Candy-Coated Secrets (18 page)

“Go away! I’m armed.”

“Summer, why’s the door locked?”

I’d never been so glad to hear my uncle’s voice.

“There’s someone in the house, Uncle Roy. Someone in a gorilla suit. You’ve got to get out. Go for help.”

“I’ll get my gun!” He thundered up the stairs.

I hugged Truly to me. The papers in my blouse crackled. “Well, girl. That wasn’t exactly the yell from God I’d envisioned, but Uncle Roy is better than nothing. And he’s definitely brave.” Please, God, keep him safe.

Within minutes, Uncle Roy returned and pounded on the door. “Open up. There ain’t no one here.”

I placed the dog on the floor and unlocked the door. “Are you sure?” I peered up and down the hall.

“Of course I’m sure. Checked every room. Your new lamp is broke and things are scattered off your dresser, but I didn’t see a single person. I think they climbed out the window.” Uncle Roy’s eyes narrowed. “What’s in your blouse?”

“Papers I need to get to Joe.”

“Couldn’t you think of a better place to carry them? What if the perpetrator decided to go after them? He would’ve mauled you in places that weren’t decent.”

“It’s the best I could do.” I stuffed my hand down my shirt and withdrew the crumpled copies, keeping the originals safe in my cleavage. A manila folder lay on the desktop and I slid them inside. “The phone line must have been cut. The phone’s dead, and my cell phone is in the car.”

“I’ll get your phone and call Joe.” Uncle Roy disappeared, and I stepped to the window.

How had my gorilla friend known I’d be home alone?

Chapter Twenty-One

Joe arrived at the house with his usual scowl. I glanced with urgency at my watch. April expected me to arrive at her house in thirty minutes, curling iron in hand. Hopefully, my cousin wouldn’t lecture long enough to make me late. Without a word, Joe held out a hand.

I handed him the copies. He wiggled his fingers. How’d he know there was more? My gaze switched to Uncle Roy. He lowered his eyes. Traitor.

“You can’t have the original. I’ve got to put them back.” I crossed my arms.

“Summer, you’re withholding evidence.”

“No, I’m not. I gave you the copies.”

“And someone knows you have them. Give them to me.”

“Fine.” I pulled the papers out of my brassiere and wished I’d thought to make two copies. How was I supposed to solve this case without evidence? Joe grimaced. “Oh, stop being a baby. Be glad it isn’t July when they’d be damp with sweat.”

“Lord, take me now.” Joe stuck the original in the folder with the copy. “And have mercy on Ethan when he marries this one.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I planted my fists on my hips.

“Exactly what it sounds like. You’re going to run Ethan ragged with your amateur sleuthing. Not to mention gray hairs like you’re giving me. You’re making me a laughingstock at the precinct. Now, a straight answer, please. Where did you find these?”

“Lacey Love’s trailer.” I held up a hand to stop his protests. “Before you get your dander up, I intended on knocking, but someone drove by and told me to go on in. So I wasn’t trespassing.”

I decided not to tell him I’d been discovered and run off by Grizzly Bob. “Has anyone reported Lacey missing? I’m certain it was her I saw being held against her will in the car last night.”

“You don’t know it was against her will. She’s run off with a man before. And yes, her brother just filed a missing persons report.” Joe brushed a hand across his buzz cut. “So, you waltzed into this woman’s trailer and just happened to come across these papers?”

“Well, no. I nosed through her closet.”

“Summer—”

“If I hadn’t, we wouldn’t have this proof.”

Joe sighed. “Why don’t you go through the academy and get a license? Then you could snoop legally.”

“That’s a good idea.” I hadn’t thought of that. I’d make a good police officer. Then Joe could be the bad cop to my good one. And I’d get to carry a gun, pepper spray, and one of those cool Tasers.

“I was joking. I’d have to transfer for sure.”

“She’s too much of a girlie-girl, and too old,” Uncle Roy piped up. “There ain’t no thirty-year-old rookies.”

There’s my age again. Why does everyone insist thirty is the magical number for life going downhill? I’d always thought it was forty. Or fifty. Maybe I ought to buy myself a cane before my family stuck me in a retirement home.

“Is there anything else? I’ve got to get to April’s.” I lifted the curling iron like Norman Bates brandishing a knife in Psycho.

Joe’s face hardened. “Are you threatening me? With a hair appliance?”

“It’s either the iron or April if you make me late. Which would you prefer?” I lowered my hand and tilted my head.

“Go.” He waved me off. “I’ll talk to you later.”

Free at last, I darted up the stairs, grabbed my purse, then sprinted down and outside to my car. As I drove, I thought about the figures noted on that sheet of paper. One amount had been written in red. Fifty thousand. The amount stolen? Who would benefit the most?

Any of the carnival workers, I supposed. None of them, in all likelihood, made much money. Eddy Foreman wouldn’t steal from something that would eventually be his, would he? Washington came to mind clouded by the image of a much shorter gorilla. Sally’s boyfriend? Grizzly Bob? I shook my head. Another dead end. Everywhere I turned. I might as well be lost in the maze at the fair for all the progress I’d made.

I parked in the alley next to Ethan’s truck. Lost in the cloudy details of the case, I shrieked at a rap on the window. “Ethan. You scared me.”

“Sorry.” He opened the door. “You getting out? April’s pacing the floor waiting on you. You’d think she was entered in the pageant with all the fuss she’s making.”

I slid from the car and planted a kiss on his lips. “All eyes will still be on her. A woman’s got to look her best.”

“You look nice.”

“Thank you.” I ran a hand down the long-sleeved, scoop-necked royal blue dress I’d chosen. “April said as her hairstylist, I couldn’t arrive in jeans.”

“Why not? You aren’t in the pageant.”

Did everyone have to remind me?

Still not having seen April’s gown, I caressed Ethan’s cheek before hurrying inside. April yelled down the stairs that I was late. I checked my watch. Only five minutes. Not bad for me.

She started in as soon as I stepped inside her bedroom. “I want an updo with tiny wisps falling around my face. There’s baby’s breath on the dresser. You can stick that in anywhere.” She peered at me with narrowed eyes. “You can do this, right? Please say you can. It’s too late to go to a stylist.”

How hard could it be? A few curls. A bobby pin here and there. Sure. I could do this. Granted, it’s a long time since high school prom. Confident, I plugged in the iron.

April removed the towel from her damp hair and sat in front of her vanity table. Blond tresses fell to her shoulders. A bit shorter than when we were seniors. Might be harder to pin up. I squirted a generous amount of mousse into my hand.

“That’s a lot, isn’t it?” April’s worried reflection met mine.

“You want it to stay, don’t you?” I worked the white mess through her hair, taking care to coat every strand. “Where’s your gown?”

“In a white garment bag in the closet. Don’t touch it with your messy fingers.”

I eased the zipper down on the bag. Inside hung a gauzy creation in bubble gum pink. I couldn’t help but compare it to Lacey’s trailer. April always had favored that color. “Is it strapless?”

“Spaghetti straps. Long with a short train. I’m queen. I’ve got to look the part.”

At the bottom of the bag lay April’s tiara. A rhinestone-covered crown. With a glance over my shoulder, I plucked it up and placed it on top of my curls. Oh, how I would have loved to possess this jewel.

“Put it back. I’ve just had it cleaned.”

With a sigh, I followed her orders. “When did you get so mean?”

“When you knocked off a stone the last time you played with it. Come on, time is wasting.”

“Relax, April.” My fingers kneaded her shoulders. “You’re so tense.”

“I’m nervous. I’ll be the center of attention.”

“The new queen will be the center of attention.” The green light glowed on the curling iron and I singed my first strand of hair. I plucked the severed piece from the metal barrel, burning my finger. It was in the back. Maybe she wouldn’t notice. I sniffed. A little singed hair but not too bad. I grabbed a bottle of perfume, sprayed a few squirts, then spun the stool and placed myself between my friend and the mirror.

“Now who’s being mean?”

To distract her, I informed April of my discovery in Lacey’s trailer.

“Wow, Summer. You’re getting good at the mystery thing.”

“You think?” Before we knew it, her head was a riot of ringlets. I pulled the curls back, securing them with about a million bobby pins, and set to work with the hair freeze spray. Then, with random abandon, I poked in the baby’s breath. I spun April to face the mirror. “Ta da!”

She bolted to her feet. “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh.” Tears welled.

“You like it?”

“I look like Shirley Temple with weeds growing out of my head. What did you do to me? You’ve ruined me.” She turned to glare. “You did such a good job for the prom.”

“That was 1995. With the dress and the crown, you’ll be gorgeous.” A bit dated, but gorgeous. I darted to the closet, yanked out the gown, and dropped it at her feet. “Sorry.” I lifted it and proceeded to yank it over her head.

“Stop. You’ll make my hair worse. I have to step into the gown.” April removed the dress from my clutches. “What is wrong with you? Oh, I should have known better. Look at your hair.”

“What’s wrong with it?” I surveyed my mane in the mirror.

“Never mind.” April let her robe fall to the floor and stepped into the gown. She was a vision of loveliness. At least in my opinion.

I jammed the crown on her head. “There.”

“Ow!”

“Sorry.” Really, I couldn’t fathom what had gotten into her. She’d never been this grouchy in all the years I’d known her.

“You just wait until your wedding. See what I don’t come up with to wear.”

Thank You, God, that I’m picking out the bridesmaid gowns myself
. Aunt Eunice would sew them from a pattern of my choosing. And they wouldn’t be pink.

Taking her by the hand, I sat her on the edge of the bed. “Girlfriend, there’s more on your mind than this pageant. Spill.”

“You’re right.” She grabbed a tissue from a nearby box and dabbed her eyes. “Joe took me out to dinner last night to an expensive restaurant. Made a big deal of it. I really thought he was going to pop the question.” She looked up at me. “What’s he waiting for?”

“He’s probably scared, the big ninny. How my cousin became a cop is beyond me. He’s frightened of the tiniest things. Don’t cry. You’ll ruin your makeup.” I perched on the bed beside her. “Do you really hate your hair?”

“No. It’s a bit wild, but it’s okay. The crown helps squash it some.” April took a deep shuddering breath. “Let’s go. I can’t be late. My shy boyfriend is playing bodyguard for the pageant entrants. I’ve got to keep an eye on him. An evil-eyed, stay-away look, or those queen wannabes will be all over him. And he’d better be watching me and not acting like a police officer.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell her, I’d already put Joe in a bad mood.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ladies.” Ethan swept his arm toward the alley. “Your chariot awaits. Tonight you’re not short-stuff or Tinkerbell, but queens of royal blood.”

“Oh, Ethan.” April wrapped her brother in a hug. A silver Hummer sat next to Ethan’s truck.

“This is a big deal for you, little sis. I thought you should arrive in style. I’ll be the chauffeur and there’s dinner afterward. Joe said he’d be able to get off early tonight. Once the pageant is over, he’s a free man.”

Did I mention what a wonderful man I was engaged to? Country boys definitely ruled in the romance department. I tossed him a smile.

Ethan held April at arm’s length. “What did you do to your hair?”

“Summer styled it.” April put a hand to her head. “It’s all right, isn’t it?”

“Uh—” He glanced at me. I glared a warning. “Sure. Beautiful.” Before she could question him further, he opened the back door and helped us inside.

Obviously, being the hairstylist of a pageant queen had its perks. The seats were upholstered in the softest leather and hugged our bottoms in luxury. Between us, Ethan had placed a bottle of sparkling cider in a bucket of ice. That man of mine thought of everything.

“Ready?” Ethan slid behind the wheel.

“Ready.” April pulled the bottle from the ice. “Where did you get this vehicle?”