How to Frame a Fashionista

by Debra Sennefelder

  Serena emerged from the house and behind her was a uniformed officer. Following them was a tall, lanky woman on crutches. Kelly guessed she was Serena’s assistant.

  “She’s been here all morning.” The injured woman’s voice was loud and pleading. She looked to be around Kelly’s age with shoulder-length brown hair and plump red lips. They reminded Kelly of a neon sign that you could see from a mile away.

  Kelly hurried to the walkway, and it was then she noticed the handcuffs. Serena’s hands were secured behind her back, and her hoodie was over her shoulders. Her hair was swept off her face by a headband, and she wore workout leggings and a tank. She was arrested while doing yoga? It was the only workout she ever did.

  Why did she have to stop for gas on the way over to Serena’s rental house? Filling her gas tank hadn’t taken too long. It was the unanticipated conversation with Nan Phillips. Actually, it was more like an ambush. Nan was always looking for donations for her never-ending list of charity events. Today, she wanted a donation for the historical society’s ice cream social. In a rush to get going, Kelly agreed, but then had to listen to the planned menu. Had she paid with a credit card rather than cash, she would have escaped before Nan got a hold of her.

  “What’s going on?” Kelly asked. The police must have found out Serena had been at Jason’s house. But why arrest her?

  “Please, ma’am,” the officer said, as he held out his arm to keep her away from Serena.

  “This is a mistake! I’ll have your badge.” Serena swung her head around and glared at the officer. “How dare you treat me like this.”

  “Ma’am, please lower your voice,” the officer said.

  Kelly cringed.

  Serena hated being called ma’am.

  “I will sue!” Serena wasn’t heeding the officer’s advice.

  “I’ll call your lawyer, Serena.” The assistant followed along the best she could on crutches.

  Kelly got a closer look and saw the woman’s eyes were hooded and dark circled. She remembered the perpetual wary look on all of Serena’s assistants all too well.

  “Of course, you will! Always stating the obvious, Danica.” She might have been handcuffed, but it didn’t stop Serena from being her usual snarky self.

  “Be careful.” The officer assisted Serena into the back seat of his vehicle.

  “Officer, you must believe me. She was here with me.” Serena’s assistant had a slight accent Kelly couldn’t place. The position of being Serena’s right hand was highly sought after and attracted candidates from around the world.

  The officer slipped in behind the steering wheel of his vehicle and drove away.

  “What happened? Why was she arrested?” Kelly came up beside Danica, who appeared visibly shaken by the whole ordeal.

  “Good question! I got here about an hour ago from the city. Do you believe she threatened to fire me if I didn’t come all the way out here? She knows I broke my ankle, and I’m on crutches. I had to get a car service. Geez. Now, what am I going to do?”

  “Call her lawyer and then call the car service to go back to the city.”

  Danica rolled her eyes. “She doesn’t pay me enough to deal with this stuff.”

  “I’m sure she doesn’t. When you arrived, she was here? Inside the house?”

  “Yes, yes.” Danica nodded. “She was about to do yoga, and I went to set up my laptop. It’s not easy carrying an overnight bag and a laptop bag. Do you think she helped me?” She shifted her weight on her crutches and grimaced. “Who are you anyway? Why are you here?”

  “She’s Kelly Quinn. She owns a consignment shop in town.” Detective Barber stepped out of the house, and grinned.

  “Boutique. It’s a resale boutique.” Why Kelly felt the need to correct the detective was beyond her. She guessed it was just automatic these days to distinguish her business from the consignment shops.

  “Pardon me. Boutique. I’m curious, like Miss Quinn, why you’re here.” Barber walked down the granite front steps.

  “I came to see Serena.” Kelly fidgeted with her hair. If she played it cool, then she could skirt around the fact she’d withheld a piece of information from the detective.

  “I’m glad you stopped by.” The detective joined Kelly and Danica. “It saves me the trouble of tracking you down. Miss Welch, would you mind going back inside? I have a few more questions for you.”

  “Of course. I’m happy to be of service.” Her sarcasm wasn’t hard to miss. Danica turned and lumbered back to the house. She took a few missteps but regrouped quickly. Climbing the front steps challenged her beginner crutch skills, but she made it inside. Kelly saw she used one crutch to close the door with a hard slam. Impressive.

  “Now, Miss Quinn, we need to talk.” Barber unfolded his arms and rested his hands on his hips, pushing back the sides of his blazer.

  “About?”

  “I don’t like games. Even if I did, I don’t have time for them.”

  “Neither do I. Did you tell Serena that Jason is dead? How did she react?”

  Barber cleared his throat. “Miss Quinn, I’m the one who asks the questions. It’s not the other way around.”

  “Of course. My apologies. I’ve had a hard time getting a handle on the relationship between Serena and Jason. When I first saw them together, they were at each other’s throats. Then later that night, they met for dinner. And I heard they held hands. Anyway, then she’s telling me she’s staying in town to be supportive of him and then the next thing I know, she’s accusing him of murdering his wife. See? I can’t figure their relationship out.”

  “Maybe it’s because you’re not supposed to. You’re not the police detective. You’re a shop owner.”

  Kelly huffed. “I know…shoot!” she glanced at her watch. “I need to get back to my boutique. Is there any way we can talk there?”

  “No.”

  “Well, then. Where will we talk?”

  “I’m thinking about my place.”

  “You’re …what?”

  “The police department. Follow me.” He breezed past her with an air of confidence and arrogance, and it appalled her. Well, not completely.

  “Do you think you can bark orders, and I’ll obey?” She propped a hand on her hip and cocked her head sideways, waiting for an answer.

  He shrugged. “It’s usually how it works when I’m investigating a case. But if you prefer, I can cuff you and haul you in for interfering with police business. Either way works for me.” He pulled out his key fob and opened the car door.

  “Fine. I’ll meet you there.” Kelly rushed past him to get to her Jeep. She never wanted to be handcuffed again. It was the most humiliating, degrading experience of her life. Considering she had knowingly kept a piece of information from the detective, she couldn’t blame him if he did arrest her. Once he found out what she’d withheld, he might change his mind.

  Kelly unwrapped her scarf, shrugged out of her cardigan, and tossed them along with her purse on her desk. She spent over an hour at the Lucky Cove Police Department giving her truthful recount from the moment she’d arrived at Jason’s house to her arrival at Serena’s place. Barber really hadn’t been interested in her conversation with Nan Phillips. She didn’t blame him. She wasn’t that interested.

  The door to the staff room swung open, and Pepper entered carrying her reusable water bottle.

  “You’re back. Glad I didn’t have to come down and bail you out.” Pepper smiled as she headed to the sink to refill her bottle.

  “Haha. I was only there to give a statement.” Kelly pulled out the chair from the desk and sat. She massaged her temples. A wicked headache was spreading across her forehead.

  “I thought you gave one at the house after finding Jason’s body.” Pepper turned off the faucet and took a swig of her water.

  “I did.” She didn’t want to share with Pep
per there had been a slight omission in her first statement. “Detective Barber wanted to make sure it was complete and accurate.”

  “He did, did he?”

  Oh, boy.

  There it was—the Pepper glare along with a tone that made it clear she wasn’t buying a word Kelly was saying. The twofer made Kelly squirm.

  Before she could respond, offer a defense, or just get the heck out of the room, the back door opened, and Summer barged in.

  “There you are!” Summer pointed a manicured finger at Kelly as she advanced toward her.

  “I should get back to the sales floor.” Pepper scooted out of the room, leaving

  Kelly on her own.

  “Good afternoon, Summer.” Kelly smiled, hoping to defuse the situation.

  “How could you?” Summer lowered her hand and rested it on her hip.

  If it weren’t for the irritating twist to her rose-colored lips and death stare, which rivaled the Pepper glare, she would have looked lovely. Dressed in a bright orange dress with a flounce hem and nude-colored Valentino Rockstud ballet flats that left Kelly swooning, she looked ready for spring.

  “What are you talking about?”

  Summer sighed. “You know what you did! Tell me why do you keep interfering in my life? Last year it was the reality show, and now it’s Adrian Chase? How could you use me as an excuse to talk to that horrible human being?”

  “I did no such thing.” Kelly got to her feet.

  “You didn’t tell him we’re related? I sent you to see him?”

  “No. Well…I told him we are related. But, I swear, I didn’t tell him you sent me. He assumed it. What’s the big deal? You said you have no intention of doing business with him.” Kelly walked to the counter and poured a cup of coffee. She added an extra dose of cream. Her stomach was growling. She missed breakfast, and it looked like she would miss lunch if Summer kept yelling at her.

  “While I don’t plan on ever doing business with him, I can’t afford to alienate him either. The fitness community is small.”

  “I’m sorry. Please believe I didn’t intend to damage your reputation in any way. I understand how important your studio is to you. It’s how I feel about this boutique.” She had considered none of the fallout when she headed to Adrian’s office. Well, she believed she might have been putting herself in danger, but she hadn’t thought about Summer.

  “He called me, and he was furious.” Summer joined Kelly at the counter and poured a cup of coffee. She drank hers black. Kelly thought only psychopaths drank black coffee. “What did you say to him?”

  “I asked about his relationship with Tawny, about the lawsuits and about her concerns about the company’s finances.” Kelly sipped her coffee.

  “What concerns? Who told you that?”

  “Jason.”

  “Oh, poor Jason. I heard a little while ago. Suicide? It’s heartbreaking.” Summer sipped her coffee as she moved to the table. She sat and crossed her legs. Kelly felt a twinge of envy. Summer’s legs were long, lean, and already tanned. Kelly’s were still pasty winter white.

  “It appears it was.” Kelly’s eyes widened. The note! She’d forgotten all about it. She hurried to the desk, jostling her coffee, and opened her purse. “He left a note, I think.” She took her phone to the table and sat.

  “You read it?” Summer sounded surprised. Reading her facial expressions was tough since, like Serena, she was a repeat customer for injectables.

  “No.” Kelly tapped her phone.

  “Thank goodness. It would be unseemly to read such a document. Remember, our family has a reputation to withhold in town.”

  Kelly paused for a moment. Oh, the Blake family had more than just a reputation to withhold. They had a deep, dark secret just waiting to be uncovered at any moment. It was only a matter of time, because secrets were like weeds, they always pushed their way through until they got out into the light. She gave herself a mental shake and then held up the phone to Summer.

  “I took a photo.”

  Summer sighed. Her disappointment was evident.

  “Now, I’m going to read it.” Kelly turned the phone back to her, and she read the handwritten note.

  I’m sorry for what I did. The mistakes I made. The trusts I betrayed. Living with this guilt is unbearable. I can’t do it. It’s my dying wish that Tawny will forgive me.

  “What?” Summer leaned forward, her disappointment gone. “What does it say?”

  “He’s sorry for what he did, and he hopes Tawny will forgive him.”

  “Sorry for what? Killing her?”

  Kelly shrugged. “It seems like it, right? His suicide and this note. Maybe Serena was right. Maybe he finally realized Tawny was only after his money. I heard they argued.”

  Summer gave a dismissive wave. “A lot of couples argue. Let me tell you about Jason. He wasn’t very wealthy. He wasn’t even a member of the country club. No, Tawny knew she had to work for her own money.”

  “It was after she married him she started her business. Before then, she had several jobs. It looks like she benefited a lot from marrying him.”

  “Sure, she did. But she’d been planning on launching her own fitness business before she married. In fact, she began talking with Adrian months before her wedding. She was going places even if she hadn’t married Jason.” Summer glanced at her five-figure gold watch. “I need to get to the studio for a class.”

  “Again, I’m sorry if I caused any problems for you with Adrian. You know the guy is a sexist pig, right? He called me “hon.”

  Summer laughed. “I’m not surprised. But seriously, be careful. He’s not a person I would want to cross.”

  Kelly nodded. She’d gotten the message loud and clear when he’d exploded in anger at her. She sipped her coffee as Summer stood and left. When the door closed, she looked at the photo of Jason’s note.

  It appeared to be precisely what it was—a suicide note.

  She leaned back. The headache she felt bloom minutes ago exploded and she needed aspirin ASAP. She got up and walked over to the counter. From an upper cabinet, she took out the aspirin bottle. She shook out two pills into her hand, and that’s when she remembered.

  Next to Jason’s opened hand was a prescription pill bottle and scattered around the bottle were pills. A lot of pills. If he’d overdosed, why were there so many pills left?

  Chapter 20

  Pepper came back into the staff room under the guise of checking on Kelly, but she really wanted to know what happened with Summer. After Kelly gave a condensed version of the conversation, she insisted a lecture wasn’t required. Pepper went to object, but Kelly nipped the all-too-familiar speech in the bud. Pepper wasn’t pleased so Kelly made a quick getaway to her apartment. Up there, she could work without any interruptions.

  The boutique was woefully out of touch with the times when she took over and one of the first things, she did was create a website. Last fall, she didn’t have much time to devote to the website, so it was pretty bare bones and she wanted to change that. Diving into the project would be a welcomed change, something positive to concentrate on.

  She entered her apartment and set her purse on the cabinet by the door. The small piece of furniture was an unexpected find the day she bought the lamppost for the window display. Its cottage charm seemed to mesh with the vibe she was trying to achieve—shabby chic on a budget. It also provided added storage space that the apartment was short on. A little sanding and a new paint job brought the cabinet back to life. She took a moment to admire her handiwork.

  Never in a million years would she have thought she’d be refinishing furniture and enjoying it.

  Certainly, never while eating, breathing, and living in Serena’s world.

  She looked for Howard. He was a no-show at her arrival home, leaving her to guess he was curled up on the bed. The lazy bum had the right ide
a.

  She took off her sneakers and stashed them in the hall closet. Next order of business was another cup of coffee. In the kitchen, she dropped a pod into her single drip coffee maker.

  After she stirred generous drop of milk into her coffee, Kelly grabbed a cookie and then walked out of the kitchen and to the dining room table where her laptop was setup. She settled down and opened her Word document program.

  One of the things that had been at the top of her to-do list for the website was to create a regular newsletter. And not just any newsletter. She wanted to create one that her customers would find value in, and when it landed in their inboxes, it would be the first email they opened. She knew it was a lofty goal for a newsletter, but it was good to have goals.

  She opened her file of content ideas for the newsletter and read through the list. Special events, pop-up sales, fashion tips, the perks of decluttering (it can bring in cash) and the benefits of buying resale. She had a good start. So now, all she had to do was start sending out newsletters on a regular basis. She’d also have to come up with catchy subject lines to catch her subscriber’s attention. Once she had their attention, she was certain she could sell to them.

  In the mood for something fun and lighthearted, Kelly chose to write about color blocking. A former hot trend, now it was an outlier just waiting for its rebirth. Color blocking was fun, whimsical, and fresh. A trend Serena detested. One day, a secretary had worn a tunic blocked in three colors—army green, black, and cream. She styled it with velour leggings and a peep-toe bootie. Perfection. So Kelly had thought. It turned out Serena hadn’t agreed. She’d marched to the secretary’s desk, tossed a gray sweater at her, and demanded she change.

  Kelly raised her fingertips from the keyboard. She needed to stop thinking about Serena and her own ill-fated career at Bishop’s. Could that have been the reason why she agreed to help Serena? To ultimately show her former boss she made a mistake in firing her?

  She shook her head. She had to stop thinking about the past. The what-ifs, the could haves and the should haves. What was of the utmost importance was the here and now. Here, she had a flourishing business, and the now was she had a newsletter to write.