Cut to the Corpse (13 page)

Brenna had to think about it. Her boyfriend James had broken up with her the last year she’d lived in Boston and that was a year and a half ago.

“Two years since James,” she said. “Seven if you count anyone but him.”

Tenley studied her from head to toe. “Step on it. We have work to do.”

Brenna had planned to work in the shop all day and prep for her date after. Tenley had other ideas.

As soon as they parked in front of Vintage Papers, Tenley took Brenna by the hand and dragged her down the sidewalk to Ruby Wolcott’s salon Totally Polished.

“Tenley, where are you going? We need to open the shop,” Brenna said.

“Detour,” Tenley said as she opened the salon door and pushed Brenna inside. “Ruby, we have an emergency!”

Ruby was standing behind the reception desk with her beehive of platinum hair up in a full twist. Her hairdresser’s smock was a leopard print with magenta piping and she wore magenta heels to match.

Her drawn-on eyebrows moved up as she took in the sight of them.

“What sort of an emergency?” she asked. “Gum in your hair? Hangnail? What?”

“It’s worse,” Tenley said.

Two ladies under hair dryers poked their heads out to see what was happening. Ruby’s other hairdresser, Mae, paused while clipping the gray head sitting in her chair to hear what was being said.

“How much worse?” Ruby asked.

Tenley pushed Brenna forward. “First date in over two years.”

A gasp reverberated around the salon.

“Kelsey,” Ruby barked at the young woman sweeping up hair. “Clear the rest of my morning appointments.”

“I really don’t think this is necessary,” Brenna began, but Ruby grabbed her hand and studied her cuticles, “Good God, woman, when was the last time you had a mani? These ragged things looked like you walked on them to get here.”

“Have a lovely morning,” Tenley said to Brenna as she dashed out the door with a wave.

“I’ll get you for this,” Brenna growled.

“No, you owe me for this,” Tenley corrected her as the door shut behind her, sealing Brenna’s fate.

Three hours later, having been thoroughly clipped, snipped, waxed, fluffed, and folded, Brenna left Totally Polished.

She had Pouty Pink nail polish on her fingers and her toes. Her wavy auburn hair had been smoothed and draped down her back with nary a split end in sight. Her eyebrows had been shaped into seductive arches and her makeup made her skin as flawless as cream.

She barely recognized her reflection in the windows of Vintage Papers, and judging by the greet-the-customer smile Tenley gave her when she walked in, she didn’t recognize her either.

“Wow!” Tenley said. She jumped up from her seat at the worktable and circled Brenna. “You looked great the other night, but this is all new levels. Dom is going to have a heart attack.”

“Fabulous,” Brenna said. “Because I need another dead body in my life.”

“What are you wearing?” Tenley asked.

“I’m not sure,” Brenna said. “I’m thinking my favorite little black dress.”

“The Maggy London striped mesh?”

Brenna nodded.

“He’s done for,” Tenley said with a shake of her head.

Brenna rolled her eyes. “What’s been going on here?” “The invitations to Larry Goldbaum’s bar mitzvah came in, and they look great. I think his mother will be pleased. I sold two of your decoupage cigar boxes.”

“Nice,” Brenna said.

“And the Porter twins came in demanding to know who your date is.”

“How did they find out? I swear they are their own information superhighway,” Brenna said as she took a seat at the table. She wanted to work on Betty Cartwright’s cedar hope chest, but she glanced at her fingertips and decided it could wait until tomorrow. After all, she should get at least one day’s wear out of her manicure before she wrecked it.

“I did use my lengthy stay at the salon to ask about Julie Harper,” she said.

“Clue’s girlfriend turned stalker?” Tenley sat across from her. “Do tell.”

“Ruby said she hasn’t been in since Clue’s death,” Brenna said. “She spends all day in her bathrobe, eating junk food and staring at his picture.”

“Do they think she might be the killer?”

“I couldn’t really ask her that directly,” Brenna said. “I got the feeling, from the way they kept changing the subject, that they are protective of her, and Ruby was holding a very sharp pair of scissors at the time.”

“Wise decision,” Tenley agreed.

“I thought so,” Brenna said. “I think I’ll try to stop and see her tomorrow, however.”

“Under what pretense?”

“I don’t know. I’m still working that out,” she said. “I’m too old to be selling Girl Scout cookies, aren’t I?”

“A bit. Listen, why don’t you go get ready for your date? We’re closing in a few hours—I’m sure I can handle it alone.”

“Maybe I will,” Brenna said. “That way I can spend some time with Hank before I go out.”

“Have fun tonight,” Tenley called after her with a wave.

“I’m just gathering information about Clue,” Brenna said as she stood and slung her purse over her shoulder.

“I know, but have fun anyway.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“And I expect a full report in the morning!” Tenley shouted after her.

Brenna gave her a noncommittal nod and strode to her Jeep. She didn’t feel nervous about having dinner with Dom, but there was an undeniable spring in her step and it was a good thing, too. The Porter sisters had just rounded the corner and spotted her. As they sped up their pace, Brenna turned the key and hit the gas. With a cheery wave, she zipped by them and headed home.

 

“Do not look at me like that,” she said.

Hank ignored her command and gave her his best neglected dog woe-is-me face.

“I do not feel guilty for having a date, and you can’t make me,” Brenna said.

Hank responded with a low whimper.

“We took an hour-long hike, played Frisbee, and you had a lovely dinner,” Brenna said. “So don’t waste your whining on me.”

She stood back from her full-length mirror and checked her image. Her Maggy London ended just above her knees and was created from long, thick stripes of mesh over beige alternating with black satin stripes, having a peekaboo effect of her body beneath. She wore her Weitzman black pumps and carried a matching clutch. She’d kept her hair down and accessorized with the one-carat diamond studs her parents had given her for her college graduation. The effect was flirty but sophisticated and she was pretty sure Dom would approve. Obviously, Hank did not.

There was a knock at the door and Hank erupted into an explosion of barking. Brenna glanced at the clock. Dom was twenty minutes early. Good thing she was ready.

Her heels clacked against the wooden floor as she crossed the living room. Hank was whining at the door and Brenna hoped that Dom liked dogs.

She grabbed Hank’s collar and swung the door wide.

“Hi,” she said with a smile, but the man standing in the doorway was not who she expected, and she let go of Hank with a jolt of surprise.

Nate’s gray eyes went wide as he took in her appearance, and he neglected to brace himself when Hank launched himself.

“Oh, no!” Brenna cried out as both man and dog went down in a heap. “Sorry.”

Hank straddled Nate and licked his face while Nate tried to look around his yellow head at Brenna.

“Okay, boy, okay,” Nate said, scratching Hank’s ears. “I love you, too.”

He rolled out from under Hank, and grabbing a tennis ball off of the porch floor, he threw it overhand out into the yard. Hank took off after it in a spasm of glee.

Nate turned back to Brenna and his gazed raked her from head to toe. “You didn’t mention that your dinners with Hank were formal occasions. I can see why you needed to teach him some table manners.”

“Actually, I was just getting ready for a date,” she said. She felt her face flame hot, which was ridiculous, because Nate was just her landlord and a friend. Why would he care if she had a date?

“Uh-huh,” he said. He followed her into her cabin, although she hadn’t invited him, and stood in the center of the living room with his arms crossed over his chest, while she went to retrieve her purse from the bedroom.

“I thought you were coming back tomorrow,” she said.

“That was the original plan.” His frown deepened when she paused to spritz on some perfume.

He ran a hand through his wavy brown hair, a manner-ism Brenna had come to know as a sign of exasperation. He was wearing a charcoal T-shirt with a Yankees logo on it, tucked into well-worn jeans. He looked good, better than she remembered, although it had only been a few days since she’d seen him, and she felt her stupid crush for him rear its annoying head.

“What did you do to your hair?” he asked. He didn’t sound pleased.

“Tenley badgered me into visiting Totally Polished and Ruby straightened it,” she said. “Does it look bad?”

“No,” he said reluctantly. “I just like it the way you usually wear it, all loose and curly.”

“Oh.” She tried not to feel offended and decided to switch the subject. “So, what was it that brought you home early?”

“You.”

“Me?” she asked. She felt her pulse pick up at the thought that he’d come home for her.

“I got a call from Chief Barker. He seems to think you might be butting into the investigation of Clue Parker’s murder and wanted me to talk to you,” he said.

Her spurt of hope popped like a soap bubble.

“I am not butting in,” she protested. She opened her clutch and checked that she had her wallet, keys, and lipstick.

“Really? Then what were you doing at the Milstead Paper Mill this morning?”

“Saying yes to a date with me,” a voice answered from the door.

Brenna turned to see Dom Cappicola silhouetted in the doorway.

He was wearing a black Prada suit with a black dress shirt and tie. With his dark hair and eyes, he looked nothing short of dangerous. With a sideways glance, Brenna could almost see Nate’s hackles rise.

“Nate, you remember Dom?” she said.

“Cappicola,” Nate said and extended his hand.

“Williams.” Dom clasped his hand.

Their handshake seemed cordial, but there was a current of hostility pulsing between the two men that was palpable.

Mercifully, Hank chose that moment to come bounding into the cabin with his ball in his mouth. Dom stepped in front of Brenna as if to protect her, but it wasn’t necessary. Hank dropped his ball and sniffed Dom’s shoes.

“This is Hank,” she said to Dom. “I’ve been dog sitting him for Nate. He’s friendly.”

“Oh,” Dom said. He smiled at Brenna and Nate as if it all made sense now. He bent down and held out his hand for Hank to sniff. When Hank wagged, he reached over and scratched his ears.

“Hank’s bowls and things are all in the kitchen,” Brenna said. “Let me get them for you.”

“I can do it,” Nate said. “You two go ahead. I’ll lock up when we leave.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely,” Nate said. “Thanks for watching him while I was away.”

“It was fun,” she said. “He’s a great dog. It’ll be quiet without him around.”

“You’ll just have to find someone else to hang around in his place,” Dom said as he straightened up and looped an arm around her waist.

Nate frowned at him, and Brenna wondered if it was Dom’s family connections that Nate disliked or something else.

Dom glanced at his watch. “We’d better go. We have reservations.”

“Good night, Nate,” Brenna said. She stooped to scratch Hank’s head and said, “See you, roomie.”

“Have fun,” Nate called after them, and Brenna wondered if he was being sarcastic or if that was just wishful thinking on her part.

Dom helped her pick her way across the grassy lawn to his car in the communal parking lot. It was a black Volvo wagon and Brenna looked at him in surprise.

“What?” he asked with a laugh. “You expected a Ferrari or an Escalade? Volvos have a very high safety rating, you know.”

“It’s just that every time I think I know you, you surprise me,” she said.

“Is that a good thing?”

She let him help her into the passenger’s seat.

“Yes,” she said. She saw him smile as he walked around the car.

He started up the engine, and Brenna glanced back to see Nate, standing on her porch watching them. She felt a sudden longing to stay here and be with him, but she shook it off. He had certainly never alluded to anything more than friendship between them and she didn’t want to damage the friendship they already had by letting her feelings get out of hand. Besides, she knew she’d be talking to him soon, as she had a feeling she hadn’t heard the last of his conversation with Chief Barker.

Dom took Route 20 out of Morse Point, which was a relief because she knew it would be all over town if they were seen together. Not that it was a bad thing to be seen with Dom, but she really didn’t want to be the focal point of gossip just now.