Page 70 of Waylaid in Whittier

Sharky belched loudly. “Excuse me. That one came out of nowhere. He had a reputation for being a womanizer.”

“And now? Are you hearing the same thing now?” Millie’s inkling of concern over her friend’s budding romance skyrocketed.

“Nothing yet. Although I’ll keep my ear to the ground,” Sharky said. “I would hate to know he’s mistreating her.”

“Annette doesn’t strike me as the kind of person to put up with a cheater,” Elvira said.

“She isn’t,” Millie said. “But clearly there’s something about him she’s attracted to.”

“You can’t fake a genuine attraction,” Sharky said. “As far as Annette and I are concerned, we realized we were better friends than lovers.”

Millie, who had bitten down on another grape, started choking.Cough. Cough.

“Are you okay?” Wanda patted her on the back.

“Yeah,” Millie croaked. “I was getting a visual of Annette and Sharky as lovers.”

“Hard to visualize, eh?” Elvira chuckled. “I was thinking the same thing.”

Sharky scowled. “What’s so hard about visualizing Annette and me having a romantic relationship?”

“You’re both good friends, not to mention it was a long time ago. A lot has happened since then.” Millie wisely changed the subject and motioned to Wanda. “Your color is much better this morning. How are you feeling?”

“Almost back to a hundred percent.” Wanda lifted the corner of her bandage and showed them her purple lump. “I don’t know what my attacker used, but whatever it was, he or she had a wicked hook.”

Millie stared at her. “What did you say?”

“I said I don’t know what my attacker used, but he or she had a wicked hook.”

“Did the police ever find a weapon?”

“Nope,” Wanda said. “Neil thought it might have been a tire iron.”

“Or a crowbar.” Millie’s mind whirled. This was it. This was the clue that had been bouncing around in her head after they ate at the bar the previous night. “I know who attacked you.”

“Who?”

“Lyle Gardner.”

Wanda blinked rapidly. “Lyle who owns Bay Bar & Grill?”

“No one has mentioned the weapon used to attack you. It hasn’t been found,” Millie said. “Yet I specifically remember him saying something about a crowbar.”

Elvira and Wanda exchanged a glance.

“What is it?”

“Wanda and I have been meeting up every night at the bar to compare notes. Lyle is always working. He’s chatty, asking a lot of questions. I figured he was curious about the show, but maybe it was our gold mining.”

“Do you recall discussing specifics while you were there?” Sharky asked. “Maybe you said something. He happened to be listening in and took note.”

“Mount Baldie has been a hotspot for decades,” Wanda said. “The buzz around Whittier has always been this specific area was rumored to have gold.”

“It’s massive, with miles and miles of ground to cover.”

“Ground where you and Wanda happened to find a promising spot,” Millie said. “It’s possible he overheard you talking about finding gold and planned to stake a claim.”

Sharky picked up. “He needed to get you out of the way so he could claim it for himself. You two got into an argument at the bar. Lyle saw his chance when he watched Wanda leave.”

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