Town in a Wild Moose Chase (8 page)

Candy looked around, intrigued. “Is he here? I’d like to talk to him.”

Together they scanned the crowd. After a moment Felicia nodded toward another group. “I don’t see Victor, but have you talked to Liam yet? He’s the other alpha dog out here. More than likely you can expect to see at least one blowup between him and Victor this weekend.”

Candy’s gaze shifted to Liam Yates, the tall, blond Vermonter, who was presently talking to Oliver LaForce, the owner of the Lightkeeper’s Inn. Also with them was the inn’s new executive chef, Colin Trevor Jones, a young, up-and-coming French Canadian from New Brunswick, east of Maine. With his black wavy hair, finely etched features, and quick, bright smile, Colin had set more than one heart aflutter since he’d landed in town last fall. But he’d proven to be a little clumsy around women, and somewhat tongue-tied when out in a crowd. In the kitchen, however, he was a whiz. He’d already developed a reputation around town for his “classic maritime” cuisine, highlighted by such dishes as crab crepes, lobster bisque, fish chowder, mushroom and beet salad, and French Canadian pork pie. Word was that he’d roughly doubled traffic in the inn’s restaurant over the holiday season, and his daily and weekend specials were a constant draw for villagers and out-of-towners alike.

Despite Colin’s shyness, Oliver LaForce was not hesitant about promoting his newly acquired and buzz-worthy chef, especially when he realized he could exploit Colin’s hidden talent—ice carving. Growing up on hockey rinks in New Brunswick, Colin had taken easily to the icy art, starting in his midtwenties. Now, just a few years later, he was beginning to establish a name for himself. Oliver had taken advantage of the fact, inserting himself and his chef into the event’s program.

Candy turned her attention back to Liam. He had a confident attitude, bordering on cocky, Candy decided after watching him for a few moments. She didn’t even have to hear what he was saying—she could imagine his words in her head. She’d run into enough men like him—and a few women—when she’d worked in marketing down in Boston a lifetime ago. She’d been happy enough to leave that life behind, but echoes of it continually returned to her, even in this quiet seaside village.

“I haven’t talked to him yet,” Candy said, fixing her gaze on him, “but he’s on my interview list.”

“Just make sure you don’t buy into his bullcrap,” Felicia said, an edge of anger creeping into her voice. “He tends to lay it on pretty thick. And he’s completely untrustworthy. Don’t believe a thing he says.” Abruptly she caught herself, as if she’d gone too far, and clamped her mouth shut. She scanned the crowd, searching for a way to change the subject. “I don’t see Victor anywhere, but he must be around. Until he shows up, you should talk to Gina.”

She turned back to Candy. “In fact, I’ll tell you what. If you introduce me to your hunky friend Ben, I’ll introduce you to Gina and Victor.”

At that proposal, Candy could only laugh. She gave Felicia a quick wave. “I think I’ll take a rain check, but thanks for the information.”

She started off as casually as possible, vowing to keep a sharp eye on Felicia. But for now she had another goal in mind, and someone else she needed to talk to. She had to be discreet about it, though. Her goal was to head toward a stand of trees gathered near the center of the park, but first, as nonchalantly as possible, she circled around to the other side of the work area, where blocks of ice were still being manhandled and placed. As she walked, she thought about Felicia’s comments. The dark-haired woman’s attraction to Ben was obvious, but Candy was uncertain of how much it bothered her.

She supposed her relationship with Ben was, well, a little strange to most people. Generally, any single woman her age would probably work quickly to tie up an eligible bachelor like Ben. But Candy had never been much in a rush to do that, and she wasn’t quite sure why. Just something inside of her, some sort of intuition, told her the timing wasn’t right. Ben seemed to sense it too, which resulted in a certain comfort level between the two of them.

Or maybe they’d both become too complacent about the casual nature of their relationship. Ben had been changing lately—more involved, yet more reclusive in some ways, but nothing she considered out of the norm. Just typical for a Caper.

What a strange little group of people we are
, Candy thought happily.
I hope we never change.

When she felt an appropriate amount of time had passed, and she was sure no one was watching, she slipped off to her right, away from all the activity, and into the denser stand of trees.

Judicious F. P. Bosworth was waiting for her.

Half-hidden behind a tree, Judicious watched her approach with a tense expression on his face. He usually displayed a somber demeanor, though at times his mood lightened, especially on sunny afternoons in the summer. But today he looked all business. His mouth was a tight line, and his eyes were shadowed, with glints of reflected light peeking out.

He was dressed in a black woolen peacoat, long gray scarf, and a black-billed cap with earmuffs, pulled all the way down to his dark eyebrows, so it hid his unruly mop of black hair. As she drew near and came to a stop close by, he glanced warily about, as if he were about to come under attack, his bright blue eyes flicking from side to side before alighting on her again. “There’re a lot of people out today,” he said, settling deeper into his winter coat. “Colder weather’s coming in.”

“So I’ve heard. I haven’t seen you around much lately, Judicious. Has everything been going okay?”

“There’s a lot been going on,” he said, “so I thought you should know.”

“What?” Candy felt her sense of dread returning. “Does it have anything to do with Solomon?”

“Maybe. That’s the thing—I don’t know for sure. It’s just a feeling I have.”

Candy shivered. It always meant trouble when Judicious had a feeling. As a young man he had taken a mystical journey to Tibet, where he’d spent the better part of two decades sitting on a mountaintop, exploring the mysteries of the universe. Now he was back in Cape Willington, where he lived by himself in a small log cabin on a forested patch of land at the edge of town.

Several of her previous encounters with Judicious had come at opportune times, when she’d been deep in the middle of mysteries. His sudden appearance here, now, out in public, seemingly with a message for her, made her feel even more strongly that something was up. “Have you heard from Solomon? Is he okay?”

“I can’t say for sure.”

“Do you know where he is?”

Judicious looked back over his shoulder, to the west. “He’s somewhere in the woods.”

“Yes, but
where
?”

He pondered the question, his eyes distant, watching. “I don’t know for sure. I have a feeling he’ll contact you when he’s ready.”

Conversations with Judicious were always a little odd, but for the most part she’d become used to them. Still, she wished he were a little less cryptic and a little more forthcoming. “Judicious, is there anything specific you can tell me about Solomon? Is he injured? Is there something I can tell the police to help them find him?”

Judicious was silent for a long time as he watched the activities in the park. He seemed fascinated by everything around them. “The police won’t find Solomon unless he wants
them to,” he said finally. “Right now, it seems he doesn’t want to be found. And that’s a significant point, isn’t it?”

Candy felt another chill go through her as she focused her gaze on him. “What are you saying?”

Judicious answered her question with a question. “Why does Solomon feel the need to hide?”

“I don’t know. Why?”

A trace of a smile crossed Judicious’s face. “Think about it. Why did he come running out of your woods?”

She saw what Judicious was getting at. The obvious answer quickly came to her. “Because he was afraid of something.”

“Yes, but what?”

“The body,” she said at once. But she sensed there was something more. Solomon had acted scared, as if something had spooked him. But what could it have been? What had happened in those woods?

Candy lowered her voice as she leaned a little closer to Judicious. “What do you think is going on?”

He shook his head. “As I said, I don’t know for sure. But I have a feeling the answers are all around us. You just have to find them. You’re a detective, Candy. You’ve proved that before. You’ll know where to look, if you think about it.” He pointed with his head over his shoulder, in the direction of Blueberry Acres.

Candy knew exactly what he meant. “The woods.”

His gaze shifted to her briefly, then back toward the crowd surrounding the ice sculptures. “There’s something else you should know. It’s not just me. The sisters feel the same way. They’ll tell you all about it. Listen carefully when you talk to them.”

“The sisters? Talk to who?” She felt her frustration rising. “Judicious, isn’t there anything else you can tell me? Something that would help me figure out what’s happening?”

At that, he gave her a melancholy smile. “I can’t walk the path for you. You have to discover the answers for yourself.
But you’ll be fine. Trust your instincts. Yours are very strong, if you haven’t noticed.”

He did something with his left eye that might have been a wink; it went by so fast Candy couldn’t be certain. She heard a shout behind her and turned back toward the crowd. The workers were gathered around one of the ice mountains—the one that would soon become a dragon—and were cheering about something. After watching them for a few moments, she realized what was happening. They’d put the last block into place. The forklifts were powering down. A mini celebration swept through the crowd.

Wanda Boyle was at the center of the scene, snapping photos with a small digital camera, like a seasoned pro.

She’s right where I should be
, Candy thought as a strange feeling swept through her. She realized that Wanda was moving in on her territory, and that her place in town was in danger of being usurped.

She knew she should probably be upset about that, but instead she just shook her head and sighed.
You have to give the woman some credit
, Candy thought with grudging admiration.

“I’ve got to get back over there,” she said as she turned back toward Justice. But he was gone—as she should have expected.

She scanned the park and thought she saw his black peacoat disappearing between the trees. A moment later any remaining sign of him was blocked by a group of oncoming tourists excited about the events going on in the park.

Judicious had said his piece and made an inconspicuous exit—again.

And once again, he’d left her with more questions than answers. She put her hands on her hips and let out a breath. “Okay, so… can anybody tell me what that was all about?” she said to no one in particular.

Strangely enough, she received a reply. “Talking to yourself again?”

Candy twisted around. Maggie had come up behind her.

“Oh, hi, Mags. No, not really. There was someone here a few moments ago—though not right then, when I said that last sentence. I suppose I was alone then, wasn’t I? So yes, the answer to your question is yes, I
was
talking to myself. But not the whole time.” She paused and made a face. “I don’t suppose that makes any sense, does it?”

Maggie tilted her head. “You know, strangely enough, in a Candy Holliday sort of way, it does. If you were anyone else, I’d recommend a really good psychiatrist. I’d even call and make an appointment for you. But given what’s happened around here the past few years, I’ve learned to avoid snap judgments. So I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.”

Candy drew her head back. “Wow, good answer. But I’m not sure if I should be impressed or depressed.” In a lowered voice, she added, “Do I really sound that crazy?”

Maggie laughed. “Maybe just a little, but around here I don’t think anyone will notice. So what’s up?”

Candy shook her head. “You know, I’m not really sure. But it looks like we’ve got another mystery on our hands. And that’s what’s got me worried.”

Maggie gave her a sympathetic smile and pointed with her eyes to the inn off to their right. “How about a glass of wine, and we can talk it over?”

Candy clapped a hand on her friend’s shoulder and looked around for Ben. “You’ve been reading my mind.”