Murder and Mayhem (12 page)

His footsteps got lighter as he hurried down the
hallway.

“Now, where was I?”I said as I peered at the screen.

*****

“Longwood Gardens, a magnificent estate bequeathed to
the state by Pierre S. du Pont, is less than an hour’s drive, and well worth
the visit,” the woman at the front desk assured them as she handed several
brochures to Nicola.

It was a crystal clear morning as they drove through
picturesque Chester County where fall colors were beginning to show in the
trees. Birdsong drifted in through the open window with the faint smell of
wildflowers and roses. The sky was the clear blue of Wedgewood china with no
clouds in sight. When they reached the historic village of Chadds Ford, in the
middle of the Brandywine Battlefield, Nicola shuffled around in her bag and
withdrew a glossy brochure.

“I knew I’d seen that name somewhere before,” she said
as she unfolded the brochure and started to read.

“‘On the eve of the battle of Brandywine in 1777,
General George Washington made his headquarters in the home of a local Quaker
farmer in Chadds Ford, while the Marquis de Lafayette was quartered close by.
Sadly, General Washington failed to guard an important ford on the Brandywine
Creek where he was outflanked and outmaneuvered  by the British and Hessian
Troops who then rode on and took possession of Philadelphia, where they spent a
comfortable winter, while Washington’s troops were forced to endure a bitter
winter at Valley Forge.’”

Danny frowned. “Chadds Ford. That name sounds
familiar.” He glanced out the window at an old stone cottage surrounded by a
roughly-hewn rock wall covered in brambles.

“Why? Have you been through here before?” Nicola
asked.

“No, I’ve never been to this part of the state before,
but there’s something familiar about
the
name, and I don’t mean in an historical context.”

As they drove through the entrance to Longwood Gardens
and headed for the parking lot, already half-full, Nicola picked up another
brochure, and started to read. 

“‘Originally belonging to William Penn, the one
thousand acre parcel of land overlooking the picturesque Brandywine River was
purchased by Pierre S. du Pont in 1906, who turned his passion for gardening
into one of the world’s great horticultural showplaces…’”

Even though Danny appeared to be listening, he was
still trying to recall the Chadds Ford connection that he knew meant something…

*****

I walked into the room and noticed my sister standing
by the window, her lips moving in silent monologue.

“What are you doing?”

“Praying for rain.”

I shrugged and started to leave then stopped at the
open doorway and turned. “Since when did you believe in the power of prayer?”

“I don’t. I just thought I’d get a rise out of you.”

“Well you know what thought did?” 

Her voice followed me down the hallway and caught up
at the kitchen.

“If I said it out loud do you think it would make a
difference?”

“Your lips to God’s ear…? Not very likely!”

*****

Danny tugged the T-shirt over his head and ran his
finger through his wet hair. “Nic, do you want to eat at Applebee’s tonight? I
saw one just up the road.”

“Sounds good to me,” Nicola called from the bathroom.

A short time later she stepped into the room wearing
Victoria’s Secret black lace underwear, the copper highlights in her hair
backlit from the light behind.

Danny looked up from the battered notebook he had been
flicking through, and grinned…

“Don’t even think about it,” Nicola warned as she
grabbed a pair of jeans off the bed, wriggled into them, pulled up the zip and
snapped the stud-fastener in place.

 Danny watched as she pulled a charcoal-gray jersey
top over her head, tug it over her breasts, and fluffed up her hair.

“Remember when we were traveling through Chadds Ford
this morning I said the name, not the place, sounded familiar?” he said.

Nicola nodded.

“Well, I found out why. I looked through my book of
Harley contacts and found a guy I met some years ago at a swap meet in
Davenport, Iowa, who lives in Chadds Ford. I made a note at the time that it
would be worthwhile getting in touch if I was ever in the area.” Danny waited
for some kind of response. But Nicola said nothing, so he continued, “So while
you were in the shower I gave him a call and arranged to drop by his place
later tonight.”

“Oh, sure, we can do that. It’s not far from here,”
Nicola said as she put the finishing touches to her makeup in front of the
mirror.

Danny was about to say something when there was a
knock on the door. He crossed the room and opened it to a tall bearded man
wearing a baseball cap pulled low on his head and wraparound sunglasses.

“Can I help you?” Danny asked.

The man looked past him to where Nicola was standing
in front of the mirror and said, “Sorry, I must have the wrong room,” and
walked off.

THIRTEEN

We strode purposefully into the room. Tall and
willowy, we were a couple of babes that had more chutzpah than all the Paris
Hilton and Britney Spears look-alikes put together. Just because we had shrunk
a centimeter or two, have love handles in places you wouldn’t want to know, and
touched up the odd bit of gray hair–doesn’t make it not so.

People greeted us with warm smiles as we passed.

“Hi, Linda,” Rosie said as she dropped her bag on the
empty chair next to her friend.

Linda peeked
out from behind the pages of a magazine and nodded a
sigh.

“Hey, Linda, how’s tricks?” I sat on the chair and
made myself comfortable.

Linda’s head shot up with a
startled look on her face. “Tricks! What tricks?”

“Never mind, Linda, it’s just an expression.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll just go and change.” Rosie grabbed a gown from
the table and headed for the change room.

“What have you been up to lately, Linda?”

“Up to? I haven’t been up to anything. Who said I
had?”

“Nobody. I was just trying to
make polite conversation the way normal folks do.”

Linda looked at Rosie and smiled as she sat down
beside her. “I’ve found a good place to hide the body,” she said excitedly.

I leaned across the front of my sister. “Sorry, Linda,
you’re too late. The body has already been buried. We’re not going to dig it up
and move it. Especially now it’s started to putrefy, and the worms and maggots
have started to infest it. It would just be too messy.”

“It would probably be all bloated up and smelly as
well,” Rosie suggested.

“And the flesh would be starting to slough off the
bones. Shame you didn’t come up with something earlier. We could have done with
a hand. But now it’s too late–Pity.”

“I’m s… so… s... sorry,” Linda stammered.

“You can’t leave bodies lying around, Linda. Not in
this heat. You have to get them in the ground before they start going off…” I
explained.

“You know, health issues and all,” my sister added
knowingly.

I reached across and gave Linda a consoling pat on the
thigh. “But, don’t feel too bad; I’ll keep you in mind for the next one.”

Linda clutched her stomach; horror etched in every
pore of her putty-gray face. As she jumped up she knocked over her chair,
spilling her things onto the floor. I watched the door slam behind her as she
raced out the room.

I righted the chair and picked her things up. “I don’t
know what’s gotten into her. It’s not like we’re ungrateful. Everyone knows you
can’t leave bodies lying around while you wait for someone to find a Potter’s
Field closer than the one in Virginia.”

“You don’t have to tell me…” my sister started–and
stopped. “Bodies!” she said, her eyes wild. “Bodies! You mean there’s more than
one?”

My attention wavered to a loose
thread caught in the seam of my jeans. “Well, it’s best to prepare for any
future contingencies,” I said as I gave it a tug.

“I don’t think I like the way this conversation is
heading.”

I gave her a conciliatory pat on the arm. “Then we
shan’t talk about it anymore.”

*****

The hostess smiled as she escorted them to a table.
When they were seated she handed them menus and said, “Your server will be with
you shortly.”

The waiter arrived with glasses and a jug of ice
water. After the glasses were filled he took down their order and left.

Danny picked up the glass and took a long drink. “This
is nice.”

Nicola didn’t say anything, her eyes scanned the room.

“Are you okay?” Danny asked.

Nicola dragged her eyes away from a large man standing
by the door. “Yes, of course I am. Why do you ask?”

“You seem a little preoccupied.”

“I’m okay, Danny, really.”

Danny looked at the sports memorabilia and photos of
local teams and cheerleaders that covered the walls, along with pictures of
long dead movie stars–and rock ‘n’ rollers who managed to wipe themselves out
on a regular basis.

The restaurant was filled with families and young
couples, and groups–while the bar was dominated by men more interested in the game
on the screen than the food on their plates. The obligatory bottle of beer
stood within easy reach. 

Nicola watched a tow headed child of around six or
seven, sitting in the booth opposite. He was attempting to tell his parents a
story, but couldn’t stop laughing long enough.

Danny reached across the table and took hold of her
hand.

“Nic?”

“Yes, Danny,” she said, her attention still on the
young boy.

“I don’t want you to come with me tonight.”

Nicola’s smile faded. “Why not?”

“Because I feel more comfortable with these guys on my
own,” Danny said.

“I see,” she said softly–but she didn’t see at all.

“No, Nic, you don’t see. The antique Harley community
is a close-knit group where everyone knows everyone else. They treat me as one
of them, and I’d like to keep it that way.” He went on to explain, “There was
an awkward incident some years ago involving Sara, that caused a lot of bad
feelings, and I lost several good contacts. Now I prefer to keep my private
life separate that way there are no complications–no misunderstandings.” He
wasn’t going to go into details. It was something he preferred not to talk
about.

Nicola waited for an explanation, but when none was
forthcoming she traced her finger around a circle of condensation left by her
water glass, and tried not to show how she really felt.

She wiped a napkin over the damp patch, scrunched it
up into a ball, and tossed it to the end of the table. “I understand,” she said
avoiding eye contact. “We’ve been having such a great time I completely forgot
why you are here.”

Danny could see she was hurt, but there was nothing he
could do about it. “I’m sorry, Nic but that’s just the way it has to be.”

When the waiter arrived with their food Danny ordered
a beer, Nicola a glass of white wine then they ate in silence pretending to be
engrossed in the meal.

When Danny finished eating, he pushed his plate to one
side, ordered another beer, and watched Nicola eat. “Nic, you need to
understand the bikes are just business.”

Nicola laid her fork on the side of the plate and
placed her hand on top of his. It felt cool from the chill of the glass he’d
been holding. Danny wound his fingers around hers and squeezed.  

“I’m sorry Danny. I’m being unfair. Of course you need
to do this on your own. I do understand, really I do.” She hoped she hadn’t
caused a rift between them because of her stupid, childish behavior.

* * *

The blade sliced cleanly from ear to ear all the way
through to her spine. She dropped to her knees, her face frozen in a look of
surprise. Then, as if in slow-motion, she slumped forward like a rag doll. As
she hit the ground her head fell back exposing the bloody gaping hole in her
throat.