“It’s a deal.” Gray guided Dani out the door. “Around ten okay?”
“Sure.”
Gray walked Dani to her van, and she saw him watching her as she drove away. She wasn’t sure if it was the exhaustion or what, but the more she thought about the people being interviewed and Gray’s questions, the more she was convinced that Yvette’s death hadn’t been accidental.
Chapter 9
When Dani arrived home, the front of the mansion was dark, but light poured from the family room windows in the rear. And if that wasn’t enough of a hint she had company, the vehicles crowding the driveway making it difficult to find a place to park the van would have clued her in to the fact.
She could identify the visitors by their vehicles. The gleaming red Maserati belonged to Laz and he had been the first to arrive. Caleb’s beat-up Dodge Charger with its primer and Bondo exterior was pulled up right behind the expensive sports car, and Robert’s practical Jeep was next to Starr’s cute little aqua MINI Cooper. That left the spot by the carriage house for Tippi’s’ beige Volvo.
Ivy didn’t own a car, but her Uncle Spencer’s pickup rounded out the herd. His truck had obviously been the last to arrive and the wheels on his passenger side were off the pavement.
Dani narrowed her eyes. It was a good thing she didn’t really care about the landscaping or he’d be in trouble for leaving tire prints in her lawn.
With her limited choices, Dani had to drive partly on the grass herself in order to get to the last remaining opening, a spot near the carriage house. It was the farthest space from the kitchen door and she vowed to make her uninvited guests help her unload the van.
Blowing out an exasperated breath, Dani hiked to the back entrance. Between the lights and the no-guys-allowed-above-the-ground-floor rule that Spencer would surely enforce, she figured everyone would be either in the family room or the kitchen.
And she’d bet a good amount of money that they’d all be hungry.
Like Dani, Spencer, Ivy, Starr, and Tippi would have expected to eat the leftovers after the engagement party dinner had been served. None of them would have had a meal before coming to work and by now would be ravenous. Then there were the three bottomless pits: Laz, Robert, and Caleb, who were always starving.
Dani usually loved cooking for her friends, but she was dog-tired. She just wanted to nuke a can of soup and go to bed. She paused with her fingers barely resting on the doorknob. What would happen if instead of going inside, I turn around and head to a hotel?
Immediately the image of Spencer’s panic if she went missing made her turn the handle and open the door. Stepping over the threshold, Dani was greeted with a cacophony of snores. She rolled her eyes, then continued through the kitchen and followed the sound into the family room.
Sleeping bodies littered the furniture and the floor. She’d furnished this room by shopping at the secondhand stores and Spencer, who had clearly been home and changed clothes, occupied her best find: a comfy brown leather recliner.
It had only had a miniscule rip on the arm, which Dani had been able to patch with a leather repair kit that she found online. She’d gotten the lounger for a couple hundred dollars and after she mended the tear, it looked brand new. That tiny slit and quick fix had saved her over a thousand bucks.
Ivy and Laz shared the cocoa nailhead-on-velvet sofa that Dani had discovered on the curb of Normalton’s ritziest suburb. It had been put out for the trash collector, but the owner had been happy to let her haul it away. The small wine stain on the back was easily covered by an afghan. She’d seen that same couch for sale for three Gs and change.
Tippi had the remaining chair, another perfectly nice and comfortable thrift shop acquisition. Her feet were propped up on the coffee table and Caleb’s head rested against her leg.
Starr and Robert had clearly lost the coin toss and lay on cushions scattered across the rug. Starr’s cheek was on Robert’s chest and his arm was around her waist.
When Dani snickered at the scene before her, Spencer’s eyes popped open. He leaped to his feet and reached down toward his leg, then noticed Dani and casually slipped his hand into his pocket. She figured he’d been going for his gun and was glad he hadn’t accidentally shot her.
Note to self: Between the weapon on his ankle and the knife on his belt, startling Spencer awake or trying to jump out and scare him is a suicide move.
Spencer’s actions had jerked Ivy awake, and when she spotted Dani, she rocketed off the couch. Crying, she pushed past her uncle and swept Dani into a hug. Ivy clutched her as if she might never let Dani go again.
Through her sobs, Ivy asked, “Are you all right? Why did they keep you so long? Was it because you witnessed the tent collapse?”
Ah! That was interesting! The authorities must not have released the fact that Yvette was dead and Spencer hadn’t informed the girls either.
Dani stood still and waited for her friend’s tidal wave of questions to recede, then said, “I’m not sure why they kept me, but I’m fine.”
The others gathered around them in various stages of wakefulness, and Laz awkwardly patted Dani’s shoulder. “Glad you’re okay. Knowing Ivy and all of you were working that event, I really freaked out when I heard about the bad weather and the tent collapsing.”
Laz was slim with broad shoulders and refined features. His blue eyes shone with intelligence. And even in this situation, he was dressed in pressed khakis and a crisp button-down blue oxford shirt.
“Right.” Robert moved closer. “Me and Caleb too. We were at our study group.” He stopped and added, “We’re in the same constitutional law class.” Then he continued his explanation. “When the alert came though on our phones, Caleb wanted to go to the stadium, but I knew they wouldn’t let us anywhere near the place. So I suggested we text the girls that we’d meet them here.”
Robert was a muscular six foot with tanned skin and chiseled cheekbones. His cargo pants and camo T-shirt were a reflection of his stint in the military.
“That must have been awful for all of you.” Dani gave each of the three young men a quick hug and kissed their cheeks. Not something she’d usually do, but considering what they’d all been through, the affectionate gesture felt right.
She stepped back and studied the group. Had the trio of couples settled their various issues, or were they just put aside until after the crisis? She was about to ask, but realized that doubtlessly she’d hear all about it once the guys left and the girls got her alone.
Spencer pushed his way through the crowd until he was next to Dani, then he slipped an arm around her waist and whispered into her ear, “We need to talk. Alone.”
She nodded, then looked at the guys and girls around her and said, “I don’t know about you all, but I’m starving.”
There was a split second of silence while they processed her words, and then everyone started talking at once about how hungry they were. Satisfied, Dani turned to go to the kitchen.
Starr followed and put a hand on Dani’s shoulder. “Why don’t you go take a quick shower while just this once Ivy, Tippi, and I cook for you?”
Robert, Caleb, and Laz frowned, clearly aware of their girlfriends’ lack of culinary skills. Ignoring the guys’ doubtful expression, the three girls walked with Dani to the kitchen.
Once they were behind the counter, they looked at each other questioningly, until Dani said, “What did you do with the perishable leftovers from the party?” She sure hoped they weren’t all sitting in the back of the van spoiling.
“We loaded them all into Tippi’s Volvo, brought them home, and put them in the big refrigerator.” Ivy pointed over her shoulder.
“Good thinking.” Dani praised them, then added, “While you girls cook, the guys can unload the rest of the stuff from the van.”
“Sure thing,” Caleb said, while Robert and Laz nodded their agreement.
“Thanks.” Dani smiled at them, then turned to the girls. “I can’t imagine Mr. Whittaker wanting the food back, and if he does, I’ll pay for what we use. Heat up eight portions of the pappardelle and grill three lamb chops per person.”
“Like, cook outside?” Tippi squeaked. “Do we even have a grill?”
“Okay. Forget the lamb, we’ll use eight of the red snapper filets instead,” Dani said quickly, not wanting the expensive meat to be ruined when she could freeze it and maybe use it for another event or a personal chef gig. “We can have the bomboloni for dessert since they don’t keep well. They’ll be too stale to eat in a day or two.”
“What do we do with the fish?” Ivy asked, opening various cabinets in what seemed to be a random pattern.
Dani took a deep breath as she combed her memory for an easy recipe.
Finally she said, “Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, coat a couple of the nine-by-thirteen pans with cooking spray, and sprinkle chopped red bell pepper and onions on the bottom of them. Season the red snapper with salt and pepper, put them on the bed of peppers and onions, and completely cover the filets with pats of butter. Add more butter to the bottom of the pan, then put it in the oven for about twenty to twenty-five minutes.”
“We’ve got it.” Ivy gave Dani a thumbs-up, then shooed her away.
When Spencer took Dani’s hand and the two began to walk away, Starr called out, “Remember the rule. No men above the ground floor.”
Starr was by far the most empathetic of Dani’s boarders, but she had a playful side. Tonight, her brown eyes sparkled with mischief and her round face was wreathed in a smile. Like Ivy and Tippi, she still wore the black slacks and white shirt Dani required of her servers.
“Grownups’ exception.” Spencer’s voice was firm. “We’ll be back in twenty.”
Robert leaned down and whispered in Starr’s ear, then gave her a meaningful look.
Her cheeks flushed, then she said, “Of course. Sorry. I was just teasing.”
As Dani and Spencer climbed the stairs, Dani murmured, “I wonder what Robert said to Starr? She doesn’t usually back down that fast.”
Spencer chuckled, “He probably reminded her that not making a fuss about me going up with you might clear the way for future exceptions.”
“Poor guy. He couldn’t be more wrong about that if he tried.” Dani giggled. Then as they reached the sitting room of her suite, she asked, “What did you need to talk to me about in private?”
Instead of answering her question, Spencer asked one of his own. “What happened after the police let me go?” He sat on one end of the overstuffed loveseat looking out of place on the pastel floral upholstery. “I wanted to stick around until you could leave too, but an officer escorted me to my truck and made sure that I drove away. I thought about waiting just outside the perimeter that they’d established, but I didn’t want to make the cops any more nervous than they already were. They were already wired pretty darn tight.”
“Gray kept me until last, then questioned me about Yvette’s relationships with the vendors.” Dani couldn’t suppress a yawn. “And he also wanted to know if I’d seen her with anyone.”
Dani hesitated. She’d forgotten about Spencer and Yvette’s encounter at Reapers. Well, not exactly forgotten, but pushed it so far back in her psyche that she hadn’t thought to mention it to Gray.
“What did you tell him?” Spencer asked, tugging her downward, clearly wanting her to sit beside him.
Dani resisted, and as she recapped her conversation with the detective, she moved into her bedroom. “Let me shower and change, then we can talk more. I don’t want to leave the girls alone in my kitchen too long. Last time they managed to set the toaster on fire.”
“Okay!” Spencer shouted through the closed door as she started to undress. “But we need to discuss one more thing before we go downstairs.”
Grateful to shed her borrowed clothes, Dani hurried into the bathroom and turned on the shower. The warm water felt wonderful, but the stinging spray found every bruise, cut, and scrape she had sustained. And when she went to wash her hair, she discovered unidentifiable chunks of debris tangled in the strands.
The hot shower helped loosen the kinks in her back and revitalized her. She felt less tired as she toweled off and looked forward to getting some food in her growling stomach. She hurriedly put on a pair of black yoga pants and an oversized red sweater.
Then, not bothering to dry her hair, she secured it in a messy bun on top of her head. But as she started to leave the bathroom, she glanced in the mirror and skidded to a halt. She looked like crap.
Make that crap scraped off the bottom of a shoe. She wasn’t ready to let Spencer see her like that. Heck, they hadn’t even slept together. No way were they at the relationship level where she could be this casual about her appearance with him.
A few minutes later, after applying concealer, mascara, and lip gloss, she returned to the sitting room. Spencer was staring at his phone and when he noticed her, he shoved it into his pocket.
“Feeling better?” Spencer tilted his head and scanned her from top to bottom.
The concern in his voice was soothing and she smiled. “I’m fine. A little stiff and sore, but considering what could have happened, I’m doing okay.” Dani sat next to him. “How about you?”
Spencer hesitated, then took Dani’s hand and said, “By the end of our marriage, I really hated Yvi, but while I’m not grief stricken, I am sorry that she’s dead.”
“She was a difficult woman, and not a very nice one, but she didn’t deserve to die.” Dani gently squeezed his fingers. “Did you tell Gray that she was your ex-wife? I didn’t mention it.”
“That’s good because neither did I.” With his free hand, Spencer rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m meeting Christensen first thing tomorrow morning to come clean about it. I just wanted to figure out what was going on first.”
“What do you mean?” Dani had a good idea but wanted to hear his thoughts.
“The police response was not the way they typically behave when presented with an accidental death.”
“Oh?” Dani perked up. That was what she’d thought too. “How so?”
“If they believed Yvette had died due to the tent’s collapse, they wouldn’t have acted the way they did.” Spencer frowned. “They may have wanted to talk to all of us at some point, but it wouldn’t have been right then with everything else that was going on as a result of the disaster.”
“So did you figure out what got them all in a flutter?” Dani asked.
“I think so.” Spencer fished out his phone and swiped the screen, then handed it to Dani with a social media site showing. “I was certain that some of the bystanders would have managed to get photos of Yvette’s body when her fiancé brought it into the triage area.”
“Ghouls,” Dani muttered. “How in the world is your first instinct to take pictures when people around you are hurt and need help?”
Spencer shrugged, then enlarged the photo on the screen and said, “Can you see the wound on Yvette’s head?” When Dani nodded, he continued, “Something definitely hit her, maybe even a tent pole, but I don’t think that was what killed her. Look at her left eye.”
Dani squinted. She could barely make out the end of an object protruding from the socket. She wouldn’t have noticed it at all if Spencer hadn’t pointed it out.
Gesturing to it with the tip of her pinkie, she asked, “What’s that?”
“I’m not sure.” Spencer rubbed the stubble on his cheeks. “But whatever it is, I’m guessing it penetrated the ocular cavity and passed into the frontal lobe of her brain, causing intracranial bleeding.”
“Ew!” Dani’s expression twisted in disgust. “How do you know stuff like that?”
“Sorry.” Spencer put his arm around Dani. “It’s a popular execution method in prisons. Sharpen a toothbrush
and shove it into your enemy’s eye. Preferably when he’s asleep or in the shower.”
“Could it have happened during the tent collapse?” Dani was doubtful but really didn’t want her suspicions to be true.
“Anything is possible, but that would be highly unlikely.” Spencer sighed. “And it seems that the police feel the same way.”
“Because they interviewed us?” Dani asked feeling more and more anxious.
She did not want to be accused of another homicide. Once in a lifetime was enough. Actually, it was too much. Never would have been perfect.
“Us and everyone else who crawled under the tent to rescue people.”
“What?” Dani had wondered how the police had selected the people they’d isolated. “How do you know that? You couldn’t possibly have recognized them while we were all sitting around waiting.”
“I was trying to figure out what all of us sequestered in the locker room had in common, but until I got my phone back and started looking through what people had posted on social media sites, I didn’t tie it all together.”
“How did you know what to look for and where to find it?” Dani couldn’t imagine combing all the sites for specific postings.
“Campus security is testing out a new app that allows us to search most social media using hashtags and keywords.” Spencer grinned. “It was developed by an NU student who’s dating one of my staff, so we got first dibs at trying it out.”
“That’s awesome, but the staff member isn’t Robert, right?”
“No.” Spencer gave Dani an odd look and added, “With all that’s going on, you’re concerned about Starr’s love life?”
“Hey.” Dani pulled away from him and thwacked his bicep. “You wouldn’t have to live with a young woman going through a breakup. I would.”
“That hurt,” Spencer teased and melodramatically rubbed his arm. When Dani didn’t respond he shrugged and swiped through several screens on his cell, then handed it to her. “See, here are photos of those who helped get folks out from under the tent and here are photos of the police leading you, me, and the others into the stadium. Both groups contain the same people.”
Winner Cake All Page 9
