SecondSightDating (21 page)

“He’s so charming.
Thank you for matching us.
I guess you
saved the best match for me.” Justine reached over and patted Serena’s hand.
“He’s so good at playing his part.
That kiss he gave you before?
Man, that
melted my insides.
I can’t wait until we go out and he kisses me like that.”

“Did you guys talk over a lot of things?
Find you have some
common interests?”

Distracted, Justine casually tossed out, “We both like
having money and spending it.” She waved to Jake, motioning him over to where
they stood.

Serena checked her index card and realized Jezebel needed to
flirt with the retired chief big-time, to the point of gaining the attention of
her husband, Percy and lover, Clive.
Time to turn on the seductive charm and
spur jealousy in the two role-playing men in her life.

Great.
Can’t someone kill me now?

Chapter Seventeen

Jake proved to be extremely skilled at making her feel
comfortable in her new persona.
Soon, even Serena had to admit she thought of
herself as the vixen mesmerizing the other men in the room.
She joked and
laughed with Jake, a charmer himself, flirtatious comments and sexual innuendos
bantered back and forth.
Others had joined in their conversations, witnessing
the exchanges.

From the corner of her eye she saw Dan eyeballing her, a
look of disapproval covering his face.
She raised her head in an effort to show
no weakness at his displeasure.
Part of the mystery they were performing?
Something related to the real-life drama of their relationship?

Jake whispered something in her ear, a new twist to the
play.
She was to go to the ladies’ room for exactly five minutes, then return
to the main dining room.
He bowed in gentlemanly fashion and offered to escort
her out of the room.

She snaked her arm through his, wondering if she were
heading for her sought-after demise.
Heated words from Dan and Michael caught
her attention and she glimpsed the two arguing while a flustered Mrs.
Worthington fanned her face with one hand, the other hand held to her chest.

As she exited the room, she witnessed Justine walking out
and turning left toward the phone area.
At the ladies’ room, Jake took Serena’s
hand and lifted it to his lips for a soft kiss.
He marched away, heading for
the front entrance.
Two figures strolled outside ahead of him…Dan and Michael.

Checking her watch, Serena decided to enjoy her five minutes
of peace.
Other women came and left, but she remained behind to savor her time.
She hoped, prayed, that someone would come in, point to her and say, “You’re
dead.”

Where the hell is she?
Dan gave a quick peek back into the
dining room just before stepping outside, searching for Serena.
Losing sight of
her wasn’t in his plans.
Watching that Jake guy maul her irked him, although
she seemed to be enjoying his company a little too much.
Maybe much more than
just playacting would warrant.

He’d done his thing, arguing with Gino over their hostess,
then both had walked outside.
They’d gone to separate sides of the parking lot,
as dictated.
Obviously, he wasn’t the dead body as no one mentioned it to him.

Dan’s cell phone rang and he quickly answered.
“Reese.”

Steve’s voice replied, “We have a new development in your case.
Gino Conti’s here.
Came in offering information.
Must be looking to earn
brownie points for the next time he screws up.
Anyway, he says Serena Sight
told him to go after the mayor’s daughter, charge her for services and they’d
split the money.
And, assuming he accomplished that, she’d supply more women
for him.”

Dan’s stomach lurched.
“Is the mob involved?”

“Not according to Conti.
He says she’s the brains of the
whole operation.”

Dan hung up after assuring Steve he’d bring her in for
questioning.
Deciding not to ruin everyone else’s evening, he opted to finish
his date, then nab Serena.

Or, should he call her, Madam Serena.

He took in a deep breath of night air, hoping to clear his
head of any illusions about Serena’s innocence.
Want her or not, guilty was the
verdict.
And, “Gino”/Percy had to be an accomplice.
Too much subterfuge
surrounded him.
Not to mention the fake Conti.
Dan would have to bring both of
them in.

After the designated five minutes passed, Serena left the
safe confines of the ladies’ room and strolled back into the dining area.
She
searched for the other nine major characters, wondering where her brother ended
up.
A scream drew everyone’s attention to Mrs.
Worthington as she placed the
back of her hand against her forehead and leaned against Jake.
She moaned, “Oh,
no,” as a crowd gathered closer.

That’s when the retired police chief announced someone had
been murdered and the distressed, grieving hostess had found the body.

Damn.
It’s not me
.
Serena resigned herself to being
bombarded with questions.
Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed Dan
meandering his way through the crowd.
He wasn’t the dead body either.

A chill covered her body and she realized all the other main
players were accounted for, except Michael.
Jake asked the guests to take their
seats, as dinner would be served.
He announced that the dead character was
Percy and gave a little more detail about him and his relationships with the
other players.

Serena half-listened, wondering if Michael would be allowed
to return to their table.
Even if he were dead, he still had to eat.

After arriving at their table, Dan spoke to Justine,
virtually ignoring her.
Although matching the two was what she was supposed to
be doing, hurting over his interest hadn’t been what she’d expected.

Michael marched in, his steps swift.
A look of anger clouded
over his eyes as he approached their table and sat down.
He wore a sign
designating him as “Dead Body…Do not ask questions”.
No one was to speak to
Michael about his murder, but could talk about other things, as long as his
conversation didn’t involve a one-on-one chat.

The two men glared at each other, then both turned their
attention to Serena.
Both were mad.
At her?
The game?
Each other?
Michael could
be angry about being the dead body.
Or maybe he’d hoped to spend more time with
Annemarie and now figured that wouldn’t happen.

Dan could be angry about…what?
Part of his act?
It could be
something other than anger.
Maybe he was the murderer and anxious about being
caught.
The man could possess acting skills she’d never expected.

“I’m starved.
We can talk about anything except the murder.
How do you guys like this so far?” Justine smiled at everyone, enthusiasm
oozing with every word.

Serena, Dan and Michael voiced their willingness to go on
with the evening.
The three of them agreed they’d never done a murder mystery
dinner before but found the experience entertaining.

Justine did the bulk of talking during dinner.
Dan paid
particular attention to her attempts at being clever, laughing at her jokes and
ignoring the others.
Michael gave Serena nervous looks.
Serena couldn’t figure
out how to talk to him without the other two privy to their conversation.

Serena dropped her napkin and bent down to pick it up.
Michael quickly bent over and whispered in her ear, “His name’s not Reese.
It’s
Carrington.
And, he’s a cop.”

Serena’s stomach churned and dropped.
For just a moment she
forgot to breathe.
Dan?
A police officer?
Why was he hiding it from her?
What
else about him was false?

He could be embarrassed by a lack of dating skills.
Maybe he
didn’t want to disclose his true job, thinking some people shy away from having
anything to do with law enforcement.
What if he was looking for another source
of income, something akin to using her clients for money?

Damn.
Did it matter?
He’d lied about who he was and probably
lied about everything else.
She shuddered as a shiver raced down her spine.
Her
lovemaking episode with Dan the insurance man was a sham.
That man didn’t
exist.
Everything about him pointed to only one conclusion…she’d been trying to
help a very skilled con artist worm his way into her world.

Furious now over his deception, Serena wondered how to pull
the rug out from under him and save Justine from falling under his lying spell.
A decision to string him along, make him think she’d changed her mind and
wanted him as her partner, popped into her head.

She’d inform him that as her partner, he’d have
to back off from any serious dating of clients, just as she’d mentioned she’d
shied away from doing.
She’d ask about his sneaking looks at files and see what
he came up with.
Her seeing Gino/Michael could be explained as trying to
interview him as a potential partner, not as a matchmaking attempt.

One tiny shred of hope urged her to give him a chance to
explain, a way to vindicate his actions.
She’d intervene now, during dinner and
grab his attention away from Justine.
She’d start out as Jezebel, the jealous
vixen after Clive.

Lord, grant me acting skills to get through this.

* * * * *

Dinner ended and the remaining nine players found themselves
surrounded by other guests asking questions.
Serena watched Dan fielding their
questions while keeping a sly charming grin on his face.
She started to find
the questions bombarded at her annoying, but had the grace to keep her answers
in the spirit of the fun evening she was supposed to be enjoying.

Jezebel had motive to kill Percy, her unwanted, boring
husband.
She’d stayed married to him for money.
Clive saw Percy as a rival for
his money target, the lovely Mrs.
Worthington.

Jake, in love with Jezebel, wanted Percy out of the picture,
so could have murdered him and hoped to blame Clive.
Rosalia could have
murdered him in a fit of rage.
She wanted him to divorce his wife, marry her
and have all his money.
Percy had dumped her once she informed him she was
pregnant with his child.

Even the hostess had motive to murder Percy.
The other
guests had ample time and reasons to want Jezebel’s husband dead, so all were
suspects in the game.

Grateful when dessert was announced, Serena dragged herself
back to her table, head pounding from all the inquiries about her possible part
in dispatching Jezebel’s husband to the pearly gates and heavens above.
Or,
fiery gates of hell.

Michael had remained at the table, talking on his cell phone.
He greeted his tablemates as they sat down.

Justine suggested they remain in character, trying to solve
the mystery.
Michael had waved his hand in a “go ahead” manner, indicating he
didn’t mind their concentrating on the game.

“Fine,” Dan spoke first.
“Jezebel, I think you killed your
husband because of me.”

“You?
A lying, untrustworthy charmer?
Guess again.” Serena
huffed to add credence to her declaration, something that came very naturally
in her frame of mind.

Dan moved closer to her, anger registering on his face.
“Me?
Untrustworthy?
A liar?
Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black?”

Serena gritted her teeth and seethed.
“Just when do you
think I haven’t been truthful?
At the office?
Dinner?
When we made love?”

“I’m wondering about the last part.
You seemed to enjoy it
as much as I did.
What was it?
A ploy to gain my confidence, throw me off
track?”

Serena’s anger flared.
“Listen here, you charming snake.
I’ve been honest about everything.
You’re the one playing a pretend game and
not who you say you are.”

Each glared at the other when Justine interrupted.
“Uh,
guys?
This is just for fun.
Am I missing something here?
Are you talking about
this mystery?”

Totally embarrassed and prepared to call the evening a
nightmare, Serena jumped up and headed for the door.
She looked back to get
Michael’s attention and found him quickly jogging after her, closely followed
by Dan, Justine, Mrs.
Worthington and Jake.

Once outside, Serena grabbed Michael and begged, “Arrest
him.
I just know there’s got to be something he’s guilty of.” She warmed in the
security of a bear hug as her brother pulled her closer.

Justine reached them and said, “You can’t do this.
He’s
supposed to be dead.
We’ve got to go back inside before the others think they
hafta follow the rest of us outside.”

Dan stormed up to them and demanded, “Where do you think
you’re going?”