Deadly Magic (34 page)

Still distracted by the video camera pointed her way, Grace asked, “What are you doing with that?”

“It’s my new camcorder.” Beth proudly held out the camera and twisted it around so that Grace could see from all angles. “I’m helping Melodie and Crystal with the reunion. Crystal wants to do a video montage and set it up on the website. She’s going to send a link to everyone after the reunion. Isn’t that a good idea?”

“Reunion montage,” Grace repeated, a shudder creeping up her spine. “Are you filming right now?”

“Of course! I haven’t turned this off since I got here. I’m not going to miss a moment.” Grace wondered what type of montage they would be able to get, considering that Beth tended to talk with her hands. Perhaps, she should advise Crystal to add a warning to the video. Something like ‘Warning: anti-nausea medication should be taken before viewing’.

Better yet, Grace thought, she could volunteer to edit the montage herself. After all, it would be such a shame if a recording of her dress ended up on the editing floor. “I would love to help. Are you part of the committee?”

Beth solemnly shook her head. “I volunteered. I felt so bad for Melodie. I just think this reunion is too much for her.”

“Melodie?” Grace asked in surprise. “She’s the queen of organization. I remember—”

“It’s too soon. I mean Larry just died a couple of months ago. Well, give or take a few weeks.”

“Larry’s dead?” Grace asked, in disbelief, slowly sinking back down into her seat. She couldn’t believe it. Why had no one told her? Anytime someone sneezes in town, her mother is immediately on the phone describing the who, what, when and where of the event in nauseating detail. How could she have missed this?

“Didn’t you know? He was driving down McGraw Parkway when a deer dashed in front of him. He swerved and ended up hitting a tree. He died instantly.”

“Poor Melodie,” Grace said, her heart breaking for her old friend.

“Yeah. There’s going to be a memorial slide set up to honor all the graduates who’ve died since graduation. It’s a nice thought and all, but I hope Melodie can handle it. Oh, I don’t want to talk about this. Today is a happy day. Let’s talk about you. What have you been up to? I want to hear everything.”

“Well, I’ve been living and working in New York, but recently, I’ve been thinking of moving back home.” Grace decided it wasn’t necessary to mention it was really her employer’s pink slip that triggered her sudden desire to move back home. Her employer and the eviction notice taped to her door last week. “I was working at the Straker Toy—”

“You might be moving back? That’s wonderful! Oh, everyone will be so excited. What will they do at the agency without you?”

“The company,” she said, automatically correcting Beth. “I’m sure they’ll manage.”

“You know, your little brother was in my comic book store last January. I overheard him talking about your work. It just sounds so exciting.”

“Thank you!” Grace smiled, pleased that someone found her work interesting. Working at a company that manufactured games and toys wasn’t as thrilling as being a model like Hope or a doctor like her younger sister, but Grace still found the work interesting.

“Please, tell me all about it.” Beth’s eyes lit up in excitement. “Your brother walked out before I could hear how everything ended.”

Grace thought back to last winter. She had been working on developing board games for kids, ages fourteen and above, and had used her fifteen-year old brother, Jeff, as a guinea pig. Jeff must have been describing one of them to his friends. But, which one? She had five in various stages of development when she had been summarily fired. Was it the game involving dragons? The numbers game? Or maybe it was the one about magicians. Jeff had seemed particularly interested in that one.

“I always knew you would end up doing something exciting. My father did that sort of thing at his company. He was really good at it.”

Grace shook her head, vaguely recalling Beth’s dad working as a security guard at the mall.

“Oh, look, there’s Crystal.” Beth waived the camera in the air, trying to get the other woman’s attention. “She wanted me to let her know if I saw Hope tonight. Is your sister here?”

“She—”

“I bet she didn’t come. I told Crystal that she wouldn’t come. I mean, why would Hope come back? She hates it here. Oh, wait, isn’t that Hope over there?” Grace turned to see her sister talking to a member of the band. “Grace, why did you say she wasn’t here?

“I didn’t. I—”

“Oh, never mind,” Beth said smiling. “You’re so funny. I see you haven’t lost your sense of humor. You haven’t changed a bit. I am just going to run over there and say hi. I will be right back, and then you can finish telling me all about your job.” Beth patted Grace's hand and then just as quickly as she appeared, she dashed off into the crowd; her recorder placed protectively out in front of her, sure to capture everyone’s chins or chests depending on their height.

“Finally! I thought she would never leave,” a voice whispered into Grace’s ear.

Turning in her seat, Grace smiled and stood up. “Melodie!” she said, reaching out to hug the other woman. “It’s so wonderful to see you. You look beautiful.”

Which was true. Melodie had made a dramatic transformation in the ten years since Grace last saw her. Gone was the awkward, gangly, baby-faced teenager in oversized shirts and jeans. Tonight, she looked sophisticated and elegant in a light blue evening dress, which complemented her unusual bright blue eyes. Even her usually unruly, curly auburn hair had been carefully swept up into a French twist. She looked stunning.

Melodie smiled at the compliment, tucking an errant strand of hair into the French twist at the back of her head.

“Are you okay? I’m so sorry to hear about Larry. I had no idea. Beth just told me.”

“Thank you,” she said, taking the empty seat opposite of Grace. “It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve been doing better the last few weeks. Organizing the reunion has really helped me.”

“Everything looks beautiful. You can’t even tell this is a gym.”

Melodie made a face. “I wanted to have the reunion at the country club, but it was going to be too expensive. We had to decide between an absolutely beautiful location and finger food or here . . .,” Melodie said with a small grimace, “and a catered three course meal. The committee chose food.”

Good choice, Grace thought. “Well, maybe the next reunion.”

Melodie nodded. “I am so glad you came. I absolutely love your dress. It’s just so—” Melodie halted, struggling to come up with an appropriate description.

Sparing her friend, Grace quickly said, “It’s not mine. Hope found it for me at the last minute.”

Melodie laughed. “Oh thank goodness, I didn’t think I would be able to come up with a convincing compliment for that thing. You should know better than to let Hope pick out your outfits. I learned that lesson in fifth grade when she tried to convince me that I looked cute in baggy overalls and flannel shirts.”

Grace laughed.

“I was afraid I wasn’t ever going to see you or your sister again. What have you been up to lately?”

“Oh, there’s not much to tell. I’ve just been working.” Well, except for the last couple of weeks, Grace thought. “Trying to stay busy and pay the bills. You know how it goes.” Not exactly feeling up to discussing her life, Grace decided to change the subject. “How’s your sister?”

“Oh, I’m sure Crystal is sharpening her claws, waiting for Hope to appear.”

Grace raised an eyebrow, surprised by the bitterness in Melodie’s voice, as well as the expression of utter disdain. Growing up, Melodie had always adored Crystal. Being only ten months apart, Melodie had looked up to her older sister, often taking Crystal’s side in her many battles with Hope. “Is something wrong?”

Melodie paused, before slowly shaking her head. Smiling, she insisted everything was fine.

Feeling the sudden tension in the air, Grace turned her head. The band had started playing, as more people began filling the room. In the corner of the room, she spotted her former next-door neighbor and childhood crush. “Is that Adam Phelps over there? I had no idea he was going to be here. I didn’t think I would ever see him again.” Suddenly, the night was looking up.

“Oh, he wasn’t about to miss tonight.”

Grace was too distracted to recognize the cynicism in Melodie’s voice. “I heard he was filming a movie in Spain.” Grace began waving frantically, trying to get Adam’s attention.

“No, he finished that six months ago. For some reason he’s been hanging around here for the last month. You can stop waving, here he comes.”

Grace dropped her hand, pleased to see Adam walk up to their table.

“Grace. I can’t believe it’s been ten years since I last saw you,” he said, reaching down to warmly embrace her. “You look absolutely wonderful. I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you. In fact, I’ve been meaning to call you up and ask you to be in one of my films.”

Grace laughed. Ten years ago, she might have gladly jumped at the chance to follow him to Hollywood. Unfortunately, he hadn’t asked her. To everyone’s surprise, Adam left the day after graduation on route to Hollywood, determined to make a name for himself. He had succeeded beyond everyone’s wildest imaginations. Using his quite considerable inheritance, he had turned a screenplay he had written into a somewhat acclaimed, if not popular, independent movie. He eventually turned that success into another and another.

According to the gossip magazines, he was one of Hollywood’s most sought after directors, as well as one of its most notorious womanizers. With his dark brown curly hair, lopsided grin, and easy manner, he would be hard for any woman to resist. Nevertheless, for some reason, Grace had always been able to resist him. Staring up into his handsome face, she had a hard time remembering why.

“Is your sister here?”

Grace nodded, suddenly remembering why she was able to resist him so easily. It wasn’t difficult, considering Adam had spent all four years of high school lusting after Hope and only Hope.

“Here she comes,” Melodie said, her head nodding to the right. “And here comes Crystal.”

Adam looked over his shoulder and grinned. “Well, this should be fun.”

“Hope! Didn’t you
hear me?” Crystal asked. “I called your name back there.”

Hope’s normally serene face hardened, as she pivoted to face the other woman. “Oh my, Crys, is that you? I had no idea. I would never have recognized you. I didn’t realize ten little years could change someone so much. You look really . . .” Hope’s features twisted into a sneer. “Well, you look so much better than you did.”

Grace sighed. Actually, Crystal hadn't changed at all in the ten years they had last seen her. Her hair was the same shade of bleached-blonde it had been in high school. She still wore the same self-satisfied smirk. The same tight clothing. The same bubble-gum pink fingernails. The same tacky blue eye shadow. It was like going back in time. The only thing missing was the chewing gum she usually had in her mouth.

“Hope, you haven’t changed at all.” Crystal smiled, her eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree. “I just wanted to let you know how sorry I was to hear about your job. I felt so bad when I heard you were fired from Madam Dupis. It is a shame,” she said, clucking her tongue. “But that’s the modeling business for you. You get a few wrinkles, gain a pesky ten pounds—or is it thirty? Oh well, it doesn’t matter. You hide it well—and it’s all over. Life’s just so unfair.” Crystal shook her head in pity.

Hope smirked. “You’re so lucky you’ve never had to worry about such things. I mean, obviously, you can gain as much weight as you want. It’s not like anyone cares what you look like.”

Crystal smirked. If Hope’s comment bothered her, she didn’t show it. “I’m the same size I was in high school.”

Hope scrunched up her face. “I know.”

Crystal drew in a breath before releasing it slowly. “Well, at least you have your education to fall back on. Oh wait, I’d forgotten, you left for Paris after graduation, didn’t you? You know the community college has several great degree programs. I know the Dean of Admissions at OCC. I would be happy to give you a recommendation.”

Hope tossed her long red hair over her shoulder. “That is so sweet of you, but I’d think you’d be so busy what with recovering from your recent divorce. My goodness, my heart just broke for you when I heard. Was it another woman? Now, don’t let it get you down. That’s just the way some men are. Always wanting to trade up. You know, find a younger, prettier, thinner, nicer woman. It’s just awful.”

Grace winced, instinctively knowing how Crystal would respond.

Crystal’s smile grew wider. “Well, I’m sure you’re an expert on that subject, by now.”

Hope stiffened. Grace had to admit, Hope walked right into that one.

“But I’m afraid you’ve been listening to some bad gossip. I’m not getting a divorce. Thomas and I have never been happier. In fact, we are renewing our wedding vows soon. I do hope you can attend. Especially, since you missed our wedding. Don’t worry; I’ll make sure to add you to our invitation list.”

Noticing her sister’s stunned face, Grace forced a smile and said, “I guess congratulations are in order,” briefly wondering what the etiquette actually was on renewals. Do you even issue congratulations?

“Yes,” Hope said, looking over Crystal's shoulder. “Why, there’s the groom. I think I’ll go over and offer my condolences.” Grace quickly put out a restraining hand. The last thing that this party needed was her sister and Tom Lake to make a scene.

Sensing blood in the water, Crystal stepped closer to Hope. “Did you hear, Thomas is the Assistant District Attorney. Assistant District Attorney today and Senator tomorrow. Where’s your husband, Hope? Oh, that’s right. You’ve never been married. Didn’t I hear that you were engaged, though?” Crystal looked up at the ceiling. “Oh wait; no, that’s not right. The last thing I read said he broke it off.” She shook her head sadly. “Pity. So, how many times has it been for you? Five or has it been six engagements, so far?”

Hope flushed angrily. “Just the three, Crystal.”

“Were you able to bring a date, at least?”

“No. I didn’t see any reason to. Now, if you will excuse me,” Hope said, sliding past Crystal and heading straight for Tom.

Before she could get very far, Grace slipped her hand into Hope’s and pulled her in the opposite direction.

“So, do I have your vote for Reunion Queen?” Crystal yelled, as Grace dragged Hope towards the hallway.

“What are you doing? You are not going to talk to Tom, are you?”

“Why not?” Hope asked, digging in her heels and looking back over her shoulder. “We are both adults. I’m sure we can have a pleasant conversation with one another.”

“Hope, I don’t think that is a good idea. Why don’t you just try to enjoy the night?”

Hope sighed in frustration.

“What?”

“I’ve lost him. He’s disappeared,” she said, her eyes scanning the room. “Why don’t you go sit down? I’ll be there in a minute. I’m just going to go to the ladies’ room to freshen up.”

“You’ve been in there since we arrived.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t cause any problems,” Hope promised as she walked away.

Not fully believing her sister, but not knowing what else to do, Grace slowly made her way back to her table.

She was surprised to see it had filled up in her brief absence. Beth was back with her recorder, making sure to capture the momentous event of Grace wading through the crowd on her way to her seat. To Beth’s left, sat her husband Mark who was busy doodling a picture of what looked like a clown eating a bus, on the back of one of the reunion invitations. To Beth’s right, sat Melodie and then Crystal, the former, apparently trying to convince the latter, to behave herself. And just sitting down next to Crystal was her husband Tom, looking like he would rather be anywhere else.

Grace couldn't blame him. He looked absolutely miserable. That should make Hope happy. Grace remembered how handsome he had been in high school. Long, thick, dark hair; green eyes; athletic build. He had been the poster child for tall, dark, and handsome. Now he looked like the poster child for the overworked, alcoholic attorney. He was still handsome, but his appearance was starting to look haggard. His black hair was cropped close to his head and prematurely graying at the temples and his once clear green eyes were bloodshot and sunken in. Life as the Assistant District Attorney was clearly not agreeing with him. Well, that's what happens when you marry Lucifer’s handmaiden, or, as she’s known here on Earth, Crystal Hogan.

Rounding out the rest of the table was Adam Phelps and Grace’s former history professor, Eric Collins.

“Grace, come and sit down, we saved you a seat,” Beth said, using the camera to gesture to the empty chair between Eric and Adam.

Grace sat down and turned to her former teacher. “Hi, Mr. Collins.”

Eric Collins smiled brightly. “You’re out of school now Grace, please call me Eric.”

“Just what are you doing here? Last time I spoke to you, you were planning to retire as soon as we graduated. Something about how we wore you out.”

Eric laughed. “I don’t know. I just couldn’t get away. But this year I’m going to do it. I’m going to finally break free. This year is it. I can feel it.”

“Now, don’t listen to him. He loves it here. Always has.” Grace turned to see Diana Collins walk up to the table and place a hand on her ex-husband’s shoulder. Her ruby wedding ring flashing in the light. Eric smiled as he reached up to pat Diana’s hand.

Realizing her mouth was hanging open Grace snapped it shut. She had never seen the battling Collins in the same room together, at least, not without one of them hurling insults or on one occasion, knives. Granted, they were plastic knives from the cafeteria, but still, the sentiment was there.

Diana squeezed his shoulder. “If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have taken the principal’s job this year.”

Tom stood up. Picking up an empty chair from a neighboring table, he moved his own chair to the side and set the extra chair down next to Crystal.

“It’s so good to see everyone again,” Diana said, moving to the other side of the table. “Grace, it’s so nice seeing you. We have missed you and your sister.”

Crystal gave a less than lady-like snort.

Grace ignored Crystal, smiled, and asked if Diana was still the school nurse, vaguely recalling Diana’s plans to move out east after their senior year.

Diana nodded her head. “I moved back in January, actually. Luckily, my old job became available during the summer,” she said, smiling at Eric. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to be home.” Diana turned to Melodie. Leaning down, she gave Melodie a quick hug. “Sweetie, I’m sorry I couldn’t be here to help, earlier.”

“I was here Aunt Diana. Wasn’t I, Melodie?” Crystal asked, drawing attention back to herself. When Melodie didn’t answer, Crystal addressed the rest of the table, “Wait ‘till you see what I have planned. I want to do a Graduate Retrospective.”

“We're going to have a few fun games to play tonight,” Melodie said, quickly changing the topic.

“Games! I came at the right time, then.” Grace looked over her shoulder to see Steve Mattingly walk up to the table, wearing a checkered jacket, much too long for him and mustard yellow pants, much too short. Still, Grace had to admit, he was dressed better than she had ever seen him.

“Where have you been?” Crystal demanded rudely. “You were supposed to be here an hour ago.”

“Sorry! I was tied up. I'm here now, so just relax.”

“Did you bring your camera?”

“No.” Steve held out the black bag in his hand. “I just carry an empty camera case around for fun.”

“What’d you hire him for?” Adam said, jerking a thumb in Steve’s direction.

“I didn’t hire him,” Crystal said. “He volunteered. Didn’t you, Stevie?”

Steve opened his mouth to answer, but shut it and closed his eyes when Crystal answered for him. “He was happy to volunteer. He’s going to take pictures of all the fun we’re going to have tonight. We have a special web page devoted to the reunion. Isn't that wonderful?” Crystal glanced around the table. No one seemed the slightest bit interested.

Adam snorted. “Terrific.”

“I thought it would be a wonderful idea to have a before and after page. You know, tie it into our yearbook. We would place everyone’s high school picture next to what they look like now.”

“Crystal, we talked about this,” Melodie said in a low tone, clearly embarrassed.

Ignoring her, Crystal continued. “We’re also going to add a biography section. See what everyone has accomplished since graduation and then compare it to what everyone said they were going to do when they were in high school. We’re going to really go into depth. You know, look into why, exactly, they didn’t accomplish everything they thought they were going to do.”

Grace glanced at the other horrified expressions around the table.

“I would have had it already set up, but we ran out of time.” Crystal looked accusingly across the table at Adam. “Don’t worry, I’ll send everyone the link after the reunion.”

Steve smiled. “I personally think that’s a great idea, Crystal. In fact, if you want, I could help you interview everyone.” Steve slapped a hand on Adam’s shoulder, causing the other man to wince. “Let’s start with Adam. I've always wanted to ask you, where do you get your ideas from?”

Adam’s expression darkened. “Thanks Steve, but I wouldn't want to bore everyone. Besides, I think I answered that during my last award speech.” Adam turned around into his seat and faced Steve. “Why don’t we start with you? Tell me, how did your life turn out? Crack that last case, did you?”

“I heard your last movie flopped. How does one recover from such personal failure?”

“I don’t know, you tell me.”

Grace glanced at the people sitting at the table. Their expressions ranged from embarrassment to amusement. Steve and Adam had never been close, but she couldn’t remember such animosity between them before.

“Bite me.”

Eric Collins interrupted. “That’s enough, guys. This is supposed to be fun, remember.”

“That's right,” Crystal said, seizing the spotlight once again. “Thank you, Eric. Melodie has worked very hard on tonight, and I think she deserves some recognition.” Crystal pointed to the left side of the gym. “I want everyone here to pay special attention to the Remembrance slide show. I spent a long time working on it. It's going to include some pictures of classmates that are, unfortunately, no longer with us. Such as my wonderful brother-in-law, Larry . . .” Crystal gently patted Melodie's hand. Grace watched as Melodie slowly pulled her hand away, and laid it in her lap. Without missing a beat, Crystal continued, “as well as, Sam Baxter, Nora Fuller, Sarah Col—”

Steve turned to Grace. “So Grace, what about you? What have you been up to?”

“I was speaking,” Crystal said icily.

“I’m helping, Crystal. You want me to get all the juicy details, don’t you? For your web page, right?”

Not interested in sharing just yet, Grace decided to turn the question back on Steve. “I haven’t heard anything about you, Steve? What have you been up to since graduation?”

Adam leaned forward. “Haven’t you heard? He’s our resident ‘private dick’.”

Sneering Steve said, “No one says that anymore, Hollywood. I’m a licensed private investigator.”

“You’re only a private investigator because you couldn’t pass the entrance exam for the police academy,” Adam countered.