Chapter Twenty
Half an hour later, Mia watched Roman’s car tear along the gravel driveway and practically skid to a stop in front of the house. He jogged up to the front door carrying a large paper bag.
“Chill. We’re all fine,” she said. “No sign of anyone trying to breach the grounds.”
He set the bag down on the counter. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.
“Of course. It’s not like they pulled a gun or a knife on me. I’m just mad I didn’t learn anything new to help us. We should eat. I’m starved.”
She opened the bag and pulled out the two plastic containers with ‘Holy Guacamole’ stamped on the clear lids. Someone had written vegan in black marker on one of them and she kept that for herself, handing Roman the second meal.
“Should we stay inside just in case? Is it likely she’d take a shot at us?”
His head moved slowly side to side. “If what we think about the deaths in her family is true, Eliza’s modus operandi is poison. There’s nothing in her background to point at her being a shooter or even engaging in physical violence. I’d say we’re likely safe, but if you’d feel better staying in then we can do that.”
“Yeah. You’re right. That calms me somewhat.” She blew out a breath and glanced down at the dogs snuffling by her feet. “Still, maybe let’s eat in the kitchen.”
“Sure. It doesn’t hurt to be cautious. And I try to make it a policy to never predict what a cornered animal might do. From what you said, Eliza feels well and truly cornered.”
Mia tucked the napkin holder under her arm then grabbed her glass of soda water and the takeout container and marched over to the bistro table by the window. “Yeah. I’d say that’s accurate.”
“Hey, come here, Mac,” Roman said, reaching a hand across to stroke the dog’s head. “I heard you stood up, big time. Way to guard my girl.”
“He was pissed. Dogs are so good at reading energy,” Mia said. She took a bite of her burrito and sighed. “This is amazing.”
“I know you already told me everything. But I want you to go through the meetup one more time.”
She put down her burrito, took a sip of water, and did. He stopped her repeatedly, asking for her observations on body language, tone, and the interaction between the two women. When she was done, he sat back and rubbed a hand across his chin.
“Let me play the devil’s advocate for a minute. If Eliza’s completely innocent, it would seem counterintuitive to threaten you and us. But maybe she’s just lost so much in her life she’s running scared, you know?”
“You mean, she sees Scott as her only chance at happiness and she’ll do anything to protect the relationship? I guess.” She held up a hand like a stop sign. “But if he finds out she threatened us and by extension his parents, wouldn’t she be worried it would give him pause for thought?”
“Maybe. And if she really has nothing to hide, why not let us look all we want?” He nodded. “The guilty scenario seems way more likely when you look at it like that.”
Mia picked up her burrito again and took a bite, chewing slowly while she thought. “You don’t think she’ll go after Jennifer and Thomas, do you?”
“Good question. I can’t see it right now. Scott would, for sure, hear about that, and it doesn’t paint Eliza in a nice light, does it? Still, we’d best bring her up to date.”
He reached for his cell on the table beside him and began texting. Mia concentrated on her food while the messages pinged back and forth. Finally, she sat back and rubbed a hand across her stomach.
“That was truly excellent. We’re definitely going back to Holy Guacamole. Plus, it’s fun saying the name,” she said, smiling across at Roman.
He lifted his gaze from the screen of his cell and grinned back at her. “Yeah. It is. Jennifer wants to get together tomorrow morning. She asked if we could go to their house. And Thomas wants in, too.”
“Sure. I’m kind of curious to meet him.”
“Great. I’ll set it up.”
***
The next morning, Mia and Roman made the drive to the east side of Crawford Lake where all the impressive vacation homes had been carved along the shoreline.
“It already seems like it was eons ago we were out here searching for Clary.” Mia shuddered. “I still think about that case sometimes. Elisha texted me last week. She’s over the top excited for our wedding. She’s going to be the most adorable flower girl ever.”
“I’ll bet.” He peered through the windshield. “I think that’s it at the bend up ahead.”
“Fancy,” Mia said. “Look at that front porch. It’s glorious.”
Roman turned onto the driveway and bumped his way along the gravel to the two-story post-and-beam house. An electrician’s truck was parked in front, and he slotted the Escape in behind the van.
When they rang the bell, Jennifer opened the door and welcomed them in.
“Thanks for making the drive. I didn’t want to cancel the electrician. We’re planning a party for Scott and Eliza. I figured it was a good way to prove we’re getting behind them as a couple, like you suggested. Turns out we had a problem with the fuse panel. Good thing we figured it out now before the actual wedding. Unless you have some good news for us? I’d so love to cancel the whole darn thing.”
“Let’s wait until we sit down, and you can decide what to make of it,” Roman said.
“Of course.” She stepped back and swept her arm wide. “Please, come in. I made sun tea. Why don’t you sit in the great room and I’ll call Thomas.”
Inside the house, Mia’s main impression was of wood. Golden brown wood paneling reached halfway up the walls. Wood ceilings. Wide-planked wood floors. All polished and gleaming. The rest of the palette, including furniture and rugs, was a soft white.
The main area was open, with the kitchen on the same wall as the front door, and the great room and dining area side by side facing the lake. The back of the house was floor to ceiling windows overlooking a small section of lawn which ran straight into a rocky shore then out to the water.
Roman walked over to the window and studied the view. “Not too shabby.”
“It certainly ticks all the boxes,” Mia murmured before lowering to a large, white sectional sofa.
Behind her, Jennifer’s footsteps receded to the right. She heard her call Thomas before padding back to the kitchen.
“Your house is lovely. I especially like all the wood,” Mia said.
“Thanks. We love it here. It’s nice to get out of the city and just breathe fresh air.”
Jennifer walked into the sitting area carrying a tray and set it on the coffee table. After dispensing tall glasses of sun tea to Mia and Roman, she put out a plate of cookies and napkins with hummingbirds on them. Roman immediately snatched up a cookie and took a bite.
“Wow. That’s one top-shelf chocolate chip cookie,” he said, grinning at Jennifer.
“Thanks. I made them. When I’m stressed I clean and I bake.”
Jennifer picked up a glass of sun tea and chose one of the tufted chairs opposite the couch. Her hair was done in a French braid with a few loose curls framing her face. Her makeup was light, and she wore a simple blue, belted sundress that almost exactly matched her eyes.
“Thomas will be right along. I’m so nervous I can barely stand it.” Her eyes searched Roman’s face then swung over to Mia’s. “I’m praying you’ve discovered something that will put an end to this Eliza thing once and for all.”
“Amen,” came a voice from behind them.
A tall, lanky man with red hair shot through with grey came around the couch. He had a long, narrow face and a hawkish nose. Roman and Mia got to their feet.
“This is my husband, Thomas. That’s Roman Mancini and Mia Reeves,” Jennifer said, leaning forward in her chair.
They shook hands with Thomas and he gestured them to sit again before taking the seat next to his wife. He studied them for several seconds before nodding once and clasping his hands together and resting them on his thighs.
“I read the first report you did for Jenn. Very thorough. I was impressed. I’ve been less impressed with the results though. At least so far. I’m hoping you have something today that will boost my confidence we’ll finally be able to shake this wretched woman off my son and out of our family.”
“Why don’t I tell you what happened, and you can decide,” Roman said. “Eliza Wentworth and her friend, Kerry Jones, met up with Mia yesterday evening. Kerry had put in a rush order for two bracelets and paid extra to have a face-to-face pickup with Mia.”
“Oh my gosh, what happened?” Jennifer asked, turning to Mia. “Please tell me you found out something we can use against her.”
“Not exactly. I didn’t know it was Eliza ahead of time, and it wasn’t a chance encounter. She’d engineered the whole thing to let me know she was fully aware you’d hired Roman and me to investigate her. Basically, she told me to back off or bad things would happen,” Mia said.
“She threatened you?” Thomas said, his voice filled with outrage.
“She sure did.”
“Which means we finally have something to use against her.” Jennifer clasped her hands in front of her chest. “This is such great news. I mean, I’m sorry for you, Mia. It must have been unpleasant, but this is proof she’s evil.”
“Hold on. I have questions,” Thomas said. “How did you not know it was her? Did she use a false name on the order?”
Roman nodded. “She sure did. We didn’t find out until after the meet-up of course, but it was a stolen Visa. I’ve reported it to the police and they’re investigating. In fact, my old partner promised to keep an eye on the case for me.”
“What did she threaten to do?” he asked.
“Honestly, nothing specific. Just the aforementioned ‘bad things.’” Mia shrugged. “She also said nothing would stop the wedding going forward, especially not you and Jennifer.”
“She sounds dangerous. We should get a restraining order or something,” Jennifer said.
“It’d be hard to prove at this stage. We have no hard evidence, which means it’s Mia’s word against hers,” Roman said.
“Very annoying,” Thomas said. “Eliza’s proving to be a slippery opponent.”
“Maybe now is the time to take this to Scott. Loop him in,” Mia suggested.
Jennifer and Thomas shared a glance, then he shook his head. “My son is a computer guy. He lives and dies by his data. We have no hard evidence. He’ll never believe it.”
“Especially since he’s stupid in love,” Jennifer said. “I’m afraid if we jump the gun before we can prove she’s a bad person, he’ll only dig in harder.”
“But he’ll at least be forewarned,” Roman said.
Jennifer’s hands clutched at her throat. “Why? Do you think she’ll do something right away?”
“I can’t say for sure but probably not. Until she’s his wife, she won’t stand to gain financially,” Roman said.
“I agree.” Thomas nodded then flicked a glance at Mia. “Are you worried that you’re in danger?”
“Not really. I mean, she’d have to be crazy to attack us knowing we’ve been hired to investigate her. She’s the first person the police would zero in on,” Mia said.
“Still. You should be careful,” Jennifer said.
Thomas rubbed a hand over his eyes. “This whole thing is like a nightmare. I wish they’d never met.”
“But they did. And right out here.” Jennifer pointed through the window to the lake. “Scottie was staying with us for a week. Family time, you know? He always carves out a slot in his schedule every summer, and we love having just the three of us together.”
“Eliza and one of her friends were staying in the next-door house. Kerry, I think. Some of the property owners put their places up on Airbnb when they’re away for an extended period. We wouldn’t do that, of course. The idea of strangers touching our things ….” Thomas shuddered dramatically.
Jennifer continued telling the story. “Anyway, Scott was out one day taking his usual sunrise stroll along the shore and Eliza was in the water. She apparently went out too far and got herself into trouble. Of course, he dove straight in and saved her then carried her all the way up to the back deck of the house. The friend saw the whole thing and immediately started calling Scott a white knight in shining armor.”
“They went on their first date two days later.” Thomas spread his hands wide and shrugged. “And that was pretty much that. Jenn and I could see he was taken with her. Practically head over heels from that first week. He’d had girlfriends before but never seemed that serious.”
“Well, she is very beautiful,” Jennifer said.
“What did you two think of her when you met?” Roman asked.
Jennifer and Thomas glanced at one another. He cleared his throat. “Honestly, beyond her beauty, I didn’t think much of her. She had no substance. Couldn’t really talk about anything worthwhile other than that blasted social media nonsense. It seems like such a waste.”
“She was very nice to me. Overly so. Always complimenting my appearance and fawning over my every comment or small gesture of hospitality. It was tiresome, to tell you the truth, because it felt so fake.”
Mia shifted on the couch. “Did she ever talk about her family?”
Jennifer shook her head. “No. And we didn’t ask. Scott had prepped us the first time she came to dinner and said it was a difficult topic for Eliza. At first, I was sorry for her and also even more worried for Scott. I remember thinking that this girl had way too much emotional baggage and she’d literally latched on to him like a drowning victim.”
Thomas’ smile was grim. “Ironic, isn’t it? And it made me wonder if the whole thing hadn’t been a setup in the first place. I just can’t figure out how she targeted him.”
“Thanks for the info. It helps give us a rounder picture of Eliza. I’m assuming you want us to continue with your case?” Roman asked.
Thomas’ eyebrows drew together. “Of course. It feels like you’re finally getting somewhere. We cannot have this woman marry our son. If she’s bold enough to come right out and threaten you, who knows what else she’s capable of.”