“Hey, Cam.” Olivia gave an awkward wave.
Camilla rushed forward and threw her arms around Olivia. It was so unexpected, she rocked back on her feet and Nate touched his hand to her shoulder to steady her.
“Oh my gosh. You brought Nate!” Now Camilla was truly excited. She winked at Olivia. “Just friends, huh?”
Yet another family member that was suspicious about Olivia’s friendship with Nate. She really needed to spend time with other people.
“Congrats on the wedding. You look beautiful.” Nate was a better socializer than Olivia.
Camilla beamed. “Are you saying there might still be a chance for us?”
“You deserve a better man than me, Camilla.” Nate’s hand was still on Olivia’s shoulder and he gave it a playful squeeze. “I’m not good enough for either of the Thompson ladies.”
Olivia wasn’t sure how they were going to make the transition to talking about Rosie’s murder, so her next comment probably seemed random. “I really wish Rosie could be here today.”
Camilla’s eyes instantly grew dark.
“I mean, I know she thought of you like a sister.”
Nate coughed and looked away. He would definitely give Olivia a hard time later for her not-so-subtle detective skills.
“I felt the same about her,” Camilla said softly. “She was such a sweet girl when we were kids.”
“I never understood why you grew apart in high school.” Camilla and Rosie had been the exact same age. They’d had every class together since they were kids, but by the time senior year rolled around, they barely talked.
Camilla shrugged. “Rosie changed quite a bit in the last couple of years. I think it had to do with that guy she started dating.”
“Dylan?”
“Yeah. He was a little crazy. I told Rosie she should end it with him, but that just made her mad. Eventually I stopped trying to help her.”
Olivia had a million more questions that she wanted to ask, but they had already spent an inappropriate amount of time talking about her dead sister.
“Well, she was lucky to have you in her life. You should go now. I think they need you for pictures.” She pointed to where the bridal party was beginning the traditional fake-happy poses.
Camilla hugged Olivia again, and hugged Nate for good measure. She held him a little too close, and kept the hugging going a little longer than was acceptable, but Nate didn’t seem to mind.
“Did you enjoy that?” Olivia snapped.
“Jealous?” Nate’s wink fell flat.
Olivia turned on her heel. “Let’s go. We don’t want to miss the wedding.”
FIFTEEN YEARS EARLIER - TUESDAY
Rosie stared blankly at the paper in front of her. Twenty minutes had passed and she hadn’t written a single word. Usually the library was one of the only places where she could concentrate. She always chose the same table in the corner, the one with the direct line of sight to the entrance. No one could sneak up on her there.
“Bad news, friend.”
Rosie looked up in time to see her friend, Layla, flop into the chair across from her. Layla was the exact opposite of Rosie in every way, and that was why their friendship worked. Where Rosie was negative and snarky, Layla was smiles and optimism.
“Did your pen run out of ink in the middle of an exam again?” Rosie asked.
“Ugh. No.” Layla shuddered. “Crystal is refusing to ride in the limo with us.”
Rosie shrugged. “I told you she would never do it. She hates me, remember? It’s your own fault for not listening to me.”
“Why does she hate you so much?” Layla asked, propping her elbows on the table and placing her chin in her hands. The pose made her look even younger than she already looked.
“I don’t know,” Rosie mumbled. She really didn’t want to get into this with Layla. How could she possibly begin to explain the series of events that had ruined their friendship when she didn’t even fully understand it herself? “People just grow apart sometimes.”
Layla’s eyes narrowed. “You’re keeping something from me. I can always tell when you are hiding something.”
“Always tell?” Rosie laughed. “We’ve been friends for about two months.”
“Yes, but we’ve been in classes together our whole lives. I’ve been watching you, Rosie Thompson.” Layla did her best to sound ominous, but she was smiling.
“I think we should cancel the limo,” Rosie said, keeping her eyes on her books. She didn’t want to see the disappointment in Layla’s eyes.
Layla reacted as expected. “What? Why? We’ve had this planned for over a month, Rosie.”
“Dylan can’t really afford it.” Rosie didn’t like being the one to disappoint her friend. “I’m sorry. After talking to him last night, I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Oh.” Layla sat back, her pink lips forming a perfect pout. “Okay.”
Rosie badly wanted to be able to tell her the truth. She was trying to make things easier on her friend. It was going to be bad enough when Layla found out that Rosie wasn’t planning to go to the dance at all. It was amazing how fast plans had changed in the course of a day.
It had taken Rosie longer than usual to change after gym class yesterday. By the time she was ready to leave, Dylan was nowhere to be found. She assumed that he had forgot about his promise to walk her to her car. Reluctantly, she headed outside alone.
The motorcycle was there, parked right next to her car. Rosie nearly screamed at the sight of it. She hated what it represented.
“Leave me alone,” she said angrily, her keys out and ready. If she could just get into her car and lock it behind her, she might be able to get away.
“That’s not our deal,” Tim said. He stepped in front of her car door. “I saw Olivia leaving with her friends. She’s growing into a very pretty girl.”
“You are a sicko,” Rosie spat. “Stop threatening my family.”
Tim grabbed her, whirling her around so that he could pin her to her car. She regretted parking so far away from the school. There were no witnesses for what was about to happen.
He fumbled with the button of her jeans. “You know this will go much easier if you don’t fight it.”
“You are a piece of shit.” Rosie felt an anger inside her like she had never felt before. She was mostly mad at herself for letting this happen for so long. She was mad that she was helpless to stop him.
“Get the fuck off of her!” Dylan sprinted in their direction. His face was twisted with fury as he charged at Tim.
Tim jumped away, backing towards his motorcycle. He turned to Rosie. “Your boyfriend won’t always be there to save you. Or your sister.”
By the time Dylan reached them, Tim was revving the engine. He screeched away just as Dylan grabbed Rosie’s arm.
“Rosie! Are you okay? Why did you leave without me?” His eyes searched hers desperately.
“I thought you had left me,” she said, feeling numb.
Dylan pulled her close, his arms strong around her. “It’s okay. I’m not going to let that psychopath hurt you anymore.”
Rosie had reluctantly told Dylan about Tim two months earlier. Crystal had seen them together had threatened to tell Dylan. Rosie knew that she had to come clean with him about everything. Naturally, Dylan had wanted to kill Tim. At the time, Rosie had talked him down. She insisted that it wasn’t that bad, that Tim was losing interest in her. She had lied.
Now, she wanted Tim dead, too.
“I have to stop him,” she mumbled, mostly to herself. “He threatened Olivia. I can’t let anything happen to her.”
“We can go to the police,” Dylan said.
Rosie stepped back and looked him in the eye, shaking her head furiously. “No. That will never work. It’s been going on for so long and people have seen us together. It will look like I was a willing participant. No one will believe the truth.”
“What do you want to do then?” Dylan asked, looking very nervous.
>
Rosie was calm and certain. “I’m going to kill him.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Staying awake for the entire ceremony was quite a challenge. The only highlight was a scary incident with one of the candles falling over and starting a small fire. The best man was quick to put it out, and the priest continued his sermon about love. Olivia kept poking Nate in the ribs each time his eyes would drift shut.
“How long is this thing going to be?” he muttered.
“Too long.”
Nate put his arm along the back of the pew behind Olivia and leaned close. “You did say there will be booze at the reception, right?”
“And cake.”
“And dancing?”
Olivia smiled. Nate was a big fan of dancing. “Maybe. But only if you behave.”
“Not a chance of that.”
Nate’s face was just an inch from Olivia’s and he found himself staring at her lips, wondering what it would be like to kiss them. He looked away quickly. He could feel the warmth of her body where it pressed against his and he tried to imperceptibly move away.
“Are you alright?” she asked when he began to fidget.
“I just need some air.”
He slid out of the pew and went outside. Since arriving in Mercy, Nate had been feeling different. He couldn’t really explain the feeling, but something was off. Now he was thinking about Olivia in ways that a person shouldn’t think about a friend. That needed to stop.
Nate called into the station to check on Karen’s murder investigation. Vince was at his desk, which both surprised Nate and made him feel guilty. Anytime Nate had an open murder case on his desk, he always felt a little guilty doing anything that wasn’t related to solving it.
“Any updates?” he asked after exchanging polite small talk with his partner. He really needed to take Vince out for a beer sometime to get to know him better.
“Nothing of note really.” Vincent ruffled through some papers. “Oh! A girl in Karen’s study group mentioned that our vic was a big fan of your girlfriend.”
“What?”
The wedding had ended and people were beginning to exit the church. Nate moved to the side and turned away from the activity so he could focus.
“Karen pretty much worshiped Olivia Thompson. She took all of her classes, read her books, and changed her major to criminology. I don’t know if that helps us, but I thought it was worth noting.”
Nate frowned. “Karen was obsessed with Olivia?”
“Seems like it’s probably more than a coincidence.” Vince yelled to someone. “Hey, I’m heading out to talk to Karen’s advisor. We done?”
“Yeah, we’re done. Keep me posted.”
Nate tried to keep his face blank as he turned to look for Olivia. He jumped when she was standing right behind him.
“Way to sneak up on me.”
Olivia’s face was pale. “I heard what you said about Karen.”
“Well, crap.” Nate hadn’t been planning to tell her this new information. “Try not to read too much into it. There’s a good chance it doesn’t mean anything.”
“You don’t believe in coincidence,” she reminded him.
“And you don’t believe in happily-ever-after. But that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.” Nate smiled and spun Olivia around so she could see her cousin leave the church, smiling wider than seemed possible.
He expected her to call him a sap or tell him to stop acting like a girl, but she just took his hand and squeezed.
Nate had big hopes that the reception would be more fruitful than their attempt to get information from Camilla. With all of Rosie’s family in one place, it was the perfect opportunity to get some questions answered. He was most excited by the prospect of finally meeting Olivia’s mother.
“She may not be willing to talk to you,” Olivia cautioned during the cocktail hour. Her eyes had been nervously scouring the room since they arrived. “Most of the time, she doesn’t even want to talk to me.”
“You never really explained the falling out with your mom.” Nate had only heard Olivia mention her mother a handful of times over the years.
“We didn’t have a falling out. She left my dad and made no attempt to stay close to me or Brian. I think in some ways it hurt her to be around us with Rosie gone.”
“Before Rosie’s murder, things were good?”
Olivia’s eyes stopped scanning the room and snapped to Nate. “Yes, things were good. Why would you ask that?”
“I’m just exploring all possibilities.” Nate changed the subject. “Camilla didn’t seem to be a fan of Dylan. What happened to him after the murder?”
“I don’t really know. He started drinking a lot.” Olivia snatched her champagne glass from the table. “Look alive. Uncle Leo at 3:00.”
“Uncle Leo?” Nate asked.
“Little Olivia, back in town. What a momentous occasion.” A tall man with broad shoulders grabbed Olivia and pulled her into a bear hug.
Olivia cringed. “Hey, Uncle Leo.”
“Who’s your fella?” Leo glanced pointedly at Nate.
“Nathaniel Tucker,” he said, shaking the man’s hand. It was a tight grip. “Nice to meet you.”
Leo raised his glass. “It’s even nicer to meet you. The whole family has been worried about our reclusive Olivia. Good to see she’s capable of a meaningful relationship after all.”
“Thanks, Uncle Leo.” Olivia glowered over her champagne glass.
“Oh, stop. I’m just teasing.” Uncle Leo’s face went perfectly still, his lips pressed in a thin line. “Your mother just arrived.”
“Swell.” Olivia’s face matched Leo’s.
“Time to get another drink. Or hide. Or both.” Leo pointed to Nate as he backed away. “Good to meet you, man.”
Nate watched him beeline for the bar and asked, “So, Leo is your dad’s brother?”
“Best friend. He’s not really my uncle, but he might as well be. He’s known my dad since they were kids.” Olivia fidgeted uncontrollably with her hair.
Nate grabbed her hand. “Hey. It’s going to be okay.”
“You don’t know my mother.”
They made it all the way through dinner without being forced into an awkward conversation with Jill. It couldn’t be avoided forever- especially since Olivia’s mom was at the top of Nate’s list for questioning.
“You’ve gone through at least five glasses of champagne and pulled out about half of your hair so far. Don’t you think you should just get it over with?” Nate didn’t like seeing Olivia so on edge. It made him nervous.
Olivia stared at him blankly. After several seconds, she blinked and said, “Yeah. Okay. Let’s do it.”
They found Jill at the bar ordering a scotch.
“On the rocks?” Olivia guessed.
If Jill was surprised to see her daughter, she hid it well. “Some things don’t change with time. Drink orders are one of those things.
“One of the few things,” Olivia agreed.
“Olivia. You look good.” Jill appraised her daughter openly, paying special attention to Nate. “I suppose you are planning to make introductions?”
“Mom, Nate. Nate, my mom.” Olivia’s tone was guarded.
Nate tried to make up for it by sounding overly cheerful. “It’s really great to meet you. Olivia has told me a lot about you.”
“He’s a good liar,” Jill said to Olivia. “You should probably worry about that.”
“Nate is a friend, Mom. He’s also a detective in Chicago.” Olivia seemed to be preferring the direct approach. “We want to ask you some questions about Rosie’s murder.”
The barrier Jill put up was as effective as the Berlin Wall. “I’m not talking about that with you. Not now. Not ever.”
“You could help us find her murderer.” Olivia didn’t seem particularly surprised by her mother’s reaction.
“It’s been fifteen years. You need to accept that her murder is never going to be solved.” Jill took a long drink of
scotch. “It was nice to meet you, Nate.”
She marched away without looking back and Olivia watched her with sad eyes.
“She was just as pleasant as you said.” Nate took Olivia’s glass from her and set it on the bar. Taking her hand, he said, “Come on. Dance with me.”
“Nate, no.” Olivia planted her feet firmly, but Nate detected a faint smile.
“I’m not taking no for an answer.” He tugged harder and she relented, following him to the dance floor.
“This is a really bad idea, Nate.”
He ignored her and started moving to the music. “Give into it, Olivia. Let go.”
She sighed heavily and started swaying gently. Nate grabbed her and started twirling her around the floor. At first, she was hesitant on her feet. Olivia wasn’t someone that cut loose very often. But after she got a rhythm going, she threw herself into the moves. Nate pushed her this way and pulled her that way, spinning her under his arm and dipping her to the ground.
The song ended and Olivia was laughing, her cheeks pink and eyes alive with joy. “Okay, you were right. That was fun.”
“I’m always right.” Nate was still holding Olivia’s hand and he pulled her close.
“What are you doing?” She tried to back away.
“That was only one song. We’re not done yet.”
She shook her head furiously. “Oh, yes we are. No slow dancing.”
“One more song,” he pleaded, forcing her to come closer.
“Fine.” Another dramatic sigh as she looped her arms around his neck. “Just keep your hands away from my ass.”
Nate laughed and purposefully slid his hands lower. She stepped down hard on his foot until he slid them up to her lower back.
“I don’t even remember the last time I slow danced,” she confessed. “Maybe Brian’s wedding? Wow. That was a long time ago.”
“I’ve been telling you for years that you need to have more fun, Liv.”
Olivia stared at him with her bright, blue eyes and Nate couldn’t see anything else but her. He felt his heart beating faster as he realized that he was developing feelings for her that were more than platonic. Could she tell?
Ring Around the Rosie (An Olivia Thompson Mystery Book 1) Page 6
