by Anita Higman
My body sagged under her adulation, but I was glad to make some headway.
Eunice coughed again—this time a deep smoker’s cough. “Come to think of it, I can think of a gal who might like to gun me down and leave me in a pool of blood. She just might enjoy it too.”
Oh dear, I’m not sure that lovely thought fell into the headway category. Max, where are you! I’d never missed him so much. But there was one matter I was anxious to talk about. I decided to ask my question in the most blasé voice I could muster. “By the way, Eunice, do you think B.J.’s death was. . .murder?”
“Well, I wasn’t the only one who’d grown to hate him. He’d managed to build up quite a smorgasbord of folks who came to know him as the scoundrel he was.” She twiddled with her napkin, twisting it into bits.
I wished now I’d run out the door. But since I was still here, maybe I’d ask one more question. “If he was such a horrible man, why did you want to marry him?”
“Guess we’re both sitting in the dark with that question. But when he wasn’t drinking, and he wasn’t all riled up about something, he was such a charmer. He could sweet talk the moon right out of the sky. Hey, ain’t that a song?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
Then her expression reddened into fury again. “Yeah, but now I mostly remember his ugly temper, that ugly red scar on his chin, and that ugly lying nature of his.” She yelled out the word “ugly.”
Another round of coffee drinkers turned with concern in their eyes; but then after a few seconds of quiet, they went back to slurping their beverages.
“Well, gotta go.” She rose to leave. “I gots me a date with a feller who’s promising to take me to the next level. I’m just not sure what that next level is.” She laughed. “But it sounded good to me.” Eunice looked me over one more time. “You look all worried again. I’ll tell ya something. One more thing. Even though I’d planned on killing old B.J., I don’t think I would have ever been able to pull the trigger. I can be mean at times, but I don’t think I got the heart of a killer beating inside me.”
Then Eunice nodded to me. In fact, she said she’d had a good time, and with a jingle of her bracelet, marched out the door of the coffee shop.
And just like that, my nightmare was over. Wow. Yet another encounter of the weirdest kind. And way more information than I needed. But there it was, dropped in front of me so I could pick it apart like a vulture.
I sighed and breathed a prayer for this tormented woman. Then I stared out the window, dumbfounded that I’d just met B.J.’s fiancé. But why had she confessed to me that she’d planned to murder B.J.? She could have just apologized for aiming a gun at us that day and left it at that. She certainly had motivation to kill B.J. And since B.J. Ware was notorious for leaving his side door open, Eunice had access.
Hmm. As B.J.’s fiancé, Eunice must have known about his precarious heart condition. In fact, she could have easily frightened him to death, disappeared for a few hours, and then resurfaced to make it look like she wanted to kill him, but didn’t. Clever.
But Eunice ended up wasting her fine acting talents. The police wouldn’t have questioned her, since the examiner determined there was no foul play. Of course, Eunice probably didn’t know that. She may have thought she was in danger of being questioned—that there was a chance of being found out.
As I continued to ponder the quirky and macabre wonders of Eunice, I saw Max jogging around to the front of the coffee house. I rose, tossed my cold latté in a nearby trash bin, and strode toward the door to meet him.
Once inside, he took me in his arms.
“I missed you.” His embrace never felt so good.
“I’m so sorry for being late.” Max touched my face and smiled.
“Run into trouble?”
Max draped his tweed jacket across the back of a nearby chair. “Well, the seller decided the buyer had more attitude than money, so the deal fell through. Again. Looks like my last sale is going to be my hardest one.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “People can be tiresome.”
“Tell me about it.” I grinned, anxious to tell him about my encounter with Eunice. “Let’s get you some coffee and something to eat.” I escorted him over to the front counter. We ordered two cappuccinos and two ham salad sandwiches, and then made ourselves snug in the corner of the shop.
I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. “There’s something I want to—”
“So, what happened with Dolly? Did you find a wedding dress?” Max looked a little restless as he took a sip of his beverage.
“Well, unfortunately, the one gown I loved had a big stain on it. In fact, it was in the shape of a tyrannosaurus rex.”
Max almost laughed, but seemed to change his mind. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out. But Dolly will make sure you find something. She’s very diligent.” He winced.
“It’s okay, really. We got along fine. I like Dolly.” I took a big bite of my ham salad sandwich. Not bad. After swallowing, I suddenly felt famished, so I dug in with gusto.
“Well, then, you’ve made it through the gauntlet alive, so you really do belong in this family. Just kidding. I like Dolly too.” Max unwrapped his sandwich. “I know this is kind of off the subject, but lately I’ve been thinking about the day I proposed to you.”
“Best day of my life.”
He took a sip of his cappuccino. “I guess love has warped your memory. I think it turned out to be the saddest day of your life.”
I reached over and gave his hand a squeeze. “Well, confusing is a better way to describe it. I knew you’d changed my life forever. For the good. It’s just that marriage was such a huge decision. And I was so dazed with all the news. I mean here you were, Granny’s Realtor living two doors down, being hired to watch over me until I marry. I’d come to accept that part. But after you proposed that day, to find out that Granny had set it all up, hoping we’d fall in love. I don’t know. It was just a lot for me to take in.” I chuckled. “But when I ran back to my solitary life, I hated it. Love won in the end. I’m sure you can understand my hesitation. . .you know, because of my past with Sam.”
“And is the past still making you feel hesitant?”
“A most definite no.”
He loosened his tie. “Well, when you left that day at my grandparent’s house, and I drove you home, one thing stands out to me.”
“And what is that?” I took a slow drink from my cup.
“The way I felt when I saw you walk away.” He licked his lips. “I’d never known that kind of loneliness in my life. And so. . .” Max’s voice faded.
I sat my coffee down, thinking I’d never seen Max look so vulnerable. I wanted to reach out and hug him, but I decided to let him finish.
“Sometimes I get the impression you’re still hesitating. And that I’ve pushed you into something you’re just not ready for.” Max looked at me then, and it pierced me through.
“That is not true.” I slipped onto the chair next to him. “I promise you I’m ready. I did find the perfect wedding gown today, but it really did have that ugly stain on it.”
“Really? I hope that doesn’t say anything about our—”
I placed my fingers over Max’s lips and shook my head. I knew what he was thinking, and I never wanted him to think it again. “You may have gotten a little pushy in the beginning, but when I said yes, I meant it.”
“But you seem sort of distracted at times.”
I knew what Max meant; I was fixated on B.J.’s death. And I knew too that deep down I still wasn’t thrilled about creating a gargantuan wedding. I decided to address the latter. “I love you, and I want to be married to you. More than anything.” I kissed Max’s cheek. “But I have to be honest, I’m still having trouble embracing a big wedding.”
Max pressed his palms on the table. “Then that’s it. I will not have you unhappy. We’re going to have an intimate wedding. No crowds.”
“But I can’t do that to your family. If we make it intimate, say
twenty or thirty, that means a lot of your relatives will get their feelings hurt if they’re not invited. How can I do that?”
“You won’t have to do it. I will.” Max crossed his arms. “They can blame it on me. I’d rather have our day bring you joy.”
I let my fingers slide down his cheek. I really had hit the jackpot with this man, but he was also breaking my heart, since I knew how hard he was trying to please me. “My mind has whispered a thousand times that I don’t deserve you. How can you possibly love me?”
Max grasped my fingers and looked into my eyes. “It’s the easiest thing I’ve ever done. Like coasting down a hill on a bike when the brakes have been coated with axle grease.”
I fluttered my hand against my chest. “You’re going to make me faint away with all that romantic talk.” I leaned over and kissed him. When I eased back, I enjoyed watching some of the joy return to his face.
As we began to chat again, this time about intimate wedding plans, I knew the absolute last thing I’d mention was B.J. or Ozzie or Eunice or Vlad. Or the Sisterhood of the Penumbra or the cellar. Or even the bizarre ray of light in my library. None of it. I was determined not to darken the sweet smile on my fiancé’s lips or the warm light in his eyes. I wanted us instead, to stay in this cozy state where we would say cozy words and make cozy plans, and kiss when nobody was watching. Or when everybody was watching.
Max scooted his chair closer to mine. “Bailey?”
“Yes?” I let my lips brush his.
“I think we have a guest.”
“Mmm?” I looked to my right. Joby, the girl who promised me she’d never go to the coffee shop alone again was sitting several feet from us at another table, her chin cradled in her hand, and her eyes glued to our every move. “Hi there, Joby. Imagine finding you here.”
“Howdy.” Joby heaved a big sigh. “I thought you might like to know that one of my foster keepers is in the hospital. After last night’s rain, another alligator came up from the bayou. This one crawled up on our front porch and scared the woozoos out of her. Woozoos is your word.” She stopped her story to laugh. Before we could ask her any questions, she plunged back into her story.
“And after my foster keeper screamed, she started getting what my other foster keeper calls palpitations. So, she’s in the hospital, but they say she’ll be just fine since she has a strong heart. Joby looked back and forth at us with a grave expression. “I think we’re seeing a serious gator outbreak.”
17 – Friends who are Morticians
Serious gator outbreak, huh? “I’m glad your foster mother will be okay, but. . .” I tilted my chin. “I thought you made me a promise you weren’t going to come here by yourself anymore.”
Joby lowered her gaze. “Yeah, I guess I did, but there’s nobody who cares enough to see if I’ll keep my promise.”
If her remark was meant to tear my heart to pieces, it did its work. I leaned down to catch her gaze. “I do care.”
“We both do.” Max lowered his voice. “You know, all kinds of people come here. Good people who want nothing more than to order some coffee and visit with their friends. But on a rare occasion, someone may drop in whose mindset is not good.”
I nodded. Max had no idea how profoundly right he was. Eunice and Ozzie came to mind.
“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Joby rolled her eyes. “Bad people will grab me by the collar, take me off to a lonely road, beat me to death, and then feed my mangled body to their dogs. Is that the kind of thing you mean?”
I winced, wondering what kind of TV programs her foster keepers were letting her watch. “Well, maybe something like that.” I pulled out a chair for her to sit down at our table. “You know, sometime if you want to come here, Max and I don’t mind picking you up. As long as you get permission.”
“That’s right,” Max said.
She looked up at the ceiling and then at both of us. “Okay.”
I knew Joby was working the emotional lure and slowly reeling me in, but this time, for some reason I didn’t feel trapped. I felt grateful. Max’s expression was readable. He wanted to tell me again what a great parent I’d make. And I wondered if my face was glowing with a similar kind of praise for him. I hoped so.
After Max and I finished our sandwiches and coffee, I drove Joby back home with a warning that she could no longer roam the streets at night.
Joby opened the door to my SUV and slid out. “See you later. Okay?”
“I’ll be looking forward to that.”
“Sweet dreams and don’t let the gators bite.” Joby tossed me a wave, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
Then Joby came back to the SUV and squished her face on the window, which gave me a monster-mash version of her face. Pretty funny. I chuckled and then let the window roll down. “Did you forget something?”
“I was just kinda wondering. You got any money I could borrow? I don’t have enough to cover my lunch tomorrow and my foster keeper said he didn’t have anymore to give me this week.”
Okay, so I’m either being set up here, or this girl is in real trouble with the people she’s living with. Since there was no way to know, at least not at the moment, I rummaged around in my purse and found a twenty.
Joby beamed. “A twenty. That means I can have a cookie every day too.”
While she was busy stuffing the money into her pocket, I took a good look at her foster parents’ darkened and unkempt house and caught myself worrying about her life. How would it turn out? Would she be okay, or would she fall through the cracks of the system? She seemed so uncared for. So in need of some of the basics, let alone the extra things that might make a real difference in her life.
“Know what?” Joby suddenly asked. She looked back and forth and then rested her arms across the ledge of the window. “I keep watch on that house where that man died. There’s somebody else living there.”
“That’s right. It’s his stepbrother, Mr. Tepes. He inherited the house.”
“Well, I seen that Mr.—”
“Saw. You saw him.” Oh, brother. I sounded just like a ruler-snapping schoolmarm with my goofy grammar corrections.
“Okay.” Joby rolled her eyes. “I saw Mr. Tepes do something funny.”
I’m sure you did. “What was it?” I leaned over the passenger seat, wanting to hear every word.
“Mr. Tepes went home in a funeral car.”
“You mean a hearse?”
“Yeah that.”
“Anyway, somebody in a hearse dropped Mr. Tepes off. At night.” She whispered the last part.
Joby was right. That was indeed odd. “Well, it’s a free country. Vlad is welcome to have friends who’re morticians.”
“But it sure creeped me out. He had on this weird Dracula outfit and these pointy shoes that glowed.”
Well, the shoe part certainly wasn’t news.
“And a woman got out of the hearse. She was all dressed up too.” Joby seemed a little out of breath. “And they kissed each other on the neck. Ewwww.”
“Sounds like they’d been to a costume party, and they were just letting loose a little. Adults get silly like that sometimes.” Since Joby could already read me pretty well, I kept my poker face intact. I wasn’t sure how much to tell her about my personal apprehensions concerning Vlad.
Joby gave me a somber nod. “Yeah, that’s what they said it was.”
I cringed. “You mean you went over and talked to them?”
“Sure.” Joby shrugged. “Why not?”
I was getting more wound up by the second. Were kids always this exasperating? “Well, what did they say?”
“Same thing you said. They’d been to a costume party and were just having some fun.” Joby smirked like she didn’t believe them.
I gripped the steering wheel. “Good. I’m glad you got that worked out.”
“But I’m thinking Mr. Tepes would be too sad about his stepbrother dying to go out to a party and be so silly. Wouldn’t he?”
Joby already had the mind of a dete
ctive. She certainly didn’t miss anything. “It does seem a bit soon, but everybody handles their grief differently.”
Her face twisted in a grimace. “Maybe.”
I looked right at her, wanting her to really hear me. “Listen, I don’t want you to talk to Vlad anymore. Okay?”
Joby frowned. “Why not?”
“Well, for now, I’ll just say that I don’t trust him. I think he might be like his stepbrother, B.J. So promise me.”
“Okay. I promise.” She leaned toward me again. “Miss Bailey?”
“Yes?”
“I’m scared about something.”
“What’s that?” Why was talking to Joby sometimes so bewildering?
“If I did something bad, would they take you and Max away from me?”
Oh dear. What could she mean now? “Why don’t you get back in the SUV for a second.”
She obeyed.
I turned toward Joby. “What do you mean, something bad?”
“I don’t know. Like maybe. . .” She looked into my eyes as if to study how much she could trust me. “Like steal something from a store.”
“Did you?” I touched her arm. “Steal anything?”
Joby shrugged. “Well, not yet. But I was thinking about it.”
Oh, God, help me to say the right words. “If you start to steal, you’ll get into trouble. I’m not sure what would happen to you exactly, but I can tell you, it wouldn’t be good stuff.”
“Okay then.” Joby looked me in the eye. “I won’t steal anything.”
Relief swept over me. “Joby, what were you wanting to steal?”
“A gift for you.”
18 – A Legion of Nightmares
I put my arms around Joby and pulled her to me. I thought maybe we both needed a hug. We just sat in the SUV and held each other for a while.
“You don’t ever need to buy me anything,” I said. “Okay? You are gift enough to me and to this world.”
