Winner Cake All

by Denise Swanson

  “High heels, right?” Tippi narrowed her eyes. “Not grandma pumps.”

  “Strappy sandals with a three-inch heel,” Dani assured the girl.

  “Sold.” Tippi said, “I’ll meet you in the makeup department. I need to pick up a tube of Bobbi Brown lipstick. I’m almost out of Retro Red and if I’m going to lure Caleb back, I need it.”

  “So you decided to fight for him?” Dani asked, not really surprised. Tippi was used to getting her own way and she went after what she wanted at full throttle. “It’s too late for the Halloween dance,” Dani warned. “He can’t dump the girl he already asked.”

  “I realize that.” Tippi stepped out of the dressing room. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t go with someone else and make him jealous. I’m going to fight fire with fire.”

  “Okay.” Dani raised a brow. “But remember, the fire department usually uses water.”

  Tippi gave Dani a confused looked, reiterated that she’d be buying lipstick, and left.

  After Dani re-dressed in her own clothes, she took a deep breath and looked at the price tag. The dress was a hundred and two dollars. A bit pricey, but she could swing it if she didn’t buy the new Kamikoto utility knife that she’d been eyeing.

  Dani pictured the knife versus Spencer’s face when he saw her in the dress and resolutely headed to the register.

  Once Dani had paid, she found Tippi trying on a new perfume. It only took a few sneezes from Dani before the girl gave up and they made their way toward the exit.

  Von Maur was an upscale department store known for the large area near the escalators where sofas and chairs surrounded a baby grand. Today, instead of a pianist performing, Dani noticed a crowd lined up in front of three young men who were seated behind a long table.

  Touching her young friend’s arm, she asked, “Any idea what that’s all about?”

  Tippi turned her head, then pointed to a poster sitting on an easel. “Some of the Korn King’s baseball players are signing autographs.”

  “Oh.” Dani stopped to watch the event. “I didn’t realize that anyone in the Middle America League was famous enough to draw that kind of crowd.”

  She studied the trio. They were all striking in their own way, but one player was getting a lot more attention than the others and Dani watched his pen glinting in the bright artificial light as he slashed signature after signature.

  “See that guy with the long line?” Tippi jerked her chin at the guy Dani had been observing. “He’s Marc Chandler. Rumor has it that he’ll be called up in this year’s Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. The one next to him with the freckles and curly red hair is Perry O’Toole and the big guy with the dreads is Udell Williams. They have a chance as well, but they say Chandler’s a shoo-in.”

  “So he’s good?”

  Tippi shrugged. “I guess. They credit most of their wins to him.”

  “Then doesn’t it seem odd that he’s playing for the Korn Kings and didn’t get drafted sooner?” Dani examined the man in question. “He has to be almost thirty. Isn’t he a little old to just be making it now?”

  Tippi shrugged. “Maybe he was injured in college or had to take a few years off because of some family problem or personal issue.”

  “I supposed that could be it.” Dani continued to stare at the handsome man. What was his story?

  Tugging Dani toward the exit, Tippi said, “Anyway, you’ve exhausted my knowledge of baseball so let’s get going. I need time to do your hair and makeup and it’s going on three o’clock.”

  As Dani hurried to keep up with the girl, she said, “I can do my own hair and makeup. You know, I have been out on a date before.”

  Truthfully, Dani was surprised at her offer. Of her three boarders, Tippi was the one that stayed the most aloof. She wasn’t unfriendly; she just didn’t seem to be that interested in becoming closer to Dani.

  Still, she and Ivy and Starr had been friends forever. Maybe Dani had misjudged her or projected her own introverted tendency to hold back from making new friends onto Tippi. Had she been unfair to the young woman? Or had something happened to change the girl’s attitude?

  Chapter 6

  Spencer strode into the mansion, stopped and stared at Dani, then said huskily, “You look spectacular. Like a work of art.”

  This was the first time he’d seen her in a dress and she reminded him of the sexy pinup girls on the World War II posters his father had collected. From her cute little scarlet-polished toenails to her shiny red lips, she was gorgeous.

  “Aw. That’s so sweet.” Dani’s beautiful whiskey-gold eyes lit up before she dropped her gaze to his chest and said, “You look pretty terrific yourself.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.” It had taken Spencer longer than he’d ever admit to get ready. He’d finally settled on gray dress pants, a black button-down shirt with French cuffs so he could wear his favorite gun cartridge cufflinks, and a black-and-white tweed sports jacket.

  “Just the facts, sir.” Dani turned toward the half-moon table against the foyer wall, picked up a black clutch purse and a white sweater, then turned back to him and said, “I’m ready to go if you are.”

  Spencer resisted the urge to sweep her into his arms. “I suppose we’d better. This place is so popular I bet they wouldn’t hold our reservation. And it was too hard to get to risk losing it.”

  “That’s what I thought too.” She gave him a quick kiss on his cheek and winked. “Otherwise, I might have made you wait for me in the parlor like a proper gentleman.”

  Spencer put his palm on the small of Dani’s back and guided her outside. “Doubtlessly, you’d have had the girls serving me tea and politely inquiring about my intentions while I waited.”

  “Definitely.” Dani smirked. “Just like in Pride and Prejudice.”

  As they walked down the porch steps, he glimpsed the headlights of a shiny Mercedes-Benz backing out and asked, “Did you see that car?”

  “What car?”

  “That one.” Spencer pointed as the Benz pulled away. “It doesn’t belong to Tippi or Starr or Laz.”

  “It must have been someone turning around.” Dani walked toward Spencer’s pickup. “We get a fair amount of that because of the long, wide driveway.”

  “You’re probably right.” Spencer opened the door and assisted Dani into the truck, allowing himself to be momentarily distracted by the sight of her cute heart-shaped backside as she stepped up onto the running board.

  Once Dani was safely settled in the passenger seat, Spencer closed the door, jogged around the pickup’s hood, and climbed behind the wheel.

  “I’m sorry that I took so long to answer your message yesterday.” Dani tucked her purse beside her leg, then fastened her seat belt. “Between meeting with a high-profile client and the girls’ crises, I lost track of my phone.” She shook her head. “I never do that.”

  “Crises with the girls?” Spencer reversed onto the street and headed toward the restaurant.

  As he drove, Dani explained Ivy’s missing boyfriend, Starr’s last-minute date cancelation, and Tippi’s unhappiness with Caleb’s interest in another girl. She finished with, “It took all my ice cream and expensive hot fudge to settle the girls down, and by then I was exhausted.”

  “Better you than me dealing with those kinds of issues.” Spencer smiled. “Although, if it was Robert who bailed on Starr, I could have assured her that he had a good excuse.”

  “Oh?” Dani raised an eyebrow. “Can you tell me or is it top secret?”

  Spencer summarized his Friday night, then added, “At least I was able to talk the administration into letting me rotate my security team through pig-watch duty or our date might have been a picnic in the ag barn.”

  “Sounds fun. I like adventures.” Dani shrugged. “At least those kind.”

  Shoot!

  Spencer gripped the wh
eel. He’d meant to play some romantic music on their short drive, not talk about swine and student pranks. But they were already pulling up to the restaurant and a valet dressed in a zoot suit was reaching for Dani’s door.

  He quickly exited the truck, handed the valet the keys, and helped Dani climb down from the cab and onto the sidewalk. If anyone was going to touch Miss Cupcake, it was him.

  “This place looks amazing.” Dani took his arm and they walked under the green-and-white-striped canopy.

  They entered through glass doors with scythes etched in them and as soon as Spencer stepped over the threshold, he scanned the lobby. It was crowded with people waiting to be shown to their tables and he carefully guided Dani toward the hostess stand, where he gave the woman behind the podium his name. While she checked on their reservation, he examined the surroundings.

  Round tables ringed a large dance floor, with booths lining both sides of the room. An impressive mahogany bar presided over an area to the right and a bandstand took up most of the rear.

  Spencer could hear the strains of “As Time Goes By” and he noticed that Dani was swaying to the music. The expression on her pretty face was soft and her smile almost blinding.

  As he opened his mouth to tell her again how beautiful she looked, the hostess said, “Your table’s ready.”

  An aroma of sizzling steak enticed them as they walked into the dining room and were shown to a corner booth partially shielded by a huge brass urn filled with white-and-black ostrich feathers. His benefactors had really come through for him and Spencer was thrilled with the privacy the setting offered. He planned to take full advantage of it to steal a few kisses.

  Dani gestured to the round tables surrounding a stage where a quartet was playing and clapped her hands. “This is so perfect.”

  “It is, isn’t it?” Spencer nodded and helped Dani slide into the booth, then sat next to her on the red leather banquette.

  Dani smiled, slipped her hand into Spencer’s, and asked, “Is that for us?”

  She tipped her head at a waitress heading toward them carrying a silver wine bucket on a floor stand and Spencer said, “Yes, I recalled that you said you didn’t like champagne but enjoyed the taste of Lambrusco.”

  Dani gazed at him like he had hung the moon. “I can’t believe you remembered that,” she breathed. “I only told you that once. I must have told Kipp ten times and he still always ordered champagne.”

  “I remember everything you’ve ever said to me.” Spencer raised his hand and ran the back of his knuckles down Dani’s soft cheek, then nodded to the waitress who began the ritual of the uncorking.

  When the server left with their appetizer orders, Dani raised her glass and clinked against his. “To our first real date.”

  Spencer echoed her toast, then there was a brief, awkward silence. He wasn’t sure if Dani preferred to forget business altogether and talk about something else or wanted to share her experience with her new client.

  Finally, he squeezed her fingers and asked, “How was your day off?”

  At the same time Dani said, “Did you get your motorcycle ride in today?”

  They both started to answer at once, but Spencer insisted Dani go first.

  “My day was weird.” Dani chuckled. “I woke up to a panicky wedding planner calling me at the crack of dawn. She begged me to move up the engagement party to next Saturday.”

  “And did you agree?” Spencer let go of Dani’s hand and held out the bread basket toward her.

  She shook her head to his offer of rolls and said, “I did. But I tripled my rate and insisted that they sign the contract by 10:00 a.m. Then I spent the rest of the morning ordering food and hiring servers for the event.”

  “How many guests will there be?” Spencer asked, buttering the slice of pumpernickel that he’d selected.

  “Four hundred.” Dani’s voice was a bit breathless. “It’ll be my biggest catering job since I opened up the business.”

  “Did you hire anyone to help with the cooking?” Spencer asked taking a sip of wine. “I know you can do a lot ahead of time, but there’s still got to be a lot to do on site.”

  “I did.” Dani picked up the menu and opened it in front of her face.

  “Who?” Spencer nearly choked on a bubble and he put down his glass.

  He had a good idea as to the identity of Dani’s sous-chef. He didn’t like it one little bit but planned to play it cool.

  “Gray Christensen,” Dani answered from behind the large leather menu.

  Before Spencer could respond, the waitress approached the table with their appetizers. Once the plates were in front of them, the server took their entrée orders, refilled their wineglasses, collected the menus, then left them alone.

  Fighting his first reaction to Dani’s announcement that the detective would be working with her, Spencer stalled for time and ate a spoonful of his clam chowder. It was very good. He could taste pieces of crab and scallops, as well as crispy bits of bacon. Their saltiness was a nice complement to the sweetness of the seafood.

  Finally, Spencer forced a casual tone and said, “I hope Christensen doesn’t get called away to work on a case and leave you without any help.”

  Intellectually, Spencer knew his reaction to the police detective was pure jealousy. From everything he’d heard about the man, he was a stand-up guy. But Spencer had also learned that Christensen wasn’t married or engaged or even dating anyone, which was worrisome.

  Dani stiffened and said, “He promised that unless it was a multiple homicide, he’d be there.” Then she smiled and touched his arm. “I was hoping you might be free to lend a hand that night too.”

  “Count on it.” Spencer’s chest tightened. She was just so sweet. “I might not be as good a cook as Christensen, but I can follow directions with the best of them and my knife skills are A1.”

  Dani cutely wrinkled her forehead in confusion and asked, “How did you learn to chop and dice?”

  “I didn’t mean those kinds of knife skills.” Spencer winked and touched the case hanging from his belt.

  “Oh!” Dani’s eyes rounded. “I didn’t realize you were armed.”

  “Yep. Always.” Spencer didn’t want to go into too many details, but added, “It’s a habit I picked up when I worked undercover.”

  “Good to know.” Dani nodded.

  As they finished their appetizers, they chatted about the weather and the upcoming Halloween celebration at the college, then once their salads had been served, Dani said, “So tell me more about the guy pinned to the wall at Fox Hall.”

  “Unfortunately, there’s not much more to tell. The security cameras didn’t show anything. It was almost as if whoever did it knew exactly where the blind spots were located.” Spencer ate a bite of blue cheese dressing drenched lettuce. “And there wasn’t anything at the scene that pointed to a specific suspect.”

  “Hmm.” Dani’s pretty, pink lips pursed in thought.

  “But it was darn hard to get the vic down. Those hatchets were embedded in the cinder block all the way up to the handles.”

  “And the guy on the wall stuck to the story about the disappearing Native American chief?”

  “Emphatically.” Spencer took a sip of water while he considered his answer. “He seemed to really believe what he was saying was true. He also claimed that he had no idea how he ended up dressed in the breechcloth and deer-hide shirt he was wearing. He said the last thing he remembered putting on were jeans and a polo.”

  “Do you think he was roofied?” Dani’s mouth twisted with concern.

  “Or passed out drunk.” Spencer shrugged. “If it was a prank, a lot of kids had to be involved. At least two to lift him, and others to use whatever tool it would take to drive a tomahawk into a concrete wall.”

  “To quote Alice, curiouser and curiouser.” Dani ate her salad silently, then said,
“Maybe there’s some type of saw that could make a slit like that and super glue to hold the hatchet in place.” She giggled, then added, “Or it could be a poltergeist. After all, they do say that Fox Hall was built on an old Native American burial site and that’s why the university’s department of paranormal and psychic phenomena is housed there.”

  Spencer chuckled, “Right. But I think I’ll still go take a closer look at the wall tomorrow before classes resume on Monday. It’s too bad I don’t have a forensic team to go over the place.”

  Spencer had briefly considered asking the Normalton Police to lend him a crime scene tech, but no one had gotten hurt, so he couldn’t really justify the request. The victim had refused to have his blood tested, so they couldn’t even prove he’d been drugged.

  Pushing aside his salad plate, Spencer asked, “Did Laz ever contact Ivy?”

  “Not as far as I know, but my guess would be no.” Dani frowned. “Ivy was gone when I got up this morning, and by the time she came home, I was already in my suite getting dressed. When I knocked on her door and asked if she wanted to talk, she said she was busy studying. I think if everything was okay with Laz, she would have told me.”

  “Maybe I should call her and…” Spencer started to say as he caught sight of someone he’d hoped never to see again walking by their booth.

  The woman stopped and stared with an exaggerated look of surprise. Then with a feline smirk on her collagen lips, she turned and strode around the decorative arrangement secluding their table from the rest of the restaurant. Brushing aside the feathers, she stepped up to Spencer and folded her arms.

  Her action pushed her boobs up so far they almost overflowed her low-cut dress and Spencer jerked backward to avoid brushing against his ex’s cleavage.

  Sneering at Spencer’s avoidance maneuvers, she drawled, “The people you run into when you don’t have a gun on you.”

  “Yvi?” Spencer scowled. What in the world was his ex-wife doing in Normalton?

  Dani glanced at him and then at his ex before she said, “Yvette?”

  “You know her?” Dani and Spencer turned to each other and said simultaneously.