Lily was waiting for me in the locker room, looking fabulously fit in shiny, black hotpants and a hot pink bra with a criss-crossed back. Her blond curls were tamed into a high ponytail and she looked fit to burst.

  "Someone looks excited," I remarked as she bounded over to me.

  "Someone got a whole night's sleep," said Lily. "Eight whole glorious hours! I feel like I can conquer the world. I feel like there's nothing I can't achieve."

  "Is this class going to make you more energetic? Or strip you of the last ounce of energy you have?"

  "I have no idea. Let's find out. Quick. Get changed!" Lily spun me around and gave me a push towards an empty locker.

  I dropped my bag onto the bench and quickly swapped my day clothes for stretchy black leggings and a lilac singlet. It wasn't as sexy hot as Lily's outfit but it was comfortable and I had a brief moment of fear that one day “comfortable” would be high on my fashion requirements. I shucked my shoes and pulled on my sneakers, then added my padlock to the locker.

  "You didn't get the memo?" asked Lily. She gave my outfit a long, cool look.

  What had I missed? "Memo?"

  "I said wear something sexy." She waved a hand at my attire and shook her head.

  "This is sexy." I looked down. It was form-fitting, flattering, and in very chic shades of black and lilac.

  "It's not stripper sexy."

  "I'm not a stripper!"

  "Oh, yeah. I thought it was implied. Do you have anything else with you?"

  "No."

  "This might not work." She waved a hand over my outfit again. I looked down, wondering exactly what was wrong with it. "You might fall off. I guess we'll find out." She turned around and pulled the door open, skipping towards the workout rooms.

  "Wait! What?" I yelled after her. "Fall off what?" Lily didn't turn around so I hurried after her, a slightly sick feeling building in my stomach. What exactly had Lily signed me up for? And why the fudge hadn't I checked the small print, or asked if there was small print? In all the years Lily and I had been friends, I really should have known better than to blithely go along with her suggestion of a new gym class but I'd operated under the impression marriage and motherhood had chilled her out. Silly me. A nuclear bomb couldn't chill Lily out.

  I stepped through the door into the workout room a few seconds after Lily and immediately halted. This was no dance class. At least it wasn't the hip-hop, salsa, Zumba, cardio-toning-hybrid-whatever class I envisioned. No. The room was fitted out with a dozen floor-to-ceiling poles, each currently being claimed by women in booty shorts and tiny bra tops. No, scratch that. There was one man and his thighs were the tautest of all, catching more than a few envious glances.

  The front of the class was wall-to-wall mirror with a sound system stacked in one corner. The woman currently bent in half and tying her sneakers stretched, flexed more abs than the average six-pack, and began to fiddle with the portable audio speaker in her fanny pack.

  A cold feeling washed through me. I hurried over to Lily who was clutching a pole in the middle of the class. "Grab that pole," she said, jabbing a finger at the one next to her.

  "Is this..." I gasped, hardly able to bring myself to utter the words. "Pole dancing?" I squeaked finally.

  "Hell, no," snorted Lily. "This is vertical dancing with core workout. It has a fancier name but I forgot what it is."

  "Pole dancing," I squeaked again.

  "No—" Lily wrinkled her nose "—it's definitely vertical dance something."

  "There's a pole and no one is wearing more than ten inches of spandex. That's pole dancing."

  "No, that involves lingerie and not a lot of it."

  "Potato, potahto."

  "No carbs until after the wedding," said Lily. "We can grab a salad after or a green smoothie at the gym's smoothie bar. Lots of nutrients. Your wedding dress, here we come!"

  I gulped.

  "Lexi?"

  I stilled. Someone behind me had not only recognized me but broken the sanctity of my gym time and announced it. Even worse, whoever it was probably thought I'd willingly signed up to learn how to pole dance. No, wait, they must have also signed up for it so they couldn't judge me. I turned, already inwardly cringing. "Jas?" I squeaked as I saw my client from earlier in the day. Gone were the business chic clothes, replaced with running shorts and a pristine white crop top that shone against her brown skin.

  "Hi," she said, smiling in a bemused sort of way. "Have you done this class before?"

  I shook my head. "First time. Lily signed me up," I said, pointing an accusing finger at Lily. Lily beamed.

  "Us too," said Jas. "This is my friend, Julia." She waved to her friend at the pole next to her. The woman placed her water bottle and towel at the base of the pole and jogged over. "Julia, this is Lexi. She's an old acquaintance of mine."

  "That's right," I agreed readily.

  "Hey," said Julia, smiling and holding her hand up for a finger wave. "I'm not a member of this gym but Jas persuaded me that it would be fun to try some new classes and here I am."

  "If you like this, twerking for beginners is on Sunday morning," called Lily. Unfortunately, she wasn't joking.

  "I go to church on Sunday," said Julia.

  "It's very early so if you're Catholic you can ask for forgiveness right after," said Lily. "It's very popular."

  "It sounds like fun," said Julia, a wistful edge to her voice, "but I'll be spending all weekend trying to find a new venue for my engagement party." She waggled her hand, flashing a very large diamond ring. Lily and I made the appropriate admiring cooing noises and Julia beamed.

  "When's the party?" asked Lily.

  "It was supposed to be on the weekend. We originally wanted Lily's Bar but we couldn't get the right date so my fiancé and I settled for Jewel's downtown but their kitchen had a fire and now they've canceled all bookings."

  Lily straightened. "You wanted Lily's?"

  "Yes, my fiancé loves it there. He says it's the best bar in all of Montgomery. Just our vibe."

  "Then you're talking to the right person," said Lily. "I'm the owner, Lily, and I happen to know there's a cancellation on Saturday night. The room is still available and you won't have to spend all weekend scouting new venues. Why don't we talk after the class?"

  "Oh my gosh! Really?" Julia's face lit up. "Are you serious?"

  "Absolutely!"

  "I think you might have saved my life," gushed Julia. "Bryce will be thrilled! Isn't this great news, Jas?"

  Next to her, Jas smiled. "Fabulous," she agreed. "Why don't we all meet up in the bar after and get to know each other?" she added with a pointed look to me.

  I got the message. This was the perfect opportunity to get to know her friend better without alerting her that Jas had asked me to look into Julia's relationship. I still wasn't sure if I would take the case but this could help me work that out faster than poring over the client file later.

  "Okay, ladies," yelled the instructor as a thumping bassline started up. "Let's warm up, then grab those poles!"

  Chapter Four

  I slumped into the chair in the gym's smoothie bar and winced. The hour-long class had been every bit as terrifying as I anticipated when I walked in, along with the side bonus of being absolutely exhausting as well. My abs screamed. My upper arms felt hot and sore and my thighs were ready to collapse. Even my hair couldn't summon any enthusiasm to look cute.

  The way I saw it, I had three choices. I could keep going with an overly-enthusiastic Lily to this class for the next two weeks and potentially die, or I could keep going, suck it up and potentially look amazing on my wedding day with some extra moves that would probably break Solomon on our honeymoon. Or I could excuse myself from all classes and do some half-hearted exercise that would leave me looking and feeling reasonable, combined with the unfailing ability to walk down the aisle without my legs begging to buckle. Clearly, I had a hard decision to make.

  "Drink this," said Lily. She pushed a large plastic cup filled with dark green liquid towards me.

  "No more punishment," I said as I rejected it with my forefinger, the only bit of me that didn't currently hurt.

  "You can't be in that much pain."

  "I am. I am broken."

  "Wait until you feel it tomorrow," snorted Lily. "Don't drop anything tomorrow. You'll need those mechanical grabbers elderly people use to pick things up since you'll be too sore all over to reach for anything."

  "Yay," I spluttered weakly. I forgot about the post-exercise days when I had to wobble up and down stairs on unsteady legs, and when even pressing the gas pedal down seemed like torture.

  Lily pushed the vile liquid towards me. "This will help your body repair itself with a great combination of protein powder and nutrients."

  I leaned in and sniffed. "Why does it smell like feet and death?"

  "Why can't you smell normal things like normal people?"

  I thought that was rich, coming from Lily, who didn't do very much that people would consider normal but I was saved from summoning up a sarcastic answer when Jas and Julia joined our table. Their smoothies looked like they had just been milked from unicorns; all delightful shades of pink, lemon and dairy-free cream; and the aroma was delicious. "I want that smoothie," I whimpered, barely refraining from adding it's not fair.

  "I wish I had your commitment to healthy consumption," said Julia as she looked at the green smoothie. She dropped her gym bag at her feet and slid into the chair next to me, pulling off her headband. Her hair swung around her chin in an impossibly chic way. Jas took the last chair between Julia and Lily, completing our foursome. "Bryce has really helped me commit to my fitness goals but there are some things I just can't do," she added, giving my green smoothie a pointed look.

  "Totally understandable," I agreed, taking a surreptitious sniff of the smoothie. Definitely feet and death.

  "Lexi is getting married soon and I am making sure she looks amazing on her wedding day, no matter what it takes," said Lily.

  "She's starving me into my dress," I said and Jas and Julia laughed. Except I wasn't joking. I would rather have starved than drink the smoothie.

  "You're engaged too? We should talk weddings," tattled Julia happily. "Isn't wedding planning so much fun? I never thought Bryce would be into it, but he insists on getting involved in every aspect. He has such an eye for detail. He's made all kinds of suggestions for the flowers and the church and the reception venue. I know it will be perfect. And now we have the perfect venue for our engagement party, I can only see that as an auspicious start to the rest of our plans!"

  "Lexi had her engagement party at my bar too," Lily told her. "It was magical. I have some photos on my website of it, and other parties we've hosted. If you like any of the looks, we can recreate them, but if you'd rather have something personal, you can decorate the private room yourself or we can work with your decorator."

  "I would love to see that..." Lily and Jas swapped places and Lily pulled out her phone to show off some of the event photos she used to entice new clients.

  "I'm glad we ran into you," said Jas softly. "Have you had a chance to think?"

  I cast a quick glance to Julia. "Still thinking," I replied just as softly. I hadn't had much of a chance to observe Julia during the class since it was loud, fast-paced, hard work, and some of it we spent upside-down, or at least, tried to. What I did notice was Julia seemed to be having fun, the look of concentration on her face interspersed with high-fives, laughter, and some light-hearted moaning about screaming muscles. Nothing about her persona said she was in trouble, afraid of anyone or anything. She didn't appear to be bruised or injured in any way either. Her workout clothes were nice and neat, definitely not of the stripper variety but a smart pair of hotpants in a thick, stretchy fabric and a sleeveless tank. Her hair was just long enough that she needed to wear a headband to push it back although several strands had escaped to frame her pretty, makeup-free face. Yet, every so often I caught her with a blank expression, like she was deep in thought.

  Now I had the opportunity to assess her again. Flushed cheeks after the class, a towel slung around her neck and happily sipping on her unicorn smoothie while talking to Lily about cocktails. The decision of whether they should have tapas dishes spread across tables or waiters circulating with canapes was yet to be made, and what did Lily think of the idea of bringing in their own DJ since they had already booked him and Bryce "just loved his style!"? She looked happy, animated, and entirely carefree.

  So, why was I concerned about those blank moments?

  "She isn't always like this," said Jas softly. "He's been away on a business trip for two days. She'll make decisions and then he'll convince her to change them. She wanted a small wedding, he wants two hundred guests. She wanted wildflowers in her bouquet, now she's getting red roses. She's right that he wants Lily's bar for the party but whatever decision she makes about the decor or the food won't meet with his approval."

  "That's not exactly indicative of something wrong," I pointed out. "Lots of couples like different things and later compromise."

  "I know but do all the compromises have to go his way?"

  "Let me think about it some more."

  "What are you two talking about?" asked Lily. "You look serious."

  "Just some work stuff I thought Jas could help with," I said dismissively, knowing I had to change the topic quickly before Lily or Julia asked exactly what it was. "Not nearly as interesting as what you're talking about. Is it settled? Are you having the party at Lily's?"

  "Yes!" beamed Julia. "I texted Bryce right after class finished and he just texted back to say 'Book it!', and we have. I am so excited! I'm going to tell all our guests tonight that there's a change in venue and the party is going ahead after all."

  "That's terrific news."

  "Drink your smoothie," said Lily. She reached across the table and nudged it towards me. "Don't worry, you won't turn green."

  "I hope not," I said, staring at it. Something about it triggered something in my mind, I thought I couldn't quite grasp. What was it? I glanced at Jas then Julia. Nothing about them. Something earlier today.

  That was it! Faye Wendell! In a sudden burst of mental clarity, I knew that all the clues had been there. I just hadn't connected them until now.

  "Excuse me, I have to make a phone call," I said, wincing in pain as I stood and grabbed my cell phone from my jacket pocket. "I'll be right back."

  I hurried outside through the rear exit that led to a small area where outdoor boot camps were held. Fortunately, no one was out there. I dialed Faye's number and she answered. I asked her the question that suddenly popped into my head and after a long pause, she confirmed my suspicions.

  "I'll set up a meeting," I said. "Please don't worry about a thing."

  After I hung up, I went back inside but instead of our full table, only Lily remained. "Where did everyone go?" I asked.

  "Julia wanted to get started on the last-minute preparations for the party and your friend said she had to head home and would catch up with you soon. How do you know each other anyway? I'm not sure I believe you when you said you were talking about work."

  "We were talking about work. Jas came to see me earlier about a case."

  "Really? Why didn't she say anything? Is it super confidential?" Lily asked.

  "All my cases are confidential."

  Lily leaned her elbow on the table and propped her chin in her hand. She took a long suck on the straw in her smoothie and waited.

  "I can't tell you!"

  Lily shrugged one shoulder. "I can wait."

  "I really can't! I don't even know if I'm going to take the case." Why would I? There didn't appear to be anything there except that niggling feeling about Jas's concerns and those moments when Julia's face had been so devoid of anything.

  "Julia never mentioned it. Oh, is it because she doesn't know? It must be very important then to not tell your best friend about unless it's... oh! Oh! That's it, isn't it? It's about Julia." Lily's eyes widened. "I knew it! What did she do? Should I not have taken her booking? She already paid the deposit by bank transfer from her cell phone. Should I cancel? I'll feel bad about it unless... is she psycho? Does she steal stuff? Set fire to things? Is that why Jewel's had that fire?"

  "No, nothing like that." I restrained the urge to roll my eyes, which was a shame because my eye muscles didn't hurt and it would probably have been a really satisfying eye roll.

  "So it is about her!"

  "Julia hasn't done anything wrong, that's all I can tell you," I said. There was no point denying it. Lily knew and she would keep prying. "You don't have to cancel her reservation."

  "Good to know. I will sleep easier knowing she isn't going to destroy my bar. So, are you investigating her?" Lily prodded gently.

  "No! Not her exactly. Maybe something involving her but I haven't decided if I'll take the case yet. I need to get more information."

  "Why don't you work the party?" Lily suggested in a feat of outstanding ingenuity. "You can get close to her and she won't think anything of it since she already knows we're friends. Then you can decide what to do."

  I sat up a little straighter and promptly regretted it. My core muscles hated me and made it known. Lily was right; I was going to hurt in the morning. "Could I? It would really help."

  "Sure. I can always use another set of hands especially when there's a private party going on; plus, I know you have plenty of experience as a cocktail waitress. Will it really help?"

  "Yes," I nodded, certain it would. It would give me the perfect opportunity to get closer to Julia and Bryce and the people in their life. Family, friends, and colleagues were guaranteed to be there. Plus, in my server capacity, I could easily listen in on conversations. If anyone else voiced a suspicion about Bryce that would confirm what Jas said, I could find out. If it just appeared that they were any other couple, and showed no signs of anything untoward, I would politely decline the case. "Thanks, Lily."

  "Anytime. Drink your smoothie."