“What else did she tell you?” I didn’t make eye contact with David as I closed the cabinet. “I'm guessing you picked her up at the airport.”
“Yep, he did.” Cindy chimed in. “We talked about a lot of things, didn’t we?”
“You’ll have to fill me in.” Opening the fridge, I retrieved a bottle of water since David forgot me when doling them out.
“I'm off. I have things to do. You two are on your own for the rest of the day.” As he walked past, he gave me a quick peck on the cheek and headed out the door.
“Show me the views.” Cindy grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the glass doors. I slid one open and we stepped outside.
“This house,” she gazed all around. “The set up is way too cool. You must love living here.” Strolling to the end of the deck, she peered over the edge.
“Be careful, please. David still needs to put up the railing.”
A parrot flew by landing in a tree in front of us. “Val,” she pointed. “Look at that bird. He’s amazing!”
“Yeah, and they are pretty friendly too. We feed them every day.” I tromped over to a banana peel and picked it up, flinging it in the yard.
Cindy walked back to me and made a sad face, draping an arm around my shoulder.
“Honey, what's wrong? You don’t seem like yourself.”
“I don't know… things haven’t been going so well.”
“Have you been writing? How are the books coming along?”
“No books, I’ve been too busy piecing things together.”
“Huh?”
“I’m trying to solve a puzzle.”
“Puzzle? What are you talking about?”
“This place,” I said, waving my arm. “It’s become one big mystery.” I turned and walked toward the door.
“What do you mean? I don't understand,” she followed me back inside and we sat on the futon.
Leaning forward, I rested my elbows on my knees and blew out a long slow breath. “I don't even know where to start.”
“The beginning would be a good place,” she said, brushing the hair from my face. “You seemed so happy when you first arrived here.”
“Yeah,” I sat back and began counting on my fingers. “That was before the ATM ate my card and before I saw life insurance papers with my name on them. Before I found a wooden box buried in the garden and before finding a strange letter from his ex-wife who, according to Slim, I resemble.”
“Gosh! That does sound like a mystery,” she faltered. “Who’s Slim?”
“A friend of David’s who picked us up at the airport.”
“Oh, well, now that I’m here, we can solve the puzzle together.”
I sighed, shrugging my shoulders.
“Look on the bright side; at least you have a dog.”
“Yeah, my one true friend around here, my loyal companion.”
Cindy made the sad face again. “I was wondering why you weren't happy to see me when I walked in the door.”
“Sorry, it has nothing to do with you. Right before you got here, I was on the computer and happened to see David's search history.” I frowned.
Her eyes widened. “Uh-oh, what did you find?”
“It's what I saw.”
“Let me guess,” she raised an eyebrow, “an email from another woman?”
“No,” I snapped, “a phrase, a search term.” I chewed on my thumbnail.
“So, what then? Tell me. What did it say?”
“Deadly concoctions.” I trembled, feeling my heart race as the words left my mouth.
“What the hell?” She scooted over, placing her hand on my shoulder. “Why on earth would David be searching for such things?”
“I have no idea but mark my words, I will find out.”
32
David
I walk into the house and the sweet scent of vanilla hits me in the face. A vase of hand-picked flowers, from my garden by the looks of them, sits in the middle of the table. Next to it, a white, flickering candle, wax dripping down the side into a small hardened pool on the table. Reaching for a butter knife, I gently scratch it off, hoping it doesn’t leave a stain on the wood. As I take a step back, rolling the wax into a tiny ball, I study the arrangement for our guest.
A table set for three.
Off in the distance, I hear voices and the clinking of glasses. Then a burst of laughter and a door sliding open and closed. I gaze over and there they are heading my way.
Yin and Yang.
Cindy, making herself right at home, grabs a bottle of wine on the counter and refills their glasses.
“Care for one?” she asks, gripping the bottle by its neck, waving it in the air.
I want to say, ‘yes’ to her offer as an entire bottle of wine is exactly what I need to deal with Cindy, Ms. Yin, this evening. I anticipate a night of antics, a tawdry replay of our boozy dinner in LA. Instead, I flash her a smile, shake my head, and decide to start with a glass.
I reach to the rack for a bottle of red, open it, and fill my glass halfway. Swirling the wine, I then raise the glass to my lips, inhaling the vapors.
“You’re not one of those, are you?” Cindy quips.
“One of those?” I inquire sarcastically. I take another sip.
“He is,” Val interjects. “Not only is he a ‘swirler’ but he’s also a ‘questioner.’”
“I see,” Cindy says, eyeballing me and then flicking her gaze to Val. “But we’re used to guys like him, aren’t we V?” She elbows Val.
I glare at them. “A little inside joke, hmm?”
Cindy overly swirls her glass, mocking me. “Relax, we deal with swirlers and questioners all the time at the hotel.” She giggles. Val blushes and gazes down, shaking her head. “Correction,” she nudges Val, “in Val’s case, the word is dealt. She’s dealt with your kind before,” she slightly slurs, pointing at me. “I, on the other hand, still do,” she points to herself. “I still deal with them.”
Here we go, let the Cindy games begin. She’s already tipsy and stumbling over her words. I let out a loud breath.
“It’s dinner time,” I announce. “Let’s eat.” I
