Down Home and Deadly (12 page)

And walls and shelves covered with pictures. I noticed one of Alex as I remembered him from childhood. He was so cute, even then. I followed his pictorial progress from infancy to adulthood. All those moments I’d missed. There he was at bat in a baseball game
;
here he was shooting a long shot on the basketball court. There were pictures of him swimming, camping, graduating college. Holding up his shingle. There were several of him in groups, both formal and informal. None with him and a girl alone. I wondered if his parents wished he’d married someone from his college days
i
nstead of the girl who choked under pressure.

“Hey,
w
ater
girl,” Alex said from near my shoulder. “Your wall’s over here.”

I glanced at him in puzzlement
as
he turned me to
face
the wall across the room. Photos of Coach Mike and his pupils. I walked across for a closer look. To my surprise, I was in
more than
half the photos.

“My star student,” Coach said from behind us.

I spun around. “Up to a point.”

He chuckled. “Up to the point that
S
uper
G
irl finally showed she was human by getting sick at the worst possible time? But even then you were the best I ever coached.”

I ignored the last part of his comment as politeness and focused on the first part. “You didn’t think my illness was just nerves? A way to wimp out?” Until I said it aloud, I hadn’t realized that deep down that was what I’d feared all these years.

“Nerves?” he boomed. “Nerves don’t cause
a
102
-
degree fever. You had no business competing. If you’ll remember, I told you to withdraw
,
and you refused. And I felt it had to be your decision, since you’d trained so long and hard. Your parents reluctantly agreed with me. But your body couldn’t fight infection and win a gold medal at the same time.”

“Or any medal,” I reminded him just in case he’d forgotten.

Demaree slipped her arm around me and gave me a side hug. “Girl, you qualified for the Olympics. Where’s the shame in that? Even if you hadn’t been sick, which you definitely were, there are only so many medals. But being there
was
a victory. You’re an amazing swimmer.” She walked over and took her husband’s hand. “And even more important, in our eyes, you’re an amazing person. So don’t identify yourself by what you can
do
, but by
who
you are. You’re a
beautiful
, caring Christian woman
who has had some disappointments. But from
those disappointments has come determination and strength of character
. And we’re proud to have you for our daughter-in-law.”

I reached up to wipe a tear
,
and Alex grasped my wrist lightly.

“What a sneaky way of showing off your engagement ring,” he said and held up my hand. What a sneaky way of changing the subject.

I loved him.

And his parents.

*****

When we pulled into my driveway that night, I wondered for the hundredth time why I’d been so nervous about seeing his parents again.

Alex got out and walked me to the door. “Want me to come in and make sure everything’s ok
ay
?”

“I’m sure everything’s fine.” I glanced at my watch. “Zac was here just a couple of hours ago to let Mr. Persi out.”

It was a little before ten. Not too late to give Carly a call.
When I got inside, I did, and s
he answered on the first ring. “I was hoping you’d call. How’d it go?”

I hit the speakerphone button and laid the phone on the vanity. “Great. I had a wonderful time.” I slid the ponytail holder from my hair and picked up my brush. “They were so nice to me.”

“All that worrying for nothing
,
” Carly teased.

“I guess you’re right. You know what?” I ran the brush through my tangled hair. “They’re really happy we’re engaged.”

“Of course they are. They know a good thing when they see it.” I could hear the smile in her voice.

“And so do I. I’m so glad Alex and I finally worked things out.” I looked at myself in the mirror. Even I could see that I looked happy. “Now if I can just get you and Elliott all fixed up.” I teased her.

“You know how mom always tells you to mind your own business?” She laughed. “Well, never mind. That dog won’t hunt.”

“I guess you’re implying that I’m nosy?” Nothing new there.

“Well if the shoe fits.” She laughed. “And we know it’s exactly your size. And you have the mate in your closet.”

“Ok
ay
, silly. But you’d tell me if there was anything I could do to help y’all, right?” I laid the brush down.

“Of course.” She lowered her voice. “I’m just not going to rush into anything.”

I hardly considered a year
“
rushing
,
”
but Carly would do things in her own time.
Harvey
was right when he said she had a mind of her own.

“By the way,” I said. “Larry was at the club when I went to see Lisa. He didn’t seem too happy.”

“Lisa’s husband? I don’t imagine
knowing
Lisa
was seeing
J.D. made him happy.”

“Well, the thing is, he knew exactly where she kept the gun. In fact, he’s the one who told her to bring it to the club and put it in the drawer.”

“Did she tell you that?”

And even though she couldn’t see me, I blushed. “No, I overheard it when I was standing outside her office.”

“Who
,
you? Nosy? What was I thinking? Eavesdropping, huh?” Carly said dryly.

“No, in this instance I was just waiting politely until she was free to see me
,
” I said piously
. “The point is Larry knew about the murder weapon and where it was.

“Hmm
.
 
.
 
.
” Carly said. “You know what?
”

“What?”

“Didn’t you tell me before you quit that Lisa was laying it on thick to some of the members about the club being safe because she had a gun and kn
ew
how to use it?”

I slapped my forehead with my free hand. “Carly, you’re right. I can’t believe I forgot that. But she was bragging to a bunch of guys one morning when I came in.”

“So a lot of people knew
about the gun. It wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to find it in her desk drawer.”

“That’s true. But Bob specifically said Larry
was abusive. And if he was jealous
.
 
.
 
.
”

“Yeah,” Carly said. “We
know firsthand that jealousy can lead to murder
.
”

“
Oh well,
I may find out more tomorrow. I’m going to swim at the club in the morning.”

“So you and Bob made up?”

“I guess. To an extent.”

“If it’s not war, it’s peace,” she said. “Be thankful for it.”

“
Believe me,
I am.”

*****

It felt weird but totally natural to be back at the club pool
for my morning swim
. I had spent so much time here that not coming for the last few weeks had felt strange. I shook off introspections and focused on getting my laps in.
No use
crying over spil
led
milk. Or in this case, chlorinated water. Definitely better than the lake. And so nice to have it to myself. Or so I thought.

“Hey! They let just anybody in here?”

I set a new record for going from a breaststroke to a high jump in seven feet of water. Which Seth thought was hilarious.

“What are you doing here so early?” I excused myself for sounding like a petulant child on the basis of extreme surprise.

“I heard the great Jenna Stafford was working out here again, and I had to come check it out.” A grin still marked his features
,
so at least my rudeness hadn’t been too obvious. “Just kidding. Passing by on my way to the weight room. I’ll be back later in case you need company.” With a jaunty salute
,
he left, but before I could soak in the solitude, Amelia came in. So much for a quiet swim.

Amelia motioned imperiously.

Like a puppet on strings, I obediently swam to the edge of the pool.

She handed me a towel.
“Put this around you and sit with me a minute.” She proceeded to a corner table and made herself comfortable.

I followed. Like I had a choice. As I draped the towel over me for maximum coverage and warmth, Amelia looked around suspiciously
then leaned forward
and put a finger to her lips. Apparently she was channeling James Bond. I glanced around nervously. Were enemy agents about to descend? Was the room bugged? Was Amelia slightly batty?

“What’s wrong, Amelia?” I
apparently
hadn’t quite banished my inner pouty child.

“Shh. I don’t want anyone to see us talking.” She got up and looked out the steamy windows of the pool
room doors. Satisfied that we weren’t being observed, she resumed her seat. “Remember what I asked you to do for me?”

Oops. I was drawing a blank. “What?”

She pursed her lips and shook her head as if she felt sorry for me for having such a low IQ. “You were going to ask around about Ricky.”

“Oh yes. That. Well
.
 
.
 
.
” Pause for throat clearing and brain searching. “
S
o far, not much.” I’d been a little busy trying to help Bob keep Lisa out of jail and find out who really killed J.D. But
since
Amelia
knew I
wasn’t directly involved with this murder investigation, I knew she’d never buy that as an excuse. And
considering that
this very moment, Ricky’s partner was in the weight room next door, I could make up for lost time. “I’ve got a plan, though.”

“Plans are only as efficient as the planner,” she said primly.

I pushed a wet strand of hair off my face and stared at her. Was she insulting me?

Her expression lightened a little. I think she realized she’d almost pushed the “favor” envelope too far. “Please hurry. Tiffany’s pushing like mad for me to get this wedding planned.”

“Okay, I’ll get back to you as soon as I find out anything.”

She gave me a terse nod and stood, then with a surreptitious wave of dismissal
,
sauntered out. I wanted to call out a witty “We’ve got to stop meeting like this
,”
but I felt sure she wouldn’t appreciate it. So I stood and sidled toward the shower room. Even though I loved to swim, I hated getting back in the water after I’d been out for a while.

I rushed through my shower and emerged just as Seth left the men’s shower room. How convenient.

He shot me a cocky grin as if I’d set up this meeting on purpose. And even if he was close to right, it definitely wasn’t for the reason he was obviously hoping
it was for
. “Hey, babe, we’ve got to stop meeting like this,” he drawled.

I cringed, glad I hadn’t said something similar to Amelia. That old line wasn’t as witty as I’d thought it might be when it was said aloud. “Hi, Seth. Did you have a good workout?”

He flexed his muscles beneath his white
T
-shirt. “Always.”

Even for Amelia, I draw the line at admiring another man’s pecs. I glanced toward the pool. “Do you swim?”

He nodded. “Like a pro.” He apparently remembered who he was talking to, because he said, “Well, I may not be the best in the world.” He laughed. “But at least I can swim. Ol’ Rick can’t swim a lick.”

Talk about opportunity knocking. “He can’t?”

“Nah, he always says if God intended us to swim, he’d
have
give
n
us fins.”

Mission accomplished. Now anyone with a brain could see that Ricky wasn’t suitable for Tiffany. Imagine anyone not swimming. I smiled at my silly thoughts. “Speaking of Ricky, is he an all
-
right guy?”

Seth frowned at me and stumbled a little. “Yeah, he’s okay. Why?”

I waved my hand airily. “I just don’t know him that well
.
 
.
 
.
and now that he’s playing b-ball with us on Sunday afternoons, I thought I should know a little about him.”