Secretly, Clarissa was hoping Tara might crack under pressure. As far as the reporter was concerned, Tara and Justin were the two most likely suspects. Tara had hated Donnie with a vengeance. Justin was just plain reckless and way too fond of pulling dumb pranks. Either one could have easily slipped a peanut into Donnie’s muffin.
Amazingly, Tara did crack.
But not in the way Clarissa had hoped.
There was no confession. There was no admission of guilt. Instead, Tara flew off the handle. She reached down and grabbed a rock that was sitting near the car. Then she screwed up her face in one of the most unflattering expressions of pure rage Clarissa had ever seen.
“If you don’t get off my property right now I’m going to throw this through your windshield,” Tara announced, her voice shaking with emotion. “Divorcing Donnie was supposed to be the end. I blocked his number! I crossed the street any time I saw him in town. That was supposed to be enough! When will it ever be enough?”
“Tara, I’m –”
“I can’t take it anymore! I can’t take being hounded about him anymore! He’s dead and yet he’s still interfering with my life! Enough! I’ve had enough! Get out of here and don’t you dare ever come back!”
Fearful that her windshield may be smashed at any moment, Clarissa stepped on the gas. She drove off the property with a screech, not even daring to look back. She didn’t slow down until she was back on the highway leading into Sugarcomb Lake.
“That was quite the overreaction,” Clarissa huffed once she had calmed down enough to think straight. “It was only the second time I’ve ever spoken to Tara and yet she accused me of hounding her! Exaggerate much?”
Even though Cat wasn’t with her, Clarissa could practically hear the feisty feline’s voice in her ear. There was just no escaping the harsh dose of reality her whiskered frenemy loved to deliver!
“Okay,” Clarissa sighed, relenting to the imaginary voices in her head. “Well, technically I was lurking around on Tara’s property. Okay, I’ll admit that was pretty creepy of me. Whoops! But still…she really came unhinged back there.”
She pulled up to her house.
“Ooh, speaking of unhinged…it looks like Matilda is here!”
Eagerly, Clarissa jumped out of her car and raced inside.
She really, really hoped her aunt had good news for her! Sometimes it felt like the house wasn’t even big enough for her and the cat – at least not when they were at war. The last thing Clarissa wanted was to share her living space with a bunch of uninvited ghosts! That just might be enough to make her come unhinged!
Chapter 15
“I’m back,” Cat announced, parading into the living room the moment Clarissa walked inside.
“I see that,” Clarissa replied. “Welcome back.”
The cat looked around expectantly. “Where is my party?”
“Huh?”
“I have returned!” the cat huffed. “Surely that warrants some sort of celebration?”
“Yeah sure, I’ll get right on that,” Clarissa smirked. It was always amusing to see exactly how egotistical – and delusional – the four-legged critter could be. Then she looked around anxiously. “Are the spirits gone?” she whispered.
“Give me a million dollars and I’ll tell you,” Cat replied.
Clarissa gave her snarky companion a curious look. “What do you need a million dollars for?”
“I’ve decided world domination is in the cards for me,” Cat informed her nonchalantly.
“I see. And the million dollars is for what, exactly?”
Cat looked surprised. “I have to do stuff with it? You humans and your economics are so weird. I thought if I had a million dollars I would just automatically achieve world domination. You know, because I’d be richer than everyone else.”
Clarissa bit her lip so she wouldn’t laugh. “Did you enjoy your stay with Matilda?”
“It was alright.”
“Did you watch movies with her?” Clarissa asked knowingly.
“Some,” Cat confirmed.
“Let me guess: they were old black and white films from nearly a hundred years ago,” Clarissa predicted. “You heard something about a million dollars being a massive amount of money and arbitrarily decided to take over the world in between naps. Am I right?”
“Maybe,” the cat said suspiciously. “Why are you shaking?”
“Because I’m trying to hold my laughter in,” Clarissa giggled. “I hate to break it to you, Cat, but a million dollars isn’t the huge sum of money it used to be. I mean, there are people who have a lot more money than that. I doubt you’ll achieve world domination with a million bucks.”
“Oh. Well how many millions do I need?” Cat asked.
“You’d need billions!”
“Oh. Well how many billions of dollars do you have?”
Clarissa snorted. “Funny.”
The perturbed feline tilted its head to the side as it considered this. “So you only have millions of dollars?” it asked as though that was somehow a failure.
“Ha! I wish!” Clarissa said ruefully.
“But I thought your newspaper was successful,” Cat muttered in the most insulting manner. “Don’t newspapers bring in billions of dollars?”
“Not this one! We’re in Sugarcomb Lake,” Clarissa reminded the cat. “We’re small-time.”
“Well who are these humans who have billions of dollars?” Cat demanded.
“Umm, professional athletes, movie stars and Oprah,” Clarissa replied.
“Well can’t you just be Oprah?” Cat asked, completely serious.
Clarissa was cracking up. “Oh, is it that simple? Silly me, why didn’t I think of it before? I’ll just Be Oprah. Thanks for the great idea, Cat!”
“Stop mocking me,” the cat complained.
“Sorry,” Clarissa apologized, struggling to keep a straight face. “I hate to break it to you, but I don’t know if world domination is in the cards for you, Cat. Maybe you should just stick to patrolling the yard and chasing the squirrels away.”
“I hate squirrels,” Cat growled.
“I know you do,” Clarissa said soothingly. “And you do such a great job of scaring them off! If you took over the world you’d be far too busy to keep tabs on my yard. I bet the squirrels and birds would take over the garden in no time!”
“Not on my watch,” Cat vowed.
“See? I need you here,” Clarissa smiled.
“If I’m not taking over the world today, I may as well go take a nap.”
“What about the ghosts?”
“The spirits are gone,” Matilda called out, emerging from the basement.
She looked even more frazzled than usual. Her dark red hair was sticking up all over the place and she had what appeared to be black soot smeared all over her face. Her clothes were rumpled and she was missing a shoe.
“Are you alright?” Clarissa asked, aghast at her aunt’s appearance.
“Oh yeah, I’m fine,” Matilda confirmed. “And your house is spirit-free!”
“Great. Let’s keep it that way, okay?” Clarissa suggested cheerfully. “No more séances!”
“Fine,” Matilda relented. “Did you smooth things over with Parker yet?”
“No,” Clarissa sighed. “He isn’t picking up his phone and he isn’t returning my calls. I’ve been trying not to obsess over it, but it’s really hard not to. Do you think this is the beginning of the end?” she asked nervously.
“Probably not,” Matilda replied. “Maybe you should try calling him again.”
“Ah yes, because three voicemails aren’t enough,” Clarissa said wryly. “If he wanted to talk to me, he’d call me back. He hasn’t. That…that isn’t good,” she said, her voice wavering. Parker always returned her calls first chance he got.
“Hey, chin up,” Matilda ordered. “Parker is probably just busy. He’ll get back to you when the time is right. Until then, you need to stop wallowing in your own misery. Do something productive to take your min
d off things!” she suggested brightly.
“Okay,” Clarissa agreed reluctantly. “I’ve got an errand to run anyway.”
*****
“Hello,” the woman working at the leisure center said when Clarissa walked in. She had short bleached hair and a brilliant white smile. She was fit and tan, with well-defined muscles. It was enough to immediately make Clarissa feel frumpy in comparison.
“Hi!” she replied a bit too loudly.
“The swimming pool is closed for maintenance today, but you can rent a kayak to take out on the lake if you want,” the woman offered. She looked at Clarissa expectantly. Then she finally came right out and asked, “Would you like to rent a kayak?”
“No!” Clarissa replied, making a face. “I’d drown myself in no time!”
“It’s a great upper arm workout,” the woman said in a manner that was probably meant to be encouraging. Her upper arms were visible in her form-fitting tank top and they were flawless. Clarissa’s own upper arms, in contrast, were undeniably flabby.
“Maybe some other time,” Clarissa fibbed. She actually had no intention of ever kayaking!
“Well is there something else I can help you with?” the woman asked.
“Actually, yes,” Clarissa replied, choosing her words carefully. “This is going to sound pretty strange and it’s completely out of left field, but I heard that Tara Benton used to work here. Maybe you knew her as Tara Davis?” she added hopefully.
“Yes, I know Tara. She doesn’t work here anymore.”
“I know. I’m investigating the death of Tara’s ex-husband, Donnie. I imagine you heard…”
“I did,” the woman replied. “Such a shame, the way he died.”
Clarissa nodded.
“What did you say your name was?” the woman asked.
“Clarissa. And you are…?”
“I’m Penny Trembley.” The woman paused to remove and fiddle with the fitness tracker she wore on her wrist. Then she looked at Clarissa curiously. “Are you the same Clarissa who writes for the newspaper?” she asked.
“That’s me. I’m pretty sure I’m the only person named Clarissa in town!”
Instantly, Penny’s body language changed.
She set her fitness tracker down, giving Clarissa her full attention.
“Sorry for being guarded,” Penny apologized. “When you started asking me about Tara I figured you were…well, never mind. I’m not sure I can be of any help to you, but I’ll give it my best shot. What do you need to know?”
“I’m looking into Tara and Donnie’s background,” Clarissa explained. “I’m especially interested in whether Donnie had any enemies…you know, people who may have wanted to see him dead. Say, were he and Tara still together back when she worked here?”
Penny nodded. “Tara gave her notice after the divorce was finalized,” she explained. Lowering her voice, she added, “I think she got a pretty good-sized settlement. Donnie gave her the acreage and he was paying her alimony. She basically took him for all he had.”
“Oh, that’s interesting,” Clarissa replied, grateful that Penny seemed more than happy to talk. “I was under the impression the divorce was nasty.” She tried to keep her tone light and casual, but inside she was desperate for information.
“The breakup was definitely nasty,” Penny recalled. “Tara found out Donnie was having an affair. She’d come into work red-eyed and cry on my shoulder about how horrible he was. I felt terrible for her.”
“Poor woman,” Clarissa murmured. Even though Tara had threatened to break the windshield of her car with a rock, she still felt bad for the woman. It had to be awful to find out one’s partner had been unfaithful.
Penny confided, “Tara was planning to drag Donnie’s name through the mud, just to get back at him. He got wind of it and offered her money if she spared him the humiliation of being outed as a cheater.”
“Was Donnie wealthy?”
“I don’t think he was filthy rich or anything,” Penny replied. “I think he and Penny were comfortably middle class. By the sound of it, he gave her nearly everything in the divorce. Apparently he was worried she would tell his family what a lying two-timer he was.”
“Ah, I see. So the settlement was hush money.”
“Basically, yeah,” Penny agreed.
“Did you keep in touch with Tara after she stopped working here?”
“I’ve seen her around town on occasion. We stop and say hello, but that’s about it,” Penny replied. “I think the divorce took a real toll on her. The last time I crossed paths with her was a few weeks ago, and she seemed happier.”
“What makes you say that?”
“She was smiling,” Penny replied. “For a long time, Tara stopped smiling. She looked so refreshed that I asked if she had just come back from vacation. She said no, she was just on her way out of a therapy session.”
“Do you think she had moved on from Donnie?” Clarissa asked.
Penny’s eyebrows shot up. “Moved on from him?” she repeated. “Please! Tara and Donnie tried to reconcile once after the split. Why she gave him the time of day, I don’t know. A leopard doesn’t change its spots, you know?”
“Donnie was still cheating?”
“Oh, you bet. He was seeing the hotel manager of Green City Inn. I think her name was Ava or Ida or something like that. Once Tara finally figured out once a cheater always a cheater, she was done. There’s no way she had any feelings for Donnie left, I can assure you of that.”
“Is Tara dating anyone?” Clarissa asked.
Penny shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. If she is, it’s never come up in conversation. When I run into her, she’s always alone. You know how it is living in a small town,” she added. “The good guys are few and far between, and most of them are already taken!”
Clarissa’s thoughts immediately turned to Parker. A pang of sorrow hit her hard. She knew exactly how tough it was to find quality men to date in Sugarcomb Lake. She had lucked out when she had met Parker, and the thought of losing him filled her with dread.
What was she doing investigating a murder when her relationship could very well be on the line? Clarissa’s job was important to her and so was helping her best friend. But nothing was more important to her than keeping her loved ones close to her.
She needed to go to Green City immediately.
“Are you okay?” Penny asked, sensing something was up.
“I – I have to go,” Clarissa stuttered. “But thank you for your time.”
“Happy to help,” Penny replied. “Good luck with your investigation.”
“Thanks!” Clarissa called over her shoulder as she bolted from the leisure center.
The investigation was important to her, but Parker was more important. She wasn’t about to let him go without a fight. If he wouldn’t take her calls, then she would confront him at his office. The thought was terrifying, but Clarissa knew they needed to talk.
As she sped to Green City, her stomach was in knots.
Chapter 16
When Clarissa reached Parker’s office, she was greeted by a receptionist she didn’t recognize. She vaguely remembered something about a new employee being hired. What Parker had failed to mention was how drop dead gorgeous she was.
“Can I help you?” the blonde bombshell asked in a chipper tone.
“I’m here to see Parker,” Clarissa replied.
“Mr. Tweed isn’t taking any appointments today, but if you’d like to leave your name and number I can let him know you stopped by.”
That threw Clarissa for a loop. She was used to being able to waltz right into Parker’s office whenever she pleased. The previous receptionist had allowed it. The previous receptionist had known Clarissa was Parker’s girlfriend. This one clearly didn’t have a clue.
“I’m here on a personal matter,” Clarissa explained, barely resisting the urge to go sprinting down the hall. She was pretty sure she could outrun the receptionist. When it came to grungy sneake
rs versus stylish stilettos, there really was no competition!
“I’m sorry, but Mr. Tweed said –”
“Can you please just let him know I’m here?” Clarissa asked, struggling to remain patient.
“He isn’t taking calls,” the receptionist replied. “He said not to interrupt him.”
That was unusual. What was going on?
All sorts of awful scenarios flashed through Clarissa’s head. Suddenly she was feeling more insecure about her relationship than ever before. It certainly didn’t help that her boyfriend worked in such close proximity to a woman who looked like she could be a swimsuit model!
Clarissa couldn’t help but think of Tara Benton. Her ex-husband had cheated on her. While Clarissa was pretty sure Parker would never, ever do anything to hurt her, a teensy tiny bit of doubt crept into the back of her mind.
Why did his receptionist have to be so breathtakingly beautiful?
And why was she wearing such a short skirt? That wasn’t very professional. Hadn’t Parker told her that he expected his employees to dress in office-appropriate attire? Or had he kept his mouth shut because he enjoyed the eye candy?
“Look,” Clarissa said through gritted teeth. “I need you to –”
“Clarissa!” a familiar voice exclaimed from behind her. “What are you doing here?”
Clarissa whirled around to see Parker walking toward her.
He looked as handsome as ever, though not nearly as put together as usual.
His white dress shirt was rumpled and there were wrinkles in his slacks. At some point he must have removed his tie and unbuttoned his collar. There was stubble on his normally clean-shaven face and he looked bleary-eyed.
“I’m uh…are you…are we…?” Clarissa had no idea what to say. She hadn’t planned that far ahead! All she could manage to do was stand there stammering like a fool. It wasn’t exactly the grand entrance she had envisioned. And seeing Parker looking so dishevelled was really throwing her for a loop!
“You have no idea how glad I am to see you,” Parker said, slinging an arm around Clarissa’s shoulders. “We had a little crisis here – a technical problem that snowballed into something ugly. I’ve been here ever since I left your place, working nonstop.”
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