In Sickness and in Death - By Lisa Bork Page 0,38

about you take the day off? I owe you a few days off.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Leslie Flynn’s coming to see me at eleven. She’s going to unveil her new look.” I explained to Cory how I had enlisted Celeste’s support to makeover Leslie.

Cory wrapped his fingers around the steering wheel. “I’m not going anywhere. I have got to see that.”

“Fine, but be advised I’m also talking her out of buying the Caterham.”

____

The two-hour wait passed as if it were ten minutes. I used the time to tell Cory about Erica and Danny. I had plenty to tell and he was a good listener.

Ray stopped by at ten-thirty with a copy of Maury Boor’s DMV photo. He’d already started to show the photo in all the convenience and grocery stores plus the motels in and surrounding Wachobe, along with a photo of Jessica James.

He leaned against the Ferrari, never asking why Cory and I were sitting inside it, which was good because I didn’t want to explain about Monte Carlo. “So far, no one’s seen either of them.”

“Do you have their pictures on you?” Cory asked. “Maybe I’ve seen them around.”

Unfortunately, Cory was not acquainted with the elusive Maury Boor or Jessica James.

I wasn’t surprised no one had seen Jessica. For all we knew, she was six feet under somewhere. Even though I avoided the gossip vine, I think even I would have heard if a one-armed woman was wandering around town.

Ray twirled his keys around his finger. “A number of the checkout counters in the convenience stores had sale displays of silver initial key chains just like the one Danny said his father owned. The letter P appears to be popular. Some of the displays didn’t have any left.”

Great. So maybe it was Mr. Phillips’ key chain, maybe it wasn’t. I sank a little farther into my leather seat, disappointed that Ray’s investigative efforts hadn’t paid off.

Ray’s radio squawked and a string of codes followed. He listened and eased himself off the Ferrari.

“I talked to the Buffalo PD. They’re going to send a car by Maury’s address and see what they can find out. I gotta go. I’ll call you later.” Ray kissed my cheek and left.

I stuffed the photo in my purse. I wanted to help with the search, but Leslie was on her way. As soon as she left, I’d start asking around town about Maury, too.

At one minute to eleven, the showroom bells jingled again. “Ta da.”

Cory and I looked up. He gasped.

If I hadn’t known it was Leslie Flynn, I wouldn’t have recognized her. Her hair now had a more subtle auburn color and appeared longer than the day before. Her eyes appeared darker and with thicker lashes. The red lipstick made her mouth full and lush and set off her new teeth, which were straight and white but also a little wide and long. The V-neck of her blouse drew the eye away from her broad shoulders, and its empire waist de-emphasized Leslie’s thick middle. Her fingers were manicured to match her lipstick. I had no doubt her toes matched as well.

Her wide-legged black pants swished over her black pumps as she sashayed across the room. “Celeste taught me how to walk, too.”

All I could say was “Wow.” Celeste had accomplished this magnificent transformation within twenty-four hours. No way could I return the extra six hundred dollars of clothes she’d forced on me yesterday. It would be downright disrespectful.

Cory remained speechless.

Leslie pointed to her hair. “It’s a wig. Celeste’s stylist said my hair needs a rest from all the dye and sun.”

I had a sneaking suspicion that her hair had been too thin to style, but I kept it to myself. “You look amazing. Ah-mazing.”

She hugged herself.

Cory hopped out of the car and hugged her, too. “Jo’s right. You look fabulous!” Fabulous for Leslie, that was. She still looked a bit horsy, but at least she was on her way to thoroughbred. Nevertheless, the transformation merited celebration.

I climbed out of the Ferrari. “How about I take everybody to an early lunch?”

We locked up and headed across the street to the Coachman Inn, a historic village landmark. In addition to serving meals, the inn operated paddleboat dinner cruises on the lake and rented tastefully decorated rooms with comfy poster beds and gas fireplaces. It was perfect for a romantic weekend getaway in the Finger Lakes and a delightful spot for a celebratory lunch.

In the lamp-lit, pine-floored entryway, Leslie spotted the restrooms. “I’ll meet you