by CJ Love
“How can it heat up when it’s freezing out here?” Becca wanted to know. “Wait, do you think there are snakes in here?”
“Probably,” Delia answered. She’d never been afraid of snakes. Spiders, however…
She brushed against a limb and felt the lightest touch of webbing. Jumping backward, she bent in half and ruffled her hair with both of her hands. “Web, web, web,” she squealed. A second later, she flipped her hair back and continued forward calmly.
“Do you ever wonder why Delia is single?” Bogart asked Becca.
She turned on them. “You’re as single as I am. You and your itchy elbow and rainbow shirt … how many dates have you had recently?”
Bogart’s made a face. “Is it possible to pick a negative number?”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Will you two stop fussing?” Becca said “We could die out here.
“How are we going to die out here?” Bogart wanted to know, stepping carefully over a log.
“Maybe she’s got cameras on us and will release the hounds when an alarm goes off.”
“That would’ve happened the other night,” Delia told her. “We’re not going to die.”
It took less than five minutes to see the white paint of the house.
They slowed their approach. Bogart took the lead and called quietly over his shoulder. “It’s here, somewhere.” He moved forward on tiptoe. “There it is. See the tiny white flowers?”
Delia didn’t see flowers because she was too busy seeing the black Mustang in the driveway. For one moment, she felt the sweet bracing thrill of being right about Eddie Chester … and then she ducked behind a tree.
Chapter 15
“That should a slave as this wear a sword, who wears no honesty.”
Becca and Bogart crouched down. “What’s wrong?” Bogart hissed.
“Eddie is here,” she said, pointing to the driveway.
Bogart stared ahead, leaned left and right. “He drives a Mustang?”
“Are you sure?” Becca asked.
“I’ve broken into that car. I know it when I see it.”
Bogart waddled through the undergrowth and held his phone up. Just as quickly, he came back. “Got it—the plant, and Eddie’s car at Chu Hua’s.”
Delia grinned. “Good job. You get a raise.”
“What about me?” Becca asked, still hunkered behind a bush.
Bogart asked, “What have you done to contribute? You’ve only been a suspect so far.”
The girl’s pale features turned pink. She got to her feet and moved through the woods, straight toward Chu Hua’s front door.
Delia did a rapid tiptoe toward Bogart and crouched beside him. “What is she doing?”
He shook his head. “Maybe she is a suspect, Delia. She’s going to warn them that we’re out here. That’s how she knew we’d die out here.”
“Stop it,” she said, turning around.
Becca was already beside Eddie’s car and moved toward the steps.
Delia inched forward with Bogart breathing down her neck. She moved to the right to see better.
Becca jumped onto the porch and knocked on the door.
“She is so brave,” Delia said.
“I was thinking stupid, but okay.”
The door opened.
Eddie!
He stood there bare-chested and shoeless. Delia couldn’t hear what Becca said, but she pointed toward the lighthouse.
Eddie shook his head. “I didn’t order an Uber.”
Becca backed up and gazed at the house numbers.
“I’m telling you, we didn’t order a ride,” he said and shut the door.
Becca turned and stepped off the porch. She didn’t return to the woods but walked the length of the driveway.
Delia and Bogart practically ran all the way back to Freddy. Once they were all inside again, Delia turned in the seat. “You two are brilliant.”
“What do we do now?” Bogart wanted to know, leaning forward from the back seat.
“Send us both the photo. I’ll forward it to Nicolo.”
* * *
She waited until she returned home to text the photo to Nicolo. It was five-thirty. Delia didn’t know what time the detective left his job, but maybe she’d caught him. She was pretty sure she only had his work cell phone number.
It’s a someday-goal to get his personal cell number.
He texted back within five minutes: What is this?
Hemlock. Eddie’s car. Chu Hua’s house.
Delia’s cell phone rang. She answered, “Why did you insist I text you when you call me back anyway?”
“Because I want to be the one to decide if we speak or not.”
He thinks I’m a nuisance.
Her jaw muscles tightened.
No, I’m not a nuisance; I’m knowing and easygoing.
“Where were you when you snapped this?”
“In the woods next to Chu Hua’s.” Delia sat on the loveseat, stuck her boots on the coffee table, and let a slow breath out of her mouth. I’m serene as vanilla bean ice cream.
“So … what do you think this means, Delia?”
I am unflappable and adaptable … and why doesn’t he know what this means?
She sat forward. “It means that Eddie and Chu Hua know each other. Therefore, Mate and Eddie knew each other. It means that there’s bigger stuff going on here, as Mate told me there was. Jeanette bailed Mate out of jail. They all know each other, Nicolo. That’s what it means. Eddie is Papa Smurf —Optimus Prime.”
Since when does Bogart have so much influence over my vocabulary?
“Okay, but what does this have to do with Jeanette’s murder?”
“Um,” she said, a little jolted. She’d gotten on such a roll that she’d lost perspective. What am I talking about? “Hemlock! That’s why we went out to Chu Hua’s in the first place.”
“Listen, Delia, I have to go. I’m due in a meeting.” Shuffling paper noises came from behind him. “But, we will finish this conversation. Pick up when I call.”
“I look forward to it,” she said, and then her muscles tightened. Why did I say that? He didn’t ask me for a date.
“Okay,” he said and hung up.
An hour later, Delia watched a lightning storm come in from the east. She stood at the kitchen island sorting recipe cards and looking for the Chelsea Bun recipe. With all that had happened recently, she’d forgotten to take it to work for Becca to use. The two parking lot lights were on and the rain teemed in the glow of them in a slanted fashion.
Something orange darted across the gravel.
Clawdius!
She leaned left and right, trying to see him through the window. Usually, he’d come up the fire escape and jump to the window. Not this time, though. He must be on the porch.
Pulling a towel from the basket in the hallway, Delia went downstairs, knowing she’d likely find him under a bush instead of on the dry porch. Thunder and lightning gave him anxiety.
I totally get it, Clawdius.
She called for him on each floor because the cat had ways of getting into the building, or someone’s apartment, on the sly. “Clawdius?”
Thunder rumbled.
Finally, on the bottom level, she moved toward the front door and opened it. She had her eyes down —and saw a pair of brown suede slip-on shoes. Attached to those was a pair of tight blue jeans over muscular thighs. Delia glanced up. “Eddie?”
He smiled. In the lamplight and with the rain behind him, Eddie looked like he’d just stepped off the set of Jurassic Park —but in a sexy stormy Jurassic Park manner. Not in the fat grandpa way. His white shirt was soaked and clinging to his ripped torso, and his hair was nearly black, matted on his head. Raindrops coursed down the side of his face. “Delia! You’re like a sweet wife welcoming home her husband with a kiss.”
Say wha…?
His hand snaked out and landed on her waist. Then he pulled her outside, turned her loose with one hand, and shut the d
oor. The lightning flashed and reflected in Eddie’s intense dark eyes. He leaned in. “You are the bravest girl I’ve ever known.”
“Me?”
“You speak your mind to Sanya, you saved her life when someone attacked her, and now I hear you saved Louie from getting hit by a truck.” He placed his free hand next to her face on the doorjamb. He hadn’t moved his other hand from her waist.
And it felt as though it burned her skin. She hadn’t put on a jacket and only wore her rainbow t-shirt and jeans.
Eddie dropped his voice. “Bravery is a powerful aphrodisiac, Delia.” He tilted his face and moved closer and closer…
What does he think—that I’m a pathetic loser who can be manipulated by his sexiness?
I will not be manipulated. And … Eddie is no Nicolo Montague.
Delia still had the towel in her hand and jerked it upward to cover her mouth.
He took his hand from her waist and gripped the towel in his hand, pulling it down.
Delia held tight and then pushed it hard against his mouth.
He pulled away. “Hey!”
“Hey yourself. You’re dating my best friend. Who do you think you are?” She pushed the towel at him again. “Do not touch me again.”
His eyebrows flew upward. “Whoa, whoa, wait a minute.” He released her and held up his hands. “I got it wrong, okay? I’m sorry. I’ve been drinking.”
He didn’t smell of alcohol. He smelled like lotus blossoms and unfaithfulness.
Still, Delia knew who she was dealing with here. She had to be careful —very careful, or she’d wind up like Jeanette or Mate. Taking a breath to calm down, she said, “I understand. I get it. But you’d better tell Thomi, or I will.”
His face was in the shadows. “I’ll tell Thomi,” he said, feeling for the door handle. “Let me tell her, but when I sober up, okay? Give me time.”
“Fine,” she said, staring at the porch floorboards. Her nerves had kicked in, and her knees wobbled.
He opened the door and stepped in. “Are you coming inside?”
“I have to find my cat.”
“Right,” he said and shut the door.
Delia moved to the edge of the porch. “Clawdius?” She started to shake harder. It was freezing, and the rain blew mist at her. She wrapped the towel around her shoulders and studied the bushes right off the porch.
He’s not going to tell Thomi anything. Eddie will say that I’m lying if I tell her because he won’t kiss Thomi. Why? He was going to kiss me, and he’s probably done more than that with Chu Hua this afternoon.
Going back inside, Delia climbed the stairs without Clawdius. He’d found a place to hide, obviously, or he was with Titus or stealing food off someone’s home Buddhist altar.
I need to tell Thomi myself. She’s my best friend. She’ll believe me.
* * *
The following day, Delia went to work, and that afternoon she texted Thomi: Will you stop by the bakery on the way home? I want to show you something.
She’d considered ways to broach the subject. Delia wanted to speak to Thomi away from the apartment house where Eddie might join the conversation. King Lears and eating cupcakes seemed the smartest move. She also bought ice cream from the Fatty Daddy’s on the other side of Bloomfield Hatch.
The ice cream is NOT for Thomi.
Becca and Bogart left the bakery just after four, and Delia set out two plates in the backroom on the worktable. She dragged over two stools and waited with the Dulce De Leche Pumpkin Cupcakes. Pulling out her phone, she found the photo that Bogart snapped yesterday, showing Eddie’s car in Chu Hua’s driveway.
That seems too much.
She put her phone back in her pocket.
I don’t need proof of anything. Thomi will take me seriously.
Detective Montague never called. Apparently, he didn’t think the evidence was of much importance.
Delia let out a long sigh and refolded the napkins on the table. Then, she saw Thomi walk across the parking lot. Out of her chair, she went to the back door and opened it. “Over here,” she called and waved.
Thomi changed directions. She kept her eyes on Delia and didn’t smile.
Delia lost her smile, too. What was wrong?
Louie. That’s what’s wrong. Thomi is having a tough time.
She stepped out of the way and let her friend through the door. “Come on in. I’ve got some treats over here.”
Thomi wore her blue smock from work and a pair of blue jeans. She’d straightened her hair, and the shiny tendrils fell halfway down her back. When she reached the archway that separated the kitchen from the workroom, she turned on Delia. “Before you tell me anything or show me whatever it is, I want to thank you, Delia, for what you did for Dad. I am grateful.”
“I had no intentions of being brave.”
“I believe it!” she said and moved toward the worktable.
Delia joined her and pulled the plate of food closer.
Just say it!
“I’d like to talk about Eddie.”
Thomi didn’t look up. “I know what happened. Eddie told me.”
“He did?” she asked, double-blinking.
Her friend’s light brown eyes held hers. “I get it, Delia. You’re alone. You haven’t got a boyfriend, and I know you’d like one.”
Tension filled her chest. “What? Wait a minute.”
She shook her head. “I saw the way you looked at Eddie when he held your hand and apologized the other day.”
How did I look at him? I was confused by his niceness. I thought I’d been wrong about him.
“But I still don’t appreciate your lack of control. We’ve been friends most of our lives. Why would you think of my boyfriend in a romantic way? I would never do that to you.”
It was funny how confused Delia got all of a sudden. “I never…”
“I’d move. I’d leave town before I’d ever try to steal your boyfriend, Delia.” Her eyes were half-closed, and her mouth remained parted. “I know you’re weaker than I am, psychologically and all. Your anxieties and low self-esteem, but you had morals. You used to.”
Delia waved her hand. “Wait, wait. I don’t want Eddie!”
“Well, not now,” she said, sitting straighter and leaning away. “He wouldn’t kiss you.”
“No. I wouldn’t kiss him! Eddie tried to kiss me last night on the porch.” She got off the stool and faced Thomi. “You have got to know me better than that. You know I would never try to kiss someone because of my low self-esteem. Do you even hear yourself?”
Her lips pressed together, and she drew in a long breath. “You’re attracted to Eddie. I saw that myself.”
Her stomach knotted. “He’s good-looking, but Eddie’s also not my type.”
Criminals never are.
Thomi got off her seat, too, and tossed the fork onto the plate. It clattered on the bone china and then fell on the floor.
“What are you doing, walking out?”
“We have nothing to say to each other. You know I’ve loved Eddie from the moment I saw him.”
“Does he love you, Thomi? Because if he does, why did he spend yesterday with Chu Hua?” She pulled the phone from her back pocket and tapped the screen. Pulling up the photo she’d sent to Nicolo, she held out the screen. Her hand shook, and she tried to hold it still.
Thomi grabbed the phone and looked at it. Then she stared at Delia. “What did you do?”
“I didn’t follow him. I saw him there.”
“I know he was there. Eddie told me yesterday morning that he was going to her house. They work together,” she said, gazing at the screen. “There were other people there.”
“No, there weren’t. And if he and Chu Hua were working, why did Eddie answer the door with his shirt off?”
Thomi didn’t answer. She still stared at the screen. Then, she lifted her eyes, her face rigid. “You sent this photo to Detective Montague?” She looked at the display again and ran her finger up the screen, scrollin
g. “You’ve been spying on people and sending information to him?”
“Not … really —well, yes, a little.”
“His answers are short, as though he’s a little tired of your meddling.”
That’s pretty accurate.
Thomi shoved the phone at her.
Delia held out both hands as though Thomi was about to knife her.
Thomi leaned in. “I liked you better when you were pathetic and anxious, do you know that?” Throwing out her hands, she let them fall and slap her legs. “Who are you? I’ll tell you who: you’re an awful person.” She shook her head and stared at the ceiling, and then, “Oh my God. No wonder your sisters hate you. Did you try to steal their boyfriends, too?”
Delia locked her jaw tight so that she wouldn’t cry. “You know better than that.”
“What I know is that you’re not a detective. You’re not anything. It’s too bad you forgot that.” Finding her purse, she swung it over her shoulder and walked across the room. She opened the door and slammed it shut.
Delia didn’t turn around. It felt as though she was choking inside. She didn’t move, not for a long time. Eddie lied to Thomi. And, Thomi believed him.
What was there to say? What was there to think?
Delia was a washcloth that had been wrung entirely out.
Sometime later, she moved toward the kitchen, pulled a nylon spoon from a drawer, and opened the walk-in refrigerator door. Taking the Fatty Daddy’s ice cream from the shelf, she pried the lid open, sat on the cold cement floor, and used the nylon spoon to scoop some into her mouth.
It didn’t taste like anything. It just tasted cold. Cold, like her butt on the floor. And cold like the piece of her heart lying at the bottom of her chest.
You’re not anything. It’s too bad you don’t remember that.
Her eyes skimmed the floor beneath the refrigerator’s bottom shelf.
Just like before, I will survive this situation.