Sugared

by Gina LaManna

  “Me too. Say, what time are you off work tonight?”

  “Whenever you’re back from bowling,” he responded, too quickly. “Why don’t you call when you’re on the way?”

  “Yes, please,” I said. “I’ll definitely need some help ripping this shirt off.”

  Anthony groaned. “Let’s skip bowling.”

  “You have recruits waiting for you!” I argued, pulling him out from behind the tree. “Er—you did.”

  The yard was now empty. Apparently, we’d made them queasy.

  “That worked,” Anthony said. “Lacey, good luck. Be careful. And call me the second you’re on your way home.”

  My whole body gave a shiver of happiness, and I saluted him before leaving. “Aye, aye, captain.”

  Chapter 14

  “I’m sorry, lady, you’re disqualified.”

  “What? No!” I stepped closer toward the chubby man with five chains around his neck and exactly three hairs on the top of his head. “Look! We have a full team. We even have uniforms!”

  The man watched as I pinched my shirt to show him the logo across my chest. He stared at it for a little too long, and eventually, I realized he was staring past the words to what was underneath. Shrugging the shirt back in place, I scowled at him until he returned his gaze to mine.

  “I’m sorry, lady. You need five on your roster. We’re gonna fill in with a different team.”

  “We have someone else coming.” Meg stepped up and gestured toward the door. “She just called and said she’s on her way. She’s a model and was coming late from her photoshoot.”

  “A model?” The man behind the counter, his nametag reading Ralphie, raised an eyebrow and peered past Meg to the entryway. “I guess we can give her a few more minutes. If she ain’t here by then, y’all lose your spot.”

  “Fine,” Meg said, linking her arm through mine and marching me away. “We’re going to stretch out our groins. We’ll be back.”

  “Groins?” I stopped once we reached a room bursting with pool tables and empty of people. There was a rack of pool cues along the back wall, and a light hanging over them. “You couldn’t have said hamstrings?”

  “Guys don’t like to talk about female issues.”

  “Groins are not female issues. They’re human issues.”

  “Whatever,” Meg said. “What happened to Alessandra? We’re going to lose our spot if she doesn’t show.”

  “Alessandra’s not coming!”

  “Oh, well, I was just bluffing about the extra player, then.”

  “Well, we need someone to get here, and fast. So, keep your eyes open for some random woman that we can pay twenty bucks to bowl for an hour.”

  “Why do you care so much?” Meg asked. “Why don’t we just play in the next lane? You never did say why we had to bowl in this dumb league.”

  I nodded toward Nora and Vivian. They were standing in front of Lane 1 and comparing shoes. Nora’s were made completely from gold sequins, and Vivian had tufts of pink fur popping out of her toes. Apparently, they’d gone for the custom bowling footwear.

  Nora had also gone for the custom ball, and had somehow secured a neon pink thing with our team logo on the front. Balls of Fury in bright gold print, along with her name underneath. I had to wonder if Carlos had approved the purchase. I would pay a lot of money to see him holding that ball.

  “This is about The Zebra,” Meg said, her eyes landing on the sign. “The thing Clay was looking up for you the other day. It’s not about bowling.”

  “Of course it’s not about bowling. We have to check out this guy’s story.”

  “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

  “I couldn’t tell the others!” I glanced over just in time to see Nora commenting on a neighboring bowler’s tattoos. The guy was tall and beefy and full of frowns. “I needed for all of us to act normal. If I warned Nora and Vivian, they’d try to be all secret agent on us, and it would be completely obvious we weren’t professional bowlers.”

  “Right. Because we totally pass for professional bowlers.” Meg’s hands reached for my shoulders and spun me around. “Check this out.”

  I watched as Vivian took a practice shot down the alley. Except, instead of bowling like a normal human being, she set the ball down and gave it a little tap with her toe. The thing didn’t roll over twice before it thunked into the gutter and stopped dead.

  “Professionals,” Meg harrumphed.

  “Maybe we’re just a bunch of ladies out for a bachelorette party trying to have a good time,” I said. “And so we joined a league. That’s what I mean. We need to fly under the radar.”

  “Right. Because that’s how you fly under the radar.”

  Meg once again spun me around. Just in time for us to watch as Nora accidentally threw her bowling ball three lanes over. It bounced, and bounced, and bounced until everyone in the place was staring at my grandmother.

  My head collapsed into my hands. “Well, nobody will ever suspect us of being anything other than horrible athletes.”

  “Now you’re talking,” Meg said. “But we still need to find a fifth person, otherwise we’ll be watching The Zebra from the bar. Which, now that I mention it, doesn’t sound so bad.”

  “No. I want to get up close and personal.” My hands curled into fists. “I want to look into his eyes. I want to see if he could’ve murdered Beckett.”

  A whistle drew us back to the front desk. “Sorry, ladies,” Ralphie said. “I’m going to have to forfeit you if...”

  He trailed off, and I followed his gaze toward the front door. Like an angel, Alessandra strode through it, her hair flowing behind her all cute and glamorous.

  If I tried that, it’d end up in my mouth, and then I’d trip and fall face first into someone’s Coke. But not Alessandra—this woman looked like she was floating.

  “That her?” Ralphie asked. “The model?”

  “That’s her,” Meg said proudly. Then to me, she mumbled, “Told you.”

  “Good thing we waited,” Ralphie said with another low whistle.

  “Good thing,” I agreed, barely suppressing an eye roll.

  “Hi, there!” Alessandra strode up to the counter. She cast an extra-long glance in my direction before gracing Ralphie with a bright smile. “Really sorry I’m late. Hope I didn’t hold things up.”

  “No. Nope. Not at all, not in the slightest. We were going to wait all day,” Ralphie said, leaning against the counter. “What size shoe are you?”

  “Wipe up your drool, Ralphie,” Meg said. “Have a little dignity. She’s a size eight.”

  Alessandra nodded in surprise. “She’s right.”

  “I know I’m right,” Meg said. “I peeked inside your shoes because I wanted to borrow a pair. Unfortunately, you’ve got dainty toes. My toes aren’t so dainty, so you probably don’t want to borrow my shoes.”

  Once we were all outfitted and situated in our lane, we were only missing one thing. The opponent. Specifically, The Zebra. The rest of his teammates were there, if their clothing choices were anything to go by. Of the four men who’d arrived, two of them wore white shirts and black pants, while the other two wore black shirts and white pants.

  None of the men were small. In fact, all of them except one was bigger than Anthony, and even the shorter guy probably had him beat by about fifty pounds. This guy had just grown sideways instead of upward.

  “So, uh, are we waiting for one more?” I asked. “Should we get started?”

  “No,” the biggest guy said. “We wait.”

  “Oh, okay.” I sat back down with the rest of my team, and together we waited.

  We waited for another ten minutes until finally, The Zebra made his appearance.

  “That must be him.” Meg hissed, leaning over and pointing. “The Zebra in his natural habitat.”

  Unlike the henchmen he kept close, The Zebra looked to be a well-kept gentleman who might possibly work at a bank. Unlike the gaudy appearance of Ralphie’s golden chains, or the
bold muscle from his teammates, The Zebra looked quite ordinary.

  Regular height, graying hair, he wasn’t particularly handsome, not quite distinguished, but very, very normal. He had a single ring on his wedding finger and no other jewelry. Slim black jeans and button down white shirt had him looking more like a high-end waiter than a criminal.

  “Ladies.” He didn’t look surprised to find us standing there. “Interesting change of opponents.”

  “Yeah, we were called last minute,” Meg said. “I’m the team captain.”

  “Lacey?”

  I swallowed, wondering how he knew my name, until his eyes flicked over my head at the screen. My name blinked in bright red letters. “That’s me.”

  “You’re up first.”

  “Oh. Right.”

  So much for playing it cool, I thought as I snatched up a ball at random from the rack. Unfortunately, it was Nora’s. Neon in color, shimmering with our logo, I stepped up to the lane. Took a breath, and then sent the ball sailing forward.

  It started on a wobbly trajectory, veering dangerously close to one gutter at the halfway point. Then it righted itself, continued, and crashed into the pin furthest to the left.

  One pin.

  One pin!

  “Yahooo!” Meg leapt to her feet. “You’re almost halfway to your best score ever!”

  I tried to hide my celebratory fist pump. Since I wasn’t used to knocking over pins, this was quite a pleasant development. I may have sauntered back to the bench.

  “Bet you can’t top that,” Meg said to The Zebra.

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” I murmured to Meg. “I only scored one point.”

  The first few rounds continued without incident. Except for a couple incidents that we chose to ignore. Like Nora bowling the ball backward and almost breaking Meg’s shin. Or when one of The Zebra’s henchmen stared so thoroughly at Alessandra as she bent over to bowl that his fingers got caught in the ball regurgitation machine.

  Not to mention the fact that we were losing a billion points to ten. However, I’d scored five of the ten points, which meant I was carrying the team. Apparently, nobody at Casa Luzzi had bowling talent. Or any sort of hand-eye coordination whatsoever.

  The Zebra, on the other hand, hadn’t missed a pin.

  “So, Lacey...” Alessandra sidled over to me sometime during the sixth frame. She sat down while someone from The Zebra’s team bowled a strike. “Do you want to tell me what I’m doing here?”

  “Let me guess—you didn’t show up because you wanted to bowl,” I said. “Anthony sent you?”

  “I changed my mind.” Alessandra stood up and grabbed a ball. “But yes, Anthony also sent me.”

  I watched, somewhat slack-jawed, as she sent a perfect spiral down the alley and roped our team its first strike. Our team went wild. With a pleased smile, she ignored the applause, stepped down from the platform, and seated herself next to me again.

  “Tell me about The Zebra,” she murmured quietly, as if nothing had happened. “If I’m going to be here, I have a right to know why.”

  “Anthony didn’t explain?”

  “He told me to make sure you ended up back at the estate in one piece. I put the rest together on my own.”

  “I’m looking into a murder. I think The Zebra might be involved.”

  “A murder?” She shifted straighter in her seat. “Why are you involved?”

  “Because...” I sighed, stood up, and retrieved a ball. Dropping back, I leaned down and whispered into Alessandra’s ear. “This one is personal.”

  “You knew the victim?”

  “You did too,” I said, patting my bowling ball and wishing for it to go straight. “The police called me to the St. Paul Cathedral to identify a body on Sunday. It was Beckett.”

  “Lacey, for the fifth time, throw the ball,” Vivian called. “Let’s wrap this game up. Joey brought home burgers, and I don’t want to eat mine if the lettuce is all wilted.”

  I couldn’t tear my eyes from Alessandra’s face, however. Something strange was happening there. Instead of surprise or shock, or even sadness, she turned white. Blank. Absent of all emotion.

  She rested shaking fingers against her collar bone. I reached for her, but she shrunk back, shook her head. When she glanced up at me, there was something else burning in her eyes. A flash of anger that was familiar—reminiscent of Anthony.

  “Lacey,” Meg said louder. “It’s your turn.”

  I hurried up to the platform and whipped the ball down the lane. I didn’t even bother to watch what happened because I whirled back around to check on Alessandra.

  Or, at least, I tried to, but she was gone. Evacuated. Her seat was empty, and there was no sign of her anywhere.

  “Holy cow, that’s a strike!” Meg screamed. “You got a strike, Lacey!”

  My team was going wild, but unfortunately, I was too distracted to care. The cheering fell on deaf ears as I stilled, my heart pounding as I caught sight of Alessandra.

  She moved slowly, as if pulling herself through molasses. Her eyes were focused on The Zebra, but a glaze had fallen over her face like that of a sleepwalker. She took another lethargic step toward The Zebra. Raised a hand.

  I shouted her name, but I was swamped by my teammates and engulfed in a hug.

  “Your first strike!” Meg cried.

  “I’m so proud,” Nora yelled. “This is my granddaughter, everyone!”

  It took a few well-placed elbows to wriggle my way out of the group. On the high from our team’s latest two strikes, Meg picked up her ball and finally, I was free to move.

  It was too late. I made the lunge toward her and brought myself up short. I watched, unable to stop a thing, as Alessandra pulled something from behind her back.

  A gun. Or, what looked like a gun. She must have kept it in her purse, the pretty blue purse lying open on her seat. Why did she have a gun?

  “Alessandra, no,” I whispered.

  But her face went blank as she looked at me. A glimpse of apology flickered through her eyes, then the chestnut brown gaze hardened.

  “Did you do it?” she asked, leaving only a second before she continued. “Did you kill my fiancé?”

  The Zebra turned his head slightly, just far enough to see the woman holding a gun to his temple. A flicker of amusement danced in his eyes.

  “What do I pay you for?” he asked the men sitting around him. He raised his hands slightly in surrender. “Are you looking for a job, lady? I’m hiring. I have four positions open starting now. Pay is the best in the business.”

  “Get away from him, lady,” one of the recently fired men said. “Don’t make us have to hurt you.”

  “Just try me,” she said. “He’ll be done before you take a step.”

  “Listen to her,” the Zebra snarled. “Unlike you, I presume she’s got the balls to follow through on her threats.”

  “Yeah, she does,” Meg said. “She’s got Balls of Fury.”

  “To what do I owe this pleasure?” The Zebra asked. “I’m hoping this is all one big misunderstanding among friends.”

  “Did you murder him?”

  “You’ll have to be more specific,” The Zebra said, his voice low and gravelly. “I meet many men in my profession.”

  “Beckett.”

  “Huh, it seems to...ring a bell.” The Zebra looked over to me. “Church bells.”

  Alessandra followed his glance and looked at me, too. That split second was the only opportunity I needed to act. Diving for her, I managed to tackle her to the ground, the gun bouncing away from us before she did anything rash.

  “Come on,” I said. “I’m not letting you get in trouble for this. Let’s get out of here.”

  Thankfully, Meg reached the discarded gun first and stashed it in her own purse. Then she returned to help me with Alessandra, and together we wrapped our arms around her and guided her out the door. Nora and Vivian followed in their dazzling footwear.

  Only when we were all shoved in
to Patty and clunking our way toward the highway did anyone speak.

  “What the heck was that?” Meg asked. “I left a perfectly good pair of sneakers in there.”

  I glanced down at my bowling shoes, realizing my footwear was toast, too.

  “We’ll be okay,” Nora said. “Folks like him don’t call the cops.”

  “You knew who that was?” I asked Nora.

  “That was The Zebra. Everyone knows The Zebra.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

  “The Zebra isn’t scary unless you piss him off,” Vivian said. “Everyone knows that.”

  “Well,” Meg said, glancing in the rearview mirror to where we’d shoved Alessandra between me and Vivian. “Do you think we pissed him off?”

  Thankfully, Alessandra had calmed down once we’d taken the gun from her hands. If anything, she’d gone too far the other way. Now, she went limp, lying against my shoulder as we flew toward the estate.

  I gave her a little nudge. “So, do you feel like explaining what happened in there?”

  Alessandra’s eyes were hollow. “He murdered Beckett.”

  “We were going to catch him,” I said. “Pulling out a gun wasn’t the answer—it would’ve only gotten you in trouble, too.”

  “It wasn’t a real gun,” Meg said. “It wouldn’t have killed him, it was just one of them teensy things that shoots blanks.”

  “You pulled a fake gun on The Zebra?” Nora raised her eyebrows at Alessandra. “I suppose you do have Balls of Fury.”

  “I feel a girl talk session coming on,” Meg said. “She needs a cup of tea and a piece of cake. Good thing I know just the place.”

  Chapter 15

  “Lacey,” Tony said with a look of surprise on his face. “You’re back again. So soon.”

  “Sorry about the short notice, Tony.” I gestured behind me to the group of ladies there. “We have some business to discuss and thought some tea and cake might be needed.”

  “I have no appointments for a couple of hours. I’ll give you the tasting room?”

  “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

  “Carlos does too,” Nora said. “Send him the bill, please, Tony-baby.”