An Unfinished Storm, page 14
“We’re not saying we know about a moped,” said the vegan. “Necessarily.”
“Unless we’re going to get in trouble for it,” suggested the meat eater. “And then we definitely don’t know anything.”
“Ah,” said Tobias, nodding as he poured out a bag of chips and plunked the bowl in front of them, along with a plate of hardboiled eggs. “You see, we are private investigators.” He pointed to the wall of the kitchen where he’d hung his license over the coffee pot.
“Cool!” exclaimed the meat-eater, looking impressed.
“And sometimes we have to tell the police things, but a lot of the time we can say that we gathered information through what are known as Confidential Informants. Also known as C.I.s. And we don’t tell the police who our C.I.s are.”
The band exchanged looks.
“OK, we’ll be C.I.s,” said Cooper. “So Mom makes us practice in a shed because she says our music has the wrong kind of funk, and she wants to be upwind.”
Tish snorted in laughter, and all four of the males in her kitchen glared at her.
“Sorry, but your mom is funny. Go on.”
“And we were in the shed, and we had stopped because Grover tripped over the amp wire.”
The child’s name is Grover? And here I thought Orcas had stopped providing me with names to be surprised by, but I see that I was wrong.
“But then Ten looks up and see some guy across the street messing with that basic cap AF jerk’s car.”
Tobias looked at Tish.
“Someone was messing with Skip’s car.”
“What does a hat have to do with it?”
“Linguists currently believe that cap comes from the metaphor of keeping something under your hat so that it is hidden, i.e., lying. So, no cap would be truthfulness. It was the no cap usage that rose to prominence with Young Thug and Future’s hit 2017 single No Cap and entered wide-spread usage across the U.S.”
“Ah.” Tobias appeared to ruminate on that for a moment. “OK, I’m caught up. There was a guy messing with the car. What did you do?”
“Well, at first we thought he was stealing it,” said the vegan, who Tish now thought was called Ten. “And we debated saying something or calling someone. But then we thought… Nah.”
“Besides, before we could come to a group consensus, he kind of eased the hood down,” said Grover, “and he went away again.”
“And then after a bit, the guy came out, and he tried to start the car,” said Cooper. “Only it didn’t start. And then he came over and yelled at us, and we said someone messed with it, but it wasn’t us. And then he got all pissed off and offered us a hundred bucks for Grover’s moped.”
“And then,” said Ten, puffing up at the memory, “Cooper told him that unless it was two-hundred, he might as well go back to his house.”
“And then he paid us two-hundred bucks!” exclaimed Grover. “Can you believe it? I pulled that moped out of the Exchange for fifty bucks. It barely runs! I have to turn it on with a screwdriver!”
“Grover’s not supposed to drive it,” said Cooper. “He doesn’t have his license yet and neither does the moped, so if we tell the cops, Grover’s going to get in like… massive trouble.”
“It’s a rusty maroon color?” asked Tish and the three boys nodded.
“OK,” said Tobias and beckoned to the band. “Let’s go see if you recognize the guy who messed with Skip’s car.”
Tish followed them across the hall to the den.
“It’s a murder board!” yelled Ten, flapping his arms. “Fam! This is so awesome!”
Everyone else thinks we’re weird. Who knew our demographic was teenage boys?
“Do you see the person who took the engine relay out of Skip’s car?” asked Tobias.
“Is that what they did?” asked Cooper, laughing. “Good for them.”
“That is a plural pronoun used as a singular,” said Tobias, pointing at Cooper. “It really is used in English already.”
“Yeah?” said Cooper, clearly confused.
“Pretty sure it was that guy,” said Grover, peering at the pictures.
“Yeah,” agreed Ten, tapping the photo of Luke Green. “That’s him. He had those same dumb glasses. Absolutely no rizz.”
“Thanks,” said Tobias. “That’s really helpful. No cap.”
“She looks familiar,” said Cooper, squinting at the photo of Brianna.
“She was in that one movie,” said Ten, knowledgably. “She was the Grandma. I watched it like a bajillion times when I was a kid.”
“Which one?” asked Cooper, looking puzzled.
“Technotronic Legend,” said Ten. “You don’t remember that one? I loved it.”
“Huh,” said Cooper, scratching his head again. “No, don’t remember it. But Mom didn’t let me watch PG-13 movies until like last year. I had to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows over at Grover’s.”
Grover laughed. “I forgot about that. Did I make you watch Edge of Tomorrow? That’s good for an old movie.”
Tish felt her eye twitch.
Edge of Tomorrow. A Tom Cruise time travel movie that was absolutely stolen by Emily Blunt. And it was 2014. When did that become an old movie?
The band took their sodas and trooped out, still discussing ancient movies, and Tobias walked them out. He seemed to enjoy listening to them talk, although Tish guessed he only understood about a quarter of what they were saying.
Not that I’m doing much better. About half, maybe?
“Well,” said Tobias as their van trundled away. “It’s nice to know that young men have not changed at all since I was fifteen.”
Tish laughed. “Really?”
“Oh, yes. Just as completely unintelligible and confused as ever. I liked them. I suspect I would hate their music, but I liked them.”
They were about to go back into the house when Coats, who had wandered out into the yard, barked at a car that turned into their drive.
“Go flip the murder board to the wall,” said Tobias. “That’s Brianna’s car.”
“On it,” said Tish and hurried back into the house and into the den. She quickly flipped the board over and shoved it up against the wall, only to see the remains of their last Pictionary drawing. Drawn by Claire with remarkable flare and red dry-erase marker was what looked like a bloody murder scene. Tish had to stare at it a long moment before remembering that the clue had been electrical outlet, and the apparent blood drops were sizzles of electricity shooting off the stick figure’s hair.
It looks like a drawing of Skip’s demise.
Frantically, Tish looked around for the eraser. Out on the porch, she could hear Tobias saying something about a pleasant surprise, and she wanted to yell that it really wasn’t.
Brianna seemed really upset about Skip’s body. She’s going to think we’re morbid freaks if she sees this.
The eraser was nowhere to be found. Frantically, she looked around for anything to wipe off the drawing.
Afghan… no.
Granddad’s slippers… maybe?
He’ll kill me.
Tissues!
Tish grabbed the tissue box and then realized that it had two tissues and a handgun in it.
Gah! When I said stop storing it in the remote caddy, this is not what I meant.
Taking one of the tissues and putting the box gingerly back on the table next to Tobias’s recliner, she swiped hastily at the drawing. She was still scrubbing as Brianna and Tobias came in.
“Tish!” called Tobias, as if he didn’t know where she was.
“Well, hey, Brianna,” said Tish, coming out of the den and walking into the kitchen, hoping they would follow her. “What brings you out this way?”
“Oh, I just thought I should touch base and see what you thought the odds were on getting any filming done this week.”
“Well, I am working on that,” said Tish. “I’ve lodged a request to have access to the tower again, but so far, I’m being blocked by the detective. Alan put the lawyers on it though, so… fingers crossed.”
Alan had also said to definitely not let Brianna wander off to do a play because they needed her serious theater credentials on the movie.
“Oh,” said Brianna, with an awkward smile.
“Was there something else?” asked Tobias, ushering Brianna into the kitchen.
“Well…” Brianna hesitated, looking worried. “It might be nothing, but I know you’re investigating. So, maybe I ought to tell you. I had the oddest conversation with Luke Green yesterday. I’m not saying anyone is, well, too terribly broken up about Skip’s death, but Luke seemed positively elated. And he said that he felt partially responsible. It was an odd statement. I didn’t know what to make of it.”
Tish looked at Tobias.
“Well, it might have meant anything,” said Tobias. “No accounting for some people’s feelings. But we’ll ask him. Can’t hurt. Thanks for telling us.”
“Oh, good,” said Brianna, looking relieved.
“Hey,” said Tish. “I’ve been meaning to ask about your daughter.”
Brianna’s face froze, and a tight smile appeared.
“If she wanted to come up and visit, I’m pretty sure we could fudge that into the budget.”
“Um… we don’t really see each other that much.”
“Tobias!” called a voice from the living room, and Coats started to bark.
“In here, Eleanor,” Tobias yelled back.
“I parked around the side,” said Eleanor, tromping in from the front door, Birkenstocks in her hand to keep from tracking dirt on the living room rug. Her gray hair, held up with a complicated metal pin and deep blue skirt, gave her complete Earth Mother vibes. “I’m putting some pickles in the storm cellar. But don’t worry, I’m also taking jam out.”
Eleanor stopped when she saw Brianna.
“Eleanor,” said Tobias, without looking in the least bothered by the situation, “this is Brianna Meadows. She’s an actress in Tish’s movie.”
“Hello,” said Brianna, smiling. “It’s nice to meet you, but I must admit I was just leaving.”
Tish felt like her face was stuck in a pantomime of a smile.
“Oh,” said Eleanor, “well, always good to meet a friend of Tish’s. Tobias, we had the first meeting of the Grange today. I’ve got the full list of what’s accepted and the theme for this year. You have quince, don’t you?”
Tobias itched his nose as if considering. “The quince don’t come in until at least October. They can’t possibly be ready for the Fair in September.”
“Exactly!” exclaimed Eleanor triumphantly. “We’ll have a leg up on everyone else! As long as you still have some in your freezer.”
“I don’t understand,” said Tish.
“Eleanor is on the Grange committee,” said Tobias. “They organize the island’s display at the Puyallup Fair. And each year, the State Grange puts out the theme and what you’re allowed to submit for your display. The more things you have from the list, the more points you get, and the display with the most points wins.”
“Are you telling me that Granging is a competitive sport?” asked Tish. “I thought the Grange was just what we called that building.”
“It is,” said Tobias. “It’s just also the organization dedicated to improving the lives of rural Americans. Although, when it comes to the competitions, I assure you that they are not improving mine. I have no desire to go dig through my freezer and see if I have quince.”
“I’ll go look,” said Eleanor. “I just thought I’d ask in case Tish put a body in there or something.”
“Me? He’s the one that had a dead owl in there!”
“That was for Kandace’s chickens.”
“Oh, that makes sense,” said Eleanor, nodding.
“I’m glad it makes sense to someone,” said Tish, and Brianna laughed.
“I have to admit that I’m most definitely on Tish’s side with that,” said Brianna. “Tish, let me know if anything changes on the scheduling front. Tobias, it’s always nice to see you.”
Brianna showed herself out, and Tish finally managed to throw the tissue she’d kept crumpled in her hand in the garbage.
“So,” said Tobias, turning back to Eleanor. “What else is on the list?”
Chapter 18
Wreckage
Tish hung up the Zoom call and flopped over on the Chesterfield.
“Went that good?” asked Tobias, coming in from the garden where he’d been doing the watering.
“That was Alan, the Prince of Movies, and the full complement of producers and major funders and possibly some random people they found in the hall to ask me how it’s going and talk about Skip’s death.”
“How is it going?” asked Tobias, and Tish glared at him.
“We have made a great deal of progress and are working closely with the police to assist them in their investigation. We feel confident that we will have matters satisfactorily resolved within a week. However, at the moment, we cannot discuss the particulars of the case.”
“That is exactly how I thought it was going,” said Tobias, plopping down in the wingback chair by the fireplace.
“Granddad! We haven’t made any progress!”
“What are you talking about? We have Luke and Taylor as our top suspects. Aren’t you going to pick up Luke in a bit?”
“Yeah, I texted Luke last night and told him that we need to consult about the script and see if we can’t identify any weird Skip edits and that he should definitely be on the island today. He’s staying in Anacortes and said he’d be on the nine o’clock ferry.”
They had debated trying to find Luke the night before, but after texting around, Tish realized that there wasn’t any need to locate him when she could make Luke come to her. She was a producer, after all, and he was the writer. Answering to her beck and call was his job. “How did he react?” asked Tobias.
“He texted back and then sent three excited gifs and thanked me for preserving his dream,” said Tish.
“Hm, that’s like won the lottery level excited for a twenty-something,” said Tobias.
“Yes,” said Tish.
“Speaks to motive,” said Tobias.
“Yeah,” said Tish with a sigh. “I just… Would you really kill someone to make a movie?”
“No,” said Tobias. “But making movies isn’t my dream. People will do a lot of things to make their dreams come true.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Mind you, I’m not saying he did it,” said Tobias. “But I do think it’s worth finding out what he knows.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” agreed Tish.
Her phone rang, and Tish groaned before picking up.
“Hey, Frank,” she said, faking a smile.
“Hey, I know you were talking to the studio today, and I don’t want to pressure you, but some of the crew are getting antsy.”
“Yeah, I know. Ellis has child support to pay. You can tell everyone that we’re still all a go and that paychecks are not being held up. I double-checked.”
“Yeah, but these guys don’t hold still well,” said Frank. “If we don’t get them shooting something soon, they’ll wander off.”
“Ah, the glories of an ADHD-driven profession,” said Tish. “Look, Alan is putting the lawyers on the police. With any luck, they’ll release the tower to us for shooting soon. I also need the detective to pull her head out of her ass and check Skip’s phone records and stuff like that. So I’ll be talking to them later today myself, and I’ll reiterate the urgency.”
“Oh,” said Frank. “Yeah, Skip’s phone records. Police do that kind of thing.”
“Generally,” said Tish, amused by Frank’s surprised tone. “Anyway, sit on the crew. Tell them to give me another day or two to get things back on track.”
“Yeah, of course,” said Frank.
“You’re going to be late if you don’t leave for the ferry soon,” said Tobias, looking at the clock on the mantle.
“Oh, crap. OK, Frank, thanks for calling, but seriously—don’t let anyone take another job without talking to me first.”
“No problem,” said Frank.
Tish hung up the phone with another gusty sigh.
“OK,” said Tish, shoving her feet into her sandals. “OK, I’m going to pick up Luke and bring him back here. I’ll see you in a few.”
Tobias nodded and reached for the newspaper as Tish left. She suspected that there might be some Matlock watching next. Sometimes, being old and retired looked great. The deafness and metal knees didn’t hold appeal, but Matlock and a recliner seemed pretty good.
Tish puttered down the road in her Toyota, trying to marshal her thoughts. She felt like there were too many suspects. Everyone had hated Skip, and no one had said anything about it for quite literally years.
So why now? What pushed someone into killing Skip now?
Tish wanted to speed, but she checked herself and took her foot off the gas. It was Ronny’s day on traffic, and he was known to have ticketed his own mother on three separate occasions. The man was heartless when it came to traffic infractions.
Her Toyota was a late 1990s model that had brought her back from California, and she was thinking about replacing it, but she had absorbed enough of the island culture that getting rid of a vehicle that still functioned seemed like a sin.
Maybe if I get movie money, I’ll buy myself something new. Something with more room for Claire and Granddad.
The thought of movie money was tempting but depressing, as was the thought of Claire. Right now, nothing seemed certain. What she needed to do was focus on the task at hand. Find Luke Green and discover what he had been up to with Skip’s car.
If Luke killed Skip, then the movie’s dead. This was his vision. I don’t see it getting made without him on the script.
