Before she could remind Dean about the terms of their bet, she felt the plank give way beneath her.
Chapter Fourteen
Monday, June 21
8:00 p.m.
She had planned on saving Mia’s Chinese Restaurant for a treat after payday, but she couldn’t wait any longer. It had been a humiliating day and she wanted nothing more than to drown her sorrows in a cardboard box of fried rice.
Elise stopped in front of the restaurant and inhaled slowly. A hint of soy sauce wafted outside through an open front window. She closed her eyes briefly and tried to relax. Tomorrow would be a new day. And in the meantime, she didn’t have to go home to an empty apartment and cook. But even as she tried to visualize the spare ribs and pepper steak she planned to order, all she could see was Dean Waters’s head on a plate surrounded by rice.
It had all started with the eight-by-ten glossy print she’d found taped to her computer monitor when she arrived at work. The picture was a close-up of her face as she emerged from the dunking booth’s bone-chilling water over the weekend. The sheer misery she had felt as she popped out of the water was captured in all its glory for the entire office to see. And if that hadn’t been embarrassing enough, the round of applause she’d received from her coworkers surely was.
Once the obnoxious clapping had finally subsided, Sam had laughed and said that it served Elise right for betting against him. And all she kept thinking was how much she wanted to make Dean suffer.
Sacrificing Dean for use in a new Chinese dish might work. And at the very least it might save a few unsuspecting cats.
Elise chuckled softly under her breath at the thought and pushed open the door of the restaurant. The woman behind the front counter had to be Mia. She looked exactly as Elise’s coworkers had described her. Now, if only their description of the food could be as accurate . . .
“Welcome. What I get for you?”
Elise reached for the folded blue menu perched on the corner of the counter and opened it. Her favorite Chinese fare was listed right on top.
“I would love a small order of spare ribs, a large pepper steak with white rice, and a bottle of water, please.”
“That be eight dollar.”
She pulled out her wallet and handed the woman her last twenty-dollar bill. Friday needed to come fast or Mia’s Chinese food might very well be the last thing she ate for the rest of the week. She thanked Mia, collected her change, and walked toward the back of the dining room to wait until her number was called.
Elise was glad to see only one other table was occupied. All she wanted to do was sit down, relax, and enjoy her dinner. But then she realized who the other person was and froze.
Mitch Burns.
“Glad to see you’ve dried off, Miss Jenkins.” A slightly crooked smile crept across the detective’s face, irritating her all the more.
“No thanks to you,” she shot back.
“Look, I’m sorry about the other night. It just seemed as if every time we’ve spoken to each other I’ve been abrupt with you. I just wanted to try and correct the false impression I think you have of me.”
“By dunking me? I think you should have stuck with the first impression,” Elise said. She set her handbag on a clean table and sat down.
“Oh, come on. Accept a guy’s apology and give me another shot. If you join me for dinner I promise not to get you wet.” He jumped up and pulled out the chair beside his own.
Not wanting to seem like a spoilsport, Elise moved her handbag to his table and sat down.
“I’ve never seen you here before,” he said as he sat back down in his own seat. “Would you like one of my egg rolls while you wait for your food?”
“No, that’s okay. Mine should be ready any minute now.” It was obvious the detective was trying to make an effort to be friendly. “I’ve been wanting to try this place out for a while and tonight seemed like as good a night as any.”
“You won’t be sorry. Mia makes the best Chinese food around.”
She looked around at the pale yellow walls dotted with personal photographs of a different time and place. Her gaze moved across each and every picture before turning again to her spot at the table. And Mitch.
“Numba two!”
Mitch jumped to his feet before she could move. “I’ll get it. It’s the least I can do after nearly drowning you the other night.”
She was glad she had decided to come here. And in some ways she was glad the detective had chosen to eat at Mia’s tonight too. It was nice to have someone to talk to over dinner, and the fact that he was cute didn’t hurt. She smiled at him as he returned to the table with her food.
“It looks great.”
“Wait till you taste it.”
He was right. It had to be the best Chinese food she had ever eaten.
“I wish I hadn’t waited so long to come here.” She looked up after her second bite and smiled. “It’s way better than pasta salad every night of the week.”
“Why did you? Wait—that is?”
“I haven’t gotten my first paycheck from the paper yet, and I’m kind of living on limited cash right now. I’ve been eating at my apartment or brown-bagging it at the office every night. It gets a little lonely sometimes.”
If only she could delete her own dialogue the way she could on the computer. She really didn’t mean to tell him she felt lonely sometimes. She barely knew the guy.
Fortunately, he didn’t seem to notice.
“I noticed in your write-up in the paper that you graduated from the University of Missouri,” he said. “What made you look for a job here?”
“I don’t know. I guess I just feel like being out on my own and this looked like a neat place to be. Did you grow up around here?”
“Northern Jersey, actually. But I went to college about fifty miles from here on a baseball scholarship.”
“That explains your first shot the other night,” she said, shaking her head in feigned disgust.
“Sorry.”
She was surprised by his seemingly genuine apology.
“Anyway, I ended up blowing my elbow out and had to give up the whole baseball thing. So that’s when I decided to go the police route instead,” he continued.
“How long have you been in Ocean Point?”
“Four years. Worked my way up from patrolman. The early stuff wasn’t terribly interesting, but I love the investigative stuff.”
“It seems like it would be an exciting job.”
“Not as exciting as it’s been the past two weeks. These murders are definitely putting me through my paces.”
“You and me both. I thought my first few stories would be fluff stuff just to get me into the swing of things.” She took a small bite of spare rib, a sip of water. “But I ended up getting broken in with a murder, followed by another a week later.”
“It’s the weirdest thing. Until two weeks ago, this was a pretty quiet town—almost boring at times,” Mitch said. “The biggest news around here for the past few months has been the mayoral election. Then bam! Now I’m working fifteen-hour days trying to solve two murder cases.”
“Any leads yet?” she asked, knowing the answer to her question before he even uttered a reply.
“Can’t discuss that, sorry.”
“Can’t blame a girl for trying.”
She took another sip of water and thought for a moment. Just because he couldn’t discuss details didn’t mean he couldn’t brainstorm . . .
“Can I run a thought past you about the murders?” she asked.
“Shoot.”
“I know from my research that Daniel Johnson has been trying to win approval from the town council to build luxury condos where the first pier now stands. Don’t you think it’s at all odd that both victims consulted a fortune-teller on that same pier just hours before their death?”
“Yeah, I do think it’s weird. But following that same train of thought, why would someone want to kill two innocent women to get rid of a fortune-telle
r?”
“I know it sounds crazy. But maybe, if everyone begins to turn against the fortune-tellers, approval to tear down that particular section of the boardwalk would be easier to get,” she said, then stopped. He probably thought she sounded so amateurish. “Oh, forget it. You don’t need a junior detective clogging your thoughts, do you?”
“Or maybe the fortune-teller is trying to show everyone how invaluable her service is.”
“True.” Elise was surprised at how seriously he seemed to be taking her thoughts. She studied him for a few moments as he pushed his food around the plate with his fork. He seemed so troubled and distracted all of a sudden. And it was her fault. The poor guy probably needed a break even more than she did and here she was talking about work.
She decided to change the subject.
“Do you like living in Ocean Point?”
“I love it. Right now my whole life is work, but I love the beach and the clean air and the laid-back pace of everything.”
She nodded and smiled. “The weather has been so perfect the past few weekends that I’ve gotten to enjoy the beach quite a bit.”
“I can tell. You look like a bronze goddess,” he said.
She could feel her cheeks blushing.
“Have you been to the boardwalk yet? It’s a lot of fun.”
“Once. I interviewed Madame Mariah for an article I did in yesterday’s paper.”
“I read that. Nice job,” he said with what seemed to be genuine sincerity. Her cheeks warmed yet again. “I would love to hear about some of the stuff you two talked about, but I’m in dire need of a break from work right now. So I’ll hold off on asking about it till the next time.”
Next time? She could feel the shyness of old creeping in as she sensed Mitch trying to find the nerve to ask her something. She saw his hands fiddle with the fork, heard him clear his throat a few times before he finally spoke again.
“Would you want to walk over to the boardwalk with me and get some fresh air?” he asked. “We could ride a few rides or just play some games.”
She was surprised by the nervousness he showed as he waited for her answer. She found it to be endearing.
“Sure. Why not.”
9:30 p.m.
He knew he was beaming. Aunt Betty would be so proud.
He cast a sideways glance at the girl next to him. Elise Jenkins was beautiful. Her wavy brown hair was pulled up on one side of her face, accentuating her cheekbones. And when she smiled, it lit up her gorgeous blue eyes. There was something so sweet and honest about her that he found himself hoping the next few hours would go very slowly.
“Here we are.”
The sound of her voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He knew he better stop staring or she would think he was a nutcase.
“Great. What do you want to do first?” he asked. He gently put his hand to her back and guided her up the wooden steps.
“What’s your favorite game?”
“That would have to be any of the games where I get to throw. I have a pretty good arm,” he said.
“I know . . . I was at the receiving end of that arm on Saturday, remember?”
The tension he felt over what to say and how to act seemed to evaporate instantly. She was being playful and that helped.
“Let me win you a stuffed animal to make it up to you.”
He reached for Elise’s hand and pulled her over to a booth that featured a back wall covered with dishes.
“Three balls for a buck,” the gray-bearded man said. “Break the dish and you win.”
The vendor pointed to a collection of enormous stuffed dogs sitting in the back corner of the booth.
“That’s got to be a really hard game, Mitch, or they wouldn’t have prizes this big for breaking one dish . . .”
“That’s what he wins if he breaks three plates, lady. This is what he gets if he breaks just one plate.”
The man held up a key chain.
“Just keep your eyes on the fourth plate from the right,” Mitch said as he pulled his right arm back and launched the ball. The plate shattered into a million pieces. “Now watch the plate to the right of where that one was.”
Again, he pulled his arm back and threw the ball. Again he destroyed the plate.
With his hand firmly grasped around the third and final ball, Mitch threw with precision aim and broke the third plate.
The look of amazement on Elise’s face was worth it. She was in awe and he loved it.
He pointed to a big brown dog wrapped in plastic and waited for the vendor to bring it over.
“I guess the big rides are out now, huh?” he said sheepishly as he took the dog and balanced it on his shoulders.
Her laugh made his heart melt.
“We could just walk the whole length of the boardwalk and enjoy the sights,” she suggested.
“Sounds great to me.”
As they walked along the boardwalk he was amazed at how many familiar faces he saw.
“I’ve lived here less than four weeks and I’m recognizing people left and right,” Elise said.
“I was just thinking the same thing. Just since we left the game booth I’ve seen the town clerk and her boyfriend, a guy from church, and look . . . there’s Mayor Brown and his family.” He pointed toward the entrance to the first pier.
“Maureen said Monday was a big night for the locals to visit the boardwalk.”
“Who’s Maureen?” He touched his hand to the small of Elise’s back and guided her around a puddle of melted ice cream.
“Maureen O’Reilly. Susie Carlson’s best friend.”
“I never really noticed before, but now that you mention it, I guess she’s right.”
The glass-covered counter to their right caught his attention and he reached out for Elise’s arm.
“Have you ever tried saltwater taffy?” He cocked his head in the direction of the brightly wrapped candy sorted into piles.
“No. Is it good?”
“It’s the best. Next to my Aunt Betty’s pies, saltwater taffy is my favorite dessert.”
“Okay, I’m sold. But let me treat, okay?” Elise suggested. “You just won me that adorable stuffed dog.”
“No way. The dog was my way of apologizing for dunking you. The taffy is my way of saying welcome to Ocean Point.”
He pointed to the red-colored taffy at the end of the display case and pulled his wallet from his back pocket.
“I’ll take half a pound of that.”
Two minutes later, he opened the white cardboard box and offered Elise a piece. A man’s hand reached inside.
“Thanks, Mitch. Don’t mind if I do.”
It was the chief.
“Hey, Chief.” Everything he had read at the Sumter Library hit him at that exact moment. Was he ever going to be able to look at his boss again without being suspicious? He forced himself to look at the chief, act as if nothing had changed. But it was hard. “You remember Elise Jenkins, don’t you?”
“I sure do. It’s nice to see you again, Elise.”
Mitch watched as Elise smiled and shook his boss’s hand. She really was a class act. Very polite. Full of energy. And he didn’t want to waste another moment of their time together talking to the chief.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, he politely excused them so they could continue their walk. Alone.
He was glad when he finally had her all to himself again. He reached into the box and pulled out a piece of taffy.
“Try it, it’s the best.”
Her fingers brushed against his as she took the candy. He watched her long, slender hands unwrap the taffy and hold it up to her mouth.
“Mmmmmm.” Her eyes widened, the boardwalk lights reflecting back at him. “And you say your Aunt Betty’s pies are better than this?”
He laughed. “Believe it or not, yes.”
“Are you close to your aunt?”
“She took me in when my mom passed away.”
He felt Elise’s eyes on him, searchin
g.
“How old were you?”
“Seventeen.”
“What about your dad?”
“He was killed about six months before Mom died.”
“Mitch, I’m so sorry.” He looked down at her worried eyes and smiled gently. He didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable or sad. He didn’t. In fact, he couldn’t remember a time when he felt more at peace than he did at that very moment walking beside Elise.
“So what’s the big food in Missouri?”
“Food?”
“Your version of saltwater taffy.”
“Toasted ravioli.”
“Sounds good.” He wished he could reach out and hold her hand but he didn’t want to scare her off. Instead, he slid his hand into the front pocket of his jeans. “Do you miss Missouri?”
“No.”
He was surprised by how glad he was to hear that. He was completely at ease with her and it felt great. In some ways it was like they had known each other for years, yet at the same time he was very aware of the fact he didn’t want to blow it by saying or doing anything stupid.
Before he knew it, they were just a few feet from Madame Mariah’s place. A familiar face emerged from the psychic’s doorway.
“I saw him there the other night when I was waiting to talk to Madame Mariah,” Elise said under her breath. “Evidently he’s a regular.”
Mitch stared at the man as he passed them, trying to place the face. The shadows cast by the moon made it hard to see the man’s features clearly. Whoever he was, it was obvious he was upset. “He sure doesn’t look too thrilled with his fortune tonight.”
“I think he goes to St. Theresa’s,” Elise said, as though reading Mitch’s mind. “Madame Mariah called him Ben.”
“That’s it! I knew I knew him from somewhere. That’s Ben Naismith from my men’s group at church. He must have gotten a haircut recently.”
They continued to walk.
“It looks like we’re about to run out of boardwalk, Mitch.”
Her words broke the momentary silence between them and he stopped, looked into her questioning eyes and wished he could add three more piers just so he could spend more time walking beside her.
Deadly Readings Page 8
