Deadly Magic (7 page)

CHAPTER SIX

Grace check
ed her
watch again. Twenty after nine. She looked around the almost empty restaurant, wondering what time they closed. Other than the waiters, who were sitting over in the corner staring at her, there were only a couple of elderly diners finishing their meal. She debated whether she should order something or just leave. She had already eaten, but when Ethan called her unexpectedly an hour ago and asked to meet her for dinner, she had immediately accepted.

Spurr
ed into action, she tore off her cartoon kitty nightshirt, slithered into the slinkiest dress she owned, donned her eyes with the smokiest eyeliner and eye shadow in her collection, texted Valerie the good news, and called a cab. Despite a few traffic hiccups, she made it to the little Italian restaurant just a block from work, a few minutes before nine. Sitting down at a small table near the window, she quietly went over the menu. Although, Valerie and a few other coworkers had often raved of the lasagna, she had never been to this restaurant—living paycheck to paycheck often meant dining on homemade packed lunches.

Now
, here she sat. Waiting. Drumming her fingers on the tabletop, she resisted the urge to check her watch again. She glanced out the window, just in time to see Louisa Burns stumble from a cab and walk through the restaurant doors. With a breezy and slightly slurred “Hi, Al,” Louisa waved to the bartender and entered the ladies room.

A noise to her
right caused Grace to swivel back around in her seat. Her waiter was back.

“
Are you ready to order?”

Grace shook her head. She was about to admit to the shame of having been stood up when she saw
Ethan walk past the window. Sighing in relief, she ordered a drink and asked the waiter to give her a few minutes. A few seconds later, an apologetic Ethan slid into the seat across from her.

He look
ed incredibly tired.

“
I’m so very sorry, Grace. I’ve been in court all day and when I wasn’t in court I was meeting with clients.”

Grace quickly assur
ed him that she hadn’t waited very long.

Seeing
Ethan sitting across from Grace, the waiter zeroed in. In record time, drinks, appetizers, and dinner were ordered.

Once the business of ordering dinner was out of the way, the date
finally began. Grace looked over at Ethan, trying to decide what to say first. Where have you been is probably not a very good way to start a second date, she thought with amusement. Not if you would like a third. Although, considering he seemed to be paying more attention to the other diners than her, coupled with the fact she hadn’t heard from him in over a month and he was late to their second date, she was seriously wondering if she necessarily wanted a third date. A handsome face only goes so far. “How’s work?”

“
Hmm,” he said to the spot just behind her head.

“
Work?”

His eyes finally land
ed on her own. “Oh. Work? Yes. It’s fine. I’m sorry I didn’t call you sooner. I still can’t believe what happened. That poor woman dying like that.”

Grace smil
ed. “I’m surprised you called.”

Ethan
smiled back. “Why?”

“
Well, a first date that ends with a murder? How can we possibly top that? I’m afraid the rest of our dates would be dreadfully boring in comparison.”

Her attempt at gallows humor fell flat.

“Murder?” he asked surprised. “I read it was a suicide.”

“
That’s the official report.”

“
What makes you think otherwise?”

Grace glanc
ed over her shoulder. Suddenly aware that they weren’t quite alone. The victim’s stepdaughter was lurking around somewhere. Deciding it may be in poor taste to begin rattling on about a murder that may not have happened she quickly changed the subject. She glanced around the empty dining room.

“
Do you think they’re about to close?”

Ethan
shook his head, while assuring her that restaurant was opened for another hour. “No. It’s okay. I often have late night business meetings here with clients.”

“
Is that what this is?”

Ethan
looked taken aback. “No. Not at all. I’m sorry Grace. I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind since our date. You don’t know how many times I’ve wanted to pick up the phone. It’s just there was a problem with one of my firm's international clients. The day after your boss’ birthday, I was on a flight to Paris. I just got back the other day. I should have called to let you know. I’m so sorry.”

Grace smil
ed. “Oh, I wish I had known. I just left from there.”

“
Really?” he asked, surprised.

She nodd
ed. “My sister lives there. My family and I decided to have Thanksgiving in Paris with her this year.”

“
Did you have a good time?”

“
A very good time. I made out like a bandit.”

He gave her a strange look.

“I did a lot of shopping.” She explained. “It was nice putting all of this behind me.”

The next half hour was spent eating and getting to know one another. As far as Grace was
concerned, things had been going rather well. They talked about basic mundane things most people talk about on dates: birth places, college, hobbies and finally work.

Unfortunately
, like with most of her dates, the moment she began talking about her work, the men lose interest. She glanced at Ethan. His head was tilted at an angle as he peered over her head. Some quicker than others, she thought, slightly amused. For some reason men never want to hear about dolls. The only thing that really seemed to capture his attention was Lily’s death, but she wasn’t ready to share her theories just yet. Not with Lily’s stepdaughter a few feet away.

“
I’ve been so busy.”

He glanced back down at her.

“I have to come up with an idea of a board game.” Ethan’s eyes flitted from her to a spot just behind her head for the sixth time that night. Trying to reign in her annoyance and wondering what had captured his attention so strongly, she asked, “Is something wrong?”

“
No. I’m sorry, Grace.” He smiled brightly. “What were you saying?”

“
I’ve been trying to come up with board games for teenagers.”

“
Oh. Games. That sounds like fun.” His eyes lost focus again as they travelled from her eyes to just over her head. His eyebrows drew down in a worried frown. “I love video games,” he said, somewhat distractedly.

“
No. Not video. Board games,” she said patiently, wondering what in the world could be distracting him.

His eyes flew back to hers.
“Board games? Really? For small kids.”

Grace pick
ed up her fork and began lightly tapping it against the table. She didn’t normally fidget when out on a date, but she had obviously lost his interest at some point during the meal. “No. Teenagers,” she said patiently.

“
Ah.” His voice took on a faraway tone. “Teenagers love video games.”

“
Ethan?”

“
Hmm?”

Grace lean
ed over the table. “What’s going on? You haven’t heard a word I’ve said in the last five minutes.”

His face flush
ed. “I’m sorry.” Leaning in and lowering his voice to a whisper, he asked, “Do you see that woman sitting over there?”

G
race looked back to the bar. The only woman sitting at the bar was Louisa. She was just bringing a drink up to her mouth. It obviously wasn’t the first of the night. An older man in a three-piece suit was sitting next to her. He was leaning into her as she was leaning away. “You two know each other?”

Looking past her shoulder, he
sighed heavily. “Kind of.”

“
Have you and Louisa known each other long?”

His eyes refocus
ed. “Who?”

Grace point
ed to Louisa who was now resting her head on the bar. “Louisa Burns.”

“
Oh. I never found out her name. How do you know her?”

“
She’s my boss’ daughter.”

Shock color
ed his face. “Her mother—”

“
No. That was her stepmother who died. How do you know her?”

“
I see her here all of the time. Always alone. Usually she just has a few drinks and goes home, but there have been a few nights that she’s had one too many.”

“
What usually happens?”

“
Well, normally, Al—the bartender—calls a cab and she’s driven home, but there have been a few occasions—not many—where she’s caused a scene. She likes to flirt and sometimes she flirts with the wrong guy. The last time it happened, Al and I had to step in and it looks like it’s going to happen again.”

Turning around
, Grace watched as the man slid off his bar stool and leaned into Louisa. He wrapped one hand around Louisa’s arm and attempted to pull her off the stool. Louisa was shaking her head.

Ethan
stood. He took a few steps, but stopped when the other man let go of Louisa’s arm, angrily threw a couple of bills on the bar and stalked out of the restaurant.

Sitting back down, he sighed.
“I kind of feel sorry for her. I got the impression there were problems at home.”

Nodding
, Grace returned to her meal. She was about to ask if he had ever met Louisa’s husband when she felt a cold hand slap her shoulder and a shrill voice slur, “Gracie! How are you doing, Grace? I’ve never seen you here before.” Drink in hand Louisa slid into the booth next to Ethan. She laid a long manicured hand on his forearm. “Hello. I’ve never seen you here before, either.”

Ethan glanced at Grace.

“Did you see that guy over there?” Louisa pointed back to the bar. “He tried to pick me up. Like I would ever have something to do with a man like him. He’s not handsome like you.”

Grace lean
ed forward. “It’s getting late, Louisa—”

Louisa shook her head, spilling her drink in the process.
“No. It’s never too late, Grace. Never. Trust me, I know. It is never too late,” she said with great solemnity. “Never.” Her eyes narrowing, she looked at Grace again. “Did you see what happened today? Did you see my poor daddy? Did you see how that Jezebel weaseled her way into my company? She thinks she’s so clever, but I know what she’s up to.” Turning to Ethan she softly repeated, “I know what she’s up to.”

“
I’m sorry about what happened to your stepmom,” Ethan said gently.

Louisa laugh
ed. “I’m not.”

Grace and
Ethan exchanged looks.

“
Everyone keeps saying how they’re so sorry for me. Why? I hated her. She was always interfering. She was jealous of me. I’m glad she’s gone. She was even worse than Hannah.”

“
Hannah?” Grace asked.

Louisa nodd
ed. “Hannah was the second Mrs. Straker—Daddy’s former secretary. She was horrible. An absolute monster. She went from making coffee and running errands to the penthouse suite just like . . .” Louisa clumsily tried snapping her fingers. “But luckily for me, she didn’t last long. Then there was Courtney.
My
friend from college. She was my maid of honor and then my step mother.” She laughed. “Can you believe that?”

“
I’m sorry—”

Louisa tipp
ed back her head, resting it against the back of the booth. “But that was easy enough to fix.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “Courtney was having an affair with her fitness trainer. Daddy somehow found out.” She giggled again. “Then it was bye-bye Courtney. Then there was . . . I don’t remember. Oh, wait, yes I do. Ashley. Ashley was my daddy’s secretary when he was married to Courtney. He moved Courtney out and Ashley in practically the same day. I didn’t mind Ashley. She was such a mousy little thing. Always so eager to please. Anyway, she didn’t last long. She was too nice. She divorced him after only a year of marriage. Poor little Ashley. I actually was sorry to see her go. Then he met Lily at one of his stupid birthday bashes.”

She push
ed her drink away and looked sadly at the table. “And now we have Lily’s little mini-me, invading the office. She’s going to do the same thing Lily did. My poor daddy. He never sees these women for what they are.” Louisa tipped her head back and closed her eyes.

After a few seconds of silence,
Ethan gently laid a hand on Louisa’s forearm. “Would you like me to call a cab?”

Opening her eyes, she look
ed down at his hand on her arm. She roughly jerked her arm away. “I know you. You think I’ve forgotten, don’t you?”

Ethan
looked at her in confusion.