“Wow! What a kitchen. Is this marble or granite?” Two curious cats, who’d been remarkably well-behaved hopped up and claimed barstools for themselves. “The cats match the colors!”
“Some marble and some granite,” Jack said, replying to Doug’s question. “This room doubles as Georgie’s test kitchen. I’m her lab rat. I sample products before they go to the caterers or into the restaurants she oversees as head honcho for Marvelous Marley World’s Food and Beverage Division.”
“Not a rat, a guinea pig. Let’s sit here at the table since Miles and Ella have claimed two of the barstools.” They were peeking around the chair backs to watch us as we walked to the table in the morning room. “Barstools aren’t the most comfortable places for me to sit right now.”
“I would have asked how you’re doing, but you seem fine. From what I heard, you’re lucky to be walking around at all. If it’s any consolation, the guy who ran into you is in far worse shape than you are.”
“I wouldn’t call it consoling, but I can’t say I’m too sorry about it. I am glad we’re both alive and didn’t have to be fished out of the canal,” I snapped.
“Yeah, I heard you were only inches from the canal after rolling out of the way of the police chasing the burglar in the dark,” Doug added. “How you managed to hang onto the end of that scarf has created a buzz at the office, especially after word got around that you’re Jack’s wife. Apparently, this isn’t the first time you’ve stumbled into a murder.”
“That’s true, but it is the first time I’ve been bulldozed by a crook involved in an apparently unrelated case,” I replied.
“Unless you know something we don’t, the burglary and homicide aren’t ‘apparently unrelated’ but definitely unrelated.” Doug paused, then glanced at Jack in the kitchen and back at me again.
“I’ve told her more than once that police detectives don’t like coincidences, that’s all,” Jack offered with a shrug. Doug’s response was a simple nod.
“Jack and I have prepared written statements for you,” I said. I did not intend to get into it with him about anything like his being so dismissive toward Kay. I also wanted this interview to end as soon as possible. “In my statement, I include a blow-by-blow account of finding Melody Monroe’s body and my encounter with the human cannonball.”
“Blow-by-blow, huh? That’s a good one, Georgie.” I shed some of my antagonism toward him as he laughed.
Jack set mugs of coffee in front of us. Then he stepped back to the breakfast bar before the cats could get too curious about a tray of cream and sugar that he’d set there. In one last maneuver before he sat down, Jack grabbed a brown envelope that contained our signed statements.
“You can read these later. Then let us know if you want us to explain what’s in them, or add any additional information,” Jack said as he slid into a seat across from Doug and passed the envelope containing our written statements to him. “What else can we do for you?”
“A run-through of the evening would be great. I could also use your help to get a handle on who was at the party earlier in the evening. It’s going to be a mess to track down and talk to everyone who was in attendance. Time-consuming too. If you could review the names of the partygoers and give us some idea of who to speak to first, that would be a big help.”
“Georgie can be more helpful to you than I can since she’s more familiar with the party guests than I am,” Jack said. “I’ll jump in when I can while Georgie’s describing what went on. She also got around more than I did since she was schmoozing as a substitute for a sick colleague in the PR department.”
“Sick, huh?” Doug asked as he tucked the envelope Jack gave him into a portfolio pocket. “I’d be sick as a dog if I had to spend my Friday night with ‘the’ Max Marley. I felt the flu coming on after twenty minutes on the phone with him. Twenty minutes that would have been ten without the ranting.”
“Georgie can help you with Max too,” Jack said, smiling. Then he blinked as if I might whack him once he caught my expression. “Come on, have mercy on the two of us. You have no choice but to work with him.”
“And you do?” Doug asked Jack. “Max assured me that once he had you on the inside, he wouldn’t have to ‘beg for crumbs of information like a street dog.’ His exact words!”
“Okay, okay,” I said, smiling at Jack’s appeal for mercy and the way Doug had tried to mimic Max’s insolent tone. “You two can tell Max that I’m his inside contact.”
“You’re the lead investigator, so Max may still go to you, or to Jack, first. If he does, tell him you’ve made me the corporate liaison, or something like that, and insist that he call me right away, no matter what it is.”
“We’ll text you if that happens. You deserve to know he’s going to call and why he’s riled up,” Doug offered.
“Unless it’s really important, don’t worry about it. Jack can tell you that by the time Max calls me, he could have moved on to an entirely different issue,” I said and paused. I’m not sure why I felt the need to explain, but I did. “When Max is scared, he goes into ‘fight’ rather than ‘flight’ mode, trying to take control of the situation. I’ll do what I can to calm him down. Now that he has his way and Jack’s involved in the investigation, he’s bound to feel more in control already, which should help.”
“Thanks for anything you can do,” Doug said. “He’s made it clear he doesn’t appreciate my leadership ability. Max said he would have fired any bandleader whose direction created so much discord. I tried to explain that discord comes with the territory when there’s been a murder.” Doug shook his head as he pulled folded sheets of paper from a shirt pocket and handed them to me.
“You can keep these,” I said once I glanced at what he’d handed me. “I have the guest list online, although I’ll need a little time to review the names the way you want it done. I didn’t say anything about the party in my statement either. Does that matter?”
“No, but did anything occur that evening that you believe has a bearing on the death of Melody Monroe?” Doug asked. “If anyone stands out, I’d like to hear about it.”
“Melody does. She was late to the party. Max had set up time to introduce her and Kay to guests before their performance. I thought she’d jump at the chance to do that, but Kay returned from freshening up before Melody did. Melody had been working the room in her party girl fashion for twenty minutes or so when she abruptly left again.”
“Do you know why?” Doug asked, and I briefly described my conversation with Carol at the party about Melody getting a phone call.
“Hmm, something must have been going on. I haven’t spoken to Carol Ripley or Brett Henson yet. They’re scheduled to meet with me this afternoon. I’ll ask her about it,” Doug said, making a note. “When you say party girl fashion, what do you mean?”
“She was a flirt,” Jack responded. “Georgie doesn’t approve. After she called my attention to it, I recalled Melody playing up to several of the men in the crowd. They didn’t seem to mind, but their female companions weren’t happy about it.”
“Do you know who the men and women were?” Doug asked.
“I’d seen some of the couples before. I’ll try to describe them to Georgie, so she can identify them when she reviews the guest list. I can tell you that one of the men was Bill Yeats, the movie producer, and his new wife. Helen something, right?”
“Yes. Helen Grant,” I replied. “I saw Melody laughing and talking with Bill, but from where I stood, I couldn’t see Helen’s reaction.”
“Throwing daggers,” Jack responded. “In the ‘if looks could kill’ sense.”
“Go to the top of the list!” Doug exclaimed and typed another note. “Georgie, do you have any idea if this was a first meeting between the two women, or had they already met?”
“I don’t know. Bill and Helen haven’t been married long. Bill attends lots of corporate events, so he must have been introduced to Melody before the party. In fact, may have been at the meeting where I first
met her. He also could have run into her during his visits to the Max Marley Studios. Max has been after Bill to invest in the animated film he’s making in which Kay Garland will have a featured role.”
“As I understand it, that’s a voice-over role,” Doug stated.
“Yes. Melody was her understudy if Kay’s voice gave out, or…”
“Or if Kay Garland had ended up in the canal rather than Melody,” Doug offered.
“Something like that,” I replied.
“Kay told me she planned to ask you for help with an old problem that’s started up again,” Doug said. “She gave me a couple of notes that someone slid under her hotel room door. The threat was vague and unpleasant, but nothing suggested she was in immediate danger if that’s what you’re implying.”
“I’m not implying anything, but I am concerned. In my written statement, I mentioned the fact that the two women were dressed alike, except for their shoes. When I first saw them standing next to each other, with their backs to me, it took a few seconds to tell them apart. That could have been even more difficult to do when Melody was out there in the dark.” I was getting more wound up as I spoke, so Jack jumped in.
“There’s no reason to worry. Doug and I won’t lose sight of the possibility that the killer could have murdered the wrong woman or someone’s after both of them. Until there’s a clear motive for Melody’s murder, the threats against Kay will be taken seriously. In fact, when I asked my officer to stand guard at the hotel until Kay checks out, Doug had already asked him to stay put if our department would let him do it. We’re all on the same page for now.”
“That’s a relief,” I said, letting out a huge sigh. “I woke up this morning wondering why we hadn’t asked Kay to stay with us for a few days. I could drop her off and pick her up at the studio on my way to and from work.”
“From what Kay told me, she’s planning to return to Pasadena tomorrow where no one has ever bothered her,” Doug assured me. “She lives in a gated community with regular patrols, and she has a security system. Max will send a limo to pick her up and drop her off when she needs to go to the studio, which isn’t every day.”
“That’s good to hear. I’m sure Kay will be more comfortable at home. I’ll go through the guest list right away. Jack can tell you if there’s anyone else who’s important to interview right away,” I promised. “When you speak with Ann Miller, the team leader who catered the party, she can tell you how to reach the other staff members who were there when you need to speak to them.”
“How many staff members are we talking about?” Doug asked.
“Half a dozen,” I replied. “That’s about it, except for the six band members. You already have Frederick Gauss on the list he and Jack put together last night. If you haven’t spoken to Kay’s manager, he’s a high priority.” Jack and I glanced at each other.
“One of our officers is interviewing him this morning, although he wasn’t happy about it,” Doug commented, and then paused. “What makes him a top priority apart from the fact that he’s Kay’s manager?”
“Nothing Jack can’t tell you. First, Ernie just signed or was trying to sign Melody as a client, and they had a disagreement at the party. Second, he was supposed to ride in the limo with Kay and Melody when they returned to the hotel. When Melody took off, he did too, instead of getting into the limo. Third, someone at the hotel told Frederick that Melody was in her hotel room when she was floating in the canal. If that was Ernie, he has some explaining to do.”
“I’m going to call the officer who’s taking Ernie Meyer’s statement to make sure she doesn’t miss any of these points.” Doug hit a button on his phone, and Jack grabbed my hand.
“That was a perfect summary, and Doug heard you,” Jack whispered.
“I agree,” I said as Doug explained why he was calling to the officer who’d answered.
The detective went through each issue, point by point. Then he listened to the officer for several minutes before saying goodbye.
“These details can help us put together our timeline and account for who was where when. Thanks,” Doug said. “Ernie wasn’t in the limo with Melody because he’d called a cab. He thought Melody might be stalling to avoid him since she hadn’t signed the contract yet. He says he would have waited if he’d known Max was going to send Kay on her way. Once he got back to the hotel, he was checking his messages at the desk when Melody ran past him. She waved him off, and when he went to her room and to speak to her again, the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign was there, so he gave up.”
“The dispatcher can tell us what time he called the cab, Georgie,” Jack assured me. “That gives him a good alibi since Max saw Melody get into the second limo after Ernie had left. He was persistent, though, wasn’t he?”
“Well, that’s show business characters for you. They hustle their clients as much as they do the people that they want to hire them,” I added sighing.
“Officer Patterson says there’s no way Ernie can be our killer. He’s not only seventy-two years old, but he uses a cane and nearly passed out coughing when a swallow of coffee went down the wrong way. I’m inclined to agree with her. According to the coroner, the injuries to her face occurred from someone hitting her repeatedly, with something, using great force. Even if Melody was drugged, I don’t see how Ernie Meyer could have done that kind of damage to anyone without keeling over,” Doug said. “Someone wanted her to die, which is why I don’t believe this was a case of mistaken identity. If we can find the murder scene, we could learn more.”
“She wasn’t killed where her body was found?” Jack asked.
“No and not in the house either,” Doug responded. “If she was still alive during the beating that she took, there ought to be a bloody mess somewhere. Forensics has already discovered there’s blood on her dress, although the time she spent in the water washed most of the blood from her body.”
“Excuse me, please. I need some fresh air,” I said. I felt woozy as I stood up. I forced the dark images that flashed through my mind to go away. The blow I’d taken from contact with the fleeing burglar made it too easy to imagine what Melody must have gone through.
“Are you okay?” Jack asked as Doug shut off the tablet computer he’d been using and slipped it into a pocket of his portfolio. I nodded yes, but how could anyone be okay after hearing what Doug had said?
“I’m done here. If Max asks, tell him we’re getting the band together tomorrow morning at eight for an early start. I’ll see you then, Jack. Bandleader,” Doug huffed. When he’d gathered all his stuff together, he spoke again. “Take care of Georgie. I can show myself out. Sorry to barge in on you, but thanks for the useful information and the offer of protection from Max.”
“Don’t put off interviewing him for long,” Jack said.
“I’ve already told him he’s a high priority,” Doug replied. “I’m going to interview him next, so wish me luck.”
He was trying to end on a positive note, which didn’t help. I waved and grunted a goodbye as I slid the door open and stepped onto the patio. The fresh ocean breeze was like a slap in the face. Pleasant, unlike the one delivered by the detective with his too vivid description of what someone had done to Melody.
“You’ve got to stop this person,” I said when Jack came up behind me and wrapped me in his arms.
“We will,” Jack said as he rested his head against mine. “Now that you’ve agreed to manage Max, you can leave the rest of the dirty work to us.”
“You won’t get any argument from me as long as you promise to be careful,” I replied.
“I promise. I’ve got way too much to lose to take unnecessary risks.” We stood watching the waves roll in on the distant shoreline for a few minutes longer. Mournful cats, pawing at the sliders, drew us inside.
9 Cold Storage
After lunch, Jack and I went through the guest list together and managed to identify two other women who hadn’t been happy about Melody fawning over their husbands. That one of them had kill
ed Melody because she’d flirted with her husband seemed ridiculous; still, I dutifully noted who they were. Two hours later, we’d gone through the entire list. I pored over it again, trying to decide who else might have valuable information for Jack and Doug.
“What strikes me after going over the guest list is that most people had probably never met Melody Monroe before Friday night. Two administrators from the Arts and Entertainment Division were at the meeting where Max first introduced Melody to me. That leaves the guys in the band, Kay, Bill, Max, and Ernie, besides me, as the only ones we know for sure had met her before the party. In Bill’s case, it’s an ‘almost’ certain.” I was mulling that over when I had a shivery spell of déjà vu.
“Doug may still want to question all of them, but he’ll appreciate the head start you’re giving him,” Jack said.
“I hope so. This situation is so much like dealing with Max’s daughter, Mallory, that I can’t help feeling I’ve been through it all before. It’s not just their behavior and the bad choices they made, but the same hideous consequence for both Melody and Mallory. Heck, their names even sound alike. No wonder I sensed Melody was trouble from the minute we met.”
“Max may be going through something similar,” Jack replied. “You were dead on if you’ll pardon the bad pun, about Melody being trouble. I’m glad you didn’t get mixed up with her any more than you did.”
“I feel bad about it now. She was friendly enough toward me. Maybe I should have tried to reach out to her—tried to be a mentor. It never occurred to me to do that since she worked in a different division at Marley World.”
“She had Max as a mentor,” Jack argued. “Who knows who else Max asked to give her a hand? If Max had wanted your help, he would have asked for it. Besides, who knows if she would have wanted your help? Apparently, when Max referred Melody to someone for career advice, she ended up going to Ernie instead.”
A Canary in the Canal Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery #8 (Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery Series) Page 8
