Class Reunion of Murder

by Vanessa Gray Bartal

  Riley nodded, sniffled, and wiped her eyes. Lacy was suddenly unwilling to leave. Riley looked so lost. Her new demeanor was inspiring all sorts of long-dormant sisterly feelings in Lacy. “Be nice to her,” she blurted to Tosh who now also looked wounded.

  “We’ll see you later,” Keegan said. He bustled her from the house.

  “Thanks for the rescue,” Lacy said when they were on the porch.

  “Don’t get sucked in,” Keegan said. He gave her shoulders a little shake.

  “You’re right. I lost sight of that for a second.”

  “Call me whenever you need a reminder. Or a pep talk. Or a make out buddy. Strike that last part. You’re kryptonite to me, woman.”

  Lacy chuckled. He was joking, or at least she thought he was joking. He was smiling, so she took it as a joke. “You have no idea how depressing it is that my backup plan is a priest,” she said.

  “You have no idea how depressing it is that my backup plan isn’t even in love with me. If this priest thing doesn’t work out, I would have to steal you away from your cop and win you over.”

  “If this cop thing doesn’t work out, I would have to steal you away from God,” Lacy pointed out.

  “You win,” Keegan said. He gave her another crushing hug and then a little shove toward the driveway. “Hit the bricks. Hey, when are you going to buy a car like normal people?”

  “Soon,” Lacy lied. She still had no desire for a car. What she wanted was a motorcycle. Ever since her ride on Michael’s bike, the desire had taken root deep in her heart. She hadn’t confessed her secret dream to anyone, not even Jason. Especially not Jason. She could only imagine his reaction if she told him she wanted to buy a motorcycle. She was also a little frightened of the prospect. She wasn’t very good at driving manual cars. How would she handle shifting on a bike? Michael wouldn’t let her touch his further than being a passenger. How would she ever learn if there was no one to teach her? Did Jason know how to drive a motorcycle? She hadn’t asked him. If she did, then he would know what she was thinking. Maybe Keegan knew how. He would teach her; he was up for any adventure.

  She arrived at Kimber’s house just as she was pulling into the driveway. Kimber was the closest female friend Lacy ever had. Now that they were sprinting toward each other, arms outstretched, she wondered why they had lost contact the last few years.

  “Hey, girl, you look good,” Kimber said when the crushing hug was finished. “Moving back to Mayberry agrees with you.”

  “And you look like you just fell off the cover of Ebony.” She touched Kimber’s ponytail, a voluminous mass of tiny braids. The sophisticated woman before her was a far cry from the fuzzy-haired college freshman she had been. Somehow the two had gone their whole lives knowing each other without really knowing each other. At college, they discovered a shared feeling of always being on the outside. Lacy had existed alone in her little world of books while Kimber had been the sole black student in their school. The only thing they had in common was being from the same place, and yet somehow they had clicked. Almost as soon as school began, they became inseparable, a state that lasted all four years of college. They had been late bloomers together, shedding baby weight, gaining fashion sense and social skills together. Kimber began reaching out to a culture that had been a mystery to her, and she dragged Lacy along for the ride.

  “I want to see your building,” Kimber said. “I still can’t believe you bought a building and didn’t tell me.”

  “I did tell you,” Lacy said.

  “Immediately,” Kimber clarified.

  “Oh, well, a lot has been going on.” She hadn’t told Kimber everything; in fact, she had barely scratched the surface.

  “For future reference, you can’t call up someone you haven’t talked to in almost a year and start with ‘I inherited a million dollars and bought an old building.’”

  “I led with the least interesting detail,” Lacy said. Kimber laughed, but Lacy was serious. Getting over Robert, finding herself, and connecting with Jason were the most monumental portions of her new life, and she hadn’t mentioned them. They had a few days to do nothing but talk. Telling Kimber about Jason in person would be more fun.

  “Where are you going?” Kimber asked when Lacy headed away from the car.

  “It’s only a few blocks to the Stakely Building.”

  “What? Who are you and what have you done with my Lacy? Where’s the girl who once hired a taxi to take her next door?”

  “I had a twisted ankle,” Lacy said.

  “You always had a twisted ankle, and you always hated exercise. Don’t tell me you’ve become a health nut.”

  “No way. But I do like to walk places. It makes me feel connected to the town.”

  Kimber made a show of looking around. “Connected to the town? Why would you want to be connected to the town? We couldn’t wait to get out of this town.”

  “It’s different now,” Lacy said.

  “Different how?” Kimber asked.

  “I sort of feel responsible for stuff now, like it’s my job to make the town better.”

  Kimber blinked at her. “Whose Kool-Aid are you drinking? Lacy, this town is a place where you pause, not a place where you put down roots.”

  “Your parents put roots here,” Lacy pointed out.

  “Yeah, well my parents got a lot of things wrong, didn’t they?” Kimber said.

  Being adopted by white parents hadn’t been an issue for her until she went to college and connected with non-white people for the first time. Since then, she had been harboring a simmering resentment toward her parents. Lacy had once tried to point out that Mr. and Mrs. Vance had done their best by being colorblind, by not instilling any racial divides in their daughter. Kimber didn’t see it the same way. She felt her parents had purposely insulated her from her African-American heritage. In the intervening years, she had immersed herself in the culture she hadn’t known, sometimes to the exclusion of her adopted family. As far as Lacy knew, this was Kimber’s first visit home since college.

  They were on the steps of the StakelyBuilding when Kimber grabbed Lacy’s arm and froze. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she whispered.

  “What? What is it?” Lacy asked.

  “It’s Jason Cantor. I can’t believe he came home for the reunion.”

  “Oh, yeah, actually…”

  “He’s even hotter than he was in high school. I didn’t think that was possible.”

  Lacy turned to study Jason. The street was crowded. He had parked his SUV down the block and was heading in their direction. “You think so?”

  “Girl, are you blind? The boy is fine.”

  “I guess,” Lacy said. Inside, her heart was doing the twitterpated pitter-pat it reserved for him.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Kimber said.

  “You do?”

  “You’re thinking he’s no Chester Campbell.”

  “I am?”

  “I am here to tell you there are much better options that Chester Campbell in the world,” Kimber said. “I wonder if Jason’s single. Of course he is. Prime meat like that wouldn’t take itself off the market so soon.”

  “What do you think he would do if I marched up and kissed him?” Lacy asked.

  Kimber snorted a laugh. “You? Right.”

  “I’ll do it,” Lacy said.

  “You will not,” Kimber said.

  “I will,” Lacy said.

  “I once watched you crawl under a table in the middle of the cafeteria to avoid saying hello to a guy you thought was cute, and now you expect me to believe you’re going to go lay one on Jason Cantor.”

  “Bet you five bucks,” Lacy said.

  Kimber pulled out her wallet and handed Lacy five dollars. “Show me yours,” she commanded.

  Lacy stuffed the money in her pocket. “I don’t need to.” She left Kimber and headed toward Jason. “I’m going to kiss you,” she whispered.

  “Is that a thing now? Are we announcing our intentions? Oka
y, then: I’m going to enjoy it,” he whispered.

  “Make it look good,” she said.

  “Baby, I don’t know any other way,” he said. She kissed him. He kissed her back. She couldn’t be sure, but she guessed it probably looked pretty good.

  “Come meet Kimber,” Lacy said, taking his hand when the kiss was finished.

  “I’ve known Kimber since I was five,” Jason said.

  “You know Kimber, but you don’t know Kimber.”

  They walked hand in hand back to Kimber whose face was photo-worthy. “That was weird,” she said.

  “I was going to tell you that Jason lives here. We’ve sort of been seeing each other,” Lacy said.

  “Hey, Kimber,” Jason added.

  “Is this some sort of prank?” Kimber asked. She looked between them, searching their faces.

  “No, we’re serious,” Lacy said. “I mean, we’re not serious. We just started dating a few weeks ago. Someday maybe, but these things take time, and I don’t want to rush because you never know where the other person stands. What was the question?”

  Kimber tuned her out and focused on Jason. “Seriously, what’s going on?”

  “We’re seeing each other. Why is that weird?” he said.

  “I’ve known both of you forever, and I never would have put you together. Never,” she added emphatically.

  “Maybe you know me, but you don’t know me.” Jason said. “Lacy does, and she approves.” He winked and smiled at her while Kimber gawked.

  “We can all have a chance to catch up tonight at the welcome party,” Lacy said.

  “That’s what I came to talk to you about,” Jason said. “There’s a work thing. I can’t talk about it, but I’m going to be tied up all night. Don’t do the eyes, Lacy. That breaks my heart. I took tomorrow off—I’m yours all day.”

  Perhaps it was shallow and immature, but Lacy had been looking forward to debuting their new relationship at the welcome party. If their classmates’ reactions were as dramatic as Kimber’s, then the night would be a lot of fun. Now Lacy would have to go dateless, just like old times. Work was work, though, and she had been busy the last few weeks, too. “No work tomorrow. Promise?”

  “I’ll leave my phone at home,” he said, raising his hand as if taking an oath. “But now I have to go. Walk me to my car. Good seeing you again, Kimber.” He gave her a little wave. She was still staring mutely at them.

  “My ego is being pummeled by her disbelief,” Lacy said.

  “What are you talking about?” Jason said. “She thinks you’re slumming it with me.”

  He sounded sincere, but how was that possible? Kimber was obviously remembering the differences between them in high school. When Lacy thought about it, she did, too. What were they doing together? “Jason, you have no idea what people think when they look at us.”

  “Lacy, I know exactly what people think when they look at us,” Jason said. “Why else do you think I turn into a jealous, possessive moron at the slightest provocation?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t think you were the jealous type.”

  “I’m not. Only when it comes to you, apparently. I’m sorry about tonight. I know you were looking forward to it.”

  “Tomorrow will be fun,” she said.

  “We could get an early start by meeting for a run,” he suggested.

  “I’m staying at the hotel with Kimber,” she reminded him.

  “The high school is a few blocks away. We can use the track.”

  “Let’s swim,” she suggested. “We can use the hotel pool.”

  “Is this another clever way to avoid running with me?” he asked.

  “How often do you get to swim in a hotel pool? We should take advantage of the opportunity while we can,” Lacy said.

  “That’s true; I often lie awake at night and yearn for the chance to use a hotel pool. Let’s not let this golden moment slip away; although, I’m onto you, and someday you and I are going to go for a jog.”

  “I’m not afraid of you,” Lacy said.

  “Yeah? You should be. I know things about you.” He kissed her cheek because Kimber was still staring at them. “Good luck with her. See you tomorrow.”

  “See you,” she said. She waved and watched him drive away before heading back to Kimber.

  “So, what else are you going to spring on me?” Kimber asked when Lacy returned. “I don’t talk to you for over a year, you call me up, tell me you’ve moved back home, you’re a millionaire, and conveniently leave out the part where you’re dating Jason Cantor. By the way, I find that more shocking than the million dollars.”

  “Is it really that big of a deal?” Lacy asked.

  “Yes, of course it is.”

  “Why? I mean, I know we weren’t in the same group in high school, but that was a long time ago.”

  “It’s not high school. I know you—you’re looking for Mr. Darcy. Jason isn’t Mr. Darcy.”

  “Don’t say he’s Wickham, because he’s not,” Lacy warned.

  “No, he’s not Wickham, but thanks for proving my point. Does he even know what Pride and Prejudice is?”

  “Jason is not stupid,” Lacy said. Kimber’s disbelief was making her defensive.

  “Of course he’s not stupid. Not every jock is stupid, but that’s the point: he’s a jock. You’re Elizabeth Bennett and he’s David Beckham. What could you possibly have in common?”

  “There’s a lot more to him than being athletic,” Lacy said.

  “Yes, there’s being gorgeous. I get it, but how far does the physical attraction go?”

  “Surprisingly far,” Lacy said. Her attraction to Jason hadn’t dimmed even slightly.

  “Someday he’s going to be old, and then what? What could you possibly have in common?”

  “Not much,” Lacy conceded.

  “Exactly,” Kimber said.

  “But I had everything in common with Tosh, and the sizzle wasn’t there. I don’t know how or why, but Jason and I work.”

  “Who is Tosh?” Kimber said.

  “He’s my brother-in-law, I guess. Did I not tell you Riley was married?”

  “No, you didn’t. Why don’t you start from the last time we saw each other and go day by day?” Kimber suggested.

  “All right. Let’s start with the StakelyBuilding.” She hooked her arm through Kimber’s and led her to her pride and joy, the renovated StakelyBuilding. Joe Anton met them at the door wearing the same black shirt and shiny plastic badge he had been sporting for weeks, ever since Michael hatched the idea to hire him. He’s here every day anyway. Why not give him a job? The suggestion coincided with Jason’s insistence that she beef up security, so Lacy installed a surveillance system in the building and hired Joe to officially oversee it. He was paid for fifteen hours of work, but he spent all day, every day in the building. After being Lacy’s shadow for so long, he tentatively began making himself known to the other tenants who accepted him with open hearts. Now Lacy only saw him in passing as he made his rounds, and she missed him.

  “Kimber, this is Joe, our security guard extraordinaire. How’s everything today, Joe?”

  “Quiet,” Joe said. “The ice cream shop is making caramel today. I told them to save some for you.”

  “Thank you,” Lacy said. “Do you want to come up to my office and have some coffee with us?”

  “No, thanks. My stomach finally stopped burning after last time.”

  “Joe likes to play this little game where he pretends my coffee is terrible,” Lacy explained.

  “Don’t drink it,” Joe warned Kimber before ambling away.

  “Is he really a security guard?” Kimber whispered.

  “Sure,” Lacy said.

  “His badge was made of plastic.”

  “The sheriff’s office gives them out to kids. Jason gave me one as a joke. Joe found it in my office and kept it. He never takes it off. I could swear I saw him polishing it the other day.”

  “I’m on weirdness overload,” Kimber said.<
br />
  “It’s about to get worse. Here comes Michael.”

  “Lacy, Cindy told me to ask you to have the heating duct between our stores checked. It may be blocked,” he said.

  “Why didn’t Cindy ask me herself?” Lacy said.

  “That would have been a bit awkward considering you stole her boyfriend,” Michael said.

  “I did not steal her boyfriend,” Lacy argued. “They weren’t dating. They were just friends. They hadn’t dated for years. For her to send you on an errand so she doesn’t have to talk to me is beyond immature.”

  “I agree totally. Good thing I made it all up. You should check that vent, though. It’s rattling. Who’s your friend?” He turned his attention to Kimber who had probably been the object of his intentions the entire time. He had an uncanny sense about the nearness of beautiful women, like some sort of internal alarm that sent his charm into overdrive. And while there was no hostility between them anymore, Michael could still drive Lacy crazy.

  “This is my former roommate, Kimber.”

  “Let me guess: you and Lacy met in prison,” Michael said.

  “Work release,” Kimber clarified.

  “Go bother the other kids now, Michael. The grownups are taking a tour,” Lacy said.

  “As you wish,” Michael said and ambled back to his store.

  “He’s fun,” Kimber declared.

  “He thinks so,” Lacy said. She shoved Michael out of her mind and gave Kimber the grand tour of the StakelyBuilding, introducing her to the vendors. Except for the introductions, Kimber was quiet as they made their perusal. She waited to speak until they were back outside.

  “Okay, I’ll admit that was pretty cool. All of those vendors are implants?”

  “Everyone except Cindy,” Lacy said. “I’ve been talking to more of the locals about some ideas. We have room for so many more people; I think we need more artists.”