Faux Pas

by Shannon Esposito

  As I tossed his phone back in the console, I heard a sharp bark. Glancing at the passenger seat, I saw Angel materialize for a split second, and then she was gone. A folder lay on the seat. My body shook with adrenalin. Did Angel want me to see something in that folder? Leaning over a dead body was about the last place I wanted to be, but I couldn’t bring the folder out of the car, it would be soaked in seconds. With shaking hands, and trying unsuccessfully to keep my stomach from touching Robert’s legs, I bent over his body and flipped open the folder. Inside was a stack of papers stapled together. I read the top of the first page. ‘Jewelry appraisal forms’. Then I quickly flipped through the first few pages. Reports on four-karat diamond earrings, a six-karat diamond cocktail ring, a black diamond necklace. What did this have to do with Celeste’s murder? Maybe this wasn’t what Robert wanted to show me. I’d have to search the car.

  Suddenly, the passenger door flew open, and I was hit with a spray of rain. Before I could even glance up, I was smacked again, viciously … with something hard. The jolt from the impact threw my head against the seat and then there was only darkness.

  TWENTY

  A faint beeping sound came to my awareness first. My body felt heavy and confined. I forced my eyelids open and the hospital room came into view. Angel was there. At the bottom of my tucked-in feet, just like the first time she had appeared to me. At that time I was nine, and I’d gotten caught in a riptide and nearly drowned. She lifted her head and gave me a soft bark and then she was gone.

  Devon appeared, taking my hand and staring down at me with a mixture of relief and fear. Purple half-moons had formed beneath his eyes and his jaw was scruffy with dark, unshaven whiskers.

  ‘You don’t look so good,’ I whispered. My mouth felt like the desert.

  I was rewarded with a smile as Devon collapsed on the narrow bed beside me. ‘Jaysis, Elle.’ He brought my hand to his mouth and pressed his lips against my knuckles, closing his eyes. ‘You sure know how to scare the life out of a guy.’ Shaking his head, he poured me some water from the plastic pitcher and adjusted my bed so I was sitting up more. ‘What the bloody hell were you thinking talking to Robert Green? You promised me no investigating on your own.’

  I took a sip of the water he held up for me and forced my foggy brain to recall how I got here. It was hard to push past the dull ache behind my eyes. Oh yeah. ‘Robert’s dead. Someone hit me on the head.’ I lifted my right arm and stared at the IV. ‘How long have I been here?’

  ‘Twenty-four hours. It’s Wednesday evening.’

  My heart leaped. ‘Buddha?’

  Devon held up his hand. ‘He’s taken care of. I picked him up last night from the Pampered Pup, and he’s having a good old time with Petey.’

  Relief and gratitude flooded me. ‘Thank you.’ My focus shifted to the dozens of huge flower arrangements situated around the small room for the first time. ‘Wow, those are lovely. Who are they all from?’

  Devon walked over and started reading the cards. ‘Prayers for a speedy recovery from Rita. Get well from the doga gang.’ His eyebrows shot up. ‘Speedy recovery and see you soon. Love, Alex.’ He smirked as I visibly cringed. ‘And this monstrosity …’ He plucked a card from the biggest bouquet in the room. ‘Says, “Get well soon or else. We love you, Hope and Ira.”.’ I smiled as he continued to read a few cards and then pulled the one from the smallest bouquet, a grouping of carnations, and handed it to me.

  Confused, I took it and read, ‘Sorry, Elvis. Call me. Love, Mom.’

  Two things were making my head ache as I tried to make sense of them. First, my mom thought buying something that would eventually die was just ridiculous. She didn’t do it. Ever. And then, ‘How did she know I was in the hospital?’

  Devon sat back down on the bed and intertwined our fingers. ‘I called her. Well, I called a half a dozen Pressleys in Clearwater, but I finally got the right lady. She sounded really worried. I said I’d keep her updated on your progress.’

  I stared at Devon, feeling too groggy to process what him taking the time to contact my mom meant. All I knew at the moment was it warmed up my insides like I had swallowed the sun.

  Someone knocked lightly on the door and then a nurse entered. ‘Ah, she’s awake. That’s a good sign.’

  Devon slid off the bed as the nurse came over to check all the machines around me.

  ‘I’m Lauren, and I’ll be your nurse this evening. How are we feeling?’

  ‘Good enough to go home,’ I tried.

  She laughed. ‘Well, we’ll let the doctor decide that. I’ll let him know you’re awake, and he should be in to speak with you later this evening. Hungry? You missed dinner, but I can grab you some soup or Jell-O.’

  I shook my head no. ‘What’s wrong with me?’

  She wrapped a blood pressure cuff around my arm. ‘You’ve got a concussion, some swelling and bruising and a pretty nasty cut that required stitches. The doctor can tell you more from your MRI, but I can tell you with a few days of quiet recovery, you should be feeling much better.’

  ‘I told you she was hard-headed,’ Devon said, sounding grumpy.

  The nurse chuckled and winked at me. ‘And I’m sure she’ll remember you said that.’

  I closed my eyes and sighed, feeling the pull of sleep. ‘I’m really tired.’

  I was suddenly back in the car with Robert, his dead eyes staring helplessly at me. My body jerked involuntarily, and I opened my eyes again. Whoa.

  ‘The tiredness could be the morphine or the trauma. But, either way, you need rest.’ The nurse was staring at me with concern. ‘You OK?’

  ‘Yeah.’ But, it suddenly sank in that Robert’s murderer was probably the same person who knocked me out. Oh god. They could have finished me off, too. My life could have been over. I stared at my own mortality in horror, feeling more vulnerable than I’ve ever felt … but also more alive. It was an overwhelming feeling.

  ‘Elle?’ The nurse came over and started rubbing my arm. ‘Your heartbeat just went through the roof. Why don’t you try to get some rest?’

  My stomach heaved as acid flooded it. ‘Actually, I think I would like to try some soup.’

  She nodded. ‘All right then. Be right back.’

  After she left, Devon pulled the chair up beside me and leaned his elbows on the bed. ‘Detective Farnsworth is going to want to speak to you. Can you tell me what happened?’

  I squeezed my eyes shut against the throbbing, trying to push through my brain fog. ‘Robert called and said he had something to show me and asked if I could meet him at his office around seven. I tried to call you to go with me—’

  Devon groaned. ‘I’m so sorry, Elle. I was with a client and didn’t get your message until it was too late.’

  ‘Don’t beat yourself up, Devon. You can’t babysit me twenty-four hours a day. And besides, it was just Robert, we knew him … it was a public place.’

  ‘What could go wrong, right?’ Devon frowned. ‘So, when you got there, he was already dead?’

  ‘Yeah. But just. He was still warm.’ I shivered.

  Devon pulled the blanket higher on my body and his voice was strained as he said, ‘So the killer was probably still there.’

  ‘Yeah. Oh!’ I cringed as a pain shot through my skull. Ouch. ‘There was a folder full of jewelry appraisals Celeste had requested. Can you find out if the police have them? We need to have a better look through them. I think that’s what Robert wanted to show me.’

  ‘Sure. I’ll give Salma a call in the morning.’ He leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on my cheek.

  I heard the door open and someone cleared their throat. ‘Am I interrupting?’

  I peered around Devon and smiled at Hope. Devon gave my hand one more squeeze. ‘I’ll see you in the morning. Get some rest.’

  ‘OK.’ I smiled. ‘Thanks for … everything. Give Buddha some extra cuddles for me, and tell him I’ll see him soon.’

  ‘I will.’ Devon stood and nodded to Hope. ‘She’s al
l yours.’ Then he left.

  ‘Somehow I doubt that.’ Hope forced a smile and hugged me gently and then took Devon’s place in the chair. She had no make-up on and her eyes were bloodshot. It was so unlike her to not be completely put together, it made my heart ache. Her brows were scrunched with worry. ‘Did this attack have something to do with investigating for Ira?’

  I didn’t really want to answer her because I could see the guilt already causing her more pain. She grabbed my hand. ‘Elle, tell me.’

  I sighed. ‘Yes, but—’

  ‘Oh my god, Elle.’ The tears came then. ‘You almost got killed. Because of us! That’s it. You have to stop. We’ll figure something else out.’

  ‘Like what?’ I held her stare until she dropped her gaze.

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Exactly.’ I squeezed her hand. ‘Hey, we have to concentrate on the fact I wasn’t killed, OK? I’m still here, and I’m not going anywhere. But, this person needs to be put away. I know what the risks are now, and I know to be more careful.’

  Hope shook her head. ‘I don’t know, Elle. What if Ira ends up in prison? I can’t lose you, too. I’d go crazy.’

  My head was really beginning to pound now. ‘Neither one of those things are going to happen.’

  She shook her head and pushed her palms into her eyes. When she dropped her hands she said, ‘The police came by our house last night. They wanted to know where Ira was around the time of Robert’s death. I said he was home with me. But then they asked if I was physically with him at that time. And I had to say no because he was in his office all evening. As you know, his office has a door to the outside, so when they asked if he could’ve left without my knowledge I had to say yes.’ A pained groan escaped her. ‘I’m so scared, Elle.’

  ‘I know. And that’s exactly why we can’t stop investigating.’

  Someone knocked and a young girl in pink scrubs came in. ‘Hi, I’ve got some chicken noodle soup for you.’

  Hope pulled some Kleenex from her purse and blew her nose as the girl moved a tray in front of me and arranged the soup and a can of Sprite for me. ‘There you go.’

  ‘Thank you,’ I said, feeling my stomach churn.

  ‘When do you get sprung from this joint?’ Hope asked after the girl left.

  ‘I don’t know. The doctor is supposed to come in and talk to me this evening. The sooner, the better.’

  ‘Well, Devon said you’ve got concussion. And a pretty nasty cut under that bandage, so you stay here as long as you need to.’

  I glanced at her in surprise. ‘Devon called you, too?’

  She nodded slowly, a genuine smile bringing some life back to her eyes. ‘Mmmhmm. Anything you want to tell me? Have we moved on from just a kiss?’

  I smiled, despite the increasing intensity of the ache in my skull. ‘Honestly, I have no idea where this is going. I know we like each other, and I know I love being around him. But, I also know he’s not sticking around Moon Key forever.’

  ‘Unless he has a reason to.’

  I poured the Sprite into the plastic cup of ice, my arm shaking with the effort. It had been years since I’d allowed myself a soda, but right now I didn’t care. If a girl couldn’t have a soda after being knocked unconscious by a killer, then when could she have one? ‘Kind of hard to compete with the need to travel and explore the world. If I had a chance to do that, I wouldn’t give it up for anyone.’

  Hope’s smile softened. ‘You’d be surprised what love will make you do.’ Then she stood up. ‘I’m going to let you eat and get some rest now. I’ll come by tomorrow. And Elle—’ her expression turned to fear – ‘if you ever scare me like this again—’

  ‘I know. You’ll kick my butt.’

  ‘You know it.’ With one last careful hug, she left.

  I had finished my soup and was just falling into the clutches of sleep when someone knocked again.

  Forcing my eyes open, I watched as a tall figure tentatively entered the room.

  ‘Zebina?’ I croaked.

  ‘Hi, Elle.’ She slid into the chair next to the bed. I rolled my head toward her. She wore a black suit and her hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail. I was feeling too drowsy to understand why she was here. Then it hit me like a sledgehammer. Robert.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Zebina,’ I managed through my foggy brain.

  ‘Thank you. I can’t believe he’s—’ her breath hitched – ‘gone.’ A cry broke free and she muffled it with a handkerchief. ‘Oh, god, Elle. Who would do this? Why?’ She broke then, the sobs shaking her shoulders. I didn’t know what to say, so I just let her cry it out.

  Eventually, she calmed down enough to talk. ‘The police said it looks like someone killed him with Botox, just like Celeste. And you were there. You were the last person to see him.’

  Was that an accusation? I tried to shake my head but stopped when bowling balls started rolling around, bashing the inside of my skull. ‘He was already … gone when I arrived.’

  ‘Why were you there? Were you meeting with him?’

  ‘Yeah. He called and said he had something for me. Something of Celeste’s.’ I didn’t want to explain why I was there. Zebina was still a suspect in my mind.

  ‘Did he give you something?’

  That was a strange question. I studied her through the filter of my drugged brain. Did she seem nervous? She was clutching her Louis Vuitton purse with white-knuckled strength. She was also pale and shaking, but that could be from grief. ‘No, he didn’t.’

  Her shoulders fell. Was that relief? I eyed the giant diamond engagement ring on her hand, sparkling even in the dim hospital room. My mind kept returning to the jewelry appraisals, but it was still too hard to link thoughts together.

  ‘OK.’ She stood and ran her hand down the front of her dark blazer. ‘I thought maybe you got to speak to him before he … died. I have some arrangements to make, so I should leave you to rest.’ She placed a hand on my arm. ‘Speedy recovery.’

  And then she was gone, leaving me alone with my questions and nightmares.

  TWENTY-ONE

  Monday morning I fished a pair of yoga pants from my suitcase and sat on the edge of the bed to pull them on. I was still feeling a bit weak but at least the dizziness and headaches had subsided. Today I was going back to teaching for the first time since I was released from the hospital. Devon wasn’t happy with the decision. He thought I needed more than the weekend to recover, but I was going stir crazy just lying around his house.

  I’d given in when he’d insisted Buddha and I stay with him until I recovered. I knew it was so he could keep an eye on me. Was it simply out of guilt? Either way, I’ll admit it was nice being solely in his presence as he nursed me back to health these past few days. He was the most attentive person I’d ever met, though given the mother I’d grown up with that may not be saying much. All I knew was, as he tucked me into the guest bed every night, I wanted so badly to ask him to stay, to know what it was like to fall asleep in his arms. But, Tommy Mathers had stopped me. I finally sat down and allowed myself to think about my first love for the first time in years.

  Tommy had stolen my heart after high school. We had an algebra class together at St Pete College. I’d had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, so I just enrolled in the basic first-year classes. Tommy was this tall, blond-haired, blue-eyed creature with a poet’s soul who met my stare as he waltzed into the room the first day of class and took a seat right beside me. There was an instant chemistry between us, and for two years we were inseparable. But, Tommy did know what he wanted to do with his life. He wanted to be a professional surfer. He was in college to appease his parents so they would fund his trips until he could get sponsors. His heart belonged to the ocean.

  His surfing trips took him all over the world … and away from me. I never minded, though. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder, and we were closer than ever when he returned. Until the end of the second year of our relationship when a completed associate deg
ree and an offer from a sponsor to fund travel took him away from Florida … and me. For good. My panic attacks had kept me from even considering going with him. He never looked back. I was beyond heartbroken. I was devastated.

  After the appropriate mourning period for losing the love of your life, I hung a ‘closed for business’ sign on my heart and began the journey to heal myself through yoga. Hope and I also made a pact never to speak his name again. I had done a pretty good job of never giving him a second thought over the years. Until now. Now someone else had ripped that sign on my heart down and blown the door wide open. And it was terrifying. I didn’t think I could survive another heartbreak like that.

  Sighing, I finished getting dressed, pulled my wet hair up into a loose bun, grabbed my yoga bag and made my way into the kitchen. Devon was there, shoving kale into the Vitamix.

  ‘Morning,’ I said, coming up behind him.

  He whirled around and, searching my face, folded his arms. ‘Good mornin’ yourself. You sure you’re up to this?’

  I shrugged. My yoga bag already felt heavy on my weak shoulder. ‘Won’t know until I try.’ Besides, I had already told Rita to call the ladies and let them know classes would resume today. Too late to back out now. I smiled up into his worried eyes. ‘I’ll take it easy, I promise. I can teach the class from a seated position if I need to.’

  He nodded. ‘All right then. But any signs of dizziness you come back and rest.’ Kissing the tip of my nose, he turned his attention back to peeling a banana and tossing it into the Vitamix. ‘Breakfast is almost ready.’

  I did end up teaching most of the class from a seated position but nobody seemed to mind. The ladies just all seemed grateful that I was back, which I accepted with just a touch of suspicion. They did seem sincere though. They even hugged me carefully, cringing at the stitches above my brow, and fawned over Buddha. He loved the attention. Even the usually sarcastic Violet got choked up as she told me how worried they all were when they’d heard I’d been attacked. It was really touching and for the first time in my life I felt like I was a part of something important.