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“You okay?” Jason stopped her retreat. “You look pale.”
Harper wanted to tell him but something held her back. He’d think she was crazy. Her father had painted that room years ago. Jason would say it was thin at best and that she was just imagining things because she was upset. She needed to think about it more, so she gave him a tight smile. “It’s just so upsetting.”
He reached out and squeezed her arm. “Can you take the rest of the day off once you leave here?” Raindrops plopped on the top of his head and shoulders.
She shrugged. Originally, she planned to go to her sister’s and see Audrey. But that paint made her change her mind.
“I’m leaving. Harper, walk me back.” Susan said as she ducked back under the umbrella. “Jason, I look forward to hearing updates from you.” She offered him another warm smile. Jason, for his part, gave her a cool nod.
Harper held the wooden handle aloft to protect them from the rain as they retraced their steps along the bluff. “Are you going to the party at Everlasting Manor tonight?”
“Yes, of course. I don’t have a choice. So many of my supporters will be there. It’s a good opportunity to check in with all of them and remind them why they supported me the first time around. I’ll be running again in a couple years. It’s never too soon to shepherd their support of me again.”
“You don’t think it’s in poor taste?” she asked.
Susan huffed a bit. “Life goes on. I feel awful for Astrid and her family, and yours for that matter, but we can’t stop living. There’s work to be done and I’m hoping to corner a few donors tonight and get them to pony up to get certain projects underway.”
“I see.”
“It wouldn’t hurt you to be seen there as well.” Susan sent her a cold look. “If you want to be deputy mayor again, you need to be out there where people can see you. Even if you spend the whole evening saying how horrible Astrid’s death is and how we’re working closely with Chief Clark’s office to find the killer. That’s better than staying home where no one can see you or hear what we’re doing.”
She grimaced but let her shoulders drop. “I’ll go.”
“Good,” Susan said. “And for God’s sake find something decent to wear. None of that dowdy shit you usually wear.”
They’d reached the trailhead. Susan strode into the picnic shelter and then faced the reporters again. She reiterated that it was a tragedy and that they would work very closely with the police to make sure the culprit was found. Then she was gone.
After throwing the umbrella into the back seat, Harper climbed behind the wheel of her SUV and headed home as well. She found the idea of going to the party repugnant. But, she knew on a deep level that she wouldn’t be able to rest until she knew for sure if that green paint was still on the walls at the Manor. And if it was, well, it gave her a place to start looking. Because she knew with all the press around this, mistakes were going to be made in the investigation. How could they not?
The press would be looking for every snippet of information they could get and anyone who could provide a lead. Inevitably, there’d be a leak and then the finger pointing would start. With all that added stress, mistakes would happen. People were human. Except for the animal who did this. And Astrid deserved justice. She would do everything she could to ensure the girl got it.
“I’m coming to the party tonight,” Harper declared over the phone to her friend, Dana Benoit.
“Oh, honey, are you sure you want to? It’s been a hell of a day for you and your family.”
She bit her lip. “It has and I’d call in sick to avoid it, but Susan insisted. And I can’t blame her. A lot of her supporters will be present, and they need to see her out and doing things. She can stand there and tell them that she’s going to make sure the chief does his job. If she stays home, then it looks bad.”
Her friend snorted. “Susan wouldn’t stay home if you paid her. She is not likely to miss a chance to hit on any single men.”
“I know. I know. I keep telling her she needs to back off a bit. But you know Susan.”
Dana sighed. “I do. She’s a great mayor in lots of ways but she’d be so much better if she could curb those cougar instincts.”
Harper couldn’t argue with that.
“Are you sure you want to go? Susan can live without you.”
It was true but the green paint was going to haunt her. “Susan would be angry with me but the truth is I don’t feel like sitting at home tonight.” It was a half-truth. She wanted to be at her sister’s.
“Okay then. What are you going to wear? I’m wearing my favorite blue cocktail dress and a blue mask. Do you have a mask? It’s a Halloween party. You have to at least wear a mask.”
“Shit. I didn’t think of that.” What the hell was she going to wear?
“I think I have a red mask from one of the Halloween parties last year. Just one of the kind that covers your eyes. I think it has a feather too. Do you have anything that will match that?”
“Hmmm. I don’t think red is the right color for tonight. I have a dark purple dress. It’s not ideal.” The dress was quite sexy and she wasn’t sure that was the look she wanted, but Susan didn’t want her to look dowdy so it would have to do.
“The red mask might clash a bit but I don’t think anyone will care. Do you want to ride with me and Derek?”
