6 Beach Blanket Barbie (7 page)

Levi looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “You’ve been almost killed more than once and missing the final episode of
American Sensation
was
literally,
” he drew out the word, “the most stressful day of your life?”

“Don’t judge,” I
insisted. “The show is addicting.”

Levi looked at Zak.

“It
is
addicting,” Zak, fantastic boyfriend that he is, totally backed me up.

“How about we meet for breakfast on Tuesday?” I suggested.

“I have to be at work at eight,” Levi reminded me.

“So we can meet at seven.
Rosie’s is close to the high school. We can compare notes and you can still be at work on time.”

“Or,” Ellie offered, I assume in an attempt to keep Levi from totally flipping out, “we could meet before
American Sensation
. The show doesn’t start until eight. I’m off at six, and everyone else is off before that. We can have dinner at the boathouse. I’ll bring food from Ellie’s and we can talk before the show airs.”

“Works for me,” I
said. “As long as everyone is quiet during the broadcast.”

“Yeah, okay. Works for me too,” Levi agreed.

The next morning I called Jeremy and told him that I’d be in late. Then I headed over to Serenity’s yoga studio
. I was glad I’d taken Ellie’s advice and come prepared to take a class; the woman at the desk was a piranha. A teeny, tiny piranha who probably weighed less than I did but had a way about her that made you take a step back when she glared at you. After being informed that Serenity wasn’t to be disturbed by anyone not attending a class, I forked over forty bucks—yes, I said forty bucks—and headed toward the locker room. I changed into a tank top and yoga pants and then went down the hall to the room where the class was to be held. By the time I arrived, it was mostly full, so I laid out my mat in the back, near the door.

Serenity came into the room in a cloud of smoke. I hoped for a moment that the place was on fire and we’d all be required to leave
, but then I noticed the sticks of incense. Serenity greeted the group and began a routine that thankfully began with what seemed to be nothing more than a series of easy poses focusing on warming up and stretching out our muscles. Unfortunately, I’d signed up for an advanced class, and easy poses segued to impossible contortions in a matter of minutes.

I transitioned from something called
Cobra and was preparing to slide into Downward Dog when I felt the muscles in the back of my legs begin to tremble. By the time we worked our way through several other positions and back around to Pigeon Pose, I thought I was going to die. Things went downhill from there. Please understand, I’m in good shape. I run and participate in many athletic activities. The fact that everyone else in the room seemed to be able to twist themselves into a pretzel with no problem while I could barely handle basic, beginner poses was sobering indeed.

By the time Serenity instructed the class to rest in Child’s Pose
, I was pretty sure I was going to vomit. Luckily, I hadn’t eaten breakfast. Once the class was released, I gathered my mat and followed Serenity down the hall and into her office. I collapsed in one of the chairs provided for visitors.

“Water.”

Serenity offered me a bottle, which I gratefully accepted. I drank half of it in one long gulp. Serenity was tall and lean, with graceful limbs and long blond hair she’d braided down her back. Next to her, I felt like a duck in a pond full of swans.

“I didn’t realized you were interested in
yoga,” Serenity began when I came up for air.

“Oh
, yeah,” I gasped. “I do it all the time. Big, big fan.”

“I see.” The doubt on her face was evident. “What can I help you with?”

“Actually, I wanted to ask you about Barbie.”

“What about Barbie?”

“I guess you heard she drowned.”

“Yes
.” Serenity paused. I noticed a small tear forming in the corner of her eye. She looked up toward the ceiling, I assumed in an attempt to get her emotions under control, and not to check for cobwebs. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then lowered her head and looked at me. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m having a harder time with this than I realized.”

“
I know the two of you were close before she left.”

“Barbie and I were never really all that close
, but we did share a common passion. I enjoyed our time together at the studio.”

“I guess you must have been pretty mad when she left so abruptly.”

“Mad?” Serenity stared at me. “I wouldn’t say I was mad. I was sad that she chose to leave, but I understood why. Barbie had a certain reputation with men. Most thought her somewhat heartless. And perhaps she was. But there’s one thing I know for certain, and that is that she loved your friend. She was devastated when he broke things off.”

“Really?” I have to admit I wasn’t expecting that.

Serenity drew her legs up onto the chair she was sitting on and folded them under her thin body. “Barbie had a way about her that was off-putting to most women, but I can assure you she had the capacity for deep emotional bonds.”

“Did you stay in contact with her after she left
town?”

“For a while,” Serenity answered.
She tucked a stray lock of long blond hair behind her ear before she went on. “I noticed a change in her after she’d been away several weeks. I hated to cut off ties with her, but after much consideration, I accepted that her energy was no longer a complement to my own.”

“What kind of a change?” I asked.

Serenity leaned back and closed her eyes. She looked so comfortable, despite the fact that her legs were still folded in an impossible fashion. For a moment I thought she’d gone to sleep, and then she began to speak. “Barbie never had been one to overshare, but I noticed that the longer she was away, the more guarded and secretive she became. She’d never been very good at lying—she was the type to tell things like they were, even if her comments hurt someone else’s feelings—and yet I could tell she was lying about many of the things we discussed. I never knew why exactly, but I assumed it had to do with the fact that she’d begun spending time with people who brought negative energy into her world.”

“Did she say anything specific about th
ose people?” I asked.

Serenity shrugged. “Not really. She mentioned that her friends had an idea
that would make them all a lot of money, and perhaps when she got her share, she’d open a studio of her own. Her disinclination to offer specifics, as well as the guarded tone in her voice, led me to believe that whatever it was she was into wasn’t entirely legal. I cut off contact with her shortly after that.”

“Did she mention anything about antiques?”

“Antiques?” Serenity frowned. “No, I can’t say that she did. Why do you ask?”

“No reason. I’m just trying to pull together some random pieces of information I’ve come across.
Although Levi broke up with Barbie and apparently broke her heart, he did care for her. I’m trying to help figure out who might have wanted to hurt her. Can you think of anything that might help us narrow things down?”

Serenity stared out
of the window as she appeared to be considering my question. It was a beautiful day, but as I watched the second hand on the old wall clock begin its fourth revolution, the silence between us made me want to jump out of my chair. Serenity, on the other hand, seemed quite content to sit quietly as the minutes ticked away. I suppose the ability to sit in complete silence and feel comfort in that silence is something that speaks of emotional control and being in the moment. I, on the other hand, have never been known for my emotional control.

“There is one thing,” she finally s
aid. “Barbie mentioned that she’d met a man. She said he was a total babe and they had a lot of fun together, but I got a weird vibe.”

“Weird how?”

“I don’t know. Just weird.”

“Do you remember a
name?”

“No,” Serenity answered. “I’m pretty sure Barbie never mentioned it.”

“And do you remember when you had this conversation?”

“I guess about two months ago.”

“Okay; thank you for your time.” I got up to leave and started toward the door. “Oh, by the way . . .” I turned. “What can you tell me about Barbie’s relationship with Phillip Hayes?”

Serenity laughed. “I’d say that any relationship that existed
between Barbie and Phillip is wishful thinking on Phillip’s part. Barbie had a type and he isn’t it.”

“I’d heard rumors.”

“Most likely started by Phillip. Trust me, there was nothing going on between the two, other than a little harmless flirting when Phillip delivered the water. Barbie had this way about her. She used to love to get guys worked up and then shut them down. In my opinion, it was cruel, but I guess most guys realized Barbie was out of their league and let it go.”

After I showered and changed into my street clothes, I headed home to pick up Charlie before going to the Zoo. Now that Jeremy had Morgan to care for and I’d started to travel more often with Zak, we’d turned more responsibility over to our new full-time employee, twenty-three-year-old Tiffany Middleton. Tiffany was mature, energetic, friendly, and quickly becoming a favorite among the town’s residents.

“Hey
, Tiff,” I greeted her as Charlie and I strolled in through the front door. “Jeremy around?”

“
He responded to an aggressive-dog call. He should be back anytime. How was your yoga class?”

“Torture.”

Tiffany laughed. “Serenity can be tough. I’ve taken a few of her classes. I could barely walk after the first one.”

“Tell me about it. I seriously doubted my ability to get up off the floor after the class was finished.
Did the family who applied to adopt Shep show up?”

“Yeah, they came in first thing. I think they’ll be a good match. Shep is such a mellow dog
, and they have two small children to consider. They said they might know of a family for Polly as well.” Tiffany’s brown eyes lit up as she spoke.

“I hope it’s not a family with small kids.”
Polly was a very active lab who was sweet but needed a living situation where she could expend some of her energy in a constructive way.

“No, they said they had in mind a middle
-aged couple who are suffering from empty nest syndrome now that their youngest has gone off to college. The man is a runner and woman likes to mountain bike.”

“Sounds promising
.”

“They took an application with them and planned to speak to the c
ouple within the next few days. Oh, by the way, Jeremy told me to let you know that the four dogs we’re expecting from Bryton Lake should be here later this afternoon.”

“D
o we have pens ready?” I glanced toward the hallway that led to the domestic animal cages.

“Bobby got them ready yesterday.
”

“It seems like B
obby is really working out. He has a knack for anticipating what needs to be done before we even ask him to do it.”

“Yeah, Bobby is great,” Tiffany agreed. “Did he tell you that his parents are going to match what he saves toward a new car? He thinks he might be able to afford something by the end of the month.”

“That’s awesome. I bet he’s really excited. Has he started looking around yet?
”

“Yeah. Most of the cars he’
s interested in are out of his price range, but I’m sure he’ll find something just for getting around.”

“I remember my first car
.” I thought back to that wonderful moment nine years ago when I laid down my hard-earned cash and bought a beat-up old Mustang. “It was a total clunker, but I was so excited to have my own wheels. Of course, it broke down more often than it ran, but it was mine and I loved it.”

“My first car was a huge
, four-door sedan my grandparents gave me when they got a new car,” Tiffany shared. “I could never afford to drive it since it only got around five miles to the gallon, but it looked good sitting in front of the house. When I looked for the car I have now, I decided to get an economy model that gets good mileage.”

I laughed. “My Mustang wasn’t all that big
, but it did seem to guzzle a lot of gas. I, however, didn’t learn my lesson in terms of expense; my truck gets even fewer miles to the gallon.”

“Yeah, but it’s perfect for doing what you do. If we were dependent on my little car
, we’d never have been able to transport Goliath yesterday.”

“
True. Did Gunner say how he did last night?” Goliath is a mountain lion that was found by hikers. He’d been shot and was in bad shape, but Scott Walden seemed to think he’d recover. Thanks to my four-wheel drive and high ground clearance, I was able to drive off-road to the spot where the forest service had tracked him down and tranquilized him.

“Gunner
left before I got here,” Tiffany informed me. “I checked on him this morning and he seems to be doing better. I talked to Scott yesterday and he thinks he’ll make a full recovery.”

“Yeah, I talked to Scott as well. He really is a beautiful animal.
”

“Scott
’s a really good vet,” Tiffany observed.

“Yeah, he knows his stuff
.”

“Do you know if he’s involved?” Tiffany asked.

“Involved?”

“With a woman
. Does he have a wife or a girlfriend?”

“Not that I know of. You interested?”

Tiffany blushed. “Maybe. We seem to have a lot in common.”

“So ask him out,” I suggested.

“You think I should?” Tiffany seemed uncertain.

I shrugged. “Sure, why not
? The worst that can happen is that he’ll say no. Keep it light. Suggest a movie, or maybe dinner.”

“Okay, maybe I will.”

I stopped into my office to check my messages and then headed down the hall, where I ran into Jeremy.

“It looks like we have ourselves a bite
r.” Jeremy was leading a lab mix on a leash.