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On Friday, Haley managed to accomplish some work on the updated MIT driver file, but thoughts of Zepeda continued to plague her. One minute she’d be convinced he was guilty and that Tracy had lied about his alibi. The next, Tracy’s imploring face would pop into her head and the doubts would return, leaving her to wonder whether Victor really had set up his wife’s lover.
She was grateful to have Mindy Larkin and Jenna McArthur coming to visit that evening. She could use the distraction of a girls’ night.
The doorbell rang promptly at seven. When Haley swung the front door open, Jenna grinned and held up a potted plant.
“Housewarming present,” she said, stepping past Haley.
Haley closed the door, her heart sinking. She wasn’t a plant person. They reminded her of bugs and sap and incontinent birds perched overhead.
And, given the events of the past three weeks, they now also reminded her of marijuana busts, cheating spouses lying to protect their lovers, and crooked police chiefs.
But she didn’t want to be rude so she just said, “Thanks.”
Jenna set her ceramic pot on the windowsill and took a step back to study the result with a critical eye. “It’ll have to do for now.”
Haley silently cursed Luke Justice for his role in creating a spot for the unwanted plant. She’d only opened the blinds to have a clear view of his driveway.
Jenna faced Haley. “You’ll want to fertilize it.”
Haley glanced around as if she might spot a pile of nutrient-rich manure in one corner of the room.
“Moreno’s garden store sells every variety manufactured,” Jenna told her.
“Oh, okay.” Haley shot daggers at her new plant, an item with no foreseeable use that already left her unable to properly close her window blinds and running more errands than she cared to.
As she considered the merits of fertilizing her housewarming gift with poison, she saw Mindy’s jalopy pull up behind Jenna’s red sedan. She abandoned her murderous plotting to open the door.
“You’ll never guess what happened before I left the house,” Mindy said as she got out of the car, a paper bag in her hands. She brushed past Haley, bustled into the living room, and plopped onto the couch with the single-minded focus of a restaurant drudge who had been on her feet all day.
Haley shut the door. “What happened?”
Mindy’s eyes flashed. “I ran into my neighbor, the one with the plums. Well, he’s threatening to plant a peach tree!”
“In addition to the plums?” Haley asked. She had no idea why Mindy was so worked up.
“Instead of,” Mindy said, biting the edge of her lip. “The plum tree is no longer.”
Jenna sat down next to Mindy. “You finally convinced him to get rid of it?”
Mindy flapped her hand. “That’s not important. What’s important is that I don’t fancy living next door to a peach tree!”
“What’s wrong with peaches?” Haley asked.
Mindy whipped her head around, her jaw sliding toward the carpet as if Haley’s city-girl sensibilities left her thunderstruck.
“The fruits attract rodents,” Jenna said.
“Last time a neighbor planted himself a peach tree, I had to beat the roof rats off of my property with a broom,” Mindy spat.
Haley placed one palm over her stomach, remembering the slice of peach pie she’d ordered at the Wheelbarrow Café last week. She’d never imagined that someone had to fend off disease-carrying vermin in order to harvest the ingredients.
“Oh.” Mindy’s scowl disappeared, and she held up the paper bag in her hands. “I brought snacks.”
“I’ll get plates,” Haley volunteered. Luckily, she’d purchased a package of the paper variety last week.
Mindy dismissed her offer with a wave. “We don’t need anything fancy. Forks are enough.”
Haley fetched three forks. While she was in the kitchen she considered filling a few glasses with tap water, but she didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that she hadn’t stocked up on wine or anything more conducive to a girls’ night.
Mindy whistled as Haley passed the forks around. “Honey, you never told me you own engraved silverware.”
Jenna turned her utensil over, her lips parted in awe as she studied it.
“It’s not really engraved,” Haley said, wondering if they were simply used to plastic utensils. “It’s the name of the company.”
Jenna snatched the bag from Mindy’s hand and started distributing the packages. Haley took one and opened it. Her stomach knotted as she took in the brown, gelatinous mass inside.
She looked up at Mindy. “What is this?”
“Volcanic mashed potatoes. You’ve got yourself in a grilled-cheese rut down at the Wheelbarrow, and I reckoned it was time for you to try our specialty.”
Haley swallowed the bile rising up her throat. She’d avoided ordering this particular dish for a reason. If she’d known what it looked like previously, she would have been dining at the town’s Subway these past few weeks.
But she didn’t see any way out of at least sampling the dish. And when the first viscous dollop passed over her lips, the burst of flavor surprised her.
Mindy beamed. “I told you you’d love it.”
Jenna finished hers first. She tossed her empty container onto the coffee table and clapped her hands together. “So, what are we up to tonight?”
Haley had been on the verge of swallowing, but now she aborted the motion to give herself more time to ponder over their options. She hadn’t thought beyond stalking Luke when he returned home, but her guests didn’t know about that. And because they’d gathered at her house—no matter that Mindy had instigated the whole event—she felt obligated to figure out something fun for them to do.
Jenna’s eyes alighted on a pile of DVDs stacked on one corner of the coffee table. “Why don’t we watch a movie?”
Mindy clapped her hands. “Oh, that would be peachy!”
Her enthusiasm led Haley to wonder if DVD technology had yet to reach Sobaco.
Jenna leaned forward and pulled a case out of the middle of the stack. “I’ve always wanted to see this one.”
Mindy’s eyes lit up. “Me too!”
Unfortunately, one problem stood in their way. “I don’t have a television,” Haley told them.
Mindy’s brow furrowed. “You have DVDs but no TV?” She probably took it for granted that everyone owned a TV, even here in Sobaco.
Haley shrugged, thinking about the television she’d abandoned in Michael’s Seattle condo. “I forgot to take it with me when I moved.”
Jenna regarded her with an odd expression. Haley could only figure her confession wasn’t leaving her guest with a favorable opinion of her intelligence.
Haley set the rest of her potatoes aside. “We could take the DVD to one of your places.”
“That sounds like a grand idea,” Mindy said. She bent forward as though to roll herself off of the sofa. “Jenna, let’s go to your house.”
“Wait!” Haley yelled.
Jenna froze, her eyes growing wide. Mindy lost her hold on her to-go container, which fell into her lap. Thankfully, it landed right side up.
Haley’s eyes flitted to the DVD clock. How long would she need to stall before Luke returned home? Assuming he hadn’t made any plans for tonight, he should be pulling into his driveway at any minute. Until then, she’d have to make up something to keep Mindy and Jenna inside her house.
“Uh . . .” Haley thought fast. “Didn’t you just get off work, Mindy?”
“My shift ended at four, honey.”
“Even so. You must be tired.” Haley pressed Mindy back into the couch. “Why don’t you rest for a few minutes before we head over to Jenna’s. I need to clean up here anyway.”
Haley busied herself with collecting the mashed-potato containers. She peeked at her guests over the counter as she ducked into the kitchen, trying to calculate how long she could pretend to wash forks without coming across as a lunatic.
Jenna set the movie down. “We don’t have to watch this today.” From the slant of her lips, Haley formed the distinct impression that her new friend was reconsidering whether it was advisable to let Haley inside her house.
Mindy bobbed her head. “We can make this girls’ thing a weekly event. And, since nobody in their right mind wants to witness Howie fusing his fat behind with the sofa, next week we’ll meet at Jenna’s.” She twisted around to face Haley. “Howie’s my husband. He doesn’t dare miss a single hour of prime-time television. Fears that skipping a night of radiation will give him cancer.”
“Is that so,” Haley said, rejoining Mindy and Jenna in the living room.
Mindy slapped one palm against her thigh. “Tonight we’ll do makeovers. I could use some big-city makeup tips. See this?” She slanted toward Haley, opening her eyes wide and jabbing a finger as close to her cornea as she could without risking vision impairment. “These are the eyes of an amateur. As the city girl, it’ll be your job to turn us into movie stars.”
Haley offered her a stiff smile. She didn’t anticipate any problems highlighting Jenna’s natural beauty, but Mindy would be a challenge. Ignoring the mascara clumped on her eyelashes like mud and an eyeshadow color that made her look as if she’d barely survived a fistfight, Haley had to question whether the waitress had ever moisturized in her life. From the looks of her sun-damaged skin, she spent all her free time gardening outside without either sunscreen or a sombrero.
Mindy didn’t seem to notice Haley’s hesitation. She popped off the couch and made a beeline for the master bedroom. “Coming from Seattle, I reckon you have more face paint than a female impersonator.”
Mindy disappeared through the bedroom doorway. A second later, Haley heard a commotion as Mindy presumably shoved all of the cosmetics on the bathroom counter into Haley’s makeup bag.
To avoid thinking about a thirty-dollar bottle shattering, Haley turned to Jenna and smiled. “So, what do you do for a living?”
“I work at the garden store.” Jenna’s flat tone and the lifeless way she pointed to the plant made Haley think she didn’t find her line of work very interesting.
Mindy reappeared in time to notice where Jenna’s index finger was aimed. “Lord in heaven!” she screeched, dropping Haley’s makeup bag onto the coffee table before going over to inspect the plant. “This thing needs some lovin’.” She swiveled around to pierce Haley with the same look she might give someone caught with a starving child in her coat closet.
“Jenna just brought it over today,” Haley said in her own defense.
“Well, tomorrow I’m taking you fertilizer shopping.” Mindy’s firm tone left no room for argument. “You need to see Moreno’s anyway. That will be my housewarming present to you.”
Haley couldn’t think of any gift she’d appreciate less, but from the determined gleam in Mindy’s eye she knew arguing would be futile.
“Jenna, you can come too,” Mindy said.
“I’d love to, but I’ll be working,” Jenna replied. “Maybe I’ll see you there.”
Mindy lowered herself onto the couch and wiggled her rump. “Now that that’s settled, it’s makeover time.”
“Why don’t I start with Jenna?” Haley proposed. Not only would Jenna be her easiest subject, but with Luke due to return home soon it wouldn’t hurt to accentuate her pretty eyes beforehand.
Jenna lifted her chin up so Haley could inspect her face. “What about you, Haley?” she asked. “What do you do for a living? Mindy says you’re a computer genius.”
Haley perched on the edge of the coffee table and dug through the makeup bag. “‘Genius’ is rather inaccurate. But I am in software. Now close your eyes.”
Jenna shut her eyelids, squeezing them together so tightly that Haley feared she’d give herself a headache.
“Just relax,” she instructed.
Haley brushed some eyeshadow on Jenna’s eyelids, trying to ignore Mindy’s warm breath against her neck. She wondered whether the waitress had ever witnessed proper makeup-application techniques.
“Okay, open,” Haley said, leaning back to inspect her work.
Jenna opened her eyes wide.
“Don’t try so hard,” Haley told her. She tilted Jenna’s head to the left to view her subject from the side.
“Do you work from home?” Jenna asked, pointing to Haley’s laptop across the room.
“Yes, my company operates out of Seattle so I’m telecommuting.” She didn’t say that if things degenerated at their current rate, once her six-month trial period ended Nexus would likely either tell her to head on back to Washington State or find a new job.
Jenna cocked her head. “How come you left Seattle?”
The question made Haley feel as if all the air was being sucked out of her lungs. “After my fiancé died, I came out here for a fresh start.”
Jenna’s face softened. “I’m so sorry. Sometimes there’s no telling whose time is up.”
Haley’s eyes welled up, and she willed herself not to cry. She refused to ruin what was supposed to be a fun girls’ night.
Mindy patted Haley’s shoulder. “You’ve gotta show us some pictures of the man.”
Figuring she didn’t have much choice, Haley swallowed the lump in her throat, trudged over to her desk, and woke up her laptop.
She brought up an empty browser window, hoping she’d done a thorough job clearing its history. She would hate to start accessing her long-neglected Facebook page only to have one of her searches related to marijuana horticulture and eyewitness fallibility auto-populate. Although she’d already explained her motive for moving to Sobaco to Mindy, she didn’t want to rehash the whole story for Jenna’s benefit.
But Jenna didn’t seem inclined to peer over Haley’s shoulder. She continued to sit on the couch while Mindy hovered near the computer.
Haley had just started scrolling through her Facebook photo albums when movement outside the window caught her eye. The sight of Luke’s cruiser rolling up his driveway sent her scrambling out of her chair. She bumped Mindy’s nose and almost knocked the laptop to the floor in her haste to reach him.
Luke had just stepped out of his car when Haley swung the door open. He took a step back as she raced outside to meet him. “I see you’ve been waiting for me,” he commented dryly.
She refrained from telling him he was late. “I thought you might like to come in for a minute.”
Luke stood with his feet parted, his knuckles planted on his hips. “You’re not even going to let me unwind first, are you?”
“You can unwind with us.”
“Us?”
“Jenna and me.” She paused, then added, “And Mindy.”
Luke regarded her through narrowed eyes. “I could.” He sounded as though he would rather stab a pencil through his hand.
He glanced at his own door for a second before shuffling toward her house. She followed close behind. If he changed his mind, he’d have to knock her out of the way to escape.
Once they were both inside, she shut the door and flipped the deadbolt.
Jenna smiled. “Hi, Luke.”
“Jenna. What brings you here today?” Luke looked at Mindy, who had relocated back to the other half of the couch. Then he peered at Haley with one eyebrow arched, as if he were trying to decide whether she had spent the day kidnapping Sobaco’s finest female citizens.
“We’re having a girls’ night,” Jenna said.
“That’s nice.” Luke’s tone suggested he couldn’t imagine anything more torturous.
Silence fell. Haley laced her fingers together as she struggled to think up a subject to break the tension. The way Luke was eyeing them, Haley wouldn’t be surprised if he were trying to ascertain whether he could arrest them for anything.
It occurred to her that Match.com was lucky Sobaco couldn’t sustain a reliable Internet connection or else Luke Justice might be inclined to register.
Luke wandered over to Haley’s desk. Her heart lurched when she saw him studying her laptop screen.
She covered the distance in three long strides and slammed the laptop lid closed. “Do you want to sit down?” She used her shoe to push the desk chair away from her computer, hoping Luke would get the hint.
Mindy popped off the couch. “Why don’t you take my seat?”
From the way Luke’s face darkened, Haley figured sitting in the middle of a girls’ party ranked at the bottom of his list of preferred Friday night activities. He probably had hoped to engage in two minutes of obligatory small talk before excusing himself. But to Haley’s relief, he perched on the couch next to Jenna.
Nobody spoke. Haley swore she could hear the crickets outside. She had hoped Jenna and Luke would strike up a conversation on their own, but that obviously wasn’t going to happen.
“So, Luke,” Haley began. Then she blurted out the only question she could think of. “Are there any updates on the marijuana case?”
Mindy straightened. Haley could feel the energy radiating off of her while she waited to hear an update she could serve with tomorrow’s orders of volcanic mashed potatoes.
“I heard you searched Zepeda’s place before you arrested him,” Haley said. “Did you find anything?”
Luke’s lips thinned. “What does it matter to you?”
“I’m . . . wondering what sort of case you’re building against this man. I mean, I hope you’re not basing everything on my eyewitness testimony.”
“Why is that?”
“I only saw Zepeda for an instant. That’s hardly going to impress a jury.”
Luke crossed his arms over his chest. “But he ran through the cannabis plants and headed toward you. He was right next to you, close enough for you to touch, is what I believe you said.”
“Yes.” Haley couldn’t deny it. Still, his recollection of her exact words inspired a pinch of resentment. “But he moved awfully fast, and I was so confused about everything.”
Luke flicked his gaze to Jenna, who smiled as she twisted a lock of hair around one finger. She had been hanging on his every word, as though she couldn’t get enough of hearing Luke’s voice.
Haley’s chest tightened. She knew she should steer the conversation toward something more conducive to sparking a romance, but for the life of her she couldn’t think of how to segue from felony narcotics to love and relationships.
Luke turned his attention back to Haley. “What do you mean you were confused about everything?”
Haley waved her hand, her cheeks growing hot. “You know, about finding those drugs and then seeing a man there . . . It was all very jarring.”
Luke’s face remained hard, strengthening Haley’s resolve to get him and Jenna together. Jenna’s bubbly personality was sure to loosen him up a little. Right now, the man looked as though he needed to seriously increase his fiber intake.
Finally, he sighed. “I suppose it won’t hurt to tell you we have additional evidence.”
Haley leaned toward him. “Like what?”
“We found a baggie of marijuana at Ricardo’s residence.”
“Really?” It sounded too good to be true. “Can you tie it to the plants found in the woods?”
Mindy hunched closer to Luke, as though unable to resist his gravitational pull. Haley could practically see her mind absorbing every word into her gossip reserves.
“The lab is working on that,” Luke said. “They’re also performing a DNA and fingerprint comparison between several other items.”
Haley figured “other items” referred to the water bottle and knife, and she couldn’t help but smile.
Luke narrowed his eyes. “It will take time before we know whether they’re a match.”
His warning failed to dampen her soaring spirits. With solid evidence, her eyewitness testimony would be irrelevant. She felt a huge burden lift from her shoulders.
“Until then, we’re holding the suspect without bail,” Luke continued. “We can’t risk Ricardo becoming a flight risk.”
Haley nodded, thinking of Tracy Lamb’s fervor in covering for her lover. She wouldn’t doubt she might go so far as to stuff Zepeda into her trunk and sneak him down to Mexico.
Luke looked at his watch. “Is that all you wanted to discuss?”
Haley glanced at Jenna, wondering whether Luke had even noticed her accentuated eyes. She hoped he was more attentive when he returned her cat from rescue missions.
Luke tapped his foot against the floor. “If you don’t have anything else, I’m heading back to my place.”
“We were just sitting around chatting,” Haley said. “You’re welcome to join us.”
Behind his back, Jenna raised her eyebrows. Cajoling her crush into crashing their girls’ night was probably not what she had in mind when she’d agreed to participate. Haley lifted one shoulder, still trying to figure out what Jenna found so appealing about Luke. She hoped he wasn’t the only unattached Sobaco man in their age bracket.
Luke stood up and approached the front door. “As much as I appreciate the offer, I need to get home.”
Haley didn’t try to stop him. “Do you mind letting me know when the lab results come back?”
Luke unlocked the door before turning back around. “Why are you so interested in our case?”
Haley twined her fingers together. “I just want to make sure Sobaco remains crime free.”
Luke’s cheek twitched as though he knew she lacked any concern over Sobaco’s crime rate. But he didn’t challenge her.
Instead, without another word, he let himself out.
