6 Beach Blanket Barbie (5 page)

“Does that concern you?”

“I don’t know. Not really. I mean, she’s out of the picture. She moved back to Maine, where they both grew up.”

“I didn’t realize that Rob knew Cassie before moving to Ashton Falls.”

“Yeah, they’re from the same hometown. They came to Ashton Falls together when she got a job in the area. But like I said, after Hannah was born, she moved back to Maine and Rob stayed here. I don’t see her as a threat to our relationship.”

I wasn’t so sure Ellie
had nothing to worry about but didn’t say as much. I thought about my mom, who’d put the world as well as twenty-four years between my dad and herself and still found her way back.

“You think Barbie may have been murdered?” my dad asked the next morning. Zak had invited Dad, Mom, and Harper to brunch to make up for the fact that we’d had to cancel on them the previous evening. I really had wanted to help Levi, but I also felt bad about the frequency with which we seemed to have to postpone our plans with some of the most important people in my life.

“It’s possible,” Zak con
firmed as he passed the fresh fruit salad he’d made to go with the blackberry-covered French toast around the table. He’d set up our feast, which also included both sausage and bacon, on the deck overlooking the lake. This morning, like every morning in paradise, was a perfectly awesome day. “The coroner’s report confirmed that Barbie had flunitrazepam, more commonly known by its brand name, Rohypnol, or its street name, roofies, in her system. While the drug could have been ingested voluntarily, it’s not unreasonable to suspect that Barbie was slipped the drug without her consent.”

“Levi is certain she never would have taken the drug voluntarily,” I added as I bit int
o a piece of cantaloupe. “And I have to say I tend to agree with him on this one. Barbie had many faults, but she was extremely OCD about what she put into her body.”

“So someone slipped her the drug and then pushed her off the pier
?” Mom speculated.

“Possibly, or she was slipped the drug, became disoriented, and then fell of
f the pier,” Zak offered. “The coroner didn’t note any signs of a struggle, and the official cause of death was drowning.”

“It’s odd that she’d even be on the pier at that time of night,” Dad
said. “It still gets mighty chilly once the sun goes down.”

“Yeah
, it is odd,” I agreed. “And she didn’t have on anything other than a very thin dress when I found her.”

“Do you think it’s possible she was drugged elsewhere and then dumped into the lake?” Mom asked.

“No. Salinger found a shoe on the pier,” I answered. “It appeared Barbie got her heel stuck in the space between the planks of the decking, so she must have been ambulatory at that point.”

Harper, who had been sleeping in the portable crib next to us, began to fuss. I pushed away my plate and picked her up. I’d been waiting for her to wak
e up ever since they’d arrived. I know most of you will think I’m biased, but Harper is the cutest baby in the entire world. I know every new parent or sister thinks that, but trust me, she really is the cutest of the cute.

“I can take her
in and change her,” Mom offered as I held Harper against my shoulder and rocked her back and forth. I nuzzled my cheek against her head as I took in the smell of her angel-soft hair.

“I’ll do it.” I picked up the diaper bag
, adjusted Harper in my arms, and headed into the house.

Zak had converted one of his extra
bedrooms into a nursery, complete with a crib, dresser, and changing table, so Harper would have her own space when we babysat, which we both very much wanted to do. I’d gone just a tiny bit crazy decorating the space in a Noah’s Ark theme that featured dozens of stuffed animals arranged on shelves around the room. The walls were painted a pale yellow with white trim, and Ellie had promised to paint a mural of the ark and animals on one of the walls.

I could overhear the conversation on the deck below as I changed Harper’s diaper and then dressed her in one of the outfits I’d bought for her.
I have to admit I went a little over the top when Zak took me shopping during our trip to New York and I found the most awesome children’s store on the planet. I figure Harper has enough clothes to wear each outfit only once, if she’s so inclined. After I’d gotten home and unpacked everything I’d had shipped, I realized how completely baby crazy I’d become. Zak suggested we donate some of the clothes to babies in need, which I realized was a worthy and practical idea.

As I stood back to admire how completely adorable my baby sister looked in her yellow duckie dress
, I began to understand how Ellie might have gotten so caught up with Hannah as to agree to marry her father just to maintain a relationship that had come to mean so much to her. Harper was my sister and, as such, a permanent part of my life. I tried to imagine how devastated I’d be if Harper was taken away and I was no longer able to see her whenever I wanted. To be honest, I’d worried about that quite a lot when Mom first told me that she was pregnant. My mom isn’t known for her staying power, although this time around she seems to have settled down quite nicely. Mom and Dad bought a three-bedroom lakefront house with a converted pool house with the idea that Mom and Harper would live in the former and Dad would live in the latter. It started off that way, but Dad moved into the main house during Mom’s final week of pregnancy, and so far it’s in the main house where he still resides. Sure, he sleeps in the guest room, but if things go the way I hope, he’ll be moving in with Mom officially before too much more time passes.

I looked down on the people I loved most in the world. They’d been discussing
Barbie's death, which I’d pretty much tuned out until I heard my dad say, “I don’t want Zoe putting herself in danger again.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t want that either,” Zak assured Dad. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”

Like hell.
I came so, so close to throwing Harper’s wet diaper out of the window and onto the head of my traitor of a boyfriend. He should know by now that if someone was going to keep an eye on Zoe, it was going to be Zoe. I was preparing an angry retort at the very least when Zak looked up toward the window where I was standing and winked. The rat knew I could hear him. I should pummel him for the comment, but I realized that he was just trying to pacify my overprotective father. Have I mentioned what a great boyfriend I have?

“Do you have a plan?” Mom asked.

“Zoe is the brains of the operation,” Zak stated with conviction. “I’m simply along to provide any cyberhacking that may be needed, and provide backup where I can.”

“She really does seem to have a knack for this detective thing,” Dad complimented. “I always knew she was a smart girl.”

I grinned as my annoyance turned to pride. I picked up Harper and cradled her in my arms. “We’re both smart girls, aren’t we, little one?”

Harper smiled
, her bright blue eyes staring back at me. I ran a finger over her rosy cheek. I’d never had any siblings before and, although I’d thought about them from time to time, I’d never really longed for them, the way some of the other only kids I knew in school had. And then I met Harper, and I knew that of all the relationships I have had and will have in the future, the bond between sisters is special indeed. I kissed Harper’s fuzzy blond head before heading downstairs to return her to Mom for her morning meal.

After breakfast, Mom and Dad headed home. I wanted to have a chat with Salinger, if he happened to be in on a Sunday, while Zak offered to do a cursory background search on each of our suspects to see if anything popped. Levi called me as I drove to the sheriff’s office. He told me he had news, so we agreed to meet at Ellie’s Beach Hut later that afternoon.

“I figured you might be by today
.” Salinger showed me into his office.

It seemed like everyone had been saying that to me lately.
Was I really that predictable?

“Where
’s your furry sidekick?” he asked.

“Home with Zak.”

“Ah, the felon I’m guessing hacked into my police report. You know I can have him arrested for that?”

“Sure. If you can prove
he did it, but you can’t, so let’s move on, shall we?”

“Fair enough. What can I help you with today?”

I realized that since I had initiated the informal get-together, I’d be in charge of the questions this time around.

“How well did you know Barbie
Bennington?” I asked.

Salinger frowned and looked down at his desk. I could tell the question
had made him uncomfortable, which is exactly what I’d expected. “I didn’t really know the woman at all,” he lied.

I
waited until Salinger glanced up and then looked him directly in the eye. “And that’s the answer you’re going to stick with?” I knew that my interrogation method left much to be desired, but I hoped my forthright approach would encourage him to level with me.

Salinger paused.
“Are
you
investigating
me
?”

“If you’re going to lie to me
, I guess I’m going to have to.” I hoped I sounded a lot more confident than I felt. The truth of the matter is, Salinger can make my life miserable if he chooses. I know it, and so does he. Challenging him outright probably wasn’t my best move, but for some reason I felt that I needed to establish the upper hand if I was going to gain this man’s help.

“What makes you think I’m lying?”
he asked.

I just smiled.
I’d seen a detective do that once in a movie and it had worked spectacularly. I sat in silence, waiting for Salinger to make the next move.

“You don’t seriously think I killed the woman?”
Salinger spat out.

“I don’t know
.” I paused for affect. “Did you?”

“Of course not.”

“But you did know her,” I encouraged.

Salinger didn’t answer.

“Keep in mind I already know the answer to this question,” I prodded.

“
Very well,” Salinger grunted. “Yes, I knew her. What of it?”

“You had an affair
,” I stated with a certainty I was far from feeling.

“Now you’re just making stuff up.” Salinger turned the oddest
shade of red, sort of a deep purple with a burgundy finish.

“Am I?”
I asked.

I sat quietly and
watched the man sitting across from me as he squirmed in his chair. I have to admit I was rather enjoying the show. After all, the guy had put me through it, and it was quite nice to be on the opposite end of the squirm for once.

“
I’m not sure you could call what we had an affair,” Salinger began tentatively. “I caught Ms. Bennington breaking and entering, and she convinced me that she could make it worth my while to turn a blind eye.”

“She convinced you by sleeping with you,” I clarified.

“I believe that was implied. I didn’t kill her, however, and I’d appreciate it if you’d keep this conversation to yourself. I’d hate for a brief lapse in judgment to ruin everything I’ve spent my life working for.”

“Gee
, that would be too bad. I’d hate for a brief lapse in judgment to ruin
anyone’s
career.” I emphasized the word as a way of reminding him that he’d used my own mistake against me to get me fired from a job I’d loved not all that many months ago.

Salinger looked away.
He actually looked guilty. I realized that for the first time in our relationship, I had the power.

“I won’t say anything,” I assured Salinger.
“For now,” I qualified. “However, I’ll need some things from you.”

“Are you blackmailing me?”
Salinger tried to appear outraged, but he came off frightened rather than angry.

I smiled. “Yes
, I guess I am.”

“Oh
, very well. What do you want?”

“I’d like to know more about this break
-in for starts. Where did Barbie break into? What did she take? When did the break-in occur? Things like that.”

“And what, may I ask, do you intend to do with this information?”

As much as I was enjoying my sparring match with Salinger, I really did want to solve Barbie’s murder—if there had indeed been a murder—so Levi could put this behind him once and for all. “Look,” I said, sitting forward, “I’m not going to rat out your little indiscretion, but I think we should work together on this. We both want to see the issue of Barbie’s death resolved one way or the other. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. Not literally,” I qualified.

“Why is this so important to you?” Salinger wondered.

“Honestly, it’s not important to me. I didn’t even like the woman. But it’s important to Levi, and
he
is important to me.”

Salinger sat back in his chair and made a tepee with his fingers. He appeared to be considering my request.
I’d seen him make this move many times and knew it was only a matter of time before he agreed to my request.

“You know
, you really are turning out to be a pain in the butt,” he said.

“Actually, I’m quite famous for
it. So do we cooperate?”

“Yeah, okay. On this one case only. Don’t get the idea that our partnership is going to be a regular thing.”

“God forbid. So about the B&E charge?”

“I was driving
home last Wednesday evening when I noticed a light on in the backroom at that antiques shop.”

“
Trish’s Treasures?” I asked.