by Jack Parker
"Okay, I'll take you to the mall but you have to promise to leave when I say so," Shawna warned. "Gracie, you coming with us?"
Gracie thought about it for a moment. "Thanks, but I think I'll just spend some time with Kelly. I was really starting to feel antsy about this, but now I just feel relieved – and tired! And I have the feeling that this meeting at Loretta's house is going to be dramatic and stressful, so I'd like a little quiet time before I meet you all there."
"Thank you, ladies," Meredith told them. "I really do appreciate it. Unfortunately I think Gracie's right, and I'll be glad you'll be there to have my back. I'll meet you all there at 5:30. Kelly, thank you for all your help with this investigation." She winked at him. "I know you did it for Gracie, but it helped save my bacon too."
They gathered their belongings and trooped out of the shop heading toward their respective cars. Meredith waved cheerfully as she pulled out; Cheryl hopped in Shawna's car and they followed her. That left Kelly and Gracie and their cars. There was an awkward moment as Gracie tried to decide whether to go to his car or her own. She suddenly realized that Kelly hadn't said anything in response to her statement that she'd like to spend time with him.
"Um, were you wanting to go to Chris' house?" she asked uncertainly. "I just sort of assumed we could hang out a little."
Kelly looked uncomfortable. "Uh, yeah, I did tell him I'd be over in an hour or so."
"Hey, okay, that's fine," she said. "It's just that going for ice cream was your idea."
He stood as if rooted in place, scuffing his foot back and forth, and looking at the ground. Or the other cars. Or the traffic driving by. Anywhere but at Gracie. "Yeah," he said quietly.
Gracie frowned. "Kelly, is there something wrong?"
He took a deep breath, and finally raised his head to meet her gaze. "Gracie, I'm really glad you solved this murder and that you're not a suspect any more. I know Ken didn't really think you might have done it, and I didn't think so for a second, but it was a horrible thing for you to go through. And then for Ken to take a whole day to check out your proof – and you had it on tape – was even worse. I wish you didn't have to deal with all that."
She smiled at that, sure that she understood what was wrong. "Thanks, Kelly. But you helped me solve the murder and you stood by me and even treated me to ice cream when we got the good news. So please don't feel bad if you want to hang with Chris now." She made shooing motions with her hands. "Go on, go have fun."
"That's just it; I had to stand by you, I couldn't just let Ken think you might be guilty."
"Of course not!" she said. "I appreciate everything you did to help, you know that. And I'm not the least bit upset that you didn't want to go snoop through Loretta's house, I respect that you thought it wasn't right."
"Gracie." Kelly looked miserable.
A knot began to grow in Gracie's stomach and the sweet ice cream she'd eaten earlier seemed to curdle, making her feel nauseous. "What?"
"I'm not doing this well," he said. "It's not like there's anyone else, I swear! It's just, well…I, uh, I think we shouldn't see so much of each other," he pleaded.
Gracie stood there, stunned. "You don't?" she asked quietly, hardly believing her ears.
"Gracie, I'm really sorry."
"You're breaking up with me?"
"Yeah," Kelly agreed.
Gracie wasn't sure whether she wanted to cry or throw up. What she didn't want to do was scream at him; that wasn't her style, and she knew it wouldn't do any good.
Thoughts whirled through her mind too rapidly to make sense, a kaleidoscope of feelings that bounced from high to low. She'd been so excited yesterday to identify Robbie's killer, then afraid that Ken hadn't believe her, then relieved to learn she had indeed been right and the murderer was in custody. Now this totally unexpected event.
Or was it? Kelly had been spending a lot of time with his buddy Chris lately. She was sure he wasn't lying about it, either. She'd assumed he wanted to do guy-stuff rather than hang around with Shawna and Cheryl, though other than his well-known aversion to shopping he'd never complained. Had she been spending too much time with them and not enough one-on-one with her boyfriend? Was it her fault?
"I'm sorry if I went to the mall with my friends too much," she told him.
Kelly shook his head. "No, it's not that. I've enjoyed being with you, but I just can't see a future for us. You'll be going off to college next year and my folks don't have the money for that. You don't make a big deal out of it, but we don't exactly run in the same crowd. I'll be doing good to go to vo-tech and I think you deserve someone who can take better care of you than I'll be able to."
"Money doesn't make you happy," she said, feeling like it sounded trite.
"I know. I just don't want to always worry that you'll feel like I'm holding you back, keeping you from doing the things you want."
Wisely, Gracie didn't remind him that she had enough money to prevent that. She wouldn't mind sharing, but she understood that Kelly's pride couldn't take that. A tear leaked from her eye, and she had to will herself not to break down. "I understand," she said, but her voice shook.
Another thought occurred to her. "You were gonna do this earlier, weren't you?"
Kelly just nodded.
She smiled, though the tear had spilled over and was running down her cheek. "Kelly, you're a good guy. You cared enough to stick with me all the time I was a murder suspect. I admire that more than I can say because I don't know how I would've gotten through this without you."
"Thanks," he mumbled sheepishly.
Gracie sniffled as another tear followed the first down her cheek. "I don't know what else to say. I…" She closed her eyes and swallowed in an effort to keep her emotions in check. "I wish it didn't have to be this way, but I think I understand. I'll, uh, see you around. You take care."
"Yeah, you too. I'd better be going, so…" He hesitated, as if about to say something else, and Gracie hoped for a moment that he'd changed his mind. Then he turned away without another word and walked slowly across the parking lot.
Gracie stood there in the parking lot until Kelly got in his car and drove off. Then she made a mad dash for the dubious privacy of her own car where she could cry all she wanted.
CHAPTER 83
Wednesday
Shawna and Cheryl nearly tripped over each other as they ran to hug Gracie who was leaning against her car in front of Loretta Logan's house. For a wonder they'd gotten there ten minutes early, though Shawna was certain that Cheryl would still be at the mall if Gracie hadn't called with the bad news. They stood there silently holding their friend for a good five minutes, knowing there was nothing they could say to help. Gracie hugged back, glad of their support, but she'd cried herself out before she'd driven to the house.
Finally Shawna, ever ready to help someone, stood back and surveyed Gracie's face. Her eyes were red and puffy and the slightly shiny dried tear-tracks stood out on her cheeks. Shawna dug in her backpack for a tissue, which she dampened with a bottle of water. Gracie stood quietly while Shawna cleaned her face. Cheryl pulled a tiny bottle of eye drops from her purse and handed it to Gracie, who seemed to use it simply because she had it in her hand.
Shawna poured more water on the tissue. "Here, hold this over your eyes and maybe it'll help the swelling go down."
Gracie complied, while Cheryl opened her laptop on the hood of the car.
"You're not really gonna record Loretta, are you?" Shawna asked.
"Sure, why not?" Cheryl responded cheerfully. "I'll just tell her I'm waiting for an important message and I doubt she'll even know what I'm talking about."
"She's smart enough not to say anything the least little bit incriminating," Gracie said in a flat tone.
Cheryl shrugged. "Then no harm done."
Meredith Rodgers drove up and got out of her car, calling gaily to the trio. Gracie removed the wet tissue and stuck it in her pocket; even now she wouldn't litter. Cheryl closed the laptop and shoved it
into her backpack, the proper software loaded and ready to go at the touch of a button.
Shawna ran to meet the teacher so she could quietly clue her in to Gracie's situation. For her part Gracie straightened her shoulders and put a smile, albeit a faint one, on her face as she walked toward Meredith. Her mother had taught her to put her problems behind her and carry on with a commitment. She could melt down later, but for the moment she'd pretend to be fine.
Meredith put a hand lightly on Gracie's arm and murmured, "I'm sorry."
Gracie nodded her thanks, not trusting herself to talk about it to this woman she really didn't know very well. "Let's go get this done," she said.
Loretta opened the front door as they were still trooping up the driveway. "Hello, everyone! I'm so glad you all could come, especially on such short notice." She held the door for them, motioning them into the house with an expansive arm gesture as if inviting them into a palace. "This will be so much fun!" she twittered.
The large living room had been re-arranged to allow a folding table to be placed along one wall. Chairs and sofas now sat in a curve with expensive side tables between them. Steam and savory aromas escaped from the covers of half a dozen chafing dishes lined up on the table, and they could see plates of cold food as well.
"Looks like you're set up for the Book Club meeting," Meredith remarked, looking around. "It's just the four of us – how many people were you expecting?" She hadn't intended to sound so facetious, but she'd had a bad feeling about this get-together ever since Loretta had called. The woman wanted something from her and she didn't know what it was and that made her nervous.
Loretta laughed gaily. "Why, the whole family, of course! Please help yourself to the food and find a comfy place to sit."
Meredith turned her head sharply to glare at Loretta. "Family? Family? We've never been a family, your mother saw to that." She took a step backwards as if she planned to turn around and walk out.
The tableau held for a good thirty seconds, during which time Cheryl quietly dropped her backpack on a couch and removed her laptop from it.
Gracie moved to the teacher's side, returning the comforting gesture of touching her arm. "And now that Mrs. Redmond is gone perhaps the five of you could at least be friendly." When Meredith turned her stony gaze to her student, Gracie mouthed the words "photo albums".
Meredith's posture relaxed. "I apologize, Loretta. Gracie's right; we should put the past behind us. I'm really glad your mother's killer has been caught and I understand that the family might want to celebrate that, to get some kind of closure." She bent down to set her purse in front of a wing chair. "The food smells delicious, did you have it catered?" She took Gracie's arm as if for moral support and led her toward the makeshift buffet.
"Oh, no, I've been cooking all day!" Loretta said happily. "I just love putting on a good feed. I don't get to do it as often now that Bob's gone; we used to entertain all the time."
At the table Gracie glanced sideways to see Cheryl give her laptop a little pat as if to say she was happy with it sitting on one of the bookshelves, giving its camera a clear view of the room.
"What'd you make for us?" Cheryl asked, motioning Shawna to follow her to the table.
"Mostly finger-foods; Buffalo wings, meatballs, sausages, like that." Loretta looked pleased at the interest. "Hey, did you realize you left your computer open?"
"She's waiting for a call, you know, from a Very Important Person." Surprisingly it was Shawna who had spoken up.
Loretta winked at Cheryl. "Sure, I get it. I didn't know you could do that with a computer. You young people are so smart to use all that technology." Her voice had turned sugary.
Cheryl just shrugged and began helping herself to the food lest she say something she might regret. Her stomach was roiling from all the drama of the last couple of hours and she wondered if she could even eat. This had better be worth it, she thought.
Plates and drinks in hand, they all moved toward the seating area. Cheryl took the spot she'd claimed with her backpack with Shawna and Gracie occupying the rest of the couch. Meredith headed for the chair she'd dropped her purse beside, but Cheryl suggested the teacher sit next to them. Meredith, unaware of the video prank, looked confused but took the chair next to their couch. This left the four of them lined up facing the opposite side of the arc where Robbie's children would be sitting. It looked confrontational, but none of them cared.
"Yum, these chicken wings are really good, Loretta," Meredith said in a clearly surprised tone. "Tangy and spicy, just the way I like 'em."
Loretta beamed under the praise. "Me, too, but I can't eat too many anymore; they upset my stomach."
'Thank you' would be appropriate, Meredith thought, and took another bite to cover in case her face showed her feelings. "Hey, I just remembered! Gracie says you've got some of John's photo albums. I'd love to look through them." She knew better than to ask for them outright.
"I do!" Loretta agreed happily. "I'll get them out a little later. You wouldn't want to get barbeque sauce all over them." She pointed to Meredith's greasy hands.
Gracie set her untouched plate on the table beside her. "My hands are clean; I'll get them out for you."
As she walked toward the cabinet she heard Loretta ask, "Aren't you hungry, Gracie? You haven't touched a bite. Why don't you sit down and try the Buffalo wings." Far from a question, that last sentence was a demand.
Her back to the woman, Gracie smiled an evil smile as she pulled out the books. She knew it was a desperate ploy on Loretta's part to hang onto the pictures instead of giving them to their rightful owner. She turned around and said sweetly, "Thank you, but I'm still coming down from all the excitement over the arrest – and the relief of not being a suspect anymore. My stomach isn't feeling very good."
"All the more reason to eat something, though you probably should avoid the Buffalo wings," Loretta told her. "You can just set those albums on that table over there so you can have your hands free." The words were meant to sound solicitous, but they came out commanding. She wasn't going to give up yet.
Gracie did set the albums on the indicated table, which seemed to satisfy Loretta, who turned back to her plate.
"Mrs. Rodgers," Gracie said loudly. "If you'd give me your keys I'll just take your brother's photos out to your car. Mrs. Logan told me she wanted you to have them."
Loretta choked on her chicken wing as Meredith hastily wrapped a paper napkin around her fingers and delved into the depths of her purse to retrieve the keys.
"Careful!" Cheryl said with mock sympathy to Loretta. "Maybe you should avoid the wings too."
Gracie took the proffered keys, then scooped the albums into her arms and strode to the front door, Loretta still coughing and spluttering behind her. Serves her right for trying to keep what isn't hers, Gracie thought. She opened the front door and saw more cars in the driveway. Without even turning her head she called out, "The rest of the family are here."
Several minutes later everyone was seated with their plates of food. Loretta had calmed down and, at least publicly, accepted that she'd lost the photo albums. The fact that she darted quick venomous looks in Gracie's direction belied the idea. Cindy Wheeler clearly knew something had happened between the two women before her arrival; Jason had fortified himself before coming and was oblivious. Charlie Stubblefield kept looking back and forth between Gracie and Loretta as if trying to figure out if he were just imagining the electricity in the air, while Karen kept her attention on her plate. Ashley took one look at their faces, nodded imperceptibly, and smiled at Gracie with a knowing look on her face.
Cheryl tried various gambits to get Loretta to say something embarrassing, with little success. Gracie had been right; with both sides present Loretta couldn't play her usual two-faced game so she said little. Then Cheryl got an idea. "Charlie, I saw the cutest picture of you the other day. You must've been about 15 years old, standing next to your sister, making bunny ears behind her head."
Charlie's fac
e reddened noticeably. "Ah, yeah," was his only comment.
Karen squeezed her eyes shut as if to block out the embarrassing image.
"Yeah, Charlie, there must be a thousand pictures of you doing that to me!" Loretta took the bait.
"I was a kid; I only did that a couple times," Charlie insisted.
Jason spoke up. "You still do it! Cindy had to edit your hand out from behind Mom's head in last years' Christmas pictures."
"Really?" Loretta asked excitedly. "Aren't you a little old for that now, or are you still a kid?"
"Men never grow up," Cheryl threw in cheerfully.
"My youngest boy does it, too," Ashley commented. "But he's fourteen."
"Why don't you all leave him alone!" Karen cried angrily. "It's no big deal; he's just having a little fun. I seem to remember you making ears over his head not so long ago, Loretta. Are you still a kid?" She took her husband's hand in a public show of support.
"Hey, I was just doing to him what he always did to me," Loretta responded with some heat.
Gracie was happy to see that Karen had given up the idea that she might have been the intended victim of the poisoning, but this wasn't making for a good prank. The rest had shown up too early to get Loretta to say anything nasty about them behind their backs and this was just an ugly family fight over something stupid. She held her hand out in the universal 'stop' gesture.
"Karen's right; leave him alone about it," she said. "It's not that important in the grand scheme of things." She let her gaze travel from one face to another, daring them to defy her. Once again she realized these people had allowed her to be in control. Perhaps they were all so used to Robbie Redmond's sweet-talking tactics that they were mesmerized by a strong personality. She didn't feel very strong right now, but they didn't need to know that.
Gracie picked up a roll from her plate and relaxed against the back of the couch. "There is an important question that's never been answered, at least as far as I know. Have you found your mother's Will yet?" She said it as casually as she could, and carefully didn't look at Loretta.
