Engaged in Murder (Perfect Proposals Mystery) (17 page)

Laura’s head snapped back as if I had slapped her. “What? What gave you that idea?”

“I saw you kissing good-bye. Aren’t you both married to other people?”

“I’m not having an affair with Daniel,” she protested and put her hand on her chest, flashing her wedding ring. “I’m married.”

“So is he, but I saw you kissing,” I pointed out. “And I know that you both had motive to get rid of Randy. All told, that seems pretty suspicious to me, Laura, I’m not going to lie.” I put my hands on my hips.

“What’s suspicious?” Laura glanced around. “Wait! Are you thinking we had something to do with Randy’s murder?”

“You and Daniel have pretty tight alibis. Too tight, if you ask me. Most people don’t know where they were at any exact time of day, let alone ensuring they were with someone,” I said. “Most are like Warren; they go about their day not worried about alibis. And I know that Warren Evans didn’t do it.”

“How do you know? Are you Warren’s alibi?” she asked, drawing her brows together in a frown.

“No,” I said. “I know Warren and he wouldn’t kill anyone. I need to prove that for my sister’s sake. It makes a difference to Warren’s case if you two are having an affair and plotting alibies. Don’t you think that’s the tiniest bit suspicious?”

She took me by the arm and drew me toward her house. “Please come inside. I don’t want to talk about this where my neighbors can hear.”

I followed her into the home.

“Can I get you something to drink?”

“Sure,” I said.

“Ice tea okay?”

“That would be wonderful.” She left toward what I assumed was the kitchen. The inside of the brick row house was warmly decorated with tan paint on the walls and blue accent colors. It had been remodeled recently, and white crown molding gave the room a rich look. There were several pieces of art including original oil paintings.

“Wow, these are beautiful,” I said as I stared at the pictures. “They look like originals.”

“Yes, Frank loves his art.” She set a tray of ice tea glasses, sugar, and a bowl of lemon wedges down on the dark cherry coffee table. “My husband does very well for himself.”

“But he’s gone a great deal, isn’t he?” I added a slice of lemon to my tea.

“I want you to know that Daniel and I are good friends,” Laura said. “But we would never alibi each other. I can’t afford to lie and have my husband find out.”

“Why is that?”

She sat up with concern on her face. “Frank would divorce me in a second.” She looked down at her hands in embarrassment. “You see, I have a gambling addiction.”

“Wait, what?” I leaned forward. “I thought Randy had a gambling addiction.”

“I don’t know if Randy had an addiction or not.” She shrugged and sipped her tea. “But I do know that I have a problem. I’ve driven my family to the brink of bankruptcy twice. It got really bad. I kept lying about it until the bank calls and the credit reports couldn’t be hidden. Both times, Frank managed to bail us out.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “If he even suspects I’m lying about something, I’m gone.”

“And Daniel?”

“We’re friends,” she insisted.

I sipped my tea. “How many people know about your money problems?”

“Only a few.” She leaned back. “Why?”

“It would make it very easy to blackmail you,” I pointed out. I searched her face for any telltale sign of distress. I noted that her left eye ticked a bit, but her expression seemed frozen. In a second she smiled brightly . . . too brightly.

“Oh, no one would blackmail me. I work with the best people.” She laughed but it held a fake tone. “Imagine anyone trying to blackmail me. They all know I have no money. I’m working two jobs for goodness’ sake.”

I leaned back and tried to hide my frown. “Of course, of course, everyone knows you have no money. I do have one last question . . .”

“All right, I’m an open book.”

“Who was in the back of the plane?”

“Excuse me?”

“I want to prove Warren didn’t do it. The only way to prove it to the police is to be able to point out who was in the hangar at the time of the murder. I saw you talking to someone that day. I’m thinking they were behind the authorized-personnel door. Do you remember who that was?”

She frowned in thought. “As far as I know, there was no one behind that door. Are you sure you remember me talking to someone?”

“I’m pretty sure . . . but I suppose I could be mistaken.”

“Maybe you’re thinking of when I put the luggage near the compartment. Daniel loaded it on the plane, not me.”

“And you don’t remember talking to anyone near there?”

“Oh, gosh, no. I don’t remember even seeing anyone back there. But I’ll let you know the minute I think of it. Is that okay?”

“Thanks, you’ve been a big help.”

“Well, I’m certainly glad you followed me home and we got this straightened out,” Laura said a bit too cheerily. “I would hate to have you following clues that simply aren’t there. It would be like a dog chasing her tail. Don’t you think?”

“I suppose.” I blew out a long sigh. “I’m positive Warren is being framed.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” She wiggled back into her couch. “They have to be pretty certain before they arrest someone. Especially someone as socially connected as Warren Evans.”

“Mistakes happen all the time.” I looked her in the eye and put my glass down. “Someone framed Warren. They want to throw the cops off their trail and they’re using Warren to do it. I intend to find out who that is and get the detectives back on the right track and away from Warren.”

“Good luck with that,” Laura said. “And good luck with your new business.”

“Thanks.” I stood and handed her one of my business cards. “If you know anyone who wants a special event for their engagement, please pass my card on to them. Especially if they want a plane event. That way I can drum up extra work for you and Daniel.”

She rose and took my card. “Thanks, I will.” We walked to the door. “Can I give you a word of advice?”

I turned in the door frame. “Sure.”

“Let the police investigate Randy’s murder. The system is pretty good, you know. If Warren is innocent, then he’ll be fine. If not, then the right person has already been arrested and Randy is avenged.”

I said nothing but smiled at her and went back to my car. It was warm inside old blue and I noted that Laura watched me like a hawk. Time to go. I’d think things through later.

I pulled away from the curb and gave her a little wave. She waved back, but stayed at her door. I turned back onto the highway.

Her explanation made sense . . . so why did I still think she was hiding something?

Maybe it was her poor acting skills. Or maybe I was really barking up the wrong tree. There was one way to find out for sure—talk to Daniel. I could usually tell when a man was lying—well, except for Bobby. It was a family trait that my mother had passed down to me.

It was why Warren’s lie of omission bothered me so much. I should have known right away.

I wove through traffic. Maybe my sense of right and wrong was messed up, or maybe, just maybe, there was more going on at that little airport than I had ever imagined.

“Bobby, what are you doing here?” I stepped up to find him hanging around my apartment door. He loomed large in the antique white-painted hallway.

“Hi, Pepper.” He straightened. “How have you been?”

“I’m fine. What do you want?” I had my keys in my hand but didn’t want to open my door. I didn’t want Bobby back in my apartment ever. It’s not that I was angry with him. It was simply that we had been together so long it would be easy to fall back into the habit of having him in my life.

After seeing how happy Felicity was with Warren, I didn’t want to settle for habit. I wanted a real relationship with a man who cared about me. A man who listened to me. A man who wanted to help me. A man who would go to the ends of the earth to make me happy.

Looking at Bobby, I knew he was not that man. He’d had years to prove otherwise.

“I miss you, Pepper,” he said and shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. He wore a jacket with a dark T-shirt under it.

“Oh, I don’t think it’s me you miss, Bobby,” I said softly. “I think it’s the habit of having me around.”

“You’re wrong,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry I smarted off the other night. I should have given you a real proposal . . . like that Warren guy did.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered.” I put my hand on his biceps. “We aren’t in love.”

“How can you say that?” he asked, his brown eyes sad as a puppy. I bit the inside of my check to keep from falling for his sadness. “We spent years together. You are my one true love.”

“No, Bobby.” I crossed my arms. “I’m your first date, not your true love. It’s a habit is all. Why don’t you go out and meet another girl. One whom you are crazy about.”

“That’s just it. I’m crazy about you, Pepper.” He took my hand in both of his. “What can I do to prove it to you?”

“Too late. If you were truly crazy about me, you wouldn’t have been cheating on me with Cindy Anderson. Men in love do not cheat.”

“She didn’t mean anything to me.”

I tilted my head and looked at him closely. “Bobby, there simply aren’t any fireworks between us. Do you even remember what I was talking about before you said, and I quote, ‘I suppose this means you expect me to propose to you’?”

He winced at his own words. “Listen, I was drunk.”

“That’s not exactly a good thing, is it?” I frowned. “You get drunk a lot, Bobby. It makes you so unhappy.”

“I am unhappy.” He shrugged. “I’m miserable without you in my life.”

“You were miserable with me in your life. Go home, Bobby,” I said. “Take care of yourself. Figure out what makes you happy and then go get it.” I patted his arm. “See you around.”

I unlocked my door and closed it quickly behind me, making sure to lock the dead bolt. I stepped away from the door and the image of him moping in front of it. This was best, I told myself. I’d wasted years of my life hoping he’d love me. If we were truly right for each other, I’d know it by now.

When I said “love,” I meant real love. The kind of love I’d seen between Keith and Amy, and Felicity and Warren. The kind of love my parents had. The kind where if they spent one day apart, they were miserable.

Bobby and I had been broken up two weeks now, and besides having to remember not to say “I love you” when I said good-bye, there really wasn’t anything I missed.

I went to the stove and turned on the tea kettle. I took out a porcelain mug and one of my favorite herbal teas. I had a lot to think about. Bobby was, for once, the least important on my list.

*   *   *

“Hi, Gage.” I stopped by the prop house to look at new furnishings and try to drum up ideas for Mike’s proposal.

“Hey, Pepper.” Gage’s face lit up. “Good to see you.”

“It’s nice to see you as well. Listen, I want to thank you for helping make Keith’s proposal so great.”

“It’s not a problem, really.” Gage stepped up close. I could smell his cologne on his warm skin. He wore a blue dress shirt with the collar open and the sleeves rolled up. Even though he had a warehouse and rows of dusty props, Gage always dressed like a professional. His pants were pressed and his shoes clean. His pretty blue eyes sparkled.

“Listen, this time I need some things for this guy named Mike Moorehouse and his girlfriend, Juliet.”

“No problem.” Gage smiled. “What kind of things?”

“This one has an Eastern theme. They recently took a trip to China. She fell in love with the décor while he fell in love with her.” I put my hands around Gage’s arm and walked toward the warehouse door. “He wants an opulent and over-the-top proposal. Best of all, Mike has a budget of twenty-five thousand dollars. So I need your best props and I will pay your best prices.”

“Ah, Pepper, you know I’d loan them to you for free.”

“Gage, you are in the prop business and I have a customer who can pay. Let’s see what you have.”

“Okay, come on to the back.” He drew me toward the far left corner of the warehouse. “These are things from a movie that was filmed downtown a few years ago. What’s your venue?”

“I’m renting the top deck of the Willis Tower,” I said. “Mike wants them to literally be on top of the world.”

“Cool,” Gage said. “Let me show you a few things. You pick out what you like and I’ll have my guys deliver, set up, and tear down.”

The warehouse was nearly a block long and two stories high. The floor was concrete and there were rows and rows of wide, sturdy shelves crammed with everything from a giant stuffed bear to dining room sets to chairs and dishes. It was a decorator’s dream. Most of the things were used only a few times and then stored for years.

The building echoed with the beeps of a forklift and rattled in the wind. It smelled of concrete, dust, and old fabric.

In the back corner were three sets of wide shelves with wood platforms and steel legs. They were filled with assorted bits of pottery and chandeliers and bling.

“Let’s dig through these and see if you like anything.”

“You are the best,” I said and admired his bottom while he climbed a stepladder to the second and third shelves.

He handed down three four-foot-tall vases made of the finest porcelain and hand painted with romantic Chinese scenes such as a boat on a lake and cherry blossoms.

“What else do you have?” I asked.

“Working on it.” He popped his head over the top of the shelf. “I’ve got a komodo dragon with gold-trimmed toenails.”

“It sounds awesome. Hand it down.”

We spent two hours together combing the warehouse for pieces to go in the ballroom at the top of the Willis Tower. I eventually picked out the best pieces to be set aside and took photos of them with my phone. Later I would download the photos along with the dimensions and place them inside the computer 3-D picture. Once I was happy with the design, I’d send pictures of the entire space to Mike for his final approval.

“Have you heard from Bobby lately?” Gage asked as I snapped pictures.

“Yeah, he showed up at my door yesterday,” I said as I moved around the pieces to change angles. “He thinks he misses me.”

“Do you miss him?” Gage asked.

“You know . . .” I winced, put my arms down, and turned toward Gage. “I don’t miss him.” I blew out a long breath. “That sounds horrible, doesn’t it? Don’t get me wrong . . . I miss the idea of him, but frankly, Gage, I don’t miss Bobby. I know you are his best friend, but—”

He put his hand up to stop me. “Don’t ever feel as if you can’t tell me something, Pepper,” Gage said. “Yes, Bobby’s my best friend, and I know you two broke up . . .”

“You were there,” I said. “Wasn’t that the most awful thing ever?”

He shook his head. “I don’t blame you one bit. I don’t want you to ever feel as if you need to spare me because Bobby and I are friends. I know what a jerk he can be sometimes. I was surprised you stayed with him as long as you did.”

I sent him a wry smile. “I guess I kept hoping that the high school football star would fall in love with me. I can see now that simply because I wanted it doesn’t mean it would happen.”

“Are you still in love with him?” Gage’s tone went soft. “The high school football star?”

“Oh, gosh no,” I said and shook my head. “That’s the thing. I think I was more in love with the idea of having a quarterback for a boyfriend than I was in love with Bobby.”

Gage was quiet for a moment.

I took two more pictures. “How’s it going with Emma?” I asked and tried not to look at Gage. “Did you get back together?”

“No.” His tone was brisk. “I never wanted to get back together with her. You see, unlike Bobby, I knew I didn’t love her.”

“Oh.” I turned toward him slowly. “So you’re single like me.”

“Yes.” He nodded and shoved his hands in his back pockets. “I’m single, like you.”

“Funny how things work out, isn’t it?” I stood frozen to the spot. My phone dangled from my fingertips.

“Yes, it is.” He took a step toward me.

“Is it hard for you to work with me since you are Bobby’s best friend?”

He drew his brows together and his mouth tightened. “What do you mean?”

I shrugged. “Girls don’t date their friend’s exes. It’s like an unwritten rule. In fact, a real friend will bad-mouth him more than I do.” I tilted my head. “Don’t guys do that? Or are you still friends with me so that Bobby can keep tabs?”

Gage laughed; it was a loud and hardy sound. “Men do not worry about that kind of thing . . .” He grew sober. “Well, at least I don’t. Listen, Pepper, I’ve known you since grade school. You broke up with Bobby, not me. I would never snub you because of your choice to date or not date Bobby.”

“That’s a relief.” I blew my bangs out of my face. “I know that I would miss you.”

That was about the biggest hint I was ready to give the guy.

His smile grew and he took another step toward me. “I would never abandon you, Pepper. You can’t get rid of me as easy as Bobby.”

“Oh,” I said and stared up into his beautiful gaze. He caressed my arms with his thumbs, sending a shiver up my spine. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” He dipped his head and kissed me. I was thrilled to discover that Gage was as good a kisser as he was a friend. I put my arms around his neck and stepped in closer. He smelled of cologne with a hint of hard work under his starched shirt.

I leaned in to the kiss and felt the excitement clear down to my toes.

He pulled away just about the time I was ready to go deeper.

“What?” I asked, trying to hide my disappointment.

“I’m not sorry I kissed you.”

“Oh, well, neither am I.” I took a step back. “But there’s still the problem of Bobby.”

“What about him?” Gage asked. “You broke up with him, right?”

“Right,” I said seriously. “But I don’t want to cause you to lose your best friend.”

“Don’t worry, Pepper.” He brushed the hair out of my eyes. “I’m a big guy capable of making my own decisions.”