Armed and Fabulous (Lexi Graves Mysteries) (38 page)

"Did Tanya live her
e
alone?" I asked.

"Yeah. Thought you knew that?"

"I did. I just thought she'd been seeing someone. Thought maybe he'd moved in."

"She didn't mention it to me. And she wasn't real sharey
,
you know,
about
the guys she was seeing."

"She was seeing more than one?"

"Well, you know about the clubs she went to." Tara moved around us to
lift
a carton off the small two
-
seat sofa and invited us to sit.

"You mean Flames?" said Lily. "We go there."

"Then you know monogamy isn't
on
top of the list. Tanya had a guy who took her there. I think he u
sed to help her out with money
and he was into all that weird shit. Sorry. I'm sure it's not weird to you at all, but
the
public spanking stuff? I just don't get it."

"No offen
s
e taken. Do you know this guy?"

"I think his name is Dean something?
Like two first names, maybe.
Tanya mentioned him a couple of times when he sent her presents. She seemed to really like him. I saw him once, dropping her off, but I never met him. Not the best looking guy
,
if you know what I mean.
Plus
,
he was too old for her.
"

"Was she dating him for
the money? He was loaded, right?
"
I watched her.

"Yeah," said Tara
, with a shrug
. "He was, but Tanya, she wasn't a
gold-digger,
ya know. She didn't ask him for stuff. She didn't have a lot
either,
but s
he always worked when she could
and paid her
own
way. This Dean treated her nicely. She said he was respectful."

"Did she ever bring him home to meet your folks?"

"Hell, no. I don't think they had a relationship like that, anyway. Tanya never said he was her boyfriend
;
and he
had
twenty years
on
her
,
at least.
Maybe even thirty!
She said he worked a lot and liked her
companionship
, that she was... What was it? Oh yeah
—
u
ncomplicated, whatever the hell that means." Tara shrugged and pulled a couple of paperbacks off a small side table
, tossing
t
hem
in
to
a box marked
“
charity
.”
"She used to go over to his place, too. Said it was really nice. Big. He had a thing for vintage cars and took her out in one once. She said it was amazing. She felt like a Hollywood screen siren in it."

"He's missing," I said.

"No shit? You think he was the bastard who did this to my sister?"
Tara didn’t question how we knew that, much to my relief.

"No, like you said, I think he really liked her."

"Then he got her mixed up in something?"

"Maybe."

"I told Tanya, seeing older guys was fine. Plenty of women do that, but these guys, they don't marry women who go to clubs like Flames. They get them in trouble and
split
. Again, no offen
s
e intended. But she said she wasn't after him for a ring."

"Had they known each oth
er
very
long?" Lily
asked.

Tara looked up at her.
"A couple of years. I don't know where they met."

"Did Tanya seem worried about anything before she..." I
paused
. It seemed too soon to say the word
“
died
.”

"Before she was killed?" Tara asked bluntly. She was putting on a tough act
,
but nothing could disguise the red rims around her eyes. "Now I think about it, yeah, she did seem worried about something. She was real edgy."

"How do you mean?"

"Jumpy. Always looking over her shoulder. She mentioned taking a vacation too. Even bought a guidebook."

"That wasn't like her?"

"No, she always wanted to travel, we both did, but never
have
. This guy of hers, the one you say is missing, he bought her tickets to Paris. They were going to go there at the end of the month."

"Sounds romantic."

"Sure does. She said she might never come back." Tara stopped folding the throw she pulled off the floor and placed it in the carton. "Hey, do you want any of her stuff? Most of it is going to
G
oodwill."

"No, but thanks for the offer." I stood, and Lily followed. "Oh, there was one
more
thing. Tanya mentioned she'd been keeping something for Dean. Do you know what it was? It might have been a key or something?"

"No, she didn't say anything about a key, but she didn't tell me everything."

"No problem. Thanks for your time."

"Tanya's funeral is next week. It'll be in the newspaper. You're welcome to come by."

"Thanks."

Tara saw us to the door
,
and j
ust as we were leaving, she sai
d. "The tickets for Paris are here and they're in Tanya's name. What do you think I should do with them? Should I
wait and
give them to her guy?"

"No," I said. "Use them." Martin Dean would never need them.

"I can't imagine dating someone twenty years older than me," I said to Lily as we walked down the stairs.

"I did. Once."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He was lovely. Very nice, mature, good in the sack."

"
You never said.
What went wrong?"

"I kept imagining ten, twenty years down the road
, I would
still
be
pretty young and he would
just
be getting fatter and
asking me to get
his slippers."

"It might not have been like that."

"I know, but the fear was there anyway. Plus, I didn't want to look like a
gold-digger
."

"I would never think you were a
gold-digger
."

"Everyone else would. If he was poor
,
but smart and handsome, people wouldn't care. Throw rich in and everyone's got an opinion."

I thought that was a good point
, even though Lily’s parents were loaded
.
"You think Tanya really liked Dean?"

"She was planning to go away with him. Plus
,
look at where she lived. She wasn't milking him for money or jewelry and stuff like that."
The door banged shut behind us and we moved to the curb.

"Maybe it was the spanking."

"You are so fixated on the spanking. Did Maddox spank you in the club?"

"No!"

Lily smirked.
"Maybe he should have."

"I'm going to spank you over the hood of my car."

"Take pictures and send them to Officer Tasty."

"Eugh!" I got in the car
,
trying not to think too
much
about that. "You know this wasn't a total waste of time," I said, sliding my key into the ignition and checking my mirrors.

"Why's that?"

"Because we found out Dean was planning on leaving the country. Maybe he was going to take his cut and go."

"And not come back," finished Lily. "Dude was going on the
lam
."

Chapter Twelve

We drove straight to Serena's house from Tanya's apartment
,
throwing theories into the air and hoping one of them would stick as the scenery turned from faded hope to expensive cars
parked
i
n driveways of upscale
houses. It wasn't quite Bedford Hills
,
but it was still very nice.

"I
just
don't get the attraction," Lily said,
still musing on Dean and Tanya Henderson, as
we parked behind Serena's Mercedes and walked up the driveway.

I
couldn’t see
the attraction with a number of guys Lily dated, so I figured who was I to understand
what allured
other people?

"Who knows?" I said. "Maybe it's one of life's mysteries. Did you bring a gift?"

"I had it delivered."

"Good thinking.
”

“
You?"

"Gift vouchers."

"Smart."

We arrived a half hour early
,
in time to watch Serena direct the caterers
. They brought a table with them,
and set it
up across one wall of the living room
. They were
now
set
ting
o
ut platters
under her
scrutiny
.

My mother ha
d
arrived earlier
to put up decorations
.
P
leated paper bells were
strung across the room, paper men in blue, pink and cream
held
hands, along with colorful paper cranes and vases stuffed with creamy roses.

"Great job, Mom," I said, kissing my mother on the cheek.

"The paper
cranes were your father's idea. Apparently
,
they’re
supposed to be
lucky.”

"I like them."

"Did you find out about the belly
-
dancing outfit?"

"Anne at work says there is a dance shop near the train station that sells them. They have a website too."
I still didn’t
ask her
why. I just hoped to heaven my mother didn’t find out about burlesque.

A therapist from a day spa
that
Lily and I liked
had
set up a small station by a leather armchair
. Next to her sat
a pile of towels and an open kit of nail polishes. She smiled at us and waved,
her enthusiasm
probably
aided by the fat
,
short
-
notice fee
we agreed
up
on
that would have made me wince if Serena w
ere
n't paying.

The doorbell rang and Serena waved the caterers out, pointing them towards the kitchen, as she
eagerly
greet
ed
her guests.

Two hours later
,
I
was standing
in the doorway
, staring
at the scene in front of me. I had to admit, I'd done a great job pulling off Serena's
last minute
demands for her baby shower. Her house looked great and the guests had made appropriate noises. Serena even gave me the thumbs
-
up
,
which was rare for her. I guess she
was
looking forward to a baby shower almost as long as to having her own baby.

I navigated past the cluster of chattering women to the long table, plucking a plate from the crisp white tablecloth and helping myself to pasta salad, smoked salmon bli
nis and my favorite dough balls. I
poure
d a glass of something f
r
u
ity from one of the pitchers of
virgin cocktails
;
Serena
had
got
ten
her way with the mocktinis. Despite repeated pleas, Serena refused
to allow
any
alcohol
being served
on the grounds
.
I
f she
couldn’t have
any, neith
er
would
anyone else. Even though
the table had been picked through, plates still groaned with finger foods and Alessandro's left extra platters in the kitchen.

The pocket doors to the dining room
were
opened
and the dining table
held
a pile of onesies and craft materials
. Around it,
a gaggle of women sat
,
giggling and painting with non-toxic fabric paints while the remaining women
got
mini pedicures, manicures and facials. Serena sat in the middle of them all, like a fashionable Buddha;
tranquil
, resplendent and
fully
in her element
as center of attention
.
I was happy for her.

Lily waved me over to the crafts table. While I picked at my plate, I looked over her shoulder at her creation. She had painted, in green letters,
“
What goes up must come down
.”

"She'll love it," I said, stifling a giggle.

Lily snorted. She knew there was no way on earth Serena was going to let her darling baby wear anything that these women painted.

"Why do all the women around Serena look so terrified?" I asked in a low voice.

"She's telling them her birth plan."

"Oh God.
Not the bre
e
ch story again?
"

"
I dunno.
I left right after she said 'natural'. There's nothing natural about a human being coming out of your doodah."

"They all have kids
,
right?" I said, catching the word
“
episiotomy
”
floating towards me. I didn't want to know what that was. It sounded painful.

"Yeah, which is why they're looking at her like she's crazy."

"I'm gonna l
oiter
at the gift table."

"Good luck," said Lily. "Just remember you're hosting this thing."

"Only because I hear
d
God is giving out karma points on this one." The gift table held a pile of glossy, ribboned parcels. Lily had sent a basket of
tiny,
little sleepsuits, so
miniature
they made my ovaries twang when she pointed them out.

Serena broke away from the crowd, her exit offset by an audible gasp of relief. She linked her arm through mine in an uncharacteristic gesture of sisterhood. "This is fantastic," she said. "I've had a mineral facial and my toes are pink. At least, I think they are. I can't see
them
."

I peeked down. "They are," I confirmed.

"The girls love the spa theme."

"Told you so. Everyone loves pampering."

"And the food's great."

"And when it's all over, I'
ll send in the clean
ing crew
and you
r house will look perfect again." Well, until the baby
i
s born
,
but I didn't add that. It was better to let Serena find out the babies just didn't fit into
schedules and routines
. Like renegades, they did their own thing
,
as my sister
s
-in-law were fond of saying. I was fairly sure Serena didn't believe them.
I
guessed
she
already
had the baby’s schedule plotted in six
-
minute increments.

"And Ted is happy with the boys," I reminded her. Daniel text
ed
me a picture of them
at
the golf club bar. T
ed was beet red, a baseball
cap
reading
“
Daddy
”
on backwards. I figured they would be there
quite
some time and Ted might have to pull a sick day tomorrow.

"
I’m amazed you pulled this off so quickly.” Serena beamed and moved on before I could ask her if that was a compliment. “
Did you finish the puzzle you told me about at Alessandro's?"

"The puzzle?" I tried to remember
our conversation
.

"The number code you
wanted to solve
at work," she reminded me.

"Oh that.
No, I'm still stumped." Really
stumped.
Despite pages of notes,
nothing made sense. There was no discernible pattern or anything that could point to the numbers equating to letters.

"You tried matching the letters to numbers?"

"I went through the whole alphabet, moving everything one, two, three, four places up
and
down. It still came out as a jumble."

"Hmm, well, either you need to move up or down
,
higher and lower, or it's not an alphabet encryption."

"So, it could just be numbers?"

Serena nodded. "Only without some kind of reference point, you'll never know if you've hit the right sequence."

"How do I get a reference to work from?"