Linda Lovely - Marley Clark 02 - No Wake Zone by Linda Lovely Page A

pickled.
    Gina’s amorphous bulk provided a startling Jack Sprat
contrast to her husband’s anorexic frame. An iron-gray moustache punctuated Dr.
Robert Glaston’s hawkish face, while a surgically-precise pink part divided his
sooty hair. The good doctor mumbled a “nice to meet you.” Light glinting off
his wire-rimmed bifocals made it impossible to see his eyes.
    Gina’s son Eric was absent. Thank God for small favors.
    Kyle Olsen sat beside his half-sister, Gina. Gray streaks
accented his styled chestnut hair. The racing stripe color shift made his
waspish face look narrower. A sloped forehead kept his eyes in shadow, a
natural cavern.
    He held his head still like a cobra poised to strike. I
stifled an intense desire to shudder. Kyle didn’t offer to shake hands.
“Quentin Hamilton warned me about you. This is a family meeting. You’re not
welcome.”
    “I invited her,” Darlene snapped. “This is my house.”
    I braced for fireworks when another member of the tableau
jumped up. “Delighted to meet you, Marley. I’m Duncan James. Darlene told me
how much your friendship means. We had family business, but it’s finished.”
    I wanted to kiss the stranger even before my brain kicked in
with a what-a-hunk report.
    The man sandwiched my hand between his warm mitts, and gave
an encouraging squeeze. “I’m pleased to count your cousin as a friend, and I’ve
met your captivating aunt.”
    Ross had told me the lawyer was in his fifties. There were
few signposts of age. Little crinkles bookmarked dancing blue eyes. I surmised
his curly hair had been cheeky red before a sprinkling of silver toned it down
to copper. Devilish seemed the best adjective to describe his grin.
    The movie “The Sting” sprang to mind. As an impressionable
teen, I’d mooned over actor Robert Redford. Duncan reminded me of the film’s
cocky scoundrel a few decades down the road. A damn shame Eunice hadn’t
arranged that blind date.
    “Nice to meet you, Mr. James.”
    He smiled. “Please, it’s Duncan.”
    Kyle leapt to his feet. “We didn’t come for social hour.” I
could practically hear his teeth grind. “Darlene, you’ll hear from our lawyer.
Gina. Robert. Are you coming?”
    “Yes, yes of course,” Dr. Glaston stammered.
    As Glaston levered his wife out of her chair, Gina swayed.
When her heavy ballast finally shifted, the woman wobbled forward. He trailed
his wife, carrying her respirator.
    No one uttered a word until the threesome vanished. I
expected the massive front door to bang. The whisper-like snick signaled Harvey had shepherded them out. Maybe there’s a role for a butler—or bodyguard—if you have
relatives like Kyle.
    “Thank God, they’re gone. What an afternoon.” Darlene
collapsed in an easy chair. “I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m ready for
a drink.” She laughed. “Marley, you’ll think I’m a lush, but whenever Kyle
enters or leaves a room, it’s Miller time.”
    Harvey materialized to take drink orders. After Darlene
requested a rum and Coke, I added a why-the-hell-not ditto. Julie asked for a
Coors Light, which prompted a “me too” from Duncan. No one seemed able to
summon the energy to be inventive or terribly sociable.
    Duncan crossed to the wall of windows. “Looks like we’re in
for one crackerjack of a storm.”
    Sprinkles freckled the glass. Sheet lightning pulsed in the
distance, and bright reflections flowed down the windows like light in a lava
lamp. Though the pyrotechnics ignited too far away for audible thunder, I felt
sure Ross had radioed the Queen’s captain to haul his keister back to Arnolds Park. He was terrified the tour boat might be damaged in a pop-up thunderstorm.
    Darlene sighed. “Any storm will be anticlimactic after
Sheriff Delaney’s bombshell. I can’t believe someone murdered Jake. With eye
drops no less. Delaney said the M.E. concluded the cyclogel killed Jake because
he suffered from MG. Since I’m the only one who admits knowing about