warning of some kind.  My emotions tell me he’s not a killer, but I trusted my emotions with Sidney, and look where that landed me.”

“Hey, I dated a girl once that had two personalities.  I could never figure out which one was the real one.  Maybe he’s like that or he’s real insecure and needs to show off with the guys.  Probably thinks you were going to dump him, and he decided to beat you to it.”

I found comfort in his words.  Harry was pretty good at reading people.  I waited for him in the kitchen.

“I’m going to bed.  I’m achy.  Alex is on the phone.  Could you tell him I’m having an early night?”

“Sure.  I’ll check the messages.  If I were you, keep your cell phone close.  You may get a call from Buslowski.”

“Hopefully not a booty call,” I said, reddening.

“Cin, you have sex on the bean.  Try to think of other things from time to time,” he teased.

“Okay, but gee, is there anything else?”

He shook his head and walked down the hall to his room.  He had taken over Noelle’s poolside bedroom.  He and she had some kind of arrangement.  I suspected he was paying her rent of some kind, but I didn’t ask or care as long as there weren’t any arguments about it.

I turned on my bedroom light and saw the small tasteful arrangement of flowers placed on my nightstand.  I walked over and pulled out the card from the envelope.

Thank you for giving me a chance, love, Dave.

I lifted the posy to my nose and took in the spicy smell of the carnations.  I wondered how he knew they were my favorite.  Probably just a coincidence.

After a long hot shower, I pulled on some pajamas and walked out into the kitchen and poured myself a drink.  My son walked in, and I smiled.

“Did you see the flowers?” Alex asked.

“Yes, they’re from Dave.”

“Oh, I know, I read the card,” he said, his face full of mischief.

I wanted to lecture him on privacy but thought the better of it.

“If they were from that creep Stoneridge, I would have thrown them out.  He called and left a message.  He wants to explain something.”

“I’m not calling him back.”

“Good.”

“I feel like I should explain why I’m kind of off the rails this week,” I said.

“It’s the music,” Alex said.  “It brings up all sorts of dormant feelings.  You and dad have been apart for quite a long time.  You’ve been basically a nun, which explains your attraction for Father Michael.  Did you really fall for Stoneridge?”

“Oh, yes.  Maybe it’s wounded bird syndrome or the music, but I really liked the guy.  He was so relaxed and calm.”

“Port in a storm.”

“Yes.  But that’s over.  The guy is basically ruining my reputation. If you’re going to be dealing with the guy, you might want to put some armor up so…”

“I don’t punch him in the nose?” he asked.  “I’m a pacifist, Mom, but I can’t vouch for Buslowski.”

“Ah, yes, Buslowski. That one came out of left field,” I admitted.

“No, it didn’t.  The two of you have been dancing around each other for a while now.  Did you know he had the opportunity to get his old job back with a promotion, but he turned it down?  He didn’t want to leave here.  There’s nothing here for him but you, Mom.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Don’t let it scare you, but the guy is determined to win you.”

“How do you know this?”

“Today, after you and Harry left, he arrived with the flowers.  I think he knew you weren’t going to be here.  We sat down, and he explained his intentions.  He asked my permission to court you.  I thought about teasing him about last night, but I didn’t want to embarrass the two of you.”

“Did you?”

“Give my permission?  Oh yes.  But, Mom, I don’t care if you decide against him.  I want you to follow your heart.  You’re a beautiful, caring person and deserve to be adored.  He does, you know?”

“Does what?”

“Adore you.”

“You don’t think it’s because I saved his life, do you?”

“Nah, I think it’s because you put him in jeopardy in the first place.”

I laughed.  “I like him a lot or I wouldn’t have… um… you know.”

“I don’t want to know.  As far as I’m concerned, you guys played chess all night.”

“Okay.”

“I am going to ask one thing though.”

“I’m listening.”

“Don’t let Harry get in the way.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Father Michael, I believe, wanted you to run away with him.”

“How did you know about that?” I asked.

“I have excellent hearing, and you’re not used to me being home.  You declined because of Harry.  You couldn’t leave Harry.”

“Wait!  That wasn’t the only reason, darling.  I can’t leave any of you, and that kind of included Buslowski - I realize that now.  Michael is going through some kind of crisis, and I’m a readymade excuse. Kind of an old standard… leaving the clergy for a woman.  But I’m his fantasy; he isn’t mine.”

“You like him.”

“I do.  Michael’s exciting, and there is a kind of chemistry, but there also is a distance that I don’t want to cross.”

“He’s coming to town for the trial.”

“Yes, but he’s not staying here.”

“I have a feeling you’re going to have to make some hard choices in the near future.”

“It’s nice having choices,” I said dreamily.

“Oh you,” he said.  “As long as Harry doesn’t end up my father, I will support whatever decision you make.”

“
Ew
and double
ew
,” I said.  “I’m going to have to wash my mind out.  I think I’ll do it with a little whiskey.”

Alex hugged me before leaving.

I heard the door of the den open.  Harry strode into the kitchen.  “Cin, you have a message from Stoneridge.”

“I know, Alex told me.”

“I want to punch him in the nose,” he admitted.

“Really? That would be very kind of you, but I think the best torture is to ignore the guy.  I missed his maturity level when I assessed his qualifications,” I admitted.

“I called Buslowski and checked in,” he said.  “I think he wanted to talk to you, but I told him you were in the shower and warned him you’re very cranky when you’re on your period.”

“Oh my god, you and Buslowski talked about my period?”  I downed my drink and went to pour another.  “I think that’s more embarrassing than having my reputation, or lack thereof, talked about amongst the band members and roadies.”

“He wants you to call him.  Use his cell number. He said he was leaving soon and would be on his way home.”

“Harry, do you know where he’s living now?”

“Someplace local.  His ex-wife put the homestead on the market, so I don’t think it’s there.”

“Whose gutters was he cleaning?”

“That was a ruse.  I bet he’s living in an apartment.”

“I guess I’ll have to ask him.”

“Guess so.”

“Cin, I erased the message from Stoneridge.  I didn’t want you to hear his voice.”

“Thanks, Harry.”

I picked up my glass and turned to leave.

“Don’t forget to call Buslowski.”

“I won’t.”

“Cin, thanks for choosing me.  Alex isn’t the only one with big ears,” he said.

“It never occurred to me,” I lied.

I dug my cell phone out of my purse.  If I was going to talk to Dave, I didn’t want it to be on the house phone where my male eavesdroppers could pick up an extension.  I fluffed up the pillows and sat back and dialed.

“Hello,” he said softly.

“This is Cin,” I said, feeling suddenly shy.

“I hope so or you’ve stolen her phone,” he teased.

“I’ll never get used to having my name appear on phones,” I admitted.

“It’s hard for us old folks.”

“You didn’t just call me an old folk did you?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, just making sure I heard right,” I said.  “Thank you for the flowers. They are perfect.  I can smell the spicy aroma from here.”

“Where’s here?”

“My bed.”

“Wish I was there.”

“Where are you?”

“Heading home.”

“Where’s home?”

“I’m renting a condo in the village.  I wanted a place where I could be close to you and work.”

“And wouldn’t have to cut the lawn,” I added.

“There’s that.  Can I come over?”

“Booty call?”

“No cuddle call.”

“I’m kind of drunk and not at my best.”

“I still want to come over.”

“Okay, I’ll wait for you at the door,” I said and hung up.

I walked into the bathroom and picked up my scattered clothing and checked on my hair.  I was tempted to change into something less childlike, but the flannel pajama set made me feel cozy.  I walked out to the living room and saw Dave’s truck pull over and park in the drive.  He seemed to be carrying something, but I couldn’t quite make it out.  I opened the door and offered a hand.  He shook his head.  He walked past me and into the kitchen.  There, he deposited an extra-large pizza.  He turned around and handed me a wrapped box.

I looked at it and smiled.

“Open it,” he said.

I ripped off the wrappings and found a shoebox, and inside the box were a pair of sneakers.

“It’s to replace the pair I ruined when I dumped you in the pool,” he said.

“You didn’t have to, but I’m glad you did.  They are perfect and the right size.  How did you know?”

“Harry and I were sent to buy you shoes, do you remember?”

The realization hit me.  “That was you, wasn’t it?  He made you buy my underwear.”

“Little Scottie dogs,” he said, blushing.

“That seems so long ago, but it wasn’t really.”

“Are you hungry?  I brought enough for the boys,” he said.

“Sure, let me take care of these.  The boys are in their rooms.”  I left him to rouse the boys while I put my shoes away.  I was feeling a little buzzed but managed to return to the kitchen in one piece.  Alex had passed out paper plates and beer.  I declined, remembering the old adage, “Beer after liquor, never sicker.”

Harry was eating his pizza with a knife and fork.  I never understood that.  I noticed that Buslowski was staring at him.

“What?” Harry said.

“Only old ladies eat pizza with utensils,” he teased.

“I don’t like getting my fingers dirty.”

“He’s been like that since I’ve known him.  He’s the same with fried chicken,” Alex told us.

“I feel like a lone Roman amongst barbarians,” he said.

“How was your day?” I asked Buslowski.

“That newspaper article had us chasing a lot of false leads, but there were a few credible ones.”

“Come on, share,” Harry said.

“He can’t, ongoing investigation.  Like we can’t tell him what we know,” I said, lifting a pepperoni off my slice and plopping it in my mouth.

He turned and looked at me.  “It’s not the same thing.”

“Isn’t it?” I argued.

“We’ll need to discuss this further, but right now I need to eat,” Harry said.  “There was a buffet at the meeting, but Cin wouldn’t let me eat anything.”

“That was probably a smart thing,” Buslowski said.  “I had a talk with a society woman who lives two houses down from the Richardses. She claims that Susan gave her strawberries, knowing that she was allergic.  She claims Susan mixed them in raspberry compote.  She broke out in hives right before the Matron’s Ball.”

“The coincidences are stacking up,” I said.  “Susan was at the meeting, hiding in the shadows…”

Dave looked at me funny.  “Care to explain?”

I told him all about the meeting with Gareth Goodbody and my getting off at the wrong floor.  “I kept hearing Mandy’s voice in my head, talking about the bouncing red ball, and I think I scared myself.”