A Juicy Murder

by Eryn Scott

  “Okay, here we go.” She stood up and approached the back window.

  Luke clasped his hands together, making a step for her. When she stepped into it, he brought her up to the height of the window.

  “That’s good,” she whispered down at him as she came eye level with the window. “Stop right there.”

  While he held her steady, she situated her fingers underneath the sash of the window and pulled up.

  It wouldn’t budge.

  She looked down. “Luke, this isn’t working. Are you sure no one had this fixed in the decade you were out of town?”

  “Just try harder,” was his muffled reply.

  Hadley leaned into the building, trying to take some weight off him as she remembered his sore muscles from his training session with Hunk. Going at the window from a different direction, she used an underhanded push this time.

  Nothing.

  “You really have to yank on it. A quick movement should jostle it enough,” Luke directed from below.

  “You wanna come up here and give it a try?” Hadley asked, exasperated.

  “Think you can hold me up?” There was a smirk in his tone, and she took it as a rhetorical question.

  Focusing back on the window, she held one hand under to pull at the same time as the other was positioned to push from the top. Hadley took in a deep breath and, on the exhale, put as much possible energy into the burst of movement.

  The window budged. She exhaled in relief.

  “That worked.”

  Using the small opening as leverage, she shimmied the window open the whole way.

  “Any idea what will be on the other side of this?” she asked Luke as she peered inside.

  “It used to be an old desk when Ernie owned the place. I could never tell if he used it as a desk or was trying to sell it. It could be anything now. I’m sending you up.” He pushed her higher.

  She shimmied her body forward as he lifted, and soon the upper half of her was sticking inside the juice bar. Her eyes were already adjusted to the dark, but she took a moment to look around and get her bearings. It seemed the place was still an office because there was a desk below her.

  Unfortunately, it was covered with stacks of paper. She groaned. There was no way she’d be able to get down without making a huge mess.

  Her best bet was to get far enough forward, so she could step onto the chair instead of the desk. It would take some upper body strength she wasn’t sure she possessed. She pushed herself forward until she felt her feet leave Luke’s grasp, and her body teetered half in and half out the window.

  “Got it, Had?” Luke called, just above a whisper.

  “Uh … I think so,” she called back. “It might take me a minute.”

  Slowly sliding forward, Hadley wiggled and moved until her hands were positioned on the edge of the desk. She scooted papers away so she could grip better. Then she bent her knees and pushed with her hands until she’d pulled her feet all the way inside, standing on the windowsill. Hadley was suddenly glad no one could see her at that moment. Basically she was doing an awkward downward-dog pose, hands on the desk, feet on the window above.

  And she didn’t know where to go from here.

  With a sigh, she realized the only thing to do was to lower her feet, one at a time, as carefully as possible onto the paper-covered desk below. She peered under and lowered her left foot. She set it in between two of the larger stacks of paper, setting it on top of a bill or something. Then she brought down her other foot.

  Now that it had more weight on it, her left foot slid a few inches, shoving a stack of papers behind it into the wall.

  She sucked in a breath and froze. After it stayed put for a second she continued bringing the other foot down. It was planted firmly on another shorter stack of papers.

  Now to get off the desk.

  A whimper died in Hadley’s throat. She lowered her butt so it wasn’t up in the air and waited for her center of gravity to catch up. But before she made any other plans, both her feet slid forward, the papers beneath them rocketing ahead and her butt slamming down onto the papered desktop.

  Papers crinkled as they flitted to the ground all over the small office space.

  “Had, you good?” came Luke’s voice from through the open window.

  “Peachy,” she said through gritted teeth as she climbed off the desk. More papers shuffled and fluttered onto the floor, but it didn’t much matter at that point.

  Tiptoeing over to the back door, Hadley threw the lock and opened it. Luke stepped inside, and she shut it behind him.

  “Her desk is covered with papers, and I made a mess on my way in,” Hadley whispered, pointing over to the scattered bills and spreadsheets littering the floor.

  Luke pointed a small pen flashlight at the desk. “Ah, she’s a piler. Let’s just hope she’s not one of those disorganized people who know where everything is even though it looks like chaos,” he said with a smile.

  Pulling out her own flashlight, she scanned the papers before putting them back into piles on top of the desk. Bill, bill, advertisement, bill, invoice, invoice, ad, and so it went until they’d placed all the papers back and closed the window.

  “I don’t see any envelopes in the drawers or in any of these stacks,” Luke said, lifting a stack of packing slips.

  “He gave it to her up front, by the register,” Hadley whispered. “Let’s check up there.”

  Clicking off their flashlights, they left the safety of the back office and moved up front to the open juice bar space. The large windows made Hadley feel like they were on display, even though they hadn’t turned on a light, and she knew downtown was likely empty at this point. Just to be safe, she crouched low as they searched through the stacks of papers near the register. Luckily, up here the moonlight coming through the windows was enough to guide them.

  “Nothing here either,” Luke whispered, looking into the cubbies under the register. “You’re sure it was a white envelope?”

  “Yes, and it wouldn’t lay flat. It had something substantial inside, more than just paper.” Frustration stole any remaining energy behind her words.

  It wasn’t here.

  They searched a few other places, but it was getting late, and things started to feel futile.

  “Sorry,” she said, shaking her head.

  Luke came up next to her. “Hey, it’s okay. You acted on a gut feeling. That’s not bad. Maybe she brought it home, or maybe Guy never left it. He could’ve put it back in his pocket. You said you lost track of it, right?”

  “Right.” Hadley huffed out a sigh.

  “So if they have it, we’ll find it. Or Paul will. It’ll work itself out.” The corner of his mouth tipped up into a smile, and he took her hand in his. His spicy, outdoorsy Luke smell overpowered the scent of fruits and veggies in the best way.

  Immediately, she relaxed. He was right, always was. Hadley’s lips parted. She wanted to say so much to him. The moonlight streaming in through the juice bar windows lit up his face in the most flattering way. She wanted to kiss him and—for the first time since he’d come back from Seattle—she didn’t care about their past, only their future.

  She leaned closer to him.

  “Tu-whit tu-whoo.” The low owl-like call came from the back alley.

  Hadley froze.

  Her eyes widened. “That’s Suze’s warning call. We need to go.”

  She grabbed Luke’s hand, and they raced for the back of the building.

  14

  Breath ragged, Hadley and Luke burst from the juice bar. Suze glanced up from where she was sitting on an empty fruit crate.

  “Oh, good. What’s going on in there? Did you guys find anything?” Suze peered around them as if they might have something hidden behind their backs.

  Hadley panted. “What?” It was all she could get out.

  “I got bored. I wanted to check on you.” Suze picked at a fingernail.

  Adrenaline leaked out of Hadley so quickly she felt like a b
alloon deflating. Luke relaxed next to her. He chuckled, able to see the humor in any situation. Hadley wasn’t quite there.

  “We didn’t find anything. And I doubt looking any longer will change that. We might as well go.” She walked back to the door and locked it from the inside then pushed it closed.

  After making sure it was locked and the window all the way shut, they trudged back toward the jam kitchen.

  “Sorry nothing came from that,” Suze whispered. “But we knew it probably wasn’t them anyway, right?”

  Hadley shook her head. “I don’t know. I have a bad feeling I can’t let go of when it comes to the two of them.”

  “Yeah.” Suze sighed. “Between Owen being at the hardware store before the time Simone found Laney and his fingerprints being all over the laptop they found destroyed in her apartment, it’s seeming more like he’s the one.”

  Hadley and Luke stopped short, just before the jam kitchen.

  “What?” Luke said. “Owen was the one who destroyed her computer?”

  “Since when?” Hadley asked.

  Suze took another few steps but slowly turned around. Even in the scant moonlight, they could see her cringe. “Um … did I forget to mention that?” She sucked in a breath through her teeth. “Paul got the results when we were having dinner tonight.”

  Hadley coughed in surprise then turned to Luke, who appeared equally stunned.

  “That would’ve been good information to have before we broke into Simone’s shop.” Luke’s voice was even, measured, as if he were working hard to keep calm.

  “I’m sorry.” Suze smacked her palm to her forehead. “I was going to tell you guys, but then I got all hyped up about breaking in and totally forgot.” She looked toward Hadley. “Do you think knowing would’ve really stopped you from following the lead about Simone and Guy tonight?”

  Hadley pursed her lips. “You have a point.”

  “See?” Suze turned and kept walking. “And now you know there’s nothing there to be suspicious about.”

  “Except what could’ve been in that envelope,” Hadley said.

  “And how the mayor hurt and threatened Hadley,” Luke added as they approached the rear of the jam kitchen and their cars.

  Suze dipped her head to one side as she stood next to her car. “Okay. Besides those things. But at least you don’t have to endure any more sessions with Hunk,” she said to Luke.

  His eyes narrowed. “Paul finding Owen’s prints doesn’t mean he’s the killer. He sounds more like a guy fumbling his way around trying to keep a secret. I mean, most people know just smashing a laptop screen won’t destroy the information on the hard drive. Owen’s not necessarily a mastermind.”

  Hadley nodded. “Paul always says the only time you rule out suspects is when you find the actual killer. I think we should continue to investigate Hunk, Simone, and Guy.”

  Suze sighed. “Fine. As long as it doesn’t mean any more breaking and entering, though. This was too nerve racking.” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms.

  “No more breaking and entering.” Hadley agreed.

  “But we’re still on for tomorrow, right?” Luke placed a hand on Hadley’s elbow for a split second before pulling it away.

  She swallowed. “Sure.”

  “Be careful, you two.” Suze opened her car door and climbed inside. “I want to hear how it goes.” She maintained eye contact with Hadley for a moment longer, eyeing her meaningfully.

  Hadley wasn’t sure what Suze thought might happen at the gym, but she smiled and waved anyway as Suze turned on her car. The alley went quiet and dark once she drove away.

  Luke took off his beanie again, and his sandy hair stuck up in odd positions. Hadley’s fingers curled together as she thought about running them through it, and her thoughts returned to when he’d gotten close earlier, tucking her hair back and, again, inside the juice bar.

  It was time they talked. Coach was right. There was something between them.

  She met Luke’s familiar blue eyes. “Luke,” she started.

  “So you ready to be my girlfriend?” he asked with a grin.

  Her heart jumped into hyperspeed. All the things she wanted to say, had been getting ready to say, caught in her throat. She made a strangled noise.

  Then again, maybe she didn’t have to start the conversation. It seemed like Luke was diving right in.

  “Now?” The question croaked from her dry throat.

  Luke chuckled. “Tomorrow. At the gym. Remember? You’re supposed to be my girlfriend to make Jenny back off.” His voice lost some of his power as he went on. “Is that still okay with you?”

  The concern behind the question made whatever worry inside Hadley melt away. Right. They were pretending.

  “Oh, right! Ha! Of course.” She swatted at him, sure she was acting like a lunatic.

  Truth was, Hadley didn’t know how to be Luke’s girlfriend. She knew how to be his best friend, how to play truth or dare, and how to beat him at bike races. She knew how to despise him and fight with him. But act like she was in love with him … in public? That was new.

  Stop acting like a teenager, Hadley, she scolded herself. You’re a grown woman. You’ll figure it out.

  “I don’t mean anything intense,” Luke said, as if reading her mind. “Act like normal.” His mouth tipped up on one side. “But maybe touch me a little more.”

  Hadley nodded then cleared her throat. “Can do.” She gave him a little salute.

  “Well,” he said, taking a step back and jabbing his thumb behind him. “I parked around the corner, so I’m going to head home. You good?”

  “Great.” She smiled.

  “K. See you tomorrow, Had.”

  “See you tomorrow,” she repeated. At the gym, she added inside her head. And then slumped toward her car. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

  Luke had signed up for a lunchtime session with Hunk. Hadley wore yoga pants, sneakers, and a loose T-shirt to work. She brought a change of clothes, though, after seeing how sore Luke was after his first session. Hadley assumed soreness came with sweat, and probably a lot of it.

  She and Gran were busy all morning. So when they had a minute to breathe just before lunch, Hadley grabbed her gym bag from the car. Gran was sitting in front of her laptop when she returned.

  “Everything okay?” Hadley asked, noticing her grandmother’s deepening frown.

  Gran only grumbled. She clicked a few other buttons on her keyboard.

  Hadley walked over, glancing over her grandma’s shoulder. Spammy ads filled the screen. In front of it all Gran had a CPU Knight window open, but no matter how many times she pressed the red Help button, nothing happened. Unlike the last time, there was no happy trumpet.

  “My knight’s run off into the sunset, it seems. I’m doing the same thing as always, but no one’s answering.” Gran shook her head.

  Hadley considered offering Luke’s help. He’d built his own tech-based business from the ground up, after all. Normally, Hadley would’ve had no qualms about asking for his help. But right now, unsure about her feelings, Hadley didn’t want to take advantage of him in any way.

  A customer walked into the store behind them. Gran shut the laptop so she could greet them, but not before she pointed at the clock.

  “You’d better get going, dear. You ready?” she asked.

  “As I’m ever going to be.” Hadley exhaled extra long, pushing out any worries about the work or Luke along with it.

  This was about figuring out if Hunk lied about his alibi or not. That was the most important consideration. She took off her apron and grabbed the workout bag, waving to Gran on her way out the back door.

  Hunk’s gym was down toward the south end of Main Street, across from Fenton Park. People often ran laps around the park and then entered the gym, red faced and sweaty from the effort.

  Halfway there, Hadley’s phone buzzed with a text. It was from Paul.

  So Owen’s most likely the one who tried to destroy
Laney’s computer. I’m not convinced it’s him, though. You got anything new?

  So Suze hadn’t spilled about what they’d been doing last night.

  Hadley typed back: On my way to the gym with Luke right now. I’ll see if I can dig up anything.

  Stuffing her phone back in her bag, Hadley pushed open the glass front door and stepped inside. The smell of rubber mats and sweat mixed with disinfectant made her nose twitch. Luke stood inside, leaning stiffly away from the front desk. Jenny leaned toward him on the other side of the counter.

  When he noticed Hadley, his eyes went wide with relief. Jenny’s did the opposite, narrowing in frustration.

  “Hey, beautiful,” Luke said, walking forward. “You made it.” He winked at her in the same go with it way he used to when they would get in trouble as kids, and he had to talk their way out of it.

  Except this was not like when they were kids because when Luke reached her, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and planted a kiss on her cheek.

  Feeling her stiffen, he pulled her in closer and whispered, “It’s way worse than I thought. She already asked me out and touched me like seventeen times. We’re going to have to up our game.”

  Hadley bit her lip as he stepped back, catching her gaze with his. His blue eyes held onto hers, as if he were worried she might run away. But in those blue eyes, she found the answer.

  This was Luke.

  They’d been pretending, playing games, and making up contests since they could walk. This was no different.

  Hadley’s lips curled up into a smile. “Then we’d better get started.”

  Luke’s face split into an equally large grin. He grabbed her hand and pulled her over toward the desk.

  “Jenny, you know Hadley, right?” he asked.

  Jenny, a gym bunny if there ever was one, cleared her toned throat and nodded—even her throat was muscular, Hadley noticed. She might be tanned and probably had a six-pack hiding under her Hunk’s tank top, but Hadley had Luke. Jenny flipped her highlighted hair and made a big show of pulling out a clipboard from below the computer. She wore what seemed like twenty colorful hair elastics on her right wrist and made a show of snapping them impatiently after she handed over the clipboard.