Chapter 19
August 24
“Bingo!”
That one word was music to Vanna’s ears. Having the forethought to add the Pretty in Pink Girls’ Club’s annual Bingo and Brunch fundraiser to her roster of birthday celebrations may have been the smartest thing she had ever done. Who knew how much she’d need this time with these young women dedicated to rising above their circumstances and to making a difference in this world?
For six years, she’d been volunteering with the organization, enjoying every moment she spent with girls ages thirteen to eighteen. How many times had those girls ended up refilling her well, instead of the other way around, the way it was supposed to be. Something about seeing that hopeful gleam in their eyes, listening to the plans they were making for their future, the optimism that rang through their voices, was so overwhelmingly invigorating. They met once a month, usually at the community center, but sometimes, like today, funding was available for them to rent a larger space and open their event up to the community.
Bingo and Brunch was a major part of their yearly budget, something Vanna knew because she was on the finance committee for the organization. A belated thought hit her then, and she had to grit her teeth to push it out of her mind. What if this embezzlement investigation reached as far as this organization’s books being audited? Parish and Beaumont had already shown up at her job asking ridiculous questions and putting her livelihood on the line. Jovani immediately filed a complaint with their superiors when she told him about it, but the damage was already done. Well, not exactly. HC Sr. knew damn well Vanna hadn’t been taking money from the firm. He kept his eyes on the firm’s bank account as keenly as he did his personal accounts. So the only thing the detectives had been successful at accomplishing was embarrassing the hell out of her ... again.
The break-in at her house a few days ago, however, had ended with egg on the detectives’ faces instead of on hers. Will and Cordell had both made statements, and nowhere in them did they say that she was ever mentioned during the planning or execution of the robberies. Jovani had called her yesterday morning with the news. Both men were aiming for plea deals that would keep them from serving a full prison sentence and paying a hefty fine to the casino. Jovani hadn’t been optimistic that they would get everything they wanted in a deal, but he was only concerned with whatever they were saying as far as it linked to her. Which wasn’t much at all. Neither of them knew about the credit union account in her and Caleb’s names—the sole reason the detectives assumed she was connected in the first place. And although that was the account that held the money they’d accused her of embezzling, the detectives had indicated to Jovani that there was more money missing. But without another account with Vanna’s name on it with a chunk of money that had been deposited in the last three to six months, they still had very little evidence against her. Will and Cordell couldn’t corroborate their theory that she was in on Caleb’s plan. Nothing connected her to Elliot Joble’s murder, and nobody she knew—meaning her employer—had given any indication that she’d embezzled money before.
“I’m filing a motion to dismiss first thing Monday morning,” Jovani had said when she spoke to him yesterday afternoon.
So she awoke with a smile on her face Saturday morning. And one big reason for that smile was the girls she saw walking around the room they’d rented at this hall. They were dressed in pink polo shirts and black shorts, or some of them wore black leggings. Vanna, along with the other adult staff present, wore the colors as well. Jamaica used to joke that the only reason Vanna had signed on to work with this organization was because of their shared affinity for the color pink. Vanna had only half denied that.
In fact, she’d found more gratification in watching some of these teenagers grow into beautiful young ladies. She’d been to more than one high school graduation and, as of earlier this year, the college graduation of two of her Pinks—that’s what they called the girls in the club, a fact Vanna adored.
“I can’t win if Granny’s over there scooping up every round,” Ronni complained from where she sat across the table from Vanna and Granny.
Jamaica was sitting beside Ronni. They all had a board to play and a dot marker to use to mark their cards. All except Granny, who played three boards, had a marker in her hand, and two more on standby in case she ran out of ink during the round. She’d won four times in the hour and a half they’d been here.
“Do we have to take her to the movies with us when we leave?” Ronni continued to whine.
“You’re a sore loser,” Granny quipped. “I sure hope you’re teaching your kids better. Plus, if you stop running your mouth and pay attention, you might win a round or two.”
“How? You’re playing all the boards, Granny,” Ronni argued.
“Girl, I ain’t even got all the boards. There are six tables of people playing here. And three or four tables of people just running their mouths and eating all the food. Maybe you should go over there and join them,” Granny told her.
“All right, you two,” Vanna interjected. “It’s just a game.”
Jamaica laughed. “I can’t tell. This seems to be getting serious.”
“Too serious,” Vanna said, and chuckled.
“Oh, you mean like things between you and Aden were before the smart detective over here suggested he wasn’t trustworthy,” Ronni snapped.
“Ooooooohhhh, shots fired!” Jamaica said, putting a fist up to her mouth to stifle another burst of laughter. Then, as if just hearing everything, frowned at Ronni. “Hold up.”
But before Jamaica could continue to go at Ronni, Vanna added, “Wow. Did I deserve that?”
She had, of course, told them about her conversation with Aden. And while they’d both been as relieved as Vanna that he wasn’t involved, only Ronni had immediately blamed Jamaica for causing the discord that Vanna and Aden were currently experiencing.
Ronni sat back in her chair and pouted. “Well, you’re defending Granny, and you know she’s winning all the time.”
“You’re legit sitting there whining about not winning at bingo. Do you really want a heated blanket or the full season of Rizzoli then everything went haywire, and you’ve been tight-lipped about him ever since,” Ronni said.
“Not true,” Vanna replied. “I told you how the conversation went down and that I felt like there was just too much going on to deal with any of this now. So that’s it. Whatever it was ran its course. End of story.”
“That’s weak and you know it,” Jamaica said.
“It’s the facts,” Vanna replied. “And I don’t need any more of your comments on the subject, thank you very much.”
Now Jamaica looked concerned. “Okay, so I accept the charge of telling you he might be framing you. But I certainly didn’t say break up with him if he wasn’t.”
“Really, though?” Ronni asked Jamaica. “What did you think was gonna happen?”
“Exactly!” Vanna said. “Which is why I don’t even know why you brought it up.” She sent Ronni a pointed glare.
Both of them were getting on her nerves in this moment, and she wanted them to shut up so they could get back to having a good time.
“Hmph, hmph, hmph,” Granny mumbled.
“I just pointed out some things, that’s all. And you needed answers,” Jamaica said.
“And I got them,” she said, hating even more that they were having this conversation while four other people they didn’t know sat at the other end of their table.
Today had been going so well. And now it wasn’t.
“Look, it doesn’t matter,” she continued “I asked the questions I needed to ask. He answered them. And now, here we are.” She shrugged.
“And where is that, exactly?” Granny asked, pinning her with a wide-eyed stare.
“It’s ... it’s ... wherever we are,” she replied, feeling flustered. “And why are we even talking about this right now? They’re starting another game.”
“Ms. Vanna?” A soft voice entered their conversation, and Vanna turned to see one of the middle-school Pinks standing beside her.
“Hey, Cashae,” she said, adding a smile that she really didn’t feel at the moment. “What’s up?”
“Ms. Gloria needs you at the ticket counter,” Cashae told her.
Great. A reason for her to get up from this table and get away from all these unwanted questions and accusations.
“Oh, sure. No problem,” she said, and got up without saying another word.
As she walked away, she knew the three she’d left behind were talking about her. Nothing negative, but definitely a discussion on what may or may not be going on between her and Aden right now. A discussion that Vanna was definitely happy to not be having. She’d had it in her head too many times to count this week, and she hadn’t liked it at all.
A group of five had purchased tickets from a woman who wasn’t at the event, and they didn’t have the actual tickets with them, so the debate over whether to let them in on their word or insist they pay the at-the-door price had ensued the moment Vanna made it to the ticket booth. The suggestion for someone to call the woman who’d sold them the tickets seemed like a no-brainer, and Vanna was annoyed that none of the other grown, professional women who were on the finance committee with her had thought of it. After the call was made, the women were shown to seats in the back of the space, which sparked another argument. But again, that resolution was obvious as well. They could either sit or leave, because who showed up to an event an hour and a half late and expected to get great seats?
Vanna was just about to get something to drink and maybe another one of those delicious maple-and-brown-sugar-infused waffle wedges before heading back to her table when her phone buzzed in her back pocket. She pulled it out while walking toward the glass doors that would take her into the hallway, because the bingo caller was pretty loud.
The second she was in the much quieter hallway and glanced down at her phone, she paused. It was Aden.
How had he known she was going for the second helping of waffles instead of another one of those fruit-parfait cups? With a slight grin, she shook her head because she knew damn well he couldn’t know that. Her conscience had obviously decided to step on the scene.
“Hello,” she answered when she realized the phone had been ringing a few times and would soon go to voicemail.
“Hey, Savannah,” he said, and her body instantly reacted to the sound of his deep voice. And by reacting , she meant she felt warm all over, the same way she recalled feeling whenever he’d wrapped his arms around her.
Rolling her eyes, she inwardly berated the helpless romantic that she rarely brought out to play. And for good reason, considering her track record with men.
“Hey, Aden,” she replied, and hoped she didn’t sound too chipper, given the way they’d left things five days ago.
And yes, she’d been counting the days.
“I wanted to check in with you to see if you were able to find a security company,” he said.
She was just about to ask how he knew she was looking for one when he continued, “I spoke to Jovani earlier this week, and he told me about the break-in.”
“I’m fine,” she said out of habit.
“I know,” he replied. “Jovani told me that you and Granny were amazing, considering all that had happened. But then, I already knew that.”
She didn’t smile at the comment, although her traitorous stomach did a whimsical flip-flop anyway. “I did find a company that was in my price range,” she said. “They’re coming out on Tuesday.”
“Tuesday?” he asked. “As in a few more days away? You couldn’t get someone to come sooner? I was thinking you and Granny were secure in the house by now.”
“It’s the earliest appointment I could get,” she replied.
“I’d feel better—hell, I’d be able to get some sleep at night if I knew you had a system in place today,” he replied.
That comment, as well as this call, warmed Vanna in an unexpected way. A way that highlighted what she’d really been feeling this past week when she hadn’t reached out to him was fear. Everything she’d done and said to Aden that day had come from that place. And him leaving the way he did and not contacting her provided the safe haven she’d needed to retreat into.
It took a very concerted effort to resist the urge to do a deep dive into how she really needed to stop letting negativity overwhelm her.
“I appreciate your concern,” she said. “But I’ve taken care of the issue.”
“Okay,” he said after a moment’s hesitation. “It’s just that I care about you, Savannah. And I want to be sure you and Granny are safe.”
She let out a slow, shaky breath that she hadn’t been aware she was holding. “Thank you,” she said, and then cleared her throat. “Thank you for your concern. I know I might not always act like it, but I do appreciate it.”
“You’ve got a funny way of showing your appreciation,” he said. The slight chuckle that followed suggested he might be joking. But another part of her guessed he was serious.
“You’re right,” she replied with a sigh.
“Wait a minute ... Who is this on the phone, and what have you done with Savannah?” Now he was really laughing, and she couldn’t help but grin along with him.
“All right, don’t go overboard,” she said.
“I mean, I’m just shocked. Usually, I would have gotten more of an argument from you.”
“Well, I’m not at home, and I need to get back to the bingo game.”
“Yeah, I saw that was on your schedule for today. But I just wanted to call to make sure you were okay,” he said in a much softer tone. “I’ve wanted to call you every day this week.”
And now her heart swelled in that way that had her even more afraid than she’d been before. Because this was a definite sign that no matter how much she’d tried to convince herself that she couldn’t deal with this right now, that she could just walk away from him, she was already in too deep with this man. “Why didn’t you?”
“Because I didn’t want to argue with you again.”
“Then why did you call today?”
“Because I missed arguing with you,” he said, and she smiled.
“Oh. Well, I thought you called because you somehow knew I was going for a second helping of maple-and-brown-sugar waffles instead of fruit.”
He chuckled. “No. But I’m glad you’re getting used to holding yourself accountable.”
“Whatever, Aden,” she said, smothering her urge to smile. “I really do have to go.”
“Okay, that’s fine. Go and finish your bingo game. Can I call you later? You know, without having an excuse?”
Now she was smiling so hard her cheeks hurt. “I mean, I guess, if that’s what you want to do.”
“Yeah,” he said, and she could hear that he was smiling too. “That’s definitely what I want to do.”