I peeled, sliced and piled the fruits in the correct order on my counter, then began an assembly line, and stacked completed sticks on cookie sheets lined with foil. When my fingertips grew raw from one too many pokes with a sharp wooden skewer, I stopped to send email reminders to the shower guests, per Bree’s request. Bring a favorite children’s book for my new nieces’ library or make donations to St. Jude’s in lieu of gifts. Tomorrow’s shower wasn’t about acquiring everything a new mom needed. This time we were celebrating the miracle of life and the blessing of family, blood related or otherwise.
I tightened the strings of my gray Gandalf robe around my middle and padded into my living room to start another Lord of the Rings movie. I had a new appreciation for Bilbo Baggins. I, too, was on an unexpected journey. My life was also filled with orcs and trials and second breakfasts.
The phone rang, and I paused the show. I went back to assembling rainbows. “Hello?”
“Mia? This is Dan Archer. I have some lab results on the mice from your windshield.”
I fell onto the couch and focused on breathing. “Okay.”
“They weren’t drowned.”
“But they were dripping wet,” I reminded him. “Someone dunked dead mice in something before delivering them to me?” That didn’t make sense. “Did you test the liquid?”
“The mice were frozen. They were wet from melting. Defrosting is more accurate, I guess. The good news is there’s no longer a reason to think the person who drowned Dante is drowning innocent mice for the purpose of inciting terror.”
This was what my life had come to. The dead mice weren’t drowned, and that was considered good news. “Great.” I couldn’t find enthusiasm for the word.
“Another thing.”
Oh, goodie. “Yeah?”
“We’ve also got fibers from the backseat of Dante’s car. We’re tracing them now. Hope to have definitive news on their origins soon. Could be nothing. Could be what we need. I thought you’d want the information as soon as I had it. I’ll let you get back to your evening.”
“Thanks.” Another autonomic response. I disconnected and dropped my phone on the cushion beside me. Someone was hounding me with frozen mice. Hopefully the fiber from Dante’s backseat would lead to an arrest before I had to drive anywhere else.
My doorbell rang and I groaned. I didn’t want any more coddling from Nate and Fifi or surprises from anyone. I wanted to finish the skewers, throw popcorn at Gollum and go to bed. I shoved myself upright and headed to the door. No one got inside my building without a key code, so Fifi and Nate were clearly checking on me again. As if they didn’t have anything better to do. When had I become the third wheel? An aged marm for them to worry over?
I peeked through the hole.
Jake stood outside with a grim expression. His left eye was swollen, and the corresponding brow was pinched together with butterfly bandages. His jaw was red with abrasions. His navy shirt was torn at the shoulder.
I yanked the door open and pulled him inside. “What happened to you?”
The door across the hall shut on Nate’s heels.
“Rough night. Saw Nate in the parking lot and rode up with him.” Jake gave my jammies a look. He winced when he smiled. “Movie night?”
“Do you like Lord of the Rings?”
“Yeah. I also like whiskey.”
I locked the door behind him. “Fresh out of whiskey, but how about one of Nate’s beers and an ice pack for your face?”
“Deal.” Jake hobbled to my couch and collapsed in the space I’d just vacated. “I heard about the mice. I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”
I wrapped ice in a dish towel and uncapped a bottle of ale from the Great Lakes Brewing Company. I delivered both to Jake.
“Thanks.” He pressed the towel to his cheekbone and sucked air. “That hurts.” He swigged the beer with his free hand. “I got here as soon as I could. I’d have been here last night if it was humanly possible.”
I fell into the space beside him. “You look awful. You should stay here tonight. You can’t drive like this. Start again tomorrow.”
He made a grouchy face. “You aren’t supposed to feel sorry for me. I came to check on you. You’re stealing my thunder.”
“Well, you should’ve thought about that before you let someone beat up your face.”
He smiled, then quickly winced. “Funny.”
“Really. Stay.” My chest warmed as I spoke the word. “It’s crazy to drive another hour to Stone Creek when you’re clearly exhausted and hurting. I’ve got everything you need. A hot shower. Fluffy towels. Comfy couch. Spare bedroom.” I stopped talking before I said anything to scare him away.
He held my gaze long enough to give me goose bumps.
“If you’re nice, I might even make breakfast.”
He laced his bruised fingers with mine. “I got Terrance Horton. He’s in custody.”
“He is?”
He nodded. “I had to chase him down and tackle him. His goons did their best to separate us, but I was highly motivated after hearing about those mice.”
“Did he kill Dante?”
“My team’s questioning him now. So far, he’s admitted to hearing the rumor Dante was an informant. Couple that with the fact he made his way to a hotel less than an hour from Dante’s home the same week Dante was killed, and we’ve got a solid case. Odds are that Dante got wind his gig was up and packed his bags. He tried to run, but someone stopped him. If not Terrance, personally, then an associate.”
I leaned my head on his shoulder, relief flooding my heart. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Back at ya.” He nudged me back an inch and caught me in his steely blue gaze. “Are you sure you want me to stay here tonight?” There was yearning in his voice and intent in his eyes. For once, I didn’t need a human-to-human translator.
“Yes.”
He leaned closer. The intoxicating scents of him muddled my thoughts. “When Dan called me, I couldn’t get here fast enough. I cut some corners to get Horton in cuffs so I could leave. I hated not being here for you.” He placed a palm on my cheek.
I released a quick breath and hungrily breathed him in again.
“Mia?” He raised his brows in question.
I took the liberty of kissing him thoroughly in response.
Maybe some alone time with Jake wasn’t the worst suggestion Bree had ever had.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The lodge at Congress Lake was packed with happy women. Despite Bree’s request for donations in lieu of gifts, there was a wall of elaborately wrapped boxes stacked four deep near the windows. My rainbow of baby clothes hung adorably over the gift table, and the fruit skewers were flying off the buffet. Bree’s white-on-white décor punctuated with a careful selection of rainbows was both cheery and breathtaking. She had a definite knack for stage setting.
In fact, the sister who drove me bonkers on a regular and ongoing basis for thirty years was beloved for multiple reasons and clearly at home in the controlled chaos of a mammoth country club baby shower. She was dressed ironically in white and wearing a pink paper crown that said Mama. The event was full swank, but I’d chosen a silver sleeveless tunic over black leggings so I could bend, lift and hostess all day without any fear of showing dirt or my backside.
In short, Bree was engaging and beautiful. I was trying to blend with the waitstaff. Mostly because I’d told seven strangers no, I wasn’t married, and no, I didn’t want to meet their son, grandson, neighbor or friend, before hors d’oeuvres. Seriously. Was this a baby shower or a meat market?
Grandma had the crowd’s attention, regaling them from center stage with tales of Bree as a child. Comparison stories of Bree and her daughter Gwen and ways our mother was like both of them or different. Grandma was a gifted storyteller.
/> I moved table to table, delivering trays of puffy paints and white onesies. I did my best to relax, but fear and panic pressed on my lungs, standing the fine hairs on my neck and arms at attention. I lifted my face slowly and scanned the room. Clearly, I’d had a rough week and my anxiety was high, but it felt as if I was being watched.
Applause rang out. I joined in the clapping, clueless about what I’d missed.
Two hundred women smiled at me. I guessed I was being watched. Onstage, my mother, grandmother and sister extended their arms in my direction. When had they all gathered up there?
I’d ask them after the party. Right before I killed them.
“Come on,” Bree insisted. “Let them see what I used to look like.”
The mob laughed.
I moved on autopilot to their sides and gazed timidly on the sea of welcoming faces.
The room had turned out beautifully, dripping with white linens and twinkle lights. Taper candles flickered in natural lighting from a wall of windows. Little fans twirled slowly at the peak of a twenty-foot ceiling. If not for the brightly colored gifts and hugely pregnant woman beside me, we could’ve been at any high-class event from a fancy gala to a wedding reception. As requested, all the elegant décor was set in twos and anchored in pairs of baby animals. Her Noah’s Ark theme was more than fitting, given the double pink cakes at her gender reveal.
“It’s beautiful,” Bree whispered against my hair. “You gave me the perfect shower.”
My mouth had dried out beyond the ability to speak. Nerves coiled in my gut. Being in the spotlight felt a lot like being in the crosshairs.
Grandma’s voice echoed through the room and everyone clapped once more. She replaced the mic on the stand.
The crowd turned to chat amongst themselves. Some pawed eagerly at the trays I’d delivered to their tables.
The four of us walked offstage, arm-in-arm like the Monkees, and took our seats.
Bree sipped her ice water. “How are things with Jake?”
“Good. He apprehended the fugitive.”
Grandma released a long breath. “Praise Zeus. So, we can all rest now? You’re safe again?”
I rubbed the gooseflesh on my arms. “That’s the assumption.” No need to point out that Terrance Horton was only one possible suspect and we had no idea if he even knew Dante was dead. Only that he came to Ohio after hearing Dante was an informant. I avoided their curious stares and changed the subject. “How did things go making the belly mold?”
Mom pressed a hand to her mouth.
Grandma barked a laugh. “Awful. We ruined two kits and the last one looked like a giant’s boob.”
Bree touched the upturned belly button poking through her dress like an awkward nipple. “Total bust, but I was able to reach your friend Tennille, and we set an appointment for next week. I’ll get pregnancy pictures now and newborn pictures when these two arrive.” She rested interlaced fingers on her bump.
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed having my worlds collide. It had been a long time since anyone other than Nate knew my family. Lately, the circle was growing. Nate, Fifi, Jake, Dan, Tennille. My friends and my family were blending into a pretty amazing and eclectic mix, from lawmen to magicians.
Speaking of magicians. “How are the wedding plans coming along, Grandma?”
She beamed. “I think we’ve got the most important details hammered out. I hired a professional coordinator, so you can attend as a guest instead of unpaid help.”
Mixed emotions coursed through me. I was fired? “You didn’t need to do that, Grandma. I would’ve helped.”
Bree slid one hand off her bump and used it to cover mine. “I’m sorry I sometimes treat you like a slave. I max out all your time, and then I complain that you haven’t started a family. When are you supposed to meet someone if you’re busy running my errands all the time? Plus working at Horseshoe Falls and with our company. It’s stupid of me, and I’m sorry.”
I turned my hand over and gave her fingers a squeeze. “I don’t mind. I like being useful.”
Mom grabbed my other hand. “You’re useful to us without doing anything at all.”
* * *
Three hours later, the reception hall was empty and the outdoor topiaries were covered in confused Monarch butterflies, recently released from weird see-through envelopes. Bree seemed more disturbed by the sight of the flattened Monarchs in their travel packs than she was about the color scheme disruption. So, Nate would live to see another day.
I loaded gifts, centerpieces and luncheon leftovers into our family vehicles. I filled Tom’s truck first, then Dad’s, then Marvin’s trunk. I worked with the three men until everything I’d brought to the event was safely packed away for a trip home, along with plenty of new things and fifty pounds of paid-for, unused fruits.
My phone rang and the clubhouse number appeared on the screen. My day had been going so well. I could only imagine what catastrophe needed my attention back at Horseshoe Falls. I rejected the call.
Ding! Voice mail. I hung my head and keyed in my password to replay the message.
“Mia, this is Marcella. Some residents saw a squirrel enter the boathouse attic and they want to set a trap before the Wi-Fi is ruined again. They brought a cage to the field, but Mr. Peters climbed their ladder and won’t come down. My heart can’t take this drama. Isn’t there some way to have the Wi-Fi and the squirrels? Can you come and talk to them?”
I cut the message short and pressed my fingers to my temples. Fifi would help me. I sent her a quick text asking her to call Marcella and deal with the situation until I could get home.
I received an immediate thumbs-up emoticon response and nearly hugged the phone.
“Everything okay?” Dad asked, dusting his palms as he approached.
“I hate squirrels.” I shoved the last box of vases and lilies into Marvin’s trunk.
Dad laughed, but he didn’t ask.
My phone rang again. This time Jake’s face appeared on my screen. I tossed my car keys to Dad. “Everything else should fit in my car. This is Jake. I’m going to take the call.”
“Hi.” I walked away from the guys and found a shaded bench alongside the building. Warm, misty air blew over me as a breeze hit the nearby fountain.
“How was the shower?” Jake asked.
“Really good.” Seeing my family members getting married, having babies and writing books made me insanely happy. I wanted to do anything I could to help them and to be a part of their joy. Who knew? Maybe one day, it’d be me in one of those scenarios. If it was me, I knew they’d be at my side too.
“You sound good. I hear baby showers have that effect on women.”
“I’m going to ignore that because I think you’re goading me.” Also because it was a little true.
“Never.” The jovial sound of his voice widened my smile. “I’m glad it worked out. You sound happy.”
“I think Bree’s crazy enthusiasm finally got to me. She makes starting a family sound like fun.”
“Are you busy later?”
“Why?” I smiled, hoping I knew the answer.
He laughed. “I just want to see you. Don’t worry, I’m not planning to talk you into starting a family after dinner or anything.”
Good. In the frame of mind he usually put me in, I’d have probably agreed.
“I have a stack of paperwork that I could probably do anywhere I found a pen.”
“I have pens.”
He chuckled quietly on the other end. “Yeah?”
“Would you like to do your paperwork at my place?”
“Only if you supply the pen.”
“Deal.” I smiled against the receiver.
Dad stopped his truck in front of Tom’s and waved through the open window. “We’ve got it all, and
we’re headed home. Marvin’s driving the ladies. Your car’s filled to the gills.”
“Thanks.” I waved back.
Each vehicle in the Connors processional beeped at me as they motored away.
“I guess I’m heading home,” I told Jake. “See you in an hour?”
“Thirty minutes,” he drawled.
I headed back to my car with a little bounce in my step, grabbed the keys from my seat and went inside for a final sweep of the venue. The caterers were running vacuums and Swiffer vacs over the carpet and hardwood floors. The chairs and tables were broken down and stacked on carts to be rolled away. It was almost unbelievable that a party had been going on here an hour before.
I moved into the kitchen with a stack of envelopes from my bag.
A woman piling dishes into an industrial washer smiled in my direction. “Hello.” Bubbles floated over her head, mingling with the scents of bleach and baked chicken. A Wonder Woman travel mug sat beside a cell phone and set of keys.
I forced myself not to start a conversation about the mug. When I’d attempted similar conversations in the past, the item that motivated me to speak always turned out to be a gift, it didn’t belong to them, or the person I’d asked had no idea what I was talking about. I pried my gaze away from the mug. “I’d like to leave these here for the staff. I’ve marked them individually: chef, waitstaff, setup/cleanup and venue coordinator.”
She rubbed her hands against her apron and accepted the envelopes. “Of course. Is there anything else we can do for you before you go?”
Not unless she could tell me if Terrance Horton had killed Dante.
“No thank you. It was a lovely event. Have a nice night.”
I drifted toward the front doors thinking of Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman would know what to tell my three nieces when little boys flipped their skirts up in elementary school and later when male peers told them to smile or made other ignorant comments. She’d know how to explain that knowledge was power and physical strength wasn’t exclusive to those with a less stable XY chromosomal makeup. Wonder Woman made feminism cool and obvious. I didn’t want to botch those lessons. My nieces were too important.
A Geek Girl's Guide to Justice (The Geek Girl Mysteries) Page 26