Chapter Thirteen
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Dizzy took another bite of the decadent chocolate mousse and hummed in appreciation. Easton appeared to be enjoying it as well if the smile on his face was anything to go by. Thankfully they were sharing or she’d eat it all by herself and then she’d have to waddle out of the restaurant, satisfied but far too full and feeling miserable the rest of the evening.
Easton took another spoonful. “It’s almost as good as one of your desserts.”
Sputtering, she almost choked with laughter. “Are you kidding? This is fantastic and was probably made by a professional pastry chef. I’m just a lowly home baker.”
“Who makes terrific apple pies. Seriously, I love your cooking.”
The date had gone well so far. Why not step out on a limb and see how he was feeling? It was better to find out now than later.
“Maybe next time I’ll make dinner for us. I know you love a good pot roast.”
She gave a mental sigh of relief at his boyish grin of delight. Clearly, he liked the idea.
“You’d make me pot roast?”
He was acting like she’d offered him one of her kidneys. It was a piece of meat. She’d throw it in the slow cooker and ignore it for eight hours. No magic involved.
“And potatoes, carrots, and gravy.”
“I’m not going to say no to that.”
A shadow fell over the table before Dizzy could respond and she looked up to find a smiling and well-dressed couple around Easton’s age standing there.
“Easton,” the man exclaimed to her date, but his gaze had slid over to her. Looking her up and down, appraising and measuring. Dizzy didn’t like it one bit. She had an instinct about people and this one wasn’t anyone she would trust as a friend. “So good to see you. How long has it been? Six months at least.”
“At least,” Easton replied smoothly. “I haven’t been playing golf lately. Shoulder injury. Dizzy, let me introduce you to Gary and Alicia Jones. They’re members at the club. Gary and Alicia, this is Desiree Foster. She teaches art at the school and also volunteers at the community center.”
Gary Jones. She recognized his name from the newspapers. He was some big deal at the bank, which explained how Easton knew him.
He was also slimy, giving her a lecherous look right in front of his wife and so-called friend.
Extending her hand, she steeled herself to be touched by this worm. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
Gary held her hand a little too long and his wife’s fingers were freezing. Jeez, these were what passed for friends in Easton’s world? No wonder he stayed in his office and worked. It explained everything.
Alicia’s fake smile was chilly also. “Desiree Foster? Aren’t you the woman that called in that fake murder to the police last week?”
Well, damn. Dizzy would have thought well-bred rich people wouldn’t be rude enough to bring that up but not this couple. The wife looked like she was enjoying the hell out of this. She’d probably dine out on this for weeks because she’d met Dizzy in person.
I can only imagine the crap she’ll make up too.
“Dizzy saw something, Alicia. She didn’t make it up.”
Easton had that tone in his voice that didn’t invite arguing.
“I’m sure she did,” Alicia replied, her eyes blue chips of ice. She leaned down so that only Easton and Dizzy could hear and the smell of whiskey permeated the air. “The rumor around town is that you had a little too much to drink over a broken love affair. It’s alright, dear. We all do it now and then.”
That’s what was going around town? People really needed to get a hobby.
Easton’s eyes narrowed and a muscled ticked in his jaw as he nodded toward the swaying woman. “I think your wife has had a few too many, Gary. You might want to take her home.”
Gary must have had a couple of cocktails too because he didn’t seem to notice the edge in Easton’s tone. “We’re just having some fun tonight. It’s all between friends.”
Except that Dizzy wasn’t their friend and she couldn’t imagine why Easton was.
“Go home, Gary, and sleep it off.”
This time the man seemed to get the message, lurching to the side of his wife and wrapping an arm around her waist, whether for emotional support or because he was feeling woozy, Dizzy had no idea.
“You’ve always had a big stick up your ass, Anderson. You’re just no fun.”
Easton nodded in agreement, his attitude decidedly frosty. “That’s true. Have a nice evening. You might want to let the hostess call you a taxi.”
The offending couple walked off and the air around Easton and Dizzy immediately felt less tense and a whole lot happier, but there was still tension in the air. Those two weren’t exactly spreading sunshine and unicorns.
An awkward silence fell over the table. Dizzy didn’t know what she was supposed to say and apparently Easton didn’t know either. It went on for a couple of minutes until their excuse for not speaking – the chocolate mousse – was gone. They couldn’t continue their evening like this. She pointed at Easton, determined to make light of the situation. “You’re a taxi.”
His brow wrinkled and he shook his head, clearly confused. “What? I don’t understand.”
Of course he didn’t. He was far too intelligent to get a laugh at a dumb joke.
“It’s an old joke,” Dizzy explained. “I was trying to break the tension. You told them to have the hostess call them a cab. You’re a cab. She called them a cab. Get it? It’s just a stupid joke.”
Now she felt stupid but then Easton smiled. The tension was officially broken. “I’ve never heard that one before.”
Dizzy feigned shock, her hand flying to cover her open mouth. “How is this possible? That joke is older than our parents and it’s not even that funny.”
“I don’t know, it’s kind of cute.” His entire demeanor had changed since his friends had left. He’d gone from cold and remote to warm and endearing. “When you tell it, anyway.”
A flush of heat suffused her cheeks and she tried to play it off by sipping her water.
“Interesting friends you have. I have a feeling they’re going to be talking about me…and you…to everyone in your little social group.”
Reaching across the table, he captured her hand, his thumb softly stroking her pulse point. It should have felt strange and disturbing – this was Easton after all – but instead it simply felt right. Like he should have been doing it for years.
“They are definitely not my friends and I don’t belong to any social group that includes them. I see them from time to time at parties and at the club. I’m cordial because we do business together but frankly, I find them boring as hell. After tonight, I also find them ill-mannered and cruel. So my next question is…are you okay? Should I have punched Alicia out for what she said?”
The image of Easton defending her honor with a right hook to Alicia’s chin made her smile, although she knew it was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Physical violence was never the answer. But as this was only pretend Dizzy gave herself a break. Just this once.
Although she wouldn’t mind if Alicia had a nasty hangover tomorrow.
“That might not be the best idea but I appreciate the sentiment. I’m fine. I don’t care about their opinion of me, although I have to admit that it’s interesting to hear one of the stories that’s going around town. I bet that’s one of the tamer ones.”
“I’m still sorry they acted that way. I’m mortified by their behavior and why they thought it was okay to do that. They’re crass and snooty but they’ve never been downright rude like that.”
“To your social circle,” she pointed out. “But I’m just one of the unwashed masses. I bet they’re crappy to wait staff too. People like that always are. And that’s not your fault, but thank you for the unnecessary apology. None of this was your fault.”
Dizzy had always felt that a person could tell quite a bit about someone by how they treated those in food service. Having waited tables in New York on the upper West side while she was in art school, she knew what a thankless job it was. Hard on the back, hard on the feet, and the abuse from nasty customers had almost made her quit several times. Luckily there were many more nice people in the world than mean ones.
“Actually, I think you’re right,” Easton agreed. “I’ve seen them both berate a waiter or a parking valet for taking too long.”
“I’ve got a good eye when it comes to people. I follow my intuition and it’s rarely wrong. The minute Gary came up to the table and looked at me I knew he wasn’t a good person.”
“That was quick. You don’t think you jump the gun when you do that? Not that you weren’t right this time,” he added hastily.
She wasn’t surprised that Easton wasn’t a fan of her methods. “I trust my gut more than a spreadsheet of numbers. Just because something, or someone in this case, looks good on paper doesn’t mean that they are. How long did it take you to figure out that Gary and Alicia were kind of terrible people?”
Shifting in his seat, his cheeks turned red. “Not long. He was difficult to work with and I had to ask for certain documents multiple times. As for Alicia, I’ve seen her at the club and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a genuine smile from her.”
“That’s sad. You have to wonder if she’s a happy person. Life’s too short, you know? But it sounds like you and I came to the same conclusion but used slightly different methods. But I bet ultimately you trusted your instincts. They’re just not your go-to method.”
He hadn’t let go of her hand and he took possession of the other one, his large hands enveloping her much smaller ones. There was something about Easton, a way he had that made her feel protected and cared for. Not that she needed him to. She didn’t. But it was a nice, comfortable feeling even if she had no business feeling it.
“And what does your intuition tell you about me?” Easton asked, his voice deep and throaty. A bolt of electricity ran up her spine and she had to take a few breaths before she could answer.
“That you’re a good man.” She giggled at his look of pride. “A frustrating one, too, but a good one.”
And that fact was becoming a big problem. She’d never expected to have this good of a time with Easton. But she had and more. He was smart, funny, sexy, and a just a nice man. He was also the cousin of her best friend.
What in the heck was she supposed to do now?
* * *
Easton was instantly on alert when he and Dizzy walked into her house and found Leann pacing back and forth while her boyfriend Zach peered out the kitchen curtains, a frown on his face. Zach was usually pretty laid back and happy, especially in Leann’s presence, so his mood didn’t bode well.
Leann rushed over to Dizzy and gave her a hug. “I’m so glad you’re home. You won’t believe what he’s doing now.”
Everyone needed to get a grip. His cousin was pale and clearly shaken so he turned his attention to Zach, who looked to be the calmer of the two.
“What’s going on? What are you watching?”
Turning from the window, Zach rubbed at his temple. “Our good friend Trip Stanford has decided to put in a flowerbed in his back yard. He’s been out there for a couple of hours.”
Easton wasn’t getting what Zach was trying to say but then he was a humble finance guy who didn’t deal with murder and mayhem every day.
“Can you translate that for me?”
Leann had slapped down two wine glasses on the kitchen counter and poured them half full. “I can do that. Trip Stanford is putting a flowerbed in his back yard. In Montana at the end of summer. Under the cover of darkness. Do you see where we’re going with this now?”
Fuck.
Dizzy reached for one of the glasses and took a gulp. “This is good though, right? I mean, we’ll catch him red-handed when he tries to bury the body.”
We? Easton didn’t like the sound of that. If a killer was burying a body, his pretty female neighbor probably shouldn’t be hanging around watching.
“You’re not going anywhere near Trip Stanford.”
He hadn’t meant for the words to come out so bossy but if it kept her inside the house he didn’t care.
Her brows shot up to her hairline. “Are you giving me an order? Because let me tell you what you can do with–”
“Can I get some quiet here?” Zach interrupted loudly. “Let’s not tip him off that we’re watching him. I think he saw you leave for the evening with Easton so he thinks that you’re not at home, Dizzy. Plus, Leann and I just got here about half an hour ago. That’s why he’s chosen tonight.”
“That and the smell,” Leann muttered under her breath. “Unless he had her in a freezer it had to be getting bad.”
They’d all watched too many horror movies. But this was high on the creep factor if Stanford was truly out there burying a dead body.
“Morbid much?” Easton asked as his cousin. “Dizzy just ate dinner. Have some sensitivity.”
Dizzy, however, waved away his concern. “My stomach is fine but my heart is racing a mile a minute. Should we call the cops?”
Zach shook his head, his lips a grim line. “Gardening it not against the law and considering that they don’t believe you right now, I think it might be the worst thing we could do. Currently your friendly neighborhood murderer thinks he’s gotten away with it. We need to let him continue to think that. Otherwise he might turn his attention to you…and Leann by extension.”
Easton had placed a reassuring hand on Dizzy’s back and he could feel the shudder that ran through her body at Zach’s statement. She was frightened but he wasn’t going to allow anyone or anything to hurt her. Trip wouldn’t get within fifty feet of Dizzy and Easton would make sure of it.
Lifting the curtain slightly, Easton peeked out of the window and across to Stanford’s back yard. Just as Zach and Leann had said, a single light shown on the deck. Perhaps it was a lantern or a bright flashlight, but it cast a beam of light down the steps and into the yard where a lone dark figure was hunched over with a shovel planting flats of flowers into the ground.
“What did you see? Did you see him bury the body?”
Easton felt a hand on his arm and turned to see Dizzy looking up at him, her eyes wide with surprise. “Then you believe me?”
The choice was clear in front of him. Two roads. But his path was easy to see.
“I do,” he said firmly. “Now we have to figure out what to do about it.”
Because he wouldn’t let her become victim number two.