“DICOMY will hear of this,” Miss Marblemaw called after them.
Arthur paused at the doorway, glancing back at her over his shoulder. “If you need to contact Rowder again with your special briefcase, feel free to use the kitchen rather than lugging it all the way to the beach. While you’re here, our home is your home. Now, Linus, I seem to remember I hid some tea cakes away for such an occasion.”
“So long as Theodore hasn’t sniffed them out,” Linus said.
“The nose on our son.”
“Indeed.”
They grinned at each other and left Miss Marblemaw behind.
The second event of note occurred a short time later. Linus and Arthur sat in the gazebo, sipping peppermint tea, a plate of toasted currant tea cakes stacked in front of them on a tray next to a pewter pot. In the woods beyond, Phee and Chauncey were searching for pine cones (“It’s not a problem! Don’t look at me when I eat them!”). From an open window upstairs, Frankie Valli wailed that he’d told his girl they had to break up, thought she’d call his bluff, but she said to his surprise, big girls don’t cry. Lucy screeched along, David’s laughter loud and infectious. They waved to Sal and Theodore, Sal carrying a thick book, Theodore walking beside him, wings flapping, chattering away as they headed for their usual tree on the other side of the house.
Talia was in her garden, coming over every now and then to show them the large pile of weeds she’d pulled, and to remind them that anyone sitting in the gazebo must give compliments to the plants in the garden at random intervals.
“Zoe?” Linus asked quietly as he sipped his tea. Then, raising his voice, “I do love how the roses looked this morning!”
“She’s working on something,” Arthur said. “Being rather secretive about it. Look at the blooms on those petunias! Fantastic!”
“She’ll come to us when she’s ready,” Linus said. “That being said, I’m curious about what she’s doing.”
“As am I,” Arthur said. “But we will trust her as we’ve always done.”
“Is it terrible of me to say I’d give almost anything to be a fly on the wall if and when she meets with Marblemaw?”
“Certainly not,” Arthur said. “For I would like the same. But they can’t say I didn’t warn them about being woefully outmatched.”
“Too right,” Linus said. He sipped his tea again, smacking his lips. “Ah, that’s the ticket. Nothing like a good cuppa on a pretty afternoon. Oh, look, our guest. And she’s…” Linus sighed. “Oh dear.”
Arthur turned his head to see Miss Marblemaw marching up the garden path. Around her mouth and nose, a pink-and-green scarf, leaving only her eyes and forehead visible. She grimaced at the flowers on either side of her, snatching her hand back when a yellow tulip had the temerity to brush against her.
As such, she was distracted, and did not see Arthur and Linus in the gazebo. They didn’t call out in greeting as she stomped by them. Instead, Arthur lifted his cup and took a long drink, throat working. Pulling the cup away, he said, “Should we warn her?”
“Talia? If you think we should—”
“I meant the inspector.”
“Oh,” Linus said. “No. Here. Have a cake.”
Arthur did. He bit into it just as Talia said, “Oh, look who it is! Miss I-Don’t-Like-Pollen in a garden practically made of pollen.”
“I am allergic,” Miss Marblemaw said. “It is a very serious issue that should not be made light of.”
“Oh, my apologies,” Talia said, and Arthur chuckled, picturing the sweet, innocent smile on her face. “That must be so awful to be allergic to pretty things. It would make sense if you found yourself allergic to me.”
“Speaking of pretty things,” Miss Marblemaw said with a sniffle. “I was wondering if you’d given further thought to what we discussed.”
“You’ll have to remind me what that was,” Talia said. “You talk a lot, and I don’t always pay attention.”
“Really? Do you find yourself struggling to focus?”
“No,” Talia said. “Though I can see why you thought that. I was only talking about you.”
“I do love peppermint,” Linus said. “Reminds me of the holidays. Lights and garlands and good cheer.”
“As it should,” Arthur said. “I’m fascinated by the idea that senses are tied to memory.”
“Your beard,” Miss Marblemaw said, sounding as if she were speaking through gritted teeth. She sneezed twice in quick succession. “Giving consideration to shaving it off. I just know there’s a beautiful little girl under all that hair.”
“Can you hand me the trowel?” Talia asked. “No, the trowel. That’s a spade. And that’s a hose. Do you not know what a trowel is? There seems to be a lot you don’t know. I got it. Can you stand back a little? I’m about to dig really fast, and dirt goes everywhere.”
True to her word, Talia began to dig, the sound of her trowel striking the soil like music to Arthur’s ears. Knowing how quickly she worked, Arthur wasn’t surprised when, ten minutes later, she seemed to have finished. “There,” she said. “That should do it.”
“A hole?” Miss Marblemaw asked. “Why would you dig a hole that large? You already have one over there.”
“That’s for Papa,” Talia said. “In case he goes back on his promise to help me finish weeding the garden.”
“An effective threat,” Arthur said.
“Quite,” Linus replied. “She even put a breathing tube in mine in case I somehow come back to life.”
“She thinks of everything,” Arthur said.
“What’s the other hole for?” Miss Marblemaw asked.
“I’m so glad you asked!” Talia said with a chuckle. Then her voice dropped dangerously. “It’s a grave where I’m going to bury you if you ever try to tell me to shave off my beard again.”
“I beg your pardon?” Miss Marblemaw said in a high-pitched voice.
