Center Stage: Magnolia Steele Mystery #1 (11 page)

If I was arrested, Momma was the only person I knew who would come bail me out.

A few minutes later, I was pacing the sidewalk in front of Emily’s office. I kept glancing around to see if Brady was lurking somewhere, but the most threatening presence in the vicinity was an older man who looked like he needed some major dental work.

“You ready?” Emily asked from behind me.

I let out a little screech as I turned around to face her. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“I wasn’t sneaking,” she said, raising her palms toward me. “You’re just extra jumpy.”

“How calm would you be if you were going to the police station to give a statement to cops who assumed you were guilty?”

“I
am
going to the police station, and I’m a nervous wreck.”

“That is not helping,” I snapped. “You’re supposed to be the professional. You’re supposed to know what you’re doing.”

“Sorry,” she said in a snotty tone. “I’ve never defended someone accused of murder before.”

I stopped in my tracks. “
What
?”

“It’s not like we have a ton of murders around here.”

She kept walking, and I hurried to follow her. “Have you ever defended anyone for
anything
before?”

“Of course I have. Don’t be daft.”

“Well . . . ?”

“Well what?”

“What
have
you defended?”

She blushed. “A drunk and disorderly and a trespassing case.”

I stopped again. “Are you kidding me?”

Emily spun around to face me. “I can do this, Magnolia.”

I felt so lightheaded my vision started to fade and turn to black.

Emily dragged me toward a bench and forced me to sit.

“Oh, God. Oh, God,” I chanted over and over, rocking back and forth. “I’m going to jail.”

“You’re not going to jail. Just take a deep breath, and we’ll go answer Holden’s questions. This mess will be over before you know it.”

I stopped rocking and looked up at her. “Do you really think so?”

She sat down next to me and lowered her voice. “You didn’t touch the letter opener, right?”

“Right.”

“Based on what you’ve told me, it has to be the murder weapon. And if you didn’t touch it, your fingerprints won’t be on it.”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“We can get Luke Powell to say he asked you to meet him in his office. We can get the bartender to state that you were talking to him at 9:40 and he saw Luke go down that hall minutes later.”

I held my breath. “How do you know that Colt saw him? I never told you that. In fact, I have no idea if he saw him or not.”

Her shoulders tensed. “It only makes sense, Magnolia. Do you want out of this or not?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then let’s go and tell your side of the story.”

“But shouldn’t we corroborate this with Colt first?”

“I don’t see the point, but if it makes you feel better.” But she didn’t wait for me, and the clack of her heels grew fainter as she hustled down the sidewalk.

I started to send Colt a text, then changed my mind. I’d see what the police had to say first. Besides, his alibi would put me in that room minutes after the murder, not hours. It might not even help.

By the time we checked in with the police receptionist, I was already wondering if I’d made the right decision.

They led us to a room arranged with a table and four chairs, two on either side. My nerves were getting the better of me as I sat down.

“Calm down, Magnolia,” Emily snarled. “You look guilty as hell.”

“How am I supposed to calm down when they think I did it? I’ve seen all those TV shows. If they think I did it, they can make sure I go away for life.”

“I’m sure the Franklin Police Department wants the real murderer put behind bars, don’t you?”

“While I sure as hell hope so, I’m not counting on it.”

She pursed her lips. “You always were a glass-half-empty person back in school.”

“I was not!” I protested. “And now does
not
seem like the time to—” I cut myself off as the door creaked open and Detective Holden entered the room.

“Is there a problem, Ms. Steele?”

“No,” I choked out. “My attorney and I were having a disagreement.”

He looked back and forth between us, then sat down across from me with a pad of paper and a pen. Then he took a breath so deep I was sure he was about to suck all the air out of the room. “Now, Ms. Steele. All we want is the facts. You already gave us a statement about finding Mr. Goodwin, but I have a few more questions.”

I couldn’t help wondering where his partner was. Probably on the other side of the mirrored wall taking notes.

“Okay,” I said, clutching my hands in my lap.

“You said that you found Mr. Goodwin splayed out on the floor when you entered the room—is that correct?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“You said you then knelt by the body to check for his pulse, correct?”

“Yes.”

“And then Mr. Powell walked in and found you with your hand on the victim’s neck.”

“Yes.”

“And after that, Mr. Powell shut the door and left you in the room until his security guard showed up.”

“Yes.”

“Then how did your fingerprints end up on Mr. Powell’s desk?”

I took a breath to steady my nerves. “When Luke locked me in the room, I freaked out. I’d never been next to a dead person before, let alone locked in a room with one by myself. I got lightheaded, so I sat on the edge of the desk.”

“And how did you sit?”

I looked at Emily, wondering what difference it made, half-expecting her to protest. Instead she nodded.

“I backed up to the desk and sat with my butt against the edge. I think I grabbed the sides.”

Detective Holden stood and reenacted my description. “Were your hands like this?” His fingers curled around the edges of the table.

“I think so.”

“You think so?” His tone was challenging. “Wouldn’t you know so?”

“I was freaked out. I don’t remember all the details.”

“Were you scared because you had just stabbed a man in the heart?”

“No!” I shouted. “I didn’t do it.”

“A young impressionable woman, already taken advantage of by Goodwin two years ago. And then you were embarrassed and humiliated on stage—you made national news, and your ‘wardrobe malfunction—’” he used air quotes, “—is all over the Internet. Maybe you just snapped.”

I pressed my mouth shut, glaring at my attorney. What the hell, Emily?

“Luke asked you to meet him for a romantic rendezvous, but you were shocked and horrified to find Max Goodwin waiting in his study instead. He told you that he would salvage your career if you cooperated, but you changed your mind the moment he dropped his pants to consummate the deal.”

“What?” I screeched in disbelief.

“But Mr. Goodwin wasn’t about to take no for an answer, and when you failed to dissuade him, you got desperate. You grabbed that letter opener off the desk, then stabbed him.”

I was now openly staring at Emily, who was wide-eyed with fright and stammering like she’d suddenly acquired a speech impediment.

Well, fuck it all to hell in a goddamned hand basket.

I took another deep breath and told myself I was playing the part of a young defense attorney who had to face a heartless, misogynistic detective to save my poor defenseless client.

“And how exactly did you come up with this theory?” I asked, sounding cold and aloof.

My question and change of attitude stunned him. He guffawed for a moment, then said, “It wasn’t that hard to figure out.”

“Really? Are you an author, Detective Holden? Are you like that guy on that TV show? What is it?” I snapped my fingers. “
Castle
! Do you write murder mysteries in your spare time?”

“What in the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m just trying to figure out how you made the leap from me finding his body to that very imaginative recitation you just finished.”

“I already told you—”

“Yes, I heard you. You said it wasn’t hard to figure out. But isn’t the truth a much simpler solution?” I cocked my head. “He was dead when I walked into that room. You can be certain I wasn’t the only person—male or female—Max propositioned or threatened that night. I suspect there were several others at the party. How many were there?”

“Excuse me?”

“Surely you’ve interviewed everyone who talked to him before I found his body. I bet I wasn’t the only person who had a disagreement with him. Mine was only the most vocal.”

His face turned red. “Are you trying to tell me how to do my job, Ms. Steele?”

“If you haven’t interviewed everyone, then yes.”

He banged the table with his fist, the jolt shaking Emily out of her stupor.

“Were my fingerprints on the letter opener?” I asked.

His glare was cold enough to freeze-dry coffee. “I’m not at liberty to say.”

“Well, let’s just save us both some time. You won’t find them there.”

“Because you wiped them off?”

“No, because I didn’t do it.” I shook my head. “We’re dancing in circles.”

“You’ll be dancing all the way to the county jail,” he sneered.

“Wow. That’s original,” I said, feeling extra pissy. “How long did it take you to think that one up?”

Emily sputtered some more.

“Are we done?” I asked. “Because I have an event to get ready for.”

He looked like he was torn between strangling me or arranging for an involuntary psychiatric hold. I was wondering about the second myself.

“You are free to go, but you are still a person of interest.” He pushed his chair back with a loud screech. “Don’t leave town,
Ms. Steele
.”

Keeping my eyes locked on his, I stood and lifted my chin. “I wouldn’t dream of it,
Detective Holden
.”

I stomped out, leaving Emily to trail behind me. As I passed the large, open room full of desks on the main floor of the department, a man caught the corner of my eye. He moved out of my line of vision too quickly for me to get a good read on him, but he was tall and dark-haired and dressed in a black wool coat—all things that matched my memory of Brady. But that description would probably fit twenty-five percent of Williamson County males. I was imagining things.

I didn’t stop walking until I’d reached the sidewalk outside the station. Emily stumbled to a stop behind me.

“Magnolia!”

I stopped and turned around to face her, my hands on my hips. “What the hell happened in there, Emily?”

“I froze up.”

“No shit!”

“Shhh!” She looked around. “You can’t tell your mother.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You can’t tell Lila.”

“You can’t be my attorney, Emily! You completely freaked out in there!”

“I know. I know.” She looked dangerously close to tears.

“What am I supposed to do? I need an attorney who knows what she’s doing!”

“I’ll figure it out.” When she met my eyes, I saw something unexpected in her gaze.
Respect
. “You handled it really well. You threw him off.”

“Why do I hear a
but
in there?”

“Because just like you, Holden’s a hothead. He’s bound to hold a grudge.”

“Well, that’s just fucking great.” I sighed, resting my butt against a light pole. How was I going to get out of this one?

“In fact, he’ll try harder than ever to pin it on you.”

“Even better,” I groaned. “Got any more good news, Mary Sunshine?”

T
his was ridiculous
. I was twenty-eight years old and my mother was running my life. But she had insisted that it was her house, her rules. There was no way I was getting out of Bunco night with my new sister-in-law.

“Don’t you think this is a bad idea?” I asked. “I’m under suspicion for murder. What’s it going to look like if I’m out there playing Bunco and drinking cosmos?”

Momma put her hands on her hips and gave me
the
look, the one that told me I didn’t dare challenge her. “I know that if you stay inside all the time, sulking and hiding, you’re gonna look guilty as hell.” She narrowed her eyes. “Did you kill that man, Magnolia Steele?”

“Of course not.”

She pursed her lips and gave a single bob of her head. “Well, that’s settled then. You’re going.”

In all honesty I was beyond curious about Belinda. No one could be
that
nice. I had to wonder what she was hiding. But tonight was not the time to delve into her psyche. I had to focus on surviving.

So at 6:40 I was ready and waiting, wearing a maroon dress that looked conservative except for its plunging neckline. It only added to my list of worries, but in the scheme of things, when anyone could perform a simple Internet search and see the whole goods, wasn’t a plunging neckline a moot point? I had to admit the color looked good with my skin tone, so if Detective Holden decided to pull the trigger and arrest me tonight, at least I’d look good in my mug shot. I wondered if TMZ would cover it on their website.

But I was still a basket case of nerves.

Not surprisingly, Belinda was punctual. She pulled up to Momma’s house at promptly 6:45. She was wearing the same clothes she’d had on earlier—a pencil skirt and a cardigan—making me happy with my wardrobe choice.

Belinda walked in, took one look at me, and squealed in delight. “Oh, my word, Magnolia! You look just like a movie star.”

I was ready for my mother’s eye roll. She hated any kind of reference to my theatre life, even if Belinda had gotten the venue wrong.

“I’ll have her back before midnight,” Belinda said with a giggle, then grabbed my arm and dragged me out the door.

I wasn’t surprised to see she drove a BMW, and a newer model at that. I climbed into the passenger side, then prepared myself to deal with the overly excited woman next to me. Belinda didn’t disappoint.

“I can’t believe you’re actually back! I’ve been dying to meet you ever since I found out you were the real Magnolia Steele! I’ve looked at your profile on the Broadway website so many times, and I even saw you in the chorus in
Matilda
.”

“Really? That was two years ago. How long have you and Roy been together?”

Belinda must have picked up on my hurt feelings, because she turned and gave me an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry we didn’t invite you to the ceremony. It all happened so quickly, and Roy insisted you wouldn’t be able to get away. He said you needed at least a month’s notice to take time off, so there wasn’t any point in inviting you and making you feel guilty for not coming.”

She seemed genuinely upset, so I gave her a warm smile. “He’s right. I usually need several weeks’ notice.”

“Besides,” she said with a sigh of relief, “it was a small wedding. Nothing extravagant.”

Belinda looked like a girl who would want a big fairytale wedding.

“Why?” I asked without thinking.

For the first time I saw her smile waver. “Roy didn’t want one.” The corners of her mouth quickly tipped back up. “Good thing for me, I have plenty of weddings to live vicariously through.”

My stupid brother. He’d always been a self-centered twat, but I would have hoped he’d rein that in for his wife. “Belinda, I’m so sorry.”

“Oh, don’t be.” She waved her hand as though to wave my sympathy away. “It was much more practical. We used the money we would have put into a wedding for a house.”

While it seemed reasonable and logical, it was easy to figure out that Belinda had wanted the white dress and the flowers and the fancy reception.

“Well, I’d love to see the photos sometime. I saw one on Momma’s photo wall in the stairway. You were a beautiful bride.” No need for her to know about my Facebook stalking.

“You’re so sweet to say so.” Her smile twitched. I realized this conversation was making her uncomfortable.

The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her, so I changed the topic. “Tell me what to expect tonight.” I had a good idea, but I hoped I was wrong.

Her shoulders relaxed. “You’ve really never played Bunco?”

“Yep. I’m a Bunco virgin.”

The soft glow of the dashboard lights didn’t hide her blush.

“Well, it’s really very easy.” Then she spent the next five minutes explaining something about dice and Yahtzee, but I’d tuned her out, my mind a jumbled mess from trying to figure out how to keep from getting arrested.

Before I knew it, Belinda had turned down a cul-de-sac lined with cars and a house with all the interior lights illuminated. A string of lights ran along the sidewalk to a southern-style front porch decked out with wicker chairs and cushions. The porch light completed the welcoming look.

Belinda parked across the street and turned to me with a sweet smile. “I can’t wait to introduce you to everyone.”

I only hoped they were as excited to meet me. My gut told me this would be a disaster, but Belinda got out of the car before I could beg her to go get mani-pedis or see a movie instead. She was waiting for me at the end of her car, her cute Kate Spade purse hanging from the crook of her arm.

I got out and hurried toward her, jumping a little when the horn gave a single loud honk.

“You can’t be too safe,” she said, shaking her key fob. She sounded very much like a mother in an infomercial for safety scissors.

It suddenly occurred to me that there were a lot of things she didn’t know that her friends might—about my Broadway mishaps, for one, and my trouble with the law, for another. “Belinda, I’m not sure if it’s a good idea for me to go in there.”

“That is so cute that you’re nervous.” She gave me a patient smile and shook her head. “Don’t worry, Magnolia. They’ll love you. How could they not?”

I could give her a slew of reasons—the real question was where to start. “Belinda, you have to listen to me. There are several things you don’t know.”

“I know all about the videos,” she said as she continued to walk, her heels clicking on the concrete driveway. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about.” She stopped and turned to me, grabbing my hand and holding it between her own. She gave me an earnest look. “You have a beautiful body, Magnolia Steele. Anyone who gives you grief over it is simply jealous.”

I was fairly certain that wasn’t true, and incredibly, that was much lower on my list of concerns than it had been the night before. “That’s not it . . . or I mean all.”

Belinda was already climbing the steps to the porch. She moved with alarming speed, probably hoping the host would open the door before I could run back to the car.

When she reached the middle of the porch, she spun around to face me. “Magnolia,” she said in a mock stern voice. “You have nothing to worry about.”

She rang the doorbell before I could stop her, then laughed at my look of shock when the tune to Rocky Top rang out in chimes. “I guess Blake went to the University of Tennessee. I hear he’s kind of a fanatic.”

The blood rushed to my feet. Oh, God. Had she said
Blake
? That had to be a coincidence.

The front door flung open and revealed a pretty blonde woman wearing a silky pink blouse and pearls paired with cream pants and ivory sling-back heels.

Oh, God. No. This was
her
house. But how? Belinda had said the party was at her friend Sylvia’s house . . .

“Maddie!” Belinda said. “That was so sweet of you to fill in for Sylvia after her son came down with strep throat this morning. I hope it’s okay that I brought a guest.”

“Well, of course,” she said in a bright voice, but all the color drained from her face when she saw me. Maddie looked as if she’d seen a ghost.

Belinda had turned to face me, so she missed her reaction. “Maddie, this is my sister-in-law, Magnolia.”

I wanted to turn around and run, but my feet refused to move. Instead I stood my ground. “Hey, Maddie.”

She still didn’t speak, and Belinda was finally grasping that there was tension between us. “Do you two already know each other?”

Maddie crossed her arms as the color returned to her face, anger slowly creeping into her eyes. “I thought we did, but I was obviously wrong.”

“I think I should go,” I said quietly, wishing the ground would open and swallow me whole.

“That’s right, Magnolia. Go on. You’re good at taking off, aren’t you?” she said. “The shocker is that you actually bothered to tell me this time.”

“I’m sorry, Maddie. I’m so sorry,” I said, my voice breaking. “I didn’t know that you’d be here. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have come.”

“And you and I both know you do what
you
want,” Maddie said, her tone as cold as a January wind in New York. She shrugged and glanced back inside before turning to face me again. “You can do whatever you want, Magnolia. It makes no difference to me one way or the other.”

I watched her walk back inside with all the grace of an old movie star.

“Magnolia?” Belinda asked softly. “How do you know Maddie Green?”

Several years ago—before I’d stopped looking—I’d learned via Facebook that she’d married the lying, cheating bastard. I’d tried to reach out to her after leaving—if only to tell her that Blake was cheating on her—but she’d never answered my calls, emails, or texts. For all I knew, she’d deleted all my messages without checking them out.

The air in my chest froze and tears stung my eyes.

“Magnolia?”

“She was my best friend,” I pushed out past the lump in my throat.

“Oh, gosh,” Belinda said. “I had no idea.”

“Didn’t Momma tell you? Or Roy?”

She shook her head, dangerously close to tears herself. “No. I only know her because she’s a neighbor, but we just bought our house six months ago. We’re not really friends, just acquaintances. And Roy never spends any time with the neighbors. I don’t think he knows she lives here. If he did, he sure didn’t mention it.” She paused, turning her attention to a car pulling up to the curb. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know.” I didn’t want to go inside, but I didn’t want Maddie to have further proof that I was a coward.

“You know what I think?” Belinda asked.

“What?” I whispered.

Her mouth turned up into a tight smile. “I think you should walk into that room and hold your head high. You’re Magnolia Steele, Broadway star. Did you make mistakes before you left New York? Apparently, but I dare any of the people in there to lay claim to perfection.”

“This isn’t forgetting to send a birthday card, Belinda. I took off. Without a word. I broke Maddie’s heart. And Momma’s. And maybe even Roy’s just a little bit. I tried to make it right with Maddie after I left, but she didn’t want to hear it.”

“No one takes off like that without a reason.” She grabbed my hand again and squeezed it. “And maybe you’ll trust me enough to tell me one day, but for now I just want to be your friend.”

“Why?” I asked, wiping away a tear. “Because I’m Magnolia Steele, former Broadway star?”

“No,” she said, leaning forward and squeezing. “Because you’re Magnolia Steele, Roy Steele’s sister and Lila Steele’s daughter. That makes you my family, Magnolia, and family sticks together. I’ve got your back.”

I shook my head. “You have no idea what you’re doing, Belinda. You’re so sweet you’re probably friends with every woman in that room. If you walk in there with me, you may well ruin yourself forever.”

She released a soft laugh. “Well, that’s probably an exaggeration. I doubt I’ll be ruined
forever
. And besides—” she gave me a sad look, “—my life could use a little shaking up.” Then, keeping a tight hold of my hand, she walked through the still-open door.

As I crossed the threshold, I realized I was not only walking into Maddie’s house, but Blake’s as well.

Oh, God.

I felt like I was going to throw up, but Belinda kept her head held high and tugged me around several card tables decorated with tablecloths and mason jars full of fresh-cut flowers that couldn’t have already grown and bloomed in middle Tennessee in March. A woman on a mission, she didn’t stop until she reached two women. She flashed them her megawatt smile. “Trudy, Samantha, this is my sister-in-law, Magnolia. She’s just come back to town.”

The two women’s eyes widened, and I couldn’t help but wonder what part of my life shocked and offended them most. Maybe all of it. But Belinda, powered by her Energizer Bunny spirit, charged through the room, introducing me to at least half of the twenty or so women in the house, using her positive can-do attitude to challenge anyone who would dare to besmirch my name. Most of the faces were unfamiliar, but two of the women had gone to school with Maddie and me. They made sure to steer clear of us as Belinda made the rounds, not that I had a problem with that. It was no surprise to see where their loyalty lay.

As we wandered the first floor, my anxiety dropped several levels when it became apparent Blake was nowhere around. But there were plenty of other issues to keep the anxiety brewing.

Belinda led me into the kitchen, and I did a double take when I saw Emily standing behind an island stacked with a multitude of food. She took one look at me and drained her wine glass. Her very next move was to refill it from a decanter.

“I heard you were here. You know, I was starting to think you’d changed. I never expected that you would stoop this low.”

“I didn’t know she’d be here.” My whisper held a hard edge. “I didn’t even want to come at all.”

“It’s my fault,” Belinda assured her. “I had no idea there was history between Maddie and Magnolia. No one ever talks about Magnolia’s past, and I only met Maddie a couple of months ago. She’s never seen me with Roy, so we never made the connection.”

Emily studied her for a moment before giving a slight nod. “It didn’t occur to me to mention anything to you either.” She gave us a halfhearted smile, then grabbed an empty glass and filled it.