said.
“Then why did you come?”
“To see you. To make sure you were all right.”
“You’ve seen me. I’m all right.”
“And I wanted to find out just what that kid—”
“That kid’s name is Jeff.”
“Okay! To find out just what kind of a story Jeff told about the burglary.”
“Jeff had nothing to do with the burglary. I was following him. I saw him pull up in front of the shop. I saw him get out of the SUV. He did not break the window.”
“Maybe not, but Jerry said he doesn’t think the chief is satisfied with his story.”
“I’m not satisfied with his story either. I want to know why he went into town in the first place. But I don’t think he broke the window. I do think he scared the burglar off.”
“Maybe so, but . . . Jerry said that the burglar apparently went off in a car with a broken taillight.”
“We think so.”
“Well, Brad Michaels said—”
“Who is Brad Michaels?”
“He has the gas station south of town, down at Haven Road. Right on the interstate. And he says a kid driving a gold Lexus SUV with a Texas plate stopped there around seven a.m. yesterday. He didn’t buy gas, just candy bars and chips.”
“Sounds like Jeff. So?”
“So Brad says there were two Texas vehicles. The other driver didn’t get out, but Brad thinks they were together.”
Maybe I would have reacted differently if I hadn’t already been mad. But I was mad. Plus tired and plain old out of sorts. I didn’t want any more bad news. So I tried to kill the messenger.
“I suppose that your pal Brad says the other Texas car had a taillight out,” I said.
“No, he—”
“I suppose you asked him that.”
“Yes, I—”
“And I suppose you made sure he told Jerry about it.”
“No! He didn’t mention it until Jerry had gone.”
“But I suppose you urged him to tell Jerry. Or Chief Jones.”
“They’re gonna find out. Warner Pier is a small town.”
“Well, let them! But I’m not getting involved in any more efforts to quiz Jeff. He knows I want to find out just what he’s up to. He’ll tell me something when he’s ready. Or he’ll tell Aunt Nettie. Or the chief will question him. But right now I’m cold and I’m tired and I’m going back to the house.”
I walked away without looking back. This time Joe didn’t follow me.
When I got back to the house I took off all my outdoor paraphernalia, then sat in the living room pretending to read the paper. I felt pretty miserable. Joe was suspicious of Jeff even without knowing the most damning part of the situation. Nobody, including Chief Jones, knew that Jeff had been aware that the molds were valuable, but I did. Should I tell Chief Jones? Like Joe said, the chief was bound to find out. I just didn’t want to be the person who caused Jeff more problems, even though he was causing me a lot.
Darn Joe Woodyard anyway! Why had he reminded me of Jeff’s odd behavior? And why did I care what Joe thought? I shook the newspaper angrily. How had I wound up in this dead-end relationship?
For six months I’d been patient about Joe’s hangups over his ex-wife and about his fear of the tabloids, but right at that moment I was sick of the situation.
Oh, maybe I’d brought part of it on myself, making it clear I wouldn’t sneak around to go out with him. He had to take me out in public, or I wasn’t going to go at all. And I certainly wasn’t going to get too cozy with a guy I wasn’t officially dating. So there’d been no weekends when we both just happened to be in Chicago and staying in the same hotel, no surreptitious meetings at the boat shop, no nights in a B&B a hundred miles up the lakeshore.
Joe wasn’t the only one who had survived a bad marriage; I wasn’t interested in having my self-respect further flogged by a clandestine affair, an affair that would have made me feel cheap and used.
Maybe I wasn’t sure what I wanted out of a new man in my life anyway. So I had only myself to blame over the crazy
“Then why did you come?”
“To see you. To make sure you were all right.”
“You’ve seen me. I’m all right.”
“And I wanted to find out just what that kid—”
“That kid’s name is Jeff.”
“Okay! To find out just what kind of a story Jeff told about the burglary.”
“Jeff had nothing to do with the burglary. I was following him. I saw him pull up in front of the shop. I saw him get out of the SUV. He did not break the window.”
“Maybe not, but Jerry said he doesn’t think the chief is satisfied with his story.”
“I’m not satisfied with his story either. I want to know why he went into town in the first place. But I don’t think he broke the window. I do think he scared the burglar off.”
“Maybe so, but . . . Jerry said that the burglar apparently went off in a car with a broken taillight.”
“We think so.”
“Well, Brad Michaels said—”
“Who is Brad Michaels?”
“He has the gas station south of town, down at Haven Road. Right on the interstate. And he says a kid driving a gold Lexus SUV with a Texas plate stopped there around seven a.m. yesterday. He didn’t buy gas, just candy bars and chips.”
“Sounds like Jeff. So?”
“So Brad says there were two Texas vehicles. The other driver didn’t get out, but Brad thinks they were together.”
Maybe I would have reacted differently if I hadn’t already been mad. But I was mad. Plus tired and plain old out of sorts. I didn’t want any more bad news. So I tried to kill the messenger.
“I suppose that your pal Brad says the other Texas car had a taillight out,” I said.
“No, he—”
“I suppose you asked him that.”
“Yes, I—”
“And I suppose you made sure he told Jerry about it.”
“No! He didn’t mention it until Jerry had gone.”
“But I suppose you urged him to tell Jerry. Or Chief Jones.”
“They’re gonna find out. Warner Pier is a small town.”
“Well, let them! But I’m not getting involved in any more efforts to quiz Jeff. He knows I want to find out just what he’s up to. He’ll tell me something when he’s ready. Or he’ll tell Aunt Nettie. Or the chief will question him. But right now I’m cold and I’m tired and I’m going back to the house.”
I walked away without looking back. This time Joe didn’t follow me.
When I got back to the house I took off all my outdoor paraphernalia, then sat in the living room pretending to read the paper. I felt pretty miserable. Joe was suspicious of Jeff even without knowing the most damning part of the situation. Nobody, including Chief Jones, knew that Jeff had been aware that the molds were valuable, but I did. Should I tell Chief Jones? Like Joe said, the chief was bound to find out. I just didn’t want to be the person who caused Jeff more problems, even though he was causing me a lot.
Darn Joe Woodyard anyway! Why had he reminded me of Jeff’s odd behavior? And why did I care what Joe thought? I shook the newspaper angrily. How had I wound up in this dead-end relationship?
For six months I’d been patient about Joe’s hangups over his ex-wife and about his fear of the tabloids, but right at that moment I was sick of the situation.
Oh, maybe I’d brought part of it on myself, making it clear I wouldn’t sneak around to go out with him. He had to take me out in public, or I wasn’t going to go at all. And I certainly wasn’t going to get too cozy with a guy I wasn’t officially dating. So there’d been no weekends when we both just happened to be in Chicago and staying in the same hotel, no surreptitious meetings at the boat shop, no nights in a B&B a hundred miles up the lakeshore.
Joe wasn’t the only one who had survived a bad marriage; I wasn’t interested in having my self-respect further flogged by a clandestine affair, an affair that would have made me feel cheap and used.
Maybe I wasn’t sure what I wanted out of a new man in my life anyway. So I had only myself to blame over the crazy
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