Stella, Get Your Man

I left with a clear idea of where I was heading, but the sinking feeling that finding Mia Lange’s brother would be no easy task.

My cell phone rang as I started the car.

“You buy bait?” Jake asked without preamble.

“No,” I answered. “Did you really think anyplace would be open this time of year?”

Jake sighed. “There are no problems,” he said, “only solutions. That’s why I’m calling. I stopped a while back and took care of it.”

In the background I heard Nina yell, “I told him it could wait!”

“Well, you can buy all the bait you want, but you’re not fishing until we find our client’s brother.”

Jake snorted. “How hard can that be? A small beach town can’t have too many regulars.”

I rolled my eyes and visualized myself punting him like a football out into the surf off Surfside Isle.

“We’ll be there soon,” he said. “We’re just crossing the bridge. How’s the house?”

“I don’t know. I’m just pulling up in front of it now. You’ll see for yourself in about twenty minutes.”

I rolled slowly down Forty-eight Street and pulled into the driveway of a small, brown-shingled cottage. The street was desolate. A few houses, including the neighbor to the left of our house, had lights on, but that was it. No one moved in front of the windows, no one walked down the sidewalks, nothing passed under the few lonely street lamps.

“The neighbor on the right has the key,” he instructed.

“The neighbor on the left,” I said.

Jake sighed. “She said right.”

“Depends on how you look at it,” I snapped. “See you when you get here.” I closed the phone, cut the engine and got out of the car before he could call back.

“Do I look like I need supervision?” I asked the car. “I didn’t think so!”

I walked across the short frozen brown grass to the house next door, a large blue-shingled thing that looked more like a series of boxes than someone’s cozy beach cottage.

I started up the steps, saw a white envelope with Aunt Lucy’s name on it, and stopped. Inside was the key. I looked back up at the house for signs of life, saw none and shrugged.

“That was easy,” I muttered. “No muss, no fuss. Guess they didn’t want us waking them up.” I looked at my watch. It was barely after nine. “Old people,” I sighed.

I walked back to the Buick, grabbed my purse, my gun and my keys. I took a long look up and down the deserted street. The sound of the surf pounding the shore behind me and the scent of salt air couldn’t override the silent alarm that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention.

I whipped around and thought I saw the slats on the neighbor’s blinds drop quickly back into place. I stared hard at the darkened window but saw no further movement.

“You’re seeing things,” I muttered. “You’re like a kid scared of the dark. Get a freakin’ grip!”

I walked up the narrow concrete walkway to the house, climbed the steps to the glass-enclosed front porch and fit the key into the lock. I stopped, listening to the sounds of the vacant house before fumbling for the light switch. Nothing out of the ordinary, just the creaks and squeaks of a windblown beach cottage.

I flipped on the lights, stepped inside and locked the door behind me. I was standing in a cozy, beachside cottage that could’ve been furnished by my grandparents. Overstuffed recliner, blue tweed couch, braided rag rug and knotty-pine walls. Someone had hung café curtains with cheery, yellow rickrack in the kitchen, and a large rectangular table with mismatched vinyl-covered chairs took up the eat-in area.

“Homey,” I said out loud.

Still, I found myself reaching to pat the Glock tucked securely behind my back as I walked through the rest of the house. One bedroom and bath downstairs that would do for Aunt Lucy; no one would hear her snoring if she slept in the back of the house. But this left only two bedrooms upstairs; one with two double beds and one with a queen. Shit. How was that going to work? I couldn’t sleep with Aunt Lucy; no one could sleep with snoring that sounded like a jet engine roaring in their ears all night. Spike and Nina were virtually newlyweds, so that left their room out as an option. I was not sleeping in a bedroom with Jake Carpenter. No way.

Of course, the second I told myself I wouldn’t, all I could think about was, what if? My imagination went wild. I thought about it, pictured us starting out in two separate beds, then somehow, overcome with either revenge or lust, ending up in one bed, and then, well, I didn’t let myself go there, at least, not for long. Okay, so I thought about the two of us, horizontal and naked. Thought about it so hard and long that when I heard the front door open, I jumped up, grabbed the Glock, and might’ve shot somebody from sheer frustration.

“It’s freezing in here!” I heard Nina complain. “She didn’t turn on the heat yet?”

“Where are you?” Jake called.

I darted out of the bedroom.

“You guys made good time,” I called, sticking the gun back in my waistband.

Heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs. Jake materialized on the landing and gave me a lopsided grin. “You said time was of the essence, didn’t you?” He looked at me, maybe noting the flush on my cheeks, and said, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing. I just got here myself. I was just checking out the bedrooms—I mean, looking around, you know.”

Oh, he knew all right. I had the feeling he could look right past my face and into the most hidden recesses of my mind. What in the hell was wrong with me?

I started down the steps, intending to brush past him, but he stopped me, his hand firm on the crook of my arm.

“We need to talk,” he whispered. “Without the others. Later.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Is it about the—”

“What are you two doing?” Nina stood at the bottom of the steps watching, a knowing smirk playing across her features.

“Nothing!” I said. “I was just telling Jake about the house. It’s a relic.”

“Uh-huh,” Nina said. “I bet.”

I moved away from Jake, trotted down the steps and joined the others. Aunt Lucy was inspecting the kitchen cabinets, pulling each door open, studying the contents and sighing, clearly not pleased.

Lloyd followed her, sniffing at her heels, now and then looking up and around. If I didn’t miss my guess, he was feeling as wary as I had. Something about the small house just didn’t sit right. I couldn’t put my finger on it, and apparently Lloyd couldn’t either, but we both had that feeling.

Spike wandered out into the family room, coming from the direction of the downstairs bedroom, and stood staring up the stairway to the second floor.

“Couldn’t you just see this place as the setting for a slasher movie?” she asked quietly.

“Oh, my God!” Nina gasped. “That is totally not good for my serenity. I am so not going to sleep with that on my mind!” She stopped, dropped into a lotus position in the middle of the room, closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “Cleansing breaths,” she whispered to herself.

This fascinated Lloyd. He watched for a moment, and then wandered over to stand right in front of her.

“Umm…” Nina intoned solemnly.

Lloyd cocked his head to the side, his tongue lolling out as he began to smile. Obviously Nina was inviting him to play some new game.

“Umm…” she moaned again.