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Until We Meet Again...
Monday, May 9
Vivian walked around the display room at her boutique with a renewed sense of pride and contentment. It had been such a long time since she felt this happy.
Over the weekend, so many friends had come to help her and Nora clean up every inch of the boutique and her apartment, including Carole and Clark, Preston, Nick, Barney, Maria from next door, Henry from the shoe store, and Nancy, who was now working as a salesclerk for her. They all had such a great time, too, and everything looked even better than before.
Freddie had confessed to killing Tilly Trimble and Priscilla Peachtree, and both he and his cousin were going to be locked away in jail for who knows how many years. Even though she’d promised to talk to the judge on Carl’s behalf for cooperating with her, she changed her mind and decided not to keep that promise after all the harm they’d done.
She also put Rocco Rizzoli out of her mind, and the fact that he’d tricked her into thinking she had a department store contract in her pocket. It wasn’t worth dwelling over. But she imagined Rocco would deliberately run into her again at some point, and she was going to make sure he regretted it.
“Vivian!” Nora called to her from the back room. “Come have some coffee and a bagel with Nancy and me before we open.”
“Coming!” Vivian joined them and poured herself a cup of coffee. She sat down and started petting Bella sitting on the floor beside them. “I can’t believe how wonderful everything looks.” She smiled and placed her hand on Nora’s. “I’m especially grateful to the two of you for all your help. Preston and Nick will be here around nine-thirty to pick me up. The jury is going to announce their decision in the Harry Raymond case, and we want to hear the verdict. Hopefully, they find Captain Kynette guilty.”
“Nancy and I will handle everything while you’re gone,” Nora told her. The bell on the front door jingled, and she got up. “We don’t open for another ten minutes, but our customers are probably anxious to shop here again. Come on, Nancy. Here’s your first customer.”
The two of them disappeared into the other room while Vivian sipped her coffee and glanced around the back room, so grateful that everything was back to normal.
Nora stood in the doorway. “There’s an older gentleman here to see you, Vivian.”
She wondered who it was and walked over to Nora. She saw the man wandering around the display room and caught her breath. “Oh, my...”
“Who is he?” Nora asked.
“The real Glen Rutherford from Bullock’s. I wonder what he’s doing here.” She straightened her skirt and approached him. “Good morning, Mister Rutherford. How...how nice to see you again.”
He smiled at her. “The pleasure is all mine, Miss Steele. You have a lovely shop here. After you left my office the other day, I kept thinking about what you said, and how someone had tricked you by impersonating me. I felt terrible for you, so I had my assistant find out where you lived, and here I am. I didn’t realize you owned a fashion boutique.”
“You’re very kind, but you shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble. I’ve put the whole thing out of my mind.”
“As you should, but may I ask? Are you a designer, or do you order your merchandise from other stores?”
“These are all my custom designs.”
“Really...” He walked around the entire room, stopping in each section and pulling a few dresses and outfits off the rack. “This is amazing. I’m surprised I haven’t heard about your shop before. John Bullock is going to want to speak with you. I assume you have a portfolio.”
“I can have one ready by the end of the day.”
“Splendid! Here is my business card. Call me later, and I’ll set up a meeting. You are an extremely talented young woman.”
Vivian thanked him and walked him to the front door. Then she spun around and clapped her hands with excitement, thrilled to her toes. She hurried into the back room to tell Nora and Nancy. They were as excited as she was, and they offered to help her make a new portfolio when she returned.
At nine-thirty, Vivian saw Nick pull up out front with Preston. She got into the car and sat between them in the front seat. “Okay, I’ve been dying to know,” she said as they drove to the city. “Who ended up with Boris?”
“Nick and I flipped a coin,” Preston told her.
“Who won?”
Nick chuckled. “I did.”
“That’s wonderful. Boris is living with you now?”
Preston grumbled under his breath. “No...the loser took him. Me! Of course, my mother is thrilled.”
Vivian burst out laughing. “You said Boris was a hero. You should be honored to have him with you.”
“Do you have any idea how much that big lug eats?”
“Stop griping, Preston,” Nick laughed. “You can afford it.”
They reached the courthouse, and Nick parked the car down the side street. They walked up the front steps to the main entrance and went inside. There was a small crowd of people waiting for the security guard to open the courtroom. Vivian looked around. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with the mayor or his brother, but she assumed they would want to hear the verdict. Instead, she spotted Lucky in the crowd. He saw her, too, and motioned to her.
“I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?” Preston asked.
Vivian ignored him and made her way over to Lucky. “I’m surprised to see you here. Is everything all right?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine. When I heard the news, I knew you’d be here this morning. It’s quite a turn of events, isn’t it?”
She was confused. “What are you talking about?”
“The new charges against Kynette. Didn’t you know? After the jury announces their verdict in the Harry Raymond case, they’re indicting Captain Kynette for two other murders. Over the weekend, some unnamed investigator came across new evidence proving Captain Kynette shot and killed both your husband and the drugstore owner. I can’t believe you didn’t hear about it. Surprised the heck out of me.”
Vivian looked over at Preston and Nick. “An unnamed investigator, huh?”
“I guess it’s pretty solid evidence, too, from what I heard.”
“That’s wonderful. Lucky, thank you so much for everything.”
“Call if you need me, Blondie.”
“I will. Take care of yourself.” By the time Vivian joined Preston and Nick again, she was surprised to see Carole with them. “What are you doing here, Carole?”
“Preston called me and told me about the indictment against Captain Kynette for George’s murder. I wanted to be here for you, Viv.”
She glanced up at Preston. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“It’s certainly a surprise, but I feel bad about Elliott Kimball now.”
“Don’t...” Preston stated. “He died because he resisted arrest and killed an officer. If he’d been patient, he would have walked away from the charges.”
“Besides, he was a scumbag,” Nick added.
The security guard finally opened the courtroom door. The four of them followed along with the crowd and found seats close to the front of the room. For a while, Vivian kept her sights on Captain Kynette, sitting at the counsel table with his lawyer. Once the jurors were seated, and the judge took his place at his bench, he asked for the verdict.
A gentleman in the jury box stood up and read it out loud. “We, the jurors, find Captain Earl Kynette guilty on the charge of attempted murder. We find him guilty on the charge of accessory to commit murder, and we find him guilty on the charge of malicious use of explosives. Guilty on all three counts, Your Honor.”
Everyone in the crowd stood up and cheered, and the judge pounded his hammer several times to quiet the courtroom. After the jurors were excused, the prosecutor stood up to speak with the judge about additional murder charges against the defendant. Vivian listened closely, and the moment George’s name was mentioned, Captain Kynette turned his glare on her.
She smiled back at him.
Everyone left the courtroom, and the four of them made their way outside. Carole offered to take Vivian back to her apartment, but they reached Nick’s car first, and Vivian slowed her pace. “I’ll catch up to you, Carole. I just need a moment with these two clowns.”
“See you later, Carole!” Nick called out as he got into his car.
Vivian faced Preston. “I’m grateful to you for making sure George’s involvement wasn’t publicized. More than anything, I didn’t want his daughter to find out what he’d done.”
“Since he paid the highest price for his mistakes, it wasn’t necessary. I can’t thank you enough for helping us catch Freddie and retrieve the coins. The attorney was happy to get them back before the deadline.”
“Come on, Preston. I’ve got to know. Who are you really working for?”
“I already told you. My father was a good friend of Chester Willoughby. I did it as a favor to him. Why don’t you tell me who you really are?”
She shrugged her shoulders innocently. “I’m a fashion designer.”
Preston flashed her a dashing smile. “You know Boris is going to want to visit Bella sometime. So, until we meet again...”
Vivian reached up and straightened his tie. “Don’t call me, Preston. I’ll call you.” She left his side and walked by the car. “It was wonderful meeting you, Nick!”
He threw his hand in the air. “Likewise, Vivian!”
THE END
