Morning Cup of Murder (18 page)

Tosh finished the call and sat down beside her, settling his arm comfortingly over her shoulders. They sat together in silence until the front door slammed.

“Lacy?” Jason didn’t wait for an answer before bounding down the hallway to find her. He stopped short in the doorway and frowned. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said.

Tosh removed his arm. Jason came forward and sat on Lacy’s other side. “What time did you leave this morning?”

“A little before seven,” she answered.

“And have you been back here before now?”

She shook her head. “I just got home.”

Jason checked his watch and she looked at the clock on her bedside. It was almost one.

“Did they take anything?” he asked.

“No. I think they were looking for these, and I had them with me.” She pointed to the journals.

Jason released a sigh of frustration. “Who else knows you have these? Besides him.” He glanced sharply at Tosh who frowned in return.

“No one. I haven’t told anyone. There’s no one else to…” She broke off, staring thoughtfully at the journals. “I was reading them at the coffee shop this morning.”

“Who saw you?” Tosh asked the question and Jason shot him a quelling glare.

“Just the regulars and no one under the age of seventy.”

“Who specifically?” Jason asked. “Anyone you know?”

“My grandmother’s group of friends came to talk to me, and so did Mr. Middleton.”

“Please don’t tell me you think there’s an elderly crime circuit in this town,” Tosh said derisively to Jason.

“At this point I think it’s better if I don’t tell you what I think,” Jason said.

“What should I do next?” Lacy interrupted before things could get more tense between the two men.

“First I think you should get rid of those journals,” Jason said.

“I can’t do that,” Lacy said.

“That’s pretty much what I thought you would say,” Jason said. “At the very least we need to fill out a report.” He pulled out a clipboard, form, and pen and began writing, asking her questions and writing down her answers.

“I should make myself useful,” Tosh said. He stood and began straightening Lacy’s room, shuffling papers and putting drawers back in the dresser. “Um, what should I do with these?” His shocked, amused tone caused Lacy and Jason to look up. A pair of delicate black panties dangled from his fingertip.

“Tosh,” Lacy exclaimed.

Tosh gave her a mischievous smile. “I guess I see why your name is Lacy.”

“What are you…Put those down. You can’t touch her underwear,” Jason blustered. “What kind of pastor are you?”

“The male kind,” Tosh said. He tossed the underpants on a pile of other clothes. “Maybe I should go tidy up in the living room.”

“Who is that guy?” Jason asked when Tosh left the room. “Where did he come from?”

“
Chicago
,” Lacy said.

“No, I mean, don’t you find it strange that he shows up here now?”

“Now when the church is in need of a pastor? Yes, the coincidence is chilling.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it. How much do we really know about him? Tell me this: Did you tell him you were going to search the murder house on the night you were attacked?”

“Yes,” Lacy said.

Jason’s eyebrow rose as if to say “See, I told you.”

“Jason, Tosh did not attack me that night, and he didn’t ransack my room today.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’ve been with him all day, and because he could have looked at the journals at any time. All he would have to do is ask and I would give them to him.”

“Why?” Jason said, growing more agitated by the second. “You met him three days ago, Lacy. Why is he suddenly your new best friend? Why are you so comfortable with him? Why do you trust him so much?”

“I don’t know,” Lacy said. “I just do.”

“That’s really annoying,” Jason said. He stuffed the report back into his binder and zipped it closed.

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

“I’ve been busting my hump for the past month just trying to get you to look at me, and you’re as closed up as a sick clam. Then this guy waltzes into town and you’re suddenly pouring out your life story to his waiting ears. Please tell me why you trust a stranger you met three days ago instead of a guy you’ve known since you were five.”

“I guess because if Tosh and I had grown up together, we probably always would have been friends. He would have been in the band with me.” Tosh was cute, but not so much that he was intimidating. He was tall and slightly gawky, like a puppy who hadn’t quite grown into his paws yet; certainly he lacked the graceful and powerful build of a natural athlete like Jason.

Jason stared at her unblinking, anger flashing in his eyes. “You’re telling me that the reason you and this guy are attached at the hip is because ten years ago you might have been in band together?”

“Well, yes,” she said. She folded her hands demurely in her lap.

“That makes no sense to me.”

“Of course it doesn’t, Jason. You never would have been in the band.”

He reached out and pressed his palm to her forehead. “Are you having some sort of delayed shock reaction? Your pupils aren’t blown, but I could call a squad if you think you might need one.”

Impatiently, she batted his hand away. “You can’t understand because you’ve always been one of the chosen ones.”

“Chosen ones? Is he trying to recruit you into a cult? Is that what this is about?”

She put her hands on his shoulders and shook him slightly. “You’re not listening to me. You were the king of our school. You had no idea what it was like to hope that you were at least in the middle of the social ladder. There’s a certain simpatico among outcasts and geeks.”

He mimicked her pose, resting his hands on her shoulders. “Lacy, high school was over a long, long time ago.”

“For you, maybe.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

How could she explain to him that there was a part of her that would always feel like the chubby girl with braces and glasses? Though she had eschewed social status in high school, always pretending she couldn’t have cared less, she did care. Rejection had not only stung, it had scarred. Always in the back of her mind she found herself categorizing everyone she met into which group they would have fallen into in high school. And if they fell into a category that Lacy didn’t like, she kept her distance. Though Jason had never said or done anything cruel to her, some of his friends had. There was still a part of her that believed he was going to wake up and realize he was now friends with the girl who played first clarinet in the marching band.

Some of what she was feeling must have shown on her face because his eyes softened, and so did his hands. They slid closer together on her shoulders and his thumbs began making gentle circles on her collarbone.

“Do you know what I see when I look at you?” he asked.

“No,” she whispered, barely daring to breathe.

He smiled. “Maybe I’ll tell you sometime.” His radio crackled to life, reminding them both he was still on duty. “That’s my cue to leave. Are you going to be okay? I can come back later.”

“I’ll stay as long as she needs me,” Tosh said from the doorway. Lacy wondered how long he had been there. Had he heard their discussion about him?

“Pardon me if that doesn’t make me feel better,” Jason said. To Lacy he added, “Call me if you need anything at all. I can be here in less than five minutes from anywhere in town.”

“Thanks, Jason, but I’ll be fine.”

“She’ll be fine,” Tosh echoed.

Ignoring him even when he brushed by him in the doorway, Jason left the house without another word.

Chapter 15

Tosh stayed for the rest of the day, helping Lacy put her house back together. When it was finally finished, they had a pizza delivered and sat on the couch, eating together in silence.

“Cleaning is exhausting,” Tosh said. “I don’t know how maids do it.”

Lacy’s eyebrow rose. “Don’t you know this from cleaning your own place?”

He reached for another piece of pizza, avoiding her eyes. “Now is probably a good time for me to tell you I’m filthy rich. Today marks the first time I’ve ever cleaned a room in my life. And, before you ask, I have a cleaning service for my house. It’s not the same as a live-in maid, but they do a good job.”

“You’re rich?” she said. “But you’re so normal.”

“Have the other rich people you’ve known had horns or telltale facial ticks?”

“I’ve never known any other rich people besides my ex-fiancé, Robert. And that wasn’t even him, just his extended family. I mean, probably in
New York
I brushed elbows with some wealthy people, but I’ve rarely ever talked to anyone with money before.” She sat back, studying him.

“Stop staring at me,” he said. “You’re making me feel like a freak. You’re not going to treat me differently now, are you?”

“That depends,” she said.

“On what?”

“On whether or not you’re going to start tying pastel sweaters around your neck and talking about your polo pony like rich people in the movies I’ve seen.”

“If I promise not to turn into a character from a Fitzgerald novel, can we please forget the fact that I have a trust fund?”

“Okay,” she agreed. He was so down to earth, she was certain it would be easy to do. But now her earlier conversation with Jason came back to haunt her. How could she say Tosh was more her style when he was incredibly wealthy? “Tosh, were you ever in the band?”

“No. I wanted to play the trumpet, but I had braces that kept cutting my lip whenever I tried.”

“Did you play sports?”

“I just told you I wasn’t cool enough to be in the band, and you think I was somehow a jock?” he asked. “I played video game sports and tried to pretend that made me an athlete.”

“Okay,” she said, relaxing once again. Rich or not, Tosh was her kind of people.

“I saw some games when I was cleaning that closet,” he pointed behind her. “Do you Scrabble?”

“I do, but I’m a writer. Words are my business. Are you sure you’re up for the challenge?”

“Try me,” Tosh answered.

The game quickly became cutthroat and lasted a long time. When it was finally finished, Tosh suggested they play Monopoly.

“It’s midnight,” Lacy pointed out.

“I have a few more good hours left before I get really tired,” Tosh said, and then he yawned.

“Tosh, what are you doing?” she asked.

“I don’t want to leave you here alone,” he said.

“I’ll be fine, really. You should go.”

He looked uncertainly toward the door. “I could stay and sleep on the couch.”

She laughed. “That would certainly go over well for the new pastor. You’re very sweet to offer to stay with me, but I’ll be fine, really. And I couldn’t bear it if you got in trouble because of me. In fact, you should make a lot of noise when you leave so the neighbors will know it. Give yourself an alibi for the inevitable gossip our friendship is going to cause.”

“I’m not worried about gossip. I’m worried about you,” he said.

“I’ll lock the door behind you and go straight to bed,” she promised.

He hesitated another minute before finally standing and walking to the door. She followed. They stepped onto the porch and turned to face each other. “Call if you need anything.”

“I will,” she said.

“I can be here in five minutes.”

“I know.”

“I really think maybe I should stay,” he said.

“Tosh, go.” She gave him a light shove toward his car. “Whoever it was didn’t find what he was looking for, and I don’t think he’ll come back. I’ll be fine.”

After another indecisive look toward his car, followed by a yawn, he finally turned in the direction of the driveway. She waited until he was in his car and then she went inside, taking care to lock the handle as well as the bolt on the door.

Strangely, she didn’t feel ill at ease. Maybe because what she told Tosh was true, that she didn’t think whoever it was would come back, or maybe because she was simply too exhausted to care. Too many nights of going to bed late and waking up early were having their effect. After making quick work of her nightly routine, she stumbled down the hall, fell into bed, and was instantly asleep.

When she woke, she was disoriented. At first she thought it was morning and her alarm had sounded, and then she realized the room was still dark and she hadn’t set her alarm.

Something had woken her, but what?

And then she heard it--the telltale creak of the loose floorboard in the living room. Someone was in the house.

Panic immobilized her, causing her brain to freeze and stop functioning. What should she do? Call the police? Where was her phone? With a sinking feeling she remembered she left it in the living room. The nearest landline was in the kitchen, also down the hall and adjacent to the living room. The nearest exit was also on that end of the house, meaning Lacy was trapped with no form of communication.