I mouthed the words holy crap to Mark. My mouth was probably hanging open so wide we could have hid valuables in it.
“I don’t know if she actually did or not.” A ragged edge sneaked into Geoff’s voice.
None of this made any sense. A few weeks ago, Ahanti was texting me links to strapless wedding dresses that would show off her tattoos, and we were joking about the best spring honeymoon destinations. She’d been all puppy dog eyes and he’s my soulmate over Geoff practically since they met. They’d been hunting for an apartment near her studio that would be big enough for both of them to live in since Ahanti’s studio apartment was too small to fit all Geoff’s stuff, and she really wanted to stay within walking distance from work.
“I’m surprised she didn’t tell you,” Geoff said.
“Me too.” At least he’d gotten a Dear John text. That was more than I’d gotten. Which didn’t fit, either. Why dump her boyfriend and her best friend all in the span of a couple of weeks? She was too young for a mid-life crisis. The anxious feeling crawled back up into my throat. “Did she seem okay to you before she called it off?”
He sighed, and it sounded like a shrug. “I don’t know anymore. She was stressed out, but I thought that was normal wedding planning and apartment hunting jitters.”
That might well be all it was. Ahanti could etch permanent ink onto a person’s face without so much as a hand tremor, but every year around tax time, she’d practically end up curled up in the fetal position around a bottle of wine.
Still, in her meltdown moments, she was the kind of person to hold her loved ones closer rather than push them away.
“Do you think it could be something else?” Geoff asked, fear and hope mingling together in his voice. “I never would have expected her to cut you off.”
I could have said the same thing about him. Actually, I should. I knew too well what he must be going through.
“Same with you. I’m only here for a bit, but I’ll try to track her down in person and get some answers.” If all else failed, I had resources for it that Geoff didn’t. My parents had a whole cadre of private investigators on speed dial. At least one of them had to be free from casework at the moment and willing to make some money from a different Fitzhenry-Dawes. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that, though. “Did you try meeting up with her at her studio?”
“Yeah, but some big dude blocked the door and told me I wasn’t welcome inside.”
Given that she hadn’t responded to my attempts at contact, I might very well receive the same reception. She wouldn’t recognize Mark as easily. That was another ace in my hand if I needed it.
Since today was Monday, Ahanti’s studio was closed. It’d be at least tomorrow before we could swing by. “I’ll let you know once I’ve talked to her.”
“Thanks, Nicole,” he said softly. “I’ve been worried about her.”
I disconnected the call. Mark had angled in his seat so that he leaned back against the driver’s door, watching me.
I felt a bit like a specimen in an experiment. “What?”
His gaze moved over my face. “I figured something out about you.”
My best friend had dropped her fiancé and me in one clean-slate wipe. There were no guarantees that Mark wouldn’t have a lightbulb moment one day and realize that I wasn’t what he wanted after all. We’d known each other less time than Ahanti and Geoff had, after all. “I’m not sure I like the sound of that.”
“When we talked about it before, you made it sound like the puzzle was why you kept getting involved in cases even when it was dangerous. I don’t think that’s it. At least not all of it.”
I gave him a sidelong do tell look. If I’d had his unnatural eyebrow control, I would have quirked one at him.
“You’re the opposite of the Grinch,” he said. “Your heart is three sizes too large.”
I snorted. If you asked my dad, that was my biggest failing. But I was pretty sure Mark didn’t feel the same way. “Endearing or annoying quality?”
One of his dimples peeked out. “A little of both. But mostly endearing. At least I know there’s plenty of room in that heart for me.” He shifted in his seat and put the car into drive. “Now, since I know we’ll be trying to track down Ahanti before our meeting tomorrow with my new potential boss, how about you show me some of the sights today?”
2
The next morning, Mark parked in a lot down the street from Ahanti’s tattoo parlor, Skin Canvas. Since I’d moved to Fair Haven, we’d had a running joke about what she’d have to rename it if she relocated there. Our top two picks had been Just Ink About It and INKcredible Tattoos.
It was a strange feeling now walking up to her studio and not knowing if I’d be welcome or not. My sandals felt like they were sticking to the asphalt for more reasons than just the scorching sun.
Mark and I had discussed it on the way there. I’d try to go in, and if no one stopped me, then he’d follow along. It’d be better if I could talk to Ahanti myself. If Ahanti put the same human barricade in place for me as she had for Geoff, then Mark would hang back and enter under the guise of being a potential customer.
A glance through the window showed Ahanti’s co-artist Terrance working on a woman’s wrist. No Ahanti, and no human meat shield in sight.
I went in with Mark close behind. The first time I’d visited Ahanti’s tattoo parlor, I’d expected someplace dark and kind of grungy, with dim lighting and an aroma of cigarette smoke and booze. I hadn’t been good at hiding the expectation, either. The first thing out of my mouth when I’d walked through the doors that first day into the bright, sterile environment was It’s so clean! It even smelled nice thanks to the bowls of lavender potpourri Ahanti kept around.
Thankfully, Ahanti hadn’t taken my reaction personally. She’d had a few stereotypes about lawyers that we’d had to break through, too, in our early days of friendship.
Terrance glanced up. With his head out of the way, I got a better look at the design he was working on—another biomechanical piece, his specialty. He’d made the woman’s skin look like it was peeling back to reveal a mechanical arm underneath.
“Hey, Nicole. You in town for a visit? Ahanti’s in the back.”
His gaze was already on his work again before he finished speaking. He was one of those people who asked questions, but then didn’t actually wait for you to answer them. When I used to hang out in the studio while Ahanti worked on designs for clients, that particular quirk of Terrance’s used to make my skin crawl. Turned out I hadn’t built up an immunity to it in my time away. It still made me want to slap tape over his mouth as soon as he asked a question so I’d be able to respond.
As if she’d heard her name, Ahanti came through the back-room door, a bottle of red ink in her hand. She wore a mint-colored vintage flapper dress and was as long and lean as ever, but the bright blue streak in her hair showed dark roots at the bottom. I’d never seen her leave it the same color long enough for the roots to grow out before.
She stopped one step through the doorway, and her hand clenched around the ink bottle. For an awkwardly long time, we stood and stared at each other. I wanted to run to her for a hug, and she looked like she wanted to run away.
She licked her lips. “Unless you’re here for a tattoo, you’ll have to leave.”
She completely ignored Mark as if she didn’t even see him. Either that, or she’d figured out who he was, and her dismissal included him as well.
Terrance’s gaze hopped to Ahanti, then back to his work. A tiny frown formed between his eyebrows, and he leaned closer over his client’s arm.
Mark wandered a little bit away and acted like he was interested in the photos on the walls of some of Ahanti’s more intricate designs. He stayed close enough to eavesdrop, but far enough away to be unthreatening to Ahanti.
