The Secret's in the Sauce (32 page)

David looked amused. “So, now you’re a detective?”

“Well, when the circumstances call for it, yeah.”

“Just who are we investigating?”

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you,” I teased.

David held up his hands in mock defense. “That won’t be necessary, Deputy. But you’ve got a date.”

Tuesday morning of my day off brought the latest that Lizzie was moving her mom, bruised arm and all, to another nursing facility. I’d been hoping she’d call and talk about the other night. But so far, silence.

In the meantime, I was feeling guilty for not dropping by to help Lisa Leann with all the catering preparations, but I was in a panic over my date. I mean, I couldn’t wear my brown deputy’s uniform, could I? And besides, David was taking me to a pretty swanky restaurant, so I needed to run down to the Silverthorne outlets and figure out how to look fashionable.

After I made a few phone calls to set up the night’s covert operation, I drove over to Silverthorne. The tall brunette saleswoman (Ellen, according to her name tag) in the Jones of New York outlet was actually a big help. She steered me to a nice pair of black pants and a black satin V-neck sleeveless tank, which she topped with a soft black shawl with a topaz and rust paisley woven into the Italian wool. “These pieces are essentials,” she’d emphasized. “But what about your jewelry?”

“I don’t really wear much of that stuff.”

“But jewelry will absolutely make the look rock,” she said. “Here, let me show you.”

“You’re not related to a woman named Lisa Leann, are you?” I asked.

“Who?”

“Never mind.”

Soon Ellen had selected a dainty gold-tone chain belt with tiny topaz-colored crystals between the loops, along with a short goldtone necklace and matching earrings.

I looked at myself in the full-length mirror, a bit surprised. The amazing thing was I looked like a girl a guy might want to date, and, well, I was rusty. I mean I hadn’t really dated since my partying days, after my failed rescue above Boulder when I’d lost my grip on a baby I was trying to rescue from a car submerged in a flash flood. The incident had caused me untold agony, mainly because it had finally made me come to terms with the loss of my own baby over a decade earlier.

I blinked back the bad memories and focused on the petite woman in the mirror before me. “Don’t you think all this bling bling is overkill?” I asked the clerk.

“Absolutely not. What you’ve chosen is simple yet elegant. You look wonderful.”

I wasn’t convinced; still, I pulled out my Discover card. All I can say is thank goodness everything was on sale or I might have been tempted to wear jeans and a turtleneck for a more affordable “look.”

When I was done at Jones of New York, I stopped by one of the shoe outlets and picked up a pair of strappy heels in black leather. I couldn’t wear my tennis shoes or the white heels I’d worn at Dad’s wedding. Still, I was chagrinned to find that black dress shoes were pricey. I was suddenly glad I had overtime pay coming.

On my final stop, I dropped by Angie’s Hair Hut to get my hair styled. Now that I no longer wore my blonde curls military short, I needed a new look. As it was, my hair was starting to look like a frizzy mop.

When Angie was done combing and clipping, she handed me a mirror.

I stared. “Ah, well, that’s different.”

Angie fluffed my curls as her dangling earrings bobbled beneath her short apple-red hair. “It’s hot.” She whirled my chair so I could see the back of my head in the wall mirror. “It’s easy care, and you look adorable.”

I watched myself frown. “In my line of work, ‘adorable’ could be a problem.”

“Well, you looked adorable when you came in, even in black sweats. Now you look even better.” Angie turned to the stylists working on other clients. “Girls, what do you think of Donna’s new hairdo?”

Irene, who was wearing cropped embroidered jeans topped with a red boat-necked tee, stopped clipping her client’s hair. She waved her scissors and said, “Donna, you should have done this years ago.”

“You don’t think this cut makes me look like Tinker Bell?”

“Far from it,” Janie from behind the register said. “You look hot.”

Angie laughed. “That’s what I told her.”

Later that night, I’d lightly applied a little tinted moisturizer, blush, and eyeliner and brushed my lashes with a wave of mascara, as Lisa Leann had taught me just before my last court date. Then I slipped into my new black pants and tank. I even added the jewelry, though I thought it created a “look” that went over the top.

As I stood in front of my mirror inside my closet door, I barely recognized myself. All too soon, I answered David’s knock at the door. When I let him in, I caught a whiff of his spicy cologne. He looked great in his dark suit coupled with a white shirt. “Wow! Donna!” David said when he saw me. “You look amazing.”

“Wow yourself. But are you sure you want to be seen with me looking like this? I feel like I’m in a costume.”

David grinned. “You look nice. You’re undercover, right?”

“That’s my excuse. What’s yours, Mr. Fancy Pants?”

He pulled my hand into his. “I’m your undercover date, remember?”

“Yes.” I stepped back to retrieve my shawl, which I’d draped across the top of my couch. David helped me nestle it around my shoulders. Before we left, I walked to my kitchen table and grabbed my ragged, purple quilted handbag, which had been in hiding on the top shelf of my closet, a leftover from the nineties. I guess I should have gotten a small black clutch, but I had to have something big enough to put my camera and notebook inside, and of course, my gun.

“Are you ready?” David asked.

“Guess so.”

Once I was in his Mazda, I didn’t know what to say or how to act so I began to fidget with my wrap.

“Are you okay?” David asked.

“Not really. I don’t even know what to say to you, dressed in this getup.”

“Just be yourself.” David adjusted his CD player, which began to croon “Unbreak My Heart” by Il Divo. “That’s the girl I admire.”

I turned and stared at him. “You admire me? Why?”

“Well, you’re funny, smart, and I think you’re pretty cute.”

When I didn’t answer, he gave me a sideways glance. “Did I just embarrass you?”

I gave a little nod. “I admit it, I’m feeling uncomfortable.”

David chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

“You are.”

I crossed my arms. “Well, what about you?”

“Me?”

“Yeah, here you are, some kind of millionaire paramedic from Hollywood. You could be dating starlets. Not small-time deputies from the Colorado outback.”

“I like real women. I’m not interested in starlets.”

“Yeah, but you were interested in Velvet,” I pushed on. “Speaking of, what did you say to explain things to her?”

David shifted uncomfortably before turning the music down. “I . . . I reminded her I only wanted to be friends.”

“Oh? How did she take that?”

“She hung up on me.”

“Ouch.”

“How did you explain things to Wade?”

“Wade and I, we’re not dating. So, what’s to explain?”

His eyes shifted from the roadway back to me. “You didn’t say anything?”

“David, our date tonight is an experiment. I mean, maybe when you get to know me a little better, you’ll lose your infatuation. Maybe Velvet will seem like your dream girl.”

He tried to hide a smile. “That’s not possible.”

I pulled my shawl closer. “You think I’ll swoon and fall all over you, don’t you?”

David raised his eyebrows and stared at the highway ahead. “Would that be bad?”

“You’re not getting through this process based on your good looks, you know.”

He laughed out loud. “So, you admit you think I’m good looking?”

I sighed loudly. “Stop grinning.”

“Yes, sir, Officer. But I have an idea. Let’s try to relax and maybe even enjoy the evening.”

I took a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll try. But don’t forget, we’re undercover. So, follow my lead and never look surprised.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll do as I’m told.”

I grinned then. “Now that’s the attitude of a man I could be
attracted to.”

“Like you’re not already.”

“Better not push your luck, bucko.”

“Don’t worry. Tonight, I’m playing by your rules.”

Later, after we’d been seated in the restaurant, the waitress dropped by. “Would you like anything to drink?”

“I’ll have water with lemon,” I said after David ordered an iced tea. I looked up at the blonde whose hair was so neatly pulled back into a ponytail, and she greeted me with a single raised eyebrow. I closed my menu and turned to David. “I’m off to powder my nose,” I said, grabbing my purse. “I’ll be right back.”

David watched as I slipped out of the seat. “I’ll be waiting.”

A few minutes later, I stood in a closed bathroom stall when the door of the bathroom opened. “Donna?” a soft voice whispered.

I stepped out. “Trisha, appreciate you dropping in.” I opened up my purse and pulled out my digital camera and handed it to my old
high school classmate and showed her the zoom feature.

“You don’t think I could lose my job over this, do you?”

“Just don’t get caught.”

“Well, he’s with LaRita now. They’re supposed to walk out of the hotel room in exactly five minutes.”

“Wow, how do you know that?”

“I’ve got their MO down, and besides, LaRita is set to take over my shift, since she thinks I have to take off for a family emergency.”

“Okay, then you’d better hurry; I’ll meet you back here.”

Trisha slipped out of the restroom. I waited until she returned. Her cheeks were pink, and she held the camera over her head. “I
got it!”

I hugged her. “Did they see you?”

“No, they were preoccupied. See.”

She handed the camera to me, and I turned on the review feature and watched the colorful shots of Clark Wilkes kissing a very young redhead through an open hotel room door. “Wow. Good work.”

“Thanks to the zoom on your camera,” Trisha said. “Well, I gotta get back to work so LaRita can relieve me.”

“Yeah, I bet David is wondering where I went.”

Trisha paused at the door. “He’s hot.”

I bit my lower lip and nodded. “Yeah. So he tells me.”

Trisha scurried down the hallway, and soon I slipped back into my chair across from David.

“I thought maybe you got lost,” he said.

“Nope, just, ah . . .”

“Sneaking around undercover?”

“Keep your voice down.”

No sooner than I gave the warning, Trisha approached our table with LaRita, a young redhead with flashing green eyes. Trisha said, “I’m about to go off duty for the night, and LaRita is here to take your order.”

As Trisha headed back toward the kitchen, I smiled sweetly at the waitress. She was a cutie, tall, long hair, and she looked all of eighteen. I said, “LaRita, you look familiar, aren’t you from Summit View?”

“Yeah, I was a cheerleader up till last year, but I’m a graduate now.”

“I thought I recognized you. So, is this your regular job?”

“Yeah, though I’ve recently made some connections, and I’m expecting better opportunities here at the resort.”

I tried to look impressed. “Oh, that’s nice.”

David was still staring at the two of us. I hesitated. “Did I introduce you to David Smith, my fiancé?”

I stared David down with a look that said, “Don’t react.”

She turned to David and smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

“We have an appointment tonight with Clark Wilkes to talk about our upcoming wedding this summer. We’re planning it here at the hotel. Do you know Clark?”

She nodded. “Yeah, he’s actually the one who’s going to promote me.”

“Really, so he’s a nice guy?”

She nodded and smiled shyly. “Yeah, he’s okay.”

“I know him from church,” I said. “He’s a swell family man.”

LaRita raised her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“His wife is one great lady. You’ve met her?”

Her eyebrows shot up. “He’s married?”

“Oh yeah, with kids too. He and his wife make the perfect couple.”

LaRita looked angry, then embarrassed. She seemed to catch her breath before she said, “Look at me, I almost forgot to take your order.”

David said, “Well, I’m going to have steak, medium rare with all the trimmings.”

“I’ll have the same.”

In a flash, LaRita was gone.

David stared me down. “Fiancé?”

I reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “Thanks for playing along.”

“I take it we have a meeting with Clark Wilkes to, ah, plan our wedding?”

I shifted in my chair. “You said you wouldn’t act surprised, remember?”

He sighed. “Will he help us plan our honeymoon too?”

“Don’t bet on it.”

David smiled as if he had other ideas.

“Stop it,” I said, trying not to smile at his mirth.

“You started it.”

“I know this is awkward, but I appreciate you being a good sport.”

“Why not? I’m having the time of my life.”

As we were finishing our shared dessert, death by chocolate cake, Clark Wilkes dropped by the table. He was a handsome man, a man a woman like Lisa Leann would certainly approve of. Judging from his haircut and the cut of his suit, he looked like he was stepping out on the red carpet. He said, “The maître d’ pointed the two of you out to me. I was wondering if I could escort you on a tour of our facility.”

David said, “We haven’t paid our bill.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. Dinner’s on the house, Mr. Smith. Your lovely Donna here is thinking of serving our steaks at your wedding rehearsal dinner. I hope you enjoyed them.”

David looked at me. “They were excellent.”

I smiled sweetly. “Yes, we would like to take the tour of the ballrooms.”

David helped me with my chair and my wrap, then we followed our host down to the Tabor Grande Ballroom. Clark opened the door. “Take a look, I think this room would meet your requirements.”

David said, “Dear, how many people have you invited to our wedding?”

I smiled. “Now, we’ve discussed that, darling.”

“Well,” Clark continued, “this room will easily seat the five hundred on your guest list.”