DEADLY HOPE a gripping detective mystery full of twists and turns

by Jack Parker

  "Great morning." I whispered and rested my forehead against her shoulder. The scent of my shirt mingled with something uniquely Luci, and I pulled away when I realized I liked it a little too much. Luci smiled against my temple and pressed small kisses against my hair.

  "Come, Darling." I smiled up at her. "I truly loath destroying this moment, but reality shall not stop for two foolish lovers." She pulled away, but I caught her hand.

  "Hold on. You have ink on your face." I licked my finger and rubbed the smudge spot from her face.

  "Thank you. A pen exploded earlier this morning. I'd never seen one do that. Honestly, I believed to it be a myth. I changed into your shirt." Her irritation at the pen died quickly as she retrieved my coffee from the floor and pulled me around the desk to look at whatever she'd been doing when I arrived.

  "I hope you aren't too cross with me, but Sheriff Armentrout called this morning to let us know that the investigation had been officially closed and your father's death ruled as natural cause. The fire has been deemed an accident. He said we may claim your father's remains." She paused to sit in her chair and shuffled some papers around until she located her notepad. I leaned my elbows on the edge of the desk and waited.

  "I took the liberty of calling the funeral home. They have an opening in two days for a service. I also drafted a funeral notice for the newspaper, which would run tomorrow. I wasn't certain if you'd want everything to move this quickly, so I waited." I smiled up at her. That was what she'd been working on when I came in, a newspaper release for my father's services.

  "No, I think this is great. Book everything or give me the numbers, and I'll do it. I just want this to be over with as soon as possible."

  "Consider it done, Darling. Is there anything else I can do to make this easier for you?" She asked sincerely, and I felt a devious smile spread on my face against my will. I pushed the papers aside and sat on her desk in front of her. She smirked and leaned forward to rest her elbows on my knees. "That's not what I meant, Love."

  Somehow we were kissing again. Dear god, this woman's lips were absolutely intoxicating. She stood and sent her office chair skittering into the wall behind her. I wrapped my legs around thighs, and her hands clutched at my hips. I scooted to the edge of the desk and pressed us together, trailing my hands down her arms and growing more aroused by the feeling of the scarred flesh beneath my fingertips. My common sense was lost to me as my passion took hold.

  "Luci, I'm sorry to… oh my god!" I jerked back. I swore she trained each and every staff member to interrupt at the most inopportune moments. I glanced over my shoulder and glared at Mattison's back as she bounced on her toes and stared towards the Great Hall. Luci was as irritated as I, but she cleared her throat and set her neutral face. I snatched my coffee and quickly retreated to my chair on the other side of the desk from my excruciatingly tantalizing lover.

  "What is it, Mattison?" Luci asked in a strained voice. Her cheeks were as red as a Honeycrisp and her erratic breathing mirrored my own. Mattison slowly turned to face us, but her eyes stayed glued to the floor.

  "I'm so sorry to… um, interrupt, but there is a woman here to see Lauren. She won't tell me her name." I looked at Luci and shrugged.

  "Send her in, Mattie," I commanded. Mattison's face reddened again and she bit her lip.

  "Umm, she's just by the door." Luci's jaw jumped in frustration. No more make out sessions in her study. I froze when I realized that she'd hidden her arms beneath the desk, but she could do nothing about the exposed scars on her neck that the t-shirt did not cover. I sighed.

  "Send her in, Mattie. Thank you. Also, could you go up to Luci's room and grab a long-sleeved shirt from her closet and bring it back down?" She nodded and bolted from the room, relieved to be free of the awkward tension. I heard her hushed voice from the Great Hall and then her footsteps faded as she went upstairs to get Luci's shirt. Luci looked at me with grateful eyes.

  My mouth fell open in shock when my visitor stepped into the office. She was older now, but still looked like my kid sister. I blinked a few times and then looked at her blue jeans and the thin purple jacket with pockets near the bottom. Her hands were shoved in them so tightly that it stretched the entire jacket. She was slighter, so very slender, skeletal even and tired-looking. Her once thick black hair had thinned and become blonde with dark spots poking through at the roots. The last five years had not been kind to her, but it was Lilly. My sister had come home.

  "You're dating women now?" She shrugged and looked around the room appreciatively. "Can't says I blame ya with a crib like this."

  "Lilly?" I still believed my eyes to be playing tricks. I stood slowly but dared not move any closer for fear that the apparition disappeared.

  "Hey, Sis." She tried to smile, but tears turned it into a gasp. I practically ran towards her, and she caught me in her arms. Hot tears of joy leaked from my eyes and dripped onto her purple jacket. She was here, in my arms, safe. We both cried for what felt like forever. When we finally pulled away from each other, Luci and Mattison stood a few feet away, watching the emotional reunion. Luci had pulled a black button-up shirt over the t-shirt and now stood with her arm around Mattie's shoulder, waiting.

  "Lilly, these are my friends. You've met Mattie." Mattison stepped forward to shake her hand and then resumed her spot beside Luci. "And this is Luci Pravitas. She owns the house."

  "Hello Lilly." Luci shook my sister's bony hand and offered a small smile. "Lauren's talked about you. It's an absolute pleasure to finally meet you. Welcome home." Lilly scowled at Luci.

  "Thanks." It was insincere, but I held my tongue. If Luci believed Lilly to be out of line, she would not have hesitated to rip her off of her high horse. Luci's lips quirked slightly, but I hadn't a clue as to what might be passing through her mind.

  "Do you care for some breakfast, Lilly? We've finished not too long ago with plenty left over to share." Luci's blue silk voice strained at the forced politeness, but Lilly could not yet read her vocal patterns like Mattison and me.

  "Yeah. All right." Lilly seemed disinterested, but her hand arm around my waist tightened ever so slightly. She appreciated the offer of food.

  "Excellent. Mattie, run ahead and let Berta know of our visitor. I shall meet you there shortly, Lauren, after I've finished the project we were discussing." I smiled at her gratefully, and Mattison nodded before slipping out of the tension-filled study.

  "Thanks, Luci. I really appreciate the help." If she hadn't taken the liberty of arranging the memorial service, I wouldn't have known where to begin.

  "And the tongue down her throat," Lilly muttered, and Luci bristled. My own anger flared in my chest, but I took a deep breath and ignored it.

  "Would you care to approve the newspaper announcement before I send it to Mr. Arbogast?" Luci chose to ignore the jibe as well, much to my surprise and gratitude.

  "No. I trust you." I steered Lilly away from Luci before she said anything else that might inflame my and Luci's shared distaste for her sarcastic, inappropriate comments. I kept my arm around her shoulders and pulled her tight against me.

  "Lilly, I'm really happy to see. Honestly, I never thought you'd come back. But you need to show Luci a little more respect. You are a guest in her home, and I have no doubt that she is currently making sleeping arrangements in one of the spare rooms as we speak. So, please try and be a little nicer." We'd nearly reached the dining room when she shrugged away my arm and fixed me with an unreadable expression.

  "So, that's it, huh? Your little sister comes home after five years to find you playing house with a sugar mama." Her voice was so angry. It scared me. She'd never been a particularly angry child; that was me. I became angry so she didn't have to feel her soul slipping away with each blow of his fist or belt or club, whatever he could grab.

  "It's not like that, Lil. You've been gone a long time, and I've done what I needed to do in order to survive." Her nose wrinkled in disgust and she swatted my hand away when I reached for her arm
.

  "Man, you even sound like her now. You were supposed to be here waiting for me, not shacking up with a stuck up, rich bitch." I closed my eyes and forced a calming breath through my nose.

  "Don't go there, Lilly. Don't you even dare. You and mom left me alone. How is it fair to expect me to be here waiting on you exactly the same as you left me? Was I supposed to work at Barb's diner for the rest of my life? You left, and I moved on. That's life. I've been right here waiting on you, so don't you dare judge me for accepting Luci's kindness and protection when she offered it, not to mention her love. I'm happy here, genuinely happy for the first time in my miserable existence, so back the fuck off." My chest heaved by the end of my speech, and Lilly stared at me with that same disgusted expression.

  "Lauren, you're a fucking prostitute. You're gonna stand there and tell me that you're happy with that?" I heard the distinctive crack of flesh meeting flesh before I realized what had happened. Lilly held a hand to her cheek, eyes wide with shock. I balled my stinging hand into a fist and tried to force the anger from my mind.

  "My personal relationship with Luci has nothing to do with our business arrangement." Her body tensed and coiled like she was getting ready to bolt, and my anger dissipated almost instantly. My hands shook from spent adrenaline as I reached for her slowly. She shied but didn't pull away when I gently gripped her shoulders.

  "Look, Lil, let's not do this, okay? I've missed you so much. Let's just… get to know each other again, okay? I'll tell you everything, I promise. Just… just stay, okay?" She studied my eyes, looking for any signs of deception was my best guess, and then nodded.

  "I'm sorry that I hit you. It's been a crazy couple of days, and I'm still frazzled." She looked at the floor and nodded. I pulled her into an embrace. Her body relaxed against mine immediately.

  "I'm sorry I called you a prostitute." She pulled back and offered a small smile. "And thanks for the reality check." She rubbed her cheek. "Just not so hard next time." I nearly cried. That statement was the first glimpse of the Lilly I remembered from our childhood since she'd walked through the door.

  "C'mon." I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and led her to the dining room. Berta and Mattison arranged trays of food and plates on the huge table. Lilly's eyes lit up, and I grinned at her delight. I pulled out the chair beside my usual spot and nodded my head towards it. She sat mechanically, eyes fixated on the food.

  "Holy crap. That's a lot of food for leftovers." I laughed and sat in my chair to the right of the head of the table.

  "Dig in, Little Sister. Berta is an excellent cook, and the fruit is local." Berta beamed at the compliment.

  "It is nice to meet you, Miss Lilly. Is there anything else, Girly? You want some eggs or bacon?" I shook my head.

  "No, thank you, Berta. This is wonderful. Thanks for pulling everything out again. Do you and Mattie want to join us?" I scooped some yogurt and cantaloupe onto my plate and bit a huge hunk from a blueberry scone. Apparently, Luci thought I wanted to skip breakfast this morning.

  "Sure!" Mattison squealed and plopped into the chair across from me. I grinned around the food in my mouth and poured some coffee. Mattison reached for the tea, and Lilly slowly filled her plate with a bit of everything.

  "Coffee or tea, Lil?" She wrinkled her nose at the word tea, and I chuckled as I poured coffee into her cup. "You know, the tea isn't half bad if you're in the mood. It's minty."

  "You better say that, Girly." Berta warned as she fussed with the food.

  "Why's that, B?" She rolled her eyes at the nickname and set her hands on her hips.

  "I make that blend myself from the herbs in the garden. I have enough stocked up to last for years." I smiled fondly at the cook as she waddled from the room, head held high. She certainly knew her job and did it very well. Lilly grinned and jerked her thumb towards the empty doorway.

  "She reminds me of Barb." I raised my eyebrows as I took a sip of coffee.

  "I know. I think all cooks come with that attitude." Lilly giggled and pushed her food around her plate. My eyebrows pulled together at the gesture, but I said nothing.

  "So, where have you been? What have you been doing?" I asked casually and popped a piece melon into my mouth. Lilly sat her fork down and took a long drink of her unsweetened, black coffee.

  "This and that. I've been in Baltimore for the past three years. I moved up there with my boyfriend. I read Dad's obituary online, but there wasn't a funeral announcement." She tore off a piece of a scone and shoved it in her mouth forcefully, like she didn't actually want to eat. "So," her words were muffled around the food. "Do they still think you did it?"

  I snorted and sipped my coffee. "Derrick called this morning to let us know that his death and the fire had been ruled as an accident or natural causes or something. Luci talked to him. She's arranged the funeral for the day after tomorrow. That was the special project we were referring to earlier."

  "Why would she do that? Just take care of stuff like that for you?" I smiled as my mind flitted to last night and waking up to her note and fresh coffee, and Lilly's eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

  "That's just who she is, Lil. Trust me. You're going to love her." I rolled a piece of cantaloupe in yogurt and placed it on my tongue.

  "Do you love her?" Lilly asked seriously. I always loved her radical honesty, but the question caught me off guard and nearly choked as I swallowed the half chewed fruit. Mattie's eyes widened as she alternated her gaze between my sister and me.

  "An excellent question," Luci's silky blue voice called from the doorway behind me. "The answer to be determined at a later time, I suppose." Her hand trailed the length of my shoulders as she passed, and I shivered. Lilly watched the interaction with a neutral expression while Mattison practically bounced in her seat. Luci smirked at me and sat in her chair, instantly reaching for the tea. Her timing truly was perfect.

  "Everything set, Luci?" I forced the words out of my mouth as I tried to recover from the shock of the question and her sudden appearance.

  "Of course, Darling." She sipped the tea tentatively and sighed when the warm minty liquid slid down her throat. Mint in the morning and spice in the afternoon and evening. "They asked that we make a trip to the funeral home, however, and choose a casket and which floral bouquets you wish them to order from the florist "over the mountain." Whatever that may mean."

  "It means the closest florist is 30 minutes away. Just call them back and tell them to use the cheapest one. Actually, I guess cremation is cheaper. Let's do that. The only money I have to spend on this is what you've paid me for the past two months, and I don't even know how much that is." I tried to feel grief for the man who had given me entrance into this world, but I felt nothing. She could have said they were going to roll him into a shallow grave, and I would have reacted no differently. I simply felt nothing.

  "Nonsense, Darling." She waved her hand in dismissal and then reached for a scone. "If the issue is money, you needn't worry, not while you belong to my family." She bit into a scone and chewed patiently as she awaited my response.

  "Thanks, Luci, but really it's not worth it to waste money. I highly doubt many people are going to go to the funeral anyway. I don't even want to go." I leaned into the back of the chair and sipped my coffee.

  "Lauren?" Lilly's eyes were wide. "You don't mean that, do you?"

  "I do." I sat my empty cup on the table and gritted my teeth. "Give me the number, Luci. I'm cancelling the service." I stood with the intent of returning to Luci's office, but Lilly caught me by the arm.

  "Don't do that, Lauren. You were here. You got to say good-bye. I didn't. At least let me have that." I searched her pleading eyes and sighed.

  "Fine, but I'm not going." Tears welled in Lilly's eyes, and I looked at the floor, not wanting to see her pain.

  "How can you be so cold? Our dad died, for god's sake." I jerked my arm away and searched the three sets of eyes fixed on me.

  "Because I don't feel anything, Lil. I did at f
irst. Anger and guilt and relief, and it was all really confusing, but when I think about him now, I don't feel any of that anymore. I don't feel anything." Luci's warm hand on my shoulder grounded me before I became lost in the desperate need to make my sister understand.

  "All right, Love," she whispered, and I leaned into her touch. "Lilly, Mattison will prepare a room for you." Luci's ward took the subtle hint and vacated the room with a scone in her hand. "I will have David drive her to the service, Darling, so she won't be alone." She stepped up behind me and placed her other hand at my waist, and I nodded.

  "Thank you," I answered and closed my eyes as the warmth of her hands seeped into my body.

  "Who's David?" Lilly asked distractedly, her eyes glued to Luci's hands.

  "He is my handyman," Luci answered as she moved to my side and kept her hand around my waist protectively.

  "Come Lilly, we shall go find him and take a trip into town to finalize the arrangements. Perhaps Barb would be willing to prepare a meal for everyone after the service?" Luci gestured towards the door as she spoke, and Lilly stepped out in front of us. I leaned into Luci's shoulder, grateful for her presence in my life. Her touch soothed the coldness I had felt creeping into my heart when I spoke about my father; she made me feel again.

  "I'm sorry, Lilly. I just can't," I apologized once we reached the front door. She turned her eyes to the floor, avoiding mine. I clenched my jaw and pulled her into a hug which she didn't return.

  "We'll return shortly, Darling. In the meantime, would you finish yesterday's expense audit?"

  "Sure." One side of her mouth quirked upwards, and she kissed the side of my head.

  "Thank you." She turned to Lilly and touched her shoulder lightly. "Are you ready to go, Lilly?" My little sister nodded and jerked at the door handle. Luci followed.

  I hung my head and returned to Luci's office. I stared out the huge windows behind her desk as I waited for my computer to warm up after being off for several days. Guilt began to pool in my gut, and I nearly ran after Luci and Lilly. I shouldn't have abandoned Lilly to do this by herself, but I really could not muster the strength to waste any more energy on the matter. He was gone, and I was completely indifferent, end of story. Comfortable with my conclusion, I dug into the pile of receipts and invoices on my desk. There weren't many given the events of the past few days, and I finished relatively quickly, in less than 30 minutes according to the clock at the bottom right hand corner of the computer screen.