Homecoming Homicides (20 page)

“I can see where Philippa gets her good looks,” Luke said.

Luke wound his arm around Flippy’s elbow and then around Barbara’s and led them out to the car. “Your carriage awaits.”

“I like him,” whispered Barbara. Barbara was impressed with Luke’s car, too. By the time they arrived at the condo, Luke had Barbara eating out of his hand.

She was more than impressed with the condo.

“Flippy, this is wonderful. I’m so happy you live in such a nice place. This must have cost a fortune. I know you’re not taking any money from your father. How can you afford this?”

“I make a good salary, Mom. And, well, Luke won’t take any money from me.”

Barbara smiled her approval. “Well, I’ll have a good report to take to your father. He’s convinced you live in a dump and that you’re practically out on the streets because you’re broke.”

Flippy almost choked. “Well, you can see that’s not the case. Tell your husband I’m doing just fine without his money.”

“You shouldn’t talk about your father like that,” Barbara admonished. Luke gave Barbara a tour of the condo and she commented on all the furnishings.

“I couldn’t have decorated this better myself.”

“Flippy did most of it,” Luke said, and she made a face at him behind her mother.

“Why didn’t I know about these hidden talents?”

“Your daughter is more than just beautiful,” Luke answered. “She has great taste.” Then he whispered in Flippy’s ear, licking it, “And she tastes good.” Flippy kicked him.

When he showed Barbara his room and the guest room, Flippy could see the wheels spinning in her mother’s head: Who sleeps where? Do they sleep separately, or are the two rooms just for show?

Then Cruz trotted out, and Barbara took to the dog right away.

“Mrs. Simmons has a Bichon, and she says they don’t shed.”

Cruz kept getting underfoot, but Luke dazzled her mother with his appetizers and the wine he served.

“He’s a keeper,” Barbara said when Luke left the room.

They had a lovely time at dinner. Luke did the ordering, and the food was superb, right down to the desserts. And Flippy did have a dessert—a very chocolately, fattening one with whipped cream on top. The service was excellent, and Luke picked up the very hefty tab.

“Luke, you don’t need to do that. My mother was going to take us out.”

“I can afford it. And Barbara is our guest.”

What could have been a disastrous evening turned out to be one of the most pleasant times she had ever spent with her mother. Barbara was careful not to mention Jack once, and by the end of the evening she had accepted Luke into the family.

“So what are your intentions toward my daughter?” Barbara asked.

“Mom, don’t put Luke on the spot.”

“I’d love to answer that question, honey.”

“Honey?” Flippy looked at Luke.

“Yes, darling, why don’t we make our little announcement now.”

“What?”

“I know we said we’d wait, but Mrs. Tannenbaum, Flippy and I are getting married and we wanted you to be the first to know.”

“Luke!” Flippy pushed her chair back and stood up.

“I know it’s kind of sudden, but I love your daughter and she loves me, and it just feels right.”

“Aren’t you laying it on a bit thick?” Flippy whispered, pinching his arm.

“I’m serious.”

Barbara nearly fell out of her chair. She practically screamed. “Wait until I tell your father. Philippa, Luke, I’m so happy. Have you set a date yet?”

“Mom, this is news to me. Luke just sprang this little surprise on me.”

“She’s just joking, Barbara. We haven’t set a date yet, but we’d like it to be as soon as possible.”

When Barbara went to the powder room, Flippy grabbed Luke’s arm.

“What the hell are you doing? I said we were dating, I didn’t need you to fake a marriage proposal.”

“I’m not faking it. I want to marry you, and now that I’ve told your mother, it’s a done deal. She’d be so disappointed if you turned me down.”

“Luke, you’re insane. I’m not going to discuss this. You’re in big trouble. As soon as we drop my mother off, you’re going to find out just how much.”

Luke grinned. “It was worth it just to see the horrified look on your face when I told her.”

“So this is all just a big joke to you.”

“I said I was serious. I love you. I am asking you to marry me, for real.”

Flippy shook her head. “I don’t know what to make of you. I just broke off my engagement to one man. I’m not ready to jump back into bed with another man.”

“You could have fooled me.” Luke laughed.

Barbara sailed back into the room, looking as happy as a bride.

“I can’t wait to start making plans. What are we going to do tomorrow?”

“Mom, I’m going to have to work, and so is Luke. Why don’t we have breakfast and spend some time together for a while in the morning, and then you can come to my office.”

Barbara was chattering away in the car, while Flippy was stoic, refusing to talk directly to Luke.

As Luke dropped Barbara off at her hotel, she called out, “I’ll see you two lovebirds in the morning.” Which was code for “I don’t care if you two are sharing a room, now that you’re engaged.”

When Flippy and Luke were alone, she turned to him.

“You’ve flipped out, Luke Slaughter. There’s no engagement and there’s going to be no wedding.”

“You try telling that to Barbara.”

“This is outrageous.”

“Do you love me?”

“How can I love you? We’ve only been together two times.”

“Technically, it’s more than that.”

Flippy elbowed him in the car.

“You’ll learn to love me,” he said.

“You’re impossible. Let’s go home.”

When they got home, Cruz met them at the door.

“I’ll walk Cruz and then we’ll talk,” Luke said.

Flippy had other ideas. She grabbed the file Luke had brought home and went into her bedroom to change into her pajamas. And she locked the door. She settled onto the bed and started perusing the list. It was pages long, covering employees, ex-employees… There were thousands of names on the list. She turned the pages until she got to the Ws and held her breath.

Sure enough, there he was, the bastard. Rodney Willis. He was a janitor for the university. And in that position, he had easy access to all the buildings, including the stadium. Gotcha. She circled his name. She needed to dig deeper, but he was the best lead they had. She was going to make sure it was him before she told Luke, who was knocking at her door.

“Flippy, open up.”

“I’m going to sleep now. Go away.”

“Please,” Luke said. “Open up for me.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“Let me get this straight. You’re mad at me because I said I love you and want to marry you? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“You’re the one who is not making sense.”

“Where’s the file I brought home?”

“It’s in here, but I’ve gone through it and there are no matches. See you in the morning.”

Flippy heard a noise at the keyhole. Luke was opening the door with a key.

“Get out of my room.”

“Technically it’s
my
room.”

“And you’re breaking and entering, invading my privacy.”

“One of my many law enforcement skills,” he said as he pushed open the door.

“Get away from me.”

“No.” Luke edged into the room, hearing capitulation in her voice. “You want me. You know you do. So don’t deny it.”

“You are so sure of yourself. I don’t even know you. I’m not marrying you.”

Luke covered the space between the door and her bed in seconds, sat down, and gathered her into his arms.

“Philippa. We can talk about this later. But don’t go to bed mad.” He kissed her then, a long, searching kiss, and she softened. He was a great kisser.

He started undressing her, and met with little resistance.

“This doesn’t mean anything,” she whispered without conviction.

“It means something to me.”

Flippy sighed and let him finish what he started.

“I’m sleeping in here tonight,” Luke stated.

“Suit yourself.”

Luke laughed.

“You’ll come around. You’ll see.”

Luke kissed her and turned off the light. He forgot all about the file. He’d tell her about the latest body in the morning. Tonight she needed her beauty sleep.

Chapter Sixteen

“Wake up Sleeping Beauty,” Rodney crooned, coaxing the naked, drugged girl awake, stroking her face delicately, smoothing the skin on her left cheek.

“So soft and round, such beautiful skin,” Rodney whispered. “You got your beauty rest, and now we need some quality time together. We have so much to talk about.”

The girl moaned and woke with a start when she saw Rodney standing over her—a monster with a knife in his hands. She struggled to get out of her bonds, but they were too tight. She was tied to a hard board and staring into harsh lights.

“It’s okay, baby. Oh, does this knife bother you? No need for that. Let me put that away...for now. He placed the knife gingerly on the table next to a tray of tools.

He picked up a package of matches and lit one, letting it flicker dangerously close to the girl’s left cheek.

She tried to wriggle away.

Rodney petted her breasts with one hand.

“Calm down, now, kitten. Kitten. Isn’t that what your friends call you? Their pet name for Kitty. Kitty Bailey. What a beauty. Now stop struggling for me, Kitty Cat, and I won’t burn you. Wouldn’t want to ruin that beautiful face, now would we?”

“Why are you doing this?” Kitty cried, shrinking back from the monster’s face.

“Oh, that’s right. You haven’t seen my face before. It was my big brother you met. Well, Donny’s not here anymore. It’s just me. You and me. And you’d better get used to this face, doll, ’cause it’s the last one you’re going to see.”

Kitty struggled against the ropes.

“Uh, uh, I’ve got a feisty one here.” Rodney loosened the ropes. “All right, sugar, calm down, now. You and me, we’re going to get on just fine, if you cooperate. If you don’t, well, I think you know what’s going to happen to you.

“Now, I’m going to untie you, Kitty Cat, but don’t get any ideas. There’s no one going to hear you scream. This place is locked down tight. We’re out in the middle of nowhere, the End of the World. But if you do what I say, exactly what I say, you’re going to be all right. Now, scoot on over to the dressing room. You’ll find a fresh pair of panties and a bra. I think Queenie was about your size, and we’ll start with the wedding gown.”

Kitty was shaking, but she walked into the dressing room and, minutes later, came out dressed in a white silk gown.

Rodney turned on the microphone. “Donny, you can come on in now. The competition is about to start. I’ll put on the music.”

“And you,” he said, grabbing Kitty’s arm roughly. “If you scream, if you so much as say one word, you’ll be sorry. Do we understand each other, Kitty Cat?” he said, purring and stroking her left cheek.

Kitty blanched and bobbed her head.

“Now go on, walk on up the runway, and let’s get this show started.”

“You ready, Donny? You got your camera? Now, I want some great shots today for my collection. Doesn’t she look great, big brother? Doesn’t she look like Queenie?”

“She does, Rodney. She’s wearing Mama’s wedding dress. It’s the showstopper.”

“You are so right, Donny.”

“Now, show us what you’ve got, sweetheart.”

Kitty walked up the runway and onto the stage.

“Don’t be so stiff. Show some life, now, darlin’,” Rodney said. “You make a beautiful bride.”

Chapter Seventeen

When Flippy and Luke swung by the Graysville Inn to pick up Barbara, her mother was full of wedding plans. Luke spent most of the morning laughing, while Flippy was mostly close-mouthed and sulking. She had only one thing on her mind, and that was to find Rodney Willis. He was out there, plotting his dastardly deeds, zeroing in on his next victim, maybe he already had her. But this time, she was one step ahead of him. She wasn’t even going to consult Luke, she was so sure about this.

She’d gotten a text from Katherine to be careful. And she would be.

Besides, Luke had gone off the deep end. He was discussing china patterns and invitations with Barbara. She didn’t want any part of it. She couldn’t make her move until she got her mother on that plane today, but then she was going to break this case wide open and break it off with Luke. She was getting far too comfortable with him, way too quickly. After all, it was just a game to Luke, a ruse to throw her mother off track.

She had already made a call earlier to get her director’s permission to obtain access to Rodney’s file in the university personnel office.

“I think I’ve got him,” Flippy told the director, and proceeded to outline her reasons.

“Philippa. Great work. Have you shared your findings with Luke or Chief Bradley?”

“Not yet.”

“Don’t,” the director advised. “I know what I said about being a team player, but I want us to crack this case.”

“My feelings exactly,” Flippy agreed.

“But I don’t want you to take any risks. This man is dangerous. Review his file, make sure we have a solid case, and then you and I will go to Chief Bradley and take him down.”

Flippy was going to do better than that. She was going to find out all she needed to know. And she’d have the case all sewn up and presented to Luke on a silver platter, not as a wedding present, but maybe as a peace offering for putting up with her mother, letting her stay in his condo, and for being such an all-around Boy Scout and nice guy. In spite of his touchy-feely tendencies, she hadn’t lost sight of that. He was the real thing. She could make a life with him. But on her terms. He was sweeping her off her feet and she was losing control. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. She wasn’t ready for a new relationship. She had only to look at her parents’ mess of a marriage to see that.

This morning she had taken Jack’s ring out of the box and slipped it back on her finger, just to see how it felt. It felt like a betrayal to Luke, so she slipped it into her skirt pocket. She was going to return it to Jack before the day was out.