Deadly Reunion (11 page)

“Would you stop it,” Grace said
, without much force. Adam was right. Hope was putting on a show, and it was hard to pretend otherwise.

“Oh relax, it
's not like you have to worry. She has an alibi. Sort of. Not that she really needs one. She had that cop eating out of her hands back there.”

Gr
ace turned to Adam in surprise. “She doesn't need an alibi. You don't think Crystal was murdered, do you?” She shook her head. “It was dark. She couldn't see that well and tripped on her way down the stairs. It's just a horrible accident.”

“Then why have they been question
ing your boss for the last hour?”

The door opened
and Kyle and Sheriff Bellamy walked out.

Kyle froze when he saw Grace. Everything was going so well. The last thing he needed was her telling the police tha
t he wasn’t a detective. Not after he spent the last hour convincing them that he was. “Ms. Holliday, there you are. Sheriff, have you met my faithful assistant, Grace Holliday? One of my best detectives. She once—”

Bellamy
, ignoring Kyle, smiled at Adam. “Mr. Phelps. There you are. We've been looking for you. May I have a word with you for a moment?”

Adam waved good-bye and followed Bellamy back into the office.

Kyle let out a relieved gust of air, but drew it back in when he saw the look on Grace's face. “I can explain.”

“Apparently
, there's going to be two funerals this week.”

CHAPTER
EIGHT

K
yle stood in
the doorway of his hotel room, yawning. He glanced past Grace, who was busy stuffing his clothes back in his suitcase, and looked at the clock on the nightstand. Seven-thirty in the morning. How could anyone be up at this obscene time? He knew he shouldn't have opened the door this morning.

“
Grace, I can't leave! If I leave, they’re going to think I had something to do with her murder. They'll waste their time looking for me when they should be concentrating on catching her killer.”

Grace walked into the bathroom. “Wh
y did you bring so much stuff? Hope travels lighter than you,” Grace complained, as she walked out of the bathroom carrying the clothes he was wearing the night before. She quickly folded his suit and placed it in his suitcase.

“It’s going to look suspicious if I leave so suddenly!”

Grace dropped to her knees and looked under the bed. “Did you bring Abry with you?”

“Grace
, you're not listening!”

“Did you?” she asked, worried.
That rabbit tended to disappear and reappear at the most awkward moments. The last thing she wanted was to spend the rest of the morning trying to find him.

Kyle shook his head
. “I left him with my cousin, Felix. Grace, please listen to me.”

Grace sat on her heels and looked up at him.
“I am listening. Crystal was not murdered.”

“
I’m pretty sure she was blackmailing someone or at least the killer thought she was blackmailing them.”

“Crystal
had more money than she knew what to do with, why would she blackmail anyone?”

“I don’t know, but she was.”

“You told the police, right?”

Kyle sleepily nodded his head.

“Good. I’m sure the police will look into it.”

“I shouldn’t leave. I think you’re going to need me here, Grace. Your sister—”

“Let's pretend for a moment that you’re right and someone pushed her down the steps. The moment the police find out that you lied to them last night, you my friend, are going to jump to the top of their suspect list. Did you think of that?” she asked worriedly.

“They're not going to find out. I promise.”
At her dubious look, Kyle added, “Besides, I got the impression last night that they already had a suspect in mind.”

That got her attention.
Grace sat down on the bed and looked at him expectantly.

“They asked a lot of questions abou
t your friend Adam. I don't think they're a fan.”

“Adam? That's crazy! Why would Adam kill Crystal?”

“I don't know.” Kyle reached down and pulled her up to her feet. Smiling he asked, “Why don't we go into town? Get some breakfast. See what the town gossip—”

“Oh no!
No, you are leaving. Your detective days are over Mr. Drake,” she said, turning around and zipping up his suitcase.

*  *  *  *

Grace lifted her fork to her mouth. Absolutely delicious. She had forgotten how good the omelets were at the Rabbit Falls Theater and Saloon, a renovated old west saloon.

Walking into
the saloon was like walking back into time. Visitors walked through a pair of bat wing doors, entered a large dusty lobby, and were visually assaulted by a gigantic oil painting of a rather well-endowed, but otherwise, quite unfortunate woman with the head of a rabbit hanging on the wall behind a large reception desk. Slightly to the right of the desk were stairs, leading to the upstairs guest rooms. More oil paintings of near naked showgirls hung from the wall leading up the stairs.

One side of the
lobby contained the poker, faro, and dice tables. Next to the gambling tables, used for show nowadays, sat a stage where the showgirls used to entertain the locals.

On the other side of the
lobby was a restaurant. Twenty wooden tables sat in front of a worn bar, complete with spittoons on either end. The mirror behind the bar looked like it hadn't been cleaned since Billy the Kid swept through town.

Grace sm
iled as she took another bite. It was good to be home. She looked up at Kyle and back down at his still full plate of food. “I thought you said you were hungry?”

“My eggs
are overdone.” Kyle picked up his fork, leaned over, and took a bite of Grace's omelet. Grace watched as his handsome face grimaced.

“Aw, Grace, this is awful.
How can you eat this stuff,” he said, dropping his fork in disgust.

“You wanted to come here
, despite my better judgment, I might add. If you want the local gossip you come to the Rabbit Falls Saloon.”

Kyle looked around the empty room.

Grace smiled. “Eat up. Next stop, the airport, tovarish.”

*  *  *  *

Grace stood a step behind Kyle, glaring at his back. One minute they're on their way to the airport; the next, they're standing on Melodie's doorstep. She knew she shouldn't have let him drive.

“It will only take a second.
It would be rude to leave without saying good-bye.”

Kyle risked a quick lo
ok behind him. Grace had her arms crossed, and one foot was tapping the ground impatiently. She was definitely not happy. He flashed his most charming smile.

It didn’t work.

Sighing, he looked up to admire the three-story Tudor style building. “Your friend certainly has done well for herself.”

“Her great
-great grandfather discovered a gold mine back in the 1870s. Her family's been well off ever since.”

Kyle reached ou
t and rang the doorbell again.

“Maybe
she’s gone. Preparing for the funeral,” Grace said hopefully.

Kyle leaned forward.
He could hear the sound of footsteps on the other side of the door. “No, I hear someone.” Kyle rang the bell again.

Grace
groaned and looked up towards the heavens. “Well, she obviously doesn't want visitors, so let's go,” she said, grabbing his hand and dragging him away from the door.

Grace led Kyle back to the car
, just in time to watch Melodie and Diana drive up. “Five minutes,” she warned Kyle.

As soon as
Melodie stepped out of the car, she walked up to Grace, crying. Grace held out her arms, and quickly embraced her friend. “I just can't believe it,” Melodie sobbed. “It doesn't seem real. She was just here yesterday. She was so excited about last night. It's all my fault.”

Grace leaned back and looked into
Melodie's tear filled eyes. “It's not your fault. It was an accident.”

“She fell
because of those stupid shoes. She complained about those shoes all night. The police said the heel had broken off. That's why she fell.”

“How is that your fault?”

“I bought her those shoes,” Melodie wailed. “I was at the mall, and she said she needed new shoes for her dress and asked if I would pick some up for her. I know it's stupid. I was irritated and picked up the cheapest pair I could find.”

Grace patted her back
, and told her it wasn't her fault. Diana and Kyle echoed their agreement.

Melodie
, suddenly noticing Kyle, reached out her hand and took his in a death grip. “I'm so glad you could come,” she said, leading him to the front door.

*  *  *  *

Grace looked around Melodie's magnificent kitchen. It was absolutely beautiful. There were cherry wood cabinets, black granite countertops, a gigantic center island, as well as, a large glass kitchen table sitting in a magnificent bay window. Grace's whole apartment could fit inside Melodie's kitchen. Diana stood at the farm sink rinsing out the coffee pot.

“Are you sure you wouldn't like some coffee?
” Diana asked.

“Diana
, please sit down. Is there anything I can do to help?”

Diana
sadly shook her head.

“I'm so sor
ry to intrude. My family was planning to come by and pay our respects this afternoon, but . . .” Grace trailed off, suddenly not sure how her family, or more specifically, her sister, would be welcomed.

“Oh, I'm so sorry
, Grace. I completely forgot about your sister. Is she all right?”

Grace nodded.
“They released her from the hospital this morning.”

“I wish
Crystal and she could have mended their rift. They used to be such good friends. It's a shame they let Tom ruin their friendship.” Grace wanted to ask ‘since when’, but decided now was not the time to shatter Diana's illusions.

“This is go
ing to be so hard for Melodie. For both of us. For the first time, I’m glad my brother isn’t around to have seen this. He absolutely doted on Crystal. She was his little princess.” Her eyes welled with tears. “Well, it’s just Melodie and me now. The rest of the family is long gone.”

“
I’m sure Tom will still be there for you.”

“Tom isn't family,” Diana said
, angrily echoing Beth's sentiments from the night before. “If there is one good thing that comes from last night, it’s that I’ll never have to be near Tom Lake ever again.”

“I hope you don't mind me saying
, but I thought you were happy when Crystal and Tom got together. What happened?”

“I
was only happy because I thought Tom would make Crystal happy.” Diana sat down at the table across from Grace. “He didn't turn out to be the man we thought he was going to be. Of course, we should have realized that, what with the disgraceful way he treated your sister. Crystal loved him, though.” Diana wiped a tear from her eye. “She was so excited about last night. It turned out to be such a mess. First the fight with Adam and then with your sister.”

“She fought with Adam?”

“Yes, it was horrible. Tom said he found them outside screaming at each other at one point. He intervened when Adam began shaking her.”

Grace was surprised.
The Adam she had known was always so laid back and easy going. She couldn't imagine him becoming violent. “Are you sure?”

“Believe me
, when Tom says something I've learned to have it verified before I believe it. I didn't believe it, at first. Adam was such a sweet boy, but then I once thought the same of Tom. After Tom told me, I went to Crystal and asked her about it. She showed me the handprints he had left on her arms. They were just starting to bruise.”

“Did she say why he was angry with her?”

“No, not really. She said he had been pestering her for the last month, ever since he came back to town.” Diana stood up, but suddenly dizzy, she sat back down with a thud.

“Are you sur
e there isn't anything I can do?” Grace asked worried, wishing she had thought to bring some food with her.

Diana smiled sadly
. “I'm so glad you came. It's been such a terrible night. Neither one of us has slept all night. I'm so tired, but I'm afraid to leave Melodie alone. I hate to ask, but I would really appreciate it if you could stay.”

“Of course I can stay,” Grace said reassuringly.

*  *  *  *

“Of course I can stay,” Kyle said reassuringly, placing his arm around
Melodie's shoulders.

“It's all my fault,” she said
, as she wrapped her arms around Kyle’s waist and pressed her face into his chest.

“No
, don't say that. I don't believe it's your fault,” he said, patting her arms and leading her to the leather couch in the living room.

Sitting down next to him, she said,
“That's what Aunt Diana keeps saying. She said we should sue the shoe's manufacturer.”

“Well, I don't think
that’s what . . .” Kyle stopped, suddenly remembering his promise to Grace not to say anything to Melodie about his suspicions.

“What don't you think?
You don't think we should sue?”

Kyle looked towards the hallway wondering what Grace would do
to him if he told Melodie what he thought. Really, he should. After all, it wouldn't be fair to Crystal to let her murder be ruled an accident. It also wouldn't be fair to her sister or even the poor shoe manufacturers.

“I don't think it was an accident,” he whispered looking over his shoulder.

Melodie reacted as though he had reached out and struck her. “Of course it was an accident!” She stood up and walked around the coffee table. “How could you think otherwise?”

“I don't think your sister was wearing those shoes when she died. I think whoever killed her
, placed them on her feet afterward. They wanted it to look like an accident.” Kyle went on to describe his suspicion that someone was hiding in the bathroom, before and after her sister died.