Number's Up

by Annabelle Hunter

  “Yeah, he was talking to the lady about a cake. He said a bad word.” The last part was whispered.

  Nic turned around, giving Logan a gentle smile I wouldn’t have believed he had in him a few days ago. “What bad word? I need to know for my bad word list.” He smiled at Logan and winked, making my heart melt a little. Soft Nic was dangerous.

  Logan nodded seriously. I guessed ‘bad word lists’ were a serious thing.

  “Boobs,” he whispered. “She said that it would have to be earlier because of the boobs and brunch. Right before the other man yelled at him.”

  We all had to bite back a laugh again at him saying boobs was a bad word. Julia took over and talked to him about what bad words were and why we didn’t say them. I, on the other hand, couldn’t stop thinking about what he said.

  Yelled? He couldn’t be talking about Dan? That would make the man with missing hair Henry for sure. What was the coincidence? I glanced at Nic, who looked back at me before he turned towards Logan.

  “Do you know the man that yelled at him? I don’t like people who yell.”

  “No.” Logan shifted, a little uncomfortable with all the attention.

  “And what did he say?” Nic tried to keep his voice calm, but it was starting to get more excited.

  “That they had a problem that needed to be fixed. The man missing hair told him to go away. That he had everything under control.”

  Huh. That didn’t sound like Dan after all. I was under the impression that Dan had been straight-up threatening. Could it be another bald man? Or did Henry get two threats in one night? The night before he was murdered. And was he threatened before or after he texted me?

  “Anything else?”

  “That he’d be sorry.”

  “Who said that? The man with hair or without?” Nic asked, softly. Gentle Nic was shocking. But he was good with Logan.

  “With.”

  “Could you recognize him? If I showed you a picture? Or you heard a voice?”

  Logan thought for a second. “No. I didn’t see his face.”

  Yep. Someone threatened Henry before the murder. Two threats if you counted the threat that Henry’s wife claimed happened.

  “Should we call John?” This seemed like a good lead.

  “No. I’ll text him. It’s hardly evidence.” Nic picked up his phone with a sigh and started sending the message. “Good job, Logan. You did a great job telling me what you saw.”

  Logan blushed and looked away, but I caught a glimpse of a smile in the rearview mirror.

  “Hmm. A full head of hair. That could be a few people. Could it have been Dan again?” I mean, Dan had already threatened Henry in public. It stood to reason that he could have followed him to do it again.

  “Maybe. We confirmed that there was a blow-up in the lobby the night before. Charlotte was honest about that. But he doesn’t seem like the type to do it a second time.”

  “Why was he here?” It wasn’t like Barrow Bay was that common of a vacation spot.

  “Dan? Or Henry?”

  “Both, but that time I was questioning Dan.”

  “His brother is married to one of the girls who’s a manager at the resort. I don’t remember what position. He visits them frequently on the weekend.”

  “Huh. I would have thought I would know that.”

  “His brother’s not very active in the town from our background on him.”

  “What a small world—”

  “What’s happening there?” Julia interrupted, pointing to the boarded-up coffee shop and the people grouped outside of it.

  And when I said people, I meant Judy, our local real estate agent, and a man and woman that I couldn’t get a clear view of.

  Were they looking at the shop?

  I glanced back at Logan, trying to decide if it would be rude to be nosy. He looked like he had told us everything. We could get distracted.

  “I don’t know, but I would love to find out,” I answered, looking at Julia. “Want to experience some small town charm up close and personal?”

  She grinned from ear to ear. She was so in. We were going to get along fabulously. I pulled into Miguel’s parking lot, which was next door to what used to be Tops, and we got out, Nic sighing loudly. I thought he was trying to pretend that he didn’t want to be nosy. Too bad we didn’t care. Nor did I believe him. He was an FBI agent. Didn’t that make him nosy by job definition?

  “Judy,” I called out. “Imagine seeing you here.”

  “Jen,” she said cautiously. “What are you up to today?” She moved in front of her clients, her skirt suit swishing with the movement. She had on black heels, ones that I knew were comfortable since she was on her feet all day, even as her arthritis got worse. Not that she was old, maybe around forty at the oldest. Hispanic like her husband, John, her beautiful black hair wound into an updo that I was jealous of. My hair was too fine to stay in any hairdo that nice.

  Despite her attempts to block me, I managed to confirm that one of her clients with her was Will, a bartender from The Pub.

  Who was married.

  To a drag queen…

  Oh my god. I was so excited. Breathe, Jen. Stay calm. I’d never met a drag queen. No bouncing. I was pretty sure bouncing would scare them. I felt like I was meeting a celebrity. Had I known that this could happen, I would have looked into it more. Maybe watch some TV shows about drag queens. I felt underprepared. But Will had said that his husband would never leave the city.

  “Just giving a tour to Julia, Logan, and Nic. Have you met them?” I sounded normal. I was pretty proud of myself.

  She gave them all a welcoming smile. “Julia. Logan. How nice to see you again,” she said in a normal voice. “Early,” was hissed at me under her breath.

  Oops. I forgot Operation Captain America was a secret. I wasn’t supposed to drop off Logan and Julia into Judy’s manipulative arms until later. I hoped Will could keep his mouth shut.

  “And Nic. I haven’t met you, but I’ve heard so much.” Judy turned to smile warmly at Nic. Too warmly.

  Nic’s eyes widened and he went white.

  This was so worth the stop. I was giddy.

  “Why?” Nic blurted out. He looked good pale. It really brought out his eyes.

  “Why?” Judy asked, looking at me in question before returning to him. “My husband is John. Hernandez? The detective?” She looked at me again and I raised my shoulders like I had no clue.

  I completely had a clue, it was just more fun to make him paranoid about the town talking about him. So much fun.

  “Yes. I know John. Jen didn’t mention you were his wife.” He shot me a scowl that should have made me feel bad.

  It didn’t. He would learn I had very little shame when it came to the town’s antics.

  “And who are you hiding?” I asked, moving past her, my eyes intent on the female next to Will. Will was over six feet, although not as tall as Nic, and had blue eyes that were even dreamier than Nic’s hazel. Not that I was comparing or anything. Strong chin, blond hair and a fabulous sense of style, Will was a sexy beast. The woman… man—I was pretty sure that we were supposed to use the gender they were in at the time? So, I was going with woman for now—the woman next to him was even taller, equal to Nic’s six-foot-six height with her hair. Her huge red wig was teased into the iconic southern ‘big hair’ and she had scarlet lips that I wish I could pull off. With light skin like mine, I stuck to browns and pinks. Reds washed me out. Her skin, however, was a creamy tan that hinted at Native American roots. The blue dress was skin-tight and revealed that she had a body that put mine to shame. No wonder Will married her. Him? No… definitely her. I would have, too. She was dazzling.

  “Hello, Gorgeous. I’m Jasmine. What’s your name?” Jasmine pushed forward and put her hand out for me to shake. I tried to return the gesture, but suddenly she grabbed both my hands, forcing me to spin before pushing me away to take in the whole look.

  “I like Gorgeous. But if you insist, you can call me J
en,” I answered, a little breathless from the spin.

  “I love your shoes,” she said

  “I love your lipstick.” I might have squealed. I claimed no knowledge of it, though.

  “Your bag.”

  “Your hair.” Okay, I might have gone a little fangirl on that one.

  “Best friends?”

  “Deal.” I was pulled into a hug.

  “What size shoe do you wear?” she asked, taking a longer, more envious look at my pumps, which were a white base with pink and black spots. One of my newer pairs, they went perfectly with my pink shirt and black slacks. I may not be gorgeous, but I was dressed to impress.

  Not Nic. I had not dressed to impress Nic. I was pretty sure.

  “Size eight.”

  “Damn. Oh, well. We will just have to go shopping together.”

  “I rarely go to the city,” I confessed, my cheeks burning a little with embarrassment. I had become quite the recluse in the past few years. “But my best friend does on a regular basis.”

  “And does she shop?”

  “Not at all. I don’t think she has any shoes other than her work boots and tennies.”

  “Sacrilegious. We must fix that,” Jasmine said, pressing her hand to her chest, just like Charlotte did, only I believed Jasmine. She really did think it was wrong. To be honest, so did I.

  Judy was beaming like I had just made her money. It was a little off-putting. I looked over at Will and, well, he was staring at his significant other’s assets. I don’t know if he was even paying attention to the conversation.

  “Yes!” I spun when I heard Gran’s voice behind me. Gran was really Lark’s grandmother, but when we became best friends, she adopted me. Which was good because she owned the local tea shop and I had tea needs. Gran was seventy-eight, even though she only looked and acted maybe sixty at the oldest. Her steel blue eyes twinkled at me as she told me her newest plan. “Lark needs new clothing. She has nothing but T-shirts and jeans. Nothing to tempt a man. You need to fix that, Jen. Soon.”

  “Lark isn’t going shopping. You know that. That would take a miracle,” I told Gran. Lark hated shopping with a passion she reserved for very few things. She had gone a few times with me when she had felt I needed a pick-me-up, but it took a pretty bad day for her to agree. “She’ll insist that he should like her the way she is.” And she was right. He should.

  “I’m pretty sure he does,” Julia volunteered.

  “As well he should. But every girl should feel pretty when going out with her man.” Gran peered around me to address Julia. “Julia. I didn't even see you there. Are you having fun on the tour, dear?”

  Wow. Gran had already introduced herself to Brecken’s family. I wondered if Lark and Brecken understood how far this had gone? Not that I was going to tell them.

  “It's been interesting,” Julia told her with a huge smile.

  At least she was having fun.

  “We just started,” I interrupted before she told on me and my short tour detour. “And it’s two blocks—do we really need to call it a tour?” I asked. Which was a mistake. I should have let her keep her attention on Julia. My bad.

  “Shopping.” Gran said before handing me a credit card. “Clothing. Real man-catching clothing. And shoes. And underwear.” She leaned in and whispered too loudly. “Ones that he wants to tear off.”

  I looked around. Yep. Everyone heard that. So amused.

  “Can I help? I’m good at man-catching clothing,” Jasmine offered, with a wink.

  “Who are you?” Gran asked, taking in Jasmine’s whole appearance. After a second, her eyes went wide, and she leaned towards me. “Jen? Do you know that that’s a man? What do I do? Is he a cross-dresser or transsexual?” Again. Too loudly.

  “You mean transgender,” I corrected quickly with an embarrassed look at Jasmine.

  “So, he’s going to switch?” She blinked at me innocently.

  I was going to hell for wanting to laugh.

  “NO. He… she… she’s a drag queen, Gran. She also likes being a guy sometimes.” That was the best I could explain it. Jasmine was pure awesomeness in a wig, in my opinion, but that wasn’t a good explanation.

  “Like the Dolly Parton people?”

  It took me a minute to keep the laugh in, even with me biting my lips together for all I was worth. Out of all the common drag queen personas, Gran remembered Dolly Parton? I loved this woman.

  “Yes, like the Dolly Parton people. Although personally, I do a better Cher,” Jasmine answered.

  “You can do Cher?” Gran asked, perking up at the mention of one of her favorite singers. “What about Aretha?”

  “Oh, no, honey,” Jasmine pulled Gran to her with a wink at the rest of us. “I would never dare to impugn the memory of the Queen.”

  Jasmine was in. Gran pulled up to her full height and nodded. She had been blessed. Gran took her singers very seriously.

  “We have a sewing circle every Friday. You will be there. Bring cookies,” Gran ordered.

  “What if I make a better bundt cake?” Jasmine challenged. She was all sass. What were the odds that Will would move to a place where Jasmine belonged so well? He had to have known that we would love her.

  I foresaw a whole new level of crazy coming to this town. I couldn’t wait.

  Gran smiled and nodded again. “I will pencil you in. Sallie Mae is supposed to be bringing the cake but that girl can’t bake worth beans. Not that we tell her that.” Gran turned and walked away. “Oh, and don’t bother bringing anything but you and that cake,” she said with a wink.

  That was a lot of winking in a short amount of time. I held back my giggle. This was why I could never leave this town.

  “Welcome to Barrow Bay, Jasmine. Do you want to sign the papers today?” Judy cut in, smiling like someone who had just gotten a huge commission. “Also, when will you two start looking at buying a house? I know the perfect home for two, only two streets back. By Jen’s house, in fact.” Judy pulled them away, pulling out paperwork, and went back into the building that used to be Tops. Will followed quickly, but Jasmine was moving slower.

  Oh no. If I let them go without finding out for sure if they were going to be making coffee, Lark would kill me.

  “Jas?” I called out. “You going to reopen the coffee shop?”

  “Does a bear poop in the woods, child?” she called back, turning around to face me.

  “So, that’s a yes?” Unless the bear lived in a zoo. Not important.

  “Only if people will pay for organic premium coffee sourced from my locations. Coffee is a religion.”

  “Lark will love you. I need to be there when she finds out you exist.”

  “I thought small towns hated minorities,” Nic argued, obviously done with waiting for our conversation to be over.

  We all turned to look at him.

  “That is stereotyping, Nic,” I reprimanded.

  “She makes coffee,” Judy said.

  “And sings Cher,” Julia pointed out.

  “Frankly, we like her better than you,” I added.

  “Because she makes coffee and sings Cher?” He sounded hurt.

  “And likes my clothing. Plus, she called me gorgeous. I love her. If Will wasn’t prettier than me, I would totally make a play.”

  “Ah, honey, if I played for your team, I would take you up on that.” Jasmine smiled at me as Will came back out to stand next to her, snorting at her joke.

  “See? I love her.” I pointed at her and smiled.

  “And would you like me if I called you gorgeous?” Nic asked.

  “No.” Oops. Honesty was a little harsh right there. In fact, most of today. Nic didn’t bring out the best in me. But I had to admit, the verbal sparring was fun, and I wasn’t thinking about how horrible my life was. Surprisingly, I hadn’t thought about my issues in a while.

  “I’m still confused,” he stated, with a flat look at me.

  “Okay, pretty boy.” Jasmine took over. She pointed at him. “You
are a player. Girl in every city. Your compliments are surface and lip service. You want her to like you? Actions.”

  “I don’t—” He tried to protest, but she ignored him.

  “Like Will. He tried all the normal ways to get my attention. Gifts. Compliments. Always being around.” Jasmine threw Will a glance that said there was more to that story, especially since Will was blushing. “But none of that worked. I’d learned a long time ago that words are meaningless. Gifts are fleeting. But actions? They show the truth.” Jasmine touched Will’s face, lost in her memory. “It was a review of one of my shows. In a major newspaper, for the first time. And it was so bad. Will paid off the paperboy. Asked the paper to take it down. Tried to distract me so I didn’t look. And all without telling me. It was futile, but it proved he cared. And I never looked at anyone else ever again.”

  I melted. That was so romantic. I wanted that. That, right there. I was reactivating my account immediately. Or whatever it was called when I started using it again. I was pretty sure I still paid for it.

  Nic rolled his eyes and walked toward Miguel’s.

  Oh. Maybe after I lose the FBI tail.

  “Isn’t he a charmer?” Jasmine commented.

  “Been counting on his good looks for too long,” I told her.

  “No kidding. Don’t worry, honey. He likes you.” Jasmine fluttered her ridiculously long lashes at me in a wink.

  “I don’t like him,” I protested. Badly. I didn’t even believe me.

  “Uh huh. Just keep calling him on his bullshit.”

  “I really don’t. I want something else,” I repeated my protest with more confidence.

  “What?” she asked.

  Well. I hadn’t expected that question. The only thing that came to mind was boring. No, loyal didn’t have to be boring. Or normal. Or reliable. Or steady. Okay. I could see why my subconscious was going with boring.

  “Love?” Not a man slut I would have to chase around to make sure he wasn’t cheating. Though now that I thought about it, maybe I had decided Nic was a flirt before I got to know him. He hadn’t flirted with Julia, who was adorable. Or really, any female I had seen around him. Just me. Oh. I didn’t know if I was ready to deal with that thought.