2 Lady Luck Runs Out (11 page)

Mallory frowned at me. "You're really hooked on him, huh?"

I took a seat beside her and stroked Lucky's silky, black fur. "Yeah, I think I am." Lucky gave me an approving meow that sounded more like a bird chirp. I smiled. "Glad to see you're warming up to me, girl. Must be the tuna therapy."

Mallory took a deep breath and blew it out loudly. "Well, it's obvious he's crazy about you, too, so I don't know why you don't just come clean with him."

I glanced at her. I didn't really want to get into this conversation with Mallory. It would just lead to her getting angry about me being ashamed of our family. Again. I opted for being diplomatic instead. "Maybe you're right." And then used the avoidance technique. "Oh, sugar. I've gotta check on the pumpkin treats in the oven. Be right back."

I stood in front of the oven, the timer showing four more minutes. Moving around to the front of the kitchen bar, I fussed with the large basket we were donating to the winner of the dog costume contest. Rearranging the contents, I placed the hundred dollar gift certificate on top. The skull shaped pumpkin treats would be the last thing to go in there and then I could wrap it all up in cellophane.

With a jolt, I suddenly realized my thoughts had drifted off to Zach Faraday and his warning that I would be in danger. Why did everyone suddenly think I was in danger? It was irritating. I shuddered and pushed the thoughts away. Filling my mind instead with Will; his smile, the kindness in his blue eyes, his shoulders, his laugh—

The oven timer buzzed at the same time Lucky leaped onto the counter beside me from Mallory's arms. I jumped. "Jeeze O Pete!"

Mallory laughed as she pulled her hair up in a hair tie. "You really need to relax, Sis. Stress isn't good for you." Mallory ignored the childish gesture of me sticking my tongue out at her and sauntered into the kitchen to turn off the oven timer. "You want these treats out?" she called.

"Yes. Thank you." I plopped onto the stool and scratched Lucky behind the ear. She leaned into my hand. "She's right, you know. You could give me a little more to go on besides a person in black. Surely, you saw more than that? I mean, I am giving you free room and board, and thinking about buying stock in tuna."

Lucky stuck her butt up in the air and her face in the basket.

"Hey, nosey, be careful." Mallory plucked Lucky off the counter. "Darwin might just stick a bow on you and add you to that basket." She rubbed her nose in Lucky's fur and then stretched the cat over her shoulder.

 I smiled. She was attached to Lucky already. Good. It wouldn't take too much convincing to get Mallory to take her back to Savannah with her. If and when she went back home. I needed to figure out who put that rattler in Rose's condo before I had a permanent roommate.

*     *     *

  Mallory and I moseyed across Beach Drive into Straub Park around noon. Cars were parked on both sides of the street. I scanned the crowd above the big winner's basket in my arms. Spotting Frankie and Sylvia standing in front of the stage chatting with a short, balding man in a bright orange shirt, I nudged Mallory. "Over there."

"
Olá donas!"
Sylvia flashed her larger than life smile at us from beneath a large black sunhat and dark glasses. "Beautiful day, no?"

"Perfect." I greeted her with an air kiss. "Hey, Frankie."

"Hi, Darwin. Hi, Mallory." Frankie grinned at my sister and hugged me. "I want you to meet Edward Goodchild, the director of events for our Humane Society. They sponsored the party this year and all the vendors here are donating a percentage of their profits to the Humane Society." As I adjusted the basket and shook his hand, Frankie continued, "This is my good friend, Darwin Winters, and her sister, Mallory, who's visiting us from Savannah. Darwin co-owns Darwin's Pet Boutique with Sylvia." She pointed to our boutique across the street.

"So nice to meet you, ladies." Edward's soft voice matched his baby blue eyes. "Thank you for donating the first place prize. We're so excited. We've got over eighty pets registered for the contest so far."

"Our pleasure. It's a worthy cause." I motioned to the basket. "Where would you like me to put this?"

"Oh, just under the judges table would be fine. Thank you."

"Okay. Well, we're going to go check out the vendors. Y'all are the judges?" I asked.

Sylvia and Edward nodded.

"Yep," Frankie chuckled. Disqualified me from entering Itty and Bitty in the contest, but didn't stop me from dressin' them up. Be right back," she said, placing a hand on Edward's arm. "Come see my girls." We followed Frankie over to the dog stroller parked at the judges table and she unzipped the canopy.

A tiny devil and angel with Chihuahua faces peered up at us. The devil yipped. Frankie scooped her up and I scooped up the angel. "This is Bitty. The squeaky wheel." Frankie handed her to Mallory.

"Nice to meet you, Bitty," Mallory said, adjusting the tiny dog's devil horns. She held her up for a closer inspection. "You're about the cutest devil I've ever seen."

"And what pretty wings you have," I said, kissing Itty. Her tiny tongue licked my nose and then her ears went up. She spotted a golden retriever with three heads coming our way and started shaking. I turned so she couldn't see it. "Oh, poor thing."

"Yeah, they aren't too keen on the costumes." She took Bitty back from Mallory. "All right, gals, back in hiding for you two. I should've put you both in scaredy-cat costumes," she chuckled to herself.

I put Itty back, too and gave her an extra ear scratch. "See you in a bit, Frankie. We're going to go check out the vendors. You want anything?"

"Wouldn't mind a glass of cold white wine if you come across one." She glanced at her watch. "We've got about a half an hour before the judging starts."

"I'll see what I can do." I hugged her and led Mallory through the park, which was filling up fast with people leading their costumed dogs around. We stopped and chatted with some of our regular customers. Some of the owners were dressed up, too. Lots of compliments were being thrown around as the festivities got under way.

Mallory was craving BBQ and I found a booth offering veggie burgers, so we split up. I was watching a Great Dane, a saddle and stuffed monkey riding on his back, sniff a pug dressed as a taco, when a deep voice spoke in my ear.

"I have a favor to ask of you."

My jaw clenched. I crossed my arms and turned around. "Hello, Zach."

He didn't waste time with pleasantries. "I've been invited to a Masquerade Ball on Friday evening and I need you to attend it with me."

I raised my eyebrows, baffled.
Was he trying to ask me out on a date?
"Seriously? Is that how you ask a girl out where you're from? It's not very effective, I gotta tell you." I narrowed my eyes. "Where are you from anyway?"

He stared at me for a moment. "Nowhere you would be familiar with. Will you attend with me?"

 "No I will not. But there's plenty of eligible women in this town I'm sure would love to go to a party with you." I pointed behind him. "That blonde over there, with the vampire pit bull looks like your type."

It was his turn to raise an eyebrow. "I'm not looking for a woman. It has to be you." He moved in closer to me and lowered his voice. I felt my insides hum. Whatever power he held sent every cell in my body vibrating. "I was asking around about my mother's recent clients. One of them, a Bernard Grayson, sent me an invite to this Masquerade Ball, and I have no idea who he is or why I was suddenly invited."

I frowned. The name sounded familiar. I still didn't understand why he wanted me to go with him. "And this has what to do with me?"

"You are the only other person who thinks my mother's death is suspicious. Though I think you are not telling me why, I need you to help me figure out if this Bernard Grayson person was involved."

After I got over the shock of him believing me, I realized it was a nice feeling. Someone actually believing me. Still, I was about to turn him down again and then it hit me. "Wait! Is this the Mr. Grayson of the 18th Street peach mansion?"

"Yes." His eyes narrowed. "You know him?"

"No. But I do know that he has a permit to have poisonous snakes. I'm in."

"Thank you, Darwin."

I suddenly thought about Will. I'm sure he wouldn't approve of me spending an evening with Zachary. "But, this is not a date. I'll meet you there. And I'm bringing my sister."

The corner of his mouth twitched. "Call it whatever you wish. I'll meet you at the gate at eight o'clock sharp." He glanced down at my flip flops and let his eyes run up my bare legs, shorts and t-shirt. "You do have something appropriate for a Masquerade Ball, don't you?"

"Of course," I said. After he nodded and walked away, I thought again about how he believed there was danger in my future. The only danger I could see right now was him. What if he realized I was suspicious of his mother's death and is just trying to throw me off, because he actually had something to do with it? I would have to be careful.

When Mallory found me, I was the next in line for my veggie burger.

 "So, Mal, what exactly does a girl wear to a Masquerade Ball?"

***

Mallory and I found a place in the crowd milling about the stage. The costume judging had begun, and I had almost forgotten the whole Zach-Masquerade Ball thing when I felt an arm slide around my belly and pull me against a solid, warm chest. The smell of coconut and fresh rain filled my senses. I smiled.

"Surprised?" Will asked, kissing my ear.

"Pleasantly," I whispered back, turning to look up into his sky blue eyes. "Thought you had to work today?"

"We got an early break." He leaned down and brushed my lips with his. His warm breath sent shivers down my arms.

I handed him my plastic cup, half full of white wine. "Cheers to that, Detective." As he took a sip, his eyes stayed locked on mine. I could see the shades of darker longing, the white sparks of desire. The commotion of people clapping, the shouts and barks, the conversations rising and falling in the crowd, it all melted into the background.

 I turned in his arms so I could face him and he pulled me closer, every inch of my thin frame pressed against him. The October sun was no match for the heat being generated by our bodies being so close. He reached down, without breaking eye contact, and pressed his lips to mine, gently at first and then I felt his hunger grow. I tasted the wine on his tongue, the heat from his breath. I pulled away reluctantly as Mallory cleared her throat beside us.

My face flushed as my sister rolled her eyes at us. We shared a smile before I turned my attention back to the costume contest.

"You may need this to cool off," Will whispered, handing me back the cup of wine and pressing his lips on the back of my neck.

We watched the rest of the contest like that, me leaning into Will, happily laughing and cheering for the costumed dogs being led across the stage, clapping at the end when the winners were announced. The Great Dane with the monkey riding his back got the first place basket.

"I don't know how they picked just one. They were all amazing," I said.

"
You're
amazing." Will kissed the tip of my nose. There was a new intensity in his stare. "I have a surprise for you."

"Ooo, I like surprises," I said, beaming.

"I managed to finagle this Friday and Saturday off, and I'd like us to go away for the weekend."

"Us? You and me?" My mind whirled. The weekend? That would mean spending the night together. Sleeping together? Well, there would be a whole new level of commitment. And guilt about hiding things from him. And then panic struck.
Friday night? Oh heavens, that was the night of the Masquerade Ball.

"Um." I bit my lower lip.
How was I going to tell him that I had already committed to going to the Ball with Zach Faraday?
His smile was fading the longer I waited to answer. "That really sounds amazing, Will, but..."

His head dropped and he broke eye contact. My heart lurched. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt this man in any way. He'd already been burned by his ex-wife, and I was the first woman he had taken a chance on since then.

"It's just, I've already made a commitment for Friday night." I hoped that would be enough information for him, but no such luck.

"A commitment?" His eyebrows raised. "Can't you get out of it?"

And here I was, at the crossroads. I took a deep breath and decided on the truth. After all, I would have said yes to spending the weekend with him. If I was getting in that deep, he deserved the truth. "Let's get out of the crowd."

We moved silently across the stretch of grass to a bench at the end of the park, where only a few people were walking their dogs. I could see the sparkling bay waters from there, a small comfort.

"Okay." I held both of Will's hands. "Here's the thing. I agreed to go to a Masquerade Ball Friday night with Zachary Faraday."

Will's eyes narrowed, his expression morphing from curious to confused. "A date? You agreed to a date?"

I tried to stop his conclusions. "No, it's not a date," I said quickly. "It's sort of an investigation. See, I think his mother, Rose, was... murdered."

Will pulled his hands from mine. His mouth tightened and his eyes burned with suspicion. Panic fluttered like butterfly wings in my heart. This felt like Mad Dog's death all over again. He didn't believe me that Mad Dog had been murdered either. I felt all the old doubts and walls rising.

"Rose Faraday died from a heart attack following a snake bite. You're telling me you believe she was murdered by the rattlesnake?" Will's body had stiffened, his voice was raw.

"Yes... no." My chest was tightening so my words held a touch of breathlessness. "By a person, who let the rattlesnake into her condo. And Zach believes me." I mentally smacked myself. That sounded like a dig at Will. "He asked me to the Ball only because he thinks the person holding it, Bernard Grayson, might have something to do with his mother's death. Mr. Grayson has a license to house poisonous snakes. It just seems like too much of a coincidence not to check out." I stopped. Will was leaning back on the bench, his gaze now trained on the park, his jaw tight.