Eric ignored my uncle's remark and squeezed Juliet's shoulder before picking up his knife and fork again. Evidently he thought she would keep her mouth shut. Foolish man.
"Are they going to arrest you?" Juliet asked, with a touch too much enthusiasm.
Eric's shoulders sagged.
"Is this attorney any good?" Aunt Vi's cheeks flushed pink with anxiety. "It's time to call your parents -"
"No, please -"
"You mean you haven't told Mother and Dad?" Juliet thumped Eric's arm and whooped.
"You should call your parents," Eric said, then shot an annoyed look at Juliet.
"No! I'm not calling them."
"Why didn't you mention this earlier?" Aunt Vi sounded hurt.
Guilt gave me a good slap.
"Well, after Andrea called and Valerie's father stopped by…" My excuse trailed off into silence. "I guess I neglected to mention I had a visit this afternoon from Valerie's father, too."
Everyone, including my sister, stared at me with identical, anxious expressions.
"I guess you did," Aunt Vi said, weakly. "What did he want?"
Uncle Henry and Eric exchanged quick glances. They both sat up straighter.
"Not much." I tried to downplay my blunder. "He asked me what I knew about Blackie being stolen."
"He probably wanted to size you up to see if you were capable of killing Valerie," Juliet said, then looked around the table. "What? I heard he's a scary guy. So," she turned to me with an eager spark in her eye. "What'd he say?"
I glossed over our brief conversation and didn't mention the big guy in the dark glasses.
"I hate to say it," Eric said, with a glance at my sister. "But Juliet's probably right."
"What do you mean, 'I hate to say it'?" Juliet snapped back.
"I mean," Eric said patiently, "sizing her up is probably what he was doing, and it makes me nervous." He added a smile.
"Oh," she said. "All he'd have to do is take one look at Thea to realize how harmless she is."
"I look harmless?" Her observation was a good ninety degrees out of line with the new me.
"Totally," she said. "You look like a strong breeze could knock you down."
"I do not."
"Do so. You've got this 'I'm so delicate' thing going on, with the cute little haircut and the big green eyes." She batted her gray eyes at me. "And you're short."
"I am not. Why does everyone think I'm short? I'm a good five-foot-two. And what's wrong with my haircut?"
"Well, excuse me, Xena, Warrior Princess, you're well off the national average. Besides, if Valerie's dad was checking you out, you'd better be frickin' glad you are minuscule, and so darned adorable." Her voice rose to the timbre one would use when talking to a baby, just before she reached over to pinch my cheek.
I batted her hand away and gave her a skinny-eyed look.
"Ohhh, aren't we fierce," she taunted.
"Juliet." Eric's voice held a warning, but my sister continued to smirk.
I decided to drop it since Uncle Henry and Aunt Vi still seemed a bit shell-shocked over Mr. Parsons's visit. Neither one had made any effort to staunch our sisterly bickering.
Eric assumed the mantle of peacekeeper and steered us back on topic. "I'm sure the sheriff has things well in hand. We're probably worried for no reason."
"You will remember to call this attorney fellow Jonathan told you about, won't you, Thea?" Uncle Henry asked. I knew it wasn't a request. More like a politely framed order.
"Yes, of course."
"First thing in the morning?"
"Yes."
"I expect he opens his office early."
"Yes, Uncle Henry. I'll call before I start work. I promise."
"See that you do." He didn't return my smile.
"So Eric," Aunt Vi said, clearing her throat. "How are your university classes going?"
Eric took up the hint to change the subject, and normal dinnertime conversation resumed. The subject of Valerie was dropped. However, as I gathered dishes from the table after dinner I caught Uncle Henry, deep in thought, standing in front of what Aunt Vi called their Rogues Gallery – one wall in the living room covered with framed photographs of Uncle Henry's students and their horses. I didn't have to guess whose picture he looked at. I wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything that wouldn't sound insincere.
I had plenty to say to Juliet, though, and saved it until we were left alone to do the dishes. Aunt Vi insists her good Royal Doulton china and the silver be washed by hand, and she uses them for dinner every night. Makes for a lot of extra work, but long ago we quit making suggestions and just pitched in.
"When were you planning on telling me you were dating Eric?" I asked.
"I was going to get around to it."
"When? After you break up with him? He's not like the other guys you dated. He's a lot more mature, which means he's not going to play your games."
"I know that."
"I don't think you do." I put down the sponge and turned to her. "I think you didn't tell me because you didn't want a lecture."
"You mean like you're doing now?"
"I haven't even started. Juliet, you cannot play with Eric like you've played with every other guy. He's a mature man, not a commit-a-phobic adolescent."
"Oh listen to you. Ladies and gentlemen, please take note of the voice of experience standing to my immediate left."
"Correction: the voice of fricking compassion. Eric's a really good person. He deserves your respect and he deserves to be taken seriously." I ground my teeth and resumed washing up.
"I know that." She sounded defensive. My inconsiderate sibling cast a furtive glance over her shoulder then turned the water on full and leaned closer to me. "The reason I didn't say anything is because there've been problems."
"What kind of problems?" I handed her a delicate china plate I'd washed.
"It started about a month ago. Eric and I didn't want people gossiping about us, especially since we'd just started dating, so we tried to keep things quiet." She rinsed the plate and put it in the rack to drip dry. "Valerie found out, somehow, and she immediately went after him. She kept trying to get him alone. Stuff like that. He tried being polite, but she was getting on his nerves. Thea, you know how straight-laced Eric is – he didn't do anything but kiss me until he was sure I was in love with him, too." She pushed a strand of hair out of her face. It fell back with soap bubbles attached. "He's so gorgeous women hunt him, and he hates it. Valerie is – was – a user. She might as well have worn a sign. He always avoided her, but she really turned up the heat. Well, I couldn't take it any more so I confronted her in the New Barn last week. I told the little slut to keep her hands off him."
"Juliet," I groaned.
"Well, she lit into me first, really, so what could I do but hand it back? It ended with Miguel hauling me out of the barn while Valerie and I screamed insults at each other. What a bitch. I'd have flattened her if she touched me. I told her that and she laughed."
"And that's why Delores was so mad at you."
"Yeah. I guess I deserved it. I'm lucky she didn't fire me. Eric probably said something to her, but he won't tell me. I caught hell from Maria, too."
"That wasn't a smart thing to do, Juliet."
"I know." She shrugged and sighed. Juliet doesn't sigh. Not like that. "Eric moved back into Miguel and Maria's house because Valerie kept knocking on his apartment door. Anyway, we decided to keep our relationship quiet. That's why I didn't say anything to you."
"I wouldn't have told anyone."
"But you would have lectured me about losing my temper with Valerie like you just did, even though you never liked her, either." She reached over and stirred the suds in the sink. "I'm glad she's dead." She didn't look at me. "I hated her and I hated the way she went after Eric. Well, he doesn't have to worry anymore and neither do I."
Now she looked, steady-eyed, at me, her jaw set. When I failed to say anything she took the dinner plate I'd been washing out of my hands. I scrubbed another plate while a knot grew in my stomach. Why was she justifying herself to me? Juliet never made excuses.