Ella pulled out a business card from her tote and handed it to Kelly. “Give me a call, and we can set up a time for the interview.”
While Ella’s angle on the interview would be about the broader landscape and social and economic impact of the consignment industry, Kelly saw the interview as a chance to promote the boutique. She could show case the newer merchandise for that in-between season, the one between winter and spring. Over one too many glasses of wine and lamenting about those few weeks where it was cold one day and hot the next, she’d dubbed it wring. With a clearer head the following day, she realized her bright idea was a dud. Wring would never take hold. A marketing genius she wasn’t.
Anyway, she had several lighter weight jackets in neutral and bright colors along with a few classic trench coats. One was a perfect dupe for Burberry. Oh, what she’d give to get her hands on a real Burberry. But the dupe was pretty close and would be snatched up quickly. There was also a bunch of cotton blend sweaters from consignors and from a boutique not too far away that was going out of business. The only downside to getting inventory from another boutique was that she had to lay out the money and hope to sell the garments; otherwise, she’d be out the investment.
“Also, I’d love to talk to you about Tawny Fallow’s death. Would you mind giving a quote about her? According to the police report, you were one of the persons on the scene. As was your former boss, Serena Dawson.”
And there it was. Ella’s real reason for being there. How could Kelly have been so naïve?
“Unfortunately, since it’s an ongoing investigation, I’m not at liberty to make a statement. I will take you up on your offer for an interview about the surge of resale shops like mine.” Kelly waved the business card in her hand and then pushed off for the boutique’s front door.
“Surely you’re at liberty to talk about your relationship with both women. I’m not looking to jeopardize the police investigation. Or get you in trouble.” Ella followed.
Kelly swung around. “I’m not going to comment on those relationships or what happened to Tawny. I’d love to talk to you about the boutique and about the newfound interest in my industry. Have a nice day, Miss Marshall.” She turned back toward the door and yanked it open. She stepped inside; the bell jingled, and she left the pesky reporter out on the street.
The door closed behind her, and she debated what to do next.
A to-do list was sitting on her desk, but it was written up before she found Tawny’s body. One of the actionable items on the to-do list was to steam Tawny’s garments and get them ready to sell.
She walked through the boutique to the photo studio, AKA storage room, where she photographed garments to sell online. The rolling rack was full of Tawny’s clothes. She wondered what to do with them. She doubted Jason would want them back, but she had to make sure. Some people tended to be litigious. Better to be safe than sorry and on the receiving end of a subpoena. Been there, done that.
She walked out of the photo studio and into the staff room. At the desk, she dropped onto the chair and stared at her to-do list. So much for making plans for the day. She set the list aside, and that’s when it hit her.
The Fendi purse.
With everything that had happened, she’d forgotten about the Peekaboo. It was still in her Jeep. Not exactly the best place for it. She had to bring it inside and keep it some place safe until she spoke to Jason. Before she headed out to get the purse, she browsed through her emails and responded to a few. Then after the purse was safely inside, she joined Breena out on the sales floor and worked there until closing. Much of the hushed conversations among customers who came in were about Tawny’s death.
No one could believe there was another murder in Lucky Cove.
The only upside to this was the fact that no one asked her for specifics. Maybe they didn’t know she was on the scene and called 9-1-1. By this time tomorrow, everyone would know she found Tawny’s body.
Kelly was almost done closing the boutique when a weather alert came up on her phone. Another snowstorm was on its way, and according to the new data, it would pack a doozy of a punch, her very unofficial term, when it arrived on Long Island.
Another powerful storm was the last thing her hanging-by-a-thread roof needed.
The next alert that followed turned her frown upside down, and she giggled at her girlish behavior. A text from Mark. He was confirming their dinner date at Gio’s Restaurant. The smiley face and heart emojis had her smiling and racing through the boutique to finish performing the end of day tasks. She was done in record time and on her way upstairs with the Fendi purse.
Howard greeted her at the door. He made his usual slinky move along her legs, and he let out a loud meow.
“I know what you want. You really don’t cut a gal a break, do you?”
She tucked the purse into the coat closet and then went to the kitchen. Howard followed closely and then leaped onto the trashcan. From the perch, he could monitor her to make sure she didn’t dilly-dally.
She dished out his food and set the bowl on the floor. He jumped off the trashcan and hurried to his food mat. While he chowed down, she refilled his water bowl. Then, with her cat’s belly full, Kelly dashed into the bedroom to get ready for her date with Mark.
Standing in front of her closet, she eyed a few outfits that had potential. Mark mentioned something about going to a movie after they ate. If they were indeed going to the movies, she wanted to be comfortable as well as cute. She pulled out a pair of harem pants with an elastic waistband and a long-sleeved t-shirt. Add a pair of flats and hoop earrings, and she was all set to go.
Chapter 7
Mark held the door open for Kelly, and when they entered Gio’s, the hostess showed them to a table. As they made their way through the dining room, Kelly felt the stares. It looked like news that she found Tawny’s body had spread.
Her cheeks heated, and her pace quickened, though the hostess seemed to enjoy the excruciating trek from door to table.
“Kelly!” Liza popped up from a table for one and wended through the tables to intercept Kelly and Mark. “I heard about Tawny. It’s such a shock. She was so young and vital. What a waste.” Her eyes teared up.
“I’m so sorry; I didn’t realize you and Tawny were friends.” Kelly offered a weak smile and hoped Liza wouldn’t break down there in the middle of the restaurant.
Liza sniffled. “She and Jason are members of the church. Such good people. They always volunteered. She was just helping out the other day.” She took in a ragged breath.
“Would you like to join us?” Mark offered.
Liza shook her head and dabbed at her watery eyes. “Oh, how sweet of you. No, I’m almost finished with my meal. My one treat every now and again when my budget allows. Kelly, I’ll let you know when the service for Tawny is.”
Kelly murmured a thank you and then Liza returned to her dinner as the hostess caught their attention. “Sorry.” Kelly dipped her head and continued following the hostess.
The other diners either had curious looks on their faces or whispered to their companions as Kelly passed by. Beads of sweat pooled at her temples, and her gaze bounced around the room. All of this reminded her of the weeks following Ariel’s accident. Back then, the comments were in the lowest of low tones because they were harsh and cruel about Kelly. She swallowed hard and shook off the unpleasant memory.
After the hostess handed them their menus, she told them their waitress would be with them shortly.
“You’ve created quite a stir.” Mark opened his menu. The past week he’d been putting in long hours on a case, forcing him to postpone their date night more than once.
Kelly looked over her shoulder. “Believe me, it wasn’t my intention.”
“I spoke with Marcy earlier. She caught the case, huh?” Mark closed his menu and set it down.
Kelly didn’t have much of an appetite b
ut refused to cancel because they hadn’t had a date night in ages. Okay, that was an exaggeration. But it felt like an eternity. Now, with the subject of his sister brought up, what little appetite she had vanished.
“She most certainly did. She wasn’t pleased to see me there.” Kelly closed her menu.
“Shocker.” Mark flashed his sexy McHottie Lawyer grin. When they first met, he was representing a customer who wanted to sue her for an outlandish reason. Mark realized the lawsuit would have been a waste of his client’s time and money, so he worked out a more than reasonable settlement.
Kelly laughed. “I’m serious. I hadn’t planned to walk in on a murder scene. I was there for a yoga session. Some Zen time. Maybe even a little meditation.
“You meditate? Since when?”
“I don’t, but maybe I should start. Between the roof and the murder—”
“Good evening, I’m Jessie, your server tonight. Are you ready to order?”
Kelly recognized Jessie as the owner’s granddaughter. Still in high school, she had a freckled nose and rosy cheeks with long strawberry hair pulled back into a high ponytail.
“Would you like to hear the specials?”
Kelly and Mark both shook their heads no.
“I’ll have the spaghetti and meatballs.” Kelly handed her menu to Jessie. Whatever she didn’t eat, she’d take home for leftovers tomorrow.
“I’d like a lasagna. And two glasses of red wine.” Mark handed his menu to Jessie and listened as she recited the wine options. Before Kelly could make her choice, he selected for them.
“I’ll bring out your salads right away.” Jessie began to turn away but stopped. She leaned toward Kelly. “I heard you found Tawny Fallow’s body earlier today. That must have been awful.” Interest filled her hazel eyes.
“Yes, it was—” Kelly began to say.
“Since it’s an open investigation, she’s not at liberty to discuss the details,” Mark said as he covered Kelly’s hand with his.
Kelly didn’t appreciate being cut off, but he made a valid point. The same point she made when she’d refused to give Ella a comment.
Jessie nodded curtly and spun around. She marched away.
Kelly had a new worry to obsess over. Was her food going to be safe?
“I could have told her myself that I didn’t want to discuss the matter.” Kelly pulled back her hand and unfolded her napkin.
“Of course, you could have.” Mark reached for his water glass and took a sip.
Kelly kept her gaze on her lap. She hadn’t meant to snap at Mark. Maybe going out had been a mistake. Perhaps she should have stayed home and made an early night of it.
“You’ve had a long day, and I was only trying to help. So how are you doing?” He set his glass down.
Kelly shrugged. “It’s not like this was the first time I found a dead body.” After she said it, she regretted it. She knew she shouldn’t be glib, because a woman was dead, but she barely knew Tawny. “Sorry. It was a shock finding Tawny and seeing Serena standing over her. I’m sure your sister considers her a suspect, but I don’t think she’s capable of such a thing.” Kelly stopped talking when their salads arrived. She lifted her fork and pierced a cherry tomato. “Besides, she didn’t look disheveled.”
Mark finished chewing his forkful of salad. “I don’t understand. What does how she looked have to do with anything? Are you saying she didn’t look like she killed someone?”
“Exactly. While I was at the cottage, I got a quick look around. It looked like there had been a struggle before Tawny died. Serena looked too pulled together, even though her hair was a little messy but not too messy. Trust me, there wasn’t any sign she murdered someone.”
“From what you told me about their relationship, it sounded contentious, and you did find Serena beside the body.”
“I see your point. It’s probably the point your sister is taking with her investigation.” Kelly continued to eat her salad. Her appetite was returning, and they changed the topic of conversation while they enjoyed their main course. Once the subject of murder was off the table, they relaxed, and shared ideas for a quick weekend getaway before summer got into full swing. It would be Kelly’s first summer as a merchant on Main Street, so she didn’t want to take vacation time then.
Their main course was served and over tossing around ideas for getaway locations, they ate. Kelly surprised herself by finishing her meal. Boy, her appetite had returned in a big way.
Mark pushed away his plate and wiped his mouth with the linen napkin. He smiled, lighting up his dark-as-charcoal eyes, and leaned forward. “How many lawyer jokes are in existence?”
Kelly rolled her eyes. “Not another lawyer joke?”
Mark liked to poke fun at his chosen profession with random jokes. She was always tempted to remind him that, while he wasn’t an ambulance chaser, they’d met because one of his clients thought a piece of furniture she bought at the boutique was haunted. “Okay, how many are there?”
“Only three. All the rest are true stories.” He laughed and then gestured to their waitress for their check.
Kelly giggled. “Good one.” Her jovial mood and laughter came to a skidding halt when her uncle’s current wife appeared at their table.
Summer Blake pulled out a chair and sat without so much as a hello or an invitation.
“Good evening, Summer.” Kelly set her fork down.
“No, it’s not. Tawny is dead. I’m heartbroken. Devastated.” Summer’s exquisitely made-up face didn’t show an ounce of sadness. Nor did her perfectly styled bleached blond hair or her burgundy wrap dress. Apparently, former-models-turned-Pilates-instructors grieved differently than regular folks.
“You and Tawny were friends?” Kelly didn’t know whom Summer socialized with. They hardly spent time together and when they did it was usually at a family dinner. This meant Kelly wasn’t privy to Summer’s circles of friends, and she’d prefer to keep it that way. Since moving back to Lucky Cove, Kelly tried to strike up a friendship with her uncle’s wife. For the record, she refused to call Summer her aunt. They were only a few years apart in age, and it felt weird adding the word aunt in front of Summer’s name. Her attempts at friendship always seemed to end with Summer criticizing her posture, her career choice, or her bad luck of being dragged into murder cases.
She hadn’t thought it would be so hard, since they both shared a love for fashion. Their one and only bond. She soon found out that Summer preferred the friendship of women who could help her climb the social ladder. Kelly couldn’t help her with that because she was busy climbing the ladder of retail fashion for a weekly paycheck. And then, gasp, taking over a used clothing store. Yeah, there was no bonding on that topic.
Summer nodded as she set her clutch purse on the table. “We met for runs. We had a lot in common.”
Kelly thought about it, and Summer was right. Both women were in the fitness industry building their own businesses, and both were married to older, wealthier men.
“I’m sorry for your loss.” Mark handed his credit card to the waitress.
“I want to make sure the person responsible for my friend’s death is sent to prison for a lifetime. I heard your former boss is a suspect. You found her standing over the body. Why didn’t you call me? Why did I have to learn about this through my clients at the studio?”
Kelly drained the last of the wine in her glass before answering Summer. A refill would have been good right about then.
“Until right now, I didn’t know about your friendship with Tawny. And, yes, Serena has been asked to stay in Lucky Cove for the time being. I don’t know anything more.” Although, she wouldn’t mind knowing why Serena and Jason met last night at the Gull Café.
“Well, I hope you’ll stay clear of the case because I want nothing to jeopardize the police investigation.” Summer leaned back and stared at Kelly.
<
br /> Kelly looked to her wine glass and was sad it hadn’t magically refilled. “I feel the same way. However, you don’t get to tell me what to do. With that said, I can assure you, I have no intention of interfering with the police.”
Summer scoffed. “Oh, please, you really expect me to believe that?”
“Well, there’s always a first time for everything,” Mark added.
Kelly lifted the napkin from her lap and dropped it on the table. Her lovely dinner was over. She heard a hint of sarcasm in Mark’s tone, and like his cutting her off earlier, she didn’t appreciate it. Nor did she appreciate Summer sweeping in and telling her what to do.
“There you are, dear.” Ralph Blake approached the table with his arm extended. When he reached his wife’s side, he leaned in for a kiss. Kelly lowered her gaze; she didn’t want to see any PDA between her uncle and his wife.
Ralph was in his mid-fifties and had a peppering of distinguishing gray at his temples and a year-round tan thanks to his in-home tanning bed. He was particular about his appearance and what it conveyed. There was little wonder that all his wives had been former models. Every detail in his life was calculated and weighed on how it would appear. As a real estate developer, he spent countless hours networking, wheeling, and dealing. Successful people wanted to do business with other successful people.
“Good evening, Kelly, Mark. Dear, our table is ready.”
Summer stood. “We were discussing what happened to Tawny.”
“Quite a mess you’ve gotten yourself into again, wouldn’t you say, Kelly?” Ralph’s eyes fixed on his niece, and it almost made her squirm, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
Since she’d come back to Lucky Cove, he hadn’t been shy about voicing his displeasure regarding Kelly. From inheriting his mother’s house and business to her involvement in three past murder investigations, he made it no secret he was unhappy with her.
How to Frame a Fashionista Page 7