by Cole,Lyndsey
Piper nodded. “Yeah. Her dad’s a detective.”
“How did I not know that?” he whispered to himself, fear in his eyes as he looked back to the menu.
Piper watched him. What was she doing here with him? Why did she really warn him away from his apartment building? And how did he evade the cops?
“There were cops watching your building. How’d you get out of it without being seen?” she asked.
He continued to study the menu. “I wasn’t home.”
Piper’s heart twisted into a knot. He wasn’t home? On the phone he told her he was. Why would he lie about that?
“I thought you said on the phone that you were?” she asked while mentally berating herself to just let it go. If he was lying about his location, maybe she didn’t want to know the truth.
He looked up quickly. “Why’d you change the time of our meeting? I thought you were working all afternoon.”
Touché.
“I quit,” she told him bluntly.
“What? You had the coolest job.” He looked shocked that she would even consider leaving the food truck business.
“It only looks like a lot of fun. But cooking the same two things seven days a week is no picnic.”
“But don’t you get to be in a different location whenever you want? And eat for free?”
Piper laughed. “I’m sorry.” She covered her mouth with her hand when he looked crushed that she laughed at his idealized version of working in a food truck. “I think everyone romanticizes working in the food industry, especially in a food truck. But there are so many licenses, it’s like, impossible to move very often, even within Emerald Island. We’ve been on that street corner for ten years. And there are only so many days a week I can eat seafood.”
“Oh. So why’d you quit?” Eli sounded too interested—like he was keeping the topic of conversation away from himself.
“Management,” Piper said, not wanting to get into the details. She barely knew Eli and he was already lying to her about something. He didn’t need to know the details of her family dynamics.
A silence hung in the air that made Piper squirm on her barstool. “Where did—” she started.
At the same time, Eli said, “I was at my sister’s.” He looked up from the menu but not at Piper. He signaled to the bartender that they were ready to order. “I’ll have a blue shark,” he ordered, then finally turned to Piper.
She was surprised he was getting a cocktail so early in the afternoon. She still had Cocktails and Canvas to go to tonight. Should she follow his lead and get something other than the beer she was eyeing?
Yes. “A purple rain,” Piper ordered. She waited for the bartender to leave their end of the bar and then asked Eli, “When were you at your sister’s?”
“When you called. I was at my sister’s. She lives in the apartment above me. So I was sort of home. I was in my apartment building.” Eli finally looked up and met Piper’s eye. She had to look away. His stare was too intense.
His excuse was reasonable. It was easier to just tell Piper he was home when he was in an upstairs apartment. But there was still the question of how he got out of his building without the cops seeing him.
“How did you get here without the cops seeing you leave the building?” Piper thought she might come across as too prying but she wanted to know.
“You told me to go out a side door or the garage. So I did. I went out the garage.” Eli shrugged. “Anything else?” He smiled. He didn’t sound like he was upset about Piper’s line of questioning.
“Actually, yes.” She didn’t want to admit that the police had been into his apartment, but even more concerning than his whereabouts when she called him was the phone Detective Bankston found in his apartment. If he wasn’t in his apartment, how did he answer her call without his phone? “The police went to your apartment and found your phone. How did you answer when I called if you weren’t home? How did you get your phone without the police knowing where you were?”
“The police were in my apartment?” Eli’s eyes glowed with fear. Or anger. Piper wasn’t sure which.
The bartender set their drinks in front of them, interrupting Eli’s near outburst.
“Yeah,” Piper said when the bartender retreated again. “Do you have two phones?” That was the easiest answer but she hoped it wasn’t true. Then it would look like Detective Bankston’s theory could be correct—that Eli had planned Wyatt’s murder and had a phone to cover his tracks.
“Yeah. I have my personal one that’s in my name and one for work. I never use the one in my name. I don’t even know why I still have it. I gave you my work number. I don’t pay for the plan so that’s the one I use.”
Piper sighed. Phew. So he didn’t have an untraceable phone.
Eli laughed. “It looks like I just lifted a huge weight off your shoulders. Did you really think I was guilty? Wyatt and I have been friends since before we could walk. We’ve known each other our whole lives.”
As Eli talked, sadness crept into his voice. His eyes stared into an unknown distance, unfocused.
“I’m sorry,” Piper whispered. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through.”
Eli shook his head and held his drink close. Piper didn’t know what else to do so she sipped her purple rain. It was sweeter than she expected and her lips puckered involuntarily.
“Did you really think I could be guilty?” he asked again.
Piper was ashamed. He was clearly hurting for his friend—possibly his best friend. But she didn’t want to lie to him. “Yes. I guess I did. Detective Bankston seemed convinced you could be guilty. And I barely know you. I didn’t want to believe you were guilty.”
Eli sipped his drink. “Fair enough. But do you believe me now?”
Piper met his eye. “I think so. But can I ask you one more question?”
Eli nodded.
“Where were you last night when Wyatt was killed?”
Before Eli could answer, the door to the bar flung open and Detective Bankston stormed inside with two other officers.
“Eli Smith-Michaels, you’re going to have to come with us to the station. We have some questions about Wyatt Brennan’s murder.”
8
Piper’s mouth hung open. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Detective Bankston roughly took hold of Eli’s elbow and led him out of The Tipsy Chicken. Piper was left alone with two drinks, a bar tab to close, and no job.
Before she had a chance to wallow in her self-pity, the door opened again and she turned toward the outside light. Her sister walked inside.
Meadow’s appearance was nearly as shocking as Detective Bankston’s was.
“Two drinks so early on Sunday afternoon?” Meadow asked, sitting down next to Piper.
“Good to see you, too,” Piper said sarcastically. It was never a good thing to ‘run into’ her sister. There was always a reason for her sudden appearance. “Dad called you?”
“Mom did first.”
Piper fumed inside. Whenever she screwed up, everyone in her family talked to each other behind her back but only her dad would actually talk to Piper.
“She told you I quit?” Piper asked, already sure of the answer.
Meadow nodded. She gave Eli’s blue shark a skeptical look. “What are you drinking?”
“Purple rain. That’s a blue shark. Someone was here with me. I guess he knew you were coming,” Piper threw at her sister.
As usual, Meadow ignored Piper’s barb. She motioned for the bartender and ordered a beer.
“Did Mom send you to talk some sense into me?” Piper asked.
“No. She just called to complain. Dad told me to talk some sense into you.”
Piper laughed. “Really?” She couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “He always does his own talking. Is he trying to tag team this one? Is Autumn gonna show up next?”
As if the whole intervention was planned, the door to The Tipsy Chicken opened again and in walked Autumn.
“
Maybe,” Meadow admitted. She motioned for the bartender and ordered another beer for the third sister.
“Thanks,” Autumn said, sitting down on Piper’s other side and accepting Meadow’s second beer.
Piper had no escape.
“Aunt Viv is willing to take you back and give you another chance,” Meadow started.
Piper finished her drink and took Eli’s blue shark from in front of Meadow. She could feel both of her sisters stare at her but she ignored their judgmental glares.
“Maybe I don’t want to go back,” Piper said.
“Okay,” Meadow said slowly, letting the word sink into Piper’s consciousness before continuing. “What do you want to do instead?”
Piper hadn’t thought that far ahead when she told Aunt Viv she quit. She shrugged. “I don’t know. I have a roof over my head for a while so it’s not like I’ll be homeless.”
“You can’t just quit because Aunt Viv was mean to you,” Autumn fumed.
Piper turned to her sister. “What do you know, anyway? When was the last time one of your relationships lasted longer than eight days?”
Autumn rolled her eyes. “Don’t turn this around on me. Being in a relationship isn’t even on the same plane of responsibility as holding down a job.”
“I’m pretty sure I’ve had this job longer than either of you have had yours.” Piper held her finger up and squinted her eyes, pretending to think hard about her statement. She’d worked at Gone Fish’n since she was eighteen. At thirty one, she was approaching half her life at the same job. Autumn and Meadow both had careers, sure, but it had taken them years and years of extra schooling to get them.
“And how’s the payout going for you?” Meadow asked.
“Life isn’t all about money,” Piper snapped, turning to her other side to face her oldest sister. “I’m happy. I question if both of you can say the same.”
Meadow slammed her hand down on the bar. “How dare you even make that assumption about me? I love my job. I love my husband. I love my kids.”
Piper held her hands up, palms toward her sister. “I’m not questioning your love for any of those things. But how often do you do something for yourself? You know, get your nails done, or a haircut?” Piper could see the split ends in Meadow’s perfectly straight hair.
“I don’t have to sit here and take this from you. I only came because Mom and Dad asked me to. If you want to throw away the one constant in your life, go for it. But I want you to know that I couldn’t be happier. I don’t get my nails done or a haircut because life isn’t all about me. I have a family, and their happiness is more important to me than my own.” Meadow pulled cash from her wallet and slid it under her empty beer glass before storming out of The Tipsy Chicken.
“You really know how to burn bridges,” Autumn said when they were alone with the bartender. She raised her finger to get the bartender’s attention and ordered another beer. “And one for my sister, too,” she ordered.
“I don’t need you to buy me drinks,” Piper said, staring at the last sip of the blue shark in front of her.
“Trust me, I know.”
The sisters let the animosity fizzle between them while their beers were poured. Piper downed the last of the super-sweet blue shark and moved on to her first beer.
She glanced at the clock. It was just after two. She still had over four hours until Cocktails and Canvas with Aria. There were two ways the afternoon could go—she could continue drinking away her frustrations and show up drunk, or she could be responsible and call this her last one of the afternoon.
She had a whole beer to make her decision.
“What is your plan, Piper?” Autumn asked cautiously. “Do you have money saved? How long are you staying at the Morettis’? Where will you live after that ends?”
Piper sighed. She could hear the concern in her sister’s voice. “I don’t have a plan. I was just sick of Aunt Viv always getting on my case. I wasn’t trying to be irresponsible. Things just seem to … happen.”
“Don’t you think you’re responsible for those things happening, though?”
“I guess so. But this one really was out of my control. Aria called me at four in the morning because one of the guys we went on a date with last night was murdered.” She turned to look at her sister. “That blue shark, it was for the other guy on our double date. He was here just before you and Meadow came in. He was taken away for questioning as a suspect.”
Autumn’s mouth hung open. Piper was proud that she could surprise her with that news. “You’re kidding me. You went on a date with a murderer?”
That wasn’t the conclusion Piper was hoping for. “I hope not. But it sure isn’t looking good.”
They sat in silence, Piper lost in her own thoughts about Eli being brought to the police station with Detective Bankston. There certainly seemed to be holes in his story, but were they big enough to make him the prime suspect?
“What about where you’ll live?” Autumn asked, returning Piper to her current predicament.
She shrugged. “Dad won’t let me be homeless if I don’t get another house sitting gig right away.”
“Do you have savings?” Autumn asked again.
“No. Aunt Viv doesn’t exactly pay me the big bucks. I’ll lose my health insurance, too. But that will really be my only expense. Besides food. I don’t have a car so I don’t have car insurance. I don’t have rent to pay, or utilities. I could get a job in a restaurant. I have plenty of experience making and serving food.”
Autumn sipped her beer and stared ahead. Piper kept an eye on her sister. She wanted to see any body language changes when she decided to talk again.
It took over a minute for either sister to speak up. “You really don’t think you can forgive Aunt Viv?” Autumn asked. “You’d probably get better benefits there than anywhere else. And maybe one day you’d get to take over Gone Fish’n.”
“I don’t know that I want to take over Gone Fish’n. Do you know how much work that would be?” Piper couldn’t imagine being in charge of all the morning prep, hiring employees, dealing with advertising, or maintaining licenses. Could she outsource everything?
Autumn rolled her eyes. “Yeah, some people have to work to make it in this life.” Autumn downed the rest of her drink and left the bar without another word.
9
“You’re here earlier than I expected,” Aria said, taking a seat next to Piper. They each had an easel in front of them and Piper already had a cocktail in her hand. “Vivienne let you go early?”
“Nope.” Piper took a sip of her drink. She’d given herself four and a half hours to recover from her non-date with Eli and intervention with her sisters before consuming her next adult beverage. “I quit.”
“You what?” Aria’s eyes bugged out and her mouth hung open. “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”
Piper held up one finger and smirked in Aria’s direction. “You know? It’s kind of your fault.” Her smirk grew into a full smile.
“My fault?” Aria blinked in quick succession.
Piper nodded. “Yeah. Because you called me at four in the morning, I overslept and was late to work.”
“Phhh. You can hardly blame that on me. If you’re going to pass the blame, blame Wyatt’s murderer.”
Piper shrugged. “Will do. But who is that? Eli was brought in for questioning, but I’d like to believe he is innocent.”
“Piper Carson,” a familiar voice said on Piper’s other side. She turned to look at the owner of the voice before Aria could respond. “Fancy meeting you here.”
Piper cringed. Lydie Jackson. Reporter for the Emerald Island Bulletin. They had a dirty history that Piper would like to keep buried.
“Lydie,” Piper greeted, nodding her head exactly once before turning back to Aria.
Aria looked right over Piper’s head. It was easy to do with Piper sitting down and Aria’s nearly six foot frame towering over her. “Lydie, I’m Aria.” Aria held out her hand toward the repor
ter. To Piper’s surprise and disgust, Lydie shook it. “Aria Bankston,” she said pointedly, letting the name sink through Lydie’s thick skull.
There was a moment’s pause before Lydie tried to hide her understanding and surprise. She did a terrible job. Piper heard a small gasp. “Aria Bankston. So nice to meet you. Lydie Jackson.” Lydie didn’t elaborate. She noticeably left out that she was a reporter.
“I understand you used to work with Wyatt Brennan,” Aria said.
Piper couldn’t believe she forgot! Wyatt was a reporter at the Bulletin. Lydie was a reporter at the Bulletin. Aria never even met Lydie and she remembered! Piper wondered if she should start taking a brain supplement. Wasn’t ginkgo biloba supposed to help with memory? She wasn’t sure.
“Yes.” Lydie’s face clouded over. “Such a tragedy. He was such a great guy. And a great reporter, too. He always wanted to get to the bottom of a story.”
Piper read between the lines—Lydie didn’t care about the real story, she just wanted to sell newspapers. Job security, Piper suspected.
“You worked with him a while?” Aria asked.
Piper finally figured out where Aria was going with this questioning. It was brilliant. Eli was the only suspect—that Piper knew of—so far. Why not dig into Wyatt’s past a little bit by asking Lydie about him. There must be someone else who could be responsible for his death.
Could Lydie?
“I was already working there when he got the job two years ago.”
“So … two years, then?” Aria asked.
Lydie shook her head. “Longer. He was an intern first. Must have been there almost three years. Yeah, three years this April. I remember when he started because we hardly ever get interns in April. They usually start in May or June after college graduations. Recent grads looking for experience. You know?”
“You knew him well?” Piper asked, jumping into the conversation.
“Pretty well.” Lydie motioned for the waitress to bring two drinks over.
Piper quickly finished hers and motioned for a third. Why not live it up? She didn’t have to go to work tomorrow. She could spend the day in bed if she wanted to.
Aria, Piper, and Lydie all happily accepted a drink. “To Wyatt,” Lydie toasted, holding her glass toward Piper and Aria.