4 Arch Enemy of Murder

by Vanessa Gray Bartal

  “Are they gone?” he asked.

  “They’re gone,” Lacy said. “It’s safe.”

  He entered the room and kissed Lucinda’s cheek while Lacy smiled and Riley narrowed her eyes from her perch on the couch. She wasn’t openly hostile towards her grandmother’s new boyfriend, but neither was she warm. She seemed to be withholding her opinion. Lacy wasn’t sure what would tip the balance in Mr. Middleton’s direction, but she hoped for all their sakes that it happened soon. Riley’s approval would go a long way toward convincing their mother, Fran, to give her unknowingly biological father a chance.

  “Riley,” Mr. Middleton said, tipping his head to her.

  “Mr. Middleton,” she replied. Her tone was that of someone addressing her old high school principal—formal and just a little bit frightened. Had Lacy ever sounded that way toward him? Probably, but she couldn’t remember. Now she stepped forward to receive her cheek kiss and bestow one in return.

  “Lacy,” he said as he gave her hand an affectionate squeeze.

  “Grandpa,” Lacy said. On the couch, Riley stirred and crossed her arms over her chest, frowning.

  “How was the party?” Mr. Middleton asked.

  “It was fine,” Lucinda said.

  Lacy thought if she left the room, then Riley might make more of an effort to talk. “I should call Tosh,” she said. She eased to her bedroom, but not before she did a mental count of the remaining cupcakes. Two dozen—that should last a couple of days until her grandmother baked again. She closed her door before she dialed Tosh, but there was no need for privacy since he didn’t answer his phone. She left him a message to call if he got in before midnight, and then she was left with nothing to do but stare at the cramped four walls of her new enclosure. Maybe it was time to move to Barbara Blake’s house. Or maybe the Stakely building. She could do what everyone had been suggesting and remodel the fourth floor into a livable space. But like westerns of old, the town wasn’t big enough for the two of them. If Riley was going to stay, Lacy didn’t want to.

  As she sat on her bed and contemplated leaving, she realized that she couldn’t and didn’t want to. She owned the Stakely building. She had become a voice in the community, someone who was included on committees to revitalize the downtown, someone who people in the city looked to when it was time to make decisions. For better or worse, she was committed to see the project through, she was an integral part of the community, and she liked it. For so many years growing up, she’d had the dream of going away. There was a phase of her life when she had felt a childish sort of disdain for her home. Now somehow that had all changed. She loved her town full of quirky, aggravating people. She loved the tiny downtown that didn’t offer much in the way of culture, entertainment, or shopping. She loved the low crime rate, the ability to walk wherever she wanted to go, the sense of being a part of something, of making a difference. Plus there were her friends and family. She didn’t want to leave her grandparents or Tosh, and especially not Jason.

  She smiled. When she first moved back and realized Jason was still living and working in their small town, she had judged him as being a hick yokel. But she had caught his vision and now she wanted to give back as much as he did, but in a different way. Jason served and protected. Lacy wanted to bring revenue and fresh blood. Maybe she couldn’t change the world or make it a better place, but she would do her best in her tiny corner of the world.

  She fell asleep thinking about the town, imagining what it could be, never dreaming of how closely linked with it she would soon become.

  Chapter 4

  When Lacy woke the next morning, she called Tosh. She would be seeing him shortly at church, but they wouldn’t have a chance to talk, and especially not about his love life. His parishioners felt it their duty to make sure their pastor kept to the straight and narrow. They had begrudgingly accepted his interest in Lacy because she was one of their own, and because she was Lucinda Craig’s granddaughter. They weren’t ready to vet someone new; Lacy wasn’t sure she was, either.

  “How was the date?”

  “It’s still going on,” Tosh said.

  Lacy sat up and planted her feet on the floor. “Are you serious?”

  “Of course not. I was home by ten.”

  “Why didn’t you call me back?”

  “I had to study my sermon. I fell asleep sitting up in the office.”

  “Sounds like a riveting sermon,” Lacy said. “So, ten, huh? That doesn’t sound good.”

  “No, it was good. She was as sweet as she seemed.”

  “You don’t sound enthused,” Lacy said.

  “It was a first date. I’m trying not to get too involved until I know her better.”

  “Will there be a second date?”

  “Already on the calendar,” Tosh said.

  “Did you kiss her?”

  “Lacy! That’s a horribly personal question, so of course I’m going to answer. Yes.”

  “And?”

  “And what?”

  “A lot of people think you can determine a relationship’s outcome based on the first kiss,” Lacy said.

  “You made that up just now, didn’t you?”

  “I’m the red-haired Confucius. How was it?”

  “It was nice.”

  “Why do you make nice sound like a bad thing?”

  “You know how some women tend to go for the bad guy because they think they can change him? I tend to do that with women. My past relationships were, uh, interesting. But that was before I became a pastor. I haven’t dated seriously since I left seminary. I want to take it slowly, to be careful and not risk finding a boiled bunny on my front porch.”

  “Ew, disgusting. Did that really happen to you?”

  “Okay, next movie night we’re watching Fatal Attraction because your cinematic repertoire is sorely lacking. Also, it will give you a good idea of the type of women I’m used to. I should go. Are you coming to church today?”

  “No, I’m faking sick. Don’t tell my pastor.”

  “You say that every week.”

  “I’m waiting for you to find it funny,” Lacy said.

  “Keep waiting,” Tosh said. “See you.”

  “See you,” she replied, but he had already hung up. Thanks to her daily grind at the Stakely building, Lacy was finally on a good, disciplined schedule. She woke early, ran, showered, and went to work. Today she would replace work with church, but keep everything else the same. Riley’s door was still closed and there were no sounds from inside. What does she do in there all day? Lacy wondered. So far Riley hadn’t attended church with them and when they arrived home in the afternoon, she often looked like she had just woken up. The sisterly part of Lacy was concerned. The other part of her was relieved. The more time Riley spent in her room, the less time there was for arguing or drama.

  She bypassed her morning coffee in order to savor it after her run, walked onto the front porch, and ran solidly into Jason.

  “Going somewhere?” he asked.

  “Going for a run,” Lacy replied.

  “I could go with you,” Jason volunteered.

  “You’re wearing nice clothes.” In fact, he was wearing the same clothes he had worn the day before. Either he was sorely lacking in dress clothes, or he had pulled an all-nighter. Judging by the dark shadows under his eyes and the beard stubble on his cheeks, it was the latter.

  “These clothes couldn’t possibly be hurt by any more punishment; believe me.”

  Lacy pressed her palm to his cheek. “You’re exhausted.”

  “I worked all night, and I haven’t been sleeping well anyway. I’ve spent so many years training my body to sleep during the day that now I’m having a hard time sleeping at night. I haven’t slept well since I slept with you.”

  “What?” Jason squinched his eyes closed as Mr. Middleton stepped up behind them.

  “That wasn’t what it sounded like, Grandpa. He meant actual sleep.”

  Mr. Middleton didn’t comment as he passed them by on
his way inside, but he did raise his two fingers to his eyes and point them at Jason to let him know he was being watched.

  “Geez,” Jason breathed. “Does he wear moccasins? I swear his feet don’t make a sound when they move.”

  “That explains where I get my natural grace and fluid movement,” Lacy said.

  “If I contradict that statement, you’ll be mad. If I play along with the joke, you’ll be mad. Not sure where to go here,” Jason said.

  “You’re so smart for someone so pretty.”

  “I told you not to call me pretty,” Jason said.

  “Then stop being pretty.”

  “I’m way too tired to attempt logic on you, so I’ll change the subject instead. I stopped by to see how you’re doing after yesterday. How are you doing?”

  “I’m fine. I have a feeling I missed the worst part. Did you figure out what happened?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Jason said. “The giant hole in his chest was our first clue.”

  “Giant hole?” Lacy repeated. “What does that have to do with a car accident?”

  “It wasn’t a car accident. The guy was shot.”

  She gasped. “Who was it?”

  “No idea. The tags had been removed from the car and the VIN number scratched off. We’re attempting to salvage some fingerprints, but…” he cut off when he caught sight of her expression. She couldn’t help but imagine what condition the man’s fingers were in if they couldn’t get a print. “Anyway, unless and until that happens, we’re keeping our ears and eyes open for any missing persons reports.”

  “You have your work cut out for you,” she said. She rested her hand on his chest and gave it a pat. Then, remembering Riley’s words about her lack of affectionate displays with Robert, she slid her arms about him, stepped forward, and replaced her hand with her head against his heart. He slipped his arms around her and rested his head on hers.

  “I probably shouldn’t have told you any of that. Apparently lack of sleep creates loose lips.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind. I happen to like it when your lips are loose.”

  “That’s one of the five weirdest things you’ve ever said to me. Promise me I’m not going to read any of what I just said in the paper.”

  “I’m not writing for the paper right now; I’ve been too busy.”

  “Working girl,” he muttered. He sounded half asleep.

  “Me and Melanie Griffith. I’m not going to see you much until this is over.”

  “No.”

  “And maybe not even then, given the way you’ve been avoiding me lately.”

  “Lacy, we’re practically spooning standing up, so much so that I expect your grandfather to make an appearance any minute with a taser or pepper spray. I hardly call that avoidance.”

  “You know what I mean. You’ve been withdrawn since we came back from New York.”

  “Your choice,” he said, his voice growing terse.

  “Your choice.”

  “Tell me what’s changed to make things different,” he said.

  She shook free from his embrace and took a step back, pressing herself against the bricks. “I don’t like ultimatums.”

  “I don’t like feeling forced to issue them. Something had to change.”

  “Like this? Is this what you wanted? Us barely speaking to each other?”

  “Of course not,” he said. “You know what I wanted. You’re the holdout.”

  “Everything was going fine. You’re the one who decided to change it,” she said.

  “Maybe everything was going fine for you, but everything was most definitely not going fine for me. I don’t share.”

  “So I can’t have friends?”

  “That’s not what this is about, and you know it.”

  “I don’t know anything anymore,” Lacy said.

  “I didn’t come here to argue with you,” Jason said.

  “You’re doing a bang-up job, nonetheless,” Lacy said.

  They faced off, breathing hard and glaring. “I’m going, but this is not done. We’re going to talk more about it when this case is cleared.”

  The mention of his case softened some of Lacy’s simmering anger. “Take care of you. Remember to eat.” She pressed her hand to his cheek again. He leaned into it as he answered.

  “I will.”

  “And get some sleep. Promise.”

  “Promise,” he said. He kissed her hand and took a step away. “Ah, geez,” he mumbled before turning and pulling her close. “This changes nothing,” he said.

  “It never does,” she said, and then he kissed her.

  He let her go with an unintentional shove, as if he was already regretting giving in to the kiss. He turned and jogged to his car without another word.

  Lacy checked her watch. She would have to hustle to make her run, but she still waited to start until Jason was completely out of sight. She was trying to win an argument, not drive him away forever—no need for him to see her attempt at exercise.

  She had dug her old shoes out of the closet, so there was no more arch-related trauma during her run. She finished in less than an hour—a good time for her. After her shower and a quick breakfast of leftover cupcakes, Lacy and her grandparents went to church.

  “Do you think she’s okay in there?” her grandmother asked with a worried glance at Riley’s room.

  “Maybe she just needs some space for a while,” her grandfather suggested, although he, too, gave the door a worried glance. Lacy hoped Riley emerged from her funk soon. If not, it would be up to her to find out what was going on, and she really didn’t want to delve that deeply into her sister’s life for fear of what she might find.

  They sat in the family pew together. Lucinda kept her companions supplied with peppermints from her purse, as she had for as long as Lacy could remember. She was probably the only person in the world who craved mints every time she heard “Amazing Grace.” Tosh’s sermon was predictably uplifting. He wasn’t the fire-and-brimstone sort of preacher. Instead he liked to focus on such topics as joy, love, peace, and goodness. Lacy’s grandmother’s group of friends tolerated these sermons as if they were sucking on lemons instead of candy. If Tosh didn’t throw in a sermon about eternal damnation soon, Lacy guessed the church board would begin to hear some complaints, if they hadn’t already.

  After the sermon, Tosh gave her the signal, the one that meant he was free and wanted to spend the afternoon with her. Sundays were typically exhausting for him, so they spent it as they usually did—eating Chinese takeout while alternately napping or watching a movie on his couch.

  Lacy left early to get ready for the date. There was still no sign of Riley, so Lacy knocked on her door. “Riley, Travis will be here in one hour.”

  No answering sound came from inside. She should probably force the issue and make sure Riley was still on board with the plan, but there was a not-so-small part of her that hoped Riley was going to stand them up and welch on the agreement. If she did, then Lacy would be off the hook; she would have tried her best for Travis, and she wouldn’t owe Riley anything.

  Five minutes before six, Lacy was putting the finishing touches on her makeup when her phone rang. It was Travis.

  “Where are you?” she asked. Was he welching, too?

  “On the front porch.”

  He sounded odd, more than a little nervous, and strained. “Come in,” she said.

  “Come out. I need to talk to you.”

  Lacy gathered her purse and phone and went to meet him on the front porch. She had never seen him out of uniform, she realized, and it came as a shock not only to see him in civilian clothes, but to realize that he was very cute. He was no Jason, but still, he wasn’t a slouch in the looks department, either. “What’s the problem?” she asked. Her tone was gentle because he looked two seconds away from dropping into a dead faint.

  “There’s something I didn’t tell you,” he said.

  “What?”

  “The reason I don’t date much, the reason I can
’t be a road unit, well, it’s because my nervous system is hard-wired to my digestive system.”

  “What does that mean?” Lacy said. From his color, she had a bad feeling she was about to find out.

  “It means that every time I get really nervous, I…” He clapped his hand over his mouth, dodged to the side of the porch, and lost his lunch over the railing. “Sorry,” he said when he returned. He popped a breath mint and offered one to her.

  She shook her head. “It’s okay. I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that hydrangeas need protein. How long have you had this problem?”