by Lucy Quinn
This time Antoine had no trouble buttoning her up.
“Oh, Dora, you’re hot,” Evie said.
“She does look lovely,” Flora agreed. “I can see Antoine has this all under control, so I’ll leave you to finish up.”
The woman had expressed concern that the krewe had chosen the wrong person more than once. But Flora stopped her fretting when Antoine reminded her that he’d performed many a magic trick on her wardrobe and that she should trust he knew what he was doing.
Once Flora was gone, Evie said, “Seriously, Dor. You are stunning, and there’s no way I could have pulled this off.”
“Platform. Up, up, up,” Antoine ordered.
Dora stepped up on the block so that he could adjust the hem of her gown. As she gazed at herself in the mirror she smiled. She really did look amazing. The deep red velvet was soft and luxurious under her fingers as she slid them down the bodice of the gown, outlining the newly contrived hourglass shape of her torso. She also noticed how soft the skin of her neck and shoulders appeared and thanked herself for being diligent about staying out of the sun and slathering on sunscreen when she did have to venture out.
“This dress is amazing,” she said. Dora glanced at Evie’s reflection in the mirror. “I feel a bit like a princess.”
“You should.”
“Oh, my lord,” exclaimed a man’s voice, making Dora turn around quickly.
Antoine tsked at her as she took in the handsome man before her. He was tall, dark and devilishly handsome. He walked up to her, took her hand, and kissed the back of it.
Dora held her breath as he said, “Tell me you’re my Scarlett, and I’ll believe I’ve died and gone to heaven.”
Dora blew out a breath of air and fanned herself. “It’s the corset,” she said quickly to cover up the fact that this man had her flustered. “Rhett Butler, I presume?”
“Charles Reynolds, actually,” he said with a wink. He stepped closer and his gaze became lecherous as he dropped it to her chest. He grabbed Dora’s waist to pull her into an embrace. “But I’m happy to be your Rhett, too.”
Sunshine let out a growl that was extremely loud for such a tiny dog, and in a flash, she was on Rhett’s ankle, snarling and snapping at the man.
“What in the devil?” Charles cried out, pulling away from Dora and shaking his leg. “Get this mangy mutt off me!” He managed to get Sunshine loose, but only long enough to cock his knee and kick out at the pup. Hard. Sunshine yelped in pain as she went flying through the air.
“No!” Dora and Evie cried in unison just before Sunshine hit a mannequin. The soft ruffled jabot on a men’s regency shirt cushioned the impact, keeping the dog from harm. But the mannequin was not so lucky. It teetered for a moment while Sunshine slithered down to the floor, and then it toppled over, striking another mannequin in the process, which also proceeded to fall over. In what seemed like slow motion there was a rhythmic series of soft and hard thuds alternating as the mannequins fell like dominoes.
Evie managed to scoop up Sunshine and glared at Charles. “What is wrong with you?” she asked just before the finale. A final mannequin finished things off with a shattering crescendo as it smashed through the storefront window.
Charles said, “That beast bit me!”
“How dare you hurt a little dog!” Dora cried out.
There was a screech of tires followed by a loud crash. Then a scream. Dora and Evie exchanged a quick glance, and Dora’s skirts rustled as she lifted them and rushed over with her friend to look outside.
“Oh mon dieu!” Antoine cried, pushing past them.
“Is she dead?” a woman asked as Antoine rushed toward the body lying in the street. Bits of glass were strewn across the sidewalk and crunched under his feet as he moved.
He squatted down to cradle what Dora realized wasn’t a body. It was a mannequin. “My poor Louisa.” he said.
“Louisa?” Evie asked Dora. “He names them?”
“Apparently. I think that was Louisa May Alcott.”
Dora looked at the damage the two cars in the accident had sustained. The damage wasn’t severe, but two bumpers were going to need some auto body work. When a siren blared, ice ran through Dora’s veins, and panic set in. “Evie.” The last thing she needed was to be questioned by the police.
“Yup. We need to get out of here. C’mon.”
The two women and the pup rushed back into the tailor shop and to the back where they exited into an alley. Evie began to jog with Sunshine in her arms, but Dora knew she’d pass out if she tried. The corset she was wearing had her out of breath just walking. “Evie, please don’t.”
“Oh, sorry.” Evie slowed down and glanced around. “I think we’re safe.”
Once Dora caught up to Evie again, she looked at Sunshine. “Are you okay, girl?”
The little dog let out a pitiful sigh, and Dora ruffled the fur on top of her head. “You were awfully brave in there, saving me from unwanted advances.”
Sunshine let out a yip followed by a low growl. One that made Dora think the pup was concocting a plan for the next time she saw Charles. One Dora could likely get behind. But at the moment, all she wanted to do was get back to Gertie’s and out of the corset that was restricting blood flow and oxygen from getting to her brain. Then there was the matter of wearing velvet in the summer heat of New Orleans as well.
By the time they turned the corner to the street where Gertie’s apartment building was located, Dora was ready to pass out from heat exhaustion. But what she saw made her stop in her tracks, and her overheated blood ran cold. “No.” An ambulance was parked in front of the building.
“Déjà vu,” Evie said as she walked faster to get to the small crowd of people formed near the door. But neither she nor Dora had to ask what was going on when they saw a stretcher being rolled out. A sheet covered the deceased person, and it would have been hard to tell who it was except for one lime-green-Croc-clad foot sticking out at the end.
Dora gasped. “Myrtle.”
“Myrtle!” Evie cried as she rushed up to the stretcher with Dora close on her heels.
12
Dora sipped on her tea and grimaced at the fact it had gone cold as she sat at the kitchen table trying to wrap her brain around the fact Myrtle was dead. After they’d eaten some pasta with jarred sauce they found in Gertie’s cabinets, she and Evie spent several hours going through both bedrooms again, looking for the Buddha and desperately rechecking things they’d already searched a second time.
Drawers scraped open, and items rattled in them as Evie rummaged around for something in Gertie’s desk. “Ah-ha!” Evie cried. She held up a checkbook as she stormed over to Dora. She slapped it down on the table in front of her friend. “Look at this entry.”
Dora looked down at the cursive writing in the check register to see Gertie had made out a check to Raúl Crawford two days before her death. Sometimes Evie was like a dog with a bone, and she was currently convinced both Gertie and Myrtle had been killed. “So, she had decided to use Raúl after all.”
Evie pounded her fist on Gertie’s kitchen table. “This is not a coincidence!”
Dora could tell Evie was way past reason. Her face had turned red, and her entire body had gone rigid.
“How’s this for facts, Dora? Two women in the same building both die of heart attacks within two days of each other. Both had food we ate that made us sick. And now we know the food was from Raúl.”
Dora eyed her friend for a moment before calmly getting up from the table. Perhaps she was numb from Myrtle’s death, but she didn’t think there was a reason for the level of agitation Evie was presenting. “I imagine by the time you get to Gertie and Myrtle’s age heart attacks are not an uncommon way to go. And considering the heat of this city, bad seafood might not be either.”
Evie let out a growl that made Sunshine tilt her head in confusion.
Dora knew when Evie was out of words it was time to backpedal so her friend could cool down. “I’m not saying i
t isn’t possible. I’m saying we need proof before we go off half-cocked and accuse anyone of murder.”
“Fine. I’ll find proof,” Evie ground out as she stood and glanced toward the door. “Ten to one Myrtle was on heart medication and Raúl used that to his advantage.”
“Raúl? Evie, come on. Even if we find medication, what will that prove?”
Evie rolled her eyes. “Do you know how easy it would be to spike someone’s food with drugs that could cause a heart attack in someone who already has heart issues?”
“Um…” Dora started but didn’t finish. Evie was glaring at her, silently daring her to contradict her theory. It wasn’t that Dora didn’t believe there were drugs that could interfere with heart medication, it’s just that the existence of heart pills didn’t prove anything. While she supposed it was possible for Raúl to poison Myrtle, Gertie didn’t take any medications for something to interfere with.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Evie said. “But if we discover Myrtle had heart issues and can find proof Raúl poisoned her, then we can figure out how he managed to poison Gertie.”
“That’s a stretch, Evie. Why would he kill Myrtle when she was his best customer?” Dora reasoned. Without proof and motive, Dora just didn’t know how she was going to get on board with Evie’s line of thinking.
“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out.” Evie strode across the room, paused at the front door, and eyed a bowl on the side table. After a moment, she dipped her hand in and came up with a keyring. “Come on, Dor. We have some recon to do.”
Dora gaped at her friend. “I’m not breaking into anyone’s apartment.”
Evie rolled her eyes. “It isn’t breaking in if we have the key.” She held the ring up and dangled it. “Are you coming or not?”
“Crap, Evie. Aren’t we in enough hot water?” Dora chewed on her lower lip.
“Yes. But the cops are gone. Who’s going to know? And we owe it to Gertie and Myrtle to figure out what happened to them. Is anyone else going to do it? Or is the city just going to assume they both died of natural causes?”
Dora thought Evie was on a wild goose chase, but she had to admit the circumstantial evidence surrounding the deaths of the two older women was compelling. While she wasn’t willing to point a finger at Raúl, she agreed the situation did warrant investigating. Dora gritted her teeth and let out a groan as she got to her feet.
Evie smiled and nodded to Sunshine. “Let’s go girl. We have a murder to solve.”
Sunshine let out a small bark and trotted over to her mistress.
“Don’t you think it’s better if Sushi stays here?” Dora asked. “Just in case someone shows up at Myrtle’s?”
“Nope. She’s our cover if anyone shows up. I can always say she pawed the door open or something and we went in after her.”
Dora gave her a skeptical look, but she didn’t argue. It wasn’t the perfect alibi, but she suspected Evie could make it work. After checking to make sure no one else was in the hall, Evie, Dora and Sunshine went to Myrtle’s apartment.
The keychain jangled as Dora’s stomach churned with nerves. She continued to glance up and down the hallway as a lookout for Evie while her friend tried different keys on Myrtle’s lock.
“Success!” Evie whispered when she finally hit pay dirt. She winked at Dora and opened the door. “Told ya.”
“Just hurry before someone sees us,” Dora grumbled.
“Go on, Sunshine,” Evie said, waving her dog into the apartment.
Dora’s anxiety lessened a bit once they were inside Myrtle’s, but she was still on edge. She suspected Evie wasn’t quite so calm either when she pressed a hand to her chest and took a deep breath. “Dora, we just need to look for any medication or herbs that Myrtle might have been taking. Then we can get out of here.”
“Sure, Evie, I can do that.” Dora said, satisfied that Evie might be realizing what a crazy train of thought she was having. But Dora was also willing to humor her friend in the off chance they found something else that could help them determine Myrtle’s killer.
Evie squeezed Dora’s hand briefly and then took off for the master bathroom. Sunshine walked over to the lemon-yellow couch and whimpered, and when Dora noticed a book and a pair of reading glasses on the side table, she wondered if this was where a neighbor found Myrtle dead. Sunshine leapt up onto the couch and let out a heavy sigh as she rested her head on her paws as if she was mourning Myrtle. It made Dora’s eyes fill with tears before she went to the kitchen and began to look in the cabinets for pill bottles.
Myrtle’s dishes were in festive colors, much like the rest of her apartment. And while the brightness was a bit much for her, Dora couldn’t help but appreciate the meticulous organization of Myrtle’s cabinets. She couldn’t have done a better job herself, and it made her wish they were staying there instead of Gertie’s place that was jam packed with a different kind of organization.
Dora had just perused the labeled and alphabetized spice drawer when Evie returned and slammed a pill bottle down in front of Dora. “See that? Heart medication.”
Dora picked up the bottle. The clink of pills against the plastic filled the silence. “Okay. Now we know Myrtle was on heart medication. What does that prove exactly?”
Evie grabbed the bottle from Dora and pointed to tiny writing on the label. “It has a warning about taking it with other medications.”
“Most do, Evie,” Dora said.
“I know. That’s not the point.” She glanced around nervously. “Let’s get out of here before Raúl shows up.” Evie shoved the bottle into her pocket and snapped her fingers for Sunshine.
Dora was more than happy to leave. Evie seemed to think they’d found some kind of solid proof, and while Dora needed to understand more about her friend’s confidence, she’d much rather have that discussion someplace she felt safe.
13
Evie knew Dora was losing patience with her. When they’d returned to Gertie’s apartment after searching Myrtle’s place, her friend had insisted they pull out all the paperwork they could find in Gertie’s desk so she could sort out the password to the older woman’s laptop. Dora was now at the kitchen table losing herself in details, and Evie wasn’t about to interrupt that. She began to put back the things she’d pulled out of the desk when she was looking for Gertie’s checkbook.
She supposed her theory about Raúl adding drugs to Gertie and Myrtle’s food to kill them was a bit of a stretch like Dora thought, but it was the best she had for now. As she slid a metal letter opener in one of the drawers it snagged something. Whatever it was had caught on the drawer above it when she’d been rummaging around before.
She reached in and pulled the soft pouch loose. As she held it, she realized it contained something that felt an awful lot like a bottle of pills. Curious, she tugged the zipper open and pulled out a what appeared to be a prescription bottle. Her breath caught in her throat as she read the label indicating it was a medication for Gertie to take daily. The same one Myrtle took for her heart condition!
“Dora, look what I just found.” Evie help up the bottle as she walked over to the kitchen table. “What do you think about my theory now?”
Dora took the medication and studied the bottle. “Wow. This was just refilled a week ago. Where was it?”
“In a small change purse that was in Gertie’s desk drawer. Like she was hiding it.”
“She probably was,” Dora agreed. “I think she was a proud woman who wanted people to think she was stronger than she was.”
“Or she didn’t want to worry her friends. Besides, Myrtle made it sound like Gertie was a caretaker type. She liked to help people less fortunate and tried to keep Myrtle healthy. I bet she didn’t like anyone fussing over her, though. Like you said, she was likely a proud woman. Sounds like she was anyway.”
“I think you’re right,” Dora said. “This definitely makes a stronger case for your Raúl theory,” she conceded.
“Thank you,” Evie resis
ted the urge to gloat, because they were still a long way from actually proving Raúl had tampered with the food, especially considering they no longer had any of it to test. In fact, she wasn’t sure what the next step should be. “So, now what?”
“Well, if he killed them it was probably for financial gain. I suppose we just have to wait until he comes looking for whatever it was he wanted.” Dora’s fingers flew as she began to type again, and she let out a frustrated groan before grabbing the paperwork she’d gathered. The pages rustled as she riffled through them. “Who remembers every password they were required to create? Why isn’t there a list here?”
“What if he never shows?” Evie complained. “Now that Myrtle is dead, why would he come back here?”
“If he did kill her, he’s not going to want the evidence of her tainted food left behind. Haven’t you ever heard of returning to the scene of the crime?”
Evie narrowed her eyes at her friend. “You didn’t.” She regretted her words the moment she saw Dora’s face fall. She was sure the fact her friend had accidently killed Steve Franklin would haunt Dora for life.
“I would if I thought I could get the evidence we needed to clear my name without getting killed myself.”
“I know. I’m sorry. Maybe we can return after we bring Raúl down. Or maybe Luke could break in and search for you so that we could go back home,” Evie said, her tone wistful.
“I can’t ask him to do that, Evie.” Dora pressed a hand to her stomach as if it was upset. “Besides, Marco isn’t stupid. He likely already wiped all the evidence from every device in the building. It’s bad enough that Luke already had to rescue us once. If he walked into that building and Marco realized who he is, you know he’d go after him.”
“I guess,” Evie said, sounding defeated. “I’m not good at waiting.”
