Deadly Reunion (7 page)

Crystal's smile faltered slightly. “Yes, very soon. We've just been
waiting for the perfect time. We wanted to wait until after Thomas finished law school, passed the bar, and started to work. Now there's nothing left to stop us, right honey?”

“Absolutely nothing, dear
,” Tom drawled, looking down at his empty cup.

“
But enough about us, let's talk about you. Last I heard you were selling toys, when did you become a detective?”

Before Grace could reply, Tom grabbed his wife's arm an
d pulled her back against him. “Leave Grace alone. Why don’t we go upstairs? You don't want to miss the coronation, do you?” he asked dryly.

“Of course not.
You’re right, darling. Grace, are you and Mr. Drake coming?”

“We'll be there in just a second,” Grace said
, relieved they were finally leaving.

When the other couple had finally disappeared upstairs
, and the sound of Crystal's footsteps could no longer be heard, Kyle turned to Grace and said, “Wow. That was uncomfortable. What was all of that about?”

“That was the reason my sister and I haven't been back home sin
ce graduation.” Grace sighed. Hope would be upstairs expecting her. “Come on, we don't want to miss the big event, do we?” Grace asked sarcastically.

Grace slowly climbed
the stairs and led Kyle down the main hallway towards the gym.

She was about to push the door open when s
he heard Kyle laughing behind her. She turned and saw Kyle smiling at one of the poster boards. “What are you laughing at?”

“This ‘
Most Likely To’ board. It's pretty funny.”

“You have a strange s
ense of humor, Kyle.”

“Come over here and read this.”

“I read it a few hours ago.”

“You didn't think it was funny?”

“No, it's just the typical most likely to be popular all their life, most likely to succeed, most likely to—”

“
Be a porn star.”

“What?”

“That's what it says.”

“No
, it doesn't. Where does it say that?”

Kyle pointed to Thomas Lak
e's name on the board. Someone had written over the original awards with a red magic marker.

“Where's yours?”
Kyle asked, while scanning through the names on the board.

Grace held up a hand to her mouth.
“I don’t believe this. Look at Crystal’s. ‘Most likely to die of a sexually transmitted disease’.”

“Oh boy,” Kyle said
, stepping in front of the poster board and holding up his hands. “Now, don't get excited.”

“Why
? What does mine say?” Grace pushed Kyle aside and gasped. “Most likely to lie about your life at all future reunions.”

“I'm sure it doesn't mean anything.”

“Hope!”

“What about her?”

“She did this.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I am. Read Hope's. 'Most likely to leave and pretend she was never here'. That’s not nearly as bad as the others. Also, not everyone's has been changed, only the people in our little group of friends. See there's Tom, Crystal, Steve, Adam, Melodie, and even Beth.”

Kyle turned around and faced the opposite wall.
“Uh oh. Someone has been busy tonight.”

Grace followed his gaze.
On the opposite wall were four framed pictures of Hogan High. Each one, a drawing or painting of the high school during the four seasons. The first one was a colored pencil drawing of the school during the summer. The second one was an oil painting of the school during the fall.

It was the third frame that caused Grace to gasp. Someone had torn t
he charcoal drawing entitled
A Bird’s Eye View from the Bell Tower DH - Jan ‘02
into pieces.

“
Someone was certainly a critic,” Kyle said.

“Who w
ould do such a thing?” Grace asked, bending down to pick up a rather large piece lying on the floor. She carefully placed the piece back into the frame. It was just a simple drawing of the back of the school.

Kyle stood over her shoulder. “Is that writing?”

Grace nodded. At the top of the drawing was only one word ‘
who
’. “The rest of it is missing.”

Grace placed her hands on her hips.
She had a good idea who defaced the ‘Most likely to’ boards, but she couldn’t believe Hope would go this far.

“
Springtime is Fun time at Hogan High
is still here,” Kyle said, pointing to the last frame, a watercolor of the school.

Rubbing her eyes
, Grace turned to the gym doors.

“Where are you going?”

“I'm going to go inside and have a chat with my sister.”

“You might want to wash your hands first.”

Grace threw a quizzical look over her shoulder. Kyle was still standing next to the charcoal drawing, a grin slowly spreading his face as he looked at her. “After that, you might want to wash your face. Clean your dress.”

Grace looked down at her hands. Her fingertips were stained with charcoal
dust. Looking past her hands, she noticed tiny smudges on her dress as well. Sighing she said, “This night can’t possibly get any worse.”

*  *  *  *

Ten minutes later Grace emerged from the bathroom and scanned the gym. Kyle was standing off to the side of the gym doors speaking to a group of people, mostly women. Grace could just make out the words ‘secret government mission’ and ‘nuclear weapons’. Shaking her head, she walked up to the group.

“
Ah and here is my esteemed colleague, Ms. Holliday. If it wasn’t for her, I would still be locked up in that Turkish military installation. She was the first one to figure out that the Senator was actually a double agent.”

“Wow! How did you do that, Grace?” a rather large man she recognized from
homeroom asked in awe.

Grace glared at a grinning Kyle. “He had a slight accent. Excuse us for a moment,” she said
, grabbing Kyle’s elbow and pulling him away.

“We’re supposed to be detectives, not spies,” she hissed into his ear.

Still smiling, he said, “We’ve diversified.”

“Have you seen, Hope?”

“No. But they must be getting ready to start.” Kyle pointed towards the stage.

C
rystal was standing on the stage, smiling at the crowd in front of her. Tom was standing behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist, staring off to the side. Standing next to them were Scott Younts, Max Wellington, and Chloe Bell, the other contenders to the crowns. Hope was missing. Grace stood on her tiptoes trying to locate her in the crowd. Even with the three-inch heels, she borrowed from her sister, she still couldn't see over everyone's heads.

She looked up at Kyle. “Do you see
Hope anywhere?”

Kyle shook his head.
“Your friend Melodie is bringing out the crowns. Pretty.”

Grace didn't ask whether he was refe
rring to Melodie or the crowns. “Can you hear what she’s saying?” she said, straining to listen.

“I
think the microphone is broken. Something about . . .” Kyle leaned forward and shook his head. “I think they’re waiting on your sister. Let's try to get closer.” Kyle placed one hand on the small of Grace's back and the other on her elbow. “Did you lose a button?”

“This isn't my dress,” Grace said by way of explaining.

“Oh.”

Kyle and Grace managed to push and pry their way to the stage without stepping on too many toes in time for
Melodie to announce the winner of Reunion King. “The results have been counted by our reunion committee, and our King is . . .” Melodie paused to open up the envelope in her hand, “Thomas Lake.” The crowd erupted in whoops and cheers. Grace winced at the level of noise her class was making.

Melodie
held out the crown, but was intercepted by Crystal, who took it off the pillow and placed it on her husband's head, before pulling him into an indecently long kiss. The crowd's cheers turned into catcalls. Crystal only pulled back when she inadvertently knocked the crown off of Tom’s head, sending it crashing to the floor as everyone laughed. Smiling, Tom reached down, picked up the crown, pulled his wife back against him, and gently kissed her shoulder.

Melodie
turned back to the table on the stage and picked up another envelope. “We're still waiting for Hope so we can announce the results of Reunion Queen.”

“
I'm here,” Hope said, walking onto the stage. “I'm sorry I'm late.”

“Fina
lly,” Grace whispered to Kyle. “I wonder where she's been.”

“Ok
ay! Now that we finally have all of our nominees with us,” Melodie said, pointedly looking at Hope, “we can get started.”

Melodie
opened up the envelope and pulled out a sheet of paper. “This one was very close. After careful counting our Reunion Queen is . . .” Melodie turned and smiled at Crystal. “Hope Holliday!”

The crowd cheered.
Grace let out a little yell, happy for her sister.

“Congratulations, Hope!”
Melodie said, placing the crown on Hope's head and kissing her cheek. The crowd started chanting “Speech! Speech!” Hope caught Grace's eye and winked. After the crown was sufficiently secured, Melodie turned to Tom and motioned for him to stand next to her. Grace caught the look that passed between Tom and Crystal. Neither one was happy.

Melodie
, tiring of waiting for Tom, reached out and grabbed his hand, dragging him to his place next to Hope, while Steve moved up to the stage to take their picture. “Well, this looks familiar,” Melodie said to the crowd. “Let's congratulate our Reunion King and Queen.”

The crowd cheered. “Ok
ay, they’re going to start us off on a dance, and then we are going to get this party started.”

Smiling,
Hope walked down the steps to stand on the dance floor. When Hope reached the center of the floor, under the disco ball, she turned around, her arms outstretched as the band played
My Heart Will Go On
. Her smile faltered, when she realized Tom was still standing on the stairs.

“What's he waiting for?” Kyle asked. “He can't leave her standing there.”

Grace agreed, but was afraid that's exactly what Thomas Lake would do. She wouldn't blame Tom for walking out. Why is the band playing that song of all songs? Grace watched as Tom looked back at his wife who was standing on the stage, her arms crossed. Some silent communication must have passed between them, because Tom suddenly turned around, walked up to Hope, took her in his arms, and began to slowly sway to the music. Grace let out a relieved breath.

“Are you going to tell me what all that is about?” Kyle asked.

“Tom is my sister's ex-fiancé. He left her after graduation for Crystal. That was their song.
Titanic
had a major impact on their lives. Her engagement ring was a blue sapphire heart. They were supposed to dance to that song at their wedding. They even booked an Atlantic cruise for their honeymoon.”

“Did they happen to notice how that movie ended?”

“I doubt it. While Melodie and I were sobbing our little hearts out, Hope and Tom were making out in the seat next to us. To this day, I become nauseous whenever I see the ocean.”

CHAPTER FIVE

G
race surveyed the
buffet table. She hadn't had anything to eat today except for the salted pretzels provided by the airline. Well, that, and the chocolate-covered strawberries she shared with Kyle an hour ago. Darn it. Everything had been picked through.

“This is all pretty exciting! I've never been to a reunion before,” Kyle said
, picking up a plate at the buffet table. “Mine's not for another couple of years.”

“Great
. Just great.” Grace disliked being reminded that he was not only younger, but a world apart from her. How can he possibly be having a good time? He doesn't even know these people. She couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm, though. Kyle was always happy which was one of the things she liked best about him. Never worried or stressed. Just pleasantly happy with life. Weird.

“W
ho were your friends in school? I think we can count out Crystal and Tom.” Kyle examined the garlic potatoes, trying to decide whether to add it to his growing plate of food.

“No,
they were friends of mine in school. Tom was one of my best friends. Well, actually, he was Hope's best friend, but we were all close. We were like the three musketeers growing up.”

“What about Crystal?” Kyle asked.

“Her sister, Melodie, is my friend, so Crystal was naturally included.”

“You three graduated together? So
, are Crystal and Melodie twins, too?”

“No
, they're a year apart. Crystal was left behind in junior high. She got in some trouble and failed her classes.”

“What about your director friend
?”

“He was my
next-door neighbor,” Grace said, heading back to the dessert table.

“Are you talking about me?”
Adam asked, coming up behind her and wrapping his arm around her shoulder. “Talking about me behind my back. You ought to be ashamed, Holliday.”

Grace
smiled. “Adam. There you are. Where have you been?”

“Consoling Crystal. She's convinced she was robbed.”

“She's handling her loss gracefully, is she?”

“As only Crystal can.”
Adam reached out and grabbed a brownie from the table, nearly bumping into Kyle.

Kyle held out his hand.
“I’m sorry. I don’t think we’ve actually been introduced, yet. I’m Kyle Drake. Sorry, I must have forgotten my business cards,” he said, patting his coat pockets.

Grace rolled her eyes.

“That’s all right,” Adam said. “I didn’t ask for one.”

“I loved your last movie.”

“Everyone did.” Adam turned back around and eyed Grace up and down. “I have missed you. What say you and I take a turn on the dance floor? Here, you don't mind holding this, do you?” Adam asked, as he took Grace's plate from her hand, and passed it to Kyle.

“No
, not at all,” Kyle said testily.

Grace found herself being pulled onto the dance floor.
“That was kind of rude, wasn't it?”

“I'm sorry.” A
dam sighed and shook his head. “I've had a bad day, and I have a feeling it's about to get worse.”

“What happened?”

“Crystal is insisting on a recount.”

Grace was incredulous.
“For Reunion Queen?”

“She apparently took a poll before the reunion
, and knows how many were voting for her and how many for Hope. She suspects Hope rigged the vote somehow.”

“That's ridiculous!” Even as the words left Grace's mouth
, she knew it wasn't so ridiculous. Hope was bound and determined to win tonight. She must have been the one to bribe the band to play that song, but would she rig the vote and take a chance on being caught, just so she could dance with Tom? “What does Tom think about it?”

“He thinks it’s ridiculous
, too.”

Grace glanced over Adam’s shoulder.
“Do you know where Hope is?” She ought to warn her sister that Crystal was going to try to make trouble tonight.

“I don’t know
, but take a look over there,” he said, jerking his head to the left.

Grace followed his gaze. Eric and Diana
Collins were dancing in the corner of the room. They were both laughing, as Eric attempted to dip her. “Amazing. How long has this been going on?”

“I have no idea. It’s rather spooky. I keep expecting one of the
m to go for the other’s throat at any moment.”

Grace frowned. Crystal was standing a few feet away from the dancing couple
, her arms folded across her chest. A scowl twisted her features.

Grinning, Adam said,
“Maybe there’s hope left for Tom and, well, Hope.”

“I wish
, but I doubt it. Speaking of my sister, do you see her yet?”

Adam stood on his
tiptoes. “There she is. She’s holding court at the table next to the stage.”

“I'd better go talk to her. You want to come?”

Adam nodded. Grace could hear laughter and her sister's voice as they approached the table. Adam wasn't kidding when he said she was holding court. Hope sat on top of the table with the silly crown sitting on her head. A throng of admirers, mostly men, stood around her, hanging on her every word. “I once did this photo shoot on the Riviera. Completely naked. The sand was carefully arranged so that you couldn't see anything, but it was such a thrilling experience.”

“What was the shoot for?” Steve asked, practically salivating.

“Oh who knows, perfume, jeans, something. That's not important. All I know is that I looked good.” Everyone except Grace laughed.

“W
here are you going next, Hope?” a man Grace didn't recognize asked.

“I've decided to take a break and stay home for a while,” Hope said
, surprising all, including her sister.

Grace decided now was as good a time as any to dra
g Hope away from her entourage. “Hope, can I speak to you privately?” Suddenly, the table erupted in cries of denial, as if Grace had suggested taking Hope out back and hanging her. “It's all right; I'll bring her back,” Grace quickly reassured the group.

Smiling,
Hope promised the table that she would in fact be back, before following her sister to the ladies’ restroom. “You want to try on my crown?” Hope teased her sister, once they were in the restroom.

“No.
Have you heard the latest? Crystal is asking for a recount. She thinks you cheated.”

“This is wh
at you dragged me in here for?” Hope turned to walk back out.

Grace grabbed he
r arm to stop her. “Well, don't you have anything to say?”

“Say?
Yes, I have plenty to say, but I think I will save it for Crystal.”

Grace leaned down and checked under the stalls before she asked, “Did you cheat, Hope?” Grace looked up from the last stall to see that her sister had already walked out.

*  *  *  *

Kyle looked around the sea of faces. Where did Grace disappear to? Last time he saw her
, she was waltzing around the dance floor with that hack director.

He felt a hand touch his elbow and turned to
see Melodie looking up at him. “You look lost,” Melodie said, smiling seductively.

“No, I was just looking for Grace.”

“Oh, I haven't seen her for a while. Don't worry she’s probably with Adam. She had quite the crush on him in high school. They’re probably making up for lost time.” Melodie looked at the two plates in his hand. “Come, let's sit down.”

Kyle followed her to an empty table
, his eyes scanning the room trying to locate Grace.

Sitting down at a table
, he said, “You seem happier than you did an hour ago.”

Melodie
blushed. “I'm sorry about that. I guess I have been under a great deal of stress. When I agreed to plan this reunion, I didn't know how much work it would be. Thankfully, it’s almost over. There are only a few things left to do, and then we can go home and relax.” Melodie leaned forward, brushing her knee against his. “Do you have a place to stay tonight?”

“Yes,
I found a little motel just a few miles away. I’m actually hoping to stay here for a few weeks. I've never been to Colorado.”

“Well
, I would be happy to show you around. And you know, you don’t have to stay at a motel.”

Before Kyle could answer,
Melodie looked up and sighed loudly. Annoyed she asked, “What's wrong now?”

Kyl
e turned to watch a slightly older version of Melodie rush forward, a worried look across her face.

“I'm sorry to interrupt.
We have one small problem and one large problem.”

Melodie
put her head in her hands and groaned. “All right, Aunt Diana, give me the small problem first.”

“The Remembrance slideshow
is gone. Someone stole the flash drive.”

“What?
Why would anyone steal a flash drive? The only thing on it was pictures.” Melodie shook her head. “Never mind. I don’t want to know. Tonight’s been a complete disaster.”

“
Were the pictures saved to the hard drive?” Kyle asked.

Diana shook her head. “I looked. They’re not there. D
o you know whether Crystal made a backup, Melodie?”

“
I think so. I probably have a copy in my folders at home. It doesn’t matter, Aunt Diana. No one was really paying attention to it, anyways,” she snapped. “Now, what’s the big problem?”

“Crystal is not happy.
Melodie, can you please go talk to her? I can't do it anymore. She is being completely unreasonable. Tom can't even calm her down. She's in my office.”

Melodie
sighed and looked at Kyle regretfully. “I have to go. You're not leaving, are you?”

“No
, not yet. I'll let you know when I do, though.”

Melodie
smiled and walked out of the gym. Diana sat down next to Kyle. “Tonight is turning into such a mess. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you and Melodie.”

“No
, it's quite all right. You’re Melodie’s aunt?” Kyle asked, holding out his hand.

Nodding,
Diana smiled and shook his hand. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Yes, I thi
nk tonight has gone quite well. Well, except for the theft. You just can't trust anyone nowadays. I guess if you could, I would be out of a job.”

Diana threw up her hands and shook her head.
“Why would anyone steal a flash drive?”

Kyle shook his head.
“Hmm. Did you see what happened to the pictures out in the hall?”

Diana’s face flushed
angrily. “I can’t believe one of our students would do such a thing. This was such a good class. Never had any trouble out of any of them. It’s just unbelievable. I had Eric remove the boards. Hopefully, no one else saw them. It’s such a shame. I know Melodie spent a lot of time on them. And the drawing . . . I just can’t believe it.”

“Did you see what
someone wrote across the drawing?”

Diana
shook her head. “No, I just saw the ripped up pieces. Someone wrote on it? What did it say?”

“Only one word.
Who
. The rest was missing.”

“Who would write on a piece of artwork? It’s been laying under a glass covering, untouched, for years
and now all of a sudden . . .” Diana stopped and flashed Kyle a small smile. “Maybe we should hire you and Grace to find our vandal.”

“
Speaking of Grace, you wouldn’t happen to know where she is, do you?”

“No
, but there's her sister.” Diana pointed behind his head. Kyle turned to see Hope heading straight for them.

“Diana, where's Crystal?”
Hope demanded when she reached their table.

Diana shook her head. “Hope, you don't
need to see Crystal right now. Why don't you just go and have fun? Go dance. I'm sure Mr. Drake would be happy to dance with you.”

Kyle was a bit surprised to find himself pressed into service
, but politeness forced him out of his chair. “Sure, I would be happy to—”

“I don’t want to dance. I want to talk to Crystal.
She's making accusations, and she needs to stop.”

“Hope, I know. Crystal is just upset.
She’ll calm down soon. For Melodie's sake, please don't cause trouble tonight,” Diana pleaded. “Look, here comes Grace. I'm sure she will agree with me.”

Grace walked up to
the table in time to hear Diana’s last statement. “I completely agree, Hope.” Diana was obviously trying to play peacemaker, and Grace was willing to agree to anything to help her.