Last Resort of Murder (A Lacy Steele Mystery Book 9) Read online

  Table of Contents

  · Chapter 1

  · Chapter 2

  · Chapter 3

  · Chapter 4

  · Chapter 5

  · Chapter 6

  · Chapter 7

  · Chapter 8

  · Chapter 9

  · Chapter 10

  · Chapter 11

  · Chapter 12

  · Chapter 13

  · Chapter 14

  · Chapter 15

  · Chapter 16

  · Chapter 17

  · Chapter 18

  · Chapter 19

  · Chapter 20

  · Chapter 21

  · Epilogue

  Copyright © 2015 Vanessa Gray Bartal

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Chapter 1

  “I’ve decided to go on a diet.”

  It’s a trap. That was Jason’s first thought as Lacy sat across from him and made the declaration. Why else would she tell him she had something serious to discuss, invite him to her office, and say the words with such a grave tone? Her hands were folded on her desk as if he were a candidate being interviewed for a job. Suddenly he felt as nervous as a new hire.

  “Okay,” he said, but it came out sounding like a question. “Why?”

  “Why? Are you kidding me?”

  She paused as if waiting for an answer. Don’t answer, his instinct warned him. But he was legitimately curious. “No?” he said at last.

  “Jason, I’ve gained four pounds since my mother’s been in town.”

  “So?” he said. He still felt tentative. He glanced surreptitiously around the room in case he was being pranked. This felt like a setup. Why was his girlfriend talking about a diet like it was a death sentence? And why was she concerned about a measly four pounds?

  “I will not be fat again,” she said.

  “You were never fat,” he said.

  She gave him a look and he stopped talking.

  “Maybe you were a little chubby,” he tried, but it didn’t help.

  “A little chubby. A little chubby. Jason, my freshman year of college, a fraternity made beeping noises one day when I walked backwards,” she said.

  Suddenly he realized this was what he had been anticipating, the freakout that had been waiting in the wings since her parents decided to separate. He thought buying the scooter might have been part of some mental breakdown, but he was wrong. That had been more than a whim and something she had been thinking about for a while, unbeknownst to him. Other than the scooter, which worried him more than he would tell her, she had taken the breakup well, too well. If he knew anything about Lacy, it was that she felt things deeply, deeper than anyone he had ever known. Her heart was huge, but sometimes the emotions got bottlenecked inside her, especially the negative ones. Her feelings didn’t always express themselves in normal ways. Sometimes she did desperate, dire things. Things like go on a diet when food was the thing that brought her the most joy in life.

  “Lacy, you don’t have to diet,” he said.

  She put her hand over her eyes and whispered. “I couldn’t zip my pants this morning.”

  He knew her so well, but there were still things about her he couldn’t understand. Why was her tone filled with so much failure and shame? It broke his heart. He left his position in the guest chair and went around the desk to reach for her. At first she didn’t respond, but when she did, she leaned into him wholeheartedly. That was all he had ever wanted from her—for her to let him in completely, to let him get to the heart of her. She had built so many walls around herself, most of them she didn’t realize were there. It was taking time to peel the layers away, but he was a patient man.

  “Lacy,” he soothed as he ran his hand over her hair. “Stop.”

  “I’m so hungry, and I’ve only been dieting for ninety minutes,” she said.

  “Don’t do this to yourself. Weight fluctuates. It’s no big deal,” he said.

  She opened her eyes and eased away from him. “You have no idea what it’s like to struggle with weight. You have the metabolism of a raging rhino. You can sneeze and lose enough to make your pants fall off.”

  “Don’t turn this around on me,” he said. “I’m on your side.”

  Her shoulders sagged in defeat. He hated that. “You’re right. I’m sorry. The diet is already making me cranky.”

  “So don’t do it,” he said.

  “I have to. I don’t like feeling out of control like this.”

  “Do you think it’s possible your desire for control is more about your family situation and less about food?” he said.

  She squinted at him. “No. It’s the food.” She still wouldn’t talk about her parents’ separation, but that was her way. She didn’t like to talk about difficult, hurtful things. “I need to do this.”

  It was obvious he wasn’t going to talk her out of it, at least not today. “What can I do to help?”

  “Be patient with me. Diets make me…unpleasant,” she said.

  “Lacy,” he said, this time in exasperation. When would she learn to trust him? How many times did he have to tell her that she wasn’t too much? Show, don’t tell, he thought as he kissed her.

  “Your brother is here.” Her weird secretary opened the door and stuck her head in without knocking.

  “My brother?” Lacy said, pulling away from Jason to survey Suze.

  “The religious one,” Suze said.

  “Brother-in-law,” Lacy corrected.

  “Whatever. He’s here. I told him you might not want to be disturbed because you were probably in here making out or something.”

  “Tosh can come in,” Lacy said. Suze eased back out and closed the door.

  “You should give her a raise,” Jason said. He no longer advocated for firing the crazy woman. It wasn’t worth arguing over anymore, especially because it was apparent that Lacy had a soft spot for her. Unsurprising since she collected outcasts the way some people collected stamps.

  “She’s good at filing,” Lacy said, as if that made up for all her other deficiencies. In Lacy’s mind, it probably did. She liked to see the good in people.

  Tosh opened the door and came inside, smiling. He was always smiling since the birth of his daughter, Lucy. It was a tired smile, though, and there were bags under his eyes. He sat without waiting to be invited. “Hey,” he said.

  Lacy sat in her chair. Jason perched on the edge of her desk. “Hey,” she said. “What’s up?”

  “I have a problem,” Tosh said.

  “Is it my mom?” Lacy guessed.

  At the mention of her mother, his features tightened. “Yes, but I’ve come to accept that as a problem with no solution. What I’ve come to talk to you about has a simple answer, one you can both be a part of.”

  “The way you’re suddenly talking like a politician makes me uneasy,” Jason said.

  “Nothing to be uneasy about. I’m here to offer you a weekend away,” Tosh said.

  “Are you selling timeshares now?” Lacy asked. “Because any minute I feel like you’re going to start calling us, ‘Friend’ overmuch.”

  “Nothing like that, Friend. It’s a family outing at a luxury resort,” Tosh said.

  Lacy and Jason stared at him. He stared back, showing all his teeth as he smiled.

  “That’s creepy,” Jason said. “You look like a werewolf.”

  “I agree with Jason. No human should show their canines like that when the
y smile. You’re making my jugular feel vulnerable. What’s going on?” Lacy said.

  “You know that Riley and my sisters have a bit of trouble getting along,” Tosh said.

  “Palestinians and Israelis have a bit of trouble getting along. They have nothing on Riley and your sisters,” Lacy said.

  “What does this have to do with us?” Jason asked.

  “My sisters planned an outing at a resort and invited us along,” Tosh said.

  “Knowing that Riley can’t go because she just had a baby,” Lacy guessed.

  “Exactly, only Riley is insisting that she will go, as long as she can bring along her personal entourage, meaning you guys.”

  “All right,” Lacy drawled. “What’s the catch?”

  “It’s a ski resort. I know how you feel about skiing, but you don’t have to. Riley won’t be able to. There’s plenty at the lodge to keep you busy. You can get a massage, my treat,” Tosh said.

  “Sure, I’d love to go,” Lacy agreed. “It’s time I learned to ski. It’s a great calorie burn.”

  Tosh looked at Jason. Jason shook his head and mouthed, “Don’t ask.”

  “There’s more,” Tosh said. He took a deep breath. “It’s a little more than a ski resort. It’s also a health spa. They don’t allow sugar, but I’m willing to help you smuggle the necessary provisions.”

  “Not necessary. Jason and I were just talking about how I need to lose weight.”

  “That’s not…What do you hear when I talk?” Jason said.

  “The point is that this couldn’t have come at a better time. Forced diets are the best kind.”

  “Great,” Tosh said. “That’s settled then.”

  “Wait, I’m still suspicious,” Jason said. “What else aren’t you telling us? What’s the other catch?”

  “There’s no catch,” Tosh said.

  “It’s going to be the four of us away for a ski weekend?” Jason said.

  “And Lucy, of course,” Tosh said, but he was smiling the weird smile again.

  “Tosh,” Lacy pressed.

  “And your parents. Riley was adamant they come along.”

  Lacy groaned. “She doesn’t think she’s going to fix their marriage, does she? This isn’t The Parent Trap, and she’s no Hayley Mills,” Lacy said.

  “Very little of that sentence made sense to me,” Jason said, but Tosh had no trouble getting it. He shrugged.

  “I’ve tried to talk her out of it, but you know how it is with the Steele women once they have their minds set on something,” he said.

  Jason nodded his agreement until he felt Lacy’s eyes on him. Then he shook his head. “That’s it then? The six of us plus the baby?” he asked.

  “Plus Kimber and Michael. Riley has her matchmaking hat on there, too. It’s the hormones.”

  “Michael’s in Ireland,” Lacy reminded him.

  “Then I spoke to his doppelganger downstairs,” Tosh said.

  Lacy stood abruptly. “Michael’s home? Why didn’t he tell me?”

  “Just guessing here, but I think it might have something to do with your secretary,” Tosh said.

  Suze had a raging crush on Michael and no desire to hide it.

  “Still,” Lacy said. She sounded hurt. Not for the first time Jason had to tamp down his jealousy where Michael was concerned. They said there was nothing between them, and he believed them. But that didn’t mean it was easy for him to see his girlfriend disappointed that another man hadn’t said hello to her after his long vacation.

  “I’m going to go say hello to Michael,” Lacy said.

  “We’re on for the weekend though, right? Riley wanted me to talk you into it before I go home,” Tosh said.

  “It sounds like a blast,” Lacy said distractedly before letting herself out of the office.

  “How’s she doing with the separation?” Tosh asked Jason after she left.

  “She’s on a diet,” Jason said.

  “That’s worse than I thought,” Tosh said. “Riley breaks down and weeps at various intervals, but I can’t tell if it’s the separation, the hormones, the complete lack of sleep, or the fact that her mother is still staying in our house. I know that’s why I weep.”

  “Better you than me,” Jason said. He was staring at the door.

  “Jealous much?” Tosh asked.

  “She says there’s nothing between them but friendship,” Jason said.

  “Strange. That’s what she used to tell me about you,” Tosh said.

  Jason gave him a sour expression. Tosh grinned. “You enjoy my pain a lot for a pastor,” Jason said.

  “I live with my mother-in-law. At this point I enjoy anyone’s pain but my own,” Tosh said. “Don’t tell Lacy, but I’m all in favor of Riley getting her parents back together. Frannie is driving me crazy. The sooner she goes back to Florida, the better.”

  “Do you think it’s going to work?” Jason asked.

  “Something has to. Besides, I hate seeing how upset Riley is, and Lacy, too. And Frannie. And Clint. And Riley’s grandparents. The whole situation is catastrophic.”

  “Can’t you do something clerical about it?” Jason asked.

  “Divine intervention? Believe me, I’ve been praying for that since Frannie’s plane touched down,” Tosh said. “Why don’t you do something about it?”

  “Me? Why me?”

  “You’re a cop. You’ve had tons of experience mediating civil disputes and domestic situations.”

  “Not civil disputes and domestic situations I’m involved in,” Jason said.

  “All I’m saying is that if you want life to return to normal, AKA your girlfriend not on a diet, then you’d better get involved,” Tosh said.

  “Maybe it won’t be as bad as we’re predicting. I mean, it’s a diet. Women go on them everyday and nothing catastrophic happens, right?” Jason said.

  “If you have to ask the question, you wouldn’t understand the answer,” Tosh said.

  Jason glanced at the door again. Should he get involved in Lacy’s parents’ marital woes? He would have to give it some serious consideration.

  Chapter 2

  Lacy stood at the entrance to Michael’s store and watched him frown at his cash register. She couldn’t say why it was so good to see him again. It just was. He had become a close friend in a relatively short amount of time, to both her and Jason. While he was away, something had felt like it was missing. Now that he was back, life felt a little more complete.

  “If you’re wondering why it’s empty, it might be because you weren’t here to sell things,” she said.

  He looked up with a beaming smile. “Lacy!”

  “He remembers my name,” she said.

  “You’re speaking in the third person. What are you, Gollum now?” he said.

  “What’s in its pocketses? Filthy hobittses,” she said.

  “I wasn’t sure you were here today. The ice cream parlor still has all its cones,” he said.

  “I’m on a diet,” she said.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “My parents split up.” She hadn’t said it out loud to anyone else. Why she blurted it to him was a mystery.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  She shrugged and came farther into the store. “How was Ireland?”

  “Green. How was home?”

  “The same except I bought a scooter. It’s sitting beside your motorcycle in Jason’s garage, waiting for some warmer weather.”

  “How did Jason take that?” Michael asked.

  “About as well as you’d expect. He made me buy some black leather gear to prevent road rash in the likely event that I skid out,” she said.

  “That sounds kind of hot,” he said.

  “Not really. I made the mistake of getting a purple helmet. I look like Miss Piggy in The Great Muppet Caper,” she said.

  He laughed hard and wiped his eyes. “I missed you, you weird, wonderful person.”

  “Are you going skiing with us?” she asked.

&n
bsp; “Is that a problem?” he asked.

  “Riley’s trying to fix you up with Kimber. You know how I feel about that,” she said. “Kimber’s still vulnerable after the Andy debacle.”

  “Kimber and I talked about it and decided we could stomach Riley doing her best Fiddler on the Roof act as matchmaker, if it meant we scored a free ski weekend. Kimber’s a big girl, you know. If something developed between us, it would be on her head, not yours.”

  “I feel personally responsible for the happiness of my friends and family,” she said.

  “I know you do,” he said.

  “Which is why I think you should give Suze another chance.”

  He groaned.

  “She likes you.”

  “Really? I couldn’t tell from the four hundred sixty seven texts she sent me while I was in Ireland. Or the family of possums she stuffed and dressed like Cupid and left on my porch as a welcome home present.”

  “She did?” Lacy had a sinking feeling. She had tried to counsel Suze to take a step back and let Michael make the next move. It looked as though her advice hadn’t worked.

  “Each one was holding a sign with a single letter on it. Together I think they were supposed to spell ‘LOVE,’ only she put them in the wrong order and spelled ‘VOLE.’”

  “Those could have been left by anyone,” Lacy said.

  “Of all the stalkers I’ve ever had, she’s the only taxidermist,” he said.

  “That makes her special,” Lacy said.

  “Give it up,” Michael said. “Why do you want me with her so badly?”

  “She’s sad. She likes you.”

  “What a ringing endorsement. Besides, if I dated every sad woman who liked me, I wouldn’t have much free time for anything else,” Michael said.

  “It’s more than that. Underneath it all, I think she has a good heart, a great heart. She’s a hidden treasure. Together you two have potential.”