“How are Tosh and Riley doing, do you think?” Jason asked.
“Mom’s presence has been a strain on an already strained relationship, but I’ll give both of them credit for trying hard. Riley has surprised me with her commitment to him and their marriage, and Tosh has surprised me with his strength in standing up to her. He’s determined that she won’t wear the pants in their marriage. She wants to be pampered and spoiled as she’s always been. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that after they work out the initial kinks they’ll be okay. And I’m trying my best to stay out of it.”
“You miss him,” Jason said.
Lacy shrugged.
He poked her shoulder. “C’mon, I know you do. You guys were tight and then he abruptly dropped off the planet.”
“I still have you,” she reminded him.
“Is it the same?” he asked.
“No. He and I did goofy stuff together,” she said.
“We can be goofy,” he said.
“You’re not goofy,” she said.
“Ouch.”
“That was a compliment.”
“If you want goofy, and I’m not, then that’s a failure on my part,” he said.
“Jason, you can’t be everything to me,” she said.
“I can try,” he said, but she could tell he was joking.
“Kimber’s here now, and that’s been a lot of fun. And Andy moved this week, so there’s that. Between the two of them, my goof quota will definitely be filled.”
“Just in case, maybe you and I should do something that you and he used to do together.” He paused. “What did you used to do together?”
“We watched a lot of TV.”
“I can watch TV,” he said.
“Sci-fi stuff,” she added.
“I’ve seen the occasional Star Trek here and there.”
“We watched Korean fantasy shows about futuristic alien cowboys who take over the earth and repopulate it with dinosaurs,” she blurted.
There was another pause, longer this time. “So, Kimber and Andy can fill that goof quotient, you say?”
She laughed and rested her head on his knee. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “I should go. I think I’ve picked as much paint from your hair as I’m likely to get today. Why don’t you leave the oil in and see if it can leech some more paint out. Whatever is left, I’ll work on tomorrow after you have your teeth out. Maybe it’ll be easier if you’re unconscious.”
“You say that to all the girls,” she said.
“Only the ones I’m dating,” he said. He kissed her once more, and then he was gone.
Chapter 3
Lacy oiled her hair. The sickening baby-fresh scent was overwhelming. She slicked it back off her face and tucked it behind her ears. For once in her life, she planned to take her mother’s advice and avoid the public eye until all the paint and oil were gone. A knock on her door a few minutes after Jason’s departure dashed her reclusive plans.
Kimber opened the door without waiting for a reply. She was followed closely by Andy—college friend and Kimber’s secret love interest. “Oh, wait, Andy. We have the wrong room,” Kimber said. “We were looking for Lacy and found the Godfather. Nice hair, Signor. Or is it El Don? Padrino? Gumba? Help me out here, I’m confused.”
“Ignoring you now and focusing on Andy,” Lacy said.
“Stop being mean, Kimber,” Andy said.
“Thank you, Andy,” Lacy said.
“You’re welcome. Should I kiss your ring now or later?” he asked.
“He’s been in town two days, and you’ve already corrupted him,” Lacy accused Kimber.
“Pshh, he was born this way,” Kimber said. She linked her arm through Andy’s and gave it a squeeze.
“It’s true, I was,” Andy said. He returned Kimber’s squeeze. Lacy tried not to beam. For the last two days, they had been nearly inseparable. She hoped that was a good sign that their relationship was moving in a more romantic direction. Before the move, they had lived in the same city for three years. Kimber hadn’t been sure Andy would follow her. Lacy had urged her to take a step of faith. She was heartened that it appeared to be working. If Andy’s move and smile were any indication, he couldn’t live without Kimber.
“So, back to your hair,” Kimber prompted.
“I had a little accident,” Lacy said. She folded her hands on her desk and tried to sound demure and nonchalant. “It was no big deal.”
Andy and Kimber shared a look. “’No big deal,’ she says,” Kimber said.
“I’m relieved to see Lacy hasn’t changed a bit,” Andy said. “Remember when we took that road trip to Gettysburg and she got her leg stuck in a cannon?”
“Remember when the bread dough expanded in her student mailbox and the entire wall had to be replaced?” Kimber paused and turned to Lacy. “Why were you mailing bread dough?”
“It was frozen. I thought it would get to my grandma overnight. I had no idea they let the mail sit there for days. That was not efficient,” Lacy said.
“Remember when she almost fell out the window?” Kimber asked. “That one was scary.”
Andy nodded. Lacy shuddered. She didn’t like to remember that one. “Whoa, look at the time, and me with all this work to do,” she said, motioning to her empty desk.
“We should let you go. That hair’s not going to oil itself,” Kimber said.
Andy poked her. “Remember why we came.”
“Oh, right, we wondered if we could change the time of supper tonight because of the meeting,” Kimber said.
“What meeting?” Lacy asked.
“The emergency town council meeting,” Kimber said. “It’s all over town. I can’t believe you haven’t heard about it.”
Lacy pointed to her head. “Busy morning. Why is there an emergency town council meeting?”
“To talk about the protesters,” Kimber said.
Lacy’s forehead dropped to her desk with a loud thunk. “This is not good.” Some members of the town council had been gunning for the Stakely building since its inception. For whatever reason, they were threatened by all the changes taking place in the community. They blamed Lacy and had been trying to find a way to shut down the Stakely building. Every month their tactics became seedier and more underhanded.
“It’s going to be fine,” Kimber said with uncharacteristic optimism. “We’ll be there to support you.”
“For sure,” Andy said. “I’d like to see somebody try and mess with you with Kimber and I standing guard.”
Lacy put her head up; it left an oil imprint on her desk. “What would you do to defend me?” She was heartened and amused by their unwavering support.
“Kimber could sculpt them maliciously, and I could mess up their tax return so bad they would never get a refund,” Andy said. “Nerd power!” He and Kimber high-fived.
“So, about supper. Are you ready to go now?” Kimber asked.
Lacy checked the clock. Time had gotten away from her. The day had been an unproductive failure. “It’s four. Who eats supper this early?”
“People who skipped lunch and are starving,” Andy said. He pressed his hand to his stomach. Lacy’s stomach rumbled in sympathy. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and that had been before her run with Jason.
“What about my head?” Lacy said.
Kimber produced a scarf from her purse and tossed it onto the desk. “I always carry a spare.”
Lacy inspected the pretty silk fabric. It was bright purple and yellow with a bold geometric pattern. It looked nothing like her and everything like Kimber. Then again, what choice did she have? She fastened it over her hair. Kimber shook her head with disapproval.
“Girl, you look like someone’s Russian grandma. How do you take something stylin’ and make it dowdy?”
“It’s a gift,” Lacy said. She sat still while Kimber rearranged the scarf. Under Kimber’s magic touch, the scarf covered all of her hair and still managed to look cute, as if Lacy were wearing it because she w
anted to and not because she was trying to cover an oil slick the size of the Exxon Valdez.
“Is there a back exit to this place?” Andy asked. “Because we should probably try to sneak you past the angry-looking mob of protesters out front.”
“There’s a back exit, but we still have to walk around the front to go anywhere,” Lacy said.
“Maybe they won’t recognize you under the scarf,” Kimber said.
“They’ve seen enough of me this morning to memorize my moles,” Lacy said. “But we’ll hope for the best.”
“Try not to fall and draw attention to our escape,” Kimber said.
“It’s only a few feet,” Lacy said. “What are the chances that I’ll…”
Kimber held up a hand and shook her head. “Don’t even say it. Just stand between me and Andy and we’ll hold onto you.”
Lacy didn’t say so, but anytime the three of them were together they drew attention. Her porcelain complexion and red hair were a stark contrast to Kimber’s ebony skin and Andy’s Asian heritage. They were a walking multicultural club, which was coincidentally where they had met Andy during their freshman year of college.
“Do you need to call Jason? Can he make it on such short notice?” Kimber asked.
“Jason’s not coming,” Lacy said, trying hard to bite back her disappointment. “Duty calls.”
“It always does,” Kimber remarked, more to herself than to Lacy. Kimber had opinions about things and had never been shy in expressing them. However she had made a concerted effort to stay out of Jason and Lacy’s relationship. It helped that she liked Jason and had known him for as long as Lacy had--since kindergarten.
“Let’s go,” Andy said. He and Kimber flanked Lacy as they sneaked downstairs, out the back exit, and around the front of the building. Lacy kept her head down. She felt someone’s eyes on her, similar to the feeling she’d had that morning in the shower. When she turned to look, one of the protesters returned her gaze. He was a tall man, probably in his mid-thirties, with a mustache and green canvas coat. His eyes on Lacy were intent, his stare unwavering. Lacy felt a moment of panic that he would alert his fellow protesters to her presence, but he remained mute.
“Don’t look at them,” Andy whispered, nudging her gently with his elbow.
He was right. She turned back around and faced forward, allowing Kimber and Andy to whisk her away like a participant in the Witness Protection Program. They kept up the Secret Service routine until they reached the restaurant. Since it was only four, the restaurant was barely occupied. They were seated in a booth right away.
“What’s good here?” Andy asked.
“Nothing,” Kimber and Lacy answered together.
“Why are we here?” Andy asked.
“It’s what’s within walking distance. To get to the good restaurants, you have to drive to the outskirts of town—that’s where you’re find the diner, the Greek place, and the Italian place,” Lacy said.
“Are the Greek and Italian places at least authentic?” Andy asked.
“Oh, no, they don’t serve Greek and Italian. The Italian place does tacos, and the Greek place does Italian,” Lacy said.
“I’m going to stop asking questions now,” Andy said.
“Your next goal should be to bring a good restaurant downtown,” Kimber said. “The Stakely building still has room, and the ice cream place does a good business.”
“I’m saving that space for a bakery,” Lacy said.
“Girl, there’s more to life than baked goods,” Kimber said.
“I hear your words, but I don’t understand their meaning,” Lacy said.
“I thought your grandma bakes,” Andy said.
“She does, and she’s phenomenal, but she makes a certain kind of food—homey, comforting--chocolate chip cookies and banana bread, that sort of thing. I would like to have someone who does French pastries to give the place some distinction. And if fresh chocolate croissants were mere steps from my door every morning, then everyone wins,” Lacy said.
“Keep them away from me,” Kimber said. “I’d like to keep my pants size. In fact, I’d like to lose a size.”
“Your pants look good from where I’m sitting,” Andy said.
“I’m wearing a skirt,” Kimber pointed out with a smile.
“That looks good, too,” Andy said.
Lacy smiled into her menu. The seat beside her jostled. She looked up in time to see Michael slide in beside her. “Mind if I join you?” he asked.
“Did you follow us?” Lacy blurted. He had a habit of showing up wherever she was, much to Jason’s irritation.
“No, I followed the man who followed you,” Michael said. He picked up her menu and studied it.
“What? Which man?” she asked.
“The one lingering shadily by the door,” Michael said. “Don’t look at him. You three are miserable at surveillance. He’s one of the protesters.”
Lacy turned back around. She hadn’t seen the man, but she could guess which one he was. “Is he wearing a green canvas coat?”
“Yes,” Michael said. “How did you know? Has he been giving you problems?”
“No, but I noticed him staring at me when we left. It was an odd sort of stare, like he was trying to communicate telepathically or something,” Lacy said.
“Did you tell your boyfriend about it?” Michael asked.
“No. It just happened, but I probably won’t anyway. I mean, obviously the protesters are a bit off. Jason’s already on high alert. It wouldn’t do to make him paranoid, especially when he’s working late tonight. He would worry.”
“Maybe he should,” Michael said.
Lacy nudged him. “It’s weird when you’re serious.”
“You don’t take your safety seriously enough,” he said.
“You sound like Jason.”
“He’s jealous and overbearing with the protectiveness, but that doesn’t invalidate his point,” Michael said. “You’re in the public eye, and that makes you a target. And most of the time you’re blissfully unaware of your surroundings.”
“I am not,” Lacy argued. “I’m always aware.”
He set down the menu and turned to face her. “Without looking, tell me everyone who is in the restaurant right now.”
“There’s us and the waitress and, um, I think there was a couple in the corner,” she said.
He shook his head. “There are nine people besides our group, and you willfully ignored the biggest threat to your health and safety. Shocking.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked, but as she looked over her shoulder, she saw them. Probably because they were waving hard enough to land a plane on a freighter.
“Yoo-hoo, Lacy,” Rose, her grandmother’s friend, boomed above the quiet chatter. “Nice to see you out with another one of your men!”
“What’s she got on her head?” Gladys stage whispered.
“I think she’s trying to go incognito,” Janice replied. “Probably so Jason won’t hear about it.”
“I knew they wouldn’t last,” Gladys added.
Lacy waved and added a weak, “Hi.” She gestured helplessly toward Michael to show that she would come over if not for his presence blockading the booth.
“You’re not going to go talk to them?” Michael asked. “I’ll be glad to move so you can get by.”
“Move, and you’re dead to me,” Lacy threatened.
“Do you think one of us should go talk to the creepy protester guy?” Andy asked. “He shouldn’t be following you around.”
“The stranger has a point,” Michael said. He craned his neck to the entrance. “But the creepy stalker is gone.”
“Andy Kyun, this is Michael O’Donnell, Michael, Andy,” Kimber said. “Andy’s a friend from college.”
“And our town’s newest resident,” Lacy added.
“Welcome to the funhouse,” Michael said. “Do you have any eligible sisters you could bring with you?”
“Sorry, I’m an only child,
” Andy said. “I have some cousins, but they only speak Korean.”
“Even better,” Michael said.
The two men laughed and the waitress came to take their orders. To Lacy, the evening could only have been better if Jason had been able to join them. She, Kimber, and Andy kept the conversation flowing. It wasn’t until later that she would realize how unnaturally quiet Michael had become, and it wasn’t until much later that she would understand how ominous silence could be.
Chapter 4
Lacy was exhausted, but sleep wouldn’t come. Her wisdom teeth extraction loomed early in the morning, and that made her anxious. The town council meeting had been a disaster; it kept replaying through her head, adding to her frustration and anxiety.
After a pleasant supper with her friends, the quartet had walked to the meeting down the block. The protesters were already there and screaming out unintelligible gibberish. The man who had followed Lacy was there, hovering at the edge of the group. He stared hard at Lacy again, but didn’t approach. Andy wanted to talk to him, but Lacy waved away his concern. She felt sure that the man’s apparent fixation was due to a misunderstanding. For whatever reason, the protesters thought she was a wealthy CEO of the Stakely Corporation. She was wealthy, but she was no one’s CEO. She was a landlord and, more importantly, the facilitator of community revitalization. It was that revitalization that made the people inside the building angry with her. They were unhappy with the changes taking place in town lately.
When she walked inside and saw the mayor and Detective Arroyo sitting together, she knew she was in trouble. The speed with which the meeting had come together, combined with the vitriolic attitude of the crowd, was now easily explained. Her list of enemies was small but powerful. The town’s power players hated her for varied and nefarious reasons. While they hadn’t attacked her directly, they were obviously in charge of tonight’s meeting. Throughout the whole meeting, neither of them said a word, but they didn’t have to. The other people at the meeting were properly fired up. They spent a long while listing their complaints. While they spoke, Kimber and Michael went to work rounding up Lacy’s supporters. The meeting had been so hasty that only those with grievances had been able to organize. As the meeting wore on, people who were happy with the Stakely building and the town’s progress began to stream in so that by the time it was Lacy’s turn to speak and defend herself, the crowd had an equal number of supporters and detractors.
Wedding Day of Murder Page 3