Chapter 5

Chapter 5

At Guadalajara Cantina, we'd ordered and were digging into the chips and salsa. Esmeralda poured us all margaritas from the pitcher they'd delivered a few minutes ago on the house. I wore a T-shirt that announced my bride status. A tall man with a topknot and one side of his head shaved stopped at the table.

"Jill, you're getting married?" He pulled me up into a bear hug.

I could feel the stares of the other women. When he let me loose, I grinned. "Tank Harding. What on earth are you doing here? I thought you were working in South America?"

"I was, but then Professor Wellborn called me and asked me to make a stop here before I headed back to Peru. You remember him, right? Anyway, I've been on a Mexico dig for the last year, but I just got promoted to this new Inca site by my museum. Aztecs to Incas, I have to pinch myself every day just to make sure this isn't a dream." He nodded to the shirt. "So what else is going on with you besides the wedding? Are you still at that little bookstore?"

"I own that little bookstore, and yes, I'm still there." I pulled him aside, out of the way, as our dinners were arriving. "Hey, have you talked to Professor Wellborn lately?"

"No, but I just got in. I drove up from LAX this afternoon and stopped here to see a friend tonight. I figured I'd call him tomorrow when I got into Bakerstown." He cocked his head and looked at me. "Something's wrong, isn't it?"

"You could say that." I decided to tell him. "Professor Wellborn was killed Thursday night at the college. I suspect someone's going to be calling you to see why you were meeting him."

"I don't have anything to hide, if that's what you're worried about." He sank against the wall and almost knocked a mariachi sombrero off the wall. "Wow, I didn't expect this. I was so excited to hear from him when he called a couple of weeks ago. You know he wrote me a recommendation for the museum when I started there. He was a class act."

"He was sweet. So when was the last time you heard from him?" I needed to get as much information from Tank before Esmeralda discovered what we were talking about and shut it down.

"I left the dig and had a message that he was looking forward to seeing me on Monday. He had a lot to tell me." His phone buzzed and he checked the display. "Hey, that's my ride. I'll stop by the bookstore this week so we can catch up. I'm here for a while. Need to spend some time with the folks."

Back at the table, my friends were all staring at me. After I sat, I took a sip of my drink. When no one still said anything, I asked, "What?"

"So who was the hottie?" Darla asked. When the other women laughed, she shook her head. "You all were thinking it."

I picked up my fork. "Tank Harding. He's the only reason I got through Professor Wellborn's class. He was my study partner."

"He looks like a Tibetan monk. But in a really good way," Amy said as she watched him leave the restaurant.

"You should have seen him in school. He wore his hair down past his shoulders. It was very sexy on him."

"Now, Jill, I didn't realize you were into that type. Especially since Greg has a clean-cut boy-next-door look," Darla commented as she forked shrimp and peppers onto a corn tortilla. The food had arrived while I was talking to Tank.

"You should have met my first boyfriend. Aunt Jackie hated his hair more than she hated him, I think." I took a bite of my seafood enchiladas. "Which made me all the more determined to stay in the relationship, even though I wasn't feeling it after a while."

"Jill Gardner do something out of spite? That doesn't seem like you," Esmeralda added, and we all laughed.

As the evening continued, I couldn't help but think about why Professor Wellborn had called Tank. I needed more information from Tank and Josh. I just didn't know which one would be more likely to actually talk to me.

Without telling Greg.

* * * *

The next morning, I went downstairs to get coffee after soaking in a bubble bath. I felt almost human after our weekend in Santa Barbara. I was walking back through the lobby when I spotted Leigh again. I walked over to the front desk. "I'm glad I caught you. I was beginning to think we wouldn't cross paths again."

Leigh frowned. "Is there something I can help you with, Miss Gardner?"

"Yes, remember you talked about the other bachelorette party? Was the bride's name Mandy Jensen?" It was a long shot, and the bridal shop had already confirmed that Mandy wasn't around, but I thought I'd tie up one more loose end.

"Yes, I remember our conversation." Leigh looked at me like I was going out of my mind. Which I might have been. "But I told your friend on Friday night Mandy Jensen wasn't the other bride's name."

"You told one of my friends?" I was beginning to see a pattern. "So that's why you didn't call me."

She nodded. "I came back after break and ran into her going out for your celebration. She was the tall, dark-haired one. She told me she'd tell you."

I tried really hard to control my facial reaction, since I hadn't gotten Leigh's message. "Oh, that's right, she did mention it. I just forgot. Have a great Sunday. Do I need to do anything to check out?"

"Just let us know when so we can get housekeepers in sooner rather than later. Sometimes people just leave, and we have to wait for the checkout time to clean their rooms. But it doesn't really matter. They have to be cleaned at one time or another, right?"

"Exactly." I headed upstairs. Tall brunette only described one of my friends, Esmeralda. I wondered if she'd told Greg rather than me. And I started to wonder what else she'd told Greg. Worse, I was beginning to wonder if friend even was a term that described us.

We all met one more time for breakfast, but this time downstairs in the restaurant. The coffee flowed, and the chatting was slow. I think we were all feeling the effects of the weekend. After my third refill of coffee, I looked around the table. "I guess I'm not twenty-two anymore."

"I don't think I was ever twenty-two." Darla groaned. "Even during college, I was working at the winery on weekends, so I saw what alcohol could do to someone's initiative. I just never wanted to go there. All of my family drinks, but in moderation. It's respect for the wine we create."

"So you're saying we're a bad influence on you." Amy hugged her. "Don't worry. We just have to get through two more weddings after Jill's, and one of them is yours."

"Girl, if three drinks over the weekend is a bad influence, I don't want you to meet some of my friends. Anyway, I don't know if Matt and I are ever tying the knot. He's not a fan of marriage." Darla sighed as she pushed around the scrambled eggs on her plate. "Every time I think we're getting close, he pivots."

"He loves you to death," Esmeralda said. "Just take it slow. You'll get there."

"Is that message from the other side and you just forgot to tell her earlier?" I asked, instantly regretting the snark in my voice.

Esmeralda frowned and stared at me. Then she dropped her gaze to her plate. "The other side is rarely concerned about when a message is delivered. Everything happens when it's supposed to, no matter our own earthly schedules."

"So you're saying Jill had to wait to find Greg." Amy sipped her coffee. "I thought Justin and I were the perfect couple, but we're totally dysfunctional when you compare us to you and Greg."

"That's not true," I protested. "The two of you are getting your marriage wings, like sea legs? Not everyone's first year is perfect. And if it is, they're lying to themselves."

"So true. Besides, everyone has their own vision of what perfect is." Esmeralda checked her watch. "I need to be back in South Cove by one for a reading. Who am I riding with?"

"I'm leaving now." Darla raised her hand and stood. "I'm scared to find out what happened at the winery and how much stuff they left to do today."

Amy stood as well. "Justin and I are going to the home improvement store as soon as I get back to pick out flowers. He's making me a planter box."

I glanced down at my plate. I wasn't finished, since I'd been brooding about Esmeralda's slight. "I can get this to go."

"Stay here. I'll get them back. Thanks for a great weekend, Jill." Darla hugged me and then headed to the elevator. The other women followed. "Let's go get our stuff and get out of here."

A few minutes later, our waitress came by to refill my coffee. "I'll take the check now."

"Too late. Your friends paid it when they left. It's so much fun to be surrounded by good friends." She poured more coffee. "Too bad they had to leave early."

I sat for a few more minutes, thinking about my weekend with my girls. And the fact that Mandy had missed her dress fitting. Did she have a group of friends like mine who had been going with her? Why hadn't any of them canceled the appointment when she went missing? Or was Mandy trying to do this wedding all on her own?

I made a decision. If Mandy got out of whatever this was, I was going to ask her those questions and try to help her as much as possible. No one should have the stress of a wedding alone. My phone beeped. An event site I'd checked into on Friday had just gotten back to me. And they were already booked for that weekend. I had ten more feelers out; then I had to decide between the beach and Bill's church. And if it was at Bill's church, was it even practical to do the reception at the mission? I finished my coffee and then mumbled, "I hate wedding planning."

* * * *

Emma was the only one at the house to greet me. Not even Toby was at home in the small painting shed we'd converted into an apartment out by the driveway. I guess the business of law enforcement must be busy for both Greg and Toby to be gone on a Sunday. It didn't matter, the most important family member was here. Emma went ballistic as I came in the door. "Who missed her mama?"

She did three circles, jumped on my legs, and whined just a little bit, a sign that she needed to go outside as well as being happy to see me. At least that was my explanation. Even if it wasn't true.

It wasn't quite three, so I got some fish out of the freezer to thaw for dinner. Greg might or might not be home, so if he wasn't, I'd grill both and then figure out what to do with the second piece later. I dumped my dirty clothes in the laundry room and stashed my suitcase. After all that, I went upstairs to get ready for a run. I needed the break. Running helped me think better, and besides, Emma probably hadn't gone since the last time I'd taken her.

As we walked down to the beach, I saw Esmeralda's client must still be in session. She lived right across the street from me in a house that mirrored my own. Her MINI Cooper was probably in the garage. She liked keeping it put away so the driveway could be free for her clients. Which meant you never knew if she was actually home or not.

The fruit stand was closed, and crime scene tape blocked the storage door. Mandy's red pickup still sat in the parking lot. I walked over to check out the stand. It looked like the crime scene guys had gone through to fingerprint the wooden surfaces. I wondered how many different people had stopped at the stand over the last few weeks. I'm sure there were partials from months ago still on the wooden shelves.

The eucalyptus trees on the edge of the parking lot moved with the wind. A bunch of butterflies burst out of the grove. Mandy would have loved this. As they settled, I saw a flash of white at the bottom of the trees. I walked over and picked up a card. It was for Bakerstown Private Investigations. Phillip Marlow was listed as the investigator, with a phone number. That couldn't be his real name, right? Maybe these were joke cards. I tucked it in my pocket, planning on checking it out when I got home.

Emma whined at my feet, wondering why we were stopped at an obviously closed shop.

I reached down and rubbed her head. "I'm just thinking about your friend Mandy. She's missing, and we don't know where she went."

Feeling a little foolish for explaining myself to my dog, I stepped toward the crosswalk that the city had put in to try to control the crowds that flowed from South Cove over to Moonstone Beach. A flashing yellow light warned traffic to look for turning cars, but without a police officer, pedestrians just had to look both ways. Luckily, it was a slow Sunday afternoon, and Emma and I crossed without waiting. Down the road, Greg had to deal with the odd elephant seal slogging across the road, but that didn't happen often.

As we got down to the beach, I scanned the area for other people. Besides the seagulls looking for snacks, the beach appeared empty. I unclicked Emma's leash, and we started running.

Running eased my mind as well as my body. The worries of the weekend, including those about Esmeralda's status as my friend or as a double agent for Greg and the missing Mandy, tended to slip away, at least for a few minutes. Professor Wellborn stayed stuck in my mind though. The sound of the waves and the feel of the sand under my feet couldn't push away the fact that he'd called in Tank to help with what had to be Josh's find. I needed to know more about this journal, and if I knew Josh, getting a look at it wouldn't be easy.

I was walking back to the beach parking lot cooling down when I saw Greg coming toward me. Emma saw him right after I did and took off, sprinting to him, joy shaking her body. He leaned down and gave her a pat while they waited for me to join them. When I did, he stood and kissed me.

"I thought I'd find you here." He took Emma's leash from me and clicked it on her collar. Then he put his arm around my waist, and we started walking toward the stairs leading up to the parking lot. "Did you have a fun weekend?"

I debated asking but decided that I didn't like keeping secrets. Besides, I could have been totally off base. "Did you ask Esmeralda to watch out for me this weekend?"

He didn't answer, so I stopped walking and turned back to stare at him.

"You totally did. How could you put her in that position?"

"I didn't mean to, but then Mandy disappeared, and your professor was killed, and it made me nervous about the four of you going out of town for a girls' weekend. Sue me that I care about you," Greg grumbled as we started walking again. "How did you figure it out?"

"She kept telling me that finding Mandy wasn't my job. She never limits me in what I should be thinking or even doing. She's more free spirit than that. Especially on a fun weekend." I rolled my shoulders forward, then backward as I walked, trying to banish some of the stress from my body. "And she didn't tell me something that someone asked her to pass on to me."

"The other bridal party in the hotel," Greg guessed and then nodded. "I should have known you wouldn't give up that easy. It wasn't Mandy in the hotel, although it was quite a coincidence."

"I know, right?" We paused to let a white van speed by the intersection leading into South Cove. "Oh, did she tell you about Tank?"

He stared at the van's plate as we crossed the road. He'd probably check the plate when he got back to the station. "It's interesting that your professor would call back one of his favorite students to help him seek out Josh's treasure. He must have thought it was the real thing. That story of a strongbox filled with gold bars has been a pain in my side since I started working for South Cove. Everyone has their own theory. It's as bad as the D. B. Cooper legend."

"Free money is always a draw," I joked as we headed up the hill to our house. "So, are you home for the evening?"

"Unfortunately, no. I'm heading into Bakerstown for a joint task force on the murder tonight. There's enough of a connection to Mandy's disappearance that we want to make sure we don't miss anything. But I brought home fried chicken from Lille's. I have a little time to eat with you before I leave. I missed you."

"I've missed you too. We need to talk about the wedding venue." I sighed as we reached the gate. "I didn't talk Martha into changing her mind."

"I think she sees it as breaking the rules, not changing her mind. It's fine. If you still want the reception there, we'll make it work. I've told you I'd marry you in the middle of Main Street in shorts and flip-flops. You set the place, and I'll be there. Along with our friends and family." He opened the gate and unclicked Emma's leash. She ran to the front door.

"So no running off to Mexico to elope." I followed Emma to the porch and unlocked the door. The smell of fried chicken met us.

"That's the only rule I have. This is going to be a real wedding, because it's my last one, and hopefully, yours as well." He kissed me. "Come eat. You're probably starving."

"I didn't eat lunch. We had a late breakfast before everyone took off, so an early dinner would be perfect. Then I can read and hopefully finish a book report for Deek before I go back to work Tuesday morning. He's such a taskmaster for the newsletter." I glanced at my watch. "Do I have time for a quick shower and change?"

"As long as you don't want any biscuits. Emma and I are starving." Greg nodded to the stairs. "Be quick about it, and I might save you one."

I kissed him and ran upstairs. Ten minutes later, I was back in the kitchen and feeling human again. What is it about a shower that brings out your happy side? The table was set for dinner, and the food was out of the plastic containers and into real bowls. "This looks great."

"I can be a little domestic at times. Other times, I can be trained." He poured iced tea into glasses and set those on the table. "I want to thank you for babysitting Josh tomorrow."

"Actually, I'm looking forward to learning more about this Santiago guy. He was a bank robber?" I dished up mashed potatoes, gravy, and Tiny's special coleslaw that had hot peppers mixed in to give it a kick. Then I grabbed a piece of chicken and dug in.

"Yes. Legend says he and his gang robbed one last bank, stowed the gold, and then scattered to retire. They were supposed to come back ten years later to retrieve the gold, but none of them showed up in South Cove. They'd all died." Greg took a bite out of a chicken leg. "Yum. Tiny is a genius. That's all I have to say."

"So Josh thinks he found this guy's journal? I guess that's one spot to write down where the gold is hidden, but it seems like his family would have already found it if that was true." I wasn't buying the ease with which this pot of gold was being found. A horrible idea hit me. "You think someone took Mandy as leverage against Josh? To make him hand over the journal."

Greg set his fork down. "That's the working theory. But Josh hasn't received any messages from the kidnappers. Maybe Mandy knows where the gold's hidden, and they've already gone there. I hope not."

I could read between the lines. If that was the situation, Mandy might already be dead.