by Amy M. Reade
The small group chatted for a while before Bev announced that she was getting tired and would like to go to bed. Lilly and Bill left while Nikki helped Bev get upstairs for the evening.
“Billy, you work so hard,” Lilly squeaked in a mocking voice once they were in the car.
Bill laughed. “Can I help it if Mom is impressed that I spend my days defending Juniper Junction from ne’er-do-wells and the criminal element?” he asked with a grin.
“Humph.”
“Don’t be jealous. And don’t be fooled. You’re the one she turns to every time there’s a problem,” Bill reminded her. “She knows you’re more capable than I am when it comes to taking care of other people. You’re the one who makes her feel better.”
Lilly opened her mouth to say something and then closed it. He was right. Their mom did call her when she was feeling blue or scared. Suddenly she felt a little lighter.
“Did you hear me?” Bill asked, breaking into her thoughts.
“About Mom?”
“No. About Alice. I told you they found one of her shoes.”
“Oh. Harry talked to Noley this morning and he told her about it.”
“That doesn’t bode well for Alice,” Bill said.
“I know.” They were silent for the rest of the trip back to Lilly’s house.
Lilly opened the door to get out of the car and turned to Bill. “Will you keep me posted? About Alice, I mean?”
“I’ll try. Her family, obviously, will be the first ones to know if we find anything, then Harry. But I’ll try to keep you in the loop.”
“Has anyone been back out to Guy’s Place to look at security camera footage or any other evidence that the guy who pushed me may have left behind?”
“Yes. Unfortunately, the camera footage was too grainy and the guy seemed to know exactly when and where to keep his head down so he wouldn’t be recognized on the tape. We’ve asked the dancers and the other employees at the bar and they know who we’re talking about, but he doesn’t come in too often and no one knows his name. Incidentally, the officers have also gone back to look at security camera footage from the bar the day Alice disappeared. The cameras weren’t even turned on that day.”
“Of course not.” Lilly’s voice was heavy with frustration. “Can any of Alice’s co-workers describe the guy who pushed me?”
“Yes, but their descriptions match about a hundred thousand people. It’s not enough to go on.”
Lilly pushed the door open further. “All right. I’ll let you know if I think of anything that would help.”
“Good. Tell Noley I’ll call her later,” Bill said.
Lilly went inside and Noley, who had been nervous about her visiting her mother’s house, made her go straight to bed. As much as she hated to admit it, her head hurt and she was a little dizzy and nauseous from her visit at Bev’s. Maybe it was a good thing tomorrow was Sunday.
Chapter 37
Lilly rested all day Sunday, so when Noley allowed her to go to work on Monday morning, Lilly felt a little better.
When she walked in through the front door of Juniper Junction Jewels, she was shocked to see Mary Louise leaning against one of the glass counters, talking to Harry. To his credit, he had the grace to look uncomfortable when he saw Lilly.
“Good morning, Lilly,” he said, coming around from behind the counter. “How are you feeling? Are you sure you should be here?”
Mary Louise turned around to look at Lilly with raised eyebrows, but she didn’t say anything.
“I wasn’t going to stay long, but now that I’m here, maybe I’ll stick around for a while,” Lilly answered with a pointed look at Mary Louise.
Harry cleared his throat and looked from Lilly to Mary Louise and back again. There were several long moments of complete silence until Mary Louise finally spoke. “I should get going. I have class in a half hour.”
She slung her purse over her shoulder and left after telling Harry goodbye and ignoring Lilly. When the last tinkling notes of the bells over the door died out, Lilly gave Harry a look that she hoped bored right into his soul.
“What was she doing here?” she asked, trying to keep her voice light.
“I know it looks bad, Lilly. I tried telling her to leave, honest. But she won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”
“Have you told her you’re ready to stay by yourself at home?”
Harry nodded. “Yeah.”
“And has she been staying away?”
He nodded again. “I think that’s why she came in today and on Saturday.” Suddenly he stopped, but it was too late. Lilly had heard him.
“She was here Saturday, too?”
Harry took a deep breath. “Yes, but only for a few minutes. She had to get to campus.”
“Look, Harry. You know I don’t care if you get a visitor in the store, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for that particular visitor to be here. Would it make things easier for you if I said you’re not allowed to have visitors while you’re working?”
His features relaxed. “Yes, that would be great.”
“Then here’s my new rule, effective immediately and until I say otherwise: no visitors at work.” She smiled. “Now if she gives you a problem, let her deal with me.”
“Thanks, Lilly. That gives me an excuse to force her to leave.”
“I’m not going to be able to work as many hours as I usually do for a little while, at least until this concussion is better. So I’ll just have to trust that you’re sending her away when I’m not around.”
“You got it, boss. I’ll just tell her she has to go or I’ll get fired. That ought to work.”
“I hope so. Now, tell me more about the shoe the police found.”
“It was a sparkly high-heeled shoe. They knew it was hers because her fingerprints were on it. I wouldn’t have believed it was hers because I’ve never seen her in shoes like that, but knowing now that she’s a stripper in secret, I believe it’s hers.”
“And they’re sure there was nothing else in the bushes outside the bar?”
“Yeah. They told me they did a thorough search outside the building and the only thing they found was the shoe.”
“Did they say anything else about it?”
“No.”
“Have you heard anything else from Alice’s family?”
“No. Like I told you, they’re a little weird. David called me, though. He was shouting and wanted to know why I didn’t tell the family about Alice’s job. The family is furious that she was working as a stripper. David didn’t believe me when I told him I had had no idea Alice was doing that. She had always told me she worked at a grocery store in Lupine, and I never visited her at work. Besides, even if I had known, I wouldn’t have told them. If they had known, they would have been even angrier.”
“They must be hurting,” Lilly said.
Harry shrugged. “I guess. You can see there’s not much love lost between me and them. And I can’t stand David.”
Suddenly a thought struck Lilly. “Wait. Did Mary Louise say she was going to class? Where does she go to school?”
“The community college.”
“The same one as Alice?” Lilly asked.
“Yes. I told you that.”
“I guess I forgot.”
A look of confusion crossed Harry’s face. “Why do you ask?”
Lilly asked another question rather than answering Harry’s. “Are they in any classes together?”
“I don’t think so. Alice never mentioned it and Mary Louise hasn’t mentioned it.”
“What about the police? Did they check?”
Harry shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“I’m going to find out,” Lilly said.
Lilly strode to her office, picked up the phone, and dialed Bill.
“Bill, did anyone check to see if Alice Davenport and Harry’s friend Mary Louise are in any classes together at the community college?”
“I don’t know. Let me see if there’s someone a
round I can ask.” Bill put Lilly on hold and she waited several minutes for him to return. While she waited she tried to complete some of the paperwork that was piling up on her desk, but it made her eyes ache to look at the rows of numbers. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back while she waited.
When Bill came back on the line, his voice startled Lilly. “Someone checked with administration. Alice and Mary Louise aren’t enrolled in any of the same classes.”
“Thanks for checking,” Lilly said in a disappointed tone.
“Why do you ask?”
“I forgot they both went to the community college,” Lilly said. “I thought maybe there was a connection through the school that someone had missed.”
“Nope. Lilly, we know how to do our jobs,” Bill said dryly.
“I know that, but I can think about it, too, can’t I?” She was trying to keep the testiness out of her voice.
“Sure you can. But don’t think too hard. And stay out of it. Your concussion proves that this isn’t work for an untrained civilian.”
Lilly scowled and wished Bill could see her.
“All right, all right. You’ve made your point.”
“You know those two friends of Laurel’s who were vandalizing places around town?” Bill asked, changing the subject to one Lilly couldn’t resist.
“You mean Bella and Karley?”
“Yes.”
“What about them?” Lilly had a funny feeling in her stomach.
“They’ve been at it again. They got caught yesterday. Good thing Laurel is grounded. I’d ground her for longer if I were you,” Bill said.
Lilly’s shoulders sank. She hated to hear that Laurel’s friends were in trouble again. They obviously hadn’t learned their lesson the first time. “That’s too bad.”
“They’re getting bolder, too. The last couple instances were in the daytime,” Bill continued.
“I’m sorry to hear it. I know from experience that the older kids get, the more trouble they can get into,” Lilly said. Though her first instinct was to say Bella and Karley were bad kids, she was trying hard not to be judgmental. More than once the previous summer, Tighe had come close to being in serious trouble with the law, and he wasn’t a bad kid. Sometimes good kids just made bad choices.
Sometimes adults did, too.... That thought brought Lilly back to the present and the missing Alice Davenport.
“Bill, what could that shoe in the bushes mean?” Lilly asked. She was almost afraid to hear the answer.
“It could mean several things. Maybe it fell off during a struggle, maybe she threw it there as a clue so the police would know something was amiss, maybe she dropped it out of a backpack and an animal dragged it under the bushes. We really don’t know yet. We have to look at it in the context of other leads and clues.”
“Are there a lot of other leads or clues?”
Bill paused. “Unfortunately, no. There are still a few leads the detectives are working on, but no new leads have come in since the night you were attacked at Guy’s Place.”
“It’s been two weeks since she went missing,” Lilly said.
“I know,” came the grim rely. “Listen, I’ve got to get going. I’ll talk to you later.”
Lilly returned to the front of the shop, where Harry gave her an expectant look. Lilly gave him a tight shake of her head, which made it hurt. “Bill said someone checked with the administration and Alice and Mary Louise aren’t enrolled in any classes together.”
“I wish she’d come back,” Harry said glumly.
“So do I, Harry.”
Chapter 38
It wasn’t long before the ache in Lilly’s head got worse and she decided, against her own wishes, that it was time to head home for the day. Hassan had said he would visit her for lunch, so she wanted to rest and take something for the headache before he got there. Noley had gone to her house to take a shower and get a change of clothes, so Lilly called her to ask for a ride home.
Noley fretted in the car on the drive to Lilly’s house. “You shouldn’t have gone to work today, I knew it.”
“Well, one good thing came of it,” Lilly said. “When I got to the shop Mary Louise was there talking to Harry.”
“She has no shame.”
“I know that. But I think just having me there made her uncomfortable enough to leave after a minute or two. I am the boss, after all. So I told Harry, sort of with a wink and a nod, that he’s not allowed to have visitors at the store anymore. That way he won’t be lying to Mary Louise when he tells her that she can’t come in to see him while he’s working. As annoying as she is, I think he doesn’t like the idea of being dishonest with her. The new rule gives him a legitimate excuse to get rid of her.”
“And what about his other friend?” Noley asked. “Is he still staying with Harry at night?”
“Mack? I don’t think so. Harry said that he’s ready to be alone, so he was going to talk to Mack and tell him to stay home.”
“I hope the police find Alice soon. The police,” Noley repeated, giving Lilly a hard look.
“You sound more like Bill every day,” Lilly said with a grimace.
Just then Lilly’s phone rang.
“You’re not supposed to be on your phone,” Noley cautioned.
“I can talk. I just can’t stare at it.” Lilly hit the talk button. “Hello? Oh, hi, Suzanne. Anything new?” She listened for a moment.
“You’re kidding,” she said.
“What? What’s up?” Noley asked in a whisper. Lilly held up her hand.
“Okay. I’ll be out there later today.” Lilly hung up. “That was Suzanne.”
“I know. And what do you mean telling her that you’ll be out there later today? You’ll do no such thing.”
“Just listen. She said that the man who was bothering Alice was back at Guy’s Place again last night.”
“So? He’s probably also the guy that hit you. You’re not going back there to look for him.”
“He wouldn’t be there. Suzanne said she thinks Tracy got a picture of him.”
“So have Tracy text you the photo. I refuse to take you out there. I shouldn’t even have taken you in to work. If your doctor knew, he’d be furious with me.”
“I won’t tell him, I promise. You really won’t take me out there?” Lilly pleaded.
“No. There’s no need to go to Lupine when a cell phone will do.”
“I’m not supposed to be looking at my cell phone, remember?”
“Nice try. If the choice is a cell phone or a car ride to Lupine, a cell phone is preferable.”
Lilly sat back in the seat and tried not to look out the window. It made her dizzy.
“What time is Hassan coming over?” Noley asked.
“About noon. He was surprised that I was home today.”
“He actually thought you’d go in to work with a concussion?” Noley asked.
“He doesn’t know about the concussion,” Lilly said.
“What? You’re kidding. Why didn’t you tell him?”
“He’s got so much on his mind. I only talked to him for a couple minutes yesterday and I didn’t want to tell him because he was so preoccupied. He’s trying to get ready for a trip to Washington, not to mention a trip to Afghanistan. He’s been busy making the travel arrangements and trying to set up meetings with all the people he needs to see in Washington.”
“You should have told him.”
Noley went home to work on a couple recipes after she dropped Lilly off at her house.
“I’ll be back later this afternoon,” she said when Lilly got out of the car. “I want to give you two some privacy. Enjoy your lunch and please lie down and rest once Hassan leaves.”
“I will.” Lilly hurried into the house. The first thing she did was take something for her headache, which was becoming more intense with every passing minute, then she rested on the sofa while she waited for Hassan. He was bringing lunch from Armand’s bistro.
She hadn’t gotten much rest when
Hassan arrived.
“Why didn’t you go in to work today?” he asked as he took off his coat. Then he turned to look at Lilly’s face.
“My God, Lilly! What happened?”
“I got a concussion.”
“You got more than that. You’re covered with bruises. What happened? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Lilly had given her response to the inevitable questions a lot of thought over the past day, even though she wasn’t supposed to be thinking very hard. She had decided to tell him what she told Laurel.
“I banged my head on the car door.”
He tilted his head and looked at her, his brow wrinkled. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I didn’t want you to worry.”
“Are you all right? Shouldn’t you be lying down?”
“I will, right after lunch.”
“If you say so,” he said. Lilly pulled out a chair at the kitchen table and sat down. There was a secret part of her that wished Hassan would fuss over her with murmurs of concern and offers to bring lunch to her on a tray while she bundled up in the living room on the sofa, but if he wasn’t going to do that, she would have to buck up and stop feeling sorry for herself.
Hassan unpacked the paper bag he had brought from the bistro. There were two jambon-beurre sandwiches and a small container of French carrot salad.
“Why don’t you get us something to drink and I’ll put these sandwiches on plates,” Hassan suggested. Lilly got up from the table, opened the fridge, and took out a pitcher of iced tea. Hassan brought two glasses to the table and Lilly filled them both. She had looked forward to being waited on just a little bit, but he obviously wasn’t going to do that, either.
When they were seated, Hassan took a bite of his sandwich before asking Lilly for the details of her concussion.
“You banged your head on the car door?” he asked.
Lilly was chewing, so she nodded.
“Where did this happen?” he asked.
She swallowed and took a sip of her tea. “The shop,” she said. She didn’t meet his eyes.