Chaos on Camera

by Louise Lynn

  Of course. My mother had a more happening social life than I did. In fact, in the last couple of months, it seemed like all I did was work and solve murders.

  Well, I wasn’t going to think about that tonight. Hopefully, Ivy could enjoy her date and not think about it either.

  The interior was chic and dimly lit, more so than I imagined from the exterior. The walls were done in copper plating that reflected a golden light. The tables were made up with smooth ivory table cloths and multi-colored lanterns dangled from the high ceiling.

  Also, I noticed that almost everyone in attendance seemed to be on a date.

  “Who did Rita come here with?" I asked as we stepped up to the hostess.

  "The new man she’s seeing. You know he’s fifteen years younger," she said and snickered. “Rita is a—what do you call it? A tiger or a puma?"

  I sighed. "A cougar?"

  Mom clapped her hands and jingled even louder. I swore half the restaurant glanced in our direction. "That’s it! A cougar."

  Thankfully, there wasn’t a waiting period, considering my mom had the foresight to make reservations, and the hostess led us to a booth in the far corner.

  At least it was dark enough that no one would notice my braid had gone fuzzy and my eyes were smudged with dark lines, and not from running mascara either.

  It was only after I removed my coat that I heard a familiar laugh and my back went stiff. I glanced around and spotted her just on the other side of a pillar and a good twenty feet away.

  Ivy really had gone all out that night. Her hair was swept up into a messy bun with wavy tendrils hanging around her cheeks and down the back of her neck. She borrowed one of my chic black dresses—the kind that hugged her hips and waist just perfectly, but was demure enough to still be ladylike.

  Wyatt sat across from her, his eyes beaming and his smile soft. He usually wore a navy suit, but that night he had opted for a grey one, with a white flannel shirt and no tie.

  "Mom," I whispered and pointed in their direction. "Did you know about this? I know you always wanted to chaperone Dean and I, but this is ridiculous," I said.

  My mother’s eyes widened, and she waved her hand in my face. "I had no idea he was going to take her here. How would I? Do you think I go to Wyatt’s place of work and grill him about where he’s going to take my youngest daughter?"

  I wrinkled my nose. It wasn’t that far out of the realm of possibility. Knowing her. "So, you’re denying it?"

  She sighed. "I’m denying it because it’s the truth. I made reservations here for us when Ivy was going to have her date. There’s no nefarious business afoot. You know, talking to would-be murderers all day is making you overly suspicious, dear,” she said and glanced at the menu.

  I let out a sigh and my shoulders slumped. She had a point. Still, I didn’t want Ivy or Wyatt to see us because I knew they would no doubt think the same thing. And they may not be as easy to convince as I was. Especially Wyatt.

  Ivy would think we were treating her like a little girl again, which she didn’t like. Not that I could blame her.

  As long as we stayed on our side of the pillar, I assumed we’d be safe.

  My eyes danced across the menu a moment later, and my mouth watered. She wasn’t kidding when she said it was a lounge dedicated to chocolate. Everything on the menu sounded exquisite, chocolate this and fondue that, but my wallet couldn’t afford one of each, so we had to choose.

  "I’m thinking of the dark chocolate fondue. What would you like?" Mom asked.

  "How about we share the mousse trifecta. White chocolate mousse, dark chocolate mousse, and a milk chocolate mousse with espresso. We can’t go wrong there."

  She nodded. "But this cake. Or more correctly, a tort."

  I snapped her menu shut. “We’ll have time to try them all later. For now, we’ll get two.”

  "Good idea, and we can go from there. If we’re still hungry, for course,” Mom said and gave me a sly wink.

  I smiled at her. "Of course."

  Once our food arrived, I was pretty sure I’d died and gone to chocolate heaven. And, I couldn’t say I minded.

  The fondue came with an assortment of fruits and sponge cakes to dip into it, and it was delightfully rich and just bitter enough to take the sweet edge off. The mousse was fluffy, light, and each cup wasn’t nearly big enough. I’m sure I could’ve eaten three on my own, but my hips wouldn’t have thanked me for the calories.

  My mouth would’ve though.

  I was going in for another dip of strawberry in the fondue when a familiar voice made me freeze in place.

  "Olive? Ms. Darrow? What are you doing here?" Dean Harper asked, and I felt the thick dark chocolate drip down my chin as I glanced behind me.

  I quickly swiped it away and swallowed my bite of strawberry. "Sit down. Quick," I cried and scooted over in the booth.

  Dean sat and glanced around as if we were being besieged.

  Then, a terrible thought crossed my mind. "Oh no, are you on a date?"

  Dean’s cheeks burned crimson. "No, I, uh, heard about this place and thought I’d give it a try. For the fondue," he said and nodded toward the pot in the middle of our table.

  "The perfect man, Olive. What did I say?" Mom said and dipped a marshmallow in the pot.

  I’m sure my cheeks burned just as red, and I shook my head. "Sorry, this has all been a bit hectic tonight,” I said and explained the situation with Ivy and Wyatt.

  Slowly, a smile tugged at the corners of Dean’s lips, and he nodded and peeked around the column at my sister and her date.

  "They both look happy," he said.

  My heart throbbed. "They do. But I don’t want them to know we’re here."

  Dean tapped his nose and glanced at the fondue on the table.

  "But," I added, “That doesn’t mean you have to sit with us. I just didn’t want her to spot you then see us and …” My voice trailed off.

  Dean nodded. "Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude. I was just surprised to see you here," he said and went to stand.

  However, Mom beat him to it. "Actually, I see a friend of mine over there, and I’m going to stop in and say hello. Dean, sit on this side," she said with a wink, although I wasn’t sure if the wink was aimed more at me or him.

  I groaned internally as she bustled away, jingling the entire time, and hoped it didn’t catch Ivy’s attention. You usually heard our mom before you saw her. Thankfully, it seemed like she was too wrapped up in Wyatt’s dreamy eyes to pay much attention to anything outside of her little bubble.

  To be young and infatuated.

  As Dean sat across from me, I noticed he was no longer dressed for duty. He’d traded in his typical gray suit for jeans and a navy sweater which complemented his gray eyes.

  However, I did my best not to stare and handed him the menu. "The mousse was delicious, but it’s gone," I said unnecessarily, since the three cups sat empty on the table—their contents scraped clean.

  Dean gave me a warm smile, and I told my heart not to flutter the way it did. "I was thinking of some white chocolate fondue to go with this dark. ‘Course, I don’t think I could eat it all by myself," he said and raised an eyebrow at me.

  "If you insist on sharing, I suppose I could oblige you,” I said with a slight grin.

  He ordered, and we settled in, feeling distinctly uncomfortable. At least, on my end. It seemed every time we talked recently it was about the Quintessence Lovejoy’s case. Now the Quintessence and Duncan case. But maybe that was for the best. At least until he was properly divorced.

  "So, how have you been?" I asked and immediately felt silly.

  Dean smiled. "Busy. Just like you. Are they really calling off the whole movie shoot?"

  I shrugged. At least we were on safe ground and not wandering into the ‘would we, won’t we’ territory that felt so uncomfortable. "I think so, but the producer, Sandra, really seems to be trying to keep the project alive. Michael doesn’t seem that positive about the probability, though
."

  Dean raised an eyebrow and took a sip of his water. "Michael? You’re on a first name basis with the director?"

  I frowned. "I don’t even remember his last name, actually. Are you interrogating me, Detective Harper?" I said and nudged his boot with mine.

  "Not even close. Number one, I’ve never interrogated anyone over fondue before," he said and speared a piece of cake with his fondue stick before swiping it through the chocolate.

  I followed suit. Best to have something to do with my mouth besides making myself look like an idiot. I had no idea where my mom had gotten to, but Ivy and Wyatt seemed blissfully unaware of our presence, so at least there was that.

  Soon enough, the waitress brought the white chocolate fondue and a whole new set of goodies to dip, and my mouth watered.

  "I wish this place was around when we were in high school. Can you imagine?" he said and engulfed a strawberry in white chocolate.

  I giggled. "I know where we would’ve gone for dinner on prom night."

  “You’ve got that right," he said with a grin.

  "I probably would’ve tried to get a job here instead of at the café."

  Dean chuckled. “We could’ve gotten free fondue all high school. That would’ve been the life.”

  "If you like chocolate so much, how come you decided to become a detective instead of a chocolatier?" I asked.

  "I like to eat chocolate; I never said I wanted to make it. Plus, I have you for all the sweet things in my life," he said.

  I was glad for the dim lighting then because I knew my cheeks burned as brightly as the sun.

  I wasn’t sure how we managed to finish off both fondue, but we did. I noticed my mom waving from the other side of the restaurant frantically, and decided that was my cue to go. No matter if I could have lingered with Dean for another hour or two. But we probably should arrive home before Ivy did.

  “I’ve got it,” Dean said when I placed my credit card on the check.

  "You don’t have to. We ate most of this before you even arrived and—”

  Dean shook his head. "My treat for that whole Jenny Walker business. As a thank you. Will you wait outside?"

  My heart jumped into my throat. "I can. Why?"

  Dean gave me that serious detective look, and I nodded.

  Right.

  The case.

  Mom bundled up and climbed into the truck, and I shuffled from foot to foot and waited for Dean to emerge from the restaurant. He did only a couple of minutes after I left, and shoved his hands into his coat’s pocket.

  "It’s about that stalker. Jacob Smith,” he said.

  I nodded. "What about him, Detective?"

  “It was a nice lead, but he had a perfect alibi. Apparently, he was working on another film that night, and the whole crew saw him.”

  My gut clenched. “Another film? What other films are shooting in San Bas?”

  The look of Dean’s face was something between fighting a grin and a glower. “An indecent one. Let’s leave it at that.”

  It took me a moment to figure out what he meant. And that panty stealing sound guy would help on a movie like that!

  I nodded, and my blood turned to ice in the chilly air. I nudged my shoulder into his. "Are you trying not to say, ‘adult film’ around me? And are you sure you’re supposed to be sharing case secrets with me?"

  Dean smiled. "That’s not what I’m doing. You’re the one who found him sneaking around. I’m just following up on an arrest I made with the good Samaritan who turned him in," he said.

  At that moment, my insides felt as warm as the fondue we had just eaten.

  I’m not sure how we managed, but my mom and I made it home a good thirty minutes before Ivy arrived. I even had time for a quick shower and jumped into my pajamas before she floated up the stairs and did a graceless pirouette on the landing between her apartment doors.

  I poked my head out and grinned at her. "Good date?"

  "You could say that. I’d stay up all night talking to you about it, but you look exhausted. And I feel it. But he took me to the most amazing place! Did you know there’s a Chocolate Lounge on Highway one? It looks over the ocean, and they have the best fondue in the world, Olive. The. World.”

  I raised a bemused eyebrow. "Really? I guess we’ll have to take Mom there one of these days, won’t we?"

  Ivy nodded. "Oh, she will love it. And so will you. And maybe I can get Dean to take you there," she said and waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

  I shook my head. "Go to sleep, and tell me about your date in the morning," I said and dipped back into my apartment.

  She smiled so wide, I swore she’d do it all night.

  Funny. I felt the same.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I waited until the next day to visit the Swoosh hair salon. Gina Rodriguez was the owner, and I guess a part of me wanted to enjoy having hair. I had a feeling that if Gina discovered I was there for information, she’d shave my hair off.

  And considering she almost set fire to our high school laboratory department in tenth grade, I wouldn’t put it by her.

  I’d heard she had calmed down considerably after school. And I couldn’t imagine Carole, Adam and Juno’s mother, giving her blessing to someone she thought would only cause trouble.

  Being my mom’s best friend, Carole liked everything in life to be happy and bright and carefree. Didn’t come as a shock when she persuaded my mom to partner up with her to teach yoga classes. I vaguely remembered my mom saying Carole had begun to practice reiki, too.

  “Are you working at the set today, darling?”

  My mom caught me as I made my way down the stairs. The temperature had dropped again overnight, and I felt like an Eskimo with the fluffy coat I was wearing.

  “It all got cancelled because people started dropping like flies, Mom, remember?”

  Mom rubbed her hands together, dressed in her winter running clothes. She had a headdress on that had various minuscule bells attached, and when she tilted her head, they sang like wind chimes. Her cheeks were slightly flushed from running in the cold.

  I never absolutely understood my mom’s obsession with bells.

  I thought it was a phase she had adopted when my father passed away three years ago.

  “Oh, yes. Please be careful out there, darling. In case you’ve forgotten, there’s a murderer on the loose.” She thrust out a hand. “Take your phone with you.”

  My eyes widened. “There it is! I thought I’d lost it.”

  “Lost it? I thought you’d used it for coal, Olive. You really need a new cell-telephone-whatever-it’s-called. This one is nothing like Ivy’s. It’s ancient.”

  “I like to think vintage,” I said, stuffing the phone inside my coat pocket. “I won’t be long.”

  “And where do you think you’re off to?”

  I turned to see Ivy, already dressed, at the top of the stairs.

  “To get a haircut,” I said, shooting her an innocent smile.

  “I knew it! As if I’d let you go without me.”

  Of course, how could I investigate a murder without my trusty sidekick?

  “Yes. That’s better,” Mom said. “You can look after one another.”

  We both eyed our mom quizzically.

  “You do realize we’re grown women?” I said, raising an eyebrow.

  “Oh, nonsense. As I told you last night, you’ll always be—”

  “My little Olive,” I interjected, rolling my eyes.

  “What were you two doing last night?” Ivy probed, inching toward the door.

  “Nothing. We just had take-out and watched a movie on Netflix,” I said, tugging Ivy through the door before our mom could say anything.

  “Without me?”

  “Um, you had a date,” I countered, opening my truck door. “At any rate, how was it? You were practically floating last night when you got home.”

  Inside the truck, Ivy relayed her date in exquisite detail. I was pretty sure when she was finished, that
I’d never seen my little sister happier. Or that much drool at the side of her mouth from her memory of the fondue the night before.

  I couldn’t blame her—I had a little myself.

  Ivy paused and stared out the car window, a pensive look on her face. “Olive, it was … perfect. It was so, so perfect,” she said. “He really knows how to make a girl feel special.”

  My heart warmed at hearing that. I was also glad to hear she’d clearly gotten over Malachi; the florist she’d had a crush on up until last month, when she discovered he was gay and in love with another guy.

  “I’m thinking about getting my nails done,” Ivy said, as I drove into town. “Maybe pink.”

  I gasped. “My sister wanting to paint her nails a color other than black? Are you feeling okay?”

  Ivy nudged me on the shoulder, and I laughed.

  Gina’s pinched, deep-brown eyes glared at me from over her computer screen, and I swallowed. The music blaring mindlessly in the background began to make me nauseated and I wished I had brought my earbuds.

  “You want a haircut?” she said. Her razor-sharp, acrylic nails typed swiftly across the keyboard, then she threw back her long, curly hair and sighed. “I’m sorry, but we’re fully booked up on hair appointments today.”

  “Uhh, we just wanted our nails done,” Ivy said, holding up her hands. “I’m thinking pink, and my sister …”

  “Yellow,” I rushed out. It was the first color that sprung to mind. “Would you have any space for two manicures and a quick polish?”

  Gina eyed us, then the screen, then us again.

  “Courtney,” she called, looking over her shoulder.

  One of the younger stylists busied herself sweeping hair into a dustpan. “Yeah, Gina?”

  “Are you free for a nail appointment?” Gina asked, and the girl practically threw down the brush, eager to escape the clean-up duty.

  To my relief, Gina walked us through her cozy salon and to the back, where a handful of chairs and nail stations were set up. I could almost drown out the pop music, thank goodness. Ivy began talking to the other stylist, who prepared her nails on my left. Gina nodded to the shelf stacked with various nail polishes. I picked the custard yellow and sat on one of the chairs. Gina sat across from me, the muscles hard at work on her face.