by Nicole Ellis
He shook his head. “The way you always talked about her, I thought she would be a total monster, but she was really sweet to me.”
I pressed my lips together, trying not to scream in the middle of the kids’ carnival. “She and I don’t always see eye to eye.”
“Understood, but maybe she isn’t as bad as you think. You do have small kids in common, after all.” He nodded to Nancy’s daughter, who was dressed as a fairy princess.
Maybe he had a point. I’d always butted heads with Nancy, but was it time to genuinely try to forge a more amicable relationship with her?
I looked over at Nancy, who caught my gaze. She stabbed a finger in Mikey’s direction and glared at me. “Get him!” she mouthed.
While Adam and I were talking, I’d taken my attention off of Mikey and now he was splashing water at one of his friends. Still, he wasn’t the only one doing it and she didn’t have to be so mean. Although Adam may have made friends with her, there was no way I was ever going to do the same.
Desi arrived soon after and I pulled her aside to tell her about Adam and Nancy’s new friendship.
“Seriously?” She wrinkled her nose. “Maybe she’s nicer to men?”
I shook my head. “Maybe.”
She pointed to her watch. “I think it’s our turn to man the bounce house.”
She was right.
“Let me go remind Adam that he’s in charge of Mikey when he’s not in the bounce house.” I found Adam and told him.
Desi and I watched our boys playing in the bounce house for the next hour. When the carnival was winding down and they were the only kids left in the bounce house, I put Ella down on the inflatable, just beyond the door, and warned the boys not to bump her. She froze, not sure what was going on. They knelt down a foot or so away from her and gently bounced, causing her to float up and down. She grinned and scrambled away, further into the bounce house.
“Uh,” I said to Desi. “Should I get her?”
She laughed. “She’s fine. The boys will be careful.”
Nancy came over to us. “No children under one in the bounce house. She’s not one yet, is she?” She squinted at me.
“She’ll be one in a few days.”
“But she’s not yet,” she said firmly. “Get her out now. And close it down. We’ve got to get it put away.”
I sighed. “Boys, can you please bring Ella out? It’s time to go.”
“Mommy! I want to stay longer.”
“Sorry, buds,” Desi said, sticking her head inside. “Time to go.”
They reluctantly guided Ella over to the edge and followed her out of the bounce house. Adam, the kids, and I walked home, tired, but contented. Ella fell asleep in the stroller before we left the preschool parking lot and even all of the candy Mikey had consumed that evening wasn’t enough to keep him awake. Adam ended up carrying him home the last two blocks.
“That was fun,” Adam said, after we’d put the kids to bed.
I smiled. “It was.” It was nice having him home. The last two years, I’d taken Mikey to the carnival myself. His new job might not provide much financial security yet and I was having a hard time adjusting to him constantly being underfoot, but we were already reaping the benefits of having him home.
15
The next day, I went with Desi to Lindstrom’s department store at the mall to meet with Mindy’s daughter. With all of the fruitless searching we’d done recently, I really hoped she’d have the key with her and that we would be able to locate the file Desi needed to do her treasurer job.
“What department does she work in?” The store was massive, with two floors and dozens of different departments. A singsong voice sounded over the loudspeaker, asking Mary to call extension 121. Perfume drifted over to us from the cosmetics area, making me sneeze. Usually, I tried to avoid walking past the perfume sprayers, but I wasn’t sure where we were going in the store.
“She said Women’s Dresses.” Desi crossed the tile floor to check out a directory stationed at the bottom of the escalator. “Looks like it’s on the second floor.”
We rode the escalator to the second floor, enjoying the live piano music floating up through the atrium. At the top, bright skylights illuminated the shiny white and blue tiles. All around us was women’s clothing. How were we going to find Stacey’s department?
A discreet sign hanging on one wall read “Women’s Dresses.”
“There.” I pointed at it.
“Good eye,” Desi said. She moved with purpose toward that area, stopping at the cash register.
One person was ahead of us in line, trying to negotiate with the clerk on the most complicated return ever. When it was finally our turn, Desi asked the clerk, “Do you know where I can find Stacey Stevens?”
“She’s sorting dresses over there.” The petite woman stood on her tiptoes and pointed toward a tall rack in the corner of the store.
Desi flashed her a grin. “Thanks!”
We walked over to the metal rack, which was thick with dresses, not seeing Stacey until we were practically on top of her. When we found her, she was holding a dress in the air and checking the tag.
“Can I help you?” Stacey asked, without looking away from her task of sorting the dresses by size.
“Hi, Stacey.” Desi waited patiently for her to finally notice who we were.
“Oh, hi.” She looked between us. “I remember seeing you both at the funeral. You came for the key, right? I wasn’t sure you would.” She turned her wrist over and checked the time. “The key is in my locker. I have a break in ten minutes, so I can get it then. Do you mind hanging out until then?”
“No problem,” Desi said breezily. “I’m sure we can find something to do.”
She ushered me away, into the forest of fancy dresses. “How about this dress for you? You’d look fabulous in it.” She held up a forest green silk ensemble with sequins around the neckline.
It was pretty, although I had nowhere to wear it. Still it was fun to play the dress-up game. I reached for it and flipped over the price tag. Six hundred dollars. Yikes.
“Put it back,” I said, dropping the tag like it had burned me. “I can’t afford that.”
“You could try it on,” she sang out.
“Uh huh.” I shook my head. “I don’t want to accidentally snag it and get stuck buying it.”
“Fine,” Desi pouted. She replaced it on the rod and rummaged through the other dresses on the racks. “How about this one for me?” She waggled her eyebrows.
I had to laugh. The dress was hot pink, with a flirty skirt and low neckline—perfect for a sixteen-year-old’s prom, but the antithesis of something Desi would wear. “Oh, yes, that’s definitely your style. I can totally see you wearing it to the next policeman’s ball.”
She held it against herself and swayed a little. “Wouldn’t it make a good impression on Tomàs’s co-workers?” She giggled and put it back. “Seriously, though, we need to get out on the town more. Have a reason to wear a nice dress. I feel like all I ever do anymore is change diapers and work. I need some fun.”
“I think Everton has a mom prom every spring. Want to be my date?” I asked. I ran my fingers over a beautiful midnight blue satin dress that probably cost more than a week’s salary. Desi had a point—we did need to do more things without the kids.
“Sounds fun. Let me know if you find out anything more about it.” She continued looking through the dresses, this time with a more serious expression on her face.
“Hey,” Stacey said as she approached us. “I’m going on break now. I’ll be right out with the key.”
“Great, thanks so much,” Desi said. “I really appreciate how helpful you’ve been. When your mother’s husband told us most of her belongings had already been placed in storage, I thought I’d never find it.”
Stacey rolled her eyes. “Joseph. Ugh. I hate that guy. I was never so happy as when my mom told me she was divorcing him for some new guy.” She shook her head. “She’d be turning
over in her grave if she knew he got her life insurance policy.”
Desi and I looked at each other.
“When we were at the apartment, he was in the middle of discussions with the insurance company,” Desi said. “I was surprised that he’d inherited the money because I’d heard your mother was getting a divorce.”
“I have no clue what happened,” Stacey said. “She told me she’d changed the primary beneficiary back to me. I can’t believe that loser will get two million dollars.” She swore under her breath, then looked around, as if to make sure none of her co-workers had heard. “I know she wanted me to have it if she died.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “It’s awful when the beneficiary on a life insurance policy isn’t changed when relationships change. I had that happen to a friend of mine.”
“Mom was always so careful about updating things. It seems strange she wouldn’t have changed this. I’m going to challenge it, of course.” She checked her watch again. “Anyway, I’d better get you the key before my break is over.” She turned abruptly and made a beeline for a door near the other corner of the store.
We moved away from the dresses and slowly walked in the direction Stacey had gone. A few minutes later, she came out, holding a round orange keychain with one small key attached.
“Here.” She handed it to Desi. “It’s the Storage Lot in Everton, number 115.”
“115,” Desi repeated, rubbing her finger over the lettering on the front of the keychain. “Thanks. Do you want me to bring it back to you here?”
“Sure. I’m working until nine,” she said. “Hey, if you find anything that might help me convince the insurance company that the money should be mine instead of Joseph’s let me know.” She pouted. “He doesn’t even need the money. I’m the one with the big student loans to pay off.”
“We will,” I promised.
Desi nodded. “Thanks.”
She disappeared back into the employee area. Desi and I rode the escalator downstairs and exited the building.
“That was kind of fun,” Desi said. “We should go shopping more often. Have a girl’s day.”
“That MUMs fashion show really got to you, didn’t it?” I grinned at her. She was right though, it had been fun.
“I did want to buy that matching mother–daughter outfit that Lina and I wore in the fashion show,” Desi admitted. “But then I realized it would only fit her for a few months and then it would just be a mother outfit. It didn’t seem so cute then.”
“Next time maybe.”
She beeped her minivan open and we got back into it.
“Do you have time to go to the storage unit with me?” Desi asked.
“I wouldn’t miss it.” I’d come this far, I might as well finish the quest. Plus, the day out with Desi had already been fun. Maybe we’d uncover buried treasure at the storage place.
16
“I swear she said Unit 151,” Desi said. “I don’t know why this isn’t working.” She stabbed the key into the lock another time.
I brushed my hair back with my hand and pulled my coat tighter against my torso. It was colder inside the multi-story storageplex than it was outside.
“It’s not working. Are you sure that’s the right unit number? You’ve tried the lock a million times already. Why didn’t you write down the unit number?” I asked.
“I was too caught up in thinking about Mindy’s life insurance policy.” She stared at the key. “It’s not like you wrote it down either.”
“True. But she handed you the key.” I glanced down the hallway we’d come from. “Let’s go back to the office. Maybe they’ll give us the storage unit number.”
“Fine.” She pushed herself up from the ground.
We walked straight down the hall, stopping when we came to a fork in the path.
“Which way did we come from?” Both halls had glaring fluorescent lighting and concrete floors that seemed to stretch forever.
She put her hands on her hips and alternated her gaze between the choices. “I’m pretty sure we came from that side.” She jutted her chin out to the path to the right.
I shrugged. Her guess was as good as any, although I was beginning to feel as though we were locked in a corn maze that we couldn’t get out of. “Maybe we’ll find someone that we can ask for directions.”
We turned down the path and walked about twenty feet.
“It smells like popcorn in here.” Desi sniffed the air.
“You’re right. But where’s it coming from?” I paused and cocked my head to the side to listen. “I think I hear someone. Maybe they can tell us if we’re going the correct way.”
We followed the noise to a storage unit with the metal door rolled up about a foot off of the ground. A man’s voice came from inside.
“Should we ask him?” Desi stared at the open storage unit. “It feels weird to shout out a question from under the door.”
“I don’t want to be wandering around here forever.”
“Me neither.” She shivered. “I’m starting to feel claustrophobic.”
Desi had horrible claustrophobia and when it took full effect, she’d start reciting names of baked goods to calm herself down. I didn’t want a full Desi meltdown in the middle of the hallway, so I crouched on the floor and looked under the door. Whoa.
“Did you see anyone?” she asked.
I yanked on her arm. “Yes. Let’s go.”
She allowed herself to be dragged down the hall, but I could tell she was itching to ask me about what I’d seen.
“What did you see in there?” she asked when were far enough down the hall to not be heard by anyone in that unit.
“It was weird.”
“What do you mean?” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Like there was a chop shop in there or something?”
I sighed. “There was a man sitting in his underwear in a recliner chair eating popcorn out of a bowl on his lap. He was watching football or something. There were pictures on the wall and a rug and everything—just like a house. So weird.”
Desi laughed. “You found someone’s man cave!”
“That’s a thing?” I asked.
“Yep. Men rent out storage units and use them as their own private domains.”
“Still, it’s weird.”
“Oh, yeah, I couldn’t agree more.” She pointed down the hall. “Hey, isn’t that the office?”
Happily, she was right. We opened the office door, revealing a pimply-faced teenage boy behind the counter.
“Hi,” Desi said brightly. “We need to get something out of a friend’s storage unit and we can’t remember the unit number. See, we have the key.” She held it up in the air, the swinging silver key catching the light from above.
“What’s your friend’s name?” the boy asked, barely looking up.
“Stacey Stevens. It might still be under her mom’s name, Mindy Danvers.”
He turned and tapped the information into the computer. “Mindy Danvers, unit 115.”
Relief washed over Desi’s face. “No wonder I couldn’t get the key to work. I thought it was unit 151.”
“Uh huh.” He went back to whatever he was doing. He obviously couldn’t care less if we got in the storage unit or not.
The office door slammed shut behind us and we walked back down the hallway, following the unit numbers this time to keep from getting lost. As we neared the man cave, a loud cheer erupted from it. Desi and I covered our mouths to smother laughter and hurried past it. When we reached unit 115, she inserted the key and, this time, it turned easily. She unclipped the lock and rolled up the metal door.
After she flipped on the light switch, I had to take a step back. The unit was piled high to the ceiling with boxes and furniture. A narrow pathway provided access to Mindy’s belongings.
“This is going to take forever,” I said.
“I think it will be fine. Be positive.” Desi marched over to a cardboard box and poked it with her finger. “See, it’s nicely labeled. Kitchen
stuff.”
Sure enough, someone had done a wonderful job of organizing the boxes and labeling them with a Sharpie. Idly, I wondered whether it had been Mindy’s husband or daughter. It didn’t really matter, but considering that Joseph and maybe even Stacey were suspects in my mind, it would have provided a little more insight into their character.
“Ok, so we just need to find the office boxes.” I scanned the room. “I think there’s some over there.” I climbed over a couch and stood on a chair to reach a box at the top of a stack. Before pulling it down, I tested the weight, then carefully removed it, setting it on top of another chair.
“Maybe we’ll be lucky and it’ll be in the first box we try.” Desi smiled.
I opened the box. Someone had written “Office” on it, but it appeared to only hold photos.
“She must have been really into taking pictures.” Desi lifted a stack of them. “Look here’s one of her and Stacey on a boat at some lake.”
I looked at the photo. Mindy and Stacey were smiling at the camera, having a carefree day out in the sun. They could have been any other mother and daughter on vacation together.
“She doesn’t look like someone who would kill her mother.” I rubbed my finger along the edge of the photo.
“Do you think she did it?” Desi asked.
“I don’t know. I mean, she did say she thought she was the beneficiary of Mindy’s life insurance policy, right?”
Desi nodded slowly. “Right. But that’s a stretch. She could have just told us about that because she was mad about Joseph inheriting it instead.”
“I suppose you’re right.” I glanced around. “We’d better get moving on this. I told Adam I’d be back by four to start dinner. After the Great Kitchen Rearranging, it’s taking me twice as long to make dinner because I can’t find anything in the kitchen.”
She laughed. “You haven’t put everything back yet where it goes?”
I grimaced. “No. I don’t want to offend him, but it’s driving me nuts.”