SONGBIRD (JAX DIAMOND MYSTERIES Book 1)

by Gail Meath

  “You’re welcome, Laura,” Tim said. “I heard you and Jax had a bit of excitement yesterday, too.”

  Jax scowled at him. “When they were in the kitchen, I told you not to get into any of that tonight?”

  “It’s okay,” Laura said. “Are you going to look into who might have cut those brake cables?”

  Tim nodded. “It was probably the same person who was following you around at the park today.”

  Jax groaned. “Can’t you keep anything between us, Murph?”

  She sat upright. “Someone was following us?”

  “It was probably just my imagination. And Ace’s,” Jax added under his breath. Then he quickly changed the subject. “Laura is quite the little hustler at those carnival games.”

  “Tim, did Jax tell you that we saw Robert Ashworth and Patricia Sanders together on our way over here?” she asked. “Do you think they had something to do with Mister Sanders’ death?”

  Jax leaned forward in his chair, watching her. “Laura, let’s not get into...”

  “I’m still not convinced it was murder,” Tim replied, ignoring him. “The medical examiner said it was heart failure, and there’s no substantial proof stating otherwise. On top of that, now Jax is trying to connect Kitty Cooper’s murder with Sanders’ death. It’s ridiculous.”

  Jax held his hand over his eyes. “I didn’t tell her about that either, Murph.”

  “Kitty Cooper?” Laura asked. “Jax and I were talking about her last night.”

  “She was a Broadway butterfly,” Tim said. “Like butterflies, some women come to the theater district attracted by all the flashy lights, and fame. Then, they get all caught up with wealthy bootleggers and gangsters.”

  “What could her death possibly have to do with Mister Sanders’?”

  “The woman had a white lily in her hair when we found her body,” Jax explained indignantly as he glared at Tim. “Sanders had the same type of flower pinned to his jacket. So yes, I do believe the cases are related. And I think Robert Ashworth and Patricia Sanders killed them both. I just need to find something tying the two of them to Kitty Cooper.”

  Laura stood up and wandered over to the window with her mind reeling.

  “See, Murph,” Jax spouted. “You upset her. I told you not to bring any of this up tonight.”

  Slowly, she turned towards them. “My friend, Jeanie, told me the other day that she’d heard a rumor Robert Ashworth had an affair with Kitty Cooper.”

  “Robert and Kitty?” Jax stood up. “Tim, Lieutenant Simmons questioned Robert Ashworth after Kitty’s death, but according to those files you gave me, it was only about Kitty’s work schedule that day. Were you with the Lieutenant when he questioned Ashworth?”

  “No. And I never heard any rumors.”

  “Why would you?” Jax asked. “You’re not part of the theater crowd. Well, that just opened up…”

  “Pandora’s box!” Tim squawked as he jumped to his feet. “You’re both trying to tie more knots into the rope when they all just keep falling apart.”

  Carla joined them again with Ace. “Keep your voice down, Tim. The kids are nearly asleep.”

  Jax went over and took Laura’s hand. “Thanks for dinner, Carla. We’ve had a long day and I should get Laura back home.”

  “You’re leaving?” she asked.

  “We’ll do it again soon. I promise.” He kissed Carla’s cheek, and Laura thanked them both before they headed out the door.

  “That wasn’t very nice, Jax,” Laura said as they made their way downstairs. “I feel bad leaving so quickly.”

  “When Murph gets all tied up in knots, he just keeps going on and on. He needs some time to calm down and sleep on it.” He held the front door open for her. “Besides, I know Carla. If we had stayed a minute longer, she would have forced us to eat about half a dozen of her cannoli.”

  “Oh. They are both very sweet, though. Carla made me feel right at home. And it’s easy to see that Lizzy and Petey simply adore you and Ace.”

  He squeezed her hand. “How about you?”

  She laughed. “I adore Ace. I’m still undecided about you.”

  “Yeah, I kind of grow on people I guess, so give it a little more time.”

  “Jax, will you tell me now why you thought someone was following us at the amusement park?”

  “Not tonight, Laura. I’m walking down the street with a beautiful woman, the moon is shining, and the sky is filled with stars. It doesn’t get any more romantic than this.”

  His sentiment silenced her. He was a curious fella, for sure. A bundle of contradictions. He had transformed from his wrinkled brown suit to the stylish crème-colored sweater and pants he was wearing now. He could be both exasperating and humorous, boldly honest and secretive, and while he was tall and slender, the fact that he had so easily rung the bell at the Strongman game six times in a row proved that he was stronger than he appeared. And with it all, he was a perfect gentleman.

  When they reached her apartment building, Jax and Ace walked her to the door. “When do you go back to work?” he asked.

  “I have a rehearsal at the theater tomorrow, but our next performance isn’t until Wednesday night. I’m looking forward to getting back into the routine.”

  He opened the door for her. “Can I call you this week?”

  “I’d like that,” she told him, and she turned to leave.

  “Hold on. Take this.” He handed her a small card with his telephone number on it. “You can call me, too. Just in case you miss me.” He winked at her and left with Ace.

  But Laura lost her smile. She looked at the card, then at him again, wondering why the tone of voice had sounded more worried than playful.

  Monday, June 4

  “Did he kiss you goodnight?” Jeanie asked excitedly when Laura met her and Margie in their apartment for coffee the next morning.

  “No, of course not! I barely know him.”

  “He made you dinner on Saturday, and you spent the entire day together yesterday,” Margie needled. “You know him well enough for a quick smooch.”

  Jeanie laughed. “Once, I caught Margie necking with some fella she just met!”

  “Horsefeathers,” Margie said. “He was just whispering in my ear.”

  “Yeah, that’s not what I saw.”

  Laura laughed, too. “Well, Jax didn’t. I’ll leave it at that.”

  “When do we get to meet this Jax Diamond?” Margie asked.

  “I already met him at the ballgame,” Jeanie told her. “He’s a dreamboat.”

  “If you hadn’t stood us up, you could have met him, too, Margie,” Laura stated.

  “I could never sit through a baseball game, doll. I tried to tell you that.” She grabbed the kettle and refilled their coffee cups. “The thought of watching grown men tossing a little ball around sounds as dull as dishwater. Now, sneak me into the backroom of a nightclub, and you couldn’t drag me out before dawn.”

  “You’re all talk, Margie,” Jeanie scolded. “Two Gin Rickeys and you’re blotto. Me, too. You’d never last until sunup. But we both love reading a good detective story. Jax must have a slew of gnarly yarns in his line of work.”

  “He’s in the middle of one right now,” Laura said quietly, thinking about it. “He doesn’t think Samuel Sanders died of a heart attack.”

  “Are you on the level?” Jeanie gasped. “Does he think it was murder?”

  Laura didn’t want to say too much. Everything Jax and Tim had discussed was just speculation right now, as Tim had pointed out. Yet, she was curious to know more about the Robert and Kitty rumors. “Jax just mentioned that he had his suspicions. He did tell me that he was part of the Kitty Cooper investigation. Jeanie, you said that you heard a rumor that Robert Ashworth had an affair with her. Is that true?”

  “I don’t know for sure.”

  “I heard the rumors, too,” Margie burst in. “And I saw them together once. After rehearsal one day, the girls and I decided to have lunch at the little cafe
on Fulton Street. The two of them were sitting at the back corner table. They started arguing about something. Kitty was so mad, she stormed out.”

  Laura found that strangely coincidental. “When did that happen, Margie?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Over the winter some time. It was cold out, that’s all I remember. Did they ever find the men who broke into her place?”

  “Jax didn’t say.”

  “When are you going to see him again?” Jeanie asked.

  “This week some time. I have practice at the theater now, and I’m going to be late if I don’t get moving.” She gathered her handbag and headed for the door.

  “Wait for me, Laura!” Margie called out as she gulped the last of her coffee. “I’ll ride the trolley with you part of the way. I have an appointment at the beauty salon. You know, you really should change your hair color, Laura. Men love platinum blondes.”

  “I wish, Margie. But it wouldn’t look half as good on me as it does you and Jeanie.”

  While they walked to Dekalb Avenue to wait for the trolley, Margie wanted to hear more about her weekend with Jax. Laura told her about seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time, and how breathtaking it was. And she went on about the fun they had at Coney Island.

  “I’ve been seeing someone, too,” Margie admitted as they boarded the trolley.

  “Oh, I’m so glad. Who?”

  “A bigshot who owns the Cotton Club.” Laura looked shocked, so Margie quickly told her, “Don’t say anything to Jeanie. You saw how she reacted when I mentioned going to nightclubs. She thinks they’re all run by gangsters.”

  “So do I, Margie!”

  “Well, you’re too nice to give me a tough time about it. Jeanie would never let me hear the end of it. Besides, he’s filthy rich and not a bad looker either.”

  “I’m surrounded by gold diggers,” Laura kidded. But they reached Margie’s stop and said their goodbyes.

  Laura sat there daydreaming as they journeyed through the heavy street traffic. The trolly started slowing to a crawl. Then, it stopped altogether, and several drivers around them blew their horns. As they sat there at a standstill, a few passengers grew impatient and got off the trolley to walk the rest of the distance. When the driver announced that they would be stuck there for some time, Laura decided to get off, too. Since they had already arrived in Manhattan, the theater was only about nine or ten blocks away.

  Yet, the sidewalks were nearly as congested with people rushing in every direction. As she waited to cross the street at the next corner, a chill suddenly ran up her spine, as though someone was watching her. Instinctively, she looked around, but she shrugged it off since everyone was so tightly jammed together, standing shoulder-to-shoulder. When the policeman blew his whistle, she was literally being pushed along with the crowd to the other side of the street.

  She broke free of the swarm of people after the next block when she turned down West Forty-Ninth Street. She hurried along, not wanting to be late for practice, but the hair at the nape of her neck bristled with that same feeling again. This time, she didn’t even glance behind her. She quickened her stride, and her heart began pounding faster and louder until it nearly drowned the street noise. Thankfully, the theater was only another block away, and she kept her focus straight ahead.

  Finally, she reached the theater. She quickly headed down the alley towards the back door and opened it. Only then was she brave enough to turn around. It didn’t appear as though anyone had been trailing her. All she saw was a few passersby on the main road. After she inhaled a few deep breaths to relax, she realized that her imagination had gotten away from her.

  Inside the theater, Laura noticed everyone was back to work. The hallways were full of performers and the crew, and it felt good to be here again. She greeted everyone and stopped to chat with those she knew well.

  Finally, she made her way to her dressing room and stood in the doorway, smiling and glancing around. The room was neat and spotless. The floral bouquets that she’d received had been sent to the nearby hospital, and the room was dusted and mopped with a heavy fresh scent of cedar floor polish. It smelled wonderfully familiar to her. She set her handbag on the chair and pulled off her hat. She tossed it on her dressing table, and her smile left her.

  Next to her vanity bag and hand mirror on the table, there was a small glass vase containing one fresh gardenia.

  12

  The Notepad

  Laura snatched her white tunic and pink silk tights, and she disappeared behind her dressing screen to change. Within a few minutes, she heard her door open and peeked out. “Annie! I’m so glad to see you. You didn’t have to come to work today, though. It’s only practice.”

  “I needed to escape my grandchildren for a while.” She took off her cardigan sweater and hung it on the coat tree. “The little devils wear me out.”

  Laura had finished dressing and greeted Annie with a loving hug. “You would be lost without them.” She wandered over to the vanity. “Annie, you weren’t in the dressing room earlier, were you? It seems someone sent one of those pretty flowers again. Still without a card. I was hoping you might have seen who delivered it.”

  “No, Miss Laura, I just arrived at the theater.”

  She heard the piano music, which was the casts’ signal that practice had begun. She put on her dancing slippers, hurried through the hallway, and joined the others on stage for their warmups. When they pivoted around, she noticed Charley sitting on the piano bench, rather than Mister Beacham. It didn’t surprise her overmuch since Mister Beacham had worked at the theater for years and possessed such skill that he wasn’t required to attend every practice. Although, she couldn’t remember the last time he had missed a rehearsal.

  But she was disappointed. Despite everything else, or perhaps because of it, she had hoped to find out if Mister Beacham had given the director his copy of the Songbird manuscript last week.

  Two and a half hours later, they were given a fifteen-minute break, and the cast dispersed. Annie stood beside Charley at the piano, handing out clean towels and pouring cups of fresh water for everyone from a large thermos. George Mitchell and Laura wandered over while discussing the first of their practice scenes together, which was scheduled next. Laura thanked Annie, then continued chatting with George while she drank a few cupfuls of water and used the towel to dry the sweat from her neck and hair.

  “Miss Laura?” Annie called softly, wiggling her finger and motioning that she wanted to talk with her.

  Laura told George that she would see him after the break, and curiously, she followed Annie a few feet away from the others. “What is it?”

  Annie scowled as she spoke. “That ragamuffin detective is here again. He is backstage, over there.” She pointed in the direction. “He is asking everyone questions now and making a terrible nuisance of himself.”

  Laura saw Jax talking with Sam, one of the stagehands. He was dressed in the same ugly brown suit, and he stood there holding that annoying pad and pencil while questioning Sam about something. For a second, she started to smile, seeing him here, but that disappeared when she wondered why he was here. “Thank you for telling me, Annie.”

  “He is up to no good, that one,” Annie grumbled.

  Laura draped the towel around her neck and made her way towards them. Yet, she kept her distance at first, trying to overhear their conversation.

  But Jax noticed her there. “Hello.” He didn’t wait for a reply and turned back to Sam. “So, when the doorman isn’t at his post, the first person who walks by accepts the delivery?”

  “That’s right,” Sam said.

  “One more question, Sam. Who do you think is the prettiest girl in the cast?”

  Sam laughed and walked away.

  Jax noticed that Laura was peeking over his shoulder, so he tucked his notepad back into his pocket. “How nice to see you again.”

  She eyed him suspiciously. “Funny that you failed to mention you were coming here today.”

 
; He flashed that sly grin at her. “It was a last-minute decision.”

  “Hmm. Do you know what else is funny? The page of your notepad was blank. And the tip of your pencil is always sharp.”

  “You are amazing, Miss Graystone. I grossly underestimated your observation skills.”

  “There isn’t anything written in your notepad, is there?”

  “Nope. It’s all up here.” He tapped his forehead. “For some reason, everything worth remembering seems to stick in my head so I can sift through it later on.”

  “Really? So, what is the purpose of the notepad?”

  “I use it as a tool to make people nervous enough to tell me the truth.”

  Surprisingly, that made sense since it certainly did that to her. “And what about your rumpled brown suit?” But his expression turned sad as he glanced down at himself. She felt terrible for pointing that out to him, and she was about to apologize when he looked at her again and smirked.

  “It makes a suspect think I’m inept,” he told her. “Now, you know all my secrets, Miss Graystone.”

  “Oh, I doubt it, Detective Diamond.”

  He took a step closer to her. “I watched you practice on stage. You’re a very talented dancer.”

  His tone had softened and his gaze turned intense. So much so, it took her breath away for a moment.

  “Do you like listening to jazz music, Laura?”

  “I suppose…”

  “You’ll probably be too tired tonight, but there’s a place I’d love to take you tomorrow night if you’re free. I think you’d really enjoy it.”

  The director called everyone back to practice, and she snapped out of her trance. “Jax, what are you doing here at the theater?”

  “I’m trying to find out who delivered Sanders’ meal to him the day he died. I haven’t had any luck yet. I was also hoping to talk with Robert Ashworth, but no one has seen him today. Do you mind if I stick around for a while and watch?”

  “No, not at all.” She turned to leave, but he caught her hand.

  “You never answered me. Are you free tomorrow night?”