Derby Divas (Zoe Donovan Mystery) (7 page)

“Perhaps Pepper and Dezee
stayed behind to keep an eye on the cars,” Dad suggested.

It was common practice for each team to assign someone to watch the cars when they were
n’t being used. As unfortunate as it may seem, tampering to rig races and other events was not as uncommon as one would like to believe.

“
I’m sure they’ll show up,” Hazel said.

“Either way
, it would be great if you could let me know whether the derby is a go or not as soon as you come to a decision,” I told them. If the derby was going to take place with at least two fewer drivers, I was going to need to rework the groups.

“Has anyone heard
what happened?” Levi asked. “Salinger was pretty closemouthed at the scene. Pandora was a more than competent driver, but it looked like she simply lost control of her car.”

“We don
’t have any news yet, I’m afraid,” Willa verified. “I’m sure Sheriff Salinger will fill us in once he knows anything.”

“I feel like this is all my fault,” I confided to Levi after Willa adjourned the meeting.

“Your fault? How can it be your fault?”

“I should have done more to stop them and I didn’t.”

“Boomer and Pandora are adults and therefore responsible for their own decisions,” Levi pointed out. “From what you told me, you did try to warn them of the inherent danger, and they chose to race anyway. They’re professional drivers who know what they’re doing.”

“Pandora is dead,” I
said.

“That’s true
.” Levi sighed. “I know you feel bad and I do too, but I honestly don’t know what you could have done to stop them.”

“I could have told Salinger.”

“Maybe. And maybe if you had, Pandora would be alive, but what would more likely have occurred is that Salinger would have blown you off like he always does.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“I know you feel responsible, but don’t beat yourself up over this,” Levi counseled. “There’s nothing you can do at this point to change the outcome of this very tragic event.”

After Levi left, I called Zak, who informed me that he’d taken Scooter, Bella, and Charlie to the beach. They’d packed a picnic and planned to make a day of it. I really wanted to talk to Zak about my feelings about the race, but I didn’t think the timing was quite right and I didn’t want to ruin his day with Scooter.

I then called Jeremy
, who assured me that he had everything under control if I wanted to take the day off after the harrowing experience.

I considered my options.
On one hand, it would be fun to join Zak, Scooter, and the dogs at the beach. Zak and I had had virtually no time together since the awkward moment when he proposed and I froze, and I felt that it was necessary to our future relationship to clear the air. Zak had assured me that we were fine and that he understood my hesitation, but honestly, I was less than certain that
fine
defined his true feelings on the subject.

Of course
, Zak and I wouldn’t really be able to talk. Scooter was
very
excited about spending the summer with Zak, and his tendency to operate in hyperdrive had been obvious from the moment I’d picked them up at the airport yesterday. I hoped that after a day or two he’d settle in and settle down.

Luckily
, Bella seemed to love the active little boy, so my fear that we’d have another dog-bite incident to deal with where Scooter was concerned had been nicely laid to rest.

I
’d never had breakfast, so I considered stopping by Ellie’s for a bite to eat, but first, I decided, I was going to head over to the Ashton Falls Motor Inn to see if I could find out where Pepper and Dezee had gotten off to. Until I had their decision regarding the derby, I really wouldn’t be able to rework the groups, which was something I needed to do by the end of the day.

I knocked on
the door of the motel room Pepper and Pandora had been sharing, but there was no answer. I tried the handle and the door opened easily. I hate to admit it, but when I walked into the room, I screamed like a girl. This is a confession I am not proud of. I’m one of those people who roll my eyes when some girl on television stumbles upon a dead body and starts screaming uncontrollably. I mean, really, who does that? I might gasp if startled, but screaming on and on and on and on? Well, you get the picture.

Anyway, I walked
through the door and screamed, not because I’d seen a dead body but because I’d seen a live one.

“Pandora?”

“What time is it?” a very much alive derby diva asked. She had been sleeping when I’d come in.

“You’re dead,” I accused
her.

“I’m not dead. Maybe a little hung over
, but certainly not dead.”

“But you are,” I insisted. “I saw you die.”

Pandora looked at me like I’d lost my mind.

“You raced Boomer this morning. I saw you. You lost control and went over the embankment. Your car exploded. I’m certain of th
at.”

“I missed the race,” Pandora insisted. “Have you been smoking the funny cigarettes that were passed around last night?”

“No.” I took a deep breath and tried to gather my thoughts. If Pandora was alive, who was dead?

“When was the last time you saw Pepper?” I asked.

Pandora squinted against the massive headache I suspected she was fighting. “We partied together last night. I got really drunk, which is odd because it usually takes a lot to get me drunk. Dezee walked me back here and Pepper put me to bed. That’s the last thing I remember.” Pandora looked at the bedside clock. “I guess I must have forfeited the race.”

“No,” I informed her. “You won.”

“I did? I must have been drunker than I thought. I don’t even remember racing.”

“I don’t think you did.”

“Huh?”

“Back to Pepper.
Did you see her this morning?”

Pandora squinted. I could tell that her head must be pounding. “I’m not sure
. Why?”

“She’s missing. I think she may be dead.”

“Dead? What are you saying?” Pandora jumped out of the bed totally naked.

“Someone showed up for the race this morning in your car. The person who raced won and then died. Everyone thinks it was you
, but here you are. No one has seen Pepper.”

“Oh
God.” Pandora bent over and vomited into the wastebasket.

“Perhaps you should get dressed
,” I suggested.

Pandora pulled on a pair of shorts and a halter. She didn’t seem to care about undergarments
, but to each her own.

“
Tell me exactly what happened.” Pandora sat down on the bed next to me.

I explained the series of events that led me to this place and time
.

“She must have decided to race for me.” Pandora began to cry.

“What happened last night?” I asked.

Pandora stared off into space like I wasn’t
even in the room. I supposed she really cared about Pepper and was having a hard time accepting what I was telling her.

“Honestly, I don’t know. Boomer and some of the guys invited me and some of the girls to party in his room. Pepper hadn’t wanted to go. She thought I should have an early night so that I’d be ready for the race
, but I was bored and antsy and didn’t see how a couple of drinks could hurt. After a bit of negotiation, she agreed to go along with me, but then she took off shortly after we arrived. I was having fun and didn’t want to leave, so I told her that I was going to stay and have a couple more.”

“But you had more than a couple,” I deducted.

“But I didn’t. I don’t know what happened. I can usually put away more alcohol than Masher, and that’s saying a lot. Oh God,” Pandora sobbed. “I can’t believe Pepper is dead.”

“I don’t
know
at this point that the dead woman is Pepper,” I offered. “I guess we should call Salinger.”

Pandora looked at me with empty eyes.

Pandora had been talking with Salinger in his office for hours. I’m not sure why I waited dutifully in the reception area. It wasn’t like I could do anything to help Pandora through the terror of knowing that her best friend had died trying to fulfill the commitment she was too hung over to deal with herself. I tried to imagine how I’d feel if something happened to Ellie or Levi due to my negligence, but the terror the mere thought brought about was much more than I could handle.

I called Jeremy and told him that I wouldn’t be in at all that day and then Willa
, to give her an update on the situation. Once I’d informed Salinger of Pandora’s undead state of being, he’d called the coroner to take a closer look at what was left of the body, which had been burned beyond recognition.

I
also spoke with Zak, briefly telling him about the major twist in the events of the day. He’d offered to come down to the station and sit with me, but there wasn’t really anything he could do, and I didn’t want to interrupt his day with Scooter. I guess Zak must have called Levi after we hung up because he showed up with a take-out bag containing a sandwich and fries from Ellie’s.

“You really didn’t have to come down
here,” I said as I gratefully accepted the food.

“Of course I needed to come. You should have called me right away,” Levi scolded.

“I know. It’s just been a really long couple of days and I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed.”

“Zak wanted to come down
, but with it being Scooter’s first day in Ashton Falls, he hated to leave the boy alone with some random babysitter,” Levi informed me.

“Yeah, I get it. I told him not to interrupt his day at the lake.”

“You should call him later, or better yet stop by. I could tell he was feeling very conflicted and just a bit frantic that he couldn’t be here for you.”

“Has Zak said anything to you,” I lowered my voice
, even though the receptionist had wandered off and there was no one else in the room, “about the engagement fiasco?”

“Not really. Guys don’t yammer on about things like that the way you women do.”

“He didn’t say anything at all?” I prodded.

“Like what?” Levi actually looked confused.

“I don’t know. It’s just that I haven’t had a chance to really
talk
to Zak about the whole thing. He says we’re fine, but I guess I have my doubts.”

“So ask him,” Levi suggested.

“I was going to, but at first I didn’t know what to say, and then he sat with you on the flight home from Hawaii so I didn’t get a chance to talk to him, and then he immediately headed to Kansas to visit with Scooter. I picked him up at the airport yesterday, but Scooter was with him so we couldn’t talk.”

“So talk to him tonight after Scooter goes to bed. Zak really hasn’t said anything
, but I know he loves you. I’m sure it’s fine.”

“Ellie thinks I made a huge mistake.”

Levi paused. I imagine he was considering whether
he
believed I’d made a huge mistake.

“Zak loves you a
nd I know you love him, but I don’t think you made a mistake. Just because you care deeply for someone doesn’t mean you’re ready to make some huge, life-altering decision.”

“But Ellie said
—” I began.

“
We talked about that this morning. Ellie wants to get married and have a family, so she can’t understand why everyone else doesn’t feel the same way,” Levi interrupted. “I don’t think marriage is something you should jump into if you aren’t ready.”

“
But how do you know when you
are
ready?”

Levi shrugged. “I guess you just do.”

“Zak is ready and we’re the same age. I love him so much. I can’t imagine my life without him. I really don’t know why I hesitated.”

“Zak is different
from you and me.” Levi put his arm around me. “His timetable and your timetable might not be the same, but that doesn’t mean one is better than the other.”

“Different how?” I asked.

“When we were in high school, we spent our free time going to parties, hanging out at the beach, and hooking up with our crush of the moment, while Zak was building a software empire in his garage. You and I are just coming into our adulthood, but Zak—and, to some degree, Ellie—have been living the adult lifestyle for quite some time.”

Levi had a point. Zak was
already a mature and highly respected businessman while I was partying my way through my early twenties.

“So what do I do to catch up?” I wondered.

“Nothing. You’re perfect the way you are. You’ll find your own way in your own time, and my guess is that Zak will wait for you.”

I smiled. I really did feel better. “Thanks
, Levi.” I hugged him.