Bike Week Blues Read online

  “I wanted to say hello. It’s been ages—”

  “And it’s going to be a lot longer,” Redhead snarled. “Shove off. I don’t have time for people like you.”

  Uh oh. I could tell from the tension in Penny Sue’s jaw that she was about to morph into a Southern Bitch. “People like who?”

  “You. Establishment fakes.”

  “Fakes?!” Penny Sue squared her shoulders. I kept my eyes on her hands to make sure she didn’t go for the gun. Under normal circumstances, I didn’t think Penny Sue would shoot anyone. But, she’d been acting strangely and Rich was her supposed soul mate. Under those conditions, I wasn’t sure how far she would go.

  “Yeah, fakes. You’re not fooling anyone in your rich girl getup. Go home to your soap operas and,” she motioned at Ruthie and me who were standing to the side like deer caught in headlights, “take your bubbleheaded friends with you.”

  At that second I felt a heavy arm drape across Ruthie and my shoulders. I almost peed in my pants and given Ruthie’s dewy lily (as Aunt Eve from Richmond put it), I sincerely hoped she was wearing a pantiliner.

  A deep voice said, “I think bubbleheads are kind of cute.”

  Sweat—er, perspiration—popped out on my forehead as I forced my face upward into a mass of dreadlocks. It was Sidney, the guy from the bar. And, another very tall African-American wearing a kerchief stood behind him. Though Sidney’s lips were stretched in a big smile, his eyes had narrowed in a steely, no nonsense expression. He glanced from Redhead to Spike. Redhead met his stare with an expression of pure contempt. Sidney kept smiling.

  Spike, who was outclassed by at least four hundred pounds of muscle in comparison to his one-eighty of flab, broke the impasse. “Red, I need a drink.” He literally dragged her away.

  “A lot of stupid people in the world. A sorry case that has to pump themselves by putting others down,” Sidney said. “Hope you don’t mind my intervention. I bristle at prejudice. Encountered my share in this lifetime.”

  Intervention. This lifetime. Sidney was well educated, had a great manicure, nice manners, and might even believe in reincarnation. No run-of-the-mill biker, I thought.

  “We really appreciate it,” Ruthie said, smiling up at Sidney and his friend.

  “Absolutely. Thanks,” Penny Sue said, her eyes following Red’s form through the crowd. “The nerve of that woman!” She turned to us with outstretched arms. “Soap operas? I haven’t seen one since college. Fake! I have a Harley Fat Boy, don’t I?” She did the Vanna White hand sweep. “This is an authentic Harley outfit, isn’t it?” She raised her foot. “These are Harley boots. See the red flames?”

  Sidney and his friend said, “Nice.”

  “So, who’s the fake?” she rattled on. “Me or Ms. Exhibitionist?”

  The men started to back away. “We have to meet someone about a bike.” Sidney dipped his chin. “You ladies have a nice evening.”

  The two men could not get away fast enough. “Thanks, again,” I called as they left.

  Penny Sue! Her self-absorption was downright obnoxious. Ruthie said she couldn’t help it, because of strange aspect as well as being a Leo. “Leo is ruled by the Sun. So, Leo natives think everything revolves around them, like the planets revolve around our Sun.”

  Well, they need to consider someone else sometimes. Since I was an Aquarius, ruled by Uranus, my ego was on the outer edges of the solar system. And, Ruthie—a Pisces, ruled by Neptune—was even farther out. Which, I guess, explained why we followed Penny Sue like sheep. Most of the time, it was simply too exhausting to oppose her. But this time she’d gone too far.

  I put my hands on my hips. “Penny Sue, you were rude to Sidney and his friend. They stuck their necks out to help us, and you hardly thanked them.”

  “I did so.”

  “Yeah, a weak thanks followed by a litany of your ego affronts. Really, you need to be more sensitive.” There, I’d said it. I hoped her hormones were in sufficient balance that she didn’t pull out the .38 and shoot me. Still, I’d had my fill of walking on eggshells and salving her ego. She needed to buck up, act like an adult, and not a spoiled child.

  Penny Sue regarded me like I’d slapped her in the face. Then, she put her hands over her eyes and started to cry. “You’re right—I’ve been impossible. I don’t know why, but I feel so strange. One minute I’m my old self, the next I’m a bundle of doubts and inhibitions.” She looked up, mascara streaming down her cheeks.

  I wiped the makeup from her cheek, the same way I’d wiped chocolate from my kids’ faces. Heavens, her hormones were definitely in the tank. She needed help, and fast!

  * * *

  Chapter 10

  I could see Ted at the far end of the Pub’s front bar. We were late. It had taken a lot of wiggling and nudging to get through the restaurant. I waved and caught his eye. He visibly relaxed.

  Penny Sue took Ruthie and me both by the shoulder and gave us a serious look. “No mention of Rich, right? This is our secret for now. Promise? Cross your heart and hope to die, stick a needle in your eye?”

  Gawd, she didn’t have to resort to childish prattle. “Yes, I promise.”

  “Me, too. For now,” Ruthie said.

  We paused to plot our course through the room. A circuitous route around the tables seemed the best bet. Several minutes, innumerable jostles, and a bunch of sorry’s later we reached Ted. He smiled invitingly as we wedged through the last group of partiers.

  “Geez,” Penny Sue said, straightening her bustier that was turned half around, exposing a lot of skin even for her. “Where did these people come from? All of New Smyrna must be here.”

  Ted flashed an easy grin. “Half a million people from around the world are in the area, and the Pub is one of the most popular spots.” He held up his mug of cola. “Can I get you something? Water, soda? Sorry, that’s the limit of my orders since I’m on duty.” Ted inclined his head to a man standing behind the bar. I recognized the guy as the manager who’d waited on us before.

  “What’ll it be?” the man asked, as he wiped the counter. Penny Sue, still shaky from her encounter with Red, ordered Jack and Coke. Realizing one of us had to drive, Ruthie and I went with diet sodas. The drinks arrived in a matter of seconds.

  “That manager is awfully nice. We met him the last time we were here.”

  Ted regarded me with amusement. “Manager? That’s not the manager, he’s Gilly, the owner.”

  Gilly, as in Gilly’s Pub 44? My cheeks flamed. I’d made a snide remark to him about our waitress on our last visit. If I’d known he was the owner, I’d kept my big mouth shut. But how was I to know? In a place this big, who expected the owner to wait on customers, other than a few regulars? Hopefully, he didn’t recognize me. I turned my back to him and sipped my soft drink.

  “What do you think of Bike Week?” Ted asked lightly, though I suspected he was working up to something big.

  “Quite a melting pot,” Ruthie said.

  “Ruthie’s being coy. Two good-looking men have already flirted with her.”

  “Excellent. What about you, Penny Sue?” I noticed he pointedly didn’t ask me. Was he afraid of the answer?

  Penny Sue gulped her cocktail. “The only thing I’ve encountered is a rude, redheaded exhibitionist.”

  “The woman who did the striptease?”

  “Yeah, flowers painted on her boobs.”

  “Tattoos,” Ted corrected.

  “Well, she’s a crude, rude ... person.”

  “I thought you felt sorry for her deprived childhood,” I said.

  “I did before she started mouthing off.”

  Ted appeared surprised. “What did she say?”

  “That I was a rich fake in my fancy clothes. The nerve!” She waved her cup expansively. “I ask you, what’s wrong with this outfit? It’s all Harley. Half the people in this place are wearing Harley duds.”

  Few people had on so much of it. One or two pieces, maybe, but a whole outfit? I hadn’t noticed anyone
with a Harley emblem on every item of clothing. As far as I knew, Penny Sue might even be wearing her Harley thong underwear.

  “Is that all she said?” Ted asked. His tone was very serious.

  “Yeah, what’s wrong? Do you know her?”

  “Her name’s Red, and she hangs out with a rough crowd. A very rough crowd.”

  The emphasis on very was unmistakable. I felt a sinking sensation. Ruthie bit her fingernail.

  “I don’t know how you and she happened to meet but, for the future, I’d avoid her at all costs. A minor disagreement with her could escalate quickly.” He looked at Penny Sue’s belt pouch. “Is your gun in there?”

  She eyed him defiantly. “It’s holstered. Perfectly legal.”

  He gave her a hard look. “Don’t let it give you a false sense of security. There are people here who would laugh at a .38. And, don’t you dare touch it if you’ve been drinking.” He frowned at her cup. She put it on the counter as if it had suddenly developed cooties.

  A burly guy, worming his way to the bar, knocked me against Ted. He caught my hand to steady my soda. His hand lingered, longer than necessary. Uh oh.

  “I hear y’all had an unfortunate experience the other night. Something about a dead body next to Penny Sue’s car and bullet hole in her license plate.”

  I nodded meekly.

  Ted put on his police face for Penny Sue. “Your boyfriend, Rich, is implicated. He was seen with the dead man and Red’s boyfriend the day before.”

  “Red’s hooked up with Vulture?” Ruthie blurted.

  “What do you know about Vulture?” Ted shot back.

  “Not much, only that he’s a bad guy. Rumored to be in a gang or cult of some kind.”

  “He’s not just in a gang, he’s the leader of the gang, and Red is one of his girlfriends.”

  “She was flirting with every man she could find,” Penny Sue said.

  Ted took a swallow of his cola. “I didn’t say she was his only girlfriend, just one of them. He has a whole stable. These gang things tend to be communal. Actually, it’s often the women who recruit new members through sexual favors.”

  I thought of Red’s raunchy gyrations and boob-rubbing come-on to Rich. Is that what she was doing, recruiting him for the gang? But Rich told Penny Sue that Vulture and the dead man were old friends. Was Rich already a member of the group? I didn’t like this. Too many loose ends. Too many things didn’t fit.

  Ted checked his watch. “Ladies, I have to go. Break time’s over.” He put down his mug and regarded us soberly. “I encouraged you to go to Bike Week for the experience, but that was before the murder and Penny Sue’s run-in with Red. Under the circumstances, I think you should stay away. Chances are nothing else would happen, yet you seem to be magnets for trouble and dead bodies ...”

  Hmm-m, that’s what Woody said.

  “... I hope you’ll reconsider and lay on the beach or go to Disney. Things have taken a bad turn, and I don’t want you involved ” He winked at me. “Gotta go.” He stood, focusing on Penny Sue. “I like you all and would be very upset if anything happened to you.” Then he strode away.

  I watched his muscular shoulders move through the room. Perhaps it was his uniform or air of confidence, whatever, the crowd parted before him. We’d had to claw, scrape, and squeeze. He simply strode ahead, unimpeded. Was it like that with the rest of his life? Surely not. I knew he had problems with his ex-wife and children. Still, what a joy it must be to walk—march—unopposed, to your own drummer. What did he have that I didn’t? Male, sure. It was a male dominated world, even today, although changing fast, according to Ruthie, with the new generation of androgynous kids. No, I think the critical factor was the confidence Ted exuded. Confidence, a deep certainty that your goals would be met not matter what. Geez, it sounded like Ruthie’s New Age dictum, “You create your only reality” or Penny Sue’s “What Man can conceive, Man could achieve.” I’d have to give all of that a little more thought.

  Ruthie reached into her pocket and dropped a twenty on the counter. “I’ve had enough for one night. Let’s go home and think this through. I don’t like that stuff about Red. And, if she’s really a right wing extremist, Sidney’s help—bless his heart—may have added another complication.”

  Even Penny Sue hadn’t thought of that one. We thanked Bill and headed out the front door. The steady rumble of motorcycles was deafening. We passed Ted in the crosswalk and he was clearly pleased we’d taken his advice. He gave us all an affectionate pat on the shoulder. My pat gave me a chill. I’d have to think about that later, too.

  Unlike the hoard streaming out of Publix and into the Pub before, the shopping center was relatively calm. The stores were closed, so the only activity was a trickle of primarily middle-aged, out-of-shape partiers (like us) who’d had enough. We walked in silence to the Mercedes that stood out as the only car in front of the grocery store.

  “Maybe one of you should drive,” Penny Sue said contritely. Ted’s lecture had clearly hit home. She retrieved the keys from her pouch belt and hit the trunk release when we were in sight of the car. We took our purses from the trunk, then Penny handed the keys to me and lowered the lid.

  “Ah-h,” Ruthie choked out, pointing at the car.

  “Shit!” Penny Sue shouted.

  My heart did a flip. “What?!”

  I followed Ruthie’s finger. The center of the second P in the PSP vanity plate was shot out! Suddenly feeling light-headed, I backed away. “How could this happen in the middle of a well-lighted parking lot? For godssakes, police were on the street directing traffic. Wouldn’t they have heard something?”

  “Well, someone did, and they didn’t!” Penny Sue stomped—forget the whole Southern Belle charade, she was hoofing it, big time—back toward the crosswalk and Ted. A convoy of motorcycles rumbled by at that moment. The sound was deafening, which explained how a gunshot could go undetected.

  Penny Sue outlined what had happened. Ted listened sympathetically, then shrugged. “This is the city, not my jurisdiction. You need to report it, but no one’s going to do anything about simple vandalism tonight. Resources are stretched thin. Go home and I’ll come over as soon as my shift ends at midnight.”

  “Simple vandalism?” Penny Sue snapped. “Someone took a potshot at my Mercedes!”

  * * *

  The message light on the answering machine was blinking when we got home. What now? The first message was from Ann. “Daddy called. He’s coming to Europe on business next month. Isn’t that great? That would be the perfect time for y’all to meet Patrick. Think you can make it?” So much for stalling the engagement to give Ann time to come to her senses. Zack! He always managed to screw things up, even when he wasn’t trying.

  The second call was from Frannie May. Could we make it for dinner tomorrow night? Penny Sue and Ruthie needed to taste real Italian food. I checked my watch, quarter to twelve. Too late to return the call.

  “Decaf or diet soda?” Ruthie asked, holding up a coffeepot in one hand and a soft drink in the other.

  “Decaf. Make a whole pot. I’m sure Ted will want some, too.” I peered around. “Where’s Penny Sue?”

  “In her room, I think.”

  I lowered my voice. “Do you think she’s acting funny? All this crying and carrying on, she’s completely discombobulated. I think we should encourage her to call her doctor in Atlanta.”

  Ruthie nodded. “She’s about as high-strung as a mandolin. Of course, I’m not feeling great myself. All this stuff with Rich and Vulture has made me a nervous wreck. I keep taking deep breaths and repeating my mantra, but it’s not working.”

  An electronic screech and “Halt, who goes there?” nearly sent me through the roof. Damn. I folded my arms on the counter and put my head down, trying to calm my racing heart. I guess I was more than a little tense myself. A moment later, Lu Nee 2 whirred into the room.

  “What are you doing, Penny Sue?”

  “I’m setting Lu Nee up for guard duty. Somebody’s o
ut to get us.” She flipped the switch to the spotlights on the deck. “This isn’t turtle season, is it?” I shook my head. “Good, then I think we need to keep all the outside lights on and post Lu Nee in here to watch the glass doors.”

  “Those doors are alarmed like the rest of the place,” I reminded her.

  “Studies show that a good smash and grab artist is in and out in three minutes. By the time the police arrive, a crook would be long gone and so would we!”

  Terrific, so much for the sense of security I’d gotten from the new alarm system. “What’s the point of an alarm then?”

  “To scare off amateurs.” She pushed a vertical blind to the side and peeked out on the deck. “Good, bright as day out there.” She turned toward us with her hands on her hips. “Where’s the Taser and its charger?”

  I motioned to the linen closet. “Do you think professional hit men are after you?”

  “Maybe,” she said, hauling the Taser, charger, and electrolyte solution to the table in the dining area. “As I said before, Daddy’s locked up his share of druggies over the years. That’s why I have to be so careful. A lot of them would love to get even with Daddy through me.”

  Since we were her friends, that put us on the front line, too.

  Ruthie poured three mugs of coffee. “I think we should go back to Atlanta tomorrow.”

  “Run away, and let the scum balls win? No way. We’re going to stay here and fight. Stand up for our rights!”

  I dumped a big glob of milk into my coffee. Fight—I had no intention of fighting anyone. This wasn’t Bunker Hill. There was no high-minded principle at stake, just our personal safety. And, I took my safety very seriously.

  The doorbell rang, followed by a loud knock. “Wait,” Penny Sue said, taking her revolver from her purse and slipping it out of its holster. “You see who it is, Leigh. I’ll keep you covered.”

  “You’re scaring me, Penny Sue,” Ruthie said. “Put the gun away. It must be Ted.”