Beach Rental (21 page)

She touched the corner of her eye and dabbed at a tear. They could’ve attended it together if he was still here. Or would they? Two months might have made a big difference in his condition.

Did Luke have a date? She could’ve asked Maia.

The waitress delivered her coconut shrimp. Juli settled back to enjoy her meal.

Maia hadn’t said when they’d bring everything back down, googley eyes and all. Not tonight. Maybe tomorrow morning.

A streetlamp popped on as the last light waned. A woman paused beneath it. Red hair. Leslie? Had to be Jake and Sally’s friend because she looked familiar. She walked away, tall and sleek in a long, slim midnight blue gown. Arriving alone, apparently. Per Maia, Leslie hadn’t minded taking an unplanned swim with Luke. Leslie did appear to be a very good sport.

Juli shook her head. No need to be snarky about Leslie.

The waitress brought the check over and Juli opened her wallet to get the credit card. It was then she realized her car keys were gone.

She searched in the bottom of her purse and in the side pocket, but knew it was futile. She’d dropped them on the counter beside her purse while in the back room. She didn’t remember seeing them when she picked up her purse and sunglasses to leave. Could George or Maia have moved them? Could they have been knocked off the end of the counter?

What was at the end of the counter? The trash can.

Her heart sped up. Crap. Suppose they’d fallen into the trashcan and someone took out the trash? She didn’t have a spare set with her and she wasn’t up for dumpster-diving.

Talk about inconvenience. This time of the evening on a Friday—she’d have to find a ride home or—double crap—she didn’t even have a spare house key with her.

The waitress returned her card and receipt. Hurriedly, she put the card back in her wallet and slipped away.

It was nearly full dark.

Through the large plate glass gallery windows, the interior lights shone bright and inviting. A sign in a black lacquered iron holder by the front door read “Private Event” in fancy script.

Guests moved about inside. Anna came near to the window, her hair worn long with a shiny ornament holding the graying locks back behind one ear. She looked stately. Juli started to wave, but caught herself. She was here in her jeans and sneakers, incognito.

It was pitch dark in the passageway between the gallery and the building next door. She paused at the entrance. Her heart had been galloping with the fear of losing her keys. Now, facing the blind passage, it did a steep dive.

She could creep through this narrow darkness or go through the much longer back alley which was about as dark. Going boldly through the front door in her sneakers and jeans wasn’t an option. She was lucky this was one of the few buildings on this side of Front Street with a passage between.

Suddenly, yellow light spilled through the window near the far end of the passageway. Luke’s office window. No guarantee it would stay on, but if she moved quickly, she could take advantage of it.

She didn’t intend to look in the window—never intended to spy on anyone—but it was as natural to turn her head in that direction as it was to put one foot in front of the other.

A redhead in a dark blue dress was leaning against Luke. His arm was around her back and his head was inclined toward her, his profile and hair lit by the desk lamp.

Leslie.

She wanted to be glad for Luke, but it made her sad.

Shame on her. He’d been good to her, more than what his duty to Ben had required. She bent over and moved past while she could benefit from the light.

As she rounded the corner from the passageway to the alley, the back door opened. A white-clad figure stepped out with a trash bag. Perfect timing because the door locked automatically.

She trotted over. “Hey, wait. Can you hold the door open?” She recognized the woman as one of the catering crew who had arrived before she left. “Lost my keys. Did you see them? Maybe on the counter?”

The woman let her in. “On the counter? I haven’t seen any keys.”

“Thanks.” Juli looked among the napkins and cups now stacked on the end of the counter where her purse had been. She tilted the trash can toward her, shaking it slightly. It was half-filled with paper and foil, with some sort of red sauce splattered over everything.

Half-full. Had it already been emptied? Or not used much? The caterer had gone back into the gallery.

Well, it was messy, but she could deal with it.

She reached in, but then pulled her hand back. There must be something she could use to dig around in there.

There were cabinets on the wall and under the sink counter. A small closet was at the end of the room. A broom, a dustpan, rolls of cardboard, and other assorted stuff. A yardstick was leaning in the corner near the door.

She backed out of the closet, yardstick in hand. She turned and saw a guest decked out in finery and jewels, standing in the doorway watching her.

“Juli?”

She had a choice and made it in a split second.
Not Mrs. Barlow
. They were on equal footing. “Amanda. Hi.”

Amanda came around the table, her hands pressed together. A big, shiny green stone glittered on her finger. “I remember you now. And not only from your visit to my house, isn’t that right?” Her eyelids dropped partway as she stared, giving her a hooded look, like a bird of prey. She tapped the side of her glass with a manicured fingernail. “I think you’ve been less than honest, Juli. Why did you pretend you didn’t know where I’d seen you before?”

“I wasn’t pretending. I was at your house to deliver artwork. My personal business is my own.”

The liquid in Amanda’s glass sloshed back and forth. She put a hand on the table as if posing, or perhaps to steady herself.

“You were in my home. Everything in my home is my business.
And
you were at the Hammond’s home when my ring was stolen. My ring is my business, too.” She moved forward. “Do you know what happened to my ring?”

“How would I know?”

“It was an expensive piece of jewelry.” She lifted her hand from the table and waggled it back and forth allowing the overhead light to catch the facets of the green stone. “I like rings. Those were your co-workers, your chums, right? My husband checked into Robard’s Catering. The police said there were thefts associated with the parties they catered. The police didn’t question you?”

Juli was feeling surrounded. Incipient claustrophobia. Amanda, in her own way, was as predatory as Frankie. Time to take the offense.

“Maybe you stole it yourself to collect insurance.”

Amanda hissed as the door swung open. One of the caterers stepped in. Amanda swung around to face her and the woman backed out immediately.

Juli followed up while she had the momentum. “I can’t think of one good reason to stand here and listen to your nonsense.”

“Is there a problem?” A deep voice cut through the tension.

Luke stood in the doorway, tall and distinguished in his tuxedo, with a quizzical look on his face.

Amanda’s posture relaxed immediately. She turned toward him with an air of unconcern. “Not for me. I needed Maia. I thought I might find her back here.” She waved her arm. “But look who I found instead? Good of her to help out the caterers. But then she’s experienced, right?”

“Juli helped us prepare for the reception.” Luke’s response sounded tentative.

“She has many talents, it seems. Delivering artwork. Waitressing.” She smiled benevolently. “I wonder if Juli has any insight into the theft of my ring? She was there and knew the people who had access.”

Luke’s voice was curt. “What’s on your mind, Amanda?”

“On my mind?” Her eyebrows arched. “She was working at the party where my ring was stolen. If the police didn’t interview her, then they need to remedy their oversight. Someone should’ve reported her so she could be questioned.”

Luke moved between them. As Maia came through the door behind him, he said, “Amanda, this isn’t the place for this discussion and you are misjudging Juli.”

“What about your guests tonight? Would they agree? Maybe they need to watch their valuables.”

Maia came up behind the unsteady woman and touched her arm. “Amanda, come with me. Please.”

“What, Luke? You think because she married your cousin, she’s above suspicion? She married him for his money, for heaven’s sake.”

“Now, Amanda.” Maia tugged at her arm. She was petite, but her will was iron. “Now.”

“One moment.” Juli walked nearer to Amanda. She tried to infuse her voice with calm and kindness, without subservience. “I don’t know about any thefts. If I knew, I’d tell you.” Or would she still be trying to stay below the radar? She beat back her personal doubts. “I’ll be happy to speak with the police if it will put your suspicions to rest.”

Amanda stared, but didn’t answer. Juli didn’t allow herself to nod. She stiffened her neck, determined not to revert to the offensive little bob from her past. Dignity.

Maia maneuvered Amanda out through the door to where the other guests were enjoying themselves. “I’m sorry for all of this to-do at the showing. I’ll get my purse and—” She lost her cool and put her hands to her cheeks. “I can’t leave. I still don’t have my keys.”

“Your keys?”

“That’s why I came back.”

“I found keys on the floor. I didn’t recognize them as yours.”

“I changed to a different key ring recently.”

“It’s in my office. Come with me.”

She followed him and moved with two quick steps from the back room to his office door. A low level conversational hum and delicate, lilting music filled the space through which she briefly passed.

Luke switched the desk lamp back on and she pushed the door partway closed.

He retrieved the keys from his desk drawer. “Here you are. Sorry you had to go looking for them. I knew someone would, but I wasn’t expecting it to be you.”

“Thanks for keeping them safe. And thank you for standing up for me—for telling Amanda she was mistaken about me. I’m sorry about the scene.” She waved his response away. “No, I’m not excusing her behavior, but I can’t totally blame her either.”

“Why?”

“When we delivered the etchings to her house, she asked where she knew me. Maia and I kind of blew it off and said I’d married Ben, implying she’d seen me with him.” She shook her head. “Even then, I knew she wasn’t satisfied. To her, it looked like we were hiding something, and once she figured out where she’d seen me, I can hardly blame her for being suspicious.” She examined her keys. “What I’m most sorry about is disturbing your party—the showing.”

“No harm done. I should get back to the guests, though.”

“Of course.” She stepped toward the door, then paused. “By the way, Leslie looks lovely this evening.”

“Yes, she does.” His sentence hung in the air between them like a question.

“You two make a nice-looking couple.” There, it was said.

Luke stepped back and sat on the edge of his desk. “Do you think so? If you have something on your mind, just say it.”

She cleared her throat. “Not at all. I was walking up the passageway out there.” She pointed to the window. “Trying to avoid the guests, not wanting to disturb the party. I guess I didn’t manage so well.” She shrugged and crossed her arms. “I wasn’t trying to spy or anything, but I saw you two through the window.”

Luke glared. Or was it a stare? She didn’t know. But her heart jumped and she trembled. “Sorry. None of my business.”

“You’ve gone this far, don’t back off now. You saw me giving Leslie a safety pin. She had a wardrobe issue, as she called it.”

“Wardrobe.”

“Yes.” Luke stood and moved closer, his eyes still glued on her face.

She was transfixed. He looked intent. Angry. Not angry. She took a step backward, forgetting the door, and it slammed shut.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Were her eyes now bluer? Her lips were parted slightly as if in question. Were they redder, softer, more delicately shaped? More intriguing?

So much tension had been between them from the start—negative tension. In an instant it seemed to have flipped, perhaps revealing its true nature. How did he feel? Not lightning struck, but as if someone had opened a curtain.

He’d seen her as a person before. What was new?

He was staring and she, well, she looked scared. Luke took a step forward to reassure her and she moved back, bumping against the door and causing it to slam.

The noise jolted him back to his senses. Before he could speak, Juli fumbled with the door knob, opened the door and left. Fled.

He followed her through the back room and out into the alley.

“Juli. Wait, please. What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. You looked, well, I don’t know. I’ve stayed too long and you’ve got guests and an artist, your guest of honor, in there who need your attention.” She shifted feet.

She looked like she was about to break into a sprint. Why had he followed her outside anyway? Because she was about to walk alone to her car in the dark, that’s all it was.

“Where are you parked?”

“Across the street in the marina lot. Not far.”

“Are you going to walk the alley alone?”

“I’ll take the shortcut through the passageway. Is the office light still on?”

“Yes, but—”

“Then I’m off. Thanks, Luke. Do you know when Maia will be setting things back up?”

“Tomorrow morning, I think.”

“Please tell her I’ll be here to help. If she needs me before eight a.m. she should call.” She pivoted and dashed off into the dark.

“Wait, I’ll walk you to your car.”

“No need.”

By now she was nearly to the road and calling
thanks
back to him. It made no sense to chase after her. He felt compelled to follow, to make sure she was safe.

All the more reason not to—rationality was reasserting itself.

He and Juli were doing fine as they were, gradually becoming friends.

He walked slowly down the passageway by the light of his desk lamp. He stopped near the sidewalk and watched as the overhead light came on in her car, then the headlights. The overhead light was doused and then the soft sound of the engine crossed the distance of the quiet street to reach him. She backed out of the parking space, pulled onto Front Street and was gone.

She’d be back in the morning when it was time to put everything in its place.

So would he.