Turn up the Heat

from seeing Kevin.”
    I bristled at the sound of that man’s name. Having confessed to Leandra’s murder, he was safely locked in jail, but none of us knew exactly what had transpired on the night of the crime.
    “Come here, Wade! What did that asshole have to say for himself?” growled Josh.
    Wade stood next to our group. “That night, Kevin and I were closing together, remember? We were drinking a little while we were cleaning up and cashing out the registers. Leandra was with us for a while, but then she left. Kevin and I finished closing not long after that and locked up together and went our separate ways. It turns out Leandra came back because she wanted to get some stuff that wouldn’t fit in her purse.” Josh raised his eyebrows at Blythe, who looked down in her lap.
    Wade continued. “She ran into Kevin on the street, and they went back in the restaurant together. I guess she figured that Kevin was stealing, too, so he wouldn’t care. Apparently, he’d had a lot more to drink than I thought, and he came on to her. For whatever drunk, horny reason, he cornered her and unzipped his pants. Kevin said that Leandra ridiculed him beyond reason, and it was completely humiliating. Then she told him exactly what Penelope from the gallery would think of him.”
    “And he snapped,” I finished for Wade. “Right?”
    Wade nodded and sighed. “Yeah.”
    Blythe and I understood, of course. Everyone else looked confused. “What could she have said that was so humiliating?” Adrianna wondered aloud.
    I let Blythe reveal Kevin’s secret embarrassment. The sound of ohhh echoed through the room. The amazing thing, I thought, was that if Kevin had just waited to be in a relationship with someone caring and understanding, he wouldn’t have had a problem. Now that I was safely out of the confines of the fish truck, a small part of me actually felt sad for Kevin. I wondered whether the intense pressure of Newbury Street, with its emphasis on physical perfection, had made his secret all the more mortifying. How unposh to have a problem like his!
    Wade continued. “Ahem, yes. I don’t know specifically what Leandra said, but it was apparently pretty vicious. Kevin said he just went apeshit and, without thinking, pulled his apron off and strangled her behind the bar. He didn’t even realize what he was doing. He said he was as surprised as anybody that he killed Leandra. He carried her body out to the alley, thinking he’d throw her in the Dumpster, but Owen’s truck was there, so he put her in. He wasn’t thinking very clearly because he was so drunk, but he did realize that putting her there might make it look like somebody else killed her. Then he just locked up the restaurant and left. When he woke up the next morning, he thought maybe he should move her out of the truck, but by then, it was too late. Chloe and Owen had already found Leandra’s body.”
    I’d been right that Kevin had been afraid that I’d ruin any chance he had with Penelope. He threw me into the truck and drove me to what I learned was his home. He parked the truck in his own garage. Kevin always took the bus to work. Consequently, his car had been at his house. He sped back to Simmer, where he told people that he’d been taking his break and had no idea where I was. Because Kevin wanted to get back to me before somebody heard me, he intentionally burned himself on the espresso machine and left work, supposedly to go to the emergency room. But he went back home for me.
    Owen and Adrianna’s fight had gone on for so long that Josh eventually told them to take it outside. When they did, they realized that Owen’s company truck was gone. It soon became obvious that I was missing as well. Josh called my cell to find out where I’d gone and heard my phone ring in his office. By that time, Kevin had left, supposedly to attend to his burn, but Josh realized that something was dreadfully wrong. My boyfriend called the police, who had him pull Kevin’s home address from the office. My 911 call came moments before Josh’s call, but it eased my mind a bit to know there would have been backup if I’d needed it.
    “How’s Gavin doing with all of this?” I asked of the Simmer employees. “Has it helped him at all to know that Leandra’s killer is in jail?” \
    “Yes and no,” said Wade. “He’s hardly been in here since Kevin was arrested. Of course, he’s glad that Kevin was caught, but he also feels responsible. Like he should