Pecan Pie and Deadly Lies (An Adams Grove Novel)

by Naigle, Nancy

  She ducked inside the tent. A few people mingled at tall bar-height tables that lined each side of the stage. A lit marquee listed half a dozen names. She recognized only one of them. CDs were stacked next to the marquee, free for the taking. Arty was pimping them in a big way, but then that’s what he was known for. A young woman stood in the center of the stage singing with only an acoustic guitarist, and she sounded great. Not something just anyone could pull off.

  Kasey wished she had her good camera equipment with her. It would’ve made an awesome picture. The brunette beauty had the look and the chops. Arty sure seemed to know how to pick them, but she didn’t see any signs of him out here. She took her small camera from her purse and took a couple of pictures.

  A bartender served drinks near the entrance looking bored, and heavy hors d’oeuvres filled tables nearby. The few guests who were out here listening were probably record-label types and the girls on their arms were about half their ages.

  She wished now that she’d done the selfish thing and had Cody come with her. She always felt so awkward at these kinds of parties by herself. She headed for the house hoping Arty would be inside.

  A small crowd gathered there. It was a mix of everything from evening gowns to blue jeans. She was somewhere in the middle in her black pants and dressy blouse, and that suited her fine. Good jewelry was always a blessing. Having Grem as her personal style consultant in Kasey’s formative shopping years had given her a champagne taste for the good stuff, but she’d mastered dressing up and down with accessories instead of closets full of clothes over the years out of necessity. With the amount of travel and varied activities the photo shoots called for, accessorizing was a must. Plus, she’d much rather have an extra suitcase of camera equipment than clothes.

  A waiter stopped and offered her a glass of wine, which she accepted. She took a sip and glanced around the room for a familiar face. Several people congregated around a fountain of chocolate, dipping fruit with silver tongs and trying not to make a mess. It looked like a hassle, but there were also rows of gold-rimmed china with fruit that had already been dipped. She chose one of those instead.

  Arty stood across the room holding a glass of brown liquor, swirling it in the air as he talked with his hands like he was known to do. She suspected if someone tied Arty’s arms behind his back, he would fall mute.

  By the expressions on the people listening to his story, that might be a welcome gift right about now.

  Kasey recognized a couple photographers clearly here to work the party. Although she’d been invited as a guest tonight, she’d have been much more comfortable if she had been here to photograph rather than mingle.

  She heard her name, and turned around.

  Arty had spotted her. He was waving his arms in the air and calling out to her, motioning her over.

  She smiled and worked her way across the room.

  Arty introduced her to the group. “Sit,” he said as he gestured to the huge half circle of leather he called a couch. The publisher of the book she and Cody had done for the tour was there and it was the first time they’d met in person.

  “We love what you did with the photographs for the tour book,” he said.

  “Thank you. It was fun to do.”

  “Where is Cody? Isn’t he going to be here tonight? Did you know your book is up for an award this year?” The publisher scanned the room, then leveled a stare at Arty. “I thought you said he’d be here.”

  Arty looked flustered. “He was going to try to fit it in, but he’s on the road. Doubtful.”

  Kasey knew Cody would love to see Arty squirming right now. She was so tempted to take a picture.

  “I’ll tell him when I see him,” Kasey said.

  “Please do. We’d love to hire you to do a couple other tour books for us.” The publisher handed her his card. “Let’s get together and talk about it.”

  She knew Arty would kill her if she squashed the offer right here so she accepted the card knowing full well she wouldn’t be able to do another job like that now.

  The book guy turned to talk to someone else and Arty sidled up to her.

  “You’ve spoken to Cody?” he asked.

  “Yeah, saw him this morning.” She was enjoying making Arty feel a little uncomfortable under the circumstances. Her phone vibrated and fear pricked her nerves. “Excuse me. I need to take this call.” She glanced at the display. It was Riley. She answered the call and moved quickly toward a door to go outside where she’d be able to hear.

  “Is everything okay?” Her voice shook.

  “It’s fine. I didn’t mean to scare you. Jake wants to check on you. Do you have just a minute?” Riley asked. “It’s noisy. Are you already at the party?”

  “Yeah. I am.” Kasey let out a breath and placed her hand on her racing heart. “Thank God, everything’s okay. Of course I’ll talk to him.” She shifted the phone and walked over to one of the garden benches. Jake came on the line and they spoke for a few minutes. He didn’t seem the least bit worried about being away from home and that was a relief.

  “I love you ten and five, Mom.”

  Those had been the biggest numbers in his world when he first started saying it. Now it was just their little secret code. She loved it when he said that. “I love you too, Jake.”

  The door she’d walked out of had locked behind her so she walked around until she found an unlocked entrance and ducked back inside. It was a little like being in the middle of a carnival on a weekend now that more people had shown up. The bartenders were tossing bottles and serving up drinks with all the flair of a Vegas bar, and the music from outside comingled with an acoustic set being played inside.

  Kasey went to get a refill, but two people arguing in the hall caught her attention. A brunette had her back to Kasey and Arty was clearly not happy with her. Whoever the girl was, she sounded like she didn’t want to be here tonight. Kasey couldn’t blame her really. It wasn’t her kind of thing either, but Arty probably expected all of his people to show up and make the effort. Evidently, something wasn’t going according to plan.

  She saw him catch her staring. She slowly turned, pretending to have been scanning the room. That was embarrassing. A tall man walked over to her with a longneck beer and struck up a conversation. Someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around to find one of the guys she’d done shoots with several times over the years.

  “It is you!”

  Kasey brightened. “Andy Lawrence. It’s great to see you.”

  Andy glanced at the guy. “Am I interrupting?”

  “No. We were just chatting.” She turned to the stranger. “Will you excuse me?”

  He nodded and Kasey turned back to Andy. “It’s great to see you,” Kasey said. She rose on tiptoe and gave him a hug and whispered into his ear. “You couldn’t have had better timing. Thanks.”

  He smiled. “Haven’t seen you in way too long. How’s business?”

  “Great. I didn’t know you knew Arty Max.”

  He laughed. “Once Arty decides you can get him some airtime or press, he kind of makes you a friend whether you like it or not.”

  She nodded. “I know what you mean.”

  “I saw the pictures you did of Cody Tuggle. They were smokin’.”

  “Thanks. That means a lot coming from you.” Andy’s camera hung over his shoulder. “You’re shooting tonight. Great.”

  “Yeah. Told him I’d take some candids while I was here.” He took a step back. “Smile for me.”

  She raised her glass, and let him take a picture of her. “Cha-ching.”

  “I like the sound of that. I hope tonight brings some cha-ching in. Jobs have been a little tight lately.” He looked at the picture. “Thanks. That’s a good one. I’ll send you a copy.” He looked past her and turned back with an apologetic expression. “Oops. There’s Dustin. I gotta run. We need to catch up sometime.”

  “I’d like that.” He moved through the crowd and she saw his flash go off as a crowd of peop
le surrounded Arty’s latest act.

  She glanced at her watch. It was almost nine thirty and the quiet little gathering she’d walked into was now a high-pitched thrum of action.

  She’d done her duty. She’d made nice with the book people, and Arty saw her. She could leave at any time, and now seemed like the perfect moment to make her exit.

  CHAPTER TEN

  The tires squealed as Cody swerved through the familiar curves of the road back to Arty’s estate. He accelerated out of the second one a little too tight and then he slammed on his brakes to avoid rear-ending a long line of cars.

  How did I forget about that damn party tonight?

  He’d been so focused on giving Arty a piece of his mind immediately that he’d forgotten all about the stupid party, but he’d come too far to turn back now. If he didn’t settle this tonight, he’d surely explode.

  Cody threw the shifter into reverse and turned around. From the main road he took the second entrance that only a few people knew about that led down to the barn. It wasn’t well-marked, but the feed trucks used it and it led right back out to the house. He forced himself to slow down on the pitted gravel bed road. Once he passed the barn and got near the homestead another line of cars waited to be valeted.

  By the time he’d handed off the car and neared the main house it was clear there was no way inside without passing through a long line of cameras, and he was about at the end of his patience. Cody recognized the song playing in the big tent out front. It was Dustin. The kid was probably on cloud nine. Cody remembered when he was first starting out. Those tent gigs were as exciting as all get-out. The first taste of celebrity. It was like a drug and Arty was the king of doling it out in doses that kept you inspired to work your ass off.

  Cody veered off to the left of the front door toward the row of cottages. He knew the way well. One of those cottages was named after him, and he’d stayed there plenty of times over the years. The side entrance into the main house was just on the other side of the back gardens down a lit path.

  There wasn’t a soul out here. He opened the glass-paneled door and slipped inside with the other guests. At six foot four, blending in with the crowd wasn’t all that easy. For once it would have been nice to be average height. He stayed to the outside of the crowd, looking across the top for that weasel of an agent of his. At least if he was in here he could get him into the office for a semiprivate conversation.

  A server offered him a drink from her tray, but Cody refused. He pushed his hands in his pockets and kept an eye out for Arty.

  “Cody! My man.”

  The slap on his back caught him off guard. Cody spun around to face Arty.

  “I thought that was you, but you swore you weren’t going to be here. So glad you had a change of heart,” Arty mused.

  It was all Cody could do not to coldcock him right here in the middle of the room. His blood boiled. “I need a word with you.”

  “What’s the matter, buddy?” Arty motioned to the group of people to his left. “This man right here. He’s a good man. And you, my friend,” Arty motioned to a man in a blue shirt and his platinum blonde arm candy, “you two are staying in the cottage that his fame built. Wait until you hear the next album. Amazing. Maybe I’ll sneak you a little demo to listen to while you’re here.”

  You’re so full of shit. I haven’t even given you any material from the new album yet. Tell the people what they want to hear. That’s just the way you roll, isn’t it? Cody tried to restrain his anger but every muscle in his body clenched.

  “It’s so nice to meet you,” the man said. His wife stood there practically weeping from nerves, unable to even utter a word.

  It happened all the time and it still made him uncomfortable when people acted like that. Didn’t they realize it was just as awkward for him as it was for them to meet someone new?

  “Nice to meet y’all,” Cody said, then turned back to Arty. “I need to talk to you. Now.”

  “Sure. Let me find the editor.” Arty craned his neck searching.

  “Now, Arty.”

  “Shh.” Arty gave him a look. “Not so loud. You’re not going to make a scene, are you? Just hang on a minute.”

  Cody grabbed Arty by the collar of his jacket and pushed him toward the office.

  “What the hell are you—” Arty tugged away from Cody’s grip.

  “I asked nicely. I said we need to talk.”

  “Fine.” He straightened his suit jacket, and placed his empty glass onto a waiter’s tray as he walked by. “What’s got you all riled up?”

  Arty walked under his own power into the office, but Cody was hot on his heels.

  “Want to know what’s got me riled up? You, damn it.” Cody leaned back against the door to close it, then moved toward Arty.

  Arty was no fool, he was already slithering around to the other side of his desk like the worm he was. “Me? What the hell? I’m just throwing a party. A party you said you weren’t coming to, if I recall. What’s the problem?”

  “You lying sack of sh—”

  “Whoa. You just need to calm down.”

  Cody lunged across the desk with his finger just inches from his pointed nose. “Why didn’t you tell me? What else have you kept from me all these years?”

  Arty bobbed out of direct alignment with Cody’s loaded finger. “What are you talking about?”

  “I went to see Lou today.” Cody watched the color drain right out of the man’s face. “Yeah. I know.”

  “Lou?” Arty’s breathing got heavy like he’d been running, and if he was smart he would’ve been.

  Fury almost choked him. So much that he could barely get the words out. “Don’t play stupid with me. You know who she is.”

  “That’s who you went to see?” He lowered his head and mumbled, “I ought to have Annette’s ass for this.”

  “This isn’t about Annette, Arty. It’s about you. You. Your lies.”

  “I told you to leave the past where it was. She was bad news the first time.” Arty’s voice got calmer. “Trust me. She’s not worth causing a scene over. Calm down. Sit.” He motioned Cody toward the chair on the other side of the desk. “Sit.”

  “Don’t play that psycho-calm crap on me. You never told me she had a daughter.”

  “Annette should have stayed out of this. She knows how I feel about dredging up things from the past.”

  “Annette? Arty, you’re the one who lied to me. These are things from my past. Things I had a right to know about.”

  “I didn’t lie.” Arty shook his finger. “No. I didn’t. I just didn’t get around to telling you, or did I? Are you sure I never told you she had a kid?”

  “I think I’d have remembered something like that, Arty.” Cody picked up the award he’d won for song of the year, the one he’d written after that breakup.

  Arty looked at him as if daring him to do anything to the coveted award.

  Cody threw it across the room, causing the picture on the wall to crash to the ground. “You had plenty of time to tell me she married Mr. SpaghettiO. I guess the rest just slipped your mind.”

  “That was my award!”

  “No… It was my award. I earned that.”

  “Calm down. You’re making way more out of this than it’s worth.”

  “I thought you didn’t like Lou, but really you just didn’t like her being around. You paid her to stay away from me?”

  “No. I didn’t.”

  “I saw the house. That’s one heck of a payment plan.” He ran his hand across his chin. “She said she appreciates how comfortable we’ve made her all these years. Basically, you could say you’re the reason we didn’t stay together.”

  “No. You’re the reason y’all didn’t stay together. Remember, you wanted to be on the road. I got that for you. Your dream. I made it happen.” Arty plopped down into his desk chair. “You’d be nothing if I hadn’t helped you. Lou wasn’t helping you get it. Anything not helping is hurting. Just sayin’.”

  Ar
ty’s cool mocking hung in the air.

  Cody’s jaw pulsed. “You never liked her.”

  Arty cocked his head and gave a glassy stare. “Oh, my friend, that’s where you’re very wrong. But what I did do was save your sappy, lovelorn ass more angst than you had. You should probably be thanking me.”

  “For lying? Keeping secrets about Lou’s daughter? Paying for that house? How did you even do that without me knowing the money was gone? Hell, what else have you skimmed off the top?”

  “Hold it right there, Cody.” Arty stood and straightened his jacket. “I never took a dime from you.”

  “Don’t lie anymore. It’s over. I know. I met Amy today. Lou told me you paid for the house. It’s a nice house too. You must’ve felt guilty as hell. But Arty, it wasn’t any of your business. You had no right. You own part of my career, but not my life.”

  “I had every right.”

  “There’s a line.”

  “What’s the difference Cody? It was over. She was no good.”

  “I had a child.” Cody licked his lips and tried to hold back the tears. “I’m a father.”

  “What?”

  “What do you mean, what? Just because I didn’t know about it doesn’t make it untrue. How could you not have told me I had a daughter? You let me go all that time thinking I broke that girl’s heart. You told me she’d moved on, gotten married. You led me to believe she was happily married and you knew that wasn’t the case, didn’t you?” Cody slammed his fist into the back of the chair. “Damn you, Arty.”

  “But you—” Arty started.

  “And you paid her all these years. Jesus, Arty. What kind of jackass do you think I am? I’d have done right by them. It was not your place to do this.”

  “I was thinking of your career.”

  “Like hell. You were thinking about your wallet.”

  “Cody. Stop. Listen to me.” Arty cleared his throat. “She’s not your daughter.”

  “I don’t know how I’m supposed to fix this, but I will.”

  “Cody, you’re not her father.”

  “I met her. She told me her birthday. I can do the math. And Lou said she had you and me to thank for that fancy house.”