“He never does that for me.”
“That’s because you’re a pushover.”
Ricki’s phone vibrated with another text message from Becca. “Could you do me a favor? No, I don’t want the pillow adjusted again.”
Thea tsked. “I wasn’t going to. What do you need?”
“Can you text Becca and tell her I can’t use the phone properly to tell her to stop texting me? Be sure to tell her it’s you or she’ll think I’m making some sort of joke.”
Thea took the phone and started texting: “Will you please leave me alone, you stupid witch. Exclamation point, exclamation point. Like that?”
“Perfect. Thank you. Although, you could have added one more exclamation point.”
“Maybe next time.” The phone vibrated again. “She said you’re the bigger witch.”
“Really?”
“No, she said she’ll be over as soon as Megan wakes up from her nap. Now, why don’t you get some rest. You’ll feel better.”
Now that Ricki couldn’t type, she had the urge to work on her latest book. Even if her deadline was far off, she felt a sudden pressure to write it. She couldn’t wait to tell her agent she had hurt her arm. She was on shaky ground with her as it was, and this would probably send Tracy over the edge.
“Do you want to watch TV?”
“I’m too bored to watch, but you go ahead.” Ricki wasn’t really bored; she was impatient. She had no idea when the police were going to show up, and she was eager to get this out of her system.
Thea turned on an early afternoon soap opera and curled up in the chair with Rumpus. Ricki had a quick flashback of when she was a little girl, home sick with the measles, watching her mother doing the exact same thing she was doing to her thirty-year-old daughter. She yearned for simpler times, and in an instant felt badly for shooing her mother away from straightening the pillow. No matter how old Ricki got, her mother would always see her as a little girl, and she didn’t want to take that away from her.
When Ricki opened her eyes a few hours later, she found her living room full of people. Becca had set up a blanket on the floor so Megan could play. Rumpus behaved himself and sat at the edge of the blanket, wagging his tail and watching. Thea was still in her chair, trying to watch television. Andy surveyed Ricki’s living room, probably looking for something to fix. There were also two uniformed police officers standing near the door. One was her brother, and the other was a young officer, come to take her report, no doubt.
“Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead,” Becca said, smiling. “You fell asleep at your own party.”
Ricki rubbed her eyes, remembering the pain in her wrist. The painkiller must have knocked her out when she wasn’t looking, sort of like the night before when someone tried to push her in the lake when she wasn’t looking.
“I’ll put some coffee on.” Thea shot up out of the chair and ran off to the kitchen. “Show of hands who wants coffee.”
Everyone in the room raised their hand.
“Are you awake enough to talk?” Chris said, sitting on the couch at her feet. “Zack can come back another time.”
“Just give me a second to freshen up.” Ricki climbed the stairs slowly, her heart palpitating from not being fully awake yet. As she made her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth and splash water on her face, she listened to the laughter and conversation of her family and friends. Life could get complicated at times. Even if Ricki tried to keep her life a drama-free zone, she realized that sometimes drama found her, like last night. Any time Ricki had something big happen, she took comfort in the simplicity of the sounds of her loved ones enjoying life.
Rumpus found his way upstairs and stared at her with eager eyes.
“Hey, buddy. How you doing?” With her working hand, she gave him a good scratch behind his ears. “Dad is going to have to take you outside for a walk.” At the mere mention of the word walk, Rumpus took off downstairs. She heard him pull his leash from the chair by the door and drag it across the floor. Her dad took the cue and intercepted it, for which Ricki was grateful. She took a quick look in the mirror, not liking what she saw: no makeup, dark circles under her eyes, and a pale-green color to her skin. She wanted to pull her hair back into a ponytail in the worst way, but any attempt just sent sharp pains up her left arm. “Who cares?” She put her arm back in the sling and headed downstairs.
“Okay, Zack. Are you ready?”
With a quick nod, Zack opened a notebook and clicked his pen. “Ready.”
Thea came in with a cup of coffee and a curious look on her face. “What’s he doing?”
“I’m going to file a police report about last night.”
“Why?”
“Because. Let me tell Zack what happened so he can be on his way.”
Thea motioned that she was buttoning her lips and sat down in the chair, turning the television off so she could hear better.
“During dinner,” Ricki said, “I saw someone coming out of the bathroom. I thought it was a particular person, and I ran off after her.”
“Who did you think it was?” Zack said.
“I thought it was Taryn Wilkes.”
Zack had a moment of recognition, smiling, almost laughing, and nodding. It seemed her reputation for what she was doing on Wake Up, Somerset, was growing in the area.
“Anyway, I followed her out into the parking lot, and it was the most surreal experience. It was like she was there one minute and gone the next.”
“Oh dear,” Thea said, lowering her head.
Ricki couldn’t follow that narrative just yet and continued with her story. “I stood at the edge of the parking lot—you know that place right near the water where it practically goes straight down, right before you step up onto the boardwalk?” Zack nodded. “Well, I was standing there looking out over the water, listening to the waves, and the next thing I knew someone came up behind me and pushed me over.”
“Did you see who it was?”
“I was facing the water, so no, I didn’t. But I think I know who it was.”
“Can you describe who you think it was?”
“Like I said, I believe it was Taryn Wilkes.”
Becca gasped, quickly covering her mouth.
“She’s about five feet seven, thin, shoulder length blonde hair. She wore a white, I don’t know, it looked like a thin, flowy cape or poncho like thing, which is weird since it’s been so cold lately.”
“Honey, you had champagne last night,” Thea said.
“Mom,” Chris said, raising his eyebrows at her.
“Were you drinking last night?” Zack said.
“I had one glass of champagne. That’s it.”
“No, you had three.”
“Mother. Not now.” She shot Thea a stern look. “Anyway, someone pushed me from behind and disappeared before I could even see them. I caught myself on a rock, which is how I fractured and cut my wrist. That’s all I saw or remember.”
“Not to be disrespectful, but are you sure it was only one glass?”
Just at that moment, Andy and Rumpus bounded into the room. Rumpus immediately fell to the floor and started rolling on his back. Becca scooped Megan up in her arms before Rumpus rolled all over her.
“Yes. I only had one glass of champagne.” Ricki looked at her brother who gave her the side eye. “What?”
“To be fair, Mom is right. You had three glasses, and you’re not a drinker. Three glasses of champagne for someone who doesn’t drink, that’s a lot. Ask Becca, she knows.”
“Hey, I resemble that remark. He’s right. If you’re not used to drinking, three glasses will hit you hard.”
“Dad, how many glasses of champagne did I have last night?”
He held up three fingers.
“I wasn’t drunk.”
“You might’ve had a buzz which can make you tipsy,” Zack said.
“So, what? You don’t believe me?”
“I can file the report, if you want, but I can’t guarantee anything will be
done about it, especially if you were slightly intoxicated.”
“I repeat: I wasn’t drunk. You have to believe me. It was Taryn Wilkes who tried to push me into the lake.”
“Why would she do that?”
That was a good question and one that Ricki didn’t really have an answer for. Why would Taryn try to push her into the lake? Well, there was jealousy, revenge. Even the hair and makeup girl said Taryn was talking smack on her. All hearsay, so she kept it to herself. “Maybe it was the same person who pushed Kari Olson into the lake and killed her.”
Chris cleared his throat loudly. “That’s not appropriate to discuss right now. He’s not a homicide detective.”
Zack raised his hand to Chris. “Wait a minute. Are you saying you think there might be a connection between what happened to you last night and the murder of Kari Olson?”
“Not might.”
The entire room fell silent.
Twenty
Zack didn’t believe Ricki’s story about Taryn being the one who pushed her from behind because of the three glasses of champagne. At least he entertained her need to tell it. He took notes and was set to write up the report when he got back to the station, but he advised her to be careful about making accusations against someone without proper evidence to support it. Ricki agreed to leave Taryn’s name out of it but asked him to file the report nonetheless. That wouldn’t stop her from following through on her suspicions. What Zack didn’t know wouldn’t get in the way of Ricki solving this mystery. And what the people in this town didn’t know wouldn’t get Ricki pushed in the lake again.
“What makes you think it’s Taryn?” Becca had the Saturday morning free to herself and met up with Ricki at The Bean for brunch. “Don’t you think you’re jumping to conclusions?”
“Shhh. Someone might hear you.”
Becca scanned the coffee shop. “We’re in the corner, and no one is sitting near us. Now, answer my question.”
“Well, think about it. She’s been working on getting this show off the ground for who knows how long and Kari waltzes in and takes the job as host.”
“That’s saying if she actually wanted the job as host.”
Ricki blew on her coffee before taking a sip. “Oh, she wanted it. The day Kari went missing, she played the martyr so well.” She did her best Taryn impersonation: “Oh, it’s all right, I guess I can go on even if I’m so unprepared. Heavy sigh. But behind those eyes I could see her grinning like she just stole the honey pot.”
“What’s a honey pot?”
“I don’t know. It sounded good.”
“Are you sure you aren’t imagining things? Hindsight and all that.”
It was a legitimate question; one Ricki couldn’t easily dismiss. “But she’s a natural, even if it pains me to say it.”
“I don’t know. I only watched the show that one time. See how loyal I am?”
“Aw, that’s touching. Don’t cry in your croissant, now. People are watching.”
“I’ve only been reading about the show online, but everyone seems to love her. They call her a barracuda in heels.”
“I believe it. The teeth marks are still on my butt.”
“And yet you’re going on the show again. I guess the bite on your booty wasn’t hard enough.”
“It wasn’t my idea. The publisher is pushing me to do some damage control.”
“Ever think about getting a publicist?”
“It was brought up when we talked yesterday. I told Tracy I’d keep it in mind if I can’t undo the damage to my reputation on my own. It seems to be blowing over, though. The videos didn’t go viral, so that’s good. The website leaking my personal info had been shut down, thanks to the police.”
“I saw that.”
“Have you been checking that site?”
“Only for your benefit. I created an account just so I could defend you.”
Ricki was touched. “Awww. Did you?”
“A few times. Got into it with some chick who called me the C word every chance she could.”
“That’s awful.”
Becca giggled. “No, it was awesome. Tony and I sat up half the night provoking her.”
“Let me change that: you guys are awful.”
“But you’d be so proud of me, us. We didn’t use one swear word.”
“Well, thanks, but don’t get yourself in trouble just for me.”
“I’d take a bullet for you.”
“Are you going to watch the show?”
“Not that big of a bullet.”
“Such a friend.”
“Of course, I’ll watch. But let’s get back to Taryn. All these suspicions you have of her don’t make her a murderer.” Becca whispered the last word.
“Let’s say she wanted the job as the host all along. And let’s say the two producers didn’t think she had what it took and hired someone else.” Ricki snapped her fingers. “Or one producer sort of promised her the job and the other producer hired someone else—Kari Olson—right under her nose. She was jealous. She was jilted, like a lover’s rejection. She would do anything to be the host of that show, even murder.”
Becca shook her head, smiling. “Is this the plot of your first mystery?”
Ricki cocked her head to the side and stared up at the ceiling. “Hmm, maybe.”
“Okay, but why would she risk going to jail for a teeny-tiny show in Somerset County? This isn’t New York or LA.”
“I’ll just have to find out, won’t I?” Ricki took a large bite of her bagel with smoked salmon, giving her a moment to think. “Jim made a snarky comment about Taryn once.”
“What did he say?”
“He said something about her being a failed newscaster.”
“How do you know he was talking about Taryn?”
“Because both Marty and Jim said Kari was great at her job. Shocked though he was to see her résumé, he never bothered to interview her because she was just that good.”
“I wonder what Taryn’s résumé looks like.”
“Not sure, but it was obvious Jim didn’t have any faith in Taryn’s abilities to host a talk show.”
“She certainly proved everyone wrong.”
“Most definitely. Maybe she just wanted Kari out of the picture since this was her baby from the beginning.”
“Well, as much as I’d like to entertain your presumptions, I don’t think you’re right about it. Wanting to be a host for a regional talk show isn’t worth killing someone over.”
Ricki snapped to attention. “Oh, and another thing, she said she was out of town that night and couldn’t make it to the dinner. Remember how you said that was a convenient excuse?”
“I said that?”
Ricki nodded.
“Hmmm. Do you know where she was?”
“I never asked. On the day of the live taping, Jim asked why she was late and all she said was, I told you I was going to be late.”
“I’m sorry, honey, but I’m going to have to disagree with you. I think you’re stepping into dangerous territory here.”
“What do you mean?”
“You can’t just go around accusing people of murder. I don’t believe she did it. If she did, I’d be really, really shocked. Did I mention really shocked?”
Of course, Becca and Zack were right. It was never a good idea to point the finger at someone when there wasn’t enough evidence to support the suspicion. Fine, whatever. Ricki would keep her thoughts to herself and keep an open mind while at the same time keeping an eye on Taryn. “Are you almost done?”
“I’m so full I won’t be able to eat at least for another two hours.”
“Only two hours? Do you have time for another cup of coffee?”
Becca checked the time on her cell phone. “I have to be back by two, so I have time for another one. What the heck, right?”
“Does that leave you enough time to drop me off?”
“Tony will be okay if I’m a few minutes late. Besides, Megan will probably be napping
. How does your wrist feel today?”
“The sutures are starting to itch. I guess that’s a good sign.” As Ricki lifted the cup to her lips, she saw Steve walk in with another cop. He locked eyes with her and jutted his chin out. The sight of him made her nervous. He was keeping an eye on her. He had probably heard about the night someone tried to push her in the lake by now and might even have a few questions. On top of all that, she still couldn’t provide an alibi for the night of Kari’s murder. “I just lost my appetite.”
Becca jerked her head around and saw why. “You guys should be working together.” She leaned over the table. “Have you told him what you thought about Taryn?”
“Are you kidding? He already thinks I did it. Why would I want to get him more involved?”
“I thought you worked that out.”
Before Ricki had a chance to answer, Steve came over to the table. “Nine chances out of ten, I’m going to find you here. Do you mind if I sit down?”
Ricki waved a hand at the vacant chair beside her. “Can I help you with something?”
“Can we talk privately?” He turned to Becca. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“She can stay, if it’s all right with you,” Ricki said, flatly.
“It’s your business. Anyway, I was hoping you could provide that alibi I’m so desperately looking for.”
Ricki’s face grew hot. “I don’t have one. I know that makes me look bad, but you know me. You know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt another soul.”
“I was really hoping you weren’t going to say that.”
“Why?” Ricki’s heart raced. “What’s going on?”
“There’s been some new developments.”
“Tell me.”
“Someone saw you on the night that Kari Olson died.”
“Well, yah. There’s proof of that on YouTube.”
“No, there’s more.”
Ricki swallowed hard. “More?”
“They saw you having a conversation with her right before the time of her death.”
Becca gasped and reached across the table for Ricki’s hand. “There’s a witness?”
“Yes.” He turned to Ricki. “The witness places you at the scene of the crime later than the time you said you went home. So, without that alibi, you are becoming more than just a person of interest.”
Wake Up to Murder (A Ricki Rydell Mystery Book 2) Page 13