“I know it all looks pretty good,” I said, talking to myself as much as to Ella.
“Considering how creative it all is, I think it’s going to cause quite a sensation.” Ella grinned. “I talked to the art critic from the Plain Dealer this morning. They’re planning to run a whole photo spread.”
“That’s good. It’s all good.” It was. I knew it. That didn’t stop the familiar rat-a-tat of jitters from starting up inside me again. “But now we need more people. Maybe our groupies don’t love us anymore.”
“Maybe your groupies just aren’t people who do things like buy tickets ahead of time. They’ll show up. You know they will. I think they’d pay money just to see Delmar and Reggie. I’ve got to say, that Reggie…” Ella’s face turned a shade of red that matched her pantsuit. “Obviously, he’s not my type. I mean, he’s a criminal after all, and he’s so rough around the edges and so-”
I cut her off with a laugh. “No apologies necessary,” I told her. “Reggie’s a tough guy, and a lot of women are attracted to that type.”
She cringed. “A lot of women, yes. But I’m usually not one of them. I’m level-headed, remember. My goodness! What would my girls say if they knew that when I was watching last week’s episode and saw Reggie stripped down to his denim shorts digging that hole where the new fountain is going to go… and he was all hot, and the sweat outlined every muscle in his body… I felt this rush of heat, you know, and one of the girls-I don’t remember which one-one of the girls asked if I was having hot flashes, and I didn’t want to tell her what it really was, and-”
Fortunately, Tony, the maintenance man, arrived, and we didn’t have any more time to discuss Ella’s bad-boy fantasies. As Tony was walking up the steps to the doors of the monument, Absalom showed up in a silver Hummer. He had Sammi with him, and they got out, waved, and came up the stairs, too.
Remember how I said I was planning on going all-out for the art show? Well, I think I really outdid myself. I was wearing a body-hugging, Empire-style, strapless satin dress with a V bodice that showed off just enough cleavage. The dress was what they called an “ikat tribal print” at the store where I bought it, with streaks of color that ranged from vivid canary yellow to lemon to a nice, clear white that perfectly matched my round-toe sling-backs and my chunky bead necklace and bracelet.
Oh yeah, I looked good, all right, and Absalom acknowledged as much with a tip of his head. He was wearing a three-button tuxedo with a long jacket, and I guess he and Sammi had decided to color-coordinate. His lime green brocade vest was a perfect match for her gown with its see-through lacy midriff and flounced hem. I recognized the pattern and the color. I’d seen a shower curtain just like it at Target.
“We are going to rock tonight!” Absalom slapped me a high five and did the same to Ella. She didn’t know him as well as I did, so she didn’t brace herself for the impact, and she nearly fell over. As a way of apologizing, Absalom wound an arm through hers and escorted her to the door. “After you,” he said to me, and waved me into the building first.
Immediately inside the door to the memorial is an entryway with a winding staircase on the left that leads down to that crypt where the caskets of the president and his missus are on display for everyone to see. On the other side of the entryway is the tiny gift shop/office where the docent who usually mans (or womans) the building waits for visitors. Ahead of us and up two shallow steps was the rotunda, and though I’m not usually impressed with monuments (and never with cemeteries), even I am willing to acknowledge that this was a special place. The entire inside of the building is decorated with mosaic tiles and marble columns. There are even thirteen stained glass windows around the rotunda, each symbolizing one of the original states. In the center of it all is a larger-than-life statue of James A. Garfield in all his presidential splendor. Tony followed us inside and touched a hand to the light switch. Floodlights bathed the statue and hit our displays. I stepped into the rotunda and-
“Oh my gosh!” I stopped cold and Ella slammed into the back of me. After a moment of stunned paralysis, I forced myself to move. I stumbled into the rotunda with Ella, Absalom, and Sammi right behind me.
One by one, they saw what I saw.
“What the-” Absalom’s voice rumbled up to the top of the dome above our heads and echoed back at us.
“Oh, dear,” Ella chirped.
And Sammi? She took one look at her display, screamed, and broke down in tears.
“What’s going on in here?” Reggie and Delmar had just arrived, and they rushed inside and looked to me for answers.
Somehow, I was able to find my voice. “Our art show…” I looked around again, and my heart sank. “Our art show has been vandalized.” I waved a hand toward what had been a beautiful display when last we saw it. Now it was a mess. Absalom’s dolls had been torn down and stomped on. Jake’s photos were ripped to pieces. So were Delmar’s drawings. A couple of Sammi’s outfits had been burned. The ashes of all that was left of them lay in little mounds on the floor.
And all of it…
From my vantage point, I could see all four displays. They had all been scrawled with letters that were distorted and hard to read. They were written in a shade of pink that looked awfully familiar.
I turned every which way, trying to get a sense of the entire message, and when I couldn’t, I violated every rule of Garden View and stepped onto the marble platform that houses the statue of the president. From there, I could see exactly what James A. Garfield could see. Too bad his statue couldn’t talk. Then he might be able to tell us who had scrawled the message that started at Sammi’s display and ended on Absalom’s. It was written in the garish pink lipstick I’d thrown in the Monroe Street trash the moment I found it. It said-
I gulped down the sudden sour taste in my mouth and read the words out loud. “Pepper, don’t ignore me.”
“Oh, dear.” With nervous fingers, Ella twisted her beads.
Sammi was on the floor next to her display, scooping up the ashes and weeping.
Delmar was too stunned to move, and Absalom, he pounded one fist into the open palm of his other hand. I could just about see the steam shooting out of his ears.
That’s how Crazy Jake found us when he shuffled in and snapped some pictures.
“You look pretty, Pepper,” he said. “You’re standing with the president. You’re the first lady.” Jake thought that was pretty funny, but it didn’t take a genius to know he wouldn’t be laughing when he saw that his photos had been destroyed. Maybe Reggie and Delmar realized that; they latched onto Jake and walked him outside before he saw any of the damage.
I stepped back to where my teammates waited. “What does it mean?” I asked Absalom. “Who would do such a thing?”
“I don’t know,” he thundered. “But when I find the guy, I’m going to break his freakin’ neck.”
I am not a violent person, but I thought it was a great plan.
“Pepper.” Ella touched a hand to my arm. “Pepper, I know how awful this must be for you. All your hard work.” There were tears in her eyes and she sniffed. “And I know you don’t feel like thinking about anything else right now, but Pepper-”
“The caterers are here!” Delmar called from outside.