For Pete's Sake

by Shannon Esposito

  “Maybe we should just box this up and call it a night,” I said.

  He shook his head, coming back to the moment. “Yeah, sorry. Didn’t mean to drift on you.”

  I signaled for the waitress. “Don’t be sorry. We both need some sleep. We’ll start fresh in the morning.”

  Will walked me down the sidewalk, back to the townhouse gate. We turned to each other, and he took my hands in his. I fell forward to rest against his chest, thinking about spending the night there.

  He rubbed my neck and kissed the top of my head. “Remember, don’t ask Margie Bealle any questions about Vanek tomorrow. You’re just trying to get a feel for what type of person she is.”

  When I didn’t respond, he said, “Darwin? Promise me.”

  I breathed in his slightly salty scent. “Promise,” I groaned into his chest. I hoped I could keep that promise.

  When I came through the door, Goldie and Petey greeted me like I’d been gone a month. I knelt and wrapped my arms around Goldie, letting her lick my chin. “That’s a good girl. I missed you, too.”

  Petey was jumping and scratching at my leg. I smiled and lifted him up to give him a cuddle, though I knew I should be trying to teach him not to jump up on people. Just because he was knee-high to a grasshopper didn’t mean he shouldn’t have manners.

  “What in the world does Mallory have you dressed in now?” I laughed as I held him out and eyed the blue flannel pajamas covered in hearts.

  Willow peered over the kitchen counter. “Hey, Mallory has something she wants to show you. Could be important.”

  “Besides Petey’s new outfit?” One last snuggle and I reluctantly put Petey down. Now I saw why people carry these toy breeds around instead of letting them walk on their own four paws. They were like living stuffed animals.

  Both dogs trotted after me into the living room, Petey’s little legs moving double time to keep up. I plopped down next to Mallory on the sofa. Lucky was stretched out behind her, so I stroked her tail as I asked, “What’s up?”

  “Hang on.” She clicked the keyboard on her laptop and then turned it to face me. “Check this out. I was going through the photos on the flash drive again and noticed this.”

  “How do you have the photos?” I asked, surprised.

  “I copied them to my computer. That’s not the point. Look.” She pointed to a black sports car parked next the van and zoomed in.

  I glanced from the screen to her skeptically. “A guy sitting in a car?”

  “Yeah. Not just a guy though, check this out.” She scrolled to the next photo. It was a better angle so I could see the dark-haired man wasn’t alone. There was also a blonde woman in the car with him. Mallory scrolled to the next image and zoomed in. They were kissing. Then she quickly moved to the next image. “Here. This is a good shot of her face.”

  I leaned closer to the screen. She was right, this one was really clear and you could see the blonde’s face. She had her mouth open, laughing at something.

  “Oh,” I said, surprised. “That’s Daisy. The dark-haired man must be her boyfriend, Lincoln. Will and I were just at Daisy’s apartment tonight.” I stared at the image and shrugged. “I don’t think this means anything though. They’re dating and Lincoln is at the shelter all the time. Nothing out of the ordinary here, no scandal.”

  Mallory’s body sunk deeper into the sofa, like it’d grown heavy. “Shoot. I was hoping it was some politician or something caught red-handed with his mistress.”

  “No, sorry. Lincoln’s just a model and vet tech.” A wave of her disappointment washed over me.

  Willow came over and handed me a cup of tea. “You need to lay off those romance novels, Mal.”

  “Very funny,” Mallory grumbled.

  “Thanks.” I gratefully accepted the steaming cup from Willow. Closing my eyes, I inhaled the mango scent. The tension in my muscles released a bit.

  We sat silently for a few minutes and tried to think of any reason those photos would be relevant to Peter’s case.

  We all came up empty.

  Mallory closed the laptop with a sigh and turned to me. “Well, since none of us will be able to sleep tonight anyway, Willow and I are going to help you practice. You need to learn the technique Grandma Winters taught us after you left.”

  Willow chimed in. “She’s right, Darwin. Since this woman is coming at us from the water, we feel like you’re our best protection.”

  “I know and I have been practicing,” I said defensively.

  Willow stared at me in that patient way she had of dealing with the dense and clueless. “And how’s it going?”

  I squinted at her over the tea cup. “You know how it’s going.”

  “Exactly why you need our help.” Willow stood. “Let’s go. You’ll thank us one day.”

  I reached down and scooped up Petey, who’d crashed on my foot. “Fine.”

  Mallory climbed the stairs behind me, cradling Lucky on her shoulder. “You know what Grandma Winters says, ‘You must practice your power until you become the power.’”

  I glanced back at her as Goldie pushed past me to get to the bed first. “What does that even mean?”

  And what does it mean that Grandma Winters wasn’t even our grandmother but instead some guardian sent to make sure we didn’t destroy our world?

  “You’ll understand when it happens,” Willow said patiently.

  I rolled my eyes. I was too tired for this. Heading to my bedroom first, I tucked Petey into his crate and gave Goldie a good night belly rub as she stretched out on my pillow. “It’s all yours tonight, girl.”

  My sisters were waiting for me in the hall. As I opened the door to my practice room, I had a thought. “Do you think we’re actually dangerous?”

  Willow nudged me inside. “Any kind of power is dangerous if it’s not used with the right intention.”

  Mallory and I glanced at each other and grinned, repeating the words that had been drummed into us by Grandma Winters since childhood, “The power lies in the intention.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Friday morning I stood at the boutique counter, a bowl of water in front of me. Well, leaned against the counter was more like it. I was truly exhausted. After having a bit of success last night with control, Willow had suggested I try practicing today while dealing with normal daily distractions. It would require more focus. I wasn’t sure the frustration levels I was currently feeling were everyday normal, but I was trying anyway.

  I closed my eyes and reached out with my mind, searching for the connection with the water, but Mallory’s conversation with Patrice Patterson in the nearby fish and bird aisle was the only thing I could focus on. Patrice had the sharp laugh of a parrot. Very distracting. I took a deep breath and blew it out. Petey barked in his fenced area behind me. I startled.

  This was not working. I closed my eyes again and the bells jangled on the front door. I opened my eyes.

  Sylvia stumbled toward me in sweat pants and dark glasses, her long hair pulled up into a disheveled ponytail.

  “Sylvia!” I gasped. The water sloshed out of the bowl, wetting the front of my white sundress. I jumped back.

  No control at all. Great.

  I raced around the counter and embraced Sylvia in a careful hug. She sniffled on my shoulder as I rubbed her back. “What are you doing here? I mean, it’s good to see you and all. But, I thought we agreed it wasn’t a good idea for you to be here.”

  I hoped she wasn’t going to make another attempt to work. The dark cloud hanging over her would scare the customers.

  She mumbled something in Portuguese and pulled off her sunglasses.

  I tried not to react to her swollen eyes and lack of makeup. Sylvia would normally never leave her house without makeup on. Even as bad off as she’d been on Tuesday, she’d still made an effort with some waterproof mascara. Today, nada. This was a real bad sign of her deteriorating mental state.

  Opening her bag, she dropped her sunglasses in and pulled out a Kleenex. �
�My mother, my cousins, my aunts … they are driving me insane.” She blew her nose hard. “I had to get away from the negativity.”

  I took her hand and led her over to the tea table, then stifled a gasp of surprise as she climbed into the chair. Oh heavens, she was worse off than I thought. “Um, Sylvia? Do you know you’re not wearing shoes?”

  She glanced down at her feet and shrugged. “What do shoes matter?”

  I cringed and glanced around for help. What do I do? I patted her arm. “You stay right here, I’m going to make you some special tea.”

  I raced into the storage room, pulling out a bottle of emergency flower essence.

  Mallory followed me into the storage room. “Where’s the fire?”

  “Sitting at the tea table. It’s Sylvia and she’s not wearing shoes.” As Mallory’s eyes widened, I raced back to Sylvia.

  I made the tea and added ten drops of flower essence—and then ten more for good measure. I also tried to calm my mind enough to infuse some calmness into the water.

  “Sylvia?” I touched her arm.

  She was staring out the window. Slowly, she moved her puffy, red eyes to me, her expression slack.

  “Drink this.”

  She looked down at the cup and took it like she was moving through quicksand.

  I stared at her in disbelief as I watched her sip the tea. Is this what love does to people?

  “Sylvia, listen to me. You are a strong woman, and you’re going to get through this no matter what happens. You will survive this.”

  Her eyes met mine, and I saw at least a flicker of the fire I knew was in there. “I don’t want to just survive. I want to have a life with the man I love, with Landon. What is good about just surviving?”

  I reached over and squeezed her hand. “Well, have you thought about just marrying him anyway? I mean, plenty of people go against their parents’ wishes when they marry someone. It’s your life after all.”

  She smiled sadly. Her head dropped in defeat. “It would kill my mother. Literally. She would die … heart attack, stroke, whatever … she physically would not survive me going through with a marriage that she believes is cursed. And she would never forgive me.” Sylvia bit her lip hard. Tears welled up in her dark eyes, and her voice cracked as she added, “She would die and then she would haunt me. No. I simply cannot do it.”

  I wanted to say she didn’t know for sure her mother would never forgive her, but she knew her mother best. And if she truly believed that, she’d never take the chance. Back to the original plan. “Okay but we’re getting closer to finding Peter’s killer, so don’t give up hope yet.”

  Her eyes flicked up to meet mine. “You know it is Friday?” she asked tentatively. “We’d have to have the wedding by Monday if it’s going to happen. My family has early flights out Tuesday morning.”

  “I know.” Staring at my devastated friend, I pursed my lips. It was time to take that leap of faith. “You know what, Sylvia? You and Landon just start planning the wedding for Monday evening. Call Frankie. She has your cake and everything stored at the resort. Tell her to start unthawing and unwrapping. She’ll help you. Will and I’ll have Peter’s murderer behind bars by then, I promise.” Once the words were out of my mouth, it felt less like a leap of faith and more like a sudden fall to certain death. Too late now. “Do you think you can do that?” I tried to exude more confidence than I felt.

  “Well …” she shook her head and then looked into my eyes. Whatever she saw there must’ve given her some hope. “Frankie did say she could arrange for us to have the wedding poolside. We would just have to say the word. I told her she was crazy but … do you really think it’s possible?”

  My heart melted that Frankie believed in Will and me. “Yes, I do.” Anything is possible, right? Even the impossible. I slipped her hands in mine and squeezed. “Say the word, Sylvia.”

  There was still doubt in her eyes, but I could tell she was thinking about it.

  The bell over the door jangled. Oh thank the stars, saved by the bell.

  I smiled at the petite, gray-haired lady who’d entered. “Welcome to Darwin’s Pet Boutique, let me know …” I trailed off as my gaze fell to the dog she’d brought in with her. I slid off the chair. “Is that Felix?”

  The woman adjusted her black-framed glasses and smiled up at me. “Yes, I need to get him some grain free food and the Google says you carry it.”

  Even as I smiled at her charming, accented speech, my mind was reeling. Did Daisy give Felix away already? “Sure, follow me.”

  I took the woman to the food aisle and explained the different brands. Felix seemed to remember me, so I bent down and gave him a good scratch behind the ears.

  No trauma. Whatever happened, he was okay with it. What’s going on, boy?

  “I think this one looks good.” She pointed to a bag of dry food with a wolf on the front.

  “Good choice. Let me get that for you.” I hefted the bag onto my shoulder. “Did you need anything else today?”

  “Not today, thank you. But I’m sure we’ll be back.”

  As I led them over to the counter, I was explaining how to change Felix’s food by mixing a little with his old food at first and then adding more over the next week. But my mind was working on a way to ask her what was going on.

  I scanned the barcode on the bag. “So, Felix belongs to Daisy Beaumont right? I just met this little guy recently at her condo.”

  The woman glanced up at me with an odd expression as she pulled a credit card from her wallet. “Yes, Felix he is Daisy’s,” she chuckled, “but I wouldn’t exactly call her house a condo.”

  House? Think Darwin.

  As the receipt printed out, I squealed. “Oh look at that! You are the one thousandth customer! That means Felix gets a free birthday cake. How lucky are you?” Ignoring her startled expression, I reached beneath the counter and pulled out the cake photo album. “Just pick out one of these delicious cakes for free, and we’ll throw in same day delivery.”

  “Oh, but I don’t think it is his birthday.” She had her hand on her chest, with the dismayed expression of a woman who was quickly losing control of the situation. Which she was.

  I hurried around the counter and opened the book in front of her. “Well, it doesn’t have to say happy birthday, we can just write, ‘For a lucky dog.’ How’s that, Felix?” I bent down and let him lick my chin. “He is very excited and I don’t blame him. Dogs just love our cakes! They’re made with all natural ingredients, too so they’re healthy.”

  Good heavens, I suddenly felt like a used car salesman. It was exhausting. I left her with the book and returned to Sylvia, who was staring at me like I was two crayons short of a box.

  “That dog belongs to Daisy Beaumont,” I whispered in response to her unasked question. “A lady Will interviewed yesterday about her boyfriend’s involvement…” I suddenly realized it would take too long to explain about the missing sux and the flash drive hidden in Petey’s bear and such. And what it all may or may not mean. “You know what … it’s complicated but this may have something to do with Peter’s death. I have to see where that dog Felix lives.”

  She nodded and raised a brow. “You aren’t sleeping either are you?”

  “No, but…” I waved that off. “I’m fine.”

  “That’s debatable.” Mallory came up behind us and, after doing a double-take at Sylvia’s appearance, gave her a hug. “Are you going to tell me you’re fine, too?”

  Sylvia cracked a smile. “No.”

  “Good, I hate liars.” Mallory grinned and turned to me. “What’s up with the free cake?”

  “Just hold down the boutique for a bit, okay? That little dog there is Felix, and he belongs to Daisy Beaumont, the blonde in the car photos. Something’s up and I have to go see what.”

  “Car photos?” Sylvia asked.

  I glanced at Mallory. “Can you fill her in? I’ve got to get back over there.”

  “Sure.”

  I stood beside the w
oman. “So, have we decided?”

  She nodded and pointed at the bone-shaped one. “I guess that one’s fine. Thank you.” For someone getting a free cake, she sure seemed suspicious of my motives. Or maybe I was just projecting.

  “Great!” I pulled out an order form. “Just fill in the name and address and sign there, and we’ll get that to you later this afternoon.”

  After the woman left I took the form over to Mallory and Sylvia, who had some color back in her face at least.

  I pointed to the address on the form. “That’s one of those historic waterfront mansions on Snell Island, isn’t it?”

  Sylvia stared at the address and nodded. “Snell Harbor Drive….si. Very expensive homes.”

  Could Daisy possibly live in one of these homes and not in the condo?

  “Well, guess I better go see a cake about getting baked … or an oven about baking a cake … however the saying goes. I need to get my butt in gear and go bake a cake.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Two hours later, with the cake still warm, I pulled my VW Beetle around the brick circle drive and parked in front of the Snell Island two-story Mediterranean mansion.

  A large oak tree, strung with white lights, stood proudly in the front yard along with a giant, white-marble lion statue. The stucco exterior was a warm tangerine color with bright white trim. A rod iron railing ran along both the first and second story porches, then curved in two c-shapes along the front steps.

  I had the convertible top down, and the scents coming from all the flowering plants in the immaculate landscaping were intoxicating. No time to stop and smell the roses, though. I was a girl on a mission for the truth.

  Making my way up the steps, I peered through the leaded glass double doors as I waited for someone to answer the doorbell. The first sign of life was Felix, wagging his tail as he traversed the expansive white-marble tiled hallway toward me. I waved at him.

  As he reached the door, the lady who’d brought him into the pet boutique appeared from the right, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. She smiled at me through the glass and then opened the door. Her gray bangs were damp and sticking to her forehead and her face was flushed. She was obviously in the middle of something.