Deadly Reunion (The Taci Andrews Deadly Series) (2 page)

I pulled into the parking lot of a large brown building; the familiar sign engraved with the papers logo peeking up over the top of the roof. Sliding into a parking space I shifted into park, cutting the engine. Reaching over I grabbed my purse off the front seat and slid out of my car, beeping the alarm on after shutting the door.

The news room was buzzing with noise when I stepped off the elevator. Turning right I wove through the desks littering the room, heading towards my office. It was small but private, with a window that overlooked the neighboring building. My boss, Bryce Pierce, liked it because I was far enough away from his office that he couldn’t see any trouble I was getting in to; I liked it because I had a door I could close.

Entering my office I drew up short, surprise evident on my face at the site of Valerie McAllister sitting in front of my desk. She looked as perfect as she had back in high school, annoyingly enough. Her blonde hair dropped to her shoulders in layers, curled under and fluffed up with some fruity smelling spray that wafted through the room. She was wearing an expensive looking white designer suit with matching high heeled pumps. Even her fingernails screamed money with their elegant French manicure. I resisted the urge to curl my fingers into my palms to hide my own chewed on nails.

Nervously Valerie stood, clutching her designer purse tightly in her pristine hands. “Hello Taci, it’s been a long time.”

I acknowledged her with a nod, turning to close the door for some privacy. Motioning towards the chair she had been occupying I seated myself behind the small desk. My office wasn’t much to look at to say the least but it suited me fine. The only pieces of furniture present were the desk, two chairs and a filing cabinet. A few months ago I’d added a potted plant in the corner to make it appear a little more homey. The brown remains still sat where I’d left them.

“Sooo…what brings you by?” I asked, sounding more calmly then I felt.

Valerie’s painted red lips began to quiver and she quickly pulled a tissue out of her purse, promptly bursting into tears. I was taken aback, to say the least. Never in a million years would I have ever expected to be confronted with a situation like this yet here she was, the proud Barbie Doll crying in my office. As the sounds of her sobs grew quieter I had to admit; she was really making it hard to dislike her.

“I’m sorry Taci, it’s just this whole thing with Samantha. I didn’t know who else to turn to,” she finally managed to choke out.

Now that was interesting. Why, of all people, would Valerie be turning to
me
for help? I struggled to come up with something nice to say to be reassuring but struck out. Reassurance wasn’t one of my strong suits. Instead, I replied, “Why would you need my help? I understand the police have already been involved. You should probably check in with them and see what’s going on.”

Valerie shook her head, twisting the tissue tightly in her hands. “They’ve come up with nothing to find Samantha, all their leads have been dead ends and we’re at a loss. There’ve been no ransom demands, no letters, no phone calls, nothing that can send us in the right direction. It’s like she’s just…vanished.”

A shiver ran down my spine. Gut instincts. I’d had them my whole life and they’d gotten me out of more than one scrape in the past. Right now they were kicked into overdrive. “Are you sure she didn’t just take off with a boyfriend or something? She’s what, thirteen? Kids these days do those sorts of things.”

Valerie adamantly shook her head, a horrified expression on her face. “Samantha would
never
do such a thing to her father and I. She knows that sort of behavior is not acceptable in our house.”

Poor Samantha I thought with a grimace. Jason McAllister had been your typical all American star quarter back in high school. He was now a big shot lawyer in Riverdale, his offices located in the downtown business district. I could only imagine the kind of strict rules Samantha McAllister had to live by with a mother like Valerie and a father like Jason. If I were the kid I would have run away too.

“Gee Val, I’d really like to help out but Bryce assigned the investigation case to Richard Owens so it’s really him you should be talking to about this. If you’d like you can drop by his office on your way out, it’s just two doors down from mine,” I told her, glad to be dumping this off on Richard’s lap. Let him deal with the kooky McAllister’s, I had better things to do.

To my chagrin Valerie burst into another round of tears, giving a shake of her head.

“It’s you I need Taci, not some guy I don’t even know. Please, I know you’re good at investigating for the paper and you have a way of finding things out. I’m begging you; please just take a look at my daughter’s case. Something’s not right with this, a mother just knows these things,” she pleaded, her watery eyes holding mine.

I opened then closed my mouth, blowing out a deep sigh. I was going to help her, I could already feel my answer before I said the words. Great, this was
so
not on my to do list this week. Giving a nod I finally replied, “All right, I’ll take a look in to the case but you need to keep this just between the two of us. Bryce is kind of particular when it comes to handing out cases and since he’s already put Richard on it I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. I’ll give you a week to see if I can turn anything up.”

Valerie smiled brilliantly, instantly tucking her tissue back into the confines of her purse. Standing she held out her hand, giving a firm shake of mine to seal the deal. “I’ve left my card on your desk should you need to get in touch. Of course I’d be willing to help in any way that I can. Oh, and did you get your invitation to the reunion? Seating will be limited this year so you’ll need to reply back to me soon.”

Somehow the word sucker came to mind as I glanced down at the white card on my desk. I find it hard to believe that Valerie was anything other than a mother simply worried about her missing child yet somehow a feeling of doubt washed over me. Glancing up I gave her a tight smile, replying, “Yeah sure, I’ll let you know.”

Releasing my hand she gave a wave, replying with a toothy white smile, “Thanks Tacky, I knew you would understand.”

I watched her walk out the door, my teeth grinding.

***

“She actually called you Tacky? I can’t believe the nerve of her, especially after you agreed to help her!” Melanie said in wonder.

I stared at her over the top of my menu, irritation still running high. Tacky Taci had been the nickname given to me in high school by none other than Valerie herself. I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d said it on purpose or if it was from old habit.

“Sorry I’m late, the kids were being crabby. What’d I miss?” Annie breezed in, taking the seat next to mine. In honor of her recent separation Annie had decided to make a change of appearance, cutting off her dark brown hair into a short bob. It was actually pretty cute on her, complimenting the roundness of her full face perfectly. I’m thinking if Bob would have left I’d be doing a bit more celebrating then just a hair cut; like ditching the kids and heading to Vegas.

“Oh nothing much, Taci just had a run in with Barbie Doll and the woman had the nerve to actually call her Tacky,” Melanie said huffily. Melanie never ceased to amaze me. She was all sunshine and laughs when it wasn’t serious, but if you messed with someone close to her she could get riled. Well, as riled as Melanie could muster anyway. One of the top realtor’s in Riverdale it was a rare occasion for Melanie to be seen with anything but a smile on her face. Heaven forbid she should frown and run into a client.

Annie’s mouth dropped open in shock. “No! She actually called you Tacky?! How can you sit there so calmly, I’d be madder then hell.”

I gave a shrug, returning to my menu. The problem was I
was
madder then hell, I just wasn’t going to be childish enough to admit it.

“What’s the point? I’m not going to sink to her level by getting into the name game. It’s just not worth it,” I replied nonchalantly. The waiter came over and we all gave our orders, putting a halt to the conversation.

“That’s pretty grown up of you Tace, I’m impressed,” Melanie remarked when the waiter walked away.

I was impressed too. It wasn’t every day I
didn’t
sink to a childish level. “Maybe I’m turning over a new leaf. Besides, if I’m going to get through the McAllister case then I’m going to have to at least act grown up. I only gave Valerie a week.”

“And the problem is…?” Annie prodded.

I wasn’t sure what the problem was but something was definitely off about this case. One minute Valerie was blubbering like a baby, the next she was chipper and talking about the reunion. Something wasn’t adding up and my spidey senses were tingling. “I’m not sure yet, but when I find it I’ll let you know. So what’s the big news you wanted to tell us?”

Annie got a faraway look on her face. Oh Lord.

“I’ve met someone fabulous,” she said with a sigh.

Melanie gave a sigh, dramatically rolling her eyes. “You and Bob aren’t even divorced yet, how could you possibly have met someone already?”
Annie shrugged, replying, “Well, we haven’t
actually
met yet, I just had a dream about him the other night.”

This drew my attention. “Was he tall dark and handsome, rich beyond belief?”

Annie frowned in concentration. “He was tall, I’d say about five foot eight, with dark hair and dark eyes. Handsome yes, sexy definitely, can’t say about the rich part for sure.”

“Hmm, he sounds yummy to me. Let me know when you meet him so we can take a look at him,” Melanie said with a smile.

The waiter arrived with our food, setting the plates down in front of us. Annie and Melanie dug in right away, chattering in between bites. I stared unfocused at my meal, my thoughts still centered on the McAllister’s. I needed to get a list compiled of Samantha’s friends, family and enemies, all without Richard finding out. Not such a hard feat to accomplish; Richard wasn’t one for the obvious.

“Earth to Taci, come in Taci,” Melanie’s amused voice broke my thoughts.

“Huh?” I responded blankly, having momentarily forgotten where I was.

Melanie sighed. She really hated it when she had to repeat herself. “I said isn’t that Tony Parsons ordering at the bar? I can’t tell for sure at this angle, but…No wait, it
is
Tony. I heard he moved back a few months ago. You should go over and say hello.”

My eyebrows shot up, disbelief on my face. “And why would I want to do that? Tony and I weren’t exactly best buds in school.”

That was an understatement. Tony and I gave our best efforts to make each other’s lives miserable in school, all stemming back to when he looked up my skirt at the Christmas Pageant in third grade. He told everyone about my little pony underwear; I gave him a black eye. In ninth grade I was stupid enough to let him put his hand up my shirt. He proceeded to tell everyone my actual cup size; I gave him another black eye. The feud has raged on since that time with neither side willing to back down. I’m pretty sure I owed him another black eye for something.

I had to admit he was looking pretty good since high school though that was something I’d be keeping to myself. I’d heard he joined the fire department right out of college and had been assigned to the central fire station downtown, accounting for the nice bulge of muscles lining his arms that bulged from under the fireman t-shirt he was wearing. His hair was still as dark brown and shiny as I remembered and I wondered if his cheeks still dimpled when he smiled. However enticing old memories of him may be I think I could pass on a visit with Tony Parsons.

“Because Tony knows Jason McAllister and maybe he can shed some light on the case for you. Jeez, don’t you pay any attention to who knows who in town?” Melanie asked incredulously.

Actually no, I preferred to keep to myself and only write about other peoples lives. Social visits were Melanie’s ball court. “Hmm, I think I’ll pass on that lead. Besides, I’m sure there are plenty of other people I can talk to about the McAllister’s.”

“Oh just get over yourself Taci, it’s not like this is high school. Besides, Tony is
sooo
hot. Maybe I can score a date with him,” Melanie breathed, giving a fluff of her hair before waving her hand frantically through the air. “Yoohoo! Tony! Over here!”

If it was possible for me to sink into the floor I gladly would have done it. Maybe I could escape to the bathroom before he actually saw us. Too late, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I inhaled the musty scent of a man’s cologne from behind me.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the gruesome threesome. Annie, Mel, good to see you,” he said, his deep blue eyes straying down to meet mine. “Taci, looking good.”

I couldn’t help it, my toes curled at the compliment and a suspicious warmth flooded me. Keeping my cool I narrowed my eyes, replying, “Tony, good to see you too.”

He flashed me a grin, the infamous dimples appearing in both cheeks. “Gee Taci, you aren’t just saying that are you? I’d hate to think that you’re still holding a grudge after all these years.”

My cheeks flushed hotly. I was pretty sure some steam escaped my ears. Swallowing the scathing set down that had readily raced to my tongue I gave him my sweetest smile. “Of course not Parsons, I wouldn’t dream of holding any grudges against you after all this time. Besides, it’s not
my
fault that you’re a pervert, I was just an innocent bystander in all of it.”

Tony threw his head back and laughed. The sound sent a thrill down my spine and set my teeth on edge. Damn the man, did he really have to be so cute?

Melanie groaned. “You two haven’t seen each other in what, five years and you are seriously going to go back at it like old times? Do us all a favor will you? Build a bridge and get over it.”

Technically I saw Tony at Riverdale’s annual Spring festival after he’d moved back. Shocked at seeing him I pretended to be interested in the ball toss game to avoid talking to him. He was otherwise occupied by a flashy redhead clinging to his arm. Shocking he didn’t notice me over her big boobs.