Chapter 7
The Monday following the memorial, I asked for the day off from work from my mother. I explained to her that I just felt that I needed a day off to do whatever I pleased. She reluctantly agreed and sighed muttering something about how she guesses that I was only a teenager once and how I should hang out with my friends. I really don't think she minds though. She's probably just happy I have friends now. To bad that wasn't why I wanted the day off.
I got up a little after my mom (she gets up at 5:00 AM and leaves 20 minutes later) and got a shower. I pulled on a cute summer dress and a thick wool coat due to the fact that it was dark, freezing and foggy out. Mornings in Carmel where always this way no matter the season.
I went out onto the roof that you can access from my window and waited. For what you may ask? Well, for Sleepy. Since I was never around in the mornings due to work, I had no clue what time he left for his work or school. I know getting up at six o'clock in the morning might be construed as drastic for some but I figured better safe then sorry. Oh, I suppose I could have asked him but I didn't want to make him suspicious. Not that Sleepy was the sharpest tool in the shed or anything but I still did not want to risk blowing my cover.
My great plan was that I would wait for him to leave the house and then follow him. I figured that he would possibly stop at London's, at which point I could figure out what was really going on between the two of them. Which, if it was really just gardening, meant I could possibly enlist Sleepy's help in this. It wasn't much, but it was a good place to start.
I stretched out on the roof tiles and relaxed, hugging my coat. The sun was just starting to come up casting the city in a pretty light blue glow. I could see the Pacific twinkling.
"Susannah." A voice said beside me.
"Jeez. Eric you almost-" I stopped myself. I was about to say, you almost gave me a heart attack. That wouldn't be adding salt to the wounds at all.
"You startled me." I said instead.
"Sorry." He replied and sat down next to me. "We never got to finish talking the other day."
"Yeah…Sorry about that. I had a question I wanted to ask you. Do you have any enemies?"
"Enemies?" He replied.
This had to be weird for him. He was relying on his best friends daughter to solve his murder. I wonder if my mother knew that he had been killed. If she did I doubt she would tell me.
"Yeah. Like would there be a big reason as to why someone would do this to you?" I continued, playing with one of the buttons on the coat.
"I was thinking about it and…Well, no." He replied running his fingers through his hair.
"Had you fought with anyone recently about anything? The weather? World peace? Absolutely anything?" I asked.
Eric paused thinking about it. Finally he said, "I fought with Larry."
This caught my attention. "Why?"
"He wanted to see if he could fill in for me when I went on vacation with my family at the end of the month. I told him it wasn't up to me; it was up to the producers. He then proceeded to say that he asked the producers and they said no." He fused his eyebrows together in thought.
"Larry then said that if I put in a good word for him, they would reconsider but I refused. Oh jeez. Do you think Larry did this to me?" He sounded tired and angry.
"I don't know but I'll look into it." It sounded possible that Larry may have done it but would someone really kill just to become a news anchor?
I heard a front door slam. That was my cue.
"I hate to cut this short, Eric but I need to do something." I told him.
"Does it involve the murder?" He asked.
I nodded not wanting to make a sound. Which may alert Sleepy to my presence.
"Good. While you do that, I'm going to go keep my eye on Larry." He said.
Before I had a chance to protest, Eric was gone. I sighed but focused my attention on Sleepy who had came out front. I listened and heard him say some colorful words, causing me to smile.
I had tactfully positioned the Rambler in front of Sleepy's Camaro last night so he couldn't get out of the drive way. I carefully and quietly climbed back into my room, grabbed my purse and crept down stairs. I heard Sleepy in the kitchen getting the keys to the Rambler and go back out front to move it. I hid behind the couch waiting from him to come back in to put the keys back on the peg.
After he did so, I grabbed the keys and went out front just in time to see him drive away in his Camaro. I ran to the Rambler and followed Sleepy in what I hope was a stealthy way. He ended up exactly where I expected him to be. London's house.
By now it was 8:30. I pulled over two houses down. Let me take a moment to say that the Vandorvelt's house was massive and in a way reminded me of Paul's glass house that over looked the sea. It had huge glass windows in the front so you could see everything that was happening inside. Personally I think this is impractical and allows you very little privacy. But whatever, that's just me.
Sleepy rang the doorbell and London answered it and gave him a hug before going inside. I got out of the car and walked closer to the house. London didn't bother to keep the curtains closed in the huge windows so I saw the two of them sitting on the couch, rather closely, talking. I was glad that Eric wasn't watching London otherwise he may get the wrong impression and go after Sleepy. I pulled my digital camera out of my purse (a gift courtesy of Grandma for my seventeenth birthday) and used the zoom to get a better look at the two of them.
Don't get your panties in a twist. They can't see me. I think. I had positioned myself behind a bush.
"Sleepy…what have you gotten into?" I muttered to myself as I snapped a picture.
"Miss? What are you doing?" A voice asked me from behind.
I stood up and spun around and came face to face with a very amused Paul. Huh. I guess the reason why this house looked like Paul's is because it's near his house.
"I was, uh, just…" Crap.
"Suze I didn't take you as a peeping Tom." Paul gestured towards my camera. I proceeded to shove it into my purse. I glanced behind me and saw Sleepy getting up towards the door. Double crap.
I grabbed Paul's arm and made a break for the Rambler.
"Suze what the hell?" Paul asked startled as I dragged him towards the car. I threw the back door open and shoved him in aggressively. I hopped in too not wanting Sleepy to see me.
"Ow." Paul rubbed his arm. "If you wanted to get me in the back of a car Suze you could have just asked."
"Shut up." I replied. My face was turning bright red. I dropped my purse on the floor of the car and sighed.
We sat there in silence while Sleepy was leaving the house. He proceeded to his car.
"Hey isn't that your stepbrother?" Paul asked sounding confused.
"Yes it is." I replied after a moment. I watched as he drove away.
"Why are you following him?" He asked. "Does this have anything to do with Eric's murder?"
"How do you know about that?" I stared at him.
"It's in the newspaper. Apparently someone let it leak out and the police are royally pissed about it." Paul replied looking at me. He glanced at my outfit. "You look nice." He fingered one of the buttons on my coat like I was doing earlier.
"Thanks…"I muttered not really paying attention. What was Sleepy doing here? I snapped out of my daze. "Paul quit it before I slug you." I smacked his hand away from the button.
"What else did the paper say?" I asked. "Wait a minute. What paper was it?"
"The Carmel Pine Cone." He replied and slumped back into the seat.
That was the newspaper that CeeCee works at. I wonder if Anna leaked the story…who had Anna been talking to on the phone when CeeCee over heard her?
"So are you going to solve the murder Nancy Drew?" Paul asked still rubbing his arm. I guess I had shoved him in the car pretty hard.
"Looking that way." I replied.
Another car, a Ferrari, pulled up into London's driveway.
"Wow. She has a lot of company for such an early hour." Paul muttered.
Together we watched as milk mustache man walked out of the Ferrari. Yes. Larry was going to see London. That meant Eric was around.
"Do you see Eric anywhere?" I asked looking around.
"Why the heck would I see Eric?" He asked.
"Because he's following Larry. He seems content on the idea that Larry may have poisoned him."
"When did he come and find you?" He asked.
"At his memorial. Now shush and help me look for Eric. If he see's him with London, Larry might end up dead."
"But what if Larry is just coming to give his condolences?"
"Do you want to risk that?" I asked watching as Larry knocked on the front door. She answered the door and motioned for him to come inside.
Paul and I got out of the car and went back to the bush that Paul had caught me at.
We watched as Larry and London sat down on the couch. Larry leaned in and kissed London. Something I hadn't seen her do with Sleepy. Which is something I guess.
I got up from behind the bush and brushed the dust off my jacket. The fog was burning off and it was getting warm.
"Well then." I said. "So much for him just giving her his condolences."
Paul was still leaning on the sidewalk in front of the bush looking at the window.
"Suze…" He said.
"Yeah what is it?" I took off my jacket and put it into the car and shut the door. I leaned against the car.
"I think I found Eric." Paul said.
"What?!" I asked.
"He's inside…"
"Oh man. No, no, no, no." I moaned.
"He looks mad." Paul said.
This was not good. When ghosts get mad things tend to rattle and people get hurt. I sighed opened the car door. Lucky for me, I had a plan. Kind of. I pulled out a bouquet of flowers from the front seat and then ran to London's house.
"What are you doing?" Paul hollered behind me.
"Mediating! You should try it sometime!" I retorted
I knocked on the front door. I heard Paul come up behind me.
London answered the door.
"Hi Susannah." To say she looked shocked to see me was a mere understatement.
"Hi! I just wanted to stop by and see how you are and bring you flowers." I said in a rush. Paul cleared his throat from behind me.
"And I brought my friend Paul with me and he was wondering if he could use the bathroom." I continued.
Ok I admit it. I was making up everything. Obviously. I had brought the flowers in case London caught me snooping. I was using them exactly like I was planning to. But now I needed to get into the house so I was using Paul.
London hesitated for a moment. "Thanks…" She took the flowers. "Come in."
We both stepped inside.
"The bathrooms down the hall to the left. Excuse me for a moment while I put these in water." London said.
Paul gave me a dirty look and walked down to the bathroom.
I slipped into the living room where I found Larry sitting in a chair and a very angry Eric standing near him. I guess Eric saw Larry kissing London. Both of them looked up when I came in.
"Hi. What's going on?" I asked looking at Larry.
"Hello Susannah. I never got a chance to thank you."
I blinked at him. What in the world was he talking about?
"For what?" I asked.
"The stuff on Dr. Navy." He replied.
"Your welcome." I answered.
I was keeping one eye on Eric. I could tell he was going to burst any second. His face was bright red.
"Did you know that he was KISSING MY WIFE?" Eric shouted.
I winced. I couldn't reply of course without blowing my cover and without making Larry thinking I'm nuts.
The painting above Larry's head began to rattle. I knew that it was not because of an earthquake but from Eric's anger. I watched in horror, as the painting was about to come down on Larry's head.
"Look out!" I hollered grabbing Larry's arm and yanking him from the chair. The painting fell and knocked over a marble statue that proceeded to fall into the chair that he was sitting in. If he had sat there when the painting went down, Larry's head would have been cracked in to pieces.
Eric, looking disappointed shook his head. "You shouldn't have saved him Susannah. No matter, I'll get him next time." He shimmered away.
Paul and London came into the living room.
"What happened?" London asked looking at the aftermath of Eric's destruction.
"It must of have been a earthquake." Larry replied rubbing the back of his neck out of frustration and confusion.
Paul came up to me and whispered into my ear, "Eric?"
I nodded. I had a feeling that I needed to rest up because I was going to be busy for a while.