Spring Break Murder Read online

  Right now, Sally sat back in her chair and quietly waited for Susie to talk. She had a cookie on a plate in front of her that had exactly one bite taken out of it. I had the feeling that the secret to her healthy physique was eating delicious foods, but taking time to savor them. I made a mental note of that also.

  Susie, on the other hand, was sitting on the edge of her chair with her hands on her knees. She looked so uncomfortable that I almost stood up to get her a pillow for her back but I didn't want to break the spell that Sally seemed to be putting her under.

  "I may have said some harsh things to her after the fight with Cindy at the dance," Susie said.

  "You may have?" Sally asked, one eyebrow arched.

  "Okay, I did," Susie mumbled. She stared at her hands as if they might run away if she didn't keep an eye on them. "I told her that if she wanted to keep her place in the Dolls, she should sit down and shut up. I told her that if she kept up with those kind of shenanigans, that we may have to replace her."

  Sally exhaled as she shook her head. Susie glanced at Sally and immediately put her head back down, reminding me of a puppy who is being scolded. I knew the sort of expression on Sally's face was one of those 'I'm not mad, just disappointed' faces that parents become so good at making.

  "Susie, we never replace a Doll," Sally said. "Once they are in, they are a Doll for life."

  "Well I know that, but Louise didn't know that," Susie said, sounding a bit flustered. "I was just trying to be helpful."

  Susie's cheeks were slowly getting red. Sally stayed silent for a while as we all thought about what Susie had said. Susie was looking around, trying to avoid Sally's hard stare. It was obvious Susie knew how terrible it sounded and she knew she had made a big mistake.

  "I think you should go home, Susie," Sally said. "Go home and think about things a little bit. I need some time to figure out how to handle this situation."

  Susie stood up and jammed her bicycle helmet back on her head. She walked down the stairs but as soon as she neared her bicycle, she whipped back around. Her eyes were zeroing in on me.

  "Oh, there was one more thing," she said. "I was here to invite Tessa on the bicycle outing with the Bike Brigade the day after tomorrow."

  I looked at her quizzically. Why would she come to invite me on a bicycle outing? Susie's eyes darted around. I glanced at Sally, who looked just as confused as I was.

  "I thought I heard someone say that Tessa loved to ride bikes," Susie said with a shrug of her shoulders. "I thought the polite thing to do would be to ask her to the little bike ride with the club. You don't have to if you don't want to."

  For someone who had charged up here on her bicycle slinging anger at me, she seemed exceptionally hurt that I wasn't immediately jumping at the chance to join the Bike Brigade for a ride.

  "That would be fun Susie," I said. "But I don't have a bike or anything, so even if I wanted to go with you, I wouldn't be able to."

  "Oh I can take care of that," Susie said with a wave of her hand. "I have a few extra bicycles and helmets. Why don't you stop by tomorrow morning to pick them up so that you can make sure the helmet fits and you have a whole day to get used to the bicycle before we go."

  Before I could respond, Susie climbed on her bike and pushed off. She waved as she rode down the street into the sunset.

  "See you tomorrow morning," she called before turning the corner and riding out of sight.

  Sally and I both took a much needed drink from our wine before I turned to her. She still looked just as puzzled as she had when Susie had invited me on the bike ride.

  "Did you tell her that I liked to ride bicycles?" I asked.

  "No, I have no idea what your thoughts are on bicycles," Sally said. "I wouldn't have told her that. Maybe she confused you with someone else's guest? The only thing I told her was about how you like to investigate things and you are interested in true crime. Usually she's pretty sharp though so I'm surprised she got it mixed up."

  "Are you able to come riding with me?" I asked. For some reason, I just really didn't want to go on this bike ride alone.

  "I'm sorry honey, but we double booked activities that day," Sally said. "I am running bingo."

  I poured us each one more glass of wine and we watched the sunset together while we waited for Bill or the two lovebirds to get back home. I also steeled myself for the bike ride I was now emotionally obligated to go on. It could go one of two ways: either the club would be mostly regular old people who just wanted a fun, leisurely bike ride or it would be the kind of vigorous exercise that kept Susie in shape.

  My hope was that it was the first kind of ride because I may not survive the second.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  After Bill came home and he and Sally went inside to watch the nightly news, I pulled out my phone to call Max while I tried to wait for Trevor and Mandy to come back. I just had to see if Mandy would come back with a diamond ring. I had no idea when Trevor was going to propose now that his plan had been ruined so it was going to be a surprise for everyone.

  As soon as Max answered his phone, I felt my body melt back into the chair. His deep voice was so calming that I couldn't help but feel even more in love with him. I shut my eyes, picturing his smiling face in my mind, wishing he was here with me.

  "I'm so glad you called Tessa," he said. "I've missed you so much but I don't want to bother you while you are on your relaxing vacation."

  I snorted at the thought of relaxing on this vacation. Until that very moment, I don't think I really had time to relax. My time had been filled with a nerve-wracking plane ride, a full schedule of events to schlep around to and then a murder investigation. It sounds more like a nightmare than anything else.

  "You are never a bother to me," I said. "I miss you too. I can't wait to come back and see you."

  "I can't wait to see you either Sweet Thing," Max said. "Maybe I can come up Friday and get you from the airport. You will still be able to come home Friday, right?"

  Max's voice clouded a bit, his concern for my well-being pinging straight through the satellite and down into my phone. He knew that if Mandy had to stay down here, there was no way I would leave Florida without her. I brought him up to speed on everything that had happened today, mostly about Louise's story and Mandy getting released. The one thing I conveniently left out was my stupid thought that I could catch a teacup and the burning hot contents spilling out of it. I hoped that by the time I saw him again, my hands would be mostly healed and I could spin it as more of a funny story.

  "The only thing is that Mandy is supposed to stay close until they get everything figured out," I said. "So I'm a little worried because Louise swears that Hilda was still very much alive when she left the pool area. The confession I got was only part of a confession."

  "Do you think that is because Louise is lying or do you think that is because she really didn't kill Hilda?" Max asked.

  That was a great question that I had not put any thought into yet. I had been more focused on piecing together the story and not so much on my feelings about it. I picked up my glass of water and took a good long drink. My vacation self kind of wished it was more wine, but my practical self knew I needed to stay hydrated if I wanted to feel good tomorrow.

  "I need to think about that a little more," I said. My head was a bit clouded by the wine from earlier and I didn't want to jump to one conclusion or the other without some thought. I shelved the question to mull over later. "But I didn't call for more investigation help. I've been doing enough investigating today because I have to do all of my investigating and all of Trevor's too."

  Max laughed a gut laugh. The chuckle felt like home and suddenly I felt such a magnetic pull towards Max. Sometimes I wondered if dating Max was just a safeguard I put in place. Like maybe I fell back into this relationship because I needed comfort and not because I actually needed Max. I worried that my broken self would one day be mended and I would discover that I wanted to move on. Whether or not I loved Max roma
ntically, I would never want to hurt him.

  But in that moment, sitting in the warmth of a Florida evening under a strand of lights on the deck, talking to Max filled me with such a sense of warmth and comfort and love. This man had saved me from killers and he had saved me from myself. I felt like I was looking into a pool of the love I felt for him and it was so deep, I couldn't even begin to sense a bottom. For what seemed like the first time, I was certain that my love was totally and genuinely true.

  "Max, I love you," I blurted out, interrupting his laugh. "I know I say that a lot, but I really want you to know that deep down, I love you."

  "Where did that come from?" he asked, his voice tender. "And I love you too, more than you'll ever realize."

  "I've just been thinking about our relationship and where we are going," I said. "I wanted to make sure that what we had seemed real. I guess what I want is to make sure that we are traveling this path with some sort of destination in mind, some kind of future together."

  When Max and I had started our relationship, we had been very clear that we were just being casual. We were so casual that we weren't even exclusive. It had been less than a year since both of our spouses had died and we were just dipping our toes into the dating world again.

  But now I could separate my grief over Peter's death from my love of Max. It didn't feel like I was trying to use Max to replace Peter. It felt like Max had revitalized this new chapter of my life. I felt like I had fully turned to the next page.

  "Tessa, I want you to know that I want us to be together now and in the future," he said. "I want us to be together forever. I'm not sure we need to make a concrete plan right here and right now but if you want me to say it, I'd like to marry you someday."

  My heart exploded into a million pieces and butterflies erupted in my stomach. I couldn't help but giggle a little as I replayed Max's words in my head.

  "I want to be your wife someday," I said. "And no, we don't have to start setting dates or anything. But just hearing you say that makes me so sure that we are doing the right thing. I'm just so happy with you."

  "My biggest goal in life right now is to make you happy," Max said. "Making you happy makes me happy. And we have both been through too much sadness in our lives. We deserve this happiness."

  I smiled. When someone looked at Max, he looked exactly how a police officer should look. He was stocky and muscular with a stern face that could crack a smile in an instant. He had an air of authority but also one of fun. Deep down inside, he was also full of love and kindness.

  "I should let you go," I said. "You need to work tomorrow and I'm hoping to see Mandy and Trevor before I go to bed. I'm not sure when he is going to propose and I want to be the first one to know."

  "Okay Sweet Thing," Max said. "Just don't stay up too late. I love you more than words can say."

  "I love you too Max," I said.

  We hung up and I tilted my head back and watched the stars above me. It was a bit cliche to think about how the stars I was looking at would be the same stars Max may glance at on his way to bed, but I couldn't help it. I was simply bursting with romance and hearts and sweet thoughts.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Mandy didn't get home until almost midnight and by then I had retired to the pull-out sofa, but I wasn't actually asleep. There was no big to-do and no ring on her finger, so I didn't ask about the proposal. In fact I was so tired by that point that I didn't even tell her about the strange bike ride I was now obligated to take.

  After a breakfast where I tried to explain the mysterious bike ride and Mandy absolutely refusing to accompany me on it, I left to go over to Susie's trailer to try out some bikes. Sally gave me directions, but it wasn't hard to find as she only lived two trailers down from Sally and Bill.

  It was one of those delicious mornings where I had to slip a sweatshirt over my t-shirt and shorts, but I could feel that it would be warming up to be another amazing day. As much as I loved Minnesota with my whole heart and wouldn't dream of living somewhere that didn't have four seasons, I could see the appeal of Florida and why it attracted so many Minnesotans.

  Susie's driveway looked like a bicycle parking lot, if there were such a thing. There was a very small electric car and then six bicycles that all fit in their driveway and glancing at all of them, none was as pretty as the one I'd seen Susie riding the other day. In fact, most of them looked more like Cindy's old bike and I briefly wondered if that hunk of junk had ended up here. But none of them looked as junky as the one Cindy used to have.

  I glanced around, wondering if I was supposed to knock on the door of the trailer. It was still pretty early and I didn't want to wake her up if she was still sleeping.

  "Hey there," a voice came from behind me.

  I turned around to see Susie and her husband riding up behind me on their sleek, sporty bikes. They were both decked out in all spandex with the sort of aerodynamic bike helmets that are only spotted on serious riders. I wondered if that meant tomorrow's ride would be a bit more aggressive than I had hoped.

  "Oh hi, I'm glad you're awake," I said. "When I came and didn't see you, I was afraid I would wake you up if I knocked on the door."

  Susie and her husband both laughed. They parked their bikes and took off their helmets to reveal matching short, gray haircuts.

  "Oh we get up with the sun every day to get our miles in," Susie said. "Why don't I help you find a bike and helmet?"

  Susie's husband was a man of few words, simply giving me a wave as he went inside the trailer. Susie, on the other hand, was already blathering on about all of the bicycles and what their differences were. Honestly I didn't really care because to me, a bicycle was a bicycle was a bicycle. I just needed something to ride if I was being forced to join in on this ride.

  "I think this bicycle is probably the best one for you to ride," Susie said, wheeling a rusty green bicycle forward. She seemed almost jittery as she talked. "I also have a helmet you can borrow. Let me go grab that and then you'll have time to practice riding the bike before the ride tomorrow."

  Susie scuttled off to the trailer while I walked around the bicycle. I hadn't been on a bicycle in over a decade, but considering the old saying, I really hoped I could just get on and ride without much trouble.

  "Here we go," Susie said, slamming the door of the trailer open as she waved a bike helmet at me. "Try it on so we know it fits just right."

  I put the blue helmet on my head and buckled it under my chin. I struggled to tighten the straps, but Susie stepped up and tightened it for me. It was a bit awkward to have someone I hardly knew doing something that felt so weirdly intimate. She was so close to my face that I was immediately self-conscious. I held my breath, hoping it wasn't smelly.

  Once the helmet was adjusted, I wondered if it would be rude to just leave. I don't know what was wrong with Susie, but she seemed nervous and being this close to her was making me feel nervous. I didn't need any more nerves; going for this bike ride with the Brigade would be enough.

  "I should probably go," I said. I grabbed the handlebars and started to wheel the bike down the driveway before Susie called after me.

  "How is your investigation is going?" Susie called. "Have you solved the murder yet?"

  So she did remember what Sally had said about me. Why did she invite me on the bike ride then? Out of all of the Dolls, I think Susie was becoming the one I was the least comfortable with. First, she had been intimidating with how physically fit she was for her age, but now she seemed so jumpy that I felt like I had butterflies in my stomach too.

  "No, I haven't solved it although Mandy has been released," I said. "That was what I was most concerned about."

  "Yeah, that makes sense," Susie said. "Say, did you ever find Louise's pin at the pool?"

  I waited for a moment before turning around. I didn't think I had said anything about Louise's pin and not many people knew about it. Maybe she had heard that from somewhere else. I shrugged it off, thinking Louise must have gotten in
touch with Susie to let her know since she had been the one looking for the pin.

  "Yes we did," I said cautiously. "How did you know about Louise's pin?"

  Susie nervously twitched a little, rubbing her hands together as she chuckled a little. She touched her pin a few times, rubbing it a little like she was polishing it.

  "Well remember I said that I found Louise that night and walked her home," Susie said. "When we got there, I noticed that the pin was gone and so I went looking for it once Roger came back to care for her."

  "So you went back to the pool that night?" I asked. I was trying to dance around what I meant, but Susie seemed to understand what I was gunning for. She immediately put her hands up, backpedaling from what she said.

  "No, no, no," she said. " I just went looking for the pin, I never said I went to the pool."

  "Where did you look then?" I asked.

  The night of the murder, we had looked all over the park for Louise and Susie and come to think of it, we never really did find Susie. Apparently she was looking for this pin somewhere. Wouldn't we have stumbled upon her at some point if she was really looking all over for Louise's pin?

  "I looked in the gymnasium and on the patio," she said.

  Susie blinked at me and I stared right back. The way she was acting made me think she was lying, but I couldn't really call her on anything. I didn't know the truth and I knew that she wasn't going to tell me.

  "Okay, it sounds like you looked really hard," I said, feeling a bit lame but it was the only thing I could think to say. "But we did find the pin. I should probably go though. I'd like a little time to practice riding the bike."

  "Yeah, you should ride a little bit," Susie, a piercing stare cutting through me. "We wouldn't want you to have some sort of accident today and be unable to finish up your investigation."