by Cindy Bell
“How do you know all of this?” Nick asked and then immediately sighed. “Never mind. I'll run the name. Just be careful Bekki. If this really is a homicide then I can't think of a more devious way to commit a murder. Whoever did this is a very cruel person,” he warned her.
“I understand,” Bekki murmured, her heart sinking. A part of her had hoped it would turn out to be just an accident. She didn't want Emma to be faced with more trauma, and now she was a murder suspect and being questioned. Bekki was certain that Emma had nothing to do with Bryan's death, but maybe she was just swayed by the show of grief from the woman. “I'll come by the station with the dress in about a half hour,” Bekki added.
“As soon as you can,” Nick replied. “If it's evidence we need to get it logged, and I'm already going to have to explain why it's in your possession.”
“Don't worry, I'll be there,” Bekki promised him. “But I need to check in on my parents first.”
“Is something wrong?” Nick asked with growing concern. He had become quite close to her family while they had been dating.
“I'm not sure yet,” Bekki replied with a frown. “I'll let you know,” she added as she moved to hang up the phone.
“Bekki, wait,” Nick called out into the phone.
“Yes?” Bekki asked hesitantly.
“I love you,” he murmured.
“I love you, too,” Bekki smiled in return as she hung up the phone. Saying those words to Nick still made her heart flutter and her body grow warm with the anticipation of seeing him again. As she walked up to the front door of her parents' house she could hear them squabbling. She opened the door to find them standing in the middle of the living room. Her father was red-faced, and her mother was in tears.
“What is going on here?” Bekki asked with utter surprise. She had never seen her parents behave in such a manner.
“Bekki, this is not your concern,” her mother said swiftly.
“Good Bekki, maybe you can talk some sense into your mother,” her father said and crossed his arms. Bekki was absolutely stunned as she looked between the two of them.
“What's wrong?” she asked with desperation growing inside of her.
“I want to go on vacation,” her mother said firmly.
“And I think it's absurd,” her father pointed out.
“You're arguing about a vacation?” Bekki asked with disbelief. “But I've never seen you argue about anything.”
“All these years, and we've only ever been on three vacations,” Bekki's mother said. “Our honeymoon, the summer we took you to the Grand Canyon, and the quick trip we took after handing the salon over to you. I want to go on a vacation. Your father is acting like he's never heard of relaxation and sunlight.”
“I have, and I think of mosquito bites and sunburn,” her father snapped back.
“This is ridiculous,” Bekki said with a shake of her head. “You two can work this out,” she frowned as she looked between them. “I've never seen you act this way.”
“Well, I'm not budging,” her mother said firmly. “I want my vacation.”
“I'm not either, Marie,” her father said with narrowed eyes. “I don't want to spend my retirement swimming in suntan lotion and swatting away bugs.”
“It's just one vacation,” Marie reminded him.
“One too many,” he replied with a huff.
Bekki shook her head as she looked at the two of them. “Listen, why don't you just take a break from this conversation? Let things settle, and then you can talk about it again later, okay?” she suggested.
“Bekki's right,” her father acknowledged with a slight nod. “We've become way too worked up over this. In fact,” he paused a moment and then glanced over at Bekki. “Why don't we both have our way?”
“What do you mean?” Marie asked curiously.
“Why don't you have your vacation, and I will stay home,” he suggested with a smile. “Then everyone is happy.”
“Oh, I don't know about going alone,” Marie shook her head slightly. “In a new place? I don't know if I could do that.”
“Then take Bekki,” he turned to look at Bekki. “You could use a vacation right?”
Bekki stared between the two of them and tried to figure out when she had become involved in the vacation plans.
“Uh, sure,” she nodded a little. “Let's discuss it a little more and we'll make a plan, Mama, okay?” Bekki offered with a hesitant smile. She hadn't planned on taking a vacation any time soon. She liked running the salon, and felt as if she missed enough time there as it was.
“Great,” her father sighed with relief.
“Listen, I have to run,” Bekki said quickly. “But you know I'm just a phone call away,” she reminded them both. “Mama, we'll work out the plans, okay?” she met her mother's eyes to reassure her. But her mother was already grinning.
“Oh, this is going to be so much fun,” she said cheerfully. “We can get matching sun hats, and flip flops and…”
Bekki laughed a little as she headed for the door and her mother hurried off to make a list of the things they would need for their vacation. It was hard for Bekki to concentrate on anything other than Bryan's unfortunate passing, but she was glad that she had been able to help resolve her parents' argument. It still struck her as strange that they had one in the first place, however.
When Bekki was back inside her car she took a moment to read over the letter that Victor had given her. It was from Bryan, written to Victor. It described his anxiety over becoming a father, and that he hoped that Victor would consider being his partner again. It stated that he hated the idea of giving up his more dangerous tricks, but that Emma felt he should. Bekki could tell from how he wrote the letter that Bryan had been upset while he was writing it. It felt like an invasion of Bryan's privacy to be reading such a personal letter. In general, the tone of it was one of depression. In fact at the end of the letter there was one sentence added that made her blood run cold.
'Victor, please, if anything should happen to me, take care of Emma and the baby.'
Bekki shuddered slightly as she wondered if what she was holding could actually be a suicide note. She clutched the note tightly and started the engine of her car. Nick was going to have to see the letter, even if it meant more possible heartbreak for Emma.
Chapter Six
When Bekki arrived at the police station, Emma had already been brought in for questioning. She wasn't handcuffed however, and Bekki hoped that meant she would be released quickly. Nick met Bekki in the front lobby of the police station to prevent her from going back to see Emma.
“Not now, Bekki,” he warned when she looked past him at Emma. “We're taking good care of her, I promise,” he looked straight into Bekki's eyes. “Trust me.”
“I do,” Bekki sighed and handed him the plastic bag with the dress in it.
“So, why do you have this?” he asked as he studied her intently.
“I have it because when I was visiting her earlier today she explained to me how the trick works. She has all of these fake keys as decorations on her dress. Only one of the keys is the real key. When Bryan hugged her before getting shackled, he took the key from her dress. Emma said it's always in the same place, and that they have practiced the sleight of hand a million times. She said there's no way that Bryan took the wrong key.”
“Hmm,” Nick frowned as he glanced over his shoulder at Emma who was being led into one of the interrogation rooms for questioning. “Well, I have a feeling that's not going to help her case. If she and Bryan knew which key it was, and she was the one to place the key on her dress, then that again points to her as being the one responsible for his death.”
“It's hard for me to believe it,” Bekki admitted quietly.
“I know,” Nick replied with sympathy as he looked back at her.
“Emma said that she does not think it was an accident,” Bekki explained. “Why would she bring attention to the fact that he might have been murdered if she was the one wh
o murdered him?”
“To take the attention off herself as a suspect,” Nick replied. “Maybe she knew it would be discovered that his death was not an accident.”
“There's also this,” Bekki reluctantly confessed as she held the letter out to him.
“What is this?” Nick asked as he took the letter carefully by the edges.
“It's a letter sent from Bryan to his old partner, Victor Black,” Bekki explained.
“The name that you wanted me to check out,” Nick nodded as he skimmed over the letter. “How did you get this?”
“Victor gave it to me,” Bekki replied as calmly as she could.
“Is that so?” Nick asked as he looked up at her swiftly, expecting more of an explanation.
“He lied to me about being in town yesterday, and so I decided to ask him why,” Bekki shrugged a little. “That's when he handed over this letter. I think he's trying to imply that Bryan might have done this on purpose.”
“Seriously?” Nick asked as he read the last line of the letter. “I would never have considered that. An accident yes, but suicide?”
“I don't know Nick, it doesn't make sense to me,” Bekki shook her head. “Maybe you can find out more from Emma.”
“Maybe,” Nick nodded and then met her gaze. “What's going on with your parents?”
Bekki shook her head again, her eyes narrowing with confusion. “I have no idea. I stopped over there and they were arguing about a vacation! Can you believe that?” Bekki frowned. “I've never seen my parents argue. And now they argue over a vacation?”
“Well,” Nick shrugged a little. “Maybe they are starting to have different tastes in things.”
“My mom wants a tropical vacation, and my dad wants a stay-cation,” Bekki shook her head again. “That's no reason to argue.”
“Maybe not,” Nick nodded a little. “Sounds like something else is going on there. Maybe you should offer to go with your mom?” he suggested. “I mean, you two haven't had a trip in quite some time.”
Bekki was surprised by his comment as it was the same suggestion her father had made.
“I'll think about it,” she finally said. “But first we need to figure out what happened to Bryan.”
“I'm working on it,” Nick smiled a little and then kissed her chastely on the cheek. “Try and stay out of harm's way, okay?” he asked hopefully.
“I'll try,” she promised. “And don't forget to look into Victor Black,” she reminded him.
“I already have someone on it,” Nick assured her as he walked back towards the interrogation room. Bekki hated to think of Emma stuck in that room, but she knew that Nick would make sure she was treated with respect. The only way Bekki could really do anything for her would be to prove that she was innocent.
***
By the time Bekki got to the salon Sammy was closing up for the evening.
“How are you doing?” she asked Bekki with some concern.
“Okay, I guess,” Bekki replied. “Thanks for handling the salon for me today,” she added as she glanced over the schedule for the day.
“Anytime,” Sammy assured her as she joined her at the reception desk. “In fact you didn't need to come in at all. I figured you'd be spending time with your parents.”
“They had the strangest fight,” Bekki said and turned to look at Sammy. “It just seems so odd to me.”
“Families do fight,” Sammy pointed out. Bekki nodded a little, but she didn't really agree. She could never imagine her parents fighting over something so trivial.
“Well anyway, why don't you head home?” Bekki suggested. “I'll close up here, and I'll be in first thing in the morning. So, if you want to take the morning off feel free.”
“Thanks,” Sammy replied with a yawn. “I think I could use a sleep in.”
When Sammy had left, Bekki sat down behind the salon's computer and began searching for information about Victor Black and Bryan the Brilliant's time together. It looked as if they had forged a partnership right out of high school, and there were even some shots of the two of them in a talent show together. Emma didn't come into the picture until the magicians were in their twenties, but the moment she did, Bekki could see a change in the demeanor of the men when they were photographed. She could see that they both seemed to be vying for the attention of their beautiful young assistant.
One article she found featured an absolutely livid Victor Black, who accused Bryan of being willing to risk his life for ratings and ticket sales. He detailed that Bryan would often take on escapes that no other escape artist would attempt, just because he had something to prove. Victor called himself the more conservative of the pair, and insisted that there was no need to put themselves in so much danger.
Right after that article came out, Bekki began to see more of a change in the pictures. Although the article was spun off as Victor trying to drum up attention for the act by feigning controversy, Bekki noticed that the men no longer stood beside each other. Emma was always standing in the middle, and the two men never looked at each other in any of the pictures. It wasn't long after that the break up between Bryan and Victor was officially announced. It was explained as Victor deciding to pursue other talents, and Bryan deciding to begin his own career, along with Emma. Bekki guessed there was a lot more to the story than just that, but she was getting tired. As she closed up the shop her cell phone rang.
“Guess what, Bekki!” her mother's voice rang out without even saying hello.
“What?” Bekki asked with some amusement. She was relieved that her mother seemed to be feeling calmer.
“I bought the tickets!” she announced happily. “We leave on Friday!”
“Friday?” Bekki gasped as she looked around the salon. “I don't know if I can take time off that soon…” Bekki began to explain.
“Nonsense,” her mother insisted. “You can close up the shop if you need to, or just pay Sammy a little extra to run it while we're gone. Don't you want to go on vacation with me?” she asked.
“Of course I do,” Bekki sighed as she hadn't intended to hurt her mother's feelings. “I don't even know where we're going,” she laughed.
“The Bahamas!” her mother squealed. “Not too far, not too close!” she laughed.
“That sounds lovely,” Bekki was already dreaming of the sandy beaches.
“So, that's a yes?” her mother asked hopefully. Bekki thought of the case, and wondered if things would be settled by Friday. She hesitated for a moment, and then decided to let things fall into place as they would.
“I'd love to go,” Bekki agreed happily.
“Good,” her mother said with a sigh of relief. “I'll email you the details. Do you think Nick will mind?”
“No, in fact he suggested I go with you,” Bekki replied as she locked the door of the salon. “I'll miss him though.”
“Aw,” her mother cooed. “My little girl is so in love.”
“Mama,” Bekki huffed but she was grinning. “I'll talk to you soon, okay?”
“Absolutely,” her mother replied. “Love you!” she called out as she hung up the phone. Bekki could hear the excitement in her voice and knew that the trip meant a lot to her. But her heart sunk as she thought of leaving Nick behind. It really was very sappy of her, but she loved every minute she spent with him, and although she was looking forward to spending time with her mother she knew she would miss Nick. As if he sensed that she was thinking of him, she found him waiting on her porch when she arrived home.
“Hey,” he said with a smile that seemed to brighten when he looked at her. “I hope you don't mind, I invited myself over.”
“I could never mind that,” Bekki smiled as she unlocked the door for them both.
“I wanted to update you on the situation with Bryan Masters, and also with Emma,” he explained as she set down her purse and invited him to sit beside her on the couch. He sat beside her, and she looked at him expectantly.
“It's a real strange situation, Bekki,” Nick warned
. “There are all kinds of indications that Bryan's death was no accident, but at this point I can't be sure if it was an elaborate suicide, or if it might be something else.”
“What do you mean?” Bekki asked and frowned. “Do you still suspect Emma had something to do with it?”
“I can't be sure,” Nick sighed as he draped his arm across her shoulders and settled back against the couch.
“But she's pregnant with his child, why would she do that?” Bekki rested her head against his arm. “Why would she want to leave her child fatherless?”
“All I know is that I tracked that name you gave me, Victor Black, and what I found was a whole lot of violence, and not a lot of love between himself and Bryan,” he pulled out his cell phone and began flipping through some documents he had saved on it before he reached the picture he was looking for. When he held it out for Bekki to see, Bekki was a little surprised. The image was of Victor and Emma with their arms around each other outside a restaurant. It didn't look like a friendly hug, it looked more like a lover's embrace.
“Well, so maybe she had a fling with Victor back before she was with Bryan?” Bekki suggested tentatively.
“Maybe,” Nick frowned and pointed to the picture. “But this photograph was from a little over two months ago. As far as I know, Emma is claiming to have been in a relationship with Bryan for at least a year.”
“Well, that does change things, doesn't it?” Bekki replied coolly as she studied the picture. Had she been deceived by Emma? “She's not showing yet,” Bekki said softly. “I bet that time frame matches the amount of time she's been pregnant, what do you think?” she looked up at Nick curiously.
“I don't know much about that,” he admitted. “But it sounds like a good motive to get rid of Bryan. Maybe she was afraid that he would fire her if he found out it was Victor's baby. Maybe she thought that a tragic death would give her the chance to have Victor take over Bryan's fame,” he shrugged a little.
