Corpse in the Crystal Ball (23 page)

I took a deep breath, then grabbed the bottle of Jack, poured myself a shot, and tossed back the contents. I chased it with a mammoth bite of a Ho Ho. Gretta was right …pure heaven devoured my senses, making me forget my troubles for a few moments.

“Seriously, though. Anything I can help you with?” she asked, unable to hide her concern for me.

“That’s sweet, really, but this is something I think I have to work out on my own.”

“You don’t have to be alone, you know.” Her sincerity touched me to the core.

I squeezed her hand. “I know. And trust me, that means more than you’ll ever know.”

“Does it have to do with Detective Stone?”

“Among other things …am I really that transparent?”

She leaned forward and looked me square in the eye. “I’m a woman. We sense these things.”

“Touché. But that’s only part of the problem. This case is killing me. Maybe not literally, but I swear I’m losing my mind.”

“Are you?” She narrowed her eyes. “I’ve learned a thing or two over the years. Never discount women’s intuition. If you think something is ‘off,’ chances are it is. Trust your instincts. You’re probably right.”

“Thanks, Gretta. You have no idea how much our talk has meant to me today. I needed this.”

“Good. Glad to help.”

I gave her a quick hug. “I’d better be going. I’m sure Detective Fuller is finished buying the dinner rolls his wife asked him to pick up by now.”

“I still haven’t forgiven him, you know.”

“I know. But you have to believe he was only doing his job. He really does think the world of you.”

“I know that, too, but I still intend to make him squirm. He is a man, after all.” Her eyes twinkled.

“He is at that,” I responded, then added, “I really like you, Gretta Frey.”

“The feeling’s mutual, Sunshine Meadows. Now go solve this case, woman. Divinity needs a break.”

“Amen to that.” I saluted her and walked out to find Detective Fuller just finishing checking out his order.

“There you are,” he said. “Where on earth have you been?”

“Oh, just working through the details of this case,” I said, then did a double take. “Oh …my …Lord!”

“What?” Fuller dropped his hand to his weapon.

“There’s Chuck Webb.”

“So?”

“And there’s Roz Sanderson.”

“Okay.”

“Oh, come on. Don’t you find that interesting?”

“No, I find it—”

“Aha!” I shouted as they approached the checkout line.

“Aha what?” Chuck asked.

“Aha, I caught you red-handed.” I beamed.

“Are you tripping, girl?” Roz asked.

“No, I’m not
tripping
. I saw it all.” I gestured to both of them.

“Saw what?” Chuck asked, scratching his brow.

“Don’t play the innocent. You know you were both here, following me, spying on me. Well, I’m onto you two. You won’t get away with it, you know. You won’t. Good ole Jack told me so.” I thrust my finger at them on a hiccup. “You two are in cahoots.”

“Ca-whats?” Chuck asked, scratching his head again.

“You’re crazy, blondie, you know that?” Roz asked.

“Never mind her. She’s had a rough week,” Fuller explained. “Carry on, folks. Carry on.” He took me by the arm and led me out to his car.

“Are you drunk?” he asked.

“No. I only had one shot. It was just an unfortunate hiccup at the wrong time,” I said with a huff. “The point is I know those two are working together. They’re out to get me. You’ll see.”

He searched my eyes. “All I see is you are way too paranoid to do me any good. I want you to stay home tomorrow. Take the day off. Get some rest. Then we’ll talk.”

“Why do the bad guys always win?” I asked on a soft huff.

“They don’t, Miss Meadows. And when you’ve had some rest, I think you’ll agree with me. Call me tomorrow, okay?”

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” I responded, but my mind was a million miles away.

Were Chuck and Roz really after me, or was I truly losing my mind? I wasn’t sure what to believe anymore. All I knew was I was truly tired. A day off suddenly didn’t sound so bad. Neither did a nap. And that was exactly what I set out to do.

Friday morning dawned in a blur. I hardly remembered Thursday. I’d proceeded to pray at the “altar of Jack” on Thursday evening, but now that it was Friday, I couldn’t remember half of what his advice had been. Heck, I couldn’t even remember if I’d made it all up.

All I knew for certain was that I had to get control of my life, and quick.

I padded downstairs to the kitchen and checked my messages. Mom had called once, and Kevin had called several times. Every day since I had last seen him. He probably thought I was ignoring him. I rubbed my temples and took some ibuprofen. I wasn’t—I was just overwhelmed with this
case. Yet now I had to worry about what he was thinking, which only reinforced why getting involved in any relationship right now wasn’t smart.

Our date had gone really well, and I had a great time with him, but I’d been so busy all week trying to crack this case. But I couldn’t stop the question from running through my mind: if I’d had such a great time with him, then why hadn’t I thought about him even once this week?

I decided not to dwell on it right now. I mean, who wouldn’t be distracted with all I had going on in my life? Kevin would just have to understand. I sighed. Except men never understood. At least not the men in my life.

Take Mitch, for instance. He was angry at me because I’d pointed out what Fuller and everyone else would see. Selena Gonzales didn’t have an alibi, had a motive, and needed to be investigated. That didn’t mean I believed she was guilty. I just wanted them to be prepared.

I made myself a cup of tea and left the messages for now. I wasn’t ready to deal with explaining myself to Kevin just yet. He really was one of the nicest, sweetest guys I knew. He was perfect.

Damn Detective Grumpy Pants!

“Are you ready?” Granny asked as she waltzed into the kitchen fully dressed with no apron in sight and her rain cap firmly tied around her hair.

“For what?” I cleared my throat and took another sip of my tea.

“It’s Friday. You know I have my hair washed and set every Friday. Tracy’s waiting for me down at Pump up the Volume. I don’t want to be late.” She grabbed her purse. “This is why I really need my license, dear.”

“Oh, right. No problem. Just let me grab my keys. As long as I don’t have to get out of the car, I don’t care what I look like.”

“You know, your mother wouldn’t even wear her ugly underwear when going out …just in case. And here you are in just a T-shirt and boxers.”

“Lucky for you I’m not her. I’m too tired to go back upstairs and change. Besides, we don’t want to be late.” I smiled, grabbed my keys and my tea, and led the way outside. Okay, bad idea, I thought, shivering. Springtime in New York could still be chilly. But after the night I’d had, Granny was lucky I’d had the energy to don any clothes at all.

“Well, we wouldn’t want to be late. No, no, no, that just won’t do.” She hustled after me. “Mustn’t keep Raoulle waiting. He has such big hands. They’re not as big as Captain Walker’s, mind you, but they’re big enough to get the job done.” She nodded once and clapped her hands. “I love the way that young man washes my hair.”

For a brief second I pictured Captain Walker washing Granny Gert’s hair but then shook the cobwebs from my good ole “Jackified” brain. I climbed in the passenger’s side, cranked the heat, and then held on to my tea for dear life as Granny roared down my driveway and peeled out onto the road. “Wh-What time do you think you’ll be done?” I finally asked after I caught my breath.

“No worries, dear. Belle offered to give me a ride home since she’s having her hair done today, too, on account of her big date with Don tonight. Speaking of dates, Kevin called several times, you know.”

“I know. I’ve just been swamped with this case.”

“You should take a break. Go out and have fun tonight. Take your mind off your troubles. It’ll be good for you.” She looked at me with a sympathetic, understanding expression and gently said, “Call him.”

“I might.” My eyes sprang wide. “Watch out, Granny!”

She faced front again, jerking just in time to avoid a newspaper box and then took the turn on two wheels. Slamming on the breaks, we skittered sideways into two parking spots and came to a stop at a cockeyed angle. “There now, that wasn’t so bad.”

I glanced down at my white T-shirt, which was soaking wet now and practically transparent. Well, that was one way to get warm, I thought. Thank goodness I didn’t drink my tea boiling hot. But I was regretting my PJ wardrobe as the boxers clung uncomfortably to my skin and cooled quickly.

After Granny climbed out of the car as though she’d just made the perfect three-point turn, I climbed over to the driver’s side bucket seat and started my bug. All I wanted to do was get home, take a hot shower to wake up, and change into something warm and dry. I had almost made it back to my place when my bug started to spit and sputter. The engine died, and I coasted over to the side of the road.

I looked at the gas gauge. Empty. Dropping my head forward, I banged it on the steering wheel three times, then kept it there. This was not happening to me. I could have sworn I still had half a tank last night.

Someone rapped on the window and I jumped, hitting my head on my visor. “Ow,” I yelped, then rubbed my scalp
and squinted out the window. Oh boy. I rolled down the window and crossed my arms over my chest. “Hi, Kevin.”

“Hi, Sunny. Is everything okay?” He looked me over curiously. “Interesting outfit, by the way.”

“Yeah, I was dropping Granny off at the hairdresser’s, and I ran out of gas on the way home. I didn’t think I’d have to get out of the car.” I shifted my hands to try to cover more revealing wet clothing. “I really didn’t think anyone would see me.”

“Hang on a sec.” He jogged back to his mail truck, pulled something from the back, and then returned with a bundle in his hands. “Here. I always keep an extra uniform shirt in the back. You never know what the day might bring, right?”

“Believe me, lesson learned.” I took his shirt through the open window and slipped it on, thinking once again just how sweet the guy was. Only after I was fully covered did I step out of my car. “You wouldn’t happen to have any extra gas in there, would you?”

“Unfortunately, no.” He winced. “But I can give you a ride home. I can pick up a tank of gas when my shift ends and fill her up for you. Then I’ll swing by and give you a ride back to your car if you want.” He searched my face carefully before adding, “If you’re not too busy, that is.”

“Kevin, I—”

He held up his hand. “Sunny, it’s okay. I know what you’re up against in working this case.” He touched my cheek. “Really, I do. I had a great time with you the other night at dinner.”

I smiled sincerely, meaning it this time. “Me too.” Every time I was with him he reminded me what a great catch he was. It was only when we were apart that I kept forgetting.
Well, not forgetting per se. More like remembering someone else who was not a great catch. He was more like one big pain in the butt.

And somehow that made him all the more difficult to forget.

“Thank you so much, Kevin. I can’t believe you did all that,” I said when he dropped me off at my car later that evening. Dark clouds were just starting to roll in with the threat of rain. “I really am sorry.” I handed him his extra uniform shirt that Granny had promptly washed, dried, and pressed.

“For what?” He took the shirt and our fingers brushed, but there was no spark. Not like with a certain someone else. “You’re exhausted. I get it,” he went on. “I probably wouldn’t feel up for company, either, if I were in your shoes. Stay home. Take a night off. Get some sleep. Looks like we’re in for a storm.” He touched my cheek. “Just remember if you need anything, anything at all, please call me. I’m here for you, okay?”

“Thank you for understanding.” I wished my feelings were different. We’d only been on one date, but I knew enough about what I was feeling—or not feeling—to know
I needed time to think. “That means a lot. I just want to take a hot bath, curl up with a good book, and go to bed early. What are you going to do?”

He shrugged. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll probably grab a bite to eat at Nikko’s or something. I’ll check on you tomorrow. Remember, call if you need anything at all.”

“I will. And I
will
make this up to you somehow.”

“I’m counting on it.” He winked.

That’s what I’m afraid of,
I thought as I watched him drive away.

I drove home and parked my bug in the driveway, feeling exhausted. After locking her up, I darted into the house as quickly as I could. Thunder boomed and lightning lit up the night sky. Black ominous clouds loomed overhead. There was a storm coming, all right, and it looked downright scary.

“Granny?” I hollered when I got inside.

No answer.

“Granny, I’m back.” I wandered into the living room.

Still no answer.

What the heck was going on?

“Morty? Anyone?” I peeked my head in my sanctuary and even my foyer.

The house just creaked and groaned like a normal, ancient house.