Page 31 of Daring Lance

Willow peered out her front door, surprised to find not only Lily trailing behind Bernadette but Ruby and Courtney, as well, along with an elderly man she didn’t recognize-not that she knew all the resident men in the building, as there certainly was no shortage. She made a covert once over of her unknown visitor and wondered if he was Reuben, star of the men’s water aerobics class, as he certainly looked fit. Willow stilled, then shook herself. She must be on the verge of mental collapse if she had actually mentally critiqued an eighty-year-old man’s physique.

It had been less than twenty-four hours since she’d made her dramatic goodbye as she exited Lance’s apartment, and she had been a hot mess ever since. She hadn’t slept, she had cried more than she had at any other time in her life, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten. Now she was assessing the fitness of a man that was likely three times her age. Maybe a mango martini right now wasn’t a bad idea. Perhaps a pitcher of martinis might be the better answer.

“Please, err, sit down.” Willow watched as each of her uninvited houseguests seated themselves in various spots in her living room, leaving her with one open seat on the couch, between Lily and Bernadette. She breathed out an exaggerated sigh and sat down.

“I’m not very good company—” Willow began.

Lily immediately leaned over and patted Willow’s thigh. “Nonsense, young lady. You’re always delightful, especially after a few drinks. Loosens you up and puts a smile on that pretty face of yours.” Lily picked up the pitcher of martinis and began to pour them into the glasses Courtney had spread out on the coffee table. The martini pitcher and glasses were a matching set. Palm trees were etched into each and actually looked quite lovely, Willow admitted to herself. These ladies certainly knew how to entertain.

“Besides,” began Ruby. “We have the most wonderful news!” She took the plastic wrap off of an overly large plate of brownies and placed the plate in the center of the coffee table but not before putting two on the plate in front of her. Despite the very likely chance that they contained ingredients from a recent trip to the cannabis store that might improve her mood, Willow couldn’t muster up the desire to eat one. Her appetite was non-existent.

“Oh?” Willow took a tiny sip of the martini and immediately felt the zap of vodka hit her stomach right before it collided with her brain. “Wow, these sure are strong.”

“Of course, they are dear. We’re celebrating!” exclaimed Bernadette. She kicked back an entire martini while Willow watched in amazement. How these ladies remained sitting upright for any length of time was a mystery to her.

“We sure are!” echoed Ruby. “That’s why we brought Arthur with us today. He wanted to meet you.”

Willow forced herself to smile back at the elderly man. He sat on one of her oversized chairs, and it appeared as if it had swallowed him whole. He couldn’t have been more than five-foot-two and a hundred and twenty pounds soaking wet. He wore a light grey cardigan that reminded her of Mr. Rogers, and that made her giggle. Whew, these martinis were really strong. “It’s nice to meet you, Arthur.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Willow, despite your meddling ways.”

Willow had taken another sip of her martini when his response finally registered in her brain. She raised her gaze from her glass to stare back at him. The old man, with more wrinkles on his face than Willow would have thought possible, smiled broadly at her. “Wait? You’re the mystery man? You’ve been depositing money into Ruby and the other residents’ accounts?” This time Willow took more than a sip of her martini before sitting back against the couch. “Wow.”

Courtney bounced up and down in her seat, as much as her overly-generous frame allowed her, clapping her hands like she did during most conversations. Willow thought it might be the alcohol that caused the woman to be so giddy but realized it was likely just a facet of her personality that she’d had since childhood. “Isn’t it exciting! It was Lily who figured it out the other day during a round of rum shots at the beach. Whew, nothing like Malibu rum to kickstart your Tuesday is what I always say.”

Lily bobbed her head up and down. “Malibu rum works as a brain stimulator for me. Wish I would have known that back in college. I’d have gone to med school and become a surgeon.”

Willow coughed into her martini glass. The thought of Lily operating under the influence of rum was downright frightening.

“We cornered him after bingo the other night. We shared Lily’s theory and then forced him to confess,” added Ruby.

“And he agreed to spill the beans if Courtney went to ballroom dancing classes with him,” exclaimed Bernadette with a cackle that caused Willow to jump almost six inches into the air from her seat on the couch. She looked back and forth between Courtney and Arthur and swore she saw a faint blush creep up on each of their wrinkled cheeks.

Willow placed her martini glass down on the coffee table. It was still half full, and she was grateful for her own restraint. Memories of the ladies’ last visit and the hangover that followed still haunted her. “I don’t understand. Why all the secrecy? Why didn’t you offer the money to the residents rather than secretly deposit it into their accounts? I assume you did it because you thought they needed the money?”

Arthur shrugged, and that emphasized his boney shoulders outlined in the plaid dress shirt that he had buttoned all the way to his neck. “What fun would that be? Life’s too short not to enjoy it. Why not take a risk while you can? Don’t you agree, Willow?”

“Oh, I do,” Courtney clapped her hands in excitement.

Lily finished off her martini and then exclaimed, “You’re darn tootin’!”

“Amen to that!” said Ruby between bites of brownie. She giggled like a school girl, and Willow decided that that alone confirmed that the brownies were indeed spiked.

Willow squirmed in her seat before she picked up her martini and took more than a sip this time. “I suppose.” Her elderly neighbor couldn’t possibly know about her recent break up with Lance, although his words certainly felt like they were directed at her. That was likely her imagination as every thought she’d had over the last twenty-four hours centered around Lance and her decision to end it with him. She had argued with herself on and off for the last day, still unsure if she had made the right decision or not.

“We came over to tell you that we solved the case, so you don’t need to investigate any further,” explained Bernadette.

Arthur chuckled after taking a swig of his martini, obviously no stranger to the kick of vodka the drink delivered. “I’m a widow, Willow, without any heirs. I’ve made some good investments over the years and can’t possibly spend everything I’ve made. Why not share it with those who need it, especially with people I consider friends?”

Willow couldn’t argue with his reasoning, nor did she have any reason to do so. “How were you able to make deposits into their savings accounts? Are you a computer hacker?”

“That’s a good one!” Arthur slapped his knee. “Not by a longshot, my dear, Willow.”

Lily smiled. “Arthur doesn’t even have a smartphone, despite all of our efforts to convert him to one. Can’t even convince him that he’s missing out on so many apps he could be using. He simply won’t upgrade.”

“It’s not for me. My flip phone is all I need.” He thanked Ruby as she refilled his glass. “My that’s good. A wee bit weak, but it’s still early in the day and I like to pace myself.”

Willow looked at the four ladies seated around her coffee table, each of them nodding in agreement. If these martinis were weak, what did this group do in the evening? Drink the vodka straight from the bottle? “I don’t understand. Then how did you make the mystery deposits into their accounts?”

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