by Amy Lillard
“Some of these folks are from as far away as Memphis. Probably farther if we asked more of them.”
It was sad, really. People were scheduled to come out and see him when he was alive, but he got his best turnout at a time when he wouldn’t even be able to enjoy it.
The murmur in the crowd dulled as Inna stepped forward and took the microphone from the pulpit. “I want to thank you all for coming to here today. Wally would be glad to see all your faces, all people who loved him.”
“What is she doing up there?” Nadine asked. “Doesn’t the pastor normally do all that stuff?”
“Inna is something of a control freak.” That was putting it mildly. Half an hour with her and everyone in the room would know as well.
“Maybe even his wife,” Nadine continued. “I mean, it’s a eulogy.”
But after spending the evening watching Daisy dig around in her salad while Inna threw barbs about mushrooms and farm girls in the big city, Arlo wasn’t sure Daisy was up for eulogizing.
“She’s just so…polished,” Nadine said, her head tilted to a critical angle for studying the woman as she made her way from one side of the stage to the other. “And yet not.”
Inna appeared polished on the outside, a shiny diamond glittering like those earrings that mocked Arlo. Inna knew what to do and when to do it. Her English wasn’t perfect, but it was a heck of a lot better than Arlo’s Russian. There weren’t many people in Sugar Springs who spoke more than one language—if any. So Inna was alone on that front.
She talked about Wally and what a pleasure it had been to work for him. The words seemed to hold a double entendre, but Arlo wasn’t sure if half the people in the sanctuary even realized the implied meaning. She spoke about how hard he worked and the efforts it took to produce Missing Girl.
She moved from side to side as if working the crowd. A shiny black urn sat on a pedestal in the center of the stage. A picture of Wally was balanced on an easel at one side.
A few other people got up and spoke, but none for as long as Inna.
“Is his wife not going to say anything?” Nadine mused aloud.
Arlo shrugged. Daisy was down in front, seated in the place reserved for family. She wore the perfect black dress with just the right amount of matching lace to make it elegant and sophisticated and sexy all at the same time. For a farm girl, she sure knew how to dress.
Behind her in the pew sat Chloe, Mads on one side of her and Jayden on the other. Her parents were on the other side of him. Arlo wondered what they thought. After all this time, Wally had finally decided he wanted a relationship with his son, then Wally died. That relationship would never be.
Arlo’s gaze snagged on Daniel, Chloe’s father. Mr. Carter had been more than a little upset when Chloe had come home and told him and her mother that she was pregnant. Ten years and Arlo could still remember the anger in Daniel Carter’s eyes whenever someone mentioned Wally’s name. And when Wally disappeared without so much as a word goodbye…well, it wasn’t good. Mads had questioned Daniel and Liz, Chloe’s mother, after Wally’s death, but Chloe had been the one arrested.
Wally’s parents, Sue Ann and Dave, had stayed on in Sugar Springs for a while, but after Chloe had the baby, they moved over into Alabama somewhere. They never once saw Jayden. Perhaps they thought Chloe was trying to trap Wally. Or maybe that she wasn’t good enough for their poetic son. Today they sat on the other side of Daisy. How did the Harrisons feel about their golden child marrying a mushroom farmer’s daughter?
Once everyone had their say, Brother George, the pastor of the First Baptist, invited everyone to the fellowship hall for a time to “celebrate Wally’s life.”
It was ironic really, to celebrate someone’s life once they were gone, but even more so when the town where they were celebrating was the last place that person would want to be—alive or dead.
* * *
“Try the spinach dip. It’s amazing.”
Chloe whirled around, her eyes filling with joy as she saw Arlo. “I’m so glad to see you.” She gave Arlo a one-armed hug. The other hand was firmly chained to Mads.
“Seriously?” Arlo said.
Mads shrugged. “It was the only way Wally’s other women would allow her to come.”
“But handcuffed together?” Arlo shook her head.
“It was that or handcuffed in front. We figured this way would look a little more natural. Maybe not draw so much attention.”
Like everyone in the room wasn’t talking about Chloe, Jayden, Wally, and the triangle that he’d built between them.
Or maybe that was the triangle between him, Inna, and Daisy.
Arlo allowed her gaze to roam around the room. She found Inna standing amid a group of men, all hanging on her every word. She held a drink in one hand, nonalcoholic unless someone had snuck something in. Since it was a Baptist Church, that was entirely possible.
Inna was talking, her eyes sparkling. She was in her element as the center of attention.
Across the room, Daisy was standing, quietly talking with the pastor. Brother George was a good man, on the soft side for a Baptist preacher, but hearty and full of vim all the same. Arlo had never heard the man preach, but she had heard that he could shake the rafters when he wanted to. Being raised by hippie parents had both advantages and disadvantages. She had never been introduced to any sort of organized religion. That was good because it left her mind open to read the works of all the prophets and decide for herself. Bad in that she lacked the faith of most those around her. Most days she was fine with it. But there were other times when she wished to have the comfort that religion, prayer, and a network of believers could provide.
“Which one do you think he really loved?” Chloe asked.
“Chloe! Seriously? What kind of question is that?”
She shrugged one shoulder, pulling on Mads’s sleeve with the motion. “I don’t know. I’m just thinking out loud.”
“You shouldn’t be thinking about that at all,” Arlo said.
“Inna’s so dark and mysterious. And that accent.”
“She sounds like Natasha from Rocky and Bullwinkle.”
“I know, right? Sexy.”
It wasn’t the word that Arlo would have used, but if she was being fair—and she wasn’t—Inna did have certain exotic qualities that could be considered attractive. But Arlo didn’t trust her. It was nothing but a gut feeling. Inna seemed too comfortable with the entire situation. It was almost as if she thrived off Wally’s murder. As if there was some satisfaction in his demise that made her blossom like a night-blooming flower.
“I’m going to get another lemonade,” Arlo said. “You two want anything?”
Mads shook his head and went back to talking with the mayor, Russ England.
“A hacksaw?” Chloe joked.
“I’ll see what I can do.” She moved through the crowd to the counter next to the kitchen. The fellowship hall was just a fancy term for Sunday School rooms and a kitchen, but she knew they used it all the time for church meetings and other such events. Like now.
“Hey, Arlo.”
“Hi, Sandy.” Realtor turned lemonade dispenser, Sandy poured Arlo another cup of the sweet yellow liquid, then wiped off the counter with a damp rag.
“Did the rat fink ever call you back?” Sandy asked.
“I was about to ask you the same thing.” Though maybe not in those words.
“Yeah, he called this afternoon. I was going to call you then, but I figured I would see you here.”
“And you figured right.” She waited for Sandy to take her turn in the conversation and tell her what Travis, aka the rat fink, remembered about the day Wally was killed. “So what did he say?” she prompted.
“Oh, right. He said that he gave Wally the keys. He didn’t say much—Wally, not Travis—but he mentioned maybe using the third-floor space as an
office. But the person who was meeting him would have the final say.”
So Wally was meeting someone, and that person was either Daisy or Inna, according to Nadine. Which cleared Travis somewhat. And none of it mattered, according to Mads, because Chloe probably killed him anyway.
“He told Travis that he was meeting someone?”
“But he didn’t say a name. Or if he did Travis doesn’t remember. I think he does, but he won’t tell me unless I promise him the vinyl copy of Abbey Road we bought together.”
“Not worth it,” Arlo said. After all, it was just a woman’s life hanging in the balance.
“Exactly what I thought.” Sandy’s dimples creased as she smiled, and Arlo couldn’t be mad. They were all doing what they had to do.
“Thanks for talking to him for me,” Arlo said.
“My pleasure. It was more than worth it to tell him John, Paul, George, and Ringo would forever be mine.”
Arlo started to move away when she was flanked by Fern and Camille. “Where’s d’Artagnan?” she asked.
Camille patted her arm. “He wasn’t a musketeer in the story, you know.”
“That would make you d’Artagnan.” Fern laughed, obviously deciding this was the funniest thing in the world.
“Your godmother is over talking to Daisy and Pastor George.”
“About?” Did she really want to know? Yep, it was painful, but better that way.
“Taking Wally back home.”
“Is she really leaving tomorrow?”
“Helen is trying to talk them into staying for a while longer. Resting before heading back into the hustle and bustle of the city.”
“But Daisy said she wanted to go back,” Arlo guessed.
Camille shook her head. “She’s just grieving, love. She only wants the pain to stop and something different than what she has now has to be the answer.”
“What about Chloe?” Arlo asked.
Fern shook her head. “I don’t think Chloe wants to go to New York City.”
Arlo sighed. “One of them is guilty. I just know it, so we can’t let them leave tomorrow.”
“I don’t see a way to stop that from happening,” Camille said.
“If you ask me, it’s Daisy. She’s grieving just a little too much, don’t you think?” Fern quirked her head toward the widow.
They all looked over to where Daisy was. She daintily dabbed at her tears and sniffed. Though they were inside, she wore black gloves and dark sunglasses. To Arlo she looked a little like a blond Jackie Onassis. For the daughter of a mushroom farmer she cleaned up well and knew her stuff. She was as elegant as, if not more than, anyone else in the room. Including Inna.
“That’s the shame of it all,” Camille said.
“What?” Had she been talking out loud?
“Daisy could hold her own with the finest and most elegant the world over. She has class and style.”
“I see that.”
“But Inna, she relies on her accent and her exotic nature to lure people to her.”
They all took a minute to study Inna. She was still talking, but this time to a different group of men. Arlo had to wonder if they were taking turns or if their wives had come over one by one to get their men and take them away. Then, like sharks’ teeth, another set popped up to fill the space and adore the woman who stood before them.
“You’re right.” Why had she never noticed it before? Maybe because like all the adoring men fawning at her feet, she had been too caught up in Inna’s act to do much more see her for more than what she allowed them.
But Daisy had a style about her—grace, Helen would have called it.
And grace was something Inna didn’t have.
Arlo shook away those thoughts. Like it mattered. Maybe when they got back into their normal social circles something like that couldn’t be overlooked, but here in Sugar Springs, breeding was for horses and pedigree for hunting dogs. Everything else was inconsequential.
* * *
Another day, another breakfast, Arlo thought as she breezed through the door of the police station just after eight. She had been hopeful yesterday after Wally’s service that Mads would change his mind about keeping Chloe locked up, but she knew she was laying more blame on him than he was responsible for. Still, it would have been nice to have her best friend out of jail.
“I have a steak-and-egg biscuit from The Diner.” Arlo lifted the sack to show Chloe, but her friend was lying on the cot, her face turned away from the door.
“Chloe?”
She didn’t move.
Arlo stood as still as possible, watching to see if she was still breathing. When she saw the even rise and fall of her back, she knew her friend was at the very least taking in air, even if she wasn’t fit for company.
“Chloe?” Arlo asked again.
Chloe rolled over onto her back and flung one arm over her head. “I’m just not in the mood today, Arlo.”
“That makes two of us, but if you eat, I can promise that you’ll feel better.”
“Pinkie swear?” Chloe asked.
“Pinkie swear.” Arlo hid most of her smile and waited for Chloe to come closer to the bars before pushing the sack through to the other side. “I put a file in there as well. I’m not sure exactly what it’s used for, but that’s what they always do in prison break movies.”
“Is that what this is? A prison break?” Chloe took her sandwich, then crawled into the middle of her cot before unwrapping it and taking a big bite.
Arlo did the same, perched on the hardbacked chair Frances had brought in despite Mads’s protests. “I wish.”
Chloe shook her head. “I’m going a little bit nuts in here,” she finally said.
“I know.” She did, but she didn’t. All she could do was imagine what it was like and that was hard enough. “I’m doing everything I can to get you out of here.”
Chloe sighed. “I know. It’s just…”
“It’s just what?”
“If I was out there, I would be able to help you.”
“If you were out here, I wouldn’t need any help.”
They each took a bite and thoughtfully chewed.
“They’re leaving town today,” Arlo said.
Chloe nodded. “I know. Frances told me.”
“I can’t think of one reason to make them stay.”
“Other than one of them is guilty?”
“But which one?”
“My money’s on Inna.”
Arlo drew back a bit. “Inna? Why?”
“Because like me, the evidence is all pointing toward Daisy. So she can’t be the one. It has to be Inna. She engineered it all.”
“That is the most twisted logic I have ever heard.”
Chloe laughed, then immediately sobered. “Yeah, I suppose. It’s just I got nothing but time in here. Time to think.”
“Have you asked Mads if you can have your phone? You could play Candy Crush.”
Chloe laughed, then the sound changed and became sobs. “Promise me if I don’t get out of there that you’ll take care of Jayden. My mom, she means well, but he needs someone young and happy that can help him through this modern world.”
“Chloe, I—”
“Promise me,” she begged.
“I promise,” Arlo said.
“And pinkie swear.”
“Pinkie swear.” And she knew it was something she could keep because she couldn’t stand the thought of raising Jayden without Chloe there and she wasn’t giving up without a fight.
21
“Do you know who did this?” Inna stormed into Books & More just before noon with her cell phone in one outstretched hand.
“What?” Arlo asked. She squinted at the screen, like that would help her see it any better. It would have been more beneficial for Inna to keep
the phone steady, but there was a deeper fire about her today and Arlo was smart enough to know when to talk and when to shut up.
“The memorial service,” she said. “Someone at the service put this up on YourTube.”
“YouTube,” Arlo corrected.
“Whatever. It is up there, and I do not like it up there. They put my name.” She shook her head. “The people in this country have such great freedoms and this is what they are used for?”
Arlo felt the need to apologize but bit it back. She wasn’t responsible for YouTube any more than anyone else. And though it was a free country and she feasibly could tell someone how to live their life, it was a free country and they didn’t have to do it.
“You look great,” Arlo said by way of consultation. Thankfully in the part of the video that she watched, there was no sign of Chloe or Mads or their matching wrist wear.
“We will have a media uproaring storm now.”
Arlo shook her head. “It won’t be all that. The Kardashians fired another maid, wrecked a car, and had another surgery. I give it to the end of the day and it’ll all be settled down by then.”
Inna shook her head. Her earrings flashed. “I bet it was that Daisy. She’s always trying to hurt me.”
Interesting. Arlo knew that the women got along under the public eye but figured the pair wouldn’t be all buddy-buddy in private. Seemed like she wasn’t far off the mark.
“Why would Daisy do that?”
Inna shot her a look. “Are you really so full of naïve?”
“I…guess…”
Inna sniffed, took one last look at the video on her phone screen and tossed her dark hair behind her. “Daisy always has hate for me. She knows Wally loves me more. Loved me,” she corrected herself. “And she has hate enough to know this would hurt me.”
Arlo looked to the phone even though the picture was gone. “The video was just you talking about Wally at the service. How will that hurt you? I’m sorry I don’t understand.”
Inna stiffened. “If you do not, then I do not tell you.” She lifted her chin to a superior angle. “In my country we would use the YourTube for something useful. Not hurting others.”
Arlo watched her walk away, not bothering to point out that they had “YourTube” in the Ukraine and “something useful” didn’t include launching civil unrest.
