Hercules lumbered over to me in his half-asleep state and yawned, showing off his massive doggie teeth. Then he leaned his body into mine, looked up with puppy-dog eyes, and waited to be stroked.
“You silly boy,” I said. “You love your rubs, don’t you?” I didn’t even have to bend over to pet him; his head was at the level of my elbow. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the baggie of meat I had brought for him. He eagerly but gently took it out of my hand, then returned to his corner to continue his nap.
We sat at the table and filled our plates, enjoying what I knew was warm-up small talk. Olivia always had local news and gossip to share and I looked forward to it.
“Want to tell me about your new camera?” She pointed down to the case next to my feet.
And there sat the camera case that I had not brought with me to Olivia’s. It seemed I now had both a talking cat and a sidekick camera.
“I have a new job!” I told Olivia. “Eleanor asked me to create and manage an online version of the old Destiny Falls Observer.”
“Eleanor asked you? That doesn’t sound like the Eleanor I know,” she chuckled.
“Okay, fine. She directed me to create the paper and to be the photographer, too. This is my unique work camera.”
“And by unique, you mean charmed?” Olivia tilted her chin toward the camera bag. “You seemed just as surprised as I was to see it appear next to you.”
“Exactly right. Apparently, my father used to be the photographer for the paper, so he’s going to be giving me some guidance.”
“Sounds like a pleasant way to get to know each other,” she said. Olivia had quickly become a trusted friend, so she knew much of the story of my whirlwind month.
“I loved that old paper. Used to read it in the morning with my tea. It featured only local news, so none of that stressful politics and world affairs.” She waved her hands in the air. “Too much of that can cause heartburn.”
I agreed with her. And it was nice to know the expectation would be local news only. That I could wrap my arms around.
“You heard about the ferry captain?” I asked her. Of course she had. I wanted to open that topic and find out what she knew. I wondered if this story should be in the Observer. I’d have to discuss the parameters with Grandmother or my father.
“That’s such a shame. So sad.” She paused just long enough to make it a polite statement, then launched into her gossip. “There was always something off about her. Not that it excuses murder, of course,” Olivia said.
“What do you mean something was off?”
“I often saw her hanging around with the guy that drives the boat and two of the mechanics.”
“You mean Kerbie, the helmsman?” I asked.
“Oh! You know Kerbie?”
“Not really. I met him at Vessie’s once. Just briefly. Saw him with two really large men who looked like mechanics.”
“Yep. They’re mechanics.” Olivia tried to stifle a laugh. “I’ve only ever heard them called Gronk and Shrek. I don’t know if that’s their real names though.”
“Very fitting,” I agreed. “They’re quite a trio. All three rotund guys, but Kerbie being so short with his bright red hair, and the two of them looking like black-haired giants next to him.”
“They always seemed to be off in a corner, secluded and anti-social. And they entered the ferry building from the backdoor, away from all the passengers.”
“I’ve seen passengers going to the backdoor,” I said. “They were dressed for skiing, which seemed odd. They came back around, and it appeared they were holding tickets.”
“Hmm. That is odd,” she said. Now, she wasn’t fooling me. Olivia knows everything, yet she sometimes keeps details to herself. Typically, given time, these seep out a little at a time.
“How did girl’s night go with your sisters?” Olivia asked, deftly changing the subject.
I couldn’t help it. I started chattering about my wonderful time with the girls, gushing about sisterhood. “We talked some about my mother. It was nice. We finished off a blender of margaritas, and they let it slip that my father never got over his love for her.”
Olivia was nodding with a sad look on her face. “And Emily has never gotten over him, either,” she said.
“What?” I said.
“What?” she said back. Then she abruptly stood up and grabbed the lemonade pitcher and announced it needed a refill.
“Wait, Olivia. Do you know my mother?”
But she was scurrying into the house. I followed her into the kitchen and tried to get her to open up on the topic, but she was closed as tight as a clamshell. She even claimed that I had misunderstood her. Which I knew I had not. I told you. As much as a gossip as she is, Olivia appears to know exactly how to keep a secret.
Suddenly, Hercules began barking in the backyard. Hercules is an incredibly well-trained dog and he’s quiet. I have rarely heard him bark. He doesn’t bark at random things like squirrels or a car driving by, so we knew it was something to investigate. We went out the backdoor to find out what the commotion was about.
Hercules had his nose in a bush. His tail was wagging happily and his bark was excited. He heard us coming and his body language appeared to be telling Olivia to look in the bush.
Olivia and I carefully eased the branches aside and there, at the base of a tree, was the tiniest little black kitten. It looked up at us with big, sad eyes and mewed pitifully.
“Oh my stars!” gushed Olivia.
We both crouched down and looked at the tiny creature. Hercules barked again from where he was standing, about twenty feet away from us. Olivia walked over, then told me not to come. In a quiet voice, like she was trying not to let
