Deadly Reunion (14 page)

Melodie was standing in the doorway. Her arms folded across her middle and her back to Grace.

“
Come on,
Mellow-D
, it was just a question,” Steve said smirking.

“
Ugh. It was not just a question, Steve. I know exactly what you were implying, and I refuse to answer such demeaning accusations. Besides, you’re the last person I would ask for help. For all I know you may have killed her. After all, we both know what you’re capable of, so I wouldn’t go around throwing accusations around. You know the old saying about people in glass houses, don't you?”

“Are you threatening me?” Ste
ve's voice lowered. “I think the police might be interested in hearing that.”

Melodie
sneered. “I'm sure the police would be very interested in what I know, particularly about you, so I doubt you're dumb enough to actually say anything to them,” she said, slamming the door in his face.

Melodie
turned around and froze when she saw Grace. “The vultures,” she said, referring to Steve, “are circling. He wanted to know if I would like him to solve Crystal’s murder. For a fee of course. I told him to get lost.”

Grace looked towards the dining room
. “Diana is pretty upset.”

“I know. I shouldn't have yelled at her. Not after all she has done for us over the years. I'll go and talk
to her.” Melodie walked past Grace. “The police have released Crystal’s . . . body, so we can set the funeral for the day after tomorrow. Could you call Beth and ask her to come by and help, please?”

CHAPTER TEN

“I
think she
looks just lovely. It's like she’s just sleeping, and at any minute, she’ll wake up. Don't you think so, Grace?” Beth asked, sniffling.

Grace automatically nodded.
Actually, she didn't agree at all, but she would never say, ‘why no, Beth, I think she looks quite dead’. “Yes, she looks—”

“I'm surprised they're go
ing to bury her in this dress. Crystal disliked wearing white. She said it washed her out and made her look hippy. I remember Diana and Melodie had to talk her out of wearing a red wedding dress. I didn’t even wear red and it’s my favorite color. Can you believe it? A red wedding dress.”

“Shocking!” Grace said with fake horror. Crystal was right. She really didn't look good in white.

“You should have seen my dress. I wish you could have been there.” Beth eyes suddenly lit up, as she clapped her hands. All thoughts of Crystal promptly forgotten. “Oh my gosh! I completely forgot—my wedding video. You must come home with me. Then you'll be able to watch me get married! It was so beautiful. We taped the whole thing.”

“Oh my
—” Grace said, startled, her mind thrown into a sudden panic.

“You must! You absolutely must! I'll call Mark right now and tell him to make sure the video is ready. We'll leave right after the funeral. I can't wait! No one will watch it with me anymore.”

“But . . .” Grace snapped her mouth shut as Beth hurried off accidentally knocking into a couple of flower arrangements standing next to the coffin.

“You are in for a real treat,” Adam said
, as he reached an arm around Grace's shoulders and drew her into a hug. “After the wedding video, which is five hours long, comes the first child's videos. Her birth video. I recommend not eating, by the way. Then the first birthday, second and so on. Then there are the sequels and all of their milestones.”

“I take it you've already had the pleasure.”

Adam hung his head. “The day after I arrived and then the next day. Luckily, Crystal took pity on me and rescued me.”

Grace laughed.
“So, what you're saying is that you would like a second viewing.”

“You're on your own
, Holliday. Speaking of Hollidays, is your sister, actually, going to show her face this afternoon?”

Bristling Grace said, “Yes, why wouldn't she?”

“Come on Grace. Don't pretend. Crystal and Hope have a knock down drag out fight, and then Crystal is murdered just minutes later. If Hope shows up then she has more guts than I would.”

“Really! Then I'm surprised to see you here.”

“What do you mean?” Adam dropped his arm and stepped away from her.

“I heard you and Crystal
fought that night, too.”

“We had a simple disagreement
, out in the hallway, in front of witnesses,” Adam said, picking his words carefully. “We handled it like mature adults. We did not wrestle each other to the ground and then tumble down the stairs.”

“A disagreement?
About what?”

“Grace, I don't really think now is the time.”

“If it was such a simple disagreement, then you should be able to say what it was about?”

“You sound
like the police,” Adam snapped. “I'm sorry, Grace. I'm just really stressed right now.” Adam motioned for Grace to follow him.

They walked past the other mourners and out into the funeral home's hallway.

“The truth is . . . I'm worried. Scared actually. I think the police suspect me.” Adam ran his hand through his curly chestnut hair. “It's crazy. I didn't kill her. I wouldn't kill her. I needed her. There are so many more suspects out there Grace, but they're not looking at them.” Adam gripped her arm tightly. “I tried to tell them, but they don't believe me.”

“Adam, slow down. Who do you think killed her?”

“You mean besides your sister?”

Grace
glared at him. “Of course, besides my sister.”

“I don't know
, but I do know that things weren’t as happy at the Lakes’ home as they wanted people to believe. The tension in that house was unbelievable. Everyone was angry with Crystal, but they tried playing the perfect little family. It was a complete sham. They could barely sit next to each other through that reunion.”

Grace suddenly re
called Melodie's strange reaction whenever Crystal would touch her. “Do you mean Melodie or are you referring to someone else?”

“You saw it too, didn't you? All of that 'favorite sister' stuff at the table was completely phony.
Melodie loathed Crystal. Crystal liked to pretend that everything was normal, but there were serious problems between them.”

“
So, Crystal was putting on a show of family solidarity during the reunion. Why?”

“She didn’t like reality to intrude on her version of events. In her world everyone loved her. The truth was that she had a lot of enemies.”

“
Are you counting Tom among her enemies? They seemed pretty close at the reunion?”

Adam snorted.
“Tom who? I never saw Tom. I've lived there the last month, and I think I've seen Tom maybe twice. Crystal would make excuses for him. ‘Lawyer's work long hours,’ she would say. You remember what Tom was like, don't you? He was a slacker. Back in high school, could you imagine him spending every waking moment at the office?”

Grace shook her head.
Tom hadn't been a slacker, but she couldn't imagine him throwing himself into his work, either.

“The only reason he
was putting in long hours was to stay away from Crystal.”

“Are you sure he was at the office?”

“That's what I was wondering, too. Melodie and Tom seemed rather close.” Adam wiggled his eyebrows.

“I thought you said you barely saw Tom?”

“I didn’t, but I saw more of him leading up to the reunion. Crystal suddenly decided she wanted to be a part of the planning committee. She sort of interjected herself. They had a lot of meetings at the house. I got the feeling attendance was mandatory. It was horrible. Melodie wouldn't even look at her. Tom just drank. The only one that even tried to keep the peace was Diana.”

Grace sighed.
“It sounds like the police are going to have their hands full.”

“No
, they won’t. Don’t you see, Grace? They are going to try to pin this on me.”

“Why
, Adam? Why would they suspect you over someone else?”

Adam laughed bitterly.
“Someone else? Like their buddy, the Assistant District Attorney?”

Grace noted once again
that Adam deflected her questions. He seemed far more than willing to talk about everyone else’s reasons for killing Crystal, than any he may have had. Not that she could blame him.

“I'm not kidding when I say they are goi
ng to try to pin this on me. They won't even look at Tom. I doubt they'll really consider Hope a suspect. But me? Tom's boss hates me.”

“Why on earth would he hate you enough to try to
blame you for Crystal’s death?”

Adam looked uneasy.
Shrugging his broad shoulders, he said, “Everyone’s keeping secrets. I don’t know for certain that Crystal and he were having an affair, but I wouldn’t doubt it, either. Simpson was always over at their house. He was a regular fixture at dinner. He seemed fine with me at first, but then he started making snide comments and acting very aggressive. Wanting to know how long I was planning to stay around. It was bizarre, but I got the feeling he was protecting his territory. Crystal probably told him I was making the moves on her or bothering her, just to watch the resulting chaos. Now I think he has it in his mind that I'm the prime suspect. He sure won't look at his golden boy, Tom. You have to help me,” Adam pleaded.

Grace lifted up her hands.
“How? What do you want me to do?”

Adam reached out and ran his hands down her arms.
“I need you to investigate. Find out who did this. I will pay you whatever you want.” Taking hold of her hands, he said, “Just name your price.”

Grace couldn't decide whether she wanted to laugh or cry.
Why couldn’t Beth have thought she was a dentist, or an astronaut, or even a magician? She could have at least had some help on that one. Anything, but a detective. “Adam, I'm sorry, I just can't help you,” she said gently, laying her hand on his arm.

Adam
stood up straighter and shrugged off her hand. Tilting his head back he said, “Fine, then I'll speak to your boss. If you won't help, maybe he will.”

Grace didn’t like the sudden change in attitude.
Adam had clearly gotten used to getting his own way while in Hollywood. “He's in New York, and has no intention of coming back,” she said coolly.

Adam grabbed her by the shoulders
, and turned her around. “Grace, he's been talking to Melodie for the last ten minutes.”

*  *  *  *

Grace paced in front of the funeral home, periodically stopping to glare at the entrance. It was supposed to be so easy. Put him on the plane. Wave bye-bye. Gone. Back to New York. Safe. Where he couldn't get into trouble.

Grace looked at her watch.
As soon as she discovered Kyle was back, she marched up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. Unfortunately, Melodie had wrapped herself around him and was sobbing uncontrollably. Grace told him she needed to speak to him outside, which, for some reason, made Melodie cry even harder. That had been ten minutes ago.

Grace was about to give up
, and drag him out of the funeral home by his pretty blond hair when she saw him walk outside. Her heart dropped. He was wearing the exact same expression he had on his face when he told her he had accidentally wiped out the company’s accounts.

“What did you do?” she demanded
, as soon as he walked up to her.

Kyle immediately gave her a wide smile.

“Don't smile at me. That's not a human smile. Kyle, we are leaving. Where's your car?”

Kyle didn't answer.
He simply pointed to a shiny ruby-red Camaro.

“A rental?” she asked
hopefully.

Kyle shook his head.
“I thought I should have something flashy.” Kyle took a step back. “Really a detective of my caliber should have something . . . flashy.” Kyle took another step back. And then another. “Grace, your eye’s twitching. It’s been doing that since I’ve met you. You really should get that checked out.”

Grace's brain at some point had s
hut down. The only thing going through her mind was ‘flashy’. “Flashy? Flashy?” she asked, her voice rising with every syllable.

“Yes, you need money to make money. People will be more likely to hire me
if they think I am doing well in my profession.”

“How were you able to afford a car like this?”

Kyle shrugged and took another step back. “I put a down payment on it.”

Grace didn't want to ask
, but knew she had no choice. “Where did you get the money, Kyle?” When it didn't look like he was going to answer, she took a step towards him.

“
Melodie paid me a retaining fee. Grace, you don't have to worry. I will take care of everything.”

Grace took a deep breath and
very carefully chose her words. “Kyle, things are getting way too complicated. Let's just go home. Back to New York.” Grace held out her hand. “I'll go with you. We'll return this car, return Melodie's money, and then we'll both go back.”

“I can't return it. I stopped off to
grab a bite to eat before I got here and some idiot already dinged it with his door.” He walked to the passenger side and pointed to a small dent and scratch on the side of the door. He patted the car affectionately. “Can you believe that? I even parked her as far away as I could. But don't worry. I should be able to get her fixed. Adam just paid me another retaining fee,” Kyle said smiling. “I've always liked him.”

Kyle'
s smile faltered. He took another step back. “Grace, your eye’s twitching again. You know how that freaks me out.”

*  *  *  *

Kyle watched as Grace walked into the ladies’ bathroom. He hated seeing Grace so upset. He hated being the one to upset her, but he was convinced they should be involved in this investigation. After speaking to the police, he didn't have any faith that they would actually catch the real killer, and the way they were grilling him about Hope worried him. He didn't believe for a second that she killed Crystal, but the police just might. Hope and Tom had alibied each other. If they suspect Tom and his alibi fails, Hope's would as well. They could claim her as an accomplice and Grace would be devastated. Kyle shook his head. The only way to protect Hope and Grace was to discover who really killed Crystal.