by Gale Deitch
I shivered as I thought of Katie and me huddled together on the floor breathing in whatever pockets of clean air hovered down there and waiting for help to arrive.
Remembering that day when we’d seen Gina head out into the alley for a smoke, I wondered why she’d just dropped the unfinished cigarette on the ground. Had she gone back into the restaurant? Into the dining room where she wouldn’t have seen the fire? And where was Gus that morning?
Chapter Eighteen
That evening, Daniel stopped by May’s house to see me. With May upstairs in her room, I felt like a teenager on a date as he and I huddled on the living room sofa making out. I still had all those questions to ask him about the fire, but they could wait. Right now, we had more important matters to attend to.
“I couldn’t stay away,” he murmured into my hair.
“I’m glad,” I said in a breathy whisper. “Why don’t we go upstairs?”
“Yes, why don’t we?”
His cell phone chirped and he groaned and checked the screen.
“Don’t answer it,” I said, standing and pulling him to his feet.
“Sorry, I’ve gotta get this.” He gave me a peck on the lips and pressed the talk button on his phone. “Goldman here.”
As he listened, he began to pace the room then stopped. “What? When? I’ll be right there.” Daniel glimpsed at me, but I could see his mind racing with other thoughts.
“What is it?” I asked.
“George Benson, the shop owner next to Maybelline’s. Found dead in his storeroom.”
I gasped and my body came to attention like a prickly pear. “No. Not Mr. Benson. Was he…murdered?”
“Not sure yet. The ME is on his way.” He shook his head at me. “I hate to say this, baby, but I’ve gotta go. Listen, I’m sending a squad car over here to watch the house.” He lifted my chin and looked into my eyes. “Do not, under any circumstance, open that door. Okay?”
I nodded, thinking about poor Mr. Benson. “Call me later to tell me what happened. May will want to know.”
He gave me a quick kiss and headed out the door, something that was occurring more and more frequently over the past few days.
I wondered if May was still awake and, if not, whether to wake her. She would want to know about Mr. Benson. I decided to knock on her bedroom door. If she’d taken her sleeping pill, there was no way I was going to wake her anyway.
“Yes, shuga?” she asked when I knocked. “Come in.”
I eased the door open. In her ivory lace nightgown, May resembled a lovely porcelain doll sitting up against the mauve linen pillows of her king-sized canopy bed.
“Still awake?” I asked.
“Unfortunately, yes,” she said. “Just can’t fall asleep tonight, even with the help of my sedatives. Guess I can’t stop thinkin’ about scatterin’ Micah’s ashes tomorrow. But what’s wrong, ma cherie?” She held out both hands to me, and I had to use the step stool next to her bed to hoist myself up and sit beside her.
I clutched her hand in mine. “Daniel just got a call. Mr. Benson was found dead in his store room.”
Her eyes got big and she covered her mouth. “Mr. Benson? Dead? Wh-what happened?”
“We don’t know yet. Daniel’s going to call me.”
May shook her head. “Poor George. He was getting’ up there in years, but besides those arthritic hips of his, I thought he was fairly healthy. Since he and I weren’t payin’ those men, though, he’s been sleepin’ on a cot in his back room, supposedly to protect his property. It couldn’t have been a very comfortable way to live at his age.”
“Those awful men,” I said. “May, this has gone too far. If they’re the ones who started that fire and if they’ve been harassing Mr. Benson, and maybe even caused his death, then it’s much too big for you to handle on your own.”
May looked down at our hands, still clutched, and sighed. “’Course you’re right, Trudie. It’s gone too far now. For a while, George and I felt we could handle this on our own, but people are gettin’ hurt.”
“All we can do now is wait for Daniel to call,” I said. “I hate waiting.”
“Well then, let’s distract each other. Why don’t I rustle up a midnight snack and we’ll have a good long talk. I want to hear all about that party you went to last night.”
Sitting at May’s kitchen table with a steaming bowl of cheesy grits with buttered toast did, in fact, distract me. It warmed my insides and filled my soul with comfort as I detailed my evening at the gala.
“I cannot believe Sergeant Flowers and her blatant moves on your man,” May said.
“That seems to be her modus operandi,” I said. “And I’m not sure Daniel realizes what she’s doing.”
“Shuga, that’s just ‘cause he’s got his eyes only on you. He can’t see nothin’ else around him.”
Peering out the kitchen window, I could see the police cruiser visible under the street lamp, which should have put me at ease. Still, when my cell phone rang, I jumped. “Hi. What did you find out?”
“Hard to tell yet. The back door to Benson’s shop was open. Maybe he heard something in the alley and was checking it out or maybe he opened the door to let someone in. He was found lying by the open door. Trauma to the head. Some blood. Either he fell and hit his head or else he was hit with a blunt instrument. All to be determined. Good news, though.”
“What?”
“We’ve apprehended one of the guys in the extortion ring. Got him down at the station now for questioning. This might break open the whole case for us, Benson, the fire…”
“Micah?” I asked.
“Yeah, maybe Micah, too. Now go to sleep, baby. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
THE NEXT MORNING, Zach called. “Hey, Trudie. Why don’t I pick you up this morning? Ally would love for you to see her new restaurant site and run some of her plans by you.”
For the first morning in days, I’d woken up feeling calm and rested. The sunlight streaming through the window promised a spectacular day. “That would be great. I’m honored that she wants me to see it, but I thought she was keeping the whole concept hush-hush.”
“She is, but she trusts you and wants to get your honest feedback. Pick you up in an hour.”
I called Stu to let him off the hook for the day and to see if he’d spoken to Daniel.
“Yeah. Too bad about Benson. He was a nice old guy, just trying to make a living. Hope they lock those goons up for a long time.”
“I’m hoping they’re the ones responsible for everything. Then maybe we can all get on with our lives,” I said.
“Could be,” Stu agreed. “But we’re not sure yet. So you be careful, young lady. Call me if you need anything. Okay?”
“Okay.” I smiled, grateful not only for Stu’s concern, but also for the friendship we’d developed over the last few days.
When Zach arrived, I grabbed my purse and poked my head into the kitchen. “See you later, May. What time are you scattering the ashes? And where?”
She dried her hands on a towel and turned to me. “The Gangplank Marina right there on Water Street. You’ll see the sign. Just meet me at two o’clock on the dock. I’ll pick up Katie and meet you there. I asked Gus and Gina if they wanted to come, but they were both busy. Probably out interviewin’. I don’t want to lose my head chef or a good waitress, but they need incomes while Maybelline’s is closed. I understand that. I just hoped they’d be able to hold out until we reopen.”
“I know Gina was friends with Micah, but would Gus even want to come to spread Micah’s ashes?” I asked.
“I thought it would help him make his peace with Micah. There was no love lost between those two.” She chuckled and shook her head. “To hear them go at it, sometimes they argued like there was no tomorrow.”
Zach honked for me a second time and I opened the front door to wave to him. “Okay, May. I’ll meet you at the pier at two.”
Ally’s new restaurant site was well-located on a street in Bethesda lined
with eateries. In an area with about two hundred restaurants, some might worry about the competition lined up one after the other. But Bethesda never lacked diners, and most restaurants, if the food was good, were packed with customers night after night.
“Trudie,” Ally squealed, approaching me with open arms.
When we hugged, I felt the familiar silkiness of her long, blonde hair on my cheek. It smelled fresh like cucumbers and honey dew. Ally and I had been roommates at Johnson and Wales where she’d studied restaurant management. The two of us were different in so many ways that we had complemented each other as no one would have expected. I was no threat to her in the dating department and I often helped her with homework, while she taught me how to use makeup and how to dress to play up my assets.
Over the years, we’d had our differences, mainly because of her self-centered ways and how she treated Zach. Since her father’s recent death, however, she seemed to be growing up, and I was starting to trust her. So was Zach.
Ally and Zach hugged, holding on to each other a beat longer than necessary and then stood close, their arms brushing, the magnetism so evident between them that I wondered how Zach intended to maintain a “close friend” relationship with her for very long.
The restaurant was in the midst of renovations, but Ally proudly showed me the designer’s sketches of the layout and a mockup of the menu. I had to admit that her idea for healthy comfort food was perfect for the demographic in this area of health-conscious foodies.
“Zach has helped me develop the most fabulous menu items. I’ve got an oven-fried chicken that you would adore. Tastes like it’s right out of a diner in Atlanta but barely a gram of fat or carbs in it. And the burgers are so juicy and delicious off the grill, you’d think they were a hundred percent beef instead of ground turkey laced with mushrooms and steakhouse rubbing spices.” She grabbed my arm. “Oh, and Trudie, the shakes are so thick and creamy, you can barely get them through a straw. And you wouldn’t believe the desserts.”
As Ally went through the list of food items and their miraculous transformations, I was intrigued and anxious to try out this restaurant myself. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and I shared a smile with Zach, who beamed with pride. He put his arm around her, pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. She gazed up into his eyes and they grinned at each other. The attraction between the two was unmistakable. I just hoped Ally wouldn’t lose interest in Zach or in this project as she had with her first restaurant, a posh establishment in Georgetown that her father had funded.
She turned her attention back to me and continued. “And this location is only the first in a chain. I’ve been doing my research and have sites picked out in downtown DC and Northern Virginia.”
When we were ready to leave, Ally took both my hands in hers. “Well, what do you think? Do I have the Trudie Fine stamp of approval?” Her eyes were bright.
“I think you’ve got a winner.”
“SO HOW LONG before you let this ‘close friendship’ with Ally develop into something stronger?” I asked Zach as he drove us to the office.
He colored and peered straight ahead at the road. “What do you mean?”
“C’mon, Zach. You’ve been my best friend since childhood, and I lived with Ally for four years at school. The physical attraction is obvious. Why don’t you just let it happen?”
He stopped at a red light and turned to me. “Is it obvious? Because you know I have a history of misreading her feelings, and I’m not sure I could handle getting hurt again. Why would you want me to chance that again?”
I understood his reluctance. Ally had taken advantage of his feelings for her more than once over the years. So why was I encouraging him in her direction? “I don’t know, Zach. Maybe with all that’s happened lately, I’m feeling my own mortality. I’m realizing that life is short and can be taken from you in an instant. We’ve got to reach out and grab whatever happiness we can get, even if there’s a risk involved.”
The light changed, and he turned his attention back to the road. After a moment of silence, he nodded. “Maybe you’re right. And I don’t even have to reach out and grab it. Ally says she wants to pursue our relationship. All I have to do is accept.”
Zach and I had a few hours of work to do at the office, fine-tuning our prep schedule and shopping list for the busy weekend.
After about an hour, my cell phone rang and, seeing it was Daniel, I slid my finger across the screen to answer. “Hey you,” I said.
“Hey yourself. Just wanted to let you know we finally got a confession out of this guy.”
“The one you found in the alley last night? What did he confess to?” My heart thumped in my chest in anticipation.
“Killing George Benson. Well, not willfully. Tried to break in, Benson opened the door and threatened him with a bat. The guy pushed him away and Benson fell and hit his head.”
“Wow. Poor Mr. Benson. All he wanted to do was protect his business.”
“That’s not all,” Daniel said.
“What else?”
“He confessed to starting the fire, too. Saw Gina drop the smoldering cigarette butt in the alley. Decided he’d use it as a warning to May. Picked it up, brought it inside and put the burning cigarette on a pile napkins. Then he escaped through the alley.”
“What about his friends? They’re still out there?”
“Squad car just picked up the ring leader and one of his buddies. They’re on their way to the station. We can get them on extortion now. One night without sleep or food and their friend was singing like a boiling teapot.”
I laughed. “Daniel, you’re starting to talk like me.”
He chortled. “Guess you’re rubbing off on me.”
I was quiet for a moment, deep in thought.
“Trudie? You still there?”
“Yes, I’m here. I was just wondering. If these guys murdered Micah, then it’s all over, and May….” The possibility made my hopes bubble up like a freshly-opened bottle of ginger ale.
“I know. We’ll see what we can get out of them. In the meantime, keep hunkering down. What have you got on tap for the rest of the day?”
I paused. I hadn’t told Daniel we’d be out on the Potomac River spreading Micah’s ashes. After all, he’s a cop, and I didn’t think it was legal. Would he try to prevent May from carrying out her plans? She was so adamant that this is what Micah would want. He had loved those tour boat rides with views of all the monuments. But keeping things from Daniel in the past had only caused trouble. From now on, I was determined to be up-front with him.
“I—I’m meeting May at two o’clock,” I started.
“Hold on, baby,” he said. “They’re bringing them into the station now. I’ll talk to you later.” He hung up.
I stared at my cell phone. Oh well. I guess the truth would have to wait.
Chapter Nineteen
“Scattering Micah’s ashes on the Potomac?” Zach asked as we drove out of the parking lot. “Does Daniel know about this?”
“I started to tell him on the phone earlier, but he had to go. They think they’ve got the guys who’ve been wreaking havoc with the U Street businesses. The ones who killed Mr. Benson last night and started the fire at May’s restaurant.”
“That’s a big relief, Trudie.” He looked at me. “Could they have killed Micah, too?”
“Not sure, but probably so. They’ve got them all in custody now.”
Zach laughed. “Oh my God, Trudie. If that’s true, and those guys are off the street, you can relax and live normally again, and I can stop worrying about you.”
I grinned at him. “Yup. Life is good.”
WE TURNED OFF Maine Avenue, and Zach parked in the marina lot on Water Street and began to get out of the car.
“What are you doing?” I asked. “You could have let me out at the curb.”
He walked around the car and opened my door. “Nope. I learned my lesson the last time when I left you at Maybelline’s and before I knew it, the
place was engulfed in flames and you ended up in the hospital. This time, I’m going to be a responsible escort and walk you to your destination.”
“Hopefully, they’ve got those culprits in custody and I won’t need to be escorted all over town,” I said. “That’s getting really old.”
“Besides,” he continued, “while I’m here, I want to check out the seafood selection and prices in the Fish Market, see who’s got the best deals. It’ll save me some time when I come back on Saturday morning to shop for the dinner party.”
I waved to May and Katie when I spotted them at the pier and then turned to Zach. “Okay, you’ve delivered the goods. I’ll see you later.” I gave him a quick hug.
“What’s that for?” he asked.
I smiled and squinted up at him, the afternoon sun high and bright behind him. “For being my friend. For caring about me.”
He grinned back at me. “Of course I care about you. You’re my best bud.”
I turned and headed to the pier. It was strange seeing Katie dressed in regular clothes instead of her server’s shirt and apron. Today, she wore a pink sun dress that draped over her small bump of a belly. Her pale, translucent skin seemed too vulnerable to the hot sun, and I realized I should have brought sun screen.
I needn’t have worried. May pulled a bottle of thirty SPF out of her tote bag and handed it to Katie. “You’re next,” she said, glancing at me.
May’s appearance was the most startling. I was used to seeing her in colorful, floor-length kaftans, which she wore at her restaurant and at home. Today, she wore a black sleeveless tank top and fitted black cropped pants with sneakers. As long as I’d known her, she’d always been slim, but today her arms and legs appeared almost skeletal, much thinner than I’d ever seen them. Had she been eating? I thought back to all the times over the past week that she’d warmed my soul with her comfort foods and sat down at the kitchen table with me to talk. It occurred to me that each time she’d often had only a cup of coffee in front of her. I’d always assumed she had already eaten and was only keeping me company. But had she been eating at all? I’d been so consumed with my own problems that I’d hardly focused on her.
