“Well, if it was Kipp, I have to find that darn book tomorrow morning and put an end to his nonsense.” Dani finished with the sheets and said, “Now we need to go downstairs and make sure the girls are okay.”
“I’m sure they’re doing better than you are.” Spencer smiled.
Spencer led the way, and when they reached the first floor, he heard female voices coming from the kitchen. Entering it, they found Ivy, Tippi, and Starr cleaning up the mess on the floor.
“You don’t have to do this,” Dani said, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Yes we do.” Starr was closest and slung an arm around Dani. “This way you can still make and serve the lunch-to-go sacks tomorrow.”
Tippi paused and asked, “You weren’t calling the cops, right?” Dani shook her head. “Phew! I just realized that if you were, we might be destroying evidence.”
“No.” Dani grabbed a dustpan from the pantry. “Spencer and I decided that it was better not to involve the police or the insurance.”
“Glad that you and Uncle Spence are on the same page.” Ivy smirked and then mouthed I told you so to Dani when Spencer wasn’t looking.
After they got the kitchen back to normal, the girls went to bed.
Once her boarders were gone, Dani turned to Spencer and asked, “Can I get you a beer or something?”
“Ivy told me you don’t keep any booze in the house.” Spencer cocked his head to one side. “Do you have a secret stash?”
“Promise not to tell?” Dani asked, and when he nodded, she opened the refrigerator, took out a rack full of water bottles, and reached into the compartment they had been concealing. Reaching in, she grabbed two Coronas and handed them to Spencer along with the opener she retrieved from a nearby drawer.
When Dani joined Spencer at the table, he uncapped both bottles and placed one in front of her, then said, “I kind of pictured you as a wine connoisseur.”
“I’m not much of a drinker at all.” Dani took a swallow of beer. “Maybe a margarita with my girlfriends once in a while, but that’s about it.”
“So you have the Corona why?” Spencer’s throat tightened. Maybe Ivy didn’t know about the man in Dani’s life.
“It’s silly.” Dani’s cheeks turned a sweet shade of pink.
“No judgment here.” Spencer traced a finger over the hand she had resting on the table.
“My dad drinks Corona.” Dani stared at the bottle she held in front of her eyes. “Not that he has ever visited me, but I always keep a six-pack just in case he ever does come see me.” She shook her head. “Enough about that, let’s talk about the case.”
Spencer scowled. Dani’s father lived less than half an hour away. Why the eff didn’t he visit her?
Deciding to allow her to avoid what was obviously a painful subject, Spencer told her about what he’d seen when he followed Vance, then asked, “Did you get anything from Bliss?”
“I did.” Dani put down her beer, grabbed the list from her purse, and handed it to him.
Scanning the document, Spencer was once again impressed with Dani’s ability to get people talking. After copying her notes, he was silent as he considered everything Bliss had revealed.
As if reading his mind, Dani said, “I realize that Bliss seems like a good bet, having the key and knowing about Regina’s bulimia, but I still don’t think it was her. She just doesn’t seem like the type.”
“They never do,” Spencer said wearily. “But having your best friend post the kind of photo you described could send anyone down the rabbit hole.”
“Yeah.” Dani bit her lip, clearly struggling to find the words. “But Bliss has had reason to snap before, and she never did.”
“Okay.” Spencer tapped the rim of his bottle. “Let me see if I can find out to what extent that picture was distributed.”
“Fine, but my money is on Vance King.” Dani narrowed his eyes. “With his family’s business catering to a Christian market, if Regina had something that proved that he was into BDSM, it could really hurt him.”
“Good point,” Spencer conceded. “But if it’s him, that makes me more concerned about your break-in.”
“Why?”
“Because one of three people vandalized your house.” Spencer held up his index finger. “Your ex.” He held up a second finger. “Detective Mikeloff looking for evidence to frame you.” A third finger joined the other two. “Or Regina’s murderer trying to intimidate you into stopping your investigation.”
“Well, hell!” Dani yelped. “I never thought I’d see the day Kipp was the lesser of three evils. Especially when there are so many to choose from nowadays.”
Chapter 21
Friday morning, Dani yawned and stumbled bleary eyed into the kitchen, wrinkling her nose at the artificial lemon scent of the cleaning product they’d used last night to mop up the floor. Six a.m. had come much too early, but she couldn’t ignore her obligations. The girls had classes to attend and she had food to prepare.
But she didn’t regret the lost sleep. She and Spencer had sat up talking until well past two. He’d been so sweet. So protective. So understanding. So why did he seem reluctant to touch her?
Dani frowned. Every time he’d absentmindedly put his hands on her, he’d jerked them back as if she were kryptonite and he were Superman. Was Mikeloff telling the truth about Spencer having a girlfriend, or was Dani that repulsive to him?
It was a shame he didn’t find her as attractive as she found him, but if she’d learned anything with her father, there was no way to make someone love you. You can’t change the size of your breasts, the width of your hips, or the person inside of you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.
Anyway, it was probably for the best. Her luck with men was already bad enough, and if Spencer was seeing someone else, Dani would never steal another woman’s boyfriend. She’d never be some guy’s side
