Summer Reading is Killing Me (Phee Jefferson Book 2) (4 page)

CHAPTER NINE

Ten minutes later, I hung up the phone and gave a
deep sigh of contentment. My life was awesome. I had a great house, a job I
loved, a close-knit family, and the man I’d been in love with since I was a
gawky teenager. I leaned over and knocked on my cherry coffee table. I wasn’t
superstitious, but a girl could never be too careful.

I poured myself a glass of red wine
and grabbed my laptop. I searched the internet for any information I could
find about
Elody
Campbell. Page after page of gossip
sites scrolled in front of me. She was breathtaking when alive. Her silvery
blonde hair hung in long waves around her face. At only five feet tall, she
resembled a fairy princess from Andrew Lang’s 
Fairy Books.

I clicked on one of the more recent stories.
“Senator’s Daughter Parties with Art Scene Bad Boy” the headline
announced. I read the article. “
Elody
Campbell was
with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Jay Burns, at Club 540 on Saturday
night. Was it the lighting or was there a bruise on the lovely
Elody’s
face? Jay Burns is the up-and-coming artist who
rose from street gang obscurity to the top of the art world food chain with his
pieces currently fetching five figures with Japanese collectors. Art critic,
Sylvester Cline discovered him after an article in the entertainment news
included photos of his work. Does Senator Campbell know his daughter parties
with this artful thug whose criminal past includes assault and petty theft? Is
the glazed look in her eyes from love or something else?” The article contained
several images of
Elody
and her entourage. I clicked
on one to examine it closer. Jay was attractive in a greasy way that made you
take a second glance but then decide you would need to bathe him before you
could kiss him. He sported silver hoops in both ears and sleeked his black hair
into a ponytail. Several tattoos decorated his arms. He looked to be my age or
a few years older. Definitely not my type of guy, but I could see his roguish
appeal. In one photo, it looked like
Elody
had a
bruise but with the grainy image taken in low club lights, I couldn’t be sure.

I returned to my search and read through
several more articles. Some hinted at drugs and wild partying by
Elody
and her crowd. The Senator must have had his PR team
working overtime to cover up the damage his daughter’s behavior caused.
Reporter, Tessa Brewer, wrote most of the pieces I found. As I scanned more
stories, I noticed that unlike the other reporters, Tessa’s coverage of
Elody
seemed catty and biased. Although Tessa reported a
few negative things about Jay, she mostly praised his artwork and predicted he
would go far in the art world. I clicked on information about her and her
column,
Celebrity Gab Rag
, and perused her coverage of other
celebrities. Tessa wrote vicious barbed comments about
Elody’s
relationship with Jay and thinly veiled accusations of drug use, but she was
kinder to other celebs she covered. Maybe Tessa wanted to help sell more papers
and knew
Elody
was the hottest club girl of the
moment. Maybe she had a personal grudge against
Elody
.
Either way, scandals and gossip sold more papers.

My cell phone blasted Prince’s
Purple Rain
,
the ring tone for Juliet. Ugh! “Sorry I forgot to call!”

“You’re a terrible sister! I’ve been on pins and
needles all evening waiting to find out what happened with you and Grant. Did
you make up? Did he beg for forgiveness? Is Clint going to hunt him down like a
wrathful warrior and avenge his woman?” Juliet drew in a deep breath and before
she could continue her inquisition, I interrupted her.

“A. We made up. B. Grant said he was sorry, but so
am I. I’ve been an awful friend to him, and now he’s moving away. C. Wrathful
warrior? Really? Where do you get this stuff? I need to give you better books
to read next time you come to the library. It sounds like a line from a regency
romance. All I have to say is gross!”

“
Hmmf
! I’m not sorry
Grant is leaving. He makes everyone uncomfortable. No one knows what to say to
him. Do we ask about his mom? Do we ask how he is? It opens up a can of night
crawlers and nobody wants to deal with it. Clint wasn’t upset? He is way too
controlled with his emotions. I like my men like I like my salsa, fiery and
hot,” Juliet giggled. She loved Clint like a big brother, but she still liked
to have a bit of drama now and then. She was in a steady relationship with
Wade, so she didn’t have all the man drama trauma anymore.

“I told you he wouldn’t be mad, and I was right.
He is amazing and perfect in every way. I’ve been waiting months for a horrible
bad habit or tic to make him less than flawless, but. . . nada. If I lived with
him, I would probably find out that he picks his toes with his dinner fork or
something else disgusting, but so far, no toe pick,” I said.

“You are so weird sometimes, but I love you,”
Juliet laughed. “Now I have an image of sitting at your kitchen table while
Clint cleans his toes burned into my memory. Thanks. I won’t eat dinner with
you ever again.”

“You are so welcome. I aim to please! I’ve been
digging up the dirt on our victim. She’s
Elody
Campbell, Senator Campbell’s daughter.”

“I heard that earlier this evening when Wade and I
ate at Mimi’s. It was all anyone could talk about everywhere Wade and I went,”
Juliet said. “I can’t believe you didn’t recognize her.”

“
Puhlease
! Like I read
the tabloids. I spent the evening searching the internet for recent pictures
and articles about her. Did you know she dated an artist named Jay Burns?
According to one article, he’s a low-level thug with a criminal record.
He  could have killed her in a fit of passion,” I theorized. I grabbed out
a notepad and pen and wrote down names of the people connected to
Elody
.

“Maybe,” Juliet agreed, “but don’t jump to
conclusions because of a celebrity gossip article.” 

“I realize that, silly. I’m the murder mystery
maven of the library stacks. I’m just throwing out ideas and seeing what
sticks. Possibly someone on the Senator’s staff doing damage control? Or maybe
the Senator himself?” I thought about the implications of Senator Campbell
being a murderer. According to the political rumor mill, he planned to run for
president. What lengths would he or those close to him go to ensure his nomination?
I wrote his name down on my list and added Camp Campbell underneath for his
staff. 

“We can sit here and speculate until the owl
hoots, or we could do a little investigating ourselves. I’ll call the community
center at the lake tomorrow and see if I can do a few yoga classes for the
artists at the retreat. While I’m doing mountain pose, I can scope out our
suspect pool. I’ll find out what
Elody
was doing in
Miller’s Cove and who knew her,” Juliet said. 

“I’ll go with you. I can do a little nosing around
myself while we’re doing yoga,” I offered. 

“Wait a second. Ms. I Exercise My Brain, Not My
Body Jefferson is going to yoga with me?” Juliet snickered. 

“I’ll take the class. How hard can it be? It’s not
like I’ll be running a marathon or anything,” I sniffed. I wasn’t that out of
shape. I walked most places and lifting books and pushing book carts was an
excellent workout. Wasn’t yoga just stretching and
ohming
?
“Let me know when to be there. In the meantime, I need sleep. I have to be at
Mom and Dad’s house to pick up Watson in the morning. Mom promised to make me
blueberry pancakes.”  

“You’ll need my class after Mom’s pancakes and
homemade whipped cream. I might sneak over and eat breakfast myself. This will
be the first normal thing she’s made since Dad and I began suffering through
her new health kick.” 

“Poor
Juls
. I’ll see you
in the morning. Bye.” I hung up and returned to the laptop. I looked to see if
there was any contact information for reporter Tessa Brewer. I should call and
ask what her connection was to
Elody
. I glanced at
the clock above my stove. It was close to ten on a Saturday night, so there was
zero chance I could track Tessa down tonight. It would have to wait until
Monday morning.

I yawned and gave
Ferdie
a scratch behind the ears. Time for bed. I hoped I would dream about Clint and
not a dead girl in a park.

CHAPTER TEN

The next morning I drove to my parent’s house for
blueberry pancakes. My mother was a phenomenal cook, but she and Dad recently
started a weird longevity diet involving nuts, berries and seeds. At least this
was Juliet’s claim as she bemoaned, “Mom’s making Dad and me eat squirrel
food.” Juliet didn’t cook, so she grazed at other people’s houses as often as
she could.

I opened the front door to my parent’s house and
called out to them. Watson bounded up on his short little legs and wiggled his
nubby tail and butt with joy. “Hi boy! Did you miss me? Did
you’ums
have a doggie play date?” I picked him up, and he licked my face. 

“Good morning, sweetheart. Watson was on his best
behavior. I think this was the first time he didn’t dig around the yard and
drag any dead thing he found up to the house.” Mom scratched him behind the
ear. “Speaking of dead, I wasn’t two feet inside the door of the church this
morning before three people came up to weasel information out of me. I told
them it wouldn’t be right for me to gossip at church. The look on their faces
was priceless. No one will ask me to lunch for the foreseeable future. You
would think after last year, people would have had their fill of crime! The
whole town is whispering about Senator Campbell and poor
Elody
.
Such a waste.” She shook her head.

      “I’m sorry, Mom. I
wish somebody else had found her. Jaime will catch the killer, then everything
can return to normal. Thanks for watching Watson for me. Grant and I talked and
made peace although it might be too late to save our friendship. He plans to
leave Miller’s Cove.” 

“Well, honey, I can’t blame him. If it was me, I
would have left right after everything happened. I’m glad you spent some time
with him. You’ve been friends for too long to not talk. Come into the kitchen
while I finish making breakfast. Your dad took Hamlet for a jog. He should be
back soon.”

“Dad’s jogging? Really? Why?” My parents were
retired academics, not athletes. Both slim and healthy, they spent most of
their time outdoors in the garden, playing tennis or hiking. A new diet and now
jogging? Something was fishy in the Parental Palace. 

“Your father had his yearly physical a few
weeks ago,” Mom rinsed the blueberries in a colander. “It’s nothing to worry
about but his blood pressure and cholesterol were a little higher than normal.
We decided it’s time we took better care of ourselves. We’re getting older, so
things require more maintenance than they used to.” 

“Juliet whined about your nuts and berries diet,”
I said. “I think it’s a good thing you’re eating healthy. I want you and dad
around for a long time.” I walked over to the sink and gave my mom a quick hug.
She leaned over and kissed me on my forehead. 

“Well, I don’t plan on croaking for quite some
time. I want to see grandkids from you and Juliet before I’m eighty! Your
brother and the twins should be here any minute. Rick called and said Carrie
needed a mommy break, so he is bringing Zoe and Sam over for a visit.” She
pulled a pitcher of juice from the refrigerator. “Put this on the table,
please.”

“Juliet plans to drop in, too. I let it slip you
were fixing blueberry pancakes.
Juls
won’t pass on a
meal she didn’t have to cook herself.” I pulled dishes from the cupboard and
set the table. The kitchen door opened and Dad walked in with Hamlet, followed
by Rick and the babies. I grabbed a baby carrier from Rick as he struggled
through the door.

“
Shh
… I just got them to
sleep. Help me put them in the bedroom. Juliet’s pulling into the driveway.
Quiet is not a word she knows, so I want to get them settled before she gets in
here.” Rick set the twins’ diaper bag on the floor. He walked down the hallway
towards his old room. It was no longer covered with baseball pictures and
sports trophies from Rick’s glory days in high school. The walls had been
transformed into a magical painted forest with bunnies and squirrels scampering
through the grass and birds soaring through the fluffy clouds. Mom had outdone
herself decorating the room for her first grandbabies.

Picking up Zoe, I gazed down at her pink, chubby
cheeks. I watched her rosebud lips quiver with each little soft snore. I wanted
to hold her close and inhale her sweet baby scent. A sudden wave of longing for
a child of my own swept through me. After I kissed her cheek, I laid her down
in her crib. Rick tucked Sam into his crib. We tiptoed out of the room. Rick
shut the door behind us.

As I walked into the kitchen, I overheard Juliet
exclaim, “Oh my gosh! You would not believe the craziness downtown! It was like
a three-ring circus getting out of my apartment and to my car.” Juliet lived
above an antique store in a small one-bedroom apartment. “It’s a paparazzi
explosion and you would think Queen Elizabeth arrived in town the way everyone
acts. Nellie was so busy she made Mike put on an apron and serve coffee.”

“You knew it would happen as soon as the press got
wind that
Elody
Campbell was the victim,” I said.
Everyone sat down at the table to eat. I speared a piece of blueberry pancake
and dipped it into the inky purple syrup pooling on my plate. I took a bite and
stopped. “Mom, something’s wrong with my pancakes. They taste…don’t take this wrong,
weird.”

“Your mother is making me eat ungodly gluten-free,
sugar-free, enjoyment-free food,” Dad grumbled as he stuffed pancake in his
mouth and swallowed it. “If I die, it’ll be from this
Frankenfood
stuff she’s serving me, not a little cholesterol. At least if I ate a steak,
I’d die happy and full.” He sipped his coffee and grimaced. “Decaf.”

“It’s for your own good.” Mom gave him an injured
look. “
Phee
, I made the pancakes with a blend of
coconut and bean flours. You’ll get used to it. It’s healthy and nutritious. It
won’t kill you.”

“Told
ya
,” Juliet
snorted under her breath. She took a sip of orange juice. “I hope all these
reporters don’t plan on taking up permanent residence downtown. We might have
to rent out rooms at your house,
Phee
.”

“It will die down in a day or two.” I put down my
fork. I wasn’t hungry for
bluefrankenberry
pancakes.
If this was Mom’s idea of food, we’d be eating
tofurkey
for our next holiday meal. “How’s Carrie doing, Rick?”

“She’s tired. Both Zoe and Sam are teething and
miserable. I do what I can, but I’ve got an important project going at work.
I’m working sixty hours a week to finish it. Carrie deserves a break, so I’m
having a daddy day with the twins and came over to enjoy Mom’s great cooking.”
Rick took a big bite and gulped it down. He gave Mom a bright smile.

“Kiss up,” Juliet whispered. I choked back a
giggle.

“Thank you, Rick,” Mom beamed at him. “At least
one child appreciates me.”

“I appreciate you, Mom.” I picked up my fork.
After two attempts, I swallowed the gummy, bean-flavored concoction. “It’s
good!”

“
Phee
,
I set up the yoga class at the lake’s recreation center for tomorrow morning.
It’s short notice, but it starts at six. You’ll still have time to get ready
for work afterwards. It’ll be fun,” Juliet winked at me. Rick frowned at us
both and shook his head. My exercise abhorrence was no secret, so he knew
Juliet and I were up to shenanigans.

“I’d love to go. If Dad can jog, I can yogi… yoga…
yogic… whatever. You know what I mean. We’ll be healthy together,” I crossed my
fingers and hoped my butt didn’t expand two sizes for my lie. While Juliet
loosened everyone’s muscles with her mountain pose, I’d loosen their tongues
about
Elody
and why someone took her life.