Sweet Christmas Kisses (52 page)

Joanna pressed her index finger to her lips and shook her head.

He opened his eyes wide and didn't move.

“That's an interesting theory.” Hugh sounded as if he was taking it seriously.

“It's logical, isn't it?” A trace of impatience had crept into the woman's voice. “She poisoned her dog because of your allergy, but you found out about it, and of course you couldn't go on being engaged to her.” She lowered her voice so Joanna had to stretch her ears to understand the next words. “Did you ever have the impression that Ms. Damanti hated her dog?”

Tim turned his face to Joanna. His dark eyes looked like marbles, about to fall out of his head.

“I . . . no.” Hugh drew out the word so it sounded as if he was hesitating. “It didn't seem so.” He stressed the verb.

Joanna felt sick. Hugh had often reproached her of loving Spicy more than him.
I don't believe this.

“Ladies and Gentlemen!” Her father's voice boomed through the loudspeakers.

Joanna gave a start and turned.

Her father stood in the middle of the dancing area and grinned until the corners of his mouth almost touched his ears. His hair stood up. In the spotlight, he looked like a hedgehog with a halo. “Tonight, I have a very special surprise for you. You all know that Conran Dark has come to the area, and as a favor between friends . . .”

Joanna gasped.

“. . . he'll now sing for us. He'll only stay for a few minutes, so enjoy it while it lasts.” Mr. Damanti flung his arms wide, and shouted. “Welcome with me . . . Conran Dark!”

The Christmas crowd cheered. Music started to play, and Conran jumped onto the three wooden boards that represented the stage.

He can't be here. I'm dreaming this.
Joanna stared at the stage until her eyes hurt.

He wore jeans and a dark-brown leather jacket, and he looked so full of energy that the air seemed to vibrate around him. “Good evening!”

His deep voice mesmerized her.

The crowd clapped and whistled.

The first notes of “Dance with me” came over the system. It felt as if they sliced right through her, bringing with them the memory of the night she had lost her way and of the Sunday morning when she had planned a surprise breakfast for him. Joanna closed her eyes with pain. When she opened them again, Tim had vanished.

Joanna forced herself to get up. She pinned a fake smile onto her face and moved around the tables, clearing away dirty dishes. She ignored Sally, who had jumped up and made signs across the barn, and she ignored her father who obviously just waited to be patted on the back for having conjured up Conran. She had a job to do.

But when she next dared to look at the stage, her hands full with dirty plates, she discovered Sally, standing next to Conran, with her hands stemmed onto her hips like Nemesis herself.

Oh, no.
Joanna dropped the dirty plates onto the next free table. She had to stop her best friend before she did something she would regret.

The song came to end, and the crowd cheered. Conran looked at Sally with an expression of surprise on his face. She took the microphone from his hand and said, “We'll have a short break now.” She threw a smile as big as it was fake to Joanna's father. “Mr. Damanti, please put on some dancing music.”

Joanna's father looked confused. With a shrug, he finally obeyed, but he wasn't quick enough. Before he could put in another CD, Sally's said. “You're an idiot, Conran!” She was not speaking into the microphone, but her voice carried loud and clear into the sudden silence.

The whole barn turned so quiet, Joanna could hear the rustling of her loopy dress as she squeezed herself through groups of fascinated people who didn't budge an inch. “Sally! Hush up!”

Conran whipped around and stared at her.

At this instant, a song from the BeeGees exploded from the loudspeakers.

Everybody jumped and pressed closer to the stage, so they wouldn't miss a word of the  drama being offered for free.

Out of breath, Joanna reached the stage. “Sally! Stop!”

“No way.” Sally crossed her arms in front of her chest. She was speaking loud enough to be heard over the BeeGees.

A circle of fascinated people had formed around them.

“I have to ask you a question, Conran.” Sally narrowed her eyes. “How can you be stupid enough to believe that a woman as straight-forward as Joanna would betray you?”

Joanna ran onto the stage. “Stop it, Sally!”

Conran looked from Joanna to Sally and back.

Hugh appeared at the edge of the stage and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Interesting question, that.”

Conran ignored him and focused on Joanna. “I have to apologize to you.”

Joanna swallowed.

Sally took a step forward. “It's easy to say that now. You made her so unhappy, all because you jumped to conclusions, totally unfair.”

Conran nodded. “I know, Sally. But I'd like to talk to her in private, please.”

Sally however, was determined to trash it all out. “She even booked a flight to LA, to talk to you, but some bull or other had an accident, so she couldn't make it!”

Joanna discovered Mr. and Mrs. Allard in the circle of people. Their shocked gaze went from Sally to Conran as if this was a tennis match. “That's enough, Sally,” she said. “Let me talk to Conran, please.”

Someone squiggled through the ring of people and fell head first onto the stage.

“Tim!” Joanna helped him up.

Tim pointed at Sally. “It's her!” He shouted loud enough to drown the BeeGees. “She's the one who spread the rumor that you poisoned Spicy!”

Joanna's jaw dropped. “What?”

A slow smile spread on Hugh's face.

Joanna stared at her friend who stood like a statue. “Impossible,” she said. “You must have gotten it wrong, Tim.”

“I didn't!” Tim jumped up and down with excitement. “I pretended I had to do a paper for school how well you remember ordinary and extraordinary things, and that I was doing a survey with two questions. Then I asked everybody first what they had for lunch last week and second who told them about the rumor that you poisoned Spicy, and it all traced back to her.” Again, he pointed at Sally.

Sally stared at him with her mouth wide open. “I . . . I didn't say so. Never.”

Hugh's smile got broader.

“Yes, you did!” Tim's face reddened. “I have a witness!”

Sally shook her head. “No way.”

Joanna felt as if the ground underneath her was shaking. The whole town was watching while her world fell apart. Bernice had just pushed herself to the first row of people, her eyes huge. The Allards looked as if someone had hit them with a baseball. Her father had crossed his arms in front of his chest and followed the conversation with his narrowed eyes darting from one to the other, his hair like spikes. Even Wendy from Weldbaum's was there, with her hand over her mouth.

“My witness . . .” Tim pulled himself up to his full height. “. . . is Wendy from Weldbaum's. She heard her say so, on the phone.” Tim made a move of his head toward Sally. “She was talking to you, Miss Witch, and she said, “You poisoned him by mistake? I can't believe that”.” He nodded and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “That's what she said. On July 5 in the supermarket.”

Everybody turned to Wendy. She colored and nodded. “That's true.” She gave Joanna an apologetic look. “I'm sorry, Ms. Damanti, but I know what I heard.”

The song of the BeeGees came to a crashing finale.

Silence reigned in the barn, a silence so complete, Joanna could hear her own ragged breathing.

Hugh took another step forward. “In that case, it wasn't a rumor.” A supercilious smile hung on his lips. “In that case, it's the truth.” He shook his head as if he was shocked. “And you covered it up together.”

Joanna felt all the blood draining from her face. “No!”

Conran put his arm around her shoulders.

Tim's eyes widened. It was obvious he had not considered the consequences of his sleuthing.

“I've got it! I know why!” Sally grabbed Joanna by the arm. “The rubber tree!”

Joana blinked. “The rubber tree?”

“Yes!” Sally shook her. “July 5th! Don't you remember?” She turned around and waved. “Mom! Where are you? Come here for a minute, will you?”

Sally's mother appeared from the crowd. “What's going on here?” She looked like a thinner version of Sally, with a hard-edged face and sharp eyes.

“Tell us what happened to your rubber tree.”

“My rubber tree?” Sally's mother frowned as if she'd never heard of any rubber tree. “What's my rubber tree got to do with it?”

“Mom.” Sally balled her fists. “Just tell us what happened to your rubber tree in summer.”

Her mother sighed and shrugged. “I wanted to fertilize my rubber tree as usual. Unfortunately, on the same day, I decided to clear the moss from my front steps, so all would be in top shape before the celebrations on July 4th. However, I mixed up the bottles and ended up killing the rubber tree.” She turned to Sally. “And I could have found another specimen just as beautiful in the meantime if only you had helped me search more often!”

Sally wiped away the beautiful specimen. “Can you confirm you called me on the phone to tell me about the rubber tree?” She bent forward.

“Of course I can.” Sally's mother shook her head. “It was on July 5th. I wanted to get a new rubber tree right away, but you said you couldn't go and buy one with me because you were at Weldbaum's and had to finish your groceries first, besides, you had more important things to do, something to do with a crisis and a friend.” It was clear by her tone that she considered herself badly treated. “But what's that got to do with the price of fish?”

“Don't you see?” Sally turned to the people around her. “I had been talking to Joanna, that's true. It was the day Spicy died, and I tried to soothe her. I remember I was at Weldbaum's when she called, all in tears.”

Joanna swallowed.

“When I hung up, my mother called right afterward and told me about the rubber tree. Wendy must have overheard the conversations but didn't notice that I was not talking to Joanna anymore.”

Wendy looked shocked. “You mean you . . . you were talking to your Mom about . . . about a rubber tree?”

Tim's jaw sagged. He stared from one to the other.

“Of course she did, Wendy.” Sally's mother planted her fists on her hips. “And in the future, you'd better not repeat what you happen to overhear at the supermarket if you mix things up so easily. We don't need a town-crier who spreads wrong rumors.”

Wendy covered her hand with her mouth. “I'm sorry, Ms. Damanti.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I couldn't believe it at first, but I'd heard it with my own ears.”

Joanna opened her mouth but no sound came out.

“You almost killed her clinic.” Sally darted forward and pointed at Wendy. “It was utterly irresponsible. I suggest you think of something to make up for it and make sure you spread the news just as efficiently as you spread all those lies.” She turned around to Hugh and narrowed her eyes. “As to you, you're a slimy hypocrite, and I thank God on my knees that Joanna jilted you when you cheated her with that singer.”

“You know, I'm starting to like Sally.” Conran murmured into Joanna's hair.

Sally turned on him. Her spiked-up hair made her look like a little devil. “And you, famous star that you are, will you admit that you completely misjudged Joanna?”

Conran lifted both hands and smiled. “Don't bite off my head; I'll admit anything. I know it was Mimi, and I've come back to apologize.” He looked at Joanna. “I've come back for good. If you want me, that is.”

The expression in his eyes took her breath away. A slow smile spread over her face.

“Don't you still have some explaining to do with the police in LA, about the alleged murder of your best friend?” Hugh asked, his voice level but loud enough to carry to every corner of the barn.

“No, I don't.” Conran looked at him, his face hard. “The police knew everything there was to know from the start. I told them myself. Thanks to my little sister, I now had to add a public statement for people like you, people who believe the dirty fantasies of the rainbow press.”

“Did Mimi tell you herself?” Sally asked, her arms still akimbo.

He gave her a sad smile. “She did when she saw how I felt.”

Joanna took a trembling breath.

Conran turned back to her. “I'm sorry, Jo. I should have given you time to explain. I . . .”

Hugh took a step forward. “One moment, Dark. I don't think we want people like you here in our town. We . . .”

Before he could continue, Joanna, her father, Sally, Bernice, and the Allards rounded on him like one furious unit.

Hugh paled and took a step back. Suddenly, he jumped, lifted one leg and shouted, “Something has bitten me!”

Dimitri released Hugh's trousers, rushed through the crowd and threw himself at Conran with a high-pitched bark, his tail swishing from side to side with so much impetus that his body was thrown from left to right as if tossed by waves.

A slow smile spread across Conran's face. He knelt and lifted up the small dog, holding him against his chest. “Hey, little guy. Where do you come from?”

Mrs. Allard started, then gave him an apologetic look. “Gosh, I'm sorry. We brought him with us because he hates to be alone at home. I kept him below my chair, but when you came on stage, I had to tie him to the table. How on earth did he get off?”

Conran checked Dimitri's neck. “It looks as if he broke the collar.”

Dimitri licked his face, then turned his laughing muzzle at his audience as if he wanted to be congratulated. The ridiculous tufts of his ears fluttered with the move.

Tim broke out laughing. “I've never seen ears like that.”

“Hilarious.” Sally's mother slapped her thighs.

“I demand that this dog is taken down.” Hugh spoke with controlled anger. “He is a danger to the public.”

Sally's mother turned on him with a hiss. “If anybody here is a danger to the public, you are. First you insult one of the nicest girls in town by sleeping with a slut and not even being sorry about it, and then you tell us that a harmless puppy is a public danger. Show me your leg, if you dare, so we can see your non-existent wound.”