4 Arch Enemy of Murder (6 page)

“Maybe you should talk to Lacy.”

Lacy froze with her hand on a cupcake, not even daring to breathe. How had she been dragged into the conversation when she wasn’t even there?

“Her boyfriend is a detective now,” Gladys added.

“I don’t think…” Lucinda started again. Her gentle voice was drowned out by Rose’s snort.

“Boyfriend? He’s not her boyfriend. They broke up.”

“They didn’t…” Lucinda started, but it was Maya who spoke overtop of her this time.

“I thought she was dating the preacher. Not that I approve of pastors dating, mind you. But he seemed like a much more sensible choice than that football-playing boy. I don’t trust athletes. Slick hands, and all that.”

“I thought she was dating both of them,” Janice said. “Does she know which one she’s dating?”

The ominous silence told Lacy they were probably all looking to Lucinda for answers. “Let me get the cupcakes,” Lucinda said. A second later, she bustled through the dining room door looking harried and distressed. “Oh,” she said, stopping short when she saw Lacy.

“I’ll help you,” Rose boomed.

Lacy and Lucinda’s eyes met over the table with a look of panic. “Save yourself,” Lucinda whispered. “And take Sean.”

Lacy didn’t need to be told twice. She darted out the other way, around the house, and through the back door. She didn’t give Sean a chance to ask what they were doing. Instead she gathered his Shakespeare book, her purse, and dragged him out of the house. They spent the next hour studying on the roof of the Stakely building. It was chilly, but Sean deemed it the best study session he ever had. When they cautiously returned to the house, Riley had emerged from her room and was holding court with the ladies.
How does she do it?
Lacy wondered. How did Riley drop out of her life, come home, hole up in her room like the Unabomber, and still manage to have four of the most critical women in the universe fawn over her? As far as Lacy could tell, none of them were plying her with questions or foisting their opinions on her, either.

“You know, Riley, my nephew’s divorce was just finalized. I could give him your number,” Janice offered. Janice’s nephew was on his second divorce and was also in his mid-forties. Lacy watched Riley to see if she shuddered, but she kept her perky smile perfectly in place.

“That sounds lovely, Janice, but I don’t think I’m ready to be in a relationship yet. Besides, I promised Lacy I would go out with one of her friends.”

Janice frowned at Lacy as if she was the reason Riley was saying no to a man who notoriously wore a t-shirt that read, “Already looking for my next wife” to his wedding rehearsal dinner.

“Grandma, I have to get up early tomorrow for chess club,” Sean said.

“Don’t interrupt when the adults are talking,” Gladys snapped. To her friends she added, “I swear, I don’t know what to do with that boy sometimes.”

“I think it’s great Sean loves school,” Lacy said. “He’s going to go places and do great things with that intellect of his.” She knew she should stay out of it, but couldn’t stand the thought of Sean being treated like he had asked to stop at an opium den just because he wanted to get up early for school.

“Just like Chester Campbell,” Riley interjected.

“Who’s that?” Rose, who was slowly losing her hearing, yelled. “Another one of your men?”

“An old flame from high school,” Riley replied.

“Here we go again,” Maya said, throwing up her hands in frustration. “I’m going to need nametags to keep track of your harem, Lacy.”

Behind her, Riley beamed.

“He wasn’t an old flame; we were in band together, and I haven’t seen him in eight years.”

“Did you find him on Faceplace? Because I heard lots of marriages are broken up that way,” Janice added.

“I think maybe you mean Facebook, and no, I haven’t found Chester on Facebook.”

“But you’ve been looking, right?” Riley said.

The other women clucked their tongues and shared looks. “Poor Pastor Underwood,” Gladys muttered.

“No, I haven’t looked,” Lacy said.

“Not at all?” Riley pressed.

“Maybe years ago when Facebook was new,” Lacy admitted.

“And you’ve been pining for him all this time. That’s sad, Lacy,” Riley said. She shook her head in sympathy with the other women.

“Just like Barbara,” Rose said, and a hush fell over the group.

“Who’s Barbara?” Riley asked.

“Time to go. Sean, get your things,” Gladys said. She made an impatient shooing motion toward the kitchen as if Sean was the holdup.

“Who’s Barbara?” Riley repeated and her words cleared the room. Suddenly all who remained were Lacy, Riley, and their grandmother.

Lacy and Lucinda looked at each other, and Lacy knew what her grandmother was thinking. She didn’t want to lie, but neither was she ready for Riley to know the convoluted truth of her heritage. “Barbara was a friend of the group who died last year,” Lacy said.

“How come I never met her?” Riley asked. Both girls had grown up knowing their grandmother’s set of friends as intimately as family.

“She lived out of town for a long time and only returned last year,” Lacy said. It was all true, though she felt guilty for leaving so much out. The secrets weren’t hers to divulge, however. It was up to her grandparents to decide when to tell Riley because Riley would surely tell her mother and then the cat would really be out of the bag.

“I see,” Riley said. Her calculating tone told Lacy that the topic was far from dropped, but they were saved from further discussion by the appearance of Mr. Middleton who poked his head around the door with a wary expression.

“Are they gone?” he asked.

“They’re gone,” Lacy said. “It’s safe.”

He entered the room and kissed Lucinda’s cheek while Lacy smiled and Riley narrowed her eyes from her perch on the couch. She wasn’t openly hostile towards her grandmother’s new boyfriend, but neither was she warm. She seemed to be withholding her opinion. Lacy wasn’t sure what would tip the balance in Mr. Middleton’s direction, but she hoped for all their sakes that it happened soon. Riley’s approval would go a long way toward convincing their mother, Fran, to give her unknowingly biological father a chance.

“Riley,” Mr. Middleton said, tipping his head to her.

“Mr. Middleton,” she replied. Her tone was that of someone addressing her old high school principal—formal and just a little bit frightened. Had Lacy ever sounded that way toward him? Probably, but she couldn’t remember. Now she stepped forward to receive her cheek kiss and bestow one in return.

“Lacy,” he said as he gave her hand an affectionate squeeze.

“Grandpa,” Lacy said. On the couch, Riley stirred and crossed her arms over her chest, frowning.

“How was the party?” Mr. Middleton asked.

“It was fine,” Lucinda said.

Lacy thought if she left the room, then Riley might make more of an effort to talk. “I should call Tosh,” she said. She eased to her bedroom, but not before she did a mental count of the remaining cupcakes. Two dozen—that should last a couple of days until her grandmother baked again. She closed her door before she dialed Tosh, but there was no need for privacy since he didn’t answer his phone. She left him a message to call if he got in before midnight, and then she was left with nothing to do but stare at the cramped four walls of her new enclosure. Maybe it was time to move to Barbara Blake’s house. Or maybe the Stakely building. She could do what everyone had been suggesting and remodel the fourth floor into a livable space. But like westerns of old, the town wasn’t big enough for the two of them. If Riley was going to stay, Lacy didn’t want to.

As she sat on her bed and contemplated leaving, she realized that she couldn’t and didn’t want to. She owned the Stakely building. She had become a voice in the community, someone who was included on committees to revitalize the downtown, someone who people in the city looked to when it was time to make decisions. For better or worse, she was committed to see the project through, she was an integral part of the community, and she
liked
it. For so many years growing up, she’d had the dream of going away. There was a phase of her life when she had felt a childish sort of disdain for her home. Now somehow that had all changed. She loved her town full of quirky, aggravating people. She loved the tiny downtown that didn’t offer much in the way of culture, entertainment, or shopping. She loved the low crime rate, the ability to walk wherever she wanted to go, the sense of being a part of something, of making a difference. Plus there were her friends and family. She didn’t want to leave her grandparents or Tosh, and especially not Jason.

She smiled. When she first moved back and realized Jason was still living and working in their small town, she had judged him as being a hick yokel. But she had caught his vision and now she wanted to give back as much as he did, but in a different way. Jason served and protected. Lacy wanted to bring revenue and fresh blood. Maybe she couldn’t change the world or make it a better place, but she would do her best in her tiny corner of the world.

She fell asleep thinking about the town, imagining what it could be, never dreaming of how closely linked with it she would soon become.

When Lacy woke the next morning, she called Tosh. She would be seeing him shortly at church, but they wouldn’t have a chance to talk, and especially not about his love life. His parishioners felt it their duty to make sure their pastor kept to the straight and narrow. They had begrudgingly accepted his interest in Lacy because she was one of their own, and because she was Lucinda Craig’s granddaughter. They weren’t ready to vet someone new; Lacy wasn’t sure she was, either.

“How was the date?”

“It’s still going on,” Tosh said.

Lacy sat up and planted her feet on the floor. “Are you serious?”

“Of course not. I was home by ten.”

“Why didn’t you call me back?”

“I had to study my sermon. I fell asleep sitting up in the office.”

“Sounds like a riveting sermon,” Lacy said. “So, ten, huh? That doesn’t sound good.”

“No, it was good. She was as sweet as she seemed.”

“You don’t sound enthused,” Lacy said.

“It was a first date. I’m trying not to get too involved until I know her better.”

“Will there be a second date?”

“Already on the calendar,” Tosh said.

“Did you kiss her?”

“Lacy! That’s a horribly personal question, so of course I’m going to answer. Yes.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“A lot of people think you can determine a relationship’s outcome based on the first kiss,” Lacy said.

“You made that up just now, didn’t you?”

“I’m the red-haired Confucius. How was it?”

“It was nice.”

“Why do you make nice sound like a bad thing?”

“You know how some women tend to go for the bad guy because they think they can change him? I tend to do that with women. My past relationships were, uh, interesting. But that was before I became a pastor. I haven’t dated seriously since I left seminary. I want to take it slowly, to be careful and not risk finding a boiled bunny on my front porch.”

“Ew, disgusting. Did that really happen to you?”

“Okay, next movie night we’re watching
Fatal Attraction
because your cinematic repertoire is sorely lacking. Also, it will give you a good idea of the type of women I’m used to. I should go. Are you coming to church today?”

“No, I’m faking sick. Don’t tell my pastor.”

“You say that every week.”

“I’m waiting for you to find it funny,” Lacy said.

“Keep waiting,” Tosh said. “See you.”

“See you,” she replied, but he had already hung up. Thanks to her daily grind at the Stakely building, Lacy was finally on a good, disciplined schedule. She woke early, ran, showered, and went to work. Today she would replace work with church, but keep everything else the same. Riley’s door was still closed and there were no sounds from inside.
What does she do in there all day?
Lacy wondered. So far Riley hadn’t attended church with them and when they arrived home in the afternoon, she often looked like she had just woken up. The sisterly part of Lacy was concerned. The other part of her was relieved. The more time Riley spent in her room, the less time there was for arguing or drama.