Be My Valencrime

by Amy M. Reade

  The waitress came by one more time and Lilly ordered another glass of wine. She continued scrolling through her phone, not watching the goings-on around her, until the music changed again, signaling the arrival of a fresh batch of dancers. She finished her wine, located her waitress and paid her bill and the tip, and went backstage.

  The dimly lit hallway leading to the dressing room still smelled bad. Lilly tried breathing through her mouth.

  When she knocked on the dressing room door, she didn’t wait to be admitted; she just opened it slowly and walked in. Suzanne was at the table closest to the door, unfastening the ankle straps of her stilettos.

  “Hi, Lilly,” she said, her face breaking into a smile. “What’s new?”

  “I was hoping you could tell me.” Lilly pulled out a chair and sat down across from Suzanne.

  “I haven’t heard or seen anything,” Suzanne said, shaking her head. “In fact, Tracy and I were talking about it on the phone earlier. She’s off tonight. She knows about as much as I do.”

  “Have any of the other employees mentioned Alice?” Lilly asked.

  Suzanne thought while pulling her work tank top over her head. “I’ve heard people talking about her, you know, but it’s always stuff like ‘I wonder what happened to Alice’ or ‘I hope Alice is okay.’ Nothing that would make me think they knew anything about her disappearance.”

  “What about Guy?” Lilly suggested. She managed not to sneer while she spoke. She could barely hide her dislike for Guy and part of her almost hoped he knew something about Alice that he wasn’t sharing. She would love to see him busted by the police for impeding an investigation. But, she had to remind herself, the most important thing was to find Alice, so if Guy had information, she wanted him to share it. That gave her a thought—maybe she should come out to the bar during the day when Guy wasn’t as busy. Maybe he could talk to her about Alice then.

  She turned her attention back to Suzanne. “Well, thanks for keeping your eyes open.” She sighed. “I hope Alice turns up soon and that she’s okay.”

  “I should give you my phone number,” Suzanne said. “That way you don’t have to come all the way out here just to talk.” She scribbled her number on a piece of paper and handed it to Lilly.

  “Thanks. I’ll be in touch. You’ll let me know if you hear anything, right?”

  “You bet,” Suzanne said. “Wait a sec and I’ll walk out with you. I’m on my break now, so I’m going to put in an order for food.” Lilly waited while Suzanne put on her comfy shoes for waiting tables and they left the dressing room together.

  Back in the foul-smelling hallway, Lilly could see two men waiting for the restroom, though their features were hidden in shadow. She could see, though, that one of them turned in time to see her and Suzanne leave the dressing room. He looked away quickly.

  Lilly and Suzanne pushed their way through the crowd—Suzanne to the bar and Lilly to the front door. Lilly was reaching for the door handle when someone grabbed her arm.

  She whirled around and was shocked to see Suzanne standing there.

  “What is it?” Lilly asked in alarm.

  Suzanne leaned in close to Lilly’s ear. “That guy. You know, the one who was bothering Alice? He’s here,” she said, her eyes wide. She tipped her head toward the stage.

  Lilly jerked her head toward the stage. “Which one is he?” There were so many men around, and it seemed that most of them were standing directly in her line of vision.

  Suzanne stood on tiptoes to get a better look. She turned her head left and right, scanning the area around the stage.

  “I don’t see him anymore,” she finally said.

  Lilly glanced at her watch. It was getting late and she didn’t want to delay getting back to her mother’s any longer or Laurel and Bev would start asking questions.

  “I’ve got to go pick up my daughter,” Lilly said. “If you see him, can you chat him up? I mean, see if you can get his name, where he lives, stuff like that. I’ll call you later tonight to see what you can get out of him. But be careful and don’t walk to your car alone. Make sure Guy or the bartender or someone goes with you.”

  “Got it.” Suzanne turned around and headed back into the crowd.

  Lilly opened the door again and stood outside the bar for just a moment, letting the frigid air cool her skin and scanning the parking lot quickly to make sure there was no one around. Her ears rang from the silence after the ear-splitting music indoors.

  She shivered as the cold air came into contact with the sweat on her body and gave her goosebumps. She pulled her car keys out of her back pocket and headed toward her car.

  She never heard the person coming up behind her. She felt a blinding pain on the back of her head and a moment later she was unconscious on the gravel parking lot.

  Chapter 33

  When Lilly came to, Noley was crying and kneeling next to her on the cold ground. She tried lifting her head up, but the pain was almost unbearable. She blinked several times very slowly.

  “What’s going on?” she asked. Her lips felt thick and useless.

  “Someone hit you from behind.” Noley grasped Lilly’s hand.

  “Where am I?” Lilly asked. “It’s cold.”

  “You’re outside Guy’s Place, in the parking lot.”

  “My head is killing me.”

  “I know. I’ve already called for an ambulance and it’s on the way.” Noley wiped a wisp of hair from Lilly’s forehead.

  “I don’t need an ambulance,” Lilly protested. “Where’s Laurel?”

  “I don’t know, but she’s not here. She’s probably at home.” That didn’t sound right to Lilly.

  A small crowd had started to gather around them. Lilly closed her eyes when she heard someone shout, “Has anyone called the police?”

  “I called nine-one-one,” Noley answered. “They’re sending police and an ambulance.”

  Lilly opened her eyes. She couldn’t remember why, but she knew she didn’t want the police to come.

  “No police,” she murmured.

  “They’ve already been called,” Noley said quietly. “The person who did this can’t get away with it. Are you warm enough?”

  Lilly tried to nod, but it hurt too much. She closed her eyes again and tried to shut out the murmurings of the people around her, but she was unsuccessful. Before long a gruff voice joined the others.

  “I recognize her. What happened?”

  Lilly opened one eye. Guy was standing at the front of the crowd. From where Lilly lay on the ground, his bulk was even more intimidating than usual.

  “Get Suzanne out here,” he growled. “I saw them two talking together.” He jerked his head toward Lilly. “This one’s a troublemaker.”

  Lilly tried to scowl, but it fizzled out as the effort was too tiring.

  Lilly thought she could hear a siren not far off. The sound was excruciating. She tried to put her hands over her ears, but she was too weak to lift her arms. She could see the red and blue and white lights from the ambulance blinking and rotating off the cars parked nearby, so she knew help was very close. Noley tightened the grip on her hand and looked up at the ambulance, which parked near the crowd of onlookers. The paramedics hadn’t even gotten to Lilly before the police arrived. Two officers jumped out of the cruiser and began clearing the crowd away from the paramedics so they could have some space. They approached Noley as the medics worked on Lilly. Lilly could see them talking, but then Noley pointed to her and the officers nodded and walked away, heading toward Guy.

  Just a moment later someone called out, “Oh, my God! Lilly! What happened?” Lilly recognized Suzanne’s voice right away. She tried lifting her head again to see Suzanne, but one of the paramedics gently put his hand over her forehead so she would remain still.

  “Hi, Suzanne. Remember me? I’m Lilly’s friend, Noley.” Lilly breathed a sigh of relief that Noley was handling everything now. She strained her ears to hear what they were saying, but the two women had moved away fro
m the noise around the ambulance to talk.

  She was beginning to remember a little more. Those first few minutes after she was whacked on the head were a blur of confusion, but the fog was starting to lift just a bit and she could recall talking to Suzanne in the bar before coming out to the parking lot. She couldn’t remember what they were talking about. She also remembered that she was supposed to pick Laurel up from her mother’s house. A wave of anxiety washed over her as she wondered how long she had been lying on the ground. Was she late? Were Laurel and Bev worried about her? She became agitated, breathing more quickly and making fidgety gestures with her hands.

  “What is it, Lilly?” asked one of the paramedics.

  “I need Noley,” Lilly whispered.

  “Noley? Is there a Noley?” the paramedic called into the crowd.

  Noley was at Lilly’s side in an instant.

  “Are you all right?” she asked.

  Lilly swallowed. “Laurel and Mom. They’re going to wonder where I am.”

  “I’ll call them and tell them. A few minutes ago you couldn’t remember where Laurel was. You think she’s at your mom’s house?”

  “Yes. I was supposed to pick her up. What time is it? Am I late?”

  “Don’t worry about anything,” Noley said. Lilly, even in her fog, noticed that Noley didn’t answer her questions. “I’ll call over there and I’ll pick up Laurel later. Maybe she can spend the night at your mom’s.”

  “Don’t tell them what happened,” Lilly said. She closed her eyes again.

  Noley looked at her and pressed her lips into a thin line. She dialed the phone and stood near Lilly so Lilly could hear at least half of the conversation.

  “Hi, Nikki. It’s Noley. Are you spending the night at Bev’s?”

  ...

  “There’s been a slight change of plans.”

  ...

  “Do you think Laurel could spend the night at Bev’s house, too?”

  ...

  “Thank you. I’ll pick her up and take her home tomorrow morning.”

  ...

  “Lilly got a bump on the head and she probably won’t be able to come over.”

  ...

  “She’s okay, but she doesn’t want anyone to worry, so maybe tell Laurel and Bev as little as possible? Lilly just doesn’t want to upset them.”

  ...

  “Of course. I’ll give her the message. Thanks, Nikki.”

  Noley hung up and turned to Lilly. “She realizes there’s more wrong than just a bump on the head, but she’s going to spare Bev and Laurel any details. She actually doesn’t know any details, so that should be easy.”

  “Thank you,” Lilly murmured.

  One of the paramedics came over and motioned Noley toward him. She was gone for just a minute, then she returned and spoke to Lilly.

  “I’m going to follow you to the hospital in my car. We’ll pick up your car another time.”

  “I don’t want to go to the hospital,” Lilly protested.

  “You’re going,” Noley said. Behind her Lilly could see the paramedic grin. She rolled her eyes, but it hurt.

  The paramedics hefted the stretcher into the back of the ambulance and the driver went up to the front. One remained with Lilly in the back. Noley squeezed her hand one more time and walked away.

  It wasn’t long before they arrived at the hospital. Lilly had been there before, most recently when her neighbor, Mrs. Laforge, had been struck by a car and Lilly went to visit her. She was taken into a different entrance this time, and pretty soon Noley came back into the Emergency Department. She had gone through the front. She smiled when she saw Lilly, but the smile didn’t reach all the way to her eyes. Her eyes were worried.

  “How do you feel?” she asked.

  “Lousy, but I remember more than I did earlier. What did Suzanne tell you?”

  “She told me that the guy who was bothering Alice was in the bar tonight. She lost him, though. Lilly, I’ll bet that’s who hit you from behind.”

  “Did you see him?” Lilly asked.

  “No.” Noley said, shook her head.

  Lilly squinted at her friend. “What were you doing at Guy’s Place?”

  “What do you think I was doing? Trying to keep an eye on you, that’s what. I didn’t do a very good job, I’m afraid. I was getting concerned about you being in the bar for so long, so I got in my car and was calling your cell when I saw you come out. Then someone ran up and hit you from behind. It happened so fast I couldn’t react in time to stop it. I ran over to where you were, but you were on the ground and the person had already taken off.”

  “But I don’t understand how you were at the bar at the same time as me.”

  “You didn’t really think I’d let you go to a place like that by yourself, did you? I just didn’t want to talk to the dancers because I wasn’t much help the last time. I figured they’d be more willing to talk if it was just you.”

  “You could have just told me that,” Lilly grumbled. “Besides, it’s not true. You were a big help.”

  “If I had told you that, you would have insisted on me coming in with you.”

  “I might not.” Lilly lifted her chin a tiny bit in an attempt to challenge her friend.

  Noley raised one eyebrow. “I know you better than that, Lil.”

  “Okay. I suppose you’re right.”

  “Of course I’m right.” Noley pointed to Lilly’s head. “Now, we need to talk about what you’re going to tell people about this, uh, injury.”

  Lilly let out a shallow sigh and fixed her eyes on the wall behind Noley. “I’ll just tell people I bumped my head on the car door.”

  “And the ambulance happened to be driving by and took you in?” Noley raised an eyebrow again. “That doesn’t exactly have the ring of truth.”

  “I’ll tell them that you were there when it happened and you panicked because I lost consciousness and you called nine-one-one.”

  “That sounds a little better. Do you want to know what I think? I think you should just tell the truth.”

  “The truth?” Lilly choked out with as much indignation as she could muster. “If I tell the truth, everyone will be mad at me. Bill, Laurel, Hassan, Harry. Maybe even my mother, since she’s bound to find out somehow.”

  “Would that really be the worst thing?” Noley asked. “Everyone just wants you to be safe.”

  “I know. I’ll be safe from now on.”

  Chapter 34

  The doctor diagnosed Lilly with a severe concussion, bruising around her eyes, and lacerations to her face and neck. There was even a bruise on her back where her unknown assailant had hit her when he—or she—pushed Lilly down.

  Noley helped her into the house at about three thirty in the morning. Lilly was exhausted. They had made her stay awake at the hospital in case there was further head injury, but they eventually determined that the concussion was the extent of her serious injuries.

  But that was serious enough. The doctor had given her a long list of taboo activities: stay off the computer, no television, no reading, only light work at the jewelry store and nothing involving the cash register or filling out paperwork, and cell phone only in emergencies. He even told her not to think too hard about anything.

  “Why don’t you just kill right me now and put me out of my misery?” Lilly had suggested to the doctor.

  “Because in time, you’ll heal from this. Then you’ll thank me for not killing you,” he joked. Lilly supposed he was right, but it was going to be rough.

  “I’m staying here tonight,” Noley said. “I’ll go pick up Laurel later this morning, so I’ll just sleep on the sofa. I’m going to get you into bed and I want you to sleep as long as you can. I’ll check on you every few hours to make sure you’re all right.”

  “Thanks. I’m sorry to put you through this.”

  “Don’t be silly. I’m happy to do it. You know that.” Noley waited in the hallway upstairs while Lilly got ready for bed, then she came in to shut off the lig
ht and make sure Lilly didn’t need anything. “I’ll check on you before I pick up Laurel,” she said.

  Lilly nodded sleepily and Noley left her in darkness. Sleep came quickly.

  The next morning Lilly stirred when she heard the soft creak of her bedroom door, followed by a gasp. She peered through her swollen eyelids.

  Laurel was standing there, looking at her in horror.

  Lilly opened her eyes as wide as she could. “What’s wrong?” she asked in alarm.

  “What happened to you?” Laurel asked, rushing to the side of the bed. Her eyes widened when she saw Lilly up close.

  Lilly’s mind was still fuzzy, so it took several seconds for her to remember what she and Noley had agreed to tell people.

  “I banged my head on the car door.”

  “And your whole face is swollen from it?” Laurel asked. She eyed her mother suspiciously.

  Rats. I forgot about my face. We should have thought of something else!

  “Yes,” Lilly lied. “It knocked me right to the ground.”

  “I think you’re lying,” Laurel said, putting her hands on her hips. “Are you okay? You look like you were hit by a car.” She gasped again and covered her mouth with both hands. “Were you hit by a car?”

  “No, of course not. I’d tell you if I had been hit by a car. I just banged my head on the car door, that’s all. I must have hit my face harder than I thought.”

  Could that be any lamer? Lilly thought.

  “Noley told me you have a concussion.”

  “That’s what they tell me.”

  “Can I do anything?” Laurel asked.

  “No, but thank you. I’m just going to sleep today.”

  Just then Noley knocked on the open bedroom door. “I’ll stick around today to keep you company,” she told Laurel.

  “Okay,” Laurel said. “I’ll go take a shower.”

  Laurel turned and left the room and Noley went downstairs to make breakfast. A few minutes later Laurel was back. “Mom, where’s your car?”

  Shoot, I forgot about that, too, Lilly thought with an inward groan.