Death at the Trade Show: Target Practice Mysteries 3 (2 page)

I let out a squeal, as I had a good idea of what was in the box, based on it being from Salt Lake and the shape. Sure enough, as I threw open the lid, there in the foam was a brand new Andersson Archery recurve riser. Modern competition recurve bows consist of a riser that all the accessories attach to, such as the sight, stabilizers, and grip. The limbs snap into the top and bottom of the riser, giving the bow the majority of its length. The bowstring attaches to the limbs. The limbs are the part of the bow that bends and determines the draw weight of the bow. Limbs can be easily switched out when the bow is unstrung.

The riser sitting in my lap was the newest model from Andersson Archery, a company owned by Westmound. It was a dark teal, the most beautiful color I had seen. The gentle curves and strategic cut outs and arcs were gorgeous. I ran my finger over the metal surface and lifted it in my bow hand, awed at how the wooden grip felt in my hand.

Mary squealed next to me. “Awesome. My favorite color!” She pulled out the same model riser as mine but in a pale gold, soft and smooth like butter. “I didn’t know they came in these colors.”

Orion laughed. “They’re custom colors just for you. Liam picked them out.”

Liam smiled. “I might have picked up a few things during our Beckmans shopping trips. These are the first two off the line. I hope you like them.”

Mary squealed. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

I clutched my riser to my chest. Liam leaned back and threw one arm along the back of the seat, lightly grazing my far shoulder. I leaned into him. “Thank you.”

He nodded his head to the boxes. “Here, check out the limbs.”

I opened the bottom box. They were solid black except for “Andersson” on the front. The limbs were laminated of multiple materials that varied between models. From the side, the layers were visible, and in the middle was a teal layer that perfectly matched the riser. I gasped and looked at Mary.

She looked at me and twisted her limb to show me that hers had a pale-gold layer running down the length of the limb. “It matches!” she squealed.

At the far end of the car, Elizabeth and John looked at us. Elizabeth smiled then went back to her conversation.

My face felt hot as I turned to Liam. “Did you do this just for us?”

Liam smiled and squeezed my shoulder with the hand resting on the back of our seat. Moo pressed his wet nose all over the limbs and riser. Once he determined they weren’t edible, he curled up at my side again, grunting and groaning. Liam’s hand rested on me, fingers gently cupping my shoulder. It was very distracting, and I lost my train of thought as I nestled between Moo and Liam. I felt deliciously warm, and my eyelids slid down, suddenly heavy.

Orion leaned around Mary. “Hey now, let’s not forget my contribution to this project. We have talked about introducing a custom line of colors for special purchase or incentives to sponsored shooters. We need to make sure that the color holds fast and there aren’t any performance problems.”

Mary squealed again and threw her arms around Orion, the riser and limbs awkwardly wedged between them. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Orion dodged to the side to avoid a limb tip in the eye. “You’re welcome, kiddo.”

Mary sat back down in her seat. “I wish I could shoot it now. This is going to be the longest four days ever.”

Orion unzipped his jacket and pulled out two matching bowstrings. “You won’t be able to shoot it, but I brought some strings so you can at least pull them back. Maybe share a picture online and get people excited about the new riser model.”

Mary snatched the strings out of his hand. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”

Orion reached into his messenger bag and passed her a bow stringer. “I brought this ’cause those limbs are perfect. I do
not
want you twisting them or taking out an eye using your foot to string the bow. That’s the new Andersson bow stringer; let me know what you think of it.”

I started to put the riser and limbs back into their boxes, running my fingers over the slightly textured surface of the metal. I looked up to see Liam watching me and smiled again. “I’m so excited. I can’t wait to set it up. I’m glad I set everything up for Mary’s and my training blogs.”

Orion leaned his head back to avoid a limb as Mary packed everything back into the boxes. “I saw the mock-up you sent. It looks great. How will you structure it?”

I placed the boxes at my feet, and Moo flung his head over my lap with a deep sigh of contentment at regaining the space. “Mary’s blog will focus on elite competition and the more technical aspects, while mine is for the beginning competitive archer. Both of us will mix up equipment videos with form videos about what we are working on. Liam is going to help with the equipment videos.”

Orion’s phone beeped, and he pulled it out to poke at the screen. “Sounds good. The rest of your set up was shipped directly to the center.”

Mary pulled out her phone to snap a picture of the new bow. She punched a few keys to post the picture online, and within seconds, her phone was buzzing with replies. She settled into her seat and, at the speed of light, was tapping out messages.

It was quiet in the car except the buzzing and chirping of Mary’s and Orion’s phones. I looked out the window at the buildings flowing by. I’d been living at the Westmound Center for Competitive Shooting Sports in rural Wyoming since fall, but I already felt like the city was a foreign environment, the lights and cars closing in around me in the night. I nestled in closer to Liam in the dark car.

He pulled his eyes away from his phone. “You excited?”

“Yes, of course.” Four whole days with Liam—of course I was excited. The thought hit me that he meant the show, and I deflated a little. “Mary was telling me all about it. She’s super excited.”

“Mary’s always excited.”

I chuckled. “Yes, she is. She keeps me entertained. You know, I am still not clear on what we will be doing.”

Mary perked up and looked our way. “Yeah, boss, what are we doing?” She unzipped her backpack and pulled out a notebook and felt-tip marker, carefully writing “OIT SHOW ASSIGNMENTS” across the top in block letters.

“Errr.” Liam looked at Orion, who chuckled. “We don’t really know what you guys are doing.”

Mary’s eyebrows flew up. “What? You don’t know?” Her pen hovered over the paper, yearning to organize our assignments into an orderly pattern.

“Jess and Robbie really wanted to come to keep an eye on the industry, see the new products, and celebrate their anniversary. Since they were coming anyway, they decided to set up a table in the Westmound booth. We brought the box of literature, but beyond that they weren’t going to do much.”

Mary leaned forward, her eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. “Why did we come, then?”

Liam shrugged. “We had already ordered the badges, there was space in the jet, and their room is in our suite, so why not?”

Orion flashed a big smile. “Plus, you two are comic relief.”

Mary smiled at Orion. There was an openness around her eyes that was normally reserved for Tiger, an archer that she insisted she did not have a crush on. This could be interesting.

Orion laughed and ruffled her hair. Mary patted it back into place with a laugh then turned to Liam with a smile. “Does that mean we can wander the floor all week?”

Liam chuckled. “How about this: you can set up the table with the literature that Jess sent, and tomorrow at lunch we’ll meet with you to see how things are going. Orion, when’s our lunch break?”

Orion pulled out his phone and tapped the screen. “One p.m. for an hour. We can grab lunch together.”

The car stopped in front of a hotel. We all started to gather up our boxes and bags as the door opened. Moo burst up from the seat, bonking me on the head with his formidable snout. I grabbed his leash but not before he shoved Orion back into the seat and stomped on Mary’s notebook, crumpling up her list.

“Whoa, Moo. Sit,” I said, pulling him back by my side. He wagged his tail, smacking me across the face, and looked back at me over his shoulder. His tongue hung out in a doggy smile. We were still working on basic obedience training, but it had been a long day and was getting late.

After everyone filed out of the car, I exited with Moo, holding him behind me. Liam offered me his hand at the car door. Perhaps this could be our new pattern, holding his hand whenever I passed through a doorway. The entrance to the hotel had a large banner proclaiming “Welcome Outdoor Industry Trade Show Attendees.”

It was more humid here; the air carried a deep chill that cut through my jacket straight to my bones. Moo whined and huddled close. Mary grabbed my arm and dragged me inside the hotel behind John and Elizabeth while Liam and Orion unloaded the luggage onto a cart. I turned back to offer to help them, but Liam waved me to stay inside.

John had left, and Elizabeth hung away from the counter while an older man in suspenders spoke to the female employee at the counter. The hotel was beautiful, with granite countertops and a well-appointed entrance. The hallways of the hotel all faced inward, with the center of the hotel open all the way to the top of the roof. The center had a fountain, large planters overflowing with palm trees, ferns, and flowers, and chairs spread in clusters, creating cozy nooks to talk in. Right now it was empty except for a few people milling about inside a bar tucked into a corner off to the right.

The cheerful lady at the counter responded to the man. “Yes, sir, we heard the noise as well. We think it could have been the pipes or maybe even a boiler.” She gave him a dazzling smile as a man and woman in matching employee uniforms came through a doorway behind her, carrying flashlights.

The old man pulled on the corner of his rather sizable walrus mustache. “I know my eyes aren’t too great, but I swear I saw something fall from over there.” He pointed a gnarled finger toward the far corner of the hotel, his knuckles swollen and knobbly.

There was a dining facility on the ground level, though it was dark and had a heavy wall of trees around the edges that obscured the interior.

“Don’t worry, sir. Sometimes people hang jackets on the railing by their hotel door and they slip off. We’ll check it out. Thank you so much for letting us know, and sleep well.”

The man turned and tipped his hat at us. His mustache twitched left and right a few times as if it were doing a quick dance step. He winked at us then left.

The blond woman turned to the two employees and said something to them before they left. She turned back to us with a smile. An employee badge displaying the name “Becky” was visible.

Elizabeth stepped up to the desk. “Hello, Becky. We’re checking in. The reservation is under Westmound or Elizabeth Andersson, two s’s in Andersson.”

Orion and Liam pushed the carts with our luggage piled high. Liam reached out for my boxes, but I pulled them to my chest on instinct.

He gave a chuckle. “I’m not trying to steal them.”

“Right, sorry. I’m just so happy to have them. Thanks for bringing them.”

I handed Liam the boxes and stepped closer to the check-in counter.

At the counter, Becky was gathering up a number of baggies from behind her. “I just need a credit card and driver’s license. We have you in the deluxe suite, three bedrooms, three baths, on the top floor. There were some things left for you at the counter.”

She read through the names on scraps of paper stapled to each Outdoor Industry Trade Show bag. “Orion, Elizabeth, Mary, Di, Liam, and…” We stepped forward to gather our bags as she pursed her mouth and stared quizzically at the last bag. “I’m sorry, I can’t read this last one. It looks like it says… Moo?”

Upon hearing his name, Moo barked once. She leaned over the high counter and laughed. “How did I miss him? Nice to meet you, Moo.” She stepped back and reached under her desk. She cast her eyes around the group. “Would it be okay for me to give Moo a treat?”

Moo barked again and jumped up to place his front paws on the top of the counter. He looked over the top and raised his nose to sniff the air, looking for the treat.

I laughed. “That’s fine.”

She offered him the treat, which he carefully took from her hand with his lips then hopped down to lie on the floor and eat it. His mouth smacked, and bits of treat exploded from his mouth as he chomped. His eyes were squeezed shut, and the corners of his mouth were pulled up in a smile. Once the treat was gone, he sniffed along the floor to pick up every crumb he missed.

“If you follow the hallway down past the bar, there is a door that leads out to a graveled pet area. There are doggy bags and a light. Please let us know if you need anything. Bring your key with you to get back in.”

I nodded my thanks to her and collected Moo’s bag from the counter. Inside his bag was a name tag in a clear plastic pocket that hung from an elastic cord. His said Moo Westmound, which made me giggle.

I checked my name tag, holding my breath. I avoided using my last name. Once the divorce was finalized, I would go back to my maiden name, but until then I was keeping my married name, though I had always hated it. I pulled out the tag and flipped it over. To my surprise, it said Di Westmound.

I leaned over to Liam. “Uh, what’s this about?”

His eyebrows rose, and he laughed. “I didn’t expect that. I know that you don’t want to use your married name, so I left it off the email this afternoon. I guess they winged it. Hey, Mom. Look.” He turned the name tag to show her.