Diva 02 _ Diva Takes the Cake, The (28 page)
Read Diva 02 _ Diva Takes the Cake, The Online
Authors: Krista Davis
Tags: #Winston; Sophie (Fictitious Character), #Mystery & Detective, #Fiction, #Women Sleuths, #General, #Mystery Fiction, #Women Cooks, #Large Type Books, #Cookery, #Mystery, #Divorced Women, #Cooking, #Divorced Women - Crimes Against, #Weddings, #Crimes Against, #Sisters
Phoebe poked her head around the corner. “Where is he?”
“He went to comfort Robert.”
“All clear, Hannah!” Phoebe shouted up the stairs.
Hannah raced down as the phone rang. “You’re sure he’s gone?” When Hannah changed her mind, she didn’t do it halfheartedly. She wore a dress the color of strawberries, bold hoop earrings, but no wedding ring.
Mom strode into the dining room, holding the phone in her hand. “Sophie, Wolf needs to see you. Down at Bernie’s restaurant.”
“Right now?”
Mom nodded, her eyes bright with excitement. “Put on a little eyeliner?”
I didn’t bother with makeup. I grabbed my purse but when I looked for my cell phone, it wasn’t in the charger where it should have been. Swell. Darby must have taken my phone by mistake.
On my way out, I said, “The food’s ready, Mom. You can go ahead and eat.”
She caught my arm. “Good luck, sweetie.”
If she only knew the truth. “I’m sure it’s about the murders. He, uh, I don’t think I’ll be seeing much of him anymore.”
I could hear her saying, “What? Sophie, what happened?” but I fled out the front door.
Although I loved entertaining, this time I would be relieved when everyone went home. It had been a disaster from the beginning.
The walk to Bernie’s place picked up my spirits. Horrible summer humidity hadn’t descended on us yet, and the sun warmed my bare arms. It felt like the first day after school let out—the entire summer stretched ahead of me.
A small crowd waited for tables at the restaurant. I squeezed past them and told the host Wolf was waiting for me. He showed me to a table immediately. But Wolf didn’t seem particularly happy to see me. A half-empty cup of coffee rested in front of him, so I guessed he’d been there awhile. When I sat down, he leaned back and said, “What’s up?”
“I called to let you know that Stan and Emily dated.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Interesting. And?”
And? What did that mean? What did he want me to say? I didn’t think I needed to spell out the implications. Maybe I should clear the air. Maybe he would never want to see me again, but it was better to get it over with. “About yesterday. It wasn’t what it looked like.”
“You called me here for that? I’m working two murders. Until they’re solved, everything else goes on a back burner.”
“You called me.”
“Don’t do this. You just said you called to tell me about Emily and Stan. I hate catty woman games.”
Confused by his reaction, I said, “Gee, sorry. I thought you would want to know.”
“Got anything else that concerns the murders?”
I should have been conciliatory, but his cool demeanor stunned me. “Are you making any progress?”
“Not while I’m sitting here.” He left cash on the table and took off without another word.
I could feel my ears flushing hot and made my way to the front door. I was almost there when an arm wrapped my waist from behind.
THIRTY-TWO
From “THE GOOD LIFE”:Dear Sophie,I cringe and run from the room when the groom removes the garter from the bride’s exposed leg and one of his buddies has to slide it onto the leg of some helpless woman who doesn’t know him. And frankly, I’d like to keep my bouquet and preserve it. Would it be awful of me to skip those two rituals?—Garterless in GarfieldDear Garterless,It’s your wedding. You’re under no obligation to participate in anything that makes you uncomfortable. Besides, there are other fun rituals you can incorporate. Greek brides write the names of single female guests on the bottoms of their shoes. At the end of the night, the name that is most worn will be the next to marry.Another charming alternative is to ask the married couples to stand. Those married less than five years may sit first, followed by those married ten years, and so on until the couple married longest is the only one standing. The newlyweds then reward the couple’s devotion with a gift of flowers.—Sophie
Mars gave me a friendly squeeze. “Frighten another man away?”
I gently jabbed my elbow into his stomach.
“Oof. Don’t be so touchy.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked, as we stepped out onto the sidewalk. “You were at my house when I left.”
“Natasha called and insisted I come down here to pick up chocolate mousse. Is the plural of
mousse mousses
? So many mysteries. I don’t know why Natasha is so fascinated with that Mordecai guy, either.”
mousse mousses
? So many mysteries. I don’t know why Natasha is so fascinated with that Mordecai guy, either.”
“She’s trying to set him up with her mother, you dolt. She said as much yesterday when she caught Wanda and Robert canoodling in my potting shed.”
“Before Stan died, I hope. Well, color me stupid! That explains a lot.”
We turned the corner and headed for home. “Don’t you two ever talk?”
Unfortunately, Wolf hadn’t made it far. He glowered at the sight of Mars and me but wasted no time in asking Mars, “Do you know where Natasha was when Emily was killed?”
Mars blinked. “At work?”
Wolf locked his gaze on Mars in a way that made me want to squirm, but it didn’t appear to faze Mars, who was used to taking on politicians. “You were in a meeting with half a dozen people who confirmed your presence. Bernie’s employees verified that he was at the restaurant, but oddly enough, we have no confirmation of Natasha’s oblique explanation of her whereabouts.”
“Surely you don’t suspect Natasha of strangling Emily?” said Mars.
“I’m just saying we have a lot of peculiar issues that remain unsettled, and Natasha is one of them.” Apparently satisfied that he’d unnerved Mars, Wolf said, “If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
He strode away, and I suspected he’d been all too happy to slam Mars a fastball. “Do you know where Natasha was?”
“No. I didn’t know she’d dodged giving the cops a straight answer, either.”
“Your mousses are probably melting.”
He lifted the box in his hand. “Guess I’d better go home and do a little interrogating of my own.”
We walked in the direction of our homes. Birds chirped and proud parents pushed strollers past us. It was impossible to believe that someone had murdered Emily and Stan in our backyards.
As we passed Mordecai’s house, we saw Natasha and Detective Kenner speaking with him on the front porch. He appeared agitated. Holding Emmaline, he pointed a quivering finger at me. “This is your sister’s fault. I saw her walking right by here the morning she killed that woman.”
I recoiled and Mars stepped in front of me as if to shield me. So Mordecai was the neighbor who’d reported seeing Hannah on the day of Emily’s murder. “Hannah didn’t kill anyone. Even if she did walk by your house, that’s not a crime or proof of a crime.”
Mars whispered, “We should go.” He took my arm and coaxed me around.
Natasha surprised me by squeezing between Mars and me. She hooked her arm into Mars’s and pulled him close as we crossed the street to my house.
As soon as I opened the front door, we heard happy chatter. Daisy, Mochie, and Hermione raced to the foyer to see who had arrived. Jen followed, carrying two leashes. “Gramps and I are going to walk the dogs.” I held the door for them as they left.
I could hear Natasha in the dining room. “Mother! Kevin! What are you doing here?” I joined them and found my family and Hannah’s friends still gathered around the table. Mars was already helping himself to the buffet. Wanda and Kevin exchanged a guilty look, and Wanda spoke slowly, like she was making up an answer as she went. “When you didn’t come right home, we went looking for you.”
“How thoughtful.” Natasha peered at the selection of now cold dishes. “Sophie, couldn’t you cook something special for the wedding breakfast?”
If she didn’t eat barbecue, I suspected hash browns were beneath her, too. “I think there are hash browns, aren’t there, Mom?”
Natasha’s jaw clenched. I enjoyed her quandary a bit too much. Her mother served hash browns every day at the diner where she worked, and I knew Natasha wouldn’t dare insult her by being haughty about them.
“None for me!” Natasha turned on her sweet TV persona. “I’m watching my weight.” She scootched an empty chair over to Kevin and tried to wedge it between him and Phoebe. They grudgingly made room for her.
Mars surprised me by pulling out a chair for me. He hadn’t done that in years. Naturally, that little gesture did not escape my mother. To make matters worse, he set a plate of food in front of me and brought me a mug of coffee.
Natasha’s nostrils flared. Folding a napkin in her hand, she wiped an imaginary crumb from Kevin’s mouth. I thought he might lose his breakfast. Instead he leaped to his feet, his chair scraping across the floor. “Thank you for brunch.”
I couldn’t blame him for wanting to escape, but I’d managed two bites of quiche and wanted nothing in the world more than to sit and enjoy a meal.
Nevertheless, Kevin’s departure signaled an end to brunch, and before I knew it, Mars, Tucker, and I were the only ones left at the table.
A melody played and Tucker clamped his hands over his ears.
Mom stuck her head in the dining room. “What is that? It’s driving me nuts.”
The soft jingle stopped playing as Jen and Dad returned. “Must be Darby’s phone.”
“Do you have Darby’s landline number? She’ll be looking all over for that thing.” Mom brushed imaginary crumbs off her blouse. “I hope you don’t mind if I skip the brunch cleanup. I need to pack if we’re going to leave soon. Jen, honey, can you pack your own bag?”
Hannah emerged from the foyer, worry lines etching her face. “You’re leaving?”
“Well, Hannah, I’m not sure there’s anything more we can do. Craig is leaving for New Jersey, and Sophie will be here with you.”
With an irritated glance at my mom, Dad wrapped an arm around Hannah. “If it would make you feel better, then we’ll stay.”
Mom tapped her fingernail on the buffet. “I could arrange for someone to fill in for me at the hospital volunteer desk, but your father has a Fourth of July parade committee meeting, and Jen would miss the first days of the children’s summer theater group.”
That was my mom. Micromanaging three lives.
“Hannah, we’ll certainly stay if you need us. It’s your decision.” Hannah and I knew the answer when Mom used that tone.
“You should go.” Hannah put on a confident face. “We’ll be fine. Besides, it would be safer for Jen.”
Tucker preened like a mating bird. “I’ll take care of my darling Hannah and drive her home to Berrysville whenever she likes.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
“You needn’t bother trying to seduce me. I know you better than anyone, and I haven’t forgotten the reasons for our divorce.”
At least Hannah wasn’t being sucked in by him.
“Isn’t it time you were on your way, Tucker?” asked Dad. “There must be someone else you could irritate.”
“I am duty bound to the winsome Hannah.”
Dad shuddered. “Given the circumstances, Hannah, perhaps you ought to go back with us today.” Glaring at Tucker, he added, “It would remove you from harm’s way.”
Humphrey shyly sidled up to Hannah. “I can drive you home whenever you’re ready to go.”
Hannah squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “I have a responsibility to Emily and Stan. They came here because of me. I have the week off, and if it’s okay with Sophie, I believe I should stay and do whatever I can to help in the search for their killer.”
“That’s my girl.” Clearly satisfied, Mom went upstairs.
“Be careful.” Dad followed Mom, saying, “Jen, you’d better hustle. You don’t want to keep Gramma waiting.”
Humphrey, the wan ninety-pound weakling, said, “I’ll stay by your side, Hannah. I won’t allow that dreadful man to whisk you away.”
Tucker laughed at him, which produced a beet red flush on Humphrey’s pale jaw.
But Hannah handled them graciously. “You’re both very sweet. We need to put our heads together and figure out what happened. There must be something we’re overlooking.”
I didn’t want to ask Hannah about Mordecai’s accusation, but I had to know. “Mordecai says he saw you walking by his house around the time Emily was murdered.”
Hannah frowned. “I was mad at Craig and got out of the car three blocks away. But I came straight here.”
That sounded like something Hannah would do.
They settled in the sunroom, but while they speculated, I excused myself to phone Darby at home. As I dialed, I wondered if Craig or Robert would bring her cell phone to her. She’d clearly been afraid of Craig. Maybe she wouldn’t want him to come to her home.
An answering machine picked up the call. “This is Donata, you know what to do!”
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