Grosse Pointe

by Clara Grace Walker

  “No problem. Thanks for letting me know.”

  Nan smiled, arranging flowers in a vase at the center of the table. She barely paid attention to Vaughn, but Bexley could see by the crease in Vaughn’s brow, he wasn’t just concerned with relaying information.

  Finally, he pressed the matter, getting to what he really wanted to say. “I’m surprised you invited him, given the break-up you two had.”

  Oh. That Gabe. Bexley got it now. She’d seen Nan cry exactly twice in the twelve years she’d known her…several years ago over her affair with Rick the Dick Hamilton that ended in a massive humiliation for Nan and the severing of her friendship with the three-peas-in-a-pod…and again two years ago, over a cad named Gabe. Bexley had never met Gabe, and up until now he’d just been some faceless snake who broke her best friend’s heart. “You invited him?”

  Nan shrugged it off, acting like it was no big deal. “Sure. Why not? Our break-up was ages ago, and we’ve both moved on since then.” She continued moving around the table as she spoke, straightening the odd fork or napkin. “Besides, you know he’s been seeing Sophie Durning, and she was close friends with Annie and Hannah. I thought maybe a dinner party might cheer her up.”

  “That’s very adult of you,” Vaughn said.

  The doorbell rang, and Nan ran to answer it. Bexley waited until she was gone to speak. “Wow. I can’t believe it. I didn’t think she would ever get over Gabe. In fact, I’ve still been meaning to slap the guy across the face.”

  Vaughn winked. “Remind me never to make you angry.”

  “I guess I’m pretty loyal. Nan always says that’s one of my best features.”

  “One of them.”

  He smirked when he said it, and Bexley imagined he was thinking about earlier today, when they’d anchored the boat, and things had gotten so close to breaking her four date rule she’d had to take a cold shower when she got home.

  Bexley was blushing when Nan came back to the patio, leading Linwood Jameson, Katherine Buckingham, whom Lin had brought with him, and the detective from Hannah’s murder scene, Max LeBec. Max came with his wife, Shirley. Nan made all the introductions, saying how Katherine had been close friends with Annie and Hannah also, and how she and Sophie and Emma Elkins — who should be arriving at any moment — were providing moral support for one another… keeping each other’s spirits up.

  Shaking everyone’s hands, saying hello and how nice it was to meet everyone, Bexley figured out Nan’s motives at last. She was still working…bringing together people who’d known the murdered girls and the detective investigating the case. Having him here with his wife to make it social…getting people to forget about the investigation, and talk more freely. Putting together her story. Nan was a sneaky one.

  “Lin, honey, get me a glass of Chablis, will you?” Katherine took a seat at the table, pushing waist-length brown hair from the back of her neck.

  Katherine was 32. Just a couple of years older than Nan and Bexley. She’d been dating Linwood for at least two years, according to Nan. Like Bexley, Katherine moved here from someplace else. She’d come from the west side of Michigan, and so would never be considered a “true” Grosse Pointer—true Grosse Pointers being only those people who could recount memories going back at least to middle school. Basically, one had to not only know that a “war dance” was not some Native American thing, but a dance held for middle-schoolers at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial, and recount memories of same, to be considered a native Grosse Pointer. Bexley had learned that lesson when she was decorating Valerie Jameson’s place in the Shores, and naïvely referred to herself as a Grosse Pointer. God, how Valerie had laughed before explaining that she would forever be considered a transplant. Valerie had moved here from Ferndale, right after marrying Linwood. And she told Bexley it was better to hear it coming from a fellow transplant than someone like Carolyn Dodson Pringle, who had set Valerie straight on that score herself. Of course, Carolyn was pals with Peggy Leroux, who’d been divorced from Linwood before he married Valerie, so there was no telling how seriously to take that, but Bexley kept it in mind all the same.

  “Here’s your Chab-lis, doll face.”

  Linwood’s voice brought Bexley back to the present. He pronounced the word phonetically, sounding uneducated as he handed the glass of wine to Katherine, who laughed like it was the funniest thing she’d ever heard.

  The doorbell rang again, and this time Nan came back with Emma Elkins and Gabe Ashcroft, minus Sophie Durning.

  “Hey Gabe you forget your date?” Linwood asked.

  “Yeah. Where’s Sophie?” Katherine asked, her voice raised.

  “I don’t know.” Gabe slumped into a chair, not bothering to make a pit-stop at the bar. “We had a fight last night, and she didn’t even show up at work today. She won’t answer my calls. She won’t even come to the door. Nothing. I think she’s gone home to cry it out at her mother’s house.”

  “Are you sure?” Alarm rose in Katherine’s voice. She scrutinized Gabe’s face, as if her hard stare might cause him to change his answer.

  “Don’t worry,” Emma said. “I talked to her last night. She said her mom was taking her shopping at Somerset today to cheer her up. They were going to have lunch, and maybe they planned a little mother/daughter trip.”

  “Oh.” Katherine went back to drinking her wine, her voice lighter now, looking more relaxed. “I think that will be good for her.”

  “That must’ve been some fight,” Vaughn said.

  “It was.” Gabe sighed. “She’d been pushing me to get married and settle down. Said her biological clock was ticking.”

  “So,” Emma said. She was a pretty young woman with light-brown skin, soft curls and green eyes. “What’s the problem? Didn’t you just turn 40? I should think your biological clock would be screaming like a fire alarm right about now.”

  Linwood elbowed Gabe in the arm, laughing as he said, “She’s right, pal. You might want to nail down a wife while you still have those pretty boy looks of yours.”

  Gabe snorted. “After two divorces, not sure you’re the right person to be giving out marriage advice, pal.” He paused, glancing over at Katherine. “No offense.”

  She shrugged, emptying her wine glass. “None taken.”

  Bexley noticed Nan and Max – both watching and listening closely – each of them for their own reasons. They whispered something to each other. Then Max whispered something to his wife, and Shirley smiled, nodding her head.

  Shirley was a striking woman, with high cheekbones, almond-shaped brown eyes, and dark red hair cut in blunt angles around her chin. Bexley remembered what Max had said that day in the woods about them wanting to start a family, and thought what pretty babies they’d make.

  “Hey, Max, The Four Tops, right?” Gabe asked the question as he moved his hands around each other in a circular motion.

  “No.” Bexley, Max, and Shirley all answered at once, and then laughed as Bexley said, “That’s the Temptations.

  Then Max put both arms up at ninety degree angles and moved them up and down. “This is the Four Tops.” Looking at Bexley, he said, “Temptations fan, eh?”

  “My daddy was. He taught me all their moves.”

  “Good for him,” Shirley said. “There are certain things children should just know in life, and Motown dance moves are one of them. Nice room at the Junior League Show House, by the way. Mind if I call you about working on my kitchen?”

  “Thank you, and not at all. Please do.” Bexley liked her right away.

  The doorbell rang again, and Nan got up to answer it, arching a brow in Bexley’s direction. After twelve years of friendship, Bexley knew exactly what the arched brow meant. Keep track of everything everyone said or did, and fill her in later.

  “Shirley, hi,” Emma said. “I didn’t realize you knew Nan.”

  “She comes to my Thursday morning yoga class,” Shirley said. “I’ve been telling Nan for years she should join our barre class, too.”

 
Now things clicked into place, how Nan knew Max and had gained access to viewing Hannah Ransom’s body out there in the woods. She stifled a laugh, saying to Shirley, “Nan’s been bugging me to try that yoga class out.”

  “Please do,” Shirley said. “I’d love to see you there, and yoga’s really great for keeping you strong and limber.”

  “Maybe I should go,” Bexley said. “I could definitely use some limbering up.”

  “I could help you with that,” Vaughn said. His eyebrows raised.

  “Uh….” Bexley tripped over her tongue, her cheeks and her thighs heating up in unison.

  She returned his grin, just as his gaze darted past her. Looking past him, her heart sank. Nan returned with Valerie Jameson in tow, and Valerie had brought Eleanor Dodson. Obviously Val’s idea. Nan would never in a million years have invited Eleanor Dodson to this get together.

  “Vaughn!” Eleanor practically squealed his name. “Valerie told me you’d be here. How lucky for me she was right!” She rushed to his side and planted a kiss squarely on his mouth.

  Bexley froze. She shouldn’t stare. She told herself that, but couldn’t pull her gaze away or think beyond the sick feeling striking her gut. She tried reading Vaughn’s thoughts, but saw only surprise on his face. And then the kiss was over, and Eleanor was taking a seat at the table between Emma and Gabe, and Valerie was pulling a chair up between Gabe and Eleanor, ignoring Emma’s glare.

  “Nice to see you again, Ellie.” Nan said it with a smile, like she had been invited all along…like Nan and Eleanor had never had words, and Nan had never been kicked out of her social circle. Nan could make anyone think they were her new best friend. Something in the tone of voice she used so effortlessly. It was a gift. One Bexley didn’t possess. She was afraid to open her mouth. Afraid anything she might say would come out sounding one step short of a death threat. Of all the people for Valerie to bring with her. Who went around inviting other people to someone else’s dinner party anyway?

  “Lin, are you taking Lindy this weekend?” Valerie asked. “Remember, she has that birthday party for Hadley Washington on Saturday. She’ll need to bring a gift.”

  “Good grief, Valerie, can’t you buy the gift for her to bring?”

  “Well, it’s not my weekend.”

  Katherine jabbed Linwood in the arm and shushed him. She smiled and said, “Don’t worry about it, Val. I’ll make sure Lindy has a real nice gift to bring.”

  “Thanks, sweetie. You’re a doll.”

  “True.”

  The whole exchange struck Bexley as odd. What kind of parents got into fights over who bought a gift for their kid to take to a birthday party? And the way Valerie acted like she and Katherine were some sort of mutual admiration society…what was that all about? When Bexley had been working on Valerie’s house, Valerie had called Annie, Katherine, and their entire group of friends a pack of whores. Maybe it was just one of those things. Annie and Hannah being murdered affected people. And it affected the way they interacted with one another. No wonder Nan wanted to throw this shindig. Had to be a veritable gold mine for someone who had made a career of reporting the news.

  Nan sat beside her, whispering, “Must be awfully nice to be Valerie’s ex’s new squeeze, huh?”

  Bexley looked from Nan to Val to Katherine. “Shh,” she whispered. “They might hear you.”

  But Nan continued on. “Val hates her you know. Hates her for being friends with Annie, the woman who broke up her marriage, and hates her more for dating Linwood.”

  “She told me she was over him.”

  “I don’t think that woman ever gets over anything.”

  Max returned from the bar with a bottle of Atwater Dirty Blonde, and a mixed drink for his wife, and Nan stopped whispering. Sitting on the other side of her, Vaughn whispered, “Interesting conversation?”

  She smiled, waving the thought away with her hand. “Just girl talk.”

  He nodded. “Eleanor is a real piece of work, isn’t she?”

  Eleanor, sitting on the other side of him, frowned, and Bexley figured she’d caught some of what they said. And she was starting not to care. Let Eleanor stew. The woman had her nerve, planting a kiss like that on Vaughn right in front of his date. God, but she and her sister Carolyn were pieces of work.

  More conversations followed. Not one giant one, but smaller, segmented ones, with different groups of people speaking to their tables mates about different things. Shirley told Bexley about her love of Motown, and music in general, and when Bexley confessed the same, Shirley said they were two-peas-in-a-pod, which made Bexley laugh, because all she could think about was the way Nan called Carolyn and her friends the three-peas. Someday, she knew, she’d have to explain that one to Shirley.

  Across the table, Valerie was whispering with Eleanor like they were old friends. Occasionally, they’d glance over at Vaughn, and so Bexley knew exactly what they were talking about. Nan, of course, was paying attention to all of it. So was Max.

  The server from the Cabbage Patch Café started bringing around plates of food, Three-Berry Salad, Chicken in Puff Pastry and Rice Pilaf. Good food, all of it. The chicken reminded Bexley of a dish Mama made for special occasions. Texas seemed so very far away right now.

  The sound of flatware clinking plates replaced conversation…until Eleanor started laughing. “God, how many times have we had lunch at Cabbage Patch Café, Vaughn? It’s just like old times isn’t it?”

  Vaughn looked at Bexley. “Only if we were still dating.”

  Eleanor stopped laughing, sitting up in her chair, the mood around the table instantly changing. On the other side of the table, Katherine coughed, the kind of cough meant to change the subject, and said, “Nancy, this is quite a collection of party guests you’re hosting tonight.”

  Valerie gasped. Someone else chuckled. Bexley wasn’t sure who, but she thought maybe it was Shirley. She was smiling, whispering something into her husband’s ear.

  Then Max’s phone rang, and he looked apologetically at Nan. “It’s the station house. I’m sorry, but I have to take it.”

  She nodded. “Of course.”

  “Detective LeBec…uh-huh…where? Is the coroner there yet?...Good. Did you get anything off the surveillance camera at the club’s entrance?...What do you mean it isn’t installed yet?” His voice rose then, sounding angry. “I don’t want to hear about shipping delays. We have a serial killer on the loose! Hell, I’ll go to the electronics store and buy one myself if that’s what it takes to get one installed…Yeah…I’m on my way.”

  Bexley’s heart had stalled at the word ‘coroner.’ When Max ended the call, all eyes were on him. Katherine exchanged nervous glances with Emma and Gabe. Max cleared his throat. “They’ve found Sophie.”

  “What do you mean, they found Sophie?” Katherine’s voice rose. “She went shopping at Somerset with her mom today. Emma, tell him.”

  Emma stared at Max, not saying a word.

  “Emma, tell him!”

  “I’m sorry,” Max said. He looked at Gabe. “You mind joining me at the station house for a chat after dinner, Mr. Ashcroft?”

  “I don’t think I’ll be eating anything more,” Gabe said.

  “I’m afraid no one’s going to be eating anything more,” Nan said. “Max, where’d they find her?”

  “At the country club. Dumped in the lower parking lot, behind the bushes on the patch of ground splitting the entrance from the exit. Unfortunately, no one saw a thing or even knows how long the body’s been there.”

  Max whispered something to Shirley, who sighed and looked at Nan. “I’m sorry, hon. Max needs to drop me at home on his way to the station.”

  “Of course. I understand,” Nan said.

  Max got up from the table, followed by everyone else. Bexley read the look on Nan’s face, even as she doled out apologies to Emma, Katherine, and Gabe, expressed her regret and shock, and hugged everyone good night. She was glad they were all leaving. She wanted to leave too. And follow Max
to the parking lot of the country club and see what more she could find out. She walked everyone to the door, and within minutes, it was just Nan and Bexley and Vaughn in front of the front door, while the bartender and the server packed up for the night.

  “Well, Nan, you really know how to throw a party.” Vaughn laughed as he said it, but the laugh sounded hollow and sad, and Bexley could tell just by looking at him, he felt as stunned as everyone else.

  Nan did a little bow, tossing her curls over her shoulder. “Just doing my part to keep life interesting.”

  “Well, I should get going.” Bexley started digging through her purse, thinking all the things she shouldn’t be thinking at a time like this and would never voice out loud. It sucked. Things had been moving in an unmistakable direction with Vaughn, moving from their first date to the first night spent together. Now with everything cut short, it would all be just another missed opportunity. And she hated herself for thinking it.

  She fished through items in her purse, fingering sunglasses, her phone, small containers of lip balm and hand sanitizer that inevitably made their way to the bottom of her bag. She laid her hands on everything, but the one thing she was seeking…her car keys. “Damn,” she muttered. “They have to be in here somewhere.”

  “What’s wrong?” Vaughn asked.

  “I can’t find my keys.”

  “Let me run out to the patio and see if they fell out somewhere,” Nan said.

  “Thanks.” Bexley dumped the contents of her purse out on the hall table, sifting through everything. No keys.

  “Any chance you locked them in your car?” Vaughn asked.

  She shook her head. “I remember putting them in my purse. Still, I suppose it couldn’t hurt to look.”

  Vaughn followed her out to the driveway, waiting while she used the flashlight on her phone to look through the car window at her ignition. Nothing. Nor was anything obviously on the seats, console, or floor. “Shoot.” A rising tide of panic tickled its way up her spine. “I don’t understand. What could have happened to them?”