Deadly Sweet Tooth

by Kaye George

  “They’re waiting for us in Singapore,” her dad said. “They were able to book another act for a week, but they want us there soon.”

  “Does Detective Rogers say you can leave?” Tally asked.

  “Well, no, not yet,” her mother answered. “But it will have to be soon.”

  Tally wasn’t so sure about that.

  Her father excused himself to use the bathroom and Tally took what she told herself was her last slice.

  Her mother finished her piece and wiped her hands on one of the napkins that had come with the pizza. “It wore me out being up so much, but it felt so good. Maybe I should take some Tylenol now. Could you get it?”

  “In Dad’s man purse?”

  “Don’t call it that where he can hear you.”

  Tally laughed. “No, I won’t.” She sat her dad’s satchel on the desk and pawed through it.

  “Why don’t you keep medicines out where you can get them?” she asked her mom.

  “I don’t know. I think your dad likes to be packed all of the time. We’re on the road so much, it’s habit for him.”

  Tally kept digging, not finding the Tylenol. She started taking things out and laying them on the desk. There were programs from their last several shows, lots of loose mints and cough drops, tissues that she hoped were not used, and—another note? She drew it out and read it silently.

  I’m not kidding. Pay up or everyone will know who you slept with.

  Tally froze, except for her hand, which shook with fear, rattling the paper back and forth.

  “Tally? What is it?”

  Her mother got up from her seat on the bed and came over to her. “What are you holding?”

  “What is this, Mom?” She held the note out and Nancy took it.

  “Oh dear,” she said, stumbling back to the bed and sinking onto it.

  “This isn’t an old note from years ago,” Tally said. “It’s new.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “What’s it about? Who is it to? Have you seen this before?”

  Nancy hung her head. “No. But I think I know what it is.”

  Chapter 22

  Tally’s father returned from the bathroom and they both stared at him. Tally supposed they looked guilty because he said, “What’s wrong? What have you done? Tally? Are you snooping in my things?”

  “Bob, she was getting a pain pill for me.” Nancy stepped toward him, shielding Tally.

  Tally picked up the paper that her mother had dropped beside her on the bedcover. She could have stuffed it back into the satchel, but she had to know what it was about. She thrust it toward her father.

  “Was this note written to you, Dad?”

  “You found it.” His voice was flat as he plopped onto the bed beside his wife. “Nancy, my dear poppet, I didn’t want you to see it.” He looked up at Tally. His eyes were troubled. “Nor you, sweetheart.” His shoulders drooped as he blew out a noisy breath.

  “Come here.” He patted the bed next to him and Tally sat. He put one arm around each woman and hugged both of them tight to his chest.

  “I’m being blackmailed. Again. Right now.”

  “By Wendell?” Tally asked.

  “No, not this time. By Len. Your mother knows all about what happened back then. But other people don’t. The police don’t. We were indiscreet when we were younger. One night we had all been drinking far too much and we traded partners with the Abrahams.”

  Traded partners? Tally was shocked. She knew her mother had had a fling with Len, but she understood that was before either of them were married. Now her father was telling her they were…swingers?

  “Just one time?” Tally asked. Once would be bad enough.

  “Just a…few times,” her father said, dragging his words out.

  “It was no big deal,” her mother added, talking quickly. “We all four agreed to keep it to ourselves.”

  “And we always have,” Bob said. “Until now.”

  “So what’s this about?” Tally asked, completely befuddled. “What does something that happened a million years ago have to do with this mess now?”

  “I couldn’t figure that out, either,” Bob said. “But I talked to him. Len thinks that I slept with Fran again. Just the other day.”

  “Why does he think that?” Tally wondered if it was true. The fact that the doubt was there troubled her and a coldness spread through her whole body.

  “Fran started pestering Bob as soon as we got to town,” Nancy said. “A few years after we left for the first time, she decided she hated me. All of a sudden. Every time we’ve come to town, she’s made it a point to publicly snub me, or to accuse me of something.”

  “I think,” Bob said, “she thought she could get to Nancy through me this time.”

  “She always has to just pick at me until I lose my temper with her.”

  “She somehow found out when we were getting here and was waiting for me when we checked in to the hotel.”

  “She waylaid Bob at the front desk,” Nancy said, “and told him she needed to see him privately. I was already beginning to feel bad, tired. Now I know why. It was from this dengue fever, I’m sure. So I told them to go into the bar and I’d go up to the room with the bellhop.”

  “We each ordered a drink,” Bob said. “When they came, Fran swigged her martini in about three gulps while I had a sip of beer. She started flirting and I shut her down. Then she got nasty. She said she was going to tell Len and Nancy that we had a fling that night. I laughed at her. Probably a mistake.”

  “But, what was she thinking?” Nancy said. “A fling. Right. For what? Ten minutes? Fifteen minutes? That’s all you were together.”

  “I didn’t even finish my beer,” he said. “I told her good night and came up to our room.”

  “So why did Len write this blackmail note?” Tally asked, still as confused as before.

  “Len called our room about an hour later,” Bob said. “Fran had just then told him we slept together and he believed her. She’d been gone long enough for it, at that point. I don’t know where she went after she left here. Now that someone has murdered her, all I can think of is that he thinks this makes me a good suspect.”

  “That’s crazy,” Tally said.

  “They’re both crazy,” Nancy said, much too loudly. “I mean were. Was.” Her voice broke. “She was. He is.”

  “So this isn’t a problem for you, right?” Tally said to her dad.

  He looked away for a moment. “It kind of is,” he said.

  “Why?” Nancy asked. “What did you do?”

  “After Fran died, I met him and paid him what he was demanding. I thought it would make it easier for us. I went to their house and gave him some money on the front porch. Now he says he photographed our transaction with their security camera.”

  * * * *

  Yolanda had cried herself out after hearing Kevin on the phone with babe, saying he would do whatever she wanted him to. Would he ever say that to her? She ignored his phone calls all last night and today. She was hurt, humiliated, and frankly, embarrassed. How could she have believed they had a thing going? That he cared for her? The memory of his kind eyes, his warm smile, wouldn’t leave her alone, though.

  Now, at home after a dull day at work with not enough business, she decided she was just plain angry. She picked up her bright pink phone and answered his next call.

  “Yolanda? I have to talk to you.”

  “Okay. Talk.”

  “No,” he said, anguish breaking up his words. “I have to talk to you…in person. I have to tell you…what’s going on.”

  “I think I figured that out.” Even to herself, her words sounded angry, cold, and clipped.

  “No, you didn’t. Can I come in?”

  “In? Where are you?” She stepped to her front living room window and pe
ered through the darkness.

  “In your front yard.”

  At first, her yard looked empty. Then she saw him. He was hard to spot because he was, as always, dressed in black. The nearby streetlight threw his shadow onto her sidewalk.

  “Please? Can I talk to you?”

  She relented and opened her door. They looked at each other awkwardly until Yolanda stepped aside and let him in. She turned her back and sat in the wingback chair so he couldn’t sit beside her. He perched on the edge of the cushion of the brocade couch.

  “I wanted to bring you flowers,” he said, “but you have a shop full. And that’s kind of…sappy.”

  Yolanda clamped her lips shut, not daring to say what was on her mind.

  “I haven’t been honest with you.”

  “Oh, you think?” Her words sounded shrill. She should keep her mouth shut, she thought. Just let him try to explain this.

  “I’m married and lived with her until a few months ago. We’ve been going through a divorce for a year and a half.”

  “And you’ll always do whatever she wants you to.”

  “Right now I will. I’ve been trying to divorce her for over a year now. I definitely do not want to be married to her. She’s devious and manipulative, so I tell her what she wants to hear. If I could do something to make her agree to sign the papers, I would. She’s hot and cold on the divorce and I’m getting so tired of it.” He cradled his forehead in his hand for a moment. “Nothing will make her agree to any terms that my lawyer sets out.”

  Yolanda had to admit, she was interested. If what he said was true, it must be awful for him. “What does she want?”

  “I wish I knew. She likes for me to be confused, I know that.”

  “Does she want money?”

  “I’ve offered her an awful lot a couple of different times. She’ll say it’s fine, then she’ll change her mind.”

  “So you just have to stay married to her?”

  “My lawyer says that it’s been long enough. I can go before a judge by myself, without her, and get it done.”

  “By yourself? Really? How does that work?” Yolanda thought people had to go to Reno, or someplace, to do that.

  “The laws in Texas let people divorce even when the other one doesn’t want to. I have a court date next month.”

  He did seem serious about the divorce. Yolanda had been thinking she was just another foolish, duped woman who dated a married man. They always said they were getting a divorce. Maybe Kevin really was?

  “Where does she live?”

  “She moved to Amarillo last year. I keep hoping she’ll meet someone else and we can make a clean break. Hasn’t happened yet, though.”

  They both fell silent. Kevin stared at the floor, waiting for Yolanda to speak, having said his piece.

  “Kevin, you’ll have to give me some time to think about this.”

  He raised his head and implored her with his eyes. “I’m sorry I never told you. Every week I keep thinking it’s almost over. I’m almost rid of her. Then…it falls through. Again.”

  Yolanda shook her head. “I’ll talk to y’all later, okay?”

  He gave a slight smile and nodded. “Okay.”

  After he left, she lay awake in bed, conflicted and confused. It was a lot to deal with. She very much wished that Kevin had told her all of this up front. The past could certainly mess things up in the present. Especially if you tried to bury it.

  It was going to take her a while to process it.

  Chapter 23

  Tally left her parents to comfort each other as best they could and went home. After parking in the driveway, she walked to the front steps, sensing the welcome of the big live oak trees that dotted her front yard. She slowly opened her front door and went into the house, feeling numb. She dropped her purse onto the floor, shoved Nigel over, and sat on the couch. Annoyed, he stared at her until she broke into a smile and petted him.

  The iciness inside her remained, though, even as she buried her hands in Nigel’s warm, soft fur. Her father had paid a blackmailer. Why would he do that? She couldn’t help but think he might have paid him because the accusation was true. He denied it, but it made good sense that the payment might have been necessary. Her head fell back on the couch cushion, she closed her eyes, and hoped her mother wasn’t having the same thoughts.

  If her dad had slept with Fran that first night and was lying about it, what else could he be lying about? No, she shouted at herself silently. No, no, no. He did not sleep with Fran or kill her.

  Nigel thumped down and made tiny noises in his throat while he headed toward his empty food bowl.

  “Hey, big guy, I fed you. You ate all of it.” Her despair lifted an inch or two as she plucked up her hefty cat and carried him into her bathroom, where she got ready for bed. He crouched on the sink counter, intently following each motion of her bedtime ritual.

  She glanced at her phone before getting into bed. Allen had left a text.

  Allen! She had forgotten all about him. She had stood him up. It was awfully late now. She’d contact him in the morning.

  * * * *

  Sleep came hours too late and she awoke groggy and not well rested.

  Wednesday at the shop went slow. She texted Allen a couple of times with apologies, but got no response. The whole day seemed to match Tally’s doldrums. The sky clouded over most of the day, a rare occurrence for August in those parts.

  Tally was doodling on a pad of paper when Lily spoke up. “You need an event.”

  “An event?”

  “Yeah. Maybe… like—I know! Labor Day is coming up. Something for that?”

  An event like the one that killed Fran Abraham? That was her first thought. Then she changed her mind. “I think you’re right. We do need an event. But not like the last one.”

  “Why don’t you have it at Bella’s Baskets? Or Bear Mountain Vineyards?”

  “That’s an idea. It could mainly be a wine tasting.”

  “And you can bring your sweets, too.”

  Tally warmed to the idea. When she shared it with Yolanda, she was in favor, too.

  “I like it,” Yolanda said on the phone from her shop. “A wine tasting. We should do it at Kevin’s. We could both display and sell our wares. I’ll call him. I think he’ll like it.”

  Tally hoped Yolanda was right. This could be good for all three of their shops.

  After that, the customers were steady, with no rushes, no crowds. It seemed there were fewer sales than usual, but when she counted everything up at the end of the day and took stock of what was left, it hadn’t been that bad. The whole day was colored by her sour mood.

  And another thing: How long had it been since she had heard from Jackson Rogers? Was it because he was so super-busy on the case? Pursuing lots of other suspects? Other than Fran’s husband and her lover? Possible lover? She could hope, but she didn’t really believe that. Who else was there?

  Len and her dad seemed to be at the top of the list. Tally still felt that a relative of Wendell or Owen might have been exacting revenge, but she couldn’t see that the police were pursuing that aspect at all. There were all sorts of others to suspect, even though the police weren’t concentrating on them, that she could tell. What about Shiny? And Ionia? They both had cause to hate Fran. They were both better off without her. Shiny, because she was after Fran’s husband, even though he didn’t stick to one woman on the side for very long. And Ionia wanted Fran’s job. How badly? Tally wondered.

  When she got to her parents’ room that night, she asked her mother.

  “How well do you know Ionia?” she asked.

  “We’re very old friends,” Nancy said. “I’m so happy for her. When all the mess is over, she’ll be in a good place.”

  “When?” Tally asked, not following her mother’s logic.

  “We ha
d lunch.”

  “You did?” That was good news. “You went out to lunch? Was it okay? Did you tire yourself out?”

  “We just went real close to here.”

  “But she walked there,” Bob said. “I went with her to make sure she made it, then left her and Ionia to eat and gab.” He gazed fondly at his wife. “You feel strong today, don’t you, poppet?”

  Nancy nodded. “As soon as we get the go-ahead, I’m ready to leave. I’m ready to go back onto the stage.”

  Bob raised his eyebrows. “You’re not one hundred percent, dear. Let’s be gradual.”

  “Oh, phooey. I’ll be all the way back in a day or two more. I can feel it.”

  “Mom,” Tally said, barging into their banter. “What did you and Ionia talk about?”

  “Oh, just stuff. You know.”

  “But you said you were happy for her.”

  “Oh, yes. I guess no one knows this yet, but she was given Fran’s job.”

  Tally’s mouth fell open. “Fran being gone is working out perfectly for her, isn’t it?”

  Nancy gave a small laugh. “Oh, no, it’s not like that. The board gave her the job before Fran was killed. They haven’t announced it yet. In fact, they hadn’t fired Fran yet.”

  “When will they announce it?”

  “Ionia said they told her ‘when the dust settles.’”

  “I guess the police will have to catch the killer first, don’t you?” Bob asked.

  Tally agreed. “I assume the board is waiting for the legal authorities to give them the go-ahead?”

  “Oh, yes, they were told not to make anything public until permission is granted,” Nancy said.

  Tally didn’t say it, but she was sure that Jackson would have to be certain Ionia didn’t kill Fran before anything would be allowed to be announced.

  Soon after she returned home, Lily texted that she wasn’t feeling well and asked to have a day off. Tally told her that would be fine, since Molly would be working.