Trent leaned into the conversation. “A Jessop never runs away from a fight. I had some of my frat brothers go to the sorority house and offer to make some much needed improvements to the house. You see, Paige's house was cash strapped due to poor management by the last house mother, so we got donations for paint and materials and then my frat brothers and I went over and spruced things up. Paige was a hero after that. Carin and Eleanor pouted, of course, but they couldn't say anything bad about it.”
“The trick was not to have our parents contribute,” Paige said. “That way she couldn't say I was flaunting our money.”
“That was brilliant,” Jenn said. “I bet you got a plaque for sister of the year.”
“I did,” Paige said with a smile. “It burned Carin every time she passed the honors wall.”
“What happened after college?” I asked. “Surely this didn't go on.”
“Well, we both have strong ties to Mackinac. So Carin was constantly trying to outdo me on committees and things.”
“But Paige got the last laugh,” Trent said with a grin.
“What do you mean?” I asked and lifted my wineglass to take a sip.
“Carin brought her boyfriend by the club one night to flaunt him,” Paige said. “I had broken up with my college boyfriend a few months before that and hadn't been dating.”
“She thought showing off her boyfriend would be a dig at you?” I asked. “That sounds very immature.”
“Trust me. It was,” Paige said. “Her boyfriend thought so, too. He came to see me the next day to express his disappointment in Carin's behavior.”
“How sweet,” I said.
“I know. I thought so, too,” Paige replied. “We talked all through the night and into the next day. By the end of the visit, Reggie asked me out.”
“Oh boy,” Jenn said.
“I know,” Paige said and sipped her drink. “I told him he had to break up with Carin first. Then wait two weeks to make sure he really meant it before he called me again.”
“And did he do what you asked?” I asked.
“He did. He went straight to Carin's house and broke up with her. Then he texted me to let me know that it was done and his two weeks were starting.”
“And?” Jenn asked.
“And two weeks later to the hour, he called me and asked me out. I said yes, and the rest is history.”
“Wait, you stole Reggie from Carin?”
“No,” Paige said with a shake of her head. “Reggie broke up with his girlfriend and two weeks later asked me out.” She smiled. “We've been together ever since.”
“I bet Carin was livid when she found out,” Jenn said as the servers placed the salad plates on the table.
“She was beside herself and tried to corner me about it, but Reggie wouldn't let her. He went straight to her parents and talked to them about his feelings and intentions. He told her family that I had nothing to do with his decision. That it was Carin's own actions that caused the breakup.”
“That took a lot of guts,” I said.
“Like I said, Reggie has known Carin and her family since he was seven. His best friend is Carin's brother Ash. It's why he dated Carin in the first place. He was always over at Ash's house and she was there and she was pretty.”
“It has to be tough for him,” I said.
“Yes,” Paige said. “They are his family and he's grieving for Carin as much as they are . . . even if she was mean.”
“Can I ask you a question?” I leaned toward Paige.
“Sure.”
“Did you and Carin have a run-in yesterday?”
“What do you mean?” Paige asked.
I noticed a nervous tremor in her fingers.
“Rex came to the club meeting and questioned us about yesterday,” I said. “Remember when we were talking about the feasibility of creating small party favor ships at the last minute?”
“Yes,” Paige said with a smile and held up her gold leafed replica of the ship at the centerpiece of our table. “They turned out amazing.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Sandy is a craftsman.”
“Don't let her give away too much credit,” Jenn said. “Both Allie and I stayed up half the night pouring the chocolate into the molds and ensuring they didn't have bubbles. Plus the gold and silver leafing was Allie's idea.”
“I thought it would make them easier to handle and take home at the end of the night,” I said. “The last thing anyone wants is to stick uncovered chocolate into their bag.”
“So, wait. Rex was asking about Paige?” Trent asked.
I nodded. “Yes. Jenn told him she had noticed Carin come into the club and then Paige get tense.” I turned to Paige. “Then you walked out.”
Paige frowned. “I saw Carin come in and say something to Eleanor. I was afraid they were up to something. Those two can't be trusted. They'll do things just to mess with me. I went to see Amy to ensure that the chocolate party favors would remain on the list of things to have on the table.”
“Clearly, she agreed,” I said and sipped my wine.
“She did,” Paige said. “I went home and left Carin and Eleanor to their devices. After all, what could they do to upset things at that point?”
“I asked Rex if Paige was a suspect, but he wouldn't answer.”
“What exactly did he say?” Trent asked.
“He said that he was asking what had happened, that he was putting together Carin's last day.”
“I see,” Trent said with a frown.
“I wouldn't worry about it.” I put my hand on his. “Rex is fair in his assessments. He understands that Carin and Paige were school rivals and nothing more.”
A three piece orchestra was playing softly in the background and the room was full of high-society guests. I'd been so busy thinking about Paige and Carin that I hadn't really noticed how far along the event was. I glanced around to see if anyone was noting the centerpieces and it seemed as if a few were being admired.
“Except there is more.” Jenn paused while the servers took away our salad plates and put down our dinner plates.
“What?” I was drawn back to Jenn and Paige. “What do you mean
there is more
?”
“You don't think Rex sees that as motive, do you?” I asked Jenn, then turned to Paige. “How long have you and Reggie been dating?”
“Almost two years. He has let me know every step of the way that I'm his one and only.”
“There's no reason for Paige to hurt Carin,” Trent said. “It's ridiculous to think there is.”
“You didn't get into a fight with Carin the day she died?” Jenn asked.
I frowned. “Jennâ”
“What?” Jenn shrugged. “I'm asking because Rex made it sound like they did.”
“We might have exchanged words in the hall,” Paige said with a nonchalant shrug. “It was nothing.”
“What did you talk about?” Jenn asked.
“I think we've spent enough time on Carin,” Trent said briskly. “This is supposed to be an enjoyable evening. Let's change subjects.”
I noted that couples were swaying slowly on the dance floor as the band played a waltz. I held out my hand. “Come on, Trent. Let's dance.”
“My pleasure.” He stood, tucked my hand in the crook of his arm, and led me to the parquet dance floor that had been laid down on the far end of the dining area. He took me into his arms and expertly twirled me around the floor.
The rest of the evening was filled with romance as the orchestra was replaced with a big band. The tables were pushed back and the French doors opened to let in the lake breezes.
It was magical, being in Trent's arms. I let him sweep me away into a world of happiness.
Chapter 6
“Someone had a good night,” Jenn said as I came into my apartment through the fire escape door. It was one in the afternoon and I was wearing the dress I'd worn the night before.
I did a small twirl in the middle of the living area. “It was magical.”
“Sweet. I want details,” Jenn said from her perch on the couch, her laptop on the coffee table.
“Ladies don't kiss and tell.” I headed to the bedroom to strip, shower, and get dressed for the day.
“Oh, you did more than kiss,” Jenn said.
“I'm not telling,” I called over my shoulder.
“When's the wedding?” she called back at me.
I blew out a long breath, slipped on my bathrobe, and stuck my head out into the hallway. “I'm taking this one day at a time.”
“Fine. Promise me I'll be the first to know when it happens.”
“I promise you'll be the first to know”âI headed to the bathroomâ“but don't tell my mother you were first. She'll have a fit.”
“I won't. I promise.”
It was good to take a day off every now and then. My day was more of an evening and morning, but hey, time off was time off. Last night with Trent was magical and romantic and I would never forget it. The yacht club raised a record amount of money and Jenn and Sandy and I earned an extra two thousand dollars for our efforts. All in all it was not a bad day.
* * *
Luckily, I didn't have any bets on the boats in the race. A squall had picked up and the high winds and waves cut the races short. People had pretty much stayed off the ferries, cutting their days of visiting the island short.
I let Sandy go home at two o'clock and canceled the last fudge demonstration. It was pouring rain outside and only a small group of people had gathered indoors near the fireplace to drink hot coffee and use the Wi-Fi.
I put my raincoat on and headed to Dodd's market to pick up something for dinner. The streets smelled of rain and dust and were mostly bare. A few of the horse-drawn taxis waited out the storm under the trees near the fort. With their heads down, the animals looked miserable. The drivers sat with raincoats pulled around them and their hats dripping wet. The open carriage windows were covered by shades that were rolled down and tied to keep the rain off any customer that might flag them down for a ride.
The bike shop had closed up for the duration of the storm.
I opened the door to the grocery store, the bells jingling on the door. Mary Emry looked up from her trashy celebrity magazine to see who was coming in during the storm.
“Hi Mary.” I shook out my umbrella and left it next to the door.
Mary simply nodded her head at my intrusion. I grabbed a basket and made my way to the produce section. I needed things for a salad and figured I'd fry up a chicken to go with it. The choice of fresh meat was nice considering the small size of the store. I grabbed a package of antibiotic free, organic, free-range chicken, a bag of salad along with cucumbers, red and yellow peppers, an onion, olives, carrots, radishes, and zucchini. Finally, I took a loaf of fresh French bread and took them to the register.
“Heard you pulled Carin Moore's dead body out of the marina,” Mary said as she rang up my dinner.
I nodded. “Yes, that's right.”
“Must have been a terrible sight.”
“It was.”
She squinted her brown eyes at me. “Are you used to finding the dead yet?”
“What?”
“How many has it been now? Ten?” Her dark head was bent as she rang up my groceries, making it hard to tell what she meant.
Did she mean to imply it was my fault? Did she mean to imply that she felt sorry for me?
“Four,” I corrected her. “Only four dead bodies and none of them were my fault.”
“Didn't say they were,” she said as she bagged my groceries. “Just wondered if you were used to finding them.”
I realized then that was probably the most talkative Mary Emry had ever been. I leaned against the counter. “Did you know Carin Moore?”
“Everyone on the island knew Carin Moore. That girl had the tongue of a wasp. Could sting anyone with her words and did so frequently and on purpose.”
“Do you know who might have wanted her dead?”
She looked up at me. “Paige Jessop.”
“Why Paige?”
“Eleanor saw Reggie kissing Carin down by the docks.”
“Eleanor is Carin's best friend. Why would she tell anyone what she saw?”
“Because Eleanor would rather be Paige's best friend,” Mary said and handed me my bag. “Wouldn't you?”
I took my things and left. Yes, I guess I would rather be Paige's best friend . . . but it had never occurred to me that Eleanor would.
* * *
“Shane says there was alcohol in Carin's system,” Jenn said as I unpacked the groceries.
“It might have been an accident, then. She could have stumbled overboard and drowned.
“Her lungs were clear of water.”
“I tried to push it out,” I remembered. “I thought some came out of her mouth.”
“Shane said the coroner is certain she didn't breathe any water in. She didn't drown, Allie.” Jenn put down her laptop and came over to stand at the bar and talk to me as I started dinner.
“I suppose that's a good thing. Drowning would be terrible. I think.” A shiver went down my spine. I put on an apron over my T-shirt and knee length shorts, got out a knife, and began to cut up the chicken.
“You might be right. Hopefully I'll never know. Like I said yesterday, Carin definitely died of the blow to the back of her head. It snapped her brain stem . . . which still could have been an accident . . . but afterward she was clearly dumped in the water. So someone is hiding something.”
I put the chicken in the pan with olive oil and onion. “Mary Emry said that Reggie is cheating on Paige with Carin.”
“What? First of all, Mary Emry talked to you?”
I smiled. “She did. I know, I was amazed myself.”
“Secondly, Reggie would not cheat on Paige. That man is clearly in love with her.”
“I guess Eleanor saw them kissing down by the docks and told Paige and anyone else who would listen.”
Jenn wrinkled her brow. “Why would Eleanor do that? She worshipped Carin. People call her
the shadow
because she never leaves Carin's side.”
“And that's why people believe her when she said she saw Carin and Reggie kissing. Mary implied that Eleanor really wants to be friends with Paige and went to her with the news . . . not to rub Paige's face in it, but to make friends.”
“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” Jenn said and poured herself a glass of iced tea, then hopped up on the bar stool. “So Paige and Eleanor were talking.”
“I'm sure Paige shrugged her off. Would you take Eleanor seriously?”
Jenn shook her head. “No.” She sipped her drink. “My guess is that Paige laughed it off. I know I would have.”
“But it doesn't look good for Paige if you're looking for a motive for murder. I think we should keep digging. I don't want Paige to get hurt. She and Trent are really close. What hurts her, hurts Trent, and I don't want that.”
“Of course you don't, sweetie,” Jenn said. “I'll keep my ears open and see what the local scuttlebutt is about this. I'm sure the autopsy results will be posted in tomorrow's paper. Let's hope Paige isn't suspect number one.”
“I agree.” I chopped up salad to have with the chicken. “Oh, I have some other news.”
“Trent asked you to marry him?”
“What?! No.” I felt the heat of a blush rush up my cheeks. “We've only been dating a couple months. It's Mr. Devaney.”
Jenn frowned. “Mr. Devaney asked you to marry him?”
“Stop being silly. Mr. Devaney came to me and asked that you and I put our heads together. He wants to ask Frances to marry him and he wants us to help make it memorable.”
Jenn's face lit up. “Oh my gosh. That's fantastic. They are such a cute couple. I have some great ideas already. Did he say if he wanted it to be private and intimate or did he want to go big and public?”
“He said he wanted it to be special, that Frances deserves special. I don't think big and public is their style, do you? He wants us to do what we think Frances would dream of doing.”
“Hmmm.” Jenn tapped her chin. “They do seem more intimate, and yet how wonderful that they are in love and taking this big step at their age. I think the whole island should celebrate.”
“Really?”
“Well, okay. I guess that's not reasonable, but if Shane ever asks you what kind of proposal I want, you tell him I want marching bands and fireworks and planes with banners. I want to make the evening news in five states. I want big and splashy!”
I laughed and shook my head. “You are a nut. That kind of attention would terrify me. Good lord, my mother would get involved and then everything would be her way.”
“My mother,” Jenn said. “Yes, I want my parents flown in to the island and a festival of Fudgies in my honor.” Her eyes sparkled.
I plated dinner and placed one plate in front of her and took the stool beside her. “I think we should do some research, present Mr. Devaney with three options, and let him pick which one he likes best.”
“This is so exciting,” Jenn said, her dark hair bobbing as she bounced on the bar stool. “We need to kind of hint with Frances and see what kinds of proposal she wants.”
I shook my head. “No. I promised we wouldn't let her know anything was going on.”
Jenn pulled a face. “Fine”âshe stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork and waved it in the airâ“but that doesn't mean we can't still find out. I'll tell her I have a couple who want me to plan their engagement. I'll ask her if I could run some ideas by her and see what she has to say.”
“Now that sounds better. Just be sure Frances doesn't figure it out. She's very smart. It's tough to put anything passed her.”
“I know. She knew I was in love with Shane before I did.”
I smiled and forked up my own chicken. “I can't wait to be as smart as she is. She told me that age brings wisdom if you pay attention. I'm paying attention.”
“You are good at that,” Jenn said.
The door to my apartment opened and Mal came rushing in with Frances behind her.
“Hello girls. I didn't mean to interrupt your dinner. I took Mal for her final walk of the day and thought I'd bring her back to you. We had a great time together, didn't we, Mal?”
I gathered my puppy up near my heart and squeezed her. “Thanks for watching her overnight. I missed my baby.”
“Every now and then Mama needs a night off to have a life,” Frances said with a twinkle in her eye. “I was young once and remember.”
“Thanks, Frances,” I said. “Do you want some dinner? I have chicken and salad.”
“No, thanks.” The twinkle in her wide brown eyes brightened. “I have a date myself.”
“Finally she talks about her love life,” Jenn teased.
Frances blushed. “We were trying to keep things to ourselves for as long as possible.”
“It was pretty evident from the start, but thanks for sharing. Mr. Devaney is a great guy.”
“Douglas might just be the love of my life,” Frances said and put her hand on her heart. “And here I thought it was too late for a woman of my age.”
“Oh, it's never too late,” I said, jumping up to hug her. “Come have some tea while we eat. Dish about everything.”
“Oh dear. It's tempting, girls”âFrances ran her hand through her hairâ“but I really do have a date and must get going.” She leaned in to me. “I'm so glad you hired a part-time receptionist this month. It's given me more time for the finer things in life.”
“I'm glad, too,” I said and gave her another hug. “Promise that we'll talk later?”
“I promise,” Frances said and hugged me back. “See you later, girls.”
Mal jumped up on me and I picked her up. We said good-bye to Frances and I went over to put kibble in Mal's bowl. Mella the cat was out on the stoop enjoying the cooling evening air.
Jenn looked at me as I returned to my stool and my dinner plate. “Oh, we have to do something really great for those two. Something romantic.”
“Well, if anyone can do romance, it's you.”
She smiled a faraway smile. “Do you think she'll wear white at her wedding?”