by Maci Grant
Betty placed a hand over her face. Her shoulders shook.
Blu’s heart sank. She reached out and squeezed Betty’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“Please, don’t be.” Betty pulled her hand away from her face to reveal that she wasn’t crying at all. She was laughing. “What do you think we’re celebrating?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Sure. I found out about him a few hours ago. I threw this party together to celebrate the fact that the pain in my rear end no longer exists.”
Blu’s eyes widened. “Don’t you think it’s a little harsh to celebrate someone’s death?”
“Not George’s. Now what is it that you want?”
“I just wanted to be sure that someone contacted you. I thought maybe you could give me an idea of what George was like.”
“Why would you want to know that?”
“Who’s this babe?” The man—who, by his size, Blu guessed must have owned the boots on the porch—stepped up beside Betty. “A cute friend you never told me about?”
“Cut it out, Wayne. This is some woman who must have had a thing for George.”
“Oh, trust me, you dodged a bullet.” Wayne chuckled. “That man wasn’t worth the breath in his body.”
Blu tried not to let her disgust show. It was hard for her to believe that anyone could be so cruel.
“I understand that you were supposed to meet with him this morning?”
“Sure, at that little cafe by the beach. He finally agreed to work things out so that Wayne and I could make our love legal. Of course, as usual, he was a no-show.”
“Because he was dead.”
“Whatever—one last disappointment. Anyway, it doesn’t matter now. He’s dead. I’m a widow, and I get his retirement money. Not too shabby if you ask me.” She grinned at Wayne. “It’s a bit like winning the lottery, don’t you think, honey?”
“Sure is.”
Blu bit into her bottom lip. “So you were at the cafe this morning?”
“Just after it opened. We were in the parking lot for a bit before that. You know, enjoying one another’s company. That waitress was slow and real snotty when we banged on the door to be let in. She acted like it was such an imposition to be taken away from her prep work. Really, honey, rolling napkins is not that important.”
“Well, I guess I should let you get back to your party.”
“Want a beer?” Wayne winked at her. “We might not be friends now, but we could be.”
“No. No, that’s okay.” Blu forced a smile. “I have to be going.”
She couldn’t get to her car fast enough.
Chapter 9
Once Blu was settled back in the driver’s seat, she knew exactly where she had to go next. Cathy had left out one very important detail about her morning, and Blu wanted to know why. Since the kids were with Maddie, she could spare one extra stop.
She wanted to hear from Cathy what else had happened that morning. With Betty’s detailed account, she found it hard to believe that the waitress’s description was made up, but Blu wanted to confirm it.
When she arrived at the cafe, it was during the lull between lunch and dinner. She pulled open the door and stepped into a nearly empty restaurant. Cathy turned away from the counter with a coffee pot in her hand. When she saw Blu, she turned right back and started to head for the kitchen.
“Cathy, wait. I just need to speak with you for a minute.”
“Are you a customer?” A man with slicked-back hair and a handlebar mustache met her eyes. “She’s on the clock.”
“Yes. I could use a cup of coffee, please.”
“Cathy.” The man tilted his head toward an open spot at the counter.
Cathy sighed and walked toward the empty seat.
Blu took the seat in the same moment that Cathy set down a coffee mug rather hard.
“What are you doing back here?” She looked into Blu’s eyes.
“Like I said, I need some coffee—and maybe a few more answers from you.”
“Look, like I said earlier, I’m not interested in being a witness.”
“Have the police come to talk to you?” Blu studied her.
Cathy glanced away.
“They haven’t, right? We kept your name out of it.”
“Yes. You did, I guess. They haven’t been here yet, anyway.”
“See? No reason to withhold information.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was wondering if you had some early customers this morning.”
“Oh. Yes, I did.”
“And you didn’t think to mention it?”
“Why would I?” She frowned and poured coffee into the mug. “They were just this annoying loud couple. They pounded on the door and demanded to be let in before I was even open for business. I didn’t want a disturbance, so I just let them in.”
“Were they here before or after you noticed George’s friend on the beach?”
“Before. I let them in before I saw him, but they had been in the parking lot for a little while before that. Why do they matter?”
“The woman happens to be George’s ex-wife.”
“Oh.” Cathy’s eyes widened. “That makes sense. I heard them arguing back and forth about someone they were supposed to meet. She did say the name George, but you know, there are a lot of Georges in the world.”
“Did they seem nervous—or angry?”
“Angry.” She shook her head. “Mostly that I didn’t have any alcohol to serve them. We don’t offer that until lunch.”
“What about George? Did she say anything in particular that you can recall?”
“No. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to listen in. I was busy, and I was annoyed with them, so I just did my best to ignore them.”
“And when they left? Had you seen George’s partner yet?”
“Yes. I noticed him before any other customers came in. I wasn’t sure what to think. Then I got caught up with the couple. They were irritated then—slammed their money down, ignored me, and stormed out.”
“Did you see if they went down to the beach or not?”
“I didn’t really pay attention.”
“What about anyone else you might have seen that morning? A delivery man? Anyone.”
“Why do you want to know? I mean, isn’t it clear that George’s partner killed him?”
“Witnesses are always helpful, and since you don’t want to be involved, finding other witnesses would be ideal.”
Cathy seemed to be studying her before she continued. “Are you a cop or something? I thought you were just AJ’s girlfriend.”
“I’m not his girlfriend.” Blu blushed and looked away. “And I’m not a cop either. I’m a nanny, actually. But you should be glad I’m not a cop. If I was a cop, you’d be at the police station looking at mug shots, right?”
“True.” Cathy paused. “So back to your question—I didn’t see anyone else, except…”
“Except for who?”
“Councilman Carry—but he runs this strip of beach every morning.”
“So did you see him this morning?” Blu’s heart quickened.
“Sure.”
“Before or after you saw George’s partner?”
“Before—about twenty minutes before. He runs at the same time every day.” She smiled. “Sometimes he waves to me. It’s nice to be noticed.”
“It’s interesting that he would run in this area when he seems very aware of the crime that happens.”
“He does it for that reason. He says he won’t turn a blind eye to it, and he wants the people of the local area to know that.” Cathy smiled a little. “It’s actually kind of refreshing to find a politician who wants to be so involved.”
“Hm. I guess it is.” Blu swirled some milk into her coffee. She tapped the side of the mug. It seemed to her that Cathy had told her everything that she could, but the question in her mind now was, who did that ring belong to? Maybe if she had a picture of it, she could ask. �
�Did you notice if the couple from this morning had any jewelry on?”
“Are you kidding?” Cathy laughed. “I noticed alright. I’ve never seen someone wear that much bling and leave such a bad tip.”
“Was Betty wearing a ring?”
“No, it wasn’t the woman. It was the guy. He looked like he’d knocked over a jewelry store and decided to wear his spoils all in one day. Well, you know why a guy wears a ring on every finger.”
“Style?” Blu raised an eyebrow.
“Are you kidding?” Cathy quirked an eyebrow. “Where are you from?”
“Small town USA.” Blu frowned.
“Oh, I guess that explains it. Look, you know someone is looking for a fight if they load up their hands with rings. Every punch is made a lot worse when you’re wearing armor.”
“I get it.” Blu’s eyes widened. “So you think the guy you saw was looking for a fight?”
“I don’t know if he was or not. Some guys wear that kind of stuff just to look tough—all bark and no bite, if you know what I mean. But that guy looked big enough to not need anything else to make him look tough.”
Blu recalled the massive size of Wayne. She also remembered that he didn’t have any of his rings on when she’d met him. That was a good hint to her that the rings weren’t really about style. He’d worn them for a purpose and didn’t have them on later in the day. Blu also wondered how Betty had been notified so fast. Was it the police that contacted her, or was it that she had first-hand knowledge that her ex-husband was dead?
“Thanks for the information, Cathy.” She left a five-dollar tip for her cup of coffee. It wasn’t much, but it was something.
As she stood up from the stool, she noticed a face looking in the front window of the cafe. She only saw it for a second, but she thought perhaps it was the councilman.
She hurried out the door to see if she could catch him.
Chapter 10
When Blu stepped outside of the cafe, there was no one in the parking lot. As she walked to her car she called AJ to tell him about her meeting with the ex-wife and with Cathy.
“Blu, I was just about to call you.”
“Really?”
“Yes, my uncle let me know that it has been confirmed that George was involved with drugs. In fact, there’s a sting operation in place that had surveillance on George and his partner, Xavier Tillman.”
“You mean they have the murder on camera?”
“Actually, that’s the strange thing. They were pulled off the case this morning. However, they did get wind of Xavier suspecting that George was somehow involved with the police operation.”
“Was he?”
“Not as far as my uncle can tell. But you know how these things can be between jurisdictions. No one wants to give out too much information.”
“So, Xavier thought that George was going to turn him in to the cops. That’s certainly could be motivation to kill him.”
“It sure is. The problem is that no one can find Xavier.”
“What about the ring?”
“Oh, I forgot to ask about that. I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay. I just think it could be important.” She filled AJ in on what Cathy had told her about Betty and Wayne’s visit to the cafe.
“That is interesting, but it sure does seem to be pointing at Xavier as the killer. So I don’t think there’s too much else to be concerned about—which is a relief, because I’m really looking forward to getting to spend some time with you at the clambake tomorrow.”
“I’ll have the kids, remember.”
“I know.” He paused as if he might say something more, but when he spoke it was casual. “Have a good night, Blu.”
“Thanks, AJ. You too.” She hung up the phone.
For a moment the desire to call him back overwhelmed her, but she pushed it down. This was not the time to start any kind of real conversation. She still hadn’t figured out what it was that she wanted, and it wasn’t fair to AJ to even bring up the topic without knowing how she felt.
She drove back to Maddie’s to pick up the kids.
After updating her friend about the case, Maddie shook her head. “It seems to me that two criminals did us all a favor. One took out the other. Now Xavier will be in jail and no more drugs can be run through him.”
“Maybe.” Blu shook her head. “It just seems very strange to me that the surveillance team was pulled the very morning that George was killed.”
“A coincidence?”
“Maybe.” Blu gathered the kids. “See you tomorrow at the clambake?”
“I’ll be there. And so will you—with AJ.” Maddie grinned. “Is it going to be the big day?”
“The big day?”
“First kiss, first declaration of love, first promise to have a happily ever after?”
“Maddie, you’ve been watching those teen romance movies again, haven’t you?”
“It’s all Chrissa ever wants to watch!” Maddie rolled her eyes. “But look, it could be real life for you. It’s the perfect setting, the perfect moment.”
“Sure. Right before we return to the reality of Manhattan.”
“Blu, you’re so stubborn! We live in the age of technology. It’s not like you can’t video chat, text, and e-mail.”
“Hm.” Blu tilted her head from side to side. “I don’t know, Maddie. Do you ever have that feeling that the choice you make is going to change the rest of your life? Like once you make it, there’s no option to go back?”
“Yes.” Maddie held Blu’s gaze. “Which is why it’s imperative that you at least kiss him. You can’t spend the rest of your life wondering if he was the one that got away.”
“Is that really fair to him, though? What if we kiss and there’s nothing between us?”
“Girl, you two can be standing on opposite sides of the room and I have to cut the chemistry between the two of you to get through. Trust me, you shouldn’t be worried about there being nothing there, you should be worried about just how powerful it’s going to be—because once it starts, there’s going to be no stopping it.”
“Then maybe that’s all the more reason not to let it start.”
Maddie sighed and looked into her friend’s eyes. “I know what this is about.”
“What?” The kids ran past Blu to the car.
“It’s because of me, isn’t it?”
“Well, Maddie, I love you, but not like that.”
“That’s not what I mean.” Maddie winked at her. “What I meant was, you watched what I went through with my ex. You’re scared you’re going to face the same thing. But I think it’s different with AJ. You can’t let my failed romance be the only example of love that you have. So my husband didn’t turn out to be the guy I thought he was; that doesn’t mean that will be true of every guy that you meet—that either one of us meet, I mean.”
Blu smiled sadly. “I hear you Maddie. I think I just need some time to think about it.”
“There isn’t much time left, you know.”
“I know.”
Blu surprised herself with the emotion that Maddie’s statement caused her to feel. In her gut, she couldn’t imagine being ready to say goodbye to AJ.
Chapter 11
Blu drove the kids back to the beach house. Her mind spun with what she’d discovered during her exploration. There was reason to believe that Betty and Wayne had been at the cafe, not only to meet with George but to cause him harm. And now she had to wonder if that face she’d seen earlier in the window really was the councilman.
She was distracted from her thoughts when she parked in the driveway and saw that Rachel’s car was there as well.
“Kids, Mom’s home.” Blu smiled.
Joey and Marley raced for the door. When they pushed through it, Rachel was just on the other side to greet them.
“Hi, my sweethearts!” She hugged them both and kissed their heads. “I was hoping you’d be home soon. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you all day. Can you go get washed
up? Then we’ll have dinner and a movie.”
“Yes!” Marley hopped up and down.
“I’m getting the bathroom first!” Joey ran down the hall. Marley shrieked and ran after him.
Rachel shook her head and laughed as she turned back to Blu. “I heard what happened on the beach today. What a shame.”
“Don’t worry, the kids are okay.”
“I’m not worried. I never worry when they’re with you.” Rachel smiled at her. “Listen, I know I said that you could take the kids to the clambake, but it turns out Marshall is going to be able to be here and help us get packed up for the trip back. So if you don’t mind too much, I’d really like for it just to be us and the kids tomorrow.”
“That’s fine, I don’t mind at all. I’m glad that you and Marshall are going to be getting some time together.”
“Me too.” Rachel offered a blissful smile. “I was starting to think we’d go most of the summer without seeing him. I’m glad he’s making an effort to be here for this.”
“Well, dinner won’t take me long to make unless there’s something special you’d like tonight.”
“Actually, I can handle dinner. I think someone is waiting for you outside.”
“Huh?” Blu glanced out the window. She saw AJ in the driveway.
“I told him that I’d send you out.” Rachel smiled. “He’s a very sweet guy.”
“Seems that way.” Blu narrowed her eyes. She wondered if this was his attempt to ambush her and demand answers. “Thanks, Rachel.”
“Have fun!”
Blu stepped out into the driveway.
AJ turned to face her and instantly smiled. “Hi. I hope you don’t mind me just dropping by.”
“Of course not. But I thought I already said—”
“—I know, but I wanted to tell you about something, and Rachel and I arrived at the same time. She told me she was giving you tonight and tomorrow off. I think she had a reason.” He smiled shyly.
