by Cynthia Raye
Adele still hadn’t made a decision about her own style, so Erin returned to the welcome desk. She was starting to realize that this was a habit of Adele’s. Since Adele always invariably landed on getting another perm and cut to the same length as her previous visits, Erin was pretty sure that this town gossip just wanted to hang out at a location that could provide ample interesting ammunition as long as possible.
“I’m sorry,” Sylvia said, making her way toward the welcome desk after coming in from the employee’s entrance. “I usually don’t go out of my way to avoid Sue Ellen, but it looked like she was on a warpath today.”
“It’s all right. Kimmy has been hiding in the storage room since Sue Ellen came in,” Erin said, teasing about her youngest employee.
Sylvia hung up her jacket and shook her head. Her bouffant barely moved as her head did.
“I don’t blame Kimmy for that. And I do try to be supportive of Sue Ellen. I know we want all our customers to be happy, and I know what it’s like to have allergies. I don’t mind Sue Ellen being cautious about her shampoo. I have a food allergy that could be fatal, so I know that you have to be careful. However, most of her demands have nothing to do with that. She just likes bossing people around and making people feel bad. Usually, she doesn’t have a reason.”
“I have some bossing of my own to do,” said Erin. “I need you to set up the manicure station. I’d like Vicki to be able to get her nails done as soon as her hair is dry.”
“That’s no problem. I don’t mind your bossing, boss.”
Sylvia walked away to begin her station setup, and Erin began checking the appointments for the day in the large client book that she had on the desk. She also had a computer where she stored relevant information, but she preferred having a paper calendar and contact list for her use nearby.
However, as she squinted at one of their afternoon timeslots, she realized that she couldn’t make heads or tails of the handwriting.
“Kimmy,” she called.
A teenage girl with long, light blonde hair and a broom in her hands poked her head out of the storage room.
“Could you come here a moment?” Erin asked. “I can’t read who is supposed to be here at three o’clock today.”
Kimmy nodded and joined her at the desk. Kimmy was a junior at the local high school and worked at the salon on the weekends. She wasn’t a licensed stylist, so she didn’t work on anyone’s hair yet. However, she was very helpful when it came to cleaning up and answering the phone. It was only occasionally that Erin couldn’t read her handwriting.
“That’s the Pasquale Family,” Kimmy said, barely looking down. “The twins both need a haircut and they want to make sure that they don’t look exactly the same.”
“Got it,” Erin said, making a more legible note in her book.
“And after them is another prom hair consultation.”
“We’ve been getting a few of those,” said Erin. “I’m glad that high schoolers are thinking of us when it comes to their prom hairstyles. I bet that you working here has something to do with that.”
“I don’t know,” Kimmy said with an embarrassed shrug. “I don’t think my classmates flock to do what I’m doing. I am really excited about prom though. I have my ticket, my dress, and my shoes. My hair is obviously going to be taken care of. All I need is to find a date.”
“Do you even need a date? A lot of people go with friends.”
“That’s the problem. All the friends I’m going with have dates. I don’t want to be a seventh wheel.”
“You’re a wonderful person. I’m sure you’ll find someone who will want to go with you,” Erin assured her.
A huge smile appeared on Kimmy’s face as she began to daydream. “I can imagine it all. I think it’s going to be a magical night. Proms usually are, right?”
Erin gave a little cough rather than answering that question.
“Don’t you think?” Kimmy asked, desiring a more direct answer. “I mean, yours was great, wasn’t it? You did go to it?”
“I did go,” Erin said, evasively. “And so did Deena. She was a little ahead of me in school, but she has some fun stories. You should ask her about it. She’ll tell you she was the only one who was able to walk in her high heels the entire night.”
“I think I chose good shoes that I can dance in,” Kimmy considered it. “What type of shoes did you wear?”
“I bet Sylvia has some good stories about her prom too. And maybe some stories about recent proms too. Her husband is a science teacher at the high school.”
“That’s nice, but what about your prom?”
Erin looked at Kimmy’s earnest and eager face, and eventually settled on saying, “It was fine.”
“Do you not want to talk about your prom?” Kimmy asked, starting to pick up on the not-so-subtle clues.
The truth was that Erin did not want to talk about her prom. She had gotten stood up by her date, and since she had harbored a huge crush on him until that point, it was a very disappointing experience. She thought that she had some chemistry with the guy and had been overjoyed when he had asked her to the dance. However, his intention all along must have been to embarrass her. Erin would have been mortified if Ed had not swooped in as a last-minute replacement.
Erin didn’t want to talk about this painful moment in her teenage years, and she didn’t want to put the idea that something like this could happen to Kimmy as well into the young girl’s happy head.
“The dance itself was fun,” Erin told her. “It’s just that I ended up going to prom with the man I eventually married.”
“I’m sorry for bringing this up then,” Kimmy said quickly. “I know he was a big jerk to you in Hollywood. It must hurt to think about happy times too. I won’t talk about prom anymore.”
“I’m delighted to talk about your prom,” Erin clarified. “But I would prefer not to talk about my own.”
Kimmy nodded. She started sweeping up the shop but based on the spring in her step and how at moments she seemed to dance, Erin suspected that the young woman was still daydreaming about a potential date to the prom.
Erin checked with Adele who was still “deciding on her style,” and then was able to help Vicki out from under the dryer and over to Sylvia at the manicure table. Deena finished washing Sue Ellen’s hair and led her to the drying chairs.
Sue Ellen didn’t make a big fuss about this portion of her appointment. She merely said that she didn’t want to use the same seat that Vicki had recently been in. Deena positioned her in a different chair and turned the dryer on.
While it seemed like she had a few minutes of reprieve, she made her way over to Erin.
“Always a fun way to start the day,” Deena said sarcastically. “What demands did I miss while I was tending to Vicki earlier?”
Erin replied, “Apparently, we should be serving champagne.”
“Well, after this day we’re having I bet we could use a drink tonight. Want to get some wine at the Lakeside Bar after we close?”
“Sounds like fun,” Erin agreed. “I’m sorry that the salon’s most difficult client likes you best so you always have to deal with her. You do a great job with her ego as well as her hair though.”
“Thanks.” Deena leaned across the counter and whispered conspiratorially, “Of course, sometimes when she’s yelling, I do wish that she would drop dead.”
Erin knew that her friend was using hyperbole, but almost the instant after they guiltily smiled at this joke, Sue Ellen began coughing. She fells out of the drying chair and onto the floor as her coughing fit became more intense. Soon it seemed like she wasn’t able to breathe at all.
“What do we do?” Kimmy cried.
Erin grabbed the nearby phone and started to dial 911. Deena moved closer to Sue Ellen, who suddenly stopped moving.
“I can’t believe it,” Deena said, kneeling down to check for a pulse. “She’s dead.”
Chapter 2
“This doesn’t feel real,” Kimmy muttere
d. “It’s too awful.”
Erin placed an arm around her to try and provide some comfort. It was hard not to feel panicked after what they had just witnessed, and they were further reminded of the tragedy as the medical examiner arrived instead of an ambulance.
Erin sat outside with her employees and customers. Vicki’s hair had not been completely finished, and only one hand had colored nails on it. Adele alternated between looking gleeful and terrified about being so close to this piece of juicy gossip.
Sylvia and Deena were both silent. Sylvia was still and staring at the ground. Deena had some restless energy that expressed itself in anxious heel bounces and hand twisting.
Outside the shop provided a view of the local lake. It wasn’t one of the great ones located in the north of Illinois, but it provided a picturesque scene to the town. The weather was gentle and sunny. It was such a serene day outside that Erin had trouble matching it up with the terrible sight she had just witnessed inside the salon she loved.
“How could that have happened?” asked Kimmy.
“I don’t know,” Erin admitted. “But Detective Randall might have more information for us when she comes back.”
“I was always scared of Sue Ellen,” Kimmy said. “Now this is definitely going to be in my nightmares.”
Erin and the others waited for what seemed like an eternity, but what could not actually have been more than a half-hour. Kimmy’s mom arrived during this time and took over reassuring her daughter. Erin turned her focus over to Deena, who now looked pale.
“Can I get you something?” Erin asked her friend. “Do you need some water?”
Deena shrugged, but Erin thought it might be a good idea to look into getting everyone something to drink. They were all in various states of shock, and it would be good to get them something to stay hydrated.
She walked to the salon entrance, hoping to ask Detective Linda Randall if she could take some of the water bottles over to the waiting witnesses. However, it wasn’t Detective Randall that she saw when she got there. Instead, it was one of the last people she wanted to see.
“You! What are you doing here?” she asked before she realized that the words were spilling out of her mouth.
Harrison Connors looked up from the notebook he had been writing in. Based on the badge on his belt, the reason he was there was obvious. He must be Detective Randall’s partner and was examining the scene with her.
While Erin did immediately understand that Harrison was there because he was working, she still couldn’t wrap her head around why he had to be the one here at her salon.
This was the man who had stood her up at her prom, and now here he was standing in front of her again. He was older and appeared more athletic now than he had in high school, but he had the same piercing blue eyes and diligent look when he held a pen in his hand.
Erin had had such a big crush on Harrison when they were in school. They were in a few classes together, and when they were paired on a science project together Erin thought they had great chemistry. She thought that he felt the same way about her because he asked her to accompany him to the prom right after they finished their senior project. However, it must have been a joke for him and his friends. He had never picked her up for the dance and avoided her attempts to ask him what had happened.
Through the chatter at the salon, Erin had learned that he recently moved back to town to care for his mother and she vaguely remembered mention that he was part of the Glengrove Police Force. However, she had no desire to see him again and had been avoiding running into him.
What were the odds that Sue Ellen would have some sort of fatal medical incident at her salon, and then that the dreaded Harrison Connors would be called to the scene? Erin tried not to groan. This day kept getting worse and worse.
“I should be asking you that question,” Harrison replied.
“This is my salon,” Erin said. “I’m the owner.”
“But I believe my partner asked everyone to wait outside. You can follow simple directions, can’t you, Erin?”
She bristled at his tone. “Yes. And I can understand why you’d want us away from the immediate area but close enough to question. However, we all just saw something terrible happen before our eyes. One of my employees isn’t looking very well and I wanted to get her some water. I thought it was a better idea to grab something from here instead of leaving and going to the bistro.”
Harrison walked over to where her beverages were displayed for customers and examined the setup. She thought he was going to hand her a water bottle, but instead, he shook his head.
“I’m sorry. I’m not ready to release anything from the scene. Not until I know exactly what I’m dealing with.”
“And my employee who is looking faint should just…” She trailed off ,inviting him to come up with an appropriate response.
Erin knew her ire was up. She was upset about what had happened to Sue Ellen in her salon and she was feeling protective of her friend, Deena. She also was a little angry that her attempts to avoid talking to Harrison had finally been thwarted. She hated that even though many years had passed, when she saw him now, she kept thinking about how embarrassed she had been on her prom night. It was distracting when she should be focused on what should be done for her deceased customer.
“I don’t want anyone fainting on my watch,” Harrison said. “I’ll ask the medical examiner to check on your staff and customers before he leaves. If medical assistance is needed, we’ll provide it.”
She didn’t love this suggestion since she knew the medical examiner normally dealt with corpses and not the living, but she figured this was probably the best offer she was going to get from him. She agreed and was going to walk away, but then paused.
“While I’m here and trying to help my staff, I want to ask if Kimmy can leave. Her mom is here. She’s only sixteen and this has been really upsetting for her.”
Erin was starting to think of further arguments that she could use to convince the man she remembered as stubborn and somewhat cruel to agree with her, but it wasn’t necessary. Harrison nodded.
“If you provide us with her contact information so we can speak with her later, then the minor can leave. The rest of you will need to stay.”
Erin was surprised but grateful. “Thank you. Yes, I have her contact information on my phone and it’s also on my welcome desk. I think it will be good for her to go home.”
“And you’ll go back to the waiting area now?” he asked, though it did sound more than an order than a request.
Erin wanted to leave to get further away from both him and the area where Sue Ellen had passed away, but with how he had treated her in the past, she wasn’t eager to bow to his requests the instant he told her to. There was also something troubling her that she was trying to make sense of. Erin lingered in the doorway, much to the detective’s chagrin.
“Is this normal?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
Erin started listing the things that she thought might be strange. “If someone dies because of a medical condition, is it normal to keep everyone who was in the room as a witness? And to not let any water leave the building?”
“Who said her death was due to a medical condition?” he asked immediately.
Erin took a step back and stuttered. “No one but… That’s what it looked like. It suddenly seemed like she couldn’t breathe, but we were all in the same room as her and could breathe normally. You think it was something else?”