by K M Morgan
“Well, I’m here for you if you need me. I’m always one text away,” Deanna said.
Amelia gave her a hug. “Thanks.”
“Of course. That’s what friends are for.”
“I couldn’t ask for a better friend than you.”
“Take care of yourself.”
“I’ll try,” Amelia replied.
“Keep your head up. Remember, where’s there’s hope, there’s always a way,” Deanna said.
***
Amelia got her scoop of ice cream then headed home. Deanna hated to see her go, but she respected her friend’s wishes. While Amelia was in no mood to talk things out, Deanna was eager to speak her mind.
Luckily, one of her good friends, Sabrina Baldwin, was more than happy to listen from the other side of the counter. Sabrina was the owner of the ice cream shop and was always happy to lend an ear to a friend.
“More drama in the desert?” Sabrina asked.
Deanna sighed. “Unfortunately.”
Sabrina shook her head. “It’s crazy. For a small place, the desert sure has plenty of big drama.”
Deanna could tell her friend wasn’t just talking about Amelia’s problems. Sabrina had a look of bewilderment as well.
“What’s the matter, Sabrina?” Deanna asked.
Sabrina was taken aback. “How could you tell something was wrong?”
“It was just a hunch.”
“Wow. It really is almost impossible to get anything past you.”
“Why don’t you tell me what’s the matter? Is it about your date last night?”
Until recently, Deanna and Sabrina traded desert-dating war stories. When Deanna started dating Tyler, all her stories began to have happy endings.
The same could not be said for Sabrina. The dating trenches remained unkind to her.
Deanna could sense a story coming on.
“My date took me to a firing range,” Sabrina revealed.
“Like, to shoot guns?”
Sabrina nodded.
Deanna was in disbelief. “No. Tell me it isn’t so.”
“Oh, it happened, all right, despite how much I want to forget it.”
“That’s so desert.”
“Yup. There’s no rat quite like a desert rat.”
“What was going to be your second date, a hunting trip?” Deanna joked.
Sabrina sighed. “Try off-road racing.”
“Are you serious?”
Sabrina nodded. “Where have the normal men gone?”
“I wish I had an answer for you.”
“Maybe we already have the answer. You got the last good man in town.”
“I don’t believe that,” Deanna said.
“Just because you don’t believe it doesn’t make any less true.”
“I’ll remind you, Tyler is an import from the city.”
“Maybe I need to do some importing of my own.”
“Hang in there. You never know what tomorrow has in store for you.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Sabrina said.
“Well, here’s hoping you have a better day tomorrow,” Deanna replied.
“And if not, I have plenty of ice cream to keep me company,” Sabrina joked.
Chapter Nine
Deanna hoped that morning would bring good news. Before she had a chance to find out, she had an eager dog to walk. Her little dachshund, Hot Dog, had no use for patience. It just got in his way. The little guy was such a cutie that Deanna didn’t want to keep him waiting any longer, even if there were some heavy thoughts weighing on her mind.
As Deanna made her way to the dog park, she couldn’t help but be troubled by the fact that she hadn’t heard from Amelia. Not a call, text, nothing. That seemed odd, especially since Deanna had tried reaching her with a phone call before bed last night. Amelia hadn’t picked up the call.
Deanna shot Amelia a text and impatiently awaited an answer. The moment Deanna and Hot Dog reached the dog park, their focus shifted. Deanna’s septuagenarian grandma, Gwen, was already at the park with her Yorkie, Rosie.
Deanna gave Grandma Gwen a rundown of the drama from the day before while their dogs played with each other.
“So you weren’t able to read the Wendy Whimsy book then?” Grandma Gwen asked.
“Actually, with all the drama at the bookstore, I forgot to even buy the book,” Deanna said.
“It was a good one. I figured out who the killer was, though.”
“Of course you did. You wouldn’t be my grandma if you didn’t.”
“I still like watching Detective Drumstick better.”
Detective Drumstick was the lead character in a popular mystery TV show. In the show, Drake was the owner of a fried chicken restaurant by day and amateur sleuth by night. The quirky concept played into the show’s popularity. Then again, having a hunky actor playing the role of Drake didn’t hurt.
“That wouldn’t have anything to do with you having a crush on the actor playing Detective Drumstick, would it?” Deanna teased.
Grandma Gwen started blushing and changed the subject. “So, how are things going with you and the detective?”
“Better than expected, actually,” Deanna revealed.
Grandma Gwen shook her head. “What an understatement. You have the most rock-bottom expectations of anyone I know.”
“If you keep your expectations low, you get pleasantly surprised when they’re exceeded.”
“I know. And you never get too disappointed if the other shoe drops.”
“Usually it’s when, not if.”
“There’s something to be said for optimism,” Grandma Gwen remarked.
“I am optimistic. I’m just cautious with my optimism.”
Grandma Gwen laughed.
“Hey, it’s not my fault the other shoe always seems to find a way of dropping,” Deanna added.
Deanna wasn’t always this way. She used to be a carefree little girl running around like the world was one big playground. Then both her parents died in a freak car accident. From that moment on, everything changed. Almost thirty years had passed, but Deanna still wasn’t her old self, and she probably never would be.
After such a tragedy, Grandma Gwen understood why Deanna always worried about the other shoe dropping. At the same time, Gwen knew it would be hard for Deanna to fully commit to a relationship if she was constantly worried about getting hurt again. And true happiness only came in a relationship with commitment.
Grandma Gwen tried to nudge her granddaughter in the right direction. “Do I have to tell you the story about your grandfather and me getting together again?”
Grandma Gwen and Grandpa Bill were married for over fifty years. They’d still be together to this day if Bill hadn’t had a heart attack a few years back. Yet, despite such a long-lasting marriage, their relationship almost never happened.
When Bill and Gwen first met, Gwen wasn’t keen on dating anyone. She’d just gotten out of a bad relationship, where her previous boyfriend had cheated on her. Gwen was still trying to recover from that heartbreak. She wasn’t sure she was ready to be with a new man, to trust in the power of love again. Bill had to do some convincing to win her over. Luckily, he finally did, but it wasn’t easy.
“You’ve told me the story before,” Deanna said.
“Then you know what I’m trying to get at,” Grandma Gwen insisted.
“You think I should put my heart on the line.”
“Sometimes love requires a leap of faith. You have to be willing to take that plunge.”
“I’m working on that part.”
Grandma stared Deanna down, not convinced that her granddaughter was trying hard enough.
“Look, I’m a work in progress,” Deanna insisted.
“Dive in. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised,” Grandma Gwen insisted.
Deanna became eager to talk about something else. “You know, it’s so odd that Amelia hasn’t called or texted me back. I should go check on her.”
G
randma was on to her granddaughter’s tactics. “Change the subject on me all you want. Sooner or later, you’re going to realize I’m right.”
***
Grandma Gwen wasn’t wrong. Deanna was looking to make an exit from the conversation. But it was about more than just trying to dodge Gwen’s advice.
Deanna was truly worried about her friend Amelia. A pit had formed in Deanna’s stomach. She had an awful hunch that was begging to be followed up on. But first, she had to drop off little dachsie Hot Dog at home against his wishes. The pup would have run around the park for hours if Deanna had let him.
Hot Dog knew how to play his owner. The dachshund flashed Deanna some puppy dog eyes and made her feel guilty for cutting the walk short.
“You are the cutest master manipulator I’ve ever seen,” she told him.
Hot Dog whined, trying to look as pathetic as possible.
Deanna gave in and fed him some treats to satiate him.
Hot Dog barked and wagged his tail then chowed down.
Deanna shook her head as she watched him, realizing Hot Dog had tugged at all the right heartstrings.
Hot Dog finished eating then went over to his doggy bed and curled up to take a nap.
“Now that’s the life,” Deanna said to herself.
Deanna didn’t have the luxury of taking a nap right now. She had some serious business to attend to. After still not hearing back from her friend, Deanna hopped in her car to pay Amelia a visit.
As Deanna pulled onto Amelia’s street, the pit in her stomach got bigger than ever. She soon realized there was a good reason for that. When Deanna reached Amelia’s driveway, she saw Tyler’s car parked there.
Deanna’s heart sank. At that moment, it was hard not to suspect the worst. What was going on?
Chapter Ten
Deanna barreled to Amelia’s front door. That was when she saw her boyfriend, Tyler Goodman, talking with Amelia through the living room window. Deanna barged into Amelia’s place and moved to the living room.
Both Amelia and Tyler turned around, looking shocked to see her. By that point, Deanna’s head was full of questions. She did away with small talk and fired her first question off at her boyfriend.
“I guess your stakeout is over then, huh?” Deanna said.
Tyler was still trying to get his bearings back after being startled. “Deanna? What are you doing here?”
“Actually, I was going to ask you the same thing. What’s going on here?”
Tyler remained tight lipped. “This is official police business.”
Deanna was surprised. “Police business? But, I don’t understand.”
Amelia clarified things. “Your boyfriend thinks I killed Kenneth Gibson.”
Deanna took a step back. “Wait a minute. Kenneth’s dead?”
Tyler could see things getting away from him. He wanted to get back on task. There was only one way to do that.
He turned to his girlfriend. “Can I have a word with you outside?”
“Yeah, I think that would be a good idea,” Deanna replied.
***
There was a calm way to approach this situation, then there was letting her emotions run wild. For better or worse, Deanna decided on the latter.
Deanna thought she had plenty of questions before. That figure had increased exponentially. At the same time, she had a bone to pick with her boyfriend. She was not happy with the way Tyler was going about things.
“What are you doing questioning my friend without telling me first?” Deanna asked.
“I’m just doing my job,” Tyler insisted.
“There’s nothing stopping you from doing your job and being a good boyfriend at the same time. You know Amelia is one of my good friends. You could have given me a head’s up here.”
“True. But I knew if I told you I had to question your friend, you’d want to be here.”
“Well, naturally,” Deanna said.
“Which is exactly why I didn’t tell you,” Tyler revealed.
“Why wouldn’t you want me to be here?”
“Because this part of the job is hard enough already. How would you like it if you were on assignment, and I stormed in, telling you how to report a story?”
Deanna downplayed her response. “I probably wouldn’t like it.”
Tyler corrected her. “You definitely wouldn’t like it.”
“All right, you got me there. I still wish you would have let me know ahead of time.”
“I know, but this is a delicate situation.”
“No. It’s an awful situation.”
Tyler groaned. “You don’t even know the half of it.”
“What do you mean?”
“On a personal note, I don’t like this any more than you do. But professionally speaking, things aren’t looking good for Amelia.”
Deanna’s eyes opened wide. “You don’t really think she could have murdered someone, do you?”
“It’s my job to look at the facts, and they do not do Amelia any favors. One, she just lost her job. There’s a motive for killing her boss. Two, Kenneth Gibson was killed in the bookstore after hours. Amelia knew the ins and outs of that store all too well.”
“There’s a handful of people I could say the same thing about, all who had a reason to want Kenneth dead as well,” Deanna argued.
“Here’s the real kicker. An anonymous source spotted Amelia coming out of the bookstore around the time of the murder.”
Deanna shook her head in disbelief. “It’s always an anonymous source, isn’t it? No one ever wants to put their name on anything.”
Tyler continued. “Be that as it may, things don’t look good for Amelia.”
Deanna was not convinced. “Tyler, I’ve known Amelia my whole life. I’m telling you, there’s no way she could have done this.”
“I don’t like this either. At the same time, I have a job to do, and that includes getting all the facts. As a reporter, you know that.”
Deanna groaned. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Tell me about it. I left LA to get away from things like this. Yet here I am, in the middle of another murder case.”
“How do you think I feel? For the second case in a row, one of my good friends is a murder suspect.”
Tyler put his hand on Deanna’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry. I wish we were running into each other today under better circumstances. In the meantime, I have to get back to work,” Tyler said.
Chapter Eleven
When Deanna and Tyler went back into Amelia’s place, Tyler went back into business mode. Deanna took a seat beside Amelia on her couch to comfort her. Although, first, Deanna had a nagging question for her friend.
“Why did you go back to the bookstore last night?” Deanna asked.
Amelia put her head down. “I shouldn’t have. It was stupid.”
Deanna nodded. “Dangerously stupid.”
“I didn’t do this. I didn’t kill him,” Amelia insisted.
Deanna gazed into her eyes. “I know you didn’t.”
Tyler had his own set of questions. “If you weren’t there to kill him, why were you at the bookstore last night?”
Amelia took a deep breath then answered. “I wanted to try to talk some sense into him.”
“At eleven o’clock at night?” Tyler asked.
“I’d been holding my thoughts in all day. They were eating me up inside. I had to let them out,” Amelia revealed.
“What did you say to Kenneth when you got to the bookstore?” Tyler wondered.
“I told him it wasn’t right to let a good worker like me go and keep an incompetent employee like Fiona. I explained to him that it was favoritism and that if he didn’t give me my job back, I’d have no choice but to go to the labor board and file a complaint of wrongful termination,” Amelia explained.
“That sounds an awful lot like a threat,” Tyler said.
Deanna glared at her boyfriend.
“What? It does,” Tyler re
plied.
“It doesn’t matter anyway. Instead of doing the right thing, he told me to get lost. He kicked me out of the store and slammed the door in my face,” Amelia said.
“Then what happened?” Tyler asked.
“I left,” Amelia replied.
The detective found that hard to believe.
“Wait a minute. You went to the bookstore flush with emotions, desperate to get your job back, only to have the door slammed your face, and then you just left?” Tyler said.
Amelia sighed. “I know what it sounds like.”
“It sounds too crazy to be true,” Tyler admitted.
“But it is true,” Amelia insisted.
“Given the circumstances, how do you expect me to believe that?” Tyler wondered.
“Haven’t you heard the saying fact is stranger than fiction?” Amelia replied.
“That’s a saying. This is a murder investigation,” Tyler remarked.
“Think of it like this—if I wasn’t telling the truth, why wouldn’t I come up with a better lie than that?” Amelia said.
“All I know is that you were spotted at the scene right before the time of the murder. Maybe this is the best lie you could come up with,” Tyler explained.
Amelia was defiant. “I’m not lying, and I didn’t kill him.”
“At least that’s your story,” Tyler said.
“Are you going to arrest me?” Amelia asked.
Deanna gave Tyler a stern look.
The detective then switched his focus back to Amelia. “Not at the moment. But don’t leave town.”
Amelia breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Deanna turned to Tyler.
“Can I be alone with her?” Deanna asked.
Tyler nodded. “Yeah.”
***
Tyler stepped out, leaving Deanna and Amelia alone. That was when Amelia really started to unravel. Deanna’s friend devolved into a complete mess.
Amelia started rocking back and forth. “He really thinks I could have done this.”
Deanna was still in disbelief. “You really shouldn’t have gone back to the bookstore last night.”
