“Chief Callaghan, someone has been tampering with the locks on my shed. They’re going after my bat houses. I’d like a security detail stationed there until the culprits are apprehended.”
Harlan looked down at her, as dour as ever. “You want one of my officers to stand outside your shed all night long just to protect your bat houses?”
“Yes, that’s what I said. White-nose syndrome is nothing to be taken lightly. Imagine the police force you’ll need when mosquitoes start carrying away young children.”
“Vera, mosquitoes don’t do that.”
“Well, of course, they don’t now because of my efforts to keep them at bay, but mark my words. If we do not address this bat problem, well, children may not be carried away, but they could certainly be drained dry of all their precious blood. The island will be littered with little empty shells of bloodless children everywhere. Think of that now, would you?”
“I am quite certain I’ll think of little else for the rest of the day, Vera,” he said, patting her arm.
“You think about it, too, young lady.” Mrs. VonMeisterburger turned and pointed a finger at Brooke’s face. “This will be the first scandal of your new administration if you don’t do something about it.”
“I’m not the mayor yet, Mrs. VonMeisterburger, but if I run, and if I win, you can be sure I’ll look into this. I’ll even put you on the task force.”
Mrs. VonMeisterburger suddenly smiled. “A task force. Does that position come with a uniform?”
“Um, do you want it to come with a uniform?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll look into that as well.” Brooke exhaled as the bat-shit crazy bat lady walked away. “How does that woman still scare the crap out of me?”
Emily smiled. “She scares everybody, but you’re going to make an excellent politician someday because you just said all that shit to her with a totally straight face.”
“It’s good practice, I guess.”
“Oh, don’t let that woman scare you, Brooke,” Gigi said. “She thinks she’s so special because she knows about bats. Well, she’s got ’em in her belfry, if you ask me. And everybody knows she makes the soggiest pie crusts on the entire island.”
Harsh words spoken in a place where a woman’s baked goods established her rank in society. One undercooked Bundt cake could ruin your standing for life.
“Harlan, take me over to the community hall,” Gigi added, putting her arm through his. “Girls, we’ll see you there.”
“I think Gigi is giving me time to go buy him a card,” Emily said as her father and grandmother walked away.
“Hmm, maybe that’s where Lilly was off to in such a hurry.”
“Lilly? Where did you see her?”
Brooke’s smirk could have melted butter. “Heading down Marquette Street with that sexy old Taggert guy. You know. The one she’s been sleeping with.”
Emily gasped. Would her sisters please stop dropping bombshells on her today? Did no one care that she had a hangover and a very dull headache? “What? Who told you that?”
The smirk turned into a full-on smile. “Oh, come on, Emily. Have you really been gone so long that you’ve forgotten what this place is like? Did Lilly really think twenty bucks was going to keep Dmitri Krushnic quiet?”
“Holy shit, Brooke. How many people know?”
“Um, let’s see.” Brooke started counting off on her fingers. “One, two, three . . . Oh yeah. Everybody. Everybody knows. Except Dad, of course.”
“No one has told him?”
“Oh hell no. Nobody wants to be that messenger. Those honors are all on Lilly.”
“Does Gigi know?”
Brooke snorted. “Who do you think told me?”
“What did she say, exactly?”
Brooke pulled a tinted ChapStick from her pocket and applied some before answering. “Basically she said, ‘How’s an old gal like me supposed to compete if the fellas can have Lilly instead?’”
“That was her main concern? Her shrinking dating pool?”
“Gigi has her own set of priorities. Plus, she has a new urn and no one to put in it.” She slipped the ChapStick back into her pocket. “You know, this situation with Lilly and the old dude is all kinds of messed up, but all things considered, I guess I can kind of understand why you took off with Nick without telling anyone.”
“It seemed easiest at the time, but as you know, it caused a lot more problems than it solved. Did you know Lilly wants to tell Dad today?”
That got a startled reaction from Brooke. “Today? She can’t tell him today. It’s Father’s Day. Is she crazy? Well, I guess we all know the answer to that. They are good-looking men, though . . .” Brooke’s voice trailed off, and her gaze floated past Emily.
Emily turned, and there was Ryan, looking very sharp in dress pants and a white button-down shirt.
“Hi,” she said breathlessly.
“Hi. How was drunk puzzle night?”
“Fun, but they ganged up on me. We did not finish the puzzle. Have you seen your dad lately? And my sister?”
“My dad took off right after the service. Why?” He nodded at Brooke, who gave a circular wave in response.
“Hi there,” she said. “I’ll leave you two to it, then. Seems like you have some talking to do. I’ll see you at the community hall, Em. Don’t forget it’s Father’s Day.”
“Oh shit. It’s Father’s Day?” Ryan said.
Chapter 19
It was eight o’clock Tuesday morning as Emily walked up the path to Gigi’s rental cottage hoping to find her crew hard at work. They normally started around seven o’clock, except for Horsey who, just as Harlan had forewarned, always seemed to be late for one reason or another. One day it was because his bike chain had come loose. Another day it was because his barn cat was having kittens and he felt he should be there since, even though he wasn’t technically the father, emotionally he felt as if he were. And then there was the morning he was late because he’d fallen back asleep next to his cereal bowl. The cornflakes in his hair confirmed his story.
This morning his bike was near the front gate, which was a good sign. Tiny sitting on the front porch steps was not a good sign. Georgie was next to him, her arm slung around his big, drooping shoulders. He glanced up at the sound of Emily’s approach, but the ever-present twinkle in his eye was definitely missing.
Garth was sitting on the porch railing looking like the slacker he was. “Mornin’, boss lady. How are you on this fine day?”
“Pretty good. I’d be better if you were all inside working. What’s the story? Tiny, is something wrong?”
Garth wiped his hand under his nose, and Emily wished he’d get himself some allergy meds. If she had an insurance plan for her employees, that’s the first thing she’d get him.
“I’m fine. Just a little blue. Nothing some good hard work won’t fix,” Tiny said.
Emily clapped her hands together. “Excellent. Wonderful to hear. Let’s get to it.” She took a step closer, but Georgie patted Tiny’s back and gazed up at Emily with concern.