“The cops found your aunt tied to the living room armchair. Your aunt said Kelly picked that seat because she didn’t want Millie to be unnecessarily uncomfortable. After all, she was Kelly’s guest.”
Kelly had gotten Millie to the house by acting scared of Killer, which prompted Millie to put him in the hall. Once Millie came back, Kelly brandished her gun. She then took Millie out to the back loading dock, where Kelly had parked her car. With a gun pointed at her head, Millie was forced to drive to Kelly’s house, where she was then strapped to a chair. All in all, I’d say Kelly had an interesting take on hospitality.
“According to what I’ve heard from the detectives on scene, the inside of Kelly’s house makes it look like the entire family is still alive and well. The dining room table is set with five place settings, the bedrooms all have clothes hanging in the closets and shoes lined up in front of the bed. In the middle of notes about what breakfast food to buy for her granddaughter were diagrams of the pulley system used to drop that light bar.”
Creepy.
Mike pulled up to the hotel, and I waited for him to park before dashing to my room. The kids were already at the performing arts center, so I didn’t have to worry about my appearance wigging them out. Which was good, because one look in the bathroom mirror had me freaking. Mascara ran down my cheeks, and the blue dress that had once made me look polished and professional was now covered with mud and grass stains that the most gifted dry cleaner would not be able to remove.
Twenty minutes later, I’d showered, dried my hair, and changed into the lavender dress I’d packed in hopes the kids would make it to tonight’s final performance. The dress had floaty sleeves, a scooped back, and a drop waist. I thought it looked soft and romantic. The appreciative smile Mike gave me when I came out of the bathroom told me he agreed.
“Your aunt called.” Mike stood and slid his phone into his back pocket. “She and Aldo are on their way to the theater to help the kids get ready. I told them we’d be there soon.”
My aunt had been kidnapped and held hostage, and was still ready to work her makeup magic. The woman was a wonder.
Grabbing my purse, I studied Mike’s expression. He looked calm and totally at ease. This was not the look of a man who was going to yell at me for going against his cop directives. I was both relieved and confused. “Why haven’t you flipped?” I asked. “Normally you’d be screaming at me about how foolish I was to go to that meeting with Kelly.”
Mike shrugged. “I decided to try a different tack. If nothing else, it’ll set a precedent the next time something like this happens.”
“You think there’s going to be a next time?”
“Let’s just say I wouldn’t be surprised. You attract trouble.” Mike smiled to soften the sting of his words. “The thing about today is that I don’t blame you for doing what you did. It’s not what I wanted, but you were worried about Aldo. And you were smart.” He picked up the bag with the Nashville logo. “You found a way to make Kelly think you had LuAnn’s purse, and you kept her talking long enough for the NPD to get into position. We were just about to take her down when she jumped you. I admit, seeing her point that gun gave me a bad moment. Killer is getting an extra-large box of dog biscuits from me.”
“He prefers bacon.”
“Bacon it is.” He chuckled and reached for my hand. “Look, I can’t promise that I won’t yell in the future when I’m worried that you’re doing something foolish or dangerous. There will be times I won’t be able to help it. That’s just how I react when someone I care about is in trouble. And when that someone is you . . .” His fingers traced a line along my jaw. “Let’s just say those feelings go a whole lot deeper. I want to try and make this work. What do you think?”
Maybe it was because I had almost died (again), or maybe it was because Mike was being nice, but something inside me shifted. And I knew exactly what I thought. “I think it’s going to be an interesting ride.”
The kiss he gave me confirmed that. Wow.
Unfortunately, any more talk about the future would have to wait. Music in Motion was getting ready for their final performance, and I needed to be there. Mike held my hand as we drove. I gave him an overview of what would happen tonight. First up—the four finalists in the all-girls division would compete. Then our division would take the stage. Once all performances were over, the awards would be announced. I hoped, now that Kelly was in police custody, everything would go smoothly. Although, there were still one or two loose ends I needed to tie up.
Mike came with me to the staging room to check on Millie, who was brandishing a curling iron in one hand and a round styling brush in the other. Aldo and Killer were stationed nearby as if daring anyone to try to take her from them again. From the looks Millie was sending Aldo, I was pretty sure the two of them were going to be together for a long time.
A bunch of the kids greeted me with waves and cheers. I waited for them to launch into questions about Kelly’s arrest. Instead they asked about my audition. How did it go? When would I hear if I got the gig? What did I sing? I tried to sound upbeat as I gave my answers and promised to give them more details after the concert was over. Until then, they needed to focus.
After Mike assured himself that Millie was not suffering any ill effects from her adventure, he went to buy a ticket for the concert. When he was gone, I huddled with Larry and Devlyn to find out what they’d told the team about today’s events.
Nothing.
The kids had heard a rumor that someone had been arrested for LuAnn’s murder since that was the word buzzing around the theater, but the person’s identity and the circumstances behind her arrest had yet to be leaked. In the interest of keeping the kids focused, Larry and Devlyn had made the call to keep Millie’s kidnapping and my part in Kelly’s arrest under wraps. I doubted they’d be able to keep it quiet for very long, but I was hopeful the media silence would last until our turn on the stage was over.
Once all the kids were in their costumes and Millie’s hair and makeup emporium was finished working its magic, the team raced for the theater to watch the first round of the competition. I, however, turned in the opposite direction and headed for the Central Memphis High School staging room, where Nikki was giving her team a motivational speech. She praised the kids for the maturity with which they handled this week and the hard work they’d done. She then reminded them that they were first up in their division and that they should report back here after half of the teams in the first group had competed.
The kids were dismissed and headed out. Squeezing past two giggling girls, I walked into the almost-empty room and waited for Nikki to notice me. When she did, her eyes widened with panic.
“I stopped by to see how your team was dealing with the news that LuAnn’s murderer was caught.”
Nikki gave me a tense smile. “They’re doing as well as can be expected. I appreciate you asking. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get a seat before the competition starts.”
As Nikki hurried toward the door, I asked, “What did you do with LuAnn’s purse?”
She froze. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yes, you do,” I said, hoping my assumption was correct. The fear on her face spoke the truth louder than her words. I had hit a bull’s-eye. “LuAnn drove her car here on the night she was killed. It was one of the three cars parked at the front of the building when I arrived. When I left, the car was gone. You came to the theater with LuAnn that night and drove her car back to the hotel after she died. You also ended up with her purse.”
Nikki shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was at the hotel Wednesday night.”
“You were also at the theater. I’m betting if the police search your hotel room, they’ll find the purse that will prove it.” I pulled out my cell phone, pulled up the Nashville Police Department’s number, and waited to see whether Nikki was confident enoug
h to call my bluff.
“Wait,” Nikki said as I started to dial. “LuAnn’s daughter left her keys behind after dinner. Before I gave them back, I decided to check and see if she had a key to her mother’s car. I hoped to find something in the car that would help me keep LuAnn from getting the assistant coaching job. It was just bad luck that LuAnn came out of the hotel as I was in the backseat. There was a blanket on the floor, so I pulled it over my head and waited. I hoped she was coming to get something out of the glove box. Instead, she started the car. I had no idea she was going to the theater or that the building was even open. After ten minutes, I got tired of waiting and went inside to look for her. I heard voices outside the loading dock door and then a scream. By the time I was able to cross around right to the loading dock door, the car was peeling out of the parking lot and LuAnn was dead.”
Technically, LuAnn had still been alive at that moment, but there was no point in splitting hairs.
“I panicked and ran back to LuAnn’s car. It wasn’t until I was at the hotel that I realized her purse was in the front seat.”
“You looked through it?”
She nodded. “I was going to turn it over to the police. Then I realized what learning about that side of her mother would do to LuAnn’s daughter. She’d already lost so much. I didn’t want her to suffer more.”
Neither did I.
“The lead detective on the case seems like a good guy. If you explain the situation, I’m sure he’ll do his best to keep the information under wraps.” Nikki looked even more panicked. I was counting on her fear of my spilling the beans to make her do the right thing. If not, well, Mike could make a call to his new cop friends.
“Wait,” Nikki called as I headed for the door. “That’s it?”
“No.” I smiled. “Good luck tonight. I hope your team has a great show.” After what they’d been through, they deserved it.
Nikki gave me a tentative smile back. “Good luck to you, too.”
I watched from the back of the house as the first group of teams danced around the stage. When intermission started, I went to the staging room for one last powwow with my teens. The energy level was high. The kids were pumped. So was Larry, who could barely say two words without stuttering. But that was okay, because there wasn’t much that needed to be said. The team was ready.
Standing in front of them for what would be the last time at a competition, I looked from face to face. Megan. Chessie. Eric. Claire. Girls who had complained when I scheduled extra rehearsals. Guys who’d thought learning ballet technique was uncool. This year had changed them. It had changed me even more.
When it was time for our team to take the stage, I didn’t see the flaws from yesterday as they twirled and spun. And when they hit their final pose, I couldn’t have been prouder.
When all the performances were over, we all took our seats in the theater and waited for the awards to be handed out. Christine announced the all-girls division first. There were tears, shrieks of joy, and lots of applause as the kids ran up to get their awards. Then it was our division’s turn. I felt my phone vibrate, and pulled it out of my purse as Christine McCann picked up the third-place award, which went to Scott Paris’s team. As the kids raced up to get their trophies, I glanced at my cell phone screen. My already-nervous stomach took a tumble. Alan had sent a message. I clicked on it and felt my heart soar.
“Good news?” Mike whispered as Christine announced the second-place winner. A team from Minnesota. My team danced on the edges of their seats. They had either won it all or had placed in the bottom three.
After one last glance back down at the phone, I shoved it back into my purse, took Mike’s hand in mine, and said, “We can talk about it tomorrow.” The future could wait.
“And first place . . .” Christine paused for dramatic effect. “Goes to Music in Motion from Prospect Glen High School in Illinois.”
The kids jumped up and down. Larry and Jim hugged. And Aldo got down on one knee. Between their happiness, the man standing beside me, and the news I’d just received, it was safe to say what a great future it was going to be.
Joelle Charbonneau, A Chorus Line-Up
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