Chapter 13
“Interesting,” Shelly murmured as they left the highway and rode onto the streets of St. Augustine.
“What’s that?” Zach asked her.
“I’ve seen that car … not far from George Maynard’s place,” Shelly said.
“Yeah, I’ve seen it, too,” Grant said.
“And you don’t recognize it?” Skye asked. “Of course, you do. It belongs to George’s nearest neighbor out on the outskirts, Mrs. Belinda Jenkins. She’s a widow, husband died about a decade ago. You gave us her name, and we stopped by to introduce ourselves.”
“Right, of course, his nearest neighbor would have a car we’ve passed by time and again,” Shelly murmured. “But look—she’s getting out of the car. And I’ll bet she’s heading to Brendan Cosby’s restaurant.”
“Well, we could stop for a bite,” Grant suggested. He laughed softly, looking at Shelly. “We’ve had breakfast a few times in the last twenty-four hours, but not much more. And we’ve been out at the Jax Beach place for …”
He paused, looking at his watch.
“Long enough to make it almost past lunchtime!” he finished. “Skye, Zach, if that’s all right—”
“Brilliant. We can chat with the widow a bit,” Zach agreed.
Zach doubled around so that they could park and head on over to the restaurant. Brendan Cosby greeted them cheerfully, taking them to a table himself.
“Oh, there’s Mrs. Jenkins!” Zach said. “I’ll hop over and say hello!” He glanced at Shelly and Grant, “Have you met the lady? One way or the other—”
“This is a nice big table. See if she wants to join us!” Shelly said.
“That would be great,” Grant agreed.
Zach headed to the woman’s table and greeted her warmly.
Shelly studied the woman; she had the look of a storybook widow.
Her hair was gray, curly, and cut fairly short; she wore a baggy flowered dress.
She had a pleasant face, wrinkled to a degree that made her appear to be in her mid-sixties.
She gave Zach a beautiful smile and rose, calling out to Brendan, “Is it all right?”
“But of course!” Brendan told her.
The woman moved over to sit with them, Grant allowing her space next to Shelly by pulling up a chair at the end of their booth.
“I’ve heard that George Maynard is doing well!” the woman said, smiling joyfully, looking from one to the other of them at the table.
Shelly was surprised; as far as she knew, there had been no public announcement about George Maynard not being the one who had been found as a pile of ash.
Her smile fell immediately. “Oh, I’m so sorry!
I mean, right. I’m not supposed to know.
But I do live right by the man. I’ve known him for years and years, and therefore, of course, I know Ainsley, and I called her and …
well, yes, I was crying. He was—is—my dear friend.
And Ainsley told me, and I’ve known not to say anything, but you people are the law, and so, obviously, you know. ”
“Well, yes, please, don’t talk about the case,” Shelly said. “Mrs. Jenkins—”
“Belinda, please!”
“Of course, Belinda, I know you’ve spoken with investigators on the case—” Shelly began.
“And I’ve tried and tried. You know, George was a great guy, nice to everyone around him, but …
well, there were those out there who hated him.
I mean that CEO guy who died in a car accident.
He’s the one who did it. Cursed him out all the time in newscasts and things like that.
But George knew the man was guilty of scamming people.
He just went after anyone he felt wasn’t doing what was right! ”
Their waiter appeared at the table, and as they all ordered, Brendan Cosby wandered back over, standing at the end of the table and leaning against the back of their booth.
“I hear you had to leave the country,” he said, looking from Grant to Shelly.
“Of course, sorry, it’s been all over the news.
A bigwig killed in Italy! Don’t mean to pry—just want to say welcome back.
I mean, it’s home for you, Grant, and, Miss Shelly, I sure hope you’re getting to feel that way. ”
“Oh, I do love St. Augustine!” she assured him. “And your restaurant. It’s truly local and family and just the kind of place where one is really comfortable,” she assured him. “Oh! Not to mention, really good food.”
“I admit, it’s not like work, having this place.
Well, it may be to my serving staff and cooks!
But I think we do well; we keep the same people for years and years because, as you said, it’s comfortable!
” Brendan told her. “But, hey, thanks! I’m so happy you feel that way.
And, as you can see, our neighbors are all comfortable here, too! ”
“George was here—always!” Belinda said quietly.
Their waiter was already back at their table, bearing a tray with the iced tea they had all opted to drink.
He was a young man, somewhere around college age, Shelly thought, with slightly longish, dark blond hair, lean and athletic-looking. He glanced at Brendan as he served the tea, uncomfortably, Shelly thought. The glance was brief, as if he wanted to quickly get away from the table.
“I will let you all enjoy your lunch!” Brendan said cheerfully, heading back to the front to greet a couple as they arrived.
“Well, my nephew went out and bought me an amazing dog!” Belinda told them.
“He was once a worker with the U.S. Marshals Service! He’s as sweet as can be, but he’ll protect me, no matter what!
” she assured them. “I mean, none of us can be too careful, right? Of course, I’m not George.
Sad to admit, but I have never done his kind of fighting for what I thought to be the right thing. ”
“Most of us aren’t George,” Skye said sweetly. As she spoke, though, Shelly felt a sense of unease. She smiled and excused herself, saying she needed to use the restroom.
“Let me get out of the way!” Grant said. And as she passed him, he whispered, “You’re calling, right?”
She smiled and lowered her head as if he’d said nothing. He knew what she was doing, though. Maybe Skye and Zach knew, too.
She didn’t head into a stall; she wanted to make sure her words were private.
She put through a call to Perry Banyan, making him understand that many people now knew George Maynard was alive and exactly where he was.
Perry promised to see that the security was made even more intense, assuring her that all doctors and nurses would be thoroughly vetted before heading into his room, even with Ainsley sitting next to him.
It didn’t take a brilliant mind for a would-be killer to dress up like medical personnel and stick something into an IV.
No one entered the bathroom, and she left quickly after her call to return to the table. Their food had arrived, and she discovered that while they were eating, Belinda was filling them in on the wonders of St. Augustine.
“Somewhere along the line, you must go on a ghost tour! And visit the Spanish Military Hospital, the forts … seriously, this is one of the most amazing cities anywhere. Oh, maybe not as ancient as Rome,” she said, shrugging, “or Athens or Cairo, but we’re an amazing city!”
“Absolutely. Beautiful!” Shelly assured her.
Belinda went on to talk about the marvel of some of the art shops on St. George Street and beyond, but Shelly realized that she was hooked on one thing that the woman had said.
That St. Augustine might not be as ancient as Rome, Athens, or Cairo.
She was a little old widow. Her nephew had bought her a dog for safety!
That didn’t mean that she wasn’t capable of …
Paying for a murder?
Shelly warned herself to take care; anyone who had known the man was becoming suspicious to her. And while she had her gifts, she’d been trained and knew that she needed to work on evidence and couldn’t become wary of every human being out there.
And what could this woman have had to do with murders in Rome?
Nothing. That didn’t mean anything, really, because someone else might have paid for the “curse” to be put on the victims in Rome.
The meal ended. Belinda thanked them for letting her join them for lunch, and, of course, she also thanked them because they picked up the tab.
“Oh! And don’t worry about me!” she said, heading to the door. “My lips are sealed when it comes to poor George. I mean, I realize that people knowing the truth could put him into great danger all over again. And George is such an amazing and good man; he’s just good to everyone, always!”
With a wave, she headed out, saying goodbye to Brendan. They did the same. Once they were in the car, Grant looked at her and said, “You spoke with Perry Banyan, and he’s heightened security at the hospital?”
“Of course,” Shelly said. She smiled. “You all knew what I was doing.”
“We did,” Skye told her. “So, next—”
“I’d like to get to the hospital, check in on George,” Grant told them.
“Like minds think alike,” Zach said. “We’re on the way.”
They weren’t far. Within minutes, they were going through the security protocols to reach George Maynard’s room.
As Shelly had expected, Ainsley was there, by his bed, holding his hand.
As they arrived, she looked up at them through the glass of his room’s window. She gently set George’s hand down at his side and, smiling, hurried out to meet them.
“They’re weening him off the sedation!” she said. “Most importantly, he’s going to be okay. And then maybe …”
“He may not know who did this,” Grant warned her. “But … mind if I pop in and sit by him for a second.”
“Of course not!” Ainsley said. “He’s alive because of you people!”
“We’ll grab some coffee for everyone,” Zach offered. “Shelly, I figure maybe you can sit out with Ainsley while Skye and I see to that?”
“Of course,” Shelly said. Setting her arm gently around Ainsley’s shoulders, she led her toward a little line of three chairs that sat against the wall near the nurse’s station in the critical-care unit.
When they were seated, she smiled and asked Ainsley, “How are you doing yourself? We can all be grateful that George is going to make it, but are you looking after you, too?”