“No,” he said quickly, moving toward the door. “In fact, I should be going—I have to meet someone.”
Penny smiled—one of the young women he’d left her shop with, no doubt. “Good night, Ziggy. I’ll call you when I have more truffles.”
He nodded absently, then glanced toward Liz and left abruptly.
Penny frowned after him and shook her head. The man was Mr. Macho until faced with the prospect of meeting a woman on his own level. She sipped from her glass and studied Liz and Wendy from across the room, warmth infusing her chest. At one time the three of them had been inseparable, sharing their dreams and aspirations. Yet they had fallen out of touch … grown apart … just like her and Deke. It was funny that she prided herself on having a green thumb, on being able to nurse any plant back to health, yet she allowed her personal relationships to wither on the vine.
Moisture gathered in her eyes. The alcohol was making her weepy.
But the energy level of the small party was definitely ratcheting higher as drinks flowed and a waitress brought in trays of greasy appetizers. Friends of friends arrived, some of whom Penny recognized as customers, and soon the room boomed with music and laughter. Penny made the rounds and tried to behave like a happy divorcée. Her mind kept straying to the mystery man who had crossed her path more than once today, but she reasoned that he had probably already hooked up with someone, or maybe he and Sheena had made up.
“Someone told me you were here.”
Penny had time to school her face into a pleasant mask before turning to face her ex-mother-in-law. Mona Black was a tall, imposing woman with piercing eyes and a pile of black hair on her head, divided by a shock of white in the front. She didn’t wear makeup, although admittedly she didn’t need it. She was an attractive woman in her sixties, her uniform a black pantsuit, her only ornament a small silver cross at her throat.
“Hello, Mona,” Penny said cheerfully. “Welcome to my divorce party. Can I get you a drink?”
Disgust filled the woman’s eyes. “A party? Don’t you have any class?”
“Too much for your son, apparently. Or haven’t you met your new future daughter-in-law?”
Mona’s jaw hardened. “What are you talking about?”
“Haven’t you heard? Deke and Sheena are engaged.”
Mona tried not to react, but Penny knew the woman had been taken by surprise.
Penny lifted her glass. “Congratulations, Mona. Maybe Sheena will give Deke those grandkids you’ve always wanted, and they’ll have a beautiful tan.”
Loathing glinted in Mona’s eyes before she recovered. “I didn’t come to discuss Deke. I wanted to warn you that the city council is going to file a restraining order to stop you from turning Mojo into a damn cornfield.”
Penny tensed as years of resentment toward the woman came to a head. “Really? Where was the restraining order, Mona, when Deke painted my house the color of a vagina?”
9
Then slice with a sharp object …
As luck would have it, her outburst coincided with a lull in the conversation. Gasps sounded, followed by giggles. The look of horrified indignance on Mona’s face was worth the transgression, Penny decided.
“You’re drunk,” Mona hissed, then nodded toward Diane Davidson. “I’ll leave you to your misfit friends.”
After Mona left, Penny was still reeling over her own behavior. Guy gave her a thumbs-up across the room. Liz and Wendy came over and gave her high fives.
“Well done,” Liz said. “Consider that bridge burned.”
“I can’t believe you said that to his mother,” Wendy said, laughing.
“It was false courage,” Penny admitted, then drained her glass. “But did it ever feel good.”
Pleased with herself, she went in search of another martini, feeling for the first time since she’d seen the bottoms of Sheena’s dirty feet on her white sheets that things were going to work out. That not only would she survive, but she just might thrive. She was stirring another drink when Marie came up to her. “Boss, I need to talk to you.”
“Oh, Marie, this is a great party. Thank you so much for putting it together. I wasn’t so sure at first, but I’m really enjoying myself.”
“Good.” Marie’s smile was tight as she pulled Penny into a secluded corner. “Listen, I just found out something that I thought you should know.”
“That Deke’s getting married? I already know.”
Marie frowned. “Deke’s getting married? No—this is different … but related, I suppose.”
Penny used her teeth to pluck an olive from the martini stirrer. “What?”
“Um … apparently Deke hid assets during the property settlement. He put some things in Sheena’s name and some in her company’s name. Cash … a boat … other things.”
Denial sprang to Penny’s chest that Deke would purposely cheat her, then she remembered the investments that had allegedly gone bad, how their savings had dwindled. The strange phone call she’d received at home before this had all started about a boat she’d known nothing about and that Deke had sworn was a mistake. Suddenly his tan and designer suits made sense. Anger and dismay rolled over her in waves. “Did Steve tell you this?”
Marie sent a worried glance his way. “Yes, but he’ll be fired if Deke finds out. I thought that maybe your attorney could do some research and keep Steve’s name out of it.”
Penny was struck mute, but she nodded. Would the betrayal ever end? Would she ever stop feeling stupid? Had her entire marriage been a sham? She felt light-headed. “I … need some air,” she said, then walked out of the room.
Not that the air out in the bar was clearer. A haze of smoke hung above the throng of bodies jammed into the space. The scent of blackened meat burned her nose. The music was loud, and voices were raised to near crescendo. The alcohol had keened her senses, but she felt numb from the stimulus overload. She turned away from the noise and walked down a hall in search of the ladies’ bathroom. Her neck felt sticky from perspiration, and her mind reeled as Marie’s words reverberated in her head.
Deke had plotted to cheat her out of assets they’d built together. Throughout the divorce, she had regarded him as weak when it had come to matters of the flesh, and stubborn when it had come to going after the assets he’d wanted, but she wouldn’t have dreamed he would stoop to this … to robbing her … to breaking the law. She felt so small and so … used.
At the end of the hall she spotted the line for the bathroom and opted to wait by the pay phones until the line died down. She needed space around her and time to think, to regroup. She’d call Gloria, of course, but just the thought of several more months of wrangling with Deke was enough to sicken her. Maybe she should have let him have the rental property and given up her business in exchange for cash … moved somewhere else and started over … nearer to her mother …
God, if she was thinking about her mother, she must be drunk.
Penny inhaled and exhaled, realized she was still holding her drink, and took a cooling sip. She leaned against the wall and wondered briefly if anyone would miss her if she didn’t return to the party … or if she left Mojo.
On the opposite wall, a white flyer among the dozens stapled and tacked into the wood paneling caught her attention.
MISSING:
Jodi Reynolds, age 17,
last seen in New Orleans, September 12.
In the color picture, the bespectacled woman looked bookish … ordinary. Only her curtain of long blond hair set her apart. Penny looked into the woman’s sad eyes and wondered if the person who had created the flyer was a concerned relative, or someone else—an abusive parent, an obsessed lover?
Penny leaned forward and murmured, “Did someone take you, Jodi Reynolds, or did you disappear on purpose?”
“Is this a private conversation, or can anyone join in?”
She swung her head around, and the mystery man was standing there, holding a bottle of beer. And he was still breathtakingly sexy … all
muscles and male, leather and Levi’s.
“I, uh …” Her brain was pickled.
He looked at the flyer she’d been studying. “Do you know her?” His smooth Cajun cadence was like a down pillow for her ears.
“No. I was just … wondering what might have happened to her.”
He took a drink from the bottle, still reading. “Looks like a good kid, I hope she’s found safe.”
“Or not.”
He arched one eyebrow. “You hope she isn’t found?”
Penny shrugged. “She’s seventeen. Maybe she doesn’t want to be found.”
He pursed his mouth. “Is that the voice of personal experience? Do you have secrets, Penny?”
Her mouth went dry as his gaze bored into hers. One minute in and he was already too close for comfort. “No,” she croaked.
“Ah. So it’s the cynicism of someone newly divorced.” He grinned and took another drink. “You left your own party?”
“I just stepped out for a few minutes.”
“I’m ready to leave, too. So why don’t we leave together?”
She blinked, wondering if she’d misheard him, but the sexy glint in his eyes and the curve of his mouth was unmistakable—he wanted to get busy … with her. A tug on her midsection answered his call, and her breasts tingled, but her good-girl training kicked in. “I don’t even know your name.”
“It’s B.J.,” he said. “And don’t worry—I’m not a serial killer.”
She smirked. “I’ll bet that’s what all the serial killers say.”
He laughed, a pleasant noise that stroked her curiosity. “I promise that as long as you’re with me, nothing will ever happen to you … that you don’t want to happen.”
She swallowed hard. Strangely, she believed him, trusted him … with her body anyway.
He leaned forward. “You smell good.”
“Thanks … it’s, um, almond oil.”
“Really? Smells like doughnuts.”
She pushed her tongue into her cheek. She had to find a new place to live.
He grinned. “I love doughnuts.”
“I don’t,” she said firmly, and started to push away from the wall.
“Hey,” he said with a little laugh. “Relax. What do you like?”
She lifted her chin. “Tofu.”
“Tofu?” He made a rueful noise. “Lady, I’d sure like to try to change your idea of fun.”
She couldn’t help but laugh at his Cajun masochism. The man was appealing in a base sort of way.
He nodded toward the exit. “So how about it, Penny? Let me take your mind off … whatever.”
Penny started to shake her head no, but something took hold inside her chest that she recognized as power. Feminine satisfaction swelled in her belly, and her thighs pulsed with pleasure. It had been a long time since she’d been pursued by a man. It had been over a decade since she’d even seen a man other than Deke naked, and she suspected that B.J. here would measure up … and then some. Besides, if she were very clever, maybe she’d find out something about Sheena that would help her to apply pressure when she took Deke back to court.
She wet her lips, testing the words silently. “Okay … let’s go … your place or mine?” She tried desperately to remember what kind of underwear she’d worn—black lace bikini, or full coverage cotton?
“Penny!”
Down the hall Marie motioned to her and shouted, “Come on—it’s time to open the gag gifts!” then disappeared back into the room.
Penny straightened, remorse and … relief? … bleeding through her. “I guess I’d better get back to my party.”
He tore a corner off a faded flyer and wrote something on it using a pen that was attached to the wall. “I have to take off,” he said, extending the paper. “But here’s my cell number. Why don’t you call me when you’re finished here and we’ll … see what happens.”
Penny took the piece of paper but decided not to commit. He didn’t press her for an answer, just inclined his head and left. She shoved the slip of paper deep into her pocket and watched him disappear into the crowd. He didn’t act like a player—he wasn’t scouting the bar for another score, and he didn’t have an entourage. She made her way back to the party, her heart thudding with apprehension.
Everyone was in high spirits when she returned, although she spotted Liz checking her watch a couple of times and felt guilty; her friend had probably traded a night of sophisticated entertainment to come to Mojo and have watered-down drinks at a hole-in-the-wall bar. Wendy looked equally out of place, stabbing at her glasses and checking her cell phone. Guy, too, looked restless, and Diane Davidson appeared ready to bolt at the first chance. Determined to put everyone out of their misery, Penny went to the gift table and clinked a fork against her glass to get everyone’s attention. Guy turned down the music.
Penny inhaled and cleared her throat. “Thank you so much for coming tonight and thanks to Marie for putting this together.” The alcohol was pumping through her body, unhindered by food. As she looked over the motley crew that had assembled on her behalf, she suddenly felt sorry for herself, and for them for being dragged into her personal drama. Unbidden, revulsion for Deke and what he had put her through welled in her chest. Tension whipped through the room as everyone waited. Marie pressed her lips together and averted her gaze.
In a desperate attempt to ward off tears, Penny decided to play the sarcasm card. “Most of you know the circumstances of my divorce. For those of you who don’t—my husband was a lying, cheating, son of a bitch.”
Everyone erupted in laughter, relieving the tension in the room and thankfully, in her chest. “But I got the last laugh because he has to live in a pink house and I got all these presents!”
Marie handed her a gift bag. “I asked everyone to keep the gifts anonymous.”
“Ooh, mysterious.” She pulled out a box of condoms, and cheers broke out. A flush warmed her face, and B.J.’s number seemed to burn through her clothing into her skin.
Subsequent bags and boxes revealed a ball cap and T-shirt that espoused the virtues of divorce, a roll of ex-husband toilet paper (Guy’s gift, she suspected), a bottle of champagne that was speedily opened, an inflatable husband (from Liz and Wendy?), a couple of Happy Divorce chocolate bars (although she hadn’t eaten chocolate in over a year), a charm kit to bury the past (probably from Hazel), and a vibrator (definitely from Marie).
The last box, however, got the biggest laugh—an eight-inch voodoo doll dressed in a little suit. A red Hot Wheels sports car had been glued to his hand. Penny shrieked with laughter at the likeness to Deke.
“Stick him!” someone shouted, then everyone started chanting, “Stick him! Stick him!”
Caught up in the moment, she removed one of the black hat pins and considered sticking the doll in the crotch. At the last second, she settled for stabbing his cheating heart, to the sound of enthusiastic cheers. The force dislodged the little car from his hand, sending it crashing to the floor, crumpling the front end. Groans and chortles chorused around the room, then everyone applauded heartily.
“A prick for a prick!” Liz shouted.
Penny took a little bow, flushed with the exhilaration of retaliation—even if it was meaningless. Then unbidden, Jules’s words of warning came back to her about voodoo not being for amateurs. Staring down at the mortally wounded doll, Penny experienced a blip of panic: She didn’t truly wish Deke harm.
Although she wouldn’t lose sleep if the thieving bastard came down with his own bad case of heartache.
10
Allow everything to ferment …
“I can’t thank you enough for coming,” Penny said, hugging Liz, then Wendy. They had stayed behind for farewell drinks. Everyone else had left Caskey’s in various stages of inebriation and celebration to enjoy the festival that was still going strong. “It was wonderful to see you both.”
“I wish we could stay longer,” Wendy said, “but I have to be back tomorrow to get ready for a show. Maybe
we can all get together during the holidays.”
“Liz, we can have lunch,” Penny said, “when I come to the city to see Gloria Dalton. I invited her to come tonight, but she said she had a commitment.”
Liz lifted her hands. “I’ve tried to get to know Gloria, but she’s so private. I’ve heard that her house is like a fortress.” Then she scowled. “I can’t believe that on top of everything else, Deke hid assets during the divorce.” She nodded to Penny’s bag of gag gifts. “You should have torn the head off of that voodoo doll!”
At Liz’s vicious tone, Penny laughed nervously. “Were you the one who brought it?”
“No, but it was brilliant. That man deserves to be taught a lesson.”
Wendy nodded fervently. “He can’t get away with this.”
Touched that her friends were so angry on her behalf, Penny set her jaw. She was definitely going to call B.J. and begin laying her plan of attack against Deke and Sheena. (Lay being the operative word.) “Don’t worry—I have plans for Deke. He’s going to regret screwing me over.” She stood and grabbed the table to steady herself.
Liz frowned. “Are you sure you’re okay to walk home? Maybe you should get some coffee first?”
“No, I’m just across the square,” Penny said, then inhaled deeply before turning toward the exit. “I’ll be fine.” Besides, if she sobered up, she might not make that phone call.
“You’re going to feel like hell tomorrow,” Wendy said.
Penny winced and put her hand to her head. “I think I will go to the ladies’ room before I leave.”
“Want us to wait?” Wendy asked.
“No, go ahead. Drive safely.”
They embraced again, then the women left the bar. Penny watched them, her chest squeezing with fondness. But as she watched, Liz wheeled on Wendy and said something sharp, her expression angry, her finger accusing. Wendy seemed to shrink under the verbal attack before responding. Then Wendy strode ahead, her body language jerky. Liz glared after her before following.
Penny frowned at the exchange, wondering what they were arguing about—Wendy’s mystery friend? Penny’s predicament? Liz’s ability to drive home? Then Penny dismissed it; the two women had always bickered when they’d all hung out, but they’d somehow managed to stay friends.
In Deep Voodoo Page 8
