Chapter Fourteen
The Welcome Summer Festival was off to a grand start. Stepping outside of Tomes & Tea for a few seconds, Jazzi could see tourists and locals strolling in and out of all the shops along the sundrenched street. She checked her watch—an hour and a half until Emilia arrived. Jazzi could feel excitement buzzing from her bangs to her sandals.
Parker strode up the walk toward the store as Jazzi was turning to step back inside. After a smile and an after-you gesture, he followed her in. “Do you have enough help today?”
The tea bar was crowded with folks waiting for tea and baked goods. Today the Dockside Bakery had provided peach walnut muffins and chocolate mini-tarts. Three customers stood in line at the sales desk. Jazzi moved that way.
Over her shoulder, she said to Parker, “I hope so. But once Emilia arrives, it could get hectic.”
“I can always help bag books.”
Jazzi turned to face him. “I can’t let you do that.”
His wide grin was self-deprecating. “Why not? Think I can’t put the right books in the right customer’s bag?”
“No, of course not. But aren’t you going to enjoy the festival? Almost every shop has sales or special events. The marina and the community center boardwalk are decorated for this weekend. Even the food trucks are giving out samples.”
“Do I look underfed?” he joked. Then he turned serious. “You do realize, don’t you, that I’d rather be out on the lake fishing than participating in the events.”
Obviously, Parker enjoyed peace and quiet. That was no secret. “Then why aren’t you?”
“Because even the lake traffic is heavy today. Sure, it’s a thirty-mile-long lake, but tourists have found us for the summer, and this weekend is especially crowded. I set up a client meeting for later. My office will be the quietest place in town.”
“And after the meeting? Will you be hibernating?” She didn’t like to see Parker close himself off, but he often said he could only handle so much noise and stimulation.
With a one-shoulder shrug, he gave her a coy smile. “It depends on your definition of hibernating. A friend is joining me for a gaming session.”
As he saw that look pass over her face—the one that said she worried about him—he waved his hand in front of her face. “I will come out of my lair for evening festivities tomorrow night. I appreciate Shakespeare, though I might use earplugs for the Evan Holloway concert. Always too much bass.”
She couldn’t keep from laughing. “I won’t tell him you said that.”
“Do you think you’ll actually get chat time with him?”
She slipped behind the sales desk with Erica. “You never know. I’m trying to be flexible this weekend for whatever happens.”
“You’re so much better at that than I am. Must be because of my childhood,” he said, “and being homeschooled.”
“Or maybe it’s because you have a genius IQ. You like routine. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Dawn had confided that fact about Parker’s IQ shortly after Jazzi had met him.
Parker’s face turned slightly red. “That’s an unverified rumor.”
Shaking her head, Jazzi went along with his proffer of help. “You’re welcome to bag, but I pay in cups of tea.”
“Fine with me.”
Jazzi kept an eye on her watch as well as activity in Tomes. The shop became more crowded as noon approached. She told herself to breathe . . . breathe . . . breathe. At noon, a sleek gray SUV drew up in front of the store. A hefty man in a black suit opened the SUV’s passenger door and Delaney emerged. She was wearing a bronze-colored two-piece suit dress. The man stood at the front passenger door and then Emilia slid out one very long, well-shaped leg. Her heels had to be at least five-inch spikes in the same red as her dress.
On the sidewalk now, Jazzi could see the slim fire-engine-red dress did indeed have wings. Emilia had worn her hair up in an intricately woven design.
As Jazzi took in Emilia Perez’s appearance, Delaney beckoned to her and then to Dawn. They both hurried to her. Too quickly for Jazzi to remember exactly what happened, Emilia’s bodyguard—Jazzi had assumed the man in the suit was her bodyguard—had directed her and Dawn on either side of the model, in front of Tomes & Tea. Delaney was snapping photos and possibly video with her camera. Passersby were doing the same.
It all took a matter of minutes until Delaney ushered them inside.
Jazzi caught her breath as she and Dawn actually had the chance to say hello to Emilia.
After greetings all around, Emilia took a seat on the desk chair at the table. “This looks wonderful.”
Her bodyguard had placed a bottle of water on the table even though Jazzi had put one there too. “If this chair isn’t comfortable, let me know and we’ll find another.”
Dawn straightened the stack of books. “If you’d like iced tea, say the word.”
Customers were already lining up to receive numbers to have their books signed. “I’m good for now. Let’s get started.”
Jazzi let Emilia shine. Her being there caused business to flow in several ways. Dawn and Jazzi had decided to give out numbers for customers who wanted books signed. The numbers allowed book buffs to browse while they waited for their number to come up. Others had books signed and then stayed to listen to Emilia speak to fans. They also moved around the store, picking up other books that captured their interest.
Jazzi had to admit that she was surprised when Connie Covino came into Tomes & Tea with Andrea. Jazzi couldn’t help but notice Connie. She looked like a model herself this afternoon, wearing a red-and-white patterned sundress with red Louboutin sandals. Crystals embellished the straps. Jazzi had often glimpsed shoes like that while window-shopping. They were way out of her budget. It was easy to see that Connie was fit. Had those upper arm muscles developed simply from tennis? Or perhaps she worked out with a personal trainer.
Jazzi watched Connie as she learned she had to take a number and wait until it was called. She huffily moved around the store. Although concentrating on Emilia, making sure her stack of books wasn’t diminishing, ensuring each customer could have a minute or two with her, Jazzi still realized what Connie was doing. She was trading numbers with an older woman who was browsing. Apparently, Connie had better things to do than wait for her number to be called.
Entitlement. Connie apparently believed she was entitled to anything she wanted.
Andrea tagged along with her mother and seemed disinterested. She was wearing white designer jeans and a cropped short-sleeved top. The label on the back pocket of the jeans was a giveaway. The two women had their heads together just as Connie’s number was called. When Connie stepped up to have her book signed, she easily started a conversation with the model as if they were on equal terms.
As Connie ignored Jazzi, she said to Emilia, “I was once a model too. I know it’s not an easy life. That posing . . . that takes a toll on your body even if you’re fit. You certainly do look fit.”
Emilia gave Connie a tolerant smile. “So, you would like me to sign this book for you?”
“Yes, I would like that. Maybe you could sign it—to a fellow model in a difficult business.”
Emilia narrowed her eyes and took another look at Connie. “It might be a difficult business, but it’s given me a bright future. This book is only one part of it,” she admitted.
“Are you going to go into acting?” Connie asked.
“I’ve taken some acting courses. My agent is discussing other possibilities.”
“Maybe a talk show?” Connie wanted to know.
But Emilia wasn’t disclosing her plans, or anything about her personal life. She was too smart for that.
“I couldn’t keep up the hours and the traveling,” Connie confessed. “That’s why I took a job with a cosmetic company.”
As Jazzi straightened the stack of books next to Emilia, a question popped out of her mouth. “Is that how you met Joseph Covino?”
Connie gave Jazzi a dark look.
But Emilia turned to Connie as if her curiosity had gotten the better of her too. “Did you meet your husband while you were modeling?”
“Not modeling exactly. I was working for the cosmetics company as their spokeswoman. We met at a charity event my company was sponsoring. It was love at first sight. We had a whirlwind romance.”
Andrea, who had been quiet until now as she stood next to her mother, chimed in. “It’s a good thing she did. We live in an awesome house now, and I had my first choice at a college. Her romance, as she calls it, made life better for all of us.”
Andrea almost sounded like a teenager with no filter. Was she this open with other people? Or was it just that Emilia was a celebrity, and celebrities were worth the mother and daughter’s time?
From the day Jazzi had met the Covino family, she’d wondered if Connie and Joseph’s relationship had been a love match or if it was something much more practical.
With adept polite persuasion, Emilia managed to say to Connie, “It was so nice to meet you.”
Mother and daughter finally moved away from the table toward the sales counter.
After a sigh of relief, Jazzi waved to Giselle Dubois as her friend wandered around the shop, picking up a cup of tea and a number. When it came to her turn with Emilia, she pointed to a group of four men standing near the biography section. “I think you have a fan club,” she told Emilia. “But they might be a little afraid to talk to you.”
Emilia laughed. “I doubt if they’re afraid to talk to me. I’ll make it easy on them.”
“I wanted to be a model,” Giselle told her. “But I’m too short. Five-four isn’t modeling material.”
Emilia studied her. “You have a beautiful heart-shaped face.”
Jazzi didn’t think Giselle needed all the eye shadow that she wore. Her hair was short and shaggy, sometimes poufy. She was adorable but always felt as if she had to make up for her short height. “Giselle is one of our women entrepreneurs in Belltower Landing,” Jazzi told Emilia.
“Tell me about that,” Emilia said after asking Giselle how to spell her name.
“I went to a community college, took a couple of online business courses and accounting courses and decided to open my own business. I figured out what Belltower Landing needed most—a cleaning service. There are so many moms who just don’t have time to clean their houses as well as work and take care of kids. I developed reasonable rates, and now I have a staff. I work for some high-end clients too, and there are a lot of them in Belltower Landing.”
Emilia leaned forward to Giselle. “I bet you see a lot of family drama.”
“Or the aftermath of it,” Giselle said with a smile. “I certainly do see a cross section of Belltower Landing and how they live. And you’d be surprised at what people just leave sitting around. I could write a book.”
Jazzi said, “Giselle is one of my book club friends, along with Delaney. Delaney could always hook her up with an agent.”
All three women laughed, and Giselle realized she should move on and not tie up Emilia any longer.
One by one, the men who were standing over to the side came up to have their books signed. Emilia spent a few minutes with each, easily conversing with them, delving into their life, finding something to talk about besides how to spell their name.
Jazzi recognized one of the men from the pictures she’d seen on Brie’s social media that Lara had shown her—Gregg Rizzo. As Jazzi listened to their conversation, she heard Gregg say, “I have an office nearby. I often stop in here to look around.” After Gregg and Emilia conversed for a few minutes and he walked away with his book, Emilia said to Jazzi, “I need a break. Ladies’ room?”
Jazzi showed her where the ladies’ room was located, then came back to the table. She told those in line that they’d resume the book signing in a few minutes.
Gregg was standing in the check-out line. She crossed to him, wondering if Erica needed help. She went behind the counter and took the opportunity to bag Gregg’s book.
“I wonder if Emilia has a date for the concert tomorrow night,” he joked.
“I think she has another book signing tomorrow and will be leaving as soon as she’s finished here,” Jazzi answered.
He gave a self-deprecating chuckle. “That was a wild thought that entered my head. I don’t know where it came from.”
Jazzi rang up his sale and bagged his book. “Never let an opportunity pass you by. You never know what can happen.”
He shook his head. “I might be more successful with Emilia than with my last date. I found her on a dating app.”
“Not enough in common?” Jazzi asked innocently, wondering how much he’d say.
“I thought we had a chance, but the woman didn’t. I was sort of ready to settle down, but certainly not start a family. And she wanted to do that right away.”
Was that Brie’s criteria? Whoever she dated not only wanted to get married soon, but start a family too? It was a lot to ask. How could anyone know if they’d be ready for that? But apparently Brie had been.
Erica had made quick work of the customers and only one still stood in front of her.
Jazzi said to Gregg, “Maybe you could both give it another shot.”
A look of supreme sadness passed over Gregg’s face. “I can’t. That woman was Brie Frazier.”
Jazzi’s gaze met Gregg’s directly. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“We weren’t that close,” he said offhandedly. “We only had a few dates. But I really liked her. I can’t believe what happened.”
Is this something Gregg told many people? Was it easier to discuss Brie with a stranger? That was often the case, whether it was talking about a loved one who passed, adoption, or a murder.
“When I think of Brie, it seems impossible that she’s not still here,” Gregg added.
It was hard to believe that this man could have had anything to do with Brie’s death. Or maybe it was a good act. Maybe he was an actor. Except the next thing he said threw Jazzi off balance.
“I thought I knew Brie. But I guess I didn’t.” Gregg shook his head.
Before Jazzi could ask any more questions, Emilia came back to the signing table. Jazzi knew she couldn’t prolong this conversation. She handed Gregg his bag and went to help Emilia.