“Right,” I said, “and Allison was still there, I guess.”
“Correct,” Chet confirmed. “Allison called Ken because he’d previously left the studio in a fit of rage. She said she wanted to smooth things over with him.”
“Ah, yes,” I remembered. “He’d walked out of rehearsal.”
“This is what she said,” Chet agreed. “They were talking in a dressing room, while Alfred and Jerry argued. Then Allison and Ken assumed Jerry had left after Alfred, so their discussion became an intimate moment. Jerry was, in fact, still in the building, and he likewise assumed he was alone.”
“And then he heard someone in another room,” I gathered.
“Exactly,” Chet said. “He went to find out who was in the office, and he found Ken and Allison there. There was a fit of rage. Jerry stormed off to his office, and Allison followed him. The argument got worse, and Ken tried to intervene, and then Jerry and Ken got into an altercation. In the course of which, Allison tried to stop the fighting, by grabbing a marble bust off a shelf, and hitting Jerry with it, repeatedly. Unaware of her own strength, it only took a couple of blows before Jerry collapsed onto the floor in a pool of blood.”
“Well,” I muttered, “that’s outrageous.”
“It certainly was,” he said.
“So, Ken is an accessory?” I asked.
“He is, we have a warrant for him, but I reckon he will turn himself in,” Chet replied.
“I’m glad to hear justice is going to be served,” I stated.
“And you solved another one,” he chuckled. “Thanks for all of your help. We could use more of your skill around here.”
“I don’t know,” I said suddenly. “I’m thinking about going on vacation.”
“Vacation, huh?” Chet replied. “Well, that will be nice, too. Enjoy yourself. I’m sure we’ll see each other around.”
“I’m sure we will,” I said.
We ended the call, and I went back into the office with Jim and Vicki.
“He wants to build a skylight in the bedroom,” Vicki gushed with bright eyes when she saw me. “We could lay in bed and watch the stars.”
I raised an eyebrow. “It’s great. It all sounds great. What do you think of Tahiti?”
“What?” she asked with a confused frown. “What are you talking about?”
“Nothing,” I laughed as I took a seat. “Nothing. What were you discussing here?”
Jim and Vicki filled me in on their preliminary plans on the house. But I didn’t hear anything. I was on a beach, with a waterfall, and the water was so clear, the sandy bottom was still visible miles from the shore.
As Jim and Vicki went on, I couldn’t insert much more than a generic comment on the deck or private patio off the master suite, even though these were things I had strong opinions on.
The truth was, I needed to get some headspace. I’d been chasing down murderers for the last eight months, and I’d never really let it all in. I needed to get away from all of it. I needed it to be just me and Vicki for a bit.
Besides, she was so wound up, she was going around trying to kill roosters. If there ever was a case for a vacation, this was it.
We finished the meeting, and Vicki hired Jim. I just signed the paperwork.
On the drive home, though, Vicki had much more to say.
“Okay,” she said as we got on the road, “what was that?”
“What?” I replied with a shrug. “‘Snuff the rooster’ over there has something to ask?”
“Oh my gosh,” she groaned and rolled her eyes. “That is not what that song was about.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I snickered. “You tried to kill a rooster.”
“Okay,” she sighed. “It was an accident.”
“Yes,” I nodded sagely, “you just accidentally went over there, grabbed a rooster, and--”
“Don’t change the subject,” she laughed. “You’re not off the hook here either, mister. You barely said two words back there. What’s going on? And what was that about Tahiti? Is the mob coming after us again or something?”
“No,” I chuckled. “Let’s just … get out of here. Let’s leave town for a while.”
“What?” she asked with a furrowed brow. “Are you crazy? We have a business, clients, and an employee--”
“We’ll keep paying the employee,” I cut in, “and she’s got a boyfriend in Chicago. She’ll enjoy the break. And all of our work is on auto-pilot right now. So, let’s spend some time in Tahiti.”
“Tahiti?” Vicki asked as she tilted her head to the side. “Isn’t that where Earnie Green is?”
“He’s got a hut on the beach.” I nodded. “He said he can get us a deal on a villa anytime.”
“Is this because you miss him?” she asked.
“No,” I replied and glanced over at her. “It’s because I miss you.”
Her cheeks flushed. “Okay,” she murmured with a small smile. “When?”
“Right now,” I said. “Come with me right now.”
“Can we go home and pack first?” she giggled.
I laughed as we pulled into the drive of our house.
The chickens ran when they saw us. Now, I knew why.
Vicki got out of the car, and she looked at me still in the driver’s seat.
“Are you coming?” she asked quizzically.
“Yeah,” I said. “I’ve just got to run an errand, but I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Okay … ” She gave me a confused look, but I didn’t respond. “You sure you’re alright? You’re acting really weird.”
“I’m fine,” I reassured her with a smile. “Really.” Then I gunned the engine. “I’ll be back in an hour, I swear.”
She shrugged, shut the door, and walked backward slowly into the house still watching me for clues. Once she was inside, I backed out of the driveway and drove out to my parents’ house.
“Hello,” I called out. “Anyone home?”
My mom came
