A week later, Nikki decided life didn’t get better than this, as she watched the water swirl the ashes of her uncle down the toilet into the sewer where he belonged. Evil dreams had filled her sleep the night following her trip to the coroner’s office. Worse than nightmares, these dreams had been reenactments of her worst memories. The detective’s grilling at the diner hadn’t helped calm her nerves either.
Closing her eyes, she prayed this burial signaled the end of the dreams. All that remained of him now floated in the sewers where he belonged. The image pulled her lips into a smile.
Now that she was free, Nikki left the ladies room of the funeral home ready to start a new chapter in her life. A chapter free of fear, nightmares, and crank calls.
“Nikki!”
The trill of voices pierced her happy thoughts. Looking across the large foyer, she eyed more of her past. The Eenie Meanies all grown up. What the hell are they doing here she wondered as she forced herself to wait as they walked toward her. They moved as one unit. The ridiculous image of ‘The Blob’ swallowing her like it had the soda shop in the old movie filled her mind.
Nikki, Alicia, Rochelle, and Brenda had been best of friends growing up. It was their personalities more than anything that had resulted in their classmates calling them the Eenie Meanie Club in school. Though Nikki had been the cornerstone of the friendship, the final years of high school were the end for her part. Even before she left Pinecrest, she had realized the one-sidedness of the relationship.
She endured the air kisses from Alicia and Rochelle, and returned the nod of greeting from Brenda. “What in the world are you doing here?”
Alicia waved a perfectly manicured hand at her. “Oh now, you didn’t think we would ignore our best friend in such a difficult time, did you?”
Nikki nearly gagged on the saccharine sweetness of Alicia’s question. If consolation were their real intention, why hadn’t they contacted her when they first heard of Darin’s death? She smiled. “Thanks, guys, but I’m fine. Really.”
Like they ever really cared about me or my feelings. Besides, they hadn’t picked up where they left off when she came back to town, which only made this sudden show of concern even stranger.
Brenda huffed at Nikki’s words. She stood to the side of the group, her arms as always crossed over her chest. “Of course, you’re fine. It’s not like you cared about the bastard.”
“Way to show support, Bren,” Rochelle said glaring at Brenda.
Nikki watched the contest of wills between the two with little interest. The few times they had all gotten together in recent years had proven to Nikki the outcome would be the same as when they were young. Rochelle ruled, and though the other two might grumble once in awhile, Rochelle’s strong personality always won out.
“Sorry,” Brenda mumbled.
“No need for apologies. You’re right, Brenda. I didn’t care for my uncle. His death had little effect on me,” Nikki said. Yeah, like sunshine has little effect on flowers.
Alicia waved her hand again. “Does it really matter? What’s important is your friends are here for you.”
“I don’t need anything, Alicia. I took the day off but more to catch up on grading papers than anything else. The quarter, rather, the year is almost over.”
“Always the school teacher,” Rochelle said. “Let your hair down, Nik. Live a little before you end up like Darin. We have provisions in the car and hours left in the day. How about we raise a few at your house and forget about test papers and Darin?”
Nikki looked at her three childhood friends. The comment about ending up like Darin gave her pause. Was it a threat? Did they have something to do with his death? Following the question, an uncharitable thought that the impromptu wake was more for them than her, crossed her mind. Then again, toasting her newfound freedom from fear did hold some appeal. That and the fact that their tongues would be looser once they’d had a few. Maybe she could find out if one of them had murdered him.
“Okay,” she said, and motioned toward the door.
An hour and a half later, they were still reminiscing in Nikki’s living room. She had to admit, she thought as she sipped her watered down drink, it had been a pleasant afternoon. A large portion of it spent talking about when they were young. Back when mischief meant putting a toad in the cook’s favorite pot at Rochelle’s house. Alicia’s next words brought Nikki’s good mood to a jarring halt.
The petite and pretty member of the group leaned against the sofa waving her glass in the air. “Remember the first time we met him?”
“Yeah, we were all over at Nikki’s house sitting on the living room floor just like now,” Brenda replied.
“And you were all drooling. You couldn’t have been more obvious if you had tried. I never did understand your collective obsession with him. I mean, geez, we were what, sixteen to his twenty-four?”
Nikki watched, pretending to be drunk as well as confused. She wondered again if one of them had done her the favor of killing her uncle. Not that she would turn them in. Her uncle deserved to die, but did she really want to entertain a killer? Althought, if one of them did kill him, why and how were they still trying to terrify her with the calls?
“I know you were related, but even you can’t deny it,” Alicia cooed. “Darin was drop dead gorgeous. Oops, sorry,” she said and frowned a little.
“Nothing to be sorry for, Alicia,” Nikki said. “Accept maybe your taste.”
“You must have needed your glasses adjusted then,” Rochelle commented and they all broke into laughter.
Nikki laughed with them; even though having Rochelle remind her of her ‘ugly duckling’ status in the group didn’t thrill her. She could take it now. The past couldn’t hurt her anymore since Darin was dead. Just the thought had her blushing and made her laugh even harder.
“Of course, there were a few things you couldn’t have appreciated as much as we--”
The peel of the doorbell interrupted Rochelle’s words. Nikki, glad for the interruption climbed to her feet. In her new feeling of safety and liberation, she forgot to look through the window before opening the door. When the man standing on her stoop came into focus, she couldn’t do more than stare.
“Hello, Nikki,” he said.
She shook her head, hoping the few real drinks she’d had affected her more than usual. They hadn’t. There he stood, handsome as ever, Joe Fitzpatrick. “Hmmm?” she murmured propping herself against the doorjamb.
“Nikki?”
“Oh, uh, hi,” she answered with a grin. An idea came to her. Maybe she could change the topic of conversation in her living room. She definitely didn’t need the reminder of how each of her friends had confided in her about doing it with her uncle. God would forgive her a little white lie, right?
“I’m drunk.” She leaned forward as she whispered the confession and ended up falling against him. Nikki made no move to pull away when his arms came up and caught her against him.
“Yes, I’d say that’s a fair assessment of the situation.”
“Come on, Nikki. You’re letting all the air conditioning out. Tell whoever’s there to get lost,” Brenda called out.
“Unless he’s cute, then invite him in,” Rochelle and Alicia’s voices said in unison.
Nikki tilted her head back and stared at Joe’s face so close to hers. “Hmm? Do you think you’re cute enough to pass?”
“I never made much of an impression on that group.”
Grinning, Nikki leaned further back pulling on his tie. “Oh, you’ll make an impression now.”
Joe maneuvered Nikki’s weight back to her feet, though the position her tripping had put them in tempted him not to. All the reasons he shouldn’t be tempted played through his mind. One, she was drunk. Two, she wouldn’t be interested if she weren’t drunk. Three, his son had her for English. Four, she’d dumped him for no reason before and five, well five held the biggest deterrent of all. She was a suspect in her uncle’s murder.
“Maybe I should come back another time,” he said.
“No, no, no. I need something to distract them from their favorite topic and you’re it.” She grabbed his tie again and led him into the living room.
Joe kicked the door shut as Nikki pulled him like a fish on a line down the short hallway. He tried to imagine the Eenie Meanie Club all grown up, but couldn’t. Except for Nikki, he considered them a bunch of spoiled, stuck-up, rude girls. When he and Nikki stepped into the living room, he could tell little had changed.
Alicia reclined in a seductive pose against the sofa. Brenda held a bottle of liquor in one hand, glass in the other and glared at him from the fireplace stoop. Rochelle, dressed to professional perfection, cocked an eyebrow, and smiled an invitation. Okay, so something had changed. None of them, except Nikki, had ever given him a second look back in high school. He found himself wishing they hadn’t now.
Nikki pulled one of his arms around her and his tie over her shoulder. Joe couldn’t remember the last time he’d held a woman so close. Not even his wife.
“Look who I found out on the doorstep,” Nikki said.
“Joseph Fitzpatrick, as I live and breathe. You look good enough to eat,” Alicia told him, licking her lips and holding her glass up as if toasting him.
“Alicia,” he said nodding in her direction.
“Yes, Joseph, I must admit you’ve turned out well,” Rochelle offered.
“Thank you, Rochelle,” Joe said barely taming his sarcasm. As if he cared what any of them thought of him.
“Nah, he’s still no Darin,” Brenda grumbled before taking another swig of her drink.
Under his arm, Joe felt Nikki’s body go tense as a tightrope. She appeared to sober instantly raising his concern. Any time her uncle’s name came up her mood turned decidedly icy. He really didn’t want to think what he feared the mood swings could mean,
“No,” Alicia agreed. “But he’s alive.”
Joe watched Nikki’s shoulders relax a little with Alicia’s words but he couldn’t understand why. These women were supposed to be her friends and they were acting like a bunch of ill-mannered children.
“I didn’t mean to cause trouble, Nikki. I knew they’d released the body and wanted to see if you needed any help. I can see you have all the support you need, so I’ll get out of your way,” he told her and began to turn and leave. If she could handle these women, she certainly didn’t need him.
“Oh, don’t be that way, Joe. You always were a wet blanket,” Alicia whined.
“He was not,” Nikki defended.
Joe turned back at her adamant tone and quick defense of his character. Since when did she take anyone’s side against the Eenie Meanies? This could be interesting.
“Get real, Nik,” Brenda shot back. “Joe talked you out of fun more often than not.”
“Oh really,” Nikki said lifting her chin as if challenging Brenda.
He decided it would be worthwhile to see where Nikki went with her ‘oh really.’ Her tone smacked of innuendo. He leaned against the back of the sofa and watched her, waiting for more.
“I suppose that depends on your definition of fun,” Nikki told them. “Still waters run deep, as they say.”
Joe watched her eyes cut a quick worried glance in his direction. Obviously, she worried he would call her bluff. They’d done nothing more than kiss so it wouldn’t take much. Then again, if she wanted a reputation, who was he to deny her.
“You and Joe?” all three said in unison then turned to him as if for clarification,
He just grinned and shrugged.
“But you never said a word,” Alicia accused. She had turned her head to glare at Nikki, but Joe knew she spoke to him as well. Every male who had dated Alicia bragged about it. She expected everyone else to do the same.
Even though technically he had nothing to brag about, Joe responded with “Wet blankets don’t brag.”
“Well, best friends do. I can’t believe after all we’ve told you, you couldn’t tell us the day you finally gave up your virginity!” Alicia’s face was flushed, her nostrils flared with anger.
Joe didn’t like the turn things were taking. “Alicia, take it easy. She’s--”
“The hell with what she’s doing. Don’t you defend her,” Alicia screamed in his direction. “You have no idea how big this is. We,” she waved her hand to encompass the other women. “Not only did we tell her about our usual conquests, we even confided to her that we’d done it with her uncle! If we can tell her that, you’d think she could say something about a quickie with a - a nobody.”
Far from taking offense at her obvious dig, Joe concentrated on the tidbit of information Alicia had let slip.
“Can it, Alicia,” Rochelle said and Joe knew the tide would now turn. Rochelle had always been the leader of the group. “Insults aside, do you really believe Nikki did it with him?” She pointed directly at Joe as if there were another man in the room it could be. “No offense, Joe.”
“None taken, Chel,” he said with a grin. He knew she hated that nickname.
Rochelle raised an eyebrow at the name and then turned back to Alicia. “When we were in high school, Joe Fitzpatrick blushed more than any girl I knew. If he and Nikki had done the deed no way could that honest apple pie face be able to deny it.”
“That’s true,” Brenda said, adding her two cents. “And Nikki Good Girl would have been overcome with guilt.”
Joe listened; amazed at the way these grown women treated their supposedly best friend. He chanced a glance at Nikki and noticed she hadn’t folded into acceptance the way she had in the past. If he could still read her at all, she was primed to explode.
“That’s a fact,” Alicia agreed finally relaxing back against the sofa.
“Okay,” Nikki said. “Back then I was a goody two shoes, times have changed, Alicia. I might have listened to you all brag about sleeping with my uncle, but it definitely wasn’t a thrill, so drop it and back off Joe. He never did anything to you guys.”
“Sure he did,” Rochelle said. “He walked in the door when we needed a distraction, and honey is he ever a distraction.”
“Down girl,” Joe warned. “I’m not here for your entertainment. I came over to check on Nikki.”
“How touching,” Brenda chided. “He’s still sweet on her.”
Joe’s head swung around and he speared her with his gaze. “Because I come to check on an old friend after her last relative dies you conclude I’m sweet on her?”
“You call yourself a detective?” Brenda shot back. She shook her head then took a long swig from the bottle she held.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Joe asked totally losing track of the conversation.
“If you knew anything, Joe dear, you would know Nikki would be the last person to fall apart over Darin’s death,” Alicia told him then glanced over at Nikki. “No offense, Nik, but you were right, he was slime.”
“No, Alicia, you’re wrong. He’s scum,” Brenda said. “At least slime slides away, scum sticks to you and is a pain in the ass to get rid of.” The two of them cackled with laughter.
Joe walked to the end of the sofa and sat on the arm while he considered their words. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nikki slowly lower herself into the chair beside him. “Sounds like you didn’t care for your old boyfriend anymore,” he said into the laughter. His question caused another round of giggles.
“Boyfriend?” Rochelle teased. “Gosh, Joe, is the word lover too risqué?”
Trying hard to keep his temper in check, he grinned. “Well, gee, Chel,” he said using the dreaded nickname again. “I didn’t want to get too personal.”
Joe felt lucky the daggers she shot his way were coming from her eyes. The woman looked mad enough to stab a real one through his heart. That thought had him wondering if Rochelle could have been the one to slide a stiletto of some kind through Darin’s heart. When he looked back at her, the image had disappeared and she cast him a coy smile.
“But, we like to get personal, Joe,” Rochelle said as she tried to rise gracefully from her place on the floor. She ended up pulling herself up with the aid of the coffee table. “How ‘bout we forget about old Darin Shmarin and concentrate on you.”
Joe grasped the hand she placed on his thigh and moved it back to her side. “I don’t think I could handle the full concentration of the Eenie Meanie’s.”
Rochelle shrugged. “You’re probably right. I doubt you could even handle sweet Nikki all by yourself.”
“Stop it, Rochelle,” Nikki said, standing and placing a hand on his shoulder.
“As usual, the fun stopped when old wet blanket walked in,” Alicia said. “Come on, girls. I’ll spring for a taxi and we can take our party somewhere that wet blankets aren’t allowed.” Alicia pulled her cell phone out of her pocket.
“You’re on,” Brenda said, setting her glass on the table and heading toward the door, the bottle still in her hand.
“Yes, it’s getting entirely too sweet for my taste,” Rochelle agreed. “When you want someone with a little more experience, give me a call, Joey.”
Her unveiled invitation hit its mark as Nikki’s hand tensed on his shoulder.
“Don’t wait by the phone, Chel,” Nikki said, as a smile played on her lips.
Joe found himself speechless. He had wanted to deck Rochelle for being so tactless but Nikki took care of it instead. Curious. Then he noticed the dagger eyes Rochelle aimed at him earlier zooming in on Nikki. More interesting than the insult Nikki had issued was watching her stand tall under Rochelle’s hard stare. It appeared some things had changed. His enjoyment of the standoff between Nikki and Rochelle ended when Alicia’s piercing voice broke in.
“Well, I certainly won’t wait,” Alicia said into the tension-filled room. “I’ve got plenty of man waiting for me at home.”
“I heard you were engaged,” Joe said. “Congratulations.”
He should look the guy up and send him a condolence card. Obviously, the man had no idea what he was getting into. Alicia might be petite but as he’d already seen this evening, she had a temper that rivaled many. He mulled over that thought for a moment. Anger could make a small person stronger than expected. Could Alicia have attacked Darin? With the question circling his head, he felt Nikki push away. An odd smile pulled at her lips.
“Yes, you caught a big one, didn’t you, Alicia. An up-and-coming political powerhouse, from what I hear. I hope you and Allen will be very happy,” Nikki said, then kissed the air beside Alicia’s head.
If Joe hadn’t seen and heard it himself, he wouldn’t believe it. Nikki, aiming sarcasm at one of her best friends? The changes kept mounting. She definitely appeared stronger than he remembered.
He waited in the living room until Nikki came back from saying good-bye.
“Thanks,” she said as she walked toward him. “I’d make excuses for them except you know them, so it isn’t worth the effort.”
She slid her hands over the lapels of his jacket and wound them around his neck. Knowing he shouldn’t, Joe wrapped his arms around her waist, resting them on her lower back. He watched her face for a clue where this would lead, though concentrating proved difficult when she brushed her fingers through the hair above his collar.
“There are times I wish I could be more like them,” she said, her voice hushed, almost a whisper.
“No you don’t.”
She tipped her head back and smiled up at him. “Yeah, right now I do.”
Disappointed, he frowned down at her. “Why?”
“Because then I would know what to do to make you stay,” she whispered pulling his head down and kissing him.
The moment her lips touched his all capability to reason left him. Hunger and need bombarded his body. He parted her lips and tasted the gin and tonic she’d been drinking. It only served to fuel the fire. He pulled her closer and she responded by arching against him. A thousand watt jolt of electricity couldn’t compare to the desire her actions caused.
Suddenly, she broke the kiss and pressed a hand over her lips. She pushed out of his hold. “Joe, I’m sorry. I don’t know, I mean I should never have--”
“It’s okay, Nikki,” Joe said, kicking himself for letting it happen at all. His only defense for doing so was lame but he couldn’t deny it. When her lips had touched his, he felt as if he’d come home. He had cared for and respected Melissa, but never in the nine years of their marriage had he known a feeling like that.
You’re about as low as they come, Joe. Melissa deserved better. Nikki does, too.
Joe allowed the guilt but forced himself to concentrate on Nikki.
“I’m still sorry.” She stepped around him and started picking up glasses and chip bags then walked to the kitchen.
Joe followed. She didn’t seem to have any trouble maneuvering as she had earlier. “Can I help?” he asked even though there didn’t appear to be any more mess.
She turned to face him while she wiped her hands on a towel. “You already have. I’m sure you have more important things to do than hang around here.”
Joe followed as she walked past him and to the front door. “May I ask you something?”
Nikki had reached the door and had hold of the doorknob. She turned and offered him a soft smile. “Sure.”
“When I arrived, you said you were, and appeared to be, drunk. Now you look completely sober. What gives?”
“Making a fool of myself tends to sober me up. That and I only had a couple of real drinks. That’s why I always drink gin and Seven-up. No one can ever tell my glass doesn’t have much gin in it,” she said with an awkward smile.
“Smart. Just for the record, you didn’t make a fool of yourself. Besides, I don’t remember stopping you.”
“Still, I promise it won’t happen again. Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your thoughtfulness,” she said pulling the door open.
Joe raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. She didn’t want or need his help. “Sure. I know it sounds lame, but if you need anything call.”
She cocked her head and grinned again. “Don’t worry about me, Joe. I can take care of myself nowadays.”
Joe wondered about her explanation all the way back to the station. Nikki had definitely changed. He couldn’t decide if for better or worse, but he did know she wasn’t the innocent girl he used to know and love. Mood swings, subterfuge, sarcasm? Again, the real question played through his mind, could she have changed enough to commit murder?
~~~~