The Root of All Trouble (16 page)

"
We'll be bringing lawyers," Honey said.

She may look like a dumb blonde, but clearly she was not.

"The more the merrier," Kevin responded darkly.

Lightning flashed, and a second later the skies above us opened and poured rain down.

Honey let out a scream, shucked off her shoes, and tried to stuff them into her skin-tight dress. The result was a sight, let me tell you, like something out of the movie
Alien
.

Jean-Claude grabbed her elbow and they jogged away, up the trail.

A bolt of lightning split the sky, and Kevin threw an arm around Ana and me and herded us like sheep back toward the car.

As I turned, I caught sight of a jogger stooped down, tying his shoe, his face turned toward me. And even though he wore sunglasses, I knew he
'd been watching me.

I stopped short, and spun around for a double-take.

"What?" Kevin asked.

"
Nina, come on!" Ana said, tugging on me as rain drenched us to the skin.

The jogger was gone, his athletic silhouette disappearing down the trail.

"You seeing ghosts again?" Kevin teased.

I was. Because I could have sworn that jogger was Cain Monahan.

Was it a coincidence that he was here? Watching me?

I didn
't think so.

Not at all.

Chapter Fourteen

K
evin had stayed true to his word and followed Ana and me home, though his motives had changed. No longer did he want to make sure we arrived safely—he wanted to speak with Mario.

Rain pummeled the roof of Ana
's car as she pulled into Kit's—her—driveway and looked at me. "Smile at him a lot. He won't be so cranky."

Usually I enjoyed the sound of rain against a metal roof, but right now it onl
y added to my anxiety.

I couldn
't help but think about Cain Monahan and wonder if he was following me. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how foolish the notion was. I mean, he'd been dressed in running gear. If he had been following me, he couldn't have known I'd end up at the park. He'd simply been there. Running. And saw me.

That
's all.

Except my instinct told me differently.

Then there was Jean-Claude and Honey. The thought occurred to me that they could have concocted an elaborate story about Joey's sudden "disappearance." It was clear that both had motive for wanting him dead.

Could my lover-not-fighter friend have been pushed too far?

My instincts said no to that theory. Jean-Claude wasn't a violent man. The only situation where I could see him losing his cool would be in self-defense. Or protecting someone else—like Honey.

But if that were the case, he
'd simply report it and let the police sort out the truth. He certainly wouldn't frame his cousin.

I just couldn
't see it.

Besides, the surveillance footage should prove to be his alibi.

My instincts also told me it was someone close to Joey who'd killed him. His murder was too personal. There was anger behind the motive. Whoever killed him wanted him to suffer—and to humiliate him. Stuffing him into a tree...who did that sort of thing?

But if Mario was ruled out and Honey and Jean-Claude were ruled out...who was left?

Delphine and her crew. Plum, Bear, Ethan.

One of them was guilty. I was sure of it.

At this point I leaned toward Bear. He had a thing for Delphine. Jealousy could have precipitated this murder. Framing Delphine might have been Bear's way of making her pay for rejecting him.

"
Do you think I have good instincts?" I asked Ana.

"
No."

"
Thanks for sugarcoating it."

"
No problem."

I pushed open the door. Kevin had pulled into my driveway behind my work truck.

I told Ana I'd see her later and made a mad dash across the street. I didn't know why I bothered to sprint—I was already soaked to the bone. As I ran, I noticed that the yellow crime scene tape was missing from Mario and Perry's house.

That was good news—the scene had been cleared, and I could get to work in the ba
ck yard as soon as this weather broke.

Lightning flashed and I kicked up my pace. I didn
't slow down as I passed Kevin's SUV and headed straight for the porch.

I heard his footsteps splashing behind me as thunder cracked. As I reached for the door, there was humor in his voice as he said,
"You run like a girl."

"
I am a girl."

"
I noticed. Especially in that wet T-shirt."

I looked down. Not again!
"For Pete's sake!"

Tossing an arm over my chest, I said,
"You could have the decency to look away."

He waggled his eyebrows.
"I could."

"
Ugh."

I shoved open the door to find Maria and Perry cozied up on the couch. They barely flicked a glance in our direction—their attention was firmly focused on the TV. There was some sort of show on featuring young pageant girls.

Save me now.

"
What're you two watching?" I asked.

"
Small-Town Crown
," Perry said. "It's genius."

"
Genius," Maria echoed. "Small-town girls compete at local pageants for a sash, cash, and crown. The winners of each of those pageants then go on to a national pageant for even bigger prizes. And they aren't allowed to wear a speck of makeup or fake teeth or any of the usual pageant stuff. Aren't they so cute?"

I glanced at the screen. The little girl strutting down the runway had her hair teased out
like Tina Turner in the "What's love got to do with it?" video. She grinned, her jack-o'-lantern smile endearing. I had to admit she was adorable.

Maria rubbed her belly.
"I could see my little girl doing pageants. Maybe not this one, though. A little mascara does wonders for eyes."

Perry
's eyes lit up. "She'd win, too. If she has your cheek bones—those other girls wouldn't stand a chance."

Those other girls
. The imaginary ones. "No," I said to her. "No pageants."

Maria scoffed.
"You're not the boss of me, Nina Quinn."

"
We'll let Mom settle this."

Maria huffed but didn
't say anything.

"
Where have you been?" Perry asked, finally noticing that I wasn't alone. "Has there been a new development?"

Kevin kept glancing at my chest as though wishing I
'd drop my arms. "You could say that."

"
I need to talk to Mario," Kevin said.

Perry snapped his gaze to me.
"Did you rat him out?"

"
Noooo. The video footage from the UDF across the street from Joey Miller's townhouse did that."

"
I just have a couple of questions for him," Kevin said.

Maria tried to straighten but finally gave up and leaned back into the couch cushions.
"Is he a suspect?"

"
Is he here?" Kevin asked, ignoring her.

Perry let out a dramatic sigh.
"No, he's not. He decided he'd be happier staying at Kit's house. He's over there."

"
Alone?" I asked.

"
He has Kit," Perry said.

"
And Ana," Maria added. "And BeBe."

"
But not you?" I asked him.

"
I don't want to talk about it," he said.

Maria was more than happy to spill the beans.
"They had a big fight. About that tie."

"
He's being silly," Perry said. "I'd be proud if he had a secret admirer."

"
Sure you would," I said.

"
What? I would. It's an honor."

"
Remember when the waiter flirted with Mario at his birthday dinner and you tripped the poor man when he walked past you?"

He waved away the memory.
"Mario's made his choice. He can stay with Kit for all I care."

It was going to be a long night. I left the three of them in the living room and scurried off to the laundry room to get a towel from the dryer. I wrapped it around me and came back into the living room to find Gracie growling at Kevin.

He growled back.

A puddle appeared on the floor.

"Let me walk you out," I said to Kevin.

"
Am I leaving?"

"
Yes."

"
Since you're going out, can you take Gracie for a walk?" Maria asked.

Perry said,
"If you see Mario and he asks for me, tell him I don't miss him at all."

"
Save yourself," I whispered to Kevin.

He spun and headed for the door.

I scooped up Gracie, stepped over the puddle, and followed Kevin outside. The rain had ebbed a bit but still fell steadily. "I've been thinking about who might have killed Joey and really think it's someone from Delphine's crew. They all had problems with him, and Bear..."

"
Delphine has already been charged, Nina. The evidence hasn't changed."

I set Gracie on the porch. She walked back to the front door and whimpered.
"You're not releasing her?"

"
She went back, but used the back door this time. Maybe they left together that way and she killed him at her house..."

"
You don't know that."

"
You don't know she didn't."

"
Aren't you even going to look at the rest of the crew? Have you looked into their alibis at all? Questioned them?"

His tone was hard, unyielding.
"Stay out of it, Nina."

I was getting sick of him saying that to me.

He added, "You're going to have to trust me."

Ah. Well. That was going to be a problem. He hadn
't quite gained back all my trust yet after the whole cheating thing. I bit my lip and adjusted my towel. "I don't think it can hurt to investigate them a little bit."

"
I'll talk to you later," he said, stepping into the rain.

"
Hey," I said.

He turned.

"Mario and Perry's house... It's cleared?"

Rain slid down his face.
"It's clear. You're free to get to work. The sooner the better."

"
Why's that?"

"
Because it'll keep you too busy to investigate my suspects."

Damn! He knew me too well. But... I pointed at him.
"Ha! Your suspects? So you are looking into their alibis?"

"
Bye, Nina."

"
You'll tell me what you find, right?" I called after him as he crossed the street, on his way to Kit's to talk with Mario.

He shot a hand into the air and waved me off.

I smiled. I'd get those alibis, all right.

One way or another.

Chapter Fifteen

E
arly the next morning, Maria found me sitting on the front porch swing. I held the seat steady and at an angle so it would be easier for her to sit. The chains connected to the porch ceiling creaked as she settled in, and she smiled as we swayed.

For a second in the morning light, she looked like her old self. At peace. Then she pierced me with a blue stare and said,
"I need that envelope, Nina. I don't know where you have it hidden—I'm pretty sure it's not here. Is it at your office? I need it back."

I knew she
'd spent a good portion of the day before looking for the ultrasound results. She hadn't made a mess during her search, but everything was a little bit off. The corner of a picture tilted, the edge of the bed out of alignment, the towels in the linen closet askew.

"
You can't have it back." I grabbed my mug of coffee from the side table as we swung past it.

"
Do you know that there are baby pageants? How am I supposed to plan ahead if I don't know the gender of my baby?"

"
Maria, you'll know soon enough."

She pouted.
"It's
my
baby."

"
You made me promise. Pinkie swear and everything."