“I’m renting a small guest cottage uphill on Easterby, that’s just a couple of minutes away. And from what I hear, the local police are always on the lookout for DUIs.”
“I guess you’d know, huh?” Holly said in a whisper followed by a soft kiss on his cheek.
Holly grabbed her purse and together they were out the door in a rush.
Saturday was another beautiful day, as most are in Marin during California’s dry season. Shortly before one, as Rob and Karin were finally getting together what they and the kids would need for their overnight in Calistoga, the phone rang.
It was Eddie.
“Hey man,” Rob said. “You sound a little tired.”
“Long night. But I’m at my departure gate, in Phoenix.”
“Wow! That was fast.”
“Saw all the folks I needed to see, first at NAU, and then Flagstaff PD, and even at the department of social services. Our late Mr. Bradley, known here as Mr. Benedict, had quite the backstory.”
“Tell me more.”
“I will after you pick me up outside the arrivals area at Oakland airport.”
“But Karin and I are going with the kids up to her folks’ place in Calistoga for the night,” Rob explained, knowing he was desperate to hear about Eddie’s trip.
“Hate to spoil your plans, pal, but we’re going to make an arrest—probably early Monday—of a suspect in the killing of Warren Bradley. I think that after all the work you’ve done on this story, you’d certainly want to be there at the end.”
“What time do you land?”
“Should be on the ground by three-forty-five. Southwest flight eight-oh-two.”
“Sure, okay. I’ll be on my cell. Just ring me when you’re heading out of the terminal, and I’ll pick you up at the curb.”
“Okay, see you there.”
“Eddie?”
“Yes?”
“Want to give me a hint?”
“Sorry, pal, there’s no way I’m going to miss the expression on your face when you hear the rest of this story.”
Chris and Holly slept in until just past noon. They kissed, first gently, and then passionately. Chris suggested that they go out for breakfast, but Holly insisted that he let her cook for him.
He agreed, and she dressed quickly and then took a brisk fifteen-minute walk down to the Marinship, and into Mollie Stone’s Grocery, where she bought eggs, sausage, white cheddar cheese, and a Rustic Bakery sourdough polenta bread. She wasn’t sure about Chris’s taste in coffee, so she went for the top of the line, picking up a small bag of Kona Blue Mountain coffee beans.
On her way back to Chris’s snug cottage, she walked along the waterfront. Whereas in the early 1940s this area, known as the Marinship, was teeming with shipbuilders serving America's war effort in the Pacific, now it provided a peaceful harbor for sailboats and houseboats.
Holly stopped herself from thinking how happy it made her waking up to find a handsome man next to her who seemed to adore her.
Holly loved his little place, and she was impressed at how neat he kept it. Chris was just stepping out of the shower when she walked back in. He wore nothing but a small yellow towel that was wrapped tightly around his waist. In the bright light of day, Holly could more fully appreciate the sculpted quality of his physique: flat abs, broad shoulders, and powerful arms.
She put down her groceries and wrapped her arms around her newly found love. “Where have you been all my life?”
“I was thinking the very same thing about you.”
“To hell with breakfast,” Holly said, as the two held each other, kissed passionately, and fell back into bed.
Karin insisted that Rob not feel guilty about the last-minute change of plans. “Don’t worry. I’ll take the kids up to Calistoga. They have their hearts set on seeing Grandpop and Nanna and I don’t want to disappoint them. Besides, it sounds as if you’re going to be busy working on your story for most of the weekend.”
“Thanks, sweetie. What a break for us if Eddie has cracked the case and we’re the first with the whole story! It’ll put The Standard in a whole different league. The dailies will all be quoting our reporting instead of the other way around.”
She kissed Rob on the cheek. “I’m excited for you, hon. And, frankly, it'd be wonderful to put an end to all this hysteria over the guilt or innocence of Grant Randolph. I can't imagine their relief in seeing all this craziness come to an end.”
“Good flight?” Rob asked Eddie as he tossed his overnight bag and briefcase on the back seat.
“That’s not what you drove down here to ask.”
“Gee, you really can see right through me.”
“Let’s go over to Francesco’s, right outside the airport. It’s off Hegenberger. I think they open at four. I’m starved, and I could go for some Italian comfort food and a double Scotch.”
“I’ve got to wait until then?”
“Francesco's is five minutes from here. Besides, as I told you over the phone, I’m not going to miss the expression on your face when you hear this story. Hell, I might take a snap of your puss with my phone! I want to see if your chin can fall all the way to the floor.”
“Okay, I won’t say a word until we’re seated. Hopefully, in the meantime, my head won’t explode.”
“I hope not; you’re the one driving.”
As Eddie slid into one of the restaurant’s leather-upholstered black banquettes, he let out a sigh of relief. “I feel like I’ve been going nonstop for the last thirty-six hours.”
“Sounds like it was worth it, though.”
“That’s an understatement.” With a tired smile, Eddie waved down a waitress for, “A Johnnie Walker Black, on the rocks. Make it a double,” he told her.
“Having the good stuff, I see.”
“I deserve it.”
Rob waited impatiently, sipping on water, while Eddie eased into his scotch and attacked a plate of lasagna.
When, finally, he had only a few bites left, Rob, who came only with an appetite for information, muttered,
