The Postman Always Purls Twice Read online

  “Where are we going?” Lucy asked, gazing around. “Downton Abbey?”

  “We’ll definitely be in the neighborhood. But the house they rented for the movie is very modern. Looks like an off-kilter layer cake, with loads of windows and balconies. I have a feeling Trina Hardwick’s character gets pushed off one. So Heath’s character can be free to marry Jennifer’s,” Suzanne speculated.

  “Are you sure you aren’t just wishing that would happen, so he’ll be free to be with you?” Lucy teased her.

  “Do you think so, Dr. Freud?” Suzanne replied. “You should have been a shrink, Lucy. Except, from what Dana says, it’s not as easy at it looks.”

  “Nothing is. Not even being a famous movie star. I wouldn’t want to live like Jennifer Todd, flanked by bodyguards every time I walked down the street.”

  “How about having some creep whining at you from the shadows? Jennifer . . . please . . . I love you!” Suzanne imitated the fan who had called out Monday night at Maggie’s shop, making Lucy laugh.

  “Suzanne, stop . . .” Lucy warned between laughs. “It’s not funny. And that wasn’t even what he said, was it?”

  “That’s what he meant. But you’re right, it was more like, ‘Jennifer, you came back . . . We can be together now . . . Even though I’m crazy as a loon.’ ”

  Lucy still couldn’t help laughing at Suzanne’s silly voice. “Suzanne, it’s sad. That guy is in pain. He was really troubled.”

  Suzanne nodded, looking serious again. “Very true. I shouldn’t make fun. It’s just that entire situation was like a scene from a low-budget slasher flick. You know that kind of movie that’s supposed to scare you to death, but it’s so badly done you end up laughing?”

  Lucy scared easily. She’d never seen a slasher movie, low budget or otherwise. She could barely watch a trailer for a scary movie without ducking under her seat.

  “It was a bit absurd,” she acknowledged. “But I’m just realizing now, when you think about what the fan said, it sounds like he knew Jennifer at some point. Maybe they dated in high school?”

  “Good point. At that stage of the game, you can really inflict some psychic damage. Even if you don’t intend to. Sometimes I still think about this kid who broke up with me over the PA. It was in between ‘The Star-Spangled-Banner’ and the daily announcements.”

  “Over the school loudspeaker? You’re kidding, right?”

  “I wish. Talk about high school humiliation.” Suzanne shook her head, then raised her chin a notch. “That guy would be eating his heart out if we met again . . . if I hadn’t run him over with my mom’s minivan.”

  “You didn’t. You’re just pulling my leg again.”

  Suzanne stared straight ahead at the road and shrugged. “No, I didn’t. But I really wanted to,” she added, finally cracking a smile.

  Before Lucy could reply, she swung the big vehicle around a sharp turn Lucy hadn’t even noticed. They drove down on a narrow, private road, lined with tall grass and dunes. Lucy could tell they were heading toward the water, though she couldn’t see the beach yet.

  “It’s about a mile or so more this way,” Suzanne told her. “Right on the water. Some famous architect designed it. Completely sustainable. Awesome curb appeal. The owners are traveling through Asia on business. They were thrilled to rent the place. They might want to put it on the market soon, and I’d get an exclusive listing. They can’t wait to see it in a movie.”

  Lucy was about to reply when she suddenly heard an approaching siren. Suzanne glanced in the rearview mirror, then quickly pulled to the shoulder of the road, nearly driving into the beach grass.

  “Police car. I wasn’t speeding, was I?”

  The two women stared at each other a moment. But the blue-and-white cruiser sped by. Suzanne breathed a sigh of relief.

  “You never know. These police officers have to meet their quota of tickets every month and they’ll pull you over for the slightest thing sometimes.”

  She pulled back onto the road and soon turned onto a new road that ran parallel with the water. Lucy’s jaw practically dropped, taking in the huge, fantastic properties.

  “Wow . . . I don’t think I’ve driven down here lately,” she said.

  “There’s been a lot of new construction. I’d love to sell one of these beach plums. Or even co-broke. That would be a year of college tuition. We just have to come up with . . . eleven more?”

  Suzanne laughed while Lucy silently did the math. With her daughter in high school and twin boys in middle school, Suzanne and her husband had a lot of tuition to cover. The sum was daunting. To say the least.

  “I’m hoping the couple who owns this house will decide to sell soon, or even rent. I think they’re relocating their business to New York.”

  “That would be good for you,” Lucy agreed.

  “Yes it would . . . .but not if the house burns down!” Suzanne’s optimistic musings suddenly took on a dire note. Her daydreamy smile melted into an expression of horror.

  Lucy followed her gaze down the road, to the sight of two fire trucks and an ambulance blocking their path. Along with the police cruiser that had just sped by.

  “Is that the house you rented to the movie company?”

  Suzanne nodded bleakly. “Unless another house is on fire and they just had to park there?”

  Unlikely, Lucy thought. Fire trucks generally tried to get as close as possible to the flames, didn’t they?

  But Lucy tried not to panic. When she turned to reassure her friend, Suzanne was driving with her face puckered up and her eyes squinched.

  “Suzanne . . . you can’t drive with your eyes shut, please!”

  “I know . . . but I don’t want to see.” She opened her eyes and stared straight ahead. “It is the house, Lucy. Look. There’s another fire truck sticking out of the driveway.” She pointed in that direction. “It’s a big piece of property. You can’t see the house from the road. But that’s the entrance of their private drive.”

  “Maybe it’s not that bad. It could be a little kitchen fire. A piece of burned toast could set off a smoke alarm connected to the fire department.”

  “That’s true,” Suzanne agreed in a dull tone.

  “You know how eager the volunteer firemen are around here. They send ten trucks out for the least little thing.”

  Suzanne nodded, then slowed down as they drew closer. A police officer stood in the middle of the road, flagging down cars.

  Lucy suddenly smelled smoke. Suzanne sniffed the air, too.

  “That smells like a lot more than toast,” Suzanne said bleakly.

  It did, Lucy had to admit. An acrid scent, like burned rubber. Or something electrical. Not pleasant at all.

  “I hope no one was hurt,” Lucy said, trying to remind Suzanne of what was really important right now. “The ambulance is still here. That’s a good sign.”

  “You’re so right. Of course I don’t want to find the house burned to a shell . . . since I did persuade that couple to rent it to the movie people . . . but as long as nobody’s hurt. That’s the main thing. If I’m washed up as a realtor, well . . . so what. I can just leave town, change my name, and start a new life somewhere else.”

  “Let’s find out what happened before you go into deep cover.”

  Just beyond the police car, a long fire truck that was not in use, as well as an ambulance, blocked the view of the entire scene, but Lucy got the idea. A large number of the film crew members milled around in the street, along with some curious neighbors.

  The police officer walked up to the SUV and Suzanne rolled down her window. “This road is closed right now, ma’am. Do you live down here?”

  “No . . . but I was coming to this house, Officer. I have to get on the property and see what happened.”

  “Are you the owner?” He stared at her curiously.

  “I’m a real-estate agent and I represent the owners. They’re away right now. I rented the house to a movie company and I have to see if there’s any damag
e. Was the fire very bad?”

  Suzanne had started off in a reasonable, professional tone which quickly deteriorated, finally bordering on hysteria. But her concern seemed to sway the officer, who considered her question . . . and how much he might tell.

  “No damage to the house. The fire was out here . . . in one of the movie trailers.” He waved his hand in the direction of the fire truck. Lucy still couldn’t see past it, but did notice a thin plume of smoke rising some distance down the road.

  “A trailer? Was anyone hurt?” Suzanne asked quickly.

  The officer shook his head. “No injuries.”

  “Can I just come out a second and speak to the location manager, Lyle Boyd? I need to get some information to tell the property owners, even though the house wasn’t affected,” she said quickly.

  Was that really true? Suzanne’s explanation sounded good, but somehow Lucy doubted it. Suzanne probably just wanted to check out the situation firsthand . . . and make sure Heath O’Hara was safe and sound.

  “Can I see some ID?” he asked. Suzanne quickly handed over her license, then turned to Lucy. “Give me your license, Lucy. The police officer has to see it.”

  “But . . .”

  “We work together. She’s in training,” Suzanne fibbed to the officer. He didn’t seem to care. Lucy actually did feel like she was in training when she went off with Suzanne on one of her adventures. Training for what, she wasn’t quite sure.

  He quickly checked her ID and handed it back.

  “You can park over there.” He pointed to a space across the road, next to a stand of beach grass.

  “Thank you, Officer,” Suzanne said sincerely. She closed her window and swung the big vehicle around. “I’m so relieved that no one was hurt. But I really want to see what happened . . . don’t you?”

  “I guess so,” Lucy replied, hardly sharing her friend’s enthusiasm. “Or we could wait for the local news. I’m sure they’ll have the story . . . Look, there’s a TV truck.”

  A white van that said “News Five—Alive!” on the side drove off, headed for town. There probably was not much left to see, if they were leaving.

  “They have to report this tonight on TV. But we have a higher authority to answer to.” Suzanne checked the time. “Let’s dig up the dirt and go back to Maggie’s shop for lunch.”

  “I have to get back to my office. I think you have to file this story on your own.”

  “Okay, I’ll handle it. But we’re here now—let’s get the details. I promised you an adventure, didn’t I? Isn’t this more fun than designing a brochure for a nursing home?”

  “It’s ‘assisted living at its finest.’ But you have a point,” Lucy conceded.

  Lucy and Suzanne climbed out of the SUV and walked back toward the police officer. He was talking to the driver of another car and waved the two women forward.

  Suzanne glanced at Lucy and poked her with an elbow as she started to speed-walk. “Pick up the pace, before he changes his mind.”

  Lucy followed her lead, though Suzanne was a speedy rabbit when she put her mind to it. Even in her black heels.

  The road was wet with a stream of water that grew wider and wider as they approached the fire truck, and Lucy was mindful to avoid the puddles. They soon reached a truck, where firemen were putting away their equipment and a few had already climbed on board.

  On the other side of the fire-fighting equipment, they saw some members of the movie crew standing about, watching the last of the firefighters at work. There were more of the boxy movie equipment trucks on both sides of this portion of the road and a row of fancy trailers used by the film stars.

  The house was barely visible from the road, just a few jutting pieces. It did look like a pile of boxes set one on the other, at off-kilter angles, plenty of balconies and decks, as Suzanne had mentioned. The landscaping along the road and private drive hinted at the luxury beyond, with a wide trellis of green vines and tiered layers of plantings. Spring flowers flourished, banks of tulips and daffodils, already in bloom.

  Lucy turned back to the trailers. The fire had obviously been in the last trailer in the line. The back of the vehicle was charred and a thin plume of smoke rose from a hole in the roof, from the open door, and from the rear windows, which had been broken. Sudsy white foam puddled nearby.

  Suzanne sighed. “What a mess. Thank goodness no one was hurt.” She pressed her hand to her chest. “I wonder whose trailer that is?”

  Before Lucy could answer, Suzanne was on the move again. “There’s Lyle. Let’s ask him.” Lucy quickly followed as Suzanne trekked off to catch the location manager.

  “Lyle . . . what happened? Whose trailer is that?” Suzanne asked breathlessly.

  “Heath’s. But he’s all right,” he added quickly. Though not fast enough to prevent Suzanne’s gasp of terror.

  “Oh no! Are you sure? Where is he now?” She quickly looked around, as if searching for one of her own children.

  “He fine,” Lyle answered quickly. “The trailer was empty but somebody smelled the smoke and called the fire department. They got here pretty quickly, before it could spread.”

  “Wow . . . close call.” Suzanne laughed off her crazy reaction. “So the house is all right?” she asked again. Of course she was nervous about that and wanted to make sure.

  “The house is fine. You can’t even smell the smoke up there. Well, we didn’t when it started. It wasn’t much. Just annoying for everyone now. I guess if Heath was in there asleep it could have been a problem,” Lyle mused. “Now it’s just another production delay. What are you guys doing here anyway? Did you get cleared to come on the set again?”

  Trying to meet Heath O’Hara, Lucy knew was the truth of the matter. She stood silently and waited for Suzanne’s answer.

  “I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop off your copies of the addendum to the rental agreement. But now I forgot all about that. The envelope is in the car . . . I’ll run back and get it.”

  Lyle shrugged. “That’s all right. You can just scan it and send me an email.”

  “Right . . . will do.” Suzanne nodded.

  “So . . . thanks for coming by. I’ll watch for your email.” He smiled, obviously trying to get rid of them.

  “Right . . . See you, Lyle,” Suzanne said brightly, starting to walk away. Lucy sensed that her friend felt defeated underneath her cheery smile. Was she going to give up this easily?

  Lyle watched them; making sure they went straight back to their car? Suzanne was about to say something as they walked away when they heard voices coming from a trailer that was parked on the other side of the road.

  The door of the trailer opened and one of the security guards came down the steps, looked around, and waited. Lucy and Suzanne waited, too, watching without saying a word.

  Trina Hardwick soon appeared in the doorway, clutching a papery-thin blanket around her shoulders, the kind given out in emergency scenes. Her long, thick hair fell across her face in a seductive tangle, her mascara smeared in dark circles around her eyes. Below the blanket, her legs were bare. Lucy thought she saw the edge of a short pink robe, but it was hard to tell. It didn’t seem she was wearing much beside the blanket and a smug expression.

  Trina hopped down the steps, followed by a security guard, then scampered across the street and disappeared into another trailer.

  Lucy turned to comment on the sight, but Suzanne gripped her arm, pressing her free hand to her chest. “Look who else is in there,” she whispered.

  Heath O’Hara opened the door a crack and poked his head out. Then the rest of him emerged. He wore an outfit similar to Trina’s, the same sort of blanket draped around his shoulders. Shirtless underneath, he also wore a pair of jeans that were curiously miles too big and gripped the waistband with one hand as he walked down the steps, barefoot.

  “Matching outfits,” Lucy murmured. “That’s cute.”

  “Those jeans look like loaners,” Suzanne added. “I bet they belong to Nick Pul
lman.”

  “Or maybe Victor?” Lucy added, noticing the security guard who followed Heath from the trailer and led him across the street, to the same trailer Trina had entered.

  Lucy turned to Suzanne. “We did see Heath O’Hara without a shirt on. I wouldn’t call the trip a total loss.”

  “Not by a long shot,” Suzanne agreed. “Though I hate to think he and Trina have something going on. That’s what it looks like.”

  “Maybe they were rehearsing a scene?”

  Suzanne gave Lucy a look. “You are naive. But I mean it in a good way. It’s sort of cute.”

  “All I’m saying is, you can’t assume. And what’s the difference to us anyway?”

  “Agreed.” Suzanne nodded as they headed back to her SUV. “And all I’m saying is, if it looks like a duck, and it walks like a duck—who waddles by with practically no clothes on. Twice—it’s probably two ducks who were in bed together. But not in Heath’s trailer.”

  She smiled and shrugged. Lucy just laughed. It was hard to argue with Suzanne’s circuitous logic.

  A few minutes later, as Suzanne cruised through Lucy’s neighborhood, Lucy felt the tug of her deadline pulling her back to her office. But the workday was too far gone to be recouped, she reasoned. “I’ll just drink a lot of coffee and work tonight,” she told Suzanne.

  “That a girl. There’s a reason you have your own business, Lucy,” Suzanne reminded her as they sped off toward the village.

  “There is. Though I’m fairly certain it has nothing to do with goofing off in order to chase movie stars.”

  Suzanne laughed. “Sounds like a perfect reason to me.”

  A short time later, they were at the Black Sheep Knitting Shop, eating take-out salads as they sat side by side in the small knitting nook to the left of the entrance.

  Maggie had just finished teaching a class, Spring Fling: Felted Flowers. Most of her students left quickly, though Lucy noticed that two lingered at the back table, looking over pattern books. Maggie left them to bustle up front with her knitting and a cup of tea. She dropped with a sigh into the wing chair. “The coast is clear. I have a few minutes before the next class. Are we waiting for Dana?”