“Okay, I am so torn right now,” Rhea grumbled from the oversized massage chair on Sydney’s right-hand side. She slammed closed the copy of The Vow that she was reading.
“What’s wrong, Rhea?” Carmen asked as she placed a copy of Essence on her lap and leaned forward from her own seat to look at her friend with concern.
“You know my indecisive ass is still debating which dress to wear tonight. And I just realized that I have to make my decision before she puts on my polish,” Rhea said with a splash of her foot in the bubbling aqua-colored whirlpool. “If I go with the sparkly dark blue that I saw in CosmoGIRL!, I might be doing too much with the magenta Richard Tyler strapless. But if I do the neutral, flesh-tone pink, it’ll be a wash against the crimson Armani full length.”
“Hmm,” Sydney murmured as she envisioned the two dresses Rhea had purchased for the night’s highly anticipated event. Although the two dresses were completely different styles, her BFF looked absolutely hot in both choices. So she totally understood the dilemma.
“Personally, I think a Sadie Hawkins deserves a little flash. I mean, how often do the girls get to choose their dates, right?” Carmen questioned, picking up her magazine again. “Go with the hot pink,” she voted as her nail technician gently massaged the soles of her feet with the sweet almond-scented lotion.
“Wait a sec, what color suit is Tim wearing? That might help,” Sydney said as she lifted her feet out of the water so that her own technician could begin trimming her nails and cuticles.
“Square or round?” the cute Hispanic woman asked before she began clipping away.
“Square with rounded sides, please,” Sydney replied absentmindedly.
“He’s wearing a dark gray Hugo Boss suit,” Rhea said. “We picked it out together about two weeks ago.”
“In that case, definitely go with the hot pink,” Sydney stated authoritatively.
“Are you guys sure?”
“Absolutely,” chirped Carmen. “Hot pink with great makeup and hair and a neutral nail is the only way to go.”
Sydney nodded affirmatively. “If you’re totally married to a dark nail, I think I saw this amazing dark-silver Chanel polish in the last issue of Elle UK.” She tried not to wiggle her toes as she thought about her own dress for the night. Originally, she wanted to go with a gray three-quarter-length halter dress she found in Bloomie’s, but on second thought, she realized that the gray would clash with her bracelet, so she switched up to a golden Elie Saab number that she found on the pages of last month’s Vanity Fair. With a sparkling natural-colored sheer overlay on top of the nude-colored silk, the one-shouldered beauty made Sydney look like she was wearing a cluster of stars. She couldn’t wait for Jason to see her later that night.
“Done, done, and done,” Rhea said, finally closing the case on her clothing dilemma. “Excuse me,” she said, leaning forward toward the blond-haired woman working on her feet. “Can you please see if you guys have a dark-silver Chanel polish?”
“I know just the one you’re thinking about,” the woman confirmed with a crooked smile. “I’ll be right back.”
“See, everything worked itself out,” Carmen mused as she handed Sydney the copy of Essence and picked up the issue of In Touch she had stashed at her side.
“Thank you very much,” Sydney said as she immediately flipped to the cover story on Raven-Symoné.
Rhea’s nail technician returned and handed the bottle to Rhea for her approval. “So did I tell you guys that Tim’s older brother booked him a huge suite in the Ritz-Carlton downtown?” Rhea asked casually as she handed the bottle back to the blond woman with an approving nod.
“What?” Carmen almost dropped her magazine in the tub.
Sydney’s head snapped toward her best friend. “Are you serious? You’re going to spend the night at the Ritz with Tim? Omigod, you guys have only been dating for, like, two seconds,” Sydney blurted out.
“Relax, you two.” Rhea laughed at her friends’ scandalous assumptions. “He’s totally throwing an after party there, that’s all. There’s no way in the world my mom would let me spend the night out with some boy I just met.”
Sydney released an audible sigh of relief. “Thank God! For a second, I thought we were going to have to call your parents and stage a bootleg A&E Intervention.”
“Don’t ever play like that again,” Carmen warned. “Or I might lock your fast butt up in a closet until you get married!”
“No need to worry about me and Tim just yet,” Rhea laughed briefly. “He’s still trying to figure out how to get to second base without getting his little feelings hurt.” All three of the girls groaned in sympathy. Then she sobered up and looked at her friends. “But what about you? Carm, you’ve been dating Michael for almost four months. And Sydney’s got the new golden handcuff. I know you guys have at least talked about it with your boyfriends.”
What an appropriate description, Sydney thought as she looked down at her bracelet and remembered Jason’s cryptic words, “nothing in life is really free.” Although they’d engaged in some pretty intense kissing sessions, so far Jason had been a total gentleman. But at the rate the relationship was going, she wondered how long that would last.
“Obviously, we’ve talked about it,” Carmen admitted. “And yes, nosey, we’ve made it past second base. But he’s really good about waiting until I’m comfortable trying anything more. Although, honestly, every time I look at Dara, I move further and further away from ever being ready. Who really wants to be a statistic?”
“You’re so right,” Rhea nodded. “I mean, my mom totally took me to the GYN right after I turned sixteen just to get my first checkup, but that certainly wasn’t the wildout pass. She was very clear that I had to respect my body because no one else was going to do it for me.”
“Things between Jason and me are definitely intense,” Sydney said. “But I’m not ready to make that move. Bracelet or no bracelet, I don’t want to rush into anything that I can’t get out of, you know?”
“I know that’s right,” Carmen co-signed with a smile. “Although, I must say, it is a beautiful piece of jewelry.”
“Amen to that, my sister,” Rhea chirped as she settled back into her seat.
“You guys are soooo retarded,” Sydney said with a laugh.
“Uh-uh, not half as retarded as Essence Dervay is gonna look if she wears the dress that she was spotted trying on at Dillard’s,” Rhea objected. “I saw the photos on YRT and trust, it’s a situation!”
“Oh, I missed those,” Carmen whispered gleefully. “Was it really bad?”
Rhea gave her a look. “Let’s just say, if it was me, I would schedule an intervention session my damn self.”
Sydney fought to control her giggles. “You guys! Stop! That is so not nice,” she chided, looking around nervously. After spending the last couple of months as a regular on YRT, she was extra sympathetic to the latest gossip-blog victims.
“My bad,” Rhea said as Carmen let one last giggle slip.
Sydney shook her head and reopened the magazine. “So back to the Ritz,” she said, steering the conversation toward the evening’s activities. “Are we all invited, or is this, like, some baseball-team-only thing?”
“Of course you guys are totally invited,” Rhea insisted. “His brother only booked it last night so he hasn’t had a chance to tell that many people, but I think it’ll be fun.”
“Works for me,” Carmen said with a smile. “At least I’ll get some wear and tear out of the six-hundred-dollar dress my parents bought me,” she said, referring to her sapphire-blue Nicole Miller strapless full length.
“True,” Sydney said as her green Hermès Kelly bag started buzzing. “Oh, God, I hope this isn’t my mom,” Sydney complained. “When I left the house this morning to get my hair done, I threatened to chop it all off just to scare her. I’ll bet she’s on the verge of a freaking breakdown,” Sydney laughed as she dug through her handbag for the iPhone. When she finally pulled it out, the caller ID read: PRIVATE NUMBER. “Hmm, I wonder who this could be,” she mused as she answered the phone.
“Sydney speaking,” she greeted the unknown caller formally.
“Ms. Duke?” a familiar voice questioned on the other end of the line.
“Principal Trumbull?” Sydney questioned, clearly taken aback.
“What’s wrong?” Rhea whispered with a concerned look on her face.
Sydney looked at her girls and mouthed the words, “I have no idea.”
“Yes, how are you,” Brookhaven’s longtime principal continued in his characteristically formal manner.
“I’m okay,” Sydney responded hesitantly. “Is everything all right?” She looked at her favorite red-banded Michelle watch. With only five hours until the big event, she couldn’t imagine what might’ve prompted this call.
“Actually, Ms. Duke, there seems to be a bit of a problem at the bank,” the principal continued. “You see, when I went to verify the amount of money raised, the balance was fifteen thousand dollars below the balance that you submitted two days ago in our final meeting.”
“Fifteen thousand dollars!” Sydney struggled to keep from jumping out of the massage chair. Her heartbeat started racing uncontrollably and she struggled to catch her breath.
“Yes,” Principal Trumbull continued gravely.
“But how can that be? Who would take it out? I’m the only one with access to the account. I don’t understand,” Sydney said as she gave her girls a weak smile. She waved her hand dismissively and mouthed, “It’s fine, a little mixup. No big deal.” Thankfully, they both nodded and went back to their respective reading material without a second thought. Sydney cleared her throat.
“I’m aware that you are the only one besides me with access, which is why I immediately asked for a copy of the last withdrawal receipt,” he continued.
“And,” Sydney demanded.
“And the slip had your signature on it, Ms. Duke,” Principal Trumbull said quietly.
Sydney covered her mouth to contain the gasp. Luckily her technician had just finished the final coat of clear on her Ballet Slippers pink toes. Sydney stood up abruptly and faced her friends. “I’ll be right back, you guys,” she said, and without waiting for a response, headed to the reception area in search of privacy. Finding a secluded corner, she took a deep breath and started again. “Principal Trumbull, I assure you I did not withdraw fifteen thousand dollars from the Sadie Hawkins savings account,” she insisted.
“Ms. Duke, this is a very uncomfortable situation for us all. Obviously, I believed you to be a truthful young lady. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have appointed you as co-chair. But in light of recent circumstances…”
“Did you ask Marcus? He’ll tell you,” Sydney asserted, as notes of desperation crept into her voice.
“Yes, I did call Mr. Green. And, needless to say, he, too, assured me that he had no knowledge of the situation. And although he was certain there had to be a mistake, he reiterated that, as we all agreed in the initial planning meeting, you were the only one with signing power.”
Sydney started to tell Principal Trumbull that Marcus had just made a deposit the other day, but she stopped herself just in time. There was no point in getting both of them in more trouble for disobeying the principal’s rules. She ground her teeth and mentally chastised herself for being such a control freak. Why hadn’t she allowed Marcus to be the one with signing power? At the time of the initial organizing meeting, she was still so mad at Marcus for the whole Dara debacle, she didn’t want him to have the lead on anything she was associated with. And now look…
“Obviously, this type of incident normally requires immediate disciplinary action,” the principal continued. “But because of the wonderful fund-raising work you’ve accomplished in the past and your parents’ generous donation history, I’m willing to give you some time. I will use the money in Brookhaven’s emergency discretionary fund to cover this evening’s events and presentation to the board. However, come Monday morning, I expect all fifteen thousand returned to the account. Otherwise, I will be notifying your parents and the authorities.”
Sydney’s chest tightened as if she were stuck in a vise. “What am I supposed to do?” Sydney questioned desperately. “I didn’t take the money; I don’t know how this even happened.”
“Well, I’m not one for idle gossip, but the bank manager said that the last time something like this happened, it was a family member who was to blame,” the principal hedged.
“Excuse me,” Sydney said in total disbelief. “I don’t know what you’re implying, but Lauren is not a thief!”
“No? Well, then, how about your stepfather? I understand that he’s been under a bit of a financial strain lately. Perhaps…”
Sydney could feel the vein in her temple throb. “Principal Trumbull, I don’t know who stole this money, but I assure you, it was no one that I love or care about,” Sydney snapped as she cut him off. “I appreciate you giving me the benefit of the doubt for the length of the weekend; you will have the fifteen thousand on Monday.” And with that, Sydney disconnected the call.
“Are you sure you’re okay, Syd?” Carmen asked gently as the trio finally left the spa an hour later. “I don’t know what Principal Trumbull said or where you disappeared to, but ever since you came back you’ve been really quiet.”
Mentally a million miles away, Sydney just nodded her head. “Uh-huh, I’m fine,” she said as she repeated her conversation with Principal Trumbull over and over in her head. A family member was to blame…how about your stepfather? I understand that he’s been under a bit of a financial strain lately. His thinly veiled indictment skipped through her thoughts like a DJ scratching a beat. Thankfully, she was certain Lauren would never steal money from her—clothes, maybe—but fifteen thousand dollars was absolutely ludicrous. However, if Altimus was capable of murder, stealing fifteen thousand to get the IRS off his back suddenly seemed like small potatoes.
“So are we still meeting up at Carmen’s house at seven to get dressed?” Rhea questioned as the girls waited for the valet to bring around their respective cars.
“That’s the plan,” Carmen said as her Land Rover came careening around the corner. She walked over and gave the driver a five-dollar tip. “I’m out of liquid eyeliner; do you guys want to roll with me to the M.A.C. store in Phipps right quick?”
Rhea shrugged her shoulders. “Sure, why not? We still have at least two hours to kill, right?” She turned and looked at Sydney as the drop-top Saab came up next. “Syd?”
“You know what?” Sydney said. “I actually need to run by my stepdad’s dealership for a quick minute. I heard a weird noise by my front right tire the other day. And I want to bring it in for a quick check before the weekend,” she said, lying.
Carmen and Rhea looked at her hesitantly but said nothing. They seemed to understand that whatever was on her mind, she wasn’t ready to discuss it and there was no point in pushing the issue. “Okay, then,” Carmen said finally. “We’ll see you at my house at seven o’clock.”
“Seven o’clock, I promise,” Sydney said as she handed her valet a tip, pulled around Carmen’s SUV, and took off.
A really cute African-American couple holding hands was walking around the showroom when Sydney finally walked through the door. They turned briefly at the sound of her entrance, and Sydney could see the beginnings of a baby bump on the woman. Sydney smiled momentarily before turning to scan the expansive room for her stepfather.
“My prayers have been answered! My long-lost love is here,” a friendly voice called out from behind her left shoulder. Sydney spun around to face one of the dealership’s salesmen, Donovan Sinclair. He immediately walked over and greeted Sydney with a hug and kiss on the cheek. “How are you, princess? I haven’t seen you in a long time,” the friendly giant of a man greeted Sydney. He stepped back to admire her striking updo and fresh manicure/pedicure. “Wow, don’t you look pretty! Did I forget our wedding anniversary or something?” he teased good-naturedly.
“Hey, Mr. Sinclair,” Sydney giggled in response. Donovan’s flirty ways helped him remain one of the showroom’s most popular salesmen over the course of his career. “How are you, sir?”
“Better, now that you’re here. But enough about me, what brings you by today? For some reason, I’m guessing it’s not my charming wit,” he inquired kindly.
“Actually, I need to speak to my stepfather, sir,” Sydney said, immediately sobering up.
The jovial look immediately disappeared from Donovan’s eyes. “You just missed him, sweetie. He headed over to his lawyer’s office to discuss more of this audit business,” he explained in a lowered tone.
“Oh,” Sydney said simply. “Well, in that case,” she said as she turned toward the door.
“You know, it’s really none of my business, but I have to say, I have a lot of respect for that man. And I think what this government is doing is just awful,” Donovan confided as he put his arm around Sydney’s shoulders and walked her toward the door. “He gave a chance to a lot of people others might have given up on. Thank God, he’s got a good lawyer and a trusty accountant. The three of them have been holed up in his office till almost midnight every single night for the past three months preparing for this one,” he said with a rueful shake of his head. “And he’s serious about beating all the charges. It takes a confident person to take it to court.”
“Is that so?” Sydney said carefully. “I didn’t realize that the audit started three months ago.”
“Not officially, but you know Altimus always has his ear to the ground,” Donovan explained. “So when he heard a lot of the independently owned businesses in the area were getting audited, he started preparing. I’m surprised you didn’t notice that he was out of the house a lot.”
“Um, there’s been a lot going on at school,” Sydney mumbled. Donovan nodded understandingly as she paused by the front door. “It’s okay, you don’t have to walk me out,” Sydney said as she turned to look at the couple who were now circling a hybrid Lexus SUV. “I think you’ve got some money to make over there.”
Donovan smiled and kissed the top of Sydney’s head. “Okay, princess. Let me go work my magic. I’ll tell your dad, I mean stepdad, you came by. Take care,” he said with a smile as he headed off to make another sale.
Sydney walked out to her car more confused than ever. From the sound of it, between working at the dealership and meeting with his defense team, Altimus barely had time to sleep over the last three months, let alone plot how to steal from Brookhaven’s Sadie Hawkins account.
And if he was trying to fly completely under the radar to avoid getting caught for Rodney’s brutal murder, why would he want to take the case with the IRS to trial? Add to that his recent decision to help bail Dice out of jail, and something in the milk just wasn’t clean. There was no way her stepfather stole the fifteen thousand dollars. As she opened the driver’s-side door of her Saab, an even graver realization hit her like a ton of bricks—maybe, just maybe, Altimus wasn’t the one who killed Rodney.