Chapter 3 #2
The call went to voicemail again. I hung up and tucked away the phone.
If Judd had been drinking at a party last night, it was possible he’d gone home with someone.
It wasn’t exactly his style—Judd was generally too uptight for one-night stands—but it wasn’t completely out of the realm of possibility.
But would he have kept his phone on silent this long?
That part was very un-Judd-like. The fact that I also had a dead mermaid on the docket made me anxious.
Judd would want to know about Belinda. He took all security-related incidents personally.
Last year, Patty MacGregor lost her pet canary during a hurricane, and you would’ve thought Judd had opened the bird’s cage himself and chased it into the storm.
He took every perceived failure as a personal one.
It was the trait that made him excellent at his job and terrible with interpersonal skills.
I left Judd’s house, feeling greater unease than when I entered. After the dullahan encounter this morning, I was sure my day could only improve. I, of all people, knew better than to tempt fate.
Two hours and five minutes later, I parked my bicycle outside Zachariah’s office. I’d get my golf cart fixed eventually. With Judd’s absence and Belinda’s death, the need for repairs had dropped a few slots on the to-do list.
I entered the office and was hit with the smell of lavender. Zachariah tried to use the floral smell to mask the foul odors associated with his work, but my nose was too sharp to be fooled. Plus, I hated the scent of lavender. Too sweet.
No one was at the reception desk, so I sauntered through to the back room. “I’m here. Right on time.”
Zach glanced up. “No Judd?”
“Not yet.” I noticed boxes of Chinese food on the nearby table. “What’s all this?”
“I arranged to have a meal delivered. I assumed you’d be hungry after all your running around the island.”
“How do you know I was running around?”
“I have my sources.”
“Do any of these sources happen to know where Judd is?”
“Afraid not, though I did ask.”
“Do any of these sources know what happened to Belinda? Might save you a ritual.”
“Another no, unfortunately.” His gaze shifted to the mermaid’s body. “I will be interested to examine her lower half.”
“That’s an inside thought, Zach.”
He rolled his eyes. “Belinda was a rare breed of mermaid. She spent more time on land than in water.”
Not all mermaids had the ability to walk on land, but Belinda had lived long enough to develop the option. Some people referred to it as the evolution fast track. Zach was right, though; Belinda was one of a kind.
“Would you like to hold the scalpel during the procedure? I’d be more than willing to guide your hand. ”
My skin crawled. “Do you think that would appeal to me?”
“That’s the purpose of my question—to ascertain your preference.”
“I prefer my food to stay in the digestive tract.” I didn’t mind the offer of food. I did, however, mind the glowing candlesticks set upon a silk tablecloth.
“Very well, then. I’ll conduct the procedure. You may observe.” He gestured to the table. “Eat before it gets cold.”
“This isn’t a date, Zachariah. This is part of an official investigation.”
“I’m a man of elegance, Maya. This is how I dine most days, with or without company.”
“By candlelight?”
“I’m under the harsh glare of artificial lights most of the day. I allow myself the luxury of the soft glow of candlelight during mealtimes. It eases the tension.”
“The tension from all that golf?”
“It’s a very intense game. One of the reasons I enjoy it as much as I do.”
The smell of moo shu pork overtook the scent of lavender and my stomach gurgled in response. “As long as we’re clear this isn’t a romantic overture.”
“I’m not Dr. Adam, Maya. I don’t even care for you that much as a person. I thought that was obvious.”
I slid into a chair and reached for the closest box. “As long as we’re clear.”
He handed me a set of chopsticks. “If I wanted to seduce you, I would’ve invited you to Miramar tomorrow evening for my birthday dinner. Experience how the other half lives.”
“Have you seen Titanic ? My half is drinking from the bottle and dancing on tables. ”
“Your half is also dying while mine is rowing to safety.”
I put my chopsticks to work. “You really don’t like me that much?” I asked, although my mouth was so stuffed with food, the question came out garbled.
“Not really.”
I swallowed the mouthful of pork. “Why not?”
“Mainly because you’re not very likable. Surely this can’t be news to you.”
“I guess not.” Judd always said I made no effort with people.
The ones who liked me either liked everybody, or I’d helped them in my role as assistant security director, and they were grateful.
The only reason Meemaw included me in their card games was because I was usually a terrible player.
I knew this, yet I continued to participate.
I’d always been a glutton for punishment; it was practically encoded in my DNA.
Zach used his chopsticks to pluck a pea from his plate with surgical precision. “Why do you care so much about what happened to Belinda?”
“Because I’m the assistant director of security. If I don’t care, who will?”
His dark brown eyes fixed on me. “Your job is to protect Neighbors from petty crimes and misdemeanors. Belinda’s dead and no longer in need of such protection.”
“Just because she lived an unexamined life doesn’t mean she deserves an unexamined death.”
“Hmm,” he said.
“What?”
“I like you a little better now.” He held the ends of his chopsticks close together. “Only a hair’s breadth, though, so don’t get too excited.”
“I’ll do my best to contain the explosive joy. ”
“I recommend containing anything potentially explosive.”
I gobbled down more pork. “What’s the deal with golf? Why do you like it so much, aside from its alleged intensity?” Which I wasn’t buying. Golf was about as intense as a Swedish massage.
“It’s enjoyable. It’s competitive. I’m good at it. The courses here are beautiful.” He shrugged. “There must be something you’d like to do every day.”
“Does sleep count?”
He clucked his tongue. “I pity you, Maya. You should explore more opportunities for joy in your life, especially given your age. You’re in excellent health and reasonable shape. You still have many years left to suck the marrow out of life.”
I sat up straight. “ Reasonable shape?” I could kick his ass with one hand operating the remote to enter my login details.
“Well, your arms could use a bit more definition. You strike me as someone who once had more muscle tone but stopped tending to them.”
I mean, he wasn’t wrong, but still. Rude to point it out. “Other than exercise, I don’t have any hobbies. Never had time to learn.”
“Surely you have free time now.”
“Now? I brought you a dead body and my boss is missing. You and I have very different definitions of free time.”
“These are recent developments. You’ve had years to embark on a relationship or immerse yourself in Neighborhood activities. You’ve done neither.”
“I play cards at Meemaw’s sometimes.”
“A tactical decision. You know you might need help from the witches on occasion, and who better to rub elbows with than the matriarch of that particular group?”
I was both impressed and unnerved by his astute observations. “Do you examine everyone on the island this closely?”
“Examinations are second nature to me. I prefer the dead, but the living will do when the former isn’t an option.”
“Is this a necromancer thing or a Zachariah thing?”
“Impossible to untangle the two.”
I polished off my last piece of pork with a trace of disappointment; the food was delicious. “What did you mean earlier, when you said you’re not Dr. Adam?”
Zach ran his napkin across his teeth, which set my own teeth on edge. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“Not to me.”
“Dr. Adam has a crush on you.”
I choked on my generous gulp of water. “What? How? I barely know the guy.”
“I’ve seen the way he looks at you. I might look at you that way myself if it weren’t for your personality.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “If you’re trying to get on my good side, you’re failing miserably.”
“I think you’ll find you’re the one who wants to be on my good side. I have far more to offer than the other way around.”
“I’m starting to see why golf is your first love.”
He cracked a smile, making his thin lips appear almost nonexistent. “Necromancy is my first love. Golf is second.”
“Well, my interactions with Dr. Adam have been fairly limited, so I don’t know how you’ve somehow managed to clock the way he looks at me. ”
“You were both in the weights section of the gym just last week.”
I extended my “reasonable” arms. “Clearly that workout didn’t meet your standards.”
Zach’s smile was half amusement, half amazement. “You didn’t notice him, did you?”
“I guess not. I had my headphones on and was focused on the workout. I didn’t notice you either.”
“I was on the treadmill.”
I tended to spend a lot of time in my head these days, especially at the gym, so it didn’t surprise me that I’d failed to notice either one of them. Years ago, I didn’t have the luxury of oblivion; it would’ve gotten me killed.
“The good doctor gave you an admiring glance as you wiped down the bench. Not the first time I’ve seen his gaze linger on you.”
“Are you friends with him? Is this some kind of wingman setup?”
Zach laughed. “Not at all. I just thought it would be nice for you to find an activity you liked. Perhaps Dr. Adam could…”
I held up a hand. “If you say, ‘play doctor,’ I’m leaving. Anyway, thanks for the heads-up, but I think I’ll stick with exercise as my primary physical activity.”
“We only get one chance at life, Maya. Figure out what you love and devote what remains of your time to it.”