Chapter 31
Luke
Sweat dampened my palms, turning them clammy. I swiped them on my jeans before taking Mina’s hand as we walked up the sidewalk to the rehab center where my dad currently resided.
Today, Mina would meet my parents.
Well, sort of.
She already knew my dad in a professional capacity; she was a client.
But this was different.
We were walking in as a couple. The playing field was completely different, and I was nervous.
Why, I wasn’t sure. It wasn’t like I thought Mom and Dad would think her unsuitable.
Dad liked Mina. He was the reason I showed up in his place that first, fateful day.
He’d insisted we not disappoint her by postponing. There were others who weren’t so lucky.
And yet, here I was, walking into a cardiac rehab center, thinking they should probably hook me up to a monitor and make sure my ticker was okay. It was about to pound out of my chest.
I could have said no when my mom called to ask if I wanted to come have an indoor Fourth of July party at the rehab center. I could have told her I already had plans.
Instead, I asked if I could bring a date.
The double doors slid open, and a cool blast of sterilized air hit us as we stepped inside. Thick carpet cushioned our footsteps as we moved through the lobby and down a corridor filled with doors.
I stopped in front of Room 43. It sat cracked open about a foot. Pressing my fingers to the smooth, cream-colored wooden panel, I pushed it open.
A feminine bark of laughter erupted from across the room. I couldn’t stop the answering smile as I saw my sister, Lana, laughing from the tan pleather sofa at something my mom said.
Dad chuckled as he turned to look our way, drawn by the door’s movement.
The smile on his face widened as he saw Mina at my side.
“I wondered if she was the date you were bringing. Your mother said you asked if it was okay to bring someone.” With kindness in his gray eyes, he smiled at Mina. “Welcome.”
“Thank you,” Mina said. “Luke mentioned barbeque, and I’m not one to turn that down. I also wanted to see for myself that you were okay.” Her smile faded as concern took over her features. “How are you feeling?”
“Weak as a damn baby. But”—he held up a finger—“only as weak as a nine-month-old baby. I’m not a newborn anymore, so that’s progress.”
I chuckled. “That’s really specific. Why not a one-year-old?”
“Because a lot of one-year-olds can walk and not fall down. I can barely make it down the hall and back before I’m out of breath. The other day, though, it was the bathroom.” He shook a finger. “See? Progress.”
Mina laughed. “I like your attitude.”
“Me too,” my mom said. She sat perched on the edge of Dad’s bed and now ran a couple fingers through his hair, smiling at him with soft pride. “You’ll be out of here in no time.”
“I hope so. The food is terrible.” He spied the food carrier dangling from Mina’s fingers. “What did you bring?”
“Cornbread,” she answered. “And mini peach pies.”
“Oh, my doctor wouldn’t like you. That’s not on my diet.”
A chuckle came from behind Mina and me, and I turned to see a nurse in lavender scrubs enter.
About forty, teal-framed glasses perched on her nose and her blonde hair tied up at the back of her head in a messy bun, the woman skirted around us.
“I don’t think a couple of bites will hurt.
Just don’t eat the whole thing.” She stopped at his bedside and held out the tiny plastic cup in her hand. “And take your meds.”
Dad took the cup. Mom handed him his water glass from the table beside her, and he tossed the pills back.
“Thank you.” The nurse took the empty pill cup. “Can I get you anything?”
“No. We were just about to eat.”
“I’ll leave you to it, then. But remember, moderation. Most of your plate should be vegetables.”
I couldn’t hold back the snicker when Dad’s nose wrinkled.
“Yeah, yeah,” he said. “I know.”
“He’ll behave.” Mom got up.
“Good. Enjoy your family time.” With a wide smile, the nurse left.
“Mina, you can put that there with the other food, if you want.” Mom pointed to the dishes lined up on the counter on one wall.
I took the carrier from her, since I was closer, and set the food out.
“Let’s eat,” Lana said, coming closer. “I’m starving.”
“When aren’t you starving?” I’d never met someone who could eat the way she could.
Lana ate more than some athletes I knew and never put on weight.
Her job probably helped. She worked for a catering company and had just started her own event-planning business. It was a rare moment when she sat down.
She elbowed my side, then moved in between me and Mina.
“Hi.” Lana held out a hand. “I’m this idiot’s sister, Lana.”
Mina shook her hand. “Mina. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too.” Lana handed her a plastic plate.
“Oh, we’re introducing ourselves, since this one is lapsing in his duties?
” My mom wedged herself into the space beside Lana and grinned as she sent me a teasing look.
“I’m Leanne. I know we’re not very original with all the ‘L’ names, but it was easy.
” Grinning, she held out a hand, which Mina shook.
“I like it,” Mina replied. “It shows yours and Les’s playful side.”
I laughed. “Don’t let her fool you. They liked the name Lucas, then didn’t want Lana to feel left out.”
Mom lifted one shoulder, grinning. “It’s true.” She lifted the foil covering the pulled pork.
My mouth watered. “That smells amazing.”
“Your sister made it.” Mom picked up a fork and put a portion of the meat onto a plate.
“I made the slaw too.” Lana remarked.
Truthfully, it all looked amazing. “I’m glad we were all able to get together like this. I can’t cook the best, but I’m happy to eat the fruits of your labor and pass along my extreme gratitude.”
“You helped with the cornbread.” Mina poked me in the side.
“I did what you told me to do.”
“It’s still helping.”
I shrugged. “If you say so. I’m just happy we could all get together.” And I truly was. Despite my nervousness over Mina meeting my family, I was glad we could spend the holiday together—even if it wasn’t technically the holiday yet.
“You got lucky,” Lana said. “I somehow didn’t get booked the entire weekend. I put in my hours at the caterer this morning to prep for tomorrow and hightailed it out of there before Jeremy could ask me to cover someone’s shift.”
Lana’s schedule was the reason we were celebrating on Friday, the second, and not tomorrow or Sunday. It had the added benefit of freeing me up tomorrow, so Mina and I could go on a hike. Despite the idea of having to tote Ozzie and Claire’s dogs around, I was looking forward to it.
“You turned off the ringer on your phone, right?” Mom asked Lana. “So he can’t call you in?”
“Yep.” Heaping coleslaw on her plate, Lana smiled.
Once we all made our way through the food line and Mom made a plate for Dad, we settled into seats around the room, chatting about things while we ate.
Mom, a professional photographer, made a remark about a family she recently photographed, at which point, Dad sat up and waved a hand, pointing toward a corner of the room.
“I almost forgot. Fetch those pictures I had you bring, Leanne.”
Mom sent a wicked smile at me, and my stomach sank.
“Pictures?” My gaze tracked her as she got up and went to a large tote sitting on the floor at the end of the long counter where we’d placed all the food. “Please don’t tell me you brought my baby book.”
She laughed. “No, but I should have.” Lifting the bag, she retreated to her chair beside Dad’s bed.
“When your mother told me you wanted to bring a date, I had an inkling of who it would be.” Dad accepted the first album Mom passed him. “I thought Mina might like to see some old photos of you and hear some memories of your crazier youthful exploits.”
I groaned, making Mina laugh. There were a few stories I would rather see die a pauper’s death.
With a bit of dramatic flair, Dad flipped open the first album.
Leaning forward, I propped an elbow on my knee and put my forehead in the palm of my hand. Dear Lord, help me.
For fifteen minutes, my parents flipped through albums, telling story after story about family trips, sporting events, and disastrous dates.
While it was embarrassing to live out some of my life’s silliest follies, I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere.
Mina seemed to as well, leaning back into the sofa, posture open and relaxed as she looked at picture albums with my mom.
“Oh, this is an old one.” Mom lifted the worn green album from the bag and opened it.
Dad leaned over the side of his bed to peer at it. “Why did you bring that one? That’s one of mine from before we got married. There aren’t any pictures of the kids in it.”
“I just grabbed. I was running late.” Mom shrugged and flipped the page.
A frown creased Dad’s brow. He reached for the book. “Let me see that.”
There was more than idle curiosity in his voice. Something had drawn his attention. “What is it?” I asked.
He quickly glanced up. “An old picture from the summer after high school.” He fluttered a hand. “Some party at the beach. I was just looking at who was in it.” He pointed to the image. “You’ll recognize a few of these faces.”
I got up and moved around the other side of his bed to peer over his shoulder.
“There’s my buddy, Alex.”
My head bobbed as I recognized Dad’s best friend, Alex Thibodeaux.
“And that’s Tommy Jansen.”
Again, I nodded, recognizing another family friend.
But it was a woman in the forefront of the picture, wrapped around Tommy that I didn’t recognize. “Who’s that?”
“That?” Dad tapped her image. “That’s Miranda Corcoran. Her last name is Benning, now, but—”
“You were friends with Miranda Benning?” Mina stood up to come look at the picture.
“Sort of,” Dad replied. “We were in the same class, and she dated my friend, Tommy, for a while. I didn’t like her much, but she was tolerable, I suppose. Why? Do you know her?”
“In a way. She’s a real estate agent now, like my friend, Claire.”
“Oh, I know, trust me. She’s a pain in my backside at times, demanding this or demanding that, always wanting my firm to cut corners to keep costs down for her sellers.” Dad rolled his eyes. “I try hard not to take on jobs from her, if I can help it.”
Mina chuckled. “I get that. She’s the realtor who represented the seller on the antique store. She tried to sneak some language into the contract that—” Abruptly, she stopped, leaning in to look more closely at the picture.
I frowned, unsure what gave her pause. “What? Is something wrong?”
“I—” she started, then stopped again. A moment later, she lifted her gaze to mine, a concerned wrinkle marring her forehead. “Look at that picture and tell me I’m not crazy.”
My frown deepened. “Look at the picture?” Turning my head, I leaned in to get a better view. “What am I—holy crap.” I took the album out of Dad’s hands. Bringing it closer to my face, I peered at Miranda’s image, unable to believe what was right there. In living color.
“What are you two going on about?” Lana asked.
Ignoring her, I looked at Mina. “It’s the same, isn’t it?”
“It sure looks like it. We need to call Ozzie.” Spinning on her heel, Mina walked over to the couch to get her phone from her purse.
“Who?” Dad asked. “Why do you two look like you’ve seen a ghost?”
Realizing we owed my family some sort of explanation for our weird behavior, I turned the album around while Mina called. “See these earrings Miranda’s wearing?”
Dad squinted at the picture. “So? They’re just earrings.”
“We found one in the rubble during renovations at the antique store. It was behind the cabinets in the back room.”
“He’s not answering,” Mina said.
I glanced over to see her tap the screen, then lift it to her ear again, probably calling Claire. I turned back to Dad. “Do you know why her earring would be in the back room of the antique store?”
He let out an inelegant snort. “Why would I know how it got there? You said yourself she was the owner’s realtor. Maybe that’s how it got there.”
“If it had just been lying on the floor, I might agree with you, but this was behind the countertop, wedged between it and the wall. It fell to the floor when we pulled the cabinet base away. I doubt she was peering into the crack and lost her earring. Did she know Walter Shuman before she listed his property?”
“I don’t know. Like I said, I didn’t spend much time with her. Just when she was with Tommy, and we were all together. They didn’t date long. Just the tail end of our senior year and then that summer. She dumped him when she went off to college.”
“Claire didn’t answer, either.” Mina tossed her phone back into her purse. “They must be out of cell range.”
“We can try again later,” I said. “Dad, can we take this picture?”
“Sure. Just bring it back. I like that one, despite her being in it.”
Balancing the book on my arm, I peeled back the acetate and carefully lifted the photo from the tabs holding it in place. “I’ll be careful with it.”
“I still don’t understand why it’s such a big deal to you. That earring could have ended up there any number of ways.” Dad took the book back when I held it out to him.
I shared a look with Mina, considering how much to share.
Ozzie hadn’t forbidden us from talking about the case with others.
He hadn’t wanted the bit about the earring to get out, but that couldn’t be helped in this case.
“Miranda is involved in some shady real estate deals from the time Moira died,” I said.
“This puts her at the scene where Moira’s body was.
Maybe not at the same time, but it puts her at the location at some point. It’s just really coincidental.”
“That’s… disturbing.” Dad’s brows twitched into a quick frown. “She was always a little on the type A side and a bit manipulative, but I never got psycho vibes from her.”
“Like I said, it could all be coincidence.” I passed the picture to Mina, who tucked it into a pocket of her handbag. “We’ll let Ozzie sort it out.”
I shared another glance with Mina, having no trouble reading her expression. It said Ozzie was going to hate us for interrupting his time off. Although considering the timing, if we didn’t reach him until tonight or tomorrow, it would be Monday before he could investigate the lead anyway.
Maybe Ozzie and Claire’s weekend wouldn’t be a bust after all.