Grace Among Thieves Part 2

She gave a last look around, then touched two walls with two fingers each, making sure they hit at the same moment. "Okay. I really didn't mean any harm. I had to see what was in here. And, like now, I had to touch it."

"Or something bad would happen?"

She gave an uncomfortable laugh. "Sounds ridiculous when you say it. But it's real to me."

I waved my hand to shoo her out the door in front of me. My plan was to keep an eye on her for as long as I needed to, but five uniformed guards surrounded us, relieving me of the duty the moment we emerged from the room.

Our chief of security, Terrence Carr, stepped forward. Muscular and handsome, he could easily be the old Old Spice Guy's doppelgnger. "What's the problem?"

"Everything's under control," I said. "But I believe we need to escort this guest off the property."

"No," she cried, grabbing my arm. "Don't do that. Please don't kick me out. I didn't do anything. I didn't even touch anything. Except for the walls, I mean."

I eased out of her grasp. "This woman left her group and snuck into one of our off-limits areas."

Terrence stepped forward. "Let's see some ID."

"You won't kick me out, right?" she asked even as she dug into her purse. "I'm part of a group. They've got to be wondering where I am."

"Maybe you should have stayed with them," he said.

She kept her mouth shut and presented her driver's license.

Terrence squinted at the laminated card. "Your name rhymes," he said. "Lenore Honore."

A flash of anger. "It's p.r.o.nounced ON-or-ay. Lenore ON-or-ay."

Terrence nodded acknowledgment. "Well, Ms. ON-or-ay, looks like you've overstayed your welcome."

From behind me, a booming voice. "Lenore!"

We all turned. John Kitts stood with his arms akimbo. "What are you doing now?" To me, he asked, "What happened? Why is security here?"

His tour group cl.u.s.tered around him, their faces bright with interest. I noted that Bennett and Hillary weren't among the curious onlookers and decided they must have given up on my return. A sixtyish woman who looked as though she'd spent fifty-nine of those years in the sun, wagged a finger at Lenore. "Listen, missy, I told you to watch yourself. You've been a thorn in my side all day." To John, "I told you she'd be trouble. But you didn't listen."

Terrence must have experienced the immediate claustrophobia I had the moment the throng surrounded us because he held his arms out, pressing them to back up. "Everything is under control," he said. "Let's not get excited."

"Don't use that tone with me, young man," the woman said. "I have a right to be angry."

Terrence didn't respond. Still holding tight to Lenore's ID, he murmured to his guards to keep an eye on the situation, then stepped a few feet away and pulled up his cell phone. I knew what he was doing: a quick call to the Emberstowne Police Department to find out if little Lenore had a record. We'd suffered too many losses over the past few days to let any transgression slide.

While Terrence was busy, John questioned Lenore, asking why she hadn't stayed with the group. His tone was measured, even calm, but the tendons in his neck stood out in sharp relief.

I scanned the group, seeking out the handsome man who'd caught my eye earlier. He was near the back, looking skeptical. Like a person who wanted to know more before he cast the first stone. When he noticed me watching him, he held up a hand in greeting and gave a rueful smile. I wondered if he and Lenore were traveling together. He was a bit older than she was but that didn't necessarily mean anything. Of course, if they were together, why wasn't he stepping up to defend her?

John continued his mild rant at Lenore while doing his best to prevent others in the group from drawing and quartering their wayward companion. Lenore was oblivious to their wrath, growing more confused by the moment.

The sixty-something woman who'd complained earlier took a menacing step toward John and pointed to the girl. "Because of her, we're going to be late for the show, aren't we? They aren't going to hold the curtain for us, are they?"

John tried to speak but she jumped right back in.

"We paid to see this show. It's one of the things I was especially looking forward to and we should get to see the whole thing, not have to wait for intermission to be seated. So what are you going to do about it? We're supposed to be back at the bus"-she tapped at her watch, a giant black-banded monstrosity with a face the size of silver dollar-"five minutes from now. We'll never make it."

"Marlene, let me . . ." he began.

"Does it look like this is going to be settled in five minutes? You told us we would only have a half hour to change and be back out the door. Why did you squeeze in this extra visit this afternoon, John? We're coming back tomorrow. That is, if Lenore hasn't ruined it for all of us. Maybe they don't want us back now. Do you?" This last part was addressed to me, but I let John handle her.

He did his best to manage the group's uncertainties. "We may have a little more leeway than I admitted. Let me handle it. Why don't you all start back for the bus now, and I'll join you shortly."

"With or without her?" Marlene asked.

"Let me worry about that. Head back now. All of you. Do you remember where the bus is parked?"

"Of course we do," Marlene snapped. "We're not children."

She stormed out. The rest of the group followed. A few cast sympathetic glances at Lenore as they tramped after their outspoken comrade.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Lenore asked, "Can I sit down?"

The guards exchanged a look. "Yeah, sure," one said. He spoke into his microphone, letting Terrence know we were changing locations, before escorting Lenore to the front vestibule, where we maintained benches for visitors' use.

I sidled up to John. "That was one unhappy lady."

"Lenore?"

"No," I said, surprised. "The ranting woman."

"Oh, she's okay," he said softly. "I had her on another trip. Really sweet person, a.s.suming you don't step out of line."

"Like Lenore did?"

He rolled his eyes. "I understand Marlene's frustration. We've been touring Emberstowne all day. We had a tasting at your friends' wine shop by the way. Excellent, as always. We also watched a gla.s.s-blowing exhibit, and made about five additional stops. Lenore has been late getting back to the bus every single time."

"Ouch."

"These people want their money's worth. They want to have all the experiences promised in the colorful and exciting brochure they received when they signed up. You get a problem child like Lenore in the group and it throws everything off. Marlene's just blowing steam. By the time she gets to the bus, she'll settle. She knows I won't let the group down."

"What about getting to the theater on time?"

He smiled. "I have a little pull with the management. Plus, I always build in more time than needed. A tour guide's dirty little trick."

"Good for you."

"I'll be glad when I can drop Lenore off at her final destination."

"When is that?"

"Seven more days. Long days. This past one has been tough. Lenore is clearly the most challenging guest I've encountered in twenty-four years of giving tours."

"That's saying something."

He glanced at his watch. "The sooner we wrap this up, the better. Where did your security chief go?"

Just as he said that, Terrence returned. John and I joined the group of guards surrounding Lenore; I couldn't help but notice that the look on Terrence's face was more sad than stern. He handed Lenore her driver's license. "Okay, Ms. Honore, you're free to go."

She clutched the ID to her chest. "Really? Oh, thank you. I knew you were a nice person."

"Nice has nothing to do with it."

John heaved a huge sigh of relief, then addressed Terrence. "We're scheduled to come back here for the full tour tomorrow. Is that going to be a problem?"

Terrence considered it. "I'm not inclined to allow Ms. Honore back inside Marshfield."

Lenore's mouth dropped open. Her expression slid from happiness to gloom in the time it took me to blink.

"That is," Terrence continued, "unless she promises not to step out of line again."

She lit up. "I do. I promise."

"And no touching."

"No touching," she said.

"I mean it." Terrence pulled out a set of handcuffs. "You see these? You touch anything at all and we'll wrap them around your wrists and haul you out."

"Yes, sir," she said, nodding vigorously.

I hoped for her sake that nothing would "pop into her head" tomorrow that she'd feel compelled to do.

To John, Terrence said, "You may want to consider making it a rule that no one walks away from the group alone. Inst.i.tute the buddy system or something. Do whatever works for you as long as you make sure she's never out of the group's sight."

After a couple more reminders, John led Lenore away. Terrence and I walked them to the front door, where a shuttle waited to take them to the parking lot.

"You let her off easy," I said the minute they were gone.

"Rodriguez vouched for her."

I could barely contain my surprise. Rodriguez was one of the town's two detectives. Middle-aged and more eager for retirement than to make his mark on the world, his patience been stretched thin by two recent murders here at Marshfield. I liked the man and appreciated his style far more than that of his younger partner, the edgy, hyper-suspicious Flynn. Rodriguez giving Lenore a pa.s.s was good enough for me, but I had to ask, "She doesn't have a record, I take it?"

"Not a criminal one, at least. But before I could even spell her name, Rodriguez knew who I was talking about."

"I don't understand."

"Seems our Ms. On-or-ay"-he strung out the p.r.o.nunciation-"arrived in Emberstowne a couple of nights ago and got lost walking back to the hotel where she was staying."

"Pretty hard to get lost in Emberstowne."

"Tell me about it. Anyway, she ran into your good friend Ronny Tooney, who made sure she was safe."

"And this involves Rodriguez how?"

Terrence rubbed his eyes. "People are weird."

I waited.

Fingers still ma.s.saging his eyebrows, he sighed. "You know Tooney is about as welcome at the P.D. as rats are in a restaurant, right? Well, it seems that the lovely lady in question managed to get drunk out of her skull. In her impaired state, she couldn't find her way back to her hotel and wandered around Emberstowne until Tooney noticed her. He couldn't be sure she had her hotel name right, so he took her to the police and let them deal with her."

"Seriously?"

"The guy may be a pest, but he's not stupid. You ask me, he was afraid the girl might turn around and blame him for some indecency. The man was covering his . . ."

"Tracks?"

"Yeah," he said with a grin. "Exactly the word I was about to use. Anyway, while she slept it off at the station, Rodriguez ran her name. She may have over-imbibed, but her record is as clean as my momma's kitchen floor on Sunday."

I laughed.

He continued, "When Lenore woke up the next morning, it was like she hadn't been drunk at all. No hangover. She ate everything the cops put in front of her. And she talked. A lot. They couldn't get her back to her hotel fast enough. Rodriguez says he feels sorry for the lady. He even went as far to declare that if she's a criminal, he'll hire Ronny Tooney as his personal a.s.sistant."

"Whoa."

"Which is why I let her go. But I'm holding John responsible for her. He knows that."

"He's got his hands full."

Terrence grinned again. "You couldn't pay me to take on that man's job."

Chapter 4.

WHEN I MADE IT BACK TO MY OFFICE, FRANCES was waiting for me. Wearing a peach polyester sh.e.l.l and coordinating plaid slacks, she stood in front of her desk, arms folded across her ample bosom. She tapped her sensibly shod foot impatiently against the golden oak floor and glared at me like a cranky princ.i.p.al about to hand out a tardy. The tiny pink note she held between two fingers completed the image to perfection. "And what was all the fuss about?" she demanded, pointing toward the first floor.

"Wow," I said. "That was fast, even for you. You need to let me in on your secret."

Unappreciative as usual of my humor, she sniffed. "The Mister stopped by. Told me to tell you that he was headed back up to his rooms. He also said to tell you that as soon as the fuss started, Hillary took off like a shot." Frances's eyes narrowed. "The Mister thinks she's behind all these thefts, doesn't he?"

I didn't answer. Hillary's innocence or guilt would be proved by facts, not by gossiping behind her back. Pointing to the pink slip of paper Frances held, I asked, "Is that for me?"

She extended her arm, presenting it high, near my face. "Some woman you know who works at the Kane Estate in California. She called. Sounded important."

"Nadia?" I said, grabbing the note to read it. Not much information. Her name, number, and Frances's scribbled, "CALL ASAP."