She flushed. Note to self. Next time, find out what your date is getting before you order. Not knowing how to respond, she let it go and changed the subject. “So, tell me about being a stockbroker.” Sunny smiled and tried to look interested.
That comment led to a forty-five minute litany of high finance, the stock market, and the world economy. Sunny was lost in his dialogue of numbers, and terms of annual percentage rates, and front and rear-load yields.
Frankly, it all sounds like a bunch of rear-load to me. She listened half-heartedly as she plowed through her dinner and several glasses of wine.
Sunny didn’t realize how many glasses until it was time to leave, and she stood up and began a one-heeled sway toward the door.
Blaine drove her home as he continued his diatribe of today’s market value, interest rates, and blah, blah, blah. She tried to focus on the panel of the glove compartment, but the passing lights of traffic made her head spin and her stomach lurch.
They pulled up to her house, and again Blaine opened her door, and assisted her out of the car.
“You’re a real gentleman, ya know that?” she slurred. “I had a really nice time tonight. Except for the dog poop, and my best black pump getting crushed, and all the boring finance talk.”
Sometimes I open my mouth and words pour forth before my brain has time to catch up and stop them.
“Yes, well, we’ll have to do this again some time.” Blaine leaned forward to kiss her goodnight.
“Thanks for dinner,” she replied as a small hiccup-belch escaped from her lips.
His kiss diverted to a gently pressed peck on the cheek, and he hurriedly made his escape back down the driveway.
Sunny noticed he avoided walking through the front lawn, and as she thought over the night, she burst into a fit of drunken giggles as she inserted her key into the lock. She shut the door, slid to the floor, and gasped for breath as her giggles continued.
Sunny’s laughter died as she grasped the missing element of her entrance into the house. Where was her eighty-pound welcome wagon?
“Beau. Here boy,” she called into the silent house.
She opened the front door, ran out into the yard, and yelled again for the dog.
“Did you lose this?” A voice called from the neighboring yard as Jake opened his door, and Beau raced out to greet her.
“How did you…?”
“He was in my front yard when I came home tonight.” Jake crossed the yard to where Sunny now sat in the grass, hugging Beau to her chest in relief.
“Oh Beau, you naughty dog,” she scolded. Sunny tried to get to her feet and swayed slightly.
“Are you okay?” Jake took her elbow and put his arm around her shoulder to support her. She leaned into his chest and felt her body melt into the safe cocoon of his arms.
He began to walk her toward the front door when it suddenly hit. The gut-wrenching, oh-my-gosh feeling of ‘I’m going to be sick–now!’ She took two steps forward, fell to her knees, and heaved several glasses of wine and a large portion of Tuscany Trio into the azalea bushes in front of her house.
* * *
Half an hour later, after she had taken a warm shower and brushed her teeth, Sunny found herself sitting opposite Jake on the couch in her living room. He had made her a cup of tea with a side of aspirin, and then dimmed the lights to spare her aching head.
“Feel better?” he asked.
“Yes, thanks.” Neither of them were going to bring up the part of the evening where he had graciously lifted her from the azalea bush and discreetly pulled her dress back down over her bare bum cheeks she had been flashing him as she ralphed a hundred and sixty dollar meal onto her shrubbery.
He had actually been very considerate as he helped her inside, got her upstairs, and deposited her into the bathroom.
Now, Sunny sat facing him, her legs tucked under her as she curled into the corner of the sofa. The shower helped, but she was still a tad bit drunk, and the dimly lit atmosphere had her feeling safe and a little chatty. With her dog on the floor beside her, and a warm cup of tea in her hands, Sunny may have found herself sharing too many details of her life to a man she had only known a short time.
She told him about her college boyfriend, Mitch, and how he had dumped her after two years of being together, with her financing the majority of his schooling. She told him of her struggles with fad diets, and trying to always lose that extra fifteen pounds. She talked about her friends, and spilled the whole sordid story of the six blind dates and the hunt for a ‘suitable match for Sunny’. She even ended up telling him every rotten detail of her date with Blaine. He stared at her incredulously when she got to the dog poo part, then he burst out laughing. By the end of the story, they were both busting-up.
“You are something, Sunny,” he said, when she had finally wound down.
“Yeah, I know,” she whispered, as they each realized how close they now sat. Her pulse quickened as she looked into his blue eyes. He reached up and gently touched her face. Tracing his fingers along the line of her jaw, his thumb came to rest on the edge of her lip, and he softly ran his thumb along her bottom lip.
Sunny drew in a quick breath, and a delicious warmth spread through her body. She tried to think rationally about what she was doing, but couldn’t tear her eyes away from his. Her body betrayed her mind as she leaned closer, her lips yearning for the feel of his.
Slowly, he leaned in, his hand still cupping her face, and pressed his mouth to hers in a tender kiss. He kissed her once more softly, then the kiss turned more urgent as his lips parted, and his hand moved up to tangle in her hair.
Sunny’s arms went around his shoulders, and she plastered herself to his body. He gently laid her back, his other hand splayed across her lower back, guiding her down as his lips continued to caress hers. His touch was whisper soft as he ran his hand through her hair, down her arm, and across her stomach, his thumb barely grazing the underside of her breast. Her body arched up to press closer against his as he trailed soft kisses along her throat and then…
The sun poured through her living room window as Sunny woke to find herself sprawled across her sofa, covered with the afghan that usually lay folded along the back of the couch. Her last memory had been of kissing Jake, then…oh crud. I must have passed out as we were kissing. He must think I’m an idiot. Or a lush. Or an idiotic lush.
A horrible thought crossed her mind. How far had they gone? She raised the afghan and sighed in relief to find she was still fully dressed.
How can I face him again? Sunny groaned at her own stupidity as Beau padded over and began to lick her face.
4
“I can’t believe you ruined your Jimmy Choo!” wailed Cassie. “Those were great shoes.”
“I can’t believe you wasted that meal by hucking it into your bushes,” Maggie exclaimed. “I noticed when I pulled up that your azaleas looked lovely. Barf must be a good fertilizer.”
It was Wednesday night, and the book club gathered around Edna’s kitchen table. She had made a marvelous chocolate cake, and they were indulging in cups of coffee and luscious chocolate icing as Sunny filled the group in on her date with Blaine.
Mortified, she had described the dog poo incident, and the girls had all screamed with laughter. When she had gotten to the part about puking into the azaleas, Sunny thought Maggie would wet her pants, she laughed so hard.
Maggie wiped the tears from her eyes with a napkin. “Okay, so maybe he wasn’t the best match for you. I didn’t really know him that well, but he was rich and gorgeous!”
“I think he was looking for someone a little more gorgeous than me,” Sunny told her, “and classier and thinner.”
“And with less poo adorning her outfit,” Edna said, which set the girls off on another round of shrieking giggles.
The book club loved their weekly Wednesday night meeting. They were lenient about finishing the book on time, but tried to read a different book each week. Usually their discussions veered from the
books they were reading to happenings in their various lives. They listened to and supported each other through the day-to-day stuff, such as Maggie’s divorce, and Cassie’s recent acquisition of Piper. They rotated between Starbucks and their different houses, sometimes bringing brown bag suppers, while other times just having coffee and dessert. If a great chick flick was in town, like the week before, the Page Turners would venture out to the theatre, then go eat together. It was a loose routine of a tight group of women, and they all counted on their Wednesday night get-togethers.
“So, what’s with the hotty in the house next door?” Maggie asked.
From Edna’s kitchen table, they could see Jake in the backyard. He watched the firemen dig through the rubble of the burned out garage as they patiently excavated items that hadn’t been destroyed in the fire. He had on his usual outfit of t-shirt and butt-hugging faded jeans. Another man had arrived about ten minutes before, and the two men had their heads bent toward each other in discussion.
“His name is Jake,” Sunny explained. “He claims that he’s somehow related to Walter.” She hoped the other girls didn’t notice the way her cheeks flamed when she said his name.
Sunny hadn’t divulged the last part of her evening with Blaine, where Jake and she had done the lip-lock before she passed out on the sofa. Sunny wanted to keep that to herself for now.
“You’re blushing,” Cassie cried. “You like this guy.”
Sunny swallowed a bite of cake. “Well, I don’t know. He is really cute.”
Edna was unusually quiet as she watched out the window and gazed thoughtfully at Jake. “I think there’s something we should tell you.” She filled the girls in on the night Jake had mysteriously arrived. They gasped when she got to the part where he had a gun tucked into the back of his pants.
“What do you think was in that duffle bag?” Cassie asked, wide-eyed. “Money?”
“Maybe it was Walter’s body,” Piper chimed in.
“Gross,” Sunny said. “Why would you say that?”
“Edna said she hadn’t seen him around in awhile. Maybe this Jake guy killed him and chopped him up and is taking his body parts out a few at a time to dispose of them.”
“Girl, you watch too much TV,” Maggie said, shaking her head.
“Hey, it could happen. Maybe Walter was secretly rich, and Jake murdered him for his money or to get his house. He is living over there now. Maybe he just made up that story about being related to him.” Piper’s words all came out in a rush.
Sunny thought about the strange look that crossed Jake’s face as he talked about his family relationship with Walter.
“I think we need to get rid of cable,” Cassie said. “What kind of late night television are you watching to give you these ideas?”
“I watch that stuff too,” Edna said, coming to Piper’s defense. “On all those true-crime shows, it’s always the nice neighbor guy who everyone thought was so great until they began digging up skeletons in his backyard.”
They all jumped as a fist banged on Edna’s back door. Letting out their collective breath, they laughed uneasily over getting caught up in Edna and Piper’s ideas.
Speaking of the handsome devil himself, Jake stood outside Edna’s door, accompanied by a light-haired man wearing khakis and a wrinkled suit coat.
“Sorry to bother you ladies, but we need to ask you a few questions,” Jake said.
“Have a seat,” Edna offered, always the gracious hostess. “Want some cake?”
“No, thank you,” Jake answered somberly. “This is Tom Mansfield – he’s a detective looking into Walter’s disappearance. You may have seen him out here the last few days.”
Tom nodded to the women. “Afternoon, ladies. Sorry to interrupt your visit. Jake tells me you all are pretty close with Walter. We still don’t know what or if anything has happened to him. We did find some things in the fire, and since Walter has no family around here and you all seem to know him pretty well, we hoped you could take a look at them.”
The detective pulled three plastic baggies from his pocket and placed them gingerly on the table.
Edna gasped and reached for the center bag that contained a charred belt buckle with a soaring eagle etched into it. “This is Walter’s belt buckle. His wife, Betty, gave it to him for one of their anniversaries. He loved the Bible verse about soaring like an eagle, and she found this for him in a shop downtown. He wore it every day and showed it to everyone. He loved to joke about trying to soar like an eagle while surrounded by turkeys. I’m sure this was his.”
“And I definitely recognize this as Walter’s,” Sunny said softly, as she lifted a bag that held a pearl handled pocket knife. “He got it on a vacation to the Grand Canyon with Betty when they were first married. He used it to cut string or slice through the tape on a box or when he helped with little things at my house. One of the blades is a screwdriver head.”
Tears sprung to Edna’s eyes as she fingered the bag closest to her. It held what used to be a gold wedding band, now grayed and covered in ash. “What does this mean?”
“We’re not sure yet, ma’am,” Tom replied. “We found some other odd things in the debris, but we haven’t identified them yet. We still have a lot of unanswered questions. The explosion caused the fire to burn hot and fast so we haven’t ruled out anything at this point,” he said.
They all sat in stunned silence.
“We’re still investigating the cause of the explosion, and the whereabouts of Mr. Mead. Nothing is conclusive yet, but we appreciate your time and help in identifying these items.” Tom collected the baggies and placed them back into his pocket.
“Have any of you noticed anything suspicious in the neighborhood or with Mr. Mead’s behavior of late?” the detective asked.
They all looked at each other, then Piper cried, “He’s suspicious!” and pointed at Jake. “Have you asked him why he showed up in the middle of the night? Nobody knows him. How do we even know he is related to Walter? Did you know he has a gun?”
Jake appeared shocked, and a strange look crossed his face. Guilt, perhaps?
Tom turned to Jake with an appraising eye and a look of mistrust on his face.
“I think Mr. Landon and I will continue our conversation outside.” He and Jake headed for the kitchen door. “Thank you again for your time, ladies. You’ve been a big help.” He said this last with an appreciative smile at Piper, who flushed and looked at the floor, her bravado now gone after her brazen accusations.
The detective took Jake by the arm and led him outside. The women couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it wasn’t for lack of trying as the group jumped up from the table and plastered themselves against the kitchen door and windows.
They slunk back to the table as the men disappeared into Walter’s house.
“I’m sure Walter is fine,” said Cassie, the eternal optimist. “This could all be a mistake.”
“Walter would never go anywhere without his wedding ring and that belt buckle. He had those things with him every day,” Edna explained quietly. “I think something really happened to him, girls.”
They somberly finished their coffee and helped Edna clear the table, all deep in thought with memories of Walter, imagining what could have happened. Maggie and Cassie had spent so much time in this neighborhood, they both had formed an attachment to the friendly widower.
Gathering their purses to head out, Cassie suddenly gasped. “Oh Sunny, I almost forgot to tell you. I set up your next date for Saturday night.”
“What?” Sunny croaked.
“I know it’s probably not the best time to talk about it, but Matt has an old football buddy who moved back to town. His wife left him, and he and his little boy moved back a few months ago. I think his folks live here in town, and they are staying with them. I remember him a little from high school. He was cute anyway. But Matt thinks he’s a nice guy and seems like a good dad. His name is Hank, and I gave him your number. I wouldn’t bring it up right now, but he may
call you tonight. He wants to take you to a baseball game this Saturday, I think.”
“Great,” Sunny replied. “I can’t wait.”
“Now, give this Hank a chance,” Maggie said. “You agreed to go on six of these. You can’t give up after one botched date with Blaine the boring stockbroker.” She smiled, and some of the mixed tension left the room.
“All right, you win,” Sunny said, giving in.
“Just clean up the dog poo in the yard before he shows up Saturday night,” Cassie said, and they all laughed as they filed out the door.
5
The next day, Piper Denton walked through the bustling halls of her high school. Graduation was two days away, and the noise level was deafening as kids banged locker doors, yelled greetings to each other, and ran from one class to another. She wished she were already on summer break like Sunny, but the older grades stayed in session an extra week after the elementary schools.
She inhaled the scent of stale classrooms and floor wax with an underlying odor of sweaty gym clothes. High schools all smell the same. She stopped at her locker and absently turned the dial of her combination lock.
Piper had known her share of schools. Her mother moved her from one school to the next after her father died in a terrible motorcycle accident. Piper had still been in grade school when she and her mom were robbed of the most important man in their life.
After losing the love of her life, Piper’s mother led an elusive search to recapture her lost happiness. Her latest search had yielded a bald tattooed biker who went by the name of Spider. Piper’s mother had unceremoniously dropped her at Aunt Cassie’s door before she rode off on the back of Spider’s motorcycle, spouting empty promises of coming back to get her soon.
The bell rang, and Piper found herself alone in the hallway, staring into her half-empty locker. She pulled her English Lit book free, slammed the locker door, and trudged down the hall to class.
Another Saturday Night and I Ain't Got No Body (A Page Turners Novel) Page 4
