I smiled… So he really could keep ahold of what was important. Impressive…
“It had rained that night and one of the guards borrowed it from the gift shop as they took paintings out to the truck. Weird, I know, but I’ve seen weirder. Then a man across the street went out for a smoke and saw them. I’m sure he saw that colorful umbrella as well. It might have been night, but there were lightning flashes that probably lit up the area for a minute. It was enough time to see, at any rate.”
“That was the man who had a heart attack?”
“Yes. I met his widow, Maggie Carmichael, who filled me in on the constant comings and goings at the art museum. She saw plenty and suspected her husband did as well.”
“…The umbrella?”
“Laurel and Hardy shot at Ray Carmichael, probably saw him keel over and ran down the alley to the movie theater, just a few blocks away. I’m guessing they panicked and ran, instead of just jumping in the truck to drive off. Maggie said the truck was parked there for some time. Anyway, they hid out in theater two and left the umbrella. It was still damp from the rain when my boss found it.”
Eric’s eyebrows lifted in doubt.
“No one said these were very bright guys.”
I crossed my legs and shifted on the couch. “That was Marvin’s theater to clean and nobody gave it a second thought when he didn’t clean there. Marvin had a history of not being great at his job…I enabled him. I’m not happy about that.”
I looked back over at Eric. “…Then there was Bobby Springer.”
“Who was he again?”
“One of my work colleagues who went to the exhibition and sniffed out the Van Gogh forgery. The guards saw him and tried to shut him up. They probably would have killed him, if Maggie across the alley hadn’t called the police.”
“Wow…Lots of threads to pull, Lucy.”
“I know it.”
He looked at me for a long minute. “Would you like more wine?”
“… No.”
Eric moved over on the couch by me. “Would you like dinner?”
He was closer to me now and I stared into his handsome Leonardo face. His eyes grew darker. We looked at one another for a moment that stretched into two.
“No…” I said in a husky voice that wasn’t even recognizable to me.
“Would you like me to kiss you?”
I sighed. “Yes…”
Oh, boy. I’d forgotten how great it was to be with a man I liked who was also a great kisser. His hands touched the sides of my face and he drew me to him. Eric brushed his soft lips to mine, once…twice and then angled his mouth to kiss me more passionately.
I wound my arms around his neck, running one hand through his dark blonde hair. He pulled me tightly into his arms and we were wrapped around one another like strands of ivy. I could feel his heart beating rapidly, as he continued to kiss my lips, my face, my throat. Wow… if I’d been wearing glasses, steam would have been coating them by now.
I’m not sure how long we’d been kissing, but I was definitely ready for the next step when… His cell phone rang.
I broke off one fabulous kiss to whisper, “Don’t you need to get it?”
“No.” He continued on to another fabulous kiss.
The phone stopped ringing.
He started to lay me down on the couch when the phone began ringing again. My eyes popped open and I pushed him back a bit.
“You sure you don’t need to get that? They sound anxious to reach you.”
He glanced at the readout on the phone to see who it was. When his eyes widened slightly, I grabbed the phone and read the name myself.
“Who’s Allison?”
Eric raised himself up by one hand and stared in my face. “She’s…she’s my sister.”
He hit the red zone on my bullshit meter and I pushed him back farther. “You aren’t a good liar, Eric. Who is she?”
“… She’s… my girlfriend… in Wisconsin.”
I blinked at him… surprised as all get out.
I pushed him all the way back and sat up. “Your girlfriend?” My voice squeaked uncontrollably.
“Well, technically yes, but not really.”
I stood up angrily and walked over to pick up my jacket. “…Shit, I knew it.”
“Wait a minute, Lucy. I tried to break up with her before I left Wisconsin on this trip, but she won’t believe me. It’s over between us, honestly.”
“Yeah and my name’s Dumbo.” I stuck my arms through the jacket sleeves, grabbed my purse on the table and headed for the door.
“Lucy…wait.”
I turned to look at him, sticking my jaw out. “I see my rotten luck at men hasn’t changed. This wasn’t cool, Eric. I liked you…”
“And I like you, Lucy. Let me explain…”
“Nope,” I said opening his front door. “Don’t bother to call me again. You’ve gotten all the information you’re going to get out of me. Have fun with Allison.”
I beat it out of there, leaving the door open and listening to him call after me. I rushed down to my car, parked streetside, wrenched open the door and sat down just in time for the dam to burst. Pushing away tears from my eyes, I put a shaky key into the ignition and started for home. When I arrived, I swept into the apartment, threw my jacket in the vicinity of the closet and stopped abruptly when Cindy came out of the kitchen.
She took one look at my face and went to get the box of tissues. I collapsed on the couch and spit out the evening’s events, one strangled sentence at a time. Cindy handed me tissues, there-there’d me and Baskerville licked the tears off my cheeks. It was nice to have friends and I needed them as I cried out my disappointment.
Cindy made me a glass of warm milk, her tonic to any sort of problem, gave me Baskerville and turned on a Sherlock Holmes mystery – The Blue Carbunkle. Oooo, it was a good one! A huge blue diamond with a curse disappears and there’s geese and brandy… Soon I was relaxing with the milk, my good friend beside me… a nice throw tucked around me, and my little dog asleep in my lap. Life can be very sweet indeed. Who needs a man?
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CHAPTER 29
The next day was sunny, sunny, sunny. Although it was actually overcast with a good chance at rain, my disposition couldn’t have been dragged down. The world was good and I was alive!
As I wandered around the movie theater, dealing with problems and people, I really want to give myself a big hug. Another puzzle solved! There is absolutely and positively no better feeling in this whole wide world than when it all comes together and the puzzle is solved. All the pieces fit and I’m walking on air…
Bobby had come back to work. I called to give him the All’s Clear sign and he came in the next day. He was ready for his life to begin a semblance of normalcy. We had a small talk and he didn’t blame me for what happened to him that night. I still had reservations and looked out for him that whole day. I had a feeling I would be watching out for him for some time to come.
Megan was happy, for a change, that we were all back together again – except for Marvin, of course. She proclaimed righteous indignation at all of us having been duped by such a smart senior citizen. When I remarked that the criminal mind had no particular age, she shrugged.
Kevin was not as happy as the rest of us. Sure, he was glad to see that Bobby was all right and back to work, but his wife had just had divorce papers served to him. His attitude was a bit subdued… Understandably.
Marvin, Warren, Sue, Laurel and Hardy had all been arrested, but were currently free on bail. At the theater, we all promised to look out for one another and call if any of those guys were in sight or bothering us. Of course, the District Attorney’s office called to see who would testify against them and my name was at the top of that list.
Eric had called probably six times trying to apologize and wanting me to meet with him before he left town. I finally spoke to him and told him in no uncertain terms to drop dead.
Joe Warner called me with the best
news ever…
“Lucy. Are you sitting down?”
“Well, no, Dr. Warner. I’m walking from theater one to theater two right this minute. Why? What’s up?”
“I think you should sit down.”
I sighed. “Joe…I don’t have time to sit down. I’m busy. Say what you’ve got to say… please.”
“Lucy… As your advisor for the past ten years, I’m asking you to sit down.”
That stopped me in my tracks. Jeez – what happened? Was he calling from the hospital? Did his dog get run over? Did he get a promotion to Yale? He piqued my curiosity, so I walked into theater two and sat in one of the cushioned chairs looking at the darkened screen. It was actually nice to take a load off.
“Okay. Go…”
“I made a few inquiries and the Bret Holmes Detective Agency in town is looking for a trainee. Bret’s a friend of mine, and I told him about you. I also called the mayor’s office and got them to send over a recommendation.”
I was stunned at his news and happy that he’d made me sit down. My first thought was that my dad wouldn’t like it, which made me smile. My second thought was that I would like this very much, which made my smile bigger.
Sitting there in theater two with a huge grin on my face, I heard him speak again. “Lucy? Are you there?”
I straightened and spoke in a clear voice. “Dr. Warner?”
“Lucy James…”
“You’re the best advisor in the whole wide world…”
“… So you like it?”
“I don’t like it…I love it. What do I do now?”
Joe laughed and laughed. “I knew it! This is the right path for you, Lucy. Especially after winding up this forgery case at the art museum.”
“Thanks, Joe. This is wonderful news.”
“Just go over to his agency tomorrow and tell him who you are. Bret will take it from there.”
“…Did you say his name is Holmes?”
“Yes, I did.”
I could hear the smile in his voice.
“Irony?”
“You bet, Lucy. Karma’s the best.”
We spoke for a few more minutes and I hung up. I’d been walking in the clouds today, but after this conversation, I was walking on cloud nine – the highest cloud in the sky.
A detective agency trainee position? I wanted to kick my heels in the air and shout Yippee Ki Yay! I settled for a celebratory soda at the concession counter with Megan and Bobby, who were pretty thrilled at my news.
Then we watched in virtual slow motion as Kevin sauntered up to me holding a walking cane made out of a dark wood. I glanced from the cane to Kevin. I’m sure my quizzical look was a match to his huge lopsided grin.
He handed it to me.
“What’s this?”
“I don’t know, Lucy. Found it in theater two -- Interested in finding out?”
I laughed and took the cane from him. “…Always… Let’s see where this one leads…”
Glancing over to an applauding Bobby and Megan, I shrugged with what I hoped was a devil-may-care look on my face.
“…I figure out puzzles. It’s what I do…”
THE END
* * *
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
SJ Slagle lives in Reno, Nevada and has been a teacher and writer for most of her life. These lively stories about Lucy James weave some antics of Ms. Slagle with her best friend in the title characters. She also writes Western romance stories under the name of Jeanne Harrell. Visit www.jeanneharrell.com for a list of her published work.
* * *
FROM THE AUTHOR
Thanks so much for taking the time to read my first book of this series about my amateur sleuth, Lucy James. She’s a firecracker, full of smarts, gumption and a let’s-figure-this-out attitude. Lucy is a full-blown Sherlock Holmes protégé and works out puzzles with deductive reasoning like her idol, Sherlock. And where would Sherlock be without a Dr. Watson? Cindy Floyd fills that role admirably for Lucy. The other supporting life partner for Lucy is little Baskerville, a toy poodle with a penchant for getting into trouble.
Stay tuned for the next episode of Lucy James, sleuth in training…?
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