A Murderous Misconception

by Lorraine Bartlett

  “So will I,” Andy said.

  “Then I’m glad we agree.” Ray stepped toward the door. “Katie, thanks again for helping out Sophie.”

  “I’m happy to do it.” She returned to her seat as Ray left the office and closed the door behind him.

  Andy slumped on the chair vacated by Ray. “What did you do for Sophie Davenport? I thought those girls hated you.”

  “Hate seems a bit strong. I agreed to let Sophie intern at Tealicious while she’s home on winter break.”

  “She’s using you to pad her résumé ,” he scoffed.

  “And Brad and I are getting free help for three whole weeks,” Katie said. “It’s a win for everyone. So, what brings you by? I understand that Angelo’s is closed today.”

  “Yeah. I thought that was for the best…you know, for everybody, to show respect and for—” His voice broke. “It’d be hard for them to work without seeing her or hearing the sound of her laughter.”

  Hard for them, or hard for you? Katie wondered. She knew it had to be hard on Andy—Erikka had been one of his best, most trusted employees. She’d also been his lover…at least once.

  “I agree,” she interrupted, tired of watching him flounder. “You made the right call.”

  “I wondered if maybe you’d go to dinner with me tonight,” he said.

  “I’ve already made plans to have dinner with Nick and Don at Sassy Sally’s.” She didn’t bother to mention that it was Brad who would be preparing the meal.

  “I simply hoped we could get out of McKinlay Mill for a few hours and start the healing process,” Andy continued.

  For some reason, Katie actually felt sorry for the man who’d betrayed her. More fool you, her Aunt Lizzie would have said.

  “How about tomorrow night?” she asked, her voice low.

  “Okay,” he agreed, sounding ridiculously hopeful. “Of course, maybe I could join you guys tonight—”

  But Katie cut him off. “No.” She gave him no explanation.

  Still, he was correct about the healing process. The rift between them was only going to get wider if they didn’t address their problems. Katie got to her feet, which gave her a feeling of being more in command. “You’re right. We need to begin to put Erikka’s death behind us, and the best way to do that is to find out who killed her so Schuler will have to stop pointing the finger at us. We can discuss the murder and compare notes tomorrow.”

  He smiled with obvious relief. “Thank you, Sunshine.”

  As he moved in for a kiss, Katie dipped her head slightly. She still couldn’t get the image of him embracing Erikka out of her mind. Would she ever be able to erase that imagined sight? All the imagined sights?

  Andy kissed her cheek and said, “I’ll see you later.”

  After Andy left, Katie sat back down at her desk and gave concentrating on her work a valiant effort. But she had so much conflicting information and stress assaulting her brain that she finally decided that maybe walking across the Alley to the photography studio and asking Matt Brady for his rent check would help soothe her nerves. If nothing else, it would provide her a change of scenery, and the errand might pay off, too.

  As she scaled the stairs to the upper floor, Katie wondered if she should’ve called first to see if Brady was in. The flashing sign spelled OPEN so she walked right into the studio and found Izzy and Vance’s son, VJ Ingram, standing near a decorative folding screen, lip-locked and clutching each other. Katie definitely should have called first.

  Neither of the teens saw her, so Katie backed out and silently closed the door and went in search of Rose. Since Ida Mitchell was working the cash desk, Katie knew she’d find Rose in her booth.

  “Hi, Rose. Have you seen Vance around?” she asked.

  “He’s around here somewhere.” Rose looked up from the display case where she’d been rearranging her jewelry and glanced down the carpeted aisle. “Seriously, he was by here not five minutes ago.” She slipped her hand into her slacks pocket and took out her phone. “I’ll call him for you and—”

  “No!” Katie clasped her friend’s arm. “Don’t call him. I don’t want to see him yet. I wanted to talk with you first. I need your advice.” She explained that she’d found Izzy, the college work-study student, and VJ, kissing in the photography studio. “Do you think I should mention it to Vance and/or Matt Brady?”

  “How involved was this kissing?” Rose asked, her brow narrowing.

  “Way more involved than appropriate for the workplace.” Katie sighed. “But they’re both good kids, and I don’t want to get either of them in trouble.” Well, she’d known VJ for two years. She’d just met Izzy, who had to be at least a year older than VJ, who was still in high school.

  Rose’s eyes widened, and she shook her head.

  “What?” Katie asked. “Have you heard something? Is—?”

  “Who are good kids?” Vance asked.

  He’d come up from behind Katie. How long had he been standing there? Hopefully, he hadn’t heard anything too incriminating.

  “Not Vance Junior!” Rose exclaimed.

  Katie closed her eyes. Of course, she realized Rose had been trying to cover their tracks by pretending they hadn’t been talking about Vance’s son; but that only made matters worse.

  Vance, naturally, took umbrage with Rose’s assertion. He drew himself up to his full height and glared down at the small, blonde woman. “Why don’t you think VJ is a good kid?”

  Poor Rose’s face fell. “That’s not what I meant. I think Vance Junior is a fine young man.”

  “We were discussing Izzy, the young woman working at the photography studio,” Katie said. “She’s a really sweet kid. She knew Chad.”

  “Then what did she do that you don’t want her getting in trouble for?” Vance was nothing if not persistent. “I overheard you saying you didn’t want either of the kids to get in trouble. Who was the other kid, and what have they done? As your second in command, I feel I have a right to know.”

  There were times when, although she knew she’d made the best possible choice, Katie regretted making Vance her assistant manager. This was one of those times.

  “It’s minor, and I’ll handle it. You’re needed for more important problems.” She took out her phone and started walking away from the booth. “I’ll talk with you later.”

  When she was certain she was far enough away from Rose and Vance, she called the photography studio. When Izzy answered, Katie said, “I need to speak with you and VJ so stay put. All right?”

  “Y-yes, ma’am. How’d you know VJ was here?”

  “We’ll talk about that when I get there.” Katie ended the call and headed back to the photography studio.

  By the time she arrived, Vance was already waiting for her.

  Katie pressed her lips together. “Let me guess—Rose told you.”

  “Yeah. She felt really bad about saying VJ wasn’t a good kid.”

  “Will you let me handle it?” she asked. “Your son is going to be mortified to see you here. I don’t want him to think I reported him for something this petty.”

  “All right,” Vance said. “I just don’t want him to get into any trouble…you know?”

  “I know. And I’ll stress that.” She patted his shoulder. “If I get the impression you need to have a discussion with your son about Izzy, then I’ll let you know.”

  “Thanks.”

  Once Vance had agreed to allow Katie to go in by herself, she went and took a seat in the studio’s reception area. Both Izzy and VJ. were there waiting for her, and they were holding hands.

  Katie stretched out her arms, Katie said, “I’m not here to embarrass you or make you feel uncomfortable. However, what I saw earlier was not workplace appropriate behavior. As the manager of Artisans Alley, it’s my duty to ensure that vendors and their employees conduct themselves in a professional manner.”

  “It was all my fault,” VJ said. “We’re sorry.”

  Izzy quickly jumped to his defense. “No, i
t was my fault.”

  “I’m not blaming anyone. I’m simply asking you to keep your public display of affection to a minimum here.”

  At that moment, Matt Brady opened the door to his studio and demanded, “What’s going on here?”

  VJ got to his feet. “Nothing. Let me help you with your gear,” he said and helped Matt carry in his photography equipment.

  Matt looked at Katie. “What’re you doing here?” he growled.

  Finally, Katie thought, determined she would get her back rent if she had to turn the man upside-down and shake it from his pockets. But first….

  Chapter 7

  “What are you doing here?” Matt asked, looking from Katie to his employee, who still sat on the chair in the lobby with her hands folded in her lap. “Are you harassing my assistant?”

  “Not at all. We were chatting while I waited for you. She’s a terrific young lady,” Katie said and smiled. “Izzy knew my late husband, Chad.”

  “Oh, well. Cool.” Brady turned away and VJ schlepped the equipment into the studio.

  Katie watched as they toted in the equipment. “May I please have a word alone with you?”

  “Okay,” VJ said.

  “I meant with Mr. Brady,” Katie groused.

  “Right,” VJ said quickly rejoining Izzy in the reception area.

  Shutting the door behind them, Katie sat down in a chair in front of Brady’s desk.

  “Yeah, yeah, you want the rent check.” Matt blew out a breath as he seated himself behind the desk and began rifling through the clutter.

  A file folder fell off the edge of the desk, and photos spilled out. Bending to pick them up, Katie saw that the photographs were of Erikka and she was practically nude.

  She turned one of the photos toward Matt. “What are you doing with pictures of Erikka Wiley?”

  Having dug his checkbook out from under the papers, folders, and notes on his desk, Matt paused—pen in the air—to glance at the photo Katie held. He shrugged. “I don’t usually take boudoir shots, but that client was anxious to impress some guy she liked. She paid me twice my going rate.”

  Katie turned the photo back around to get a better look. In it, Erikka wore a red silk bra and G-string panties. “When was this taken?”

  “About two weeks ago.”

  “Two weeks ago?” Katie echoed. “Did Erikka ever come to pick up these photos?”

  “Sure.” Again Brady shrugged and handed her a signed check. “Those are my copies—to show clients who might want similar photos in the future.”

  “Whatever.” She turned the photo face down on the desk, turning her gaze toward the deadbeat in front of her. “You need to be more efficient with your rent payments from now on. I’m tired of having to chase you down every month. If nothing else, maybe Izzy could take care of your bookkeeping. She seems to be a bright, capable young woman. Her talents shouldn’t be limited to simply answering your phone.”

  “Yeah, well, she’s only been here for a couple of days. I haven’t had a chance to train her.”

  “From what I’ve observed, she needs more work to occupy her time.”

  Brady frowned. “I’ll take your word for it.” He turned his back on her.

  Having been dismissed, Katie returned to her office, closed the door, sank onto her chair, and munched a peppermint. So Erikka had gotten sexy photographs made to impress some guy. Katie felt certain that guy was Andy. Had he seen the photos? Did he have copies of them? Would he tell her the truth if she asked?

  Then another suspicion crept in. Those photographs had, according to Matt Brady, been taken approximately two weeks ago. In them, very little of Erikka’s physique had been left to the imagination, including her flat stomach. There was no way the woman in those photographs had been as far along in her pregnancy as the sonogram she’d posted earlier in the week had purported her to be.

  Katie pulled up the social media page on which Erikka had posted the damning image. It clearly showed a well-developed baby, not a little kidney bean. Plus, Erikka already knew the baby’s gender.

  A little Internet research revealed to Katie that women typically have their first ultrasound between eighteen and twenty weeks of gestation. Could Erikka have faked her pregnancy? If so, why?

  Katie fed Mason and Della and apologized to the cats for the fact that they didn’t have a lot of room to roam around at Sassy Sally’s.

  “I promise, our new home will be finished soon, and you’ll have an entirely new place to explore.” She neglected to mention that it wouldn’t be a whole lot bigger than their current digs.

  She showered and changed into a light, summery dress for Brad’s promised dinner. As she applied her lipstick using the mirror over the dresser, she caught a glimpse of the flowers Ray had brought the night before. Dropping the lipstick into her makeup bag, Katie crossed to the nightstand, picked up the vase of flowers, carried them into the bathroom, and refreshed the water.

  The flowers were lovely, and it had been sweet of Ray to bring them…not to mention offering to help her raise another man’s child. Would Andy have been so gallant? She didn’t know. But she sure hadn’t been keen on the idea of helping him parent another woman’s child. Of course, this was a woman with whom he’d cheated while he and Katie had been in what she’d thought was a committed relationship, so the situations weren’t at all the same.

  When she opened the door of her room, Katie could smell the tantalizing aromas coming from Sassy Sally’s kitchen. Her nose reported the information directly to her stomach, and it grumbled loudly, reminding Katie of how little she’d eaten that day.

  She went downstairs to find that Brad was preparing white wine-marinated steak, mashed potatoes with garlic and chives, lemon green beans, and a chocolate brownie pie to be served à la mode.

  “This evening is all about comfort,” he announced, kissing Katie on the cheek. “Have a glass of wine while I put the finishing touches on the meal.”

  Katie sat at the dining room table with Nick and Don and joined them in a glass of wine. Because her stomach was empty, Katie’s wine was potent enough to loosen her tongue to suspicions she hadn’t intended to voice at dinner this evening.

  Brad refilled her glass when he served the main course. The steak was tender and juicy, and Katie was ready for comfort—not only in the form of food but in the opinions of her friends.

  “You’ll never guess what I saw today in Matt Brady’s office,” she said.

  “Who’s Matt Brady?” Don asked.

  “The photographer who rents space in the Alley.” Katie dug her fork into the mashed potatoes. “Brad, you’ve outdone yourself. This is wonderful.”

  “Thank you,” he said. “But don’t leave us hanging. What did you see?”

  “A photo of a scantily dressed Erikka Wiley.”

  “Was it one of those pregnancy photos where the woman is posing holding her rounded belly?” Nick asked.

  Katie shook her head. “Nope. Erikka’s stomach looked so flat I bet you could’ve bounced a quarter off it.” She frowned. “Is that a thing?”

  “Probably not,” Brad said. “I have to ask, though, why you find this photo so fascinating.”

  “Did she have an extra boob or something?” Nick asked and laughed.

  Katie glowered at him. “Don’t be vulgar and, no. But she didn’t have a pregnant belly, even though Matt Brady said the picture was taken about two weeks ago. I wonder if Erikka was faking her pregnancy.”

  “I can see that.” Nick gestured toward Katie with his fork. “Maybe the sexy pics weren’t enough to lure Andy away from you, so she upped the ante and said she was pregnant.”

  “No, no, no.” Don sipped his wine before continuing. “A pregnant woman’s belly—and her baby—can grow a lot over two weeks. I saw it when my sister was pregnant. Besides, did Matt give you an informal I took them a couple of weeks ago, or was he specific about the date?”

  “He didn’t give me a specific date,” Katie said. “But I read online that a
woman typically has her first sonogram in her second trimester. When Nick and I saw Erikka the day before yesterday, she didn’t appear to be that far along in her pregnancy.”

  “Still, how could she have altered the sonogram?” Brad asked. “It seems unlikely she could fake that.”

  Nick waved his hand dismissively. “You can buy practically anything online these days. I’ll prove it.” He took out his phone to try to find a sonogram for sale but had no luck. “I’ll try again later,” he said, frowning.

  Katie realized her friend was as tipsy as she was. “There are plenty of pictures on Facebook alone. Maybe she just lifted one and printed it,” Katie suggested.

  “But why would Erikka do something so desperate?” Don asked. “She had to know she’d be found out sooner rather than later.”

  He was right.

  “Hey, my glass is empty,” Nick declared and Brad refilled it and Don’s, too, but Katie held a hand over hers.

  After that, their dinner conversation turned to something lighter, and perhaps it was the wine, because Katie kept getting distracted, asking herself Don’s question over and over again: Why would Erikka do something so desperate?

  The dinner party broke up around eight, and Katie trudged up the stairs to her room. As she removed her makeup, she decided the questions that had been gnawing at her couldn’t wait any longer. She phoned Andy.

  “Hey, there, Sunshine,” he answered brightly—as though he hadn’t a care in the world. “Are you all right?”

  Katie didn’t bother with the niceties. “Did Erikka give you sexy photos of herself in a red lingerie set?”

  Other than a sharp intake of breath, Andy was silent.

  He’s trying to figure out what to say, Katie thought angrily.

  “I know she had them made,” she said. “I saw them at Matt Brady’s studio earlier today.”

  It took more than ten seconds before Andy replied. “You’ve got to believe me—I never asked her for any photographs. Katie, I love you. You. No one else. I never loved Erikka.”

  “This isn’t about love, Andy. I asked you a simple question,” Katie said bluntly.