“Okay,” Noreen said. “This is where I excuse myself so you can ask Missy questions about me, and she can really talk me up.”
Noreen got on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. Carter watched her go the whole way before she disappeared in the hallway that led to the bathroom.
“Told you she was awesome,” Missy said.
“You aren’t kidding.” Carter turned back to her. “So let’s knock her down a few pegs. Tell me an embarrassing story.”
Missy didn’t. Instead, she told him about the time Noreen had backed her up in the girls’ locker room when three girls in the popular clique had cornered her and were making fun of her for being chubby. Carter was a good listener. She could tell by his eyes that he was paying attention. They made small-talk and he continued to press her for embarrassing details from Noreen’s childhood, tween, and teenaged years but Missy refused to give in.
“You are an exceptional Wing Girl,” he said.
“Never The Girl, always a Wing Girl.” Missy feigned heartbreak.
“Oh, come on.” Carter got another beer and asked the bartender to refresh Noreen’s mixed drink before she came back. “You could easily get a guy in here if you wanted.”
“The problem is, I know all these guys,” Missy said.
“So what?” Carter looked around. “Wouldn’t that make it easier? You wouldn’t be going in blind.”
“You’ve got a point.” Just as she said it, Missy looked past Carter and spotted Aaron. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt and cargo shorts and sporting a fresh haircut. Yes, he really was good-looking. He might not have been movie star handsome, but who was? And more importantly, who was she to judge in the looks department? Yes, she was cute but she was no knockout.
“Who is he?” Carter asked, without turning to see who she was looking at.
“Oh, just this guy.”
He nudged her. “Come on.”
Missy smiled. “He’s always been interested.”
“But?”
“But…I was interested in somebody else.”
“What happened with somebody else?”
“It’s complicated.” She hated it when Tyler used that phrase with her, but it really was the simplest way to explain things.
“Life’s too short for complicated.” Carter waved a hand like it was that easy to forget about Tyler Brock, her high school sweetheart and first love. “Why don’t you try this other guy?”
“Well…he’s liked me for a long time, I think, and I’d hate to try and have it not work out…it might really hurt him.”
“How old is he?” Carter asked.
“My age.”
“He’s a consenting adult, in other words.”
“Yes.”
“Then he understands the risks.”
“I don’t know…”
“What’s the worst that could happen? It doesn’t work out? Then you’re in the same position you are today.”
“True…” But Missy still wasn’t sure. She’d just never thought of Aaron that way, at least, she hadn’t until the last few days. He was nice, he was good-looking, and he cared for her. There wasn’t a spark, but maybe that was just what happened in books and movies.
“You two look way too serious right now.” Noreen appeared and looped her arm through Carter’s. “What’s up?”
“I’m trying to convince Missy to give this guy a try.”
Noreen looked at Missy sideways. “Which guy?”
“Never mind.” Missy sipped her beer. “Nobody.”
Noreen nudged her shoulder in the same spot Carter had. God, Missy thought, were they already mimicking each other a mere twenty-four hours into their relationship?
“Come on, Miss, you look hot. This guy will drool if you go up and talk to him.”
Missy had never approached a guy in a bar. She was old-fashioned, expecting the man to make the first move. But this wasn’t a random guy. This was Aaron, her friend of many years. It wouldn’t look weird for her to go up and talk to him. And if something should develop…
“Okay, I’m going.”
Noreen clapped and Carter smiled.
“Don’t watch me, though,” Missy said. “This is difficult enough.”
“Okay,” they both said.
Missy put her beer down and almost started walking over. But she realized there was no reason not to bring her beer, so she picked it back up. Then she fixed her hair. Noreen rolled her eyes and circled her hand. Hurry up.
Missy flipped her off and, beer in hand, started making her way over to Aaron. He was talking to one of his fellow EMTs, a guy Missy had seen before but didn’t know. Aaron was half-turned from her, facing his friend, so she had to tap him on the shoulder.
“Missy! What’s up?” He practically launched out of his chair to give her a hug. “Good to see you. How are you doing?”
“Better,” she said. It wasn’t a lie.
He nodded. “I knew our little talk would help.”
She laughed. “Oh yeah, all my life problems are now taken care of.”
He threw his head back and laughed too. “So lemme guess, you’ve already solved the case?”
Missy shook her head no. She didn’t really want to talk about Karen’s death with him. Missy crammed herself in next to him at the bar, briefly glancing back at Noreen. Her friend was staring wide-eyed at her. Noreen actually looked like she was shaking her head no, but Missy couldn’t be sure.
Before Aaron noticed whom she was looking at, Missy turned back to him. “There might not be anything to solve. We’ll see.”
He nodded but she could tell he was confused. His mouth opened to ask a follow-up question, but she decided to cut him off at the pass.
“So, Aaron, you got to hear about me today. But I didn’t get a chance to ask how you’ve been.” She smiled and sipped her beer, hoping she looked as sexy as Noreen drinking a beer. “I feel like we barely see each other and when we do, we barely get to talk.”
Aaron’s mouth hung open. “Uh…yeah…I’m good.”
Why was he acting so strange? Maybe after all this time of being politely rejected, he wasn’t actually prepared for her to say yes. It had to be a shock to the system.
“Work’s good?” she asked.
“Missy…”
Why was he acting so weird? She didn’t know, but she wanted to put him at ease. After all the years of saying thanks, but no thanks to him, Missy felt like she owed him.
Missy put her beer down on the bar and smiled.
“Aaron, I wanted—”
“Hey, Aaron. Who’s this?”
Missy at first didn’t register the presence of the other woman. She was petite and blond and tanned like she spent all her time outside. Missy had never seen her before.
“Lily.” Aaron put his arm around the woman’s tiny shoulders and pulled her close. “This is one of my old friends from high school, Missy.”
Lily flashed a pretty smile and offered her hand. “Heya, Missy. Nice to meet you.”
Confused, Missy shook her hand. She’d had no idea Aaron was seeing somebody. And now that she knew, she was very disappointed. Missy felt like she’d missed out on a great opportunity with Aaron. All those years she’d spent turning him down…
“Lily and I are engaged.” Aaron was so happy and so proud.
Lily stuck her other hand out to show off the ring. “I can hardly believe it myself. We’ve only been dating for two months, but we both felt it was the right time. He asked me last week and I said yes.”
How had Missy not known? In such a small town, news like this usually traveled pretty fast. Then she realized: she had been so caught up in Karen’s death, the news had probably passed her right by, maybe even had gone in one ear and out the other.
She felt so stupid.
“That’s great.” She remembered to smile. “Aaron’s a great guy. You’re very lucky.”
Aaron smiled. “Thanks, Missy. I was going to tell you, but the other night wasn’t really the best ti
me and today well, that wasn’t the best time either.”
Missy kept smiling, even though she was cringing on the inside. It made sense. The crime scene wasn’t the best place for Aaron to share his good news. And then earlier today, at the diner, Missy had been so despondent that Aaron had figured it wasn’t a good time then either.
“Congratulations,” Missy said. “When’s the wedding?”
She listened politely while they shared what few details they had. By the time she excused herself and walked away, however, she’d forgotten everything they had said after that moment. Missy just felt so stupid. After turning Aaron down for years, she’d finally decided to give him a chance after he’d gotten engaged.
Typical.
Missy walked back to Noreen and Carter. He excused himself to use the bathroom. Missy knew he was really just giving them time to talk. But she was in no mood.
“Missy, I’m sorry, I thought you’d heard…” Noreen said.
Missy smiled ruefully. “Just did. Better late than never.”
“I’m sorry, Miss.”
“Don’t be. At least I found out before I’d made a total jackass out of myself. The way things worked out, I only look like ninety-nine percent a jackass.”
“Missy…”
Missy was suddenly in no mood for the bar. She put her beer down and hugged Noreen.
“I can’t. I just can’t tonight.”
“Missy, wait. Just finish your drink at least. In ten minutes you’ll be laughing about this.”
Missy knew Noreen was right. But she also knew she had to get out of there.
“Sorry, Nor. Just not in the mood now. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Noreen frowned. “Alright.
They hugged and Missy left before Carter got back from the bathroom.
Chapter Eighteen
M issy thought about trying Mrs. Wise again, but couldn’t bring herself to call. The woman had made it very clear that she would call Missy back. And considering how she’d reacted to the mention of Connie, Missy didn’t want to push her.
She sat in her truck for a moment. As much as she wanted to leave the bar, she also didn’t feel like going home. But there wasn’t anywhere else to go. She had other friends but by now it was too late to call them to get together.
She checked the time. It was only a few minutes after nine. She knew if she went home now, her mind would not be able to rest and she’d spend the next two hours staring at the TV or rereading the same page in her novel over and over.
What she needed to do was keep herself occupied, and there was no better way to do that than continue the murder investigation. But her options were limited. She couldn’t call Paul Johnson or Mrs. Wise. She could call Connie and try to question her again, but if she didn’t have any strong evidence then the other woman was likely to blow her off. In fact, Connie was likely to blow her off unless she showed up with the police and an arrest warrant.
So she had to get to Connie another way. And the only way was through Ron Moore. It wouldn’t hurt to talk to him. He might have had some crucial piece of evidence and just not realized it. It was worth a shot.
She had his phone number and gave him a call. “Hey, Ron, it’s Missy.”
“Hello.” He was guarded, which made sense because he knew she was treating Karen’s death like a murder. “What’s up?”
“I was thinking more about Connie and…I’m trying to learn more about her.”
“Okay.”
“I don’t even know what to ask, to be honest.” Missy shook her head. “But I just have this feeling, you know?”
“Yeah. You starting to see it the way I do?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. But I feel like if we can talk about what we both know, maybe something will stand out.”
“That’s a good idea. You wanna come over?”
Missy hadn’t been expecting him to make the offer and jumped at it. “Sure.”
She almost hung up since she already had his address, courtesy of Tyler. But she didn’t want Ron knowing she already had his address, so she asked for it.
“I’ll be there in about twenty minutes, and thanks, Ron.”
“See you soon.”
***
Missy stopped in front of Ron’s house. It was an older colonial with a big chimney right in the middle. His SUV was parked in the driveway that ran up to and down the side of the house.
Before she got out of her truck, she grabbed her cell phone off the passenger seat. It reminded her of her earlier conversation with Tyler. He had asked her to let him know if she went to talk to Ron because the guy could handle himself.
Missy’s thumb hovered over the phone.
To her, it seemed obvious now that Connie, if anybody, had infected Karen with tape worms. Missy just couldn’t see Ron doing it. He had called off their engagement originally and then Karen had reached out to him in her time of confusion and need. No, she doubted it was Ron.
And besides, she was still angry with Tyler for…everything. For everything and nothing. For what had happened twenty years ago, for what hadn’t happened twenty years ago, and for what wasn’t happening now. She really just needed to move on.
Sure, she’d told herself that before but this time she really meant it. It was time. So what if she’d fallen on her face with Aaron? She hadn’t even been sure she wanted anything to happen with him anyway. It was really no big deal. By this time tomorrow, she’d—
Light spilled onto Ron’s porch when his front door opened. Missy got out of the truck and stuffed her phone into her pocket.
“Hey, Missy.”
“Hey, Ron. Thanks for seeing me on short notice.” She smiled as she closed the driver side door. “I just felt like this couldn’t wait, you know?”
He nodded. “I understand. Come on in.”
She followed him up the stairs, onto the porch, and into the house. His foyer was nice and wide and opened to a living room where a widescreen, high-def TV was airing a baseball game loudly.
“Sorry about the mess,” he said. “Get you a drink?”
In terms of guy’s places, the house wasn’t that messy. She saw some clothes draped over the back of the couch and a few plates, but nothing that creeped her out.
“What are you having?” Missy asked.
“Beer.”
She hadn’t finished her lager at Hank’s. “That sounds real good right now.”
“Have a seat.” He motioned at the couch facing the TV and then went off to get the drinks.
Missy stepped into the living room and took a quick look around. There were pictures of Ron with his parents and what she presumed were his two sisters. He also had a tiny picture of him and Karen on an end table, which looked a few years old. Probably from back when they were engaged.
It was a little odd, but not alarming considering they had started talking again following the break-up with Connie. He also might have brought it back out after Karen passed away, his way of remembering her.
Ron returned with two cold bottles of beer. She took the offered one and sipped. It was a light beer, so it agreed with her.
“That is exactly what I needed right now,” Missy said.
Ron smiled and almost laughed. He leaned against the wide threshold that separated the living room from the dining room. Missy stole a glance past him at dining table and saw another picture of him and Karen. She was too far away to get a good look at it.
“So what brings you here?” Ron asked.
Missy took another sip. She did not need the empty calories of a beer but life was more than counting calories and right now she needed it.
“Connie.” Missy put her beer down on a coaster, right next to the picture of Ron and Karen.
Ron seemed not to have heard her. His eyes were fixated on the picture of him and Karen.
“I remember every single minute of that day.”
Missy regarded the picture. They both looked so happy. Karen was leaning into him, her head upturned to gaze into his eyes
. Ron had two powerful arms around her and stared longingly into her eyes. They looked so young, so happy. Their whole lives were ahead of them.
“You two were happy.”
“Then we were. That was before.”
“Before what?”
Ron took a big gulp of his beer. Half the drink disappeared, Missy thought.
“Before…everything.”
Missy nodded. She wasn’t really here to learn more about their failed engagement but she didn’t want to press Ron to get to the point. He was very emotional and she didn’t want him to shut down on her.
“She was so jealous.” Ron stared hard at her. “But you already knew that, didn’t you?”
Missy didn’t understand why he was staring so hard at her. “Uh, no. Actually, I’d always thought you were the jealous one.”
He just continued to stare at her.
Missy laughed, hoping to lighten the mood.
Ron shook his head and did not laugh. “She lied.”
“No, when she said it, she said we have jealousy issues. I always thought that was her nice way of saying you did.”
Finally he looked way. “No, that was all her. I loved her more than anything and I didn’t care if other guys hit on her or checked her out. But she…she was just the opposite. Karen was insanely jealous.”
Missy was growing very uncomfortable. She didn’t care to listen to stories about Karen’s shortcomings. She’d come to find out if Connie had infected her with tape worms.
“It drove us apart,” Ron said. “Her self-esteem was so low, she constantly suspected me of running around on her or worrying all the time that I’d leave. You know what a self-fulfilling prophecy is?”
Missy did. All too well. “Yes.”
Ron finished the rest of his beer. Missy watched his Adam’s apple bob as he gulped. When he was done, he wiped his mouth with the back of his wrist.
“You need another?” he asked.
Missy had barely made a dent in hers. “I have a long way to go with this one.”
He shrugged. “Alright, then.”
Ron left to get himself another beer, and Missy took her phone out. Ron was acting weird. Really weird. She started a text to Tyler. She didn’t think Ron was the killer but better to be safe than sorry. Before she was done writing, though, her cell buzzed from an incoming call.
Missy DeMeanor Cozy Mysteries Boxset Page 39