Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 02 - Bogey's Ace in the Hole (2 page)

“The police
went to her home at our request.  They didn’t go in, but they looked through the windows and it didn’t appear that anything was out of place.  And like I said, she hasn’t been missing for long, so they’re not very interested.  They said to get back to them if she doesn’t turn up.”  Jasmine pressed her lips together after she spoke and folded her arms across her ample bosom.  She made a formidable picture.

“Let me ask again.  Why do you think she’s missing?”  I needed something more concrete than just the fact that she’d missed a lunch with her friends.

Jasmine unpressed her lips long enough to answer me.  “We all have keys to each other’s homes, in case of an accident or something.  I mean, after all, we’re not youngsters anymore.  So we drove over to Addie’s and went in to make sure she hadn’t fallen or had some other accident.  She wasn’t there.”

“But her purse and her bible were,” May said, obviously thinking this would mean something to me.

It didn’t.  “And?” I asked.

“And Addie never goes anywhere without her purse and bible.  She says she’d feel naked without either one of them.”
Was it my imagination or did Lila blush just a little when she said the word naked?

“Is that all or is there more?”

“There’s more,” Jasmine said.  “Addie’s neighbor said there was a strange man at her door and Addie was arguing with him.  The neighbor was going to go ask if she needed help, but the man left before she could unlock her front door.  That was the last time she saw Addie.”

“And her auto is still in the garage,”
May said.  “Addie never walks anywhere.  She says God gave the automakers their knowledge so that she wouldn’t have to walk any more than necessary.”

Lila
giggled.

I had to admit to myself that it was highly unlikely a woman would leave the house for an extended period of time without her purse.  It just isn’t done
– at least, not by most women.  And if she didn’t like walking, why was her car still in the garage?  Maybe there was a good reason for the Church Ladies to worry.

Chapter Two

“
Did the man leave alone or did your friend go with him?”

“He left alone,
and the neighbor never saw her again.  And when we checked her house, she wasn’t there.  Wouldn’t you say that’s a bit suspicious?”  Jasmine was beginning to look at me as one might look at a small, unschooled child.

“You still haven’t told me anything that makes me believe she’s actually disappeared,” I said, ignoring Jasmine’s look.

“Her purse, bible and car aren’t enough?” May asked, sounding like I might have left a few of my brain cells in the restaurant.

I gazed around the cocktail lounge, ran my tongue across my teeth and thought.  Maybe there was a problem.  I’d hate to do nothing and later find out that something had happened to Addie.

Glancing back at the Church Ladies, I could see an expectant expression on their faces.

“Let me find my husband and talk to him for a moment.”

I waved Daniel over.

“Would you please bring each of these ladies another drink?”
  I glanced from face to face.  “It’s on the house.”

The women smiled at me.

He nodded and turned to find clean glasses.  “Sure thing, Mrs. Cross.”

“I’ll have iced tea this time,” Lila said, taking a last sip of her wine.

I could feel the ladies’ eyes boring into my back as I left the lounge in search of Chris.  He was still talking to the people Phyllis had asked him to see, but it appeared that they were winding things up.  I waited, none too patiently.  The band was playing again and I tapped my foot in time to the music.

When he finally left the table, I waved him over.

“Phyllis was right.  One of the men at that table is from a tourist magazine, and he wants to do a story on
Bogey Nights
.”

I nodded distractedly at what should have been awesome news. 
“Okay, Bogey Man,” I said, using my favorite nickname for him, “I know what the Church ladies want, and their request includes you.”

Chris rolled his upper lip under in true Bogey fashion, and pushing back his jacket he stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels.  “Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
  Because your face says it’s not a good thing.”

“I’ll let you be the judge.”

I explained the situation to him and before I could even finish the story, he groaned.   “Haven’t we done enough detecting lately?  First we solved a multiple murder, and then we found a missing relative for a friend of the sister of the dead guy.  Now these women want us to find another missing person?”

“But this isn’t just a lost relative.  This is an actual missing woman.”

“Listen, angel, those dames – ”

I cringed and glanced over my shoulder.  “Please don’t call the Church Ladies dames,
sweetie.”

“Okay, I’ll watch what I say for your sake.  Why can’t the
coppers handle this?”

“The police aren’t interested because Addie has only been missing since this morning,” I said, feeling just a trifle
foolish.

“
This morning?
  What makes them think something’s happened to her if she’s only been missing for a few hours?”

“Because her purse and her bible are still at the house, and her car is still parked in her garage.”

“Oh, that explains it all.”

“No need to be sarcastic, Chris.”  I narrowed my eyes at him.  He’d been kind of
snippy all day.  I wasn’t about to let whatever was bothering him be taken out on me.

He sighed.  “Sorry,
doll, I’m just tired.  I haven’t slept well the last couple of nights.”

“Something bothering you?” I asked.

“No, I just couldn’t sleep.  I’ll have some Joe and that should perk me up.”

“Come to the lounge with me to talk to the ladies and I’ll ask Daniel to pour you coffee.”

I could see by his expression that he was debating whether or not to meet the women.  I smiled at him and fluttered my eyelashes, hoping to make it more difficult to turn me down.

“Okay, I’ll at least come hear what they have to say.  But they’d better have a good story or I’m gonna take a powder, real fast.
  And quit batting your lashes at me.”

“
No taking a powder, Bogey Man.”  I knew that once Chris met these women he’d be an easy mark for them.  I almost laughed out loud.  Chris was no match for the Church Ladies.  I knew it and they knew it, but Chris was like a lamb being led to slaughter.

We walked into the cocktail lounge where the women waited for us.

“Oh, Mr. Cross,” Lila said after the introductions.  “You’re such a good man to agree to help us.”

“I haven’t agreed
– ”

They cut him off at the knees.

“You’re one of God’s children,” Jasmine said, “and He’s going to use you to help us find our friend.  I just know it.”

May was nodding with way too much enthusiasm.

I caught myself nodding right along with her and forced myself to stop before I looked into Chris’s eyes.  When I did look, I could see he was hooked.  Or maybe trapped was a better description.

Daniel handed Chris a cup of coffee and my husband took a few sips before speaking to the women again.

“Does your friend have any relatives?  Maybe she’s taken off to visit someone,” he said.

“She has a daughter,” Jasmine said, “but we don’t want to call and worry her.  She thinks Addie should be in an old folks home,
but she’s dead wrong.  Addie is as sharp as you and Pamela.  Please don’t call her daughter.”

“This brings up another question.  Could she have wandered off?  I mean, she’s not a young
– ”

May’s face became a mask of stubbornness, not to mention annoyance.  “None of us are young in appearance anymore, but believe you me, we’re young at heart.  Our minds are razor sharp and we use them all the time.  None of us is going to seed.”

“Okay, okay, but I had to ask,” Chris said, almost apologetically.

“Did your friend’s neighbor tell you anything about the man she was arguing with this morning?”  Chris was on the case.  I could tell.  Something about these women had grabbed him and
wasn’t about to let go.

The band started up another number.

“Let’s go to my office,” I suggested.  “Between the band and people starting to dance, it’s not easy to talk business in here.”

“Good idea,” Chris said.  “I’ll go ask Phyllis to keep an eye on things.”

Everyone followed me through the kitchen and back to my office, where we found Sherlock and Watson napping on the couch.

“Yikes,” Lila said.  “Dogs!”

“They’re friendly,” I assured her.

“How friendly?”

“Very.”

“What are they?”  Lila was intimidated by
the dogs and backed up to the wall.

“Sherlock and Watson
are yellow Labrador retrievers.  Sherlock is a boy, and Watson is a girl.  They’re both about two and a half years old.  They saved someone’s life once, if that makes you feel any better.”

“They did?” Lila asked.  “How?”

“They pulled a man out of a burning building.”

“I read about that in the newspaper,” Jasmine said.  “Lila has a fear of dogs, as I’m sure you can see.”

“Well, let’s see what we can do about that,” I suggested.  “Come here, Sherlock.  Come, Watson.”

Tails flying like thick whips, both dogs came to me.  There must have been something in my voice because instead of tearing up the rug to get to me, they b
oth approached quietly and politely, the only sign of their excitement being their tails.

“Shake hands with Lila,” I said, tapping her shoulder.

The dogs looked into her eyes and sat down in front of her, each lifting a paw as asked.  Lila’s eyes were large and round as she timidly reached out to the dogs.  I held my breath, hoping they wouldn’t lick her hand.  She might think they were trying to bite her.  She shook hands, or paws, with each dog in turn and stepped back quickly.  Neither dog took a lick, although I could see Watson’s nose twitching, and I let my breath out.

“Now let me show you something else.”

I turned to the dogs.

“Slip me some skin,” I said.  I held out both hands and each dog lifted a paw and slid it down my hand. 
“Good babies,” I said.  “Now let’s go outside.”  I opened the back door which led to a small fenced yard and the dogs meekly and quietly walked outside.  It was a proud moment for me, but they shouldn’t have been in the restaurant anyway.  If the Health Department saw them in my office, I’d be in deep trouble.  They were never allowed beyond my office though.  I slipped them each a doggie cookie as they walked outside.

“What does
slip me some skin
mean?” May asked.

“It’s like asking them to shake my hand, but more jazzy.  Kind of like the modern version of a cool handshake, only the term i
s an old one.  You know, instead of shaking hands, you slide your hand down the other person’s hand.”

“I’ve seen teenagers do that,” Jasmine said.
  “I have a grandson.”

May and Lila nodded.  “We’ve learned a lot from Jasmine’s grandson.”

Chris returned from talking to Phyllis and sat down on the edge of my desk.  “Alright, ladies, convince me your friend is really missing.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Cross, but you’re just going to have to trust us.  We know Addie like we know ourselves, and she wouldn’t have left without her purse or her bible, or on foot.”  Jasmine
used a no-nonsense tone of voice.  She could have said,
Don’t test me on this one, Sonny, or you’ll be sorry
, and her tone would have sounded the same.

“Call me Chris.  And I’m inclined to take your word for it,” he replied, surprising me.

“You are?” I asked.

He didn’t take his eyes off of Jasmine when he answered me.  “Yes. These women are one hundred percent sincere.  And they’re right
; they know their friend better than anyone else.  If they say she’s missing, then I believe them.  I just don’t know if we can help find her.”

Jasmine, once again, turned to her two companions, who nodded vigorously.  “We have the utmost faith in you
and Pamela, Chris.”

“Yes, we do,” May said.

“Total faith,” Lila added.

“You do?” I asked.

“We do.  We believe that God has given you a talent for solving things.  And, I personally, believe that our Father will use this task to bring Chris into the fold.”

I couldn’t help myself
– honestly.  I rolled my eyes and began to laugh.  When Lila turned to me, I laughed even harder and snorted.

“Snorting is not ladylike,” Lila said, “but I understand.  I’ve snorted a few times myself.  My Edgar, bless his long
-departed soul, used to tell me that it embarrassed him, along with most everything else I did.”

For some reason that brought an end to my momentary lapse of sobriety.
  Lila’s words sounded like they should have been accompanied by bitterness, but I didn’t hear even a hint of that emotion in her voice.  Instead, and surprisingly, I heard forgiveness.

“Okay, Bogey Man, where do we start on this one?” I asked.

Before he could answer, Lila giggled.  “He really does look like Humphrey Bogart, doesn’t he?”

“
Well, angel, I say we start at the scene of the crime, so to speak.  After we close up tonight, let’s go eyeball their friend’s house.  You can give us a key, right?”  He glanced at Jasmine, apparently figuring she was the ringleader.  Good guess on his part.

“I have it right here,” she said, digging around in her purse.

“If your friend – Addie is it? – is really missing, then the heat’s on.  We can’t let time slip through our fingers.  And assuming Addie isn’t somewhere in that house listening to the birdies sing, then we’ll flap our gums at the neighbor first thing in the a.m. By the time we close tonight it’ll be too late, and we can’t hit the bricks right now.”  Chris double-checked his watch.

“If you’ll cover for me, I could go talk to the neighbor now,” I suggested.

“And we can accompany you,” Jasmine said.

“What does
listening to the birdies sing
mean?” Lila asked.

“Unconscious.”  I answered her without thinking about it.  I’d become pretty accustomed to Chris’s forties vocabulary.

Jasmine sucked in her breath.  “Could we have missed her somewhere in the house?  Could she have needed us all this time and we just left her there alone?”