A Pretty Mess

by Carla Caruso

  Parking out of view, he waited for another car to follow behind Natalia’s vehicle, before reversing and joining them. A female voice asked for his order over the drive-through speaker.

  He looked at the lit-up, brightly coloured menu blankly, not feeling particularly hungry — he usually had a late lunch — then had a brainwave. ‘Um, can you tell me what the lady in the Tesla in front had?’ He tried to speak in his most charming voice. ‘We know each other and I wanted to get her a little something extra. As a surprise.’

  ‘The woman in the Tesla?’ The assistant sounded bored. Or perhaps she was just used to weird requests. ‘Well, I guess there’s no harm in telling you. It was a double quarter-pounder with bacon, and a pineapple frozen Sprite splash.’

  A double quarter-pounder with bacon. Huh. That wasn’t very vegetarian of Natalia.

  ‘Actually, I— I’ll go the same.’

  ‘Whatever takes your fancy,’ the assistant said before telling him to drive to the next window. Actually, a bit of greasy tucker could be the order of the day.

  Ahead, Lenny could see Natalia being handed a bulging paper bag and her drink at the last window. He hadn’t considered that she could have been buying the meal for her fiancé. Or for Minka—

  From behind, Natalia could suddenly be seen holding up a half-unwrapped burger and sinking her teeth into the bun. With the other hand, she began steering her Tesla out of the drive-through. Well, there went that idea.

  The young cashier at the window waved at him. ‘Sir, there’s going to be a five-minute wait on your burger, I’m afraid. You’ll just need to wait in the car park after paying for it.’

  Lenny could see Natalia’s Tesla merging into the traffic again, being swallowed up from view. ‘So much for fast food,’ he couldn’t help murmuring.

  Natalia was as good as gone. Who knew where she’d be headed next?

  ‘Nice singing voice.’

  Celeste’s whole body froze, despite the hot shower water pounding down on her. It couldn’t be, could it? Surely she’d just imagined Lenny’s voice wafting through her bathroom window. Cutting through her belting out the Whitney Houston classic, ‘I Have Nothing’, along with LoveLand digital radio. Or murdering it, if she was to be compared to her mother. The builder didn’t even know where she lived! She waited, breath held, as the shower water continued to bucket down and Whitney warbled on.

  ‘No need to be alarmed,’ Lenny’s voice continued. ‘I don’t usually make a habit of hovering outside people’s bathrooms, but you didn’t answer your front door. So, naturally, I went looking for a tradesman’s entrance.’

  Shoot. He was here. Unfortunately, her imagination wasn’t as overactive as she’d hoped. She turned off the tap, all too aware of her nakedness despite the frosted window glass meaning Lenny couldn’t see in.

  ‘Is there a reason you’re suddenly making house calls?’ Her voice sounded loud, nervous, as it bounced off the tiled walls. ‘And how’d you even find me?’

  Perhaps her late mother had been meddling from up above, keen to do anything to stop Celeste singing.

  ‘I needed to speak to you out of earshot of our client. Your assistant, Filippa, gave me your address. I almost thought I had the wrong house, though, when I looked in the front. It’s as neat as a display home. I wasn’t sure anyone actually lived here. I should have known better, of course.’

  Celeste squeezed water out of her hair. ‘And how’d you get hold of Flip?’

  ‘She wanted help for some university assignment earlier on, so we exchanged details. Not that she’s emailed me any questions yet.’

  Celeste bet Flip needed help with an assignment. Her studies seemed to be the least of her concerns. Obviously Flip liked them older and Clooney-like. Well, Flip was certainly young enough for Lenny’s tastes, not that he’d seemed particularly interested in her.

  Outside the window, Lenny could be heard clearing his throat. ‘So I’m hoping I can come inside at some stage and we don’t have to continue conversing like this. Your neighbours might think I’m a peeping Tom.’

  Celeste sighed. ‘Wait around the front and give me five minutes.’

  It took her seven. She didn’t spend too long on her appearance, not wanting Lenny to think she cared what he thought. But she could still be professional. So she towel-dried her hair, curled her lashes, slicked on some lip gloss, and changed back into her work uniform of jeans and a shirt the same duck-egg blue as her bedroom walls.

  The thing was, despite Lenny’s unexpected arrival, she was desperate to know what he had to say about Natalia. The so-called blackmail note had seemed like the stuff of dreams before. Now the thought of it lurched back to life. But the last thing she wanted was complications with her first client — a client who could help potentially open doors for her business. So why did she have a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that had nothing to do with the reheated curry leftovers she’d scoffed after work?

  Shyness hit Celeste as soon as she opened the front door. Not seeing Lenny at work for a few days had almost made her forget how handsome he was. Almost. All that coal-black hair, tanned skin, and muscles that could only be the result of hard work. Pity she didn’t much go for arrogant, lady-killer types.

  His dark eyes danced. ‘You have a cowlick.’

  Immediately, she ran a protective hand through her hair. ‘Be fair — you caught me unawares.’

  If it wasn’t embarrassing enough that he’d caught her fresh out of the shower. Singing in the shower, as some might loosely describe it.

  ‘It wasn’t a criticism. I like your hair like that. A bit of curl. Natural.’ He stepped past her, swinging indoors with the ease of someone who’d been there before. Which, of course, he hadn’t. ‘Unlike that patch of fake lawn you’ve got out the front. Reminds me of the turf on all the underused tennis courts around here that are more for show than sport.’

  Celeste, a hand on her hip, watched him head through the doorway into the lounge. She followed him as he sank into her beige leather couch. It felt rather surreal to have him sitting there, dressed casually in a navy shirt and jeans, the workday’s dust having been washed away. Though, irritatingly, he looked good either way: dirty or clean.

  ‘It’s not worth getting a mower for a lawn that size,’ she shot back, sitting in the smaller couch opposite.

  ‘What you need is something tough and hardy you can’t kill like kikuyu grass rather than, say, buffalo, which is softer and less resilient.’

  ‘I’ve heard kikuyu is akin to a noxious weed, creeping everywhere.’ She couldn’t resist adding, ‘Even outside bathroom windows.’

  He grinned. ‘Touché. So I gather this place is newly built?’

  ‘Yeah. Well, it’s five years old.’

  A nod. ‘Nice digs. Although I lean more towards old places myself. Classics don’t date, as they say. New’s only new for so long.’

  He was a classic, all right. Celeste crisscrossed her arms over her chest. ‘Old places also require a lot of work to maintain or you wouldn’t be in business. Now, did you just come here to criticise my home or do you actually have some business you want to discuss?’

  ‘Not criticisms.’ Lenny winked. ‘Just observations, commentary. But the reason I’m here …’ At long last. He wound his generously-sized hands together. ‘I think you might be right in having some concerns about Natalia.’

  Celeste leaned forward. ‘Can I say “I told you so” now?’

  ‘Careful. We’re not an old married couple yet.’

  ‘And we never will be,’ Celeste threw back. So why did she, for a brief moment, enjoy an image of them bickering side-by-side in matching armchairs, as a fire flickered in the fireplace? She tried to pull the focus back to what mattered. ‘So what makes you think there’s something amiss with Natalia?’

  ‘Well, she couldn’t meet up with me this morning to go over some building work at the fitness studio, because she was meant to be doing some taping for an online show. But then I saw her on t
he street — in a tracksuit and baseball cap — withdrawing a large sum of money from an ATM. So … I followed her.’

  Her hands either side of her, Celeste pushed to the edge of her seat. ‘And?’

  ‘And, well, this is where it gets weird. I saw her cruise into a … a McDonald’s drive-through.’

  Celeste felt the air deflate out of her. ‘A Macca’s? That’s it?’

  He nodded vigorously. ‘Think about it. Macca’s don’t do veggie burgers and Natalia’s meant to be a vegetarian. But I saw her bite into a burger before she drove off.’

  ‘Well, I wouldn’t get too excited about it. I’m beginning to think she’s one of those “flexible dieters” — you know, allows herself a cheat day every now and then. Not that she’d tell the public. I also found a chocolate drawer in her home office. She’s probably stressed, too, with the upcoming launch and has fallen off the clean-living wagon a little. Stress does funny things to people.’

  ‘I suppose.’

  ‘So where’d she go after Macca’s?’

  ‘Well, that’s where I lost her …’

  Celeste sat back so fast, the leather squeaked. ‘You’re telling me you’re concerned about her visiting Macca’s and withdrawing money from an ATM, but you didn’t for one minute wonder about the blackmail note? Or about the old guy across the road saying she’s a crook?’

  ‘Well, her fainting episode the other day also seemed like the work of a good actor. Plus, remember, she lied to me about her whereabouts today.’ It was Lenny’s turn to lean forward. ‘I just want to make sure Natalia pays up after all the work my team has put into her project. My first progress payment’s almost due. I thought you might be concerned, too.’ He reached to touch the petal of a faux orchid plant on Celeste’s side table. ‘It’s like these flowers. Fakeries always make me wonder what else is false about a person.’

  Celeste jutted up her chin. ‘Some people think it’s mean to keep real plants inside.’

  Lenny looked as though he was about to issue another unkind remark, but suddenly he jumped. She followed his gaze to the cream rug. A pair of brilliant blue eyes were staring up at him. The creature must have slunk up and brushed against Lenny’s leg.

  Celeste couldn’t help grinning. ‘Did Custard scare you? It must be hanging around old houses, Lenny. It’s got you spooked.’

  It appeared that the tables had been turned and now Lenny was the paranoid one.

  The builder rose to his feet. ‘I’ll see you at work.’

  She didn’t follow him, but soon heard the front door shut. Good. She’d go straighten her hair and maybe listen to LoveLand’s ‘Sexy Time’ music later on, singing along if she wanted to. On second thoughts, she might put the radio back on right away. The house suddenly felt all too quiet.

  ‘Are you wearing pearls?’

  Celeste put her free hand up to her earlobe and stared back at Flip amid tidying Natalia’s bedroom the next day, their work nearly complete. Her other hand was clutching a business card for a local beauty salon she’d found on a wardrobe shelf. ‘Yes, well, not real ones.’

  ‘Thank the fashion gods for that. I almost thought you’d turned into a bona fide Astonvalean. And you’ve only been in the area all of two minutes. Next you’ll come to work wearing a puffer vest with the collar turned up and frosted pink lipstick.’

  Celeste decided not to fire back with a comment concerning Flip’s own mode of dress. Today a mini overall dress, which could well have fit a pre-schooler. ‘Haven’t I given you enough work to do, because I can find more if you like?’

  Flip scowled, turning back to the frock section she was rearranging. ‘I’m right.’

  Celeste returned her gaze to the business card in her hand, which seemed to be for an Asian-style salon with the odd name of Lucky Fingers. The therapist’s name was Kim-Ly Tan and she recognised the shopping centre in the address. It was a slightly shabby complex, which didn’t have much more than a chemist and a gluten-free store. Hey, it was still Astonvale, even if it was on the fringes.

  Still, Celeste would have expected Natalia to have some celebrity stylist on the main fashion strip on speed-dial. Perhaps Lucky Fingers was one of those tucked-away gems that only the well-connected knew about. Heading for the waterbed, Celeste added the card to her ‘miscellaneous’ pile. Her phone, on the cushioned linen trunk, buzzed with an incoming text. She reached for it. Celeste, ur hair has been sending me telepathic messages. Its desperate 4 a cut & clr. It wants 2 know when r u coming in?? A x

  Unbelievable. It was almost as though Araminta had sensed that Celeste had been handling a competitor’s card. Celeste rested the phone back on the trunk, delaying replying. Celeste had mortgage payments to make first. Araminta was just being fanatical.

  She returned to the walk-in robe and nodded at Flip. ‘All the maxi-dresses sorted?’

  ‘Yup.’ Flip pulled out a rainbow-striped dress near the far end. ‘All arranged in colour order. Like the frocks of a life-sized Barbie doll.’ She punctuated the comment with a loud crack of gum. Turquoise in hue, Celeste had the pleasure of observing.

  Celeste stood back, surveying the work. ‘Looks great. Means we’re nearly done in here. Hang on — what’s that box left up there?’

  Flip turned to look up at the same narrow, black box on a high-up shelf, all on its own, which Celeste had gestured at. ‘Dunno. I didn’t notice it before. I’ll grab it down.’ Trying to reach for it on her tippy-toes didn’t work, so Flip then opted for jumping, her fingertips clawing at the box’s edge to no avail.

  ‘Stop! I’ll get a chair,’ Celeste exclaimed. ‘It could be fragile.’

  But it was all too late. With one final wallop from Flip, the box tumbled down from the shelf — something small and black flying out bat-like mid-flight — before it landed on its lid, concealing the rest of the contents.

  Celeste turned to first look for the unidentified flying object on the zebra rug and immediately inhaled a sharp intake of breath. Even Flip stopped cracking her gum.

  It was … a gun.

  10.

  Celeste felt like she’d been staring at the gun for a full five minutes when Flip suddenly knelt on the rug.

  ‘Don’t touch it,’ Celeste hissed. ‘It could be loaded.’ The words coming from her mouth sounded like they were scripted in a movie, not her own.

  ‘If it was, it probably would have blown off our heads on the way down,’ Flip retorted, sounding all too cool, calm and collected considering the situation. Maybe one too many episodes of The Mentalist had desensitised the girl. Flip hadn’t finished. ‘Don’t you want to see what else is in the box? I mean, we’ve come this far and Natalia could have chosen a better hiding spot, seeing as she knew we were tidying up this room.’

  ‘I’m not really fussed with the rest of the box … and keep your voice down,’ Celeste insisted, thinking of Lenny’s visit last night and everything he’d said. And how she wouldn’t have minded his big, strong, protective frame being in the vicinity right then. Just for a little bit.

  ‘Well, I want to know.’ Flip reached for the box before she could stop herself. So Celeste squeezed her eyes tight shut instead. She heard Flip move the box on its base, a paper-like rustle, then a stretch of silence. Broken by laughter.

  ‘What’s so funny?’ Celeste demanded, finally opening one eye a crack.

  She found Flip waggling her eyebrows at her. ‘I think Natalia and her fiancé like it naughty.’ Her eyes were fully open as Flip held up, one by one, a black leather zip-front mini-dress, police cap, and silvery toy handcuffs. ‘The gun’s a fake. Goes with the rest of the sexy-cop outfit.’

  The thumping beneath Celeste’s sternum began to subside. Well, she had seen Natalia in the nuddy at their first meeting, so the guru was clearly confident in strutting her stuff — for an audience of one or more. ‘Okay, enough. Put it back. And please never speak of it again. It’s really none of our business.’

  Delving through clients’ personal belongings for a living, Celeste had
to expect to come across some items they’d rather remain hidden from public consumption. It was a hazard of the job. It was her duty to put such things back where they came from and try to blot their existence from her mind. Like Natalia’s chocolate drawer, which she’d already forgotten … sort of.

  Flip pressed the leather mini-dress to her frame, as though sizing it up, a gleam in her eye. ‘Reckon she’d mind if I borrowed it?’

  ‘Filippa Belmont, put it away. Now.’

  The brunette issued a pout to rival three-year-old Mariska. ‘You’re no fun.’

  While Flip was busy packing up the box again and returning it to the shelf, an idea began to form in Celeste’s mind. Prompted by Araminta’s text and Lenny’s evening visit. Just because Natalia’s private life was … okay … exactly that, didn’t mean Celeste couldn’t do a teeny bit of extra research on her client. Just to make sure she would get paid, as expected, and so she could get on with the job with a clear mind. More than anything she hated loose ends that couldn’t be tied up.

  Returning to the waterbed, Celeste swiped the Lucky Fingers card from the top of the miscellaneous pile. Over her shoulder, she told Flip, ‘Just got to make a quick call.’

  ‘Whatever’ was the return grunt from within the depths of the walk-in wardrobe. So, with her mind made up, Celeste slid out through the bedroom door into the hall. She was going to book in a visit with Kim-Ly Tan and pray the therapist had loose lips to rival her good friend, Araminta.

  Celeste paused outside the beauty salon Lucky Fingers’ window. She’d been fortunate to score an after-work appointment the same day. Just to get her nails done. Araminta’s salon had a backroom beautician on-site, but Celeste figured Araminta would have more of a pink fit if she cottoned onto Celeste having anything hair-related done.

  A sign taped on the salon window read Free underarms with any chin or lip laser treatment, which prompted Celeste to wonder what she’d do with her old pair. She tried to peer beyond the finger-marked glass and dusty, grey venetian blinds into the salon, but couldn’t see much beyond her own reflection. Which still shocked her.