Chapter 28
CHAPTER 28
I ’m about to make a beeline for my number one suspect when Beatrice floats up next to me.
“I haven’t had this much fun since we played Pin the Junk on the Hunk at Amber’s bachelorette party.” She fans herself with her fingers and miniature stars flow from her hand. “That was years ago, way before either Lucy or Hetty arrived on the scene.”
“Sounds like a killer party—without the killer, of course.” I scan the crowd. “Although we do have a killer on board. And I happen to think I know who it is.”
We head over to where Jennifer stands, in that dark corner, just shy of the dessert table, bobbing along to the music while gobbling down that black and white cookie. Her blonde hair gleams under the swirling spotlights, and that tight little blue number she’s squeezed herself into makes her look like the tall glass of water she is.
I’ll admit, Jennifer looks radiant tonight, but there’s tension in her eyes. And I think I know why.
“Hey there,” I say, sidling up next to her. “This party is insane,” I say as we look up at the stage together where Nettie and Tinsley are playing a wildly inappropriate game of pass the cucumber without the use of their hands, and let’s just say it’s resulting in some awkward yet hilarious moments. “Hetty and Elodie really went all out.”
“Tell me about it.” Jennifer laughs, but there’s an edge to it. “It’s like they planned the craziest night possible. I’m afraid of what might come next.”
Same , I want to say but don’t.
Bea harumphs while stealing a bite from Jennifer’s cookie. “The only thing crazy here is her for stabbing Lucy in the back.” She cocks her head a moment. “On second thought, knowing Lucy the way I did, it was a totally rational thing to do. I mean, let’s call a spade a spade. Lucy stabbed people in the back all the time. And you know what they say. Turnabout is fair play.”
I shoot her a look for even going there.
But maybe she has a point? Maybe Lucy stabbed Jennifer in the back—proverbially speaking.
I clear my throat. “I’ve been thinking a lot about Lucy. I know you two had some issues,” I say gently.
Jennifer sighs and yet her expression tightens. “That girl was always in my business. She claimed she was looking out for me, but it felt more like she was trying to control my life. Especially when it came to Marcus. She never did like him.”
“Why not?” I press.
Bea grunts, “Finally we’re getting somewhere. I still have a hot date to get to. If I don’t take Gannon Robinson off the market, I might just lose him forever. And forever in Paradise is a lot bigger deal than it is down here. Nothing lasts forever on this planet, certainly not people. But up there, well, eternity hangs in the bounds with just about every decision. You’ve really got to act fast when it comes to finding a good man. There’s a Lucy Taylor around every corner just waiting to snap them up.”
Life in Heaven sounds an awful lot like life down here. I’m not sure how appetizing that is.
Although spending forever with Ransom Baxter by my side sounds like a slice of paradise in every single way no matter where we are.
Jennifer shrugs. “She actually accused Marcus of hiding something. Not to his face. She said those words to me. But honestly, Lucy was the one with secrets.”
“Like what?” I ask, my heart racing.
Jennifer shakes her head. “I don’t know. She was always so cryptic. Whenever I would ask about her family, she got all jumbled like she couldn’t keep the story straight. Half the time I didn’t believe what she was telling me. The only thing I did believe was the fact she was from Oklahoma. She made a few references to living with tornadoes, and my father grew up in Oklahoma, so I knew those things were true.” She pauses and lifts a finger. “The other thing that struck me about her is the way she was always helping Hetty with her event planning. It was almost as if she was coaching her in a sense. It was all odd to me. Everything about Lucy was odd.”
“So I’ve heard,” I say a touch too softly. “Jennifer, I know all about Lucy’s torrid habits of stealing other people’s men. You were afraid she was going to do the same thing with Marcus, weren’t you?”
She inches back and gives a few quick blinks my way. “Stealing Marcus? I’m sorry, Trixie, but my man is unstealable.” She ticks her head to the side. “Believe me when I say this, he’s only got eyes for me. The man is obsessed.”
“Obsessed?” Beatrice laughs. “Oh, Jennifer. You always did think everything was all about you. But I suppose it’s nice that Marcus is focused on his soon-to-be bride.”
I agree, but something about the way Jennifer said it all leaves me bristled.
Then something clicks.
“He gave you that My Girl necklace you were wearing the first night, didn’t he?” I say.
She nods. “Oh my goodness.” She feels for her neck. “I must have lost it! Oh geez, Marcus is going to kill me. It kept coming loose. Hetty even tried to help me tighten the clasp. It was the one thing Marcus made me promise when I left, that I’d never take it off. Well, that and the fact that I’d call him every night.” She glances at the ceiling for a moment. “And outside of that, we’ve been texting nonstop. He sort of likes to know where I’m going and with whom—and for how long—and maybe why I’m there to begin with.”
“Where she’s going and with whom?” Beatrice makes a face. “ Eww . No, thank you.” She looks my way. “Although in Paradise, we have a sixth sense where to find everyone so none of that is needed. And it’s never weird.” She’s back to grimacing at Jennifer. “But that’s just weird.”
I agree. But then, she is far from home. Maybe he’s just being protective? And maybe the My Girl necklace was more of a loving wink than it was a possessive statement.
“Jennifer, your necklace was found in Lucy’s cabin the night she died. It was right next to the body.”
She gasps as she covers her mouth with her hand. “You don’t think the police think that I did it, do you? I mean, sure, I hated the fact that Lucy was constantly following me around trying to warn me about men like Marcus—telling me he was destined to abuse me—as if she had firsthand knowledge. I didn’t want to hear any of that, but I certainly would never hurt her because of it.” Her eyes glint with tears, and as much as I don’t like losing my prime suspect, I tend to believe she’s being genuine.
“She seems to be telling the truth.” Beatrice looks just as dejected by the fact as I do. “But that doesn’t explain how her necklace got there.”
“Jennifer, how do you think your necklace ended up in her cabin? At the scene of the crime, no less? And to be honest, Lucy’s dark blazer was covered with pink glitter when we found her. You were the only one wearing that pink glitter sash that night.”
Her mouth squares out as if she were emitting a silent scream. “Oh, Trixie. I do look guilty.” She groans hard. “Well, it’s all Hetty’s fault for insisting that I hug every single woman who came on the trip with us. I told her that was a perfect way for me to catch someone’s cold or worse, but she insisted I do it because they spent their hard-earned money to come along. Honestly, these women are here for the beaches and the rum shots.” Her lips clamp shut for a moment. “And that necklace. It kept falling off. Like I said, Hetty tried to tighten it for me, but I guess she wasn’t able to. I honestly don’t know how it ended up in Lucy’s room.”
Bea tosses her hands in the air. “Maybe it hooked onto Lucy’s blazer?”
Or maybe somebody planted it there.
Jennifer’s eyes fill with tears and she quickly wipes them away. “I’m sorry, Trixie. I need to go wash my face. I don’t know why, but I’m just not feeling this whole charade. I’m not feeling any of it.” She runs off and I’m left trying to piece together this fractured puzzle with what little I have.
I spot Amber Walker picking at the desserts and both Bea and I make our way over.
“Amber.” I try to sound light as if I didn’t just all but accuse her friend of murder. “Can I ask you something?”
Amber looks fun and flirty in a bright blue dress that sucks in at the midsection and then fans out into a mermaid-inspired tail.
“Anything for the bride-to-be,” she sings. “Ask away.”
“Did Hetty ever mention her life prior to coming to Connecticut? I know she mentioned to me that she was from North Carolina.”
She squints out into the crowd as if looking for the answer. “You know what, I think she did. She once mentioned she used to work for a big fast-food corporation. Big Bite Burgers, I think. She did their billing or something of that nature.” Her eyes flit to the stage. “She mentioned it in passing once when I offered to bring Big Bite Burgers to one of our meetings. We’re just as much about food as we are books.”
“Isn’t that the truth,” Bea says, holding her hand to her neck and pretending to choke. And seeing that’s the way she died, I suppose she’s making light of it.
Another thought comes to me.
“I always bring a fruit salad to those things,” I force a laugh with the lie. But I’ve got a hunch and I’m willing to roll the dice on this one.
“You and Hetty both.” Amber laughs before she winces. “But I bet yours haven’t accidentally killed anybody.” A new song starts up and it’s a throwback to the eighties, which makes every woman in the room scream with delight including Amber. “Excuse me,” she says, picking up a brownie and toasting me with it. “My feet are moving and I can’t stop them!”
She dances off and I look over at Beatrice.
“Amber seems to think Hetty worked for Big Bite Burgers before, but I swear when I spoke to Hetty a few days ago, she said she’s worked in event planning all her life.”
“Well, maybe she did event planning for Big Bite Burger?”
“Maybe. Or maybe she didn’t want to admit she worked for them back in North Carolina?” I say, pulling out my phone and typing in Big Bite Burger along with North Carolina . The screen populates but with nothing I want to see. “Huh, that’s strange. They don’t have any Big Bite Burger stores in North Carolina. They do have a few in Connecticut.” Something catches my eye and I gasp. “Their corporate offices are in Maine!” I look and scan the room until I see Hetty bumping and grinding on the dance floor with the best of them. “She mentioned something about Bangor a few days ago.” I rack my mind to come up with it. “Oh, she said she spent years in Bangor, and when I asked her about it, she backtracked and said it wasn’t true.”
“That’s strange behavior if you ask me,” Beatrice says while picking up a raspberry cheesecake bite and going to town on it. “She also backtracked on being a trained certified accountant.”
“Strange indeed.” I quickly look up Big Bite Burger corporate office and type in accountant as well, and then add the name Hetty King before hitting enter.
The page populates with a few irrelevant articles, so I switch over to the photos. Thankfully, whoever snaps pictures at all of the company events is quite prolific and they seem to go back quite a bit. I scroll down, but I don’t see Hetty King highlighted at all, but in my scrolling efforts, I do come upon a younger redheaded version of Hetty sans the facial fillers and ultra-plump lips. I glance down at the ledger of names and gag as I see what’s written there.
“What is it?” Bea leans in. “What’s happening here? I see Hetty’s picture?—”
I point down to the name beneath it and Bea gasps, too.
Below Hetty’s smiling face, it doesn’t say Hetty King at all.
It says Lucy Taylor .