Page 15 of Guilty as Sin
“Earrings,” Lily said. “Necklace. Makeup.”
Whoops.Paige sighed as if she’d been remembering that and turned around. “I’mdoingit. I’m there. I’m you.”
“Right,” she muttered an hour later. She adjusted the pink leather tote on her shoulder, clutched the key ring more tightly in her hand, and ran over her sequence.
Exactly like responding to a hot call. You decided on your approach first, and you didn’t park out front. You stayed out of the kill zone until you could go in fast and smooth and with a plan.
Which was perhaps alittleextreme for a store whose sole threat presentation was three mannequins in a window. One, headless and legless, was sporting a delicate peach ensemble not too different from the things Paige was wearing, except for the addition of a lacy garter belt. And a peach blindfold draped over one white hand. Innocent, and then… not. Another was nothing but a pair of upside-down legs clad in sheer black stockings with a line of crystals that started two inches up the side of the thigh, presumably so you could flash them in your slinky skirt when you crossed your legs. There were other garments scattered around, mostly involving a whole lot of lace and silk, and another outfit on a mannequin standing discreetly at the back. Her nightgown was all fine white cotton, baby-blue trim, and pintucks, and looked like it was saying in a soothing voice, “It’s all right. Honestly. Come on in. It won’t be that scary. We have things for you, too. Come innnnnnn.”
The store looked dangerous, yes, but not in a bad-deal-going-down kind of way. More in an out-of-your-depth kind of way.
Paige took a deep breath, thought,You are Lily.After that, she glided up to the door, inserted her key in one smooth movement, stepped inside, and said, “Hi!” in as serene-yet-chirpy a Lily-tone as she could manage.
“Well, hey,” a woman said, coming forward with a beaming smile, taking Paige by both shoulders, and then giving her a tight hug.
Paige stiffened and thoughtWhoa, lady, back off.She wasn’t that much of a hugger. And then she just thought,Whoa.She’d assumed Lily’s assistant Hailey, hired a year or so ago, was a… well, a Hailey. Young and glamorous, like Lily. Instead, she was a neat but decidedly well-upholstered fifty-something blonde-from-a-bottle in black pants and a pale-green tunic, her black-rimmed half-glasses hanging on a beaded chain around her neck. Maybe this was Hailey’s mom, Paige thought wildly as the woman continued to clutch her. Here to help?
Whoever-she-was stood back, looked Paige over while keeping her hands on her shoulders, and said, “Fun time with your sister, hon?”
“It was great,” Paige said with her best Lily-smile. She headed toward the back room, kept her stride smooth with a major effort, and deposited her bag. “Everything go all right here?”
“Oh, about what you’d expect. Quiet, but it’s barely May.” Not winter ski season, not summer lake season. “So was Paige doing better? And did you get some time to relax?” Thishadto be Hailey.
“She was great. Healing up fine.”
“How about the rest of it, though?”
Paige stopped half-in, half-out of the doorway. “She’s doing well.”Whatrest of it? “Upset about the shooting still being under investigation, of course. A little restless, what with not being back at work,” she added cautiously.
“Hmm,” Hailey said. “That sounds like you’re really saying, ‘Still shut down to everybody and everything.’” She laughed, not unkindly. “Am I right? Did you get her to open up at all? She going for help?”
“Well, you know,” Paige said, feeling for a handhold. Lily wasworriedabout her? Lilytalkedabout her? Lily thought she was shut down to everything? Lily wasn’t the protective one, the tough one. That was Paige. It had always been Paige. Shewasn’tvulnerable. Not when they were kids, going to school on the wrong side of the tracks amidst too many tough kids who thought they were easy targets. Not later, either, after their dad had died and things had gotten worse. Not even after their mom had died. And definitely not since then, not since she’d become a cop. Not ever. “Neither of us is exactly opening our hearts right now.”
“Oh, honey,” Hailey said. “I’m not being critical. If she’s your sister, I’m sure she’s special. Everybody has problems.”
Lily had always admired Paige, looked up to her. At least Paige thought she had. Was it not true anymore? Did Lily feelsorryfor her? It was as if the earth had shifted.
Hailey looked at her watch, a delicate item on a gold bracelet, and back at Paige. What was Paige missing? Then the other woman asked, “Would you like me to open up?” and Paige thought,Oh.
“Sure,” she said with relief. “I’m still in vacation mode, probably.”
“I thought so,” Hailey said with a conspiratorial smile. “Because of your dress. But I love the darling new haircut,” she added in a hurry. “I’m surprised, because I thought you were growing it, and honey, that only works while you’re young, so you should take advantage—but it’s cute anyway. You know what?” she added in a clearly jollying tone. “I think it makes you look even younger. It does. You’ll get carded, you watch.”
Paige had dressed wrong. The dress waspretty.It was totally Lily, an ivory-colored slip covered by an overdress made of translucent material embroidered with tiny pink and silver flowers, with an uneven hem that dropped well below the thigh-high slip. The whole thing somehow looked sexier than a shorter dress would have, and showed her legs above the delicate ankle-strapped sandals, too. The dress wasfancy,which had always seemed like the main point in Lily’s wardrobe. Too fancy, though? Too party-dress? She didnotknow how to do this.
“Sure,” she said randomly, and when Hailey stared at her, she added, “I’ll just…”
“I was unpacking the new shipment from Only Hearts,” Hailey said as she went to the front door, turned the key, and flipped the sign toOpen.“If you want to ease into things today.” She didn’t add,Are you drunk?But she looked like she wanted to.
New shipment. Back room.There tended to be cardboard boxes back there, Paige remembered vaguely. She was sweating already. Two women came through the door, one of them saying, “Oh, good, you’re open. Karla, come see this.” Paige was probably supposed to know them. She fled.
When she was safely behind a closed door in the storeroom, she took a couple deep breaths and gathered her composure.Boxes. Right.Three of them, beside a work table. The open one was filled with ivory and pink somethings. She lifted one out, and it all but floated away. Camisole, she guessed you’d call it. Pale pink, and so sheer that it hid pretty much nothing. What would you wear it under? And what good was it, other than to look sexy? Not like that would give you any support. She picked another one up, but it was something else. Underwear.
She guessed. The packing slip said something else.Boy Thong.
Yeah, right. Because it was cut straight across the hips? It still wasn’t a Boy anything.
A rack nearby held a few of the camisoles on silky padded hangers, each with a hot-pink tag hanging from it, with dainty clips holding the “boy-thongs” underneath, which were also tagged. The tags seemed to have come from a green-colored plastic gun lying in a tub, a much-folded piece of white paper beneath it.
