Chapter Fourteen --
Jenny was already upstairs with Mozzie when I finally left the library and my stubborn boyfriend just after eleven. She sat on her bed, pillows piled up behind her and dog snoozing in her lap. And in the chair beside the bed was Maria.
“Not everything has to be organic. If there’s a shell that is shed, if the fruit inside is protected, you don’t ingest pesticides or insecticides,” the grandmother explained to her curious granddaughter.
“But isn’t it better not to use anything at all and keep it natural?”
“We have orange and lemon trees on our property. I often cook with the zest of these fruits, so we don’t like to spray them with harsh chemicals. Usually, we use a horticultural oil spray to protect the trees from aphids, mites, and mealybugs. It also controls powdery mildew and grease spot. But even safe products have their drawbacks. You can’t spray the blossoms or you risk losing the whole crop of citrus fruit.”
I interrupted them to say a quick good night and excused myself, leaving them to their conversation. Would it really work out for the teenager, or was this just some honeymoon and she’d eventually come crashing down to earth with a big thud? I found myself anxious on her behalf, wanting to believe this could have a happy ending after so much misery. The Martinez family wanted Jenny to join them at the holidays. They seemed like people who enjoyed celebrating. Maybe if Thanksgiving went well, she could fly out to California for a Christmas visit. I’d start putting away a little money each week for her travel fund, just so she wouldn’t have to completely depend on them for all of her expenses. That way, she could choose whether or not to love them, instead of feeling desperate that they were her only lifeline.
Too wired to sleep, I fired up my netbook and started playing around with searches. Good time to compare the big search engines. First I “Binged” and then I “Googled”. Once I had a list of gift basket companies in New Jersey, I began to narrow down my focus. Which companies offered organic products? I took notes. And then, along about midnight, it suddenly occurred to me I was going about this all wrong. Paolo had said the bar of purple soap was for healing. Maybe I needed a gift basket company that concentrated on products that were reputed to heal. And sure enough, there it was, the listing I was looking for, the needle in the haystack. Aura Cleanse, organic products made at the Jersey Shore with all natural ingredients and recommended by Paolo Varelli, the healer and author of the Organic Guides to Better Living. Paolo. Was this the same man who had sent Jenny and Bobby off with the packages of soap to deliver to Richie in Point Pleasant?
According to the website, every gift basket sent out by Aura Cleanse contained a paperback copy of one of Paolo’s books. The cheapest version started at $59.95 and came with organic lotions, bath sea salts, two natural loofahs, beeswax-based honey-flavored lip balms, and a copy of Natural Sea Bathing. The mid-range basket contained organic herbal and traditional teas, coffees, New Jersey honey, and handmade organic chocolates, which sold for $79.95 and included a copy of Healthy Indulgences. But the grand prize was the basket that offered Jewels of the Heavens, Paolo’s guide to metaphysical crystals. This was the Mother Lode of Natural Healing. Recipients would find a variety of soaps to fit every mood, with Herkimer diamonds embedded inside as a reward. Organic chocolate truffles with edible gold leaf and spices that were guaranteed to delight the senses. There were even a variety of bath sea salts with special herb mixtures to cure whatever ailed your aura. It could be yours for just $119.95.
So excited was I that I almost missed the clue. Hopping off my bed, intending to show Kenny my treasure trove, I startled Huck and January as they slept. In my effort to soothe the dogs, I sat back down briefly, and when I did, I caught a name on the celebrity endorsements. Lyric Hindenburg, better known as the Aura Lady, who shared the secrets of the cosmos with her audience on her subscription radio show, was happy to advise fans to buy these products. “I love what Opal Richardson does for organic! She’s the Queen of the Jersey Shore!”
Lyric Hindenburg, Opal Richardson, Paolo Varelli. Crystals, organic products, auras. A quick search told me that Opal’s company was based in Brick, but she lived in Point Pleasant. Where was that house Bobby took Jenny, the first one? Could it have been in Opal’s neighborhood?
I ran a check on Paolo Varelli. He was based in Hampton, New Hampshire, but he traveled all over the country to teach, and even had a “campus” planned on an estate in Jamaica for those aspiring students who wished to combine vacation time with spiritual enlightenment.
Something still bugged me, but it still hadn’t filtered down to my conscious brain. What was I missing? I decided to let it go, assuming it would eventually show itself. These things usually do at the most inconvenient times.
I tiptoed down the stairs, netbook in hand, and made my way to the library. There was no light creeping out under the door, but I didn’t care. I gently tapped at the door anyway.
“Captain Peacock!” No response. I tried again. This time I got a low groan. “Captain Peacock!”
“What?”
“Can I come in?”
“Can I stop you?” he moaned back.
“I doubt it,” I replied. I heard some fumbling around and a moment later, the door popped open. A rather grouchy Kenny stood in front of me.
“This better be good,” he growled.
“Believe me, it is,” I promised, waving my netbook in the air.
Half an hour later, after much kissing and groping, I padded back to my room triumphant. What’s more, Kenny put the final touches on the solution. Hinson looked a lot like the combination of Hindenburg and Richardson. The two ladies were dabbling in construction speculation to build their respective financial empires, all with the help of Paolo Varelli, aura expert.
“What a scam,” Bur decided the next morning, when Kenny and I took the information to him in his office over the carriage house. “Let me see what I can find out about their financial ventures, and whether they’re offering public stock.”
Kenny finally concurred that this mystery was a little too intriguing to just hand over to law enforcement, especially if we could connect all the dots and hand them a road map to the bad guys. By the time Colonel Grey Poupon called us back to his office after lunch, he had gathered quite a bit of information on the trio, including the fact that the radio shows and pod casts that Lyric produced were growing her audience rather slowly, so she had just started a new national marketing campaign. Investors were backing her, throwing money at her efforts to spiritually awaken the world. Kenny tossed in his own shocker. Opal, formerly known as Sue Richardson, was shacking up with local plumbing contractor Lars Weims.
“You think he’s involved in the scam, as contractor on the Bay Head house?” I wondered.
“Might be.”
“Wow. Wouldn’t that be something?”
“Better still when the cops figure out who killed Richie,” Kenny pointed out. “But at least this is a running start in the right direction. It will take time to gather all the evidence and suspects. You do realize that, as clever as you are, you won’t be getting credit for figuring out the mystery, Miz Scarlet.”
“What? How is that fair?”
“Babe, this isn’t a board game. Richie didn’t keel over in your kitchen, a dagger in his back. This is real life. The New Jersey State Police can’t have amateur sleuths solving their cases. You and I will know, and so will Bur and the rest of the family, but don’t expect folks to heap lots of glory on you. It just doesn’t happen that way.”
“Well, can we at least share it with Larry?”
“Tell you what. I’m planning to send all this off to Sarge in an email. I’ll copy Larry. Will that make you happy?”
“Yes, yes it will. Not ecstatic, mind you, but semi-content.”
“Thank heavens for small miracles,” Kenny grinned. He gave me a long, deep, sweet kiss, his hands on my back.
“Hey, you two lovebirds, take it outside!” Bur warned.
“Jealo
us?” I inquired of my brother.
“You wish!”
“Hardly,” I scoffed. “You coming to dinner tonight? We’re having a garden cookout in honor of the Jenny Project.”
“For the squirt? Absolutely. I’ll probably bring a date.”
“A date?” Typical. Heaven forbid that Bur should go without a playmate on a Saturday night. “We’re eating at six. Don’t be late.”
“But of course. Wouldn’t want to get on Miz Scarlet’s bad side. Did I ever tell you about her bad temper, Captain Peacock?”
“No need,” Kenny shot back. “I’ve seen it for myself.”
“What?” I turned around to look at the man I had kissed only moments before, and found him laughing at my reaction. “How dare you!”
“Same way you dared to wake me out of a sound sleep last night, Miz Scarlet. Wouldn’t take no for an answer, either. Boy, your sister can be a royal pain in the....”
“If you two are finished discussing me, I shall take my leave of you!”
“Go already!” was the last thing I heard Bur say as I walked out the door with a big harrumph. Right on my heels, Kenny was chuckling all the way down the steps.