Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
When they entered the bookstore, a white-haired woman with sparkling blue eyes was at the counter and introduced herself as Ellen Danbury, the owner of the store. Since the shop had just opened, they were the only customers, which made conversation easier.
"My name is Kaia Mercer. This is Jax Ridley. We have kind of a strange question," Kaia said. "We were wondering if this bookstore was ever a nightclub, possibly named the Starlight Lounge. It would have been a long—"
"Of course," Ellen said, cutting them off with a smile. "The basement was the club, and this part of the building was where my grandfather once lived. He opened the club at the end of Prohibition, or possibly before, but he would never admit to that."
"Did it happen to have a red door?" she asked, energized by her response.
"It did. Why are you interested?"
"A friend of ours, an older man named Walter Cobb, said that he used to go to the club with a red door, and he couldn't remember where it was. He's in his early eighties now."
"Well, that sounds about right, because the club was shut down about thirty years ago when my grandfather passed away.
My father, his son, didn't want to run a nightclub, so he turned the building into a printing business.
When he retired, that business was done, so I opened the bookstore, and I've been selling books for the past twenty years. " Ellen paused. "Does that help?"
"It does," she said. "Is there anything in the basement now?"
"It's basically a storage room for all its past purposes.
I've been meaning to clean it out for years, but it's such a big job.
My husband was going to do it, but he fell ill several years ago, and between taking care of him and the store, I just haven't had the time.
We use our back room for inventory, so the storage downstairs encompasses junk from generations of my family. "
She was thrilled that no one had been using the basement. Maybe there would still be signs of the past. "Would it be possible for us to see it?"
Ellen hesitated. "Sure. Why not?" She motioned for the young man they'd spoken to the day before to take over the register. "Follow me." She led them through the store and down a back staircase where she unlocked a door, opened it, and then turned on the lights.
"It's big," she said in surprise, her gaze sweeping the large space. She could see the area that had once been the bar, and there was a raised platform at the far end of the room where a dusty piano still sat on what had probably been the stage.
"It's a mess." Ellen waved her hand at the cluttered room. "But you're welcome to look around." She paused as her phone rang. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
As Ellen left, she turned to Jax with excitement speeding up her pulse. "What do you think?"
"It feels like an old club. Even with all the other stuff."
"I can almost picture a smoky nightclub with someone playing that piano."
Jax wandered over to that area as she spoke.
When he got on the stage, he looked at the piano for a long moment, then opened the cover over the keys, creating a cloud of dust. He stared at the keyboard for a long minute, his expression filled with what looked like reverence.
She found herself holding her breath, wondering what he would do next, because he seemed to be completely mesmerized by the piano keys.
And she didn't think his mind was on Walter or the old nightclub.
There was something else going on, something far more personal.
He'd jumped all over her for turning on the car radio yesterday, and now he was staring at a piano like it was his long-lost love. She couldn't make that add up.
Her breath caught in her throat as he stretched out his hand, his fingertips brushing the keys.
And then he abruptly pulled back and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he rocked back on his heels.
He gave the piano another long look as if he were in some sort of battle with an inanimate object.
Then he took his hands out of his pockets and closed the cover.
As it slammed shut, she said, "I thought you might play something."
He whirled around as if he'd just realized she was there. A mask came down over his expression, making him feel cold and distant once more. "No," he said. "I'm not going to play."
"But you know how to play, don't you?"
"We should go. There's nothing to see here."
"We haven't really looked, Jax. You got distracted by the piano."
He tipped his head, conceding her point. "It reminded me of the piano my grandfather had in his house, probably built around the same time."
He'd finally told her something personal, which made her want more, but she knew he'd bolt if she asked for more. She needed to keep the focus on Reina. "What do you think Reina would have left for Walter in this club?"
"Who knows?"
"Maybe a letter? Or a gift of some sort, a photograph," she suggested.
Jax gazed around the crowded room, which included remnants of not only the nightclub but also the printing business. "Nothing jumps out. I'm sure if she did leave something, it's long gone."
"Probably. It's time to talk to Walter. Tell him what we know and see if he can fill in some blanks."
"He's going to want to come here."
"Ellen seemed comfortable with leaving us here alone. Maybe she'd be fine to let Walter in here, too." As she breathed in more dusty air, her nose wrinkled, and she let out a sneeze.
"Let's get out of here," Jax said, heading toward the door. "I need fresh air."
They made their way up the stairs and into the bookstore. Ellen gave them a smile as they stopped by the checkout counter. "Did you find what you were looking for?"
"We're not sure," she said. "Would it be okay if we brought our friend here?"
"Well, I don't know. It's such a mess down here."
"But it still feels like the nightclub he once frequented," she said. "It wouldn't take long."
"I guess that's fine, if you think it will help him with his memories."
"I really do."
“Alright. But I'm only here until noon today, so it will have to be tomorrow. My husband has a doctor's appointment in the morning, but I'll be here around one, so any time after that."
"That's great. We'll check in with Walter and see when he's available. Thanks again. We really appreciate it."
"Memories are tricky things," Ellen said. "My mother had Alzheimer's, and she would remember the oddest things. But it was the elusiveness of her thoughts that bothered her the most. I understand that it can be important to try to pin down those memories."
"Thanks for understanding."
"You look familiar," Ellen said suddenly, her gaze moving to Jax. "What was your name again?"
"Jax Ridley."
"I feel like I've seen you before."
"I've been in town a few months. I stopped in once before to get a book."
"Maybe that was it."
"Thanks again for your help," he said, then headed out the door.
She had to jog down the street to catch up with him at the car. "Why the hurry?" she asked as he unlocked the car.
"You want to talk to Walter, don't you?"
"Yes," she said, but she didn't think that accounted for his sudden sense of urgency. She thought it had more to do with Ellen Danbury saying she recognized him.
As she fastened her seat belt, she couldn't help asking the question. "Are you famous, Jax?"
He shot her a hard look. "We're not getting personal, remember?"
"I don't think that was a personal question. You're bothered that Ellen thought she knew you. And if you are famous, that would explain why you spend so much time in your apartment."
"I don't want to talk about it, Kaia. Let's focus on Walter and what we're going to tell him."
She supposed she should be somewhat happy that he hadn't lied to her, because she was fairly sure he was famous in some way.
But it didn't really make sense since she hadn't been able to find out anything about him on the Internet.
Which meant he probably wasn't using his real name.
Josie had been an actress once. Maybe Jax was an actor.
But if he was, it seemed like someone else besides Ellen would have thought he looked familiar, and no one at Ocean Shores seemed to have any sense that they'd seen him before.
"So," Jax prodded. "What are we going to tell Walter?"
"What we've found out so far," she said, knowing that Jax was trying to distract her from his mystery. But that was fine. She probably should concentrate on Walter since they were almost at his apartment.
As Jax parked in front of Walter's building, she unbuckled her seat belt and stepped onto the sidewalk.
It felt strange to be here without responding to a call.
And there was a voice inside her head that suggested this probably wouldn't go over well with her boss, but she ignored that warning, leaning into the idea that if they could help Walter with a problem that wasn't at all medical in nature, everything would be fine.
She led the way into the building and knocked on the door. Almost immediately, the door across the hall cracked open.
"Hello, Mrs. Park," she said. "I'm just checking on Walter."
The woman gave her a suspicious look. "I didn't call you, and you're not in uniform."
"It's not an official visit," she replied, tapping again on the door.
A moment later, it opened, and she was relieved to see Walter on his feet, although he had a confused expression on his face.
"Hello, Mr. Cobb," she said. "It's Kaia Mercer, and this is Jax Ridley. You spoke the other day at the music store."
"I know who you both are," he said with a frown. "What I don't know is what you're doing here. I didn't fall, and my blood sugar is fine."
"We're not here about that. Can we come in?"
"Why not?" He stepped back and waved them into his apartment. "I guess you can sit."
Jax closed the door and then followed her to the couch while Walter sat down on a recliner.