Blind Dates Can Be Murder (46 page)

After she had decided to go to Marie’s, the chief kindly offered to let Chewie stay at his house.

“I’ve got some old cans of dog food around and a big water bowl and all of that,” he said. “He’ll be fine. My dad can even come over and take care of him tomorrow, if necessary.”

Jo promised to be back at the chief’s by eight, and the chief promised to call her on her cell phone if anything of consequence happened before that. She dialed Marie’s number as she was pulling out of the driveway, but the line was busy. She hung up and kept going.

At 11:10 on a Monday night, the streets were dark and deserted. Jo kept checking her rearview mirror, but no one was following her. Finally, she relaxed just a little and focused her attention on the road in front of her.

As she drove, she thought of the mess she was in, and of the parents who should have been there for her and were not. If she were to call home, Jo knew, her mother would express a passing interest, heave a heavy sigh, and then change the subject.

Sometimes Jo felt so small, so insignificant, so alone.

Then she thought of the “family” she had made in Mulberry Glen, of Danny and Marie and her church friends and her girlfriends, and she knew that she had more love in her life than some folks ever did. She also had a God who filled those empty spots and soothed those aching places. His love was more than enough to make up for every other shortfall she encountered.

“Jesus, I sure need You now,” she prayed aloud as she drove. “I’m in a mess, and I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

She continued to pray as she drove, asking for wisdom and peace and energy and resourcefulness and answers.

Above all else, she needed answers.

By the time she finished her prayer, she was pulling into the well-lit parking lot of Marie’s apartment. She would have just walked up and knocked on the door, but she didn’t want to scare Marie by showing up so late. Instead, as she climbed from the car she pressed redial, and this time the line wasn’t busy.

“Hello?” Marie said, sounding wide awake.

“Hey, it’s Jo. I’m in your parking lot. Can I come up?”

“Of course. Are you okay?”

“I’ll tell you what’s going on when I get there.”

Jo disconnected the call and then walked into the building, her mind swirling but her heart, at least, at peace.

Lettie closed the door to the bedroom and, just for good measure, locked it. Lola and Marie were out in the living room, waiting for the grand unveiling. Lettie’s hair was finished, her makeup had gotten its final touches, and all that remained was for her to change into the outfit that Marie had laid out for her. Though Marie and Lola had both been wearing big smiles for the last fifteen minutes, Lettie had not yet looked in the mirror. At this point, she was actually getting curious.

But first things first. Silently, she padded to the dresser and opened the drawer. Sure enough, the envelope was filled with a lot of cash—mostly ones, but plenty of tens and twenties as well.

She had to know how much was there. Quickly, she pulled out the bills and counted them, amazed to find six hundred and twenty four dollars. Her hunch had been correct. The cookie sales were going to save her!

Lettie rolled up the bills into a wad and shoved them in the bottom of her purse. Then she put the envelope back in the drawer and slid it shut. She didn’t even want to picture Marie’s face when she realized what had happened. The moment would be heartbreaking, for sure.

Quickly, Lettie turned her attention to the clothes on the bed. Pulling on the slacks and then the top, she realized that it was, indeed, loose through the chest, but otherwise very comfortable. Once she had adjusted the waistline and smoothed out the sleeves, she stepped over to the full-length mirror in the corner, closed her eyes, tilted up her head, and looked.

At first, she simply stared.

Who was that girl in the mirror?

She was a sassy-looking redhead, with a short, smart hairstyle, shiny lips and big, beautiful eyes. Her skin was pale, but with the dark eyes and lips, the effect was like a China doll. The outfit was incredibly flattering too. With creased pants and a tailored shirt, she looked like a grown-up—an elegant, professional grown-up.

Lettie took a step back and turned, trying to understand why she’d never bothered to fix herself up before. She wasn’t ugly. She wasn’t plain.

She was beautiful, on the outside at least.

On the inside, she knew, it was a different story.

How ironic that the moment she looked her very best was also the moment she felt her very worst. What had she become? Was the woman in the mirror really her? How about the woman who lied and cheated and stole money from a kind person who was only trying to be her friend? Did the end justify the means?

She didn’t know what to think. As her thoughts tumbled, she told herself she just needed to be done with this, she just needed to show off the new look, change back into her clothes, and hit the road. It was a three-hour drive to the Philly airport, and then she’d be on her way. She would find Melissa. Together, they would begin again.

Surely, that was worth whatever it took to get there.

Jo knocked on Marie’s door. As it swung open, she was surprised to see not Marie, but Lola.

“Hey,” Jo said. “What are you doing here at this hour?”

Lola swept her into the room and launched into an elaborate tale about the fabulous makeover they had just done and now they were waiting for the unveiling. Marie was in the kitchen, and she came out with a pitcher of diet lemonade and four paper cups.

“You can tell me why you’re here in a minute,” Marie said. “Right now, we’re about to toast the new beauty. Lettie, are you coming out?”

After a pause, the bedroom door opened and a woman stepped out. Shyly, she walked into the living room, where she was met with squeals of delight. Jo thought this was the same girl she had briefly met after church on Sunday morning—but what a transformation! Before, she had been completely plain, with big glasses and stringy hair and a dowdy outfit. Now, however, she was adorable, all big eyes and neat hair and a surprisingly cute figure. Who’d have known that she had all of this potential? Her makeover was even more drastic than Danny’s had been.

The girl seemed pleased but embarrassed by all of the attention, and Jo didn’t blame her. It had to be a little disconcerting to go from dud to bombshell in one fell swoop. Finally, Marie passed out the cups and poured the lemonade and made a toast to the new and improved Lettie.

“Hear, hear!” Lola said, downing her drink. “Now I’ve got to run. George is waiting up for me.”

After Lettie and Marie thanked her effusively for the haircut, Lola waved their words away and made her exit, pulling the door shut behind her.

“I’ll change back to my clothes and then be on my way too,” Lettie said.

“There’s no rush,” Marie told her. “In fact, I hung two other outfits on the closet door in case you want to try them on. I thought they’d show a better range of what can work for you.”

“Um, okay.”

Lettie padded down the hall to the bedroom and shut the door.

“So what’s up?” Marie asked.

Jo gestured toward the seating area, where they both got comfortable.

“You’re not going to believe it when I tell you,” Jo said, shaking her head. “It started when I stopped by my house to drop off Chewie earlier tonight.”

Lettie didn’t want to try on the other outfits, but she thought it might look suspicious if she didn’t. Quickly, she donned the first one, a pink dress that fit nicely but that didn’t work well with the new hair color. Still, she knew Marie would want to see it. She came out of the bedroom and walked down the hall.

“Semtex,” Jo was saying softly. “It’s a form of plastic explosives.”

“And they really think this nut has planted a bomb somewhere in town?” Marie asked, her face white.

Lettie’s heart skipped a beat. Semtex was the product Chuck had used for the explosion that sent him to prison.

“W-what’s going on?” Lettie asked.

Both girls seemed startled by her presence, as if they had been so wrapped up in Jo’s tale that they had forgotten she was there.

“It’s a long story,” Jo said, glancing at Marie. She seemed to consider whether to bring Lettie into the loop as well. Finally, she spoke. “I was threatened tonight by a man who said he had put a bomb inside the home of someone I know.”

“Why?” Lettie whispered.

“Because he thinks I have some money that I don’t have. It’s all a big mess, but we only have until noon tomorrow to figure out what’s going on.”

Jo repeated the entire story in detail. As she spoke, Lettie knew there was no question; the man with the bomb was Chuck. He was trying to get Frankie’s money.

In a daze, Lettie excused herself and returned to the bedroom. When she had urged Chuck to find the money so she would get back together with him, she had never expected him to do something like this! Now Chuck would be back in prison and someone was going to be killed—all because of her lie.

Standing in front of the mirror, Lettie forced herself to look into her own eyes. She may be beautiful, but she had become a monster.

Blindly, she pulled on her own dress, ready to run away and never come back. She was putting on her shoes when the phone rang from her purse. She answered it, knowing it was Chuck.

“What?” she said softly.

“Looks like it’s gonna happen,” he slurred. No surprise that he was as high as a kite.

“What’s gonna happen?”

“I’m gonna get the money and get you back. You better get ready, Lettie. Hey, that rhymes. Ready, Lettie.”

“What have you done?” she whispered, not needing the answer. She already knew the answer.

“I’m taking care of business,” he slurred. “But after this is all over and we’re back together, you know you gotta be punished. You’ve been very, very bad, Lettie. You hurt me. You will pay for this.”

Then he launched into a violent, angry tirade. Lettie simply sat on the edge of the bed and listened as he worked himself into a frenzy. How had she ever endured this for so long? As he began going through the catalog of dirty names he could call her, she thought back to herself at sixteen, so relieved to have escaped from her stepfather’s wrath. She and Chuck had run away to another state so they could get married the day she turned seventeen without parental permission. Chuck had gotten drunk on their wedding night and pushed her down a flight of stairs. It was nothing compared to the horrors that were still to come.