Amateur Hour

The men strolled out with one of the cameras, a drill, and some hardware, after the meal was over. Toni tidied up the mess in the living room, while Lisa washed the dishes. She was just rinsing the soup pot, when Toni returned with her laptop.

“I really want your opinion on something,” she announced, settling back into her chair, at the table.

“Sure,” Lisa replied, putting the pot into the drainer, and drying her hands. She got them a couple of tea refills, and sat next to Toni, who moved the laptop to a more centered position between them.

“I’ve been taking some pictures, of my own, with the thought of making up some brochures. It’s a bit early, I suppose, but it doesn’t hurt anything, to practice with the software. Help me pick some out?”

“Of course,” Lisa agreed.

“Thanks,” Toni smiled. “Now, I know I have to use this one,” she clicked on one image that opened into a full screen. It was a shot of the first three stalls, housing Tango, Buckshot and Rocket, who were all in residence, with their heads poking out above the name plaques Lisa had had made.

“Nice of them to pose for you,” Lisa chuckled.

“I cheated. Shook a bucket of feed, where they could hear me.” She grinned back.

“That’s a must have.”

“Here’s the rest of the rogue’s gallery.” Luna and Polly appeared at their doors, likewise attentively regarding the camera. “I’ll use both images, of course.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you— who finished off Luna’s plaque?” Lisa indicated the object in question. At Christmas, the plaque had borne only the mare’s name. Someone had added her crescent moon emblem, later.

“I had it done. That’s why I asked you who did the original work. I wanted them all to match.”

“That was so sweet, Toni. Thanks.”

“Absolutely. She’s our very first boarder. She has VIP status.”

“You’re welcome to use her, you know, as a staff horse. I’d feel a little funny about strangers riding her, but…”

“We were all kind of hoping you’d be willing to be casual staff, yourself. I know you’ll have your shop, but on days when you just feel like helping out with a trail ride, maybe?”

“I guess we’ll see.”

“Fair enough. And, thanks for offering Luna. No one will touch her but family, I promise.” Toni returned her attention to the photos; selected another image. It was Will, working Polly on the lunge line.

“I like that one,” Lisa said. “Who knew such a joker could look so focused?”

“I know, right?”

“No—that wasn’t nice. Will’s great. He looks very competent and professional, there. Do you have any of him opening a gate? I’m never going to get over how slick he is, at that.”

Toni’s response was to pull up several, which sketched the process, in broad strokes. Will was riding Rocket. “These aren’t bad, but her head is very tossy. She’s such a fidget. But, here’s Dad—“ Up came a similar series of shots, showing Tuck executing the same task.

“Buckshot’s much quieter,” Lisa nodded. “I’m sorry, Toni, but I have to say it— that man is irresistible, on a horse.”

“Cowboys— am I right?” Toni laughed.

“Are you in any of these?”

“Yes… but, on Luna.”

“So? Show me.”

Toni obliged. The first showed her and Luna from the opposite side of the creek, standing on the bank, in profile.

“That’s nice. Almost like she struck a pose, for the camera.”

“Will caught it, just before she lifted her tail to… well.” Toni’s eyes sparkled with amusement.

Lisa leaned back in her chair, crowing with laughter. “I guess…I guess timing…is everything,” she sputtered. “Oh, my!”

Toni chuckled, too. “Everything,” she agreed. The next picture was one of Toni and Luna in the near pasture. Will had set out ground obstacles, for the mare to navigate. Poles, cones, logs, and something else that had been mostly cropped from the shot.

“You look good together.”

“Then, why are you frowning?” Toni turned to face Lisa more.

“Is Will training Luna for trail competition?”

“Not really.” Toni paused. “Okay, maybe a little.” She was clearly chagrined.

“Just how much more advanced is my horse, than I am?” Lisa demanded, smiling and frowning, at the same time.

“Only a little bit. Don’t get an inferiority complex, over it, Lisa. Having a few skills just makes her a better, safer horse, for you.”

“Oh, am I going to have a word with your husband!”

“You don’t have to compete in trail, if you don’t want to.”

Lisa scowled at Toni, for a moment. “Is she any good?”

“Luna? She’s got potential, yes. She’s spirited, but she doesn’t rattle, easily. She’s game for anything. She needs work on overall calmness in demeanor, but she’s young.”

“Yeah…” Lisa nodded. It was falling into place, for her. Will had an ulterior motive for wanting her to ride Polly more. Tuck had said it—Polly was the best trail horse on the place. “That sneaky little… Will wants me to learn on Polly.”

“I take the Fifth.”

“That’s probably wise. I’d use this one, for your brochure. You do look good together, and it shows dynamic horse training.”

Toni moved it into the ‘use’ file. “Now, I love this one,” she said, pulling out the next. “It’s so cheerful, and peaceful, at the same time.”

It was a candid shot of Lisa and Tuck, coming down off the north trail, smiling and chatting.

“I like it, but not for a brochure. Look at the weather. It looks cold and grey—which it was. But… could I have a copy of it?”

“You sure can. I’ll email it to you. I don’t agree, about the brochure. The weather isn’t nice, but the subjects of the photo are warm and happy. I like the contrast. Maybe I’ll do seasonal brochures… Promote the idea that riding is a fun thing to do, all year round.”

**************************************************

Toni was as good as her word, about the picture. In fact, she emailed copies of every picture she had of Tuck from her brochure ‘possibles’, and every one of Lisa, too. There were several. Lisa wouldn’t have suspected Toni of being such a shutterbug, but there were pictures of Lisa with Tuck, riding Tango, riding Luna, grooming Polly— Lisa hadn’t been aware that Toni was anywhere near, for most of them.

“Sneaky, isn’t she?” Tuck asked, peering at the pictures, over Lisa’s shoulder.

Lisa jumped, both at his voice so close to her ear, and at his having read her mind, yet again.

“Reminds me of Janice, with her camcorder,” Lisa smiled.

“Come to think of it, yeah. Have you gotten around to mentioning our engagement to Janice, yet?”

“Not yet.”

“How come?”

Lisa shrugged. “No time, I guess.”

“Huh… Everyone in my family knows about it. Even Kelly. She called to congratulate me, this afternoon.”

“That was fast. We’ve been engaged for two whole days.”

“By now, everyone I know knows,” he chuckled, sitting on the edge of his bed. “Kelly will have told Mandy, and Mandy will have told all the patrons of her shop, who will have mentioned it to everyone they know, who knows me, or you. Gotta love the grapevine.”

“Sounds efficient, for sure.”

“I can’t believe you haven’t told a soul. Not even Liam?”

“No. Not yet. I will.”

“What’s wrong, honey?”

“Nothing.”

Tuck just looked at her. “I don’t know whether to laugh at that typically female response, or to worry.”

Lisa blew out an exasperated breath.

“Is there no man alive that understands that women need time to process their thoughts, sometimes? ‘Nothing’, is a typical response, because it’s expedient, and sounds better than ‘I’ll get back to you’.”

He did laugh, then. “Okay. You get back to me, then. I can wait.”

“Thank you.”

While Lisa continued to open her picture files, one after another, and gaze at each image with varying degrees of enjoyment, Tuck put his feet up and leaned back against the headboard. He picked up his phone, opened the contacts and selected one.

After three rings Janice answered.

“Well— hello, Handsome!” she greeted him.

Lisa’s head whipped toward him, to stare with incredulity.

“Hi, Janice,” he replied gravely. “Are you alone, and sitting down?”

“Yes, to both.” On video, Janice’s face was troubled. Tuck winked at her, and her expression lightened.

“Tucker, what are you doing?” Lisa demanded.

“Darlin’ I have some very bad news for you, and I hope you won’t be too upset. But, we’re through, Janice.”

“Say it isn’t so, Tucker!”

“I’m afraid it is. I did think about stealing you from Liam, but I’ve changed my mind.”

“It’s her, isn’t it?” Janice sighed, sounding defeated.

“I can’t help myself. I do like the way you use my whole name, and all, but it’s just sweeter, coming from her.”

“Tuck—“ Lisa stood up, wearing a warning look.

“Hush, Lisa. I’m talking to my friend, Janice. Anyway, Janice–I’ve asked her to marry me, and she said yes.”

Tuck had to hold the phone at arm’s length, while Janice whooped and clapped, for several seconds.

“I’m sorry you’re so hurt,” he laughed, when she was finished.

“My day was going pretty well, but this is the whipped cream and cherry on top!”

A gust of cold air caught his attention. The door slammed so hard behind Lisa that it rattled the picture window.

“Uh-oh,” Janice said. “You’re in trouble, Cowboy.”

“I deserve it, maybe.”

“More than likely. You want to go and…?”

“I do not.”

“She wasn’t ready for you to announce it, was she?”

“I guess not. But, why not?” he groused. “You’d think she’d want to tell everyone. I did, and I have. She doesn’t seem to mind that. But, when it comes to telling her own people… Do you think she’s ashamed of me?”

“I think she’s waiting to see if it’s safe to be happy, or if the rug is going to be pulled out.”

“Oh.” He was suddenly ashamed of himself. “Damn. I thought she was just bashful.”

“We can fix it. I’ll give her a call, and reassure her that I won’t say a word to Liam or anyone else. It was just a little prank that went sideways.”

Tuck raked his fingers through his hair. Lisa was right; he did need a haircut. “Okay,” he sighed. “You know, maybe if I knew a little more about why she’s like this, sometimes, I could keep from stepping in it.”

“I do know. But, it’s not my information to give you. It’s hers.”

“Liam shared it with you,” he pointed out.

“Maybe he shouldn’t have. I love Liam, but he’s not perfect. No one is. Give me some time to talk to her.”

They ended the call, after a few more words. Tuck dropped his phone on the bed, and leaned his head against the headboard. He hadn’t meant any harm. Had he? Had he maybe been just a little put out about Lisa’s secrecy, regarding the brooch? Had this been a ‘playful’ way of getting even?

Tuck scowled at the ceiling. She kept secrets about the damnedest things. Obviously, the pin had been found in the old house. Did it matter so much, where, or how? She’d even been ready to hand it over, to him, not that he’d want it, so why was it such a big deal?

The brooch was insignificant. It was the hint of a lie. That’s what bugged him.

They lie, and they cover for each other. Ask yourself, Tucker: did she tell you her lie, or someone else’s?

This was a point worth pondering; he hated to admit it, but he had to. If she was lying for Margaret, then… then, she was lying, not to Tuck, but to Noah. Tuck smirked. In that case, he was on Lisa’s side.

You mislaid that trail of breadcrumbs, didn’t you, Noah? Could you be slipping?

Tuck got up, grabbed a drink out of the mini fridge, and sat down in front of Lisa’s computer. He pressed the space bar, and entered her PIN. It returned to the screen with the unzipped file of images Toni had sent. He began at the beginning, and looked at the pictures, one by one.

There were some good ones—Toni had had a gift for candid shots, since she was ten years old, with her first instant camera. She’d managed to get quite a few of him with Lisa, and they made him smile. They had looked like a couple, almost from the first. No wonder he was crazy about her.

Are you sure you’re the one who’s crazy? Noah asked, in his mind. Yes, that got your attention, didn’t it?

It had. Tuck found himself sitting stiffly upright in his chair.

You’ve forgotten that, before I was in your head, I was in hers. I saw her dreams; plundered her memories—much as I do, yours. By comparison, you’re a dull boy, Tucker.

And, you’re a one-trick pony, Noah.

Oh, I am wounded by that. It’s like being cut by a very sharp kitchen knife, with an eight inch blade, manufactured in China by Gunter Wilhelm. ‘Gunter’ doesn’t sound very Chinese… But, I digress. A knife like that cuts deep and leaves scars. Do you like your women scarred, Tucker?

Noah fell silent, and fell into Tuck’s stomach, as well. For several minutes, he sat, not daring to move, jaw clenched against the nausea. He forced deep, slow breaths, feeling the cold sweat that enveloped him from the roots of his hair to his insteps.

After a while he was able to open his eyes, and fumble for his soda. His hand shook, as he brought the can to his lips, but the liquid tasted good. A fine, deep belch made him feel almost normal again, but he needed a shower. He reeked.

***************************

“So, on a scale of one to ten, how pissed off are you?” Janice opened, when Lisa answered the phone, after having ignored two previous attempts, by Janice to reach her.

“About a five and a half, with spikes to seven. The spikes coincide with the ringing of my phone.”

“Don’t be testy with me– and turn on your camera.”

She did, scowling.

“Thank you,” Janice said. “Are you mad at me, for flirting with your fiance?”

“Don’t be inane. I’m mad at him for calling you. He had no right—“

“To brag to his friend that he was getting married?”

“I had no idea you were so close,” Lisa retorted.

“What are you insinuating?” Janice teased, with a burlesqued look of shock. “It was just a prank, Lisa,” she continued, in a more soothing vein. “Tucker didn’t mean any harm. Men turn into little boys, when they’re exuberantly happy about something. They have to jump up and down, and shout it from the rooftops. He picked me, to call, because I’m safe. He knew I would never tell a soul, if you didn’t want me to.”

“Maybe,” Lisa allowed. “I don’t know. I don’t…”

“Lisa… Does he hurt you?”

Janice looked very sober.

“No! Never! How could you even ask that, Janice? You can’t think I’d drink the same poison, twice! You’ve met his family—seen what they’re like together and separately. How could they be even close to normal, if Tuck were a monster?”

“I don’t know… Toni seems to be kept nicely barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen.”

“Toni runs the place,” Lisa objected, laughing. “When we left, this evening, she was setting up camera feeds to her computer, with all the glee of a criminal mastermind. If I could go back and start over, I’d want to be her.”

Janice chuckled. “She admires you, too. We talk,” she said, seeing Lisa’s confused look. “You forgot you told her to call me, about research.”

“I did forget. I’m not even sure what it was that she wanted to ask you and Liam to look into.”

“Mostly anything we could find out on Kitty Walton, Beatrice’s sister; Margaret Frasier, Lovejoy’s second wife, and Noah Lovejoy, of course. We’re finding a lot of the same stuff she is, so far, which is why I haven’t called you, to mention it. There are lots of little puzzle pieces out there, but not much picture, yet. Anyway, we do talk. That’s how I knew she was expecting.”

“So, you were just messing with me. You know very well that Toni isn’t warped or downtrodden.”

“Well, she’s a little warped, in a good way,” Janice grinned. “Far from downtrodden, though.”

“The point being, that you know Tucker is not abusive, in any way.”

“Oh, I know. Just wanted to make sure you did.”

“Janice, if I could reach through the phone—“

“Thank goodness technology has its limits. Now, go and let Tucker apologize, for being silly; because, that’s all it was.”

*********************************

Tuck was clad only in his birthday suit, and mildly startled when Lisa opened his door. She froze, at the sight of him, not knowing where to look.

“You want to close the door, honey? That draft is pretty sharp.” He managed to make his voice sound normal.

“I’m sor— I um— yeah…” She closed the door, and faced it. “Just tell me when it’s safe to look,” she joked weakly.

“It’s safe to look, any time you want to. Nothing you won’t see, eventually.”

Tuck proceeded to pull on his undershorts. “I’ve donned my fig leaf,” he chuckled. “You can stop cowering against the door, now.”

“I’m not cowering,” she protested, turning around.

“Yes, you are,” he continued to grin. “Your back is still glued to it.” He pulled his undershirt over his head, and grabbed his jeans off the bed. He stepped into them, then turned away from her to pull them up.

“Now, you’re just being wicked,” she accused him, laughing, herself. He had a very nice derriere.

“You noticed. Feel better, now?”

“I don’t know how to answer that.” She was blushing furiously, with a bemused expression.

“That’s honest,” he nodded. When he reached for his shirt, he detected a hint of disappointment, on her face. He dropped it, over the back of a chair.

“Are you going to stay a while, or are you just here for your laptop?”

“I…”

He approached her, and put his hands on her upper arms. “I’m sorry I teased you, by calling Janice. That was wrong.”

“It’s not all your fault that the joke didn’t land.”

“I have an idea— Let’s kiss and make up.”

“That could work,” she smiled.

Her body was warm and pliant against his, and he pressed her close. The kiss deepened to the point where he was starting to feel dizzy, himself. He didn’t want to break it off, but he allowed her to pull away. For a moment, they were both at a loss, for words. Then Tuck spotted the brooch and seized upon it as a topic.

“I understand why you won’t elaborate on this, now,” he said, tracing it gently with his index finger.
“You do? How?”

“Another delightful conversation with Noah. The first part didn’t quite go as he intended.”

He released her, with some reluctance, and stepped away to get them some coffee.

Lisa sat down in her accustomed chair. “The first part.”

“There was a second part. Just more of Noah being ugly. Nothing worth paying any attention to.”

“What did he say, Tuck?”

Her tone was quiet. It was also a tone that wouldn’t be denied an answer.

“Oh, just some rant about kitchen knives. It was nothing.”

“Kitchen knives.” Her eyes had grown dark, and her face was the color of candle wax.

“He said he pulled something out of your memories, before he decided I’d work better for him, as a puppet. Honey, I don’t want to know, if you don’t want to tell me. Like I said—it was just him being his ugly, nasty, toxic self.”

Lisa nodded, slowly. Then, she stood up, still in slow motion, and began to unbutton her shirt.

“Lisa?” Tuck’s mouth was suddenly dry with shock and alarm.

She parted the fabric, and he gasped. Crudely carved across her belly was the name: Steve. There were other random scars, as well. It was hard to tell if they were older than the name graffiti, which had faded, but was all too legible. Some looked like they might have been deep enough to require stitches that they hadn’t gotten.

“Oh, Lisa…” he groaned. But she turned her back to him. More scars met his gaze. Three of them, very long. These had been stitched, as evidenced by the little dots on each side of the gashes.

“German brand kitchen knives– made in China, of course,” she said, pulling her shirt back on, and buttoning it again, with her back still facing him. “Steven fancied himself a gourmet chef.”

She flinched and stiffened, when he put his arms around her, then relaxed.

“Truth was, he was a shitty cook. Not enough salt, in anything, and he undercooked pasta. That alone, should have been a red flag.”

“Want me to kill him, for you?” Tuck offered. He said it lightly, but he had never been so serious about anything in his life.

Lisa reached up to pat his hand.

“No.” She turned, in his arms, to face him. “Did you know that Death Cap mushrooms look just like Asian Paddy Straw mushrooms, at a certain growth stage? Steve didn’t.”

“You went back to him. After…”

“No! I learned my lesson. I went back for my things, of course. I took my big brother, with me. Steve was a sniveling coward, when it came to dealing with other men. Liam kept him sitting quietly in the living room, while I gathered my stuff. It was easy to swap my mushrooms, for his.”

“How did you know he’d have any, and of that kind?”

“I didn’t know. But as to the variety, that was easy. Steve was in an Asian food phase. It was the only cuisine he cooked that was passable, come to think of it.”

“Lisa… honey, what if someone else had eaten dinner with him?”

“Steve didn’t have friends, Tuck. He had acquaintances. His cooking was something special that he did only for himself, and whomever he happened to be holding hostage. In matters of romance, he wasn’t a fast worker. Mushrooms are only good for about ten days.”

“Well…” Tuck began, and fell silent. “Well, I did offer to take care of him, myself. I can’t blame you, for handling it, I suppose.”

“I didn’t go through with it. I had the mushrooms. His, in one hand, mine in the other. I thought about it—I really did. He deserved pain. Maybe putting him down would save another woman, in the future. That was a compelling argument, but in the end, I put his mushrooms back in the fridge, and left. I wondered, for months, if I’d done the right thing.”

“Of course, you did!” Tuck exclaimed, but even as he did, he wondered himself, about the next woman.

“Turns out, I did. Steve was killed in a single car accident. He was driving drunk, and went off a bridge. He drowned.” She smiled a crooked smile. “If you want to verify that I didn’t kill him, his name was Steven Coyle. He lived in Clearwater. He was thirty-five.”

“How old were you?” he asked the question gently.

“Twenty-two. Too old to be as naive as I was.”

Tuck pulled her close, again. This explained a lot. Love him, she might. It was only now, though, that she had begun to trust him. He felt the weight of that gift, and was determined to be worthy of it.

He had more questions, of course. Not that he doubted her; it was simply that he couldn’t understand how such a thing could have happened. Lisa wasn’t stupid, but then, Liam had told him about the isolation and the gaslighting. On a very young woman, he supposed it was possible to gain that kind of control.

“Did it happen all at once? The cutting?” he asked when she drew away.

“No. The first ones weren’t much more than scratches. They left scars, but they weren’t very deep. The first time it happened, I was in shock. We were in the kitchen, and I made a joke about being the one doing all of the chopping. Steve didn’t have much sense of humor. He squeezed my wrist until I dropped the knife, then he nicked me with it. I think he really enjoyed the emotional reaction, more than the physical pain. I was very upset.”

“You don’t say.”

Lisa smiled, bitterly. “It got to be a thing, after that. When I would displease him enough, he’d inflict a little nick.”

“Darlin’—why didn’t you leave, after the first one?”

“He was so sorry, afterward. That’s what he made me believe, anyway. It went from ‘I’m so sorry’ to, ‘I’ll kill myself, if you leave.’ Finally, it was ‘I’ll kill you, if you leave.’ But, maybe it’s one of those things where you’d have to have been there.”

She was angry—with him.

“I didn’t mean it, like that. You know I didn’t.” He kept his voice firm, avoiding sounding defensive. “I’m just trying to understand the nature of his evil.”

Lisa sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. “You never will understand it, because you’re not capable of it.”

“Understanding?”

“No, Deputy—that level of evil.” She looked slightly amused, now. “I don’t even understand it. Do you think I haven’t asked myself a million times, why I didn’t just leave?”

“No, I’m sure you did.”

“The ones on my back are from the night I did leave. He was finally going to do it. He was going to kill me. I ran, and three times he got close enough to slice me, but not to stab me. I got away, and called an ambulance. While I was waiting, I called Liam. It seemed like I was losing a lot of blood, and I had to talk to him. Someone had to know…” She stopped and scrubbed her face, with her hands. “God, the smell!”

Tuck nodded, and sat down next to her, putting an arm around her shoulders. “Yeah. I remember the first time I smelled a large quantity of human blood. It stays with you.”

“But, I recovered,” she shrugged. “Now, I’m a ghost hunting wannabe bookseller, with a minor in Western Pleasure riding.”

This time, her smile wasn’t bitter, though it was tired.

“That’s an impressive resume, but maybe you should get out of the ghost hunting business, as soon as you can.” He returned her smile, and kissed her lightly. “Be a part time trail host, at my stables,” he suggested.

“That’s your bailiwick, Deputy. You might decide you don’t actually want me around, anymore.”

“Don’t you dare say that.” He scowled at her. “Never say that again. It’s not true, and to be honest, it hurts.”

“I’m sorry.”

He continued to favor her with a hard stare.

“I won’t say it, again,” she added rolling her eyes.

“Good. I’d hate to have to start suspending privileges.”

“Such as?” she challenged, smiling a little.

He thought, for a moment. “Such as repossessing my room key. No more surprise peep shows for you, Missy.”

“In that case, I’d better behave myself. I have to admit there’s something about watching you dress…” She was smiling and blushing, at the same time. “I’m so juvenile!” she laughed. “And you, you’re a corrupting influence. But, I should have knocked.”

“It was a spur of the moment decision to take a shower. Dealing with our friend, Noah, makes me feel filthy. His every thought is dripping with toxic slime.”

“I’m sorry he decided to pick on you.” Lisa leaned her head on his shoulder, and hugged his waist. “Any word from Toni, about some kind of box to put his sorry ass in?”

“Oh, yes. It’s on its way, and you’re going to love it.” He had to chuckle, as he returned her hug.