Red Velvet Revenge

by Stephanie Damore

  "Now there's my other girl!" Mother shouted from the piano. “Come on, Autumn. Join us!”

  "Can't, I'm on duty," Autumn hollered back, pointing to her badge. As if the fact that she was in her full deputy uniform wasn't evidence enough.

  "Oh, you spoil sport." Our mother laughed, and I could tell it grated on Autumn's nerves. Heck, the woman grated on my nerves.

  Autumn tried to play it off by being polite and walking over to talk to the caroling group. I thought she had succeeded in pulling it off until Derek approached her in the entryway.

  "Hey, what's up, cop?"

  Even from where I stood, I could see Derek sway on his feet. Autumn sneered at him.

  "I'm not a cop, I'm a deputy."

  "You always were a stickler for the details, weren't you, Red?" He moved to pluck at her uniform, and Autumn swatted his hand away.

  "Oooh," Malcom jeered from beside him.

  "Don't touch me," Autumn said flatly, holding her ground. I sensed there was more to that story, but I didn’t know what it was.

  I walked between the two in the entryway and practically thrusted Autumn's travel mug of coffee in her hand. "Stay safe out there, okay?" I moved to escort Autumn to the door, but she wasn't having it. She and Derek were locked in a stare down.

  "You always thought you were too good for me, didn't you?" Derek let in to her. "Never would admit it, but I saw right through you. Let me tell you something, Red. You might think you're big and bad with the badge now, but you're still the shy little nerd that was desperate for attention."

  I sucked in a breath. I've seen Autumn lay into suspects before, and it wasn't pretty. I could only imagine how she would react to this trigger and I hoped it wouldn't end with me calling one of her colleagues.

  "I hate you. I hate you with every inch of my being," Autumn snapped back. "We broke up because you're an idiot and I knew that you were never going to amount to anything. And you know what? It looks like I was right." Autumn turned to reach for the door handle. I was already there and opened the door, ushering in a cold blast of wind swirled with snow.

  "Never amount to anything? Who has friends? Who has a life? Not you," Derek shot back.

  Derek's insult landed its mark. I saw it in Autumn's eyes, just like Derek did. He responded with a chuckle and a clap of his hands. "Do I got you pegged, or what?" Again he laughed.

  Autumn's eyes filled with such rage that I thought she would haul off and punch him. The only thing that must have prevented her was knowing that all eyes were on her—including our mother's.

  "Go on, give it to him, sweetie!" our mother hollered over the crowd. "He wasted five years of your life!" she continued. "The good ones, too," she added to Father Thompson, who was standing next to her. He looked back at her as if she was nuts. It was a look I was used to people giving me when they thought I was talking to myself.

  "Go on, hit him!" she yelled, raising her martini glass in the air as if it were a call to arms.

  Derek's buddy Malcolm egged our mother on. "You tell him, Mrs. Sinclair!" He was getting a real kick out of it. Derek's girlfriend, on the other hand, was not impressed. Savannah brushed past me, bumping me hard in the shoulder on her way to the bathroom, tears and mascara flowing down her face. Amelia and Tina were right on her heel.

  "I'm glad I got out before I married into your crazy family," Derek replied softly so only Autumn and I could hear him. The hot anger that had been in Autumn's eyes turned in an instant to deep sadness. I felt the jab in my gut and knew right then and there that Derek's words hurt her more that she'd ever admit.

  "What? What did the coward say?" our mother yelled over the crowd. Her question went unanswered.

  Without another word, Autumn walked out the door, turning her collar up to the wind.

  I cussed under my breath and went to retrieve my coat upstairs to make sure Autumn was okay, but not before shooting Derek a nasty look over my shoulder.

  One thing was for sure: I wasn't hosting another open house party for a long time.

  It took me a moment to find something warm to put on. My master bedroom had turned into the overflow closet. Winter coats were stacked chest high on my bed. I rummaged through them, knowing full well that I had thrown my fleece on the bed earlier in the day, but instead of finding my coat, I found my cat. Milo was curled up in the soft wool of another person's coat. He happily purred away, tucked inside his warm cocoon.

  "There you are, you little rascal. You're lucky that mean lady didn't land her mark," I said to him.

  Milo tilted his head to the side as if questioning what I was saying.

  "I don't know whose coat you're wrapped up in right now, but I doubt they're going to want it covered in cat hair." I scooped Milo up and put him on the floor. He was not happy with me, but I could only hope he wouldn't retaliate by peeing in my slippers, something he had done only once when I forgot to bring home his kibble.

  I found my fleece on the bottom of the pile and threw it on over my sweater, zipping it up knowing just how bitterly cold it was outside. Being on top of the bluff offered us no protection from old man winter's worst. I was even smart enough to quickly kick off my heels and tug on my snow boots before running out into the darkness after Autumn. However, before dashing out of my bedroom, I scooped Milo up and gently deposited him in Ellen's bedroom. I knew she wouldn't mind having him curled up on her bed unlike my mother would have, and hopefully he'd stay out of trouble. I didn't give Milo a chance to protest before telling him that I would see him soon and gently clicking the door shut.

  I walked quickly down the hallway and then down the stairs and right out the front door. Cars were parked everywhere, filling up the impressive driveway, and some brave souls even parked on the icy incline leading up to the estate. I sincerely hoped they had their parking brake engaged. I spotted Autumn’s cruiser parked right in the middle. However, she wasn't alone. Derek's friend Phil had beat me outside.

  "What do you think's going on there?" Nick materialized and whispered in my ear. I didn't know, and it was probably wrong of me to want to find out, but I found myself sneaking closer to eavesdrop.

  "I'm sorry about that," Phil was saying to Autumn.

  "You don't have to apologize for him. I told you that a million times."

  "I know, but that was just wrong of him."

  "Him and my mother." I saw Autumn shake her head and I had to agree with her. Our mother sure did know how to make a fool of herself. Something she and Derek had in common.

  "Well, your mom's heart is in the right place. Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

  "I'm fine, really, but I better get back to work," Autumn said moving to get into her cruiser. I couldn't hear what Phil said after that, as the wind decided at that moment to pick up, but a second later he shut Autumn's door and watched as she navigated around the cars and headed back down to the highway. I didn't wait for Phil to spot me, but instead turned on my heel and jogged back inside the manor. I crossed the threshold just as the clock struck midnight and fireworks shot off across the bay. Partygoers filed outside to the manor’s impressive decks to watch the bursts of color light up the frozen lake below. Nick and I joined them.

  “Happy new year, babe,” Nick said. His lips brushed my cheek.

  “Back at you, Casper,” I said, leaning my head in toward his while my mother started off a round of Auld Lang Syne, the lyrics quickly going downhill after the first verse.

  2

  The next morning when I walked down the grand staircase, the entire downstairs sparkled in the morning sun, much like the fresh snow outside. Only in this case, it was specs of glitter and multicolored confetti that littered the hardwood throughout the ground floor. Ceramic dessert plates with bits of red velvet cake and cream cheese stuck to them, empty champagne flutes, and teacups half full of stale coffee were scattered on every end table, windowsill, and even the grand piano, which was where I spotted Milo taking full advantage of the mess. My cat sat perched on top of the cl
osed piano, dipping his paw in someone's leftover coffee and then licking it ever so leisurely. A little bit of white frosting stuck to his nose.

  I walked over and scratched my kitty's ears. He replied by bumping his head against my hand in appreciation. "You weren't sure about the party last night, but you sure do like the leftovers today, don't you sweetie?"

  I surveyed the room. It was a good thing the bakery was closed because there was no way I would leave Margaret to tackle this on her own. It would take all day and then some to right this mess. I had never hired a cleaning company before, but I was seriously considering it now. Hopefully that experience would go better than hiring a caterer. Even with Margaret's impressive housekeeping skills, and Ellen's love of cleaning, this was going to be a full day's work.

  But first, coffee.

  I picked Milo up, to which he grumpily replied with a chirp. I continued to scratch his ears while we walked. "You can't eat too much of that. It will make you sick. That's no way to start out the new year, now is it?"

  He responded with a meow that sounded an awful lot like a question.

  "Yes, sick. I know you don't want your tummy to hurt." I sat him down on the kitchen floor next to his bowl and poured a handful of kibble into it. "This is better for you, trust me."

  But Milo didn't trust me. Instead, he flicked his tail disapprovingly and walked away from his food bowl, not buying what I was selling.

  If I thought the rest of the house was a disaster, it was nothing compared to the kitchen. Perhaps I shouldn't have turned in last night. Margaret had helped me put away the food, but all the serving platters still needed to be washed, along with every glass and all the cutlery in the house.

  I found an empty mug in the cupboard and went about making myself a strong cup of coffee. I couldn't believe it was already after seven o'clock in the morning. I never slept in until seven. Most mornings I was up between four and five to get to the bakery. It wasn't too far of a drive to downtown Bleu Clair Bay, but anything was longer than having to just walk downstairs from my previous above-the-bakery apartment.

  I rubbed my head and reached for a bottle of Tylenol. Perhaps I had drunk too much champagne last night? Of course, when you never drank champagne, it doesn’t take much. A headache started to build behind my eyes. I chase the pain meds down with my coffee and then set out to fetch the broom and dust pan to tackle the glitter and confetti. I'd sweep the majority of it up and then get out the vacuum with the attachments to pick up the rest. I opened the closet door to grab the broom and screamed. With my hand still on the closet handle, I froze. It took my body a second to catch up to what my mind was seeing—a dead man with a knife in his back.

  "What's wrong, babe?" Nick asked. My cry must have reached him in the ether.

  "I ... It's ..." I tried mouthing words, but nothing would come out. I knew who the dead man was, but I couldn't say his name.

  Ellen came down the stairs in her flannel pajamas and fluffy white robe. Her short gray hair was plastered to one side, sticking up like a mohawk.

  "What, what is it?" she said, keeping back.

  I turned and looked at her. "It's Derek. Somebody's stabbed him to death," I finally managed to say. I walked backward away from the closet until I was down the hall toward Ellen and the front entryway. Amelia then appeared at the top of the stairs. While Ellen and I looked like something the cat dragged in, she looked like Sleeping Beauty. Her silky blonde hair lay perfectly down her back, and her makeup looked just as fresh as the night before.

  I put my hand up to stop her.

  "Don't. Stay up there. Make sure Jacob doesn't come down the stairs." My comments must've set off alarm bells in Amelia's mind.

  "What's wrong? What's going on?" she demanded, her pitch elevated.

  "There's a dead body in the broom cupboard, dear," Ellen replied.

  "Ellen!" I didn't want to send Amelia into hysterics. That wouldn't be good for her or the baby.

  "Oh my gosh, are you serious? Like a real dead body?" Amelia asked. "Who is it?" She called down, more curious than anything.

  I shook my head, astonished at Amelia's response. This wasn't the first time Amelia had surprised me with her levelheadedness.

  "I'm pretty sure it's Derek Appleton," I said.

  "Savannah's boyfriend?" Amelia asked. Of course, she would know him that way.

  "You mean Autumn's ex-fiancé," Ellen said with a knowing look.

  I looked to Nick for confirmation. He's was right up in the cupboard checking the dead man out. A dead body in his family home obviously didn't give a ghost the heebie-jeebies like it did me. Speaking of which, I found myself wondering if he was still around. Derek's ghost, that is.

  As if reading my mind, Amelia said. "What does Nick say?" Like Ellen, Amelia knew that Nick was still very much a part of my life. It made it so much easier for me that I didn't have to pretend to be talking to myself all the time. Life was good when people accepted your life for what it was.

  Nick answered Amelia's question directly even though she couldn't hear him. He scanned the area using his sixth sense before furrowing his brow and saying, "It's not Derek. At least I don't think that's him."

  "What do you mean?" I asked.

  "What, what's he saying?" Ellen asked me. I shushed her.

  "There's another energy here, but this one's older." Nick cocked his head to the side as if he was trying to listen intently before shaking it. "It doesn't make any sense," he muttered mostly to himself. His eyes had a far off look about them. "I'm going to go check something out." With that, he vanished into the great unknown.

  I stood rooted to the spot thinking for minute before turning to my roommates and filling them in with what Nick had just said.

  "Another ghost in this house?" Ellen asked.

  "That would be way cool," Amelia responded.

  "As long as he's a friendly one," Ellen said under her breath. I nodded in agreement.

  "We need to call the police," I said.

  "Want me to do it, dear?" Ellen offered.

  "No, that's okay, I know the drill." Just like I knew that the entire house was now a crime scene.

  Dispatcher Betty was all in a tizzy when I called the murder in.

  "Your poor mother. Is she okay?" she asked.

  "My mother?" I rubbed my forehead with my fingertips, having completely forgotten that my mother was also staying in the house.

  Cue the hysterical screaming in the background. I turned to see that my mother had joined us, and Ellen was motioning to the closet where Derek was.

  "As you can hear, she's just fine," I said with one ear pressed to the phone. I covered the other with my hand to hear what Betty was saying.

  "I have someone in route. Should I call for an ambulance as well?" I knew Betty was thinking of my mother.

  "No, it's okay. I'll call back if we need any further help." I clicked off with Betty and saw that Ellen was tending to my mother. That was good, because I had one other call that I had to make, and pronto.

  While I dialed, I thought back to my sister's confrontation with her ex at the party last night. How many other people had witnessed that? The answer was easy: the whole party. I waited impatiently for Autumn to answer her phone. Hopefully she would hear it in her sleep.

  "Hey ... What's ... going on?" Autumn asked when she answered the line. She was breathing heavy, and I could hear her feet rhythmically slapping the ground.

  "Are you working out?" I asked, bewildered.

  "Every ... day," she responded between inhales.

  "Don't you ever sleep?" I replied.

  "After," was all she said.

  I got right to the point. "Listen, Derek was murdered here last night."

  The running stopped immediately. Followed by silence on Autumn's end.

  "Autumn?" I asked.

  "I'm here," she responded.

  "I just called it in and I wanted to give you a heads-up." Autumn knew exactly what I meant by that.

  "Thanks." Her voice
sounded as if it was distant.

  I went to hang up. "Wait." Her voice sounded much clearer now. "Is everyone else okay?"

  "Yes, we're fine. I found him this morning in the broom closet."

  "The broom closet?" she asked.

  "With a knife in his back."

  "I'm on my way."

  "What, are you sure?" I asked, but Autumn had already clicked off. I didn’t think that was Autumn's best move. She may be better off calling an attorney or maybe her boss knowing that Sheriff Bud Daniels would hear all about her and Derek's fight if he hadn't already. That was how fast news traveled in our little lakeshore village.

  Nick reappeared just then. I motioned with my head for him to follow me upstairs to my room, where I could change before the sheriff department joined us. I found Milo curled in the center of my bedspread, sleeping peacefully. At that moment, I was thinking it would be pretty good to be a cat.

  "What did you find out?" I whispered while changing my clothes.

  "I was right. There is another ghost hanging around here, but it's not Derek.”

  "Who is it?" I asked.

  "I don't know yet. I only saw a trace of their energy. You've never sensed another ghost here before, have you?" Nick asked me.

  "No, but I've always assumed any ghostly encounters around here were just you." Then I thought of something quite alarming. "Ghosts can't stab someone in the back, can they?" Nick looked at me with a level of seriousness that I hadn't seen in him in a long time. I then thought about how I had seen Nick move objects before and even toss a chair at someone to help protect me and I knew the answer.

  "A murderous ghost? What in the world am I going to do?" I said, sitting down rather abruptly on my bed.