“Marty, listen, I just want you to know, I still like you. If I can, uh, help you out in any way, do anything for you, just give me an effing call,” his voice cracked.
I couldn’t look at him. I snatched up my bag, left my other things, and darted out to my car, barely making it before the tears finally caught up to me. I don’t know how long I sat there bawling, but, eventually, finally, I managed to stop. I desperately wanted to just go home to pig out on junk food and binge-watch sad movies while feeling super sorry for myself, but, of course, I had to open the gift shop. And, I was already an hour late in doing that.
The whole way downtown my emotions bounced between sheer unmitigated fury and utter despair. I couldn’t believe that in the last two days I’d had to deal with Ricky Ray’s disappearance, the knowledge that my family didn’t want Tim and I to get married, finding out that our listeners hated me, losing my job, and, of course, the worst thing of all, Vivi’s murder. I couldn’t help ruminating on those last few minutes before she died, wishing and praying I could time travel and stop her from drinking that coconut water, wondering if it had been meant for me, terrified that it had. When I pulled into the parking lot behind the Glenvar Gift Shop, I looked up at the sky and shook my fist, cursing those wretched Bimbos of Bane, wondering if I was doomed to spend the rest of my life trying to out run them.
14
I probably shouldn’t have done that fist shaking and cursing thing because the wicked women immediately cursed me right back. Not only was my phone missing, but so to were my keys to the shop. I dug down in the bag, resorted to dumping everything out on the loading dock, searched my car, and tried to conjure up when I’d last seen them. That had been the previous Thursday when I locked up the store. I’d been in a hurry, anxious to get out of there since Charli was covering on Friday, giving me a three-day weekend. Surely I hadn’t left them in the door, had I? No. Charli would have found them when she opened Friday and she would never let me hear the end of it if I’d made that sort of mistake. Where, then, could the danged things be? I wracked my brain, trying to remember.
Of course! My tote bag had dumped out over at Miss Guydie’s when Sugar tried to fight me and again over at May Lynda’s when she’d broken the glass. Hopefully, my phone and the keys were at one place or the other. Or, perhaps, back at my apartment. That was also a possibility. I trudged across Main Street to the local coffee shop and used their phone to call Charli.
I’d decided on my way over that I wasn’t ready to tell anyone about getting fired just yet, especially not over the phone, so I just told her I’d gotten hung up at the station, I’d misplaced the shop keys, and that I’d run over by her house to pick them up since Jaelyn was still not feeling well.
“That’s fine,” she said. “Oh, wait. I’ve got a better idea. Why don’t we just go ahead and stay closed another day. In light of Vivi’s death and your, uhm, involvement in it, I know our customers will understand. Not to mention, in-store business is a little slow right now. I suspect we’ll be slammed until Christmas once we have that big Black Friday shop local promo. Plus, we’ll be staying open later most nights. Might as well take advantage of the lull and get rested up before the crazed frenzy. I looked earlier and there are about a dozen online orders, but nothing that needs special shipping. Filling them can wait until tomorrow.”
I actually breathed a huge sigh of relief. The way I felt, the last thing I wanted to do was have to pretend to be nice to people. “Well, if you’re sure. I’ll slap a new note on the front door saying we’ll definitely be open tomorrow.”
“Sounds good. Why don’t you come on by here after that and have some lunch. We need to plan our schedule and I’ve got a couple of fun sales promotion ideas I want to run by you.”
I contemplated not going since I was still mad at her about what she’d said about Tim and me, and, like I said, I wasn’t particularly in the mood to act nice to others, but she bribed me by mentioning that she’d made my favorite German chocolate pie and homemade vegetable soup. I’m willing to let go of lot when German chocolate pie is the payoff.
Charli’s house was quiet and calm since the boys were at school and Jaelyn was asleep. Over our lunch of her delicious soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, I swore Charli to secrecy and told her about losing my job.
“At least they’re giving you that severance pay,” Charli said.
“True, but it’s really not that much, especially right before Christmas. I really wanted to get Tim something great.” I sighed. “I’m just so dad gum sick and tired of always being broke.”
Charli patted my hand. “I know things are sort of slow down at the gift shop right now, but during the holiday season it’s going to be crazy busy. We were going to have to hire someone to work those extra evening hours, but you can work them if you want to. In fact, you can work as many hours as you feel like doing.”
“Thanks, sis. Tell you what, I’ll start by working the whole day tomorrow.”
“I was actually hoping you would. I think it best to keep Jaelyn out of preschool one more day. She’s feeling some better, but still pretty cranky.”
We spent about thirty minutes talking about Charli’s promotional ideas for the holiday season and planning out our work schedules for the rest of the year. I made sure to build in some time for job hunting.
“At least they released me from the non-compete clause. Although I don’t think anyone is in need of a DJ around here right now. Hopefully, after the holidays one of the other stations will have an opening, even if it’s just part-time or fill-in at first.”
Charli brewed us each a cup of French vanilla coffee and cut two slices of the pie. “Don’t take this wrong, but have you thought about maybe going back to school?” She passed me one of the slices and a can of whipped cream.
I almost lost my temper, but caught myself. When I’d been out of work earlier in the year, when the first big conglomerate that bought the station from Georgina had attempted a syndicated format, Mom and Charli had nearly driven me nuts the whole time I’d been off giving me advice on how I needed to fix my life.
“Can we change the subject, please? I do not need another lecture from you or Mom on my life choices.”
Charli came around to my side of the table and tried to hug me. I jerked away.
“Seriously, Marty,” she said, “I really and truly did not mean that the way you’re taking it. I’m not trying to boss you around or criticize you or lecture you or anything. I’m just trying to help.”
“Well, it’s not helping. It’s just making me feel worse. I just, I, I wish you all would just back the heck off. Especially now. This has been about as crappy of a week as I’ve ever had.”
“I know, sweetie. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make things worse.” She went back around to her side of the table. I could tell that she had more she wanted to say, but she held her tongue for once. “So, what else are you going to do today, now that you’re freed up?” she asked, in a contrived cheery tone.
“Well, I’ve got to find my phone and the shop keys, for one thing. Also, I told May Lynda I’d run over to the Riley’s and pick up Vivi’s belongings. After that I’m, uh...” I didn’t want Charli to know about my working out, so I kept it a secret that I was going to see if Otey wanted to meet me out at Skillet Road for a training session. I also had promised Beau I’d keep her presence a secret, so I just shrugged. “Probably sleep or something.”
Thinking about Vivi and Beau reminded me that something had been bothering me. I decided to run it by Charli. Even though she’s way too nosy when it comes to my personal life, I actually trust her judgment about other stuff.
“So, I’ve been thinking about Vivi. Do you think it’s weird she showed up so soon after Ricky Ray went missing? I mean, it’s not exactly a short jaunt from L.A. to Glenvar. I don’t know how on earth she would have had time to pack, buy a ticket, get to the airport, and fly all the way across the country and get here as quick as she did on Sunday.”
; Charli was about to take a big bite of her pie. Instead, she set her fork down on the edge of her plate and gave me her full attention. “I hadn’t really thought about it. I guess she could have come here from somewhere closer. Maybe she was in New York or somewhere on the east coast.”
“Maybe. Or, maybe she knew in advance that Ricky was going to disappear.” I used my fingers to make air quote marks when I said disappear.
Charli took a minute to chew that over. “No. No way. You don’t honestly believe Ricky would have planned this, do you? I mean, his car was at the bottom of a ravine. His house was trashed. His poor momma is about to lose her mind. That would be low, even for Ricky.”
She was right of course. I felt sort of bad even thinking it. “You’re right. I’m sure it was because she wasn’t coming from L.A.”
But, then again, Charli didn’t know about Beau. I tried to remember what exactly Beau had said, but couldn’t. I definitely needed more information. But how was I going to get it? The answer instantly popped into my head: by snooping through Vivi’s things, of course. Okay, yes, I’m ashamed that I thought of it and even more ashamed that I actually did it. Sort of.
I decided not to tell Charli about my plan, figuring that if she didn’t know, she couldn’t try to talk me out of it. “Can I use your phone? I’m going to see if I can track down my phone and the shop keys, then go over to the Riley’s to get Vivi’s things.”
I tried May Lynda’s first. She had found my phone under her coffee table, but hadn’t seen the keys. “I’m over at Gramma’s right now, but when I get home later this evening, I’ll look around again. They might be up under the sofa or somewhere like that.”
“That would be great. I’m going to swing over by the Riley’s right now and get your sister’s belongings. I’ll be over to Miss Guydie’s in about an hour, if that’s okay. I can just get my phone from you then.”
When I got to the Riley’s, Tim and another Glenvar police officer were busy stringing up yellow and black ”police line – do not cross” tape around the yard. Most of the fringe groups of fans had finally drifted off back to their real lives, leaving only the most hard-core Rays still holding vigil. Not surprisingly, Rose and Sugar were among them. They huddled in the street next to Tim’s police cruiser, clearly incensed about being evicted from the Riley’s yard.
I parked my car in front of the house next door and joined Tim. “Hey, you. What’s this all about?”
He positively beamed when he saw me, instantly lifting my spirits. “Trying to keep out the riff-raff. They’re making the Riley’s lives a complete nightmare since Izzy’s not here to control them. What about you? Shouldn’t you be at the gift shop?”
I decided to wait until later to tell him about getting fired from the station since I knew he’d worry about it and I didn’t want him to be distracted during his shift. “I misplaced my keys to the shop and got hung up at the radio station. Since it was late and business is a little slow, Charli decided to stay closed another day.”
“At least it’s a nice day. You helping out Mrs. Riley again?” He gestured toward the house.
“No. May Lynda asked if I’d pick up Vivi’s stuff. I’m going to get it and take it over to Miss Guydie’s, then probably head on home. May Lynda found my phone, by the way, so once I go over there, I’ll be back in business if you need me.”
“We still meeting for dinner?” He strung the last of the tape around the Riley’s mailbox and tied a knot.
“Sure. Wanna hit up Pilazzo’s? I’ll call in an order so you won’t have to waste time,” I said. “By the way, any news on Ricky Ray or the investigation into Vivi’s death?”
“Still waiting for tox screen on Vivi. They’re pulling Ricky’s car out of the ravine today.” He checked his watch. “Probably any minute now as a matter of fact. I think they’re taking it over to Danner’s. Well, the place that used to be Danner’s.”
I shuddered, reminded of my ordeal from earlier in the summer. “They still don’t know where Ricky is or how the car ended up where it did?”
“Nope.” He looked around to make sure that the other officer wasn’t able to hear him. “I’m not really supposed to say anything, but Winger’s working theory is that Vivi’s murder is somehow connected with Ricky being missing. I’m not sure I buy it, but it is pretty fishy, you know?”
“He doesn’t suspect me, does he?”
Tim had the sense to act shocked that I’d even ask. “Of course not, Marty. Winger’s a smart guy. The only reason he suspected you those other times was because he didn’t know you. He does now and he actually likes you. He thinks you’re smart and funny. Well, he said clever and goofy, but that’s the same thing.”
I was equally sure that goofy was exactly what the good detective had meant. As far as clever, I suspect he hadn’t meant it as a compliment. “Right. Like I believe that.”
The other officer finished stringing up the last of the tape and loped over to us. “You about ready?” he asked Tim.
“Yeah, just give me another minute,” Tim told him. He waited until his partner walked out of ear shot. “I better get moving. Love you.”
“Love you, too. See you tonight.”
The vague odor of Vivi’s expensive perfume and almond flavored vape juice lingered in Ricky Ray’s former bedroom. I flipped on the bedside lamp and looked around. The bed was neatly made and Vivi’s suitcase lay open on top of it. I felt a little icky rifling through it, but only a little. She had been a very neat packer. Her clothes were packaged inside those separate packing cubes according to purpose: skimpy thongs in one, a couple of flimsy lace bras in another, a slinky black see-through nightgown and matching robe in another.
I found a jewelry case containing an assortment of understated earrings and necklaces of the sort that a lot of professional women wear wedged in one pocket. The only interesting thing in it were several photographs. One was of a wide gold band etched with criss-crossing lines. A second one was a close up of the inside inscription of the ring, “amor aeternus”, which I recognized from my high school Latin classes as meaning eternal love, and the initials BRT and LJJ. I thought it was really strange Vivi would have photos of someone else’s ring, but decided she probably just liked it a lot and had the pictures so she could eventually get one like it made.
The other pictures were even stranger. Three were of what looked like the pages of a hand-written letter. The writing was tiny and hard to make out, but the jist of it was that the writer, B, couldn’t wait to do some really dirty things with L.J., the intended recipient. The final photo was also of a document, but it appeared to be from an accounting ledger.
I was bummed that I didn’t have my phone so I could take pictures of the pictures. I even entertained the idea of keeping the photos, but the little Mom-faced angel that sometimes sits on my right shoulder gave the little Marty-faced devil a good swift kick about then and I reluctantly put the pictures back in the jewelry case.
Next, I retrieved Vivi’s garment bag from the closet and checked through it. There wasn’t much inside, just two silk blouses, a pair of Coletta jeans and two t-shirts. She’d tucked another pair of those fancy heels into the bottom shoe pockets along with a pair of pristine white sneakers. It seemed that she hadn’t expected to be away for very long.
So far, my snooping left a lot to be desired. I found her toiletry kit and a makeup bag with most of the contents scattered on the vanity in the downstairs bathroom. After I searched through the two bags, again finding nothing of interest, I gathered all of the expensive products, stuffed them in the two bags, and headed back to the bedroom, where I put the two smaller bags inside her suitcase, and closed it. On the front of the suitcase I noticed a zippered pocket. Not really expecting anything, I opened it and stuck my hand down inside. Jackpot!
Inside a white envelope, I found Vivi’s itinerary and travel documents. I checked the travel itinerary first. She had flown from L.A. to Nashville on Friday, arriving there early Friday evening. She had been sche
duled to fly from Nashville back to L.A. on Tuesday, the day she was murdered. So, Charli was right. She had been on the east coast. There was nothing in the envelope indicating she had flown from Nashville to Glenvar on Sunday, but since it would have been her most recent flight, maybe the boarding pass was in her purse or on her phone, both, of course, in the possession of the Glenvar P.D. I made a mental note to ask Tim about it when I saw him later.
I clicked my tongue and thought things over. Vivi hadn’t mentioned being in Nashville before coming to Glenvar, but it wasn’t like we’d had a lot of chit-chat about her life. On the other hand, she had told me and Mrs. Riley that she’d last heard from Ricky about noon on Friday when he’d texted her. If she’d gone to Nashville on Friday to work with Ricky, wouldn’t she have been upset that he wasn’t there? Unless she had been there on business not related to Ricky Ray. I guess that was a possibility. I stuck the travel documents back in the envelope and stuffed it back in the suitcase compartment. As soon as I had a chance, I’d give Charli a call and see what she thought.
I checked the room once more to make sure I hadn’t overlooked anything, gathered up the garment bag and suitcase, thanked Mrs. Riley, and left. The displaced Rays still stood gathered in a circle out in the street, but they’d moved over by my car. Sugar presided in the middle of the circle, her arms waving around, yelling about their rights being violated. A couple of the saner appearing Rays attempted to calm her down, but she grew more and more agitated. Clearly, the woman had lost the rest of what little marbles she had.
Unfortunately, Tim and the other officer were long gone. I didn’t want another confrontation, but, on the other hand, I also didn’t want to spend the rest of the day hiding out on the Riley’s front porch waiting for them to disperse. I went back inside and used the Riley’s phone to call Otey and see if he was available to play bodyguard.
He roared up about ten minutes later. Most of the women had evidently grown sick of Sugar’s antics and were in the process of setting up lawn chairs in the little pocket-park catty-corner from the Riley’s house. Three or four of Sugar’s minions and her main sidekick, Rose, still held steady, though, listening intently to Sugar’s cockamamie argument. When Otey dismounted his bike, Sugar stopped mid-sentence and scowled at him. He took his time removing his helmet, then lumbered over to the little group, pointed his trigger finger at her, and said “boo”!
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