Toad in the Hole (7 page)

Lighting a ciggie, I lollygagged my way toward a shed near a wooded area where the property ended. Three boats: a small motorboat, a pontoon, and the third, a skinny houseboat, were tied to pilings.

A low slatted fence framed steps that led to a storage shed. I peeked inside a window, but couldn’t see anything. Water lapped the backside. A tree arched like a candy cane dipped its outermost branches into the water. I rested my backside against the shingled siding. The trip had only begun and being sexually frustrated in close proximity to Travis was going to blow. I needed a plan. A way to survive my hormones without alienating him.
Early evenings back in my room? Doing my own thing in the morning. Maybe a few side trips with GG while Travis hung with Edmond.
Luxuriantly, I inhaled. The English tobacco had more bite than what I normally smoked. Not necessarily a bad thing.

The
Picture Show
rocked on and I wondered how late it would go. Who in this place could get any sleep? Then again, I didn’t think any normal guests besides our group would actually pay to stay here during the convention.

There was movement on the water, a gaggle of swans made me think of Stone back home. Where was my loyalty? What was it about Travis that made me think of him,
that way
? I knew he was gay. Looking back at the castle, I plotted the shortest route back to my room when the lawn went dark. The flick had stopped and someone yelled, “Bloody hell.”

Boos intermixed with shouts, demanding someone turn the projector on. People began to stand. Someone pitched a chair at the screen and soon others followed. Beyond them, near the entrance, car lights blinked in the parking lot. A dozen men with flashlights began weaving into the crowd. Shouting erupted, the hostile kind. Worried about Travis, I moved forward trying to spot the only guy not in costume.

The exhibitionists on the river’s edge benches untangled themselves to gawk at the fracas on the lawn. A few picked up discarded clothing items, and I noticed one fellow scurrying in the opposite direction along the pathway. An oddly familiar woman in an overcoat with a silk scarf tucked around her neck moved in my direction. When I noticed her blonde hair around her face, I shout-whispered, “GG.”

“Rachael. Thank goodness.”

I hid my cigarette behind my back and dropped it. “What’s going on?”

“Where’s Travis?” she asked.

Sliding a foot over the glowing tobacco, I said, “He was watching the movie.”

Her hand cradled mine and led me a few paces to the dock. “Listen carefully.”

“Is it Dad? Is something wrong at home?”

“No dear. He’s fine, but Edmond’s not. The police are here. They’ve taken him.”

“What? That’s crazy. Why aren’t you with him?”

“I’d gone to the ice machine, when I came around a corner I saw the police ushering him into their patrol car.”

“It has to be a misunderstanding. You should’ve spoken to them, cleared things up.”

“Both of us being in custody isn’t going to do any of us any good. I’ve got to call my solicitor to figure out what’s going on and get him released.”

“He’s done nothing wrong, he should be released.”

GG began untying a knot that secured the narrow houseboat. “While I sort things out, I need to make sure you and Travis are safe.”

My heart rate quickened and my brain froze. “Safe?”

“There’s been a series of events. I received a message from the front desk. My contact at Asprey. His office has been ransacked and he’s in hospital after a suspicious car accident. There are too many things out of sorts. My internal alarm bells are chiming.”

“The brooch!” I seethed between my teeth.

GG stood upright.

“There’s something I meant to… there’s an engraving on the inside of the oyster,” I blurted.

Her eyes blinked as she registered my words. “What sort of engraving?”

“A note to Walzy and some digits. I wasn’t sure if you knew it was inside. Do you want to see?” I asked and pinched the shirt fabric under the pin in an attempt to remove it.

My grandmother’s fingers glided down her neck and rested beneath her collar bone. Biting her lip, she gazed skyward and mumbled, “Wallis, what have you done now? Of course I want to see, but we don’t have time. My livelihood has taken me to all corners of the earth. I’ve met a few characters in my day and unnerved a few of them. Some of the people I’ve had dealings with make up their own rules. When you get to London, stop by a jewelers named Garrard’s and ask for Sonny. He’s an old friend and he may be able to authenticate the piece, may even know something about it. Don’t bother with Asprey, there’s no point anymore.”

Handing me a rope she hopped onto the boat deck and unlocked the cabin with a key. “I’m not sure what we’re dealing with.”

“London? Garrards? I don’t understand. What are you doing with this boat?”

“Rachael, GG,” Travis whispered from the shore.

“Timing is everything,” GG said with a wry smile. “You two need to start the journey a day early while I clear things up.”

“Journey?” Travis asked.

“It was going to be a surprise.” In an animated motion, GG motioned her arm from the stern to the bow. “
Her Grace
is a narrowboat. I planned for us to sightsee London on the River Thames, before backtracking to Stratford-upon-Avon on the Oxford Canal. Rachael, leave the line on the dock, she’s still secure. You two come with me.”

Down a few stairs, she flicked on a light inside the cabin. “There are maps in the compartment on the rail next to the tiller. The fridge is full.”

She put the key in the engine. “Have you ever driven a boat?”

Travis said, “No.”

“Kind of,” I said, thinking of the handful of times I’d been on my roommate’s Bayliner on the Trent River in New Bern, North Carolina.

“There are petrol stations for boats along the river, as well as pubs for meals. It’s not complicated. You’re going to follow the Thames the entire route to London. It’s a pleasant journey.”

“Which side of the river do you steer on and what about your safety?” I asked.

“I’ve got Callahan and my connections, and it’s the right side. Boating lanes are universal. Smaller vessels have the right of way, paddleboats before sailboats, sailboats before motorboats. To be safe, avoid large vessels. They can’t turn on a dime.”

“This is crazy,” Travis said. “Why do we have to leave? At this hour?”

Near the hotel, bright lights illuminated the grassy patch where we’d been watching the film. GG removed a wad of English bills from her pocket and handed them to me. “I know it may be hard to believe that a sweet, older woman like me could have diddled a client or two, but in my ambitious youth I moved in circles where art and people that seek it could be dodgy.”

Travis and I stared at my grandmother.

“I’ve pissed some people off in my day. Until I sort through things, I want you both out of sight.”

“Shouldn’t we stay here and help?” I asked.

“Our luggage is in the hotel,” Travis said.

Opening cabinets and poking in cubbies along the galley-like interior, GG nodded approvingly. “There are sweatshirts and jackets in the closet, the kitchen staples are stocked. If you don’t find what you need, you can buy necessities en route.”

Travis wagged his hand and announced, “I’m a shore fisherman, not a boater.”

“There’s fishing gear somewhere on board. You two will have a fine time.”

“This is a bit abrupt,” I said.

“Think of it as an excursion.” Looking over her shoulder, she said, “There’s one more thing you should know about. Locks.”

“Locks?” I asked.

“Not the front door kind, adjusting the water level kind. There are dozens of them from here to Stratford. During the day there are keepers, but on evenings, one of you will have to get out to secure the boat and work the gate to let the water in or out.”

“You’re joking?” Travis said.

“With a little practice you’ll be pros. Travis, be a dear. Pull in the port line.”

“Port?”

She pointed. “That rope on the left side, love.”

Travis’s hands swept though his hair. “I’m not pulling anything,” he protested.

“Young man, if you choose to be stubborn, you may endanger yourself and Rachael. I know this is spur-of-the-moment, but I need for you both to disappear. It will be much easier for me to quiet this brouhaha without worrying about your safety.”

Travis threw his arms up. His voice trailed, “We’re not experienced boaters.”

I wondered if he was going to abandon me, but relaxed when he began curling the rope on the deck.

Why would anyone come after Edmond? He couldn’t possibly be involved in anything. The biggest sin he’s ever made was planting his tomatoes too early.

GG went down below and turned the key. “Keep the headlights off until you pass the bend ahead.” Water began churning beneath us. “Power here, neutral here, reverse here. Try not to hit anything head on. When you need to rest, dock at marinas.” Pointing to a wood paneled cubby, she said, “They’re marked on the map.” GG gave me a squeeze. “I’ll see you both in five days.”

We trailed her footsteps to the deck. “Where? How will we find you?”

Hopping off and onto the dock, she said, “Edmond and I will meet you at the Shakespeare Theatre.” She reached in her pocket and fanned tickets. Handing me two, she said, “See you at
Twelfth Night
.” Then with her foot, she gave the front of the boat a solid shove.

NOTE TO SELF

It’s official; my grandmother put the C in Crazy. No wonder she drives my dad insane. I now have a better understanding of his uber-conservatism—rebellion.

L
ocks
a
nd
W
eirs

A
chill rose from the black pools of water that rippled along the side of the boat. It only took a few minutes to lose sight of Oakley Court. I’d been tempted to idle near the opposite shore and watch the chaos of the disgruntled
Rocky Horror Picture Show
crowd, but I was glad we didn’t dawdle. Even as we rounded a bend, two torch beams from the hotel property were already sweeping the opposite shore.

“This is not right,” Travis said.

In the quiet, the motor puttered along and I sympathized with his summation of the situation. Thankfully, the cabin was low and didn’t block my sight when I steered from the back. The vessel stretched out as long as a station wagon and to be honest, it intimidated me. “Do you want to drive?” I asked from the rear cockpit.

He sniped a curt, “No.”

Hugging the shore just far enough not to run aground, I cruised along shadows that guided me just out of reach of the brambles and branches from the berm’s shoulder. “Warn me if I’m going to hit something.”

There was no answer. I knew that game well enough not to push, but as the silent treatment ticked from minutes to a half an hour, I became peeved. It wasn’t like I’d planned this surprise excursion.

Both shorelines were visible under the starry sky. I concentrated on the right side, mostly undeveloped and sparsely dotted with docks, outlines of homes, and a couple of closed restaurants with outdoor seating.

“What the hell are we doing?” he mumbled from the cabin below.

My emotional bucket had been drained. Travis wasn’t the only one in freak-out mode. My teeth chattered and I wasn’t happy that I’d been assigned captain. “Boating on the River Thames.”

Low beam headlights reflected the bleakness we were gliding through. Motoring the craft at a crawl, I tried to get a feel for night navigation. Luckily I didn’t have to deal with traffic since we were the only numbnuts cruising the river.

Travis moved to the steps below me and sat. Tucking his knees under his arms he began to laugh. It was contagious.

“What’s so funny?”

His arms fanned wide. “This.”

“Driving a barge on the Thames?” I giggled.

His eyes closed as his chuckle gained conviction. “Your family has a funny idea of a summer vacation.”

“I know, right?”

I’d told him, more than once, that ever since my mother left my father for her psychic-tryst, my family had gone certifiably bonkers. He’d mostly shrugged my assertions off, figuring I was venting smoke about the split of my parents, but now he had first-hand experience.

“What kind of grandmother hands her granddaughter keys to a boat, in the middle of a midnight raid, and says, ‘Try not to hit anything. See you in five days?’”

Our laughter subsided. A cold mist trapped foggy air pockets that settled onto the water. One long day had rolled into the next. Inside my throbbing head, my throat constricted, and I blinked back tears that threatened to break my fragile mental state.

Travis’s chortle lost its momentum. Tipping onto his back, he covered his face with his palms. From beneath his hands, he said, “Rachael, your grandmother is mixed up in something.”

I gagged on an oversized reality pill. “Maybe.”

“The probability is more than a maybe. She said she needs to sort through
things
.”

Oxygen shuddered inside my chest and my nose began to leak. “Whatever her dealings are, I’m not involved.”

He sat up. “But you are. And now so am I.”

My fingers fell on the eye of Horus trinket I wore around my neck. Deep down, I knew this mess was about the oyster. If I dug through the gobbledygook in my emotional warehouse, yeah, I’d admit I’d been afraid of opening a can of worms. We’ve all done things we shouldn’t have—drunk too much, had a misjudged romantic encounter, said things we shouldn’t. Hell, I did that stuff all the time and maybe mistakes didn’t stop when you passed fifty or sixty. Maybe GG still had her own share of goings-on. She lived a hidden life of sorts and I was fine with that. Somehow through her career she’d come into money and owned a lot of expensive stuff. And if some of her dealings weren’t on the up and up, I didn’t want to know about them. But now, Edmond was in trouble, and probably GG, too. Keeping the message inside the brooch a secret somehow complicated my life, and now I was up to my eyeballs in murky waters.