I was mystified and mortified. And totally at a loss as to what was going on. If he was arresting me, he could have waited until there were thirty fewer people around. Then it occurred to me, what if something had happened to my parents? Or one of my friends?
“Tell everyone good night and we’ll leave without making a scene.”
I was too stunned to do anything else. “Thanks for having me, gotta go. ’Bye.”
Clint kept his grip firm and escorted me to the door. Tara came rushing up with my coat on her arm. “Here you go, Camryn.” Clint took the coat from her and stepped back, releasing his hold. “Is it all right to give Camryn a hug?”
Clint must have nodded, because Tara threw her arms around me for a quick squeeze. “Thanks so much for coming. It was our best party ever.” Emily and Heather joined us and each gave me a hug, then Clint helped me into my coat and we left with a roomful of people calling out their thanks and good-byes.
“Are you going to tell me what this is all about?”
“Yes, very soon.”
“Why not now? Am I going to jail for a crime I didn’t commit?”
“No.”
“Well, that’s a relief anyway. My car is right over there.” The high heels made it tough for me to keep up with his pace, even with his arm around me, and I stumbled. He tightened his hold.
He leaned his head in closer to mine. “We’ll worry about your car later. Do you need me to carry you?”
“No, I can walk just fine if you’d slow down.” Amazingly, he did. “Clint, put me out of my misery and tell me what is going on.”
“You’ll know in a few minutes. No more talking until then.”
He walked me to his pickup, opened the passenger door, and helped me in. At least it wasn’t into the backseat of his police car. It must be something serious for him to drag me out of a party, and then not tell me what had happened. Maybe Benjamin Arnold had been found, dead or alive, and he needed me to identify him. What was it that couldn’t wait until I’d gotten home in an hour or two? I was about to break the silence, despite his warning, when he pulled into Erin’s driveway. It looked like there was a lamp on inside, but otherwise it was deserted.
“Did something happen to Erin?”
“Erin’s fine. Let’s go inside and she’ll tell you why she asked me to pick you up and bring you here.”
“Her mom—did something happen to her?”
Clint didn’t answer as we got out of the car and walked up to the front door. I waited while he rang the doorbell. Erin opened it a second later, and then all hell broke loose. Lights came on in the large living room, revealing a big group of people. My friends and family. And they all started singing “Happy Birthday.”
I’m sure I stood there with my mouth gaping open through the entire song. The place was decorated with streamers and balloons and made me feel like a kid again. When they’d finished singing, a few blew on noisemakers.
“You guys, I . . . I . . . don’t know what to say.” My birthday was the following week, on the twenty-eighth, and I’d never had a surprise party in my life, for any reason.
Pinky had the widest grin on her face of anyone. She wrapped an arm around me and handed me a glass of bubbly. “We never officially welcomed you back to Brooks Landing, and with your birthday coming up, we thought it was the perfect time to celebrate both special occasions.”
Erin closed in on my other side and gave my back a few pats. “You are the hardest person in the world to keep a secret from.”
“And then when you got asked to that other party on the same night as yours, we almost died,” Pinky said.
Erin nodded. “The only thing we could do was tell those three girls what was happening on our end, and that you’d be leaving early.”
“And we moved your party to an hour later,” Pinky finished.
My parents came up next and each gave me a kiss. That explained the funny look Mom had given Dad earlier. “So you were in on it, too.”
They both shrugged. “We didn’t want to spoil the surprise,” Mom said.
Pinky blew at the pink feathers of the boa scarf she had around her neck. “And then when Jerrell Powers turned up dead, we thought of postponing it until the case was settled; but then we decided that might take a long time and so we said, let’s go for it and have one night of fun anyway.”
There I was in my Marilyn Monroe getup, holding a champagne flute, surrounded by old friends from high school I hadn’t seen in years, my brothers and sisters, my best friends, some of our closer clients, and Clint. And my friends’ behavior the past couple of weeks made so much more sense. All the whispering, not including me in their activities, not returning my phone calls.
They weren’t shutting me out; they were planning a big celebration for me. I was overcome with emotion, and my eyes filled with tears. Mom pulled out a clean tissue from somewhere on her person and handed it to me. “Thanks.”
No one asked me to recap my scary adventure in the park, and I figured Erin and Pinky and Mark had warned the guests ahead of time not to broach the subject, which was more than fine by me. I’d thought Clint’s duty had ended after he’d safely delivered me to Erin’s, but he hung around and acted like he was enjoying himself, talking to people and eating some of the tasty Mexican cuisine treats they’d had catered by a local restaurant. He even raised his glass of champagne when Erin suggested they toast the “woman of the hour.”
Being the center of attention at two parties in one night took a lot of energy, especially with all the things going on in the background with the investigation and Benjamin Arnold hanging around town.
Mark snuck up behind me and put his hands over my eyes as he’d done a hundred times through the years. “Guess who?”
“Superman?”
“Pretty darn close.” He removed his hands and moved to face me. “Cami, the way you look tonight almost makes me forget our platonic friendship history.” He wore a silly grin.
I gave him a peck on the cheek. “Thanks, Mark, but this Cinderella will be turning in her glass slippers soon, and when you see me tomorrow, I’ll be back to small shop worker status.”
“Ah, well, I suppose it’s for the best. Remember when we kissed that time? How old were we anyway?”
“Seventeen, senior year. A gang of us had gone to the varsity football game, and then over to Pinky’s for a party. Someone had the dumb idea of playing spin the bottle. You had to kiss me.”
“Don’t make it sound like it was a bad thing.”
“Of course it wasn’t bad. There was just no spark.”
“Right. But I’m wondering what it would be like to kiss Marilyn Monroe tonight.”
I bopped him on the chest. “You’ll have to keep wondering, my friend.”
“All right, if you say so.”
Archie Newberry joined us. “You sure are spiffed up tonight, Cami. I almost didn’t recognize you when you came in. Your ma was the one who told me it was you.”
I smiled, hoping I didn’t look as bad without my costume on as I was starting to believe. After we’d talked a while, I limped over to a chair by the dining room table and took my weight off my feet, which had likely swollen at least one size. And I didn’t even have water retention issues. How women in the old days managed to work all day on their feet in heels at bank or clerk jobs, I would never begin to understand. My back—my whole body—was shouting protests after only a few hours.
Erin and Pinky pulled up chairs next to me. “Mark said we should play spin the bottle after Archie and your family leave,” Erin said and laughed.
“Like we did in the old days, since most of our high school friends are here,” Pinky added.
“I think Mark was kidding, but don’t you dare get any ideas, or I’ll go hide. And I’d hate to miss such a fun party.” I crossed my leg and bent over to rub my foot.
“Those shoes are super cool, but I was wondering how you could stand wearing them,” Pinky said.
“Speaking as one who is ve
rtically challenged, I’ve been envying Cami all night,” Erin said.
“The price we pay for authenticity,” I said. I uncrossed and recrossed my legs so I could work on the other foot. “I really appreciate you guys throwing this party. When I walked in the door expecting some kind of bad news and saw everyone, I was touched more than I can ever tell you. It’s been the best birthday party that I can remember.”
“Sorry we acted so crazy about you going to that other party,” Erin said.
“But can you imagine after setting the date for this party and inviting everyone, if we had to uninvite everyone?” Pinky said.
Mark had overheard us talking and walked over. He curled his hands, blew on the tips, and buffed them on his chest as if congratulating himself. “But I came up with a solution. With Clint’s help, that is. I told the girls, ‘Why can’t we fix it so Cami can go to both parties?’ So we had our people come an hour later and we told Tara what was going on so when Clint showed up to get you, she wouldn’t make a big stink about you leaving.”
“I was the only one who almost did that. But then I figured if I was under arrest, I would be in less trouble if I cooperated,” I said.
Mark reached over and put his hand on mine. “That is true. Keep that in mind on the very slim chance that happens, Marilyn.”
Pinky stood up. “Looks like your sisters are getting ready to take your parents home.”
Erin and I got up with her and said our good-byes to my family and Archie and others as they left for home. As midnight rolled around, the only people still there were Pinky, Erin, Mark, Clint, and me. “I’ll help you clean up,” I said.
Pinky put her hands on my shoulders and steered me toward the door. “You’ll do no such thing.”
“Not much to do. People pretty much cleaned up themselves. There’s a little food to put away, and I’ll throw the dishes in the sink to soak overnight. Not a big deal at all,” Erin said as she got my coat out of her front closet.
I gave the three hosts bear hugs and thanked them. “You should not have done this, but I’m really glad you did. You are absolutely right: with all the bad stuff from the last couple of weeks, we needed a night of fun.”
“Just what the doctor ordered, as my dad used to say.” Erin smiled and raised her eyes to the picture of her father and mother that hung on the wall behind the couch.
Clint, who I’d hardly seen all night, joined us in the entry. “Ready, Marilyn?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Mark nudged Clint with his elbow. “Get her home safely, and no good-night kisses unless she says it’s okay.”
Clint was rendered speechless, as was I. I gave Mark the meanest-looking scowl I was able to muster. He was unrepentant and grinned then broke into a belly laugh. I would get back at him as soon as was humanly possible. Clint reached for the doorknob, but I got there first and opened the door and stepped out. When my waddle gave me away, Clint slipped a hand around my waist and lifted me slightly. “Why don’t you take those things off before you fall and break something?”
“I’ll be fine . . . if you keep your arm where it is.” Heaven help me, the words were out before I could stop myself. And I didn’t even care. I was honestly worried I might fall, but was too stubborn to take my fancy shoes off and go stocking footed. Another bite out of the humble pie I’d been eating big portions of lately.
Clint helped me into his truck and before I fastened my seat belt, I leaned over, unbuckled my shoes, and eased them off. I was hoping to restore some feeling in my toes before I got behind the wheel of my car.
Clint got in the driver’s seat and turned on the engine. “I’ll give you a ride home and we’ll pick up your car in the morning.”
“Really, I’m fine to drive. I sipped on a weak drink at Tara’s and only had the one glass of champagne at Erin’s.”
“I know you aren’t impaired. It’s late and it’s dark, especially in your alley. Benjamin Arnold connected with you once, and I’d feel much better if I park in front of your house, where it’s lighter, and make sure you get in safely.”
Clint was starting to scare me about how dark my backyard was at night. Installing better, brighter security lights was something to check on. “Okay.”
The drive home lasted a long four minutes with my solemn, silent chauffeur. He finally spoke when he pulled up to my house and turned off the engine. “Sit there a minute while I take a look around.” He got out of his pickup and I undid my seat belt and craned my neck to see where he was going. He cut around the side of my house to the backyard then returned to the truck a few minutes later. He opened the passenger door and offered his hand to help me out. “No sign of anyone hiding out back there, which makes me feel better. I’ll walk you in.”
“I should be more stable on my feet now,” I said and lifted my shoes up as the explanation.
“Good.” Clint put his arm through mine anyway and delivered me to the front door. “If you have a few minutes, I’ll give you an update on Benjamin Arnold.”
“Sure, come on in.” I slipped off my coat and hung it in the front closet, then we went into the kitchen. “Would you like anything to drink? Water, anything?”
“No, thanks. It’s late so I’ll be brief.” I sat down at the kitchen table and Clint did the same. “First I stopped in at the hotel, which rents rooms out by the week. Then the two motels. And between two other officers and myself, we talked to just about every rental property owner in the downtown area. And got nothing. There are a few duplex owners who rent out their lower levels, but they are more particular who they rent to, generally speaking. At any rate, that’s where we’re at.”
I nodded. “How about the list of people Erin gave you? The ones who had been at her house in the last month.”
“Without going into details about the investigation, I can tell you we’ve talked to all but a couple. And no luck there, either. We’ve got to find Benjamin Arnold.”
“What if he’s not the one who did it?”
“Then we figure out who did. We can’t eliminate Arnold until we interview him. If he’s got a valid alibi—which I doubt or he would have come forward by now—we can release him to Cottonwood County, since they have a fugitive-from-justice hold on him.”
“No word from his parents, either?”
“No, I called them today as well, to let them know their son had changed his appearance somewhat and has been spotted on a few occasions in Brooks Landing. His mother said she couldn’t imagine what he’d be doing here, but I didn’t get into any of what he’d told you.” Clint stood up. “What time should I pick you up tomorrow?”
Something I’d forgotten about? “For what?”
“To get your car.”
I put my hands on the table and pushed myself up. “Golly, I must be tired. Does nine forty work?”
He gave a single nod and said, “See you then,” and started for the front door.
“Clint.” When he turned I noticed the dark circles under his eyes and wondered when he’d last had a good night’s sleep. “Thanks. For everything.”
With another nod, he went out the door and headed to his truck. I glanced down at the floor and saw a penny lying there. I bent over and picked it up. “All right, there has been plenty of excitement around here lately, so I hope this means things are about to calm down.” I carried the penny into the living room and dropped it into the blue and brown ceramic dish on the coffee table with the others I’d found lately.
I plopped down on the couch with hopes of relaxing after one of the most unpredictable evenings of my life. So the reason my friends hadn’t wanted me to go to Tara and company’s party was because they had planned one for me the same night. I grabbed a pillow, hugged it to my chest, and laughed. At least I wouldn’t have to explain to my first hosts why the assistant chief of police had publicly dragged me off in the middle of their celebration. The fact that they knew about it ahead of time eased my embarrassment. And if they never invited me to another party, that was
understandable and fine. I’d actually had more fun there than I’d thought I would. Almost everyone was attentive and appreciative and made me feel special. It’d be nice to have more friends, and although their initial interest was because of my park adventure, the three girls had treated me like they genuinely cared.
Of course, what my friends had done for me made me feel like royalty. The whole time I’d thought they were ignoring me they were gearing up for a big celebration. I’d been wondering if they were covering up their possible involvement in Jerrell Powers’s death, and instead it was a surprise for me. Deep in my soul I’d doubted any of them was capable of such a thing, but you heard the same thing from people on the news all the time. “I never would have believed So-and-So would be involved with something like this.”
If it wasn’t Mark or Erin or Pinky or Benjamin Arnold, did that mean the pendulum of potential guilt swung toward Pamela or Lauren or May? There were two things the killer had to have a connection to: the snow globe–making class and Erin Vickerman’s knife. Archie? He hadn’t taken the class, but he was at Erin’s house on a fairly regular basis. Besides, why would he take one of her knives? He was protective of Erin and wouldn’t do anything to implicate her in a crime, especially stealing her knife then using it to kill someone.
I couldn’t imagine Pam would have been involved either. She was sincerely broken up by Jerrell’s death, further evidenced by her need to give him a decent burial.
My top two suspects, then, were May and Lauren. How either one of them had pulled the whole thing off, then returned to plant and remove suspicious-looking snow globes, was a mystery I couldn’t quite solve. I went into the bedroom and breathed a sigh of relief when I unzipped my dress, got out of my costume, and put on my pajamas. The little bird in the living room clock let out a lone “cuckoo,” letting me know it was one o’clock in the morning.
I pulled on my pink bunny slippers and smiled. They were silly and not at all my style, but they were from one of my best friends in the world. One who’d thrown a big party in my honor. I cinched the robe’s tie on my waist and went into the bathroom to wash off my makeup and brush my teeth, then went back to the couch. I pulled the fuzzy afghan from the back of the couch and tucked it around me as I slid into a reclining position and recapped the evening, thinking about each person I’d met at Tara’s and each one who’d been at my birthday party. When I’d mentally gone through the whole group of high school friends, and all our conversations, my mind shifted to my encounter Thursday night and locked on a pressing question. “Where in Brooks Landing are you hiding, Mr. Benjamin Arnold?”
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