Stilettos & Scoundrels (28 page)

I
was running late, thanks to
my
mother. As anticipated, she was waiting for
me
when
I
got home
from
Betty’s
. She was
livid
that I
had
bothered Ruth and was sticking
my
nose into other people’s business,
blah, blah, blah
.
I
tuned out after the first five minutes, as
my mom’s
litany of complaints tended to be the same after that. It was a pretty standard argument. Anyway, she demanded
that I
help her plant some flowers before
I
left again. It wasn’t worth the argument to say no
,
especially when it was
my
penance for bugging Ruth
;
so
I
gave in and spent what she thought was some quality mother/daughter time
with my mother
. It ended up being enjoyable as
we
had a chance to talk, although it ruined
my
manicure, but
it was worth it because I’d made my mother happy and had her
off
my
back for a
while
. Plus the weather was warm, with
a
light breeze
,
and it made being outside even better.
So things were good between them until my next misstep
.
I
just had to laugh. It was such a vicious cycle with
us
, but
I
did love
my
mother
—
no matter how crazy she made
me
.
I
was sure
my
issues with
my
mother were universal across the world.

I
walked into Katy’s salon with what was left of the coffee, wondering if
my friend had uncovered any gossip with my own sleuthing techniques
. Although foremost on
my
mind was
Cooper
Sands
.
I
couldn’t stop th
inking about him and that kiss.We
had a connection once, but hell, that was years ago.
But
if that kiss was any indication, th
at
connection was alive and well. How could
I
still be attracted to someone
I
hadn’t seen since high school? Maybe
I
was desperate.
Even though I was
confused a
bout how I
felt about him now,
I
was positive
Cooper
felt it too,
but he, too, seemed reluctant to give into it completely
.
I
could tell it wasn’t from lack of want.
Ugh
. There was no time for this.
I
just got out of a relationship. Besides,
I
had a murder to solve.
But I couldn’t deny how great those tingles of attraction felt.

Katy was working on a client and the place was hopping already, but she saw
me
come in and waved.
I
was proud of
my
friend. Katy had
a
thriving business and seemed very happy with her life.
For a moment, I felt envious. I wanted my life to be that good.

“I’ll
just be
a second,” she said when
I s
tepped close enough to hear her. “I need to set Mrs. Johnson under the dryer.”

“No problem.”
I
wandered over to the reception area and sat down
with our
coffee. There were several ladies waiting
under the dryers
who were engaged in their favorite pastime
—
gossip. Maybe
I
could find something out from them.
I
n a salon, gossip
was currency
.

I
recognized two of the three women
as
friends of
my
mother.
I
inwardly groaned. Guess more yard work was in
my future, since I
was sure to say something inappropriate.
I
wondered how many calories you burned
doing penance gardening
.

“Presley? Presley Thurman?” A voice came from where the women were all sitting.
I
turned and looked at the woman.
I
thought her name was Margaret Coombs. This was
my
opening, and
I
had better take advantage of it. These women probably knew everything goi
ng on about town and, unlike my
mother, m
ight actually be willing to tell me
the dirty little secrets.
I
was sur
e they thrived on gossip. If I
found out something good, it would be worth doing more yard work.
I
walked over to where the women were sitting underneath the dryers and joined them.

“Hi
,
ladies,”
I
said sweetly. After all,
I
did want information from them
, and my mother had taught me
a few things
:
o
ne being how to get what you want.

“Your mother told us you were coming home to visit at our last organization meeting for the Fourth of July picnic,” Margaret said. “She was upset when you didn’t show up.”

It was now April. Did what happened almost a year ago really matter?

“Yes,” another one of th
e ladies, whose name escaped me
, said. “She said you had an important job and had to work. She is very proud of you, you know.”

Again,
I
was surprised.
My
mother didn’t often say supportive things to
me
, so hearing it indirectly
was somewhat nice. In my
mother’s circle of friends
,
people
were driven
to outdo each other with stories abou
t whose kid was better. Why, I
had nev
er understood. Maybe because I
didn’t
have kids yet. Before
I
could think of a good comeback, Margaret started to speak again.

“So, what are you going to write about now that Senator Daniels is dead?” Margaret asked.

I
looked confused so Margaret added, “Your mother told us you were a very important writer doing a piece on the Senator. She hasn’t stopped bragging.”

I
wanted to laugh
—
nothing like stretching the truth
,
Mom.
I
wouldn’t actually say
I
was important, or even a writer
,
to be honest; this was more of a fluff piece and
my
first
one
on top of that.
Though this was the second time someone had told me about the nice things my mother said about me.

“Well?” Margaret looked at me
expectantly.
I
thought her question was rhetorical
—
obviously not. No one but these women could get away with being so blunt. If someone else tried it, they’d be ripped apart. These ladies felt they were entitled to information and weren’t too shy to ask for it. You had to admire that.

“
She can still write about him even though he’s dead, Margaret,” the woman whose name
I
still couldn’t remember said, completely ignoring
me
.

“I know that, Hildy. I was just asking
,
that’s all,” Margaret retorted.

Ah-ha.
Hildy Thomas was her name. She was the one who always won the best gard
en award every year. The one my
mother wanted to win and said Hildy didn’t d
eserve, for reasons I
had never really paid attention to.
My
mother didn’t like Hildy. She said she was a mean, gossipy woman
, e
xactly the kind
I
needed right now.
I
leaned in and was even more attentive.

“She could probably write an even better story now that the Senator is dead. People will be much more willing to talk,” Hildy said.

“Talk about what, Hildy?” Margaret replied.

“About Tom Daniels and what a jerk he was. I know for a fact that Helen had cut him off, wouldn’t give him one more cent,” Hildy said with conviction
, sticking her chin out.

“You don’t know that for sure,” Margaret said, shaking her head. “Stop spreading gossip.”

“Of course I do
,
” Hildy said smugly, with the confidence of someone who had an inside source.
I
hoped she kept talking, as this was interesting
, e
specially the part about Helen cutting him off financially. If he did owe people money,
that
might have put him in a bad spot. But bad enough to be killed over it? Maybe. Money was a strong motivator. It made people do crazy things.

“I bet a lot of people might find it interesting that the Senator had someone working for him who was, well, you know, someone of alternative lifestyle,” the third woman finally spoke up and as soon as
I
heard her voice
I
recognized who she was.

Harriet
Sands
,
Cooper
’s stepmother. His parents divorced when he was in high school. His mother left town and his father
quickly remarried. Harriet had been a beautiful woman
when she was younger,
and still was.
She had d
ark brown hair cut fashionably in a long bob with layers around her face. She had to be
my
mother’s age
.
However attractive she might be, she wasn’t always rumored to be the nicest. As far as
I
knew, there was never any love lost between
Cooper
and his stepmother. They had never been on good terms. She despised having to share
Cooper
’s father, and
Cooper
felt she was a money-hungry whore. His words, not
mine
. However, they were the words of a teenager. This all happened years ago, so maybe things were different now. However, she had gotten
my
curiosity up. Who could she be talking about? And really, who even cared about those things these days?

“Harriet, that doesn’t mean anything,” Margaret said. “Quit being so judgmental.”

“No
,
Margaret, she’s right,” Hildy said. “Senator Daniels was a conservative
.
He took a strong side against gay marriage. It’s not about being judgmental, but about being a hypocrite.
Not that I’m surprised.
”

“He was a politician, so being a hypocrite is a given. Why would that surprise anyone?” Margaret said.

If the Senator was trying to cover up the fact he was not really against gay rights, why would he be the one killed? It seemed as though it would be the other way around, the Senator would have it out for someone else if he was so inclined.
I
didn’t see what this could have to do with his murder, but it was interesting nonetheless.
I
started to ask the ladies w
hich member of the Senator’s staff
was gay
and
scandalizing the office in all its esteem,
when
Katy walked up.

“Mrs.
Sands
, Dottie is ready for you now.”

“It’s about time. My appointment was ten minutes ago,” Harriet brusquely stood up. “I don’t know why I put up with this!”

As Harriet walked off, Katy rolled her eyes and the other two women giggled as they noticed. It was clear Harriet’s attitude was no surprise to them.

“Because she does a fabulous job
,
and no one else will put up with you,” Katy said under her breath so only
I
could
hear.
We
smiled at the inside conversation.