Free 2 Landscape in Scarlet by Melanie Jackson Page B

cars and he didn’t want petroleum products getting into the groundwater.
    Juliet gathered up her sweater, purse , and sketch pad. She felt a bit naked, not having anything else to carry. She was used to having a fair amount left over after shows.
    “Damn.” All she wanted was to go to her cottage, share some tuna with Marley , and go to bed and brood in peace and quiet . But that wouldn’t be polite, so she strapped on her professional smile as she closed the car door and forced her feet toward Robbie’s bungalow.
    The two strangers were easy enough to spot since it was a small gathering and Elizabeth and Asher were missing . The younger of the two arrivals was trapped in a corner and being breathed on by Carrie Simmons. He seemed less flattered than frightened by the attention . Juliet decided that she would do one last kind thing and went to rescue the man. Carrie surrendered without a fight, leaving only her perfume behind.
    As so often happens, Juliet’s good impulse was rewarded with less than what it deserved. Once Carrie was vanquished, Juliet soon found that the new glassblower was always inarticulate and deadly boring. He might have had a fine mind, but if there were any thoughts in there he was keeping it a secret. He also smelled rather heavily of citronella. If he was trying to avoid mosquito bites, it was too late. He was covered in them. Which was odd because Juliet hadn’t seen any mosquitos for a week.
    Rose floated over. She was glad to leave him to h e r neighbor who looked genuinely happy at being introduced to a new resident . Perhaps he would relax more around their diminutive neighbor.
    Gritting her teeth, Juliet moved on. Thomas Jones, a stuttering potter, was more interesting and talkative, but his tripping consonants grew more pronounced the more excited he became and the thought of meeting other artists had him very, very excited .
    “I don’t suppose you knew Michael Comstock,” she said abruptly and got sudden silence and a blank owlish stare for her troubles.
    “W -w ho?”
    “No one. Well, welcome to the Wood.” Juliet smiled for as long as she could and then fled to the familiar comfort of Raphael and Esteban who were near the door, ready to make a fast escape .
    “Do ne do ing your duty?” Raphael asked softly. His dark eyes laughed at her.
    “Yeah — and where is the wine? Robbie can’t be throwing a party without liquor. Doesn’t he know that we are artists and that we need help facing other people? ”
    “ Alas, h e is doing just that . Both of our new tenants are teetotalers. One — the rabbitty - looking fellow with Rose — is currently a vegan but originally a fruitarian. That means that he only ate fruits and vegetables that had fallen to the ground naturally. Both belong to PETA. ”
    “Of course they do ,” Juliet muttered. “Oh well, I don’t have time to like anyone right now anyway. I am completely out of sweatshirts and thoughtless people persist in dying around me where I can’t ignore them.”
    Esteban grinned at her exasperation , his teeth very sharp and white in his tanned face.
    “Come with me,” he suggested. “I have discovered the great American pastime of making bathtub gin.”
    “Is that what you’ve been doing with all those glass tubes?” Juliet asked, diverted.
    “Yes,” Raphael said dryly. “That’s what he’s been doing. And so far he has managed to brew up an effective mosquito repellant and paint stripper . If you must numb your brain come down to my cottage. I have some lovely scotch that wasn’t bottled yesterday.”
    “Okay. But I can only stay for a bit. Marley and I have a date to enjoy a tuna fish sandwich.”
    “ You sound depressed. No joy in White Oaks this afternoon ?”
    “Lots of joy. Lots of suspects , but I don’t buy any one of them as the killer . And not a single definite feeling about what really happened to Comstock. Oh no,” she whispered. “Run for your lives!”
    The two men looked in the direction