by Tonya Kappes
A million ideas running through my head include jail, murder, setup, and…jail.
Before smacking the dashboard so the radio will come on, and throwing the old Toyota in gear, I thumb through the messages to make sure that Joel or Cop Carl doesn’t have a warrant out for my arrest and Erin is warning me.
Where are you?
Don’t forget about the mixer.
Where are you?
I’m not kidding anymore!
Okay, so I’m getting nervous. I don’t know where you are.
Fine! I’m calling Matilda and Carl! And Joel!
Okay…I’m not calling the cops. Please just show up tonight.
Crap! It totally slipped my mind that I have to go to the mixer and match Buddy’s aura with one of the girls.
Erin rents out the Coffee Shop after hours to host the mixers. We only serve coffee, sodas, and teas along with a couple of desserts. We used to include alcoholic beverages, but once it got out of hand, the cops were called, and we were smacked with a big ole fine for not having a liquor license.
My role is to stay in the kitchen and peek through the small window into the coffee shop to get a good look at the auras and pair them. Believe it or not, there are some auras that just go together. Like blue and yellow. The blue aura is sensitive and loves to nurture; they are drawn to the yellow aura because yellow loves to be taken care of.
Buddy, on the other hand, is going to be hard to pair. I don’t get to read the potential dates before the mixer, because they are coming from a pool of people who have filled out online applications. Erin invites them based on what they have filled out.
The phone buzzes as soon as I pass over the Park City County line.
Joel.
I need to bring you in for questioning. When can you come down to the station?
Never! I hit the delete button on the phone. I don’t have anything to hide, but I’d been in this position before, and I’m not going to let this happen again.
What kind of questioning? He was there the entire time. And he took me home.
With one eye on the road and one eye looking at my rear-view mirror, I pull down Main Street and around the strip mall where Color Me Love, The Surplus and The Coffee Shop are located, and park in the alley. I can slip in the back door so no one will see me. If I know Park City’s finest, I know they are watching out for me.
Plus I really want to run into The Surplus and use Vive’s computer again. Surely, 4Play has some other positions available I can apply for.
“Hey, Olivia.” Salvatore shoves the cardboard box in the big metal garbage bin that every shop owner shares. Unfortunately, The Surplus takes up so much of the dumpster with all their boxes. “Everyone has been looking for ya. Where ya been?” He questions me.
“Just here and there,” I mutter. Salvatore is the last person I would give any information to. He’d use any and all information to get in my pants. He is one not to be trusted. I follow him into the Surplus. “Is Vive here?”
“Nope.” He shrugs. “She didn’t tell me anything but to make sure that I lock the doors.”
Without saying a word, I turn around and walk right back out the door, heading next door to The Coffee Shop. There is no reason to go in if Vive isn’t there. Salvatore will be hanging over my shoulder watching my every move if I try to use the computer. Or, he’ll call Joel in a heartbeat.
The freshly ground coffee beans smell waifs out of the Coffee Shop and into the alley. According to my watch, I am just in time for the beginning of the mixer, which is the most important part.
Buddy’s aura reaction when he sees the girls for the first time, is very important in getting the pairing just right. After a few minutes, they all begin to mingle, and his aura will settle down. That will be when his true aura reading can be done.
“Where have you been?” Erin interrogates me as I walk in the kitchen entrance. “I have been texting you all day.”
“I had some things to do.” Avoiding eye contact, I walk around her, but she stops me.
“Have you been working the streets?” She looks me over with a critical eye.
“Oh, shit!” I bend down and look at myself in one of the many stainless steel industrial coffee pots and wipe my hands down my face. I totally forgot about the plaster makeup the 4Play artist had smeared all over me. “Crap, crap, crap!”
The mascara is clumped on my lashes, top and bottom, but the red rouge is a little more rubbed in.
“Really, Olivia.” Erin brushes her bangs out of her eyes, lines creasing her forehead as her brows dip. “What have you been up to? How can I help you if you don’t tell me?”
Over her shoulder, through the swinging kitchen door, I can see straight into the mixer that is taking place in the shop.
“Is that...” My mouth drops open and I point into the direction of the brunette woman I know all too well…“Vive?”
“I need more girls.” She shrugs and her voice turns sharp. “I’m not going to be able to ward off Joel much longer.”
I strain to see around her head, but she continues to keep getting into my face.
“First, you disappear.” She holds up a finger, and then a second one. “Then, you show up here with all this makeup on, when you don’t ever wear makeup. And…”
“You can’t have Vive here!” I push my way around Erin and swing the kitchen door open, just in time for Vive to jump out of the way before the door hits her square in her Italian ass.
“Olivia,” she has a wide mouth grin and continues to chomp on her gum, and pulls me back into the kitchen, “how was the interview?”
“Interview?” Erin steps in between us. “What interview?”
“What’s with all that makeup?” Vive circles her long, hot pink fingernail in front of my face. “Did they think you were interviewing for a sex scene?”
“Sex scene?” Erin cries out and all the wait staff turns to see what all the fuss is about.
I jerk around and head right back out the door into the alley, with Vive and Erin on my heels.
“Listen,” I shut the door behind them, making sure that it is closed. With a deep breath, I continue to tell Erin everything that Vive already knows, “I’m trying to get a job at 4Play as a custodian so I can figure out who killed Felicia.”
“Who is Felicia?” Vive snarls, while she checks out her nails.
“What’s 4Play?” Erin’s eyebrows dip in a frown. “Olivia?”
“Fine.” I wave off any concern. I turn toward Vive. “Linda Minx’s real name is Felicia Evans, remember?”
“Oh, yeah. I Forgot.” Vive wraps her gum around her finger.
Erin gives me a look that tells me that I might be getting in way over my head.
“I went to apply for a job at 4Play, Linda’s production company, so I can figure out who else would want to kill her besides Buddy. They mistook me for a porn star and shoved me into a scene. Needless to say, I didn’t do so well and they sent me home with a script and skimpy outfit.”
Shew…that is a lot to say in one big breath. My shoulders slump in anticipation for Erin to start yelling at me.
Erin’s black bob flings side to side as she bends over, clutching her stomach and letting out a raspy chuckle.
“What?” I take a little offense to her amusement.
Still bent over, she looks up. She’s laughing so hard that tears are streaming down her face. She points with her mouth wide open, but nothing comes out. She just laughs and points.
“Way to be supportive.” I shake my head. Now Vive is laughing too. Neither of them can talk. “Go on, make fun of me. You’ll feel bad when you see me in the Park City jail.”
“Shut up, Olivia. You aren’t going to be going to jail.” Erin’s eyes light up with excitement. “Did they notice your…um…lack of boobs?”
“Gee, thanks.” I look down. It’s true, I’m not that endowed in the chest area, but I can always boost them up. I squeeze my arms together to try to make some sort of cleavage, but there is nothing
there. “It’s not all about the boobs.” I shrug.
“Then what is it about?” Erin asks. We stop talking when we hear a loud beeping coming from around the building. “What’s that?”
The flashing bright orange lights nearly blind me in the dark of the night as the tow truck drives down the alley and stops right in front of my Toyota.
A big burly man jumps out of the tow truck and adjusts his suspenders, before he goes to the back of the truck and pushes all sorts of levers, letting the lift gate down to the concrete.
Vive’s gum and the whiz of the levers is all that I can hear in the night silence. Without a word of acknowledgement to us, he grabs a heaping bunch of chains out of the back and moves toward my car.
“Hey! Hey!” I scramble over to him as he bends down to hook my tire up to his chains. “What are you doing?”
Abruptly I stop when he stands up and I come nose to chest with him. He plants his feet firmly on the ground and holds his arm out in front of me to stop.
“Are you the owner of this car?” He states it more than asks it.
“Yes I am. What are you doing?” Don’t back down. I’ve seen that TV reality show about the towing company. I’m sure they have the wrong car. “There must be a mistake. I don’t own a single dime on this car. Look at it. It’s…like…one-hundred years old.” I snort.
He takes out a piece of paper from the front pocket of his overalls, and as he flings it out with one hand, he uses the other to rake down his beard. “Are you Olivia Davis?”
“I am.”
“Right car.” He hands the paper to me, and as if I don’t exist, he goes back to hooking up the car.
I glance over at Vive and Erin, who are no help at all, and they shrug.
“Oh my God!” I crumble the papers up and throw them on the ground. “Joel has impounded my car!”
I stomp back to my waiting friends and watch in horror as the tow truck drives off with my beat up Toyota hitched to the back.
“Don’t worry about that.” Vive chomps. “Sal and I have plenty of cars you can choose from at the house.”
“Yeah, you can even borrow my car.” Erin nervously bites her lip. Her aura deepens into a dark grey. “Don’t worry. We will figure it out. Let’s go find Buddy a gal.”
Without a word about her aura change or Erin telling me how she really feels, I know she is only trying to make me feel good. Her aura tells me that she is worried and hopes this thing will get figured out….and fast.
“About this mixer,” Vive stops shy of the door and wraps her gum around her fingernail. “I was wondering if you can pick me, or help me catch his eye.”
“Eww.” My face squishes up. “You do not want to date Buddy,” I assure her.
“No, I don’t. But I can help you find out if he is the killer.” She pulls up her tight red cotton shirt and reveals a hot pink can of mace tucked inside the top of her skintight jeans. “He tries to make a move on me, or kill me, I can take him out.”
I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts because it is a great idea, only I don’t want to put her in danger.
“That’s a great idea.” Erin’s eyes widen. “And I think I should be your assistant at 4Play and snoop while you pretend to make a film or something.”
“I don’t know.” I glance over their outer auras. Each of them is up for the challenge.
“Olivia, you aren’t in this alone. Felicia was my customer and so is Buddy.” Erin has a point. Why isn’t Joel all over her?
“I’m in.” I put my hand in the middle of us, so we can make a stack like we use to do when we were kids. “You both have to promise that you cannot tell anyone, and I mean anyone about this.”
“Promise,” they say in unison as we each stack our hands one over the others.
“If anyone ever finds out that I’m doing a nudie flick, I will know where they heard it from.”
“I’m not worried about any film of yours coming to the big screen.” Erin pulls her hands out of the pile and reaches for the door. “You’ll screw it up somehow.”
Chapter Twelve
“Did I just see the tow truck drive off with your car?” Michael Schultz walks through the swinging kitchen door almost hitting Vive in the butt. “Sorry Vive.”
“Yeah, it is her car. Police impounded it.” She adjusts her boobs to a high cleavage job. She grins, and chomps, “If I’m going to play the part, these girls are going to help me.”
If I know what is good for me, I should be writing down everything Vive is doing. She’d make a great backup to Linda Minx.
I’m not sure what is swinging more, the kitchen door or Vive’s butt. Nonchalantly, I sway to the right, and then to left, making sure to put a little more umph into it the second time around.
“What are you doing?” Michael has a way of nagging me. “And what in the hell is wrong with your face?”
“You aren’t going to believe the mess she has gotten herself into,” Erin announces to the entire kitchen staff.
“Is anyone going to tell me what is going on here?” Michael crosses his arms; his magenta aura illuminating the air around him, which is what makes Michael…well…Michael.
His sparkle and inner light reveals his balanced, pure nature that requires he have peace and harmony in his life.
“Well?” He stands between Erin and me looking back and forth.
“Go on, Olivia, you tell him.” Erin giggles and starts to shimmy and shake around the kitchen. “Va-va-va VOOM!”
“What happened to five seconds ago when we decided to keep it between us?” Sarcasm drips from my lips. It wasn’t too long ago that Michael and I became fast friends when we found ourselves tied up in a different murder. I never would have believed my two best friends would end up dating, making it very hard for me to confide in either of them, since I am sure they would be discussing my issues among themselves and leaving me out. “Anyway, you heard about Linda Minx’s death and I’m sure you know she was a client of Color Me Love.
He nods.
“Last night I went to the Heifer’s and Ho’s Dude Ranch annual hoedown, and she was there.” With a deep sigh, I continue, “Felicia, aka Linda, hit on Joel and I hit her.”
Michael runs his hands through his hair and starts to pace back and forth. Worry is evident in his eyes.
“With my track record, the Park City Police obviously believe I had something to do with her death.” Although I didn’t care for Felicia flirting with Joel, I certainly don’t want her dead.
“That is why they took your car.” Michael suggests, burying his hands in the front pockets of his jeans.
“Why would they take my car? It isn’t like I ran over her.” I scoff. “Could you imagine? Running over her big fake double-D’s would be like running over a speed bump.”
I chuckle and wait for them to join me, but their faces are as still as stone.
“What?” My smile fades when I notice Michael’s aura soften to a dull purple. “Tell me.”
“On my way over, I had my radio on and they reported that the autopsy for Linda Minx was in.” Quickly he swipes his hand across his upper lip where a little sweat has gathered. “We have a problem.”
“You are making me really nervous. Your aura has dulled.” I swirl my finger around his body. The more he stands in silence, the darker and duller his lavender aura turns---into black. He knows something and is having a hard time telling me. “You can tell me.”
“Linda Minx was run over.”
“By a car?” My stomach suddenly plummets, causing me to bend over in pain.
“Not a deer.” He grabs me by the shoulders and faces me to him. “We will figure this out. Right now we need to go on with our lives, business as usual.”
“I knew I was a suspect. That is why I went to 4Play to get a job.” There is panic in my voice.
“4Play? The film company?” Michael’s blue eyes pop almost out of his head. He questions, “Porno Film Company?”
“Yes, and I’m going to need yo
ur help.” My face feels hot and blotchy as I look at Michael hoping for a quick ‘of course I will help you.’
Recently Michael has given up his dog walking business, which happens to be perfect for his aura, to become the head of the security department of Macro Hard, a local successful internet business.
“You know I don’t mind helping you, but I don’t even know if you know what you are getting yourself into.” He peers out the small window in the kitchen door. The mixer is getting rowdier by the second. “There is a lot of underhanded business that goes with being a porno star.”
“That is exactly why and how I’m going to clear my name.” The illuminating red aura that is taking over the entire mixer seeps through the swinging kitchen door window like the red dawn is about to happen.
“What?” Erin peeks over my shoulder as I try to get closer to the red light. It draws me in like a warm cocoon. It is a red like none other I have ever seen, or at least I don’t ever recall seeing it. “Do you see something? Someone that’s compatible already?”
With my eyes wide open, and my mouth following suit, slowly I turn around to face Erin.
“You aren’t going to believe this,” I stutter and point to the group. Quickly rubbing my hands together, I try to come up with a solution. “Vive and Buddy are perfect for each other.”
I push the swinging door open to bolt out, but Erin grabs me and reels me back in.
“No you don’t,” she protests. “You are probably reading her wrong. She’s trying to work it so he will pick her. For you!”
“Oh no, you haven’t gotten Vive involved?” Michael stands behind both Erin and me looking out into the mixer.
“I’ll take all the help I can get.” I move out of the way. Normally I would be able to walk around the mixer and pretend to serve coffee or hand out desserts, but Buddy knows me all too well and he would make a scene.
That is the last thing I need to happen. Any and all interaction between me and Buddy stops right now.
I glance at my watch and note the time. Of all nights to have a special Splitsville.com dump. I sigh heavily, remembering the midnight dump.