but inadvertently bumped her raft into mine.
That’s when the phone flew out of my hand and fell
down to the bottom of the pool.
“Shit!”
“Were you going to tell him you loved him?” asked
Lael, positively deranged with anticipation. She was
sitting up now, and clutching the sides of her raft.
“What was he saying?”
“Now we’ll never know,” I said.
98
S U S A N
K A N D E L
“Your love has plunged into the bottom of a watery
abyss,” said Bridget. “Just like Titanic .”
I climbed out of the pool and adjusted my black
bikini, which set off to perfection the wound I’d gotten stealing the orange in Riverside. “I’m calling him back from inside. You two can wait here.”
I probably needed a new cell phone anyway.
We had, of course, forgotten to bring out towels.
Dripping wet, I traipsed across the velvety green grass to where I’d left my Diet Coke, took a swig, then
walked through the sliding glass doors into the living room. The air conditioner was blasting. Shivering, I
turned it off and tiptoed through the breezeway toward the bedrooms. The linen closet was located just opposite the room I’d been using.
“Love is in the air,” I hummed to myself, da-da-da-
da-da-da-da-da. Halfway through the next chorus,
something caught my eye.
The door to the master bedroom was ajar.
Strange. I’d walked through the master bedroom ear-
lier this morning, when I’d come in after getting soaked by the sprinklers. I distinctly remembered closing the door behind me before I walked across the hall to my
room. Why would Lael or Bridget have opened it in the interim? They wouldn’t have. Maybe Edgar had finally
arrived.
“Hello!” I called out, suddenly conscious of the fact that I was for all intents and purposes naked as a jay-bird. “Who’s in there?” There was no response. I
walked slowly toward the door. “Who’s in there?” I
asked more insistently. “Edgar, is that you?” I won-
dered if I should knock. I hesitated for a minute, then N O T
A
G I R L
D E T E C T I V E
99
tapped gently. No one answered. I pressed my ear to the door and thought I could hear soft music playing.
I stepped back for a moment, then knocked harder.
The door swung open and banged against the wall. The
noise startled me. Not to mention the unmade bed.
There were sheets and blankets everywhere. A pair of
faded blue jeans was lying in front of the fireplace.
Jake.
But where was he? And where was Edgar? They’d
obviously been here. And now they were gone.
I backed away from the room and headed to the
kitchen. I remembered seeing a typed list posted by the phone with emergency contact information. This didn’t seem like an emergency, not exactly, but something
wasn’t right. I wanted to talk to Edgar. The first number on the list was the Carroll Avenue house. I dialed and waited. The machine picked up. I hung up, frustrated.
The next number was Mitchell Honey’s cell phone. It
rang and rang. No answer. I started pacing back and
forth.
“Ow!” Jesus H. Christ. Perfect. I’d stepped on some
broken glass. Bridget had dropped something in here
yesterday. Of course, it was too much to ask that she clean up her messes properly. I bent down and rubbed
my hand across the bottom of my foot. Damn it. This
was a monster piece. How could she have missed it?
And now I’d cut my hand, too, and there was blood all over the place.
I grabbed some paper towels and started blotting up
the drops of blood, then wrapped the last few sheets on the roll around my hand and foot. I peeled the list off the wall and studied it. Jake’s cell phone was next. I 100
S U S A N
K A N D E L
limped across the living room, trying not to stain the beautiful wood floors, and back out to the pool.
“Did you talk to him?” asked Lael. “What happened
to you?”
“I never realized you were so accident-prone,” said
Bridget.
“I cut myself,” I said, glaring at Bridget, “that’s what
That’s when the phone flew out of my hand and fell
down to the bottom of the pool.
“Shit!”
“Were you going to tell him you loved him?” asked
Lael, positively deranged with anticipation. She was
sitting up now, and clutching the sides of her raft.
“What was he saying?”
“Now we’ll never know,” I said.
98
S U S A N
K A N D E L
“Your love has plunged into the bottom of a watery
abyss,” said Bridget. “Just like Titanic .”
I climbed out of the pool and adjusted my black
bikini, which set off to perfection the wound I’d gotten stealing the orange in Riverside. “I’m calling him back from inside. You two can wait here.”
I probably needed a new cell phone anyway.
We had, of course, forgotten to bring out towels.
Dripping wet, I traipsed across the velvety green grass to where I’d left my Diet Coke, took a swig, then
walked through the sliding glass doors into the living room. The air conditioner was blasting. Shivering, I
turned it off and tiptoed through the breezeway toward the bedrooms. The linen closet was located just opposite the room I’d been using.
“Love is in the air,” I hummed to myself, da-da-da-
da-da-da-da-da. Halfway through the next chorus,
something caught my eye.
The door to the master bedroom was ajar.
Strange. I’d walked through the master bedroom ear-
lier this morning, when I’d come in after getting soaked by the sprinklers. I distinctly remembered closing the door behind me before I walked across the hall to my
room. Why would Lael or Bridget have opened it in the interim? They wouldn’t have. Maybe Edgar had finally
arrived.
“Hello!” I called out, suddenly conscious of the fact that I was for all intents and purposes naked as a jay-bird. “Who’s in there?” There was no response. I
walked slowly toward the door. “Who’s in there?” I
asked more insistently. “Edgar, is that you?” I won-
dered if I should knock. I hesitated for a minute, then N O T
A
G I R L
D E T E C T I V E
99
tapped gently. No one answered. I pressed my ear to the door and thought I could hear soft music playing.
I stepped back for a moment, then knocked harder.
The door swung open and banged against the wall. The
noise startled me. Not to mention the unmade bed.
There were sheets and blankets everywhere. A pair of
faded blue jeans was lying in front of the fireplace.
Jake.
But where was he? And where was Edgar? They’d
obviously been here. And now they were gone.
I backed away from the room and headed to the
kitchen. I remembered seeing a typed list posted by the phone with emergency contact information. This didn’t seem like an emergency, not exactly, but something
wasn’t right. I wanted to talk to Edgar. The first number on the list was the Carroll Avenue house. I dialed and waited. The machine picked up. I hung up, frustrated.
The next number was Mitchell Honey’s cell phone. It
rang and rang. No answer. I started pacing back and
forth.
“Ow!” Jesus H. Christ. Perfect. I’d stepped on some
broken glass. Bridget had dropped something in here
yesterday. Of course, it was too much to ask that she clean up her messes properly. I bent down and rubbed
my hand across the bottom of my foot. Damn it. This
was a monster piece. How could she have missed it?
And now I’d cut my hand, too, and there was blood all over the place.
I grabbed some paper towels and started blotting up
the drops of blood, then wrapped the last few sheets on the roll around my hand and foot. I peeled the list off the wall and studied it. Jake’s cell phone was next. I 100
S U S A N
K A N D E L
limped across the living room, trying not to stain the beautiful wood floors, and back out to the pool.
“Did you talk to him?” asked Lael. “What happened
to you?”
“I never realized you were so accident-prone,” said
Bridget.
“I cut myself,” I said, glaring at Bridget, “that’s what
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