A Minute on the Lips (8 page)

At the growing silence, Andi decided she had to say something. She looked up at Lynn. “Are you done?”

There was a silent but collective sigh. The windows of the Hair Port didn’t fog up at the heated disappointment, but it was a close call. Lynn said, “Yes, ma’am, let me dry this out so we see what we’ve got.”

Andi nodded. When hair started flying, she closed her eyes and pondered what she should say. Lynn worked quickly and soon Andi could feel a fluffy cloud of curls touching her shoulders. When she turned the dryer off, Andi kept her eyes closed. She’d once received a direct shot to the eye from a can of hairspray. Without protective gear to fall back on, she used her eyelids.

After Miss Margaret and Edna paid, they paused at the door and Edna, possibly burned at how little reaction Andi had given her news, said, “Well, Sheriff, I do hope you’ll tell Jimmy that his activities with Maylene have not gone unnoticed.”

Andi risked opening her eyes to meet Edna’s glare directly. “He’s a grown man. She’s a grown woman. They’re both single. There is nothing illegal in their activities, and as such, I do not consider it any of my business.” Andi watched Edna narrow her eyes and said calmly, “He does an excellent job of serving this town. Until it affects me directly, I’m not going to spread this story around, much less hurt my friend Jimmy by repeating gossip.”

Edna made herself as tall as she could. Andi wasn’t impressed. At best she was the center of the front row. She’d never be back-row material. “Gossip? I would never repeat gossip.” Andi squeezed her eyes shut and bit her tongue, silently willing Edna to move along. “Rosa saw it herself. I’d think as sheriff you’d be interested in the goings-on of your deputies.”

Andi shook her head. “And maybe you ought to take a little trip to the dictionary for the definition of gossip.” She couldn’t help it. She had to go there. “The fact is that there’s been a truck parked in front of Maylene’s house. Big deal. You’ve made that into some kind of...who knows what you imagine they’re doing. But it’s not your business or mine. And spreading it while implying something...else about it, that’s gossip, Edna.”

Edna sneered, and Andi knew she was in for it. “A girl like
you,
somebody who could turn her back on her own grandmother, forget this town and her family just like her father did, might not understand the importance of good laws and good morals, but we value both here in Tall Pines,” Edna said. “A good sheriff would understand that.”

Andi heard the emphasis on
you
. The rest of the shop heard it, too, and there was a gasp from one of the other stylists. Things were about to get real in the Hair Port. There was no way she could let that pass, but she had no idea what to say that wouldn’t set Edna’s newly pink and fluffy hair on fire.

Before Andi could gather her breath and her wits to let Edna know what she thought about her viciousness, she heard a masculine drawl from behind her. “Now, Edna, there’s no call for that. The sheriff doesn’t love a good story like the rest of us, but she’s also loyal, something we like in our sheriffs, am I right?”

When Andi spun around, she found Mark Taylor in Sue’s chair. He must have come in while she was deep in the blow-dry stage because she wouldn’t have missed his entrance for any other reason. Sue was trimming his hair, and he was clearly on his way to shorter but still rumpled. And he looked pleased with himself. Maybe he’d managed to avert verbal Armageddon with his cleverness, but Andi wanted to unleash on Edna. She wanted to say the magic thing that would convince people in this town to leave Jimmy and Maylene alone, to realize that what they said could hurt people, not smooth over choppy waters.

Mark smiled at Andi in the mirror. Miss Margaret seized her chance to usher a calmer Edna out the door. “Well, ladies, it’s been a real nice visit.” The clang of the bells over the door was a welcome sound. And simultaneously all the women in the shop took a deep breath.

Lynn whipped off the cape and said, “Sheriff, why don’t you take a peek and let me know what you think?”

Andi managed to tear her eyes away from Mark’s to see what Lynn had wrought. She had to give the girl credit. Even if she didn’t look old enough to operate a motor vehicle, Lynn was a magician with scissors. Andi had appeared tired and frumpy but businesslike when she walked in. Lynn wiped all that business away and now Andi had bombshell hair that fell in nice fluffy waves to her shoulders. Bangs softened her look and she might even seem younger. Around here, that could be a problem. But she’d worry about that later.

Andi spun the chair around, stood and walked over to Sue’s station.

Mark Taylor smiled up at her and then whistled long and loud. “Howdy, Sheriff. That’s a real nice look for you.”

“How long have you been here? Are you following me?”

He tried to seem innocent. “I did warn you, Sheriff. We could do dinner or I could continue to show up when you least expect it. But I’ve had this appointment for a month. You can ask Sue.” Sue pursed her lips but didn’t make eye contact. He might have been telling the truth but it didn’t look good.

“And I got here just as Edna dropped her bombshell.”

Andi thought back and tried to remember how incriminating the evidence might have been at that point. The remnants of her rage made her snap, “I did not need your help. There was no call to defend me, Mark Taylor. I am perfectly capable of telling Edna just exactly what I think.” And the words still burned on her tongue. Maybe if she could remember the rage brought on by having her past thrown in her face, she could fight the temptation to soak up hearsay like a sponge. It would be good for her, just as soon as she got her blood pressure under control again.

He held up both hands. “Believe me, I get it. I wasn’t protecting you. You looked ready to murder. Still do, and it might even be justifiable homicide. I was protecting her. And maybe the decor. Bloodstains are hard to get out, I hear.” He didn’t smile, but the corner of his mouth quirked and his eyes were...warm. Understanding.

And no matter what he said, he’d probably saved her from herself.

She gave a silent sigh. It might have been audible, however. His eyes took on a wicked glint as he added, “I was sorry to have missed all the fun at first. When I walked past the window, you were under a dryer with enough foil on your head to protect you from an alien probe.”

Andi wanted to kick his chair. He brought out her hard-to-find violent tendencies, so she wanted to kick something. She didn’t. In fact, she realized where she was just in time. The whole salon was silent, no doubt listening to their exchange carefully, the better to dissect it after they left and spread mostly true bits like rice at a wedding.

Andi cleared her throat. “Okay, then. I guess we’re on a completely unrelated yet coincidental schedule.”

“I think I’m beginning to see what you mean by the difference between facts and truth, the importance of context. Such a deep thinker. Edna’s probably still trying to figure out what happened.” He reached out to take her hand and she froze. Andi could almost hear the chortles of glee sounding in the brains of every woman in the room. He smiled. “Your hair looks really nice, Andi.” And then imaginary jackpots went off. No one said a thing, but Andi could feel the weight of their stares. She knew he could see the distress on her face. Astronauts on the International Space Station could see the distress on her face. But she couldn’t move. He finally squeezed her hand and let go. “How about dinner later?” He glanced around at the other women.

And here it was. He was the most diabolically clever man in the world. Andi was surrounded. She couldn’t retreat gracefully. And she’d gotten nowhere on finding out who stole from Jackie’s diner. Mona and Jackie were probably worried sick, and it was her job to solve this theft quickly. Maybe Mark Taylor didn’t completely understand her, but he was trying and that was...refreshing. She’d wanted to annihilate Edna on her own, but she’d really like to have some help with Jackie’s case. She couldn’t for the life of her figure out how to say yes. Plus, the longer she stood there, staring into his warm eyes, the harder it was to breathe. If she didn’t answer—and quickly—the whole town would forget about Jimmy and Maylene to talk about the ambulance rushing over to the Hair Port to resuscitate the sheriff.

Finally Andi managed to clear her throat of the obstruction blocking both air flow and words. “Can I have a rain check, M-Mark?” She hated that stutter. But it had to be done. “I’d like to do some work on Jackie’s case tonight. Everybody’s going to expect some progress soon.”

He leaned back in the chair and studied her for a minute, happy surprise on his face, and he finally nodded. “All right. How about Saturday, then?”

That gave her time to figure out what in the world she wanted to do about Mark Taylor, so she agreed. Maybe she could stumble on a suspect and solve the whole thing before that. Then she could spend her Saturday night like she usually did: in front of the television, knitting.
Please save me from this rut.
“That sounds great.”

Andi avoided everyone’s eyes as she backed away toward the cash register. She could feel them all watching her, but only one of them mattered. She handed Lynn her check, told her to make another appointment in exactly two months, and made her escape.

* * *

W
HEN
THE
SHERIFF
passed in front of the window, Mark started a silent countdown. And in three, two...

The place erupted in chatter and Lynn raced over to pat him on the back. “You dog! After the sheriff! I love it!”

As Sue unsnapped the cape, he reached up to give his hair a ruffle. He’d had it trimmed a week ago. “Thanks for playing along, Sue.”

The petite brunette snorted. “You didn’t give me much of a choice, Mark. You were in my chair with the cape on before I heard the bells over the door. I didn’t even know you could move that fast.”

He shrugged. “Sometimes a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”

He slid out of the chair and inspected his hair carefully in the mirror. “Y’all don’t know anything of interest about the break-in, do you?”

Lynn wagged her finger at him. “You don’t think we’d tell you instead of the sheriff, do you?”

In a slow drawl, Mark said, “Well, now, you might.” He winked at Lynn and laughed when she rolled her eyes.

“You can’t charm me, Mark Taylor.”

He raised an eyebrow at her.

Lynn said, “I mean, we could exchange information, maybe.”

“I don’t have anything to exchange, Lynn. Maybe you ought to tell me what you know.”

She pursed her lips. “Well, now, I’m not sure about that.” She waved her hand airily as she walked over to pick up the broom and start sweeping up the less-than-heavenly floor. “Seems you might know about your upcoming date. And how long you and the sheriff have been seeing each other. And maybe what your plans are, even.”

Mark laughed. “I might. But if I told you, the sheriff would kill me. Dead. I’d be dead and you’d all be sorry. Is that what you want?”

She swept up small piles of Andi’s curls and sighed. “I guess not. She might get into trouble and I really like Andi.”

He nodded. “You know, one good way to help her is to give me any info you might have to solve this case. If she doesn’t get it taken care of quickly, Ray Evans is going to have a pretty strong platform for reelection.”

Lynn and Sue traded speaking looks before Sue hesitantly said, “Well, now, I don’t want to get anybody in trouble, Mark. I didn’t see enough to tell you who broke into Jackie’s. And I would have told the sheriff but I...got distracted by the show.” She shrugged. “Never mind. I’ll just head on over to her office to talk to her instead.”

Mark pulled out his wallet and said, “You could do that...or I could tell her for you. I need all the help I can get with the sheriff, ladies.”

Sue sighed. “Well, I closed up that night. I had a perm run long, and I was the only one left in the shop. When I drove home, there was a pickup truck parked on the curb, but no one was in it. I didn’t think to get a license or anything. I didn’t think I was witnessing a crime, you know?”

Mark put down enough to cover his impromptu trim. “Sure. Can you guess on color or what kind of truck? Was it old or new?”

Sue shook her head. “I think it was dark, maybe black. And it was an older model, but I can’t for the life of me figure out who drives it. I’ve been watching the street but nothing seems to fit.”

“Well, there’s probably one pickup truck for every person in this town so it’s a pretty big selection.” He smiled. “But thanks for telling me. I’ll pass it along to the sheriff. Maybe that will help narrow things down.”

“You be a gentleman with my friend, Mark Taylor,” Lynn said. “She deserves a nice guy. I’m not sure you are one, but I know for certain you can help her shake things up. Those bangs were only the start, I bet.”

Mark waved and opened the door. “Thank you, ladies, for all your help.”

As he stepped back out on the sidewalk and looked in through the window, Mark could see all the ladies huddled together, no doubt cussing and discussing everything that had happened that morning. The Hair Port did a nice business. They were talented stylists, sure. But the real attraction came from skillful investigation and reporting techniques. Maybe he ought to put them on the payroll.

He rubbed his chin and stared down toward the sheriff’s office.

Even though he’d lectured himself about leaving her alone since she’d driven away the night before, when he’d seen her standing up to the town gossip and looking so, so pretty and good and just...noble, he’d had to go for it. And he’d caught her at a weak moment, so now they had a
working
date. She hadn’t been able to say that, but he’d read the qualification in her eyes.

He couldn’t ignore the crazy flutter that was either excitement or fear or both at the idea. When he realized he already missed her and wanted to run down to see her with this new excuse, he had to ignore a shiver of dread. She could be bad news of the forever kind. He couldn’t remember missing someone five minutes after they’d walked out. So he decided to wait and pretend he wasn’t headed for lovesick at a high rate of speed. This information could help Andi. And the honest fact was he couldn’t depend on having the bargaining power for long. Lynn, Sue and the other Hair Port ladies would dole it out as they saw fit, and then it would spread through town in a wave. He’d lose his advantage. He needed that.