by Lillian Bell
“Blackmail? Do you think Mayor Wilburn killed her to keep her quiet?” Jasmine’s brown eyes were huge in her face.
I shook my head. “No. You should have seen how fast he folded when Rafe and I confronted him. I don’t think he has that kind of nerve.”
Luke Butler slid into the fourth seat at the table as if we’d been expecting him and signaled Monique for a beer. Yes. A beer at a wine bar. That was Luke all over. He leaned down and said, “You still haven’t found a home for Orion?” he asked.
“Not yet.”
Jasmine looked at me through narrowed eyes. “Have you run an ad about him yet?” she asked.
“Not yet. It’s been busy. I haven’t had time to put it together. I need to sort through all those photos we took to pick one or two. It’s going to be hard. Each one is more adorable than the last.” I didn’t meet her eyes.
She picked up my phone and hit a button so the screen came alive. She pointed at the photo of Orion with his paws crossed in the leaves, which was now my screen background. “What about this one?”
“The focus isn’t good. I need to retake it.” I grabbed my phone back from her.
Jasmine took a sip of her wine. “Mm-hmm. What about a Facebook post or a tweet?”
I’d spent more time on Violet’s social media than I had on my own. “Not yet.”
“You’re keeping this dog, aren’t you?” Jasmine asked.
I shrunk down in my chair. “Maybe.”
“Donna’s going to hate that.” She took a sip of her wine.
I knew Jasmine was right. “I think I might be able to talk her into letting me keep him. He’s really friendly. He seems to like everybody and everybody likes him. You should have seen him with this one client. It was like he knew exactly what to do to comfort her. She thought he was a trained therapy dog.”
“Maybe he is,” Nate said. “Who else would know besides Violet?”
Violet knew about a lot of things, a lot of things no one else seemed to have noticed around this town, things that other people should have noticed. I turned to Luke. “You were on the force when my Dad disappeared, right?”
He gave me a wary glance. “Yeah.”
“Did anybody look into the funerals we’d had right before it happened?” I asked. It was always possible that someone had done that kind of due diligence. It wasn’t likely, but it was possible.
“Why?” he asked.
Monique came out and set Luke’s beer in front of him. I waited until she’d gone back inside. “It’s possible that he found out something about someone and they made him disappear to keep that secret.”
Luke looked confused. “But they’d be dead already.”
“Not them. Their family maybe. Or their employer.” I rolled my eyes. What would it be like to be that literal?
Luke gave me a funny look. “What were you thinking? What kinds of secrets?”
“My dad buried Broderick Gunter right before his disappearance. Gunter worked for Canty Construction, the same Canty Construction that has just been exposed for bribing our mayor.”
“So you think your father figured out something like that while arranging Gunter’s funeral, threatened to expose people, and someone murdered him to cover it up?” He tapped on the table for a second. “I thought you said your dad was alive still. That you saw him on your back porch in a video.”
“I did,” I insisted. “Maybe someone made him disappear. Or he disappeared himself. Maybe he did it to protect us, to keep us safe.”
Luke looked over at Jasmine and then at Nate. Nobody would meet his eyes. “Desiree, I get it. You want your father to be alive. I saw that video. It’s way too dark to know if that’s your father or not. As to your father’s disappearance, there was absolutely no evidence of foul play. Nothing was missing. There were no signs of violence.”
“There wasn’t any evidence of anything,” I broke in. “An absence of evidence doesn’t prove anything. He was just gone and I don’t see how that could happen.” My voice broke. I cleared my throat to cover it, but I didn’t think anyone was fooled. Orion’s ears perked up and he got up from where he was lying on the sidewalk and rested his chin on my leg.
Luke put his hand over mind. “Desiree, your Dad wasn’t murdered. No one was murdered. He didn’t stumble onto a big conspiracy and go into witness protection. He went surfing by himself and he didn’t come back. End of story.”
“You know what, Luke?” Jasmine broke in. “Not end of story. Desiree has been right about so many things since she got home. She was right about Kyle and you didn’t want to listen to her. Nobody knew about the mayor and she figured that out, too. Maybe it’s time you listened to her, don’t you think?”
I stared at her, my mouth open a tiny bit. We’d always had each other’s backs before, but I’d felt pretty isolated out there with my theories about my dad. Apparently I wasn’t so alone anymore. “How about you listen to Nate and me about Violet Daugherty, too?” I asked.
Luke hit the table with his fist, making our wine glasses jump and making Orion yip. “Absolutely not. You’re seeing murder everywhere. You’re riling everyone up, getting everyone upset. People are afraid you’re going to randomly accuse them of something. I won’t have it.”
“I haven’t randomly accused anyone of anything. If any accusations have been made, there have been reasons.” I patted Orion to calm him down.
“Well, stop looking for reasons, okay? Everything was easy here before you came home. Everything was calm. I want it to go back that way.” He flung himself back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. I half expected him to stick out his lower lip.
*
Nate walked Orion and me home. The sun had started to go down and our shadows stretched before us, snaking along the road. The temperature had started to drop, too, and the wind picked up. It smelled like rain again. It seemed like a storm was coming, but nothing had yet appeared. Orion lifted his head, sniffed at the air, and gave a happy bark.
“Do you think we should drop the Violet thing?” I asked. “Luke was getting pretty upset.”
He looped his arm over my shoulders. The warmth felt good. “Since when do you care if Luke is upset or not?”
I slipped my free hand into his back pocket. “I don’t. Well, I don’t care if he’s upset with me. I can ignore him if I want to. You actually have to work with him from time to time, though.”
He pulled me a little closer. “I can handle Luke.”
There was a little more steel in his voice than I was used to hearing. I glanced up, but his expression remained impassive. I’d known this man nearly my whole life and I still found him impossible to read. “Okay then.”
We got to Turner Family Funeral Home and walked up the back stairs. Nate brushed away the hair that the wind had whipped across my face and leaned down to kiss me. I stepped into the kiss, to get closer, but Orion had other ideas. He nosed his way in between us and barked.
Nate leaned down and scratched behind Orion’s ears. “No need to get jealous, buddy boy. We’re all here together.”
Once I was inside, I refilled Orion’s bowls and then rummaged in the refrigerator for leftovers of whatever it was Donna and Greg and made for dinner. Chicken. There were even some mashed potatoes left. I made a plate to put in the microwave.
Donna came in and sat down heavily at the table. “Don’t bother laying out the programs for the Dickerson service. They canceled.”
“What?” Nobody canceled. Once people signed in, they generally did not sign out. We were like Hotel California.
“Yeah. It was weird. We already did the cremation so they’ll be by to pick up the ashes tomorrow. She said they decided to go a different direction with the service.” Donna leaned back and put her feet up on the opposite chair.
“Okay, then.” It was unusual, but not crazy. Sometimes people realized they wanted to wait to have a service until more people could be there or until the mourners were a little more together. The microwave dinged. I pu
lled my plate out. “We still have the Sizemores tomorrow afternoon, though, right?”
Donna nodded. “Yep. You good to go on that one? I e-mailed you the video.”
“I’ve got it. I think I’m set.” Ironically, Zenia’s review of our files had bolstered my confidence.
*
I felt a whole lot less confident when Orion woke me up barking and growling. I rolled over and looked at the clock. It was after one. “Hush, boy. It’s time to sleep.”
He grabbed my blankets in his teeth and pulled them off the bed. Then he started barking again.
“Make that dog be quiet,” Donna yelled from her room.
“I’m trying,” I yelled back.
For a second Orion hushed and that’s when I heard it. A crashing sound. Glass breaking. I flipped on the light. Orion ran to the door of my room and barked at it until I opened it, then he rushed downstairs. I followed flipping on lights as I went.
By the time I reached the ground floor, I could hear Uncle Joey thundering after me. I was about to head into the basement, but Orion took a sharp right turn when we passed the Magnolia Room and headed into the kitchen we use when we’re setting up for a reception.
There was glass everywhere. I snatched up Orion—no easy feat considering how much he weighed—to keep him from cutting his feet.
Uncle Joey came up behind me, breathing heavily. “What happened?”
“Someone tried to break in.” I gestured with my chin toward the side door. Its panes had been smashed in.
*
DeAndre of Roosevelt Window Repair put the last pane into place. “That should do it for now, Desiree. I’ll come back tomorrow to make sure everything is set right.”
“Thanks. Maybe I should apply for a frequent flyer discount.” I rubbed my eyes as I watched DeAndre put away his tools. DeAndre had been the one to replace the glass at Violet’s house, too.
DeAndre laughed. “Trouble does seem to follow you, doesn’t it?”
Donna kicked me lightly under the table. “That’s exactly what I’ve been saying for years.”
“You don’t have to wait up,” I told her. “Especially not if you’re going to assault me.”
“I wasn’t assaulting you. I was making a point.” She stuck out her tongue at me.
“With your foot.” I kicked her back. Just a little.
DeAndre laughed. “You two crack me up. You remind me of me and my sister. Always squabbling, but take after one of us. Look out, man.”
Carlotta stretched and yawned. “Why would someone break in here?”
“Whaddaya mean?” DeAndre said. “People are dying to get in here.”
I smiled, but not with a lot of enthusiasm. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard that particular joke.
DeAndre shook his head. “Tough crowd.” He snapped his tool box shut. “See you tomorrow.”
Donna walked him out.
“Have you had a lot of breakins recently?” I hadn’t been reading the police blotter lately. Maybe there was something going on that would make a good article.
“Not really. Just the one at Violet Daugherty’s and this one.” Carlotta considered for a moment. “Whoever did this one did a much more professional job. They used the same technique, but they were a lot more careful. Better prepared. They didn’t even cut themselves. I’m actually surprised you heard it. It was probably pretty quiet.”
“I didn’t hear it. Orion did.” I patted his head.
She turned slowly around in the room. “Any idea what they might be after?”
I was about to say no, but then I remembered the shoebox, the one that had contained what I’d needed to expose the bribery scandal. There were lots of things in that box. Lots of people who Violet might have been blackmailing. Maybe one of them figured out that I had her stash and wanted it back. It seemed like too much of a coincidence to have the only two breakins be at Violet’s and then at Turner’s, especially when the technique used to break in was the same.
“Desiree?” Carlotta pressed.
“Let me think about it,” I said. I wasn’t quite ready to hand that box over to the police yet. I wanted a few more answers myself first. “By the way, did you ever talk to the neighbor about the car she saw cruising in Violet’s neighborhood?”
Carlotta nodded. “Yeah. She wasn’t totally sure. She thought it was some kind of Honda or Toyota.”
“What color?”
“Green.”
The woman with the vodka in her thermos in Violet’s photos had a dark-colored car. It could easily be a green Honda or Toyota. I could see a person who was a little drunk thinking they might be able to get away with breaking into a place with an alarm system like Violet’s and then maybe sobering up a bit and doing a better job on the next place they broke into.
Perhaps it was time to have a little chat with Vodka Mom.
Chapter Eight
The next day, Orion and I hunkered down in the Element and watched the parade of minivans and SUVs driving up to the school, pausing for a minute, then driving off. I kept looking at Iris’s photograph and up at the line, hoping I’d be able to pick out Vodka Mom from the pack.
A knock on the window make me jump. Orion barked. I accidentally hit the horn. I turned, ready to start cursing at whoever had snuck up on us. Then I saw who it was. Luke freaking Butler. I rolled down the window. “What are you doing here?”
He leaned onto the door with his elbows and said, “That’s exactly what I was going to ask you. We got a report of someone lurking on the side streets near the school watching the children go in and out.”
I looked around. Who had reported me? I saw a curtain twitch at the house across the street. I made a mental note of the address. I’d find out who the busybody was and I’d … Well, I didn’t know what I’d do. That was for later, though. I needed to get Luke away from me now in case Vodka Mom showed up. “I’m not lurking. I’m sitting.”
“Apparently that looks pretty lurky to some people. Why are you sitting here anyway?” He peered into the car as if there might be some contraband.
I slid the photo of Vodka Mom under Orion. “Just reliving the glory days of elementary school.”
He squinted at me. “Well, relive them someplace else. You’re making people nervous.”
That was the moment I saw Vodka Mom pull up. At least, I thought it was her. It looked like the right van. Green minivan with a slight dent in the left front fender and a scrape on the back. Maybe driving around sipping vodka out of your travel mug led to some fender benders. “Okay. I’ll go.” I pushed at his elbows to get them off the door.
“What’s your hurry?” He didn’t budge.
“Oh, I don’t know. Being accused of being a pedophile. I figured it would be best to leave the situation.” Vodka Mom had pulled up to the curb.
“No one said you were a pedophile. They said you were lurking and watching the kids.” Luke made a face. “You always overreact.”
“And what did you think they meant?”
He stood up. Finally. I put the Element in drive. He shook his head. “Desiree Turner, if you’re up to something …”
I waved and pulled out into the intersection as Vodka Mom pulled away from the curb. “That was a close one,” I told Orion. He settled down onto the photo.
Vodka Mom drove exactly like a mom should. She signaled every turn and lane change. She came to a complete stop at every Stop sign. She drove the speed limit. She certainly didn’t drive like she was drunk or even buzzed or about to bounce her dented minivan off of anything.
She drove down Oriole and turned onto Sparrow and then into the Civic Center parking lot. I drove past the parking lot—no need to tip her off that I was following her—and went around the block. I managed to see her going into the Civic Center as I pulled into the lot. She looked different than the photo, somehow. I pulled it out from underneath Orion. In the photo, she looked a little bleary. Her hair hadn’t been combed and I was pretty sure that day old mascara was smeared underneath h
er eyes. I’d seen it enough times on my own face to recognize it. Today, she had her hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail and there was a bounce in her step that didn’t gibe with smeared mascara, uncombed hair, and vodka instead of sugar or cream in your coffee. She had on exercise clothes, but not necessarily the kind you would really exercise in. Cute capris, a zip-up-the-front hoodie, and sneakers. Athleisurewear. I parked across the lot from her van and waited a minute or two to be sure she wasn’t coming right back out. She didn’t.
“Wanna go for a little walk?” I asked Orion.
He barked twice, which I took as his universal sign of yes. We got out of the Element and I snapped on his leash. We had a bad moment when I walked toward the Civic Center and, for some reason, Orion thought we were headed to sniff every tree in the square, but once we got that straightened out we made it to the door of the Civic Center.
I’ll admit. I didn’t have the best associations with the place. Some things had gone down there that still gave me bad dreams. In those dreams, the place had gone up in flames with me trapped inside, fighting to get out and failing. In the dream, no one had come to save me, and I burned with the sound of someone’s triumphant cackle sounding in my ears over the roar of the fire. I gave myself a little shake and I pushed the door open. It was only a dream. It wasn’t what had happened. I’d kept the place from catching on fire and a whole crowd of people had come to aid me. Jasmine and Nate and Luke and Carlotta and Rafe. They’d all been there for me. My town had my back.
Inside, the hallway was lit only by natural light coming through a skylight and there wasn’t a huge amount of it. It gave the hall that weird ghostly feeling, like when you’d walk into your school after hours and everyone was gone. Like maybe if you listened hard enough, you’d hear ghost children chanting nursery rhymes and the creak of swings going back and forth in the breeze with no one on them. Halloween was clearly getting to me. Orion whimpered as if he’d felt it, too, or maybe caught a case of the creeps from me. I bent down to pet him and absorb a little warmth to get rid of the goose bumps that had risen up on my arms. As I listened, I heard the sound of people all speaking in unison for a moment and then stopping. What had I stumbled on? Some kind of weird cult or something? I crept along the hallway to the source of the chanting. It wasn’t in the main hall. I was just as happy to not go in there. It came from one of the smaller meeting rooms.
