by Jenn Cowan
“What the-” Travis stops outside the break room door.
I peek over his shoulder to find Bethany helping her mother up from the floor. Ceramic is scattered on the floor and blood is dripping from a gash on Vicky’s forehead. “Stay put,” I gesture to Travis’s bare feet. “We don’t need two people bleeding.” I rush forward and snag a towel. “What happened?”
“Someone was trying to break-in again.” Vicky blinks.
“She’s in shock.” Bethany pats her hand and helps her to the couch. “She might have a concussion.”
I pat the towel on her wound and check the cut. “Did you see who tried to break in?”
“N-No. Someone in black. I was getting some tea and heard scraping at the back door. When I opened it, I must have surprised them as they did me. My feet got caught up on the rug and I lost my balance, hit my head on the counter and broke my favorite mug.”
“I need to get her to the hospital.” Bethany gets up and moves toward the coat rack.
“I’ll take you.” Travis rushes from the room and is back within seconds with his coat and shoes on.
“What about the front desk? Who’ll answer the phones. Bethany, you have to stay. Detective Mills can take me.” Vicky pats her daughter’s hand.
“But…” Bethany bites her lip as if she’s torn on what to do. She looks at me.
I want to offer to watch the front desk and answer phones, but my schedule is full. We can’t leave the desk unattended especially if someone is trying to break-in to steal something. Might as well put a sign out front, which says, Come and take what you want.
“I can watch the front desk,” Nikki says from the doorway. “My classes don’t start until five and the spa closes at four so I’m happy to help. You go with your mother, Bethany.”
“Really? Are you sure?” Bethany’s eyes fill with tears.
Nikki nods. “Definitely. Your mother needs you.”
Bethany jumps up and hugs Nikki. “Thank you so much. I’ll be back before we close and if I can’t, I’ll text you.”
“Josh and I can close up. Take your mother home and get some rest. It’s been a long week.”
“Oh, thank you, Autumn!” Bethany pulls me in for a hug before snagging their coats.
Travis helps Vicky into her coat and ushers her toward the door. “We’re not done with our talk. Will you be home later?”
“No.”
“No?” He quirks an eyebrow.
“I have a class tonight.”
“A class?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of class?”
“I hate to interrupt, but we really need to get mom to the hospital. She looks about ready to pass out.”
“Right. Let’s go.” Travis shoots me a suspicious look before leaving then calls over his shoulder. “I’ll send an officer to dust the back door for prints.” Then he was gone.
10
“Why didn’t you tell him you were attending my yoga class?” Nikki asks from behind me.
I jump almost forgetting she was there. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just having a hard time seeing him. Being around him.”
She looks down at the ground. “I know what you mean. Seeing Bobby always throws me for a loop too.”
“Speaking of Bobby. Have you talked to him lately?”
Nikki bites her lip. “We had lunch last week. Well not really lunch. I was picking up some supplies for the studio in Villsboro and stopped in the little diner there and Bobby was there eating too. He offered for me to join him. It was awkward at first, but then we fell into easy conversation and it was like no time has passed.” She sighs.
“So, you still love Bobby?”
She blushes. “You still love Travis. They’re our soulmates.”
I shake my head. “I’m not in love with Travis and he’s not my soulmate.”
Nikki rolls her eyes and smirks. “Denial doesn’t look good on you.” The phone rings and she heads toward the receptionist desk.
I follow. “We’re not in high school anymore, Nikki. Travis cheated on me. Had a kid…with my ex best friend. Some things are unforgivable.”
She gives me another doubtful look and picks up the phone. Makes a note on the schedule and hangs up then turns to me. “Autumn, Travis has done his time. Served his sentence. Spent the last fifteen years trying to get over you. April is dead. It’s time to move on. Forgive him and start fresh.”
I frown. “You make it sound so simple. Is that what you plan to do with Bobby?”
She shrugs. “We had a nice talk last week.”
“Before April ended up dead.”
Nikki turns red. “Well…yes, it was a week before she died.”
“Did Bobby give you a reason to think he wanted to get back together with you?”
“Well…no. I mean he said he was in love with April. Was committed to their marriage.”
“And now that she’s dead, you think he’ll commit to you?”
Nikki bites her lip.
I narrow my eyes and study her. “You and April had a fight at the garden club the night before she died. What was that about?”
Nikki studies her nails.
“Nikki. What did you and April fight about?”
“Bobby,” she whispers.
“What about Bobby?” I lean against the desk.
“She found out we had lunch. Went crazy.”
“How did she find out?”
“Bobby told her. Guess they told each other everything.” She rolls her eyes.
“Did she have a reason to go ‘crazy’?”
“What?! No! You know April…knew April. She blew it up into this big thing. Accused me of having an affair with her husband, which is ridiculous and why should she care, she was sleeping with Dr. Gregory.”
I gasp. “How did you find out?”
“Oh, everyone knows.” Nikki waves a hand as though it’s no big deal. “Bobby even knows. I told him.”
“You told Bobby last week that April was having an affair.”
“Well, not last week. I slipped a note underneath his door yesterday.”
I gape at her. “Are you crazy? The man almost ripped Dr. Gregory limb from limb. Now, Dr. Gregory has a restraining order against him.”
Nikki’s eyes grow big.
“Why would you do that?”
She hangs her head. “Seeing him in so much pain is killing me. I thought if he knew April was cheating on him, he could get over her easier.”
“So, he could move on, with you.”
“Eventually. Thought we could start as friends then maybe…become more.”
I shake my head. “Nikki, who told you April was having an affair?”
“I saw her and Dr. Gregory together. Mary and I were having a meeting about the fundraiser for the children’s wing and we saw them kissing outside his office.”
“When was this?”
“About a month ago.”
“Did you confront April about the affair?”
“During our fight at the garden club. Well in the parking lot after everyone went home. I waited for her by her car. She was all jumpy. Acting really weird. She broke down about the affair. Tried to bribe me not to tell Bobby.”
“Bribe you with what?”
Nikki gives me a look. “What do you think? Money, of course.”
“Do you need money?”
Nikki blushes. “The studio does well, but I’ve been saving up to do some more training. She promised me the money if I kept my mouth shut. I’m glad I didn’t tell Bobby about the affair at our lunch. I was so wrapped up in how good it was to talk to him, it completely slipped my mind.” She sighs. “Of course, I didn’t get the money because she was killed the next day.”
“So, you didn’t really have a reason to kill April?”
She makes a face. “No. I mean I won’t deny I haven’t thought about killing her over the years. I’m sure you have too, but to actually kill someone.” Nikki pauses and shakes her head. “That’s not very Namast
e if you know what I mean.” She puts her hands together and bows to me.
I quirk an eyebrow. “I thought Namaste meant hello or thank you.”
“It does, but in some cultures, it also means ‘giving peace and forgiveness’. I forgave April a long time ago for stealing Bobby although I’m not sure she actually did.”
“What do you mean?”
“Can anyone really be stolen? I mean Bobby wasn’t hypnotized. He chose to be with April. Faults and all. He wasn’t even drunk like Travis.”
“Drunk? Travis was drunk?” I frown and try to process that fact. “He didn’t drink. Ever.”
“Well, he did that night. I was at the party and he showed up drunk and kept right on drinking until April began flirting with him. Then those two disappeared and well nine months later, Cat appeared.”
I frown and bite my lip. “Why was he drinking? Was he upset?”
Nikki shrugs. “He was mumbling about you and Josh.”
“Me and Josh? That’s what he said earlier. He saw me and Josh.”
“He saw you what?” Nikki props her hands on her chin. “Did you and Josh get together in high school?”
I give her a look and crinkle my nose. “What? No.”
“Ahh.”
“What’s with the ‘ahh’? Why does everyone think we are or should be a couple?”
“Because you two are inseparable. You’re also adorable together. You and Travis were cute together, but I’ve always been rooting for Josh. He followed…follows you around like a love-sick puppy. You really need to throw him a bone.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me.
I smack her arm. “Back to you. Why do you think Bobby chose April over you? I mean you two are so different.”
“Because she blackmailed me,” Bobby said, walking in behind Josh. “Thanks for working on my foot, man.” He slips Josh a twenty then hands him his credit card for payment.
I glance at Nikki. Her mouth is hanging open in shock. I don’t blame her. I’m kind of shocked too. “What do you mean she blackmailed you?” April really was the worst. Seducing Travis while he was drunk, blackmailing Bobby. What was wrong with her? “But you married her. Stayed married to her. Said you two were happy.”
“We were…eventually.” He pauses then sighs and leans against the counter. “April’s gone. The truth needs to come out. I’ve kept this secret for over fifteen years. About time I come clean.”
“We won’t tell anyone.” Nikki reaches over the counter and squeezes his hand.
He places his other one over hers and they stare at each other for a moment. “I’d appreciate it if this stays between us. I was planning to tell you at lunch last week, but couldn’t find the nerve. I never wanted you to blame yourself for what happened between us. I mean we were happy. In love. That’s what April couldn’t stand. She hated happiness. Hated Love. Well unless it was her happiness. Her love. She had something on me I couldn’t tell her no, it would have ended me. My reputation. My dreams and yours. I couldn’t let her destroy us. Even if it meant there was no longer an us.”
Nikki blinks back tears and I do too.
Josh clears his throat and holds up Bobby’s credit card. Typical man ruining a sweet moment with stuff like credit cards.
She blushes then moves to the side so he can run it.
“Where’s Bethany?” Josh asks, swiping Bobby’s card.
Nikki opens her mouth, but I cut her off. “Long story. I’ll tell you later. Nikki is filling in and we’re closing up. Now, back to blackmail. How was April blackmailing you?”
He gulps. “I was cheating.”
Nikki and I gasp. She pulls back her hand as if his touch burned her.
He scrunches up his face and rakes a hand through his hair. “Not like that. Not on you.” We must not look convinced because he sighs and continues, “I was paying a kid in Villsboro to do my homework, my papers, even slip me the answers to tests.” We gasp and he scowls, “Football was consuming me. Coach was expecting me to be bigger, faster, even my dad was riding me. I couldn’t keep up with the pressure and with school. Something had to give.”
“So, you cheated,” Nikki whispers as if trying to wrap her head around the bomb he just dropped.
Bobby nods. “April found out. Threatened to tell the coach. I would have been kicked off the team, would’ve lost my scholarship to Mizzou. It would have killed my momma…embarrassed you.” He holds out a hand to Nikki. She hesitates then accepts it. “I’m sorry. I should have told you.” He hangs his head. “I was so ashamed. Embarrassed. I didn’t want to embarrass my family or you.” He looks up and locks eyes with Nikki. “I didn’t want to end up working in my dad’s hardware store.”
“Your dad made a good living,” Nikki squeezes his hand.
“I know, but it was never the life I wanted. You knew that. I was going to play in the NFL before I blew my knee out my junior year of college.”
I study him as he and Nikki seem lost in their own work then ask, “So, what were the terms of this blackmail? Dating? Marriage? Live a life with her so she doesn’t expose your secret?”
He turns to me and says, “At first she just made me break up with Nikki. Date her.”
“Then she found out she was pregnant,” I mutter, the memory still painful.
Bobby rubs the back of his neck. “Funny thing about that. I don’t remember actually sleeping with April in high school. One night is a little fuzzy. I got kind of drunk. Missing you,” he squeezes Nikki’s hand.
She blushes.
“April claimed that was the night we conceived Cat.”
“But you didn’t. She was already pregnant.”
Bobby nods. “My mother told me to marry her so I did. Would have raised Cat as mine too, but when she came out with all that red hair, I knew she wasn’t mine. No one in our family has red hair and everyone knew April had slept with Travis. It was a no brainer.”
“So why stay married to her?”
“She still threatened to tell the coach I was cheating if I divorced her. She was worried about her image, which I’m pretty sure was ruined when she slept with Travis then married me, but I wasn’t in a position to tell her that. I went off to Mizzou. Figured she’d get bored of being home with a baby and divorce me, but she didn’t. When I graduated, I came back here and the Mayor set me up with a job. We just fell into a routine. Became a family. It worked.”
My head’s throbbing. This is all so bizarre. April was more manipulative than I thought. Who else did she blackmail enough for them to want her dead?
The bell rings above the door, we all jump, “Am I late?” Mrs. Ryder, my weekly eleven a.m. client asks, pulling her wool hat off her head and shaking out her gray curls.
“Right on time,” I say and lead her back to the lavender room. “Take your time and I’ll be right back.” I close the door and hurry back toward the front. Josh is leading Miss Viles toward the blue room. “Wait, use the green room.” I gesture down the hall. Josh gives me a strange look, but does as I ask.
I have to look in there before someone uses the room. Although I have no idea what I’m looking for or hoping to find. Taking a deep breath, I peek in the blue room. The room is lit and ready for a client. No blood. No dead body on the table. No one would ever know April was killed in here except they do, it was in the paper.
The room has a creepy vibe. Even the lavender essential oil being diffused in the room isn’t soothing my nerves. I walk around the table and step on something. It’s a blue hair tie. I squat down and study it. I wear black hair ties and this is clearly blue. My ponytail was also very intact when I last left this room. I think about my suspect list. Vicky doesn’t wear hair ties. Her hair is too short. Nikki wears them, but after talking with her, I’m thinking about taking her off the list. Travis, Bobby and the Mayor don’t wear hair ties. That leaves Sally. I think back to the day of the murder. Sally was MIA. Although I didn’t really look for her, I don’t remember seeing her anywhere. Bethany and Vicky were holed up in Vicky’s office calling
clients and cancelling appointments all while cooperating with the investigation, but Sally wasn’t anywhere to be found. Where had she disappeared to and why?
“Autumn?”
I jump and almost fall forward into the massage table, but reach out in time to catch myself. “You scared me.” I glare at my BFF.
Josh smirks and leans against the door frame, crossing his arms. “I thought I’d find you in here.”
I roll my eyes at him. “It’s a good thing I came in here. I think I found something.” I grab a tissue and pick up the hair tie.
He pushes off the door frame and moves toward me. “What is it?”
I hold it up.
He raises an eyebrow. “It’s a hair tie.”
“I know.”
“So. Any woman could have dropped it.”
I shake my head. “I vacuumed this rug on Saturday before I left. There was no hair tie. My hair was in a ponytail. April wouldn’t be caught dead with a hair tie.” I cringe at the words. “You know what I mean. Her hair was short. She had no reason to wear a hair tie.”
“Maybe it’s Bethany’s? She does turn on the lights and heat packs when she comes in.”
“Or it’s Sally’s?”
Josh’s eyes grow wide.
“I think we need to take ‘sick’ Sally some soup.”
11
“What a day?” I yawn and turn off the light in the break room.
“You’re telling me. I smell like a women’s perfume counter.” Josh sniffs his scrub top and makes a face. “Every woman in town gave me hug. Something about April’s death in my workplace causing me trauma. I don’t feel traumatized except maybe now I do with all those chemical induced hugs. Is there such as thing as Perfume Trauma?”
I stifle a grin. “Don’t act like you hated it. Especially when the music teacher, Miss Violet Viles gave you one. I saw your face. You were enjoying it.” I poke his ribs.
He turns red. “She’s kind of cute.”
“You should ask her out.”