Broken Vows Mystery 03-In Sickness and in Death (19 page)

“Hey, Danny, what’re you doing here?”

“I got suspended.”

“For fighting?”

Danny nodded.

“Bummer.” Cory peered over the top of the reception desk. “Geez, they make you do homework when you’re suspended? That stinks.” He entered my office and dropped into the chair across from me, leaning forward to whisper, “Nice shiner.”

I rolled my eyes. “The other kid’s got a broken nose and two black eyes.”

Cory whistled.

I moved on. “Listen, do you think Brennan wants to bring his Mercedes in for repairs? Ray would like Danny to help you complete them, you know, to pay off the deductible.”

“Brennan’s not worried about the deductible.”

“At least he’s still speaking to you. I bet he doesn’t want to eat Thanksgiving dinner at our house again.”

Cory stood and waved his hand at me as if to say forget-about-it. “He had his own wild childhood. The Danny thing didn’t faze him as much as you. I’ll call him now and see if he has time to drop off the Mercedes.”

I picked up the phone as Cory disappeared into the garage. I dialed Leslie Flynn’s number. After seven rings, I almost hung up. Then I heard her voice.

“Hi, Leslie. This is Jolene Parker. How are you?”

A few seconds passed then the voice said, “This is her brother. I’ll get her for you.”

I heard him put down the receiver and walk away. Then I heard footsteps moving toward the phone. “Hey, Jolene, what’s up?”

“You and your brother sound just alike.”

“We are twins.”

“I guess so. Listen, I hate to bother you, but did he ever tell you if he’d talked with my sister?”

“He did! I think she scared him a little. He likes to look at girls, but he’s afraid to talk to them. She came right up and hit on him. She ah … came on a little too strong.”

Like when she asked him if he was big all over? “Sometimes she scares me, too. Did he know the missing girl, Josie Montalvo?”

“No.”

Her answer was a little too fast for my comfort. “How do you know?”

“I read about her disappearance in the newspaper, and I asked him. He saw her on stage, that’s all. Like I said, he never talks to girls. He just looks.”

I wondered about a guy who just looked, but not as much as I wondered about a sister who knew all about her brother’s desires to look. It seemed like an odd thing for a brother and sister to discuss over the breakfast or dinner table. Of course, Erica and I talked about things like that, but we were both girls.

Leslie went on, “I meant to call you. We didn’t get to really talk until late last night. We spent most of the day fussing with the milking machines and milking the cows by hand. We didn’t eat supper until after eight.”

The shots had been fired at me around four in the afternoon. Leslie’s brother hadn’t known I was interested in him then. He’d been milking cows. He wasn’t the shooter. I sighed.

“Something wrong, Jolene?”

“No, not a thing. Hey, what about the guy you were interested in? What did he think of your new look?”

“He didn’t come by today.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Eh, the eggs are available every day. My time will come.”

“I’m sure it will.”

After we said our goodbyes, Cory appeared in my doorway. “Brennan’s going to take me out to lunch later, then we’ll stop by his house for the Mercedes and I’ll drive it back here. In the meantime, I’m going to keep taking his Mazda apart.”

“Why are you taking his new race car apart?”

“He bought it used. I want to go over it thoroughly and make sure it’s not only going to run well on the track but that it’s safe. I’m going to check every line, wire, and bolt.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

He pointed his index finger at me. “I was hoping you’d ask. I could use a donut, a fried cake with chocolate frosting.”

Cory and I had a tight relationship with the bakery down the street. A donut for breakfast one day, a cupcake for lunch the next. I could gain back all my weight loss by just thinking about what I’d consumed from them in the past. Still, a donut did sound good. I could walk down to the bakery and back to offset the calories.

“I’ll go get some.”

Cory gave me two thumbs up. “Thanks.”

I walked out to the reception desk. “Danny, I’m going to the bakery for donuts. What’s your favorite?”

For the first time today, he smiled. “I like powdered with raspberry jelly.”

“Okay. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Cory’s in the garage if you need anything.”

I set off down the sidewalk, walking as briskly as two-inch heel dress boots allowed, enjoying the sun at first. Halfway there, I realized I was in the open air, easy pickings for any sniper who might be watching me. I should have driven.

I walked faster, keeping an eye on all the approaching cars. It would be hard to shoot me from the far lane, wouldn’t it? Who would take the chance at this time of day, with all the other cars and people around? Darn it, did we really need donuts anyway?

By the time I reached the bakery, I’d broken out in a sweat, and not from the weather or my exertion. I could feel my heart pushing against my chest.

My eyes must have looked a little wild, because the clerk hurried to get my donuts and rushed me out the door, right back into the full view of anyone who wanted to kill me.

I walked home on the opposite side of the street, so I could watch the oncoming cars again and glance over my shoulder to make sure no one was sneaking up behind me. In the end, I was side-stepping like a crab.

“Ugh.” I smacked into someone on the sidewalk, knocking the wind out of me.

“Jolene, what’s the matter with you?”

I turned my head to find Celeste Martin glaring at me.

“Sorry, Celeste. I was just … looking over my shoulder.”

She inserted the key in the entrance to Talbots. “Afraid someone’s going to take a shot at you again?”

“How do you know about that?” Ray had promised it wouldn’t be in the news.

“The manager of the P&C goes to my church. It was all he could talk about last night at choir practice.” She held the door to her store open as if waiting for me to follow her inside. I didn’t want to, but then again, maybe I did.

Celeste turned on all the lights and headed to the back of the store. I tagged along behind her, clutching my bag of donuts.
She locked her purse under the counter and turned the key in the cash register. “I wanted to talk to you alone anyway.”

“You did? What about?”

Celeste rested her hands on the counter. “There’s something funny about your friend Leslie.”

“What do you mean?”

She pursed her lips. “Mindy used the restroom at the Coachman when we had lunch there the other day. She noticed the feet in the stall next to her were facing the toilet while the person peed, not away from it like a lady who sits down. Mindy waited by the sinks. Your friend Leslie came out of the stall.”

I didn’t know what to say.

Celeste’s lips compressed into a thin line of distaste. “I swear when she came into the dining room and hugged me, I felt a Willie. A big one.”

Celeste had comparisons too numerous to name, including quite possibly my own father. I only had Ray. I clutched my bag of donuts even tighter, speechless.

She shrugged. “So you knew. You’ve always been open to the alternative lifestyles.”

I could not, would not, discuss this any further. I needed a distraction. “Ah … my tan pants I bought the other day got ruined in the grocery store parking lot. Would you have another size four?”

“Let me check.” Celeste disappeared into the clothes racks.

I sank down into the armchair by the dressing room. Leslie Flynn, a man? That would explain her size, homely appearance, and deep voice, but what about this guy she wanted to attract? Was she changing teams in every way?

Contrary to Celeste’s catty statement, it wasn’t that I was open to alternative lifestyles. I was more oblivious and uninterested—and I thought those things were private. I never discussed my feelings about Ray with anyone. It would make me feel disloyal to him. I certainly didn’t discuss our sex life with anyone. That would make it less … special. It was supposed to be only between us, wasn’t it? Ray was my first and only, but I knew other people approached sex differently, some very differently. In theory, I got the concept. Hell, I even watched HBO. But in practice, in the real world … ultimately, it was none of my business.

Celeste reappeared, holding my replacement tan pants.

I pulled my credit card from my wallet and offered it to her.

She smiled, clearly pleased to be selling me the same pair of pants twice within forty-eight hours. Dollar signs may have flashed on her eyeballs like the readout on a one-armed casino bandit. I thought I heard a ca-ching.

We finished the transaction without further conversation. Maybe she thought we had nothing left to say. It was more likely that she knew she’d shocked me, and she didn’t want to break her spell. She did thank me when she handed me the bag. I thanked her, too. Then I ran.

Danny was in the garage with Cory when I returned to the shop. I handed out donuts and napkins and headed for my office to think.

As I walked into the room the phone rang. It was Ray.

“I checked on Leslie Flynn’s brother. I don’t find any record of him.”

“What do you mean? I just talked to them both on the phone.”

“The brother doesn’t have a current driver’s license or a New York State identification card. The only vehicles registered to their address are registered to Leslie.”

Strange, especially considering Leslie’s plans to leave Wachobe. If her brother didn’t drive, how would he get around? Surely running a farm required leaving it on occasion for supplies. Maybe the bookkeeper she wanted to hire would provide his transportation as well.

I had one more question for Ray. “What kind of vehicles does Leslie have?”

“A yellow Mustang convertible and a Ford pick-up truck.”

“That makes sense. One for farming, one for fun.”

Ray heaved a sigh, sending a crackle over the line.

“One thing doesn’t make sense, Darlin’. Leslie’s driver’s license says she’s male.”

That confirmed it. I
filled Ray in on Celeste and Mindy’s observations. “Leslie did say she was seeing Dr. Albert for the last few months. Maybe she has some kind of gender issue.”

Ray sighed. “I’m wondering if she even has a twin. Based on this picture, she’d make one butt-ugly woman. Maybe she’s a split personality.”

I could tell from the tone of his voice that he didn’t look forward to confronting that. His training for the sheriff’s department only covered so much. I decided not to mention Leslie’s new, improved femininity. My makeover efforts only made it harder for him to recognize her now from the driver’s license photo. “Can you call Dr. Albert and ask him about her?”

“Dr. Albert won’t tell me anything, Darlin’. Not unless Leslie poses a danger to herself or someone else.”

“I’ve had my doubts about his treatment of Erica. Maybe he doesn’t know Leslie’s a danger.” Frankly, after spending time with her, I would be surprised to learn she was, but I didn’t want to rule it out.

“Let me see what I can find out about her. I’ll take this DMV photo over to The Cat’s Meow when they open at noon and see if any of the girls can link Leslie to Josie … I mean Jessica James. In the meantime, you sit tight.”

That was easy for him to say, but oh so hard for me to do. I paced the showroom, circling the Ferrari until I got dizzy. When Cory left for lunch, I took Danny out for pizza. He talked about what he’d worked on with Cory that morning. I pretended to listen, all the while thinking about Leslie. When we got back to the garage, he ran off to see Cory. I went into the garage and peered over Cory and Danny’s shoulders as Cory explained the steps involved in taking the dent out of Brennan’s Mercedes. They tried to ignore me. I clicked around the Mercedes, running my hand over its lines.

Finally, Cory had enough. “What’s wrong, Jo?”

“I’m waiting for Ray to call me.”