by Lee Hollis
The room was packed with about twenty people trying their best to follow Bonnie’s lead. Mona took one look at the complicated choreography, and yelled, “I’m out!”
As she turned around to leave, Hayley grabbed her arm. “Where are you going?”
“Your brother’s bar for a beer.” Mona grunted. “I’m not breaking a hip just so you can talk to Jeanette Garcia.”
Liddy eyed Mona’s midsection. “Mona, don’t you want to drop a few pounds?”
“I’d like to drop about a hundred and fifteen pounds, like right now, but I’m afraid you’d just show up again,” Mona growled.
And then she stormed out.
Liddy shook her head. “I don’t know why she always insists on being so difficult.”
Bonnie had already managed to whip the crowd up into a frenzy, and they were now singing along with the song as they danced. “‘Make some noise for the Desi Boyz!’”
Not one of them had probably seen the movie where the song had come from.
Hayley was already scanning the crowd for Jeanette Garcia. She knew from Liddy, who attended Bonnie’s class at least twice a week, that Jeanette was a regular, and so even though Hayley loathed the idea of engaging in any kind of protracted physical activity, let alone something this high energy, she felt it might be the best way to casually approach Jeanette about what had happened with her husband, Julio, at the salon.
“There she is, right up front, near Bonnie,” Hayley said.
“Should we move up closer to her?” Liddy asked.
“It would be kind of hard. Those three older ladies are kind of crowding around her . . .” Hayley said, observing the three women in colorful leotards and headbands, as if they had just jumped out of Olivia Newton John’s 1980s video “Physical.” Suddenly Hayley gasped.
“What is it?” Liddy asked.
“You don’t recognize them?”
“How could I? Their backs are to us . . .” Liddy’s voice trailed off and then she grimaced. “Oh God, that’s my mother.”
“And mine. And Mona’s,” Hayley groaned.
“What are they doing here?”
“I knew my mother was eavesdropping on my conversation with Bruce when we got home last night. She heard me talking about Jeanette’s fight with Julio at the salon, and how it probably involved Regina, so she’s recruited her fellow Golden Girls to hunt her down here and question her.”
Liddy scoffed. “Of all the nerve! Look at them stalking poor Jeanette and surrounding her like that! They’re like tigers trying to separate an unsuspecting spotted deer from the herd!”
“You watch too many nature shows, Liddy. And to be fair, that’s exactly what we’re trying to do too,” Hayley said.
“That’s not true! I really am here for the workout. I had a double scoop of the blueberry sour cream crumble at Mount Desert Island Ice Cream between open houses today.”
“Okay, fine, I’m the stalker, but we’re already here, so we might as well find out as much as we can. Come on!”
They weaved their way through the crowd of people jumping around the room. Liddy got slapped in the head by an overzealous grandmother who was swinging her arms around, trying to keep up with Bonnie. Hayley ducked and managed to avoid colliding with a couple of elderly men who were busy leering at Bonnie and were not paying attention to where they were swinging their loose limbs.
When Hayley and Liddy finally reached the front, Hayley couldn’t help but notice Bonnie staring at her with wide eyes, full of wonderment. She didn’t need a psychic to tell her what Bonnie was thinking. What on earth was Hayley Powell doing in her class? Truth be told, Hayley would expect that reaction from anyone who was a personal trainer, taught a yoga class, or was just a regular gym goer. Hayley was certainly not known around town for being a jock.
Hayley and Liddy fell in behind Sheila, Celeste, and Jane, who were desperately trying to follow the choreography with decidedly mixed results. Jane was moving about three steps slower than the rest of the class, trudging along, her face puffy and red. Celeste was going in all kinds of directions, pretending to be as skilled as a Fosse dancer, but coming off more like someone suffering from an epileptic seizure. And then there was Sheila, who remarkably was the most adept of the three at U-Jam Fitness, surprising even herself as she moved in concert with Bonnie, swiveling her hips, sweating profusely, and genuinely enjoying herself.
At one point, Bonnie signaled everyone to turn around and face the wall as they walked and clapped to the music, and that’s when Sheila suddenly noticed Hayley, who was late in turning and was still facing her mother when she spun around.
“Hayley!” Sheila gasped.
“Hi, Mom,” Hayley said, waving sheepishly.
The shock of Hayley in an exercise class threw Sheila off, and she fell behind in the choreography and got frustrated. Finally, she gave up and walked over to where she had draped a towel over a chair. She wiped the sweat off her face, and marched back over to Hayley, who was apparently hopeless when it came to picking up the steps.
“This is the last place I ever thought I’d see you,” Sheila said, studying Bonnie’s moves so she could join in with the rest of the crowd again.
“I thought it was time I got back into shape,” Hayley said, never expecting her mother to believe that.
And she didn’t.
“Hayley, please. Don’t insult my intelligence. I’ve always been able to tell when you’re lying. Ever since you were a little girl. That’s why you never got away with anything.”
“You have no idea what I got away with,” Hayley said.
“I knew you threw a big party the police had to break up that time when your father and I went to visit his uncle in Dixmont and you tried to tell me you just had Liddy and Mona over for a slumber party.”
“Yes, and you believed me until Dad found the beer line from the keg behind the couch!”
Sheila couldn’t rebut this claim because she knew it was true. A stern look from Bonnie, who was annoyed they were disrupting her class by standing still and having a conversation, forced Hayley and Sheila to resume dancing once again.
After an excruciating forty more minutes, Bonnie shifted gears into a cooldown with some slower moves and light stretching to Prince’s “Kiss” and then the class was finally, mercifully over.
Celeste wasted no time in racing over and buttering up Jeanette. “I was so happy I was behind you, Jeanette! I just watched you and followed along! You are so good at this!”
Jeanette beamed. “Thank you, Celeste. The more you do it, the easier it gets.”
“I’m really looking forward to your Tupperware party tomorrow evening!” Jane cooed.
“I’m glad you talked me into it,” Jeanette said.
“What Tupperware party?” Hayley asked.
Jeanette suddenly noticed Hayley, and her mood changed. She became a little awkward and embarrassed. She was still smarting from the loud scene with her husband at the salon the previous day that Hayley had witnessed. She grabbed her towel and bottle of water and muttered, “You’re welcome to come if you want, Hayley.”
And then she raced out of the studio.
Sheila watched her go, a triumphant look on her face.
“I’m guessing the Tupperware party was your idea?” Hayley asked her mother pointedly.
“Actually, it was Celeste’s. She can be so brilliant,” Sheila gushed.
“You convinced Jeanette to throw a Tupperware party so you three can get inside her house and search for evidence that will prove she killed Regina Knoxville,” Hayley said, folding her arms.
“That’s right,” Celeste said, dabbing at her face with a plush pink towel. “Besides, she’s always coming to the parties at my house and not once has she ever hosted one. That’s how we got her. Pure guilt.”
“I don’t believe it,” Hayley said, shaking her head.
“You’re just sorry you didn’t think of it,” Sheila said as she passed her daughter and headed toward the exit.
Chapter 33
It was standing room only at Jeanette Garcia’s hastily planned Tupperware party and orders were being placed fast and furious. The brightly colored retro chic Impressions Classic Bowl Set was the top seller, but Hayley found herself getting caught up in the festive, almost frenzied atmosphere and bought herself four microwave-reheatable cereal bowls, a Classic Sheer Pitcher in sky blue, large hourglass salt and pepper shakers, and three snack cups. At one point, Mona, who was too cheap to buy anything, and Liddy, whose cupboards were already overflowing with lifetime-guarantee products from previous Tupperware parties she had attended, had to remind her why they were here in the first place.
Hayley noticed Sheila, Celeste, and Jane huddled near the fireplace, quietly conversing out of earshot of the other guests, who were spread about the room handling the items for sale, indulging their sweet tooths with the trays of cookies, cakes, and brownies Jeanette had set out on the dining room table, and engaging in the town’s latest gossip, much of it, of course, involving the recent untimely deaths of two of their own, Caskie Lemon-Hogg and Regina Knoxville.
When it appeared that Jeanette was about to wrap up her orders, Celeste and Jane made a beeline for her, armed with some round storage containers and a flurry of questions. Hayley knew exactly what the ladies were up to. The plan was for Celeste and Jane to keep Jeanette occupied while Sheila searched for any evidence that might link her to Regina’s death. Sure enough, Hayley spotted her mother creeping up the stairs, her eyes darting back and forth, making sure that no one saw her slipping away from the party.
Hayley groaned. “She just won’t stop . . .”
“Who?” Liddy asked.
“My mother. I just saw her sneaking upstairs to search the bedrooms. Honestly, what makes her think she can just go around playing detective?”
“Beats me,” Mona said. “What makes you think you can do it?”
Hayley glared at Mona.
Mona threw her hands up. “I’m just saying you got it from somewhere. Makes perfect sense.”
“Well, I’m not going to just stand here and let her ransack the place on her own,” Hayley said. “I’m going up there. You two stay down here and make sure Jeanette doesn’t come up while we’re poking around, okay?”
“Finally, something to do. This is the worst party ever. You’d think she’d serve booze or something to loosen people up so they’d buy more,” Mona said.
“Mona, it’s eleven thirty in the morning,” Liddy said.
“What’s your point?” Mona growled.
“It’s a little too early for cocktails,” Liddy snapped.
Mona turned to Hayley. “She’s such a hypocrite. Remember the time we were having brunch on the patio of Eggs-istential, that new breakfast spot in town, one Sunday morning and Liddy saw some people going into your brother’s bar across the street, and she went on and on about how sad it was that people had to drink so early in the day as she gulped down her third mimosa?”
Hayley chuckled. “Yes, I remember. Now keep watch and I’ll be back down soon.”
Hayley turned to make sure Jeanette was preoccupied with her party guests, and then she hurried up the staircase. Upstairs in the hallway, she heard some rummaging coming from the master bedroom and walked in to find Sheila searching the drawers of Julio and Jeanette’s dresser.
“Find anything interesting?” Hayley asked.
Sheila screamed and jumped back.
“Mom, keep your voice down or Jeanette will hear you!”
“Well, don’t sneak up on me like that! What are you doing here?”
“Same as you. Looking for clues. I cannot believe I am actually competing with my own mother to solve this case.”
“I have no choice, Hayley. Celeste, Jane, and I have to clear our names; otherwise we’ll never escape this heavy cloud of suspicion.”
“You were specifically ordered by Sergio to stay out of it, and yet you continually refuse to listen. You’re just asking for trouble! If you don’t wise up, you’re all going to wind up in jail again, this time for obstruction of justice!”
“Would you please relax, Hayley? I was invited here. There is no breaking and entering this time.”
She had a point.
And Hayley didn’t want to waste any more time because the party was threatening to break up soon.
“Okay, fine, we’ll cover more ground if we both look around. Did you already check the closet?”
“No, just the nightstand and this dresser.”
Hayley sighed and marched over to the large walk-in closet. One side was devoted to Jeanette’s entire wardrobe, the other side was filled with Julio’s shirts, pants, suits, and shoes. She got down on her hands and knees and looked behind some boxes and found some cashmere sweaters from Macy’s that Jeanette had not even taken out of the bag yet. She then crawled over to Julio’s side and looked behind some luggage but found nothing. She stood back up and started whipping through a row of suits on hangers when something caught her eye just above her. It looked like a cat at first or some kind of animal perched on the top shelf. She gasped, surprised, but it didn’t move. When she reached up to touch it, she suddenly realized it wasn’t alive, it was a folded-up fake gray beard. Hayley smoothed it out and then carried it out of the closet to where her mother was just closing the last drawer in the dresser.
Sheila turned around and crinkled her nose. “What’s that?”
“A fake beard.”
Sheila studied it. “It looks just like the one . . .”
“Rupert Stiles has.”
“The desk clerk at the bed-and-breakfast said the man who checked in using Rupert’s credit card had a long gray beard.”
“I don’t understand. Julio was supposedly having an affair with Regina, not Caskie.”
Hayley looked at the beard. “What if Julio was having an affair with more than one woman?”
“Regina and Caskie?”
Hayley nodded. “Jeanette could have found out about both affairs and gone into a jealous rage.”
Sheila pointed to the beard. “You mean Jeanette somehow lifted Rupert’s credit card and then disguised herself as a man who looked like Rupert . . . ?”
“They’re both about the same height . . . She could have sent Caskie a message, pretending to be Julio asking her to meet him. Caskie may have already been on her way over there looking for you when she got it and—”
“Jeanette strangled her to death and then moved on to Regina . . .”
Hayley snapped her fingers. “I bet if we keep searching we’ll find a pair of gloves and maybe some netting she used to protect herself from the bees!”
Sheila’s phone buzzed and she checked it. “We have to go back downstairs now!”
“Why?”
“Jane just texted me. She and Celeste got into an argument downstairs with Mona and Liddy and they lost track of Jeanette!”
“What?”
Hayley’s phone suddenly buzzed.
It was a text from Liddy.
Get out!
Hayley and Sheila both spun around to flee from the bedroom when they both gasped at the sight of Jeanette standing in the doorway, a stern look on her face.
“What are you doing up here?”
“I’m sorry?” Sheila asked, her voice cracking, in a desperate bid to buy them more time so they could come up with some kind of reasonable answer.
“You forgot to properly fill out your order form, Sheila. You didn’t include your address or credit card information, so I’ve been looking all over for you.”
Sheila’s lips quivered slightly, panic rising, before a lightbulb seemed to pop on in her head. “You know, I’ve always admired your style, Jeanette. I wish I had half the fashion sense you do, and I was downstairs telling Hayley how I want to refresh my wardrobe, and the next thing you know we were up here looking for a few ideas. I hope that’s all rig
ht.”
Hayley had to hand it to her mother. Her quick-thinking excuse wasn’t half as lame as she had expected it to be.
Jeanette, however, wasn’t quite buying it.
Especially since Hayley was still holding the gray beard.
“What are you doing with that?” Jeanette asked, eyes narrowing.
Hayley held up the scraggly fake beard. “This?”
“Yes,” Jeanette muttered impatiently.
“It fell off the shelf and nearly scared me half to death. I thought it was an animal and I was just going to put it back—”
Jeanette knew she was lying and she cut her off. “It’s part of a Halloween costume Julio wore last year. He went as Gandolf the Grey from the Lord of the Rings movies. I went as Galadriel, the Lady of the Wood. Cate Blanchett played her in the movie.”
Hayley nodded and managed to squeak out a soft, “Oh . . .”
“We looked fabulous and we took lots of selfies that night and posted them on Facebook. You should definitely take a look sometime,” Jeanette said, challenging her to do just that.
Sheila walked over to Jeanette and snatched the order form out of her hand. “Well, I better go find a pen and take care of this right away. I don’t want any delay in getting my new Tupperware.”
She scurried out the door.
Hayley sheepishly stepped forward and handed the fake beard to Jeanette. “I’m sure you made a spectacular Galadriel.”
