Auf'd (The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries, Book Two)

by Amy Saunders

  Bennett placed his hand on hers and squeezed. How did she always know what was going on with him when he could barely figure it out himself? "I'm just...I'm worried.... I'm worried I'm making a mistake." He examined the cut he got on his hand working on the house. He'd been pecking away at it since he moved in last fall, taking his time. But he had to admit he'd wanted to work faster since he met Belinda. And he'd even considered that maybe he should look into buying something else. Something a little nicer. "She's from a different world. Like you said, what if we can't meet in the middle?"

  What if Belinda wanted to take off on a world tour like her parents and he couldn't follow? Would she just leave him behind? He couldn't match her upbringing or offer the connections she had. Would she get bored or annoyed with that eventually and want out?

  "I know," his grandmother said. "But you can't decide that until you've talked to her. And–" she gripped his arm hard "–listened. You haven't listened."

  "How can you tell?"

  "Grandmother's intuition." She smiled. "I do know you pretty well. And I know how you can get when you get stuck on an idea."

  Bennett's brow furrowed. Everyone seemed to think he was unreasonable.

  "You need to talk to each other," his grandmother continued, "before you can't heal this breach. Tell her what you just told me, and listen to what she has to say. You won't know if you can meet in the middle until you've heard each other out."

  He half-smiled. "You never make it easy on me."

  "Me? Sweetheart, you don't make life easy for yourself sometimes! I'm just trying to give you a ride out." She squeezed his hand. "Ignore your mother and father. Ignore that foolish girl who hurt you so long ago. Just focus on Belinda and seeing her and this whole situation for what it actually is, and not for what you think it is."

  Bennett smiled wryly. "Sounds like something Jonas said."

  "There you go. Jonas is a smart boy."

  Bennett squeezed her hand back. "You know I think you're wonderful."

  She smiled. "I do. Now it's time for you to go work things out with Belinda."

  Bennett rubbed the spot right above his eyebrow. She said that like it was simple. But nothing with Belinda was ever simple.

  ~ * ~

  After her previous night of not learning anything about Brooke (particularly in relation to Bennett), dousing Bennett with flat beer (his sour puppy face would have been funny if she didn't know he hated her guts), and sobbing forever on the dirty couch with her brother, Belinda needed chocolate. Bad.

  But she had to visit the Sykes' pool to check things out for the next big we're-stranded-here-for-a-murder-investigation party before she could go freeze her sorrows in gelato.

  She figured Victoria wouldn't mind tagging along what with her pregnancy cravings and all, so after looping from her house up to Victoria's, they whizzed around corners of some narrow side streets sheltered by trees deformed by constant ocean winds. Shore plants were made of tough stuff. They bypassed the beach road, a route she'd take a lot come July and August when the roads would be clogged, and chugged uphill.

  They stood on the porch of the Sykes' house, only a few miles from Belinda's home. Though their house was higher above sea level, the Sykes lacked an ocean view on their side street, which was too bad. Houses on the opposite side boasted a clear shot of the Atlantic. Belinda's hand was poised to knock when a crash came from inside.

  "Are you crazy?" Mrs. Sykes screamed. It sounded like she was in the back of the house.

  "I don't know, am I?" Mr. Sykes bellowed back. "I'm not the one stealing stuff—our stuff!"

  Belinda and Victoria exchanged freaked out glances.

  "I haven't stolen anything," Mrs. Sykes said.

  "Oh, really. That's not what I've noticed."

  "Well, you noticed wrong!"

  Belinda jumped as something else shattered inside.

  "Those were your mother's!" Mrs. Sykes said.

  "What're you so upset about? You never liked them—or her!"

  "Stop it!"

  Belinda dashed around back where she'd noticed the fence gate open. She broke through the gate and ran past the pool and to the back door, which was also open. "Hello?" Belinda yelled. "Mrs. Sykes?"

  She stomped around to the dining room, catching Mr. and Mrs. Sykes playing tug-of-war with a crystal punch bowl. Caught off guard, Mrs. Sykes successfully snatched it away, turning protectively. She brushed starched blonde hair out of her face, looking grateful and embarrassed.

  Belinda pointed at the back door. "We saw the open gate and everything and since we're here to check out the pool..."

  "It's no problem, girls." Mrs. Sykes shot her husband a glare. "He was just leaving."

  Mr. Sykes grumbled, glared at all of them, and pushed his way out, leaving through the front. Safe, Mrs. Sykes set down the punch bowl. "Well, let's have a look at the pool, shall we?"

  Belinda stepped out of the way and followed her lead. Even in the middle of the day, and the middle of a rip-roaring fight with her husband, Mrs. Sykes sported a skirt and blouse with heels. "Everything okay?" Belinda said.

  "Oh, you know how Albert is." She tapped Belinda's arm. "He blusters about everything."

  Belinda glanced at Victoria, who pulled a face. Breaking his mama's crystal sounded like a lot more than blustering to her.

  "Well, this is it, girls," Mrs. Sykes said, setting her hands on her hips, surveying the pool from the opposite end, facing the house.

  The tiki bar was a cute touch, Belinda noted, and would be perfect for serving drinks, and possibly setting up some of the food. There were plenty of loungers and seats to accommodate everyone.

  "I'll let you two discuss things, if you don't mind. I need to go run a couple of errands. Just shut the fence gate if you leave before I get back, okay?"

  Belinda nodded and they waited until she'd disappeared inside the house. Victoria rolled her eyes. "You sure you want to have the party here?" she said while Belinda toured the tiki bar, checking out the stock. It was empty, but maybe they kept it all inside off-season. "You might get a party and a show."

  Belinda grinned. A car revved to life in the driveway, and Belinda glanced at the house. "Let's go check the liquor stock."

  There was nothing in the dining room except shards of Mama Sykes' crystal, so they turned their noses toward the kitchen. After opening up all fifty cabinets, they were about to give up when Victoria spotted a bar attached to the kitchen but in its own nook. Belinda bent down to examine what was available in the cabinets underneath, pulling the bottles out to see what was behind the first row. It was mostly old man liquors. Brandies, sherries, that sort of thing. What you drink around a fireplace in your robe with a cigar. She immediately dismissed that thought when an image of Mr. Sykes in a robe inadvertently popped into her mind.

  "I think we're gonna need a list of things to buy," Belinda said mournfully. "This is pathetic." She bent all the way over and stuck her head inside to make sure she hadn't missed anything. The cabinet was dark wood and shadowy, so something might be hiding. Belinda sniffed something fruity—or flowery—in the way back that didn't make sense. Well, it did, just not in the liquor cabinet. She'd inhaled enough of it in face-squishing hugs to know it was Mrs. Sykes' perfume.

  "What are you doing?" Victoria got on her knees while Belinda sniffed like a police dog.

  "There's a pocket of Mrs. Sykes' perfume in here," she said. "It's bizarre."

  "It is her house."

  "I know, but it's just in this one area." Belinda felt around. "Would you look for a flashlight in the kitchen? I can't see anything." Maybe it was time to start carrying one around with her.

  Victoria scrambled around, finally returning with a small flashlight buried under some takeout menus. Belinda sat back on her knees and shined the light into the cabinet.

  "I think I see where you're going with this." Victoria dug in her purse and pulled out a pocket knife.

  Belinda smiled. "Since when do you carry one of those?"
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  Victoria shrugged. "You never know when you'll need a toothpick or a corkscrew."

  "Dan bought it for you?"

  Victoria nodded and leaned into the cabinet, sticking her tongue out the side of her mouth while she concentrated on finding a weak spot. Belinda adjusted the light at Victoria's command until she grinned back at her. After prying with the knife for a few seconds, a patch of the back of the all-wood cabinet came loose and fell out in Victoria's hand.

  Belinda handed the light to Victoria and stuck her hand in the cavity in the back of the cabinet. A small, well-worn notebook came out. They huddled together, flipping through its pages. It was mostly numbers, almost like an account record. Every so often, an entry included a name. Sawyer most of the time. But a couple they passed listed Riley Cole.

  "Riley," Belinda repeated out loud.

  Victoria peered up at her. "You know who that is?"

  "No. It's just the name Caleb kept saying when he was in shock."

  "You mean the person he denied knowing."

  "Yeah." Belinda sat back on her knees. "How coincidental is it that the same name is in a little notebook hidden away by the Sykes?"

  "With random numbers."

  "Random numbers that look a lot like financial records." Belinda got her phone out and aimed it at the page. "I don't know what this is or how it's useful, but something's amok here. And I'm going to find out what." The fake camera shutter noise clicked as she took a photo.

  A door slammed outside and Victoria's head snapped up. "Someone's home." She ducked into the cabinet, scrambling to replace the notebook and fit the piece of wood back into place.

  While she did that, Belinda shot up to meet whoever it was, or more to the point, distract him or her while Victoria finished. Mr. Sykes came in through the front door.

  "You're still here," he said in surprise when Belinda dashed into the foyer.

  Just look cool, she told herself. "We're just about to leave. Your wife had a couple of errands."

  Belinda stuck her hands in her pockets for something to do that didn't include manically rubbing her right ring finger.

  Victoria rounded the corner. "I think we're good here. Found everything we need."

  "Right." Belinda rocked on her heels. "Soooo we'll just leave the way we came." They said good-bye to a wary looking Mr. Sykes and slipped out the back gate and zipped off to town.

  Chapter 12

  "Maybe the Sykes do have financial troubles," Victoria said. After fleeing the house when Mr. Sykes returned, they finally got gelatos, and started walking toward the police station a few blocks away so Belinda could pick up her permits for the cupcake truck.

  They'd thrown ideas around about the notebook hidden in the back of the liquor cabinet, but it was hard not to assume it was something illegal.

  Or maybe one of them was simply hiding things from the other. Could have something to do with the divorce.

  "You mean we can justify Mr. Sykes rude behavior?" Belinda said. "How annoying."

  Victoria chuckled. "I don't think his behavior is excusable regardless, but it could be the real reason they're getting divorced. Maybe they disagree about the money. It's a common marital problem."

  "That would be easier to swallow than Mr. Sykes having an affair. Of course, a notebook hidden in the back of the liquor cabinet screams weird." Belinda diverted from the path to avoid a tree. "Something else screams weird too. Brooke." She ran through the non-Bennett related events of the previous evening. (Victoria had already heard all about the Bennett portion of that night.)

  "So you think she was waiting for the mystery phone number person?"

  "It would make the most sense. I think he or she was late. At least, according to the way she clung to her cell. I've got Finnegan on the number part, so we'll see what surfaces." Belinda examined the Belgian chocolate gelato settled in the center of a neon green cup shaped like a blooming flower. "So much for my bridesmaid gown." She stuffed the mini spatula-like spoon into her mouth.

  Victoria waved it off. "It's one gelato. You'll be fine."

  "I know. I just feel pressured for some reason. And I tested all those cupcakes last month."

  "It's just your family. You'll get over it." Victoria swallowed a glob of espresso gelato.

  Belinda sucked on her spoon. "You know, your wedding was the last time I had to deal with this nonsense."

  Victoria raised her eyebrows. "Oh, really?" She laughed. "That was a million years ago. Or, five."

  "It was definitely a million."

  Victoria shoved her. Belinda laughed as she wavered off balance on her wedges and caught herself on one foot on the pavement. She hopped back onto the sidewalk as a black SUV rolled toward them down the one-way street. Her heartbeat picked up when the truck slowed down, the passenger's side window sliding down with it. Victoria and Belinda exchanged glances, realizing that this wasn't just any old black SUV. It was Bennett's black SUV. Belinda steeled her mind for what was coming and smiled, taking a step closer on the sidewalk as he pulled over.

  Bennett turned his head, aviator sunglasses hiding his eyes. Belinda's heart fluttered. What was it about a good pair of sunglasses on an attractive man? It was a simple enough accessory, but it could take the girl next door to diva status, or elevate a man like Bennett Tate to the role of heartthrob.

  "Belinda," Bennett said coolly. "Mrs. Hart."

  Formality. Not. Good.

  Belinda realized she needed to say something in return and hoped that her voice didn't give her away. "Are you out gallivanting or working?" She tried to sound upbeat, but not too upbeat, and avoid mimicking his detachment. They obviously weren't going to discuss their issues on the side of the road with Victoria standing there, but she most certainly hoped she could encourage him to do so at some point.

  "Errands," he said, but sounded unsure of himself. "You?"

  Belinda held up the gelato cup. "Gallivanting." She grinned, but he stared back at her with the same glazed over expression. "We have been working though. Location scouting. For a pool party." She rolled her eyes. "I don't remember if I told you, but Mrs. Sykes stuck me with another one." Maybe mentioning work would loosen things up.

  "Good," he said curtly.

  Or, not.

  Belinda nodded, the feeling she had when his eyes turned to ice at the cocktail party returning, and she took a step back. Victoria gripped her elbow, stepping in to rescue her from a complete meltdown.

  "You should try their gelato." Victoria's tone had taken on that strange mix of kindness and don't-mess-with-me attitude without missing a beat. "It's...refreshing."

  Belinda couldn't see Bennett's eyes, at least not clearly enough to know exactly what was going on in there. But he seemed to get the message of The Tone, and when he spoke again, his voice had lost some of its edge. "I will sometime."

  "When it comes to dessert, Victoria and I know what we're talking about." As sorry as Belinda was about what happened, she was also starting to get a little miffed that he hadn't bothered to give her the benefit of the doubt. "And sugar cookies, as good as they are, are not the only acceptable sweet."

  "I never said they were."

  "Well, you implied." Belinda stood there, all the things that happened recently mingling in her mind with her own conflicting emotions. "You shouldn't just jump to conclusions when you haven't got all the facts."

  "I assumed I had all the facts."

  "Well, you know what the first three letters of assume are." Kyle's favorite expression just flew out of Belinda's mouth and straight at Bennett's ego.

  His eyebrows arched, his mouth puckered, and his irritation washed over her like heat rolling off blacktop on a summer's day.

  "Don't eat much more of that," Bennett said sharply, putting his truck in gear. "You do have a dress fitting coming up." Successfully digging into her sore spot, he smiled—a cheeky smile that Kyle would be proud of—and drove off.

  Belinda dug her spoon into the center of the cup and pulled up a gob of gelato, shov
eling the whole thing in her mouth at once. After a couple of seconds, it felt like an icicle stabbing her head. She opened her mouth, trying to make it melt faster, and swallowed in gulps, holding her head as the freezing passed.

  "Can we discuss the sunglasses?" Victoria said, watching Bennett turn left onto one of the side streets. "Because I really feel like we need to discuss the sunglasses."

  Belinda glowered. "Some help you were."

  "Hey, I helped." Victoria stuck out one hip. "I jumped in when you were about to fall apart. It's not my fault you chose to start a metaphorical fight."

  "He knew what I was talking about."

  "Yes, he did. But you didn't exactly help your cause, did you?"

  Belinda sighed, her head aching from the gelato.

  Victoria took her arm, leading her down the sidewalk so they didn't create a traffic jam. "Remember when Dan and I had that massive blowout before I went to Paris for that performance?"

  Belinda nodded. "I almost thought that was it for the two of you."

  Victoria's eyes widened. "You're telling me. I'd had the plans before we even met, and there he is trying to tell me that I can't go. Well, I did, you'll remember. And he wouldn't answer my calls once I got there." Victoria rolled her eyes. "Silly man. I wasn't leaving him permanently! But that's how it was and I was near to just saying forget it and letting the whole relationship hit the lava when I talked to my mom."

  "And what did she say?" Belinda knew there was a point coming, and she also knew she probably wouldn't like it.

  "She told me that calling him once did not count as trying." Victoria shrugged. "I ignored what she said at first, but then I reconsidered and tried again. It took a few times before he finally got over himself and called back, but he did. And now look at us."

  Belinda sobered. "I can't picture you apart."

  "Neither can I! Nor can I believe that one stupid trip nearly blew the whole thing to pieces. But that's what happens. You get close, you get sensitive, and you make some bad choices. My point is that one of you has to get over herself and take the initiative to make things right."