Pane and Suffering (20 page)

Chapter 25

 

S
avannah snapped off a stem from the ugly aloe plant that grew in a plain terra cotta pot in the front window of the shop. It was lopsided and grossly misshapen from years of being used as the immediate healing topical for soldering iron burns.

She cut the stem down the middle with an X-ACTO knife and spread the two halves wide. She squeezed it firmly, smeared the seeping goo from its inside edges onto Arthur's tiny burn, and applied a Band-Aid onto Arthur's left index finger without bruising either Arthur or an anxiously hovering Nancy.

“Now, see what you've done?” Nancy planted her hands on her hips Superman style. “How can you play the cello with that? Are you determined to stay in third chair?” She heaved an exasperated breath and sat back down at her workstation whispering under her breath.

“I remember from our first day, Arthur, you play the cello,” Savannah was concerned.

“Well, not very well, but yes.”

“Nonsense, Arthur.” Nancy patted him on the knee. “Tell them.”

“I've been—”

“He's been appointed to second chair in the cello section of the Florida Orchestra,” Nancy blustered over her groom's shy voice. “We just heard last night.”

Savannah turned to Arthur. “That's wonderful. Congratulations. More reason to be very careful in here.”

Tack soldering resumed with little trouble and finally all were able to pick up their projects and hold them up to catch the afternoon sun. Savannah was thrilled at the diversity of color and design within the tiny group.
I've been underestimating the value of teaching. I thought Dad was wasting his time. I was wrong
.
Completely wrong
.

“Now is the time if you need to make substantial changes,” she said. “It's not hard to de-solder and rework the piece at this point. After this, it will be much more complicated.

“The reason you might want to consider a bit of rework would be if the pieces don't sit next to each other well. Basically, they won't hold together after the next stage of the soldering process if that's the case. That will make the piece weak and it may not be structurally sound enough to hang on a chain by its own.”

A police siren blared down the street and two flashing vehicles pulled up in front. A cold shiver ran down Savannah's back.
Is someone else dead
? Without a beat, she made sure everyone was in the room. The door jangled fiercely to announce the arrival of Officer Boulli and a woman police officer. They stood in front of the cash register counter in the display room.

Officer Boulli stood well in front of the woman with both thumbs tucked into his belt. “Miss Savannah Webb?”

Savannah felt her brow crunch tight.
He already knows me. Does he really need to ask again?

“I'm Officer Boulli. We spoke earlier.” He took out his ID and showed her the badge and card.

“Yes, Officer Boulli. This is the third time we've met. I expect to receive a friend request to your Facebook page any time now.”

A look of mild confusion swept over his face, but he shook it off. “Do you have a student named Jacob Underwood here in the shop?”

“Certainly. He's right here.” She stepped back to let Officer Boulli see into the classroom, and a knot formed in the pit of her stomach. “What's the problem?”

“I'm here regarding your case, Miss Webb. We are picking up Jacob and taking him downtown for questioning regarding the poisoning of Hugh Trevor and John Webb. We have notified his parents and they are meeting us here in just a few minutes. Where is he?”

“What?” Savannah felt ice form around her heart. “You can't do that. Why would you do that?”

“Miss Webb, this is simply a part of any investigation. We can question anyone and take anyone into custody that might be a risk to himself or to others.”

The young woman officer walked into the classroom. “Jacob, you must go with me into custody. Do you understand what that means?”

Jacob's eyes opened wide and all color drained from his face. “I have to take Suzy with me.” He looked at Savannah with pleading eyes. “That's what my mother says, Miss Savannah. Everywhere—even custody.”

The bell jangled a sharp ring as Jacob's mother pushed the door open and her platform heels broadcast her determination to protect her son. She walked into the classroom, neatly sidestepped the policewoman, and placed a manicured but not lacquered hand on his forearm. “Jacob, slow breaths. Stay calm. I'm here.” She was dressed in an expensive dark navy-skirted suit with a red and white patterned silk shirt. She was calm and controlled. “Who's in charge here? Why are there two police cars waiting outside flashing their lights? There's no need for that sort of vulgar display. Everyone here is behaving in a perfectly civil manner.”

“They're taking Jacob away for questioning,” said Savannah, aware that her voice was high and trembling. She cleared her throat. “I was told that you had been notified and were on your way.”

“I was lucky to get here in time. The call was only five minutes ago.” She gave a look to Officer Boulli that would shrink a giant. “My name is Frances Underwood, juvenile court judge for Pinellas County. You had better follow every procedure with extreme precision. Be acutely aware that I know more about law than you ever will.”

She looked at Jacob, stood next to him, and put her right arm slowly and gently around his shoulders. “Suzy and I will be with you the entire time.”

Frances again turned that chilling look at Officer Boulli. “Suzy will be with Jacob for the entire time. He will remain calm and not need medication if you let her stay with him. If anything else happens and it upsets Jacob because of you, I am prepared to do everything in my considerable power to make sure you won't do it again.”

“We have to take the dog?” Officer Boulli pulled and reseated his truncheon, then rested his hand on his service revolver. He sighed deeply and muttered loud enough for everyone to hear plainly, “It's never simple.”

He glared at the female officer. “Take Jacob. Take the judge. Take the dog. Just get them downtown so we can start a proper interrogation.” He stomped out the door and nearly banged the bell off its hook.

Frances nodded. “Jacob, let's get Suzy. It's best if you leave everything else here. We want to keep things as uncomplicated as possible. This nice policewoman is going to take care of things properly.”

The female officer smiled. “Thank you, ma'am. That's very helpful.”

The policewoman bundled Jacob and his mother into the back of her patrol car. She carefully checked that all were seated and buckled in and that Suzy was safe in Jacob's arms. They drove away.

Edward walked into the shop. “What the bloody hell is going on?”

Savannah looked at him. “They've taken Jacob downtown for questioning.”

Edward blurted, “What?”

“I'm not sure, but I think they are going to charge him. Boulli believed he killed Hugh. I don't know what they think about Dad yet.” Savannah looked at Jacob's vacant workspace and felt true frustration.

Edward raised his hand and brushed back his hair. He looked into Savannah's eyes. “What are we going to do?”

“We've got to follow Dad's ciphers and find the real killer.”

Chapter 26

 

A
fter what seemed like a hundred years, Edward left and everyone returned to the classroom in silent single file. They sat at their worktables and tried to make more progress on their sun catchers.

Reluctantly, Savannah tidied Jacob's work space, put his tools in his canvas carryall, and tucked it under the worktable. She held his project up to the light, admired the precise solder joins, then placed it on his working board and made sure his project was pinned securely.
I don't understand how Officer Boulli thinks Jacob is a viable suspect.

She walked over to the twins' worktable. Rachel had smeared great gobs of flux across the entire piece. “This is a little too much for the purpose and will interfere with the smooth appearance that we're trying to achieve.”

“I told you that was too much flux.” Faith leaned over to point the soldering iron at her sister's glass.

“No waving the soldering iron,” snapped Savannah. She caught Faith's arm in mid-gesture and gently pushed it toward the soldering iron holder. “Keep that in the holder if you're not actually using it.”

Nancy was watching Arthur like a hawk, ready to pounce at the first misstep. Savannah looked at Arthur's progress and imagined what the upset might do to him. She expected to see a hot mess and maybe have to treat a few more burns.

She cleared her throat. “I'm sorry. This is simply not going to work. I'm too upset to teach and that means it's not safe for us to continue class today. Let's all clean up and start again tomorrow.”

When that had been accomplished, she said good-bye to the newlyweds and the twins, but asked Amanda to stay behind. She went into the office, opened her backpack, and took out the novel and the sheet of onion skin. She brought them back to the classroom and opened the book to page 337 and lined up the holes.

“What on earth is that?” Amanda leaned over the workbench.

“The cipher I showed you and Jacob earlier fits over a page in this novel to reveal the clue. I've asked Edward to come and help us get to the end of the trail. It may clear Jacob. Can you help?”

“Absolutely. It just can't be Jacob. He wouldn't hurt a fly. Literally. I've seen him shoo flies outside like a cowboy and catch lizards just to carry them outside rather than kill them. That's way more compassion than I have or anyone I've ever met has.”

“Have you found out anything on Smythe? Do you know where he was during Hugh's murder?” Savannah asked.

“I signed up as a follower to his Twitter feed. It felt sleazy, because I really, really don't like that slime bucket, but it turns out that he, unfortunately, was absolutely elsewhere during the times Mr. Webb died and when Hugh was murdered.”

“Where was he?”

“He was back in Atlanta attending a week-long diversity training seminar. He kept tweeting how useless it was. He was driving back on Monday morning after spending the weekend at his condo. He takes a picture of every meal he eats and posts it to his Twitter feed. I guess after prison food, you would appreciate the small things. He's not the one. Disappointing, I know, but he's not the one.”

Savannah looked into Amanda's sad violet eyes. “Then we have one more person it isn't and one more reason why the police think it's Jacob. We have to work harder.”

The ring of her cell phone made Savannah jump, the display showed Judge Underwood as the caller. “What's happening?”

“The police are preparing to question Jacob, but I wanted to tell you that Officer Boulli came by and told us that the forensic specialists matched Jacob's fingerprints to the coffee cup that Hugh used on that Monday morning. He wasn't supposed to tell us and now Detective Parker is furious with him.”

Savannah said, “But it can't be Jacob.”

“The essential problem is that he has no alibi and Boulli can't get beyond that. My husband and I leave for work at six every morning. Jacob gets himself up and fed, then walks over to Webb's. That's why I have the best defense lawyer in the state with me. But anyway, I wanted to tell you that this idiot officer told us that Hugh and John died from the same poison. I wasn't sure if they had told you.”

“Detective Parker called this morning to tell me. He seems competent.”

“That will be refreshing. This may take some time because there's no hard evidence and fingerprints on a cup in a common workroom do not a murder make. The district attorney will want a confession.”

“If there's anything we can do for you, let us know.”

“Thanks. I've got to go. It looks like your detective is ready to start the interview.”

“Thanks for the call. I truly appreciate it.”

Edward rushed into the shop and went directly into the classroom. “How's it going? Is there any news about Jacob?”

Savannah put away her cell and felt a frown appear. “His mother called. The police are planning to question Jacob. She's hired a top-notch lawyer. She was angry and worried, but she's a judge and knows the ins and outs of the process.”

Edward perched on a work stool. “Why is she worried?”

Savannah pulled a stool from the next table and sat beside him. “Apparently, they found his fingerprints on the coffee cup that Hugh used early Monday.”

“But they worked in the same area. That doesn't mean anything.”

Savannah raised her hand in a stop signal. “There's more to it. She says Officer Boulli let it slip that the poison that killed Hugh was also used on Dad. The facts are that he has a key to the shop, his fingerprints were on the cup, and he has no alibi for early mornings. The forensic lady found a baby jar full of an herb mixture tucked in with Jacob's paints in the custom workshop. I'm willing to bet that it contained the poison. It makes a compelling case. I'm worried.”

“What's this?” Edward peered down on the sheet of onion skin spread out on the worktable. “It looks like bugs have chewed this up.”

Amanda piped up. “That's what I thought, but look at this. It's way, way cool. I've never seen anything so clever. It fits onto a page in one of Mr. Webb's Dan Brown books to reveal the next puzzle. I'll bet he was a consultant for the puzzles in those books. Mr. Webb was a clever man. He was, wasn't he?”

Savannah felt a flush of pride at the compliment. “Yes, but I'm afraid he may have been a bit too clever to leave me a puzzle that I can't figure out. He was always right next to me and ready to guide me to the solutions when we worked on them when I was a girl. This is an entirely different sort of code.”

Edward looked into Savannah's eyes and spoke softly. “The stakes are quite different, as well. Why didn't he leave a message in the will or with me or just make it clear in the first puzzle?”

“He was a very proud man, remember? And paranoid along with it. If he wasn't sure enough to have the killer arrested or charged, he wouldn't have trusted anyone.”

“We need to figure out what he was trying to tell you. If there's any chance to clear Jacob by solving this puzzle, we must do that. Now.”

“Right, let's copy out the letters that are revealed one more time and see if that will click something for one of us.” Savannah printed the letters on the whiteboard at the front of the classroom. She stood back and inserted slash marks for word separations.

Amanda propped her chin in the palm of both hands. “I can't think of anything.” She turned to Edward. “Anything?”

His eyes turned serious. “This could hold the solution to the murders. It's a paralyzing thought.” He looked toward Savannah. “Did your dad solve these kinds of puzzles in his work under this kind of pressure?”

“I think he did. He was an amazing man, but he would have known that I would need to have a simple puzzle rather than something too obscure.”

“Good.” Edward stood. “Let's try to relax and concentrate on obvious meanings. The phrase ‘Edge of Splendor' is curious. What can we make of that?”

“Could it mean the edge of the bay? He used to take me to see the sunrise on the water over by the arbor on Coffee Pot Bayou. It was a Saturday morning ritual. While we were watching, he would say, ‘What a splendor of light' during the rising of the sun. Then we would go get breakfast.”

“Okay. Would he have hidden a message there for you to find?” asked Edward.

“I can't think of anything.” She slumped onto a stool. “Wait, it could be the arbor. That was also one of his geocache locations that we would check when we were there. What time is it?”

Amanda looked at her Mickey Mouse watch. “It's only four-thirty. Guys, I am petrified at the thought of Jacob spending the night in jail. What if they won't let him keep Suzy!” She pulled a tissue from one of her many bags and snuffled into it.

“Focus, focus. It's only a short drive. Let's take the van. We can be there in a few minutes.” Savannah pulled the keys from her pocket. “We'll lock the doors, set the alarm, and come back here with whatever we find.”

Edward shook his head. “Look. I've got some arrangements to make at the pub. I'll make some calls so I can have the evening off. I can't leave the crew short-handed. I'll be back in two shakes.”

“Deal,” said Savannah. “We'll meet up at the van.”

 

 

The trip to Beach Drive took a bit longer than Savannah remembered. The traffic was heavier during the evening commuter hour, so it was more than twenty minutes later before they were parked and standing in front of the tall white arbor with its substantial base of Spanish style columns that supported a wooden trellis. A mature twisted bougainvillea plant was in front of each pillar and the thick vines wound up the trellis with a heavy canopy of red blooms.

“Amanda, will you keep a lookout? One of the cardinal rules of geocaching is to make sure no one passing by sees where the caches are hidden. Just yell out that someone is coming and we'll back away and wait until they pass.”

She nodded and began looking up and down the sidewalk as Edward and Savannah cut through the grass toward the structure.

“The cache is over here.” She led him over to the bottom of one of the large white columns that gave the structure an old world look.

“Someone's coming,” whispered Amanda at near conversational volume. “There's three of them. Just hold off.”

Edward quickly took Savannah's arm and planted her against the column and began to nuzzle her neck. “Camouflage is quite fun,” he mumbled into her shoulder.

She giggled. “And you call this convincing?”

He pulled his head back and looked into her eyes. Then he kissed her with quiet passion and tenderness.

Savannah forgot that it was a ruse and returned his kiss with unexpected warmth.

“All clear.” Amanda looked over. “Hey, do you think you can start concentrating? Really, some people have great difficulty concentrating on the task at hand. I find it extremely annoying myself to be prepared to work and look what you two are up to. Really!”

Savannah felt as scarlet as the ever-blooming canopy of bougainvillea blossoms and pushed down the passion that Edward had awakened. Stooping down, she cautiously reached her arm into the multiple branching trunks—careful to avoid the two-inch thorns that make the flowering plant a trespass deterrent.

“Here it is.” She pulled out a small box and stood. With Edward and Amanda blocking the view of the many walkers that constantly passed on the sidewalk, Savannah opened the box to find only a new logbook and a pencil. The logbook was blank except for a congratulatory note from the owner. She stood there a moment, then her shoulders slumped. “This can't be right. There's nothing here that could take us further.”

Amanda nudged her over to peek into the box. “Are you sure? Nothing?”

Savannah turned the box over and over in her hands. “I've got it wrong. I'm not going to get this figured out in time.”

Edward put his arm around her shoulders in a side hug. “Stop that kind of talk. It's not the right solution, but we still have plenty of daylight. Let's get back to the shop and take another look at the puzzle.”

“Of course. I'm so anxious. I'm not considering how obscure this hint is for us.” She tucked the cache back under the bougainvillea plant. “I guess the pressure of trying to get Jacob out of jail is affecting my thinking. I'm sure that he was meant to help uncover the solutions. Dad was training him in code breaking. Not a comforting thought.”