Kelcie immediately whipped off her plastic gloves and hair net, heading for the employee break room, where there was a full-length mirror on the wall, while her boss’s reaction was far less positive. Marilyn untied her apron and hung it up on the hook by the door, trying to work up the energy and positive attitude to speak with the young man whom she really didn’t care to meet. By the time she washed her hands and walked to the front, Tiara and Kelcie were there talking with Jace and his omnipresent cameraman.
“Tiara didn’t tell me that she had such a beautiful sister,” the hipster drawled, looking Marilyn up and down when she came around the corner to shake his hand.
Tiara and Kelcie giggled, starstruck, and Marilyn made a tremendous effort not to roll her eyes.
“Hi, I’m Marilyn,” she smiled politely, shaking his hand.
“The pleasure is all mine,” Jace replied, leaning casually against the front counter, still acting like he was checking her out.
This wasn’t her first rodeo, and she’d encountered her share of swaggering, wannabe alpha males who flirted to gain advantage and were composed of far more style than substance, though the concept of style was debatable in this particular case.
“Would you like to come to my office and chat for a bit?” she asked, ignoring his attempt to make her swoon at his attention.
He looked at Tiara and Kelcie, saying, “Uh-oh, I’ve been summoned to the principal’s office – hope I’m not in trouble,” he grinned, running a hand carelessly through his long brown hair.
The girls laughed, and Kelcie reassured him that he’d probably fine, while Tiara shot her mother a “BE NICE!” look.
“Dude, you hang here with these beautiful ladies, and if I’m not out in an hour, send in the troops,” Jace joked to his cameraman before following Marilyn down the hall.
The young celebrity took a seat in a club chair across the desk from Marilyn, without being asked, putting his ankle across his knee and looking thoroughly at home.
“Great little place you have here,” he said, and Marilyn tried not to think of his tone as being condescending.
“Thanks. We like it,” she smiled briefly.
“Your daughter was telling me a little bit about your story – you know, how you started from nothing, and just kind of kept at it until it took off for you – I think that’s really cool. I totally admire your passion,” he nodded, sounding genuine for the first time since she’d met him. Maybe she’d been too defensive and hadn’t been giving the young man a fair chance. She’d only heard rumors about him, and people can be merciless to those in the spotlight.
“Well, thank you,” Marilyn replied modestly. “I had a little girl to feed, so failure wasn’t an option,” she explained.
“You must be really proud of her, graduating with honors, smart, beautiful…Tiara’s got it going on,” he raised his eyebrows in approval.
The proud mother grinned. “Yes, she’s my pride and joy. The shop is great, but that young lady means the world to me,” she said, because it was true, and to let him know that if he had any thoughts of trifling with the aforementioned young lady, he might want to reconsider.
“Understandable,” Jace agreed with a smile. “So, I was thinking of doing a vlog review for you guys,” he said, still laid back, but turning the conversation to the business at hand.
“That’s what I hear,” Marilyn nodded, neither encouraging nor discouraging the idea. She tried not to stare at his bare knee peeking through the rips and tears in his skinny jeans, finding it a bit distasteful but trying to keep an open mind about his fashion sense.
“So, the way that I usually do it is really simple,” he began, dropping his foot to the floor and leaning forward to explain. “My camera dude, Wayne, follows me around all day, just kind of recording the things I do, the foods that I eat, my thoughts, you know…kind of a day in the life?” he looked at Marilyn to see if she was tracking what he was saying and continued when she nodded.
“So anyway, we get footage of the restaurants, bakeries, bars, whatever…that I visit, and my reactions to my food and drink experience, you know? So, like, for your shop, I’d come in, talk to you and the lovely ladies on your staff, order some coffee and pie maybe, and then, I’d eat it, while Wayne does his camera thing,” he finished, looking to her for a response.
Marilyn was quietly astounded, digesting what he had just told her. “Do you mean to tell me that, literally, every moment of every day in your life is recorded?” she asked, staring at him in disbelief.
Jace chuckled. “Nah, it’s not like all that,” he shook his head. “He only like, captures my vibe when I’m out and about, like, going places and experiencing things,” he amended.
“Experiencing things,” she pursed her lips, thinking. “So what happens if you have a bad experience? Do you even like Key Lime pie?” she asked, doubts creeping back in.
“No idea, girlfriend. Never tried it. Sounds good though,” he shrugged.
“So I’m supposed to let you come in here with your camera, “experience” my food, and not know whether you even like my product?” Marilyn shook her head, smiling at the absurdity of the proposition.
“Don’t you believe in what you’re selling?” he challenged easily.
“Of course I do, but tastes in foods vary. It’s a subjective thing,” she blinked at him.
“Sub-…” he looked puzzled for a moment. “Whatever. Why don’t you let me just try it and see how I react? It’s not like I’m going to destroy you with a bad review if your pie just doesn’t appeal to me,” he shrugged.
“Really?” she raised an eyebrow, still skeptical.
“Scouts honor, hot mama,” he held up three fingers in a mock salute.
She tapped her nails on the top of her desk, thinking for a moment, then sighed, knowing that Tiara and Kelcie would never let her hear the end of it if she said no. Still fighting a fierce concern that she was about to set herself up for a fall, she sighed and reluctantly gave her consent.
“Fine, when are you going to come by?” she asked.
“Your lovely daughter already signed the consent forms, so we’ll be in sometime next week. Wayne will call you and give you a couple of days notice,” he said, slowly rising to his feet. Jace only seemed to have one gear….slow.
“Well, thanks for stopping by,” Marilyn followed him out the door, a bit peeved that Tiara had signed something on her behalf without talking to her about it first.
“It’s how I roll, pretty lady,” he called back over his shoulder, raising a hand in farewell. Marilyn turned to go back to the kitchen when he moved toward the front counter to flirt with the girls a bit before taking his leave. She couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that she had about Jace Chesterton, and hoped that it was just her unfamiliarity with his type of fame that left her cold.
Chapter 5
Marilyn tossed yet another outfit on her bed, frustrated that she was reacting like a silly teenager to the fact that she was going out on a date with Detective Bernard Cortland. Her stomach was in knots, she couldn’t find anything to wear, and she’d had to put her espresso waves up into a bun because the humidity of a typical Key West day was not cooperating with her attempts at taming her tresses. She tried on yet another outfit and looked at herself critically in the mirror. Finally settling on a yellow sundress with tiny white polka dots that looked good against her tan, she brushed her teeth, put on just a touch of makeup, and chose a pair of strappy white sandals that would be easy to slip into and out of if they decided to go for a walk on the beach after dinner. She didn’t want to get ahead of herself and actually plan on the evening lasting beyond dinner, but it never hurt to be prepared.
Hearing her phone buzz on the bathroom vanity, Marilyn’s heart sunk, assuming that it was Bernard, calling to cancel their date, but was relieved when she saw Tiara’s picture on the calling screen.
“Hi sweetie,” she answered, distracted by trying to put on a tiny bit of chocolate brown eyeliner.
“Hey Mom,” Tiara replied, sounding happy, which was always a relief these days. “Are you busy tonight?” she asked.
Marilyn deflated momentarily. She had intentionally not mentioned her date with Bernard to her daughter, not because she didn’t want her to know, but because the reason that she was going was to find out what the detective had discovered about Daniel.
“I am, honey. Why?” she asked, putting on an earring with tiny daisies dangling from fine silver chain.
“Oh,” Tiara sounded surprised. “What’s up?”
Sighing, Marilyn opted for honesty, rather than expending the mental energy required to fabricate an alternative story. “I’m meeting Bernard for dinner.”
“What?” she exclaimed in disbelief. “That’s awesome, Mom! It’s about time that you went out with the hot detective,” she teased.
“I don’t think it’s like that,” she replied gently. “I asked him this morning if he would try to find out what happened to your dad and where he might be.”
Tiara was silent for a moment. “Oh. Okay, thanks for that, Mom, but while you’ve got a handsome man sitting across the table from you, you might as well make the most of it, right?” she changed the subject back to less emotional territory.
“I suppose so,” Marilyn agreed, with a smile, very much looking forward to that aspect of the evening. She may not be in the market for a relationship, but there was surely no harm in enjoying a man’s company.
Being an independent woman, Marilyn elected to drive to the restaurant, rather than having Bernard pick her up. She didn’t want to presume that this was actually a date, even though the detective’s tone when he’d asked had been markedly different than she’d ever heard it. He may just have wanted to kill two birds with one stone by eating while he brought her up to speed on what he’d found. She’d worn the adorable sun dress just in case.
Glad to see that he’d arrived before she did, Marilyn spotted the handsome detective sitting at a quiet corner table, looking fantastic in navy blue shorts and a white polo. He was sipping a sangria and reading the menu when she came in, but looked up and smiled when he saw her approaching. That was new – aside from having seen him a couple of times walking on the beach, usually she saw Bernard when he was in the midst of an investigation, and wondered if he was even capable of cracking a smile.
“Hi, you look great,” he said, allowing his gaze to linger an appropriate amount of time as he pulled out her chair for her. She was almost certain that it was an actual date at this point, his manner was entirely different from previous times that she’d seen him.
“Thanks,” Marilyn replied, blushing just a bit at the special treatment.
“The sangria here is dangerously good,” he commented, once they’d both settled in.
“Absolutely,” she nodded. “It’s a must.”
“Aren’t you hungry?” Bernard asked, noticing that she wasn’t picking up her menu.
“Starving,” she confessed. She’d been so nervous about her date that she hadn’t eaten since her piece of pie at breakfast this morning. “You’ll probably think that it’s strange, but I always get the same thing when I come here. I just love the Conch Chowder and Cuban Mix sandwich.”
“I completely understand,” he nodded. “I’ve tried everything on the menu, and every bit of it is crazy delicious, but I usually get the Cuban Mix too. It’s just too good to pass up.”
“Exactly,” Marilyn agreed, trying not to drown in the pools of his deep blue eyes. She was rescued by the timely arrival of the server, who took their orders.
Sipping the sweet, fruity sangria that had just been brought, Marilyn broached the subject of Daniel’s disappearance.
“I wish that I had good news for you,” Bernard shook his head. “But the reality is that, so far, I’ve found nothing of substance.”
“Well, surely he didn’t just vanish into thin air,” she remarked, frowning.
“Actually, when I looked into the past interactions of the murderer who killed Daniel’s business partner…I saw several people who had engaged in negotiations with the killer and simply vanished into thin air. They were reported missing, and there hasn’t been a trace of them found,” he said, his voice low.
“The only hope that I’m holding onto is the fact that Daniel had pulled a disappearing act before, on more than one occasion. He may be just laying low for a while, licking his wounds or whatever,” she guessed.
“Maybe, but the pattern doesn’t look good,” the detective replied, trying to gauge her reaction. Is there…I mean, are you two…?” he began awkwardly. “Nope, scratch that, never mind, it’s none of my business,” he held up a hand in apology, reaching for his drink with the other.
“No, it’s perfectly fine,” Marilyn responded, while Bernard took a generous slug of sangria to cover his embarrassment. “There’s been nothing but a vague animosity between me and Daniel for years. He doesn’t contact me at all anymore, he just reaches out to Tiara on rare occasion,” she explained.
“Well, I’m sorry that I don’t have more to tell you, but I’m intrigued with this killer’s background, and I’ll be investigating it more thoroughly,” he promised, moving the discussion back to safer territory.
“I appreciate that,” Marilyn nodded. “You don’t think that he’s a serial killer, do you?” she whispered, glancing around. Fortunately, there was only one other couple in the place, and they were all the way across the room.
“Unfortunately, I think that’s a distinct possibility,” he said grimly.
She shuddered at the thought that she, her daughter and her assistant may have gone boating with someone who has an insatiable urge to kill. “Well, let’s hope that, if that’s the case, Daniel disappeared in time to escape him.”
“Indeed,” Bernard agreed. “How’s your daughter doing?” he asked, just as the food came.
Marilyn waited until they both had their plates in front of them before replying. “Well, I was worried about her for a while, as you know. She’s not one to wear her heart on her sleeve, but I could tell that something had been bothering her. Now, however, she’s been pretty excited about the fact that Jace Chesterton is in town,” she made a face.
The detective chewed and swallowed before answering. “Tiara knows Jace Chesterton?” he sounded surprised.
“Sort of,” Marilyn rolled her eyes. “He showed up to her yoga class a couple of times and they talked about the shop, so now he wants to come by next week to do a review for us on his vlog,” she explained, clearly still not happy about it.
“He seems to be an…interesting young man,” Bernard remarked, then popped a couple of fries in his mouth.
“That’s putting it mildly,” she sighed. “I still have this strange feeling that we should just say thanks but no thanks to this guy. He seems to wreak some sort of havoc wherever he goes.”
The detective nodded. “There have been some incidents…” he said, leaving it there.
“Yeah, from what I’ve read in the papers, things can get pretty wild when he’s having a “food or drink experience,” she laughed wryly.
“I’m really enjoying our “food and drink experience” tonight,” he smiled shyly, and she noticed that he had the most adorable dimples.
“So am I,” Marilyn admitted, blushing. There was no doubt…this was a date.
The two of them chatted easily over a couple more glasses of sangria, and decided to take a cab to the beach to get some fresh air, neither wanting the pleasant evening to end.
Chapter 6
Coming to the end of the boardwalk, Marilyn stood, stork-like, trying to slip out of her sandals. Bernard reached out a hand to steady her, and when she took it gratefully, she was astonished at the electric thrill that surged through her at the innocent touch of their palms. Looking down quickly and busying herself with her shoes so that he couldn’t see the flush rising from her neck to the tips of her ears, she took her time, regulating her breathing and the pounding of her heart, hoping that he hadn�
�t noticed her powerful response.
Slipping off his own shoes using only his toes, he bent down to pick them up with his other hand, keeping Marilyn’s delicate fingers wrapped around his.
“Ready?” he asked, stepping out onto the sand.
“Ready,” she confirmed, her heart beating a mile a minute, and stepped down beside him.
Hand in hand, they walked the beach, the cool water lapping at their ankles, talking about everything and nothing. Marilyn had never felt so comfortable with a man, other than her dad, in her entire life.
“So, does police work run in your family?” she asked, wanting to know more about the quiet man beside her.
“I don’t know,” he surprised her by saying.
“How can you not know?” she asked, with a puzzled smile.
“I was adopted. Apparently my mother gave me up when I was born, and there’s no record of who my father was. My adoptive parents were wonderful, but neither of them wanted me to have anything to do with police work,” he smiled, remembering. “They would have preferred a safer profession for me…banking, law, medicine…you know, something civilized.”
“Are they still…?” Marilyn didn’t quite know how to finish her question, not wanting to get too personal.
“Alive?” he asked. She nodded. “No, they passed away within months of each other. I firmly believe that it was because they had a love so profound that they literally couldn’t live without one another.”
“What a beautiful thing,” Marilyn sighed wistfully. “I’ve never experienced anything even remotely like that,” she confessed, surprised by her own candor. Bernard was simply too easy to talk to – her guard was down. “What about you?” she asked, feeling bold after her confession.
“Hard to say,” he gazed out over the ocean as he talked. “My wife died young. There’s no way to know how close we would have grown if given the time. I would like to think that we’d have been like my parents, but who knows?” he shrugged, coming back to the present.
Death, Limes and Videotape: A Key West Culinary Cozy - Book 7 Page 2