Miz Scarlet and the Bewildered Bridegroom (24 page)

“I’m sure we’re just
being a couple of Nervous Nellies, Jen. We’re spooking ourselves.
You’ll see. There’s nothing to worry about. We’ll find out this is
all just some idiot’s idea of a funny prank.”

Now that tiny voice
inside me was screaming, struggling to be heard:
I said, “Danger, Will Robinson!” What’s wrong
with you? Do you think you’re invincible?

And then it hit me. As
easily as one’s imagination can run wild, it can also run away from
the truth. What if the M-80 explosives weren’t as harmless as we
thought? We never had the chance to find out because Dave Wilkie
was caught in the act.

What if the next
incident proves to be more dangerous... or even deadly? What will
we do if all this madness escalates?

“Are you
okay?”

I looked up to see my
teenage assistant staring at me. Running a frazzled hand through my
hair, I came up with a quick excuse to explain my sudden urge to
hop up out of my chair and head into the kitchen. I needed time to
think. “I forgot to thaw the spinach for my tiny
quiches.”

“Is that all? I thought
there was something wrong.”

“Something is if I
don’t have an appetizer for the cocktail hour.”

“Want me to
help?”

“Actually, could you do
me a huge favor and run to the store for....” My mind went blank.
What could I use? “Batteries.”

“Batteries?” Her
eyebrows shot up. “Um, sure. I guess so. What
size?”

“D,” I replied. “I want
to make sure all the flashlights in the guest rooms work, just in
case we have a power failure.”

I sent her off with a
twenty dollar bill and a coupon. The moment she was out the door, I
was on the phone to Kenny.

“Hey, do you have a
moment?” I asked.

“Just barely, Scarlet.
What’s the problem?”

“Is there some way that
people can tap into our security system?”

“Say
what?”

“Can someone access our
security system remotely and use it to watch us?”

“I suppose it’s
possible, but I find it unlikely that anyone would
use....”

I interrupted him, my
words spilling out like a faucet that won’t turn off. “Kenny, what
if someone knows how to time these incidents because he’s watching
us through your cameras?”

“Whoa!” He sounded
shocked. “What brought this on?”

“I don’t know,” I
confessed. “Call it a feeling. Call it deductive reasoning. All I
know is that the only reason that front door didn’t blow up was
because I woke up and came downstairs in time. If I hadn’t, that
detonator would have worked and the explosion would have created
absolute chaos at the Four Acorns Inn.”

“But it didn’t happen
that way, Scarlet,” he said calmly.

“But it could have,”
was my nervous reply. “What if we’re looking at the possibility of
incidents that are going to escalate? Maybe it was only pure luck
that prevented the quarter-sticks from going off.”

“But the point is that
they didn’t blow.”

“But they could have.
What about the vandalism of the White Oak Room?”

“What about
it?”

“Why were they so
confident they’d get away with it? They were in disguise. It was
just dumb luck I recognized Neil Kradic.”

“Where are you going
with this, honey?”

“These bad things are
happening, Kenny, and we’re only stopping them coincidentally.
We’re stumbling into the situation in the nick of
time.”

“I’ll take it any way I
can.”

“But you’re missing the
big picture! You bring in Ruth and Edna as guests. What happens?
The trouble goes away, even though Max and Larry aren’t hanging out
at the inn. It’s like we’re being watched from the inside now and
the bad guy is just waiting for them to leave. It’s like someone
is...is...casing the joint.”

“But I’ve got
surveillance cameras trained on the inn, Scarlet. No one can come
or go without the action being picked up on
camera.”

“And ever since you
turned them on, there’s been no trouble. So, I’ll ask again, Kenny.
Is there some way someone could tap into the
system?”

There was a subtle
change, just a hint of concern that crept into his reply, but I
heard it all the same. “The system is state-of-the-art, babe.
There’s no way someone could tap into the system to watch the Four
Acorns Inn. But....”

“But
what?”

“Maybe they’re not
tapping into the system. Maybe they’re watching the
system.”

“I don’t
understand.”

“I have it hooked up to
Bur’s big screen TV. I’ve been parking my carcass on the sofa to
watch the monitors on a split screen,” Kenny replied somewhat
sheepishly. It was his admission that he made a professional
mistake. “It never occurred to me to pull the
drapes.”

I considered my
brother’s second-floor accommodation with the large picture window.
The carriage house sat on the edge of the pond behind the Four
Acorns Inn, and beyond the pond was a tree-covered hill, part of
the nature preserve open to the public; for someone with a pair of
binoculars, it served as the perfect vantage point for spying on
us.

“You think that means
someone is watching from the woods?”

“That would explain how
folks know when to attack. They’re watching my team watch your
back.”

“How would you test
your theory?” I inquired, feeling a little less apprehensive now
that Kenny was taking me seriously. Maybe we could beat the bad
guys at their own game.

“I think I’ll run a
loop tape on the big TV and see if I can set a trap,
Scarlet.”

“That sounds
complicated,” was my answer.

“We might as well take
advantage of the opportunity. I’ll set things up with Max. Don’t
worry, honey. We’ll make sure we’ve got you
covered.”

“Thanks. I feel better
knowing you’re on the case. There’s just one thing. If whoever is
spying on us knows you’re watching the action from Bur’s apartment,
wouldn’t it be better to just pack up and let them see you
leave?”

“Au contraire,” he
countered. “If we pull out, they’ll get nervous and think we might
be onto them. But if we leave the current security in place and
tweak it to make them feel safe, they won’t look for the real eyes
and ears.”

“You’re going to con
the watcher into thinking he’s on top of things?”

“Exactly. I want him to
show himself. What good is it for us to catch the hirelings? We
want the brains behind this scheme.”

Chapter Eighteen --

“Scheme,” I repeated.
“That’s what Jenny called it. I thought she was just
overreacting.”

“The kid has a good
head on her shoulders, Scar. Her instincts are spot on, even when
her imagination tries to fill in the blanks and gets carried away.
She reminds me of you as a teenager.”

“You think so?” I was
taken aback. This was the first time he had mentioned a resemblance
between me and my assistant. “In what way does she remind you of
me?”

“She just can’t help
herself. She’s naturally curious and whenever she thinks something
is going on, she can’t mind her own beeswax to save her life. She
just charges into the fray.”

“And that’s how you see
me, a raving butt-in-ski who sticks her nose where it doesn’t
belong?” I was feeling attacked. That kind of comment was likely to
get Kenny’s fanny kicked.

“I do. It’s one of the
many reasons I love you,” he laughed heartily, not bothering to
hide his amusement. “Need I remind you you’re the reason that Jenny
is still alive, Miz Scarlet? Your adamant refusal to leave her in
New Jersey when she was in danger, even though folks thought you
should, spoke volumes about your character. Look at her now. She’s
no longer an endangered runaway. She has family and friends who
care. She’s going to college. None of that would have happened if
you had minded your own business and turned a blind eye to her
plight. You didn’t quit on her. You stood by her.”

“Well,” I took a deep
breath, surprised at the sweet words of praise, “since you put it
that way....”

“I’ve got a meeting in
Avon with a client. I’ll call you later.”

“Bye.”

Kenny was as good as
his word. He and Max set up a second monitor, this time up in the
small attic storage closet off the sitting room I shared with
Jenny. Ruth sat up there during the day, keeping an eye on the
action in real time. She had our phone numbers programmed into a
emergency alert program and could call us at the drop of a hat with
a warning if anything seemed suspicious. Meanwhile, Max took the
previously filmed security footage and spliced it together
carefully. He ran it on my brother’s big screen TV in the carriage
house. Once he had it done, he gave us wardrobe instructions every
morning, making sure we wore clothing that was similar enough to
what was showing on the security loop that day.

On Friday, my mother
accompanied Dr. Van Zandt to the cancer center for some more tests,
and then to the Wadsworth Museum for lunch in the cafe, followed by
a tour. They were gone for much of the day. Lacey had an exercise
class and lunch with friends. Ruth and Edna finally had some time
to get to know each other.

I served them lunch on
the sun porch. Ruth had her tablet propped up as she ate and
conversed; she kept one eye on it, monitoring the video feed for
any signs of intrusion.

“Here are your Cobb
salads, ladies. Enjoy.” I set their plates down in front of them
and returned a moment later with freshly baked corn muffins and
butter.

“It looks delicious,
Scarlet.” Ruth was already stabbing a tender piece of romaine with
her fork.

“Indeed,” Edna agreed.
I grabbed the pitcher of ice tea and refilled their glasses. “I
just wanted you to know I’m leaving with Ruth tomorrow, Scarlet.
She’s invited me to stay with her up in Boston for the
weekend.”

I admit it. I did a
double-take. “Boston?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. What will you two
be doing?”

“We’ll see the sights
and maybe take in a concert at the Esplanade,” Ruth informed
me.

“Huh. Gee, maybe you
could call Big Larry while you’re up there.” I gave Edna a sideways
glance.
Wait for it....Wait for
it...Wait....

“I might. It depends on
whether I’ve got time.”

“Right.” It took all my
willpower to wipe that smirk off my face. Edna had decided to play
it cool, so I followed her lead. “He’s probably too busy anyway.
The Red Sox might be on the road.”

“No, they’re not,” she
corrected me. “They’re playing Tampa Bay all weekend
long.”

“Are they?” I asked,
forcing myself to look innocent. I could see the corners of Ruth’s
mouth twitching as she resisted a smile. “That’s good to know. How
did you find that out?”

“Ruth’s a season ticket
holder and she thought I might like to go to a game or
two.”

“Well, if you do, I
hope you have a chance to hook up with Big Larry. It would be a
shame to waste the trip and not at least have a couple of minutes
to say hi.”

“I might,” she replied
nonchalantly, “if there’s time.”

She turned and gazed
out into the garden. Ruth and I exchanged glances; this time
neither one of us could resist a grin.

“I’ll be in the kitchen
if you two need anything.” I left them to their travel plans and
went back to the kitchen. Since all of our guests would check out
and return to their respective homes on Saturday morning, I got to
work on our farewell barbecue. I started by marinating the shrimp
and then I moved on to the corn on the cob. Peeling back the husks,
I stripped the silk away, bundled the remains, and put them into
the refrigerator to chill. Bur would have to soak them before they
went on the grill. Next on my to-do list was making dessert. I
gathered the ingredients for peach pie. I tossed flour, butter,
water, salt, and a couple tablespoons of oil into the Cuisinart,
following the recipe for Julia Child’s food processor pie crust.
Once the dough came together, I wrapped it in plastic wrap and
refrigerated it. With peeler in hand, it was time to tackle the
peaches.

I went through the
tasks on automatic pilot. It helped to stay busy. As my hands
worked, I let my mind roll over the facts of the case, and as I
did, my fear started to dissipate. Maybe we were giving too much
credit to our harassers. If their job was to chase us out of
Cheswick, because Karin wanted to take over both of the Googins
mansions, maybe they were more intent on the drama than the
danger.