Murder on a Silver Platter (A Red Carpet Catering Mystery Book 1)

by Shawn Reilly Simmons

  “If she thought she was related to them, that’s understandable. Did you find any evidence that she was Arlena and Max’s sister?”

  “We have her birth certificate which states her mother and father are Cheryl and Bradley Anderson, the same parents that she resided with in Lower Manhattan at the time of her death. She was born at Bellevue in 1997. Both of her parents confirm she was their natural daughter, no surrogacy, sperm donor, adoption…” He trailed off, making a circular motion with his hand indicating any other possibility. “They’ve been together since middle school, the Andersons. Dated all through high school, both went to New York state colleges, and they got married right after they graduated. Holly came along soon afterwards.”

  “It’s so sad. I know teenage girls grow up fast these days, but she still seems like such a baby,” Penelope said.

  “By all accounts she was a great kid. Did well in school, helped take care of her little brothers. Liked hanging out with her friends, a normal kid.” He began organizing the reports again, stacking them into a neater pile. When he lifted them up to tap them on the table to straighten the stack, a picture slid onto the glass. Penelope picked up the photograph and held it by the corner. It was a family portrait of the Andersons, Holly’s parents posing behind their three kids, Holly to the left of her twin brothers who looked about six years old in the picture.

  “Is this recent?” Penelope asked.

  “Yeah, last fall. Holly was fifteen when it was taken,” Joey said. He closed the gap between them on the couch and looked at the photo with Penelope.

  She felt the warmth coming off of him and fought the urge to lean in. It was getting late and he was looking good. His biceps strained against the fabric of his t-shirt and his torso had that perfect inverted V shape as he leaned back and forth sorting through his reports. Penelope figured she should probably leave before she got herself into trouble. She refocused on the picture in her hand.

  “Honestly, I can see where Holly would have questions,” Penelope said. “Look at them.” She glanced at Joey and held the photo up to shine more light on it. Holly’s father was as fair as Penelope, with blond hair and blue eyes and a strong chin on his handsome face. Her mom looked Greek or Italian but was also fair skinned with wavy reddish brown hair. Holly’s little brothers were the spitting image of their dad, towheaded boys with blond freckles sprinkled across their noses, different enough to not be identical twins. The boys had wide toothy grins and their mom’s hand was draped over one of their shoulders.

  And then there was Holly sitting to the left of her brothers, underneath her dad, his hand placed gently on her shoulder. She was dark and beautiful with wide set brown eyes and long black hair. She had the same smile as her mother and there was a similarity in the bridge of their noses, but she was slender and lean where her mom was thicker in the arms and waist. In fact, Holly looked like a fragile bird compared to the rest of her family, who all looked rugged and hearty, like they’d be at home toiling in a potato field.

  “I see what you mean,” Joey said. “But doesn’t every girl fantasize about being someone else? About being related to some long lost famous relative and then becoming famous themselves?”

  “Not every girl, I’m sure,” Penelope said. “But if Holly had found something out or came across some information that made her think she was Randall Madison’s long lost daughter…she seemed to be taking it more seriously than most young girls with a half-baked fantasy of stardom.”

  “True.” Joey looked at the photograph again. “She does resemble Arlena,” he said, shrugging.

  Penelope picked up the phone records again and pointed to a number. “Who was she calling in Gruver, Texas? Most of these other calls are to LA or New York.”

  “I noticed that one earlier. It’s a company called DIY-DNA.” He grabbed his iPhone from the table and tapped the glass, opening the company’s website and showing it to her.

  “Discreet DNA testing at home,” Penelope read from the screen. “Look, you can click there and they’ll send you a collection kit.”

  “So Holly wanted to test her DNA. It does seem she was more than a little curious about all of this.”

  “If Holly wanted definitive proof that she was related to the Madisons, DNA would be the way to go,” Penelope said. “Maybe that’s why she came to our house the other night. Could be she was trying to get inside somehow, ask Arlena for a DNA sample or take something from our trash so she could run the test.”

  “It’s a possibility,” Joey agreed. He took another sip of wine.

  Penelope turned sideways on the couch to face him. “Maybe someone found out she was suspicious and came after her, someone who didn’t want her to get a DNA test. But who would kill a young girl because she was trying to prove where she came from?”

  “That’s the question. It opens up more possibilities,” Joey agreed. “I don’t like the parents for this though. I can’t see either of them leaving her out there in the cold to die alone. Plus, the driver said she was by herself when he dropped her off. Holly’s parents are really broken up by all of this. They seem like a close-knit family. Of course we can’t rule anything out.”

  Penelope looked again through the list of phone numbers.

  “First I’ll find out why she was calling DIY-DNA, see if she was only requesting information or if she was following up on a test. If she got her hands on something of Arlena’s from the trash, she might have been calling about the results. Maybe she went to your house to introduce herself as Arlena’s long lost sister.”

  Penelope glanced at Joey’s phone which had faded back to his screen saver, a small version of Edvard Munch’s The Scream. The clock said it was past ten. “I should get going,” she said, taking another sip of wine.

  “You’re welcome to stay as long as you like,” Joey said. “Are you hungry? I have some cheese and things I could bring out.”

  “Oh, no. Don’t go to any trouble.”

  “It’s no trouble. It’s already put together. Let me grab it. I’d feel better knowing you had something in your stomach.” He picked up the bottle of wine and motioned to her, asking silently if she would like some more. She pinched her fingers together in the air to indicate “just a little.” He filled her glass halfway again and then topped off his own.

  Joey disappeared into the kitchen for a moment and returned with a plate piled high with various cheeses, crackers and grapes. Penelope slid forward to the edge of the couch, crossing her legs and resisting the urge to bounce her foot.

  She took a piece of bread and placed a slice of brie on top of it. “You always have a cheese plate at the ready at ten o’clock at night?”

  “You never know who might show up.” Joey popped a cube of cheddar in his mouth. “How long have you been cooking for the stars?”

  Penelope swallowed. “Right out of culinary school, so about seven years. I’ve always loved movies and I like that every day is different. Plus, I get to be my own boss.”

  “It suits you. You’re out there ordering a bunch of guys around. Like the old days,” he teased.

  “Excuse me,” Penelope leaned back on the couch and crossed her arms over her chest, “but did you just call me bossy?”

  “I sure did, Penny Blue. You were always coordinating us into teams to play out in the schoolyard, making up your own rules, eliminating players at will based on your own judgments.” Joey chuckled slid closer to her, turning to face her. “You were ruthless.”

  Penelope laughed out loud and thought it was probably the first time she had in at least a week. “You guys clearly needed someone to take charge and organize your fun for you.”

  “We did have fun. I remember looking forward to going to school back then, for the playing, not so much for the learning. I always looked forward to seeing you.” Joey placed his hand lightly on her shoulder. “You were always nice to me,
even when it wasn’t popular to be nice to the fat kid.”

  Penelope wasn’t sure if it was the wine or Joey’s sudden openness, but it felt like it was much warmer in his apartment than it had been ten minutes earlier. Her cheeks flushed.

  “Kids are jerks sometimes. You know that. You were always cool and funny. Everyone saw that once they got to know you,” Penelope said, taking his other hand in hers, entwining his fingers and laying it lightly on her thigh.

  “But you didn’t wait to get to know me. You were nice from the get go, gave me a chance. You didn’t care about what anybody thought.” Joey searched her face, a faint smile of remembrance on his lips.

  Penelope glanced down, embarrassed and at a loss for words. She had no idea how Joey must have felt back then, being on the outside looking in. She didn’t remember it being that way for him, but she guessed you never knew how others were really feeling, especially during those awkward preteen years. When she glanced back up, Joey was looking right into her eyes, still smiling. He leaned towards her and pulled her close, and hugging her tightly. He whispered into her ear, “I’ve never forgotten that about you, Penny Blue.”

  A shiver shot through her body and she hugged him back, closing her eyes and breathing in his scent. His breath was hot against her neck, and he lingered there, smelling her hair. Penelope wasn’t sure she could keep herself from grabbing him by the shirt, throwing him down on the couch and violently making out with him if he kept this up. She savored the closeness of him for three beats longer then pulled away saying, “I should probably go.” She was proud of herself for keeping the shakiness out of her voice. She was cool as a cucumber on the outside but inside she was melting like candle wax.

  “Are you okay to drive?” Joey reluctantly pulled away and relaxed back onto the couch. “I can take you home if you’re tired.”

  “That’s sweet,” Penelope said, smoothing her hands down her thighs, readying herself to stand up from the soft leather couch. “It’s been a crazy week but I got a lot of sleep yesterday. Thank you for the offer.”

  “Anytime.” He let out a long sigh, bringing himself back from their shared moment. “Thanks for coming. You helped me out tonight and I appreciate it.”

  “No problem. I hope you can figure out who did this,” Penelope said. They both stood up at the same time, Penelope grabbing their empty wine glasses and heading towards the kitchen.

  “You don’t have to clean up.”

  “It’s no problem. Force of habit. You hand wash these or do they go in the dishwasher?”

  Joey was gathering up the cheese tray and crackers and said to her over his shoulder, “I put them in the dishwasher. It’s got a special gentle cycle for winos like me with lots of glasses.”

  Penelope opened the dishwasher. It was empty except for two plates stacked next to each other on the bottom rack. She pulled out the top rack and saw two more wine glasses that matched the ones in her hand. As she placed the glasses in the rack and slid it back into place, a glimmer of pink caught her eye. She pulled the rack back out to look again, glancing over her shoulder first to see if Joey was nearby. Seeing she was still alone in the kitchen, she took a closer look and her mood dipped. Along the rim of one of the glasses was an imprint of frosted pink lipstick. Penelope straightened up and slid the rack slowly back into place.

  They said their goodbyes and Joey saw her to the door.

  “I’ll be in touch,” Joey said, patting his pockets as if he was trying to remember something. “Maybe we can do this again sometime.”

  “Sure.” Penelope brushed invisible lint off of her shoulder. The image of the frosted pink lipstick wine glass danced around her head. She opened the door. “Bye, Joey.”

  “I’ll call you tomorrow. About the lip gloss.”

  Chapter 14

  Penelope walked through the back door of her house and into the kitchen twenty minutes later. She entered her passcode on the alarm keypad and dropped her bag onto the antique coat stand to the right of the door. Shrugging out of her coat, she hung it on one of the black iron hooks.

  Sam’s Hummer was parked in the driveway. Most of the lights were off on Arlena’s side of the house so she assumed she and Sam were upstairs asleep. Penelope contemplated going upstairs and falling into her own bed. She was tired and relaxed from the wine at Joey’s place, but at the same time her mind was agitated from the visit.

  “Pen is back,” Max whispered dramatically, suddenly entering the kitchen from the hallway.

  Penelope jumped. “Max!”

  He held his hands up in the air in mock surrender. “Sorry. I thought you heard me coming. What are you up to? Home from a hot date?”

  “The question is what are you up to? Lurking around the house, jumping out at people?” They both kept their voices low.

  “I’m getting ready to watch a movie. Want to join me?”

  “I’m tired. I don’t know.”

  “I’ll make popcorn,” he said.

  Penelope wavered. “Okay. But nothing scary.” Maybe a movie would help her unwind and take her mind off of Joey.

  “You got it,” Max said. “Go get comfy. I’ll meet you in the library in ten minutes.”

  Penelope went up to her room, pulling her sweater up over her head as she slowly climbed the stairs. When she got to her bedroom she peeled off her jeans and laid her clothes on the large chaise lounge near her window. She made a mental note to drop the borrowed clothes at the cleaners before returning them to Kelley. She slipped off her bra and pulled on a black cotton tank top and grey yoga pants.

  She pulled her hair up into a high ponytail as she went back down the stairs, and padded barefoot into the library. Max was sitting on one end of the couch. When he saw her come in he patted the cushion next to him, inviting her to come over and sit. He’d made a big bowl of popcorn which sat on the large slate coffee table next to an open bottle of wine and two glasses. There was a fire in the fireplace and a scented pillar candle burning on the far end of the table.

  “More wine,” Penelope said. “I’ve already had half a bottle tonight.”

  “So it was a hot date,” Max teased. He grabbed the bottle and poured some in a glass, handing it to Penelope. “Here you go, beautiful. Unless you’d prefer some champagne?”

  Penelope rolled her eyes. “No thanks. And it wasn’t a hot date.” She took a sip and looked at the DVDs Max had fanned out on the table in front of them. She loved this room. It was full of comfortable couches and chairs, decorated in a modern style in soothing camel and burgundy tones, the walls lined with bookcases. A huge flat screen TV hung on the far wall which could be hidden behind a sliding book case when not in use. “Let’s watch this one,” she said, picking up and waving the case for Soapdish.

  “Whatever the lady desires,” Max said, taking the case from her. He pushed himself up from the couch and slid the disc into the DVD player that sat on a clear glass shelf beneath the TV. When he sat back down he pulled a small wicker basket out from underneath the end table nearest him which held various remotes. He selected one of them and pressed some buttons, bringing the screen and then the player to life. Previews began to roll across the screen.

  “Surround sound?” Max asked, selecting a smaller, white remote.

  “Sure, why not? They can’t hear anything way up there,” Penelope said, glancing towards the other side of the house.

  “She’s also got some medicinal help tonight.” Max winked. He activated the hidden speakers and rich sound filled the room.

  “Did she seem okay when she got home?” Penelope asked.

  “I think so. She was bumming because of her lips being all puffy and from everything that happened on set,” Max said. “Arlena’s tough, though. She’ll be fine in the morning.”

  “You’re a good brother, Max. I know Arlena really cares about you.”

 
; “I wish we had grown up together. It would have been cool to have a big sister like her looking out for me.” He grabbed the bowl of popcorn and settled back on the couch.

  “How’s your mom?” Penelope asked, taking a sip of wine.

  “She’s fine. She and her boyfriend are doing the hippie commune thing out there in Oregon. Living off the land, smoking weed. They’re happy.”

  Penelope looked at the screen then back at Max. He was handsome in an easy-going, relaxed way. His cheekbones were high and sharp and he always looked like he was about to break into a smile. He was wearing black track pants and a soft red t-shirt with thick white socks on his feet. Turning sideways on the couch, she drew her legs up under her and reached into the bowl for some popcorn. The movie menu screen came on and Max selected Play.

  He winked at her. “I get to host the second half of your date night, looks like.”

  Penelope groaned. “It wasn’t a date. It was a visit with the detective who is working on Holly Anderson’s murder case.”

  “A visit with a police detective and you had wine?”

  Penelope sighed. “Yeah, but we used to be friends, we went to school together when we were kids. Anyway, I’m pretty sure he had another date right before I got there.”

  Max raised his eyebrows. “A double feature? Looks like everyone is doubling up tonight. You think the detective’s a player?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe. I’m pretty sure there was someone there with him when I called. Then I saw two dishes in the dishwasher and a wine glass with lipstick on it. Like he’d had dinner with someone. Ugly pink frosty lipstick,” Penelope added under her breath, reaching again into the popcorn bowl. “It’s not like we’re dating. Not even close. The man can have dinner with someone.” She put the handful of popcorn in her mouth.

  “Wait, did you invite yourself over to his place?” Max asked.