Beauty Secrets Cozy Mystery Boxed Set 1

by Stephanie Damore

  “To the right. See? We walked through the backyard from the bushes, from the main road,” Finn said.

  I turned right at the next road and couldn’t believe it. This had to be the way to his house. A white brick old-English “D” was inlayed into the pavement, and the entire street leading up to the house was lined with flowering trees. I didn’t have time to admire the house’s grandeur. I barely registered the porch’s white marble columns as I pulled around the circular drive and threw the truck into park behind a limo. Finn started toward the front steps, but I was already heading around back. “Please don’t let us be too late, please don’t let us be too late,” I repeated with each step.

  I rounded the corner toward the backyard and was hit with a blast of air, and then I heard the thumping. The helicopter’s blade whirled and kicked up the air all around me. The wind grabbed my dress, and I had to fight to keep the silk from being whipped over my head. Maybe taking my panties off wasn’t such a good idea. Waves rippled across the pool, and everything that wasn’t nailed down swayed from the wind, including the patio umbrella. Finn ran on ahead of me, past the tennis court and toward the helicopter pad. I followed him, but we were too late. Within a few seconds, the helicopter lifted off and hovered just above the house.

  With one hand on my dress, I waved my other arm above my head as if I were stranded on a deserted island and a rescue helicopter was circling overhead. Heaven help me. It was pointless. Aria wasn’t looking at me at all. Up in the window of the second-, or maybe it was third-story, a little girl waved out the window. It took me a second, but I figured the little girl was Delgado’s daughter. The one Inez had told me about yesterday. Aria had a huge smile on her face, and blew the little girl a kiss. The girl copied her with the kisses. She must have given her twenty kisses within five seconds. It would’ve all been very cute, if this hadn’t been an emergency.

  Finally, at the last possible moment, Aria looked over and spotted me. Even from a hundred feet above us, I could tell she was laughing. I tried to motion for her to come down, but I don’t think she realized what I was saying. She waved back and blew me a kiss too. For the love of all things chocolate, Aria didn’t get it at all. She must have thought I was there to see them off. I didn’t know how well Aria could see me anymore, as the helicopter was starting to gain some altitude, but I held my thumb and pinkie up to my ear in the universal “call me” sign and prayed that she would see it and call me as soon as she could.

  The helicopter soared away, taking its hurricane gales with it, and leaving me feeling deflated. The one thing I didn’t want to have happen was now smack in my face, and I didn’t know what to do.

  Finn didn’t say anything on the walk back to the truck. There wasn’t any point in ringing Delgado’s doorbell. It’s not like the maid would give me directions to his vacation home, if she even knew where it was. There was a reason why they called them “private” islands.

  We got back in the truck and I checked my phone. Detective Brandle hadn’t called back, and I wasn’t surprised.

  “Now what?” Finn asked. I thought things through. First off, I needed to talk to Detective Brandle. I dreaded telling him what I’d done, but I needed his help. He was my best ally. Too bad he hadn’t returned my calls yet.

  “Do you want to come back and crash at my place for a couple hours?” Finn offered.

  I considered it for a minute, but my phone chirped, reminding me about the bridal expo this morning. I gave an audible sigh and knew I’d better get home.

  I thanked Finn for dropping me off at home, for the second time that morning, and for everything he had done for me in the last twelve hours. Heck, make that the last week. We had been through a ridiculous amount of drama in our short friendship, and he still hadn’t bolted. That said something. I had planned on giving him a quick friendly kiss on the cheek as more of a thank you, but Finn turned toward me and met me with his lips. I could get use to kissing that man. For five seconds, I didn’t care about anything else but Finn. It was the best five seconds of my day.

  18

  The bridal expo was packed, as I’d expected. The spring show always drew in a big crowd. I figured it was from all the newly engaged couples from the holiday, and Valentine’s Day proposals. My ex proposed to me on Valentine’s Day, too. If it wasn’t for all the chocolate candy and discounted champagne, I would now loathe the day. I had been right that Justine would be there too. She had a large vinyl sign hanging behind her booth that said Wanna know my secret? I thought it was probably herpes, but no one asked me. I was exhausted, but I put on my happy face and worked my tail off, doing mini makeovers and handing out wedding-day-makeup tip sheets and goodie bags. Mindy from Fancy Cakes was set up right across from me, and kept my sugar rush alive by tossing me a sugar-laced treat every hour. She knew me well.

  Finally, around 11 o’clock, there was a break in the action. I took the time to reorganize my table and restock my supplies. I didn’t need to look up to know Justine was standing over me.

  “You’ve got some nerve showing up here after last night,” I said, without looking up from my bag.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I could hear the satisfaction in her voice.

  I reminded myself a handful of times that I was a professional, unless I seriously became unhinged. I thought I had been very patient with Justine, but I was so tired of her crap. “Whatever. You need to move on.” I meant that in more ways than one.

  “I just wanted stop over and wish you and Finn the best of luck. You were always only good enough for my sloppy seconds.”

  That was it. I didn’t care who was around. I was set to pummel her. But, I didn’t have to.

  Justine was so full of herself, she tossed her hair over her shoulder and turned around and smacked right into Mindy, who was carrying an industrial-sized tray of gourmet cupcakes. Justine screamed. Cupcakes flew in the air and started raining down on everyone. Justine pushed Mindy, as if it had been her fault, and ended up slipping on the whipped-cream-covered floor in the process. Justine’s arms flailed as she tried to catch her balance. She fell backwards and crashed right into the chocolate fondue table. The chocolate fountain went airborne. I ducked for cover as a wave of melted chocolate headed my way. Brides-to-be screamed as chocolate slopped and glopped all over the place. A few seconds later, I peeked up from behind the table and witnessed chaos. Vendors stood open-mouthed in shock. Brides and their friends were completely disgusted at the chocolate in their hair and on their clothes. Me? I had the biggest smile on my face. Sitting on the floor, covered head to toe in chocolate, and pitching a temper tantrum, was Justine. She looked absolutely ridiculous. It totally made my day. I shamelessly took out my cell phone, walked over, and snapped a pic of her. Turns out, karma was on my side after all.

  The expo was pretty much done after that. When I got home, I thought about just crawling into bed, but I did have a few chocolate streaks in my hair that I didn’t want getting all over my pillowcases. The shower won in the end, but not by much. I was not used to pulling all-nighters. Even my energizing body scrub seemed weak. Grapefruit extract could only do so much to wake the senses. I washed just the necessities, and was toweling off, when the doorbell rang. Now, who would ring my doorbell on a Saturday afternoon? The off chance that it was Detective Brandle was enough to propel me into some clothes and make it downstairs to answer the door before the second ring. I should’ve looked out the peep hole first. It was a mistake I would never make again. To my surprise, Eric was standing on my doorstep, wearing his ever-fashionable suit with a bottle of champagne in his hand and a smile on his face.

  “What are you doing here?” It wasn’t the most-polite thing to say, but it’s what I blurted out. I wasn’t ready to see Eric, not when I was still figuring out how to put our relationship firmly in the friendship category. I was wishing I hadn’t answered the door. The morning had already been too much.

  “I thought we could celebrate,” he replied, not faltering for a
second. Celebrating was the last thing on my mind and drinking was a close second. “The case is as good as solved. Everyone knows Delgado’s their man. Now the cops just have to bring him in,” Eric said.

  I held the door for him to come in. This was going to take more than a minute to explain.

  “About that,” I said, “Delgado’s actually going to be out of town for a while.”

  And then, believe it or not, I started crying. I was doing the one thing that I hated when people did it to me. It was embarrassing, but I couldn’t stop it once I started. The emotions from the past twenty-four hours had finally caught up with me. Between sobs, I told Eric about what had happened with Aria, and I was thankful that he didn’t interrupt or chastise me like others would have.

  When I was finished, Eric said, “Well, there’s nothing we can do about it now, and you said Delgado will be back on Wednesday, so we’ll just have to wait it out until then.”

  “Aria will be back on Wednesday. I have no idea if Delgado’s coming with her or not.” If Delgado really was on to us, he wouldn’t be coming back for a long time, if ever.

  “Well, we’ll just have to pray that he does. In the meantime, get in touch with Detective Brandle and see if he can do anything on his end.” Eric’s matter-of-fact attitude was refreshing. I needed someone to ground me and take control of the situation. Plus, his plan sounded about as good as it was going to get.

  “Now, why don’t you go get ready and I’ll make us brunch,” Eric offered. I started to protest about not having any groceries. I hadn’t really restocked the cupboards since the break in. “Not a problem. I stopped by the store on my way over. I’ve been wanting to cook for you, so, why not start with eggs?” I guess I couldn’t argue with that. It was a two-breakfast kind of morning anyway, and you didn’t kick someone out of your house when they showed up to cook you brunch. My mom had instilled some manners in me, after all.

  Bacon sizzled and eggs fried while I pinned up my hair and attempted to conceal my dark eye circles. The makeup would buy me a couple of hours until I could hit the sheets, or risk looking like a zombie.

  “Mimosa?” Eric offered when I joined him back downstairs.

  “Thanks.” I took a seat at the breakfast bar and watched him finish our breakfast.

  “Your place looks nice. I heard it was pretty trashed after the break in,” Eric said.

  “You heard about that?” I asked.

  “You know how news travels around here,” he said.

  Yeah, that I did know. I was just surprised that it had travelled all the way to Savannah.

  “Did you still want help digitizing those files?” Eric motioned to a broken and taped binder that had once been my Beauty Bible. “I thought about bringing my scanner over, but … well, I was actually hoping that you’d still want to come over tonight,” he said.

  “I do need to scan them, but I’ve decided to pick up my own scanner. I should own one anyway. Thanks again for the offer though.”

  “What about dinner?” Eric just wasn’t going to drop it. I had purposely kept my mouth shut about my plans tonight. Right now, the only man I wanted to have dinner with was Finn.

  I went with a half-truth. “I’m going to have to pass on dinner tonight. Last night’s drama was a bit much, and I need some time to decompress.” No one could argue that I could use some time alone. I was also totally chickening out with the let’s-just-be-friends conversation, but I was okay with that.

  “That’s understandable. You’ve been through a lot lately, what with your apartment being broken into and your ring being stolen,” Eric said.

  “You know it. But wait, how do you know about the ring?”

  “Huh?” Eric turned from the stove.

  “My ring, how’d you know it was stolen?” I asked.

  “Oh, you know, like I said, news travels around here,” Eric said.

  “But, I never reported the ring.” I should have kept my mouth shut. I blame it on fatigue. The looks on both our faces gave away our thoughts, and we both knew the truth. It was Eric who had broken into my apartment, he who had left the threatening note on my car, and he who had been the one to kill Roger and Ann Marie. Now what? I was defenseless in my own home. My flight response kicked in once more, but I fought it. This was the bastard who’d been making my life hell the last few weeks. I refused to run from him.

  I switched tactics. Eric liked me, of that I was certain. It was time for me to use that to my advantage. “You know, Eric. I’ve been thinking, you and me? We’re smarter than everyone else.” I walked around the counter and approached the stove. Eric looked skeptical. “I don’t know why you did it, but it’s pretty smart the way you set up Delgado … and I have to admit, pretty damn sexy. I’ve got a thing for bad boys.” I traced the pearled buttons of his shirt while talking, and leaned into him. My hands rested on his hips.

  Eric bought into it. “Do you now?” He trailed his finger down my shoulder, and rested his hand on my waist.

  “Mmm hmm. Want to tell me why you did it?” I asked.

  “You really want to know?” he asked.

  I pushed against him. “Do share.” Not only did I want to know the truth, but I was trying to buy myself some time, so I could think about what to do next.

  It was easier to seduce a murderer than I would’ve thought. Eric started talking. “It all started when Roger began seeing that stripper. He just couldn’t keep his pants on. I couldn’t care less who he banged; but when he starting screwing over our clients to pay for his lifestyle, things had to stop.”

  “But Roger couldn’t,” I said to encourage Eric on.

  “Of course not. Roger didn’t know how to say no to Ann Marie. He was embezzling funds from clients to pay for his lifestyle, and he was going to ruin us. I’d spent too long building my life, becoming someone, to have it ruined by some whore. So, I took care of it.” Eric smiled with satisfaction. I knew exactly what he meant by taking care of it. I felt sick. “Roger was the one who screwed over Delgado, so he’s the one who paid. But don’t worry. No one will ever know it was me. The files, the transactions, they all point to Delgado. As far as anyone knows, he’s the murderer.” Somehow, I doubted Delgado would go down for a crime he didn’t commit. Sooner or later, he’d discover Eric set him up.

  Eric turned sympathetic. “I’m only sorry I had to hurt you in the process. You’re okay though, aren’t you? I tried not to hurt your neck too badly, but you’re a fighter.” He traced his finger down my jaw bone. “Can you forgive me?”

  “Of course,” I managed to say, once I found my voice. Eric spun me around so my back was against the counter, and kissed me in reply. I knew I had to act, but I couldn’t think. I kissed him back and racked my brain with what to do next. The fear in my body added to the intensity of the kiss. Eric closed his eyes and leaned forward, until my back arched against the countertop. I tried to keep my focus as his hands explored the curves of my body. A thin layer of cotton separated his fingers from my skin. I didn’t know how long I could continue this game. I tried to talk, to say anything, or even push him away, but Eric wouldn’t stop.

  My fingers searched behind me, toward the stove. Eric misinterpreted my actions and bent lower. His weight pushed down on me. The smell of his cologne filled my nostrils, the same as it had that morning in Marion’s kitchen, and I wanted to gag. I needed to end this. His hands pushed up my skirt as my fingers found the handle to the pan on the stove. I picked it up and cracked him on the back of the head with it. Eggs and grease splattered the walls and floor, and oozed down the back of Eric’s dress shirt. His body fell limp on top of mine. I struggled to push his dead weight off me, and managed to squirm out from underneath him, leaving him passed out on my counter. He didn’t twitch or make the slightest sound. I had no idea if I’d killed him or not. Stunned, I dropped the frying pan on the counter and looked up. Detective Brandle stood speechless in my doorway.

  19

  I sat in the front seat of Detective Brandle’s gold Impa
la while he questioned me. Outside the window, the patrol cars’ lights flashed, and an ambulance pulled away from the building. The scene had overwhelmed my senses. I felt calmer without the white and red lights swirling outside the car window. I didn’t turn to face Detective Brandle, until the last audible sound of the ambulance’s siren faded in the distance. I had no idea how to explain all of this, or where to start. I took a deep breath and gave it a go. Detective Brandle listened while I explained everything that had happened since the break in.

  When I finished, Detective Brandle said, “So I take it this belongs to you?” He held up a plastic baggie that contained my ring, along with some other jewelry.

  “Yes, that’s mine,” I said.

  “I can’t give it back to you yet, but I wanted to let you know that we found it,” Detective Brandle said.

  “Where?” I asked.

  “We went back to SIS this morning with a follow-up warrant, this time focusing on Eric’s office. We found your ring, along with plenty of cash and some other jewelry believed to belong to Ann Marie, in his desk. It didn’t surprise me when we found it, given his history,” Detective Brandle said.

  “What history?” Eric mentioned something about building his life, but I just thought he was talking about growing up poor.

  “Eric was arrested a half of dozen times when he was younger, for breaking and entering. It looks like he put those skills to use, too, while trying to get the funds back to balance the books.”

  “Wait, he’s the town thief?” I was stunned. I didn’t see that one coming.

  “He thought he was smart, but he was sloppy. Left prints at Winston’s, and used his car to get away after robbing Cognac’s.”

  That was dumb. And he definitely wasn’t that smart. Good thing I hadn’t given him any money to invest for me. My business dreams could’ve been gone in a snap.