Pre-Meditated Murder

by Tracy Weber

  Infant Gratification was Rene’s new infant accessory business. She’d dreamt up the idea during her hospitalization for preterm labor. Two months of bed rest later, she’d launched the company on Facebook. Her pacifier purses and quilted infant stilettos had become overnight sensations. Sam, who owned a successful software company, had played no small part in the business’s success. Between Sam’s computer savvy and Rene’s creativity, they were well on their way to amassing their second personal fortune.

  As for taking a much-needed family vacation? We both knew she was lying. Rene and Sam were small business owners and the parents of twin infants. They needed sleep much more than a road trip. They had come solely to provide me emotional support. Reason number 537 why I loved my two best friends so much.

  A huge smile lit up Rene’s face. “Pull into the driveway. We’re here.”

  My jaw dropped open. “Here?” She couldn’t be serious. Rene wasn’t known for understated frugality, but this level of opulence was over the top, even for her.

  The modern, two-story home could have been the love child of an architect and an environmentalist—if one of them was a multimillionaire. Rectangular lines, oceanfront windows, deep brown siding. All offset by huge solar panels, rainwater collection barrels, and an emerald green, plant-covered eco roof.

  I turned off the ignition and gaped. “Wow.”

  Rene’s eyes sparkled. “I thought you’d be surprised.”

  “Surprised” didn’t come close to my true reaction. I was horrified. Not at the house, which was beyond gorgeous. Not at the three-car garage, which was bigger than the ground floor of my tiny Ballard bungalow. Certainly not at the grounds, which were covered in deep green ivy, fragrant evergreen trees, and fall-blooming rhododendrons.

  What horrified me was the small fortune Rene must be paying to rent it. When she’d offered to find a rental in which we could stay with the dogs, I’d assumed we’d end up in a cheap rundown cabin or a non-view room in a failing hotel. Who else in their right mind would rent to a party with two infants, two puppies, and a one-hundred-pound monster-dog? As usual, I’d underestimated my friend’s resourcefulness.

  Rene opened her car door and gestured for me to follow her. “The boys can deal with the twins. I’m starving. Let’s go inside and check out the kitchen!”

  I knew better than to get between Rene and her afternoon snack, so I clipped Bella’s leash to her collar and tried to hold on. Bella dove out of the back seat and pulled toward the house like Rene charging the double glass doors at the Nordstrom Half Yearly Sale. She paused long enough to anoint the ground next to Sam’s foot, clearly reminding him that she was still alpha. Sam’s blond mustache twitched, but he didn’t comment.

  “Sam … this place … it’s too …”

  He waved off the end of my sentence. “Don’t talk to me. This whole thing is Rene’s doing.” His head disappeared inside the Volvo, where he wrestled with Amelia’s car seat.

  Michael looked as shocked as I felt, but like Sam, he didn’t say much. He was too busy trying to leash a squirming black labradoodle puppy while its golden littermate chewed on his arm. “Ouch! Ricky, settle down! Lucy! Keep your teeth in your mouth! My arm is not food!”

  Rene yelled from the front door, “Kate, get in here!”

  She didn’t have to ask Bella twice. Bella lunged towards Rene’s voice, practically dislocating my shoulder. I slipped and slid and tried to hold on as she dragged me through the front door and down the long bamboo hallway.

  Rene laughed and reached toward Bella’s collar. “For goodness sake, Kate. Let her loose.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good id—”

  The metallic clank of the leash’s clasp hitting bamboo interrupted my sentence. One hundred pounds of pure German shepherd bliss galloped down the hallway, leaving me in a horrified silence punctuated only by the scrape of German shepherd toenails against flooring. Not a single room escaped Bella’s inspection. A long drink from the guest bathroom toilet, a dig in the family room’s rug, and a joy-filled roll on a bedroom’s queen-sized mattress later, Bella flopped on the deep red couch across from the living room’s stone fireplace. A storm of silky black undercoat snowed down on the fabric around her.

  Shedding season. Fabulous.

  Bella tracked my movements, ears pricked forward at full attention. A German shepherd master, supervising her slave. I reached out my arms and swiveled in a complete circle, fully taking in the gorgeous space.

  Floor-to-ceiling windows showcased a huge deck that looked out over the ocean and provided a stunning view of Cannon Beach’s iconic Haystack Rock. Shiny bamboo floors were covered by vibrantly patterned Oriental rugs, and an eight-person dining table bisected the open area between the living room and the kitchen. Black granite countertops nestled between a Viking oven and the stainless steel Sub-Zero refrigerator that Rene was currently scouring for snacks. A curved staircase with a driftwood railing led upstairs to what I assumed were additional bedrooms and bathrooms. I felt an odd combination of awe and sadness.

  The home’s opulent furnishings inspired the awe. The sadness was that I wouldn’t be sharing them with Michael. Until our relationship was on firmer ground, Michael planned to stay with his sister, Shannon, who lived in Manzanita, a tiny town fourteen miles south.

  Rene plopped a container of hummus on the counter and dragged a burnt orange tortilla chip through it.

  “You’re eating other people’s food now?” I asked.

  “Nope. This is all ours. I had the rental agent stock the fridge with some bare essentials. I even had them stock tofu and fake meats for you.” She tossed me a can of Diet Coke. “Catch.”

  I paused before opening it. “Rene, I’m beyond grateful, but I can’t let you and Sam pay for all of this. It’s too much.”

  “Pfft.” She waved her hand through the air. “It’s nothing.”

  I glanced up the stairway, mentally counting rooms. “How many people does this place sleep? Twenty?”

  “Not that many. It only has five bedrooms and six bathrooms.”

  “Only?”

  “It’s a little bigger than we needed, but believe me, when Alice and Amelia start fussing at three in the morning, you’ll be grateful for a bedroom or two of sound buffer. Besides, we’ll need at least one of the bedrooms to corral the pups.”

  “But it must have cost a fortune!”

  Rene shrugged. “You paid for the cabin on Orcas Island.”

  “A one-bedroom cabin with a saggy pullout couch hardly compares. Besides, I didn’t pay for that cabin. Housing was included in my teaching contract.”

  “You still provided the lodgings. It’s my turn this time. Besides, I can afford it.”

  Rene wasn’t lying. Sam’s uber-successful software company had expanded so rapidly that it would likely go public. I had no idea how much money he made, and honestly, I didn’t want to. But I had a feeling he could buy this house and a dozen or so like it. I felt guilty for not paying at least a token amount, but when I’d initially offered, Rene wouldn’t accept it. She’d insisted that any extra money Michael and I had should go toward his divorce settlement. I gave up arguing, for now. I’d find some way to pay them back later. Like babysitting the twins until they graduated from college.

  “Please tell Sam thank you for me.”

  Rene gaped at me in pretend indignation. “Sam? Honey, this trip’s on me. I’m not simply the world’s best wife anymore. I’m a successful businesswoman. I’m paying for this little trip out of my quarterly profits.”

  “Infant Gratification is profitable already?”

  Rene beamed. “First quarter sales have been through the roof. When I started the business, Sam claimed we’d be lucky if we broke even the first year. Well, I showed him. We made a huge profit—and in the first quarter.”

  I bit back some unattractive (and ill-placed) envy. No doubt
about it, Rene and Sam deserved every ounce of success that their businesses enjoyed. They both worked their butts off.

  Then again, so did Michael and I.

  Rene’s profits purchased new cars and rented vacation houses. On a good month, mine purchased a single bag of kibble and a dozen or so unscented candles. If I hadn’t loved Rene and Sam so much, I would have been forced to hate them.

  Rene kept talking. “You’d be shocked at what people will pay for baby baubles. Wait until you see my jewelry line this fall. Infant Gratification is going to be the Tiffany’s of the toddler crowd. Eighteen-karat baby ankle bracelets, teeny tiny toe rings. I’ve even been working on edible faux diamond earrings that will be safe if the baby swallows them.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Mock me all you want,” Rene said. “Baby accessories are a heck of a lot more profitable than yoga classes.”

  I couldn’t argue with that.

  “I know this place is a little over the top,” Rene continued, “but it wasn’t easy to find a place that would take three dogs this close to the Sandcastle Festival. We had two choices: this house or a one-star roach motel in Seaside that was about to be shut down by the health department. Wait until you see the fenced yard. Ricky and Lucy will be in heaven.”

  The Cannon Beach Sandcastle Festival was the region’s largest annual event, and the associated sandcastle-building contest drew artists from all over the nation. The sleepy coastal town of seventeen hundred residents would host almost ten thousand tourists the coming weekend, many of whom had driven hundreds of miles for the festivities. Rene was right: finding any available rental, much less one this amazing, was nothing short of a coup.

  I glanced over at my German shedder, who had rolled on her back, burrowed her head into the couch, and was now waving her feet in the air. “I can’t believe a place this nice allows pets.”

  Rene glanced down at her fingers. “Well, I may have had to beg a little and put down a few thousand as a damage deposit, but I’ll get that back. Bella’s well behaved.” She glanced at the couch, which was now permanently impregnated with dog hair. “You brought a lint roller, right?” She ignored my silence. “And how much damage can little Ricky and Lucy do?”

  I remembered the two weeks the tiny labradoodles had terrorized my house. Uprooted plants, a million potty accidents, and a sofa’s worth of destroyed cushions. I gave Rene a droll look.

  She chewed on her bottom lip. “On second thought, maybe we should keep Ricky and Lucy in their playpen.”

  Rene and I wandered upstairs. In addition to the guest bedroom on the main floor, there were two master bedrooms and two smaller ones, either of which would be perfect for the twins. Rene paused for a moment outside the second master bedroom, as if carefully choosing her words. She didn’t make eye contact. “I was thinking …”

  Always a bad sign.

  “We have so much space here. It’s a shame that Michael has to stay with his sister. I get that you don’t want to live together right now, but if he stayed here, he could have his own room.” She gestured at the stairwell. “You could each have your own floor, for that matter.” She smiled. “If Michael tries to get frisky, we can put him in charge of the twins’ diaper changes.”

  “Don’t push it, Rene.” I smiled to take the sting out of my reprimand. “If Michael stayed here, we’d end up in the same room, then sleeping in the same bed.” Rene didn’t argue. “Before the first night was over, we’d either fight or have sex. Probably both. Neither would be helpful right now.”

  Sam’s grumpy voice yelled from the entryway. “Do you two plan to help, or are you going to stand there and watch while Michael and I do all the work?”

  “The latter,” Rene quipped.

  Sam cradled Amelia over his chest in a front baby carrier. Alice squirmed in a similar contraption on his back. He held a heavy-looking suitcase in his right hand and two carry-on bags in his left. Michael staggered through the doorway behind him, trying to control two play-attacking puppies who were determined to murder his shoelaces. He pulled an extra-large wheeled suitcase beside him.

  “Geez, Sam,” I said. “You two didn’t have to bring everything inside at once.”

  “Everything?” Sam grumped. “I wish. Most of our stuff is still in the SUV. This is all Rene’s.” He dropped the bags heavily on the floor and tried to help Michael pry two mouths’ worth of puppy teeth off his tennis shoes. I grabbed the suitcase from Michael. My fingertips accidentally brushed the back of his hand, creating a not unpleasant tingle deep in my belly. The sensation was so familiar, so comforting, that I almost relented and asked Michael to stay with us.

  Almost.

  Another trip netted the rest of the bags, along with three extra-large diaper bags full of baby supplies. I was unpacking Bella’s preground, premedicated food when the bleep of a car horn startled me.

  four

  Michael’s face brightened. “That’s Shannon.”

  Bella gave me a look that clearly said, Don’t worry, I’m on it. She charged the door, performing her most ferocious guard dog impression. The puppies scampered behind her, but Sam snatched them off the ground and awkwardly carried Ricky, Lucy, and the twins upstairs, causing all four to yelp in indignation.

  I grabbed Bella’s collar and dragged her to a bathroom while Michael went outside to greet his sister. By the time Rene and I reached the doorway, Michael was admiring a bright orange Mini Cooper. He hugged the five-foot blonde pixie standing next to it, took a step back, and appraised her at arm’s length. “You look fantastic!”

  He wasn’t exaggerating. Even at the age of thirty-six, Shannon was perpetually cute, with bright blue eyes and a lopsided grin that telegraphed the phrase Here comes trouble. Her stylish new haircut bumped her appearance to a whole new level, however. The multi-layer pixie cut was streaked with warm caramel lowlights. Flirtatious, professional, and playful all in the same package.

  She ran her fingers across her scalp. “Thanks. I got a new cut and color for the occasion. It’s not every day that my baby brother comes to visit.” She winked. “Even if he only came to see me so I could get him out of trouble. I hate to say it, but …”

  “I know, I know.” Michael made finger quotes: “You told me so.” He glanced my direction, then turned back to his sister. “You still like me though, right?”

  “I don’t just like you, Baby Brother. I love you.” She flashed me an impish grin. “Don’t worry, I’ll charm Kate for you, too.”

  My smile back to her was forced. I’d met Shannon a few months earlier when she’d visited Michael in Seattle. I liked her—a lot—and I knew her intentions were good. But friendly sister or not, Michael would have to work himself back into my good graces.

  He now pointed at the shiny orange vehicle. “The hairstyle isn’t the only thing new.”

  Shannon grinned. “I’m supposedly a successful real estate professional. I figured it was time I looked the part. I haven’t sold the Chevy yet. You’re not in the market for a beater car by any chance, are you?”

  Rene pointed at my Honda and yelled, “They’ve already got one of those. Quit standing around out there and come inside.”

  Shannon broke away from Michael, jogged up the stairs, and wrapped Rene in a huge hug. “You must be Rene! It’s nice to finally meet you in person!” The two women swayed back and forth like old friends reuniting after a long separation. They seemed unusually chummy for two strangers, but I didn’t think much about it. I’d told my best friend all about Michael’s sister. Michael, undoubtedly, had told Shannon about Rene. I was delighted that the two women seemed to like each other.

  While Shannon and Rene finished introducing themselves, I released Bella from the bathroom. “Bella, say hello,” I commanded. As trained, Bella went into a perfect sit in front of Shannon and offered her paw.

  Shannon gave it a firm shake and kneeled down for a kiss. “
Good to see you again, Bella Baby,” she cooed.

  After Sam brought the twins back downstairs and Shannon made the requisite oohs and aahs, Michael glanced at his watch. “If we’re going to make it to dinner before all the meatballs are taken, we’d better get going now.”

  The spaghetti dinner held the Tuesday before the Sandcastle Festival was a Cannon Beach tradition. According to Michael, it was a huge, crowded party at which the locals kicked back, drank significantly too much alcohol, and celebrated their survival of another summer before the tourists invaded for the weekend. He was confident that Gabriella would make an appearance. I didn’t think confronting her in a crowded location was the wisest plan, but Michael insisted, claiming that if she saw him in public, she’d be forced to talk to him.

  I wasn’t in the mood for an evening of socializing with strangers, but I wanted to spend time with Shannon, and a crowded venue might prevent her from asking me questions that I wasn’t prepared to answer. Besides, an embarrassingly jealous part of me didn’t want Michael to see his hopefully soon-to-be-ex wife without me.

  Rene and Sam opted to stay behind with the twins to relax, unpack, and unwind. The Cannon Beach Activity Center (or C-BAC, as the locals called it) was on the way to Shannon’s house, so Michael and his suitcase rode in the Mini Cooper with Shannon while Bella and I followed behind in my Honda. I’d considered leaving Bella at the rental house, but she needed a break from the puppies. My adult dog could only tolerate short bursts of Lucy and Ricky’s frenetic energy before her normal crankiness turned into a full-blown flare of her chronic digestive disease, Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency. Her mental and physical health would both benefit from a few hours of alone time.

  Michael and Shannon pulled into C-BAC’s main parking lot. I kept driving to a shady side street a block away. In spite of the cool September weather, Bella would appreciate both the shade and the street’s relative seclusion. I parked under a huge evergreen, unrolled the windows a couple of inches, filled Bella’s water bowl, and pushed the driver’s seat forward.