How Now Purple Cow Read online

  “I can see how you’d wonder about that.” I might have been skeptical myself.

  “When they disappeared, so did some important information. Information that’s very likely still pertinent today.”

  Chris tipped his head and narrowed his eyes. “Why are you telling us all of this?”

  “Because you may be in a position to help me uncover some… Well, you just might be in the right place at the right time.”

  Chris leaned back. He looked like he knew he might have the upper hand. “You want information. You think we might have it. It’s not 1960 anymore. How and why would we have secret information from the Cold War?”

  “Stranger things have happened. You could be sitting on top of something big and not have a clue that it’s there for the taking – by either side.”

  “Let me repeat myself. What makes you think we might have what you want?”

  The old man sighed, apparently not liking it when someone pinned him down. “Because your mother lives in Marguerite’s house. The writer was William’s friend. He could have stashed something there knowing no one would figure it out.”

  “That seems unlikely to me.” Although, I had to admit that James and Piper seemed pretty interested in… The purple cows! Could they have something to do with all of this? Could they be a key to whatever Frederick was looking for?

  Which led me to another thought.

  “What about James?” I asked.

  “Who?”

  “William’s brother.”

  Frederick hesitated for a brief moment.

  “William didn’t have a brother.”

  “Oh, yes, he did. We’ve met him and his wife.”

  The old man lowered his eyelids and wouldn’t look at me.

  “The twins confirmed James as William’s brother. They look a lot alike.”

  “The twins? Who are they?”

  “Marguerite’s daughters. They knew both William and Marsha, although they’d only met Marsha a couple of times.”

  “I guarantee you, William did not have a brother.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Of course, he had a brother,” I said. “I told you we’ve met him. What? Do you think he’s a figment of our imaginations?”

  Frederick looked agitated. “I’d like to meet him. Can you arrange that?”

  “We have no way to contact them, other than checking the phone book, but I doubt if they’re in there.” Chris seemed to be unsure about setting something up.

  “They’re coming to the restaurant this weekend. Can you be there?” I’d rather have them meet in a public place. I had a funny feeling about the whole thing.

  Chris looked like he might feel the same way I did and thought I’d come up with a brilliant idea.

  “My car will be fixed by then, or maybe I’ll use the good car. It’s parked in the garage.”

  “The good car?” I was curious.

  “I have a new Lamborghini Veneno Roadster. I drive it when I’m feeling adventurous.”

  “I see. Love to see it sometime.” Considering that he’d driven his old car into a new Mercedes, I was afraid to see what he could do with a Lamborghini.

  Chris stood and held out his hand to shake with Frederick. “It’s been an interesting evening, but we’ve got to go. Ace needs his sleep.”

  Frederick smiled. “You’ll have a few days to research me and to think about who and what I am. I understand. I may have slipped a little with age, but I’m still at the top of my field.” He handed me a piece of paper. “This is my phone number. Call me when you have things set up, or you hear from this so-called brother, James. And don’t leave my number where others have access to it.”

  I nodded. “It was fun… Different… Uh, nice to meet you, Frederick.”

  “Call me Rick.” He gave me a knowing look. I figured he understood how confusing meeting him had been.

  “You’ll hear from us, Rick.” Chris took hold of my hand and headed for the front door.

  While driving home, Chris tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “Who does he think he is? James Bond? You’d think if he was a master spy he could find the Hathaways without our help.”

  “You’d think.”

  The dogs jumped up and watched Chris, apparently wondering what the tapping meant.

  I reached back and patted their heads. “From what I’ve read about him, he just might have been a James Bond. You’ve seen those TV shows about him. You’re right when you say he should be able to find James and Piper on his own. The thing is, he’s supposed to be retired. Why is he getting involved in this in the first place?”

  “That’s a good question and I’m going to do my best to come up with an answer.”

  He stopped tapping and the dogs went back to watching out the window.

  I turned things over in my mind before I spoke. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of Rick, but if you recall, Marguerite said something in her notes about William’s brother. She thought she remembered William saying he didn’t have a brother.”

  Chris started tapping again. “I remember that, too. That’s what’s made me suspicious about James and Piper. Since the twins’ father grew up with William, he would have known if there was a brother. Things aren’t adding up. Maybe we should do a little digging. These people, the Hathaways and Rick, are involving us in their issues whether we want them to or not. Since their issues may involve the spy game, I’m not sure this is a good thing.”

  “Call me crazy, but my suspicion is the purple cows are somehow involved, too.”

  “Okay, you’re nuts.”

  I grinned. “You don’t really believe that, right?”

  He reached over and patted my knee. “Right. Somehow I think it’s all about the purple cows.”

  “Sounds kind of silly, doesn’t it? We’re turning into gumshoes whether we want to or not, and we’re basing a lot of assumptions on a pair of purple cows.”

  “Always expect the unexpected.” Chris looked thoughtful when he reached up and pulled on his earlobe.

  Bogey’s back, I thought. The ear pulling gives him away.

  We stopped for Mikey and I told Constance I’d pick her up in the morning.

  She tried to keep a straight face, but it didn’t work. A grin crept its way into her expression. “This is going to be fun.”

  “We’ll see. I’ll tell you about our evening on our way to Judith’s house.”

  ~ * ~

  Wednesday had turned out to be a long day. I awoke feeling tired and maybe a little cranky. A hot shower and breakfast would probably revive me. I took care of both tasks and found myself feeling perkier.

  Chris slept in.

  I left a box of cereal on the table and a note next to his bowl telling him I’d gone to pick up Constance and if he wanted to join us at his mother’s house to come ahead.

  Arriving at her house, my friend was out the door and hurrying to the car before I could even turn off the engine. She was ready for an adventure.

  I hoped that’s all it would be – an adventure.

  I told her what had happened after she and Mikey left and she was entranced with the story.

  “A real life spy. It’s hard to imagine. And he drove into a car. My, my, my. He sounds like something out of a novel.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, Chris and I compared him to an old James Bond.”

  “Well, I can’t wait to meet him. I will meet him, right?”

  “If you have dinner with me at the supper club over the weekend, your chances are pretty good.”

  Constance, a happy woman, sat back and sighed.

  Arriving at Judith’s, she climbed out of the car and headed up the walkway ahead of me. She’s about five foot eight to my five foot four, not that much taller, and she has medium length dark brown hair salted with gray. For a woman whom I figure was about fifteen years older than me, I thought she looked pretty good with her slender, trim figure.

  I followed her up the walkway.

  Judith sat on the p
orch steps nursing a glass of iced tea. “Good morning. I thought you’d never get here. It was hard, but I haven’t studied the purple cows yet.”

  I grinned at her. “Truthfully, Judith?” She had an inane sense of snoopishness. Hmm. I could make up words with the best of them.

  “Well, maybe I studied them a little, but I didn’t want to go too far since I knew you’d be here before long.”

  “Good morning, Judith,” Constance said.

  “Good morning. I’m glad you came along. Maybe you’ll see something we’re missing.”

  Constance patted her purse. “I’ve brought along a magnifying glass and a jeweler’s loupe. If there’s anything to be seen, we’ll find it.”

  Judith stood and we followed her into the house. She headed straight for the dining table where the purple cows sat.

  Constance picked up the calf figurine. “So these are the purple cows. Who could imagine they might be important, although I can’t understand why. No, wait, there was a ring in the one that broke, so there could be something in these two.”

  We sat down at the table and I picked up the mother cow. “Let me see your magnifying glass.” I turned the cow over and studied the underside.

  Constance handed me the magnifier.

  I turned the cow over in my hands and tried to study it from every angle, ending up holding it upside down. There was an initial on the udder, apparently making it a signed piece. I also noticed there was a small hole in the belly. It couldn’t have been more than an eighth of an inch wide. I looked closer. Something caught my eye, but I couldn’t see it well.

  Without me saying a word, Judith stood and turned on the overhead lights. “Better?”

  “Thanks. Constance, may I see the jeweler’s loupe?”

  She handed it to me. “Do you see something?”

  “I think so. I need a closer look. Turn over the calf and see if there’s a small hole in its belly.”

  She carefully turned it over. “Nope.”

  I took a closer look at the cow with the loupe. “I can see a faint circular line around the hole in her belly. It’s about three-quarters of an inch across. I think it’s been painted over.”

  Judith and Constance were on their feet in a flash, looking over my shoulder.

  Judith squinted, trying to get a better look at the cow. “You’ve got better vision than me.”

  Constance took the jeweler’s loupe out of my hand to look closely at the underbelly of the mama cow. “You’re right. You can barely see it, but there’s something here.”

  An unexpected voice came from behind me and I almost dropped the cow.

  “What? You’re not answering your door now?” Coral’s head was tipped and she was staring at the cows. “What’s up?”

  “I didn’t hear you knock.” Judith causally took the calf from Constance’s hand and set it on the table, out of Coral’s reach.

  “Obviously.” Carol stepped up, next to her sister.

  “You ladies are up to something.”

  Coral’s eyes narrowed and she reached for the purple mama cow.

  Carol pulled her back. “You have more company coming up the walkway.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Is Chris outside?” I asked, hopefully.

  “The Bogey Man isn’t here?” Coral looked around, also hopefully, which told me it wasn’t Chris coming up the walkway.

  Carol punched her sister’s arm. “The Hathaways were parking when we came inside.”

  Coral rubbed her arm before gently shoving Carol. “What’d you do that for?”

  “You sound like you’re obsessed with Chris. Let it go.”

  “I’m not obsessed. I just like him. Is that wrong? He’s a fun guy.”

  “Ah, but he’s my guy.” I thought I might be able to head off WWIII before the twins were fully engaged and the Hathaways knocked at the door.

  I looked at Judith. “Maybe you should put the cows away for the moment. I want to get a better look at them, but I think James and Piper might want to, too.”

  Judith nodded, picked up the purple cows and headed for the kitchen, which ultimately led to the basement. “Back in a minute.”

  I heard the door to the basement open and close. Remembering the hidey hole where Marguerite had hidden papers relating to the publishing business, I knew the general vicinity of where my mother-in-law was hiding the cows.

  The house was riddled with secret compartments. According to the twins, as a gothic mystery writer Marguerite felt compelled to have several installed in the house. Oh, for the mind of a mystery writer.

  Now that Mikey had found another of the secret compartments under the stairs, it appeared we were faced with a real mystery.

  There was a knock at the door and I knew two living, breathing clues stood on the other side.

  Constance looked at me. “Oh, good. I finally get to meet the people who seem to be an integral part of this situation – the spies.” Anticipation was written all over her face.

  There was a second knock.

  “Coral, would you please answer the door? Or are you just going to stand there like a lump.” Carol could be mean sometimes, but then they were both like that.

  “Considering we’re twins, I wouldn’t call me a lump.” Coral turned her back on Carol and headed for the door.

  Carol made an odd noise and moved forward to stand behind her sister.

  Coral threw the door open dramatically. I had no idea why and simply watched the interactions.

  “Come in. Come in,” she said, moving backward and stepping on Carol’s foot.

  “Ouch!” Carol started to say something, but after seeing the guests she closed her mouth.

  James and Piper, or whoever they were, stepped inside. James removed an unlit stogie from his mouth and shoved it in his pocket.

  “Ladies? It’s good to see you. We enjoyed ourselves so much at the restaurant that we decided to stop in.”

  Piper was looking daggers at him. I had a feeling she wanted to be anywhere but here. Looking into her husband’s eyes, her face softened. “Yes, we were just driving by and decided we’d like to get to know you all better.”

  The twins started chattering like a couple of magpies.

  “Take a breath, girls.” James, grinning at the twins, was taking over. Good. I’d have more of a chance to study him and his personality. “I remem… What I mean is, my brother told me about the two of you. He got quite a kick out of you when you were kids.”

  I didn’t know if anyone had caught it, but he’d started to say he remembered the twins. Not his brother, but him. Maybe elderly spies become careless.

  The front door was still open and I saw Chris coming up the walkway. When he stepped into the house and stood behind James, I couldn’t see him. James was a very tall, big man. Chris wasn’t.

  I chuckled. “Come on in and have a seat. And, Chris, close the door.”

  He was too interested in our visitors to hear me, and he left the door open. Oh, well, it would air the house out.

  Judith walked out of the kitchen looking very innocent. “Well, look. It seems we’re having a party.”

  Piper smiled. “I hope you don’t mind us dropping in unexpectedly. We had such a good time with all of you that James wanted to see you all again. We didn’t know everyone would be here.” She hunched her shoulders briefly and straightened up. “Okay, Judith, here’s the truth. I said I wanted to stop and ask for your scone recipe. I know that’s kind of forward, but they were soooo good.”

  “Why thank you, Piper. One of these days I’ll jot the directions down and give them to you.” She stopped for a moment and seemed to be contemplating something. “Um. If you’ll give me your address I’ll mail the recipe to you.”

  I almost laughed, but held it back. My sneaky little mother-in-law was trying to find out where they lived.

  Piper was on to her. “Oh, that’s okay. You can give it to Pamela and she can pass it on to me at the restaurant.”

  Constance tapped m
y shoulder. “Are you going to introduce me?”

  “Sorry. Constance, meet James and Piper Hathaway.” I turned to the couple. “This is Constance, a very dear friend of mine.”

  My friend stepped forward and held out her hand. “It’s so nice to meet you. I love your name, Piper.”

  The couple each shook her hand before sitting on the couch.

  Constance took the seat next to Piper, and the woman scooted over a couple of inches toward her husband.

  “Why, thank you. I’m glad my mother chose that name. It’s rather unique, don’t you think?”

  “I do. So what did you people do before you retired?”

  Leave it to Constance to jump right in. I noticed that everyone, which included me, leaned forward. There’s nothing like being obvious.

  I lowered my head where no one could see and rolled my eyes.

  Piper spoke first. “Oh, I was just a sales clerk at a department store.”

  Judith set a candy bowl on the coffee table. Piper reached for a piece of hard candy while she spoke.

  I noticed Coral and Carol studying the woman intently.

  James took up the story. “And I was the manager of the store.”

  His wife turned to him. “The short story is, that’s how we met.”

  They sounded rehearsed. They’d discussed this.

  “What department store was that?” Constance was unrelenting.

  “Oh, it was an independent store. It’s long gone now.” Piper looked her in the eyes. “What else would you like to know?”

  “I’m sorry. Was I being intrusive? I didn’t mean to be. I was just making polite conversation.”

  James patted his wife’s knee and turned to my friend. “No, you weren’t being intrusive. We’ve led very boring lives and sometimes my wife doesn’t want to talk about it.”

  “Again, I’m sorry. My life has been pretty boring, too. I get it.”

  I glanced at Chris. He was leaning back and taking everything in. He almost looked like he was waiting for something.

  James sat forward in his chair as the rest of us leaned back. “Say, Judith, I was wondering if I could see those purple cows again. I can’t explain it, but they fascinated my wife.”