No Time for Goodbye

by Marion Myles

  She couldn’t help returning the smile. Gabriel loved his Bible quotes, that was for sure.

  After placing her order, she slid into an empty booth by the door and settled down to wait for her food. A woman and two small children were the only serious diners with a smattering of older couples enjoying coffee or tea in this lull time between lunch and night service.

  The waitress circled the room topping up beverages. Mia studied the woman’s turquoise skirt and golf shirt with its piped chocolate trim. Gabe’s Diner was stamped in large block letters across the back. She found herself musing that while the color washed out the woman’s skin and made her dishwater blond hair look even drabber than it probably was, it would have suited Anita perfectly.

  Mia waved her arm, catching the older woman’s eye. She came straight over, lifting the coffee pot in question.

  “No, thanks. I’m waiting for take-out. Are you Mary by any chance?”

  “That’s what it says right here,” she said, pointing to her nametag.

  “Of course, it does,” Mia said.

  “You’re Mia Reeves, girl detective and jewelry maker and mama to a pack of dogs. It’s a wonder you have time for everything.”

  “Yes, well, the PI stuff is really, really part-time, if you know what I mean. You worked with Anita Mancini?”

  “Sure did. I was the one who trained her when she started here. There were just eight of us waitressing back then. Anita did a couple nights a week, not too late though causa school, and weekends of course. The diner was smaller then. Those two party rooms were added on about five years ago.” She slid in opposite Mia with a sigh.

  “You were here the night she disappeared?”

  “That’s right. I talked to the police ’til I was blue in the face, but there was nothing I could really tell ’em. Me and Anita were standing there by the front door after she finished her shift. I still had a couple of hours to go.”

  “What did you talk about?”

  “Oh, well, this and that. A bit about the work schedule for the upcoming week. A bit about the fair and July fourth celebration. I’d heard some gossip about one of our regular customers, and we were chewing over that.”

  “Did she seem her normal self? Someone else told me she was distracted at lunch before she started her shift.”

  Mary shook her head. “She seemed fine to me. Tired for sure, but her usual efficient self.”

  “Were she and Luke fighting at all during that time?”

  “Anita and Luke? Lord, no. Even as teenagers those two were already like an old married couple. None of the usual drama or tears with them. Two solid kids, getting good grades and making plans for the future.” Mary’s voice hitched on the last few words, and she pulled her lips tight as though determined to fight off any hint of emotion.

  “Nothing unusual,” Mia said, half to herself.

  Mary snorted. “The most unusual thing I can think of was Anita said she needed to switch a shift at the end of the week because she had a doctor’s appointment she’d forgotten to put on her calendar. That girl was so organized I think she only ever switched shifts a handful of times in the five years she worked here.”

  “Okay, thanks. I appreciate you talking to me.”

  “I have to tell you, you’ve given a lot of us around here some real hope. You think you’ll be able to find out what happened to her?” Mary asked.

  Mia sighed. “I’ll try.”

  Back in her car, Mia set the bag of food on the passenger seat and rested her head against the steering wheel. Mary’s words made her feel useless. Why couldn’t she figure out where Anita was?

  And if she didn’t find her, what she’d done with stirring everything up was doing more harm than good. The Mancinis didn’t need more pain. Neither did Tony or Brooke or even Luke. She’d only been trying to do the right thing. If she hadn’t been so certain they’d find Anita’s body in the woods by the park, she never would have started all this in the first place.

  The park. There had to be something else there. Something to point her in the right direction. Starting the Escape, she pulled away from the curb and drove across to the far side of town. The parking area held some cars, and the playground was covered with small children. Of course, the school was out for the day. The weather was perfect for playing.

  Mia grabbed her food and wandering over to the edge of the forest, chose a spot in the shade of an oak tree. Lowering to the ground and tucking her legs up underneath her, she pulled out the veggie wrap and ate it slowly while watching the people come and go in the distance.

  This section of the park was blessedly free of humans, and she relaxed degree by degree. Squirrels dashed about, galloping up and down trees. Birds chattered to one another, a symphony of tweets and chirps. Leaning against the trunk of the tree and thankful the girl at the take-out counter hadn’t paid attention when she said she didn’t need cutlery, Mia opened the lid of the quinoa salad and spooned some up to her mouth.

  When the food was gone, she leaned back and closed her eyes, letting the sounds of the forest wash over her. The breeze was warm across her skin, and it ruffled her hair gently against her neck. She allowed her mind to wander, skipping from Mary’s well-worn face under the bright lights of the diner to the children climbing the jungle gym to her latest jewelry orders before finally settling on Roman.

  That kiss. Holy cow. He’d been right. It was a whole lot more than simple heat, but the sad fact of the matter was she couldn’t let it go any further. Roman was looking for more than a hookup and getting involved with a police officer was about the stupidest thing she could possibly do.

  She thought back to when she’d come out of the bathroom and found him waiting. The way he’d brushed his fingertips along her cheek and the concern in his eyes. It had touched her deeply. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had shown such caring.

  And if she was being honest with herself, she cared for him too. She knew she shouldn’t. It was dangerous. Especially after everything she’d done to distance herself from her past.

  Pushing up, she slowly climbed to her feet. There was nothing to agonize over. Self-preservation meant she couldn’t pursue a romantic relationship with Roman. Maybe you could just have sex a sly voice whispered in her mind, but she immediately shook her head. He wasn’t like the others she’d chosen for bedmates over the last few years. She was already attached to him. Sex would surely strengthen her feelings and make it even tougher to walk away.

  With determination, she marched through the woods and straight back to the place she’d had the strongest part of the vision. There had to be something here. Something that would lead her to either the killer or Anita’s body.

  But there wasn’t. She stood among the trees listening to the rustling and creaking of the forest, the steady tap-tap of a woodpecker, and the absolute silence in her mind.

  * * *

  Roman couldn’t settle. He wished his mood was only about Anita, but he couldn’t lie to himself. Sure, Anita was part of it, but a bigger chunk of the restless, twitchy feeling was because of Mia.

  He’d actively loathed her when she’d shown up at the station claiming to have seen a vision of an attack on his sister. Oh, yeah, he’d wanted to slap her face and make her take it back. Then his mother had dragged Mia into the bosom of the family and guilted him into working with her. And dammit if he hadn’t been slowly sucked in.

  If she was attempting to scam him, he couldn’t see it. At least not anymore. In fact, he got the distinct feeling she’d rather not know anything about Anita. And more than that, helping him was costing her a great deal. The pain he’d seen in her eyes—when she’d sat across from Luke last night and later, outside the bathroom, more composed but pale as milk—had squeezed his heart like a vise.

  He was good at reading people. He had to be. It was an essential part of his job. To his mind, she wasn’t faking any of it.

  She tugged at him, and he couldn’t seem to do anything to turn off the attraction. The on
ly two times he’d sunk into a relationship, it had sputtered out on him faster than he’d have thought possible. So what? It didn’t mean he should stop trying, right? He paced back to the table, picked up his cell and tapped her number without giving himself time to think.

  “Hello, Roman,” she said in her quiet, contained voice.

  “Yeah, hi. How’re you doing?”

  “I’m fine. I went back and talked to Luke. I guess I should have called you.”

  “No worries. You get anything from him?”

  The sigh was small, but it carried weight. “Nothing of value. He essentially kicked me out of his office and said he’s done talking about Anita.”

  “That’s too bad. It was worth a try though, so thanks for going.” He paused and crossed the few steps over to his window, pulling apart the blinds and glancing down at the darkened street below. “I’m basically out of ideas about Anita. Maybe we could get together tomorrow night to talk it over. I’ll bring take-out to your place. Pizza okay?”

  The phone went silent for several beats. “I don’t have any ideas either, so there’s not much to say,” she said at last.

  “Okay, that’s cool. We could still have dinner. We’ll take the subject of Anita off the table for the night.”

  “No, Roman.” She sighed. “I thought I was pretty clear last night. I’m not going down that path with you.”

  His breath came out in a gush, and it was only then he realized he’d been holding it. “I don’t understand why you’re fighting this, but sure, we’ll table it for now. No problem. Sooner or later, though, we’re going to get together.”

  “God, you’re frustrating,” she hissed.

  “Yeah, I know. Though some might call me tenacious.”

  “I can think of other words.”

  “Best keep them to yourself. Give Layla a pat for me. Good night, Mia.”

  “Good night, Roman.”

  He stared down at the phone in his hand. Well, hell. She’d brushed him off like a piece of lint. Roman searched his mind and couldn’t remember the last time a woman had turned him down like that. He knew he was good-looking, not that he dwelled on it or anything, but as a rule, women tended to be attracted to him. Kevin often joked he was the guy they wanted to be friends with and Roman the one they wanted to catch.

  When his phone signaled, he had a brief moment of thinking Thank God, she called back before seeing his mother’s picture pop onto the screen. He sighed.

  “Hey, Ma.”

  “Hello, my handsome boy.”

  Apparently not handsome enough. “How are you?”

  “Very well, thanks. You keeping out of trouble?”

  “You’d better believe it.” The pause lasted just long enough where he could practically hear the wheels turning in her mind. “I don’t know anything else about Anita. We may have hit another dead end,” he said.

  “Bite your tongue. You and Mia are going to find her. I know it. Anyway, that’s not why I’m calling. Your father and I were talking, and we’ve decided we should have a little get-together next weekend. It would’ve been her thirtieth.”

  “Yeah, I know.” His finger rubbed at the tension between his eyes.

  “Let’s have a barbeque at the cottage. We don’t go use it enough. Lina’s coming home and Tony too. I thought maybe Brooke might like to be there. I’ll talk to her tomorrow. I want you to invite Mia.”

  “I think it’d be better if you asked her. Besides, I doubt she’ll want to leave her dogs for the day.”

  “Well, they can come, can’t they? Lots of room to run around and swim in the lake.”

  “I guess, but I’m not asking her.”

  “What’s the matter with you?”

  “Let’s just say I think she’s had enough of me.”

  “Nonsense. Besides, maybe being with us on Anita’s birthday, she’ll sense something.”

  “Maybe. It’ll be good to see Lina.”

  “Yes, family should be together. Did you have dinner?”

  “Of course.”

  “I mean a proper nourishing dinner that wasn’t pizza or a sub.”

  He crossed his fingers behind his back. “Sure, Ma.”

  “Good, boy. Don’t stay up too late. It’s a school night.”

  “Scout’s honor. Good night.”

  He smiled when he put the phone back on the table. Mia might have brushed him off, but there was no way she’d shake his mother so easily.

  Chapter Thirteen

  All morning Mia brooded. She so didn’t want to go to the cottage, but faced with the formidable Molly Mancini, couldn’t see any way out of it. At least she’d managed to convince the woman she could drive up on her own and had politely refused the offer to bring the dogs.

  “You guys are my ace in the hole,” she said, swiveling her chair so she could rub her foot along Mac’s back. “I figure I’ll put in an hour or so and then use you as an excuse to escape.”

  Mac grunted and rolled onto his back so she could give his tummy some attention.

  “It probably won’t be that bad, right? And even if it is stressful, at least I know I’ll be coming home to you guys. We can go for a nice walk when I get back, and then maybe I’ll make popcorn and watch a movie.”

  Even thinking of it, she sighed. If only she could stay home and not have to deal with all the people. Especially Roman. God, she did not want to spend any time with him right now because she was very afraid she’d weaken.

  More than once in the last few days, she’d picked up her cell and had been at the point of accepting his offer to have dinner. And each time she’d fought a mighty internal battle to prevent herself from calling. She knew darned well she was at the tipping point and all it would take was one small thing from him: a sexy smile, a brush of his hand on her arm, anything really, and she would likely throw herself at him.

  Sighing again, she returned to the task of printing out shipping labels. The last few days had been a time of regrouping, and she was happy to be caught up on her orders. In fact, as of this very moment, she was ahead of the game and could actually coast until Monday. Maybe tomorrow she’d even take the day off from work.

  By the time Mia drove out of her driveway a few hours later, she had her game face on. Get in. Do the social niceties. Get out. It’s like a special ops mission, she thought, but without the guns and violence.

  She wasn’t sure what to expect from the gathering. Maybe everyone would be sad and introspective. Maybe most of the day would be spent sitting around sharing memories of Anita. The only thing she had to contribute on that point was a vision of the poor girl’s death.

  As it happened, she couldn’t have been more wrong. When she stepped out of her car, laughter and screams filled the air. Scooping up the container of potato salad and the bottle of wine from the back seat, she made her way along the path at the side of the cottage. Peeking out to the back deck, she saw Molly and Frank sitting with two other couples. The deck extended out and down several stairs ending on a dock where Roman and Tony appeared to be patrolling, water guns in hand.

  “You can run, but you can’t hide,” Tony called out before motioning to Roman.

  Roman sidled back toward the house, hopped off the side of the deck and—dropping straight into a squat—fired a stream of water. The screams were amazing, and he threw back his head and howled with laughter. Brooke and two other girls ran out from under the deck on Mia’s side and bulleted toward Tony, who stood his ground and took aim with his gun, hitting the first girl full on in the face. She howled and dropped her weapon, launched herself at him, taking him over the side of the dock and into the lake.

  “Children, enough.” Molly clapped her hands. “No more shrieking. Oh, Mia, there you are. Come on in. Join us. I promise everyone will behave. You brought food? You shouldn’t have.”

  “It’s only a potato salad,” Mia said, handing over her offerings.

  “Frank, you put these in the fridge.” Molly took the bowl and bottle out of Mia’s hands and p
assed it to her husband. “What would you like to drink? We have wine and beer and soda, of course. I think there’s juice as well.”

  “Um…ginger ale if you have it. Or Coke.”

  “Coming right up,” Frank said.

  Tucking her hand in at Mia’s elbow, Molly towed her over to the four sitting around the table. “This is Beth and Alan Wexler and Claudia and Ed Morris. They’re old family friends.”

  Everyone nodded and smiled and said hello.

  “Hey, you made it,” Roman said. When she turned to him, the heat went straight down to her core.

  He was shirtless, and his hair was damp so that it curled around his face and over his ears. His chest, wide and well-muscled, gleamed with water and his skin was the color of golden brown sugar. When he smiled at her, his teeth flashed impossibly white against the dark stubble. She couldn’t see his eyes since they were covered with aviator glasses, but she imagined the corners crinkling in amusement.

  “Yes, I made it. It’s a beautiful cottage. The lake is breathtaking.”

  “No more water guns for now,” Molly said pointedly. Roman scowled.

  “Aw, come on. You always say that when Tony and I are about to win. It’s a conspiracy, I tell you.” He cocked his head at Mia. “You want in?”

  “Ah…no…thank you.”

  “Figures. That’s the problem when you’re as good as Tony and me. Everyone’s afraid to take you on.”

  She bristled. “I’m not afraid, but I didn’t bring a bathing suit or even a change of clothes.”

  He tipped his sunglasses up and rested them on the top of his head. Then he winked at her. “A likely excuse.”

  Her belly did one slow summersault, and for a moment she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him.

  “Hi, Mia. I’m Lina, this degenerate’s older and wiser sister. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  Mia turned to face the girl who had pushed Tony into the lake. Her hair was slicked back, and she’d wrapped herself in a beach towel. “Oh, hello. It’s nice to meet you.”