nothing but trees. Surely, there’ll be another car coming into view any moment. Someone who can help her. Someone who can call the police — who is the police. Where was Bernard? He’d summoned her here. Wouldn’t he know she was in trouble?
Lulu heard Spirit whimper.
“Don’t be such a scaredy cat,” she said, once again getting out of the car. Maybe she could flag someone down — if someone decided to drive by. Feeling alone and anxious, she was getting hungry again.
Lulu waited. The sun continued to burn brightly. Her body became damp with sweat. Climbing back into the driver’s seat, she tried once more to turn on the engine. Still dead. There was nothing for her to do but wait for help to come.
Hours passed. The world had grown still. No sound. No breeze. Even Spirit was motionless. She’d fallen asleep again.
Above, the sun broiled. The air was suffocating. Vulnerable in the midst of the green timberland, Lulu realized there’d been no other cars seen along the highway since Cherry-Bird stalled. Soon it would be dusk and cooler. The night creatures would come out from their hideouts among the trees. She had no protection. Not even a cinnamon roll. That would curl her toes.
All at once, the earth began to shake. Then Lulu heard a horrific roar. It sounded like it came from the center of the earth. Was this an earthquake? The roaring continued.
As Cherry-Bird rocked and rolled with violent force, Lulu hiccuped, as she held onto the dashboard. She had no idea how long all this lasted. It seemed like forever. Then it grew quiet. The earth grew motionless once more, though her heart still pounded.
A gentle gust brushed through Lulu’s gray hair. The orange streak, combed earlier across her brow, ruffled in the breeze. The air cooled down. A car sped by. Then another. Lulu tried the engine. Cherry-Bird purred as she came to life. Lulu put the car in gear, and Spirit jumped over the seat and settled next to her. In less than an hour, they’d be in Seaside, Bernard’s Paradise. There, the mission would begin.
Seaside,Oregon
Lulu Bean read the scribbled directions on the back of an old Mystic Muffins Bakery receipt: Left on Avenue U. West to ocean. The Gull Cottage Motel, Avenue U and Beach Drive. The instructions from Bernard were simple. Lulu hoped the assignment would be the same.
The windows were open. She breathed the sea air into her lungs. It felt good. The setting sun painted tangerine and violet across the evening sky as Lulu drove into The Gull Cottage Motel parking lot. Out front the neon sign had already been turned on and blazed brightly in the approaching dusk. Six cottages with gray weathered shakes, each boasted sea-blue shutters and matching doors. An abundant strip of flowers and a perfectly manicured lawn ran along the frontage. Though the motel was perhaps, sixty or seventy years old, it was well kept.
Lulu parked in the space nearest the office and hauled herself out of the small car. She grabbed her jacket and headed for the motel entrance.
As she pushed open the glass door, a tiny bell from above rang out a greeting. Behind the ugly green Formica counter, stood a young woman with dark curly hair and bright cobalt eyes.
“May I help you?” She stood looking at the large woman. She knew why she was here, of course.
“I have a room reserved. Bean’s the name.” Lulu shook out her mousey hair, which included the orange streak across her brow. It fell as a heavy mane down her back. Next she shook her legs — one, and then the other. She straightened the wrinkled folds on her cotton pants. The trip from Cincinnati had taken four days, during which time she’d lived in her car. She needed a shower and a change of clothes.
“Yes,” the woman said, knowingly. She should be relieved, grateful that the efforts would soon be under way to save this town, but still she was worried. “Number six. End of the row.”
Glancing through the lobby’s picture window, Lulu took in the setting sun as it dipped into the belly of the ocean.
“Beautiful,” she murmured. “It looks like a paradise.”
“It is a paradise. Though it hasn’t seemed like it lately. We’ve had crazy weather. Haven’t even seen the sun until today. Glad it hasn’t kept the tourists away.”
Bernard had explained everything to Lulu. The town’s backed-up sewers, power outages, the roofs that had fallen in for no apparent reason, and the weather, not to mention the strange behavior of some of its locals.
“I’ll take it. The room, I mean,” said Lulu. A reservation form was set on the desk, and she promptly filled in the spaces. Name. Address. License plate number. And so on.
“You have a cat with you, don’t you?” Molly asked, handing a key to Lulu.
Lulu picked up the key. She looked at the woman with surprise. How did she know she had a cat? Did she have cat hair all over her? The woman hadn’t inquired if she had a dog, or a goldfish, or a big black bear. How did she know she had a cat?
She gazed down at her black leather jacket, the one with the silver studs and fringed accents. Her khaki pants were free of cat fur. Her new red-toed boots that peeked out from under her pants were smudged with something brown and smelly, Oh God, but showed no sign of cat hair. Lulu decided maybe Bernard had told her. Or maybe this woman was a witch.
“Yes. I have a cat with me,” Lulu Bean admitted. She was going to tell the woman. Really.
“The pet fee is ten dollars a day, with a twenty dollar room deposit.”
“All right.” Lulu pocketed the key. “I’m not sure what my plans are. I may be here for awhile.”
Ordinarily, a checkout date would be needed indicating how long a lodger would be staying. But things were different with the current guests. There’d be no particular check out date ... for any of them. Bernard had told Molly he had no way of knowing how long this mission would take. Or how it would end.
“I understand. Let me know if you need anything. My name’s Molly Spencer.”
“Thank you, Molly.” Lulu stepped away from the counter, and then as an afterthought, she spoke again. “I’m meeting someone here.”
Molly nodded. “Do you want to leave a message?”
Lulu hesitated. “Uh … no. I’m sure he’ll find me.”
Yes, Molly thought. Bernard would be able to find her ... as well as the others.
* * *
With her head and feet dangling over the ends of the sofa, Lulu stretched out her large body. She’d be lucky if her limbs didn’t go numb lying there. The volume of the television was turned low. An Alfred Hitchcock movie starring Joseph Cotton and Teresa Wright was playing. It was one of her favorites. Lulu lay there eating jelly beans from a bag she’d found in her purse. Occasionally, she tossed one to Spirit who was curled up next to her. The cat purred as she nibbled her “supper”.
It was a comfortable cottage, obviously remodeled in recent years. The space was fresh and clean. Nicer, in fact, than her own house in Cincinnati, which was basically a big old barn. Rooms she got lost in. A yard that was too much to care for. A money pit. She really ought to sell, find something closer to the bakery and easier to manage, but she loved it.
Lulu
