We piled in two cars to go to the restaurant. I ended up with Chad and Bill McCormick, the right-wing talk-show host in our building who'd just gotten back from his mini-tour. He went on and on about his ex-wife being pregnant with her second husband's child when she never wanted kids with poor Bill. I actually felt sorry for the guy. I really did. But all he ever did was complain. It was enough to make me pull my hair out.
Finally, we arrived at the Virginia Beach oceanfront. Since tourist season was over, the strip was relatively quiet. We parked on the street in front of the restaurant.
"Is this weird to you that Sierra wanted to eat here?" Riley whispered as he pulled the glass door open and held it for me.
"Yeah, a little"
We were seated right away. Small talk ensued, broken up only by the waitress taking our orders.
Rather abruptly, Sierra placed her napkin on the table and stood. I feared she was going to give a long, drawn-out speech on what her new position would mean to all the animals on the planet. Instead, she announced, "I'm going to run to the restroom."
She disappeared between a maze of tables. I stared out the window at the ocean and the sunset smeared behind it. Gray waves swelled, then crashed and receded. The process repeated itself over and over. Some things would seem like a broken record doing so, but not the waves. Watching them felt therapeutic.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Chad said across from me.
"Yeah, it really is. It's mesmerizing."
"Maybe in the summer I could teach you to surf. There's nothing like being one with the waves"
So Chad planned on sticking around through the summer, huh? But I had no desire to surf. It brought back too many thoughts of Dad. Surfing had been his demise, his idol. I didn't answer and continued to stare out the wall of windows in front of me.
Poor Sharon, the owner of the Grounds, was listening to Bill talk about how huge his ex looked now that she was pregnant. I even think I heard him say that he hoped she didn't lose the weight after the baby was born. Love could turn pretty ugly, couldn't it?
"You're being quiet," Riley said beside me.
"Just thinking."
Chad rubbed the scruff around his mouth. "About what?"
"Life. Dying. Relationships"
"You know what I say?" Chad started. "Life's a Dance You Learn as You Go"
I smiled at the song reference. "Or as my favorite redhead said, `It's a Hard Knock Life."
Riley's gaze darted between the two of us as if he'd just entered a new world where people understood me. Gabby's world. I liked the sound of that.
Chad and I smiled at each other across the table.
In the distance, I saw the waitress appear with a tray of food balanced above her head. I could taste my grilled salmon now, and my mouth began to water. I loved a good seafood dish.
The waitress placed a salad at Sierra's empty seat. What was taking the girl so long? Should I go check on her? It seemed like such a motherly thing to do, checking on someone in the bathroom. The girl could take care of herself.
I'd give her five minutes before I got up.
I glanced behind me, just in time to see Sierra duck behind the crab aquarium. Most restaurants had lobsters in aquariums, but this one had decided to try something new. You could pick your own crabs to boil. Just lovely.
"Oh no," I muttered. Suddenly, everything made sense.
"Free the crabs!" I heard my friend shout on the other side of the restaurant.
The next thing I knew, the aquarium fell over. Water gushed all over the restaurant's new carpet. And little red crustaceans with gigantic claws surfed toward me. I screamed and jumped on my chair.
Riley muttered, "Sierra"
Bill laughed hysterically, probably glad for the fodder for his talk show tomorrow.
Chad said, "Dude," and watched with obvious fascination as the crabs drifted our way.
And a very angry, managerial-looking man ran from the kitchen area, screaming, "What have you done? What have you done, you ignorant little fool!"
"Run little crabs! Run! You can make it to the ocean, to freedom!" Sierra shouted, all the while urging the beasts toward me. Okay, actually toward the door behind me. Semantics.
"Do you know how much I paid for those per pound?" the manageriallooking man asked. "You're going to repay every dime and then some" He picked up a crab and promptly yelped and flung it across the room.
The crabs looked a little confused, like they didn't know where to go once the wave of aquarium water left them washed up on the plush carpet.
"You can't put a price tag on a life, you sick little puppy" Sierra stood on a chair and began preaching. "These crabs deserve to live, not to be sentenced to death in a hot tub and then eaten by sad carnivores who don't know the meaning of moderation" She ran toward the crabs, which sent them clucking our way. I screamed again and continued standing on the chair, imagining what it would feel like if one of those suckers got ahold of my toe.
I looked over just in time to see Chad opening the door that led to the beach. "This way, little guys" He waved his hand in a come-hither motion.
The crabs clucked toward him as if they understood.
"I'm calling the cops!" Manager Man shouted. "This is insanity! Do you realize what you've done?"
"Put me in jail! It's worth it to save a life. Your method of cooking these creatures is beyond cruel and unusual punishment. You boil them to death while they try desperately to escape the pot of death ..
She continued, but I tuned her out.
Please, tell me this was a nightmare. What would Parker say if one of his comrades in arms showed up to this scene and spotted me here? Wouldn't that just be the icing on the cake? I could hear him lecturing me now.
"Look what you've done! I had them shipped in from Maryland. Maryland, I tell you. Have you lost your mind?"
"Crabs have feelings too! How would you like to be boiled alive?"
Customers ran to the front door as if next Sierra might pull out a pipe bomb. I almost ran out the door myself.
"Everybody calm down."
I looked over as Riley took control of the situation. The logical lawyer in him emerged.
"Sierra, I advise you to have a seat and not say another word until the police get here," Riley said. Then he turned to Manager Man. `And sir, your yelling is doing nothing to calm down your patrons, so I suggest you keep your voice down so that you can try and resolve this situation in a mature manner.
"I'll show you mature" The manager came toward Riley swinging. My eyes widened as I realized the man was trying to punch Riley. Riley ducked, and when he came up, I could see the frustration on his face. Manager Man wasn't the most athletic-looking man, so I had no doubt Riley could take him. But Riley wasn't the type to take anybody in a fistfight-only in the courtroom.
I looked up at the door just as Parker, two uniformed cops, and a woman wearing a suit entered. Parker's gaze zeroed in on me as if he had some kind of trouble radar and could always manage to find me in the midst of it. I couldn't read his expression, but I'm pretty sure there was some embarrassment there.
His attention turned to Manager Man as he tried to take another swing at Riley, who again managed to duck the punch with graceful precision. In three steps, Parker was across the room and grabbing Manager Man's arm.
"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, his voice authoritative and ... a little scary, if I were to be honest. It made me cringe.
"That woman turned over my crabs! She's insane!"
By now, the restaurant had cleared of everyone except for our table, the staff, and the cops. I looked down and saw a lone crab bobbing toward my chair. I glanced at Chad and nodded toward the gourmet meal at my feet. While everyone else's attention was distracted, Chad scooped the creature up in an oversized linen napkin and shooed him outside.
"Someone tell me what's going on here!"
Everyone quieted at Parker's instruction. My boyfriend's gaze fell on me. "Gabby, would you like to start?"
I cringed. "Not really."
"I'll tell you what happened;' Sierra started. She hopped down from her chair and pointed an accusing finger at the manager and his wait staff. "These people were keeping these crabs in captivity"
"Crabs? This is all about blue crabs?" Parker ran a hand over his face, and then he turned to Sierra. "You're behind this, right?"
"People applauded Martin Luther King Jr. when he stood up for the rights of the living."
Parker shook his head. "He stood up for people's rights, not crabs"
"And he was a hero."
He grabbed her arm, not hard though. "I'm going to have to take you in, Sierra"
"But I'm your girlfriend's best friend. You can't arrest me."
Parker's face turned red. I knew Riley saw it too, because he glanced over at me.
"Why don't you take her in, Parker, and I'll get statements from all these witnesses," the woman said.
He nodded at her and led Sierra outside. She was still talking incessantly about Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Brown, and Abraham Lincoln.
The woman approached our table, and I wondered if she was a trainee or something. I'd never seen her before. And where was Parker's new partner? I'd yet to meet him.
The suited woman looked at me before pulling out a pad and pen. "I'm Detective Charlie Henderson. Who'd like to start?"
MY JAW fell to the floor. This was Charlie? No wonder Parker looked so happy to have a new partner. She had legs a mile long, a flat stomach, and an anything-but-flat chest.
"Are you okay, ma'am?" Charlie asked. I realized the woman was looking directly at me. I nodded, in a daze. "Would you like to start?"
This was his partner? I couldn't believe it.
"Ma'am?"
I tried to focus on her face, her perfect, pretty little face. "Yes?"
"Would you like to start?"
Had Parker led me to believe Charlie was a he, or had I assumed the fact? "Not really."
"I'll start" I looked up and saw Riley approaching. He glanced at me as if he understood every single thought going through my mind. Impossible. Wasn't it? He filled Charlie in on everything that had transpired. I continued to stare.
The woman was a redhead also. But it wasn't curly and red like mine. Hers was sleek and perfectly styled and had a bronzed finish to it. She was tall and slender. Her complexion was flawless.
I'd bet she never embarrassed Parker.
Insecurities hit me faster than that aquarium had hit the ground. Flashbacks of Riley's fiancee showing up paraded through my mind. Was there something about me that just said, "Please, cheat on me"? Of course, Riley and I hadn't been officially dating, so it wasn't officially cheating. And I had no proof that Parker was cheating on me, only a crab pot full of insecurities that told me I wasn't good enough.
I'm a scientist. I'm supposed to be unemotional and base my theories on facts. Was I doomed to fail in my career of choice?
Chad drove me back to my apartment, while Riley went down to the jail to see about getting Sierra out. I wanted to go, but Riley seemed to think it best if he went alone. So I let him.
But I was still thinking about Charlie.
Of all people, why did a beautiful woman have to be assigned to partner with my boyfriend? Didn't. Seem. Fair.
"That was a riot, huh?" Chad shut off the ignition and looked at me with those sparkling eyes of his. Sparkling eyes were my downfall, but I wouldn't go there. Not. In. The. Mood.
"Yeah, a riot"
He walked me up to my apartment, seemingly oblivious to my inner turmoil. Either that, or he ignored it. Then again, did he even know I dated Parker? I glanced at Chad with his hands stuffed deep into the pockets of his jeans, his tousled hair, and his oversized, cable-knit sweater. Clueless would be my best guess when it came to Chad.
"Hey, do you mind if I check out your Web site?"
I stopped and leaned against my apartment door with my arms across my chest. "Why?" Did he want to one-up me when he designed his own Web site?
"I'm just curious to see what you've done"
"Am I supposed to believe that?"
He grinned that lazy grin of his. "Okay, fine. I've already seen your site"
"And you want to see it again, why?"
"I had some ideas I wanted to subtly bring up. I thought being subtle wouldn't hurt your feelings as much as the harsh truth."
I ignored that last comment. "You want to give me some Web site ideas. I'm your competition."
"I thought you were my friend."
Oh, he was smooth. Real smooth.
And was he my friend? I mean, sure, we'd been talking quite a bit lately. But friends? I'd have to ponder that one later. Right now, I pondered my Web site. "What's wrong with my site?"
He leaned against the wall beside me. "I really think if you add some before-and-after pictures of your cleaning scenes that it will give people a better idea of what you do"
I hadn't thought of that before, but the feature could be productive. I already had a stack of before-and-after pictures that I'd taken for insurance purposes. If I did use Chad's idea, I wouldn't post the really gruesome photos. I'd like to say that people wouldn't want to see them, but I know there are a lot of crazies who would.
I already had listed on my Web site all of my certifications, the services I offered, even a couple of testimonials. Pictures could do the trick though.
I pushed myself from the door and unlocked it. I motioned for Chad to follow me inside, where I went immediately to my computer. Thanks to Amy, I logged on. I smiled this time when my user name and password worked. Note to self: change user name and password in case anything like that ever happens again.
I typed in my Web site and waited for the pages to appear. As I waited, I stared out the window at the dark, nighttime sky. I couldn't see any stars, not here in Ghent. But a streetlight did reflect on some tree branches and look rather lovely.
My computer was running especially slow today. What had Amy said? I should get a new modem or something. Maybe I'd buy myself one for Christmas.
I tapped my fingers on the keys as I waited for my brilliant business, Trauma Care, to flash onto my computer screen. I'd paid some big bucks to have this Web site done a few months back. I needed to think of an effective marketing ploy to get the word out about my business. I'd done the Yellow Pages ad. I often went to fresh crime scenes to leave my card. But this way, people could be directed to my Web site to get an idea of my prices and what I did.
"Come on, come on." Maybe that new modem wouldn't wait until Christmas.
Finally, my page popped on the screen. "Here it is"
Chad came up behind me and peered over my shoulder at my Web page. I got a whiff of... well, he smelled like salty ocean air, actually. And I liked it. I needed to have my head examined, good and hard.
I blinked at what I saw on my computer screen. It wasn't my page.
I checked the Web address. Nothing wrong there. So what had happened?
Chad leaned in closer. "Did you update it since yesterday?"
I scrolled down on the page and drew in a quick breath. Someone had hacked into my site. Gone were all of my beautiful pages. In their place was the outline of a body and the words, "The only crime scene you need to worry about is your own."
"WHOA"
I stared at the page, imagining all too clearly the outline of my own body on the floor. "Whoa is right. That's a threat:"
Chad's arm draped the back of my computer chair. And though I was in crisis mode, I not only noticed the action, I liked it. Head examined, Gabby. Put it on your to-do list.
"Someone knows you're on to them."
"You think?" Calm down on the sarcasm, Gabby. Calm down. "How did they do this? And how do I get my Web site back?"
"People experienced with computers can do amazing things"
A new thought popped into my mind, and I swerved my head around to face Chad. "How good are you with computers? Did you want to come up here under the guise of helping
me when in fact you just wanted to see my reaction to the catastrophe you created?"
Chad backed up. "Whoa"
I stood and glared. "Did you?"
"Gabby, I wouldn't do that to you"
I stepped closer and stared into those hazel eyes of his. "Are you trying to ruin my business by ruining my Web site and disguising it as a threat?"
Chad caught my finger, which at some moment had started to point at him, and jerked it to a halt. His hands covered mine with surprising strength. "No, Gabby. I didn't do that to you. You need to chill"
"Chill? Chill?" I wanted to flail my arms, but Chad still held my hands for some reason unbeknownst to me. "How can I chill when someone is intent on ruining me? Why can't anything in my life go right?"
I wanted to collapse in tears and feel sorry for myself because my boyfriend, whom I loathed, had a beautiful partner. Because my business, which was really just a temporary job on my way to being a forensic investigator, had been tampered with. Because my life, which when compared to the people I cleaned up after wasn't that bad, felt empty.
But I didn't collapse. I didn't believe in feeling sorry for myself. At least not in front of other people.
After I fell silent for a moment, Chad lowered his hands while still holding mine. "Are you okay now?"
"Define okay."
"This isn't the end of the world."
I took my voice down a couple of notches. "But it could be the end of my life. What's the difference?"
Chad locked gazes with me. His look told me he silently pleaded for my logic to return. "You know I didn't do this, right?"
Deep inside I did. "Maybe"
"You should call the police"
"They can't do anything"
"Call them anyway."
"Fine." I would if I got around to it-which I most likely wouldn't. I'd blame it on my growing to-do list. A girl's gotta have priorities.
"And you should be careful. Really careful. You're on someone's list"
I pictured the dead mold man. Yeah, I was on someone's list for sure. In fact, my name was probably highlighted and moved to the top.
Suspicious Minds (Squeaky Clean Series, Book 2) Page 12