When Amelia had been hiding under the bed, all she could see from her hiding place under the bed were Luann’s shoes. But when she saw her entire ensemble, she had to fight not to stare. The dress reminded Amelia of the character Elvira, Mistress of the Night, who would run all those bad horror movies. Every curve was showing, and her cleavage was on full display.
Maybe she can’t help it? Amelia wondered as she watched her spend a few moments with each one of her guests. Maybe that’s how all of her clothes fit her and there isn’t anything she can do about it. She looked at the faces of the guests and wondered if they were as shocked as she. But aside from the casual glance of a gentleman or two, no one seemed to notice Luann’s outfit.
Colleen walked in and was a stark contrast to her mother. She wore a lovely black business suit. She reciprocated a couple hellos as she fixed herself a small plate of cheeses, bread, and some grapes.
“I’m going to go sit in the kitchen,” Amelia heard her tell her mother. Luann mumbled something, but Colleen shrugged her off. “I’m going to sit in the kitchen,” she said loud enough to get her point across.
Luann let her arms flop to her sides as she shook her head.
“I just don’t know what I’m going to do with that girl.” Luann pouted her lips at a sympathetic guest who was standing nearby.
“Just give her some time, Lu. She’ll come around,” the man said, sidling up to Luann.
“She blames herself,” Luann replied, looking at the man and then at Amelia, who was within earshot. “I keep telling her that she couldn’t have known what Greg was going to do while she was gone. They had been struggling.”
“Is that so?” the man asked, obviously enjoying Luann’s attention and probably the view as well.
“Greg, well, he wasn’t making enough money at the garage for them to move out the way they had planned. His heart was in the right place. Believe me. I could see it.” Luann nodded in Amelia’s direction. “But he just didn’t have the ambition. He started smoking, you know, marijuana.”
“Oh, that is too bad. It is a gateway drug, they say,” the man said encouragingly.
Amelia said nothing and didn’t move.
“I had been complaining that the roof needed a few tiles replaced. If anyone should blame themselves, it should be me.” She sort of sobbed. Amelia noticed she sort of did. “Colleen was at the salon. I had made an appointment for her with my stylist. The girl was running a little behind with her client, so Colleen had to wait. She hadn’t had her hair done in so long, and I was treating her to a manicure. It was supposed to be a beautiful day. But I forgot my wallet.”
The man nodded, never taking his eyes away from Luann’s face.
“It’s probably a blessing that I did. Had Colleen been the one to find him... My God. She would have died right there on the spot next to him. I know she would have.”
Colleen hadn’t seen the accident. No one was home when it happened. Amelia wondered if he could have been saved if someone had been home.
“Greg thought he would do me a favor and climb up on that roof and fix those loose shingles for me. I would have never let him do it if I’d known that was his plan. He was trying to earn his keep the only way he knew how. Using his hands. Let’s face it, he wasn’t valedictorian like Colleen was.”
“Colleen has inherited that from you, Luann. But somehow she has Walter’s heart.”
“He’s raised her since she was eight. It’s amazing how much of him I see in her, and they don’t share a single drop of blood.”
Amelia had no idea the late Mr. Jameson was not Colleen’s real father. She wondered who was.
“Does her real father know what happened? Have you spoken to him?” the man asked as if reading Amelia’s mind.
“Burt? Burt can’t be bothered. He’s not even in the state anymore. For all I know, he isn’t in the country. When I married, child support was no longer an issue. He pulled up stakes, and I’ve not heard from him in well over ten years now.”
“That’s too bad.”
“It is for Colleen. Not me.” Luann chuckled. “The only good thing to come out of that arrangement was my beautiful daughter.”
“Colleen needs you now. She needs you to be strong for her,” the man continued. “Like you always are.”
“You’re right, Hank. But sometimes, sometimes I really wish someone was there to be strong for me.”
“If there is anything I can do for you, anything at all, day or night, just call me.”
“Thank you, Hank. Please tell Dolores I said thank you, too.”
The man kissed Luann on the cheek then turned to the buffet and continued to load his plate.
“It’s a sad business,” Luann continued talking to Amelia.
“It is. I’m sorry for your loss, Mrs. Jameson.”
“Well, we don’t get out of this world alive, do we?” She smirked.
“No. I guess we don’t.”
“Cherish the people you love.” Luann nodded. “That’s the most important thing.”
She grabbed one of Amelia’s cupcakes and a napkin and skated out of the room as if she were floating instead of walking.
By the time the luncheon was over, Amelia didn’t have a single cupcake left, and all of her business cards were gone. As she disassembled the displays, Luann appeared with the Bluetooth girl.
“There seems to be a bit of a problem,” Luann stated. The woman who seemed so delicate earlier, who fretted over her poor daughter, was gone.
The first thing to come to Amelia’s mind was that maybe her truck was parked wrong and she was blocked in or that perhaps she shouldn’t have put her business cards out.
“You didn’t complete the order as I had requested,” Luann snapped with a smirk on her red lips.
“I’m sorry,” Amelia stammered. “What?”
“I specifically ordered one hundred and ten cupcakes. You arrived with only one hundred.”
“With all due respect, Mrs. Jameson, I have the receipt right here. I spoke to you directly on the phone and repeated the order more than once to…”
“Look, I’m just not going to pay for a job that wasn’t done.”
“The job was done. I was here on time, and I provided one hundred cupcakes per your instructions.” Amelia remained calm on the outside.
“In fact, I’ll be contacting my lawyer. On the day of my son-in-law’s funeral, you caused additional anxiety to my family and guests. This is unacceptable.”
“Is this a joke?” Amelia looked at the woman with the Bluetooth in her ear, who stood there looking smug.
“If you take your little cupcake business as a joke, Mrs. Harley.” Luann waved her hand at Amelia as if she were waving away a fly. “Like I’m sure most people do. I’m certainly not laughing. I’m humiliated, quite frankly. Now, please leave my home.”
Amelia’s mouth hung open.
“You owe me my money. I’m not leaving until you pay me for services rendered.” Amelia folded her arms across her chest.
“Bridgette, call the police,” Luann ordered, making the Bluetooth woman jump to life.
“This is ridiculous, Mrs. Jameson. You know you told me one hundred cupcakes.”
“Are you calling me a liar?”
“I’m saying that under the circumstances, maybe you aren’t thinking clearly. As for my business, I built it up to what it is with my own hands without any help. Certainly a woman who has made a name for herself in her own business like you have can appreciate that.”
What Amelia meant to be a compliment and a commonality that could bring them together backfired. At the mention of Luann’s business, the woman scowled.
“How dare you!” she hissed.
Amelia squinted as if she was trying to see what Luann had seen that would make her so mad. But there was nothing there.
“You get out of my house right now!”
Amelia sighed. Grabbing her display and tucking it under her arm, she went back through the kitchen, the spotless mudroom, and out onto the driveway, where her truck was waiting. The hired servants were standing around and staring at her. She couldn’t tell if it was with pity or amusement.
She stored her fixtures in the back of the truck. Just as she was about to climb in and screech out of there, she heard something.
“Miss! Miss, wait!”
She turned to see Colleen running after her. Amelia hadn’t seen her but the one time at the luncheon. Her eyes were still red, but they were bright and kind. Nothing like her mother’s.
“Here. This should cover everything.” She handed Amelia six hundred dollars. “Your cupcakes were delicious.”
“Colleen, thank you. I’m afraid it might get you into trouble. I’ve dealt with tough customers before. Your mother is probably just stressed.”
“No offense, miss, but you’ve never dealt with my mother.” Amelia couldn’t tell if it was with pride or fear that Colleen uttered those words. But it did feel like a warning of sorts. “Please, take the payment. It’s all right, really.”
Amelia took the money and stuffed it into her pocket.
“Come by my truck at Food Truck Alley,” Amelia replied softly. “I’ll buy you a cupcake and a coffee.”
“That sounds nice. I’ll try.” Colleen glanced over her shoulder at the house as if looking for spying eyes. She reached out and shook Amelia’s hand without another word then turned and hurried back into the house.
Without wasting a moment, Amelia hopped in the truck and peeled out of the driveway, leaving the Jameson estate. She was determined to never go back.
But before she could escape Sarkis Estates, she saw a man at the edge of the road, frantically waving her down. It was Bud Fetzer.
“You want the Illuminati to spot you coming two miles away, don’t you?” he criticized, scowling at the bright truck.
“I do,” Amelia snapped. “What do you want? Are you hurt or something?”
“I wanted to know if you saw him in there.” He jerked his head toward the Jameson house.
“Saw who?” Amelia’s right eyebrow arched.
“The killer.”
“Bud, that was the funeral luncheon for Greg. There was no one but family and friends there.”
“Right. You know all this because you are so tight with the Jamesons.” Bud’s sarcasm was annoying. “Look. I know what you’re thinking. You think that I’m just some lonely geek who posts conspiracy theories on Facebook all day. That is, when I’m not downloading X-rated videos. You think I’m obsessed with Colleen Jameson and that I’m more of a threat to her than the people she lives with.”
“Close. Yeah,” Amelia replied.
“Well, you, like the rest of the people in this isolated, sleepy little town, are wrong. Care to have your mind blown?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Pull this monster under the tarp, and I’ll show you.”
“Wait. I’m just a lady who sells cupcakes. Why do you think I can help you?”
“Right. Just a lady who sells cupcakes.” Bud chuckled. “There have been over twenty-two murders in Gary this year. A Detective Dan Walishovski has responded to several of them. Your name has shown up on several of the police reports as a witness of sorts.”
“How do you know that?” Amelia was shocked, but her gut was telling her she didn’t need to be scared. In fact, she realized she was more scared of Luann than she was of Bud Fetzer.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Harley. Your secrets are safe with me.” He narrowed his eyes. “Are mine safe with you?”