Murder on the Menu

by Miranda Bliss

  Did I mention that Eve looked fabulous? I wasn’t the only one who noticed. When a photographer cruised by, she and the senator posed and smiled. I have to admit, when she first announced that they were dating, I’d been a little unsure about the Eve/Mercy combo. But Eve was as happy as I’d ever seen her. Things were apparently going well, and damn, but she and the senator looked good together! I was thrilled for her.

  Finished with the photo op, Eve pulled me into a brief hug before she reintroduced us to the senator and said, “I wondered if you two got lost.”

  “Not lost. Just…” I couldn’t help it. The atmosphere was so magical, I had to look around again. I breathed out the single word: “Overwhelmed!”

  Senator Mercy was enough of a politician not to point out how plebeian I was. Or maybe, like Eve insisted, he was just a nice guy. A waiter came by with a silver tray filled with champagne flutes, and he signaled to the man, took a glass for each of us, and passed them around. I reached for mine with my left hand and held it out so long, there was no way the senator could miss the bracelet.

  He didn’t miss a beat. “If there’s one thing my daughter-in-law, Lorraine, knows how to do,” the senator said, “it’s impress a crowd. As always, she’s thought of everything. Enough variety in the appetizers to appeal to the carnivores and the vegetarians, flowers that are beautiful but not heavily scented so as not to offend those who are easily put off by odors, even the color scheme.” He laughed. “In spite of what my colleagues on the other side of the aisle say, my head is not so swollen that I think Lorraine did it just for me, but it has worked out perfectly. For once, I don’t have to worry about complimenting a constituent on her aquamarine gown only to find out later that I got the color all wrong.” Still smiling, he raised his glass, and we all did, too, in tribute to Lorraine’s party-planning genius.

  “Of course, you both know that Lorraine has had a lot of help these last weeks.” Senator Mercy turned to Eve and smiled. They were still holding hands, and he tugged her closer. He raised his glass again. This time, to Eve. “She couldn’t have done it without you, honey.”

  Eve blushed. “Lorraine’s a dream to work with. And we’ve had such fun.”

  “Exactly what she’s been saying about you! She said your help today was invaluable.”

  Eve blushed. “It was nothing,” she said. “We’ve just been putting the finishing touches on the stage. You know, the vice president will be here early to speak, before dinner. We had to make sure everything was perfect before everyone arrived.”

  “Perfect it is!” More gushing would have sounded insincere, so I didn’t go on. “If you had anything to do with those flowers…” I looked over at the huge arrangements again. “They’re spectacular.”

  “Not only did she have something to do with them, she helped Lorraine decide where they should be placed and…” As if he were sharing a secret, the senator leaned nearer. “She’s going to walk the speakers out onto the stage.”

  “Like the Academy Awards!” Eve sparkled like the bubbles in our champagne glasses. “Isn’t it fabulous? Lorraine just asked a few minutes ago. Seems the model they’d hired to do it didn’t show and—”

  “And no model could be lovelier or more perfect for the job.” The senator gave her a peck on the cheek, and Eve giggled like a teenager. “You’re going to outshine the vice president, that’s for sure, honey. But maybe…” The senator chuckled. “Maybe not the next vice president, huh?”

  Fortunately, the discussion didn’t have a chance to melt into politics. A youngish man with a mustache who I remembered seeing at Sarah’s funeral luncheon came up and whispered in the senator’s ear. “You’ll have to excuse me.” Douglas Mercy stepped back. “The Dalai Lama wants a word.” He winked at me and hung on to Eve. “My money’s on the fact that he doesn’t want to talk to me as much as he wants to meet my dinner date.”

  They started to cross the room, but at the last second, Eve pulled away from the senator and hurried back over to where Jim and I stood.

  With a tip of her head, she indicated the table nearest the stage. From the engraved seating card we’d been handed when we walked in, I knew that’s where we’d be sitting. Eve bent her head closer. It should have been my first clue that something wasn’t on the up-and-up. Second clue? She whispered. “Check on Doc for me, will you? He’s—”

  “Here?” The word exploded out of me. My heart sprang into my throat, and my blood ran cold. “Eve, you can’t be serious. You didn’t—”

  “My dog walker is sick, and I couldn’t leave him home alone all night. I wouldn’t have had any fun thinking of him all by his lonesome. Plus, I wanted him to see how pretty everything was. I mean, I’ve been telling him about it for days, you know? The least I could do was show him.” She pouted. “I tucked him right underneath your chair at your table. And don’t worry, I got a new bag for him. It’s big and roomy, and there’s no way he’s going to jump out. He loves snuggling in there—I bought him a new blanket and a chew toy to keep him busy, too. Besides, he’ll only be here for a couple minutes. Micah, Doug’s driver, he’s going to take him. He had to pop into the kitchen first. Lorraine arranged for a dinner for him to take home. And, Annie, I remembered what you said. Both you and Jim.” She looked back and forth between us, automatically making us part of the conspiracy.

  “You two are the ones who told me that dogs don’t belong in kitchens, aren’t you?”

  We were indeed.

  Before either Jim or I could remind her dogs didn’t belong in ballrooms, either, Eve turned away.

  “Oh!” The senator was waiting twenty feet away, and she waved to him in a way that told him she’d be right there. She hurried back to my side. “There’s another thing, Annie. About Lorraine.” Eve looked all around to make sure no one was listening. “No way did she do it. You know. You-know-what to you-know-who.” She mouthed the name, “Sarah.”

  I was relieved. If there was no real reason for me to investigate, I could relax and enjoy the party.

  Except…

  I gave Eve a probing look. “And you know this how?” I asked her.

  She held up one finger to tell the senator she’d be right there. “She’s too nice,” she said and hurried away.

  “The soul of logic, as always,” Jim commented wryly. He glanced uncertainly toward our table. “Shall we—”

  I had already made up my mind. I whirled toward the door. “I’m out of here.”

  “You are not.” Jim held me firmly in place. “Just because she brought the dog—”

  “Who even as we speak could be out of that bag and munching on someone’s thousand-dollar wingtips.”

  “Then we really owe it to all these fine people to check on him, don’t we?”

  I surrendered with a sigh. “Now who’s the soul of logic?”

  He beamed a smile. “I’m learning from the best.”

  “Not Eve.”

  “Not Eve. You,” he said, and before I had a chance to even realize he was schmoozing me to get his way and that I was letting myself get schmoozed because Jim’s compliments always made me feel like I was on top of the world, he had me by the hand and was leading me toward our table.

  Dougy was already there. So was the big new bag Eve had told me about. In keeping with the theme of the party, it was a black and white leather tote studded with rhinestones, plenty big enough for Doc, his blanket, and his new chew toy. As promised, the bag was on the floor beneath my chair. At the same time I shook the senator’s son’s hand, I nudged the bag with my foot. The tiny yap that came from inside soothed my worries.

  “So…” With a look at Jim that told him to not let the bag out of his sight, I lowered myself onto the seat next to Dougy’s and, manners be damned, I propped one elbow on the table to make sure that my wrist—and the diamond bracelet on it—was easy to see. “How are you enjoying the event, Mr. Mercy?”

  As I’ve mentioned, our table was near the stage, and the flash of the spotlights that were trained on the clos
est humongous flower arrangement glittered off the diamonds like a million twinkling stars. It was a wonder Dougy wasn’t blinded.

  But just like with his father, if I expected some aha moment of recognition when he saw the bracelet, I didn’t get it. Squinting a little, Dougy adjusted his position, the better to keep his corneas from being fried. “My wife is a whiz when it comes to things like this. Imagine spearheading all this and running a successful clinic, too. She’s really something.”

  “She had help, of course.”

  Dougy thought I was somehow belittling Lorraine’s accomplishments. His shoulders went rigid, and he cocked his head. “Of course she had help. No one can pull off something like this alone. That would be impossible.”

  “Not what I meant.” It wasn’t, and I figured I’d better get back on track before I offended Dougy and he clammed up. “I know she’s the genius behind it all, and I’ll tell you what, I’m blown away. Eve’s been helping, you know. And every day, she’s got another story about Lorraine and her incredible ideas, and how she knows exactly who to go to to get things done. I was just thinking that a thing like this takes a team of workers and months of planning.”

  Dougy softened a bit. He nodded. “Sometimes years.”

  “And I was just wondering, you know, if Sarah ever helped.”

  This time, when Dougy narrowed his eyes, it wasn’t because of the glitter off the diamonds. I had the feeling he was trying to read my mind. “Why would you ask that?”

  I shrugged. Maybe the atmosphere went to my head. Maybe it made me think I was better than I was. A better detective. Maybe that’s what made me think I could lay my cards on the table. “No reason, really. But I know you and Sarah were going on a cruise together and—”

  Dougy pushed his chair back from the table and got to his feet. “It was nice to see you again, Miss Capshaw,” he said, and before I could scramble for the words to make him sit back down again, he was gone.

  “So much for that plan,” I told Jim.

  “At least Doc’s still here.” He pulled the bag between us, peeked inside just to be sure, and gave the dog a quick pat on the head. “And once dinner is over…” He looked across the room to where an orchestra was setting up and tuning their instruments. “You’ll dance with me?”

  I felt heat color my cheeks. Gliding across the floor in Jim’s arms sounded like heaven on earth. Just imagining it made me fizzy all over.

  Until I reminded myself that I wasn’t as much a glider as I was a stomper of feet.

  “Oh, I don’t know.” I twisted Doc’s collar on my wrist. “I’m not a very good dancer.”

  “But you’ll dance with me anyway.”

  It was no longer a question. “It’s so easy to do something wrong when you’re dancing,” I said, wondering why Jim didn’t understand this. “I’ll trip. I’ll fall. I’ll stomp. I’ll look ridiculous.”

  “And you’ll dance with me.”

  “I would, but—” My words washed back at me, and for the first time, I actually listened to what I was saying. They sounded a whole lot like every excuse Peter had ever used. Not for just not wanting to get out on the dance floor, but for not buying a house back when prices weren’t sky high, and for not starting a family, and for never thinking that I had talents for being anything but a bank teller.

  I reminded myself that I was a new woman. A woman who no longer lived with the flabby excuses of the past.

  I pulled in a breath for courage. “I’d love to dance with you,” I said. It was true. And terrifying. “Maybe in some dark corner where nobody can see us?”

  “Aye, if that’s what it takes.” Jim laughed. He skimmed his hand up my arm. In the reflected light of the stage spots, his hazel eyes were flecked with green. His hair, a rich mahogany color, was touched with auburn. Even if I tried, I couldn’t have resisted his invitation. And yes, I’ll admit it: I didn’t even try. Especially when he added, “And when we’re done dancing—”

  Well, I actually don’t know what he was going to add. Because before he had a chance to finish, I heard Lorraine Mercy call to me from over near the stage.

  It was the first time I’d seen her that evening, and I have to say, her outfit went right along with her image. She looked like a queen (and a little like a mermaid) in an off-the-shoulder black gown that hugged her hips and thighs and flared at the ankles. Ever practical, I wondered how she could move so quickly in a dress that tight.

  “Oh, Annie!” In a half waddle, half spring, Lorraine hurried over to where we sat. “I’m so glad I found you. Eve needs your help. Come on.”

  She tugged me out of my chair. Before I could ask what had happened and where we were headed, she hurried over to the exit doors on the far side of the ballroom. If I had any hope of catching up, I couldn’t afford to dawdle. I left Jim with a quick, “I’ll be right back” and a reminder to keep an eye on Doc. Then I went after Lorraine.

  Apparently, a lifetime of privilege and a trust fund big enough to fill the Capitol Rotunda had a way of instilling talents common mortals never even dream of. Even in stilettoes, Lorraine moved like the wind. I scampered to keep up, and big points for me, I only tripped a time or two.

  “What happened?” I asked as I closed in on her. I was breathless from the effort. “Where’s Eve and—”

  Lorraine didn’t take the time to answer. She punched through the doors and sped down a long hallway on the other side. This was the utilitarian part of the hotel. No fancy carpeting here, no paneled walls or oil paintings. The heels of my shoes slid against the linoleum. When Lorraine got to another set of doors, she waited for me to catch up.

  “Where is Eve?” I asked again. The sling back on my left shoe cut into my heel, and I was limping. I hoped my panty hose hadn’t run. “And why—”

  “Here.” Lorraine pushed open the door, and we stepped inside. It only took a moment for me to realize that we were backstage. “I tried to help her out, but she insists you’re the only one who can do it. We don’t have much time. The vice president is scheduled to arrive any minute. You’re going to have to take care of this, Annie.”

  “OK. I will. I just need to know—”

  There was a maze of pulleys and curtains and backdrops ahead of us. Lorraine maneuvered through it all while I brought up the rear. By now, I pictured every calamity imaginable, and as each presented itself inside my mind, my panic climbed and my heartbeat increased.

  Eve had fallen and broken a leg. Eve and the senator had quarreled, and she was inconsolable. Eve had an uncharacteristic case of stage fright. She’d gotten kidnapped. She was—

  “Stuck.” The moment I laid eyes on her, Eve shrugged and explained. She was standing just behind the curtain in the shadow of a huge flower arrangement that looked just like the ones in front of the curtain. From the other side of the curtain, I heard the hum of the party.

  Eve’s cheeks flamed with embarrassment. She put one hand on the skirt of her gown and gave it a delicate tug. “There must be a nail or something sticking out of the stage. I can’t move.”

  “And I’m relieved! Thank goodness that’s all it is. You scared me to death.” I turned toward Lorraine just so she’d know, but she was already gone.

  Eve shifted from foot to foot. “The Dalai Lama really did want to talk to Doug,” she explained. When she made a move to give the gown another tug, I waved her off and took over. I knelt at her side and peered down at the place where a hem stitch had caught against an exposed nail, wondering how I could unstick it without tearing the gossamer fabric.

  “So I figured I’d see if Lorraine needed any help, and she did. But honestly, Annie…” Eve squirmed to see me better. “I’ve been over this stage a dozen times this evening. Why did this have to happen now? It’s almost time for the vice president to get here. It’s nearly time for the curtain to go up. I hate to be responsible for delaying everything. You know how people are, they’ll find out, and they’ll know it was me, and somehow, Doug will get blamed. Politicians have to be so carefu
l. About everything.” She wrung her hands. “What if I’m responsible for him not getting the vice presidential nomination?”

  “That’s not going to happen,” I told her. I made sure to keep my voice level and my hands where she couldn’t see that they were shaking. “I’ll have you unstuck in a second. I’ve got my little traveling sewing kit in my purse, so if you need any fixing—”

  “I don’t have time for fixing!” Eve’s eyes filled with tears. “I don’t want to be responsible for Lorraine’s fund-raiser being a flop.”

  “You’re not. You won’t be. Don’t worry.” Like a burglar preparing to crack a safe, I scraped my thumbs over the tips of my fingers and got down, stomach to stage, for a closer look at the tangle of thread. “Just hold still,” I warned Eve. “You don’t want to make it any worse. And don’t worry about time. Nobody’s going to try to rush us. Nothing can get started while we’re still here.”

  It came down to that whole soul of logic thing again. All that sounded perfectly logical, didn’t it?

  That doesn’t explain why at that very moment, the curtain started to rise.

  Or that as it did, we heard a desperate yapping coming from one of the tables very close by.

  “Oh no!” Though I tried to stop her, I couldn’t move fast enough. Eve spun around to see what Doc was up to. Her dress ripped up the side.

  I chanced a look out at the ballroom and saw about a thousand people who couldn’t decide which was the biggest show: the two women looking like fools up on the stage, or the little dog that bounded out of Eve’s purse, yapping its head off.

  They didn’t have long to consider it.

  Before I even had the time to be mortified, I heard a bang that reverberated through the room like thunder and a thousand collective gasps.

  Right before one of those giant flower arrangements toppled off its perch. The last thing I saw was the big-as-a-Volkswagen metal bowl and a tumble of white flowers. Just as it all came right down on us.