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“OK. Hurry. I’m asking Chi-Chi to come over to the café.”
“Good idea,” Gaines said. “Here, tell your brother what you told me. I’m driving now.”
Luna told Cullen about the woman who had stopped by looking for him. She described how the woman was dressed. Dripping of money. She seemed to be on a quest and was anxious to speak to Cullen.
“OK. Hold tight. We’ll be there soon.”
Luna clicked off the call and dialed Chi-Chi. She could see her across the courtyard pulling items off the counter and locking them up. “Hello, love,” Chi-Chi answered.
“Chi-Chi, can you come by when you’re done?” Luna was still out of breath.
“Of course, my love. You sound all wound up.”
“Just a bit. I’ll tell you all about it when you get here.” They nodded to each other across the courtyard.
Luna finished putting everything away and poured herself a cup of tea. Chamomile. She sat at one of the tables, closed her eyes, and took several cleansing breaths. Such a wacky day.
Several minutes later, Chi-Chi tapped on the glass. “What is going on?” Her singsong voice was a balm to Luna’s ears.
“You saw that woman who was creeping around today? The one all dressed in white?”
“Oh yes. Something about her did not feel right to me.”
“Me neither. And she kept coming back, looking for Cullen, as if he might have been expecting her, although she didn’t say so. And if he had been expecting someone, he would have told me before he went on his errand of no return.”
“What do you mean, no return?” Chi-Chi became concerned.
“Well, he forgot his phone. He left it in the shop. On his way back, he got a flat tire. But, that’s not all. Chris Gaines spotted him and was going to help him but they had to unload the truck, only to find the spare tire was flat, too.” Luna slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. “He’s supposed to be the brainiac in the family. I’m supposed to be the ditz.”
“Is everyone OK now? Are they on their way back?”
“Yes. They should be getting here any minute.”
* * *
George made his way around the showroom, peeking into drawers, seeing what else was of interest. After his self-guided tour, he’d deal with the stuff in the workshop and figure out what to do next. Unless someone unlocked that back door, he was leaving empty-handed. He came upon a nicely finished armoire with cane-paneled doors.
Rowena heard his footsteps getting closer. She had nothing with which to defend herself. The footsteps stopped in front of the cabinet she was hiding in. The doors were pulled open, and both she and George started screaming!
It was hard to tell which one was more freaked-out. Rowena was beating George over the head, trying to push him away. He was covering his head, trying to shield himself from the large leather handbag being used to pummel his skull.
Hearing the shrieks coming from the showroom, Luna grabbed a fire extinguisher and marched in, holding the nozzle in one hand and the device in the other. “Call 911!” she shouted to Chi-Chi. Chi-Chi was already on it. Wiley was barking wildly, adding to the clamor.
“Stop! Both of you!” Luna yelled at the intruders. “Trust me. You don’t want a CO2facial.” She was directing her comment to Cruella de Vil. “And you,” she said, looking at the pathetic man cowering on the floor, “don’t you dare make a move or you will be picking sodium bicarbonate out of that beard while you sit in a jail cell.”
Chi-Chi was on the phone with the police, describing the situation. “Yes, that is correct. We have two intruders and are holding them at bay with a fire extinguisher.” Chi-Chi listened for a moment. “Yes, I did say a fire extinguisher.”
Luna wanted to lunge at the wicked woman. The guy? A schlub. “What are the two of you doing here?” Luna demanded.
“I have no idea who this man is,” Rowena said, her disgust that anyone would associate her with him evident.
“You sure do know who I am, lady,” George piped in. “You sent me a thousand dollars last night to give you the name of the guy who bought the garage junk.”
“How do you know it was me?” Rowena demanded.
“By your nasty tone, lady.” George gave it right back to her.
Luna tapped the hose of the extinguisher against the armoire, then pointed it at Rowena. “Let’s start with you, blondie. Answer my question. What are you doing here?”
