By the time Olympia had cleaned up and poured herself into jeans and a cowgirl shirt with cleavage, the sun was well overhead. She was the only person Fiona knew that could coax cleavage from a cowgirl shirt.
“Let’s go into town,” said Fiona. “I want to find Brewster and talk to him about his girlfriend.”
“Really, Fiona, why don’t you leave that to the Sheriff? Although speaking of the Sheriff, I wouldn’t mind seeing him again.”
“I’m not going to see the Sheriff. I want to talk to Brewster. I’m intrigued about the girlfriend who disappeared. We could have dinner in town. Jake told me about a bar that has lots of local color.”
“Local color, I like. I might get some ideas for my new western romance series. Let’s go.”
Fiona drove Olympia’s dream car. It was the height of decadence. Olympia was good at decadence. They stopped first at Brooks’ Furniture Store. Lauren knew about the bunkhouse fire.
“I’m so sorry, Fiona. When I heard about the fire, I put a hold on your order. I’ll cancel it if you want. No problem. Will you rebuild?”
“I haven’t decided yet, but don’t lose my order. If I rebuild, I’ll want all that lovely furniture. I have another question for you. Do you know anything about Brewster and his girlfriend?”
A few customers lingered, so Lauren lowered her voice. “That would be girlfriends with an S, and I do. Why do you want to know?”
“Because he told me one of them disappeared, and I was to tell the Sheriff. To tell you the truth, I’m doing a little sleuthing on my own.”
Lauren smiled. “The things I could tell you about Brewster. He’s had just about every eligible female in town and then some. You and your friend better be careful.”
“Can you join us for dinner around seven at the Animal Head Saloon?”
Lauren laughed. “Perfect place. They have good food for a saloon. I’ll be there.”
Back in the car, Olympia said, “Cute store. Maybe I should look into buying a ranch with a big house like Opal’s. Lauren could outfit my house.”
Fiona looked at Olympia. She never was quite sure on what flower her friend was going to alight next. “How many houses do you have now?” she asked.
“I’ve lost count.”
“Right. Maybe you should think it over.”
Olympia brightened. “I will. We could go in on a place together, Fiona. Then you would have your place in the country while you decide what to do about Mr. Hunky.”
Fiona shook her head. “I’d have to think about that. But thanks for the offer.”
“Does Mr. Hunky have any eligible cowboy friends?”
“You should ask him.”
“Maybe I will.”
“Right. Let’s find Brewster.”
Fiona found Brewster’s place at the end of a street lined with old cottage style houses. She knocked at the door. The house looked like it was in a state of prolonged renovation. No one answered. She flipped open her cell phone and dialed his number. The message service came on, and she left a message.
Back in the car she sat and thought.
“No Brewster. What next?” said Olympia.
“I wish I knew more about this town.”
“It’s tough being a newcomer. But that never stopped you, kiddo.”
Fiona smiled at her friend. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
She dialed the electrician to tell him not to come back. He didn’t answer, and she left a termination message.
She remembered that Brewster was working on a B-n-B in town. How many bed and breakfasts could there be in Rocky Point? She called Lauren and got the name of the place where Brewster was working. It was called the Bitterbrush Inn and sat on a huge lot on a tree lined side street in the south part of town.
Brewster was in the back yard running a saw on a temporary table set up between two saw horses. He frowned when he saw them and kept working. Fiona walked over to where he worked. The warmth of the lingering day stood out in small beads of sweat on his forehead which was encircled with a handkerchief head band. Flecks of sawdust stuck to his clothes and arms. The definition of his muscular arms was nicely showcased in a sleeveless T-shirt. Olympia was right behind her, and she’d be admiring the muscles. They might even make one of her book covers.
Fiona watched him work the jig saw through an intricate curve with expert hands. She waited for him to finish, then said, “I’m sorry to tell you our job is off. The place burned down.”
“I heard.” He moved boards and started to set up a new piece of wood.
“I told the Sheriff about your girlfriend.”
“I heard.”
He kept on working.
His attitude puzzled Fiona. “Is there anything else you can tell me about her? Like her name and where she was from?”
“What business is it of yours?”
“You made it my business when you asked me to relay the message to Hoover. I’m trying to help.”
He turned off the saw and studied at her. “I’ve told Hoover all I know about the girl. She’s not my girlfriend. She was a friend, an acquaintance. I don’t know much about her.” He shrugged. “We hit it off in a bar over in Corvallis. She said she’d stop by to see me some time if she ever got through Rocky Point.”
“Did she call you before she came?”
“She called when she was in Bend from her cell phone. She said she was on her way to Rocky Point, and I invited her to stop by. That’s the last I heard from her. It wouldn’t be the first time a female has stood me up. I didn’t think a lot about it at the time.”
“Do you know what kind of car she drove?”
He shook his head. “I met her in a bar. We had a drink and exchanged pleasantries. That’s all I know about her”
“What did you talk about?”
He sighed. “Art. She’s an artist which is another reason I wasn’t particularly concerned about her not showing. Artists are flaky people. That includes me.” His smile was rueful.
“What kind of an artist was she?”
“She said she worked in bronze. She might be connected to Joseph up in the northeast part of the state. They have a thriving colony of sculptors who work in bronze. She never said if she lived in Corvallis or if she was just passing through.” He shrugged. “I’m sorry about your place. I thought it had a lot of promise and that you had good ideas for remodeling it. It might be cheaper to rebuild it.”
“Thanks for your concern. I’m still trying to decide what to do.”
“There are plenty of houses in town that are fixer-uppers, if you like that sort of thing.”
“Really?” said Olympia, pushing her way into the conversation. “I might be interested. Do you do remodeling work?”
Brewster looked at her for the first time. Olympia was not an unattractive woman. But she was a lot to handle. He looked like he was assessing whether he wanted to take her on.
“Yeah. I remodel.” He smiled at her. “I’m not cheap though.”
Olympia matched the smile. “Can you suggest any house in particular that’s for sale that you’d consider a good buy?”
He wiped his forehead by pulling his T-shirt up.
Fiona smiled inwardly at the showy display of perfect abs. The man knew how to work the ladies.
He let the T-shirt drop then said, “I’ll let you know. Can’t think of anything right now.”
Fiona said, “This is my friend, Olympia. You can contact her through my cell phone.”
Olympia fished in her huge purse embellished with a black sequined horse. “You don’t have to bother Fiona. Here’s my card. My cell phone is always on.” She smiled.
Very little that Olympia did ever surprised Fiona.
Brewster grinned. He might have decided to take her on. He turned back to his work. “If you ladies will excuse me, I have a job to do.”