4 Arch Enemy of Murder

by Vanessa Gray Bartal

  “Now or never, boss,” he said. “What’s it going to be?”

  Lacy plucked up her courage, gave one reassuring pat to the helmet, and climbed on the bike.

  Chapter 15

  Lacy didn’t like to admit that Michael was right about anything, but he was right about the motorcycle; she loved it. Even though she had always been a safety-conscious rule follower, she had the mad desire to rip off the helmet and let her hair tangle in the wind. She leaned around him to get the full impact of the wind on her face. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought she felt him chuckle beneath her fingers on his back. He didn’t take her straight home, but that was fine with her. They drove to the country, and he let the throttle go full force. She wasn’t sure if they were speeding, and she didn’t care. The feeling of freedom was wonderful.

  She lost all sense of time and space as they drove and drove. It might have been ten minutes or ten hours, and she had no idea where they were. All she knew was that she was having fun. As soon as they stopped, she was sure her troubles would return en force. That was why she never wanted to stop.

  Either Michael sensed her pending despair, or he was enjoying the ride, too, because he showed no signs of stopping. Lacy was still leaning around his shoulder, so they both saw the animal slink across the road in front of them. There was plenty of warning; Michael was in no danger of hitting the animal, but he still downshifted and slowed. Gradually the motorcycle came to a stop. He hit the kick stand, jumped down, and lifted Lacy off.

  “Did you see that?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she said. She was disappointed that they had stopped.

  “Do you know what that was?”

  “A dog or something.”

  “No, that wasn’t a dog. Dogs don’t move like that. It really looked like a…”

  Lacy interrupted. “Don’t say it because it wasn’t what you thought. Believe me, it never is. The other day, I thought I saw one, too, but it turned out to be a deer. Joe thought he saw one, and it was a cat. The eyes play tricks.”

  Michael looked around, scanning the horizon. “That was some trick because that was the most realistic-looking non-lion I’ve ever seen. Are you sure that wasn’t what I think it was?”

  “I’m sure,” Lacy said. “I have it on good authority that these types of sightings are common and always turn out to be something else. It was probably a raccoon. The old ones can get pretty big.”

  “If you say so,” Michael said. He didn’t sound convinced, but he seemed willing to let it go because he smiled. “So how do you like the ride?”

  “I like it,” Lacy conceded.

  “You like it. That’s it?”

  “I love it, okay? Where can I get one of these?” Her hand smoothed lovingly over chrome.

  “No offense, but I think you should stick to being a passenger,” he said.

  “Why?” Lacy asked.

  “Because it takes good motor skills and balance to be able to drive one of these things, and I’ve seen you try to walk a straight line.”

  She couldn’t argue with that logic.

  “The good news is that you can have a ride whenever you want,” he added.

  Lacy thought Jason wouldn’t like that, and then she remembered it might not matter anymore. How done was done? Her thoughts were abruptly ripped away from Jason when Michael stepped forward and kissed her. She shoved hard at his chest and backed up a step so that they both tripped and landed on the ground.

  “What was that?” she asked.

  “That was me taking advantage of the moment,” Michael said.

  “Well don’t. What were you thinking?”

  “I was thinking that it’s a moonlit night, we’re in the middle of nowhere, and we’re both available,” Michael said.

  “I’m not available,” Lacy said.

  “But I thought…”

  “I’m not available,” she interrupted. “I’m very much not available, not now, and not anytime soon if I have any say in the matter. And even if I were, I wouldn’t want to kiss you.”

  “Be frank, love,” Michael said.

  Lacy took a breath and realized she sounded harsh, but he was smiling. She picked up a rock and chucked it at him. “I wasn’t trying to sound like an ice queen. You took me by surprise, but I’m really not interested.”

  “I’m not quite daft enough not to understand that point. Truth is, I’m not interested in you, either. But I think we could have chemistry if we wanted to give it a go.”

  “We don’t,” she assured him.

  “So you’ve said. But I’m weary of arguing with you. I would like to be friends.”

  It was a sweet admission, and she felt herself softening toward him. “I think that would be nice,” she said. “I’m more comfortable being friends than combatants anyway.”

  “I know you are,” Michael said. “You’re a nice person.”

  She sifted the words to see if he was making fun of her, but he still sounded genuine. They sat in silence for another minute. “I should go,” she said. She stood, and so did he. He helped her onto the bike and took off. They drove through Barbara Blake’s neighborhood, and Lacy tapped Michael on the shoulder. “Stop.”

  He stopped in front of Barbara’s house. Lacy hopped off the bike and stared in dismay at the gathering of garden gnomes on her front porch. She didn’t remember Barbara owning one gnome, let alone the two dozen now standing in a circle on the porch.

  “That’s funny,” Michael said. He was chuckling as he came up to stand beside her. “Whose house is this?”

  “It’s mine,” Lacy said, adding, “Long story,” when he looked confused.

  “I didn’t take you for a gnome collector.”

  “I’m not,” Lacy said. “These aren’t mine.”

  “How did they get here?” he asked.

  “Your guess is as good as mine,” she said, and then she saw a skulking figure in her peripheral vision. “Hey!” she called, and the person ran. Lacy ran after him. Whoever it was must not have been very athletic because even with her tender arches she was able to overtake him. She caught his sleeve and spun him around.

  “Ow,” he said.

  “Sean!” Lacy exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

  “Nothing,” he said. Furtively, he clutched something behind his back.

  Lacy’s heart sank. Was Sean behind the gnome pranks? True, they were innocent, but he was bound to get caught and in trouble for them. “What’s behind your back?”

  “Nothing,” he said. He took a step away.

  “Sean, please let me see what’s behind your back.” She had never used an authoritative tone with him before, and she felt guilty about doing it now. But she was the grownup, and she had a pressing need to know what he was up to. Reluctantly, he withdrew his hand from behind his back and held it out to her.

  “It’s a telescope,” she said. Michael caught up with them, but hung back to allow some privacy. “What are you doing with a telescope?”

  “Extra credit for my earth science class. I didn’t ask Grandma if I could do it, and she would freak if she knew I’ve been sneaking out every night to make star charts. But this extra credit is really important to me. Are you going to tell?”

  “Of course I’m not going to tell, but I don’t feel good about you being out without Gladys’s approval. Especially because there have been a lot of people shooting lately,” Lacy said.

  “I know. It’s been loud and a little scary, but this is the last night. I just finished. I promise I won’t do it again.”

  “Everything okay here?” Michael asked as he stepped forward.

  “Everything is fine. I’m going to walk Sean to his house, and then I’ll jog home.”

  “I can follow behind and take you home,” Michael volunteered.

  “That’s nice of you, but I’m afraid the motorcycle would wake Gladys and Sean would be in trouble. I’ll be fine.”

  “You’re sure?” Michael said. He seemed unreasonably concerned about leaving her
.

  “Positive. I live just a few minutes away, and I’ve made the trip many times. Thanks for the fun ride, Michael.”

  He nodded, but he watched them walk away until they were out of sight.

  “Is he your boyfriend now?” Sean asked. “I thought you liked Jason.”

  “I do. Michael’s a friend.”

  “If I had a girl who looked like you, I wouldn’t want her to be friends with a guy like that. Jason must be really nice.”

  “He is,” Lacy said, but even he had a limit, apparently. She didn’t want to think about Jason or their troubled relationship. Instead she asked Sean about his science project and listened while he told her more about astronomy than she had ever wanted to know. They said goodbye in whispers. She watched while he sneaked back into Gladys’s house, and then she turned to make her way home.

  It wasn’t quite midnight, and yet the neighborhood was eerily silent. Somehow the silence was more disconcerting than noise, and Lacy wondered why that was. Her overactive imagination began to tell her that she was being watched. Her skin prickled as she felt eyes on the back of her head. She paused and whirled, but of course no one was there. Whoever is watching me is as real as the lion, she thought. Once when she was a child, she swore she saw a rattlesnake coiled behind her grandmother’s shed. After screaming bloody murder and retrieving her grandmother for a look, it turned out to be nothing more than a coiled length of hose. It was amazing what a fertile imagination could conjure.

  To get home, she had to pass by Barbara Blake’s house once more. Her gaze rested on the gnomes as she passed, and then she stopped short and turned. Had one of the gnomes been moving? As she walked up the short length of driveway, the sense that she was being watched increased, but this time it was real. At least a dozen pairs of gnome eyes watched her every move, their red, cherubic cheeks glowing eerily in the dim light from the neighbor’s porch. “How did you get here?” she whispered. She bent to inspect them to see if she recognized them. Not that she had ever paid attention to anyone’s gnomes before, but maybe some of them were marked.

  None of them had identifying marks. What had she been expecting? Dog tags? She shook her head at her stupidity, and movement caught her eye. She froze, trying to determine if her overactive imagination was on fire again, but the figure in her peripheral vision moved again. Whoever it was stood on the opposite end of the porch, deep in the shadows, trying desperately to slink away before Lacy noticed. Lacy turned and took a step as if she hadn’t seen the person, and then before her mysterious someone could get away, she did a one-eighty and charged, knocking the person off the porch as she tackled.

  “Riley!” she yelled as she caught a handful of what could only be her sister’s massively curly hair. “What are you doing here?”

  “Get off,” Riley said. She tried to wriggle free, but Lacy had the advantage and wouldn’t budge.

  “Not until I get an answer. What are you doing here?”

  “What do you think?” Riley asked.

  “I have no idea. I thought you were home with Grandma and Grandpa.”

  “No, they won’t start the cake until her royal highness arrives. I couldn’t take the adulation anymore, so I left and came here.”

  “Why here?”

  “Because it belonged to my grandmother, and I wanted to know more about her.”

  “Did you see who brought the gnomes?”

  “You’re ridiculously slow-witted. Who else would have brought them?” Lacy went slack with the shock of learning her sister was a gnome thief. Riley used it to her advantage and shoved Lacy aside as she sat up.

  “Why did you do this?” Lacy asked. “Why did you take everyone’s gnomes?”

  “Because those old women are horrible. They care more about their stupid gnomes than they do Sean. He’s a great kid, and they treat him like dirt. I was so angry; I wanted to do something to annoy them.”

  Lacy snorted a laugh and put her hand over her mouth. “That’s sort of hilarious.”

  “It’s not supposed to be hilarious,” Riley said. “Stop laughing.”

  Lacy laughed harder. “I can’t help it. All this time I thought you were sneaking out to meet a man, and you’ve been stealing gnomes from Grandma’s friends.” She bent over and laughed until her stomach ached.

  “I mean it, Lacy. Shut up and stop laughing, or else.”

  “Or else what?” Lacy asked as she wiped her eyes. “You’ll steal my gnome? Sorry, I don’t have one.” She snickered again, at least until Riley reached out and punched her in the face. For a few seconds, they stared at each other in shocked silence. Lacy’s eye socket exploded with pain, and tears streamed from her left eye. “You hit me,” she said.

  “You had it coming,” Riley said.

  “For what? Laughing at your stupid prank?”

  “No, for being born first, for getting everything so easily, for being pretty, for being good. I hate you so much.” She drew back her fist again, but Lacy was ready for her this time. She leaped aside to deflect, and then her own pent-up anger unleashed. She had never hit anyone before, but that didn’t stop her from balling her fist and popping her sister in the face. Riley fell over backwards and they began fighting in earnest—punching, biting, scratching, kicking, and pulling hair. And as they fought, their vitriol flew.

  “You stole my fiancé,” Lacy said. “My very first boyfriend, and you stole him. You could have had anyone. Why did it have to be my boyfriend?”

  “I did you a favor. Robert was a loser, and we both know it. I’m so tired of hearing you whine about that. You inherited a million dollars.” The last two words were punctuated by kidney punches. “She was my grandmother, too, and she didn’t leave me anything.”

  “She was a horrible, lonely old woman, and the money is tainted,” Lacy said. She bit Riley’s wrist to stop her from scratching her face.

  “Then give it to me and be free,” Riley said. She kneed Lacy in the ribs.

  “No. You’ll blow it all on clothes and makeup. Grow up.” She rolled her onto her stomach and ground her sister’s face into the dirt.

  Riley wriggled fee and threw a handful of dirt in Lacy’s face before using her palm to split her lip with a slap. “You’re the one who makes horrible decisions. You could be with Jason, and you chose to spend time with someone as poor as Tosh.”

  “Tosh isn’t poor,” Lacy said. She used the edge of her shirt to wipe the blood from her lip as she pinned Riley to the ground and sat on her stomach. “He’s a multi-gazillionair, which goes to show how much you know about people.”

  Riley went completely still. Lacy thought she pressed too hard on her chest and made her pass out. “Tosh is rich?” she asked.

  Lacy sighed. She had made a tactical error. “Tosh is rich, but he doesn’t live that way. He lives on what he makes from the church. He has a trust fund. But I know you, Riley. Don’t start playing up to Tosh just because he has money. He’s smarter than that.” She hoped that much was true.

  “Don’t tell me what to do!” Riley screamed. She lunged for Lacy, and the fight started all over again. They grew slower and clumsier as the fight wore on. Lacy was exhausted. Everything hurt. Still, she didn’t give up. It felt like years of pent up anger and resentment were being released.

  “Stop this!” A commanding voice spoke overhead. Riley and Lacy fell back against the ground, panting. Mr. Middleton towered over them looking angry and severe. “This is no way for two grown women to behave. Your grandmother is worried sick because we were supposed to have cake together. I’ve been driving the streets looking for you for the last half hour. Imagine my surprise to find you here. Shame on you.”

  Lacy’s lower lip quivered. She had never disappointed her grandfather before, and he wasn’t done with his lecture.

  “I’ve had just about enough of this kind of behavior. I’ve spent too long without my family to watch my family behave this way now. You’re intelligent, beautiful, and talented women. It’s time you stop comparing and competing w
ith each other. Stand up, brush yourselves off, apologize, and stop acting like two spoiled teenagers.”

  When Mr. Middleton spoke in his best principal’s voice, there was no disobeying. Lacy swiped the blood, dirt, and tears from her face. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

  Riley swiped her own tears and blood, though she was somehow less filthy than Lacy. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

  “That’s better,” Mr. Middleton said. “Now go to the car. We’re going to drive home, forget this ever happened, and put on a happy face for Lucinda.”