Upstate Uproar (20 page)

Nicole started over. “I haven’t seen it, but
lots of people swear it’s true. Not far from here, a young couple,
still in their wedding garb, left the reception and headed toward
Canada on their honeymoon. They never made it. Their car went out
of control and plunged into a creek. Both the bride and groom died
instantly.

“People say they’ve seen the husband walking
the road at night, searching for his bride, calling out to her.
Others have seen the bride wandering the road alone, still wearing
her bloody, torn wedding dress. People say she jumps out at cars,
trying to make them crash. A few reported that they’ve glanced in
their rearview mirror and found her crying bloody tears in the back
seat, but when they turned around, she had vanished.”

Vivian shivered. “I don’t know if I want to
be driving around here at night anymore!”

Tracy walked in with a tray loaded with
sandwiches and drinks. “You should be careful driving at night out
here. If it’s not ghosts, its deer, raccoons or the occasional
bear.” She set the tray down and then headed for the back door.
“Enjoy.”

“Thanks,” Wendy said as the door swung
closed. “Lots of strange and creepy stuff.”

“No kidding,” Vivian said and picked up her
cup of tea. “And speaking of strange and creepy, what do y’all make
of Brandon, Rebecca and the money?”

Nicole looked at Vivian with questions in her
eyes, so the girls quietly filled her in on what they’d found in
the crawl space.

“Wow, I knew he was loaded, but I didn’t
realize to what extent,” Nicole said and then took a sip of hot
tea. “Any idea what tea this is? It’s different.” She reached for
the sugar and dumped some in.

“No idea,” Vivian said, “but I like it okay.
I use Sweet ’N Low.”

Kate swallowed a bite of cookie. “Back to the
money. It’s certainly incentive to kill her, but their sex life
looked exciting so it makes me think he’d want to keep her
around.”

“Maybe he got too rough, or just flat out
abused her and accidentally killed her?” Wendy suggested. “He seems
like a rough guy, and he bullies Tracy.”

“He’s definitely short-tempered,” Vivian
said, “but how did he accidentally kill her in the woods? What were
they doing out there, getting
au naturel
in nature, or did
he kill her here and haul her out there to bury her? How did no one
see him? I’m not sure I buy the accidental death theory.”

“Confirmation of Rebecca’s death does make me
question Mary Beth’s drowning,” Wendy said.

“And you can bet the cops have been
questioning the same thing,” Kate added.

“I’ll see if I can find out anything from the
sheriff deputies,” Nicole said, then took another sip of tea. She
made a face. “This takes some getting used to, kinda like Swiss
chard or Brussel sprouts. It’s an acquired taste.”

The girls laughed, and then Kate told her
about the message she’d received in her dream the night before.
Nicole wrote it down. “No doubt she’s talking about the murders. Do
you have dreams like this all the time?”

“Nowadays, only when I’m on vacation.”

Nicole closed her notepad. “Maybe the senior
moment she’s talking about is my grandfather? I’ll see what I can
come up with.”

They talked about lighter subjects while
finishing lunch, then Nicole started gathering her files. “I know
you girls have a hot date with a hot fireman, and I’ve got a story
to write on Ms. Pumpkin Patch getting arrested for drunk and
disorderly last night.”

“Uh oh, somebody might lose her prized
carving knife.” Vivian laughed.

“And the kicker, she was with ‘Captain
Carver’ himself, one of the judges!”

Everyone got a big kick out of that.

“I’m going.” Nicole closed the chrome
briefcase and the girls walked her to the front door. “Have fun
with your hose dragger.” Nicole winked at Vivian as she stepped
onto the porch.

Kate closed the door, then looked at her
watch. “Larson will be here any minute. I want to pack a small bag.
I’ll meet you two out back in a few.”

Wendy, a.k.a. the walking pharmacy, also
wanted to take a few things, so she and Kate ran upstairs. Vivian
rocked on the back porch, enjoying the crisp air. The smell of
smoke blew her way, and it had her craving roasted marshmallows.
She noticed Brandon and Tracy on the far side of one of the leaf
piles in deep conversation. He clenched a fist before storming off
toward the garage. Tracy stood still, staring after him.

Hmmm, wonder what that’s about?

Kate and Wendy walked out of the house just
as Larson cruised up to the dock in a white, older Bayliner deck
boat.

“He’s here!” Vivian yelled and hopped off the
porch. She jogged down to the dock, trying to look sexy, skinny and
athletic all rolled into one.
Don’t be out of breath! Don’t be
out of breath!

He waved and skillfully pulled alongside the
dock.

Vivian pointed at the name of his boat, the
Aqua Holic. “Nice,” she said.

He smiled at her. “Hey, sexy, grab this line,
will you?” He tossed her a thick, white rope.

I guess my jog was successful!

L
arson hopped off the
boat, grabbed the line from Vivian and tied off. His brown hair was
windblown but he looked warm in jeans and a brown flannel shirt.
“Hi, ladies, everyone looks ravishing today.” He gave Vivian a hug,
letting his hands linger at her waist. Then he took a step back.
“You ready for some fun?”

“Mmm hmm,” she said. “So you better deliver.”
She played with the button on his shirt.

He leaned down to her ear, nuzzling her neck
a little. “Oh, I will.”

Goosebumps broke out over her whole body.

He broke away and shook hands with Wendy,
then Kate. “Do we need to get or do anything special for you,
little Mama? I want to make sure you’re taken care of.”

Kate smiled and patted a bag she had packed.
“Got everything I need right here.” She took one more step and
stumbled a bit. Vivian grabbed her arm and steadied her.

Kate looked down at the dock. “There’s an
uneven board here. Y’all watch out.”

Larson took Kate’s bag, helped them aboard
and got them situated. He opened a hatch along the port side. “I
doubt we’ll need them, but lifejackets are in here. Anybody want
one? Safety first!”

They all shook their heads no.

He pointed to a cooler in the bow. “I’ve got
beer, a few sodas and bottles of water, along with grapes, sliced
cheese and strawberries.” He looked starboard to Wendy. “Crackers
are in the compartment underneath you. And then I’ve got a surprise
for later when we stop for our picnic.”

“Wow,” Vivian said as she sat down in the
captain chair opposite him. “Fancy-shmancy. Were you a Boy Scout?
Or a chef in another life?”

He grinned and fired up the engine as Brandon
walked out of the garage toward the dock. “Hey, Larson! Where you
taking these girls? Not party cove, I trust.”

“I thought I’d cruise up to Moose Island,”
Larson shouted over the engine. “Show ’em the hot spots.”

Brandon gave the man nod. “Gotcha. Take good
care of my guests. Have fun!” He turned and headed back toward the
garage, not bothering to look at Tracy as he walked by her.

Larson untied the line and pushed off the
dock, then put the Bayliner in reverse and slowly headed to the
center of the lake. The yellow, orange and red of the trees
reflected in the ripples of the water. Vivian wanted to reach over
the side and touch it but instead got herself and Wendy a beer; she
handed Kate and Larson bottles of water.

Larson set his in a cup holder beside the
wheel. “Too bad it’s not bikini weather. I’d take you three to
Pulpit Rock. That, or we could at least ski or tube.”

“What’s that?” Wendy asked.

“Where we all go to cool off in the summer.
Jump off the cliff, swim around.”

“No cliff jumping for me these days,” Kate
said. “Not even in my younger days, but being hauled around the
lake in a tube, that’d be fun.”

“It’s just nice to be out here,” Vivian said
and gave him her best smile, “with you.” She was feeling
flirtatious and a little naughty. He was adorable, single and lived
far enough away, not to mention a
fireman
. How could this
get any better?

“What’s on Moose Island?” Wendy asked, then
took a sip of her Moose Island Ale. “This is pretty good.”

“In addition to being one of my favorite
beers, it’s an undeveloped island in the middle of the lake,”
Larson said. “There are two others, Buck and Hawk, but Moose is the
largest and has a great camping spot where we can build a fire and
cook an early dinner.”

“I love a man who can cook,” Vivian said.

Larson smiled and pushed the throttle down.
He cruised around awhile, finally noticing the girls had all put on
jackets. Wendy had brought Vivian’s.

“Sorry about that,” he said. “You’re all
probably used to 110-degree weather. I love the cold and the wind
and forget other people don’t.”

“The cold? Really?” Vivian took a sip of her
beer, set the bottle in a cup holder and stuck her hands in her
pockets. “I would have thought you like the heat, being a fireman
and all.”

“I love the snow. I’m big into all the winter
sports around here, but don’t get me wrong, I love the heat.” He
winked at her. “But I worked this fire one time.” His gaze drifted
across the lake and he paused. “It was so intensely hot that I’m
surprised my insides didn’t boil.”

“What happened?” Kate asked.

Larson pointed to his left. “That’s Buck
Island, quite a few nice homes on it.” He rubbed his chin. “We got
called to a fire in a two-story, wood-framed house that the
homeowner tried to extinguish himself instead of calling 911 right
away. By the time it got called in and we got there, the house was
gone. We saved his cat, but even Sparky had burns on a couple of
paws and singed fur. We had to give him oxygen.” Larson shook his
head and sighed as he steered left, going around the northern edge
of the island.

The water was choppier and Vivian grasped the
side of the boat to hold on. “I take it the guy didn’t get out
since you named his cat.”

Larson looked over at her as she bounced
along, grinned, then slowed a bit. “Shelter Straight is always
rougher than the rest of the lake. Doesn’t take long to navigate,
though.” He pushed the throttle down and got back to his story.
“The homeowner, Derrick, was a single guy, a handyman, worked on
everything from cars and tractors to kitchen sinks and houses. And
he was a smoker.”

“I feel a public service announcement coming
on,” Kate said and grinned.

“He’d done a few things for my parents over
the years, and I even worked for him for a few months one summer as
a teenager. I swear, he had every tool known to man. I had been in
his basement a couple of times, and in addition to a ton of tools,
I knew he had piles of wood, stacks of Sheetrock, paint cans, gas
cans, car parts. He was down there, probably working on something,
and a spark from his cigarette landed on a gas can. He was a
four-pack-a-day smoker, and he drank a lot, too. Great guy if you
could stand the smell of cigarettes, but he wasn’t the sharpest
knife in the drawer.”

The boat bounced on a bigger wave, making
Kate yelp. Larson slowed again, the current creating gentle rocks
instead of the pounding slap just moments before. He looked back at
her. “Sorry. You okay?”

She repositioned herself and gave him a
thumbs up. “Just no more mega-bumps.”

“So what became of Derrick?” Wendy asked as
she redid her windblown ponytail.

“Instead of getting out of the basement, he
pulled his garden hose inside and tried to fight it himself. There
was so much crap down there to feed the fire, he never had a
chance. The carbon monoxide got to him, and he passed out before he
knew what hit him. Stupid mistake. The smoke always kills before
the fire.”

They rounded the southern edge of Moose
Island and Vivian took in the scene across the lake. Geese were
flying south in a V formation, and they reflected on the surface of
the lake. Peaceful, except for the topic at hand. “How awful. He
sounded helpful to have around.”

Larson shook his head again. “He was, and he
could have made it if he’d just gotten out of the house. Trying to
fight a fire yourself is never a good idea. Call in the
experts.”

As they cruised up the right side of the
densely covered Moose Island, Wendy reached for a bottle of water,
then tried to hand one to Vivian, who waved it off and pointed to a
beer instead. Wendy got her another and then said, “When I was a
kid, the oven at our house caught on fire. Mom had left for work,
and my brother and I were cooking biscuits. All of a sudden we
smelled smoke. Simon was a quick thinker and grabbed the fire
extinguisher Dad had hung by the garage door years before. He put
the fire out, no problem, but the house stunk for days.”

“I didn’t know that. Way to go, little
brother!” Vivian clinked bottles with Wendy.

“He’s a pretty good brother. Saved the day
there, worked on the car, drove us home from parties in high
school.”

“I did not contribute to his corruption.”
Kate laughed as Larson steered to the right, around the northern
edge of Moose Island, and then pointed to a three-story log home.
“That is exactly what I think of architecturally when I think of
the Adirondacks.”

“It’s beautiful. We need to rent one of those
next time,” Vivian said, taking it in. “That way we can stay away
from may-be-murderers.”

Larson waved to a man sitting in an
Adirondack chair on a balcony. “I see you’ve heard about Lake
Placid’s biggest mystery.”

“Uhm, hello, we lived it, remember? I TOUCHED
it, for goodness sake.”

Larson grinned. “I know, but I’m glad. I
might not have met you otherwise.”