The Mystery of the Lakeshore Ltd - An Eleanor and Lydia Mystery

Chapter Three

Eleanor instructed Lydia to park in the driveway where it would be clear to anyone who might be watching that they'd gone in the house and stayed there. While they drove, she placed a call to beg a favor from a neighbor. He readily agreed, so within moments of passing into the house via the front door, they were passing out of it through the back.

"Be careful on this uneven ground," Lydia advised.

Grateful for the extra support from her new cane, Eleanor promised she could manage the wide expanse of lawn between her house and her neighbor's without trouble as long as they took their time. Sixty years ago, she'd have been able to sprint across the grass in heels. No matter. Though her body may not have quite the same skill set it once had, six decades had gifted her with a fair amount of wisdom and insight that she could still put to good use.

A swinging gate in the garden fence led to a cobblestone walkway which curved around an inground pool and came to an end at the sliding glass door on the back side of the house. Lowell Lopez stood there waiting for them wearing his favorite ancient denim overalls and a straw hat with so many holes it no longer seemed to serve much of a purpose.

"A deal's a deal, Eleanor."

Eleanor rested both hands atop her cane. "I wouldn't dream of backing out of a promise--a good story about the current adventure in exchange for the use of your car."

Lowell offered his greetings and they all stepped into the house where plants covered just about every flat surface and hung in macramé holders from hooks on the ceiling.

Lydia took it all in with her customary silence.

They arranged themselves around the dining room table and Eleanor explained how Lydia had come seeking her help and what they'd learned so far about the missing scientist.

He scratched the silvery scruff on his cheek. "Artificial intelligence, eh? Like Data from Star Trek?"

"Data was a synthetic life form. That's not really the same. AI could be anything. There are companies now that use AI for everything from flying airplanes to figuring out which books will be the next big sellers. AI is related to robots, but the two aren't necessarily the same thing, and Data was advanced far beyond either concept."

"Huh." His head swiveled back in Eleanor's direction.

"And now you got the cops staked out in front of your place?"

"I didn't bother to be certain, but it's a safe bet," Eleanor said.

"Don't you ever just want to sit in a rocking chair and knit like a regular little old lady?"

In fact, Eleanor did just that on a regular basis and she told him as much.

He scoffed. "In between flitting around on private jets and running from the cops."

"It does not pay for one to get stuck in one's way," Eleanor said.

Lowell looked at her like she might have gone senile since the last time he saw her.

Eleanor did the polite thing and pretended not to notice. "So, you have my story. Was it good enough to satisfy my end of our bargain?"

Five minutes later, Lydia took a left onto Springbrook Lane while Lowell Lopez stood in his driveway watching them go.

It took a bit of rummaging in her handbag, but Eleanor managed to lay hands on her address book. Borrowing Lydia's cellphone, she dialed and hoped for the best. The detective hadn't been totally off base when he suggested that she was past her prime and due to retire (again). That meant a good number of her contacts from her busier days were already retired, moved to a warmer climate, or passed on to their next great adventure. In this case, Fortuna smiled on her.