The Marsh Madness

“The other guy, then. The one that reminded you of a lizard.”


“Now that we’re really considering this, I am going to vote ‘no’ on that.”

“What? Why?”

“Because she wasn’t in love with him.”

“And you know this how? You were only there over lunch.”

“You can just tell when someone’s got it bad. You can see how they act toward the person they love. Glances, touches, consideration. Everything.”

“Okay. I get that.”

I almost said, Take a look at your posse, but it presented too many conversational distractions. Lance loved his adoring posse right back, although in an entirely platonic way, I was sure.

“I felt that he made her very nervous. She didn’t look right at him. She didn’t seem comfortable. Now I’m wondering why. He wasn’t her boyfriend or her lover or whatever you might want to call him. Don’t make that face, Lance. Trust me.”

“Did the others notice that too?”

“You mean Vera and Kev? Be serious. They’re the two most unobservant people in the world, except when it comes to books in Vera’s case and spotting trouble to get into in Kev’s. But my point is, why was she there? She was either an employee, which seems unlikely, as this was a scam. Or he had something on her. Thinking back to her behavior, that seems more like it.”

“Like what?” Lance said with his mouth full of a creamy artisanal cheese called Humboldt Fog. He offered me a taste while I was waiting. The food at Mr. Grimsby’s was so amazing that it could make you forget your manners. We decided to eat first, then talk.

After I finished my own delicious soup, I said, “Maybe she was tricked into it and realized that something was wrong.”

“Entirely possible. This is really wonderful food.”

“It is. I wish I was here under other circumstances. I’m too keyed up to really enjoy it.”

Lance said, “Well, I’m enjoying it.”

I sighed. “I liked her, even if she was part of this, and if she was tricked into it and things went wrong and that’s when the real Chadwick was killed, she’s going to be in danger as a witness to a murder, or at the very least, to the person who set it up.”

“We know who she is,” Lance said. “I guess we’d better find out if she’s all right.”

“We can and we will. But we should consider some other scenarios.”

“Such as?”

“Maybe she’s protecting someone. What if that’s why she needed to be there? Okay, that’s a bit of stretch, but the whole thing is pretty surreal.”

Lance said, “Or maybe she was blackmailed into it.”

We explored these possibilities until we finished our food, brainstorming and bantering a bit. At the end, we ordered cappuccinos. As our server hurried away with the empty plates, I reached for the photo.

“Now. Let’s get back to talking about Shelby and her connections.” I took a hard look at the photo. There was still no one who could have been the false Chadwick or Thomas. I was sure of that.

“Talk about the connections, Lance. What are all those tantalizing lines you’ve put on the photo?”

“Removable tape.”

“I can see that, but who are they indicating?”

“They’re people that she probably knows and that know her and that I can identify.”

The light finally went on over my head. “You mean so that I meet them and try to get—”

Lance said quickly, “I was thinking that I might talk to them.”

“Why?”

“Two reasons, Jordan. First, because I have met them and can arrange to bump into them in some social situation.”

“That’s one.”

“And the second reason is because you have been known to go over-the-top.”

“Don’t be—”

“Yes. Over-the-top! Disguises. False pretenses. You love all that stuff.”

“Let’s get serious here, Lance. The entire situation we’re in is because of false pretenses and disguises, and your friend Shelby—”

“She’s not my friend.”

“—is in it up to her pretty blond neck.”