Read Between the Tines (28 page)

Uma, wearing athletic shorts that had the waistband on the outside and barely covered real estate that I wouldn't want to show in public, backcombed Olivia's hair and hung on her colorful description of a tennis party that she and Nathan had attended last night.

Olivia's animated face in the mirror belied her home abuse. How could she be so happy after her husband's beating? Maybe I was wrong. No, that's just what she wanted people to think. I knew the ugly truth and wouldn't let it drop.

I waited and listened until Uma declared Olivia finished then joined them. "Good morning, ladies."

Uma spun around, and her face lost some of its sheen. Our gazes connected, and she returned mine with a knowing look of approval. She patted Olivia's arm. "I'll just go ring this up."

I moved closer. "How are you today, Olivia?"

Her eyes locked warily on my face. "Fine, why?"

"Well, it's just that I was at the hospital yesterday and heard about your beating."

Her hand shot out. "Stop right there. You seem to imply that you know what's going on in my life, but you don't have a clue. So just back off."

"I know Nathan is beating you."

She jumped to her feet clad in spiky pumps. "You know nothing of the sort."

"I overheard the nurses talking about it."

"Oh really. The same way they talked about the bruise on your face. Oh, yeah, they thought you'd been beaten, too. Am I right?"

I nodded.

"And no man touched you."

Okay, she didn't have to say that with such vehemence as if it was nearly impossible for a man to want to touch me.

"It's all a misunderstanding." She marched toward Uma, her heels clicking on the vinyl tiles.

"I know I'm right, Olivia. If you ever get to the point that you want to do something about Nathan, I'll help you with whatever you need."

She scribbled her name on the receipt sitting on the glass countertop then picked it up. "I don't need your help, Paige Turner. My life is perfect. Isn't it, Uma?"

Uma glanced between us as if watching a tennis match and finally said, "If you say so."

"See, Uma knows the truth."

"Whatever you say, Olivia," I said with a tone that told her I still didn't buy her story. "I'll see you at the funeral."

Her eyes flashed wide, and she glared at me before storming out the door. Ah, maybe I hit a nerve. I had meant
Gary
's funeral, but she seemed to take it as if I meant her funeral if she didn't stop Nathan's attacks.

The funeral turned out to be a memorial service.
Gary
's body hadn't been released like promised and since all the arrangements had been made, the service would go on and hise interment in the cemetery would follow at a later date.

Though Pastor Stephens emphasized this was a time to celebrate Gary's new home in heaven, he left me feeling bereft for Karen and Yolanda, whose grief seemed to consume the air in the room. I sat three rows behind Adam and mourned my loss of our relationship, too. Here was a living, breathing male that I could have had a future with where Karen sat weeping in the front row and had no choice.

I was an idiot of the highest level. Plain and simple, I'd blown it.

Pastor Stephens ended the service with a reminder of the light lunch to be served in the fellowship hall, and, after the family was ushered out, we waited for our turns to be dismissed. I watched Nathan Jacobs exit demurely with his hand clamped onto Olivia's wrist as if he couldn't trust her not to run away from him. How I wish she would fling off his massive hand and bolt for the door. I gave her a sympathetic smile when she passed, but either she didn't see it or she was ignoring me.

Rows of people followed them out the door when suddenly Verna spun around and motioned for me to slide forward.

"That's her," she whispered and frantically stabbed her crooked finger at a stunning blonde making her way down the aisle.

"Her, who?" I whispered back.

"The lady Karen cut out of the picture."

Surprised, I pushed back onto the padded seat and watched the woman pass by. She was a beauty all right. Soft blond waves of hair caressed shoulders held back in perfect posture. Her doe-sized eyes were emerald green, a startling and surprising contrast to the platinum hair. She wore a long red coat over a pencil thin black skirt and crisp white blouse. At my pew, our eyes connected and for some reason I felt like I was in the presence of Cruella Deville. She passed, and I shivered.

Verna pivoted again, arching her eyebrow as if asking, 'Well?'

I shook my head. We needed to postpone this conversation until after we exited the room. I settled in to wait for my turn to leave and reran a picture of this woman through my head.

So who was she?
Gary
's memorial bulletin didn't list any siblings so she wasn't a sister. He had two aunts, but this beauty wasn't old enough to be an aunt. No way would I ask Karen to identify the woman on a day like this. I had to get out there and talk to her myself.

Bouncing my leg, I counted down the rows until my turn. Four. Bounce, bounce. Three, bounce harder. Two, Verna struggled to her feet and gave me a knowing look. One, I hopped up like a jack in the box, and caught up to Verna in the foyer. She stood to the side, staring at the blonde who, surprise of all surprises, was chatting with and had laid her long fingers on Nathan Jacobs. The pair hovered outside the women's restroom. Since Olivia was missing, I figured they were waiting for her.

Nathan seemed enthralled by the conversation and didn't make a move to take her fingers off his lapel.

Verna reached out and dragged me into the shadows.

"That's her I know it," she said, her gnarly fingers still clutched in my sleeve.

"How can you be so sure?" I asked.

"Those eyes. You never see a blonde with such green eyes."

She had a point there, and even without the unique feature, this woman would be unforgettable.

"Who's that man she's talking too?" Verna asked.

"A manager at Pacific Pickles." I extricated myself from her grip. "Excuse me, Verna. I have to find out who she is."

"Good idea," she whispered and shoved me in their direction as if I needed help getting started.

But I needed no help. I marched right up to the pair. "Nathan," I said. "Lovely service." Hoping for an introduction, I glanced pointedly between the two of them. No luck. I shot out my hand. "I'm Paige Turner."

Blondie took my hand in hers with a grip so firm I almost cried out in pain. "Cara Long," she said.

Normally in control of my features, I felt my mouth drop to the floor, revealing all my dental work for the lady to see. I gaped, gawked, and otherwise stared for I don't know how long. This was
Fatal Attraction
woman. The affair. The woman Nathan claimed not to know.

She laughed a quiet unassuming little sound. "Don't worry. I get that all the time. And in answer to your question, yes I dye my hair, and yes, I'm a true redhead. But blondes have so much more fun."

Saved by her error. Thank goodness she thought my cavernous-mouth-open stare was because of her looks. And I would take full advantage of my recovery to grill her for information.

"How did you know
Gary
?" I asked, though I had a pretty good picture of how she knew him.

"From work."

"Oh, really? I've never seen you around town."

"Not here, sugar. We worked together at the
Texas
plant."

"Wow, he must have meant a lot to you to travel all this way."

"He was a good friend, but," I detected an honest to goodness sadness in her voice, "I'm in town on business, too."

In my peripheral vision, I saw Nathan tense. I swiveled and found his eyes fixed on Olivia, exiting the restroom. She didn't dawdle but marched straight to Nathan whose hand circled her wrist again.

"Oh, hi, Olivia," I said as if I had no idea about their abusive relationship.

"Paige," Olivia's voice came out soft and timid, very unlike the woman I'd encountered before.

Nathan jerked her to face him. "You know each other?"

Olivia's face blanched. "We met at the Crazy Curl. I must have forgotten to mention it."

"If you'll excuse us," Nathan blurted out. "We need to move on." He dragged Olivia away. I hoped it wasn't so he could pummel her for not telling him she'd met me.

"Whooee. He's some kinda task master, isn't he?" Cara said.

"Do you know much about Nathan?"

"Can't work in the same office with him and not learn about his controlling ways."

I wanted to shout, amen, sister, but kept quiet out of respect for Karen. "He and Gary were good friends, too."

"We all were. We did everything together." He eyes turned sad. "Then Karen came along and broke up the Three Musketeers."

"How's that?"

"She got
Gary
thinking about this religious stuff, and he changed. I lost him." Her voice cracked, and I spotted her eyes moistening before she controlled herself and shook it off. "You never said how you knew
Gary
?"

"We went to church together, and I was redoing his backyard."

"Oh, so you're the little landscaper."

My eyes flashed open. "Huh? You know about me?"

She wiggled her fingers in an offhand gesture. "Nathan and I went over to the house to offer our condolences. We saw the backyard, and Karen told us about the project." Her words rang true but her face screamed, 'Liar, liar pants on fire.'

"If you'll excuse me, I really need to be going." She stuck out her hand. "It was nice meeting you."

Not buying her line, I shook her baby soft hand and watched her leave.

Verna hobbled into the space Cara had vacated. "So who is she?"

"Someone who worked with Nathan in
Texas
. No big deal," I said, trying to play it down.

Hah! No big deal. This was the biggest deal I'd found since
Gary
was murdered. Now all I had to do was figure out what to do with it.