Odds Ball (Margot and Odds Cozy Mystery Book 3)

by Audrey Claire

  “Margot,” Lyle said, quietly, “you are an interesting woman.”

  Nancy made a peep of jealousy, and Margot hugged her. She felt a little shaky and moved to sit down. Nancy stayed close to Lyle. “So what does it mean that this person is missing? Isn’t that bad news?”

  “No.” Lyle rubbed the back of his neck. “Ronald Abbott has been missing for ten years. There was never any evidence of where he disappeared. Police suspected foul play, but they didn’t have any evidence.”

  “How awful,” Nancy murmured.

  “You might not know this, Margot,” Lyle said, “but Zabrina never knew the man’s name who she saw her father murder. She remembered his face. If she had only had a name all this time…”

  “It wouldn’t have mattered, would it?” Margot said. “She was running from her father, who murdered a man. There was nothing she could have done back then or now.”

  Lyle nodded. “But we can get closure, and I can encourage her that this wasn’t some figment of her imagination. Ronald Abbott is missing, and has been declared dead.”

  “I hate not knowing all of what’s going on,” Nancy interjected, “but why did you assume he was alive?”

  Margot froze. She glanced over at Lyle, and he jumped to his feet. Lyle started for the door and then stopped to face them. “Why would Sandifer convince Zabrina what she thought happened so long ago was a lie?”

  “Maybe we should ask him.” Margot snatched her bag off the table and hurried to the door. Lyle opened it for her, and the three of them took the direction leading back the way they had come. Lyle broke ahead and pounded on Sandifer’s door when they reached it, but there was no answer.

  “The card key, Margot.” Lyle held out his hand.

  Margot searched her bag. “Oh no, I think I left it on the table in the business center, and the door locks when you leave. Nancy, do you have your card key?”

  Nancy patted her housedress and shook her head. Margot had no right to be annoyed with her friend since they were in this pickle because of her. “Maybe we should go and talk to Zabrina.”

  “Wouldn’t she be asleep at this time?” Lyle asked.

  “Are you?”

  Lyle nodded. “You’re right. This has been the longest night of my life, and I’m sure my niece is suffering it right along with me. Let’s go. We can all have a chat with her.”

  Nancy hooked her arm into Lyle’s again, and Margot looked down at Odds and then grabbed the other arm. They hurried in the direction of the elevators with Margot hoping this would all be over very soon.

  Chapter Eleven

  Margot walked along beside Lyle as Nancy tittered on his other side. She dragged her feet. On one hand she wanted to put poor Zabrina’s mind at ease. On the other, she had been enjoying Lyle’s companionship, even if it had been such a short while. Once morning arrived this experience would be over. She had told herself she was finished with men, being past the flower of her youth and frankly distrustful after Lou’s betrayal. Yet, seeing Lyle’s kind smile and receiving his compliments, well, a woman could have one foot in the grave and still blossom under such attentions.

  Margot sighed and peeped over at Lyle, but his head was bent to listen to Nancy. Margot had a fit of jealousy and then dismissed it. That she was too old for and just didn’t have the energy tonight. Let Nancy enjoy him, too. They could laugh about it later over cake when they were two lonely biddies back at the apartment.

  “Are you feeling sorry for yourself?”

  Margot looked down at Odds and smiled. “Surprisingly, no.”

  Lyle turned to her. “Did you say something, Margot?”

  “Nothing. I was just talking to…”

  “Odds?” He grinned. “Don’t be ashamed. I think it’s fun. Oh, here’s the room.”

  They had stopped by the ballroom and been told Peter had secured the use of a room where they were allowing Zabrina to rest. Margot didn’t know if the policeman on guard duty would allow them to speak to Zabrina, but she hoped so. If nothing else, maybe Lyle could call through the door to relay the message and set her mind at ease.

  When they rounded the corner to the hallway, Odds jogged ahead a little way. Margot had stopped trying to hide him. There were so few people awake, and hotel staff was so distracted with extra guests and the storm, no one paid the little cat any mind.

  “That’s funny,” Lyle said, frowning.

  “What is?” Margot snapped to get Odds’ attention, but he ignored her.

  “I thought we were told an officer was on duty to keep watch over Zabrina.”

  “Maybe he went inside to use the bathroom,” Nancy said.

  Lyle’s countenance darkened all the more.

  “Danger.”

  Margot stumbled to a stop, and the others halted with her. “What do you mean, Odds?”

  “The stinky man.”

  “The…” She gasped. “You can’t mean he—”

  “Not now.” Odds began backing up, but his claws kept sticking in the carpet. He waggled his head and hissed, and his eyes were wide. Margot rushed over to him and tried to scoop him up, but he wouldn’t budge. His back hunched, and the racket he put up would wake the neighbors in the adjoining rooms if she didn’t put a stop to it.

  “Odds! What the devil is the matter with you? Odds?” Her voice cracked in her fright, and Lyle moved beside her.

  “He’s terrified.” Lyle touched her shoulder. “There’s only one reason he would be so afraid after what he’s gone through tonight. Steven Sandifer!”

  “Oh heavens,” Nancy exclaimed. “What’s our neighbor have to do with it?”

  “Not now, Nancy,” Margot declared. She let Odds go and chased after Lyle to the door. Shouting, Lyle banged on the door, calling out Zabrina’s name. Doors along the hall began opening, guests complaining.

  “Margot.”

  She turned at Peter’s voice and rushed to him. “Peter, I think Zabrina’s in trouble in that room.”

  Peter frowned. “Where’s my officer?” He thrust through the growing crowd and produced a key card to slide into the slot. The door opened to a darkened room, and Peter, calm unlike the rest of them, activated the lights with the same card. Nancy screamed, and Margot, feeling lightheaded, staggered against the wall.

  “Is it…another dead…” she mumbled.

  Peter knelt over the uniformed officer but didn’t respond. Lyle ran past him farther into the room, and stopped at the side of the bed where Zabrina lay. He cried out. “She’s not breathing. An ambulance. We need an ambulance.”

  Peter moved to the bed while his phone rang in his pocket. He tossed it to Lyle. “Answer. I’ll give her CPR.”

  Lyle caught the phone. “D-detective Crandell’s phone. Yes, I understand.” Lyle hung up and dialed again. “We need an ambulance now!”

  Margot stood close by, wringing her hands, wondering what help she could be. What happened to Zabrina? Had she tried to hurt herself after making her family suffer for so long, thinking she had been wrong? Odds had called out danger, so he might have sensed she was in trouble, but he’d also indicated Mr. Sandifer had been there. Surely, he didn’t mean Mr. Sandifer had harmed Zabrina.

  Margot ran into the hall to find Odds gone. She toddled along, her feet hurting and her legs throbbing. “Odds, where are you?” She thought she heard a meow and followed it around the bend. The little silver fur ball swished his tail outside of a door. Margot hesitated. She wouldn’t disturb anyone else at this hour.

  “Come away from there, Odds. We have to see that Zabrina is okay.”

  “Here.”

  She frowned at him. “Here, what, Odds? I don’t know what you’re saying, and speaking in one word sentences isn’t helping anyone.”

  “Here, here, here!”

  “Honestly!” She moved to the door and pressed her ear to the panels. Then she noticed there was no peephole. Was this a closet? She tried the handle and found the door unlocked. When she opened it, she tried darting aside just in case a bad guy spra
ng out on her, but instead she managed to almost face plant on the floor, tangling with her own tired feet.

  “There’s only maid stuff like before. Are we obsessed with closets now?”

  Odds seemed to check up and down the hallway. Then he ventured into the closet. He sprang to the edge of a cart and peered into it in the section where the maid attached a trash bag.

  “Stinky.”

  Margot sighed. “Well of course it’s stinky. It’s the garbage, and, young man, if you think I’m going to dig through it, you’re mistaken.”

  All the same, Margot wandered to Odds’ side and peer into the large bin. She found what she expected to, several clear trash bags where the maid had cleaned the rooms earlier. In one, she spotted an assortment of vending machine items, including chip bags. A memory stirred inside her head.

  “Wait a minute,” she whispered. Margot wrinkled her nose then reached inside the bin.

  “Margot?”

  She stilled and looked around. Peter frowned at her walking down the hall. Margot straightened. “Oh, Peter, how is Zabrina?”

  “The storm is dying out, so the paramedics got through. I’m not sure how she is, but they took over, and she’s being rushed to the hospital. It’s a good thing it’s not more than a couple blocks away.”

  Margot pressed a hand to her chest. “Thank heavens. You’re a real hero, Peter, dear.”

  He eyed her and then the bin. “Someone said Odds led you to the room. Did he lead you here as well?”

  “You trust Odds, don’t you, Peter?”

  He rocked on his heels and tapped his notebook against his leg. “I trust my gut, Margot, and my gut is saying you know something.”

  “Well,” she began and pointed to the trash. “Odds thinks there’s something important in here, and I agree with him.”

  Peter looked doubtful. “Explain, please.”

  She told him about hiding in Steven Sandifer’s room and how he had treated Odds. “I think he meant to kill Odds, Peter. Surely, he should be arrested for attempted murder.”

  “Attempted cat murder?”

  “Yes! It’s a serious offense,” Margot declared.

  He walked over and peered into the trash.

  “Odds keeps saying—uh, I mean—he keeps acting like he smells something funny. Do you think it has to do with the little seed Mr. Sandifer tried to feed Odds?”

  Peter took on an interested expression. He dug into his jacket pocket and produced a pen. The bundle with the potato chip bags landed on the floor, and Peter managed to get it untied with a little manipulation. Margot assumed he tried to avoid leaving prints. With the tips of his fingers, he inspected a potato chip bag and dumped the contents into his palm. He smelled it.

  “Well I’ll be,” Peter muttered.

  “What is it?” Margot moved closer, but Odds retreated on the opposite side of the hall.

  “Hemlock seeds.”

  “I think I’ve heard that word before.”

  Peter nodded. “It’s poison, Margot, and my guess is this is what the ME will find in Zabrina’s system. And maybe…”

  “Maybe what?” She watched him eagerly, but he shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, but thank you. I believe we’ve found evidence I can use.”

  “Detective.”

  Peter looked around to find Officer Jones approaching. The sour man glared at Margot and then focused on Peter. “We caught Steven Sandifer trying to leave the hotel, and we’re now detaining him for questioning. Do you want to go down there?”

  “Oh course, and we’re holding him for more than questioning, Jones. He’s going down to the station. I’m charging him with attempted murder for starters.”

  * * * *

  Margot sat in her apartment with her feet up on a cushioned footstool. She took another sip from her cup of English morning tea and sighed. Across from her, Nancy shoveled another bite of cake into her mouth, but the downturn to her friend’s mouth didn’t lessen.

  “I thought I had found him, Margot.”

  “I know, dear.” Margot fiddled with her own uneaten cake. Where was the giggling and reminiscing she expected to do when they got back to the apartment? She wasn’t in the mood, and it seemed even Nancy’s new recipe couldn’t raise their spirits.

  The doorbell rang, and Nancy went to answer it. She opened the door to Jimmy and set a hand on her ample hip. “What are you doing here, Jimmy Barber?”

  He moved around Nancy as if she weren’t standing there. “I’m not here to see you, Nancy, unless you want something from the store.”

  “What happened to Kenny?” Margot asked, setting her teacup down. “Doesn’t he usually do the store run for everyone in the building?”

  “Yeah, but it looks like he got a cold or the flu.” Jimmy dropped onto the couch without being invited to sit. Margot didn’t mind. She had already accepted he would never have proper manners. “So it’s me because I want some cigarettes, and I know I’ll never hear the end of it if I don’t find out if you old ladies want anything. So, what will it be?”

  “Nothing for me, thank you, Jimmy,” Margot said.

  He eyed her. “You’re still down about what happened at the hotel?”

  “No,” she lied.

  “Don’t worry about it. Steven Sandifer got what was coming to him. When he moved in here, Zabrina thought her father sent him and that they found her. She wanted to get the drop on him, so she went to the ball. Said she wanted it all over once and for all.”

  “We know that much, Jimmy!” Nancy didn’t like Jimmy very much, but Margot noticed she sliced him a piece of cake and handed it to him. Jimmy offered a grinning thanks and devoured it in three bites.

  “Well,” Jimmy said around a full mouth, “he was actually the second in charge at Brock Cordova’s company. Did you know that? He stood to get everything after Cordova died, if—”

  “If what,” Nancy asked, but Margot already knew.

  “If Zabrina was declared dead. Cordova refused to have her declared dead all this time, and she was his heir. Sandifer got desperate when he found her. First he thought he’d manipulate her into sighing everything over to him, but he had no idea how strong my cousin is.”

  Margot watched Jimmy get a faraway look in his eyes.

  “It was hard on her on the street at first when she didn’t have me.”

  Nancy scoffed. “I can’t imagine you added anything, Jimmy Barber, after you showed up in her life.”

  “Now, Nancy,” Margot chided her. “Jimmy has been loyal to Zabrina all these years, going far beyond what anybody should ever ask of him. He gave up his life to look after her.”

  The three of them were silent for a while, and Odds walked into the room from wherever he had been. He jumped onto Margot’s lap and settled down to sleep. She stroked his head. Over the last few days, he seemed to have gotten over his upset, and she was glad. Odds was fearless, and she wanted him always to remain that way. He had proven he spoke to her in several ways, and she gained a lot of hope because of it.

  “Do you really think I proved I can talk?”

  Margot stiffened. He had read her mind. “Huh?” she whispered.

  “Cats have sensitive noses. That seed stinks, and that man had it, so he smelled, too.”

  Margot peeked at Jimmy and Nancy who had begun to argue. Then she focused back on Odds. “Yes, but you led us to Mr. Sandifer and to Zabrina.”

  “Stinky, stinky, stinky,” he chanted irritatingly. Margot ground her teeth.

  Odds might have smelled the hemlock, and especially after Steven Sandifer threatened him, he knew it was bad news. The most she realized she could say of their experience was that Odds was a good bloodhound cat, but she dared not say such to him, or he might dig his claws into her lap. He had done that before. Since he didn’t move, she figured he wasn’t reading her mind at the moment.

  “Or I’m not making it all up in my own head,” she muttered.

  “What did you say, Margot, dear?” Nancy asked.

  �
�Oh nothing.” Margot’s mood plummeted even more, but she roused herself to ask Jimmy, “How is Zabrina, Jimmy?”

  “They’re releasing her from the hospital tomorrow morning. It was close, but she’s going to be okay.”

  “Good. I’m so glad.”

  “And—” Nancy began.

  “We’ve kept him long enough, Nancy,” Margot interrupted. “We’ll let you get going to the store, Jimmy. I don’t want to add anything to your list today, but thank you for offering.”

  Jimmy narrowed his eyes at her with curiosity, and then he stood to stretch his arms over his head. “Well, the hero is off!”

  “Hero?” Nancy harrumphed. “What makes you think you’re a hero, Jimmy Barber? Margot and Odds figured out everything.”

  “Did they?” Jimmy grinned. “Good night, ladies.”

  When he was gone, Margot looked at Nancy. “Do you know what he meant by that attitude?”

  “He’s too noisy and a showoff, Margot. I wouldn’t put much stock in Jimmy. Zabrina will probably move away now that she’s inherited her father’s company. I imagine she’ll take her cousin with her. Good riddance to him.”

  Margot sighed. She didn’t like friends going away, even if it was Jimmy, and Zabrina had never given them much time to get to know her. “Well, we can’t stop change, I suppose. Here, I’ll make some more tea, Nancy. Do you want any?”

  “Yes, and this time, you have to finish your cake.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Margot pushed her feet into her bedroom slippers and wrapped a robe around herself. She touched her head and wasn’t surprised to find during the night she had lost the scarf Wanda had tied over the curlers. For once, she thought she would take Kenny’s mom up on the offer to have her hair done. Wanda had done such a good job with Nancy’s hair Margot couldn’t help giving her a try. Back when she was rich, she could afford to visit a stylist whenever the mood struck her. Now with bills to pay, she couldn’t. Nowhere to go except to her next job meant it didn’t matter anyway.

  Margot brushed her teeth while looking into the mirror. Two curlers were gone. She sighed. “I look like Nancy.”