Page 21 of Death By Llama (Friendship Harbor Mysteries #7)

FOURTEEN

“I just don’t see why we had to leave,” my mother said, rooting around in her purse. “And so quickly. I hate trying to pack like that. I’m sure I forgot my antacids there.”

I stared at her from my seat across the table. “Mom, you’re only here for a long weekend. How much stuff could you need to repack? And I have Tums.”

“Tums won’t do it,” she said, sighing woefully before setting aside her purse. She picked up her fork and jabbed at her caesar salad.

I tried not to be offended that she was still lamenting the fact that she had to come stay at my house.

Of course, I understood she didn’t want to be there—my house was her childhood home, which she still had mixed feelings about.

But honestly, I was confused about why she thought of her childhood as such a terrible experience, especially now that her mother, my grandmother, was no longer considered a suspect in her father’s demise.

That had all been sorted out and the real culprit arrested after decades.

And in no small part due to me and my own investigation.

Her childhood, for the most part, seemed pretty idyllic to me. I never understood her need to completely distance herself after growing up with her parents’ carefree and hippie lifestyle.

I was starting to wonder if both my mother and my aunt had secretly been adopted.

“Lea, it makes sense that we don’t want to be the inn while they’re conducting a murder investigation,” my dad said, clearly growing irritated with her behavior. “Plus, it’s nice to get the chance to spend time with Sophie.” He gestured around us. “And to see her business.”

Mom glanced around the pub, her lips pressed in a thin line. “The place hasn’t changed much since I was a teenager.”

“I think it’s charming,” Dad said, meeting my gaze with a warm, encouraging smile. “Quaint and inviting. And it looks like you’re doing pretty well for yourself.”

I returned his smile, grateful for his unwavering support. “Well, business can always be better,” I admitted. “But summer’s our peak season. It keeps the place going. Have you ever been here before, Dad?”

Dad glanced sideways at Mom.

“No. Your mom never wanted to bring me here,” he answered evenly.

I frowned. I still couldn’t fully understand why Mom held such resistance toward this place. It was one thing to cling to the old suspicion that her mother could have been involved in her father’s death—but now that theory had been debunked, what was left for her to cling to?

I studied her silently, trying to push past my frustration. Maybe I wasn’t being empathetic enough. Maybe moving on from a belief system built over decades wasn’t so simple. Still, I wished that she could let go of old resentments and just enjoy the time here with me.

Our table fell silent even as the patrons around us chattered and the speakers played classic rock.

After a moment, my mother, in one of her rare moments of self-awareness, must have realized that both Dad and I were feeling a bit deflated, because she spoke in a more upbeat tone.

“It has been a nice visit, though. And I know I’ve been hard on you about Cameron, but he just seems like such a catch.

I just want to be sure you have someone here since you’re so far away from Dad and me. ”

I looked up from my fried clams. “I know you worry about me, Mom,” I said. “But I have a lot of friends here, and even if Cameron and I don’t work out, I still have a great support group.”

Her gaze held mine, and to my surprise, she just nodded. “You’ve always been able to make friends, Sophie. People know how genuine you are.”

I fought the urge to blink at her, stunned into silence.

Wow. Maybe the white wine my mother had been drinking, even though she had declared it tasted like floral vinegar, was going to her head or something.

Or maybe she understood me more than I realized and she just worried.

Maybe I should just appreciate the time we had together.

“Hey folks!” came over the speakers.

I closed my eyes for a moment, realizing I had completely forgotten about the change in schedule.

Trivia night had been shifted from our usual Wednesdays to Sundays for the summer in hopes of drawing a bigger crowd.

When I opened them again, I glanced at my parents, expecting their expressions to betray a desire to leave as quickly as possible.

To my surprise, both of them craned their necks to catch sight of the source of the announcement.

“Just let me know who is on your team and what your team name will be as I’ll be going around to pass out your answer forms,” the host continued. “And let’s have some fun!”

Dad turned to me, grinning. “You have trivia night?”

Of course, my dad would think this was exciting. I shifted my focus to my mom, expecting her to wear the same sour expression she’d been making every time she sipped her wine. But to my shock, she appeared pleased too.

“Your dad and I go to trivia night sometimes at the club with the Roosevelts,” she said.

The Roosevelts had been my parents’ neighbors for years. This news surprised me more than I let on, although trivia at “the club” meant at their country club, which was bound to be a whole different experience from trivia night at Steamy’s Pub. Still, they both seemed delighted by the idea.

“We should be a team,” my dad suggested enthusiastically.

“Okay,” I agreed, despite my lingering surprise.

I wasn’t sure about the legitimacy of the pub owner playing, but it wasn’t like I had some insider knowledge about trivia questions. So, I supposed it was okay.

“I think I’d like a beer,” my dad said, clearly gearing up for a night of fun.

“And I’ll have another wine,” my mom added.

I tried not to laugh. Maybe the wine was making her tipsy.

“I’ll go get them,” I told her, noting how busy the place was tonight.

I only had Brandy, Dave, and Janelle on the floor, so things were stretched thinner than usual.

Sliding out of the booth, I headed toward the bar.

I had to admit I was happy to be hanging out with my parents at Steamy’s instead of having dinner at the inn again.

“How are things going with your parents?” Brandy asked cautiously as I squeezed in between George Sprague and Dougie McDougall at the bar.

George and Dougie were fixtures at trivia night. They played every week, almost religiously, despite rarely getting answers right. Their enthusiasm never waned, though, and it had a certain charm. George in particular bordered on heckling, but he tended to make the tourists laugh.

“It’s going surprisingly well,” I said.

Brandy raised her eyebrows, looking impressed.

I put in the drink order for my parents.

“How’s Jimmy doing?” I asked.

“He seems to be better,” Brandy replied.

“He’s a tough old coot,” George chimed in, arranging his beer and the trivia answer forms in front of him, getting himself ready as if this would be the night he finally got all the answers right. Or any of the answers right.

As I stood there waiting for my parents’ drinks, I caught sight of a group entering Steamy’s Pub.

It took me a moment to realize who they were.

It was the actors from The Captain’s Inn: Daphne, Vance, the woman with the shrill voice whose name might be Gemma, and the juggler whose name I’d never caught at all.

My gaze followed them as they settled at one of the round tables tucked near the back of the pub.

Surprised to see them, I watched, confused by their seemingly relaxed and calm demeanors, considering the earlier death of their friend. Well, except for Vance, who was clearly not a friend of Nick’s, despite his bizarre attempt to praise Nick’s hemorrhoid commercials.

Brandy approached, setting down the drinks in front of me, then followed my distracted gaze.

“Who are they?” she asked.

I realized she hadn’t seen any of them out of their Victorian Christmas costumes. “Those are the actors,” I explained.

Brandy shot me an astonished look. “What are they doing here?”

“I was wondering the exact same thing,” I said.

“Aren’t they supposed to be staying at the inn?”

“Well, I guess Justin told them they just had to stay in Friendship Harbor for now. I don’t think he can keep them under house arrest.”

Brandy nodded in agreement. We watched as they chatted and smiled at Janelle who came to greet them and drop off menus.

“They don’t exactly look torn up about losing a friend, do they?” she added. She was clearly having all the same thoughts I was.

My mind raced, and then an idea dawned.

“Will you keep an eye on my parents for me? They’re going to stay and play trivia. I should be back before it’s over.”

Brandy frowned. “Sure. But where are you going?”

“I’m going to The Captain’s Inn,” I said, picking up my parent’s beverages.

“Here you go,” I said a minute later, setting their glasses in front of them. “I’m going to run out for just a minute, but I’ll be back.”

“Why? Where are you going?” Mom asked.

“I’m going to run out and get you your antacid.”

“You don’t have to do that,” she insisted.

“There is a pharmacy down the street that’s open late. It will just take a few minutes.”

Yes, I was lying to my parents.

Even in the middle of summer, there was no pharmacy open on a Sunday night this late in Friendship Harbor.

If you had an emergency prescription, you had to drive to Bar Harbor or Ellsworth, and neither would mean I’d be back in just a few minutes.

Besides, I wasn’t headed to a pharmacy, and I had no idea how long I’d be gone.

I would have to lie again and tell my mother I had the hours wrong when I got back.

I carefully glanced at the table of actors, trying not to make it obvious. I needed to leave while they were all out of The Captain’s Inn. This was an opportunity I couldn’t squander. Just then, George Sprague and Dougie MacDougall came over to my parents’ table.

“Hey there. Nice to meet you,” George said, touching the brim of his ever-present baseball cap. Dougie, wearing the exact same uniform as George, mimicked his greeting by tapping the visor of his hat.

“I’m George and this is Dougie,” my resident barfly continued. “We’re friends of your daughter and loyal customers of her establishment here. It’s a real honor to meet you.”

My father immediately extended his hand. “Oh, it’s very nice to meet you both too.”

“I hope you don’t mind, but I overheard Sophie saying that you two are pretty mean trivia players,” George said with an engaging grin. “Dougie and I here were looking for a team, and we were wondering if you might want to play with us until your daughter gets back.”

I glanced at my mother, fully expecting her to come up with an excuse to sidestep the whole situation. But to my utter shock, she tapped the bench beside her. “Sure. Have a seat. I can’t say that Will and I are great trivia buffs, but we enjoy it.”

I tried to keep the stunned look off my face.

“Great. That’ll be fun, and I’ll be back very shortly,” I said quickly, taking this unlikely opportunity to skedaddle.

As I hurried toward the door, Dougie and George were already settling in with my parents. I couldn’t help but appreciate them stepping in to keep my folks company, even if it was a little unexpected.

Of course, my parents were about to find out just how much Dougie and George had understated the truth about their trivia skills. I was pretty sure my mother was going to have a lot to lament about by the time I got back.