Girls' Night Out Murder (Ryli Sinclair 2) (4 page)

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us tomorrow?” I
asked. We were all sitting around the kitchen table later that evening, watching
Aunt Shirley make her jello shots. I had to admit, not only did they smell
delicious, but they looked pretty good, too. I almost couldn’t wait until
tomorrow night to try them out.

Mindy patted my hand. “No, thanks. I want to help your momma
and Bea get ready for the wedding. You guys go and look over the cake. I’m sure
you’ll want to catch up with your old friend, too. I’m better used here.”

“I’m going,” Aunt Shirley said from the island barstool. I
watched as she carefully poured the cranberry vodka shots into tiny cups.
Between the cranberry, cinnamon, and peppermint shooters, the kitchen was
beginning to smell a lot like Christmas.

Paige groaned.

“I heard that!” Aunt Shirley said.

Mom chuckled and placed a warm mug of herbal tea in front of
me. “What time are you expecting your cousin, Paige?”

“I think Megan should be here around dinnertime. She said
her boss is letting her leave work a little early so she doesn’t have to drive
completely in the dark.”

“That’s nice of him,” my mom said as she delivered the last
of the tea to the table. “So here’s what I’m thinking as far as timeline. Bea,
Mindy, and I will run to the store tomorrow and get the food for the
bachelorette party and both the rehearsal and wedding diner. Since it’s just a
small gathering for the bachelorette party, how about we do finger foods? Maybe
some spinach dip, pinwheels, and a veggie tray? And, of course, some chocolate.
Then Saturday we’ll spend the day prepping for the rehearsal and wedding
feast.”

I grinned over at Paige. Our moms were great cooks, so anything
they made would be better than what we could do. “It sounds wonderful, Janine,”
Paige said. “Please don’t go to too much trouble. I feel bad you guys are going
to be spending most of your days here cooking instead of relaxing and having
fun.”

Bea patted her daughter’s hand. “Honey, we want to do this
for you. Believe me, Janine and I are having a great time. We get to bond over
cooking and the fact our babies are getting married.”

Sniffles and wet eyes popped up around the table. “Hey, no
crying,” Aunt Shirley yelped from her area in the kitchen. “There’s no crying
at bachelorette parties.”

“This isn’t a bachelorette party,” I informed her snippily. “And
it’s no crying in baseball…not bachelorette parties.”

“Whatever,” she huffed. “I should’ve made some of these
beauties up in advance…loosen you girls up!”

Paige got up from the table and went to stand by Aunt Shirley.
“They look delicious. Thanks again for doing this.”

Aunt Shirley grinned wickedly at her. “Don’t thank me until
you’ve seen your wedding-night gift,” she said wiggling her bushy eyebrows.

We all laughed at Paige’s red face. The poor girl had no idea
if Aunt Shirley was serious or not. Me, I knew Aunt Shirley was serious.
Whatever the gift was, it was bound to be embarrassing and totally outlandish.

“It’s getting late, Aunt Shirley. Are you about finished?” my
mom asked.

“Yep, pouring the last of this ambrosia nectar right now.”

I somehow had a hard time picturing the Greek gods sitting
around the table doing jello shots. But then again, what do I know? I’ve never
met a Greek god that I know of, so I guess anything’s possible.

I decided to head downstairs and call Garrett for the night.
I hadn’t spoken to him or Miss Molly since arriving—just text messages.

I slid my finger over his name and watched as my phone
dialed his number. Putting the phone to my ear, I bit my lip when it went to
voicemail. I knew he was on an important case, but I was worried that he hadn’t
called me. Not that I was jealous or anything.

Who was I kidding? I was very jealous.

I left a quick message for him to call me, shut off my
light, and turned down the bed. I tossed and turned thinking of what he was
doing and with whom he was doing it with.

I heard the bedroom door open and Paige slipped quietly into
the room. “I know. I miss you, too. Saturday can’t come fast enough. Me, too.”
There was a huge pause then a giggle. “No way!” she hissed. “Because your
sister is sleeping in the same room as I am.” Another pause…then laughter.
“Yeah, I thought so. Okay, I’ll talk with you tomorrow. I love you so much,
Matt. I can’t wait to see you Saturday.”

When I heard a heavy sigh I figured she was done talking. I
rolled over and faced her on her bed. “You two love birds able to survive for a
few more days?”

“Barely. Did you talk to Garrett tonight?”

I sighed. “No. I could only leave a message.”

Sensing my frustration, Paige said, “I’m sure he’s fine and
totally missing you.”

I smiled. “Thanks for being my best friend.”

I rolled back over and willed sleep to come. I must have
done a good job because I don’t remember much after that.

Pulling on my black leggings, I still couldn’t believe how
unseasonably warm the weather was for December. I hoped it held out until the
wedding. I yanked on a long, loose flowing red turtleneck and paired it with my
equally long black cardigan sweater. I then zipped up my Michael Kors black and
mocha knee-high boots. They were an expensive splurge, but well worth it.

Twirling in front of the mirror, I decided I looked modern
yet causal enough to pick out a wedding cake and chat with an old friend I
hadn’t seen in nearly ten years.

Today called for a fancier updo than my normal messy bun on
top of my head. I’d recently been experimenting with Dutch braiding…and I loved
the results. I decided to do a Dutch braid down each side of my head. After
pulling at each braided strand and making them bigger and looser, I then pulled
the Dutch braids and the rest of my hair on the back of my head into a low
ponytail. I only went halfway through on the last loop around the rubber band
and then tucked the rest of the hair inside the opposite side of the rubber
band. After pulling and loosening the strands, I bobby pinned the mess onto the
back of my head.

Super cute if I do say so myself. I was thinking of doing
this for the wedding, so I figured today would be a good day to unveil it and
see what everyone thought.

As I walked up the stairs into the main center of the house,
I couldn’t help the fluttering of nerves in my stomach. I knew it was guilt
because I was going to see Susie today. After hearing about how bad it was for
her after the fire with losing pretty much her entire family, I was anxiety
ridden over what to say to an old friend. An old friend I never bothered to
contact after hearing the news. I know most people would excuse it and say I
was young, but now that I’m older I just feel rotten.

“There you are, sleepyhead,” my mom said as I made my way to
the kitchen table. Like usual, I was the last to arrive. “I was just getting
ready to call down and—oh.”

Every head turned to stare at me. “What? I can’t be that
late!”

“It isn’t that,” my mom said. “It’s your hair. It’s
absolutely lovely.”

I touched it self-consciously. “Do you really think so?”

Paige got up and turned me around so everyone could see the
back. “Oh, Ryli,” she gushed, “It’s absolutely divine.” Turning me to the side
she tentatively touched one of the braids. “I’ve never seen anything like it.
Are you going to wear it like this for the wedding?”

Turning to face her I said, “I was thinking about it. What
do you think?”

Squealing she gave me a huge squeeze. “I think it’s perfect!
I’m just jealous I can’t do that to my hair,” she said as she sat back down and
fluffed up her choppy layered bob.

“What time are you girls supposed to be at the bakery
today?” Bea asked.

“Around two,” Paige said as she scooped up the last of her
scrambled eggs.

Mom set a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast in front of me. I slathered
the eggs and bacon with hot sauce.
Twisting off the lid to the boysenberry jam, I spread a generous
dollop on my
toast. “I was hoping to leave around eleven thirty. Maybe
drive around the town, see all the new stores and houses going up.” I bit into
the toast and continued, “Then maybe get a cup of soup or something for lunch
in town before we head over to the bakery.”

“Sounds good to me,” Paige said.

“Me, too,” Aunt Shirley agreed.

Mom gave me a stern look. “I want you to promise to be on
your best behavior. Don’t go getting into trouble.”

I gave her my best “who me” face, but she wasn’t buying it.
“I’m serious. This is a big deal for Paige. You three have a tendency to run
smack dab into trouble when you’re together.”

I rolled my eyes. “Mom, that was months ago. Believe me, we
don’t plan on upsetting anyone, much less find a dead body or two while we’re
here this week, okay. Trust me on this.”

Me and my ultra big mouth.

“I can’t believe all the houses that have popped up over the
last few years,” I said as I eased the Falcon back onto the blacktop road. We’d
been driving around for about an hour, looking at all the new commercial and
private properties. Over half of them had Jim Cleary’s name on the property
signs. He was obviously doing well for himself.

“Do you suppose this is how Jim and Julie met?” Paige asked.
She was staring at a For Sale sign in the yard of a house that didn’t look to
be completely finished yet. The listing realtor was Julie.

“I think that’s what she said,” Aunt Shirley said.

“Do you think they’re an odd pairing?” I asked, hoping I
didn’t sound snobby.

Paige leaned forward in her seat. “What do you mean?”

I wrinkled my nose. I didn’t want to sound judgmental, so I
decided not to say anything.

“What?” Paige demanded.

I sighed. “I don’t know. It’s just he’s
obviously
rolling in it. I know you can’t tell by the way he lives,
but you know he has to be doing amazingly well for himself. He’s handsome,
obviously a bigwig in the community…” I trailed off because I realized how
bitchy I sounded.

“Hey, chunky girls need love, too,” Aunt Shirley said,
patting her slightly protruding belly. “Besides, it says a lot that he likes
normal gals. Means I still have a shot at him.”

“It isn’t just that,” I continued, ignoring her ridiculous
statement. “I’ve really only seen a few realtor signs with her name on them, so
she’s probably not that successful. I’d venture to say she didn’t leave town
like most people did and then came back to settle down. She’s probably been
here her whole life. I don’t know, she’s just not what I was expecting a high
profile contractor worth lots of money to go for.”

“Julie has always had that thing, though,” Paige said
quietly from the backseat. “Remember how sweet and innocent she was when we
were young. She was so shy because of her size. But there was also something so
appealing about her in a nurturing kind of way.”

Now I did feel like a heel. Of all the girls we hung out
with, Julie was by far the most innocent and sweet. Not at all like Whitney.
When Julie mentioned Whitney was still in town, I wanted to ask why in the
world Julie even still spoke to her. But obviously she had to if they were both
in real estate.

Whitney Lark had been my least favorite local girl to hang
with. She was the kind of girl that wasn’t from the right side of the tracks,
yet made fun of the girls that were. As we got older she’d brag about someday
living on the rich side of town—the side my grandparents had built on. Even
though my grandparents were far from rich.

She was mean and vindictive, and I was glad I didn’t have to
be around her all year. I never understood the pull the other girls had to her,
but they were loyal to her.

And now I sounded just as spoiled and bitchy as Whitney had
always been. “You’re right. She’s a sweet girl who obviously deserves someone
like Jim. I really hope this works out for them.”

“Speaking of putting some meat on the old bones,” Aunt
Shirley said, “I could use a bite to eat.”

I wasn’t really hungry, but I wasn’t going to argue with
Aunt Shirley. We drove back into town, taking in all the sights. After scoping
out all the places, we decided on the Cavern Beach Bar and Grill for lunch. With
it being winter, a lot of the summer restaurants and bars were closed.

The Cavern Beach Bar and Grill was your typical small-town
dive. It was a brick building located along the main two-lane highway that ran
through town. As we walked through the front door, the smells permeating the
air made my stomach rumble. Obviously I just thought I wasn’t hungry—the smells
told my body something completely different.

“Hey there,” a perky teenaged girl called to us with a wave.
“I’ll be right there.” She wove her way between the tables and hurried our way.
Her fresh-scrubbed face, naturally blonde hair, and tightly toned body screamed
cheerleader on Christmas break.

“Hi, welcome to Cavern Beach Bar and Grill. My name is
Madilynn,” she pointed to her nametag on her chest, her ponytail bouncing the
whole time. “Is this your first time with us?”

“Yes,” I said, not sure how I felt about her abundant
perkiness. It was refreshing after being with Aunt Shirley the last few days,
but it was also kind of giving me a headache. No one should be this perky…ever.

“Well, right this way,” she said as she led us over to a
booth by the window. “Best seat in the house for new customers. Everything here
is delicious,” she rambled on, “but I would definitely recommend the baked
potato soup with the avocado and bacon grilled cheese sandwich. It’s my
favorite!”

“Oh my God…that sounds divine,” Paige exclaimed as we slid
into the booth.

“I promise you it is,” Madilynn said as she handed us our
menus. “Darla will be your server, but I can get your drinks for you.”

“Water with lemon,” Paige and I said at the same time.

“What kind of beer you got on tap?” Aunt Shirley asked.

I gave Aunt Shirley the death look. She ignored it.

“What?” Aunt Shirley said innocently. “Sign says ‘Cavern Beach
Bar and Grill’ so I’m assuming there’s a bar here somewhere.”

Madilynn laughed. “There is, but I can’t get it for you. Too
young,” she said with a shrug. “But Darla should be here in a second and she
can get you one.”

“Perfect,” my aunt said.

We chatted over the menus as Darla brought us our waters.
Everything on the menu looked delicious, but we all decided on the baked potato
soup with the avocado and bacon grilled cheese sandwiches.

After Darla took our order and brought Aunt Shirley her beer,
we pretty much fell into silence, deciding to people watch out the window
instead. Since it was winter, pretty much the people in town were the ones who
lived here year round. In the summertime, this place was jumping. The town came
alive with the nightlife. Most people would drive their boats to local
restaurants and bars that had popped up all over the channels.

Where we lived, the lake house was still relatively
secluded, but at the rate Jim and other contractors were building, pretty soon
our little isolated paradise would disappear. Kind of sad when you think about
it.

“Hey there, Tom,” Darla called to the man that entered the
restaurant. “Go ahead and sit in your usual if you want.”

Tom ambled over to the bar side of the restaurant.

It was funny the way the locals called out to each other
when someone they knew walked through the door. You definitely felt like an
outsider when the locals greet each other.

“He’s a damn idiot. No one can finish as fast as he wants,”
an angry voice boomed in the booth behind us. “I’m sorry the homeowners are
coming down on him, but he can kiss my ass if he thinks I’m working the holiday
weekend to get this house finished for a bunch of rich out-of-towners.”

“Yeah, I think this time Jim bit off more than he can chew.
I heard they showed up yesterday and it almost got physical.”

“Damn out-of-towners come here, throwing around money, and
they think we’re supposed to jump when they say. And damn Jim for jumping
through all their hoops…it just makes it harder for us.”

A shadow fell over our table. “Here ya go, ladies. Three
soups and sandwiches,” Darla said as she set our platters down in front of us.
“Need anything else?”

“One more beer.”

I rolled my eyes at Paige.

“Coming right up. Enjoy ladies.”

We ate in silence, except for the occasional gasp and ooh aahh
resulting from the meal. It was traditional comfort food…and it was amazing.

I tried to listen to see if the guys behind us would dish
out any more gossip, but they must have gotten their food because it was silent.
I got the feeling Jim was being pulled in a thousand directions with his
business.

We paid our tab and piled into the Falcon. We would be a
couple minutes early to our appointment, but I didn’t think Susie would mind. I
wasn’t exactly sure where the shop was, just that it was downtown.

“Be on the lookout.” I slowly drove the Falcon down a side
street that led to the downtown portion of Cavern Beach. While the main drag
through town boasted boat shops, real estate offices, and countless restaurants,
the downtown was more flower shop, bakery, antiques, and knickknack stores. The
police station was also located in the downtown area.

“There it is,” Paige said, pointing to a building on her
right. I slowed the Falcon down and turned on my blinker. Luckily for us there
was a parking spot nearby.

“Wow, it sure is something,” Paige said as we all stood
outside looking at the bakery. It looked yummy enough to eat. The building had
been painted a pale, creamy yellow…almost like buttercream frosting. The awning
had alternating wide stripes of dark pink and light pink all the way around the
front. The large storefront window boasted Shoeman Bakery and Treats at the
top, with the store’s phone number and hours at the bottom.

A little bell tinkled as I pushed open the door. I was immediately
assaulted with whiffs of sugar, chocolate, gingerbread, vanilla, coffee, and
myriad other wonderful scents. It was settled…I never wanted to leave here.

I was just about to call out a greeting when I heard voices behind
a curtain that led to the back of the bakery.

“Because, Jolene, I have a reputation in this town I’d like
to protect, that’s why.”

“Look, are you gonna give me the money or not?”

“Will you come work for me?”

“Ha. Never. You don’t give me the money, that’s no skin off
my back, Susie. I’ll just do what I’m good at and lay
on
my back and get money. No big deal. Unlike you, I don’t give a
shit about my reputation in this one-horse town.”

“I’m sure I know what you’ll do with the money.”

“I’m outta here. Gimme my purse!”

There was a long pause and I wondered if we should leave and
pretend to enter again or what.

“Omigod, is that a syringe? You’re using again, aren’t you?”

“You ain’t my mom, Susie. Remember, she died years ago.”

Slap!

“Don’t ever talk about Mom like that again, Jolene!”

Oh, boy! This isn’t
gonna be good.

Looking over at the wide-eyed stares of both Paige and Aunt
Shirley, I decided we’d eavesdropped enough. I coughed loudly and said, “Hello,
is anyone here?”