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“That sounds great,” I said. “But I’m fine with bringing some stuff over to cook.”
“No, you’ve cooked enough for me. Let me do this for you.”
Protesting didn’t seem worth the effort. Besides, even though I loved to cook, I was just fine with having my man barbecue for me. It had been a long time since I’d had a grilled meal.
We agreed on seven o’clock, and I said I’d see him there. After I hung up, I belatedly remembered my plans to meet Father Neil at the Bigelow mansion at midnight. No sleepovers at Calvin’s house this go-’round, it seemed…if that was even what he’d intended.
Despite that small disappointment, I couldn’t help being cheerful. Calvin was going to have a hacker deputy investigate The Lightman Group for me, and I was going to have an unplanned but very welcome evening at his house that night.
Now all I had to do was vanquish the demons, and everything would be back on track.
13
Bump in the Night
Archie seemed remarkably mellow when I told him I wouldn’t be home that evening. “I suppose you’re going to be with that Calvin fellow again,” he said. “If you must continue to associate with the man, then you might as well do it at his home rather than yours.”
“Thanks, Archie,” I said with a grin. “You’re all heart.”
He only sniffed and headed over to his favorite sunlit spot by the window. Still smiling, I got out a can of cat food and opened it up, then dumped it in his bowl. I hadn’t changed for my date at Calvin’s house, figuring that a barbecue by its very nature was casual, and so my jeans and sleeveless top would be just fine.
The evening remained clear, with no sign of any monsoon storms looming, so I popped the top on my Beetle before I backed out of the parking space behind the store. Warm air flowed over me, welcome and somehow calming. Golden late afternoon light burnished the town’s buildings as I drove away from Globe and toward San Ramon, although I’d brought along a lightweight sweater just in case. Temperatures around here tended to drop pretty fast once the sun was down, especially on a clear night like this one promised to be.
It felt good to be doing something as prosaic as going over to my boyfriend’s house for an impromptu barbecue. I hadn’t heard anything from my mother but had decided to let it be for now. Once she and Tom made up their minds, they’d be in touch. And while I was a grown woman and wasn’t too worried about my mother scolding me about going back to the Bigelow house when she’d pretty much forbidden it, I figured I might as well stay silent on the subject until I had some real news to report.
Like Father Neil actually succeeding at banishing the creatures who’d decided to park their unholy behinds in the historic mansion.
Because I had the top down, I could smell the scent of grilling as soon as I pulled off the dirt road and onto the gravel lane that led to Calvin’s house. I couldn’t see him, but smoke drifted up into the air from behind the low adobe building, and so I guessed that was where he must be.
Sure enough, he stood at a big stainless-steel grill that had been shrouded in a black plastic cover the other times I’d been out to the house. The wooden patio table a few feet away already had plates and glasses set out, along with a bottle of wine.
I went over to Calvin and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “That smells amazing,” I said. “What’re we having?”
“Grilled tri-tip, corn on the cob, and fingerling potatoes on skewers,” he replied.
A quick glance down at the grill confirmed the menu. “I had no idea it was going to be so gourmet. I figured we’d be having burgers.”
He grinned, teeth flashing white in the warm early evening light. “No, you’re worth more than that. And this isn’t so complicated. Actually, what you’re seeing here is pretty much my entire cooking repertoire, so I hope you enjoy it.”
“I know I will.”
A flip of the big piece of meat sitting on the grill, and then he closed the lid and led me over to the table. “Here’s to dining al fresco,” he said, and picked up one of the stemless plastic wine glasses on the table so he could fill it. After handing it to me, he poured more wine into the second glass and touched it to mine.
“Definitely,” I replied. The wine was good, a big fruity zinfandel that would be great with the grilled meat.
He really couldn’t have picked a better night for a barbecue. Did Calvin’s people have their own weather sense? Was that why he’d known we needed to take advantage of this lovely clear evening?
Maybe. Whatever the reason, I was glad to be able to sit down and enjoy the warm air, the scent of dry grass and sun-heated juniper that surrounded us with their soothing, aromatic perfumes.
“A priest came into the shop this afternoon,” I said — I’d already decided it was better not to mention Miriam Jacobsen’s incursion, since I knew Calvin had a pretty low opinion of her — and his brows lifted.
“Is that the beginning of a joke?”
“No,” I replied, although I couldn’t help smiling at his question. “I guess Father Neil worked with Brant Thoreau on cases like this one, and Sasha Young called him. I know she was just trying to help me out, but I don’t know if it’s such a good idea to get someone else involved with the mess at my parents’ place.”
Calvin sipped some zinfandel. “Did you tell him that your mother told you to stay away?”
“Well….”
