Parfaits and Paramours

by Leena Clover

  Zac Gordon stood up and stretched himself. He patted Ada on the shoulder and took his leave.

  “What brings you here today?” Ada asked tersely.

  Jenny was direct.

  “We never talked about your alibi. What were you doing around midnight the night of the party?”

  “What do you think I was doing?” Ada shot back. “I must have been in bed.”

  “Were you?” Jenny asked.

  “Of course I was,” Ada said.

  “Can someone vouch for it?”

  “Julius is out of town,” Ada said, referring to her husband. “I was alone.”

  “Are you ready to swear you never left your room that night?” Jenny asked.

  “You’re out of line,” Ada scowled. “Are you actually suspecting me?”

  “You did have a motive,” Jenny pointed out. “And you argued with Kelly that night.”

  “That doesn’t mean I’m guilty,” Ada said.

  Jenny didn’t back down.

  “I’m not saying you are. I just want to know where you were that night, and what you were doing.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” Ada said.

  “As you wish,” Jenny said with a shrug. “But you’re holding me back.”

  She walked out of the house with Heather close behind. One of the maids came hurrying out while they were getting into the car. Jenny didn’t recognize her.

  “Are you the one who’s asking questions about the party?” the girl asked.

  “What’s up?” Jenny asked, nodding affirmatively.

  “You know Enrique, the pool boy?” the girl asked. “I saw him on the beach just when the party was winding down.”

  “But …” Heather butted in.

  Jenny held up her hand, warning Heather to stay quiet.

  “What was he doing there?”

  “He was drinking,” the girl said. “Must have filched a bottle from the bar.”

  “Was he alone?” Jenny asked.

  “He was, at first. Then Mr. Brandon’s girl walked up to him.”

  “You mean Kelly?” Jenny asked. “The girl who died?”

  “That’s right,” the maid nodded. “Enrique was shaking his head while he talked to her. Then he laughed at her. She stomped off.”

  “What time was this?” Heather asked.

  “Some time after 11,” the girl said. “At least that’s what I think. But I’m not sure.”

  “Thanks for letting us know,” Jenny told the girl.

  The girl smiled shyly and hurried back inside.

  Jenny and Heather stared at each other, speechless.

  “I told you not to trust that stud muffin,” Heather burst out. “So he’s been lying to us all this time.”

  “I don’t know, Heather.” Jenny was skeptical. “How do we know it’s not the maid who lied to us? I mean, where was she all this time? Why did she come forward now?”

  “You have a soft spot for that pool boy,” Heather said, rolling her eyes. “He’s worked his magic on you, hasn’t he?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Jenny snapped. “I’m just trying to be objective.”

  “Doesn’t look like that to me.”

  The girls bickered over whether the pool boy was guilty or not on the way back to town.

  “One thing’s odd,” Jenny said, trying to calm down. “Kelly seems to have had an argument with multiple people. She fought with Ada. Now we learn she fought with the pool boy. She was sending all those messages to Paula. What in the world was this girl up to?”

  “Don’t forget she was probably having an affair too,” Heather said vehemently. “I’m starting to believe Ada. Kelly wasn’t kosher. She was bad for Brandon.”

  “It’s beginning to look that way,” Jenny agreed. “But did Brandon know the truth about Kelly?”

  Chapter 13

  The Boardwalk Café was packed. Tourists and locals sat elbow to elbow, enjoying Jenny’s lunch special.

  “I’m not a curry fan,” Barb Norton, a short, stout woman said. “But I could eat this shrimp curry every day.”

  Jenny hurried from table to table, making sure everyone was well looked after.

  “Allow yourself a pat on the back,” Star beamed. “This shrimp curry is going to make you famous.”

  “More famous than she already is, you mean,” Heather said.

  She had posted pictures of Jenny’s special shrimp curry on social media. Fans of the Boardwalk Café had called for reservations, not wanting to miss the limited time item on the menu.

  “You might have to make this curry a regular feature,” Betty Sue said. “And why not? We have access to the freshest shrimp.”

  Jenny drank in all the praise with a smile on her face. Her mind was whirling with other thoughts. Ada Newbury was still under suspicion. The police hadn’t made much progress, and neither had she. Jenny wondered what the missing link was.

  She hadn’t had much help from Adam. She had tried to make him talk when they went out for dinner the previous night. But Adam didn’t have much to say. He had admitted he was stumped. They needed a break and soon.

  Jenny thought about what to do next and remembered Kelly’s phone. Were the police still waiting on her phone records? She would have to talk to Adam again.

  Adam Hopkins himself walked into the café a few minutes later.

  “What are you doing here?” Jenny asked in surprise.

  “This is your moment of triumph,” he said, planting a kiss on her forehead. “I wasn’t going to miss it.”

  Jenny’s eyes widened in surprise. Adam wasn’t fond of showing affection in public. A stranger looking at them wouldn’t know they were an engaged couple.

  “You’ve already tasted the curry!” Jenny exclaimed.

  She had cooked at least a dozen test batches until she perfected her recipe.

  “Who says I can’t enjoy it again?” Adam asked with a smile.

  Jenny led him out to the deck. It was a beautiful spring day in Pelican Cove. Warm afternoon sunshine bathed the tables. The air smelt salty and the breeze blowing over the ocean was cool and pleasant.

  “One shrimp curry coming up,” Jenny said cheerfully.

  “Why don’t you join me?” Adam asked, when Jenny brought out his order herself.

  “Why don’t you get started?” Jenny asked apologetically. “I need to be out front for a little while more.”

  “I’ll be waiting,” Adam said, picking up his fork with gusto.

  Jenny accepted many compliments from her customers and promised them she would make the shrimp curry a weekly feature.

  Star and Heather pushed her out on the deck after the crowd thinned.

  “Go sit with that young man of yours,” Star said. “And grab a bite to eat.”

  Adam’s face lit up when Jenny sat down before him.

  “I have some news,” Adam said, scraping the last bit of rice and curry from his plate.

  Jenny waited while he savored his mouthful. She crossed her fingers and waited for him to speak.

  “Kelly’s phone records came back,” Adam said, dabbing his mouth with a tissue. “We already know who she was calling or talking to. I was more interested in finding out where she has been.”

  “What did you find?” Jenny asked, holding her breath.

  “Her phone was in the same location as Paula’s several times.”

  “We need to find out who Kelly was with both before and during the party,” Jenny said. “Who did she spend a lot of time with apart from Brandon?”

  Neither of them had an answer for that.

  “We have hit a wall again,” Adam said, getting up.

  Jenny saw Adam off and started helping her aunt clear up.

  “What’s that frown for?” Heather asked, drying dishes with a towel. “Did you and Adam have a fight again?”

  “I’m thinking of Kelly,” Jenny admitted. “We need to find out more about her life in the city.”

  “Only one way to do that,” Heather said with a grin
. “Go to the source.”

  “Are you angling for a road trip, Heather?” Jenny asked, rolling her eyes.

  “Think about it. It’s been ages since we had some fun. We can do some sleuthing and hit that Mexican restaurant you like so much.”

  “What about Molly?”

  “She’s getting off early today,” Heather informed Jenny. “It’s the perfect day for a trip to the city.”

  Heather called Brandon and asked him for Kelly’s address in the city. Kelly had shared an apartment with two other girls. Jenny knew the area well.

  Molly was excited when they picked her up.

  “This trip is long overdue,” she said as she climbed into Jenny’s car.

  The girls cranked up the radio and sang at the top of their voices as the car sped across the miles. The sun was just setting as they entered the city. The roads were clogged with commuters heading home. A pink haze shrouded the city and restaurants filled with people meeting for drinks or dinner.

  “I’m starving,” Heather complained.

  “Didn’t you have two helpings of the curry?” Jenny teased. “Let’s get to work first, ladies. You gotta sing for your supper, you know.”

  Getting to Kelly’s apartment took them longer than expected. Jenny drove through a pair of imposing gates and parked before the leasing office. A young man was busy mowing the lawn. He pointed out Kelly’s apartment building. It was a two storied structure with eight units. Kelly’s turned out to be the one at the back on the second floor. Jenny pressed the doorbell and hoped someone was home.

  “Who are you?” a heavily made up girl asked as she opened the door a crack.

  Jenny eyed the tiny gold dress she wore, too low at the top and too high at the bottom. She was very obviously dressed to go out and party.

  “Is this Kelly’s apartment?” Jenny asked.

  The girl nodded and narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

  “We are Kelly’s friends,” Jenny explained. “We wanted to grab something from her closet.”

  The girl’s eyes widened as she connected the dots. She finally opened the door and invited them in.

  The apartment was clean and well furnished. The girl pointed to a closed door situated to the right of the living room.

  “That’s Kelly’s room. She shared it with another girl.”

  “How many girls live here?” Heather asked.

  “It’s a two bedroom apartment,” the girl bragged. “There’s four of us on the lease. We rent out our couch sometimes.”

  Jenny, Heather and Molly stared at the girl.

  “This place is expensive!” the girl said defensively. “Everyone knows that.”

  Jenny agreed with the girl and talked passionately about rising apartment rents. Heather and Molly went into Kelly’s room and started rooting around in her closet. Heather took her time, giving Jenny a chance to talk with the girl.

  “How long did you know Kelly?”

  “We’ve been roomies for a couple of years,” the girl replied. “But we hardly saw each other.”

  “Oh?”

  “I work the night shift,” the girl explained. “So does another girl who lives here. That’s why we didn’t step on each other’s toes. We were hardly here at the same time.”

  “So you never met Brandon?” Jenny asked innocently.

  “Who’s Brandon?” the girl asked.

  “Her fiancé.”

  “Kelly was a sly one, wasn’t she? She ditched the tall hunk.”

  “Was Kelly dating someone?” Jenny asked.

  The girl assumed a knowing look.

  “Tall, dark haired hunk with a six pack. You could bounce a ball off those abs.”

  Jenny tried to visualize Brandon Newbury. The kindest person wouldn’t call him tall. He certainly didn’t have a flat stomach.

  “Did she introduce this tall guy as her boyfriend?”

  “He spent a lot of time here,” the girl said suggestively. “Behind that door, if you know what I mean.”

  “Did Kelly break up with this guy?” Jenny asked curiously.

  “I couldn’t say either way,” the girl said with a shrug. “Look, we weren’t that close. Kelly kept to herself.”

  “Do you know this guy’s name?” Jenny asked.

  “His name was Paul, although Kelly called him something else. It was a silly nickname. I don’t remember.”

  Heather and Molly came out of the room, holding a couple of dresses.

  “Thanks for letting us in,” she told the girl.

  “Where is Kelly’s funeral?” the girl asked. “Me and the other girls might try to make it.”

  Jenny noted the girl’s phone number and promised to send her the details.

  Heather and Molly declared they were dying of thirst.

  “I want a tall frozen margarita,” Molly sighed. “With plenty of salt on the rim.”

  “I thought you were driving,” Jenny groaned.

  “No way,” Heather and Molly both cried out.

  Jenny agreed to be the designated driver under protest.

  “You can still have something frozen,” Molly consoled and yowled when Jenny punched her in the shoulder.

  The girls had started on their second basket of chips and salsa when Heather finally mentioned Kelly.

  “Did you learn anything new?”

  “I’m not sure what I learnt,” Jenny said, scooping up some guacamole with a warm tortilla chip.

  She told the girls about the tall, handsome guy who Kelly had been going around with.

  “Brandon’s good looking but even I wouldn’t call him tall,” Heather declared. “Does this confirm Kelly was two timing Brandon?”

  “Looks that way,” Jenny nodded. “But who is this mysterious tall guy?”

  “Did you get his name?” Molly asked.

  “The girl said he was called Paul,” Jenny said.

  Then she clamped a hand on her mouth and stared at the girls.

  “Paul, Paul-a. It’s like Betty Sue said. Paula is actually a man.”

  “It can’t be that obvious,” Heather said, shaking her head.

  The waitress brought over their order. The girls had opted for different types of enchiladas. Heather cut into the melted cheese and argued with Jenny.

  “So Kelly was calling and messaging this guy in front of Brandon? And he never caught on?”

  “We know this Paula person was in Pelican Cove,” Jenny said, her food forgotten. “Who could it be?”

  “Didn’t you mention Kelly was hanging around with some guy on the night of the party?” Molly asked, swallowing a big bite.

  She had never met Kelly since she hadn’t been invited to the party. But she had a strong memory and she remembered the girls talking about how Brandon and Kelly had both spent the evening with other people instead of each other.

  “That was her cousin,” Jenny dismissed.

  Then she thought again. Could it be?

  “Is it possible?” she asked out loud.

  “You don’t think Binkie was her boyfriend?” Heather asked, alarmed.

  “Think of how she was clinging to him that night.”

  “Surely she wasn’t that shameless?” Heather cried. “You’re saying she paraded her boyfriend around at her own wedding party? Right in front of the man she was supposedly going to marry?”

  “He was supposed to be her cousin,” Jenny said slowly. “Why would anyone suspect them?”

  Heather ate a big bite and put down her fork.

  “He was quite handsome,” she said. “And tall. Much taller than Brandon. And Binkie can’t be his real name.”

  “So Binkie and Paul are the same,” Jenny summed up. “And he was either Kelly’s ex or she was still seeing him on the side.”

  “Do you think Brandon knew about him?” Heather asked, feeling sorry for her cousin.

  “I hope not,” Jenny sighed. “It gives him a very strong motive.”

  Chapter 14

  Jenny primped before the mirror, excited about her dinne
r date with Adam. He was taking her to a new restaurant in a nearby town.

  Star sat in a chair in Jenny’s room, looking at her indulgently.

  “Are you going to talk about setting a date?”

  “I told you, we are not in a hurry,” Jenny said, fastening a diamond stud.

  “That boy needs a nudge,” Star said. “He won’t make a move on his own.”

  Star ignored her niece’s protests and decided to drop a few hints when she saw Adam again.

  “Whatever you do, don’t talk about the murder,” Star advised. “Don’t spoil the mood.”

  “What mood is that?” Jenny asked with a laugh.

  “Try to be more romantic, Jenny,” Star clucked. “Stay away from hot button issues.”

  “There is no such thing,” Jenny said patiently.

  “Of course there is,” Star protested. “Don’t talk about Jason, for instance.”

  “Why not?” Jenny asked, surprised.

  “The whole town knows Jason is in love with you,” Star sighed. “Adam knows it too, Jenny. And he’s jealous.”

  “That’s silly,” Jenny said. “I chose him, didn’t I?”

  “I still think Jason is the better man for you,” Star said hopefully.

  Star was very fond of Jason Stone. She had tried to push her niece toward the jovial, kind hearted lawyer but Jenny’s heart had chosen Adam, the cranky, brooding sheriff.

  “No more of that, Auntie,” Jenny warned.

  “You’re spending too much time with Jason,” Star continued. “People are beginning to talk. Adam’s noticed it too.”

  “I’m spending time with Emily,” Jenny said. Her face lit up as she thought of Jason’s baby girl. “Adam knows I am in love with that sweet baby.”

  “What about her father?” Star asked, quirking an eyebrow.

  Jenny ignored her aunt and ran a brush through her hair. The doorbell chimed below and she skipped down the steps, looking forward to her date.

  Adam stood outside the door, carrying an armful of red roses. Jenny put them in a vase and took Adam’s arm. The moon was rising over the ocean, lighting up the sky as they drove out of town.

  “How was your day?” Jenny asked Adam. “Anything interesting happen?”

  “Let’s not talk about work,” Adam said.

  Jenny agreed readily. The next three hours passed pleasantly. Jenny enjoyed a chardonnay from a local winery and dug into her lobster ravioli with gusto. Adam declared the spaghetti and meatballs he had ordered were the best he had ever eaten. They had passion fruit gelato for dessert. Jenny sighed happily as she sipped her coffee. Adam had a rare smile on his face.