“It turned out okay, though. He wasn’t trying to hurt us,” I said.
“But he could have had something a lot darker in mind than trying to get information out of us,” she answered. “In a way, Kenny did me a favor. He hurt my pride, but he taught me an important lesson by doing it.”
“Can we just drop it and change the subject?” I asked as I handed her a mug.
“What do you want to talk about? Samantha?”
I shuddered a little as I said, “She has a reason to be afraid of him, doesn’t she?”
“I’m not so sure,” Maddy said.
“How can you say that after what just happened?” I asked my sister after I took a sip of tea. Its warmth was welcome after the chill I’d experienced outside the Slice earlier.
“He was clearly agitated with Samantha and the two of us, but when he had us in a vulnerable position, his first reaction was to give my stun gun back to me. I’m not so sure that Kenny’s a bad guy, after all.”
“Sure, he didn’t stun us both, but I’m not so sure that makes him okay in my book. As a matter of fact, I’m going to keep my eye on him more than ever.”
“You do that,” Maddy said. “Where do you think Samantha is hiding?”
“If she has any sense, she’s long gone,” I said. “We can’t plan on ever having the chance to talk to her again. We’re going to need to come up with another angle to pursue.”
After taking a sip of her tea, Maddy said, “I think we should try to track Vivian down tomorrow before we open the Slice. She could very well hold the key to the whole thing. Hopefully, that part of her life has settled down enough for us to get a reasonable answer from her, thanks to Art.” When I didn’t reply, she asked, “You’re worried about him, aren’t you?”
“I am, but for more reasons than that, though.”
“I still don’t get the friendship you two share, but I know that it’s genuine. If you’re that worried about him, why don’t you call him?”
“He asked me not to, and to be honest with you, I’m not even sure the number I have for him will work anymore,” I said.
Maddy looked at me for twenty seconds and then asked, “Are you just saying that because of what you’re afraid you’ll hear? If he’s in trouble, and he’s the friend you say he is, you should call him.”
I thought about it and then nodded. “You’re right. The least I can do is try.”
I took out the number I had for Art and dialed it.
To my surprise, Art himself answered.
“Is that you?” I asked.
“Eleanor, how did you know that I was just about to call you?” He sounded genuinely puzzled by my call.
“I’m sorry. I know that you’ve got a lot of things going on in your life right now and I’m not supposed to contact you, but I’ve been worried about you.” I just got what he’d said, so I asked, “Why were you going to call me?”
“Everything has been taken care of,” Art said, the relief clear in his voice. “Our friendship is in full force again, if you’re interested. Feel free to speak with Vivian Wright, or anyone else you’d like to grill. The storm has passed.”
It was great news; there was no doubt about that. “Wow, that was fast. Does that mean you’re coming back to Timber Ridge?”
“In due time, but right now I have a friend who needs me on the West Coast, so I’m flying out tonight to see if I can lend him some aid.”
“What kind of help are you giving him?” I asked him, afraid that he might give me an answer that I didn’t want to hear.
“His wife just died of cancer, and he needs me with him. I’ll be back in a week, and when I do get back to Timber Ridge, I’d love one of your pizzas.”
“You know that all you have to do is ask,” I said. “Have a safe flight, and tell your friend I’m sorry for his loss.”
“I will do just that. Good night, Eleanor. It was good talking to you.”
“You too. Good night,” I said.
“What was that all about?” Maddy asked me as I put my phone back down on the kitchen counter.
I thought about explaining to her what Art had shared with me, just to make sure that she realized that there was more to my friend than she could ever know, but then I decided that it was something that would be better just between the two of us. “We got the all-clear sign to talk to Vivian.”
“He’s okay, then?” Maddy asked me softly.
“He’s just fine. Thanks for asking,” I said.
“Hey, no matter what, you’re my sister. I don’t have to like everyone you do, but I’m such a big fan of yours that I’m inclined to, anyway. I was going to confront her tomorrow, anyway, but I’m glad that we got the green light to talk to her from Art. What are the odds we’re going to be able to track her down, though?”