Death By Bridle (3 page)

When awakened from my nap, I heard Matt and Jake talking in the great room. I washed my face and combed my hair after changing from my wrinkled day clothes into a green silk caftan, which set off my eyes. I had to keep pushing the kittens, which were now sizable, away from my things as they thought this was a great opportunity to either crawl up my back or knock lipstick tubes off the vanity.

These were the progeny of a barn cat who had taken up residence in my clothes closet along with her boyfriend. She used my favorite cashmere sweater as a bed. I didn’t have the heart to throw her and the family out until now.

“First opportunity, boys, and you’re going to the barn,” I threatened, picking up a black and white kitten trying to chew my hairbrush. I kissed his nose.

Baby padded in, gave me a brief nod and went into the bathroom so he could drink out of the toilet. He looked up in annoyance as I scolded him. “You have fresh bowls of water in the kitchen and outside. Yet you insist on drinking out of my toilet. It’s disgusting.”

Water dripped from his massive face folds only to be followed by strings of drool. I tried to wipe his face off with a towel but he fought, so I gave up. I didn’t want to risk falling. Baby, knowing that he had won the battle, burped and thudded out of the bathroom, no doubt on the prowl for something to eat. The kittens skedaddled after him in delight. Whatever he got to eat, Baby shared with them calmly, if not happily.

Finally at peace in my own bedroom suite, I put on some makeup. I looked in the mirror satisfied. I was ready to see Matt, who was the most gorgeous human being I had ever beheld. He strongly resembled Victor Mature, the matinee idol of the forties and fifties. Dark thick wavy hair, piercing blue eyes that accentuated a Roman patrician nose. Pronounced lips that gave way to a strong chin and jawbone. Wide shoulders tapered to a narrow waist and then jutted out to perfectly sculpted thighs and calves. Yes, indeedy, Matt had won the genetic jackpot.

I ventured into the great room without Jake and Matt knowing, for they were deep in conversation. I couldn’t help but compare them. Jake looked like a scrappy mutt next to Matt’s cultured looks but that still had its attractions. Jake was not as tall but his body looked powerful with its sinewy muscles. His hair was also black but longer and thicker with a blue tint to it. While Matt’s features were refined, Jake’s were blunt and the skin seemed stretched tightly across his skull, but somehow the features worked together to make Jake look rough and sexy while Matt looked beautiful, yet cold and unapproachable.

Both men were hard workers. Both men were confident in their abilities, but that’s where it ended. Matt had had a classical education and spoke Latin with ease. We both loved art, vintage movies, and fine clothes. We paid homage to beauty.

Jake could have cared less about art. His training had been in the Marines and medicine. He was practical and observant, making those hard decisions about life from which Matt and I shied away. Jake loved nature and understood how to keep balance with it, but as much as he loved life he could take it easily. For him death was a part of life.

Matt was always brooding about the big questions of life. Jake already understood them.

I cleared my throat, causing them to look up.

Matt smiled when he saw me. He must have been pleased, as he liked me to dress up a little bit. It had given him great pleasure when he and Franklin, his boyfriend, had raided my closet while I was in Key West and burned all my stained, torn, and faded shirts and pants. Franklin even raided my underwear drawer and replaced my granny underwear and bras with cute little lacy things that were totally impractical to wear in my condition . . . or at my age.

I walked over to a chair and slowly sat.

“Where’s your cane, Josiah?” asked Matt.

“I’m only using it when I go out. I feel confident walking in the house.”

Matt looked pleased. “Well, that’s another improvement, isn’t it, Jake?”

“I think she’s doing better and better each day. Pain seems to be under control,” he said.

“For now,” I interjected.

“For now,” Jake repeated. “She’s sleeping better and we’ve cut down on a lot of medication. She’s not a pill jockey anymore. Going in the right direction.” He smiled at me.

I knew he was pleased at his part in my recovery as well. Indeed, my improved health was largely due to him.

“What were you guys discussing?” I asked.

Matt scratched his arm. “I went to the hospital after work. The good thing is that Linc is awake, but he refuses to say anything . . . even to his mother. And Shaneika’s having a time keeping the cops out of the room.”

“I would have to agree with her on that. Linc needs time to recover.”

“But the cops want to talk with him while his thoughts and impressions are fresh,” said Jake. “They don’t want him to have time to lock in on any false memories.”

“Are they still guarding his room?”

Matt nodded. “I talked to one of the cops on duty. They are taking this case very seriously and really think Linc might be in some kind of danger. It would remove significant threat if Linc would give an official statement. Otherwise they think the killer might make a move on him.”

“Hell’s bells,” I whispered. I struggled to stand up. Jake held Matt back from helping me.

“Struggling is part of the process,” cautioned Jake.

Personally, I would have liked to have had help.

“I am going to make some dishes, and Jake – you’re going to help me.”

Matt raised an eyebrow. “This is the first time you’ve cooked since the accident.” We always refer to O’nan pulling me off the cliff and falling forty feet as the “accident.”

“I think if Jake helps me, I can do it. You go home and relax for a while. Then you and Franklin come back around 7:30 for dinner. If I do well, we’ll eat here. If not, we’ll go out.”

Rubbing his hands together with glee, Matt asked, “What are you going to cook?”

“None of your beeswax. It will be simple. Nothing grand. Now scoot,” I said. “I’ll see you later.”

Jake procured a swivel barstool and placed it by the counter where I had put out juicy tomatoes, several different kinds of cheeses, bread, sliced turkey. “Jake, I need you to fry some bacon but not too crispy.”

“What are you making?”

“Ever eaten a Hot Brown?”

“Nope, never heard of such a thing.”

“A Hot Brown is a thing of beauty, of symmetry. Fred Schmidt, who worked for Louisville’s Brown Hotel in 1926, created it. It was to be a signature late evening dish catering to those who weaved into the hotel after a night of dancing and other carousing. Every Kentuckian eats a Hot Brown now and then. Keeps the bad cholesterol up.”

“I can see that,” replied Jake, looking dubiously at the cheese and bacon. “How many fat grams does this thing have?”

“Hush. A Hot Brown is a work of art. Besides, it’s Linc’s favorite meal.”

“Ahh, I see. A little bribery may be in the offing.”

“If the Hot Browns come out well, I think I should pay Linc a visit tomorrow.”

“Around lunch time?”

“Definitely.”

I told Jake where to find the Bybee plates I always used to make Hot Browns. After he washed them and placed them by me, we both worked quietly in the kitchen. We seemed to anticipate each other’s moves, so it was easy and dinner was in the oven in twenty minutes. In another ten minutes, we had my prized Nakashima table set with several bottles of chilled white wine.

Satisfied with our accomplishment, we eyed the table with pleasure and then smiled at each other. We held each other’s eyes longer than necessary. I felt the blood rush to my face.

“If you could start cooking here and there, that would take a lot of pressure off me,” said Jake, breaking the tension.

I nodded. “They would have to be very simple . . . and I would need help getting to certain dishes and pans.”

“Why don’t you make a list and I’ll get the ingredients. We’ll spend a day making dishes that we can freeze for later use. It will save us time cooking every day.”

Happy that I might be able to contribute even on a small scale gave me something to look forward to. I planned to make a complete list the next day.

An hour or so later, Matt and Franklin straggled in, looking apprehensive until I pulled the spotted blue and white dishes out of the oven. Matt placed them on the table.

“Yummy,” said Franklin, who jumped in his seat while pulling his napkin out of the wine glass. “I’ll take a little vino too, please.”

Matt poured lemon water into my glass. I made a face but didn’t complain. I was still on medication that would not allow me to drink alcohol. Jake placed my cane on the back of my chair and sat beside me. The Hot Browns gave off a wonderful aroma and were steaming from the still bubbling cheeses.

Franklin stood up, holding his wine glass. “I would like to make a toast to our lovely hostess who now feels well enough to cook wonderful dishes for the men in her life.”

Matt and Jake took spoons to their wine glasses. “Hear, hear,” they echoed.

“And who also promised me several months ago, that when the time was right, she would invite me and Lady Elsmere to a dinner party at the Butterfly. Remember that?” asked Franklin, pursing his lips.

“Sit down, Franklin,” admonished Matt.

“Well, she did.”

“I would like to say that this is Josiah’s first cooked meal since the accident. We wish her a full recovery and much happiness in the years to come.”

Jake winked at me. “Like the sound of that.”

Everyone took a sip including myself. I looked at their shining faces and knew that I was beaming.

It came as a shock then, that in less than fifteen hours, my world would crumble and I would lose the man I loved.

I entered the heated pool, which was steaming in the morning’s brisk air. Jake had already done his laps and stood holding water weights. The sun was skirting the top of the trees as songbirds flitted to the various bird feeders stationed near the patio. I noticed a red cardinal, the state bird, sharing a meal along with an American goldfinch plus a nuthatch and black-capped chickadee. A flicker bounced from one walnut tree to another.

Jake handed me weights, instructing me to do some jumping jacks in the shallow end. I obeyed. Jake jumped out to get some more exercise equipment.

The air was nippy so I moved into the deeper water so my shoulders would be covered. My feet slipped and I went under. I don’t know what happened. I guess I panicked. I just kept sliding into deeper water as I tried to get my bearings.

I felt a hand grab my hair and pull me up. My arms flailed for the poolside until my hands made contact with something solid.

“Damn,” sputtered Jake as I spat out water. “I can’t turn my back for a moment.”

I pushed the hair out of my eyes. “I slipped.”

“You’re always going to slip or fall with that bum leg of yours. You gotta stay calm and think about what to do when falling. You’ve got to stop this panicking every time you go down or you will never be independent. Never.”

Seeing the fear on my face, he relented and said, “Let me check you out.” He put his arms around me and pulled me to the shallow end. Clinging with my arms around his neck, I pressed against him. Jake looked down.

I felt the sun beating down on my face as I met his gaze.

Suddenly he was kissing me. I held him tighter, greedily meeting his kiss. Time felt suspended as I drank in the touch of his lips, his muscular arms around me, the feel of his bare torso against mine.

A kiss can be a powerful thing. It can open up worlds. It can heal. I felt as though I was drowning again but this time I didn’t care. I would surrender to wherever it took me.

“MOTHER!”

Both Jake and I jerked our heads up.

There stood Asa, my daughter, standing by the pool’s edge looking . . . I don’t know . . . surprised?

Feeling like I had been caught necking by my mother, I giggled. Jake jumped out of the pool and pulled me with him. He wrapped a towel around me, nodded to Asa, and then fled to his bedroom.

I gave my daughter a big hug. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve got some good news for you and wanted to tell you in person.” She beckoned to the patio table and chairs. “Are you warm enough?”

“Sure. You’ve met someone and getting married?” I asked hopefully.

Asa resisted rolling her eyes. “Nooooo. O’nan’s been caught and is now behind bars without bail for the moment, but I doubt any judge would give him bail. He’s too much of a flight risk.”

I clasped Asa’s hands. “How, when . . . oh this is good news.”

“We traced him to France and had Interpol pick him up. For once the French are going to cooperate and extradite him. He’ll be in Lexington’s hands soon. He’ll never hurt you again, Mom. Never.”

“He’ll go to jail and stay there?”

“Unless something screwy happens, he’ll be behind bars for a long time.”

“Praise God,” I responded and smiled warmly at my dark-haired, dark-eyed daughter. She had her father’s fine features.

“Let’s get you into some dry clothes. You look like you’re shivering to me.”

“I am trembling from all the excitement this morning.”

She lifted an eyebrow but said nothing.

“Oh, have I got something to tell you about June too.”

Asa laughed. “I hope it’s juicy, but tell me after you’re dressed.”

“I was going to take a Hot Brown to Linc at the hospital before lunch. You want to go with me?”

“Yes, Shaneika called and told me what happened. I wish you wouldn’t get involved. Let me handle it.”

I shook my head. “I can’t refuse after all that she has done for me.”

Asa hesitated for a moment but nodded in agreement. “See your point.” Changing the subject, she continued, “I need to talk some stuff over with Jake. Why don’t you have my driver take you and then I’ll meet you for lunch and bring you back home?”

“Sounds okay. I’m sure Jake would like the time off. Have the car brought around in an hour. I’ll be ready then.”

“Sure. I’ll put my bag in my room and then I’ll join you in the kitchen before you leave for the hospital.”

Asa gave me a quick hug and petted Baby, who kept nuzzling her hand. He thumped after her while I went to take a quick shower and change, but not before I put a Hot Brown in the oven.

Within an hour and half, I was in Lincoln Warfield Clark Todd’s room bribing him with the Hot Brown and some chocolate milk. A wide smile spread across his light brown face. I told him quite frankly that the food was a bribe and he would not get a bite unless he spilled all that he knew.

Linc sang like a bird.

The story boiled down to two white men arguing to the point of physical blows until they noticed him. He told me that he got scared and while trying to get away fell over a feed bucket. That’s all that he remembered. “Am I in trouble, Mrs. Reynolds? I didn’t mean to knock over that feed bucket. I’ll pay for the oats.”

I gave Linc a quick hug. “Sweetie, you’re not in trouble. You did nothing wrong.”

“Then why is everyone acting so creepy around me . . . and those policemen keep hanging around my door?”

I realized that no one had told Linc. “One of the men got hurt. The police just want to make sure that you don’t get hurt as well.” I playfully pinched his cheek.

Linc laughed and pushed my hand away.

“Linc, do you think you could recognize those men if you saw pictures of them?”

Linc looked thoughtful after he sipped his chocolate milk. “I think so.” He looked eagerly at me. “I could try.” He handed me his empty milk carton. “Is that man okay?”

“No, Linc, that man got hurt real bad. So anything you can remember will be helpful.”

His gentle hazel eyes widened.

“But remember, it’s not your fault. If you can’t remember anything else, that’s okay too. The most important thing is that you get better soon.”

“I’m getting out as soon as the doctor checks on me today.”

“That’s great,” I replied, putting the empty dish into my basket.

“Is that man going to get better?” questioned Linc again, looking at me with concern.

At first I paused, not knowing the right thing to say. Then I said, “Don’t you worry about it. You just concentrate on you.” I gave him my best smile.

“Okay, Mrs. Reynolds.”

“See you later, Linc.”

Lincoln cheerfully waved goodbye.

As soon as I shut the door, Shaneika and Detective Goetz were on me like ticks on an old beagle howling in the brush for rabbits. “Let’s stand over here where Linc can’t see or hear us,” I cautioned, pointing to an empty waiting room.

“Well,” demanded Goetz impatiently.

I gave them both a succinct report of exactly what Linc had told me. I also told them that I didn’t tell Linc that a man was dead. We weren’t even sure at this point if one of the men he had seen was Arthur Greene.

Goetz wrote furiously in his little notebook before looking at me. “Do you think he knows anything else?”

I shrugged. “Maybe a therapist could get more out of him, but he was pretty relaxed. I think he told me everything he remembered.”

“What about recognizing the men? When can I bring him some pictures?”

Shaneika seethed. “He’s done. Got that.”

Goetz turned toward her, his big belly almost rubbing up against her. “He is the witness to a murder where a man was hung from a barn rafter. Keeping this information to himself will only place him in danger.”

Shaneika stuck a finger in Goetz’s face. “See here, you big . . .”

“Whoa. Let’s all simmer down,” I advised, stepping between them. “Shaneika, what do you plan to do when Linc is released today?”

Not taking her eyes from Goetz’s face, she answered, “I was going to take him to his grandmother’s in Versailles.”

“She got any protection there?” asked Goetz.

Shaneika responded, “Well, no, but everybody knows everyone else on that street. If some stranger comes around, people will know it.”

“What were you going to do with Comanche?” I asked.

“I was going to bring him back to the Butterfly since O’nan got picked up,” she answered, looking sheepish.

“That’s a good idea,” interrupted my daughter, who rounded the corner. “I’ve got a plan that will suit everyone. The Butterfly is protected 24/7 and there’s lots of room. Why don’t you bring Lincoln to the house until this blows over?”

If Shaneika was surprised to see Asa, she didn’t act it. “Let me think on it,” she answered.

“You and your mother can stay as well. Security is already built in and the refrigerator is stocked full of food.”

“That might not be a bad idea,” I interrupted while mentally counting how many extra beds I had. “I have lots of albums with pictures of Arthur Greene in them. I can go through them with Linc and see if he recognizes him.” And I turned to Goetz, “And you can place a police car by the driveway entrance.”

Goetz rubbed his chin. “This might work.”

“Shaneika, you can go to work knowing that there are several layers of protection around Lincoln,” coaxed Asa.

I reassured Shaneika. “I’ve got plenty of room, really I do. It will be very little bother.”

“What do you think?” asked Shaneika of Goetz.

“I think Josiah’s home is a fortress. All the security mistakes that were made with O’nan have been corrected. No one can get in unless somebody makes a stupid error in judgment. I’d take her up on the offer.”

“Okay, we’ll do it,” said Shaneika. She grabbed my hand. “Thank you, Josiah.”

“No problem,” I assured, leaning on my cane. I was getting tired.

“I’ll bring Ms. Todd’s mother and boy out myself,” said Goetz.

“Right,” I responded. “See you later.”

Asa placed my hand on her arm. “Sorry about butting in, but it is the best solution for everyone.”

“It
is
the best thing. I’m sorry I couldn’t think of it quick enough,” I said, shaking my head.

“Well, let’s go for a quick lunch and then I’ll take you home to rest.”

“That sounds good.” I gave her arm a squeeze. “It’s so good to see you even though it’s for a short time.”

“Yeah, I’m glad I came home too. Needed to take care of some things,” she said, not looking at me.

Little did I know of what she was speaking and how it would affect me.