U Is for Undertow (Kinsey Millhone 21)

Sutton said, “I’d forgotten about this. The Horton Ravine Riding Club is just across the road. I played in the trough that day, floating leaves like boats. It was afterward I climbed the hill and came across the tree I used as my hideout.”

“Nanny, nanny, boo boo. Told you so,” I said.

“I’m not paying you to make fun of me.”

“Then you shouldn’t be such a pill.”

“Sorry.”

“Forget it. Let’s focus on the job at hand. When you saw the guys, in what direction were they walking?”

“Actually, they were coming up the hill from here. They must have parked along Via Juliana and passed through this clearing. The tree where I was hiding was partway up the slope so I was looking down on them. They crossed my field of vision from left to right and moved off in that direction.”

“So if the fence was there, they’d have had to climb over it, which means you’d have done the same thing.”

“But I didn’t . . .”

“Would you stop that? I’m not saying you did. I’m saying we should knock on some doors and see if someone knows what year the fence went in.”

We climbed up the hill again, moving up the steps from terrace to terrace, until we reached the wide, flat patio with its pool, cabana, and built-in barbecue pit. We went around the side of the house and then crossed the front lawn to the house next door. I rang the bell.

Sutton stood behind me and to my right. To anyone inside, with an eye to the peephole, we’d look like Jehovah’s Witnesses, only not as well dressed.

Sutton shifted uneasily. “What are you going to say?”

“Haven’t made that part up yet.”

The young woman who opened the door had a six-month-old baby clamped on her right hip. He had a pacifier in his mouth that wiggled as he sucked. His face was flushed and his hair had been flattened in a series of damp ringlets. I was guessing he’d recently awakened from his nap and, judging from his aura of fecal perfume, was in desperate need of a diaper change. He was at that clinging-monkey stage, where his hold on his mother was pure instinct. I could see clutch marks in the fabric of her blouse where his grip had made star shapes across the front. His resemblance to her was eerie—same noses, same chins, two sets of identical blue eyes looking back at me. His dark lashes were longer and thicker than hers, but life is basically unfair and what’s the point of protest?

I said, “Hi. Sorry to disturb you, but is the house next door for sale? We heard it was on the market, but there’s no realtor’s sign and we didn’t know who to contact.”

She peered in that direction and made a face. “I don’t know what to tell you. The couple got divorced and for a while the ex-husband was living there with his girlfriend, a ditz half his age. They moved out a month ago and we heard he’s looking for tenants on a long-term lease. I can give you his number if you’re interested.”

With skepticism, I said, “Gee. I don’t know about renting. I hadn’t thought about that. How much does he want?”

“He’s talking seven thousand dollars a month, which I think is way too much. It’s a nice house and all, but who wants to spend that kind of dough?”

“That is pushing it,” I said. “Do you happen to know how much property he has?”

“Five acres, give or take.”

“That’s a good-sized lot. When we walked up the hill just now, we saw a fence with a Do Not Trespass sign, but we couldn’t tell if it was part of this parcel or the one next door.”

She lifted a thumb, jerking it backward to indicate something behind her. “The guy down there could tell you. I know there was a lot-line adjustment years ago, but I’m not sure what changed. The utility company has an easement that extends along the hill and riders keep mistaking it for part of the bridle trail. The owner got fed up with all the horses crossing his land so that’s where the fence came from.”

“He’s the one in that house I can see below yours?”

“Right. On Alita Lane. His name’s Felix Holderman. He’s retired and he’s nice enough, but he’s sometimes gruff. I don’t know the house number, but it’s the only Spanish-style on the block.”

“Thanks. We may just pop down there and have a chat with him.”

“If you catch him at home, tell him Judy said hi.”

“I’ll do that. Appreciate your time.”

“I should thank you. This is the first adult conversation I’ve had since Monday when my husband left on a business trip.”