Be My Valencrime

by Amy M. Reade

She held Laurel away from her. “We need to have a talk. Let’s go home and you can tell me everything.” She thanked Bill, then turned and walked out of the station. Laurel followed a few steps behind.

  “Have you eaten?” Lilly asked when they pulled into traffic outside the station.

  “No. I’m not hungry.”

  “Okay.”

  Neither one spoke until they were home. Lilly pulled a chair out from the kitchen table, sat down heavily, and motioned for Laurel to sit down opposite her. Laurel sat.

  “Tell me what happened today,” Lilly began.

  Laurel took a deep breath. “Karley and Bella and I were hanging out in study hall today and they told me they were headed to Main Street after it got dark. They went shopping the other day and I guess one of the salesladies was rude to Bella. So they were going to take some paint and splash it over the back of her store.”

  Lilly said nothing, so Laurel took another deep breath and continued.

  “They picked me up once it started to get dark outside. I told them I was grounded from the last time I went with them, but they said as long as you weren’t home, you’d never know I was gone. So I went, and Bella had a can of spray paint because she couldn’t find any regular paint in her garage. I didn’t do the actual spray painting. I was just there while they did it.”

  Laurel stopped talking and Lilly presumed she had reached the end of her explanation. But there was something that confused her.

  “Why didn’t you just tell them to bug off?” Lilly asked. “Surely you tried telling them no.”

  To her surprise, Laurel started crying all over again.

  “Because they said they would start a rumor about me at school if I didn’t go with them.” Laurel was crying harder now, dragging in short breaths between sobs.

  “So they bullied you into going?” Lilly asked. She was horrified. These girls were monsters.

  Laurel nodded, weeping too forcefully to answer with words.

  Would being a parent ever get easier?

  Chapter 45

  “They made up some horrible things about me, Mom. They said they’d tell everyone, starting with Nick,” Laurel cried.

  Lilly got up and put her arms around Laurel. “Things have been pretty awful for you lately, haven’t they? And I haven’t helped matters because I’ve been so preoccupied with trying to find Alice. I’m sorry you’ve had to learn about false friends the hard way. Karley and Bella are no friends of yours.”

  “I know,” Laurel sniffed. “But what’s to stop them from spreading rumors about me?”

  “I am. I’m going to stop them. I’m going into school first thing in the morning and talk to anyone who will listen to me. Don’t worry about this. We’re going to solve it.”

  Laurel swallowed hard and covered her face with her hands. “You can’t do that. Everyone will say I’m a snitch.” She groaned.

  “Okay, then I have something else in mind.”

  “What?”

  “The less I tell you, the better. But no one will know you or I have anything to do with it.”

  Laurel gave Lilly a skeptical look. “Whatever you’re thinking, don’t. I’ll end up paying for it somehow.”

  “No, you won’t. Now go upstairs and get some sleep. You’ve had a long day, and so have I. Things will be better tomorrow.”

  Laurel kissed her mom goodnight and went upstairs. Once Lilly had satisfied herself that Laurel was in her own room with the door closed, she took out her cell phone and called Bill.

  “Bill, there’s something I’d like you to do for me.”

  The next morning when Lilly got to the store Harry was already there. He looked terrible.

  “Harry, is there anything I can get for you? Coffee? Something to eat?” Lilly asked in concern. It looked like the stress of Alice’s disappearance and Suzanne’s death were getting to him.

  “There’s nothing,” Harry said dully. “I couldn’t eat if I tried.”

  “Then how about a milkshake? I can go get you one.”

  “Maybe I’ll have one later,” he said. Lilly wondered if he said that just to get her to stop nagging him. He gave her a tired smile as if he knew what she was thinking. “I’m serious. I might have one later.”

  They busied themselves getting the shop displays ready for the day. Harry’s cell phone rang as Lilly was walking to the front door to unlock it.

  She returned behind the counter as Harry hung up the phone. He seemed agitated.

  “That was David,” he said. “He called to ask whether I knew Suzanne. I guess the police told the family about her death so they wouldn’t hear it on the news and think the dead woman was Alice. Just like you did for me.”

  “Why does he want to know if you know Suzanne?” Lilly asked.

  “Because he and his crazy parents still think I have something to do with Alice’s disappearance, even though the police said my alibi checked out.”

  “I suppose they’re even more worried now that Suzanne has been a victim, too.”

  “I suppose so. But do they have to be so obvious about thinking I did it?” Harry grimaced. At least the phone call had brought some life to his voice and some color to his cheeks. Lilly didn’t worry about him as much when she knew he could muster up some emotion other than fear or doubt. Anger wasn’t always such a bad thing.

  Lilly was heading out around lunchtime to grab something to eat when Bill came into the shop. Lilly looked at him and cringed. She didn’t know whether to expect news about their mother, Laurel, Alice, or Suzanne.

  “I was just down the block, so I thought I’d come in to tell you that the bar owner, Guy, has been cleared in Suzanne’s death,” he said. Harry, who had been listening with an anxious expression, let out a long sigh. His shoulders slumped.

  “I was hoping they caught the person who killed Suzanne,” he said. “I can’t help but think that whoever did it also took Alice.”

  “You may be right,” Bill said. “But they’re working hard to find out who killed her. Hopefully they’ll get a break and catch the person very soon.”

  “Thanks for coming by,” Lilly said to Bill. “Any other news?” She arched an eyebrow at him.

  “I did what you asked me last night,” he said. “I don’t think there will be any problems.”

  “Thanks,” she said with a smile.

  Harry watched the exchange with interest. Lilly suspected he wanted to know what Bill was talking about, but he didn’t ask.

  Lilly went to Armand’s bistro to pick up something for lunch, and she grabbed a sandwich for Harry, too, even though he had said he couldn’t eat. She figured the scent of the warm baguette with Brie and honey would do the trick.

  And she was right. He didn’t eat the whole meal, but he managed to eat over half of it.

  “Thanks, Lilly,” he said. “I guess I was hungry, but I feel like I shouldn’t be treating myself while Alice is God-knows-where doing God-knows-what.”

  “I get that,” Lilly said, “but you can’t starve yourself, either. We don’t want Alice to find you emaciated when she gets back.”

  Harry frowned. “I hope she comes back.”

  Lilly shook her finger at him. “Of course she’s coming back. Don’t talk like that.”

  She hoped she was right.

  That afternoon Noley called to see how Lilly was feeling.

  “I’m doing all right.”

  “I thought I’d bring dinner over tonight,” Noley suggested.

  “That sounds good. Thanks.”

  Now she had something to look forward to. She wondered what Noley would make.

  “Do you want to join us for dinner, Harry? I’m sure Noley wouldn’t mind.”

  “Thanks, boss, but I’ll pass. I just want to go home after work.”

  When Lilly got home that night Laurel was in the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge.

  “I’ve got good news,” Lilly said. “Noley’s bringing dinner. How was school?”

  Laurel straightened up and shut the
fridge door. “Yum. I wonder what she’ll make. School was actually fine. Karley and Bella totally ignored me and I don’t think they told any lies about me because no one said anything about it today.” She was smiling.

  “Good. See? I told you everything would work out.”

  Laurel gave her mother a suspicious look. “Did you go into school? Did you say anything to anyone?”

  “I might have planted an idea in someone’s ear, but it’s nothing that would be traced back to you.”

  “Mom, what did you do? Who did you talk to?” Laurel’s voice was rising and she clenched her jaw.

  “I—” Lilly began. But there was a knock at the back door and Laurel went over to let Noley in. She held two big bags over her arms and carried a baking dish with potholders.

  “Who’s hungry?” Noley asked.

  “Me,” Lilly said, hoping Laurel would let the other matter drop.

  “Me,” Laurel said. She took the baking dish from Noley and Lilly lifted the bags and put them on the countertop.

  “Put that dish on the table,” Noley directed Laurel. “Lilly, there’s salad and bread in the bags.” Lilly took the contents out of the bags and set them on the table, too.

  “These look interesting,” she said.

  “I’m trying my hand at Latin cooking,” Noley said. “I audited a Latin cuisine class in cooking school and every so often I get a hankering for it.”

  “Ooh, these look good,” Laurel said, lifting tin foil from the top of the baking dish. A homey, spicy aroma filled the kitchen. “What’s auditing?”

  “It’s when you attend classes and learn everything, but don’t take tests. So you don’t get credit for the class, but you don’t have to pay for it, either.” Noley pointed at the casserole dish. “Those are chicken tamales,” she said, then she pointed at the things Lilly had brought to the table. “Those bread balls are called pan de yuca and the salad is made of jicama, hearts of palm, and avocado.”

  Everything was delicious. “Noley, I wish I could cook like you,” Laurel said after dinner.

  “Do something else,” Noley advised with a laugh. “Something more lucrative.”

  Chapter 46

  Dinner with Noley had been just the distraction Lilly and Laurel needed. After Noley left, Laurel went upstairs to finish her homework and Lilly sat down to rest her eyes, grateful that Laurel hadn’t asked any more questions about what Lilly might have done to help the bullying situation. After a little while she called Tracy to see how she was doing.

  Tracy was not doing well. She was grief-stricken over her best friend’s death, and she was terrified to go to work. She and the other dancers had made a pact. They asked Guy to reserve parking spots for them off to the side of the bar, and they all parked in the same area. After work they would all leave together and get into their cars at the same time. They figured there was safety in numbers. It would have been nice if Guy had hired a security guard, or at the very least, a bouncer, but he had refused. He said it would be too expensive and he couldn’t afford security with the financial beating he was taking after Alice’s disappearance and Suzanne’s death. It seemed patrons were beginning to stay away from the bar for fear of getting kidnapped or, worse, killed.

  But Lilly suspected it wasn’t the patrons who were in danger. The dancers were the ones who needed to worry.

  She went to bed that night wondering what Hassan was doing in Washington, then scolding herself mentally for thinking of him right before bedtime. The last thing she needed was to start feeling sorry for herself again.

  The next morning there was no additional news about Suzanne’s killer, so whoever did it was still on the loose. When Harry got to work, it was clear to Lilly that every day was harder than the last for him. He missed Alice terribly. And though he didn’t think Alice’s family missed her much after finding out about her “secret” job, Lilly was sure they must be sick with worry over her disappearance.

  She called Bill midway through the morning. “Any news about Alice? Anything at all?” she asked in a quiet voice. She was in the office and knew Harry couldn’t hear her, but she didn’t want to take any chances.

  “Nothing yet. A couple of the detectives are going around again and asking questions to some of the same people they’ve talked to already.”

  “Will they be coming in to talk to Harry?” Lilly asked.

  “I don’t know. Don’t tell him, just in case.”

  “Why not?”

  “So he doesn’t freak out.”

  “Okay. Have you talked to Mom or Nikki?”

  “No. You?”

  “I called Nikki this morning on my way to work. She said Mom has had some good days mentally, but that she’s still a little unsteady on her feet.”

  “That’s concerning,” Bill said.

  “I agree. Maybe the next step should be to move her bedroom downstairs so she doesn’t have to leave the first floor,” Lilly suggested.

  “That’s probably a good idea. We’ll need to talk to someone to have a shower installed in the downstairs bathroom.”

  “I can talk to Nikki about it tonight. I told her I’d be by to see Mom. Nikki might have some other ideas, too.”

  “All right. I’ll meet you there if I can, but no promises. I have to work tonight.”

  “No problem. Bill, what did you say to Karley and Bella the other night?”

  “They were in separate rooms at the station, so I talked to each of them before their parents came to pick them up. I told each of them that I knew what was going on with the bullying and that I would be checking with the school every week to make sure they weren’t getting into trouble. And if they did anything that looked like bullying, I’d see to it that the shop owners in town might change their minds about bringing up charges against them for the acts of vandalism. So far the merchants have been pretty good about it because they’re kids, but I told them it wouldn’t stay that way if word got out that they’re bullying other kids, too.”

  “Thanks, Bill. Don’t tell Laurel what you did. She’d kill me.”

  Bill chuckled. “I won’t say a word. She’d kill me, too.”

  When Lilly left the office to join Harry in the front of the store, he gave her a look of utter dejection.

  “Harry, I just talked to Bill. No news yet.”

  “Thanks anyway, boss.”

  Lilly had to fight the urge to contravene Bill’s order by telling Harry that the police might be questioning him again, but as Bill had pointed out, she didn’t want Harry to worry any more than he already did.

  The police didn’t show up that afternoon. Lilly couldn’t help but think they were missing something. There was something ... something that was just out of reach ... that she wanted them to know.

  But, as hard as she tried, she couldn’t grasp that thought and hold it.

  The next morning Harry reported that the police had, indeed, questioned him again at his house when he arrived home from work the night before.

  “Did they just ask you the same questions they asked before?”

  Harry nodded. “They threw in a couple new ones, too. They asked me about my friends, the ones who know Alice. Do you think they suspect one of them?”

  “I don’t know. They need to cover every possibility, though. They need to start building more leads. Maybe one of your mutual friends knows something and doesn’t even realize it.”

  Harry shrugged. “That’s possible. I can’t take much more of this waiting. I feel like I’m going crazy.”

  “I’m sure that’s completely normal, Harry,” Lilly said with a sympathetic nod. “It’s the not knowing that makes it so hard.”

  “It is,” Harry agreed.

  “Have they questioned Mary Louise again?” Lilly asked. She would love to be a fly on the wall for that interview.

  “I don’t know. I haven’t talked to her or anyone else. Mary Louise has kept her distance since she freaked out and threw that stool through the window.”

  “You haven’t talked t
o any of your other friends?”

  “Not very much. People are weird since Alice went missing. They don’t know what to say to me, so they don’t say anything. They stay away, especially now that I don’t need anyone spending the night at my house anymore.”

  “What about Mack and Wayne and Stu and all those people who were at your house the night I brought over the macaroni and cheese? They haven’t all abandoned you, have they?” Lilly was incredulous.

  “I wouldn’t say that,” Harry said. “But they’re definitely not coming around as much as they were. They all have their own lives to lead.” His eyes betrayed the sadness behind his words.

  “Harry, you’re coming to my house for dinner tonight,” Lilly said. “And that’s an order. If I had known you’re going home and sitting there by yourself every night, you would have been eating all of your meals at my house.”

  “I appreciate that, boss, but I don’t mind being by myself. It gives me plenty of time to think. And I want to be there in case anyone calls about Alice.”

  “They’ll call your cell. You’re coming over.” Lilly’s tone brooked no disagreement.

  “Okay. Thank you.”

  The day passed quickly. Lilly found herself wondering two or three times what Hassan was doing in Washington, but she quickly pushed those unwelcome thoughts out of her head. There were more important things to worry about—a missing woman and a murder, for example.

  Lilly called Laurel at home after school to ask her to set the table for three and to make sure dinner was heated up by the time she got home from work with Harry.

  Harry followed her home late that afternoon. Lilly was pleased to see that Laurel had prepared not only the tamales, but a salad, a pan of cornbread, and fruit for dessert.

  They talked about anything and everything except Alice and Suzanne over dinner and dessert, and when Harry left later that evening he was wearing a smile and his shoulders and neck didn’t look as tight as they had been recently. The night out did him good.

  Lilly shooed Laurel out of the kitchen as a thank you for putting together such a nice meal for Harry, and then she did the dishes herself. She let her mind wander while she worked, even allowing herself to think about Hassan. She wondered what would happen when he returned from Washington. He had said they needed to talk—was he leaving her for good, or did he want to try again?