Bouquet of Lies (8 page)

Ten

DRESSED IN FISHNETS, a low-cut red leotard, royal-blue tails, and red, white and blue top hat, Lacey sat on her father’s bed facing the door. The costume party was picking up momentum and before she joined her guests in the ballroom she had one last thing to do. Invite Daddy to the ball.

He wouldn’t come, but it would annoy him that she wasted his time asking. She hadn’t so much as passed him in the house in days. It was time for an encounter.

Voices carried from down the hall and she leaned forward to listen.

“I can’t believe you let her do this.” That was Edward.

“It’s her house, too. I can’t stop her.” That was her father.

“Tell her no.”

“I did. You see where it got me.”

“Slow down. I want to talk to you.”

“Make it snappy. I have a meeting in half an hour and I have to pack. I fly out tomorrow morning.”

“What? Now? Are you out of your mind?”

“What’s wrong with now?”

“You know what’s wrong!” Edward voice was tinged with fear.

“That? You should have thought—”

“Don’t lecture me.”

“Actions have consequences,” Harper lectured. Lacey smiled.

“What’s done is done. I can’t unring the bell.”

“It’s wasn’t like it was even your money.”

“I said I can’t unring the bell.”

“No. I have to do that. Look. I hired Stark.” Harper flew into his bedroom. “He’ll find—” He stopped dead at the sight of Lacey. “What the devil are you doing in here?”

“Waiting for you. Who’s Stark?”

“None of your business,” Edward snapped as he hobbled into Harper’s room.

Lacey stood up and moved to her father. “I want you to come to the party.” She tapped his chest with her index fingers and gave him her brightest smile.

“I don’t go to parties except for business. And I certainly won’t attend one with a bunch of teenagers.”

“Young adults.”

Harper grabbed a suitcase from the closet. “Out.”

“Yes, out!” Edward poked Lacey with his cane. She knocked it away.

“You, too, Dad.” Harper tossed the suitcase on the bed and opened it.

“What about, you know?” Edward said.

“I told you I was taking care of it. Now scat.”

Lacey’s eyes moved from Harper to Edward to Harper again. “Taking care of what?”

“Go. This is your Big To-Do. Go play hostess to your guests.”

She watched her father place shirts in the case. She had needled him about as much as she was going to get the chance. She headed for the party.

As she descended the stairs, she danced to music that drifted into the foyer. The big ballroom’s curved south wall was the north wall of the sweeping staircase. Guests were arriving in droves and she paused to look at the costumes.

Lacey spotted Courtney dressed as sexy Jessica Rabbit. “Woo-who, look at you, girlfriend.” Lacey took her friend’s arm and they walked through the foyer toward the arched opening at the rear of the stairs.

“Is he coming?” Courtney asked.

“Who? Dan-the-Man?” Lacey laughed. “He said yes, and if I know anything about him, I know this. He’s a man of his word.”

“Bor—ing,” Courtney sang.

“Well, if it’s excitement you want, I’ll hook you up with the magician I hired. He’s one tricky dick. I practiced with him all week. You really have to watch his hands.”

Courtney looked perplexed.

“It’s a joke. Watch his hands. He’s a magician. Get it?”

After a second they both burst into laughter.

Darla, in her Alice dress, clung to a shadowy corner and took in her surroundings.

The ballroom was huge. To the rear a series of French doors opened to the patio, gardens and pool area. There were three arched entrances connecting to the rest of the house. One exited to the foyer. One, along the east wall, exited to a hall that separated the ballroom from Harper’s office. That hall opened to the foyer at the front of the stairs. The third entrance, along the north wall, opened to a corridor that ran parallel to the ballroom and connected to another hall. Beyond it was the north arm of the house where the theatre room, the game room, four guest bedrooms and a den were located.

Darla looked at the stage that had been erected for a magic act. A banner read: The Amazing Alcazar.

Caterers moved in and out making sure refreshments remained plentiful. Lacey preferred rock music and current pop songs, so that’s what played. Strobe lights blinked. Antony gyrated with Cleopatra. Superman with Lois Lane. Jessica Rabbit with Jack Sparrow. A fox, Little Bo Peep, Ghost Rider, Pebbles, and eighty or so other costume-clad guests jammed the floor.

Darla had only hyperventilated twice. Each time she refocused on the idea that her mother would soon show up and managed to calm down.

Out of all the guests, there were only two in blond wigs. One was dressed as Marilyn Monroe, the other as Elle Woods. Both occasionally grabbed her attention which she found annoying. Neither of them was her mother.

A song ended and another began. The crowd shifted and she caught sight of Lacey laughing with Indiana Jones. The moment they walked to the refreshment table she knew it was Jake.

That swagger of his . . .

He loaded a plate with goodies. Lacey went one way while he came toward Darla with the food.

“Fifteen pounds, remember?” He handed her the plate and she felt herself quiver. He removed his mask. “In case you couldn’t tell.”

“I could tell.”

“Really?” He grinned.

“Thanks.” She bit into a cracker covered with crab dip. “Where did Lacey go?”

“Ah, she saw someone and went to say hi. That looks good.” He took a crabby cracker off her plate for himself.

“Hey. You said fifteen pounds.” She smiled at him.

“She jokes! That’s progress.” He finished the cracker and took a meatball. “This is quite the bash.”

“Lacey does it up big.”

“I’d expect nothing less from her. Who are all these people?”

Darla shrugged. “Once she meets someone she considers them a friend.”

“I guess so.”

She scanned the crowd and caught sight of Lacey talking to some guy dressed as a cop. Darla still didn’t see her mother.

“Expecting someone?” Jake asked.

She glanced at him. “No. No one.”

“Eat up. I think I’ll get me something.” She watched him thread through the dancers.

“I’d know that blue dress anywhere.”

Darla whipped to her right. There was Randy wearing a business suit. Butterflies swarmed her stomach and her chest. Her quiet corner of the room was getting a lot of traffic. Without thinking, she took a step to get away. He grabbed her hand.

“Wait a minute. I’m here without costume, invitation or date. The least you could do is be my escort, now that the ruffian has left your side.”

“Why do you think that? He’s not a ruffian.”

Randy continued to hold onto her. “My apologies. Didn’t mean to insult a friend. So tell me. How did you turn out so normal and your sister so not?”

Was he making fun of her? She pulled her hand away. “Lacey’s the normal one.”

“I beg to differ.” He gave the room a once over. “What do you know? There she is talking to the same guy for more than two minutes. Oops, no. There she goes leaving the poor guy scratching his head.”

The cop wasn’t scratching his head. He was smiling.
You sound jealous
, she thought. They must have dated more than a couple times. “Why aren’t you in costume?”

Randy looked down. “Well. I’ll tell you. Your dad calls business meetings any time of the day or night and I have to be ready.”

“Really? He expects you to always be dressed like that?”

“I buy permanent press so I can sleep in the monkey suit.” Randy’s face was dead serious. Suddenly he laughed. “I’m kidding.”

“Oh.” Darla laughed too, mostly from shame for being so gullible.

“But I did just meet with him. Your dad. Lucky for me or I wouldn’t be here with you.” He took her hand.

Darla felt her skin tingle. She sucked on her lower lip and turned from Randy’s gaze. There was Jake with his plate, looking at her. He raised it in a sort of salute and spun round the other way.

The music faded and the lights settled into a steady dimness. A spot focused on Lacey who shimmied on stage. Several in the crowd howled.

Lacey called out. “Now that I have your attention.”

Darla watched Randy stare at her sister. His expression was intense to say the least. “Did she break your heart?”

“What? No! No.”

Lacey motioned at boxes and trunks on the stage. “It’s time for a few tricks. Are you ready?”

The crowd’s affirmative response was soft. Lacey shimmied again and hoots and howls filled the room. “That’s better. So. Without any further fooling around, here is the Amazing . . .” She gave the crowd a wink and a sexy shoulder move. “And I do mean amazing . . . Alcazar!”

The ballroom darkened and lights for the stage came up. A tuxedoed magician with dark hair and dark eyes stepped into view. He took Lacey by the arm and guided her into an open box, then closed it so that only her head and feet could be seen. Lacey made a face, pretending to be terrified, and wiggled her toes. The Amazing Alcazar held up sharp plates of metal. One by one he slid them into the box, cutting it and Lacey into three equal parts. He turned the box so everyone could see the front, the back, and the front again. Then he separated the three sections. Lacey grinned and the partygoers oohed and aahed.

Randy leaned toward Darla. “It’s really not so amazing when you know the secret.”

“Do you know the secret?”

“No. But that’s true of anything.”

The magician put the sections back together and removed the plates. Lacey hopped out of the box. The crowd cheered.

She felt Randy’s lips at her ear. “I need the little boy’s room. Don’t go away.” He squeezed her hand before heading across the room.

She looked down. What was going on? Randy could be the hero in any one of the books she read and he seemed to like her. Over Lacey? He was a little older . . . how old was he?

But why was she thinking about him? She was supposed to be on the lookout for her mother.

The Amazing Alcazar changed a rabbit into doves. He turned water into wine. He cut rope into three pieces and mended it back to one. He pulled Lacey forward and she beamed in the spotlight. He brought a tall box front and center and spun it around twice before Lacey stepped inside.

Darla’s eyes drifted away from the magic act and her heart dropped. Standing a few feet inside the ballroom, staring directly at her, was a blonde. Her hair was platinum and she wore a 1930s sheath satin gown. Although the lights were dim, and she was some thirty feet away, the face was unmistakable.

“Mother,” Darla whispered and she took a step forward.

The blonde turned and disappeared through the arched doorway behind her. Darla’s heart thumped a million times a minute and for a moment she couldn’t move. Then she dropped the plate of food, making a mess on the floor, and rushed forward. Bumping a few guests here and there, she made her way across the room and out the doorway.

Where was she? Where did she go? Through the door that led to the north wing of the house or . . .? She looked down the dark hallway that ran parallel to the ballroom. Her mother stared at her from the other end. She motioned for Darla to come and then disappeared around the corner.

Calm down. Calm down!
Her legs felt like lead, but at least they carried her. She turned the corner as her mother had and saw no one. This hall separated the ballroom from her father’s office. She moved forward and first glanced through the door to the ballroom. All the guests appeared enthralled with the magician act. Her mother wasn’t among them.

She opened the door to her father’s office. Empty.