The Comeback Kiss (26 page)

Joe didn
’
t respond.

“
Are you for real? Here you have a possible sister crime to the one that may have caused Karen Scuderi
’
s death, both of which you suspect your brother of committing, and you haven
’
t even taken a peek at the files?”

“
I
’
m not on the investigative team.”

“
S
o... what? You
’
re saying the only reason you haven
’
t taken a look is because you
’
re not
allowed
?”

Joe said nothing. Finn let out a little whistle.

“
Wow. You are amazing. If you have that kind of self-control in bed, you
’
re gonna make some nice librarian ve
ry happy someday.”

“
What are you doing here, Finn?”

Finn took another look around the store, let out a sigh of disappointment. “
Not finding my keys, looks like.”
He looked up at Joe and grinned. “
Well, see ya, bro. It was great having this little chat.”

“
I
never said I suspected you,”
Joe said.

Finn let his grin fade. “
Never said you didn
’
t.”

They stared each other down for a moment, and Finn felt the anger rise. Despite his better judgment, he gave in to it. “
So, just out of curiosity, why do you think I w
ould burn down Karen Scuderi
’
s place?”

Joe sighed. “
I don
’
t think you meant to hurt Karen.”

Finn had to laugh at that. “
Of course not. What
’
s the harm in burning down a woman
’
s livelihood? Still, I can
’
t come up with a motive for myself. Can you?”

Joe shr
ugged. “
She didn
’
t like you dating Tessa. She attacked you with a two-by-four.”

“
Oh, hell, Joe. If being chased with a two-by-four by a woman who wanted to put some distance between me and her daughter motivated me to burn places down, then 1860s Atlanta w
ould have nothing on this place.”

Joe didn
’
t so much as crack a smile. “
You used to mess around with explosives. You
’
ve got experience with flammable materials.”

“
What, you
’
re talking about the nativity scene? I was sixteen and that was a prank. A prank is
not murder.”

“
I never said murder,”
Joe said.

“
Just arson with a side of manslaughter, then?”

This was followed by a long silence. Joe, carefully choosing his words. Which meant that Finn had pretty much hit the nail on the head.

“
You were a kid. Maybe yo
u didn
’
t know Karen was in there.”
Joe took a step forward. “
I can
’
t help you if you don
’
t tell me what happened.”

“
You really are a piece of work, you know that?”
Finn said. “
You
’
re just determined to believe that I
’
m no good.”

“
About as determined as you
are to prove me right.”

Finn let out a sharp breath. “
Well, hey. I may be a murderous good-for-nothing, but I do have a knack for knowing when a conversation is over.”

He turned and started toward the door.

“
If they need to come back here for anything,”
Joe called after him, “
I
’
m going to have to report that I saw you here.”

Finn didn
’
t stop moving.

“
I
’
m counting on it, bro.”

***

Tessa scrubbed the last plate with yellow rubber hands and looked up at the clock. Nineteen minutes to ten. The living room w
as clean. Bills all ready to go in the mail tomorrow. The only thing she hadn
’
t done was wash the windows, but she wasn
’
t about to do that. She was desperate to distract herself, but not that desperate.

Everybody loses when you
’
re not here.
She
’
d heard his
voice in her head all night, and it was really pissing her off. Where did he get off judging her? She
’
d done what she needed to do. She hadn
’
t shut down. She
’
d moved forward. It was what her mother would have wanted her to do, and she did it, damnit.

The
click-clack
of dog nails sounded softly on the linoleum behind her. She smiled, turned, and looked down at Wallace as she pulled the rubber gloves off her hands. “
There
’
s nothing wrong with me, right, Wallace?”
She dropped the gloves on the counter, then c
rouched down to his level. “
I
’
m cute. I
’
m a good dancer. I know how to have fun. Right?”

Wallace wagged his tail and wedged himself between her legs, resting his snout on her left knee. She scratched him behind the ears, then snuggled her face next to his.

“
Wanna go to Vegas and get married, Wallace?”
She pulled her face up and scratched under his chin. “
I could use a guy like you in my life. Silent and loyal.”

Wallace raised his head and lapped at her face. Tessa laughed lightly, pushed herself up, and wan
dered into the living room, where she stopped and stared out the window. Wallace followed her and sat at her feet. She looked down at him and smiled.

“
You gonna be my protector, big guy?”

There was a knock at the front door and Wallace turned around three
times and thunked himself down on the rug.

“
Guess that answers that question,”
Tessa said as she pulled the door open to see Babs, cashmere coat draped casually over a waitress uniform. She had a suitcase tucked under one arm and a plastic bag holding the
clothes she was wearing earlier in the other hand.

“
Good evening!”
Babs
’
s face broke out in a wide grin as she stepped inside and set her suitcase down in the foyer. “
Finn tells me we
’
re to be roommates. I
’
m so thrilled to be staying in this lovely town fo
r a while longer. Thank you.”

“
No problem,”
Tessa said. She shut the door behind Babs and wrapped her arms around her stomach. “
So, when did you see Finn?”

“
I didn
’
t,”
Babs said. “
He called while I was working. Told me to tell Izzy he
’
d check in with her l
ater.”
Babs smiled, glanced around at the foyer and the living room, then patted Tessa
’
s arm warmly. “
Your home is lovely, just lovely.”

“
Thank you,”
Tessa said. “
And thanks for taking the shift with Max. How was it?”

Babs giggled. “
It was wonderful! Do yo
u know how long it
’
s been since I
’
ve actually worked for a wage? I
’
d forgotten how much fun it could be. And tips! I have never been on the receiving end of tips before, and I have to say, I quite like it.”

Tessa laughed. “
Yeah, it
’
s not bad.”
Tessa glance
d up the steps. Although Izzy had claimed exhaustion and gone to bed an hour ago, Tessa knew it was better to assume eavesdropping. “
So, did Finn tell you everything that
’
s going on here?”

Babs nodded. “
Yes. And don
’
t you worry about a thing. We
’
ll keep yo
ur girl safe and out of trouble. I may not look like it, but I
’
m quite used to dangerous situations. Remind me to tell you about the time I got kidnapped at gunpoint.”
Babs sighed and glanced up the stairs. “
But not right now. It
’
s been a very long day, a
n
d if I don
’
t lie down soon I
’
m pretty sure I
’
ll fall over. Where will I be sleeping?”

Tessa took Babs
’
s suitcase and led her up the stairs to her mother
’
s room. It had been empty for years. Neither Tessa nor Izzy ever wanted to move into the big room, but
when Tessa had made up the bed earlier, it was comforting to think of Babs sleeping there, although she wasn
’
t sure exactly why.

“
The bathroom is right through that door,”
Tessa said as she set Babs
’
s suitcase on the bed, “
but be sure to lock the hall door
when you
’
re in there. Izzy tends to just bust in in the mornings.”

Babs nodded, sat on the bed, and patted the spot next to her.

“
Come sit, dear,”
she said. “
I
’
d like to talk to you for a moment.”

Tessa moved over and sat next to Babs, who took Tessa
’
s ha
nd in both of hers.

“
I know that I seem a little silly,”
Babs said. “
I don
’
t tend to take things too seriously because there are plenty of people out there taking things far too seriously, and someone needs to balance that scale.”

Tessa gave a small laugh.
Babs smiled warmly at her. “
But if you ever need to talk, about anything at all, and you choose to talk to me, I would honor that. I would take that very seriously.”

Tessa swallowed against the lump forming in her throat. It was the same thing that happen
ed to her whenever Max expressed pseudo-parental concern for her, and it always shook her confidence in the fact that she was just fine despite having been orphaned at the age of eighteen. “
Thank you, but I
’
m fine. Really.”

Babs gave Tessa
’
s hand a pat and
released her. “
Of course you are, dear. Me, on the other hand, if I don
’
t visit the little girls
’
room immediately, your carpet might never forgive me.”

Tessa stood up. “
I
’
ll let you get some rest. See you in the morning.”

“
Yes, you will,”
Babs said. She
grabbed a travel toiletry bag and headed to the bathroom, turning back to face Tessa when she reached the door. “
Just out of curiosity, dear, what
’
s the name of this horrible social worker Finn was telling me about?”

Tessa blinked. “
Mary Ellen Neeley. Why?
”

Babs smiled. “
I have a psychic friend in New York who does numerology readings. I just thought it would be interesting to see if we can
’
t get some guidance on that situation. That
’
s Neeley with an
‘
E
’
?”

Tessa laughed, feeling affection for this woman blo
om in her chest. “
Yep.”

Babs nodded. “
Very well, then. Good night.”

Tessa gently let herself out of her mother
’
s room, pulling the door behind her until it shut with a gentle click. From the bathroom, she heard Babs turn on the water, then start singing th
e theme to
Laverne and Shirley.
Tessa chuckled to herself and headed down the stairs to wait for Finn in the living room.