Last Licks

“Now I remember why I didn’t wear this outfit later than the end of May.” Sunny caught the front of her knit top between her thumb and forefinger and tried to pull it away. It still felt plastered to her. Will moved on ahead, climbing into the cab of the pickup, starting up the engine, and closing the windows. Sunny joined him to find the air-conditioning on, but not making much headway against the warm air trapped inside. They didn’t do well against traffic, either.

When they got onto the interstate, the usually brief ride seemed to drag on forever.

At last they turned onto Wild Goose Drive and followed the gently curving road to Sunny’s house. She thanked Will for the ride, and mentioned she’d take her Wrangler tomorrow. “Maybe we’ll be able to cover a little more territory.”

Will nodded. “You want to talk to the Hogue woman. I’ll see if I can get in touch with my friend in Boston tonight.”

“I’ll also talk to Mrs. Martinson again and see if she can come up with any dirt on Alfred Scatterwell . . . and Henry Reese.” Sunny paused for a moment. “Are any of your police friends veterans? Recent veterans, I mean? Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get a picture of what Rafe Warner is like when he’s not behind the security desk at Bridgewater Hall.”

Will slowly nodded. “That’s probably something we should follow up. I’ll try to talk to some of the guys tomorrow. And you were right—we should have hit Ollie for expense money. Coffee and doughnuts don’t come cheap.”

They waved good-bye, and Sunny made her way through the thick air into the house. She could feel the air-conditioning on in the living room. When she looked in, she found Mike half-lying on the couch, his eyes closed, looking like a wrung-out washrag.

“I got caught in this lousy weather and got home as fast as I could,” he complained. “For a while there I wasn’t sure if I was breathing or sipping water through a straw.”

“You’re sure you’re okay?” Sunny asked worriedly.

“Yeah, I just feel tired,” Mike told her. “Give me a little more time here in the cold air to revive.”

Sunny went up to her room to peel off her suit. She left it on the bed and quickly changed into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt.

When she returned downstairs, she found Mike watching the end of the weather report on television news. “It’s going to be miserable like this tomorrow,” he reported. “Maybe I’ll try to get in an early walk, or go up and do it in one of the malls. Otherwise, I think I’m going to stick close to home.”

“I wish I could do that, too,” Sunny said. One thing was certain—no dressing up tomorrow. A nice tee and a pair of light cotton pants would have to do.

She looked around the room. “Where’s Shadow?”

“He got out of here when it started getting cool. Maybe he decided it was unnatural to have that kind of indoor weather in summertime.” Mike shrugged. “You’d think he’d be happy for a chance to enjoy some cool air, stuck in a fur coat the way he is.” He gestured vaguely toward the rear of the house. “Try the kitchen.”

But when Sunny arrived there, she didn’t see Shadow, not even on top of the refrigerator, where she’d expected to discover the cat hiding out.

Looking in the fridge, Sunny shook her head. They were running low on supplies. But even her brief exposure to the weather had killed her appetite, and she was willing to bet her dad felt the same way, too. She gathered a large can of tuna from the bottom shelf, a Vidalia onion, and an avocado that had been taking its sweet time getting ripe. She chopped up some of the onion and mashed the other ingredients together with some lemon juice, a hint of oil, and a shake of pepper. After washing some romaine leaves, she arranged them on two plates and then scooped a healthy dollop of the tuna-avocado mixture in the middle.

Although Mike praised the salad—after first asking, “What is that?”—he just nibbled, making the most of the saltless saltines Sunny had added to the table, and drinking a couple of glasses of seltzer. To be honest, Sunny didn’t do too much better.

She kept checking for Shadow, looking toward the entrance to the kitchen, down the hallway and the foot of the stairs, even out the screen door, which she began to suspect Shadow had learned somehow to manipulate. If so, he’d be in trouble now. They’d shut the storm door to keep the air-conditioning in. Finally, Sunny tried the ultimate Shadow lure, getting up and rattling some cans of cat food together. But the cat declined to appear.

“Do we want to save this?” Mike’s words jangled through her distracted thoughts. She turned to find him frowning at their plates, still generously piled with the salad. Obviously his traditionally thrifty Maine upbringing was at war with the world of unknown food.

“We’ll put it in one of the bowls with the lids that seal tightly,” Sunny said. “Hopefully, it will keep till tomorrow. I guess we should also make a list and do some shopping.” She grinned at her dad. “In case it doesn’t keep.”