“You gotta be hungry after ridin’ the range and rounding up all those cattle,” he teased. “Where do you want to eat?”
“Surprise me,” Piper said. She leaned her head back against the seat and smiled as Drew put the car in gear, then reached for her hand to hold as he drove away from the ranch.
Ten minutes later, they arrived in town while Piper filled Drew in on her conversation with Levi and her thoughts on setting him up as Sunny’s next blind date.
Drew suggested a little deli downtown with patio seating, and they sat outside enjoying an Italian sub sandwich, some chips, and the summer sunshine.
Piper was in the middle of a story about a girl from her last school when she saw Jake’s blue Mustang pull up and park on the street across from where they sat. Jake got out and pulled a black garbage bag from his trunk before hurrying into the building across the street.
“Hey, look.” She nudged Drew to look in the direction of her nod. “There’s Jake, you know, Sunny’s neighbor, the guy Edna saw with the gun. I wonder what he’s doing down here.”
The stucco-sided building Jake had entered was a mix of office suites with a sign out front listing the three businesses within: Aliya Salon and Day Spa, Madame Zia, Psychic and Tarot Card Readings, and Jerry Finney, Private Investigations, Inc.
“Well,” Drew said, “he’s either getting his palm read, his back waxed, or he’s meeting with the private detective.”
Piper laughed and took another bite of the sandwich they shared. She chewed slowly while she puzzled over Jake’s sudden appearance.
They finished eating and were tossing around possible explanations when Jake emerged from the building and hurried to his Mustang.
As he reached for the door handle, he looked across the street and stared directly at Piper. He kept his gaze steady on hers for a full beat, his mouth set in a tight line before shaking his head, getting into the car and speeding away.
“That was scary.” Piper released the breath she had been holding.
“C’mon,” Drew said. He gathered up their trash and dumped it into the garbage can before he grabbed her hand and jogged across the street toward the office building. “Let’s go see what he was up to.”
They stepped through the doors into the cool interior of the adobe style building. A wide hallway ran through the center of the building. Wooden benches and large potted plants sat in the hallway consistent with the mission style of decorating. Two office fronts lined each side of the building. The salon had full windows and encompassed one whole side. Through the windows, four chairs were visible and in one sat a blonde woman in the midst of a highlight, half her head covered in folded aluminum foil squares. Two pedicure chairs were visible on the other side of the room, a dark haired woman in one, her head tilted back against the head rest as her bare feet sat in the bubbling tub of water.
“He wasn’t in there long enough to get his haircut,” Drew said.
“Or a pedicure,” Piper teased. “They take like an hour.”
“That leaves these two choices,” Drew said as they turned to face the other two store fronts, both with their blinds drawn so they couldn’t see into either office.
The first door was purple with mystical designs of stars and moons. The window was painted with a large eye, and the words surrounding it boasted, Full psychic readings in under an hour. Let Madame Zia ‘see’ what the future holds for you.
The other door was plain, but the window had another painting of an eye, remarkably similar to the first window. However, surrounding this eye were the words, Jerry Finney, Private Investigations, Inc.
“That eye is weird. They must have gotten a two-for-one deal,” Piper said.
“Let’s try this one first.” Drew reached for the door of the private detective.
“What are you doing?” Piper asked in a panic.
“Just follow my lead.”
Drew pushed open the door to find a non-descript room with a desk in the middle, two chairs set in front of it for clients, several file cabinets, some motel artwork on the walls, and two floor to ceiling bookshelves crammed with books and crime magazines. At the desk sat an average looking man of medium build with brown hair, wearing a blue open neck button-up shirt, jeans, and small reading glasses perched on his nose. He looked like an ordinary guy who would blend into any crowd. The reading glasses would have completed his dullness, if not for the shoulder holster with a gun strapped to his side.
He looked up when they stepped into the office, Piper bumping into Drew’s back as he stopped suddenly.
“Can I help you two?” the man asked.
“We were hoping to get a psychic reading,” Drew said.
“Sorry kids, you got the wrong door. Stupid eye is always throwing people off.”
“Oh, sorry to bother you.”
“No problem. You ask me, don’t waste your money.”
“Thanks,” Drew said, as the two backed out of the office and pulled the door shut behind them. They had spent less than a minute in the private eye’s office, but it was long enough to see the black garbage bag Jake had been carrying perched on the side of Jerry Finney’s desk.
13
The sweet scent of cinnamon filled the kitchen as Cassie pulled the apple turnovers from the oven. It was her night to host book club, and she had baked up a storm earlier that day. A luscious chocolate cake sat on the counter, and Sunny nibbled on a cookie from a plate of Oatmeal Scotchies that sat next to her as she perched on a kitchen stool.
Cassie and Matt lived in a spacious brick house with three bedrooms on the main level and a full basement with two bedrooms downstairs. Her decorating style was a cross between cottage and country with lots of comfortable pillows, candles, and flower arrangements. She wanted people to walk into her home and feel like they could kick their shoes off and curl up on the sofa.
Cassie treasured the roles of wife and mother, and she was always taking care of someone or hosting an event at her house. The rooms of her home were usually filled with the smells of baking and the laughter of her kids and their friends.
The book club loved to sit in Cassie’s large kitchen around her big oak table. She had spacious countertops filled with cookbooks, candles, baskets of paperwork and a big stoneware cookie jar that never sat empty.
In one corner of the kitchen sat a large fireplace, and Edna was balanced on the edge of the flagstone hearth. She also was eating a cookie and feeding little bites of it to Oswald, Cassie’s little Welsh Corgi. Funny how the dog always seemed to sit next to Edna at every book club function.
Maggie had yet to arrive, and Piper sat sideways in the leather recliner next to the big picture window in the living room. Her feet dangled off one side as she pretended to read a book, but she looked around every time a car approached in anticipation of Drew pulling up to drop off his mom.
“They’re here.” She jumped out of her chair to check her hair in the mirror.
“Makin’ sure there are no bats in the bat cave,” Edna said, as Piper tipped her head back to do a quick nose check.
“Exactly.” Piper laughed as she realized she had been caught in the act.
Edna shook her head in mock despair. “The length we girls go to for our fellas.”
“But they’re worth it.” Piper gave her a smile and opened the front door to Drew.
“Hi, Drew,” Cassie called. “Where’s your mom?”
“Hi, Cassie. She’s in the car answering her Blackberry.”
“More like her ‘Crackberry’,” Sunny said. “I swear she’s addicted to that thing.”
“It’s gotten worse lately. She’s always on it,” Drew said.
“Geez. How could someone spend so much time texting on their phone, I wonder,” Cassie teased, looking from Piper to Drew.
Piper ignored Cassie’s sarcasm. “We’re going to sit on the deck for a few minutes.” Leading Drew by the hand, she pulled on the sliding glass door. “Call me when you’re ready to do the book discussion or when Sunny’s
going to tell us about her date.”
“I can only stay for ten minutes. I’m picking up Dylan from soccer practice,” Drew said.
Cassie smiled as she watched the two step onto the deck and sit next to each other in the glider swing. She turned to look out the front window to Maggie’s car where her friend’s dark-haired head bent forward as she typed furiously on her small black phone.
“That woman is always working,” Cassie said out loud, before she headed back in to the kitchen to pour herself some iced tea.
* * *
In her car, Maggie Hayes was doing anything but working. Her fingers feverishly worked the tiny keyboard as she responded to the latest text she had received.
It read, I can’t seem to get u off my mind.
I’ve been thinkng about u a lot 2, she texted in return.
Will u still meet me 2nite? Same place, same time?
I will b there.
Can’t wait.
Maggie couldn’t control the secret smile that stole across her face as she closed the phone and held it to her chest.
With a contented sigh, she opened the car door and headed for Cassie’s house.
* * *
Sunny ran her fingers over the cover of the book. “I just love Jane Eyre.” Sunny preferred for the discussion to be centered around a fictional love story, rather than on another botched attempt at finding her a match.
Drew had left to get his little brother and the women were gathered around the table to discuss their latest book club choice.
“Okay, so Jane Eyre, Jane Schm-eyre, who cares. I want to hear how the date went,” Piper said, reaching for another cookie. “We’ve spent twenty minutes talking about the romance of a pretend character when we have a real romance I want to hear about.”
Sunny laughed, knowing she was outnumbered. She told the group about her latest date, including the mix-up at the door, and how disappointed Jeremy was when he realized he wasn’t going out with Maggie.
“Oh, he was not,” Maggie said. The other girls were listening intently, but Sunny couldn’t help but notice the little smirk that played across Edna’s face as she watched Maggie reach for another cookie.
“What’s that face for, Edna?” Sunny asked.
“Oh, nothing.” Edna grinned. “Nothing the rest of you won’t have to figure out for yourselves. If you'd all watch more CSI, you wouldn't even have to ask me!"
Cassie waved away Edna’s comments. “I’m too busy to watch television.” She gestured for Sunny to continue. “So, what happened then?”
The girls laughed like crazy as Sunny told them how Beau had barfed up her thong panties and then oohed and ahhed over the suspicious date that led into the basement. Sunny skipped most of the details of the online game. She hit the highlights of how Jeremy’s friends thought she sucked, and how she ruined the whole raid by getting them all killed by a dragon.
She spent more time describing the details of how Jeremy’s house was decorated than she had when she told Jake about it. But, this time she revealed to the girls that she and Jeremy had been kissing when his mother made her unannounced appearance.
“So you just ran out without letting him explain?” Piper asked.
“What’s to explain?” Sunny answered. “He’s a great guy, but he still lives with his mom.”
“Maybe she really was just staying with him,” Maggie offered.
“I don’t know. It kind of felt like we kissed because it was the expected thing to do. It wasn’t anything like the passion I felt later when I kissed Jake.”
“Now we’re getting to the good stuff,” Piper said.
Cassie gasped. “You kissed Jake?”
“Well, I was standing right next to him, and he wasn’t wearing a shirt, and he’s got these great…eyes,” Sunny said.
“Where was his shirt?”
“Beau nudged his hand, and he spilled his beer on it so he had to take it off.”
“Did he spill beer on his pants too?” Maggie asked.
“No.” Sunny laughed. “His pants stayed on.”
“Dang,” Piper said.
“Look, we just kissed, and then Beau interrupted us. I basically ran out of Walter’s house,” Sunny explained. “I feel guilty for kissing two men in one night.” She looked pointedly at Piper. “I got caught up in the mood with Jeremy, but it’s like Jake has this thing that draws me to him. Like I have a fish hook in my belly, and every time I’m near him, it reels me in closer to him.”
“Real close,” Edna muttered.
“I am attracted to him, but I still feel like he’s dangerous. I know he’s not telling me everything. In fact, he’s told me nothing.”
“Listen, Sunny, I realize Mr. Hotty-Pants is gorgeous,” Edna said. “But I still don’t trust him. I’ve got my eye on that one, and something just isn’t right. What if the guy you kissed is the same guy who killed Walter?”
“I know. I know.” Sunny covered her face with her hands.
“That night, when you were playing dungeons and dragons, I saw Jake bring a black garbage bag out of Walter’s house and lock it in the trunk of his car. Now what kind of trash is so important you lock it into the backend of your car?” Edna asked.
“Maybe Sunny could distract him, and we could sneak out and check the trunk to see what’s in the bag,” Maggie said, a wicked gleam in her eye.
“You won’t find it,” Piper said.
All eyes turned to Piper, and Cassie’s eyebrows shot up. “What do you know about it?”
“Well…” Piper obviously enjoyed the spotlight of having the group’s full attention. “I’ve been waiting all night to tell you.”
Piper regaled the group with her tale of seeing Jake with the aforementioned black garbage bag and Drew’s sly detective skills at ferreting out where Jake had been.
“That was dangerous,” Cassie admonished at the same time Maggie was declaring, “That’s my boy.” Cassie glared at Maggie, who shrugged.
“Are you sure it was the same bag?” Edna asked.
“How many black garbage bags tied together in a knot do you think Jake has locked in his trunk?” Piper asked in exasperation.
“Touché,” Edna said. “Sunny, I think you need to stay clear of Mr. Sweet-Buns.”
“I’m so confused,” Sunny said. “I can feel there’s something dangerous about Jake, but at times I also feel completely safe with him. Plus, he did rescue me from All-Hands Hank.”
“I’ll Be Watching You…” As if on cue, Sunny’s pocket began the now familiar notes of Hank’s ringtone. She pulled the phone out and pressed the button to ignore the call.
“What’s that about?” Maggie asked.
Sunny had kept most of the details of Hank’s repeated attempts to drag her down matrimony lane from the book club. She knew he was Matt and Cassie’s friend and had wanted to tread lightly with Cassie, so as not to hurt her feelings. “I didn’t want to tell you about this, because I know he’s your friend and all, Cass, but Hank is kind of creeping me out.”
“What do you mean? He’s not my friend. Matt knew him in college, but he hasn’t seen him in like, ten years. What’s going on, Sunny?”
Sunny gave in and told the Page Turners about Hank’s frequent phone calls, and his stubborn denial of Sunny’s repeated turn downs.
“I haven’t told anyone this, but I’ve been getting calls in the middle of the night, and when I answer, they don’t say anything. They just listen for a few seconds and then hang up,” Sunny said quietly.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Cassie asked and took Sunny’s hand.
“I didn’t want to worry anybody. At first I thought it was a mistake or a wrong number, but now it’s happening more often, and I’m starting to get a little scared.”
“Don’t you have Caller ID?” Maggie asked.
“Yeah, but the number comes up as blocked.”
“It could be Jake, trying to scare you,” Edna said. “He seems like the type to know how to block Caller ID.”
/> “I don’t think it’s Jake,” Sunny said. “But I don’t know if it’s Hank either. It feels like someone is calling to check and see if I’m home.”
“Sunny, I had no idea,” Cassie said. “I knew Hank was a little pushy, but I didn’t think he was dangerous. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of this.” Her chair scraped loudly as she pushed it back from the table. She squeezed Sunny’s hand, then with a fierce look on her face, strode from the room, yelling, “Matthew Paul Bennett, get in here.”
“Don’t mess with Cassie,” Maggie said. She smiled at Cassie’s retreating back. “Matt’s going to get an earful. Seriously, Sunny, from a legal standpoint, next time he calls, you need to firmly state, ‘Stop calling me’.”
“Jake said the same thing.”
“Jake knows about the calls?”
“Not the calls I’m getting at night, but he knows that Hank has been calling me a lot. He told me to flat out tell him to quit calling me.”
“That’s right,” confirmed Maggie. “If you don’t tell him to quit calling you, then you don’t have a case once the police get involved.”
“The police?” Matt said as he walked into the kitchen, Cassie on his heels. “I’m sure there’s no need to get the police involved. It sounds like Hank just really likes you, Sunny.”
He moved to stand behind Sunny’s chair. “Listen, I’m really sorry Hank’s been bugging you. I haven’t seen the guy in forever, and you’re not hurting my feelings if you don’t want to go out with him. I’m a little worried about your late night hang-ups, but I doubt it’s Hank. Let me talk to him, okay?”
“That would be great, Matt,” Sunny said. “I hope you’re right. Maybe some women like all this attention, but he’s a little over-zealous for me. And, I’m not ready to step in as Mrs. Hank II.”
“I’ll talk to him and make sure he knows you’re not interested in going out with him again.” Matt reached between Sunny and Maggie to snag a cookie from the plate on the table.
Another Saturday Night and I Ain't Got No Body (A Page Turners Novel) Page 11