Laina Turner - Presley Thurman 08 - Vows & Victims

by Laina Turner

  “I smell cinnamon rolls.”

  “They’ll be coming out of the oven in a few minutes,” my mother said.

  My mom’s homemade cinnamon rolls totally made this craft soiree worth it, although it would make my dress that much tighter. I had to stick to salad the next few days. After a cinnamon roll or two, of course.

  We worked, ate, and drank for about an hour. It was actually fun. Then my mom turned to Katy’s mom and said, “Sheila, if we’re going to be on time for the ladies’ circle, we need to get a move on.”

  “OK, I’m just about finished with the one I’m working on.”

  My mom got up from her seat and started packing up the leftover cinnamon rolls.

  “Hey! What are you doing?” I protested, as I had my eye on one more.

  “You’ve already had two, and didn’t you say you had a dress to fit into?”

  “So?”

  “Here, I’ll leave one. Katy, how about you? You want another one?”

  “No, Mrs. Thurman, I’ve got to have some self–control or I won’t fit in my dress, either.”

  “Mom, maybe you should leave Katy one just in case she changes her mind.”

  “Ha! Nice try, sweetheart.” Our mothers and the tasty cinnamon rolls soon left.

  Katy and I were finishing up the last few centerpieces when she asked me about what Tobey and I had found out the previous day. “Did you actually find some of the people she worked with in Clermont?”

  “Yeah. Get this. Bethany was running an escort service.”

  Katy’s jaw dropped. “Shut the front door. You’re joking!”

  I shook my head. “No, I wish I were. Tobey and I were just as shocked as you are now.”

  “It’s hard to imagine something like that happening in such a small town.”

  “That’s exactly what we said. But it’s for sure. We talked to one of her ‘girls’ who was very open about everything.” Too open I thought, feeling guilty over the information I had and wasn’t telling her.

  “Do you think that’s what got her killed?”

  “I don’t know, but Rachel, the woman we talked to, said there were a few wives of customers who weren’t fans of Bethany’s. Tobey was going to try and track them down and we were going to go talk to them.”

  “Wow. Such sordid happenings in our little town.”

  “Just shows that everyone has secrets.” And I really hated keeping this one about Chris from her.

  We were cleaning up the leftover supplies and packing the centerpieces in boxes when there was a knock at the front door.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  Chapter 12

  What are you doing here?” I asked Tobey as I answered the front door expecting the mailman or something, and instead he was standing there.

  “I need to talk to you!” he said, stepping in the foyer.

  “Katy’s here,” I said in a loud whisper.

  “Crap. Her car’s not here, I didn’t know.”

  “Her mother took it. She went to some ladies’ thing with my mom and I said I would take Katy home.”

  “Can you leave? Meet me somewhere?”

  “No. We’re doing wedding stuff. I can’t just leave Katy without a car at my house. There’s no excuse I can think of that would make any sense.”

  “Well then, listen, I’ll be quick. I talked to Chris briefly, and he said he could explain but wanted to meet with us face–to–face.”

  “Explain what?” Katy said from behind me. I hadn’t heard her come in the room and clearly Tobey hadn’t either. This wasn’t going to be good.

  Tobey and I just looked at each other.

  “Explain what! Tell me what it is Chris needs to explain to you two.”

  “Katy,” I said, hesitantly as there was no good way to say this.

  “What did he do?” Katy demanded, voice rising as I assumed she could tell by my hesitation and the looks on our faces there was something we didn’t want to tell her. She knew us too well.

  “Katy, I’m sorry, but the girl we talked to knew Chris,” I said.

  “What do you mean knew Chris?”

  “She knew Chris because he’s a client.”

  “Oh God,” she said, face turning pale. “As in was a client or is a client?”

  “Katy, I’m sorry,” I said, not knowing how to say the words. But Katy knew what my not saying meant.

  She started crying. “She told you he still is a client, didn’t she?”

  I looked at her and nodded. “Katy, I’m so sorry.”

  “Presley, can you take me home?” she said abruptly.

  “Sure. Let me just finish packing up the stuff.”

  “Leave it. I mean, get it off your mom’s table, but you can throw it away for all I care. There certainly won’t be a wedding.”

  “OK. Let me get my keys.” I made it back to the front door before she did and Tobey was still standing there.

  “Do you think she’s going to be OK?” he asked.

  “No, would you be?”

  “Take care of her and call me later.”

  “I will.”

  He left and Katy came back with her purse, ready to leave. I could see how upset she was and I felt so bad.

  We walked out to the car, got in and drove in silence to Katy’s house. I wanted to say something, but I didn’t know what the right thing to say was.

  I pulled up to her house and shut the car off. I started to get out when Katy stopped me. “Presley, I just want to be alone.”

  “Katy, are you sure? We don’t have to talk or anything. I can just sit with you.”

  “I appreciate it, but I just really want to be by myself. I’ll call you later.”

  I didn’t want to leave her alone, but I also wanted to do whatever she wanted me to. I could kill Chris right now for doing this to her. Again! Though this time it was much, much worse, considering they were about to get married. And Katy, Tobey, and even I began to believe he had changed his ways and was finally committed to Katy.

  “OK. If you promise you’ll at least check in with me in a couple hours or I’ll worry about you.”

  “I will. I just need some time.”

  I watched her walk into the house and then backed out of her driveway.

  I started heading to town. I didn’t want to go back home. I felt like I needed to do something. I just didn’t know what. I called Tobey.

  “Hey,” I said when he answered. “I just dropped Katy off. She didn’t want me to stay, so I thought maybe we could meet and you could finish telling me what you came to the house to tell me.”

  “Is she OK?”

  “No. I didn’t want to leave her alone, but she didn’t want me around.”

  “Meet me at Betty’s. I’ll leave now.”

  “Sounds good.” Betty’s was going to be another challenge to my will power. She had great coffee but also had the absolute best muffins ever made. I wasn’t even hungry after my mom’s cinnamon rolls and I was already drooling at the thought of one of Betty’s peach cream cheese muffins. Though at this point, there probably wasn’t a bridesmaid dress I needed to fit into.

  When I got there, Tobey already had us a table with hot coffee so I was able to sit right down, therefore bypassing the line by the pastry case and tempting me less, however, the smell was absolutely amazing in here.

  “I feel bad that she overheard me,” he said. “I feel like this is all my fault.”

  “Tobey, it’s not at all your fault. It’s Chris’s fault, and she was going to find out anyway. Besides, there isn’t any good timing for something like this.”

  “I suppose you’re right. I just want to kill my brother.”

  “Me, too. So what did he have to say for himself?”

  “He didn’t really say anything. He said it wasn’t what it looked like, and that he could explain.”

  “What is there to explain? You think he means Rachel was lying?”

  “I have no idea what he means. He told me he didn’t have time to talk
and would explain later. I sent him a text when I left your house that Katy knew, but I haven’t heard back. Honestly, I’m just disgusted and disappointed with him.”

  “Me, too, but I guess that’s really between him and Katy. Should we go ahead and track down the two unhappy wives? They could both be potential murderers.”

  “Already on that. I have their addresses right here,” Tobey said.

  “Then what are we waiting for?”

  I sent Katy a text asking if she was OK, and she responded that she was fine. I was sure that was a lie, but I wasn’t going to hound her.

  “Where are we going first?” I asked.

  “Diane Abbott is the farthest away, and we can then hit Trish on the way back.”

  We were driving, both sitting in silence, me thinking about Katy, and while I had no idea what Tobey was thinking about, I was sure it probably had something to do with the idiot brother of his. I wasn’t paying attention to any of my surroundings when Tobey spoke, startling me.

  “Look out your side mirror. That car has been following us for a while now.”

  I looked and immediately recognized it. It was the same car I had seen Dirt getting in. ”Uh, Tobey, I think that’s Dirt’s car. At least, it’s the one he was getting into when I saw him.”

  “Really? I wonder how he knows it’s us?”

  “Don’t be silly, Tobey. There aren’t all that many yellow Mercedes like yours around here.”

  “Good point. What should we do?”

  “Pull over and talk to him?” I suggested.

  Tobey looked at me like I was not playing with a full deck, and who knew? Maybe I wasn’t all the time. But I did want some answers from Dirt. “What, you think he’s going to kill us?”

  “Maybe. It’s not like he hasn’t done it before,” Tobey snapped.

  “Calm down. Do you really think he’s going to kill us?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  Again, maybe I was the crazy one, but I wasn’t afraid of him. I knew he had changed, was a convicted murderer, but I just didn’t think he would kill one of us.

  “Then drive into the town and park in the McDonald’s lot or something. If he follows us, we can stop and see what he wants. With a bunch of people around, there’s not a lot he can do. He won’t want to cause a scene and bring attention to himself. That would lead him directly back to jail.

  Tobey sighed. “OK, but if he kills us, I’m going to be pissed at you.”

  “Funny boy.”

  We drove another ten minutes and then pulled into the same McDonald’s we had been in the day before.

  Tobey pulled to the side parking lot and the Buick was right behind us. It was close enough now that I could tell it was Dirt in the driver’s seat.

  We parked, Dirt pulling in right beside us. Now some of my bravado had left and I was left feeling a little bit nervous.

  We all got out at the same time and Dirt walked over to stand in front of his car. It took me a moment to realize that spot partially hid him from the restaurant because of the angle of the slots. He was definitely being careful, which made me feel a little better. I was right; he wouldn’t want to cause a scene.

  We all just stood there for a few seconds until finally I couldn’t take it anymore.

  “What are you doing here, Dirt? If you went through all the trouble of escaping jail, why not head somewhere people don’t recognize you? Why are you hanging out where you grew up?”

  “You have to help me, Presley,” he said with the sound of desperation in his voice.

  “Dirt, you’re an escaped convict from jail. What could I possibly help you with?”

  “You’ve got to help me clear my name.”

  Tobey and I looked at each other, both of us thoroughly confused.

  “Dirt, I don’t understand. You were tried and convicted by a jury of your peers and all that. Now you’ve added escaped convict to that list of transgressions. I can’t help you. I mean, what the hell do you want me to do?”

  “I can explain everything. I’m innocent and I’ll tell you what happened, but not here. You’re right; it’s dangerous for me to be out here where people can recognize me. Meet me tonight at 10:00 p.m. at the old bridge we used to play at. And bring Katy and Chris.”

  “What old bridge?” Tobey asked.

  “Presley knows. 10:00 p.m.,” he said again and then got back in his car and sped off.

  “What bridge?” Tobey asked.

  “From when we were kids, but who cares about the damn bridge. Did you not hear what he just said to us? That he’s innocent.”

  “Do you believe him?”

  I thought about it for a minute. I had been so shocked when Dirt had admitted he’d killed Senator Daniels on the orders of Garrison Palazzo, but he had admitted it, so of course I believed it. So, no. It wasn’t that hard to believe he was innocent because it had been hard for me to believe his guilt.

  “That’s a hard question, but honestly, I think he might be telling the truth.”

  “So you think we should meet him?”

  I thought about it for a minute and slowly nodded my head. “Yeah, I do.”

  “OK. How do you propose we get Chris and Katy to go along with this?”

  “I don’t know, but we need to talk to them now.”

  “You want to skip trying to talk to Diane and Trish?”

  “For now. Don’t you think this takes priority?” I said as he pulled out of the lot.

  “You’re right.”

  “You need to call Chris and tell him to meet us at Katy’s.”

  While Tobey called Chris, I sent Katy a text telling her we were on our way, it was important. She didn’t argue so she either didn’t want to be alone anymore, or she assumed important meant she had no choice. And for the moment, as much as I hated the thought, she really had no choice but to deal with Chris. At least until we heard what Dirt had to say, and knowing Katy, she would put her own feelings aside to help Dirt.

  “Voicemail,” Tobey said. “I told him to call me right away, that it was an emergency.”

  Chapter 13

  Oh my God, I can’t believe this! How could I be so stupid to have trusted him again?” Katy said through her tears. “I will never talk to him again!”

  We had just arrived at Katy’s and she had met us at the door in sweatpants, with a tear–stained face, and a pint of Chunky Monkey in her hand. A girl’s go–to self–pity food.

  “I understand. I completely do, but you have to listen to me. Temporarily, I need you to pull it together and face Chris.”

  “What? Are you crazy? Oh, no. This is the last time he’s made a fool out of me. I will never forgive him this time and he knows it.”

  I grabbed the Chunky Monkey and set it down on the table and grabbed her shoulders. “Listen to me. Tobey and I just talked to Dirt.”

  ”What!” she exclaimed again and I hated putting all this on her.

  “He followed us to Clermont and we talked to him.” I paused and took a deep breath. “He says he’s innocent and wants us to meet him tonight at the bridge we used to hang out at.”

  She wrinkled her forehead. “Is that even still there? I thought it caught on fire.”

  “I still have no idea what bridge you’re talking about,” Tobey said.

  “Who cares about the damn bridge!” I practically yelled. Why was Tobey so worried about the damn bridge?

  “Dirt said for me and Tobey, you and Chris to meet him so he could explain. That’s why you have to put your differences aside. At least long enough for us to talk to Dirt.”

  As Katy processed what I was saying, I could feel her weakening. She walked to the couch, slid onto it, and looked up at me. “Do you believe him?”

  “Yeah. I kind of do. I’m willing at least to listen to what he has to say.”

  “What if he’s trying to lure us all there to kill us?” Tobey said.

  “Tobey, he’s not going to kill us. I mean, come on, did he look today like some homicidal maniac?�
�

  “Well, no, but…”

  “Trust me. I don’t think we have any reason to fear him. Trust him, maybe not, but fear him? I don’t think so.”

  A phone rang. It was Tobey’s.

  “Is it Chris?” I asked.

  He nodded and answered, walking into the kitchen.

  “Why would he admit to a crime he didn’t commit, Presley?” Katy asked.

  “I have no idea, but I want to find out.”

  “Did you call Cooper and tell him?”

  I had thought about it. Immediately after Dirt told us. And I knew I should. However, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. “No.”

  “You need to! Oh my God, Presley, this was his best friend. If he’s innocent…If you don’t want to call him, I will.”

  “I’m not sure where the hell he’s at right now, but he said he would be here in an hour,” Tobey said, walking back into the room.

  “Call him,” Katy demanded.

  Tobey looked at us.

  “I’m telling her she needs to call Cooper.”

  “OK, OK, I will.” As I got out my phone, my biggest fear was that he wouldn’t answer. I mean, he couldn’t know why I was calling, and what if he just sent me to voicemail or something? Which could, of course, happen under any circumstances, but still, I couldn’t help but worry. Since we were now on a break.

  “Cooper,” I said when he answered. “I wouldn’t call you if it wasn’t important,” I said in a rush.

  “It’s OK, King,” he said, referring to me by my nickname, which made me feel so good inside and made me feel less anxious about calling him.

  “What’s up?”

  “It’s Dirt.”

  “I know he escaped from prison. The police called me right after you did.”

  “It’s more than that. He followed me and Tobey into Clermont today and he said he was innocent.”

  There was a long silence. I knew he was thinking, so I just kept quiet until he felt like talking.

  Finally, he started again. “Did he say why?”

  “No. He said he could explain everything to us tonight.” And I proceeded to tell him about meeting Dirt at 10:00 p.m. “Cooper, I kind of believe him.”

  Cooper and Dirt had been close growing up and had enlisted in the military together where they then had a falling out. I still didn’t completely understand what had happened. Neither of them cared to talk about it much. Regardless, Cooper had still been shocked and hurt when Dirt was convicted of murder. I wasn’t sure how this turn of events would make him feel.