“Hey, not sure what’s going on with the whole Paulette case, but I’ve been doing some digging.” Detective Roxy did the eyeing-me-up thing again. “Anyway, you might want to look into Vicki Kline … well, her gardening shed, anyway.” I left it at that, not wanting to incriminate myself.
“Oh! And Whip McGovern? Yeah, his family has a beef with the mayor. Not sure if you’d heard.”
“Anything else?” Detective Roxy seemed amused.
“Nope. Am I good to go?”
“As long as you’re not planning on doing anymore investigating.”
“Not tonight.” I winked and ran over to meet Aria. She had been chatting away on her cell phone while I was, let’s say, detained. Christina had since been taken away.
“What’s the game plan, yo?” I was willing to pull an all-nighter and help Aria re-plan her wedding. We had less than forty-eight hours until the scheduled I do’s and I was fully up to the challenge.
“Vince is on it,” Aria said, putting her phone back in her purse.
“You told him?” Aria nodded her head. “About time.”
“Oh, shut up.”
“No, seriously, I’m glad you filled him in.”
“Me too. I guess these things don’t stress him out like they do me. I’m actually going to go meet up with him now. Is that cool?”
“Yeah of course. Absolutely.” I gave my bestie a hug and told her to call me soon and let me know if I could help with anything.
Aria took off, and I stood in front of Nine’s in deep thought. It took me more than a minute to switch gears. I was used to being the one to swoop in and take charge, to take care of my bestie, but Aria didn’t need me to now because she was marrying an amazing man. Vince texted me less than ten minutes later to say that he’d have everything taken care of and to stand by for an updated itinerary. I had to do a mental check to see how I felt about all this. Guys had come and gone out of our lives, but I had always taken care of Aria. Even her late husband, Raja, was content with letting me be in charge. If felt weird to not have to do that now.
I exhaled and wondered if chocolate would address my feelings, but the answer was no. I stepped off the sidewalk and headed toward my truck, driving to the only other place I knew to go.
No, it wasn’t to Finn’s. Although, I wished he was home for the umpteenth time that week.
My mom was in the kitchen in her floral nightgown, getting ready to put her evening tea on—a ritual I had seen her do a thousand times. Through the front window, I watched her fill the kettle with her filtered water, place her tea leaves in her infuser, and then select her favorite cup to enjoy it all in when it was done. She must’ve seen me out front because she didn’t even flinch when I opened the back door.
“Would you like a cup?” she asked.
“Sure, why not.” I peered into the living room and saw my dad dozing in his recliner, a baseball game on the TV. Both men in my life had a love for the MLB. Another reason why my dad probably liked Finn so much.
I took a seat at the oak kitchen table and waited for my mom to join me. She brought over two mugs of tea and a little plate of cookies, and sat.
“Thanks, Mom. This is nice.” I stirred some honey into my cup and took a sip. It wasn’t chai, but the chamomile would probably do a better job of calming me.
My mom doctored up her tea and took a couple sips, letting the silence linger for a moment longer until she felt compelled to break it. She may be prim and proper, but she also knew when to pry.
“I know Finn’s out of town, so this can’t be about him,” she finally said. She was right. I had done a lot of thinking about Finn over the course of the week, probably too much. I knew where I stood with him. Now I just needed to fill him in.
No, everything felt right in the relationship department.
It wasn’t really Aria’s impending wedding that had me feeling all philosophical either. Although, that may have started me down the path of self-reflection. No, this was about Justine and Todd and the way it made me feel, like I had been sucker punched. Christina might have tampered with my products, but I had no way of knowing if she had also cancelled with the realtor or stolen my product shipment, and I doubted she’d be confessing to it anytime soon. Justine and Todd could very well still be behind it. The fact that two people could potentially hate me enough to team up and plan my demise didn’t sit well with me or my karma.
“Do you think I’m a good person?” I asked my mom.
“Well, I’m pretty fond of you. I think your father, and Finn, and Aria would all think so.”
“I don’t think you guys count.”
“Whose opinion are you worried about?”
“Justine’s?”
My mom raised her eyebrows. I hadn’t given a hoot about what Justine thought for a long time.
“It’s just, someone’s been going through a lot of trouble to mess with my life right now and I think it might be her, again.”
“Well, maybe it’s time you mended that fence.”
“What, you mean like say sorry and make up? Mom, this isn’t grade school.”
“I know, but you two have been feuding for years, and it hasn’t done you any good. Maybe you should try a different approach.”
I stared at my mom for a long minute. She didn’t blink. I did not want to be friends with Justine. But I was also sick of dealing with her crap year after year. It had to stop.
“You know, they say that forgiveness isn’t something that we do for other people, it’s something that we do for ourselves,” my mother added.
I rolled my eyes. “You really gotta stop watching the Hallmark Channel.
“Just think about it.”
I wrinkled my nose and took another sip of tea. Sometimes I hated it when my mother was right.
21
Someone woke me up at eight AM by banging on my front door. Captain Jack growled something fierce and I was about to join in. Anyone who knew me was aware that you didn’t wake me up before nine, and you sure as heck didn’t stop by before ten, unless it was an emergency.
The person knocked again. Whoever this is better hope it’s an emergency. I literally rolled out of bed. Captain Jack decided to stay. I gave him the evil eye as I shuffled toward the front door. I looked out my peep hole and saw a guy in full bicycle gear with an envelope in his hand. I looked down to see if what I was wearing was appropriate enough to answer the door in. I had slept in a pair of black yoga pants and an off-the-shoulder lightweight sweatshirt. A favorite of mine. I couldn’t have been the only person who turned up the air conditioning at night just so I could wear warm, comfy clothes, right?
The messenger went to knock again and I swung the door open. I may have even snarled. The guy winced. “Sorry, my directions specifically said to keep knocking.”
I didn’t say a word, just held out my hand for the envelope. My name was handwritten in script across the front and the back had a wax seal with an old English D stamped into it. Ah, Aria’s wedding itinerary. Of course. Only Vince would send someone out to hand-deliver wedding invitations at sunrise. How Aria’s fiancé had managed such an elaborate invitation on such short notice was beyond me. He operated on an entirely different level of wealth that us commoners couldn’t even comprehend. However, when I opened the envelope, I saw that the stationary only contained a list, a packing list to be exact, with a request to bring my passport, along with the time that my driver would be picking me up tomorrow afternoon. Aria was officially marrying an international man of mystery.
I walked back to my bedroom and looked inside the door. Captain Jack had moved over to my spot and was being a total bed hog. I think he was smiling in his sleep. I thought about moving him, but truthfully, I probably wasn’t going to be able to fall back asleep. No point in disrupting the cutie patootie.
I walked into the living room instead, grabbed the throw off the back of the couch, and cuddled up with my phone. I was doing my usual morning routine—checking email and scrolling through my ne
wsfeed, when I saw a late-breaking news article: “Candidate Exposed.” The lead photo was a picture of Whip running naked around Mrs. DeVine’s backyard. I was certain it was one of the photos that goofy guy had taken. Whip’s private parts had been blurred out, but his face was clearly in focus. The article read:
Mayoral candidate Whip McGovern has been charged with indecent exposure after streaking naked through the upscale neighborhood of Sweetwater last night. The candidate’s campaign manager, Ms. Holly Fitz, stated that the candidate had been recently prescribed a muscle relaxer for a recurring lacrosse injury and believed Mr. Whip suffered from an adverse side effect.
Yeah, shrinkage, I thought.
Mr. McGovern would like to take this opportunity to remind people how dangerous prescription medication can be, and to read all possible side effects. If you ever have any concerns, you should discuss them with your doctor.
Well, there was a shocker. Whip chose not to take any accountability. Heaven forbid he apologize for his actions. I sincerely hoped he was done being interested in me. I closed the article and brought up the notepad app on my phone, making a list of everything I needed to do. With Aria’s wedding in her groom’s hands, I could finally focus on getting my business back on track. However, I couldn’t do that until I had some caffeine in my system. I managed to shower up, get dressed, do my hair and makeup, and Captain Jack was still snoozing. This time, I woke the pup so he could go outside and do his business before I left for Sweet Thangs. Captain Jack wasn’t happy, but he came around to the idea after he heard the kibble hit his bowl. With his needs taken care of, I locked up and headed out for my beloved chai latte.
Thursday mornings tended to see an uptake in visitors to our small coastal town. It was still nothing like last weekend’s Seaside Days, but Sweet Thangs did have a bit of a line. I was perfectly content to play on my phone and wait my turn, until I spotted Justine and Todd, holding hands in line a few spots ahead of me.
I gave an inward sigh. This had to be the universe’s way of testing out my mother’s theory. I exhaled and decided I would try and be nice. However, I wasn’t making any promises. The two were still waiting for their order to come up after I had placed mine. I know Justine spotted me when she started hanging on Todd and getting all touchy-feely with him. Once again, I couldn’t have cared less. I knew what he looked like under those clothes. It wasn’t anything to brag about. Not like Finn.
Todd’s posture stiffened when I approached them. Justine practically wrapped her legs around him as if to say, “He’s mine!” I snickered.
“Hey, guys, I didn’t know you two were dating. That’s great.” I tried to give a genuine smile. My eye twitched from the effort. Justine seemed to be waiting for the insult, but I left it at that. Believe me, it was hard. I would’ve loved to throw in something about Todd needing to watch out that her hair didn’t bleach his sheets, or maybe giving him a friendly reminder that the county health department offered free STD screenings, but I didn’t.
“Yeah, well…” Justine started a retort, but it made absolutely no sense, seeing that she hadn’t been insulted.
“What was that?” I asked as if she had been trying to say something nice. They both just stared at me. I heard the barista call Justine’s name. “Oh, sounds like your drinks are up. I’ll let you get to it. Nice seeing you.” I waved them off and stood back, still waiting on my drink.
They continued to stare at me.
“Your drinks. Right there,” I said, pointing. “They’re ready.” The barista then said my name. “And it looks like mine is too.” I walked past them, grabbed my drink, dropped a dollar in the tip cup, and walked out. I didn’t dare look back over my shoulder.
I stepped outside into the bright sunshine and smiled. That had been oddly satisfying. Maybe my mom was onto something after all.
A second later, my cell phone rang. It was Cassandra. I literally squeezed my eyes shut when I answered the phone, hoping for good news. If not, I might have to go back inside Sweet Thangs and do a one-eighty on Justine and Todd.
“Hey, Ziva, it’s Cassandra. Listen, I’ve got some great news. That space is available if you still want it.”
“Yes, absolutely! When can we sign?” I was not risking losing that storefront again.
Cassandra said we could do it now, which was perfect timing for me. I headed over to her office to get the paperwork done. For as much stress securing the place had caused me, it was relatively easy to make it mine. A handful of signatures and a small fortune later, I had the keys in my hand. I couldn’t wait to tell Finn. It was going to be awesome. I had a shop—Sugar & Sass Skincare—and it was all mine.
Now that I had a storefront ready to go, I really needed to focus on my products and marketing. I had to get that new logo finalized and think about signage, business cards, labels, anything and everything that would sport my business name. While I thought about that, I got to work mixing up a new idea I had been kicking around for a honey-sugar facial scrub. The recipe was simple. I simply mixed equal parts honey, brown sugar, and olive oil. I was finally going to get a chance to work with Suzanne’s honey, (which was delicious, by the way), and the best part was, I was going to test the product out on myself. I could’ve really used some pampering right about then.
I mixed the ingredients and, once set, I pulled my hair back from my face and tested it out by splashing some lukewarm water on my face and applying the scrub. It felt wonderful, or it would, I had no doubt, once I washed it off. I had been right to go with the brown sugar versus white in the mix. Brown sugar provided just the right level of coarseness, sloughing off the dead skin without being too harsh. Captain Jack cocked his head and looked at me like I had lost my mind, while I cleaned up the kitchen and let the mask soak in. I offered to put some on him, but he turned tail and ran for the bedroom.
I left the mask on for about five minutes and then washed it off. It was perfect. My skin glowed. It was baby smooth. I had no doubt that my customers would love it.
And then my face started to feel all tingly.
I started feeling all tingly.
And goofy, like I had slammed one too many tequila shots and I either needed to hit the dance floor or take a nap.
I chose to take a nap, or rather, the nap chose me. I lay down right then and there on my living room floor, barely able to grab a throw pillow off the couch before it was lights-out.
I had no idea what time it was when I woke. It was still light out, but the sun appeared to be setting. My head pounded and my mouth was dry; it was like a wicked hangover on steroids. Captain Jack was curled up around my legs and tried to lick my face as soon as he realized I had awoken.
I sat up slowly. “It’s okay, buddy. I’m okay,” I tried to reassure my pup. What the heck was that? I was clueless. Was my sugar too low? No, it shouldn’t have been. I had stopped and picked up a meatball sub after signing the lease papers, so my stomach had been full, and for once it wasn’t just with sugar.
Then I thought back to last night and everyone else who had been acting goofy, as if they were drunk. I giggled, remembering Whip’s naked butt.
“Sweet sugar, that’s it!” Leave it to a naked butt to have it all make sense.
I got up off the floor a little too quickly and my vision swam for a second. “I’m okay,” I told Captain Jack. He looked skeptical. “See?” I did a little jig. “It’s all good. Now, let’s take you out for a second so I can get out of here.”
I’d figured out what had happened, at least last night and this afternoon, but possibly with the whole case. I was also almost convinced it was one big accident. I just needed one other piece of the puzzle before I’d know for sure.
22
Finding Suzanne Butterfield’s farm at night proved to be trickier than I expected. More than once, I thought I must’ve have driven past it, but finally I saw the white farmhouse up ahead. The driveway was marked with an address reflector, making it easier to spot the entrance, and ensured that I didn’t tear up h
er yard. I wasn’t sure if she’d be home, or there was a chance that Jeffery was home and not up for visitors. However, this was too big for me to sit on. I got out of my truck and looked around. The house was dark from where I stood, and the front light was off, but I could see light glowing from the back of the house.
I walked around the side of the house and was surprised to find Suzanne outside, tending to her bees. I remembered her saying something about how they usually moved the hives at night and thought maybe that’s what she was up to, until I realized that she was pacing back and forth. Suzanne walked up and down the rows, muttering to herself. The closer I got, the more I could tell that she was out of it. She didn’t even see me approach when I heard her say, “Can’t tell Jeffery. Can’t tell Humphrey. What to do? What to do?”
I was initially thinking that she had figured it out. I was right. It was an accident. I was about to interrupt her and tell her it would be okay when she said, “Have to kill her. No other choice. I see it now.”
Say what? Kill who? Suzanne was probably less than twenty feet in front of me. I dropped to the ground and crawled behind one of the hive boxes. I could hear the humming of the bees inside and it gave me the creepy crawlies. Worst hiding spot ever, Ziva. I waited a second to see how this would play out. I peered around the hive box and saw Suzanne walking in the darkness across her yard toward a tool shed. She disappeared inside and I started to follow to get a closer look, only to dive bomb behind another bee box when she popped back out with a shovel in her hand.
Oh, sweet sugar! Who is she going to whack with that? But she didn’t whack anyone. She walked over to another smaller outbuilding on the property and jammed the shovel through the building’s handle, forcefully locking it.
“An unfortunate accident. That’s what we have here. Nothing more. Get it done and taken care of. Move on,” she said. Nothing like a little homicide pep talk to get you going.
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