A Dead Husband (Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery) (13 page)

“Come in with me and have a drink.  There’s no way I can haul that laundry basket into the house.  Plus, I need you to help me explain this to Bernadette. She’s still pretty convinced I drove my husband away, and now she’s going to think I picked a fight with you already. You’ve got to let her see you to prove I didn’t rough you up, not too bad anyway.”  He had a couple smudges on his face and even Jerry’s clothes had not come away from the ruckus without some damage.  “You can clean up in one of the guest baths. My dad probably has a t-shirt and swim trunks if you want to shower and change.”

He broke into a smile and hopped out of the truck
. “No problem, Jessica.  A shower would be great and I always carry a change of clothes.  Stay right there.” With that he headed around the truck opened her door and held out his arms. Jessica scooted to the edge of the seat and put her hands on his shoulders. In a flash, he lifted her out of his truck and placed her, gingerly, on the ground.  Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Galahad, this guy was too good to be believed. 

He shut her door then reached into the back seat of the extended cab to get the laundry basket full of things they had collected from Roger’s office
.  He also grabbed a knapsack that must have contained the change of clothes he was talking about. When they turned around Bernadette was standing in the doorway with Tommy at her side. Bernadette was staring at Jessica’s face and clothes with that “you got some ‘splaining to do” look.  Tommy was dumbstruck, looking from Jessica to Jerry and back again.  She wasn’t sure if it was the horror of her battered face, or the beauty of Jerry’s that held him in a state of suspension. He was speechless which was totally out of character.

“Is it that bad?”  Jessica asked, breaking the spell
.  With that they both sprang out of the house and into action.  Tommy was still looking at Jerry, even though he was speaking to Jessica. 

“What the hell happened?”

“My first day as a sleuth was more Stephanie Plum than Miss Marple,”  Jessica muttered. She knew full well he wasn’t listening to her.  Tommy was absolutely gaga over Jerry.

“Let me take that,” Tommy said
.  Jerry actually blushed under Tommy’s gaze.  Hmm, okay.  Jessica looked over her shoulder as Tommy took the basket from Jerry.  She could have sworn she saw little sparks jump between them when their hands touched briefly.

“Egad
!  Could my gaydar be that far off?” Jessica thought.  Well, why the hell not?  She hadn’t had any kind of radar up and running for most of the last decade as an engaged, and then, a married woman.  When she was with Tommy she relied on him to tell her who was or wasn’t gay, lesbian, bi or “beer bi.” That was the term Tommy used for some of the girls seen making out on the dance floor at Toucan’s. Usually when there was a bachelorette party underway.  Jessica’s head hurt. 

“Jessica, what did happen?” Bernadette was still eying her with suspicion.

“I got beat up trying to stop the guy who murdered Roger,” Jessica sniffled, starting to cry. Mostly because she was feeling really sorry for herself. She had spent half the day thinking one of the hottest guys she had ever seen in her whole life was interested in her.  She thought back to the hug that had seemed so—well—hot!  It had been the hug from a big brother, not a potential lover.  Bernadette put an arm around her and led her into the house.

“Murdered?  Roger
, as in Laura Stone’s Roger?”  A momentary look of horror on Tommy’s face morphed back into goo-goo eyes as he looked from Jessica then back to Jerry.

“Yeah, let’s take this in for Jessica and I’ll tell you about it,” Jerry offered
. Tommy nodded his head so enthusiastically you’d think he was about to hear some juicy gossip rather than the sad news that a friend had lost her husband in a very gruesome way.  Jessica wanted to smack him, but he was such a cutie. God knows he could use a decent guy in his life for a change. She wasn’t sure what the equivalent to skank was in gay man parlance but Tommy had found a lot of them. She let out a huge sigh. That hurt several places on her body.

“I need a drink
and an aspirin.”  Jessica said as she made her way slowly into the house.

“Sure you do and we’re going to fix one for you while you take a shower and change your clothes
.  Tommy, you make some margaritas and take them and your friend out to the back patio.  And turn on the misters so it won’t get too hot.” To Jessica she said, “I don’t think the misters are going to help cool them down too much, do you?” 

“I guess I’m not his type, either.” Jessica whispered as she dissolved into tears on Bernadette’s shoulder for the second time in as many days.

“It’s okay, mi niña. There’s plenty of guys out there who are going to think you’re their type. Good looking ones, too. We just gotta be more patient.” Bernadette walked with her to the kitchen, got her a glass of water and a couple aspirin from a cupboard.  Jessica took the aspirin, drained the glass of water, and sort of waddled off to her room. 

“Jerry
wants to take a shower, too, Bernadette.” Jessica said as she slouched her way down the hall. 

“No problem, Jessica
.  Tommy, show Jerry to the guest bathroom next to the workout room, okay?” 

Jessica did not wait to hear
Tommy’s reply as she hurried into her room and shut the door.  Dumping her now worthless clothes into the trash can Jessica climbed in and took her second shower of the day.  She let her tears flow, mixing with the spray from the shower, washing away the stench of the day.

She imagined the water cleansing her and carrying the disappointment, tension and fear down the drain
.  Between the pulsing water and the aspirin a lot of the soreness retreated from her muscles and her soul.  The balm of tea tree and lavender shower gel soothed the stinging in her face, filled her nose with the scent of something fresh and alive. It washed away thoughts of dead husbands, cheating husbands, and gorgeous would-be lovers who turned out to be gay. She stepped out of the shower into a soft towel warmed by the sunlight that poured in through clerestory windows near the ceiling in her bathroom. 

To be honest, Jessica felt some relief at not having to deal with her attraction to Jerry
.  She had been plenty curious about sex growing up, and had done some exploring before meeting Jim. It was intimacy and trust that had allowed her to abandon herself fully to lust.  The deep satisfaction of learning what pleased each other in bed had been such an integral part of becoming a couple. Jessica had wondered how anyone could scoff at married sex.  But then, poof! It was gone. They had let so many things come between them.  Jim’s sexual infidelity was the final, not the first or only blow to their marriage.

Jessica surveyed the damage to her face in the mirror
.  Her right eye was blood red and the surrounding skin had started to darken. She had a scrape on her cheek below her eye, but that and her split lip looked better than they had before the shower.  Relieved by how much better she looked already, Jessica actually started to smile. The way she had smacked that guy around he had to look as bad as she did, worse, she hoped.

She would have to tell Laura what happened
. Laura had more than her share of trauma to deal with already. Jessica took some time to see how much of the damage she could mask with makeup and sunglasses. She hoped the seriousness of the situation would help convince Laura to come and stay with her and Bernadette. Still, she wanted the chance to break it to her slowly. 

Jessica would tell Bernadette not to give the guards at the gate permission to let anyone in they didn’t already know
.  Lots of folks could get in, anyway.  Service providers of all kinds came and went through those gates every day. There would at least be some record of their comings and goings.  It would make things a little harder for anyone who might be up to no good, if Laura would agree to move in for a while.

Maybe they should hire somebody to protect them until this thing was settled
.  They had a security system in the house, although they didn’t always use it.  She would talk to Bernadette about that too, making sure it was on at all times. The community also provided security patrols. Plus, Bernadette and her cronies kept an eye out for each other via a sort of coffee klatch neighborhood watch. Surely, they’d be okay.

Jessica’s dad used to keep a gun in the house but she hadn’t seen that in years
.  Maybe it was still around, but where? In his study or on a closet shelf in her mother’s room?  The thought of a gun revved up her heart with the telltale flutter and rapid heartbeat that presaged a panic attack.  It was hard to believe she had any adrenaline left after a day like today but she was too tired to have to fight with her own body.  She bore down as she was told to do by her shrink and the racing heart stopped immediately. 

“Enough with the guns already
, it’s time to deal with something really scary,” she said to herself as she headed into her closet.  A wrinkled tee and pair of leggings would have to do. At least they were clean.  She found a brand new, loose-fitting, big-shirt among the new items hanging in the closet.  She put the gauzy blue blouse on over the tee and leggings.  She felt better about going out in public, especially to El Paseo. Her prospects continued to brighten.  Who knew what she might find at Saks?  She was going to get some basic things for Laura but if she stumbled on to a couple things for herself, so be it. 

By the time Jessica joined the others on the back patio a kind of party mood had set in
.  Jerry looked more beautiful than ever after his shower.  Bernadette had made a huge platter of nachos to go with the pitcher of margaritas Tommy fixed.  They were all seated in a little semi-circle chowing down, with a seat left open for Jessica.  In addition to Tommy and Jerry and Bernadette, Brien was sitting there stuffing his face too.  His pool cleaning equipment was strewn about. 

“Hey, Jessica, Tommy and I brought your car back
.  I heard you kicked some dude’s ass today, that’s righteous!  Can I see your eye where you got whacked?”

“Sure,” Jessica said as she plopped down, scooted close to the nachos and put the sunglasses up on the top of her head.

“Whoa, that’s sick,” Brien said as he scarfed down more nachos.  Jessica wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

“Going to look a lot worse than that,” Bernadette piped up. “You feeling any better, mija?”

“Lots better, but I’m starving.  I sort of lost my lunch before I kicked that dude’s ass.  It takes a lot out of a girl, especially one of us older babes, Brien, to wrestle with an asshole.” Jessica took one of the small plates on the table next to her and slid a pile of nachos onto it. She picked up a tortilla chip, covered in cheese, guacamole, jalapenos and black olives. Opening her mouth wide as she could with her sore lip, she crammed it into her mouth. 

“Jessica,” Bernadette interjected, “please don’t say asshole with all these nice young men here
.  It’s rude.”

“They’ve heard worse,” Jessica retorted
. That actually came out kind of muffled since she had put another chip in her mouth before she had finished chewing the first one. Jessica washed it down with a sip of the margarita Tommy handed her.

“That’s for sure,” Tommy said
. Brien and Jerry nodded in agreement.  Cramming another nacho in her mouth, Jessica looked at her watch. It was nearly 4:00. She really wanted to knock back that drink but had promised Laura to stop by around five.  It probably wasn’t good to be mixing alcohol and aspirins anyway or, drinking when she had driving to do.

Getting to Sara’s house to meet with Laura by 5:00 was not going to happen
. If she waited any longer, the shops on El Paseo would be closed.  She had to get a phone, and the Apple store closed at six on Sunday.  Jessica took one more sip then set the drink down.

“Spectacular, Tommy!” Jessica said as she gingerly licked
the salt off her lips. Tommy had learned to make great margaritas in a short stint as a bartender wannabe. Another of the many careers he had tried out and abandoned quickly.  Tommy beamed at her praise and when the others, especially Jerry, chimed in Jessica thought he might wet himself like a puppy.

“Bernadette, I’m worried about Laura
. That pendejo in her house this afternoon might be after her, or his friends might be.  I think she’d be safer here with us than in Cat City with her sister.  What do you think?  If we’re careful to use the alarm system, and we don’t let anyone we don’t know in through the gates, do you think we could keep her safe here?  I could put her up in a hotel somewhere, but she just lost her husband.  She has a funeral to arrange...I, I don’t know what to do.”  Jessica’s voice trailed off.

“Bastante!
Of course she can’t go to a hotel.  She needs to be someplace where she can feel safe and have some comfort.  Besides if you bring her here, I can help. We can both help her bury Roger properly.”  There was no doubt in her eyes or on her face.  Jessica wanted to hug her but it would have to wait until she finished shoveling the rest of the nachos on her plate into her mouth.

“I can watch out for you all, too, Jessica.” Brien volunteered
. “I’m in the neighborhood almost every day anyway. I can do some drive-bys to make sure you’re all okay. I’ve had bouncer training. I know how to handle some—what’d you call him?”  He looked at Jessica and at Bernadette.