thing I hung on to the car,” she said, trying for a more self-deprecating tone. “It’s too old to be valuable.”
She got in the driver’s seat and started the engine. They drove in silence, crossing a low bridge, then turning onto the narrow road that led to Happiness Key. Tracy was about to drop Janya at her house, the first of the five in the “development,” when she had an idea.
“I hate to ask a favor,” she said, although it wasn’t really true. “But would you come with me to Mr. Krause’s? Just for a moment? If he doesn’t answer, I’m going to peek inside and see if he’s still living there. If I’m going to unlock his door, I’d like to have you there, you know, as a witness that nothing was disturbed.”
“You must have a witness?”
“I think so.” Tracy had experienced enough persecution in the days leading up to CJ’s arrest and later during his trial. She didn’t want a repeat.
In the weeks since she had moved to Happiness Key, the one thing Tracy could say about her new “neighborhood” was that everyone, with the exception of Herb Krause, was obsessed with privacy. She appreciated this, since, of course, she had no desire to socialize with her neighbors, either.
Janya’s desire not to get involved made sense to her. But when Janya didn’t answer, she added, “You can stay on the steps. I don’t expect you to come inside. I’m only going to poke my head in.”
“I can do that.”
“You can leave as soon as I know what’s up.” Tracy stopped in front of Herb’s place.
“He has lovely plants, doesn’t he?”
Tracy hadn’t thought about it. But now she saw that Janya was right. Herb Krause was some gardener. There were at least twenty pots placed strategically around the front yard of the little house. Some were huge. Banana trees, palms, even citrus. She wondered if Herb gardened this way so he could cart his plants from place to place when he moved. If so, maybe he was still in residence. The plants sure were.
Both women exited the roadster and started up the path. Janya paused to feel the soil in one of the larger pots, which was home to a blooming double hibiscus in shades of peach.
“Perhaps he is gone,” Janya said. “This is very dry.”
“Well, maybe we can tell.” Tracy pulled out the ring of keys copied from the master set by the Realtor who had rented the properties for CJ. In those days, renters had been more a way to keep vandals from the property than to provide income.
Tracy knocked and called Herb’s name, then pounded with the side of her fist, getting another splinter for her efforts.
“I guess I have no choice.” She picked at the side of her hand, then she looked to Janya for confirmation. Janya shrugged.
Tracy held the key ring up to the light and found the one marked Krause. Unfortunately, it didn’t fit. As Janya watched, she tried another key on the ring, then another. None of them fit.
“Well, that’s a bummer. I guess I’ll have to go find the Realtor and get her to dig out the originals.”
Janya stepped closer and, without a word, turned the knob. The door swung open. “I didn’t think he was a man to lock out others,” she said, stepping back so Tracy could get inside.
Tracy felt foolish. “Well, I’m surprised. I bought a dead bolt for my door.”
“I will wait here.”
Tracy felt even more foolish. She was suddenly apprehensive about walking inside Herb’s house without permission. Technically, maybe, the house belonged to her, but in her weeks here, she had never taken him up on his offer to see the inside. She had been too busy settling in, and she’d been afraid that Herb would rope her into an interminable conversation, complete with a photo display of places he had traveled, pets long gone, and great-grandchildren. Now, as she stepped over the threshold, she had a flash of regret. This didn’t seem like exactly the right moment to accept his warm hospitality.
Cold hospitality. As she had guessed earlier, the temperature inside the little house was freezing, but this was even worse than she’d imagined.
“Lord, it’s like ice in here,” she told Janya, glancing back at the other woman.
“It is unlikely, then, that he’s left for good. Unless you are paying for his electricity?”
Tracy gave a sharp shake of her head. She had noticed something else. A faint smell, and not a pleasant one. Suddenly she