Page 8

Chapter Eight

I located Alan at the computer in our sunroom, also known as our SAJ Detective Agency office, with Sophie snoozing at his feet. Both of them noticed me standing in the doorway, though neither gave me more than a momentary glance.

“Making it an early day?” Alan asked.

“No, I forgot to bring Lydia’s gift with me. I came home for it, but it’s not too busy there, so I’ll go back later.”

He nodded distractedly. “Pull up a chair and take a look at this.”

I peered over his shoulder. “Do we have a new case?”

“I’m not sure.” He leaned back in the desk chair and ran his fingers through his gray hair. “What do you think?”

I slid an ottoman to sit next to him, urging Sophie to move. The computer screen showed Alan’s Google search for Clare Dolan, which had six thousand hits with photographs. None of them resembled the woman we met at the O’Hare airport .

“What am I looking for?” I questioned. My eyes darted from photo to photo.

He clicked on another search tab for Elizabeth Sterling. This time, there were forty thousand hits. “I’m just showing you why I can’t do a background search on Clare Dolan. I don’t know which one to use. It’ll be worse trying to find anything on her sister since there are so many women with that name.”

“Let’s just leave it be,” I said. “I don’t want to get involved.”

“Too late for that,” Alan replied. “Clare Dolan would like to hire us to find her sister.”

I sputtered, “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Unfortunately, I’m not. Sorry.”

Alan’s expression wasn’t terribly apologetic, and I groaned. “Did you offer?”

“No, she wanted my cell phone number in case she had an emergency and, without thinking, I gave her our business card. That led to her asking about the agency.”

“Of course,” I quipped. “How does she plan to pay us if she’s a nun?”

“We didn’t get into that. I told her that I had to discuss any acceptance of a case with you. Frankly, Sue, I don’t know if there really is one, but I’d like to help her.”

“How would Mark feel about us taking on something in his jurisdiction?”

“I called him. He doesn’t believe we have a missing person, but he doesn’t mind if we want to investigate. He’ll get involved if we need him.”

I stared at the landscape painting hanging on the far wall as I mulled. We wouldn’t have much income for the month since profits from the garden shop were tied up with expenses for the Harvest Gala, and we’d spent a lot of money for our trip to Japan. I supposed searching for Liz could bridge our financial gap.

“If you think it’s worth offering our services,” I said, “I’ll agree to take the case. However, she’ll need to assure us that she can pay our rate and provide a retainer. Deal?”

“That sounds reasonable, and it’s what I’d recommend. Are you available to meet with her this evening?”

I groaned. “So soon? We just got rid of her.”

Alan chuckled as he nodded. “I’ll prepare the contract and set up an appointment for 7 p.m.”

“Okay, but I’d rather go there so we can leave whenever we want.”

“That works for me,” Alan agreed.

I pushed the ottoman back to its place. “I noticed that you and Clare stopped at neighbors’ homes after crossing the street. Has anyone seen Liz?”

“No one knew her,” he replied.

“Honest? That’s really strange.”

Alan laughed and I could see that we didn’t differ much in our assessment of the situation. “We’ll put your ability to solve mysteries to the test on this one, although I have no doubt you’ll come up with a credible resolution.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” I murmured.

^^^

Alan and I drove to a fast-food eatery near the interstate for lunch, and we sat in the car munching on our burgers while we discussed the rest of our plans for the day. Initially, we considered going to the Black Horse Pub for supper, but didn’t want to rush home in time for our appointment with Clare Dolan.

“Let’s stop at the grocery store,” I said. “If you don’t mind grilling, we could have barbecued chicken tonight, and I’ll do a big shopping tomorrow.”

“That works for me, though I also want to go to the county courthouse and find out what I can about 147 Church Street from real estate documents.”

“Good idea,” I agreed. “See if you can find an obituary for Edward Sterling. If anything, it could give us some background information about his family.”

I liked that we could talk about our mundane activities and an investigation, seemingly in the same breath. It didn’t work that way when Alan served as the Aspen Notch police chief. He’d have a case that interested me, but he couldn’t divulge particulars. I’d want to solve the mystery, but couldn’t reveal my sleuthing.

Working together had cemented our relationship, which I appreciated. Adjusting to each other in a second marriage took a great deal of patience and accommodation, especially when each of us preferred our own way of doing things. It wasn’t easy.

I collected our trash and Alan started the car. “Ready?”

We laughed about both asking the question at the same time, an occurrence we noticed more often. He pulled close to the bin and I tossed the crumpled bags.

We stayed together at the grocery store and picked out the items we’d previously mentioned, except for the chicken. Alan found two strip steaks on sale that would take less of his attention than basting chicken, and that was fine with me. It didn’t surprise me that he also threw a carton of ice cream and a package of his favorite cookies into the basket.

He dropped me off at the house before continuing on to the court house, and I carried in our three bags. I let Sophie romp in the yard while I put away the groceries and sifted through my suitcase for Lydia’s present from Japan.

I’d told Suki about my assistants when we went shopping in Tokyo and she suggested that I buy Juzu beads for Lydia since they have great spiritual significance. They came in a small gift box, which I placed in my jean pocket to carry to the garden shop.

For the garden club girls, I purchased decorative fans which Suki called sensu . They came in long, narrow gift boxes and I put one in my other pocket in case Kareen had come to help Lydia.

Sophie balked when I called her to come inside, though the treat I offered eventually convinced her. At close to three o’clock, I told her to take a rest and Alan would soon be home, then headed over to Butterflies and Blooms .

Lydia finished ringing up a purchase and smiled. “Perfect timing. Do you mind showing Mrs. French our bird feeders while I go with Mrs. Shaw to the greenhouse?”

“Not at all,” I said, realizing that I’d missed my little shop.

During our busy time, I looked up to see Kareen helping an older lady carry plants to her car. Thank heavens, I’d thought to bring her gift with me.

Eventually, she sidled up to me and whispered, “Welcome home. Did you have a nice trip?”

“Better than you can imagine. I’ll tell you about it later.”

At five o’clock, Lydia locked the front door, turned off the lights, and sighed her relief. “Whew! That was another busy day!”

“I don’t know what I’d do without the two of you,” I said with great fervor, handing each of them my gift.

“What’s this?” Kareen asked.

“Something from Japan. Open it!”

She smiled to see the fan’s intricate design and beautiful silk-screened cherry blossoms. Fanning herself, she thanked me.

“It’s called a sensu ,” I explained.

She repeated the word, then said, “You shouldn’t have, but I appreciate your kindness.”

We watched as Lydia pulled the lid off her box and smiled when she exclaimed, “ Juzu beads! How wonderful!”

Kareen looked more closely. “What are they for?”

“They’re used for prayer,” Lydia said, “but symbolically they ward off evil spirits. Thank you so much!”

I showed them pictures on my phone of my son’s wedding and told them some of the highlights of our trip to Japan before we bid each other good night. Seeing their delight with what I’d brought them made me really happy because I honestly tried to find mementos that fit their personalities.

As we exited the side door after our closing procedures, I said that I’d probably need both of them during our busy time for the next few weeks. “I’ll plan to work with you since we have to get ready for the Harvest Gala, but Alan and I might also be involved with an investigation.”

Kareen immediately responded, “Are you going to help the poor woman who can’t find her sister?”

Lydia interjected, “I saw her and Alan crossing the street to your house this morning. Did you know the lady?”

“Never met her,” Kareen replied .

Alan and I hadn’t yet signed a contract for a case; however, I hesitated to talk about it. It didn’t matter, though, since they continued chatting as they crossed Church Street together.

Some things were better not discussed publicly, I thought as I collected our mail. Aromas of grilling steaks wafted in the air, so I gave a final wave and went inside to greet Alan and Sophie.