Girls' Night Out Murder (Ryli Sinclair 2)

by Jenna St James

  “I know what I want,” Aunt Shirley said, making a beeline for the liquor department.

  I grabbed ahold of her sleeve. “Get back here. You’re not getting out of shopping that easily.”

  “What? I’m an old woman. I can’t be running around this big ole store getting lots of groceries. My hip will start hurting, my mind will —”

  “Forget it,” I sighed. “Not worth it, anyway. The three of us will get food, you get your booze.”

  “Well, if you’re sure…” Aunt Shirley took off like her ass was on fire—so much for her bad hip. She grabbed a cart, plopped her oversized purse down, and practically skipped to the booze aisle.

  We watched in horror as she knocked over a preteen kid who’d had the audacity to accidentally block access to the entrance of the liquor section.

  “I’m a little worried about the amount of alcohol your aunt is drinking,” Paige said.

  Mindy chuckled. “Oh, I suspect she’s been that way forever. She’s just used to hiding it. Now she doesn’t feel she has to.”

  Shaking my head at her childish antics, we quickly divvied up the grocery list and went our separate ways. Since the girls know I don’t cook, they decided they’d get the filler stuff, and I’d get the important things like meat. Steak, chicken, fish…that I could handle.

  I picked up enough meat to get us through the next four days, then made my way over to the liquor department where I figured Aunt Shirley was still browsing. I should have known browsing was too soft a word. Her cart was filled with bottles of vanilla, orange, cranberry, and peppermint vodka. There was even a bottle of Fireball Whiskey thrown in.

  “I’m going to do all holiday jello shots. A cranberry, a peppermint, and Fireball for the cinnamon!” my aunt exclaimed with glee.

  “That seems like a lot of bottles.”

  “I’m doing this for two nights,” Aunt Shirley said. “I’ll make some up tonight and we can have them tomorrow night. Then we can decide what we like, and I can make them up for the bachelorette party on Friday night.”

  She was so excited about the prospect of contributing that I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. I also had a feeling this could be very dangerous for a group of ladies that didn’t typically shoot jello shots.

  “There y’all are,” Paige said. “Mindy is still getting some items, but I thought I’d try and find you guys and see if we are about ready to check out.” Paige peered into Aunt Shirley’s cart and shuddered.

  “Get ready to party, girl!” Aunt Shirley cackled.

  Paige looked at me with fear.

  “Oh, my gosh! Ryli? Paige? Is it really you?”

  Paige and I turned around. My eyes widened when I recognized the face behind the voice. “Julie Crider?”

  Julie laughed and nodded as she reached over and hugged us both. She looked good after all these years. She was still a little on the plump side, just like she’d been all throughout middle and high school. But somehow the extra weight worked on her. She had thick, dark hair cut into layers that fell down her back and curled at the ends. Her pouty lips were painted a deep red, and her eye shadow was subtle enough you hardly noticed she had any on. The black slacks and red angora sweater hugged her in all the right places. She looked stunning, even though it was only ten-thirty on a Tuesday morning.

  Feeling self-conscious, I smoothed my hands over my hair. I’d hurriedly pulled it into a ponytail before leaving the house. The fact I’d just thrown on sweats didn’t help matters, either. I felt dowdy next to her.

  “Yep, it’s me,” she said as she backed away from hugging Paige. “I can’t believe this. What are you guys doing here?”

  “Paige and Matt are getting married this weekend at the lake house,” I said.

  Julie squealed. About four heads turned around to stare at us. Oblivious to the scene she was causing, Julie continued, “I always thought you two would end up together. I remember chasing him around the lake when we were kids. This is just so amazing!”

  “It was a long time coming, that’s for sure,” Paige agreed.

  I noticed my Aunt Shirley tapping her toe and giving me a questioning look. “Julie, this is my aunt, Shirley. Aunt Shirley, Julie was just one of the many girls Paige and I hung out with during the summers we came down here.”

  Aunt Shirley stuck her hand out. “Nice to meet you, dear.”

  Julie shook Aunt Shirley’s hand then peered down into her cart. “Looks like you guys are going to be doing some celebrating.”

  I closed my eyes. Not only had I gotten caught looking like I’d just rolled out of bed, but now she was going to think we were a bunch of boozehounds.

  “Having a bachelorette party for Paige here on Friday night,” Aunt Shirley said. “Why don’t you stop by? You girls can catch up.”

  Why hadn’t I thought of that?

  “Oh, yes. Please say you’ll come!” Paige gushed.

  “That sounds like fun, thanks! You know a couple of the other girls are still in town, right?”

  I knew Susie Shoeman was back in town, because she was going to help Paige with her wedding cake. But I didn’t realize some of the other girls might still be around. I’d never seen any of them around town when I’d journey down to the lake house.

  “They are?” Paige said.

  Julie nodded. “Yes, Susie is back in town. She bought a little bakery that’s located more downtown.”

  “She’s making our wedding cake,” Paige said. “When Matt and I knew we wanted to be married here, we looked up bakeries, and I saw her name. Personally, I couldn’t believe she came back here after—”

  Paige cut herself off. No one said a word. Well, except for Aunt Shirley.

  “After what?” she demanded.

  I peeked over at Julie. She was chewing on her lower lip. “It happened during the school year, so all the summer kids had gone home,” Julie said. “It was our senior year. One night there was a fire, and her parents were trapped inside and died. She and her older sister, Jolene, were able to get out…but her parents didn’t make it. There were always rumors and speculation about how the fire started, but nothing could ever be proven.”

  I knew most of this story. I remember Mom telling Paige and me when she got the news all those years ago. There’d been a fire and Susie’s parents had died, yet no one knew how it happened. I didn’t know about the other rumors.

  “What rumors?” Aunt Shirley asked.

  Julie looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening. Paige and I did the same. Leaning in Julie told us, “You know Jolene had had a long history of trouble. Drugs, boys, drinking…the typical teenage stuff. The last few times, though, since she was technically an adult at nineteen, she ended up doing a couple months in jail. She’d just been released and was back in the home for a day or two when the fire broke out. Earlier that night the police had been called out to the house because of a domestic disturbance. When the police arrived, they realized it was Jolene causing the problem. They left with a warning to her…and that’s the last time anyone saw the parents alive. A few hours later the house burned to the ground and Jolene and Susie’s parents were dead.”

  Wow!

  “What happened to Susie and Jolene?” I suddenly felt guilty for never having thought of them after all this time.

  “Jolene went crazy after a few years and they committed her to a psychiatric hospital for about five years,” Julie said softly, chewing on her lower lip. “The truth is, Jolene always blamed me a little for what happened after the fire. I don’t know why, but for some reason Jolene thought I told the police she set the fire. And then when Susie came to live with me and my family after the fire, Jolene really seemed to hate me.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Paige said, caressing Julie’s arm.

  “Thank you.” Julie nibbled on her lower lip, like she was deciding what else to say. “When Jolene finally got out of the mental hospital, she came back here to live. I’m not sure why. She lives in the trailer park on the outskirts of town, a
nd pretty much does whatever she can to survive, ya know?” Julie’s face turned bright red, and I realized exactly what she was saying.

  “And what happened to Susie?” Paige asked softly.

  “She actually stayed with me and my family until she graduated. By that time the estate was settled and she received a settlement and her family’s insurance money. So she just up and moved away. Can’t say as I blame her any. I’d probably want to put this place behind me, too. But then out of the blue last year she came back to town and opened up her bakery. It’s been doing great, too!”

  “I’m so glad I hired her to do my cake,” Paige said. “We have an appointment tomorrow morning with her to finalize everything. I can’t wait to see her.”

  “Who else is in town we used to run with?” I asked.

  Julie glanced up at the ceiling. “Well, let’s see. There’s Whitney Lark. She’s now a realtor like me. She works for a different office, though. Oh, and Debbie Sanders. Well, Debbie Lancaster now. She married Mark Lancaster, and they have three little kids. I think that’s about all of the old gang that’s left in town.”

  Aunt Shirley tapped me with her cart. “You should invite the rest of these girls to the bachelorette party. We’ll have plenty of jello shooters.”

  Like that’s the part I’m worried about.

  “I have numbers for both Whitney and Debbie. I can give them a call for you if you like,” Julie volunteered.

  “This will definitely round out my bachelorette party,” Paige said.

  “Okay,” I agreed. “Let’s do it. We’ll ask Susie tomorrow when we see her for our appointment.”

  Julie clapped her hands in excitement. “Well, I should run. I actually just dropped by to pick up a bottle of wine for tonight. I have a showing right up until my date tonight, so I figured I’d better run in now and get it,” Julie said shyly.

  I noticed her pink cheeks and asked, “So who is this someone special?”

  Julie ducked her head and hid behind her hair for a second. When she looked back up I could see a sparkle in her eyes. “We’ve been seeing each other for a couple months now. He’s very busy with his work, so getting together can be kind of difficult. Actually,” Julie’s breath hitched, “you kinda know him. It’s your neighbor, Jim Cleary.”

  “Jim?” I exclaimed. “That’s so cool! I actually haven’t talked with him since summer when I was up last.”

  Julie smiled shyly. “Well, I’d seen him around, of course. And we’ve had a few deals together with houses, but he’s so handsome and charming, and kind of a big-wig right now…I never thought he’d give me a second glance.”

  “That’s so romantic,” Paige sighed.

  “You’re getting married in a few days,” Aunt Shirley grumbled. “You think everything’s romantic.”

  Julie laughed. “He’s really busy right now, believe it or not. Even winter can’t slow him down. Not only are people from Missouri asking him to build their houses out here on the lake, but also people from other states. I’m telling you…he’s really going places. I know it sounds silly, but it’s true. They like his easy-going manner and his honesty. Well, that and the fact the man can build amazing houses.”

  Paige leaned over and hugged her. “I’m so happy for you, Julie. I really am.”

  Julie laughed. “I’m so glad I ran into you all. I’ll definitely call the other girls and invite them over Friday night. Around seven, you think?”

  “Sounds great,” I said.

  “Here’s my number, in case you need it,” Julie said, handing me her business card before rushing off to pay for her wine.

  “There you guys are,” Mindy said as she pulled her cart next to mine.

  “You done?” Aunt Shirley demanded. “Because my hip is getting stiff from all this standing around.”

  “Actually, Paige and I have yet to eat breakfast. I believe that guy over there is handing out wine-infused ice cream. I’m thinking that will be our breakfast.”

  “I didn’t say it was hurting that bad,” Aunt Shirley said. “I could probably go for some boozy ice cream.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I had no doubt.”

  For the record, free samples at this grocery store didn’t suck at all.

  Chapter 5

  As I pulled the Falcon into our shared driveway, I was surprised to see Jim’s truck parked outside his house. I figured as busy as both Mom and Julie said he’s been I wouldn’t have a chance to say hi.

  Aunt Shirley let out a little cat whistle. “Look at that yummy treat,” she said, patting her short, white hair into place.

  I looked over to see Jim leaning against his truck, his back to us. Aunt Shirley was ogling his butt.

  “Nice,” I said sarcastically. I popped the trunk to carry in groceries.

  Paige and Mindy laughed as they gathered up sacks and walked into the house. Aunt Shirley was moving more slowly so she could still ogle. I decided the rest of the food could wait and started walking the sixty yards to Jim’s truck.

  “I understand your deadline. Now, listen to me say once again there’s nothing I can do right now,” Jim said. He raked his hands through his light brown hair. “My hands are tied. If the materials aren’t in, they simply aren’t in. I can’t produce them out of thin air.”

  Uh-oh, sounds like a pissed off customer.

  I didn’t want to seem like I was eavesdropping, so I tried hanging back a little. Unfortunately, between the lake and open field, it made for some great acoustics. I started hearing the conversation in my driveway.

  Jim chose that time to turn around. His face went from shock to delight at seeing me. He gave me a tight smile and held up a finger. Luckily it was a nice finger.

  Turning his back to me once again, I heard him say, “You’ll want to think twice before you threaten me again. I’m doing everything I can to keep this project on course. Don’t push me.” With that he hung up and turned around.

  “Ryli,” he said smiling. “Long time no see.”

  Garrett is always complaining I don’t know when to just mind my own business, but I had to ask. “Is everything okay?” I gestured toward the phone still in his hand.

  “Oh, yeah.” He dropped the phone into the front pocket of his flannel shirt. “My secretary, Amber Leigh, got an order mixed up and some of my supplies are a little late. It’s no big deal.”

  “So you have an office here and another one in town?” I asked.

  “Yeah. When I first started up, there was no need for an office in town. But now that things have taken off like they have, this,” he said, pointing to his Morton building, “is my sanctuary.”

  He flashed me his pearly whites, and I almost swooned. I know, I know…I have Garrett, but there’s something very charismatic about Jim.

  We’d taken a small detour on the way back from the grocery store and saw a few of the houses he was building in a new subdivision on the other side of town. They were remarkable…and expensive by the looks of them. I’d say they started out at three hundred fifty thousand dollars just for the basic house.

  “What bring you guys down here? I’ve never really known you to do a family Christmas at the lake house.”

  “That’s why I wanted to drop by. We’re here for a wedding!” I exclaimed.

  He laughed. “Yours?”

  “Heavens no!” I said. “Matt and Paige are finally getting married New Year’s Eve.”

  His grin was contagious and I found myself grinning and tearing up all at the same time. “That’s fantastic. Glad it finally happened. I know those two have been circling that fence for a while.”

  “This is true. Anyway, I wanted to let you know all the girls came down early to do wedding prep stuff, and maybe have a little bachelorette party for Paige.”

  Jim wiggled his eyebrows. “You don’t say. You asking me to do some stripping for you?”

  I burst out laughing as he moved his hips from side to side, grinning at me. “Well, as tempting as that is, I was just going to invite you over for
the wedding.”

  He placed his hand over his heart. “You wound me. I’ll have you know I’m pretty good at bustin’ some moves.”

  “I have no doubt.” We stood there a second smiling at each other as a few snowflakes started falling around us. I decided now was the perfect time to snoop a little. “By the way, I ran into Julie today at the grocery store. Seems she was buying some wine for a date she was having tonight.”

  Jim’s green eyes twinkled back at me. “Is that so? Hmm…wonder who that beauty is seeing?”

  I swatted him on the arm. “Bring her, too. She’s coming by Friday night for the bachelorette party, but an invitation to the wedding would sound a whole lot better coming from you and not me.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yep. Proven fact…girls like to be asked to weddings by guys.”

  “Then in that case considered her invited. What time?”

  “It’s pretty relaxed. Probably around two o’clock. I’m hoping the weather stays this nice and I can take pictures outside. So once that’s done, we’ll start with the ceremony and celebration afterward. Mom and Bea are doing all the cooking and baking, of course. Except for the cake. Susie Shoeman is doing the cake.”

  Jim nodded his head. “Susie’s bakery is amazing,” he said. “I helped her when she first came to town and wanted to renovate her store. Now I pop in at least once a week for a treat.”

  “I’m so glad she was able to put her past behind her and come back to town. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for her.”

  Jim frowned. “I know it’s hard for her. You heard her sister still lives here? Came back to town once she got out of the psychiatric hospital she was in for all those years.” He shook his head. “I don’t know how Susie holds it together. I’m not one to gossip, but…”

  Oh, but I am!

  “But what?” I said, hoping for nonchalance.

  Jim hesitated. “Well, let’s just say Jolene doesn’t exactly have the most pristine of reputations. And there’s rumors of drugs.” Jim stomped his boots on the ground, shaking off some of the snow that had gathered. “That’s why I try to go out of my way and make sure I stop by Susie’s bakery every chance I get. I want to make sure she feels welcome.”