Crime (18 page)

Chapter 7

The alarm went off at 6:00 a.m. and Jessica's eyes slowly fluttered open as she stumbled for the snooze button. Successful, she rolled onto her back and stretched, flinging out an arm as she reached for Melanie. Finding the bed empty, she propped herself up on her forearms and looked around the room. She spotted Melanie sitting in the couch, fully dressed, in front of a low burning fire; just enough to take the chill out of the room.
Melanie stared blindly into the fire, lost in thought. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jessica walk around the end of the couch. She watched her as she sank down beside her on the couch, curling her legs under her. Jessica snuggled into the crock of Melanie's arm and tilted her head back, nervousness creeping in when the serious expression on Melanie's face didn't change.
"Penny for your thoughts, cher."
Melanie sighed and rested her forehead against Jessica's, just enjoying the feel of her in her arms, saying nothing.
"Are you worried about tonight?"
"Um hum."
Jessica leaned back so she could see Melanie's face. "What's the matter, Melanie? I thought we had everything planned out."
"Um hum." Melanie wanted to just treasure this moment, sitting here holding Jessica in her arms; wanted to hold on just a little longer.
They sat in silence for a few moments before Jessica's impatience, and worry, won out.
"Melanie, talk to me," Jessica pleaded.
Melanie pulled her head back. It was now or never. "Angel, please don't be mad at me, but we can't go as a couple tonight. In fact, you can't even acknowledge that you know me at all."
Jessica just stared at her for a few minutes, eyes blinking, before she found her voice. "What? Why? Honey, I don't understand."
Melanie sucked in a breath. "I've been up all night thinking."
"Didn't you go to bed last night?"
"No. Now hold on, angel, hear me out. I've been thinking. I'm afraid Lonna won't take the bait tonight, at least not from David, like we originally planned. I think Lonna's too sharp for that. I've got a backup plan that I've been thinking through all night, but it won't work if I walk in there tonight with you. The minute I do, the whole room will know exactly who I am."
"Melanie, they already do."
"No, they don't. They know of me, but nobody's met me yet. They're going to be looking for whomever you walk in with, and I want you to walk in with your uncle and Mama, and stick to them like glue tonight. No matter what you see, what you hear, do NOT acknowledge me. Just act like I'm just another face in the crowd." Melanie gave Jessica a long look. "Can you do that for me, angel?"
Jessica nodded.
Melanie planted a kiss to her forehead. "Just trust me, Jessica. I know you're confused; that none of this makes sense to you, but it's our only chance. If Felicia doesn't walk out of there with us tonight, we might never get her back, and I, for one, can't live with that."
"Melanie..."
She laid a finger to Jessica's lips. "Shush baby. I know, I know." She forced herself to pry herself away from Jessica and stood up. "Now, you have to go to work, and I've got some errands to run. We won't see each other again until the party." Melanie walked around the back of the couch, heading for the closet to get her costume for tonight. She hesitated for a minute, a few feet away from the couch, then turned around and walked back. Leaning over the back of the couch, she buried a hand in Jessica's hair, angling her head up, and gave her a deep, passionate kiss. "After tonight, angel, it'll be you and me, together forever. We'll be a family, with Felicia and David right beside us. Whatever happens tonight, remember that." Melanie sauntered off to the closet, grabbed her Zorro costume, and strode out the bedroom door; she had too many appointments and not enough time.
##
At 8:00 p.m., Halloween night, a black stretch limo pulled up in front of The Magnolia, one of New Orleans oldest, most prestigious, country clubs. The driver parked, leapt out, and opened the back door. Two women emerged; the first was dressed in a pin stripe suit complete with vest, a black pair of men's dress shoes, a red handkerchief tucked into the front breast pocket of the suite, and a black fedora. Stepping out, she turned back towards the limo and reached out a hand. Those standing nearby only saw one slim, bronze hand as it accepted the first woman's.
Slowly, a slim, gorgeous, raven-haired beauty emerged from the limo. People stared as multiple layers of tiered fringe, which made up the red flapper's dress, swayed with the woman's movements while the dressed hugged every curve. It was held up by the thinnest pair of spaghetti straps and she wore matching red gloves which ran up her arms, past her elbows, and ended halfway up her upper arms. The headpiece was just a thin red band that encircled her head, stretching across her forehead, and a little red feather stuck up on one side, her hair hung straight and long down her back. Her mascara was dark and thick, her lips ruby red, and the whole costume was set off with a pair of red pumps with stiletto heels, adding at least three inches to an already tall body.
The woman dressed as a 1920's gangster, went to great pains to make sure everyone saw her and the incredible woman accompanying her. She barely contained her smirk as she saw men staring, their eyes bulging out of their heads, as they walked past them down the red carpet that snaked it's way into the grand ballroom.
Inside, Lonna made a show of pulling out a chair for Felicia. As she pushed it in, she leaned down to whisper in her ear.
"Oh look, darling! Your family is sitting at the very next table. How convenient."
Felicia tried not to wince, Lonna's voice both smug and condescending. She'd already been given strict orders not to attempt to talk to her family; in fact, Lonna wanted her to make a show of snubbing them. She'd threatened retribution, once they got home tonight, if she didn't do exactly what she was told, but it was killing her, sitting only a few feet away from Jessica, who looked amazing dressed as a Spanish Countess. Felicia could see her out of the corner of her eye, knew Lonna had seated her here just for that purpose, and she wanted to cry as she fought the urge to run over and hug her sister.
Their uncle sat to Jessica's left, going the safe route with an old fashioned Dracula costume, the same one he wore every year. Mama Dubois sat on the other side of Jessica. She wasn't really wearing a costume, just decked out as if she was going to some swank jazz club. Felicia continued to scan the table, without actually looking at it, searching for Melanie. No one else at the table even remotely resembled her, and Felicia felt a moment of panic thinking Melanie wasn't here, and wasn't coming. She had just been so sure that Melanie would use tonight's event to her advantage.
Lonna sat down beside her and gave the Matthews's table her most sincere smile. Felicia wondered if she realized how smug she looked. Knowing Lonna, she did, and had done it on purpose. Felicia had come to know Lonna well enough to realize the woman's every move was thoroughly calculated; to her advantage.
It was too painful to see her family and not be able to talk to them, so she twisted a little in her chair, towards Lonna. This gave her back to her family, which Lonna took as a public snub and grinned her approval, but Felicia had done it out of a sense of self-preservation. She had to survive tonight's party, and silently prayed that Melanie really would rescue her. She just couldn't take living with Lonna, practically in captivity, much longer.
Jessica's eyes darted from Lonna's smarmy face to the back of her sister's head. When Felicia had walked in, it took everything she had not to jump up and run over to her, but Melanie's words from this morning kept ringing in her head, 'We'll be a family'. After tonight, they'll all be together, she just had to keep calm and play along, just for this one night.
She felt Mama lay a reassuring hand on her arm. Jessica covered it with her own and turned towards her, returning the smile. On her other side, she could hear Uncle David grinding his teeth together, the one sure sign that told her that he was barely able to keep his temper in check. For some reason, she found it more reassuring than Mama's efforts, and felt her insides calm down a little. She started scanning the room for Zorro's. To her dismay, there were quite a few of them tonight, more so than any other past party, that she could remember. Jessica shook her head at the odd though. Lord, she was so nervous she had resorted to counting costumes!
Across the room, two particular Zorro's were whispering back and forth to each other while they drifted around the buffet, trying to pretend they didn't already know each other. A third stood somewhere in between, smiling into her cup of punch as she listen to the other two trying to play super spy. Bowing her head to take a sip, she whispered into the minuscule microphone clipped inside the neck of her cape.
"Sit tight a little longer, David, maybe another half hour, twenty minutes, then go over. I can see the bitch's smug smile clear over here, so she's really enjoying the show at the moment. Let her eat it up a little longer before you strike up a conversation."
Melanie heard David's whispered, "Ok," in her earpiece. Taking her time, she turned away from the buffet table and started to meander towards the two tables. "Pipe down," she ordered Trina and Sam as she walked past. The two lovers' conversation was starting to increase in volume, and she was afraid someone would soon notice their bickering and realize they were together.
They instantly shut up at her command and she shook her head, chuckling. Nearing the tables where Lonna, Felicia, and the rest of the Matthewss sat, she quickly grew serious as she concentrated on the business at hand. She stopped at the table in front of Lonna and Felicia's, at the farthest end away from them, and struck up a conversation with the middle aged couple occupying the chairs closet to her. She had no idea who they were, but it didn't matter. This was the kind of event that was chocked full of the upperly mobile types, who would rather die before they ignored a stranger, just incase it was someone really important.
The wife was something of a chatterbox, which suited Melanie's needs just fine. This way, she could watch the tables she needed, without having to put too much concentration into the conversation, just nod her head and agree at all the key points. Minutes later, she watched David get up from the table and walk towards Lonna. Glancing at her watch she noted that it was exactly twenty minutes from when she last spoke to him. He must have sat there and timed it.
As he came around the edge of the table, farthest from Felicia and closer to her, she watched Lonna stand up and intercept him. She was being careful not to let David get too close to Felicia, but thankfully they stood off to the side just enough to not block her view of Felicia. She glanced briefly at Jessica, watched for a moment, then tried not to smile when she realized Jessica was scrutinizing every person in the room dressed as Zorro. The fact that Jessica was looking for her gave her a warm feeling. Yeah, she was really getting used to this partners thing.
She and David were wired with the same equipment, so she could easily hear his conversation with Lonna. David was trying to play it casual, "Oh, Lonna, nice to see you again. It's been so long. How are you?" He was doing a good job of it. Melanie almost couldn't tell that he was fighting the urge to knock Lonna on her ass, and she knew David to be the last man on the planet to ever hit a woman. Well, she was hoping one of them would get that treat later tonight.
Melanie nodded at the woman she was chatting with, noting that Lonna was playing right along with David, but she could tell Lonna wasn't buying any of it, not for a minute. This was what she had been afraid of. Lonna was too sharp to fall for something so simple, but Melanie hadn't realized it until after the party invitation had already been mailed out. It was ok though; this would work in their favor because now, Lonna would think this was it. The Matthews's had played their hand, they failed, and she'd spend the rest of the night smug and happy in the fact that they hadn't been able to trick her into confessing anything. Actually, everything was working amazingly well for such a last ditch, spur of the moment plan.
She heard David turning the conversation towards her relationship with Felicia and was now actively trying to trip Lonna up, trying to get her to admit that she was blackmailing Felicia and had set this whole thing up from day one. Melanie had to give him an A for effort, but could tell it wasn't working. Lonna was easily deflecting his attempts, steering the conversation away, onto other topics. Melanie took that as her cue.
Saying goodbye to the couple she was chatting with, she walked past Lonna and David to one of several mini bars that were scattered around the room. She ordered a Jack with ginger ale for herself, and tequila with orange juice. Staying close to the wall, she walked back towards Felicia's table; careful to make sure she was behind Lonna, who was facing David and the rest of the ballroom. Lonna was too busy enjoying her little war of words with David, to notice her as she slid into the chair beside Felicia.
Felicia glanced up as she felt someone beside her. She looked up just as a woman in a Zorro outfit placed a mixed drink in front of her and slid into the chair.
"You're way too beautiful to be sitting her all alone." Melanie gave Felicia her best smile and she saw her eyes widen in recognition at the sound of her voice.
"You've never seen me before," Melanie whispered under her breath. Felicia gave her a small nod, moving her head just enough to acknowledge she heard her, but not enough for anyone else to really notice.
"Thank you, for the drink. What is it?"
"Tequila and orange juice. You know, if you drink enough of those, they start to taste like Tootsie Rolls."
Felicia laughed and Melanie smiled, putting on the charm, which really wasn't all that hard. If Jessica really hadn't been interested in her, she probably would have stayed with Felicia. The two of them had always found it so easy, and fun, to flirt with each other, so this would be cake.