Forever Hold Your Piece (The Becker Sisters Bridal Series Book 1)

by Elizabeth John

  Lily tapped her finger on her desk, making a decision. “I need to find out why.”

  On the way down the hall, Jake put a hand on her arm. “Hold up. Be careful. She’s a scared rabbit. Scared rabbits bolt.”

  Lily ignored his unsolicited advice and went in search of Haley. Haley wasn’t in the main part of the shop. “She’s probably in the dressing room she uses with her clients.” On the way, she checked the staff lounge, where Brooke and Mary Beth were taking a coffee break. She nodded at them. She inquired about Haley, but they hadn’t seen her. Lily peeked into other rooms, including the sewing room. She waved at the other seamstress. No Haley.

  Denis came out of the inventory room, red-faced, his tie askew.

  “Have you seen Haley?” Lily asked.

  He shook his head. “I was checking on a shipment of dresses we received this morning. Started hanging them. You’re going to love them, by the way. Oh, and Alvin, the delivery guy was asking about Chrissy.”

  Lily shouted over her shoulder, “Later,” as she rushed to the dressing room that Haley used with her clients. Although she didn’t turn back, she put that annoying tidbit of information about Alvin on the back burner of her mind. She’d asked Chrissy about him the next time they spoke.

  Jake was right behind her. Instead of finding his constant presence annoying, the added security comforted her, and that surprised her. The guy who screwed her business plan, somehow brought her reassurance that she could handle whatever was going on here.

  The dressing rooms were empty.

  “What are you doing?” Jake called out.

  She jerked open the staff closet. “Looking for Haley’s handbag. Now her coat.”

  “Mind if I help?”

  She shrugged, giving him the go ahead, while she sifted through the closet, pulling out random jackets. “One of these is Denis’s and I don’t know whose these are, but I don’t think they’re hers. Her gym bag isn’t here. She goes running a lot. She sometimes uses the shower here.”

  Lily checked the bathroom. She opened the medicine cabinet, checked underneath the vanity, whipped open the shower curtain, the force of which knocked off some of the metal rungs with a clang. Nothing. Haley’s personal shampoos, conditioners, deodorant, all missing.

  “I think the scared rabbit bolted,” Jake said from behind her.

  Lily twisted around, her stomach clenched and she got lightheaded, dizzy. She left the bathroom. “Yes, she’s gone.”

  Lily leaned over and put her head in her hands. Jake was right. She should have listened to him. Because of her stubbornness and having to control everything, she frightened Haley off. Jake was an ex-cop. He read the situation. “Now what?” she muttered, asking for his advice.

  “Call her phone and check in with her. Maybe she’ll answer. Doubtful, but worth a try. I’ll call the chief and let him know. Do business as usual and wait for that other woman’s call.”

  The rest of the day Lily moved about in a fog. Haley never responded to her calls, emails, or texts. The chief couldn’t do anything official since Haley wasn’t a missing person. But because she took off, her behavior was suspicious. The chief said he’d have his guys comb the town and if they spotted her, they’d questioned her.

  Jake hung around all day, going back and forth between their shops. At six o’clock, he declared dinnertime. He suggested a nearby diner, and she agreed. Lily was going to close early because they had no appointments and no walk-ins all day. But Denis insisted on doing business as usual and volunteered to lock up. He had a pile of work and would use the quiet time to catch up. If any customers showed, he’d be there.

  Grateful she had Denis and he had her back, she grabbed her stuff, dropped Leo off at home after a short walk, and jumped into Jake’s truck. She was surprised he knew of the diner that overlooked the bay.

  When they entered, one of the older waitresses, a regular fixture of the place, smiled at her and asked how her sisters were, and then said to Jake, “Nice to see you again.”

  Lily threw him a questioning look he ignored, and the waitress didn’t seem to notice as she led them to a booth that looked out to the bay. She handed them menus.

  The waitress chatted about the events of the town, including the upcoming one on Saturday. “Are you expecting anyone else for dinner?” she asked, ready to dole out another menu.

  “Nope. Just us,” Jake said abruptly. “What are the specials today?”

  The waitress recited the specials of the day and then took their orders. “Be right back with your drinks.”

  Lily stared out the window. The moon cast an eerie glow upon the lapping water. She’d never tire of the sea and all its gifts. Now she received sudden clarity. “You’ve been here before.”

  He played with the napkin dispenser. “Yep. Great pie.”

  “How’d you find this place? It’s sort of off the beaten path, and you haven’t been here that long.” Besides themselves, the diner had a few patrons in the back.

  “The chief recommended it. I needed dinner one night, and he told me about this place.”

  She turned her attention away from the water. Lily had been to this diner more times than she could count. Unexpectedly, she felt out of place as if she didn’t belong. She brushed off the feeling. Must be exhaustion. Stress.

  “I do have to eat you know.”

  She smiled at him, an awkwardness passing between them across the table. There was something hidden, an omitted truth. A white elephant planted itself on the paper place mats and she had to look around the huge mammal to see. Its bulk blocked her view from the truth. “Of course you do.” She opened the laminated menu and eyed the burgers. No salad tonight. She craved carbs and red meat to feed her physical hunger and her emotional needs.

  The diner door opened and a tall flashy blonde blew in. If something was out of place between her and Jake, this middle-aged woman was the proverbial fish out of water. She had on a brown fox coat and carried a designer bag Lily knew costs thousands. Seriously? That kind of fur coat would attract more attention in this casual shore town than a shark fin circling swimmers on a hot July day.

  Not to say people around here didn’t have money. They did. Plenty to afford the maintenance on million dollar ocean front mansions. But discretion was appreciated. No one liked a show off.

  The waitress beamed at the woman and greeted her as if she knew her, then waved her arm to follow toward the section where they were sitting. Her shock must have shown on her face because Jake turned around, and she could have sworn he shook his head at the woman with a frown.

  A slow, seductive smile grew on Flashy Blonde’s cherry lips. She reached out a long furry arm and tapped the waitress on the shoulder. When the waitress turned around, Flashy Blonde demonstrated she wanted to sit elsewhere.

  She settled into a booth and took the seat that faced Lily. She whispered something to the waitress, her long red nails covering her words. Jake turned around, lines across his forehead and a turned down mouth signaled he was annoyed, even angry. But why?

  “You know her?”

  “Who?” He shifted in his seat and pretended to read the menu.

  “The woman in the fur. I could have sworn the waitress was going to sit her at our table.”

  He shrugged and scrolled his finger down the food options. “Why would she do that? Hmm, this looks good. Cheesesteak. Haven’t had one of those in a while.”

  Lily narrowed her eyes and tried to push the white elephant off the table, but the beast wouldn’t budge. Jake was lying. But why? “Jake, do you know that woman?”

  He threw his arm over the back of the booth to peek at her. The woman gave a parade wave.

  He turned back around and cleared his throat. “I don’t think so.” He sighed with relief when the waitress came over to take their orders.

 
Jake handed over his menu and teased the waitress about leaving room for her daughter’s fabulous pie. As she listened to his flirting, she contemplated why he continued to lie. At least he had the decency to flush red. Well, the bottom of his neck did anyway. Perhaps he had flirted with Flashy Blonde somewhere, and she took his attentions the wrong way. Could she be following him? Is he pissed at himself for flirting with an overzealous cougar?

  Jake asked her about Saturday’s upcoming event. A neutral topic, but as they talked about their plans, the elephant loomed about. As soon as their food arrived, Lily bit into her juicy hamburger and tried to forget about the woman staring and gloating. Jake reached across and wiped her cheek with a napkin.

  “Ketchup.” He winked at her and the elephant shrunk. She could understand why women found him irresistible. He had a way about him that she found very attractive. Maybe he got mad at himself for flirting with the woman and now the ramifications are interfering with their dinner plans. Did Jake think of this casual dinner as some sort of date?

  Her phone vibrated on the table. “Hello? Hold on a minute.” She whispered to Jake, covering the phone, “It’s the woman from the other bridal shop. I’m going to take this outside. You keep eating.”

  Once outside, she slipped on her jacket and hugged its warmth against the ocean wind. “What have you got?”

  “Sorry I took a while to get back to you. Here’s the story. My employee, Anna, is your assistant’s cousin. Haley asked Anna to fabricate a reference for your shop. The phone number is Anna’s personal cell. Anna wouldn’t tell me why or more details. She had no authority to do that. Needless to say I fired her on the spot.”

  Lily shivered against the ocean’s biting wind. What other lies did Haley tell?

  Chapter 15

  Saturday arrived along with the community event. Jake stood, off to the side of the bridal shop, his arms folded across his chest. He watched with curious admiration as Lily and Denis prepared for the big day. Exactly the opposite of what he was doing.

  He pretended to talk to contractors and supply sources on the phone, but in reality he had to prepare for his client. And she was not letting up. Claire had texted and called him every day, several times a day, proof that she was growing impatient.

  She didn’t seem to have any commitments back home. A husband in name only. No job or children. Jake was her source of entertainment. What else in her life did she have to do besides hound him? Nothing as far as he could tell.

  Lily waved at him and pointed to an invisible watch on her wrist. A number of times she had reminded him that he should have at least made flyers promoting his new business, which he could hand out at the event. He couldn’t tell her that promotion of any kind would have been a waste of his client’s money, and he avoided the subject when she had brought the event up this past week.

  He was beginning to question his cover. Being the new tackle and bait shop owner was becoming convoluted. Take notes. Next case, keep simple, stupid. Now that he was fully involved, he couldn’t blow his cover, but he was digging himself in deeper and deeper. And he didn’t want that hole to get any bigger. When his case was complete, Lily would deserve to know the truth, and he wanted to be able to crawl out of the hole to explain himself. His feelings for her were developing as great as that hole. Although, he couldn’t tell her how much he cared for her. Not now. Not yet.

  Of another concern, one more imminent, was that Haley hadn’t shown up. The chief had wanted to question her after they had learned she made up the whole story about working in the New York City bridal shop, but he couldn’t locate her. Now she was a person of interest in Sam’s murder.

  Lily lugged over a cardboard box. “Here. Put this in the van please.”

  He lifted an eyebrow and grinned. “Yes, boss.” He slipped his phone into his pocket.

  She rested her hands on her hips and smiled back. “Very funny. I need all the help I can get since Haley is MIA and my sisters aren’t here. Besides, you’re just standing around.”

  He didn’t take offense that she implied he was doing nothing, especially when she sashayed away in her long black skirt and tall boots. With a view like that, her biting remark slid right off him. “Happy to be of assistance.”

  A few hours later, when the event began, Jake stood back, off to the side again, and people-watched, jotting down his observations. He filled up his notepad with copious notes on smiling couples who stopped at Lily’s booth, giggling groups of potential brides, and suspicious-looking single men who lingered about the tents. Jake almost intervened a few times when some folk came to gossip about the murder. To her credit, Lily shot those rumormongers down with a ‘no comment’ and switched the conversations back to bridal talk.

  At one point, Lily asked what he was writing and he lied. Ideas for his business, he told her. Guilt swirled around in the pit of his stomach as the fib rolled off his tongue. Yet he didn’t correct the untruth. How could he? He was on a mission and that didn’t include starting a romantic relationship. Even if something about her dragged him in that direction.

  He wished he had grabbed a folding chair from his place. Even an old rickety one would be better for his back than standing in one place for too long. After a few quick stretches and a forward bend that he had learned in yoga class to help release the tension, he rose up to find Lily standing in front of him, staring. A concerned expression swept across her face. She wrung her hands together, too polite to say anything about his pain.

  And he had lied to her. Hand him the Biggest Jerk award. He deserved the honor.

  “We’re going to get a late lunch from one of the restaurant tents. Want to walk with me? The New England clam chowder from Mike’s is the best around here.”

  He could use the exercise, and on cue, his stomach grumbled. “Sounds good.”

  They got their food and went back to the Betty Ann Bridal’s tent where Denis and the seamstresses had already set up extra chairs they must have gotten from the van. Jake claimed one and the spasms in his lower back thanked him.

  “You should go to your apartment and rest. Join us later when the bonfire’s going. There will be fireworks too. I’ll be fine with all these people around.”

  No way was he going to leave her. He was about to argue why, but the scalding soup burned his hands through the cardboard container. He searched for a spot on the long table, but the bridal stuff on display left no room to eat. Before he could put the soup on the sandy ground, Lily shifted a few things around and set her food down. She smiled and patted an area. “Here.”

  Jake fixed his on the edge. “I’m sticking around. Learning from the masters here about running a business.” He leaned over and whispered, “The chief would have my head if I abandoned you. He’s worried.”

  “You wouldn’t be abandoning me.” Lily’s warm breath stole across his cheek, she was that close. “Denis and the rest of my staff are here.”

  His knee brushed against hers as he moved in. “Haley’s vanished. Sam’s murdered. Someone has been following you.” He pressed his hand on her leg. “I’m not leaving you.”

  “Suit yourself.” She covered his hand with hers and squeezed. “Promise me you’ll go rest if your back hurts too much.”

  Touched by her concern, he lied to her again. “Promise.” He wouldn’t leave her, no matter how much his back was killing him. Ice, heat, massages, yoga, pain killers, he had tried them all. At the worst moments, he had to deal. He hoped the pain didn’t escalate in that way today. He held her hand for longer than he should, wishing they had met under different circumstances. Denis tossed him a hard glare.

  Jake stroked across her knuckles and whispered again, “Someone’s jealous. You’re paying me too much attention.”

  Denis continued to scowl in his direction.

  “What? Who?” Lily turned around to see. “Denis? No way. Look, he�
��s giving me a signal that he needs help. A group of women are surrounding him.” She laughed. “Believe me. Denis would never be jealous of another man in my life.” She blushed. “Not that you’re in my life, exactly.”

  He could be. He might even want to. But he knew a relationship with her would be trouble. At least right now when he was involved with this case. Maybe another time. He allowed a slow smile to steal across his mouth. Then he gave her a wink. “You better go over and help him before he strangles me with that lacey thing he’s holding.”

  Once again, she laughed. “That’s tulle. He’s showing them how we can add volume to a headpiece.”

  “Headpiece? You mean a veil?”

  She rose, her blue eyes sparkling with amusement, then took her warm hands with her as she went to assist Denis. “Something like that,” she tossed over her shoulder.

  Jake dug into his soup, now at an edible temperature. Growing up on an island, he had his fair share of clam chowder, but the creamy broth was top rate. He sat back in the chair and studied Denis’s interaction with Lily.

  Denis cackled at something one of the visitors said, his hands demonstrative, flailing in the air when explaining the services brides get at Lily’s shop.

  Maybe he read Denis wrong earlier. What he took for the jealousy a man feels when another man looks at his woman was, in reality, resentfulness because Jake gained Lily’s attention in a direction away from her shop. Or maybe Denis was jealous of their budding friendship.

  When Jake was finished with his meal, he got up, stretched, and then strolled around, stopping at tents, pretending to be interested in what they were pitching, all along keeping Lily in his sights.

  As the afternoon turned to dusk, the event participants packed up their wares and got ready for a relaxing evening of roasting marshmallows in front of a bonfire. He had to admit the anticipation and buzz of people milling about, listening to a band play oldies, and a sky lighting up with colorful fireworks, appealed to him.