Pepper came back into the staff room under the guise of checking on Kelly, but she really wanted to know what happened with Summer. After Kelly gave a condensed version of the conversation, she insisted a lecture wasn’t required. Pepper went to object, but Kelly nipped the all-too-familiar speech in the bud. Pepper wasn’t pleased so Kelly made a quick getaway to her apartment. Up there, she could work without any interruptions.
The boutique was woefully out of touch with the times when she took over and one of the first things, she did was create a website. Last fall, she didn’t have much time to devote to the website, so it was pretty bare bones and she wanted to change that. Diving into the project would be a welcomed change, something positive to concentrate on.
She entered her apartment and set her purse on the cabinet by the door. The small piece of furniture was an unexpected find the day she bought the lamppost for the window display. Its cottage charm seemed to mesh with the vibe she was trying to achieve—shabby chic on a budget. It also provided added storage space that the apartment was short on. A little sanding and a new paint job brought the cabinet back to life. She took a moment to admire her handiwork.
Never in a million years would she have thought she’d be refinishing furniture and enjoying it.
Certainly, never while eating, breathing, and living in Serena’s world.
She looked for Howard. He was a no-show at her arrival home, leaving her to guess he was curled up on the bed. The lazy bum had the right idea.
She took off her sneakers and stashed them in the hall closet. Next order of business was another cup of coffee. In the kitchen, she dropped a pod into her single drip coffee maker.
After she stirred generous drop of milk into her coffee, Kelly grabbed a cookie and then walked out of the kitchen and to the dining room table where her laptop was setup. She settled down and opened her Word document program.
One of the things that had been at the top of her to-do list for the website was to create a regular newsletter. And not just any newsletter. She wanted to create one that her customers would find value in, and when it landed in their inboxes, it would be the first email they opened. She knew it was a lofty goal for a newsletter, but it was good to have goals.
She opened her file of content ideas for the newsletter and read through the list. Special events, pop-up sales, fashion tips, the perks of decluttering (it can bring in cash) and the benefits of buying resale. She had a good start. So now, all she had to do was start sending out newsletters on a regular basis. She’d also have to come up with catchy subject lines to catch her subscriber’s attention. Once she had their attention, she was certain she could sell to them.
In the mood for something fun and lighthearted, Kelly chose to write about color blocking. A former hot trend, now it was an outlier just waiting for its rebirth. Color blocking was fun, whimsical, and fresh. A trend Serena detested. One day, a secretary had worn a tunic blocked in three colors—army green, black, and cream. She styled it with velour leggings and a peep-toe bootie. Perfection. So Kelly had thought. It turned out Serena hadn’t agreed. She’d marched to the secretary’s desk, tossed a gray sweater at her, and demanded she change.
Kelly raised her fingertips from the keyboard. She needed to stop thinking about Serena and her own ill-fated career at Bishop’s. Could that have been the reason why she agreed to help Serena? To ultimately show her former boss she made a mistake in firing her?
She shook her head. She had to stop thinking about the past. The what-ifs, the could haves and the should haves. What was of the utmost importance was the here and now. Here, she had a flourishing business, and the now was she had a newsletter to write.
She re-positioned her fingers over her keyboard and got back to work. She was on a deadline. Her plan was to send the newsletter within a week.
With that kick in her leggings, Kelly put her head down and wrote. When she looked up an hour later, she had a finished draft, her coffee, and the cookie was gone. She contemplated what to do about the coffee mug. Refill or no refill? Now, there was an easy decision. Finally. She swiped it up and, as she was about to stand, her cell phone dinged. A text from Ariel.
Kelly cringed. She’d been avoiding her friend since her uncle’s confession. At the time that she agreed to keep his secret, she hadn’t considered how she’d feel when she faced Ariel.
She sighed and picked up her phone to read the message.
Ariel was finishing her shift at the library but was staying to work on an article for a magazine she pitched to last fall. She asked if Kelly wanted to join her for some writing time and then they could get an early dinner.
A writing session and dinner. Could Kelly keep herself from blurting out the fact they’re not only friends but cousins?
She replied.
Sounds good. See you then.
Sounds good? Sounds more like a recipe for disaster.
Ariel replied with a thumb’s up emoji.
Kelly set her phone down and sighed again. Somehow, she’d keep the secret to herself. She had to. All thoughts about Ariel’s biological father were pushed aside. She couldn’t allow herself to be sucked into her uncle’s twenty-eight-year-old indiscretion.
She quickly got a refill and another cookie. Back at her laptop, she started drafting the welcome portion of the newsletter. That section took more brainpower, as she wanted to convey a fun, cool, and modern tone that would draw the reader in. There were a few false starts until she found her voice but when she did, her fingers flew over the keyboard. When she had a first draft of the opening paragraph, she took an eye break by scrolling Instagram for a few minutes. When she finally caught up, she went back to her browser to check the weather and the news of the day.
The weather forecast was for a stretch of unseasonably warmer days, and the news hadn’t reported on Jason’s death yet. She was certain that would change once Serena’s arrest leaked.
She propped an elbow on the table and rested her chin in the palm of her hand.
The question of all those pills after Jason’s supposed suicide attempt lingered in her mind and finally pushed front and center. If Jason did indeed kill himself, why did the police arrest Serena?
She grabbed her phone and texted Gabe. Hopefully she could get a little info out of him.
Hey, have you heard anything about Jason’s death?
While she waited for his reply, she checked her emails again and there was an email from MineNowYours.com. Her finger hovered over the mouse pad to click on the correspondence and then it hit her—the Fendi purse! With everything going on and her mind jumping from one thing to another, she’d forgotten about the precious Peekaboo. How could that have happened?
Out of sight, out of mind. That’s how.
The purse was in her coat closet.
There was a ding from her phone. A text from Gabe.
Open investigation. Can’t tell you anything.
She rolled her eyes. They both knew he’d tell her something about the case.
Why was Serena arrested if Jason killed himself?
With her phone in hand, she got up and went to the closet. She pulled the purse down from the top shelf and took it back to the table. Gingerly, she removed the purse from the dust bag. It was so beautiful. Classic. Timeless. And so far out of her financial reach. Darn. She caressed the smooth leather and wondered if Tawny’s estate would accept monthly installments. First, she had to find out who comprised Tawny’s estate or Jason’s estate. Maybe no one needed to know she still had the purse?
Her phone dinged again, and she glanced at it.
All I can tell you is that there was evidence to indicate it wasn’t a suicide. Gotta go.
Kelly stared at the message. They suspected Serena killed Jason. What was her motive? To get the jointly owned property? They’d been battling over it and with Jason and Tawny dead, it was hers now. But then there was the suicide note. Something was off.
She opened the photo of the note and studied it. The handwriting wasn’t Serena’s. She could have had a partner. Kelly dismissed the idea. Serena wasn’t a team player. She zoomed in on the photo. She remembered the paper. It wasn’t a plain sheet of white paper. No, it was creamier in color, and it looked thicker. She’d seen it somewhere before but couldn’t remember where.
Kelly sat down and set her phone aside. The police would be able to sort everything out. At some point, they would discover the handwriting on the note wasn’t Serena’s. They had experts for that, didn’t they? Her new top priority was to figure out what to do with the purse.
She opened the bag and examined the interior label. The more she checked, the more confident she was that it was authentic. It probably should be turned over to the police for safekeeping considering its value.
While inspecting the interior, she unzipped the pocket, reached her fingers in, and discovered a key. She missed it on her first check when Tawny presented it to her. Then again, she’d been so surprised it wasn’t a wonder she’d missed the key. Anyway, it was common to find something hidden. She often left things in her purses because she changed them so often.
She set the key aside and looked for any other items left in the purse. There was nothing. Her attention shifted back to the key. It looked like the key she had for her granny’s storage unit. The tag attached to the key read #116.
Was it a key for a storage unit? She got up and went for her purse. After visiting her granny’s unit for the first time last fall, she’d added the key into her six-ring holder to keep it handy and not lose it. When she opened the accessory and compared the two keys, they looked identical.
It looked like Tawny had a unit. The key and the purse had to go to the police. She returned to the table and placed the key next to her laptop. It took only a couple minutes to transfer her wallet and key holder to the laptop bag. Next, she slipped her computer into the bag. She was ready to head out, but she stopped mid-way and turned back to swipe up the mysterious key. On her way out of the apartment, she grabbed her jacket. How bad would a detour on the way to the library be?