Tastes Like Murder (Cookies & Chance Mysteries Book 1) (21 page)

Mike.
"Oh no."

Grandma Rosa frowned. "What is wrong?"

"Mike asked me to dinner tomorrow night."

Her mouth turned upward in a slight smile. "Did he? This is very good news."

"You don't understand." Frustrated, I put my head in my hands. "Brian asked me, too. For the same night."

She appeared even more pleased as she cleared the rest of the dishes in silence. I glanced at her in accusation. "You knew this was going to happen. That's what you meant when you said I would have to make a choice."

My grandmother tapped her forefinger against her white hair. "See? I always know." With that, she disappeared into the kitchen again.

My phone pinged to tell me I had a new voice mail. I was about to play it back when a text from Josie arrived.
Ellen and I meeting for drinks. Her Dad back in hospital. Not looking good. Wanna come?

I sighed. The only thing I wanted right now was my soft bed. I texted back.
I'm beat. Will send prayers. Going to bed. See you in a.m.

She shot back a quick,
Okay
.

Grandma Rosa came into the dining room as I got to my feet. "You are leaving already?"

I kissed her on the cheek. "I'm sorry, Grandma, but I've got to get some sleep." I threw my arms around her neck. "Thank you so much. I love you."

She patted my back. "I love you, too,
cara mia.
You go home and dream about your two Prince Charmings. You deserve much happiness. It is time for you to shine."

Gianna reappeared, dish towel in hand. "You're going?"

I leaned over to hug her. "I need sleep. Bad. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow."

As I opened the front door, I came face to face with Mrs. Gavelli. She wrinkled her nose at me. "Why they let you out of jail?"

"Nicoletta." My grandmother frowned. "Knock it off."

I remembered what my grandmother had told me and leaned down to give the old lady a quick buss on the cheek. When I straightened up, her eyes clouded over. "Good night, Mrs. Gavelli."

As I drove off into the night, I reflected on my entire situation. The check from Grandma Rosa was a huge relief, even though I didn't like taking her money. A short-term solution to my problems, but it would have been useless to argue with her. We were both stubborn in that respect.

Tomorrow night still seemed far away, but it had become apparent I would have to turn someone down for dinner. If I refused Mike, he'd be furious. Brian might be more understanding, but he'd probably be hurt as well.
How did I get myself into these messes?

Maybe I should refuse them both. My first priority now was finding Amanda's killer. If I kept searching for the person against Brian's wishes, there was a good chance he wouldn't want to date me anyway. My brain was starting to hurt, and I was too exhausted to make sense of anything right now. Things would look better in the morning.

As I unlocked the front door, I remembered the voice mail. Throwing my keys on to one of the tables, I reached for my phone. If it was Colin, I'd press delete.

"Hey, sweet thing." A hoarse, low-pitched male voice breathed into the phone. "It's Hank from Snake Eyes."

Ick.
My skin started to crawl at the very mention of his name.

"Since you were so nice about throwing the fifty my way, I thought I'd give you a freebie."

The eggplant wasn't helping my stomach, and I had a sudden urge to retch.

Hank droned on. "I seen your little friend leaving with her buddy a couple of hours ago. Figured you'd want to know."

My ears perked up with excitement. Charlotte must have gone to the casino right after I'd seen her at the salon. Too bad she'd already left. How long would we have to wait for her to make another appearance?

His voice turned breathless as he chuckled. I winced and prayed the message would be over soon. "Got a good look at her friend's face this time. Like I told ya, she's blonde, kind of plain. I knew I seen that face before."

I waited with bated breath.

"She went to high school with your pal. Pretty much been under your nose the whole time, huh." The message ended with his maniacal laugh, and a chill went through my body. I stared at the phone in confusion. Went to school with her? How would he know?

Then it dawned on me. The page Josie cut out from her yearbook.

I flew up the stairs. In my haste, I stumbled and tripped on one of the steps, banging my knee in the process. I groaned in pain and hobbled into my bedroom, grabbing the yearbook out from under my bed, where I'd been studying it the other night. I laid it on my comforter, remembering how seniors were each designated a fourth of the page.

The blood pounded in my ears. I already knew whose picture I'd find. The same person I'd had drinks with last week, who also happened to be a nurse and could easily lay her hands on a supply of morphine.

The same person that my dearest friend, Josie, happened to be with right now.

I flipped through the pages in a crazed frenzy until Charlotte Gregorio's mousy face stared back at me. Right above her picture, smiling and laughing, was the one I feared.

Ellen George.

Don't panic. Josie's okay. She has to be.

Bruised knee forgotten, I ran back down the stairs for my cell and dialed Josie's phone. It rang three times before her voice mail kicked in. "This is Josie. You know what to do." A beep sounded.

"Damn it," I whispered into the phone. "Josie, call me as soon as possible. It's urgent."

I scrolled my contacts section and pressed the number for her home phone. Rob answered on the third ring. The kids were screaming like they were on the warpath, and I tried to keep my voice from trembling. "Hi, Rob, it's Sally."

"Hey, Sal. What's going on?"

"Um, Josie texted me a while back and said she and Ellen were headed out for a quick drink. Did she happen to mention where they were going?"

He chuckled. "No. She never gives me details like that. I'm only her husband, you know."

I tried to laugh, but it stuck in my throat. "So you have no idea where she is?"

"Can't help you there. Something wrong? Is the shop okay?"

The baby started crying in the background, and I longed to join in. My teeth were clenched together in an effort to keep them from chattering. Above all, I needed to maintain a calm head in hopes of finding Josie.
Why didn't I ask where she was going?

I didn't want to worry Rob yet, especially with four kids left in his charge. "The shop's fine. I wanted to talk with her—about something else. Do you remember what time she left?"

"Let's see." Rob paused for a moment. "It had to be about seven thirty. I'm guessing she'll be home around nine since I need to work at ten. I'll have her call you." He hung up without another word.

"Thanks," I whispered to the air. My hands were shaking. What could I do?
Was she with Ellen and Charlotte somewhere? Would they harm her, or had they already?
No. Don't think like that.
I dialed Brian's number and got his voice mail.
Great.

"Brian, it's Sally. Please call me right away. I'm worried about Josie." I clicked off and grabbed my purse and keys while making a beeline for the front door, careful to lock it on my way out. I hurried to my car and sped off into the darkness.

They might be anywhere.
Think, think.
My head started to spin as I considered the options. I shot into the parking lot of nearby Giuseppe's Grill. I slammed on the brakes, jumped out of the vehicle, and raced inside.

The layout was similar to Ralph's, but larger with a separate dining area. Since it was a Monday evening, the place was quiet. Three men sat at the bar drinking, and two couples were having dinner in the next room. I ran in to check the ladies room, but it was empty. No Josie, no Ellen, nothing. The bartender stared at me with a question in his eyes, but I didn't have time for him. I ran back to my car, tires squealing as I zoomed out of the parking lot.

Ralph's was next on my list. I raced over to the pool table in the back room. A couple of bikers were involved in a game and glanced up at me curiously. Ralph himself was stationed behind the bar. His big belly rose and fell as he laughed at some private joke with a lone customer seated on one of the bar stools. My heart lurched when I realized who it was.

Mike turned around and gazed at me with affection. He started to smile, but when his eyes met mine, his expression changed to one of concern.

"Ralph." I tried to keep my voice steady. "Have you seen Josie tonight? Or Ellen?"

Ralph scratched his silver head. "No, honey. I don't think I've seen either one since you guys were here last week."

"Okay, thanks." I whirled around.

"Sal." Mike caught my arm. "What's wrong?"

A sob escaped from my throat. "Mike—" My eyes grew moist, and I knew I was going to lose it soon.

He put his arm around me and led me toward the front door. "Come on, we'll go talk outside."

We stood on the front porch, a warm wind shaking the large oak trees nearby. Less than a week ago, I'd kissed him and made a fool of myself in the exact same spot. Nearly half a lifetime ago, we'd shared our first kiss as a couple here. Fate seemed to keep pushing us back together. Agitated, I forced the romantic thoughts out of my mind. I had to concentrate on Josie now.

Mike held my hands. "Out with it. What happened?"

I stared at the worry in his beautiful eyes and trembled. "Josie's in trouble. She went out with Ellen tonight for a drink."

"So? Josie's a big girl, remember?"

"I'm pretty sure Ellen had something to do with Amanda's murder, and I'm so scared. She might h-hurt her." Tears ran down my face.

"Hey." Mike brushed at my cheek with his thumb. "It's okay. We'll find her. I'll take you."

"Are you in any condition to drive?" I asked, doubtful.

Mike's eyes widened in surprise. "I only had one beer. I'm not like my mother, Sal."

"Sorry, that's not what I meant. But I can't wait—I've got to get going."

He clutched my shoulders. "Did you call your friend at the police department?"

I caught a hint of jealousy in his words but chose to ignore it. "I left Brian a message, but he hasn't called me back yet."

"I heard on my scanner that there was an armed robbery outside of Colwestern." Mike drew his eyebrows together. "He might have been called there."

Fear gripped me. "What if Ellen hurts her?"

He glanced toward the parking area. "Don't talk like that. She's going to be fine. Is your car in the lot?"

I nodded mutely.

"Okay, we'll take yours. Mine's back at the house. I'll run in, pay for my beer, and be right back." He stared at me with a stern expression. "Stay here. I don't want you going alone."

"Please hurry." I clutched his arm.

Mike cradled my face in his hands and gazed into my eyes with a longing that made my entire body ache for him. "Wait for me, baby. I promise I'll take care of everything." He pushed the door open and disappeared inside.

The musical notes of my phone startled me. I reached into my purse and breathed a huge sigh of relief when I recognized the number. "Josie!"

"Hey." Her voice was quiet. "Where are you?"

"I'm at Ralph's, looking for you. Where's Ellen?"

"She went home." Josie's tone sounded strange.

"Are you all right?" The panic rose inside me again.

"I'm fine, but—I have a flat tire. Um, Rob can't leave because there's no one to watch the kids. Can you pick me up?"

"Of course I'll pick you up. Where are you?" No response. "Josie, where are you?"

"Calm down." Her voice became a soft whisper. "I'm at Amanda's spa."

Puzzled, I stared at the phone. "Why are you there?"

"Ellen wanted me to meet her. She went to have her nails done before they closed. Poor thing is so upset about her Dad. She needed a little relaxation."

"Josie, don't see her again. She's Charlotte's partner, and I think she's dangerous."

"No, that's not true." She sighed into the phone. "Impossible."

"You sound really weird." I had a sudden, impulsive thought. "Have you been smoking weed?" She hadn't done any in years, but who knew?

There was silence for a few seconds before she spoke again. "A little. Please get here soon. I don't want to be alone."

"Okay, sit tight. I'm on my way." I rushed to my car and started the engine.

As I was pulling out of the lot, Mike ran toward me. "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Josie's okay," I called out my open window.
"
She got a flat tire over at Amanda's spa. I'm going to pick her up."

"Let me go with you." Mike gripped the door. "I'll fix it for her."

I shook my head. "We'll leave it there tonight. I want to get her home safe and sound."

Mike glared at me and tried to open my door. "Stop being so stubborn."

"I'll call you later." I peeled out of the lot and glimpsed him in the rearview mirror. He'd lost his balance as I sped off and fallen into the road. He stared at my retreating car in exasperation.

"Damn it, Sal!" He screamed after me.

Just like old times.
I knew Mike meant well, but it was better to go without him. I'd apologize for my hasty departure later. Josie wouldn't want anyone to see her in a drug-induced state. After I picked her up, I would phone Brian again and have him locate Charlotte and Ellen.

I raced into the parking lot of Amanda's spa. Josie's minivan was sitting there, and a BMW was parked a few spots away from her. Light shone from one of the upstairs windows, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Maybe she was inside talking to the technician. I recalled her doing some strange things in the past when she was high.

Thank God for the flat tire. I bristled at the thought of her even considering driving after smoking marijuana. How could Josie be so selfish? She had children to think about. We were going to have a long talk, whether she wanted to or not.

The van was empty. I trotted toward the front door, somewhat more relaxed now. Maybe I'd take Josie back to my parents' house for a while. I didn't want Rob to see her like this. He'd be furious if he knew. I'd call him after I got her settled and thought of something to say.

I knocked on the door, but there was no response. Light still blazed from the upstairs window, but the bottom floor and receptionist counter were silhouetted in darkness. I rapped again.

"Josie?" I called out. There was no answer.

What the heck is she doing?
The doorknob turned easily in my hands. A flicker of light beckoned me from the stairway to the right. "Josie?"

A muffled sound came from behind me, and I whirled around.

A heavy object crashed onto my head from out of nowhere. There was no time for me to react as it made contact with my skull. Stars danced before my eyes, and an intense wave of pain spread throughout my body. My hand reached out to grab the counter and keep from falling as I trembled violently.

Someone roared with laughter from behind me and pried my fingers loose from the counter.

I sank into the darkness.