Spirit Lake

by Vickie McKeehan

  “You’re right. I should’ve asked you first.” She squeezed Gemma’s hand. “I’m sorry. I thought maybe if you two could get together here without a scene, you’d change your mind about inviting her to the wedding.”

  Gemma shook her head. “Sorry. But that’s not happening. I’d like to get married this time minus the theatrical drama sweeping in and overshadowing the vows. We ran off the first time and it was hell to pay when I got back. Sometimes you have to realize that certain people are not meant to be part of your life. For me, Genevieve Wentworth Channing tops that list.”

  Leia stood a few feet away waiting for the air to clear. “Let’s not allow this to ruin the festivities.”

  “Absolutely. But there’s something I need to tell you first,” Lydia announced, looking over at Gemma for support. “You’ve inspired me to come clean.”

  Lydia turned to Leia. “There’s someone I’d like to bring to the wedding. His name is Paul Eddington. You know him.”

  Leia beamed. “Sure. You’re bringing a hottie like that to the wedding? You go, Mom. But don’t be surprised if he turns you down.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because I think he’s already seeing someone. Whenever he comes into the restaurant, he’s always on his phone, texting little hearts to somebody. I sneaked a peek once.”

  “Paul is sending those little hearts to me,” Lydia declared.

  “To you? But…that’s impossible. I saw that months ago when he was in the restaurant dropping off an order.” The implication finally got through to Leia. “Oh. You’ve been seeing him all the way back to Christmas.” It wasn’t a question.

  “I’ve been seeing him for two years.”

  Leia’s brow winged up right before her mouth dropped open. “You could’ve said something before now. Why all the secrecy?”

  “Because I’m a mother who tries to protect her grown adult children from reality. I don’t know any other way to put it. I felt like if I’d even mentioned that I was starting to date, or hinted that I had those kinds of feelings for anyone, I’d have to deal with a judgmental scene from each of my kids. That’s times three. I couldn’t face that so it was easier to sneak around somehow and avoid the criticism.”

  “Kind of like Genevieve showing up at this shower without me knowing about it until the last minute,” Gemma tossed out to make a point. “I think it’s sweet that your mom found someone right under her nose, so to speak, without having to dabble in online dating. Give her some credit. She’s hot, she’s feeling good about herself. What could be better than that?”

  “Nothing, I suppose,” Leia admitted with some reluctance. “Does Lando know about this? What about Luke?”

  Gemma decided to handle this one. “I tried to cushion the blow for Lando by easing him into the topic when we were at the cabin. That was before I knew for a fact Lydia had a fella.”

  Lydia cut in, a scowl on her face. “Luke doesn’t have a clue any more than you did. None of you picked up on anything. You’re all oblivious to anyone but yourselves.”

  “This is really some show you’ve put on here tonight, Leia,” Gemma noted, letting her arm dangle around her friend’s shoulder. “I don’t know why you were so worried about me enjoying myself. Things are looking up. I’m beginning to have a blast.”

  “Oh, shut up,” Leia fired back.

  “Just think, we still have to play all those games and open presents,” Gemma sing-songed in a teasing tone, pouring it on, and loving every minute of it. “You said so yourself. Plus, we still have cake to look forward to with chocolate truffles on the side. And please don’t tell me you forgot to order the male strippers. Because if they don’t show up, that could be a real deal breaker.”

  That got a giggle out of Leia. “Come on, you ungrateful wench. We still have to play Toilet Paper Bride and you’re on my team. Then you’re on the hot seat answering a bunch of personal questions that Lianne and I put together.”

  “That’s not fair. This is supposed to be fun not torture,” Gemma whined until her eyes landed on Suzanne who was standing off to herself. “You came? I wasn’t sure you would.”

  “I wanted to thank you and Lando for showing up at the funeral yesterday. I didn’t expect so many people. It was a good turnout, don’t you think?”

  Gemma tried to think of something appropriate. “Buddy will be missed.”

  “Most times he was a pain in the butt and everyone knew it. He wasn’t very nice the last couple days he was alive, though. I try to remember the good times, but there were bad things about him that I’ll have to forget.”

  “We’ll get you through this. And you have a good job now. How does it feel being the town dispatcher?”

  “I’m so glad I have that in my life right now. I’m grateful that Lando took a chance on me. Come Monday, I’m going back to work.”

  “So soon?”

  “I need the money. And the sooner I get into a regular routine, the better off I’ll be.”

  Leia pulled Gemma toward the middle of the room. Gemma resisted and looked at Suzanne for help. “Please. If you’re a true friend, make this all go away.”

  Suzanne sent her a smile. “Why would I do that? You’re the luckiest girl in town. You’re marrying Lando Bonner.”

  Swept up, Gemma was surrounded by the other guests while Lianne held up note cards. “Everyone has to recount a favorite story about the bride-to-be. It could be the first time you met, or the first time you wanted to hit her with something.”

  “She can be annoying,” Paloma quipped.

  “That one appeals to me,” Leia cracked. “I’ll go first.”

  For the next hour, Gemma’s walk down memory lane consisted of stories laced with barbs and insults, tossed with a few strings of love and affection.

  Lianne recounted the story about walking into the Chocolate Company and how Gemma had helped her put up Collette’s missing posters. “If not for this woman, I’m not sure I’d have gotten through my sister’s murder. Imagine, during the worst time of my life, I found a gem, a true friend. And then she offered a total stranger a job. And I’ve been here ever since.”

  Gemma got up from the sofa and went to Lianne for a hug. “Right back at you, sister of mine. I’m so glad you decided to stay because we plan to open that bookstore for Collette and Marissa.”

  “Finally,” Paloma said and started clapping while other Happy Bookers followed her lead. “This is good news for the book club.”

  “We just have to settle on a name,” Lianne imparted.

  Gemma smiled. “And find the money.”

  “So if you come up with a good name, let us know,” Lianne added. “And a backer.”

  Later, over cake iced with lemon butter frosting, Lydia leaned into Gemma with her voice lowered to a whisper. “You should know that I talked Raynelle into sending Madame Renaud back to Bakersfield.”

  Gemma sent her a sly smile. “You did?”

  “Yes. I told her it was a petty thing to do to set up that carnival worker right across the street from my daughter-in-law.”

  “Thanks for sticking up for me.”

  “You bet. Thanks for keeping my secret.”

  “Any time. That’s what daughters and friends do.”

  “I’m leaving it to Leia to spread the word to Lando and Luke. You watch, by morning those two will be at my door with a list of questions in hand a mile long, especially Lando. He’ll probably have done a criminal background check on Paul by then. He’s so…”

  “Stubborn?” Gemma supplied playfully, willing to search for exactly the right adjective. “Obstinate? Inflexible? Anal retentive? Maybe pig-headed? Believe me, I know what I’m getting with that one.”

  Lydia chuckled. “I suppose you do. But his heart’s in the right place.”

  “True that. You raised a wonderful son, a couple of them actually. Not to mention a terrific daughter, who’s been my best friend practically my whole life.”

  “Even as a kid hanging around my gang, yo
u’ve always been like family.”

  “That’s because you treated me like family. There’s power in that. You’re what got me through losing Poppy.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  “Yep. You and Marissa. My two steady rocks.”

  While the wedding shower went down, Lando took to hiding out with the dogs and his friends at the beach. He ordered four super-sized supreme pizzas and bought plenty of beer. If this was the official bachelor’s party, he intended to enjoy himself.

  Under a canopy, he’d set up the big screen TV outside on the lawn near the sand, rigged the speakers so they could watch and listen to the A’s game out of Oakland, and eat at the same time.

  “This is really turning into a first-rate man-cave,” Dale taunted. “I like it. Whenever you and Gemma are on the outs, I know where to find you.”

  “That’s not exactly what the groom needs to hear right now,” Bosco advised, snagging a huge slice of pie. “Mentioning discord before the big day is not a good idea.”

  “It brings up negative connotations,” Radley added while playing fetch with Rufus. “Leave the negative stuff at the door.”

  Zeb helped himself to a brew and adjusted his lawn chair to get the best possible view of the TV. Propping his feet up, he leaned back prepared to relax. “This is what I call a bachelor party-- pizza, baseball, and no crime wave to deal with--Trent should take notes when it comes my time.”

  “So you don’t mind when Leia interferes with an investigation the way Gemma does with Lando?” Jimmy asked.

  “I figure she’s more inclined to bug her brother than bug me.”

  “Like going out to Deering’s place and digging through garbage with Gemma. Your attitude may change after you’re married,” Jimmy sermonized as he tossed a football to Dale. “Or hers.”

  Zeb sat up straighter. “Leia did that?”

  Lando told him about their foraging through trash.

  “Gemma’s a bad influence,” Zeb groused.

  Lando narrowed his eyes. “You’re crazy if you actually believe that my sister doesn’t have a strong-willed mind of her own.”

  “Please. Let me keep my delusions, at least for the next couple of months.”

  “It’s your fantasy. I won’t be the one to burst your bubble. But just remember, I warned you.”

  “Famous last words,” Luke added. “If he hasn’t found out by now that Leia is a force to be reckoned with, then he hasn’t been paying attention.”

  After getting a couple of beers under his belt, Luke intended to address something that had been gnawing at him for more than a decade. Tonight, he hoped to get to the bottom of it. Turning to his brother, he poked the bear. “Mind if I ask you a question. How attached are you to that old green pickup?”

  Lando cocked his head. “The one I fixed up? It has great sentimental value. Why?”

  “I want to buy it,” Luke blurted out.

  “What on earth for?”

  “I thought I’d use it to make my rounds on the Rez.” Greeted by a blank stare, he added, “House calls, Lando. I regularly go visit some of my patients who can’t make it into the office. The pickup would be perfect for those remote locations.”

  “You’re kidding? Why now after all these years?”

  “What do you need it for? Tooling around town once every other month when you get the urge to take it out for a spin? I could use it every day.”

  “What’s really going on here?”

  Luke glowered at the question. “You really don’t know? Granddad taught me to drive that thing. Before he taught you. I took it out one night without his permission, ended up running it into a ditch fooling around with Paige Denham. I was fifteen at the time with nothing but a learner’s permit.”

  Lando cracked a grin. “How is it I don’t know about you and Paige? And the fact that you got in trouble for wrecking the truck?”

  “That’s just it, I didn’t get in trouble. I hid the truck out on Lone Coyote Highway until I could pay to get the dent smoothed out of the fender.”

  “How did you manage that?”

  “Granddad was out of town, gone down to visit his brother in San Luis Obispo. I took the truck out to impress Paige. It ended up costing me all the money I’d saved that summer working my summer job.”

  Lando mirrored Zeb’s pose by propping his feet up on the picnic bench. “I tell you what. Van’s got a VW bus he wants to fix up. You help us with that and the pickup is yours.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.” Lando punched him on the arm. “It’ll give us a chance to spend some time together. But if Gemma and I want to go parking to relive our teenage years, there’ll be no bickering, you’ll just hand over the keys without questions. Deal?”

  “Deal. But I want it back clean. That means no food wrappers, beer cans, or condoms.”

  That brought a hoot out of the guys.

  Dale did the razzing while he tossed the football back to Jimmy. “We heard all about your wayward misspent youth from your mother.”

  “Yeah, she likes to remind everybody that we were an incorrigible lot,” Lando said. “What did she expect, naming us after Star Wars characters?”

  “You guys must’ve taken a lot of razzing in school about that?” Bosco stated.

  Lando took a swig of his beer. “You have no idea. If only I’d had a light saber and a giant Wookie to battle the evil jerks who made fun of our names…”

  “We would’ve ruled the playground,” Luke finished, reminiscing.

  “Game’s about to start,” Lando hollered to Dale and Jimmy who’d been playing touch football on the beach. He called to the dogs, lolling in the sand. “Playtime’s over, kids. Who’s ready for the first pitch?”

  The dogs woofed in happy delight.

  He heard his phone ding with a text from Gemma. It was a photo of her wrapped in white toilet paper. Are you having as much fun as I am?

  He laughed and sent her a smiley face, then took a picture of the guys slouching in their chairs with the game on and hit send again.

  A few minutes later, she texted back. Lucky you.

  He leaned back in his Adirondack chair, the dogs curled at his feet, and took in the scene. Realizing he was indeed lucky, he sent her a series of heart-shaped emojis along with the words, I love you.

  Sam Wells hid in the alleyway behind Lydia Bonner’s house listening and watching the giggling women. He became irritated with the entire silly scene. Things were spiraling out of control faster than he imagined. His life was unraveling. Somehow, he had to come up with a way to regain control. He wasn’t used to losing. There had to be some way to gain the upper hand, to swing the momentum back to his favor.

  Playing defense was not his strong suit. Going on the offensive was what he did best. Keeping women off balance, taking them by surprise always had worked to his advantage.

  He’d already decided what his next step should be. No backing out now, he had to act. No two-bit psychic was bringing him down while he stood on the sidelines doing nothing. It was time to take Gemma down. He just needed to find the precise moment to catch her off guard.

  26

  Sam Wells put his plan in motion to take care of Gemma that Monday morning. He’d wait for Lando to leave the house, get her alone, then sneak into the place, wrap a cord around her neck, and choke the life out of her.

  Lando would be so distraught over the loss that he’d quit his job, give up this silly pursuit, and turn in his badge.

  Sam had all the angles figured. That’s why this would be his finest hour. This way, the empire he’d so carefully built would remain intact, and he’d continue doing what he’d always done, protect his secrets and keep everyone out of his business.

  He left his BMW parked a few blocks away from the house on Peralta Circle and carefully worked his way down the back streets and alleyways making sure he wasn’t spotted by any nosy neighbors.

  Once he was certain that he’d gone unnoticed, he slipped into Gemma’s backyard. The l
ush gardens were a perfect cover. He found a nice spot next to the greenhouse where the hydrangeas were in full bloom. He crouched down behind a bench but started sneezing from the sickening perfume smell of the flowers and had to move to another spot near the vegetable garden that wasn’t quite so fragrant.

  When the bees kept buzzing around his head, he swatted them away. He continued to squat near the pepper plants waiting to hear the sound of Lando’s cruiser start up at the front of the house.

  But Sam didn’t like this approach at all. He preferred selecting his victims ahead of time and picking them up in a nice, clean car, then taking them out to a secluded area where he could have them all to himself. Privacy had always been key to his success. This sneaking around wasn’t for him at all. The filthy environment was getting mud and dirt all over his pant legs, not to mention his Bruno Magli loafers had picked up the scent of dog poop. Just as he flicked off a lady bug that had scuttled from one lettuce leaf to the next, he inadvertently rubbed up against the maple tree, getting sap stuck to his jacket.

  On top of that, he was perspiring like some low-level construction worker. He took out his handkerchief and blotted the sweat off his face.

  Finally, after what seemed like an hour of waiting, he heard a car door slam out in the courtyard. He checked his watch and realized that only fifteen minutes had passed.

  He went over the plan again in his head, hoping he could jump Gemma as she got ready for work, take her by surprise, and do what he had to do in twenty minutes or less. He would like to have seen her naked, but at this stage he figured he’d take what he could get without lingering inside the house for too long.

  He snuck closer to the back patio, staying low to blend in with the shrubbery, and stationed himself underneath the kitchen window to bide his time. He listened and heard what sounded like plates rattling. She was probably clearing away the breakfast dishes. He caught sounds of water running and music playing somewhere in the background.