Chapter 95
LUCY
On Wednesday afternoon, I’d had over twenty-four hours to think about my most recent visit to April’s Coffee Shop.
The fact that I hadn’t achieved my goal made me a little introspective.
I was a smart woman, and in a debate, I’d take myself over just about anyone.
However, and I hated to admit this, I wasn’t the most street-smart gal out there.
I’d had a bit of a sheltered childhood, going to Barrington School and being raised by well-off parents.
I couldn’t deny it. I’d been born with a silver spoon in my mouth, which has its benefits without question, but it’s not conducive to becoming shrewd, cagey, and other words you equate with street-smartness.
And when I came face to face with April Devers, there was no question she was shrewd and cagey.
I was out of my element. She probably had seen me before I even entered the coffee shop.
Looking back, I know how amateurish I’d acted.
Maybe Remington was right when she said I was behaving like an amateur.
I say all of this because I’d come to the decision that I wasn’t going to win this case “in the streets.” I wasn’t a private investigator. I needed to stick to what I was good at.
So I called Mia Gunn.
“Hello, Lucy. What’s up?”
“I’ve decided I want to talk to the LAPD, after all. I know they are inept and arrested the wrong person, but I need to get a few things off my chest.”
“You know we at the firm are against this.”
We at the firm. They were starting to sound like the damn firm from John Grisham’s famous novel.
“Well, I’m for it, and it’s my life. You can be there with me, and if the LAPD or the DA or whoever is going to be there start asking questions I shouldn’t answer, you can tell me to shut up.”
“Okay. When?”
“Sometime tomorrow. I’ll call you in the morning and discuss it.”
“Talk to you then.”
Mia was none too happy.
I got a call from my father twenty minutes later.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Good afternoon, Luce. We are having a great dinner tonight and request your presence at the house.”
I’d started staying at my place more often recently, and hadn’t been to their house in several days.
“Well, if my presence is requested, I guess there’s no use in trying to say no.”
“Resistance would be futile.”
I laughed. “What’s on the menu?”
“Your mother is making a mushroom risotto.”
“Sounds delicious. What time?”
“We’ll eat at six.”
“Great. I’ll come by at five-thirty.”
“See you then.”
“Bye, Dad.”
I arrived on time and joined my parents in the kitchen.
I sat and watched as my mother sautéed some shallots and garlic.
“Risotto is tough to make, isn't it?” I asked.
“A lot of stirring,” she said. “Once I sweat off these aromatics, I’ll put some wine in, and once that burns off, I’ll be ladling chicken stock in for the next thirty minutes or so, all while continuously stirring the rice.”
“It’s always worth it, Mom. It’s one of my favorite dishes of yours.”
My mother smiled. “I know. That’s why I decided to make it, knowing you couldn’t say no.”
I laughed. “You two are always up to no good.”
My father jumped in. “Let’s hit up the family room and give your mother some space.”
“So what’s new with the case?” he asked.
This was likely the reason they’d invited me over, and I’d anticipated it. I hadn’t been quite as forthcoming to them as of late, and certainly hadn’t told them about my visit to April’s Coffee Shop the previous morning.
“Funny you should ask. I reached out to Mia a few hours ago.”
“And …”
“And I told her that I’ve changed my mind, and I do want to meet with the LAPD.”
“I know it’s unorthodox, but I tend to think you’re doing the right thing. What if the LAPD doesn’t know the things you are privy to?”
“That’s where I’ve landed, but it’s taken me a while to get there. After they arrested me, I had zero faith in them.”
“Understandable.”
“I still don’t have much faith in them, but I’ve decided better them than me out there investigating this case.”
“Did something happen?”
My father read me like a book. He always had.
“I went back to April Devers’s coffee shop.”
“No, Lucy. What are you doing? If you’re correct about all of this, she’s a very dangerous woman.”
“She’s not going to do anything in her coffee shop.”
“What were you trying to accomplish?”
I told him about trying to record our conversation, how she’d gotten the best of me, and finally, how she alluded to Eddie’s tattoo.
“So the asshole was having an affair?”
“Yeah, it looks that way.”
“I’m glad we decided to push his memorial back. He didn’t deserve a funeral where everyone gushed over what a great man he was.”
“He was still my husband, but you’re not wrong.”
“I’m sorry. Anyone who does my daughter wrong is my enemy. Husband or otherwise. And it will always be that way.”
“I know. That’s why I love ya.”
“That’s why? I thought it was because I was loving, caring, generous, a good husband to your mother, a good dad …”
“Blah blah blah.”
He laughed. “Was that too much?”
“Just a little.”
“I can’t wait to hear what happens with the LAPD tomorrow. Will you call me right after?”
“Sure. You seem pretty chipper today.”
“Your mother and I are having a good day. They aren’t all good. We worry about you and your predicament more than you’ll ever know.”
“I know you do.”
“You may think you do, but until you have kids, you can’t possibly know how draining this is.”
“That’s part of the reason I’m going in tomorrow. I don’t want you and Mom to have to go through a trial.”
“Thanks for thinking of us, but you should be doing this for you. It’s your life.”
“I know. I’m doing it for all of us.”
“I love you, Lucy.”
“Love you, too, Dad. Now I’m going to go back to bugging Mom. I spent enough time with you.”
My father laughed, and I walked back to the kitchen.
Fifteen minutes later, I was eating some of the best risotto I’d ever had.
I must have told my mother three times just how much I loved it.
Once we sat down, my predicament—as my father liked to call it—was off limits. We talked about everything under the sun, except that. I knew my father would inform my mother of what we’d talked about earlier.
After the risotto, my mother brought out a crème br?lée, one of my favorite desserts.
“This really has been a fantastic meal, Mom. One of the best I’ve had in years.”
“Oh, Lucy. That means so much. We haven’t had you over in several days, so I wanted to make it special.”
“It was more than special.”
We had a coffee to top off the night, and then I said goodbye to my parents.
It had been a great evening.
I headed home with a smile on my face.
During an unbelievably stressful time, I’d managed to have a carefree night spent with the two people I loved most. Was it sad that a thirty-year-old woman was closer to her parents than anyone else in the world?
Maybe, but when your husband cheated on you—and who knows what else—it’s great to fall back on the people you know will always be there for you.
I approached my house and pressed the button to open the garage door. I drove in and parked on the left side. Eddie’s car had been impounded since his murder. I didn’t care if I ever got it back. I kind of preferred my car being the only one in the garage.
I opened my car door and started to stand up, and when I did, I heard someone behind me. To my utter astonishment, someone in dark clothes with a hoodie was moving toward me, with what looked like a Taser in their hand.
Before I could do anything, they pressed a button on the thing, and 50,000 volts pulsated through my body.
I fell to the floor and writhed in unimaginable pain.
When I looked up, April Devers was standing over me.