“If it’s not a costume party, then what kind of party is it?” Lacy asked.
“The best one this town has ever seen, if I do say so myself. I called in a lot of favors for this event.”
“Favors from whom?”
“First of all, it’s obnoxious when you say ‘whom.’ No one talks like that in real life. Second, I called in whatever I needed, and people came through.”
“You didn’t have anyone killed, did you?”
“Not yet, but the night is young,” Riley said. She opened the door with a flourish and shoved Lacy through. Music was playing, but it was as if time froze. All eyes were on her, and she panicked. And then she saw the familiar faces of her grandparents and Tosh and took a breath. All would be well. Just because it seemed like everyone in the world was there didn’t mean they actually were.
Her grandparents hugged her and passed her off to Tosh who did the same. “So proud of you,” he whispered. The feeling that it was prom all over again intensified as Lacy was passed around the room, only this time she felt like the queen of the ball. She tried to deflect attention to her grandfather, to her tenants, even to Riley, but the focus was on her.
The crowd passed her along and she surfed through the room until she landed in front of an angry-looking Jason. “You,” he said, pointing an accusing finger at her midsection.
Lacy yelped and ran away, disappearing through the thick, streaming crowd. The next time she saw him was almost an hour later. He was talking to Cindy. He caught sight of Lacy and held up a finger to cut short the conversation. Lacy looked around for salvation, wondering why the crowd dispersed when she needed them most. Finally in desperation, she ducked out of sight behind the makeshift bar. The bartender did a double take. She made a pleading motion with her hands, and he turned away, shaking his head.
“May I help you, sir?” he asked a moment later.
“I’ll have a club soda,” she heard Jason say and hugged the edge of the bar more closely. The bartender poured the drink and slid it across the bar. “Thank you. I’ll also take her off your hands.”
The bartender feigned ignorance. “Excuse me?”
“The red-headed bar rat crouching at your feet. She’s with me.”
Lacy stood and smoothed her skirt. “How can you drink club soda? It’s disgusting.”
“Says the woman who spent the last ten minutes wallowing on the floor beside a trash can,” Jason said. He took a sip of the soda, set it down and held out his hand. “Come with me; we need to talk.”
“I can’t. I’m busy being a hostess.”
He scanned their deserted section of the room. “I think your invisible friends can live without you for a few minutes.”
“I need to check and make sure Joe and his sister got in. I left word with Riley’s bouncer to let them pass, but he didn’t seem like the type to follow orders.”
“Neither are you which is why you have five seconds to take my hand and start walking before I pick you up, throw you over my shoulder, and carry you through this entire room of gawking strangers.”
Lacy stared at his hand, trying to decide if he was serious or not. At last she decided he was, and placed her hand in his. He didn’t wait for her to start walking. Instead he turned and tugged her behind him at a trot. She was nervous about the coming conversation. Her jealousy had gotten the better of her the previous night, and she knew it. She shouldn’t have slammed the door in his face or sent him away so abruptly. She had behaved badly; she would have to make amends.
“Look, I know that things didn’t exactly end well last night,” she babbled. “I maybe handled things wrong. But if I told you how little sleep or food I’ve had this week, you might understand. I mean, I’ve been under duress. Things haven’t been normal. There’s Riley and the renovations, the tenants, this thing with Pearl…” She trailed off as he led her into the stairwell and closed the door. Her panic increased. Why had she brought up Pearl? What if he knew she had been investigating with Tosh? She should have told him. He was going to kill her. He certainly had a murderous look in his eyes.
“Did Riley dress you?”
She blinked at him, confused. “What?”
“Did Riley dress you?”
“Yes,” she drawled. “Why?”
“I’m trying to figure out who I need to thank for this. Geez, you look amazing. And you’ve been running from me for the last hour. It’s like you’ve been genetically preprogrammed to drive me insane. You left me at a simmer last night, and then you show up looking like this and run away from me. I swear, Lacy.” He backed her up until she was sandwiched between him and the wall.
“You swear what?” she asked. Her voice had become the dopey, breathless whisper she hated.
“I don’t know, I just swear.” He leaned in to kiss her. Lacy tipped her face up, but he bypassed her lips and went for her neck because the wretch knew her weaknesses. Lacy melted and would have become a puddle on the floor, but Jason caught her and wrapped one arm around her waist, cinching her closer.
“I think I swear, too,” she whispered. He smiled, his lips curving against the arch of her neck.
The door opened and Lacy’s grandmother stepped through. “Oh, dear.” She quickly shut the door and leaned against it. “Your grandfather is looking for you and heading this way.”
Jason backed away like Lacy had suddenly turned into kryptonite. Lucinda let go of the door and straightened his collar and tie. “That’s not much better. Try not to look so happy, dear. Tom has a sense about these things.” Jason assumed a more dismal expression and smoothed a hand over his hair just as Mr. Middleton opened the door and stepped through. He scanned the small gathering, his eyes landing appraisingly on Jason.
“Lacy disappeared and has been gone for quite some time,” he said. All eyes turned to Lacy. She opened her mouth to try and reply, but her brain was still mush, her legs still jelly. She had to say something to save Jason, so she forced words past her dry throat.
“Applesauce muffins,” she blurted.
The babbling idiocy worked to distract her grandfather. “What?” he said.
“Applesauce muffins,” she repeated. “Riley likes those, and they don’t have much fat.”
“Yes, you’re right,” Lucinda jumped in. “I forgot about those. I’ll make them for Riley sometime.”
“Okay,” Mr. Middleton drawled. “I’m glad we cleared that up. We should probably get back to the party now because people are beginning to wonder where the guest of honor went.” He gave Jason one more narrow-eyed, suspicion-packed look before turning away.
“There in a minute,” Lacy said. The door closed on her grandparents, and she was alone with Jason.
“Applesauce muffins?” he repeated.
“It was all I could think of,” she said.
He laughed and advanced on her again. She held up both hands to ward him off. “You stay over there. Don’t touch me. My legs are just now beginning to cooperate and function again. I’m like one of those baby zebras trying to learn to walk before it gets picked off by a hyena. Stay over there, I mean it.”
“I’ll leave you alone now on one condition,” he said.
“What?” She took an experimental step away from the wall.
“We talk more about those applesauce muffins again later. They sound delightful.”
Lacy groaned. “Please tell me I didn’t just make ‘applesauce muffins’ a code word for all perpetuity,” Lacy said.
“I’m afraid so,” Jason said. He forced a grave tone and put his arm around her as he led her back to the party.
“Are you going to write about this in your diary?” she asked.
“You’re cute, Red,” he said. “You’re very, very cute.”
There was a live band. Lacy recognized Michael on guitar and guessed the other people must have been the friends he was referring to. Riley breezed up to them, smiling. “People are waiting for you to dance,” she hissed.
“Why? It’s not like this is my wedding,
” Lacy said.
“It’s your party. Jason, help me out here for once and do something with her,” Riley begged. She waved her hand at Lacy to indicate her hopelessness.
“This is awkward,” Lacy said as Jason took her hand and led her to the dance floor. “Everyone is staring at us.”
“I will never understand how your brain works,” Jason said. “Everyone here is looking at you because you’re the most beautiful woman in the room, and yet you still think you’re that chunky kid who fell down the steps at prom.”
“You knew about that?” Lacy asked. She had fallen in the hallway of the banquet room. She sprained her ankle and spent the remainder of the dance sitting at her table alone.
“Everyone knew about that. It was very sad. And funny. But mostly sad. I almost asked you to dance.”
“You did not.”
“I thought about almost asking you to dance, but I was easily distracted back then, and there was a game on TV in the kitchen of the banquet hall.”
Other people started to ease onto the dance floor, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Jason shook his head. “If you had any idea the way people perceived you, then you wouldn’t worry so much about being the center of attention. Then again, I’m sort of thankful for your cluelessness. Otherwise, what would you be doing with me?”
“Now who’s the one with perception issues? You’re the Jason Cantor.”
“That’s right; I am the Jason Cantor who is taking you home tonight.”
“We’re having dessert with Riley and my grandparents,” she said.
“Does any event in your family not end in food?”
“There was once when we had the stomach flu that no one ate for a whole day. Then Grandma dragged herself to the kitchen and made chicken soup and banana bread.”
They danced another song in cozy silence, pausing when Tosh approached. Jason tried to ignore him, but Tosh wasn’t deterred.
“Did you want something?” Jason asked at last.
“Just wondering if you’re going to monopolize the guest of honor all night,” Tosh said.
Jason released Lacy and handed her off to Tosh. “I think I’ll visit the snack bar, see if I can grab some applesauce muffins for later.”
“What’s he talking about?” Tosh asked.
Lacy shrugged.
“He’s so weird,” Tosh said. “I don’t get the attraction, but whatever. How is the lady of the hour?”
“Overwhelmed by the adulation. I’ve never considered this my project alone. So many people have helped, but I’m the one that’s getting all the attention. It’s embarrassing.”
“People like to attach a face to a movement. You’re the face of downtown revitalization. People are excited for the first time in a long time, and they have you to thank for that. You should be proud; I know I am.”
“Am I blushing?”
“Yes, and it’s charming.”
“What have you been doing all night?”
“Mingling. Most of the church is here, so I’m definitely on duty. I danced a couple of times.”
“With parishioners?”
“No, with people less than fifty years older than me. Shocker, I know, but the upside of all your hard work is that there are more people our age here.”
“Did you dance with Cindy?”
“Yes.”
“She’s nice, huh?”
He smiled. “We’ve had this conversation before. She’s very nice. I also danced with your sister. She’s not so nice, but a really good dancer.”
“Where is she?” Lacy asked. “She keeps popping in and disappearing again.”
“Believe it or not, I think she’s working. Every time I see her, she seems to be making someone do her bidding. People respond to her in a terrified kind of way. She’s definitely Mr. Middleton’s grandchild.”
“I suppose I owe her some kind words,” Lacy said. “This party is exactly what I didn’t know I wanted. That’s really annoying, you know? It’s hard to hold onto my resentment when she’s doing something nice.”
“I know,” Tosh said. He gave her shoulder a sympathetic pat. “It’s really hard to have a family who cares about you.”
She poked his chest. “I’m not immune to your oh-so-subtle chastisement.”
“I’m teasing you. I know she’d been driving you crazy. I think there’s some good buried beneath there, though.”
Lacy was so shocked she stopped dancing and stared at him. “You like Riley.”
“What? No way, I like to see the good in everyone. That’s all.”
“Tosh, I’ve seen enough men fall for my sister to know the signs. You like her.”
“No, I don’t, Lacy. I told you I’m trying to stay away from the crazy. You’re reading too much into a simple statement.”
“I hope so because I’m telling you, Tosh, do not fall for Riley. I’ve watched countless boys and men over the years lose their hearts to her. She’s very good at making people fall in love with her, but not very good at returning the sentiment. Please, please, please watch yourself. Guard your heart. If you want to be attracted to her, then do it from a distance. Please.”
He laughed and gave her shoulders a little shake. “Lacy, you’re freaking out over nothing. Seriously, I’ve barely spoken ten words to her since she’s been here, and they’ve all been sarcastic. She’s going away soon. Let’s not panic.”
“I’m keeping an eye on you,” Lacy said. “If I feel that you’re actually falling for Riley, I’m going to hold an intervention. This is your warning.”
“You’ll know if I’m starting to fall for your sister if I do something over-the-top crazy. I’m not interested in her, but you have my permission to intervene if you feel I’m losing my head.” He glanced over her shoulder. “Your tenant is eyeing me for his chance to cut in.”
Lacy clutched at his shirt. “I don’t want to dance with him.”
“I can hear you,” Michael said. “Good thing for you I’m impervious to insults and rejection.”
“I didn’t see you there,” Lacy said.
“It’s the rusty hair—blends into the woodwork.” He held out his hand, and she reluctantly let go of Tosh.
“Why didn’t you want to dance with me?” Michael asked after a few seconds of dancing in silence.
“You try very hard to annoy me.”
“Sometimes I don’t try and it happens anyway. Why is that, do you suppose?”
“My theory is that we both have red hair,” Lacy said.
“That’s the worst theory I’ve ever heard. Besides, your hair is more strawberry blond than red.”
It was nothing less than what she had said, but she was still annoyed over his agreement. “Most people consider it red,” she said.
“Do you want to hear my theory on why I annoy you so?” he asked.
“No,” Lacy said. He smiled, which only served to annoy her more. She decided to disengage and say something nice. “Thank you for all the hard work on the party. It’s really lovely.”
“You’re welcome, but it was fairly self-serving since I’m directly benefiting from all these potential customers. The one who deserves the real thanks is your firebrand little sister. She’s quite sweet underneath all the diva.”
“A popular opinion today,” Lacy said.
“At the very least she knows how to work a room. She’s been schmoozing the bigwigs since they arrived.”
“What bigwigs?” Lacy asked. Michael nodded his head. She turned to see Riley talking to the mayor and city council. Nearby were several more members of “the club,” including Detective Arroyo and Judge Kronk. George, the waiter, was nowhere in sight. Seeing so many wealthy, important people made Lacy realize who was missing.
“Have you seen Joe?”
“I think I saw him skulking somewhere here,” Michael said. “He appears to be keeping close to the exits. Can’t say I blame him.” His eyes drifted over her shoulder again. “Ah, another of your men is queuing up for a chance wit
h you.”
“You make me sound like the prize heifer at the county fair,” Lacy said.
“I do so love those elegant American expressions.” He handed her off to her grandfather.
“You’re certainly the belle of the ball tonight,” he commented.
“Don’t remind me,” Lacy said. “There are still so many people I haven’t talked to, and I really just want to be with the people I love. How bad would it be if we sneaked out of here and went back to Grandma’s?”
4 Arch Enemy of Murder Page 16
