Last Resort of Murder (A Lacy Steele Mystery Book 9)

by Vanessa Gray Bartal

  Lacy smiled and sipped her cocoa. The smile quickly morphed into a grimace. “What is this?”

  “Some sort of blend of soy milk, carob, and stevia. I’m not really sure because it’s proprietary,” he said.

  “Seriously? They’re afraid someone is going to steal this recipe? What would they use it for, hair tonic?”

  “You drink enough of them, and you learn to like them,” Snaps said. It must be true because his “cocoa” was nearly finished. Lacy choked down another sip of the vile concoction. If she wanted to be skinny, this was the kind of stuff she would have to drink all the time. Her tongue felt coated with carob residue. She stuck it out a few times, trying to scrape it with her teeth, until she realized Snaps was watching her with a smile. Quickly, she sucked her tongue back into her mouth and assumed a more serious tone.

  “Did you hear about Jill?”

  “I did,” he said, nodding. “It’s the kind of thing the resort tries to keep top secret, so of course everyone knows.”

  “I’m sorry for her, but I couldn’t help think you might be a tiny bit relieved at the change of venue. You can have Sven now. He’s fantastic.”

  Snaps smiled. “Believe it or not, I requested Jill. This isn’t my first visit to the resort. I’ve been coming here twice a year for the last few years. Jill is a miracle worker. By the time I leave here, I’m in fighting shape. Selfish of me to say, but I don’t have much hope for transformation now that she’s gone.”

  Lacy tried not to gawk at him as she studied his body. He wasn’t obese, by any stretch of the imagination, but neither was he toned. He was sort of soft all over, a little doughy and saggy. “I’m sorry,” she repeated. “After knowing her so long, you must have considered her a friend.”

  “I’m not sure Jill had any friends, but I appreciated her professionalism. And, I’m not going to lie, despite the amazing transformation she worked on my physique, she wasn’t the only reason I came to the resort. I love the pampering. And the skiing. It’s one stop shopping. In fact, I’d have to say this is one of my favorite places on the planet, and I’ve visited a few places since high school.”

  “You’ve blossomed into quite the sophisticate,” Lacy said.

  “I don’t know about that, but I’ve definitely expanded my horizons. Once I stopped caring about what other people thought of me, I kind of grew into myself, you know? In addition to finding a career, I took up some hobbies.” He nodded to an oversized sepia photograph on the opposite wall. “I took that and donated it to the resort.”

  “It’s fantastic,” Lacy said. She knew little about photography, but she knew enough to appreciate the picture. It was a photo of a bridge in autumn. The way the wind bent the trees and swept the leaves imbued a feeling of peace. “What else are you into?”

  “I still play the tuba, but since that is still woefully unhip, I don’t tell many people. It’s relaxing to come home at the end of a long day and play a few songs. What about you? What are you up to? Are you and the guy serious?”

  “Kind of,” Lacy said. “You probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you he was our school’s former quarterback. It’s a real Breakfast Club kind of situation.”

  “Ah, The Breakfast Club. Every lonely geek’s fantasy movie, and now you’re living it.”

  “What about you?” she asked.

  “I’m still Anthony Michael Hall,” he said.

  “No, I mean are you seeing anyone?”

  He took a breath and let it out slowly. “No. For all my bluster about having come a long way, that’s the one area I can’t seem to make any headway. Every time I come here, I leave feeling like a million bucks, like I have the confidence to approach someone for a date. But somehow I never do. And now without Jill to transform me…” He trailed off and glanced at the opposite side of the room where a uniformed officer was passing.

  “I wonder who did it,” Lacy mused.

  Snaps shifted uncomfortably and sipped his cocoa.

  “What?” she asked. “Do you know something?”

  “I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. I feel like a tattle tale for even thinking about it.”

  “Snaps, this is a murder investigation. If you know something, anything, you need to come clean.”

  “I’m not sure I know anything; it was something I saw.”

  “What?” Lacy pressed.

  “Last night, after our session, I saw Jill arguing with someone.”

  “Who?”

  “The pretty black masseuse, Uma or Ulna or whatever her fake name is.”

  “You have to tell the police,” Lacy said.

  “It was probably nothing. Jill argued with everyone. Disagreement was like oxygen to her.”

  “I’m sure you’re right and it’s probably nothing, but every little bit of information in an investigation helps to paint a clearer picture. You have to tell the police what you know, the sooner, the better.”

  “I guess,” he said, although he still sounded reluctant. “I just don’t want them to think I’m some sort of amateur sleuth sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong.”

  “Yeah, they hate that,” she agreed.

  “Don’t tell me you’ve ever had any contact with the police, Miss Goody-Goody. Even among choir kids you were considered saintly.”

  “I may have filled out a police report or two in my time,” she said.

  He drained his drink. “Can I get you another?”

  She was still halfway through hers and holding. Somehow it had been easier to drink the healthy concoctions Sven gave her. At least they weren’t pretending to be anything other than disgusting. This hot chocolate wannabe offended her senses. “Thanks, I’m good.”

  “I think I’m going to hit the slopes again, if you don’t mind.”

  “Go ahead. Have fun,” Lacy said.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to come with me? I could teach you. I’m patient,” Snaps said.

  “I wouldn’t want to test that. Besides, I might catch up with the rest of my family and go pamper myself for a bit. I could use some girl time.”

  “Don’t call it girl time; I intend to do the same thing later,” Snaps said. He gave her a smile and a little salute and walked away. Lacy waited until he was gone before dumping the remainder of her drink. It was so bad she was surprised it didn’t hiss. She was about to leave the juice bar area when she ran into Sven, almost literally.

  “Are you okay?” Lacy grabbed his biceps, whether to steady him or herself she wasn’t sure. Avoiding a run-in with him had knocked her off kilter, but he also looked unsteady.

  “They think I killed Jill,” he said. His voice seemed overly loud. People turned to look at them. Lacy led him back to the table she had just vacated.

  “What? Why do you think that?” she whispered, hoping he would take the hint and follow suit.

  He did, glancing around the room to see who might be watching. “The polithe. They’ve been athking me quethtionth almotht thinth I latht thaw you thith morning. I thought they might arretht me.” He put his head in his hands. They were shaking slightly.

  “Why do they think you killed her? Did they say?”

  “A thupplement I gave her. They thaid thee wath poithoned. But I tried to tell them I’ve been drinking the thupplement, too. If that wath what killed her, why am I thtill here?”

  “What was in the supplement?” Lacy asked. More importantly, had he given it to her?

  “It wath thomething my couthin brought back from Mexthico. I told Jill about it, and thee wanted to try it. I gave her thome ath long ath thee promithed not to uthe it on the guethtth. That wath the kind of thing thee would do to get rethulthth. Thee wath a cheater.” He put his head in his hands again and groaned. “Lithen to me. No wonder they think I did it.”

  “What was in the supplement?” Lacy repeated.

  He looked around again and leaned closer. “Thtrychnine.”

  “Strychnine?” Lacy hissed. “Why would you take that?”

  “It’th been an ef
fective performanth enhanther for thenturieth. It wath thuch a thmall dothe. There wath no way it wath what killed her.”

  “What if she drank too much and overdosed?”

  “No way, Joan. I wath careful. I gave her a lecture. I told her exthactly how much to take and warned her what would happen if thee took too much. If thee did, then it wath thuithide.”

  Lacy wondered if he had mentioned “thuithide” to the police who interviewed him. If so, she could only imagine their reaction. She also thought of the almond smell and bright red skin. “Was there cyanide in the supplement?”

  He looked stricken. “No way. I’m not crathy. There wath a teeny, tiny amount of the poithon with a bunch of B-vitaminth and thome caffeine. It wath bathically a high energy drink.”

  “Sounds healthy,” Lacy said, but her sarcasm was lost on him because he nodded.

  “What am I going to do? I’ve never been in trouble before. I could lothe my job,” Sven said.

  Lacy didn’t tell him he could lose a whole lot more than that, but she did give him some advice. “They don’t have evidence, or they’d arrest you. They were feeling you out this morning. If they ask to talk to you again, refuse.”

  “Refuthe? I’d look guilty,” he said.

  “If they already think you’re guilty, that won’t matter. What matters is that you don’t incriminate yourself while inadvertently trying to clear yourself. Refuse to speak to them. If they insist, or if they arrest you, demand a lawyer. Don’t say another word to them without a lawyer present. Got it?”

  “I thuppothe,” he said. “How do you know tho much about thith?”

  “My boyfriend, uh, Rick, is a police detective.”

  Sven sat up. “Ith he involved in thith cathe?”

  “No, we’re out of his jurisdiction. He’s on vacation,” Lacy said.

  “Do you think he might help me clear my name?” Sven asked hopefully.

  No. Lacy didn’t say it, but she knew the answer immediately. Jason didn’t stick his nose in where it wasn’t wanted, especially when it came to official matters. “I don’t think he would be comfortable with that.”

  Sven looked crestfallen again.

  “But maybe I could ask around,” she heard herself volunteering and wanted to give herself a mental shake. What was she thinking? She barely knew Sven. Did she have an overwhelming desire to be a busybody? Or was it because his face looked so sad, scared, and pleading? Underdogs got her every time.

  “Could you, Joan? That would be great. I can’t talk to anyone here about thith in cathe they don’t know I’m under thuthpithion,” he said.

  “I understand. But, Sven, there’s a good chance I might not be any help at all.”

  “Knowing thomeone ith on my thide helpth more than you’ll ever know. And you can call my by my real name—it’th Thtanithlauth. My mother ith Polith.”

  It was his mother’s bad luck to name a child Stanislaus and have him end up with a lisp. Poor woman. Lacy idly wondered if she had ever been struck by lightning. “I’ll stick with Sven, if that’s okay. It’s short and catchy,” Lacy said.

  “Right, okay. You’ll keep me informed?”

  “I’ll tell you everything I learn,” Lacy promised.

  “Thankth, Joan. You’re the betht,” Sven said.

  Lacy wondered if Jason would say the same when she told him what she was up to.

  Chapter 10

  For reasons Lacy still didn’t know, the names of the sisters in Tosh’s family all started with the same letter. Tosh and his brothers, Keegan and Jeffrey, had different-sounding names, but Brynn, Bede, Betsy, Bridget, and Belle were alliterative. Betsy, Bede, and Belle were responsible for the trip. Lacy found them, along with Riley, Frannie, and Kimber, just finishing lunch.

  They exited the restaurant smiling, but the happy mood didn’t last long.

  “There’s our favorite Steele sister,” Bridget said, and Riley’s temporarily good mood went down the drain.

  “She’s the fun one,” Bede added loudly enough for Riley to hear.

  “The nice one,” Belle said.

  “The one who’s not sleep deprived and post-partum,” Riley said.

  “How was skiing?” Kimber asked. She had assigned herself the role of peacekeeper and had been running interference between the two warring factions since the weekend began. Lacy was glad because it meant she didn’t have to do it for once.

  “It went about as well as these things usually do for me,” Lacy said.

  “Sorry, girl,” Kimber said.

  “What? You didn’t ski? We’ll take you right now. You’ll be a pro by the end of the day,” Bede said. All of the sisters were tall and large boned with matching brash personalities and a can-do attitude.

  “I think I would rather relax at the spa for a while. Are you guys up for a massage?” Lacy said.

  The sisters recoiled as a unit. “No, we’re hitting the slopes. Anyone else?” They turned to survey the remaining women.

  “A massage sounds lovely to me,” Frannie said.

  “Me, too,” Kimber agreed.

  “I have a newborn, which is why people with newborns don’t generally go on ski vacations,” Riley said.

  Bridget tsk’d. “Mom went skiing how long after she had Keegan? Two weeks, three?”

  “I thought it was one,” Belle said.

  “You mean she didn’t deliver him herself on the mountain?” Riley said.

  The sisters tensed for battle. Nobody, but nobody, insulted their mother.

  “We should go,” Lacy said, inserting herself between them to put a hand around Riley and drag her away.

  “You should have let me hit one of them,” Riley said when they were safely down the hall.

  “You’re wearing a baby,” Lacy pointed out as baby Lucy slept peacefully in her cloth arrangement.

  “That would have given me the advantage,” Riley said.

  “You have to learn to ignore them. They’re trying to get a rise out of you,” Lacy said.

  “You can say that because you’re the sainted chosen one,” Riley said.

  “I wouldn’t be, if I were the one who married Tosh. If our roles were reversed, they’d be picking on me as much as they pick on you. It’s what they would do to anyone he married. Try not to take it personally.”

  “Whatever. I’m going to take a nap.”

  “I’ll take Lucy so you can sleep,” Frannie offered.

  Kimber and Lacy continued toward the spa. “I’d like Uma,” Lacy requested when they reached the front desk.

  “Uma’s with a client.” This clerk spoke the same as all the others, as if she would receive a beating if she raised her voice over a gentle whisper. Lacy wondered if it was part of the training or if the soft, tuneless music filtering through the speakers had a hushing effect.

  “I can wait for her,” Lacy said.

  “As you wish,” the clerk said and indicated a cozy-looking waiting area. Kimber took whoever was available and got in right away. Lacy sat and reached for an Architectural Digest magazine. Ten pages in, she began to doze as the early morning caught up with her. She had no idea how long she napped, but at some point she began to drool and then Uma was in front of her and calling her name.

  “Mmm,” she said, her head snapping up guiltily like the little old women who dozed in Tosh’s church.

  “Are we ready for our massage?” Uma asked.

  “You’re getting one, too?” Lacy said, confused by her misleading use of pronouns. Uma said nothing, merely waiting patiently for Lacy’s brain to come to. Finally she lumbered slowly to her feet. Sometime during her nap, her muscles had started to ache. Either from Sven’s grueling workout from the day before or the unfortunate morning of “skiing” she had no idea. Uma handed her a chalky white drink.

  “Compliments of Sven.”

  “How did he know where I was?”

  “Sven knows all,” Uma said with such a mystical air that Lacy half expected her to pull a bouquet of magic flowers out of one of he
r oversized sleeves. When she didn’t, Lacy followed her to the room, somewhat disappointedly.

  “What kind of massage would we like today?” Uma asked.

  “The good kind?” Lacy said, confused again. Did everyone have this much trouble communicating with the masseuse? The way Uma was eying her made her think not.

  Uma handed her a laminated copy of massage possibilities. Lacy glanced at it and handed it back. “Surprise me.”

  “As you wish,” Uma said.

  Lacy lay down, wondering if they were contractually obligated to say that or if it was the natural response after dealing with so many different types of people with different types of requests. If she had asked Uma to peel a potato and rub it over her back, would she have nodded vacantly and whispered, “As you wish”? The subservience was a little creepy. How had Jill made it here?

  Uma slathered some warm oil on her back as Lacy pondered how to begin her interview. Subtlety probably wouldn’t work, given their previous conversation problems. She decided to go for the direct route.

  “Did you hear about Jill?”

  Uma ground her elbow into Lacy’s back. Lacy screeched and came up off the table.

  “Was that too much pressure?” Uma asked, blinking innocently as Lacy surveyed her with open-mouthed accusation.

  Not if you were trying to gouge my lungs out or make them into an elbow kabob, she thought, but decided not to say it. She was trying to get information out of the woman, after all. “A bit,” she said, sounding breathless.

  “Sorry,” Uma said in her creepy monotone whisper.

  Lacy lay back down again and tensed. Uma’s hands plunged in again, kneading and working the muscles in her back so hard that Lacy’s eyes began to water.

  “What kind of massage is this?” she choked.

  “Deep tissue,” Uma said and she, too, was breathless now. “I noticed you limping a bit. This will help.”

  Lacy had her doubts about that. The pain was so intense she momentarily lost her train of thought. Her fingers gripped the edge of the table as she struggled to breathe. Was this normal for a deep tissue massage, or was Uma passive-aggressive?

  “So, about Jill,” she tried again, but her voice cut in and out as Uma bounced her off the table, thumping her back so it sounded like Lacy was talking through a helicopter rotor. “Did you know her?”