“I’m not doing that!” Josie protested.
“Howard, you are, as always, missing the point completely!” Cheryl inhaled and aggressively stuck out her rather large breasts encased in shimmering turquoise polyester. “The point is not what they were doing! The point is where they were doing it!”
“Well, I don’t know!” Her husband seemed to be alarmed by her statement. “They-”
“They were doing it practically on our property! That is the point!”
Howard quickly added his agreement. “My wife is right. That’s the point! She-”
“Annette.” Josie supplied the name.
“Okay, Annette, if you insist. Annette was supposed to be working, doing what you pay her to do, and she was over on our property necking with that young man!”
“That’s all? They were necking and you’re upset about that?”
“You are missing the point, young lady! They weren’t working-”
“Perhaps Annette was on a break,” Josie suggested. “She is allowed two fifteen-minute breaks a day as well as half an hour for lunch. What she does during that time is her own business-although, of course, she is not supposed to be trespassing on your property.”
“Exactly! That is exactly the point we’ve been trying to make!” For the first time this morning Josie saw a faint smile on the other woman’s face.
“I always warn everyone who works for me not to trespass,” Josie lied. She hadn’t, in fact, thought it was necessary. The women who worked for her were well trained and intelligent. They knew they shouldn’t be wandering around on property that belonged to others. “I’d be happy to remind Annette of that particular policy, if you like.”
“And what about the young man she was with?” Cheryl asked.
“Look, he’s not my problem. You’re going to have to talk to Bobby Valentine-he’s the show’s producer-if you want Chad Henshaw warned.”
“We know who Bobby Valentine is. We had him over for cocktails just the other night.” Cheryl was smug. Josie got the impression that Cheryl considered this a social coup.
“Well, he’s the one to talk with about Chad. And I don’t know what he can do. Chad isn’t an employee. He’s a summer intern. He’s not paid. You can’t fire a volunteer, can you?”
“You know nothing about it. Summer interns may not be paid, but they get college credit for what they do. That’s probably important to him.”
“Maybe. All I know is, he’s not my business. Period. As I said, I’ll remind Annette not to trespass on your land.”
“That’s all you’re going to do?”
Josie was beginning to find these people-and this conversation-tedious. “What in heaven’s name do you want me to do? Fire her?”
“Yes. Get her off the island.” Cheryl’s answer came out as a shriek.
“Are you nuts? For necking with a young man on your property? What the hell is wrong with that?” Josie realized her voice was rising and she was in danger of screaming back. “You must be completely crazy. You-”
Howard interrupted, his voice booming deeply over the soprano rantings of the two women. “You are right. We are overreacting. You just remind that young woman to stay on her side of the property line and we’ll all be fine. Come along, Cheryl. Live and let live, as I always say.” He grabbed his wife’s arm and propelled her off the deck and back into their home.
Josie was left standing on the sidewalk, her mouth open.
TWENTY-THREE
DESPITE THE ADVICE of health gurus, the American Medical Association, and her mother, Josie believed that problems were best dealt with under the influence of lots of caffeine, starch, and sugar. Sam, straight from the bakery, brought all three in large quantities.
“I should wait until my coffee break, but-”
“It’s breakfast,” Sam urged, opening a bag and handing her a large rectangle of cake covered with thick, powdery streusel topping.
Josie noticed he was carrying three bags. “How much did you get?”
He chuckled. “I love a woman who loves her food! Don’t worry. There’s more than enough. Three slabs of cake and it’s all for you and your crew. I have a toasted bagel in the car to munch on when I get hungry.”
Probably without butter or cream cheese. Josie loved this man, but she didn’t share his taste in food. “Sam, something strange happened this morning.”
He was instantly alert. “Something to do with Courtney’s murder?” he asked quietly.
“No, nothing that serious, but it’s… I… I’m in an awkward position. You see, I sort of had a run-in with the couple next door.” She explained what had happened, then was disappointed in Sam’s response.
“Sounds to me as though they’re making a mountain out of that molehill everyone’s always talking about. I know she hasn’t worked for you long, but what do you think about Annette?”
“She’s a good carpenter. But she’s young and in love and-”
“What I was asking-and I should have put the question more clearly, I admit-was do you think she will do what you tell her to do?”
“I don’t see why not. She knows I’m the boss and I haven’t seen any signs that she has trouble with that fact.”
“So warn Annette not to neck with her new boyfriend on the neighbors’ property-or in their sight-and don’t worry about the… What are their names?”
“Cheryl and Howard. I don’t know their last names.”
“Well, then, don’t worry about what Cheryl and Howard think.”
“You’re right. I’ve had problems with cranky neighbors before. I guess I just let this upset me because of everything that’s been going on around here.”
“Understandable.” Sam looked down at her. There was a serious expression on his handsome face. “Josie, I had trouble sleeping last night. I kept thinking about what happened here yesterday and wondering how I could help.”
She beamed. What a nice man!
“So I called this woman I mentioned to you yesterday. The one who worked for public television.”
“The one you used to date.” The smile had vanished from her face.
“Yes. I didn’t tell her about your problem, of course. But I did explain that I was interested in learning more about Courtney Castle.”
“And does she know her?” Josie didn’t know whether she wanted him to answer yes or no.
“Yes, and she has access to tapes of all the shows Courtney has been on in the past.”
Now that was interesting. Josie perked up. “Really?”
“Yes, and she offered to get some for us.”
“Really? That’s nice of her. I’ve been wondering about Courtney. Apparently she’s terribly popular. It’s hard to imagine anyone wanting to kill her. The more we find out about her at this point, the better.”
“I thought the same thing. Anyway, she’ll be down this afternoon, early if the traffic isn’t bad, and-”
“She’s going to deliver the tapes in person?”
“I suggested she FedEx them, but she said something about getting away for the weekend and volunteered. I thought it was very nice of her.”
“It will give you both the opportunity to catch up,” she said shortly.
“Josie…”
The arrival of Josie’s crew prevented her from making a jealous fool of herself. “I have to go. When do you think I can see the tapes?”
“Tonight. I’ll call you as soon as Sondra arrives with them.”
“Sure.” Sondra-not Sandra, not Sandy, but Sondra. Didn’t Sam know any women who weren’t rich, thin, and chic? Any women other than herself? she added mentally. “If you can’t get me here, call the office. The machine is on there and I’ll be checking in this afternoon. I need to spend an hour or so figuring out overtime so I can write paychecks.”
“I’ll call you as soon as I have them.” He kissed her quickly and was off. Josie went over to her crew. They had all had an evening to think over the events of the day before, and from the looks on their faces they had all found it a sobering experience.