by Hadley Knox
He came to the door and spoke briefly with Pearl as I finished getting ready. My best friend had decided to attend the funeral with us, and Betsy was going to meet us there.
Never one to let someone else drive, we took my SUV to the funeral. Greg sat up front with me, and Pearl took the back seat.
We arrived at the Methodist church and found that the parking lot was almost completely empty. I recognized most of the vehicles and counted less than a half dozen that I didn’t know.
As we walked into the small church, I found myself drawing close to Greg. I wasn’t sure if it was the attraction that we shared or just a basic need for comfort, but either way, I had to make a conscious effort to keep a little distance, as I knew that Adam was just inside. Seeing me with Greg would be bad enough.
Betsy and Mike waited just inside the main doors. We all shared hugs and a few hushed words before we turned and walked into the sanctuary in our little cluster.
As it turned out, the five of us represented a large portion of the total attendants for the service. The guys from the Hammer sat in the pews on the left side, and my guys sat on the right side. Derrick, Ray, and Ben sat in the seats second from the front and Hung and Xavier sat just behind them.
The five of us slid into the pew behind the pair and waited for the service to start. I glanced once at the Hammer guys, and all of them appeared to have completed their grieving and were whispering back and forth. Some of them cut their eyes over at me, but I did my best to ignore them.
Adam sat on the front seat next to Lucas. He didn’t turn around to look at me, which caused frustration more than anything. I couldn’t understand the way he was handling this conflict between us. A part of me wished that he would scream at me or something, because dismissal was far worse. It was like I didn’t even exist.
The minister appeared from a door behind the stage. The speech was quick, and it was obvious that the old man didn’t know much about Hugh. Most of the funerals I had attended in the past were filled with statements about how the deceased was currently in heaven smiling down. But the minister didn’t know Hugh, so instead of risking lies, he made general statements about following God’s teachings, living a well-meaning life, and other words that I paid very little attention to.
When the minister closed the service, everyone stood. Pearl, Betsy, and I made our way to the foyer and stopped. Greg had gone over to the Hammer guys to express his condolences, and we had to wait on him to finish.
I wasn’t sure if I would talk to any of them. It wasn’t for lack of wanting to, because I certainly wanted to express my condolences, but it felt too strange with Adam ignoring me. I felt fortunate again for the hundredth time to have my girls with me, because both of them stood close to me and Betsy even put an arm on my back as a sign of silent support.
My guys started coming out of the sanctuary first. As always, it was great to see them. I spoke with each one, and they offered me a hug in return. None of them was too interested in leaving. My guess was that they wanted to see what would happen when Adam came out.
Kirk, accompanied by his girlfriend Erica, looked most upset by Hugh’s death. From the dark red color in his eyes and the bags that had developed under them, I could tell he had shed many tears. There was a hollow look about him, as if the death of his best friend had taken so much out of him. Erica didn’t seem as upset, but she had been crying during the service. Her little black dress didn’t look at all appropriate for a funeral, and instead looked like something she would wear while dancing on the stage at her nightly job.
Jed and Braden stopped by to say hello and to thank me for coming. Of the Hammer guys, they seemed to be the most normal and most courteous. None of the others bothered to talk to me at all.
Greg and Lucas walked out together. The club owner didn’t acknowledge me at first, but Greg smiled softly when he saw me. Their heads were close together, and they were talking quietly about something. Even straining my ears, I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
When the pair stopped in front of me, they ceased their conversation.
Lucas was the first to speak.
“Hello, Lana,” he said. “Thank you for coming today.”
“I wouldn’t have missed this,” I said. “Hugh was a great guy.”
“Yes,” Lucas agreed. “It is sad to lose both a friend and an employee. But I’m sure you know that feeling, too, since he worked for you also.”
I nodded. “Yes, brief as it was.”
“Have the police contacted you?” Lucas asked.
“No,” I said.
“Well, hopefully they won’t be able to find a connection to you now that the cell phone has turned up.”
I shot Greg a look, and was surprised to find that he didn’t look sorry for divulging that information to Lucas. That annoyed me more than a little. Of course, Greg knew this guy and whether or not he could be trusted, but I certainly did not. I didn’t like the fact that Greg was giving information to people that I didn’t know.
“Do you know who sent me the cell phone?” I asked.
“No idea,” Lucas shrugged. “But at least it has turned up.”
“Yes, at least it turned up,” I repeated.
This was the closest I had even been to Lucas. From a distance, he had always had that smarmy, used-car salesman kind of look about him. It was like his smile held secrets that only he knew, and he would use those secrets against me. But once I got a look at him up close, I could see that wasn’t the case. He was even a nice looking guy.
The club owner left us and went to talk to his employees.
I waited there for Adam to come out of the sanctuary. I wasn’t sure if he would bother talking to me or even acknowledge my presence, but I wanted to give him that chance.
When he walked out with the minister, something caught in my throat. He was so handsome, so peaceful looking. I missed him. I missed him at my house, in my bed, and in my life. A few days away from each other wouldn’t have been so bad if we weren’t on such estranged terms.
He and the minister stopped at the door to the sanctuary and talked for a moment. When they were finished, the minister turned and walked away.
Adam turned and after a brief search of the people in the foyer, our eyes locked. There was sadness in his eyes, and I couldn’t quite explain it. Something was wrong with my man, something more than the death of his co-worker.
He approached me, but not with his normal strut. It seemed like his shoulders were slumped over and his eyes showed defeat.
He stopped in front of me.
“Hey, Lana,” he said.
“Hey, Adam.”
For at least five seconds, he didn’t touch me. Not a hug or a pat on the arm. He just stared at me as if I were some stranger. I could feel my nerves sending my arm a signal to reach out and touch him, but my stubborn brain said hell no.
Finally, he relented. He reached both arms out, although a little reluctantly, and hugged me. My body was stiff, but when he pulled me closer, I went limp in his arms.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’ve been an asshole.”
I didn’t say anything though. I wasn’t ready to say anything, and especially wasn’t ready to let him off the hook yet.
He let me go, but he still had a grip on my arms. For a moment, I thought he meant to kiss me.
“Can I come over later?” he asked.
I shrugged.
“Is that a yes?”
“If you want to,” I said.
“We can talk about this,” he said.
“Okay,” I said.
He turned and walked off. After that, I was ready to leave. The girls, my guys and I, all walked out together. As we made our way to the SUV, Betsy asked if we wanted to meet for lunch. I looked to Greg and he said that he had to meet Chloe. Pearl and I agreed to drop him off at his car in front of my house, and then we would meet her in fifteen minutes.
Before I got in the car, Derrick stopped me and asked if he could come by later th
is afternoon to drop off his money. He didn’t bring it with him to the funeral. I told him that was okay and then got in my vehicle.
Even something as small as an appointment to drop off money seemed too much. All I wanted to do was go home, go to sleep, and not wake up until Adam arrived.
Chapter Eleven
After dropping Greg off at my house, Pearl and I drove to meet Betsy for lunch. From the moment he stepped out of the vehicle, I could feel his absence. Despite the fact that I had a boyfriend whom I cared for deeply, I could not escape my feelings for Greg. Sometime those feelings caused me to feel guilt, but I realized that I would never act on those feelings out of respect for Adam and our relationship.
Betsy had already arrived when we got there. She found an out of the way table in the back that would give us some privacy. Pearl and I sat down and picked up a menu.
“That funeral was quick,” Betsy said.
“Thank god,” Pearl muttered. “Those things depress me.”
“It was strange,” Betsy said. “We didn’t know the guy that well. I almost felt like we shouldn’t have been there.”
“If we hadn’t been there, then there wouldn’t have been anyone there,” Pearl said.
“I felt like it was something that I had to do,” I said. “And I appreciate you ladies coming there for support.”
“No problem,” Betsy smiled.
The waiter stopped by, and we ordered drinks. It wasn’t quite noon yet, but we still made an exception and got a round of cocktails. We already knew our food order, so we put that in as well.
“So you got the phone?” Betsy asked.
“Yes.”
“And no idea who sent it?”
“None at all.”
“But you can narrow down the suspects,” Betsy said. “In fact, all during the funeral, I was thinking that the list of suspects were actually gathered in that sanctuary.”
“Very true,” Pearl agreed.
“My first question,” I said, holding up my hand, “is whether the person that sent me the phone is the same person that murdered Hugh.”
“Of course they would be,” Pearl said.
“Yeah,” Betsy agreed. “It wouldn’t make sense for it to be someone else. Once the police discovered Hugh’s body, they’d be all over his apartment. I don’t see anyone else being able to sneak in, find the phone, and then send it to you.”
“Maybe someone went to Hugh’s apartment after he was killed and found it,” I suggested.
“But then why didn’t they report the murder to the police?” Pearl asked.
“I guess you’re right,” I said. “So the mailer of the phone was Hugh’s killer.”
“And the suspects right now would be everyone in that room,” Betsy added.
“We can eliminate a few off the list,” Pearl said. “You know it wasn’t me or Betsy.”
“Of course,” I nodded. “And definitely not Greg.”
“Now wait a minute,” Pearl said. “You can’t eliminate someone because you don’t think they would have done it. You may have screwed Greg a few times, but that doesn’t mean you know him well enough to say he couldn’t murder someone.”
“Of course I can say that.”
“But you don’t know the circumstances,” Pearl said. “And for that matter, you don’t even really have proof that it wasn’t me or Betsy.”
“She’s right,” Betsy said.
“Okay, I see your point,” I said. “So for sake of this conversation, let’s say that the only people we can eliminate are the three of us.”
“We should focus on who would want to help Lana,” Pearl said. “I think there are a few of the Hammer guys that could care less about helping you.”
Betsy nodded. “Vlad, Silas, and Oliver probably wouldn’t have thought to get the phone. They don’t know you that well, so why would they go through the effort?”
“True,” I said. “Unless they did it out of loyalty to Adam.”
“So we can put them on the maybe list,” Pearl said.
“Out of the Madam’s men,” Betsy said. “I don’t think we can safely eliminate any of them. They’ve all met Hugh on a few occasions, and while I don’t think any of them are capable of doing it, I know that they would all try and protect you by sending you the phone.”
“I really don’t think it’s one of our guys,” I said.
“But we can’t rule them out completely,” Betsy said.
“What about the club owner?” Pearl asked. “He’s my prime suspect.”
“Mine, too,” I said without thinking about it.
“He gives me the creeps,” Pearl said.
“Although, he is nice looking,” Betsy said.
“He is,” I agreed. “When I saw him before from a distance, I didn’t think that at all. But seeing him up close has changed my opinion on his looks.”
“But we ain’t talking about his looks,” Pearl protested. “I don’t care if he’s a Greek god come down to Earth. He’s still my top pick for the murderer.”
“What about Adam?” Betsy asked.
“There’s no way he could have done that,” I said. But the moment the words left my lips, I could feel the doubt seeping in from all angles. I was on a sinking boat with my boyfriend, and all the seams of the ship had started buckling under the pressure and water was pouring through each of those seams. I loved him and trusted him, but now we had reached a place where my trust had started to cave from the murder.
Pearl reached out her hand and put it on top of mine. “You don’t have to say it, sweetie. I can see it in your eyes.”
Betsy forced a smile. “He’s good guy. I’m sure if he was the one that killed Hugh, there would be a good reason.”
“What reason could he have?” I asked.
“There’s an obvious one,” Betsy said. “The guys at the show are really tight, and they also depend on each other for their show. If one of them leaves the show, then they have to adjust.”
“I did hear Hugh talking about coming to the Madam full time,” I said.
“So both Lucas and Adam would be upset about that,” Pearl said.
“Greg left the Steel Hammer, too,” I said. “I should talk to him more about how Lucas treated him when he did that.”
“It probably wouldn’t matter,” Betsy said. “We didn’t know Greg back then, and his departure may have been on different terms than Hugh’s.”
“It was nice that Adam talked to you,” Pearl said, trying to change the subject.
“I guess. I just hate that we had to go so long without talking. His method for dealing with relationship drama leaves much to be desired.”
“He’s just stubborn,” Betsy said.
“That’s no excuse,” I said. “I’m stubborn, too, but I don’t just run out when something bad happens. It’s his response to all of this that makes me think he knows something he’s not telling me.”
“What do you mean?” Pearl asked.
“Well, if this really was just the death of a co-worker, why would he treat me this way? What does Hugh’s death have to do with our relationship?”
“Maybe he’s just upset,” Betsy said.
“We’re all upset. That’s no excuse for him to just leave like that and not talk to me.”
“Do you think he resents you? Maybe he thinks you were trying to take Hugh away,” Pearl said.
“That line of thinking only makes me think he’s even more likely to be guilty.”
“He’s coming over tonight, right?” Betsy asked. “Does it scare you that he will be there?”
“I’m not scared of him.”
“Even after what happened with Jeremy?” Pearl asked.
“That’s different. Jeremy was a raving lunatic, and I didn’t know him that well. Adam is my boyfriend, and even though we’ve only known each other for a few weeks, it’s been an intense few weeks. It may sound stupid, but if he was the one that murdered Hugh, I’d like to think that he had a good reason for doing so.”
&n
bsp; Luckily, the waiter chose that moment to bring out our food. I was glad, too, because I didn’t like where our conversation was headed. I hated to think that Adam might have been the one to murder Hugh, but as much as I tried discounting the idea, the more the idea started to make sense.
I picked up my fork and started to work on my pasta. The girls didn’t say anything for a few minutes, and set about working on their own entrees.
The atmosphere was more than a little uncomfortable. We needed something to distract ourselves from the murder mystery.
Like the super hero she was, Pearl came to our rescue.
“So what’s the deal with this Chloe girl?” she asked. “Is she okay with Greg being a gigolo?”
“I guess so,” I said. “He says she’s okay with it, but how could a woman be at peace with the fact that her man is out there having sex with dozens of women a week?”
“We’re all different,” Betsy said. “Think about the difference in you and me. You want one man at a time. You’d get married tomorrow if Adam asked you. Me? I want my ninja, my stripping baseball player, and the guy I showed a house to yesterday.”
“What?” I said, nearly spitting out a mouthful of food. I swallowed before speaking again. “You slept with a guy who you were showing a house to?”
Betsy shrugged. “Yes I did. I was giving him the tour of one of those fancy houses downtown, and as we were going through the living room and kitchen, you could feel the chemistry pouring off us. Luckily, the house was staged still, because when we got to the master bedroom, we both kept staring at the bed. Once I gave him one of my devilishly seductive smiles, that was all it took. Within seconds, we were naked and going at it on the bed.”
“That is awful,” I said. “Those poor home owners.”
“Whatever,” she saved me off. “They have more money than the three of us combined will ever have, and they’re not very nice people either.”
“That’s still gross,” I said. “What about their soiled bed?”