The Honeyed Taste of Deception Read online

  Elise picked up a slice of salami and layered it with a slice of cheese. She stuffed it in her mouth, hoping Lavina had more to add.

  Instead of talking, Lavina leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed. “Don’t look at me like butter wouldn’t melt in your mouth. Where’d you find this, and what kind of trouble are you in?”

  Elise swallowed and felt a zing of unfairness. “What? Why would you think this? Everything is fine.”

  “Really? Well, you come waltzing in here with a snapped off heel of a seven hundred dollar shoe. And you found it where?”

  Elise hesitated just a second before confessing, “In the alley way.”

  “Where?”

  “Behind the jewelry store.”

  “Elise! You promised you wouldn’t go to creepy places alone anymore!”

  “Seriously, I didn’t think it was all that creepy. I saw it sparkling and just wanted to check it out.”

  “The same thing could have happened to you that happened to this poor girl!”

  “You think something violent happened, too?” Elise reached for another piece of cheese. “The only thing is, there isn’t any damage to the heel. I’d expect there to be marks if she’d been dragged. Or gouges if she kicked at the ground.”

  Lavina frowned and turned the sparkling heel over. “You’re right. It just looks like it snapped off as if she tripped.” She slid it across the table back to Elise. “So, why does this have your curiosity?”

  “I thought it looked expensive and you just confirmed it. Why would she be behind the bank in the alleyway? I can’t even think of a reason.”

  “Maybe you should show Brad just in case there’s a missing person’s report.”

  Elise nodded and made herself another salami cheese stack. “Or it could even be a clue to the Craigslist Bandits. Maybe some snazzily-dressed lady is the one doing all these hold ups.”

  “Draped in the jewels she steals,” Lavina joked back.

  Elise felt a buzz in her pocket and, shoving the stack of cheese into her mouth, she reached for the vibrating phone. Her brow wrinkled. Who is that text from? “Um,” she tried to remember what they were just talking about. “I’m planning on showing him tonight. Anyway, I have to get back to work.” She shoved the phone back in her pocket.

  “Oh, my good heavens! How ancient is that phone? It still uses buttons, for crying out loud. You need to replace it.”

  “Don’t remind me, Vi. It’s a bummer that my iPhone met its demise in the toilet, but I can’t afford a new one right now. So, I’m embracing the buttons.”

  “You are just too easy-going.” Lavina shook her head as she then appraised Elise’s attire. “And, when are we going to go on that shopping trip? Because you desperately need it. Poor Brad doesn’t realize you may own something besides yoga pants and t-shirts.”

  Elise winked. “Oh, he knows.”

  A smile crept across Lavina’s face. “That’s what I’m talking about. Get it, girl. So how is the new job going?”

  “Makes dog walking look like a dream job.”

  “Well, aren’t you all butterflies and ice-cream this morning.” Lavina responded drolly.

  “It’s the way I’m coping with the new boss. Coffee and sarcasm.”

  Lavina studied her carefully. “Oh, darlin’. You really are hating on this job, aren’t you?”

  Elise sighed and set the mug down. She spun it in a slow circle as she shrugged. “It’s not that I hate the job. I actually loved meeting Catalina, and I can see a cool potential to help brides, calm them down, and have a hand in making one of the most important days of their lives happen the way they expect. It’s just that Sonya is so darn unpleasant. I can’t figure out what makes her tick yet.”

  Lavina nodded and picked up a piece of salami. “It’s perfectionism. Makes her business amazing, but probably makes her a bear to work with. I’ve heard I have a touch myself.”

  Elise snorted. “A touch?”

  A lifted eyebrow warned Elise that Lavina wasn’t playing. She squashed her smile and continued. “Sonya does have it together. Her mind works a million miles a minute and she’s able to pull all these details together and just make things happen. It probably helps that she’s scary,” Elise laughed. “So people darn well jump when she says jump.”

  “But,” Lavina lifted a finger. “What about friends? Does she have any friends?”

  “Hard to imagine, unless she just knows them on the phone. Then again, she’s not someone who’s warm and cuddly, so I haven’t asked her to tea myself.”

  Lavina rolled her eyes at Elise. “I can’t tell if you’re being facetious or serious. Honestly, Elise. Maybe you should bring her some of my macarons,” she tipped her head to indicate the front of the store, “and see if a little food helps warm her heart.”

  Elise smiled. “Maybe. What can it hurt?”

  Her phone vibrated again and she pulled it out again. “Who the heck is this?”

  “What’s the matter?”

  “I’m getting weird text messages. Here, hang on a second.” She clicked through to open her text messages.

  I’m coloring my hair and I’m thrilled!

  What the heck? She scrolled to the next message.

  Where are you? I might need help.

  Elise bit her lip, studying the foreign number. She quickly texted back.

  Who is this again?

  Dots rotated in the background to show someone was typing.

  “Besides,” Lavina said. “Maybe you’re being hard on her.”

  Elise was lost again. “What?”

  “Your boss. Maybe you just need to get to know her better.” Lavina blinked sagely.

  “Well, you’re feeling generous today.” Elise said before glancing back at her phone. The dots still spun without a response. Sighing, she crammed it into her hoody pocket. “I’ll remind you to give your next employee a chance the next time they mix up your Smoked Gouda with your Swiss.”

  “Har, har, har. It’s just that not everyone deals with stress the way you do.” Lavina’s gaze flicked down to Elise’s sneakers. “Running and stuff.” She said the last two words with a sniff.

  “I actually think Sonya deals with her stress with a tattoo addiction. But I’ll consider the possibility that I’m reading her wrong. I did meet her at the most stressful point of this whole wedding thing.”

  “Well, you know what I always say,” Lavina said, looking wise. “Trust in that gut of yours.”

  Elise’s phone buzzed again.

  Chapter 7

  The deli door jingled as Elise exited, and the cold breeze lifted her hair. She zipped up the hoody and buried her nose into the collar since her body had completely cooled down since her earlier run.

  Okay, I need to get home and changed and mentally prepare for Sonya. Her pocket vibrated again and she yanked out the phone with irritation. This time two texts waited.

  The first one stated, It’s Catalina. Sonya gave me your number

  Her brow furrowed in frustration. What? She’s passing out my number now? So not okay with that. She gritted her teeth together. I need this job. I need this job.

  The second one was right to the point. How do you know if you’ve left the hair coloring in too long? I think I messed up.

  A groan fell from Elise’s mouth as she tucked the phone away. Not even bothering with the music list, she began to jog home. What do I know about hair coloring? Has she not seen me? Hello, plain brown hair chucked into a ponytail. The said ponytail swung with indignation. I hope she’s not going to ask me for help, because I seriously don’t have a clue. Why on God’s green earth would Sonya give her my number? Is this going to be a thing now?

  Back at home, Elise was half-way through cleaning up for work when her phone buzzed again. She grabbed it, flirting with the idea of throwing it in the garbage disposal. Picturing the grinding noise gave her a fierce grin. This time there was no doubt who the text was from.

  Go meet Catalina at the Cozy Clippers ASAP
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  Elise’s eyelids fluttered closed. What did Sonya expect her to do at the hairdresser’s? She finished brushing her hair, and went on her hunt for her car keys. Max followed, hot on her heels. Finally finding them, she looked down at the orange cat. “You need a snack?”

  He blinked at her.

  She reached for the kitty treats and shook a few out into her hand. “Be a good boy. I’ll be home soon,” she cooed, setting them at his feet. He looked at them disinterested, but she knew what was up. Max was a shy eater and ignored food until he knew he wasn’t being watched. At the door she took a peek and smiled as she caught Max batting one with his paw.

  Cozy Clippers seemed empty and Elise found a spot to park in the front. She shut the car door with a growing knot in her stomach. Please oh please oh…..

  She opened the salon’s door and stopped cold. No amount of pleasing or ohhing was going to make this go away.

  Catalina Petrovitsky sat in the beautician’s chair, smiling just as happy as a clam. Unbeknownst to her, the stylist behind her held out a pair of scissors in one hand and a chunk of white cotton fuzz in the other. The look of horror on the stylist’s face was evident to Elise from across the room.

  Elise girded herself with a neutral mask. Walk over with that darn glide thing. Smooth, in control. Nothing’s wrong. The hairdresser dropped the chunk of hair to the floor and slid it from Catalina’s view with her foot.

  “Elise!” The bride-to-be squealed as she spotted her. Elise nodded with what she hoped was a reassuring smile as she approached.

  “So, what’s going on here?” Elise’s gaze flicked between the hairdresser and Catalina. The hairdresser’s face was as pale as a sheet and she chewed on her bottom lip. “Catalina?”

  “Oh, I wanted my hair to be super blonde….” It was here that Elise noticed Catalina’s eyes had an extra mania to them. Oh dear. “I did it myself. I really thought it would be no big deal. After all, performers change their hair color all the time.”

  Elise’s eyes watered at the sight of Catalina’s orange roots. “Was peroxide involved?”

  Catalina’s calm facade teetered briefly as her bottom lip trembled. “My friend, Moria, said she did it that way all the time,” she whispered. “and then I got distracted.”

  “Distracted?” Elise prompted.

  “Cook called and I lost track of the time.” She smiled brightly again, that peppy attitude of hers rallying. “But it’s okay. Peggy here is a wizard at this kind of stuff. Right, Peggy?”

  The hairdresser cleared her throat, before giving a small nod. “I’ll do my best. What do you think about a pixie cut?”

  “A…” The word seemed to catch in Catalina’s throat. “Pixie?”

  “With the right tiara and veil, it will be so lovely,” Elise rushed in. “You’ll make a statement.”

  Peggy cast grateful eyes at Elise, thankful for the life-line. She quickly followed with, “I think I saw it on Vera Wang’s runway last week. You’ll really be the cutting edge.”

  “Talk about making memories!” Elise trilled.

  “There won’t be a wedding around like it.” Peggy drew the comb through the hair again. She closed her eyes as it caught another rat’s nest. Resignedly, she reached for her conditioner spray and dosed the knot. Little rivulets of water ran down Catalina’s cheek, who wiped them with the back of her hand. She looked at the drop questioningly. “I didn’t realize I was crying. Usually the valium takes care of that.”

  Elise sucked at her teeth. “It’s not tears. It’s the spray.”

  Catalina tried to nod when her head was jerked back by the comb’s short jabs.

  “How ya doing, honey?” Peggy asked.

  “Never better,” Catalina answered, her eyes wide.

  Elise suppressed a smile as her imagination conjured up the most inappropriate picture of a wet cat. Poor Catalina.

  Sighing, Peggy brought out the scissors again. Elise dragged over a stool closer to Catalina and took out her itinerary. “So, let’s go over this together.” She propped the binder up on her knees so Catalina could see.

  Catalina squinted to read. “Does that say clowns?”

  Elise turned the list around abruptly. Clowns? “No, I think what you’re looking at is gowns. As in, a reception gown you can change into after the wedding.”

  Catalina’s eyes grew dreamy. “I like clowns. I want fifty! All with green noses that match my wedding flowers. In fact, I’ll have my entire wedding party wearing their circus garb.” She closed her eyes and punctuated with her finger held in the air, “I bet I can get Argo, the sword swallower, to officiate.”

  Dear heavens. How strong is that stuff she’s on? “Oh, wow. I’m not sure about that. Catalina? A circus wedding?”

  Catalina shifted forward to whisper, causing Peggy to lean over the back of the chair to work on her hair. “My pa loves clowns. I need my pa to be happy. You want my pa to be happy, don’t you?” The bride-to-be’s bottom lip trembled yet again. The poor woman was looking half clown-like herself, with her smeared mascara and bleached-white spiky hair.

  “Um,” Elise hurriedly ran her finger through the list on the binder as if searching for something. “I’ll need to contact Sonya. I’m just the….”

  “You’re my advoca… adver… My companion.” Catalina patted Elise’s hand. “You matter. I need you. I care about you. You go stand up for me and make my dream circus wedding come true.”

  Sonya is going to kill me. She wanted me to just come and babysit, and here I have a bride with fried hair wanting a passel of clowns at a circus wedding.

  Elise took a deep breath. “How about if you discuss this with Cook first and then get back to me? Maybe the four of us can sit and talk about it.”

  “Four?” Catalina’s eyes struggled to focus on Elise. She closed one, making the remaining blue eye appear overly large.

  “You and I, Cook and Sonya.” Elise counted on her fingers.

  Still squinting, Catalina looked hard at the fingers before flopping back in the seat. Peggy withdrew the scissors just in the nick of time, preventing Catalina from impaling herself. The beautician’s cheeks puffed out with exasperation as she bit back whatever exclamation had come to her mind.

  “I just need you,” Catalina continued. She crossed her pink sweatpants-clad legs. “Just you.” Using a shooing motion, she continued. “Go. Make it happen.”

  Elise looked at the ground feeling defeated. She glanced at Peggy who shrugged and dropped another clump of hair into the trash. Her face tightened into the fakest smile she’d ever made as she stood and gathered the binder and purse. “All right, Catalina. I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Everyone with a nose! Like my sash!” Catalina exclaimed, rushing up from the chair like a rocket. She wobbled like a caricature of a KO’d prized fighter. “Whoooa,” she murmured, before collapsing back into the seat. “Somebody’s got to do something about these floors.”

  Catalina patted her brittle hair and Peggy cringed.

  Elise gave a confident wave, “You’re in good hands, Catalina!” She hurried out the door wondering how in the world she was going to break this to Sonya.

  Chapter 8

  The sun had lifted off the morning dew and warmed up the sidewalk as Elise hurried to the Wedding Dreams Boutique. The air was still crisp but held the scent of a fresh rain and cherry blossoms. She could believe spring was finally here.

  The bell jingled as she opened the door. Sonya was in her office typing on the computer. Biting her cheek, Elise tapped on the door.

  “Come on in. You don’t have to knock. Just hang on a sec while I finish this,” Sonya’s fingers flew over the keyboard with noisy clacking.

  Elise shoved her hands into her pockets, then pulled them out again. She spun her bracelet before crossing her arms, only to return her hands to her pockets once again.

  Sonya finally looked up. A wrinkle creased between her eyebrows. Not the wrinkle Elise wanted to see. “What’s wrong? Your fidgeting is driving me n
uts.”

  “So,” Elise began. The words seemed to stick in her mouth. “Uh, Sonya, I hate to say this but I think we have a problem.”

  Sonya’s eyebrow lifted, raising another wrinkle in her forehead. “I don't have time for this. What's going on?”

  “Well,” Elise tried again. “I went to Cozy Clippers like you said. But it was a nightmare. Catalina was in the throes of an emergency haircut when she announced that she wanted a circus-themed wedding in honor of her father.”

  Sonya’s mouth dropped open to reveal silver caps on her bottom molars. Her fingers picked at a piece of tape on her arm where Elise noticed a fresh tattoo covered with Saran wrap.

  Elise hurried to explain, “I’m sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen. I think the idea was Valium induced.”

  “What am I going to do now?” Sonya's face fell in despair. “Is it not bad enough that she wants to get married in two weeks? Now I have to find a circus tent and clowns? She has to be joking.”

  “She definitely wasn’t joking, but she might yet change her mind. Once,” Elise bit her lip, “everything wears off.”

  Sonya wasn’t listening anymore. With her hands firmly clapped over her eyes, she shook her head. “I’m gonna be the laughing stock of the town. I’ll never hear the end of it.” Red tinged her normally pale cheeks.

  “Don’t worry. Somehow, we'll figure this out. Maybe she'll change her mind by tomorrow.”

  Sonya reached for the phone, knocking a binder to the floor. “I need to get hold of her fiancé and let him know. There's just no way this can happen.”

  Elise picked up the binder, noticing it was open to the expense report. Several of the past weddings venues were listed and a few numbers caught her eye. “Wow. The Petrovitsky wedding really is worth a lot.” She blushed, hoping her boss didn’t think she was being nosy. “Anyway, tell him this could escalate into her wanting a petting zoo with pony rides.”

  “Don't even joke about it. That's terrible.” Still, Sonya’s mouth quirked up at the corner.

  Spurred on by Sonya’s slight smile, Elise rambled on. “Maybe they can have a kissing booth over the altar and instead of a wedding cake, they’ll have a cotton candy machine.”