Euphoria Lane (5 page)

Jessie read the latest violation letter left in the screen door early that morning. “Since we already received two warning notices, the association will now be fining us fifty dollars a day for not parking in the garage. That’s outrageous!”

“The repairman can’t fix the door until Thursday.” As Andi’s anger brewed, her movements quickened. Batter threatened to fly out of the bowl.

“That’s two days from now.” Jessie opened a can of orange soda and cursed when the spray caught the top of her skimpy cheerleader outfit. Tuesday was Sports Night at the diner. She swiped at the soda dots on her top with the back of her hand. “That’s what, a hundred and fifty dollars in fines?”

“Two hundred dollars. They’ll get me for last night, today, tomorrow,
and
Thursday morning.” Andi glanced at the mail on the dining room table. She couldn’t afford to pay both the fines and her utility bills. The electric bill had to come first. No electricity meant no oven, no oven meant no baking, and no baking meant her blood pressure would skyrocket. Andi sighed. Paying the utilities on time would mean she would be late paying the association fines and she’d be assessed an extra fee. There was no winning.

While Jessie carried her soda into the dining room, Andi focused on her cookies. She haphazardly tossed flour onto the countertop, dumped the cookie batter on top, and reached for the rolling pin. For a moment, she considered borrowing the money from their father. It took only a second to realize he would just remind her how many times he had told her she wasn’t financially secure enough to purchase her own home. Nothing like an “I told you so” to make you feel warm and cheery all over.

She ran the rolling pin rough and fast over the dough, the way a runner might sprint to release pent-up emotions. Her thoughts traveled back to her last conversation with Harry. She still hadn’t told her sister about his threat to force them to move. Jessie had enough on her mind between her undercover case and buying the detective agency.

At times like this, Andi wished she had magical powers. Just enough to shrink Harry and trap him in one of her sugar cookies. The house-shaped one. He’d lean out the dough window, squealing for mercy as she shoved the cookie sheet into the oven. She would never do anything that mean, but the thought made her feel better for about ten seconds.

Marching into the kitchen, Jessie aimed and tossed her soda can into the recycling container. “I’ll pay the fines.”

“No, you won’t!” How had their life turned upside down for the worse in such a short period of time?

“I live here, too. It’s just as much my responsibility as yours.”

“I signed the mortgage papers. I should have carefully read each and every rule before I moved us here.”

“It would have taken less time to read
War and Peace
.” Jessie pinched off a bite of dough. “At least let me pay half.”

“No!” Andi resisted the urge to slam down the rolling pin. “We agreed you were paying for only food and Internet until you had the money to buy Lenny’s Detective Agency. I don’t want Harry stealing one cent of your savings. Anyone with a conscience would understand the garage is broken and give us time to fix it without fining us.”

Jessie and Lenny had worked out a deal where she could pay him directly. Both wanted to keep the banks out of the picture. He preferred a down payment and then monthly installments so he wouldn’t spend the money all at once. She would have that down payment in two months.

Andi remembered how excited she had been when she signed the dotted line on her mortgage agreement. “It’s bad enough that Harry’s destroying
my
dream.” All she’d asked for was a quaint place to call her own in a peaceful neighborhood. A place where she could sit on her quiet patio while sipping her coffee and watching the lilies bloom. A place where the handsome, single sheriff and his son waved hello on their way to the fishing hole. She blinked away the reruns of Mayberry.

Jessie didn’t seem to notice. “We could move, but interest rates are going up. You’d lose money.”

“I’m not moving.” Andi pushed the rolling pin hard over the batter. “This is my home. There has to be a way to stop him.”

“Just don’t break any laws in the process.” Jessie adjusted her halter top, making sure she wasn’t breaking any indecent-exposure laws.

Andi watched her sister nab another pinch of dough. “You’re not supposed to eat raw dough. The uncooked eggs can make you sick.”

“I like to live dangerously.” Jessie left the room for a moment and returned with the shiny, white go-go boots she’d left by the front door.

“Do you think that good-looking old boyfriend of yours could help?” Jessie had spent over an hour the previous night grilling her about Luke.

“I got the impression his hands are tied,” Andi said.

He probably wouldn’t want to help me if he could. He turned his back on me years ago.

“Too bad,” Jessie said, slipping on one boot, then the other. “How about that nurse? From what you told me, it sounds like she would be a good ally.”

“You’re right.” A seed of hope sprouted. “She knows everything that goes on around here.”

“I hate to leave this mess up to you, but I have to go to work.” Jessie patted her on the shoulder the way their father always had when they lived at home.

“I’ll be fine. You concentrate on cleaning up the streets.” Speaking of cleaning, Andi glanced at the overflowing kitchen garbage can. Guilt ate at her. She should throw it out instead of leaving the chore for Jessie, but she still couldn’t shake the memory of Bernice’s dead body in the dumpster.

Luke found Meg in her driveway, unpacking groceries from the back end of her hunter-green SUV. The puppies on yesterday’s scrubs had been replaced with adorable kittens frolicking with yarn.

“Can I help you with that?”

“Depends on what you’re here for.” She eyed him suspiciously.

“I’m here checking on the irrigation and thought you might like a hand—nothing nefarious.”

“In that case, here you go.” Meg dropped a grocery bag into his open arms and scooped up another for herself.

He followed her through her single-car garage, which was lined with bicycles, suitcases, boxes labeled “Christmas,” and a step ladder. Holding the bag close, he entered her condo through the bright, orange kitchen. Puppy and kitten magnets decorated the refrigerator. The room fit her personality. “I noticed you’ve met your new neighbor, Andi.”

“I hear you’re already fining her. You didn’t waste much time.”

He was tired of coming up with diplomatic, professional answers that walked the line between defending himself and keeping blame away from Harry. Instead he chose silence. His company wouldn’t keep the Euphoria account for long if he went around bashing the board president. Luke placed his haul next to Meg’s on the counter and then followed her out to the van for another bag.

Reaching inside the back of the van, he noticed a shadow stretching beside him. His heart skipped a beat. He instinctively knew it was Andi.

“Hey, neighbor!” Meg waved wildly at her new neighbor, who stood on the sidewalk next to the SUV. “What brings you to my end of the prison camp?”

Luke shook his head at her choice of words.

“I’m here to complain.” She sneered at him. “Harry is going to fine me two hundred dollars because my garage door won’t open. I can’t get it fixed until Thursday.”

“Wow! Two hundred dollars. You haven’t even lived here a week yet.” Meg looked Luke over like he was a piece of moldy cheese. “That must be some sort of record.”

Luke knew he had been tried, found guilty, and executed for a crime Harry committed. “I have a few minutes. I can take a look at your garage, if you like.”

“I would rather you tell us how to make Harry stop over enforcing the rules.” She pierced him with her dark-green eyes. “He has no empathy for others. And I know for a fact he has it out for us.”

Luke didn’t correct her. Judging by Harry’s behavior the day they dropped by Andi’s condo, he decided she was right. Proving it was another matter. “The best way to stop Harry is for both of you to run for the board at the next election.”

Andi threw her arms up. “He’s fining me daily. I’ll be bankrupt by then.”

Luke remembered his promise to the cowboy. That morning, he had called the carpet cleaning company and verified the man had never ordered his carpets cleaned. He closed the case and filed it away because no violation had ever existed. He wished he could do that for Andi and all of her neighbors, but they, unlike the cowboy,
had
technically broken the rules.

“Running for the board has been tried—and everyone has failed,” Meg said. “We would need at least five people to run for the board to make a difference, and I don’t know five people brave enough to take on Harry.” Suddenly, a mischievous grin played on her face. “But after our conversation last night, I did some research and came up with a way to fight back.”

Luke suppressed a groan. “Think long and hard before you poke the grizzly bear with a long stick. Your lives here could get a whole lot worse.”

“I doubt that,” Andi said, folding her arms over her chest. “Meg, tell us your idea. Or do you want Luke to leave first?”

He tried not to take the question personally, but failed.

“He can stay. He’ll find out soon anyway.” Meg bounced on her heels. “One second.” She reached into the back seat of her van and removed a compact silver camera. “Once we prove Harry is singling people out for fines, we can sue him.”

“What?” Luke stared at Meg in disbelief. “I see the fines that go out each and every month. There is no one is this community who is immune.”

“I know something you don’t know.” Meg grinned with delight. “There are a few board members who break the rules on a regular basis and
don’t
receive fines.”

He shook his head. “I walk the property weekly, and I have never seen a board member breaking the rules.”

Meg snorted.

“Let me guess,” Andi said, “you walk the property at the same time every week.”

He thought for a moment. “Close to the same time.”

“Except for today,” Meg announced. “You said you were checking on the irrigation.”

“I received a complaint regarding the pond.”

“And now you are going to receive ours.” Meg held up the camera. “Mr. Property Manager, Valerie is breaking the rules as we speak. Follow me.”

Luke’s gut churned with a feeling of impending doom.

Andi smiled like a Cheshire cat. “This is a no-win situation for Harry. He can’t order Luke to take the violation letter out of her file because it will prove he is singling out neighbors. If Harry doesn’t make the violation letter go away, Valerie will chew him up and spit him out.”

“That’s an understatement.” Meg quickened her pace over the sidewalk that ran between the buildings leading from the mailboxes to the pool. “She always gets what she wants, even if it means throwing a tantrum. I’ve heard screech owls make less noise.”

Unleashing Hurricane Valerie would upgrade Tornado Harry to a 5.0 storm level. Luke jogged to catch up. Part of him wanted to urge them to reconsider their plan, but they had every right to prove the board was breaking the rules they, too, were required to follow. Luke blew out an exasperated breath. Maybe he could buy a florist shop after his boss fired him.

“Where are we going?” he asked, afraid of the answer. Being a creature of habit, he surveyed the surrounding area. The grass had been mowed that morning, the bushes pruned the previous week. The landscaping company they hired during winter made a point to live up to their promises.  

“It’s four o’clock,” Meg shot over her shoulder. “Valerie’s giving water aerobics lessons to the older ladies in the pool. They call themselves the Water Guppies.”

“Is she wearing cut-offs or diving into the shallow end?” he asked.

“Even better. Wait till you see this.” Meg kept up the quick pace, and Andi followed close behind.

Luke calmly walked in their wake. His wide stride covered more ground than their smaller ones. He could already see the tall wooden fence intended to keep small children and trespassers away from the pool water.

Meg tiptoed as she grew closer, her face lit with excitement.

Andi glanced his way and shrugged.

Refrains from “Love Will Keep Us Together” grew louder with each yard they covered. The aroma of chlorine and freshly cut grass rose and combined in Luke’s nostrils.

When they reached the corner of the fence surrounding the pool, Meg sat and handed Andi her camera. “Take a look.”

Andi peered through the slits in the fence.

Luke chose an area away from the two junior detectives. While he didn’t approve of their plan, he had no intention of outing them either. Following Andi’s lead, he peered through the slits as well. A group of women with their backs to him jumped up and down in the water. Many wore neon pink bathing suits that drew attention to their aging bodies. The purple flowers on their bathing caps swayed to the music and waves of water splashed over the sides onto the cool decking. The music slowed, and the women bobbed.

Valerie stood in the shallow end, facing them. The string bikini she wore barely contained her figure. “Great job, ladies! It’s time to cool down, but keep moving. Right foot, kick. Take a sip.” With great flare, she brought a crystal glass filled with a red concoction to her lips. She swallowed and continued. “Left foot, kick. Take a sip.”

The other women scrambled for the plastic margarita glasses lining the pool’s edge, just out of reach of the splashing water. They held their drinks high while bouncing back to their exercise area in the center.

They chanted together, “Right foot, kick. Take a sip. Left foot, kick. Take a sip.”

Luke’s jaw dropped.

Since when had water aerobics become a drinking game?

“You have got to be kidding,” Andi whispered.

He found, to his dismay, that Meg and Andi had moved to his side. If Valerie spotted them, Harry would fire him.

“The Water Guppies are drinking strawberry margaritas,” Meg said. “Notice Valerie’s drinking out of crystal, NOT plastic like the rules dictate. Hurry, take a picture before she sees us.”