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

Chapter Twelve

Being small had its advantages. Even in the backseat behind the two long-legged men, both Eleanor and Lydia had plenty of room to stretch out. On the other hand, Larisa's knees pressed into the seat in front of her. It didn't seem to bother her. To the contrary, she hardly seemed to notice. She sat poring over each page of her recovered research with the attention a mother would show to checking over her recently kidnapped children.

Lydia's head bobbed in time with whatever music her little earbuds fed into her brain.

Lowell sang quietly to himself in Spanish.

Chet stared out the window, looking lost as an abandoned puppy.

Somewhere after merging onto the toll road, Eleanor dozed off and when she woke, the city of Cincinnati surrounded her. No one thought of Cincinnati, Ohio as an exciting place or a vacation destination, but Eleanor had always considered it a lovely town, full of interesting architecture and genuine people.

As promised, rooms had been readied for them at the downtown Hilton, and they'd been hanging around in the hotel suite, making awkward small talk and watching mind-numbing daytime television for over an hour when Lydia's phone chirped.

"It's the FBI guy," she said, handing the phone to Eleanor.

Eleanor tapped the flashing green circle and answered the call.

"Do you ever consider putting your feet up and working on jigsaw puzzles? Maybe joining a ladies auxiliary?" Agent Kline's baritone rumbled across the line, bringing a smile to Eleanor's face.

"My father once told me remaining still for too long will cause the body as well as the mind to atrophy."

"What happened to your father?"

"He perished in a mountain-climbing expedition."

"Maybe he should have stayed home and worked on a jigsaw puzzle."

"To deny one's passions is to cease living. Breathing, alone, does not equate life."

The agent snorted and changed the subject. "Riley Cruise isn't talking. Or, more to the point, the things he says make no sense. He's been admitted to Mercy, and we'll see what happens. There was some concern that his father would want retribution against whomever did this to his kid, but from what I gather from the boots on the ground over there, dear old dad is mostly concerned with what it will mean to his image if his son turns into an idiot."

"I'm afraid he's too late on that front. The boy was an idiot to begin with." Eleanor looked around and saw that all eyes were on her. "A moment, Agent. I'm going to put you on speakerphone. The others are all here with me, and it will save me having to repeat our conversation."

Lydia helped her find the correct button, and the phone was placed on the table next to Eleanor. "So, Riley is in the hospital and suffering from a bit of confusion. Mr. Cruise, senior, is frustrated by his son's failure to withstand multiple head injuries. Go on."

"We've got a team in motion. Feds, not local guys. They're digging into everything from police corruption, to corporate espionage, to kidnapping and attempted murder. Officially, I can't tell you more than that. Off the record, you should know that the evidence is piling up deep and wide. You all uncovered a can of worms that will keep us all in paperwork for years to come, so thanks for that."

While the rest of them leaned in to hear what was being said, Chet wandered to the window and gazed out over the city.

Eleanor's heart went out to the boy. "Tell me, agent, how much would it mean to you to have a witness that was there every step of the way, dating back years? A person who knows everything from which member of the Cruise family was where, and when, to the combination on Rodney Cruise's office safe?"

"Are you implying you know such a person?"

Chet peeked back over his shoulder at her.

"If I did know such a person, I'm sure he'd be a young man full of remorse and due a fair second chance."

The agent barked into the phone. It took a moment for her to realize he was laughing. "If you can hand me a witness like that, I'll give him the damn keys to the city."

Chet's eyes widened, and she grinned at him. "I think I have your man, Agent. I'll have him give you a call at his earliest convenience."

"All right. I've got a plane to catch. Ohio. I have to go to Ohio. Next time, try to uncover a major corruption ring in Oahu, will you?"

Eleanor laughed. "I'll do my best, Agent Kline. Can I ever thank you enough for your help?"

"You just keep doing you, Eleanor Albright. The world is a better place with you in it."

~*~

The evening news showed Rodney Cruise being led away from his palatial home in handcuffs. The anchorwoman mentioned that his son was "recovering from injuries sustained during a home invasion that may or may not be related to the arrest," and they interviewed a tiny, spunky woman with beads on the ends of her long braids.

"I don't know how she did it, but I'm telling you it was that crazy old lady and her granddaughter who broke all this open. I was there with them, and those women knew how to get things done." Slim Willy stood by her side, nodding in agreement.

Not long after sunset, Eleanor shooed the others to their rooms and lay down on the enormous bed. 

Lydia crawled in next to her and twined her fingers through Eleanor's. "When things got bad, there's no one else in the world I could think of to go to."

Eleanor gave her hand a squeeze. "You honor me." Her eyelids could have been made of lead for how heavy they were.

"Was it too much to ask? I mean, not that you're not up to it, but..."

"My darling, nothing is too much for you," Eleanor said, and then she surrendered to sleep. In her dreams, she walked on strong, young legs on a beach in Oahu. Agent Kline stood in the surf, the cuffs of his gray suit pants rolled up to expose his skinny pale legs. Next to him, a jigsaw puzzle lay in pieces on a table.

"Did you finally come to your senses and decide to retire like a reasonable person?"

The pretty young thing in the dream stared at the man, unsure about how answer, but when she woke up, Eleanor was certain of one thing. Being reasonable wasn't all it was cracked up to be. She grinned at the ceiling and wondered from which direction life's next great adventure would come.

The End.