Homecoming Homicides (14 page)

“Why would a woman do something like this?”

“Envy?” Luke suggested. “It would take a hell of a sick person, man or woman, to do what was done to those girls.”

On that point they were in total agreement. Flippy shuddered just thinking about it.

Luke got up from the torn leather swivel chair, and his hands were making sympathetic forays in her direction.

“You know, no one is expecting you to solve this case,” he said. “That’s not your role here. A lot of us have been working a lot of hours, and we’ve come up with nothing. It’s not all on your shoulders.”

“Luke, my boss hired me to consult on this case. I am part of the team. Not to mention that this case is personal to me. I may not be expected to find the killer, but I’m committed to making a contribution.”

“So am I. That’s why it’s so important for us to work together.”

“Okay, well what’s your suggestion,
partner
?”

Luke was obviously at a loss. Flippy was right. They were depending on her and on the psychic detective agency from Atlanta, and right now they had nothing.

“You’re officially relieved of receptionist duty,” she said. “I’ll cover the phones. Now go over to DaVinci’s and tell Misty if she wants to keep her job she’ll get her scantily clad self back here, cover herself up, and cover this office. She
was
scantily clad, wasn’t she?”

“I didn’t notice,” Luke said, but his dimples gave him away.

“Right. Now go over to DaVinci’s and drag her back if you have to.”

“Yes, boss. It would be a shame to give Misty the boot. I think she adds something to the décor.”

“That’s because she leaves nothing to the imagination and your brains are in your crotch.”

“Then why did you hire her?”

“Maybe I saw something in her. Potential. She’s tough. A little rough around the edges. But her heart is in the right place.”

“And cheap?” Luke guessed.

“Probably in more ways than one.” Flippy grimaced.

“Okay, I’m going, but I hate to leave you alone even for a minute. Are you sure you know what you’re doing, cozying up to those homeless guys outside?” Luke asked.

“Yes, I’m sure. But I dropped the ball this morning. I had no way to get to the doughnut shop. Now they’re probably hungry as well as homeless.”

“They’re fine. I just fed them on the way in.”

“You what?”

“I dropped by the doughnut shop on the way over here for some doughnuts, glazed, as ordered.”

“You d-did?” Flippy stammered, staring at Luke and maybe really seeing him for the first time. “Thank you. I really mean that.” Luke was too good to be true.

“You’re welcome. And since I know you probably didn’t have breakfast, I left a couple of glazeds on a napkin on your sorry excuse for a desk.”

“Well, I’m sorry my furniture is not up to your standards.”

“Flippy, I think your desk is infested.”

“It may be, but I don’t care. It’s my desk.”

“If you don’t eat those doughnuts soon, they’re going to be carried away by the ants or the rats. I can give you some money to buy a new one.”

“First of all, that desk is the property of the campus police. And I wouldn’t take money from you. And if I had any extra money, I’d save it for a rainy day.”

“A rainy day?”

“You know, for emergencies.”

“Your desk qualifies as an emergency. This office qualifies as an emergency. And your apartment can’t even be resuscitated.”

“All right. Just say it. I’m a loser.”

“You’re not a loser. I didn’t mean that. It’s none of my business.”

“Well you seem to stick your nose in my business on a regular basis.”

“I’m just watching out for you. If you don’t want the doughnuts, I’ll eat them.”

“Is food all you ever think of?”

“No,” he answered, looking at her the way he had looked at his burger yesterday. “I actually have a lot on my mind. You want something from DaVinci’s?”

“Too greasy,” Flippy said, remembering what had happened to the remains of the slice she had force-fed herself the day before. But that wasn’t going to stop her from scarfing down the doughnuts on her desk. When Luke wasn’t watching.

“Oh, before I forget,” Luke added. “There was one more message. Some ball buster named Barbara called. And she gave me the third degree. Who am I? Why am I answering your phone? Where is Philippa? Apparently she’s spooked by these murders. Who the hell is Barbara?”

Flippy laughed. “My mother.”

“Sorry, but she’s a piece of work.”

“You have no idea. Barbara elevates high maintenance to an art form.”

“You actually call your mother Barbara?”

“Yes, that way we can maintain the fantasy that I’m her sister. She has trouble acknowledging the fact that she has three grown children. But that doesn’t stop her from being a snoopervisor.”

“What’s a snoopervisor?” Luke took the bait.

“She tries to micromanage every part of my life, pathetic as it is, and she has to know every intimate detail of my comings and goings.”

Except when they were shopping. Barbara was the kind of mother who didn’t subscribe to the philosophy of No Child Left Behind. When Flippy was growing up in Atlanta, her mother left her behind on a regular basis whenever they were in a shopping mall. She’d invariably lose track of her own daughter while she was busy racking up a national debt’s worth of merchandise to spite that daughter’s father. In Barbara’s world, her husband’s job was to make the money and her job was to spend it. And the sum total of Barbara’s purchases reflected the number or intensity of affairs the man was having at the time. If he was being faithful to her, she’d pick up a sexy negligee from Intimacy to reward him. If he was cheating, she would charge up a storm at Tiffany’s to punish him. Needless to say, Flippy and her mother spent a good deal of time at Tiffany’s. Barbara was really good at her job, and shopping was really hard work, so she frequently lost track of Flippy.

She didn’t want to be anything like her mother. About the only thing she had inherited from Barbara was her looks. She loved her mother. But she didn’t know who she least wanted to talk to right now, Barbara or Jack. She decided to start with Barbara.

Flippy wandered into her office and picked up the phone, anxious to get the impending conversation over with. She didn’t need any more complications in her life.

“Barbara? I had a message that you called.”

“You can stop with the façade. I told you that you can call me Mom when there’s no one around.”

“Mom, then. What do you want?” Flippy knew she was being snotty, but sometimes she couldn’t help herself.

“Who was that man who answered the telephone?”

“He’s the new receptionist.”

“A male receptionist?”

“Yes, he’s nice to look at.”

“What ever happened to that Missy person?”

“Her name is Misty,” Flippy corrected. “She went out for pizza and she hasn’t come back.”

“So you’re making enough money now to afford two receptionists?”

“No, Mom, we can barely afford Misty. The campus police are on a tight budget. She had to help out a friend, so Luke was sitting in for her.”

“Who’s Luke?”

“You remember, I told you about him. He was in my criminology classes, and we went to law school together.”

I could feel my mother cringe at the mention of my short-lived law school career.

“You’re not getting anywhere near that Homecoming Homicides case, are you? I hope you’re keeping out of trouble.”

“I’m okay, Mom.”

She was sure her mother had visions of her daughter fraternizing with criminals in her job with the campus police. And actually, she wasn’t far off the mark.

“Have they caught that serial killer yet?” Barbara asked.

“No.” She wasn’t going to tell her mother she was now personally involved in trying to apprehend the serial killer, however peripherally, and that she might be his next target.

“I’m worried about you. I haven’t even seen your new place since you moved out of the sorority house. I want to make sure you’re living in a safe neighborhood, so I’m coming for a visit.” She most definitely hadn’t told her mother where she was living, no matter how many times she tried to pry her address out of her.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Mom. I’m pretty busy right now.”

“Too busy to see your own mother?”

Too busy to let her mother see where she lived and what she did for a living.

“Surprise. Your father has already booked my ticket. He’s probably salivating because I’ll be out of town for a whole weekend and he’s contemplating all the mischief he’s going to get into with his new honey while I’m gone.”

“Mom, why do you put up with his behavior? It’s demeaning.”

“Because he’s your father and, deep down, I know he really loves me.”

“He has a funny way of showing it.” His latest “honey” was Flippy’s age. In fact, she had been a friend of hers.

“I want you to pick me up at that poor excuse of an airport you have there. Third-world countries have better airports than Graysville. After we land, I’ll take you and Jack out to a nice dinner.”

“Mom, how many times have I told you Jack and I aren’t together anymore.”

“Well that’s just because you won’t forgive him for one little transgression.”

“It’s gone way beyond that.”

“I’ll bet he wants to get back together.”

“He has been calling me, but—”

“You should listen to what he has to say, Philippa. He is such a handsome man.”

Beauty’s only skin deep, she wanted to say, but didn’t. Barbara was all about looks.

“You’re right, Mom. Jack is handsome, but he cheated on me. Behind my back, and in front of my eyes, with one of my sorority sisters. You may be able to live with that, but I can’t. And, I may as well tell you, Traci Farris is dead. It’s going to be all over the news today.”

“Traci, that girl in the pageant, your Little Sister in the sorority?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry, honey. Was it that serial killer?”

“Yes, it was.”

“You see, that’s another reason I’m coming. Someone needs to take care of you. I told your father that someone needed to watch out for you. I really think you should move back to Atlanta. Graysville is not a safe place.”

“Mom, I have a job here. I’m not moving back, and I’m not running away. And I’m not the one who needs protecting. Who is watching out for you?”

“All men cheat,” Barbara responded.

“No, Mom, I have to believe that some of them don’t.”

“It’s such a shame that Jack had to get hurt.”

“Yes, it is. But he threw all his eggs in one basket, and now he can’t or won’t do anything else with his life. He’s been drinking, Mom.”

“Then he needs you more than ever.”

“He probably does. But if I take him back, he won’t do anything to help himself. He’s just depressed now, and he wants to bring me down with him. He doesn’t really love me. Maybe he never did.”

“You dated him for four years, Philippa. You were engaged. I thought you two were going to get married.”

“Well, so did I, Mom. Imagine my surprise when I learned he couldn’t keep his pants zipped.”

“Philippa, don’t be crude.”

“Sorry, Mother.”

“Do you want your
younger
sister to get married before you do?”

“If she’s found someone she loves and she’s ready to get married, why should I mind?”

Talking to her mother was exhausting. Barbara was under the impression that you had to have a man to validate you, and Flippy was trying to extricate herself from all manly ties. The good thing was that Barbara had the attention span of a gnat. She was already on to the next topic.

“Tell me more about Luke.”

“Lucas is just a friend, Mother. You wouldn’t like him.”

“Why not?”

“He works at the city police department.”

“He’s a cop?”

“A part-time cop,” Flippy said.

After enduring what could only be interpreted as her mother’s moment of silent disapproval, she added, “But he’s going to law school.” Why did she feel the need to defend Luke to her mother?

“Oh?” At last, a glimmer of interest.

She thought she’d throw her mother a bone. She could be cruel sometimes.

“And we’re sort of um, dating.”

“You’re dating your receptionist?”

“That’s just temporary.”

“I know what’s happening, Philippa. You’re trying to get over Jack. That’s understandable. And you’re settling for second best. Very well, then, I will take you and Luke out to dinner. I’m bringing you a housewarming present.”

How about some money so I can afford to warm the house, Flippy thought.

“The real reason I’m calling is about your sister.”

“What about Natalie?”

Natalie had always marched to the beat of a different drummer. She was the black sheep of the family, which worked out fine for Flippy. It generally kept her off Barbara’s radar screen. Her brother Neil had followed in her father’s footsteps. Barbara, a former Miss South Carolina, had tried her hardest to mold Flippy into her image. But her plan backfired and Flippy had turned out to be a big disappointment to her mother in almost every way. First runner-up was not Barbara’s idea of a success story. Natalie was the wild card. But thanks to Natalie, Flippy wasn’t the biggest screw-up in the Tannenbaum family.

“You’ll never believe what she’s doing to me,” Barbara whined.

She had a sinking feeling her mother was going to tell her.

“She’s engaged. She was going to wait until you and Jack got married, but since that’s not going to happen...”

Flippy frowned. She was happy for her sister, of course. But miffed that her sister had felt she needed to spare her feelings and wait to get married because she was the younger sister. Well, now she probably figured she’d have too long to wait.

“You should be thrilled,” Flippy said. “You’ll finally get to plan the wedding of your dreams.” Left unsaid was the fact that her mother had just had to cancel all of her wedding plans and lose a sizeable deposit since Flippy had called off her wedding to Jack.

“That’s just it. You know Natalie and Hugh both have unusual ideas about life. They can’t imagine spending money on a wedding when there are people around the world who are starving.”