“Flowing Waves Meditation Center,” Sofia said. “But—”
“Let’s go! Where is it?”
“There’s a problem.”
“Fine,” he said. “We can take your car.”
“It’s on Catalina Island,” she said.
“Really?” Aidan groaned.
“And she’s taken a vow of silence for a week.”
“Why did you even bring her up?” Aidan glared at her.
“I didn’t remember about the vow of silence.”
“How could you not remember that one of your friends took a vow of silence?” Aidan was already back on his computer, probably searching for a translation service.
“Lots of my friends take vows of silence.” Maybe not lots, but at least a couple every year. It was a new thing—cut yourself off from technology and from speaking at all.
“Maybe you ought to try it,” Aidan said.
Glad that Brendan wasn’t in the room, Sofia flipped Aidan off, and texted Brandi. Can you hear me now?
Her phone buzzed less than a second later. Apparently Brandi didn’t follow Aidan’s texting rules either. I had to chew a stick of bamboo into a lockpick to get my phone. Pick me up before I kill an entire pack of vegans to get some meat for grilling.
Sofia grinned. That was Brandi. She texted back: Vow of silence not working out?
The answer was swift: If I have to eat one more blade of grass, I’m shoving someone up a cow’s ass.
“I might have to take a long lunch,” Sofia said. What can I do?
Brandi typed in: Meet me at the helipad at Avalon Airport. Bring a helicopter. And a burger. Or four.
That wasn’t going to be cheap, but Brandi would pay her back. Brandi was an international rock superstar, and she was loaded. But was Brandi joking? Sofia texted back: Seriously?
Contact Madeline Mrozek for the cash.
Madeline was Brandi’s manager. She was tougher even than Brandi, and no one would pull a practical joke on her and live to tell the tale.
An hour later, Sofia was inside a noisy red and blue helicopter piloted by a woman named ‘Captain Tricia.’ They were skimming over the waves toward Catalina Island. Next to her on the floor was a red and white cooler with burgers, two orders of fries, and two large chocolate milkshakes. It felt as if she was on a medical team flying a kidney out to the island to save someone’s life.
A long shadow moved through the dark green water below her. A whale, gray and sleek with a strong dark tail. She plastered her face to the window and gaped. Even from up here the animal looked huge. Imagine that life—swimming around, eating krill, looking at all the craziness that humans created, then diving down into a dark, peaceful silence.
Sofia turned her head to watch it pass under them. The thick headphones she’d put on at the beginning of the flight bonked against the window frame. She was the only passenger, and she wiggled across to the other side to see the whale from there. Wow.
Captain Tricia seemed to agree, because they did another pass over the whale before continuing on their journey.
They’d barely been in the air for ten minutes, and already the island hove into view. It looked like a giant Loch Ness monster—with a pointy nose, a long neck, and a round back.
As they got closer to the island, Tricia dropped them down even lower and flew along the side so that Sofia could see rocks covered with California sea lions, brown and fat and plush-looking. Two jostled for position on a nearby rock, but all the others basked peacefully in the sun. One opened its giant dark eyes and followed their flight. None of the other sea lions seemed impressed. They probably saw lots of helicopters. Sofia waved anyway, and felt six years old. She ought to bring Violet and Van out here sometime, although she wouldn’t be able to charter a helicopter.
“We’ll be landing at the Airport in the Sky in a few minutes.” Captain Tricia’s voice boomed from her headphones. She sounded as if she came from Minnesota, with rounded words and a peppy inflection. “Where will we meet your friend?”
“She’ll find us.” Sofia hoped so anyway. Brandi had gone offline after issuing her orders.
The airport had one runway marked with a 22. But they didn’t head for that. Instead they touched down next to a white hangar with the words “Welcome to Catalina Island Airport in the Sky” painted on it in blue and red. It was like being in the sky. They were on a plateau and ocean stretched out ahead. It looked close, but it was actually far below.
A three-story white building with a terracotta-tiled roof stood in the middle of a sprawling Spanish-style compound. That must be the airport.
That seemed like the most logical place to hunt for Brandi.
Sofia started to undo her seatbelt when a small figure with spiky orange hair loped across the pavement. A long leather coat flapped atop a flowing lavender tunic and bare legs.
She yanked open Sofia’s door and jumped inside as if she were being chased by a pack of wolves, but Sofia didn’t see anyone.
Brandi grinned at her, then leaned forward and touched Captain Tricia on the shoulder. When she turned around, Brandi spun her finger in a circle in the air, which must have been pilot for ‘take off’ because the engine started to wind up and they lifted off.
Now that they were over the airport, Sofia saw a white golf cart stop in front of the white buildings. Four people wearing tunics identical to Brandi’s piled out and started running toward the helipad waving their lavender arms. For people from a Zen retreat, they sure looked angry. In an Indiana Jones movie, they would have been throwing spears.
Brandi snatched up a pair of headphones and plunked them on her head. “You promised me burgers.”
Sofia handed her the cooler. “Still warm.”
Brandi moaned. “I’ve been living on wheatgrass and air.”
She wolfed down the first burger so quickly Sofia didn’t even see her chew.
Sofia waited until after Brandi polished off two burgers and a shake before daring to speak.
“Why were those people chasing you? I thought that place voluntary.” Some rehab centers locked you in, but Brandi had been at a Zen retreat where she could have theoretically come and gone as she pleased. She didn’t need an elaborate escape, and the personnel shouldn’t have come after her. But, Brandi was Brandi.
Brandi wiped her hand on a napkin, reached inside her jacket, and pulled out a statue. It was intricately carved, gilded, and looked antique. Sofia recognized the figure at once.
“You stole their Buddha?” Sofia asked.
“They weren’t using him,” Brandi said. “I figured he’d be happier with me.”
Sofia closed her eyes. Brandi’s life really was an Indiana Jones movie.
“How’s the PI life?” Brandi picked up the third burger. “Did you want one of these?”
“I ate before I loaded up the cooler,” Sofia said. “I figured if I tried to get one after you got to it, I might end up missing a hand.”
Brandi grinned and kept chewing.
Sofia explained about the recording. Aidan had separated it into two files and downloaded it to her phone. The most interesting part seemed to be a shouting match between Marcel and someone he was talking to on the phone. Sofia couldn’t understand what he was saying, but he sounded pretty angry.
“You want me to translate a juicy conversation that was probably taped illegally? Invade someone’s privacy?” Brandi asked.
“Pretty much.” Sofia paused. “And maybe catch a murderer.”
“Hell, I was in at juicy conversation,” Brandi said.
She handed Brandi her phone, Brandi plugged in her headphones, and started to listen.
Sofia watched the waves. She hadn’t even set a single foot on Catalina Island. It had still been a fantastic flight. She’d seen a whale. A real, live whale.
Los Angeles in all its smoggy glory blotted out the horizon. Buddha was on the helicopter seat. He was looking out the window, too. Was she an accessory in Buddha theft? What would Buddha think of that?
Brandi had leaned back in the seat with her eyes closed. Sofia tried not to laugh. Brandi had crossed her legs and let the back of her hands rest on her knees. She was in lotus position. Running away from a Zen yoga retreat center while meditating.
Sofia had missed her.
Brandi stayed in the zone until the helicopter landed and the pilot turned off the engine. The silence after the roar of the engines was so deep Sofia thought she might fall into it.
Brandi’s eyes snapped open. “Are we there yet?”
She scooped up the last milkshake, tidied all her fast food trash back into the cooler, and jumped out. One hand snaked in to retrieve Buddha from his perch.
“Thank you, Captain Tricia,” said Sofia. She climbed out of the helicopter and sprinted across the tarmac after Brandi.
“Does Madeline know we were going to land here?” Brandi looked around at the empty pavement. Ahead of them was a hangar, behind the helicopter, and off to the right a few airport buildings, but the place was mostly empty.
“Probably,” Sofia said. “She chartered the helicopter from here.”
Brandi scowled.
“Tell me what the tape said before you go and face her.” They both knew that Brandi might not get a chance once Madeline showed up.
Wind whipped Sofia’s hair around, and she caught it in one hand and tucked it into the back of her T-shirt.
“The guy on the tape was complaining that the woman on the other end of the phone was having a ‘dalliance of the heart’.” Brandi laughed. “Apparently that’s very different from a ‘dalliance of the vagina’ in their relationship.”
Maybe Annabelle’s relationship with Rick Pankhurst had Marcel worried. They had seemed close.
“Anything else?” Sofia asked.
“Bourgeois drama. I got the feeling that she was threatening him. Something about a ‘dalliance of the wallet,’ wine, and ortolan, which I think might be a kind of bird.”
“You don’t even want to know,” Sofia said. “It’ll make you a vegetarian again.”
“Then don’t tell me.” Brandi swiped her hand across the mouth, catching a mustard drop. “In the end the man stomped off swearing about getting water for someone named Percy.”
“Percy is their horse.”
A voice made for radio bellowed across the tarmac to where they were standing. “You will have to return the Buddha.”
Brandi’s hand went guiltily to the pocket where she’d stowed the statue.
“I’m not involved in this,” Sofia said. “But thanks for the info.”
“Thanks for the ride.” Brandi turned to face an attractive brunette in her mid-forties. Oddly enough, the woman wore a black silk pantsuit with a lavender shirt that exactly matched the tunics from the Zen retreat.
“Hi, Madeline!” Sofia barreled straight past her without slowing.
“Miss Salgado.” Madeline’s voice would make anyone stop in their tracks and, against her will, Sofia stopped. It was like Madeline was a Jedi.
“Yes?” Sofia slowly turned to face her.
“I’ll call tomorrow so we can catch up.”
That meant an interrogation.
“I’ll look forward to it!” Sofia lied brightly.
CHAPTER 31
Sofia was back in the office printing out her report. She liked writing reports. It gave the cases a narrative structure and it made her feel as if she were accomplishing things. Brendan always insisted that they print out their reports, even though Aidan said they were all stored online anyway and they shouldn’t kill the trees. Sofia saw his point, but she liked seeing the paper on her desk. She’d even bought herself an Out box at an office supply place.
She plucked the pages off the printer and deposited them in her Out box. A day’s work, done and documented.
“You look like a secretary from the 1950s,” said Aidan.
She ran through a quick list of Don Draper’s secretaries on Mad Men in her head. “You’re way better at making coffee. Maybe you ought to try out for that job.”
“I don’t have the legs for it.”
“Did you just compliment my legs?” She was sure there was a catch.
“By accident,” he said. “Honest.”
Brendan walked through the front door with John Stark at his side. John Stark was Brendan’s lawyer friend, and he threw a lot of business their way. Narek had probably hired him, which was definitely a smart move. If she ever needed a defense attorney, she’d have hired him, too. A man who could endure Melissa Fairbroad, a particularly annoying client charged with murdering her husband, well, a man like that was someone she wanted on her side. Plus, he had great gray hair.
“You all remember John?” Brendan asked. “I’ve brought him up to date on our latest case as of this morning.”
“Glad to be working with you again.” Sofia shook his hand, which seemed to remind Aidan of his manners because he stood up and shook hands, too. It wasn’t easy to pry Aidan out from behind his terminal.
Brendan glanced over at Sofia’s Out box and said, “Let’s meet in my office and go over what you’ve learned.”
Sofia snagged her papers and fell in behind them. Thanks to Brandi’s translation, she actually had something to contribute. But she’d have to be careful not to mention a few things.
Aidan brought in cold bottles of water for everyone, and Sofia drank hers gratefully. Her helicopter rescue must have dehydrated her. She took the uncomfortable chair, Stark the comfortable couch, and Aidan chose to stand instead of sitting next to him on the couch.
“I’ll go first,” Brendan said. “The police have been thorough, as usual, and checked out everyone’s alibi. According to her mother, Milena went straight to her house and didn’t leave until the police arrived the next morning with news of Marcel’s death. She doesn’t have any other witnesses though.”
“She only needs one.” Stark adjusted his pale blue cuffs so that they stuck out exactly a quarter inch beyond his jacket.
A mother as an alibi witness wasn’t exactly air tight. Sofia was pretty sure that her own mother would lie to protect her from being charged with murder. And Milena was definitely a jilted lover. She might have gone back and whacked Marcel on the head, so Sofia wasn’t counting her out yet.
“Annabelle’s alibi is even more solid.” Brendan took a quick sip of water. He was too excited to drink more. He loved this part of cases—putting together all the pieces. “She left the party with Rick Pankhurst and went to the Seaview Inn. Neither one left the room until the next morning. Employees at the front desk who saw her check in, and surveillance cameras in the hall and the lobby verify her story. She was miles away when Marcel Befort died.”
That was a rock solid alibi. If she were ever suspected of murder, Sofia would want one like that.
“Additionally, surveillance footage at the Befort’s property verifies that everyone eventually left the party while Befort was still alive. The last one out was a buxom blonde wearing only a sweatshirt that said Nirvana Cove.”
“I guess Bambi never found her real clothes,” Sofia said.
“Why didn’t the surveillance cameras pick up the murder? I saw a camera looking right down on that horse trough,” Aidan said.
Sofia kicked herself because she hadn’t even thought to look for one. She still had a lot to learn.
“That camera was broken,” said Brendan. “Annabelle said it burned out a week ago, and that Marcel hadn’t gotten around to having it replaced.”
“Lucky for the killer,” Aidan said.
Lucky, or clever. Who else might have known about the broken camera?
“Maybe he’s not too lucky.” Stark’s smooth voice sounded pleased. “The police located a drone in the trees near the horse trough. It was damaged, but they’re working on getting the data off it. Maybe it’ll show exactly what happened, and Nare
k can return to his life.”
Or it would hang him. Sofia knew Stark always believed, or acted like he believed, that his clients were innocent. Hopefully he was right this time.
“A drone?” Aidan’s face was stony. A little too stony. He needed to work on that, because Brendan looked at him sharply, and he sure didn’t want Brendan or Stark knowing about the true owner of that drone.
Trying to deflect attention from Aidan, Sofia said the first thing that popped into her head. “Where will Marcel’s money go?”
“Mostly to his wife, Annabelle, plus a few small bequests to family members in France. But I’m not sure she’ll get much.” Aidan smiled gratefully at Sofia as he made his report. “His business was a mess. He was mortgaged for way more than the value of the winery and the house. When all’s said and done, I think Annabelle might end up with nothing at all.”
That explained the dalliance of the wallet that Brandi had mentioned. Marcel had spent himself right into the hole. Hopefully Annabelle would be able to keep Percy. But horses were expensive, and so was keeping them. Maybe she could stable him in Rick’s barn.
“Sofia?” Brendan looked at her. “What have you found out?”
“Marcel and Annabelle had a big fight the night he died, after the party, on the phone.” She couldn’t say how she knew that without revealing that Aidan had left a bug there. Neither Brendan nor Stark would be excited about that. Choosing her words carefully, she explained what Brandi had found out.
“The wife would look good for it.” Stark tugged at his cuffs again. He did it whenever he started to talk. “But her alibi is too solid. There are cell phone records showing that she called him twice that night. Both times her phone was in the hotel. The first call was long, and it might have been a fight, but it doesn’t help us. The second shorter, and the police think she might have reached him right before he was killed. He might even have hung up to confront the murderer.”
That left Annabelle out. Sofia hoped that Annabelle and Marcel hadn’t fought on that last call—it’d make things much worse for Annabelle if they had. She’d run the call by Brandi again and see if there was anything else there.
D is for Drunk Page 14
