SLEEP WAS NOT MY FRIEND.Max had to go after a bit more conversation—apparently your best friend being possibly murdered only earned so much goodwill in the production schedule but the fact he had the inside scoop about me being alive had bought him a half-hour more—and I was feeling sick from all of the ups and downs of the day.Charlemagne followed me down to the kitchen, jumping onto the table while I made myself a cup of chamomile and got a gummy out of my kitchen stash.I was running low and should go into Bangor to restock, but the idea of driving anywhere any time soon was anathema.Charlemagne moved to sit in front of me when I sat at the table, the oven hood light the only illumination in the room.It shone on the little plate on his collar, making it gleam gold against the diamante-studded strip of leather Tubbs had chosen for him."He really loved you, huh?"I sighed."You don't buy a cat a diamond studded collar unless you really care about 'em.I have to tell you, the idea of Tubbs being soft for any living creature is weird to me.”
The cat, in his infinite wisdom, blinked at me.
"Stop it.I don’t want to think that Tubbs was possibly a complicated and multi-faceted person and not a single-note villain in my story.”
He followed me back upstairs a little bit later, my gummy-tea combo kicking in and doing the heavy lifting to get my brain to settle down so I could sleep.As I finally drifted off, Charlemagne in his new spot by my head, Muffin taking up most of the other side of the bed and Tony guarding my feet, I wondered if the Moons had thrown out the detritus yet.Somewhere outside,
off in the distance, there was a pop and crash, muffled by trees and air and sea, but no sirens came so I didn't let it bother me, sleep finally claiming me for a few hours.
Chapter 11
The Moon sisters staredat me over the box of pastries from La Croissant D’Or I proffered.“You want to what?”Sienna asked, confused.
“See the room Tubbs was staying in.Um, and if you’ve already taken stuff out, if you still have it around, I’d like to see that too.”
“Why?”Carmel asked, finally glancing at the box and selecting a sugar and cinnamon dusted cruller.
I smiled and turned the box towards Sienna before giving them the story I’d worked up during Muffin’s morning walk.“Since I’m watching over Charlemagne till other arrangements can be made, I want to make sure I’ve got all of his stuff.He’s missing some things.”
“How do you know?”Sienna asked around a bite of almond croissant.“Did someone give you a list?”
Carmel rolled her eyes at her sister.“Sienna.”
“I know, I know,” she muttered.“Look, we’re not rubes.I know you know that.So stop acting like you gotta put on some show to go snoopin’ in that room.”
“I, um, I don’t—” I sighed.“Okay, yeah.I want to see if he left anything behind that’d tell me why someonemightwant him dead.I mean, other than the obvious,” I added over Sienna’s snort.“I know he had that fight with Anmorata but she’s in the wind and with Heath and the team from the MCU set on this being an accident...Look, I just need to sate my curiosity, okay?I doubt I’ll find anything other than the fact Tubbs was awful and he destroyed the room and deserved to be sued over it.”I wasn’t sure if that’s what I was really hoping for or not.
Sienna and Carmel had an entire conversation with only their eyes and facial expressions.Finally, Carmel took another bite of her cruller and rolled her eyes.“I put a lot of stuff in boxes and bags, but it’s still in the room.We’ve had a few contractors out to give us an estimate on a deep clean but nothing’s happened yet.”
“I put personal effects into a plastic tub,” Carmel added.“Toiletries, clothes, that sort of thing.He didn’t leave behind much, but enough.”She sniffed, adding, “I don’t know what he took to that boat but it must not have been a lot.Looks like he had an entire closet full of crap in our room.”
Setting the box down on the kitchen table, I gave them both anI’m not worthybow that made Sienna grumble and Carmel laugh.“I’ll be quick as I can.Um, I don’t guess Heath or those guys from the state have said anything about coming back?”
Carmel made a face at that.“Heath came by with a few guys and a gal in some coveralls after I called him the other day, tellin’ him Tubbs had left his stuff behind.They poked around in there but didn’t take too long.Heath said it was fine to let the room out again since they didn’t think it was the scene of a crime, just a mess.”She hesitated.“He asked if you’d been by to talk to us, seem to think maybe you’d put an idea in our heads about it being a crime scene.”
“Nice,” I muttered.“Okay, I’ll be quick and careful.Just in case they change their minds.”
