“Trust me, I wasn’t sure I was going to come either, but Mrs. J.—”
“Birdie Jackson can just go ahead and shove her agenda where the sun don’t shine,” Inez said. Both Marion and I stood there in shock with our mouths open. Inez loved to talk, but she was always so polite.
“I’m serious. You’d think she was the Queen of England with how ridiculous she’s been. She’s only the mayor. I think someone needs to remind her of that. We have more important things happening in this little town of ours. Not only that, you should be considerate of your friends and what’s happening in their lives. Instead of worrying about how this gala is going to go down, she should be organizing a search and rescue mission for your husband. In fact, I think that’s what I’m going work on tonight. We’re going to find him, Ziva. Don’t you worry about it.” Inez said in rapid succession.
“That’s a wonderful idea, Inez. I can’t believe I didn’t even think to do that. I’m sure Rich would help as well,” Marion said, referring to her new husband and our town’s beloved family doctor.
“Heck, you help every member of this community. I know everyone is already behind you. Now don’t you worry about it. I see the look on your face right now. None of us believe Finn’s guilty of anything else other than being at the wrong place at the wrong time. We’ll find out what’s happened to him and bring him home.”
Inez was right. That was exactly what I was thinking. I had assumed that everyone else thought the same as Mrs. J. and Agent Cooper had, which is that my husband was a murderer on the run. These two ladies here—well, they gave me a little bit more hope for my community and for humanity.
“Let’s just go in here and get this stupid meeting done to make Birdie happy and afterward we’ll have a little private pow-wow and organize a manhunt for that husband of yours,” Inez said.
I wasn’t even sure what to say. After talking with Randy, I was more inclined to think Finn and Kat were on the run on their own accord, but what if I was wrong? I would never forgive myself if they had been taken and I didn’t look for them. I ended up nodding and eventually saying, “That would be wonderful.” I was so used to being a girl boss and striking out on my own, it hadn’t occurred to me to reach out to my friends and family.
“His sister is missing, too,” I added as we headed toward the building.
“Oh sweetie,” Marion replied. “We’ll have to look for her, too.”
Mrs. J. stuck her head out of the library door and hollered out at us. “What in the world are you ladies doing just standing out here? The meeting is about to start.”
“I swear, that woman. She is driving me crazy,” Inez said under her breath. I couldn’t agree with her more.
The meeting was scheduled to take place in one of the community rooms just off the main library section.
Along the sidewall of the room, a table had been set up with an assortment of covered trays and pitchers of iced tea and lemonade. Before she became the mayor, Mrs. J. was known for her baking skills. Well, that and her crazy fashion sense. I should have known that she’d show off on both accounts. She was dressed in cream and lime and reminded me of a key lime pie with the way her cream-colored hat swirled on the top of her head. I figured she probably had to wear a hat seeing that her hair would’ve still been a mess from that wig.
If I knew Mrs. J., under the napkins covering the platters was an assortment of wonderful desserts. Buttercream-frosted sugar cookies, strawberry cheesecake bites, double fudge brownies and lemon bars were just the type of thing that Mrs. J. would have baked in preparation for today’s meeting. I wasn’t about to lift up the napkins to find out exactly what treats were in store because at that moment, Mrs. J. had an honest-to-goodness gavel that she was hammering to call the meeting to order. I resisted rolling my eyes, but when I looked over at Inez, I saw that she didn’t. I was beginning to love that woman more and more.
“Now ladies, this is crunch time. This weekend tourists will be flocking to our beautiful city to experience a one-of-a-kind festival. There’s no time to waste so let’s not. Inez, what’s the art fair report?”
“Well now, I don’t have a formal report, but what I can tell you is everyone’s real excited about it. We have a little bit of everything—jewelry designers, woodworkers, candle makers. Plenty of crafts for the kids, too. It should be a real fun time.”
“Inez, I ain’t worried about people having fun. I need numbers. How many vendors? How much money? Everyone paid up? The devil’s in the details.”
Inez looked taken back and not too happy. “I’ll have to add that up and get back to you,” she said and left it at that. Something Inez never did.
“Now Vicki, how does the plant sale look? Were we able to reach our goal of 500 preorders?”
Vicki hesitated before answering, and I knew that answer must’ve been a no.
“Well, we didn’t have as many preorders as we were initially hoping for, but I believe we have a strong showing. We’re off to a good start.”
“Numbers, Vicki. We need the numbers. How many times do I have to tell y’all that? How many orders am I looking at here?”
“We reached over half, 262 orders to be exact. I think that number will be much higher once we have the plant displays up. Everyone can see how gorgeous the azaleas are and they can pick out the colors in person.”
“Two hundred and sixty-two? Good heavens, that’s not even close to the number we wanted.”
“Well Birdie, I mean Mayor Jackson, this is the first year that we’ve hosted this festival. I believe more tourists are going to be actually purchasing the plants than our local residents.”
“You better be right, Vicki. You better be right.” Mrs. J. was shaking her head in disappointment. “Let’s move on to talk about the parade. Marion, how many floats have registered?”
“The last count was twenty-seven. If you ask me, that’s a pretty impressive turnout,” Marion said, consulting the paper before her.
“That’s good, real good.” Mrs. J. was busy for a few minutes jotting notes down in her leather folder. The room sat in uncomfortable silence while we waited for Mrs. J. to finish.
“Now I’m going to assume that you all can make it tomorrow to work on our float,” she said without looking up. The ladies and I looked around at one another.
Inez spoke up. “I thought we weren’t going to enter one. Isn’t that what we decided two weeks ago?” she said, looking around the room for confirmation. Ladies nodded their heads in agreement.
“Well, I made an executive decision. I’m the mayor, I can do that. Now don’t y’all go looking at me like that. Think of how it would look if the planning committee didn’t enter a float. Not good, I tell ya. Now Pete down at the fire station has an empty bay and a flatbed just waiting for us. I plan on starting at noon and I expect you to make it. Ziva already brought the truck, too.”
Everyone turned and looked at me.
“Uh, Mrs. J. asked me about it last week. Sorry, I thought she let you guys know as well.” Clearly she hadn’t.
“I’m just going to come out and say it. I don’t think this is a good idea. We don’t have enough time, supplies, or even a theme. Plus, it’s rude to just expect us all to drop everything and cater to your whims. You’ve gotten a big head, Birdie. You need to check yourself,” Inez said.
I sucked in a breath. Granted, someone needed to say it, but I didn’t want to be here to witness it.
“Big head. Big head, my foot. You can just excuse yourself if that’s the way you feel. Whoever else feels the same way can just get to gettin’ too. I ain’t got time for this. I said the same thing to that Devonshire man. I don’t care if he had this date first, my gala is more important than his Little Miss Whatever pageant.”
Inez didn’t move.
“Go on, get. You said your piece, now skedaddle.”
“I’m disappointed in you, Birdie,” Inez said.
Mrs. J. just shooed Inez away with a flick of her wrist. Inez attempted to stare
down Mrs. J., but she had turned her attention back to her notes.
Inez stood up and marched out. I gave her a sympathetic look but stayed in the meeting just in case I was called on again, or had to play referee if mutiny ensued. At this point I was thinking there was a fifty-fifty chance it would. For the sake of our town and Mrs. J’s reputation, this gala couldn’t be over soon enough.
6
After the meeting, my mind was so full of parade floats, azalea’s and the impending search party that it never occurred to me to check the backseat of Finn’s truck before I hopped in. I felt the person’s presence before I heard him say my name and it was all I could do to keep myself from freaking out.
“Ziva! Ssshhh! Don’t scream!”
Why is it that when someone sneaks up on you and scares you half to death, they always say don’t scream? I don’t know, it doesn’t make any sense to me either. I whipped my head around and came face-to-face with my husband. I was so overcome with emotion that I didn’t know which one I wanted to lead with. Relief that he was alive. Anger that he had disappeared on me in the first place. Confusion as to what in the heck was even going on. I felt them all play across my face.
“Look straight ahead. I’ve only got a minute,” Finn instructed.
“What are you even talking about? I need more than a minute with you and preferably someplace private where we can talk.” I was cognitive of the fact that all around me ladies were piling into their cars and setting out for their evenings. Mrs. J. looked suspiciously my way. I gave her a polite wave and started Finn’s truck.
“I’m gone for less than two days and you’re already driving my ride,” Finn joked.
I still had too many emotions running through me to find much humor in his comment.
“What were you guys talking about outside for so long, anyway?” Finn asked.
“As if you even need to ask. They’re organizing a search party!” I hissed. Even though Inez left the meeting, she stayed after as promised to organize the search party. It was scheduled for 9AM the next day. I was shocked with how quickly the ladies had moved on the idea, but as Inez reminded me, “Time is of the essence in a missing person’s case.”
“Oh.” Finn straightened up a little more. “That’s actually really nice of them.”
“I know, and now I’m stuck going through with it. Why couldn’t you have just called!” I demanded.
“Listen, I know you’ve been worried, but I’m okay and I intend on staying that way,” Finn said.
“Worried? You think I’ve been worried? More like scared to death that you were lying dead in a ditch or you were shark bait by now.” I kept my head down while talking and rummaged through my purse to retrieve my cell phone. It was much easier to pretend that I was talking on my phone than to myself in case anyone noticed my lips were moving. Despite Finn’s insistence he only had a minute, I pulled out of the library parking lot and turned left. “Where should I go?” I asked him.
“Will you come with me?” he asked in reply.
I was about to say yes, but my pride got the best of me. “Where are you staying right now?” I wanted some answers before I blindly tagged along.
“It’s not safe for you to know,” Finn replied.
“What the heck is that supposed to mean? You don’t ask someone to come with you and then not tell them where you’re taking them. What are you up to, Finn, and what the heck is going on?”
Finn didn’t answer me. I pressed on. “You know, everyone thinks you killed Cody. I had to wake up next to his dead body, thinking it was you, and then I find out that you’re missing, and you went to your sister and left me in bed. So, if you want to help me out here, start talking. If not, I can pull over right now and you’re out on your own.” I loved Finn with all my heart, but it was time he started fessing up.
“I’m just trying to protect you, babe. You know that, right?”
“Baloney. If you’re trying to keep me safe, you wouldn’t have left me on the boat with a dead body.”
I saw Finn flinch through the rearview mirror.
“When I left Cody, he was alive. He was just waiting for me to get back.”
“That’s a relief,” I replied under my breath.
“You thought I killed Cody?” Finn asked.
“I didn’t know what to think. Why did you leave me and go to your sister?” I asked, unable to keep the hurt from my voice.
“I had to tell her. I thought … well, I thought I had more time until they found me. Trust me, babe, I would never have put you in that situation on purpose. Never. I promise you that.”
I took a chance at the red light and turned around to stare at my husband. I saw nothing but grief and sincerity in his eyes.
“What have you gotten us into?” I said, desperation thick in my voice.
“I got myself into it long before there was ever an us,” Finn replied, just as desperate.
I broke eye contact at that point and drove forward when the light turned green.
I couldn’t be positive, but I thought that Mrs. J. might be tailing me again. I told Finn as much.
“She’s not about to have a murder investigation trump her gala. She’s made sure that everyone, including the FBI and Devonshire, know that.”
“What did you say?” Finn asked.
“Mrs. J.’s gone crazy over this gala. She got into it with some pageant organizer over booking her gala on the same date as his event and with the lead investigator on your case.”
Finn fell silent. I pulled into a gas station and waited a beat to see if anyone else followed or stopped nearby. Not seeing anything, I turned and gave him my full attention.
“What are we dealing with here? Because you know I’m not about to run off with you and go into hiding. That’s not my style.”
“I know. But the less you know, the safer you are,” Finn countered.
“Ha, you have to do better than that. Some chick already tried to break into Aria’s pool house where I’m staying. A little old friend of yours, or so I’m told.”
Finn’s face drained of color and he mumbled something under his breath.
I raised my eyebrows in reaction. “Spill it,” I said.
Finn let out a breath and raked his fingers through his hair before talking. “Here’s the thing, about fifteen years ago a group of us delinquents got together, joined our various skills if you will, and thought we’d strike out. Go for the gold, literally.” I nodded in silence, urging him to continue. “I don’t even know whose idea it was, but we set our sights on The Sugar King.”
When that didn’t get a reaction out of me, Finn pressed on.
“We pulled it off without a hitch. The heist was brilliant. Sure, there was some suspicion at first, but nothing came of it. They lost the evidence.” Finn wiggled his eyebrows. I looked at him more annoyed than ever.
“What type of heist?” I asked.
“Nicked a couple of paintings,” Finn said nonchalantly.
“What? How many’s a couple? What artists?” I demanded.
“Ziva, not the point.”
“No, the point is that they’re on to you,” I said, a bit huffy with my husband.
“Only because someone tipped them off,” Finn replied.
“Who?”
“Not sure, but now The Sugar King knows who we are, and he’s determined to make sure we all go down.”
“You mean, like turn you guys over to the authorities?” I asked hopefully even though I knew that wasn’t what he meant.
“More like play a game of cat and mouse. Each one of us has a price tag on us. He’s willing to foot the bill. Whoever takes us out gets the cash.”
“Oh sweet sugar. So, you’re telling me you have a bounty on your head?”
“Well, when you say it that way,” Finn joked.
“Finn, don’t even kid about this,” I said, not even remotely amused. When Finn didn’t respond, I said, “How does the girl play in?”
“What girl?”
I gave Finn the look. He knew darn well what girl I was talking about. In fact, I was getting a very uneasy feeling about this woman. Some part of it wasn’t sitting right with me.
“Is she just a hired hand?” I asked.
“I can’t, Ziva. It’s too dangerous. I just want—”
“To protect me,” I finished. Finn nodded. “Yeah, you said that.” I sighed and fought the urge to pummel my husband. I didn’t like secrets. Whether they were in place to protect me or not.
“Did she kill Cody?” I took a chance and asked.
“I think so.” Finn looked down while speaking.
“Are you looking for her?” I bent my head, trying to meet his gaze.
“Yes, I am.” He looked up and we locked eyes. “I love you. More than anything in this entire world. You are my world. I would give everything to change my past, but I can’t. So, let me take you someplace safe.”
“To where Kat is?” I asked.
“What do you mean?” Finn replied.
“Isn’t she with you?” I asked.
“No, she’s just as stubborn as you. Said she could hold her own. What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that she’s been a no-show at work and she’s not at her apartment, but her car is. Randy assumed she left the bar with you.”
Finn responded with a four-letter word.
“I have to go,” he said, pleading with his eyes for me to come with him.
“You know I’m a better asset to you on the outside than hiding someplace. If I go missing, the FBI’s going to for sure bring the force down on you. I don’t think you can hide from a national manhunt,” I said.
Finn knew I had a point. It was safer for him if I went about my day and life as if everything were normal. Safer for him, but not for me. And that was what he was struggling with.
“Stay safe,” I said.
“I’m never far,” Finn replied.
I tried to find comfort in those words, but they fell short.
I let Finn kiss me and waited until he disappeared behind the building to allow the first tear to fall.
I pulled into the parking lot of Sweet Thangs and saw Detective Brandle sitting on a bench outside, waiting for me. The flowering azalea bushes lining the street reminded me of the parade float building party that was scheduled for tomorrow. As if on cue, I sneezed three times rapidly into the crook of my arm. Have I mentioned how much flowers make me sneeze? I sincerely hoped Mrs. J. wasn’t planning on using fresh blooms to decorate the float. Please tell me she wouldn’t. If that was the case, it didn’t matter how mad it would make her, but I would not be much help tomorrow at the fire station.
Charm & Deception Page 6
