“Pity,” said Bebe.
I grinned at her. “I’ve got to tell you, Reggie would have been a prime candidate for murderer if it weren’t for the fact that he was busy assaulting me and being arrested at the time.”
“We heard,” said Bebe, her eyes blazing with anger. “Honestly, to think anyone would have suspected you of those thefts just blows my mind.”
I gave her a smile of pure affection. She was the one I always counted on to have my back.
“So if Reggie was the thief, he couldn’t have been the murderer, right?”
“True. Though who knows? Maybe he took time off to drown Marilyn before coming into the pantry to bully you.”
“I think the timeline is a little crowded for that much action. Anyway, he’s in custody, so if evidence turns up, he’s easy to find.”
“Okay, but we know for sure he wasn’t the snake charmer. Right?”
“Right.”
“So how about Carlton?”
We all looked at each other and shook our heads. “Nah. He was obviously crazy about her for some strange reason,” I said. “I think we can count him out.”
“Are we sure the snake charmer was a woman?”
We looked at each other and back again. “I say yes. I can’t imagine a man dancing and posing like that.”
“I don’t know,” Jill said archly. “I’ve been to some pretty crazy cross-dressing dance clubs.”
“You have?” We both stared at her.
She preened a bit. “I can’t help it if I’ve dated a livelier bunch of men than you two. Believe me, darlings, I’ve had some interesting experiences.”
I looked at Bebe and made a face. “She’s all talk,” I said. “Don’t listen to a word she has to say.”
We all laughed. It was all in good fun. But we quickly got serious again.
Bebe took a deep breath and looked at us each in turn. “Well, how about Deb? She couldn’t stand Marilyn. She felt threatened by her in a hundred different ways. She made no bones about it.”
“Which is just why I don’t think it could have been her,” I said. “Besides, look at her. She’s distraught. And she loves her father. She wouldn’t risk earning his hatred.”
Jill nodded, but added, “Don’t forget, people who murder are not necessarily thinking clearly. They sometimes just go nuts and do things completely against their own interests, just because they are so ruled by passion. Or hatred as the case may be.”
“So we’re back to the snake charmer.” Bebe sighed.
“And we’re pretty sure the snake charmer was into something unethical or illegal,” said Jill.
“How do you figure that?” Bebe asked.
“Well, she was operating as a distracting element. Watch the sparkly thing, not my hand in your pocket. Don’t you think?”
I nodded. “I can’t help but think it was something like that. But who was it?”
“What about Deb’s friends?” Bebe offered.
“The three girls?” They both started to turn to look at them and I whispered, “Don’t you dare turn and stare at them. They’ll know we’re talking about them.”
They both stopped and looked a bit chagrinned, but when I mentioned the silver shoes, they gasped and both automatically turned to look at Pam. She noticed and colored quickly, looking so guilty, we all three stared at her for a bit.
“I just can’t believe it,” Bebe said. “She’s so sweet.”
“Just because she had on the same shoes doesn’t prove anything,” I reminded them. “Still, it has to be noted.”
By then we’d all turned back and were staring at something on the floor between us, so were unprepared when Deb descended on us.
“Hey guys,” she said as she plopped down in a chair across from us. “You’re trying to get to the bottom of this, aren’t you?”
I looked up at her and nodded reluctantly. “We don’t want to bother you with this,” I said quickly. “You’ve got enough on your mind right now.”
She leaned forward. “Exactly why I’d like to get my mind on something more constructive.” Reaching out, she put a hand on my arm. “But first, I have to apologize, Mele. And beg for your forgiveness.”
She had tears in her eyes. I covered her hand with my own.
“I…I just couldn’t tell my father why I’d hired you. I know it was an awful thing to do to you. Please, please forgive me.”
“Forget it,” I said. “We’re on to new crimes now.” I tried to smile but it didn’t come easily.
She nodded. “Thanks,” she said simply, then looked at the others. “So lay it on me. What have you got so far?”
I took a deep breath and started over, dismissing one person after another, avoiding the obvious. But Deb didn’t.
“Okay, what about me?” she said. “Am I a suspect?”
I sighed. “Of course you are. You’re the one who thought she was a crook from the beginning. You couldn’t stand her. You hated that your father wanted to marry her, wanted to make her your stepmother. You have to be a suspect.” I grabbed her hand and held it tightly. “But that doesn’t mean I think for one minute that you did it. You know that.”
Deb closed her eyes and looked pained, but she didn’t say a word more about it. “What about my father?” she said softly. “How do things look for him?”
I shook my head. “Your father was involved in what was going on with me as far as I can see. I don’t know how he would have had the time to do it. Or the motive.”
“Motives.” Deb tried to smile. “Yes, motives.”
“Okay Deb, who do you think might have done it?”
She shook her head, avoiding my eyes. I had a feeling she had something to say, but didn’t feel this was the right time to say it.
“Deb,” I said softly, “tell us about your three friends.”
“My friends?” She looked startled.
I nodded and stared hard into her eyes. “Are all three of them in love with your father? Or just the one?”
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
“I know that you’re very close to them. Like sisters, someone said. And I know that they’ve spent an awful lot of time here with you and Carlton over the years. Knowing him, he was charming at all times, and probably got a kick out of wowing them now and then. Am I right?”
Deb looked miserable, but nodded.
“Tell us about them, Deb.”
She looked at each one of us, then looked down at her hands, clenched together in her lap. “They’re wonderful women, each one of them. Pamela Chang is a brilliant pianist. She’s won lots of college level competitions. Her parents were killed in a plane crash and she was raised by an elderly grandmother. She…she volunteers at a local theater group, teaching age group classes. Katers is really named Katherine Barthonini. Her father is in prison for embezzlement from his company. Her mother is suffering from a long-term illness. She’s working on a Masters Degree in Child Development. Sonja has a degree in Drama. She has three brothers and she’s the youngest child in her family. All the family resources were used up for the boys and she pretty much had to fend for herself. Now she has a job at a television studio in Burbank. I think she’s sort of a receptionist, but she gets to meet a lot of interesting people. Still, I think she comes up here to stay with us in order to get that feeling of family.”
I nodded. “She adores your father.”
Deb half smiled. “Doesn’t everybody?”
I was about to comment when I noticed that a young police officer was motioning for Deb to join her father and go inside for her statement. Jagger was with Carlton and he seemed to need the support.
I looked around. The place was emptying out fast. They must have found a way to expedite. Deb’s friends were gone. But we were still sitting on our folding chairs and waiting. It had been a long day and I was about at the end of my energy.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s go in and see if we can’t make an appointment to do this tomorrow at the station.”
We gathered our things and started toward the library. We moved briskly and didn’t ask permission, so the officer guarding the entrance seemed to assume we had a right to go in. He didn’t stop us.
“Good,” Jill whispered. “When we get to the next guard, you distract him. I want to make a quick trip to the kitchen before we go.”
“Didn’t you get a sample of the croissants?” I asked her.
“I did not.” And she resented it—her lower lip stuck out in rebellious annoyance.
“I thought you were going to get the whole tour treatment, samples included.”
“No. We missed the connection and they were between batches again. This time, no Missy Nice Girl. I want a croissant!”
Bebe was laughing and I was shaking my head. “Hope you don’t get caught,” I whispered to her as we approached the guard on the outside of the library. “They’ll make you go to the back of the line.”
“I think we were already pretty close to that,” she muttered back.
I smiled at the guard and Bebe joined me. His gaze didn’t flicker off of us and Jill had her sweet escape. Meanwhile, we were escorted into the back of the room and told to wait to speak to the officer in charge.
From the looks of it, that was Roy at this point. I didn’t see Captain Stone anywhere. Neither did we see a reason to stay in the back of the room where they’d put us. Instead, we edged closer and closer to where Roy was interviewing Carlton and Deb. Jagger was sitting a bit back from the others, as though he were only partly involved. And that was probably the way he wanted it right now.
We got close enough to hear just as Roy presented Carlton a slip of paper and asked him whether he had written the note found on it.
“This was found in the pocket of the white bath robe Miss Greer wore to the swimming pool.”
Carlton was shaking his head. “Yes, that’s my handwriting. And I guess I wrote it. But I couldn’t have. I never wrote a note like that to Marilyn. I swear.”
Deb leaned in. “What does it say?”
Carlton hesitated, then handed it to her.
She read it out loud. “’Hey ready to do it again? Meet me at the pool in five.’” She winced at the clear implications and handed it back. “Not very romantic,” she said stiffly.
Carlton was shaking his head. “No,” he said. “I never sent her any note, much less…..” His face went thoughtful. “Wait a minute. I did write that note.”
“Oh Daddy.”
“No. Don’t you remember? I wrote it to you.”
Deb stared at him in shock.
“No, it was nothing like that. You were going to help me take some measurements at the pool. I pushed that note under the door of your bathroom when you were taking forever with your makeup the other day.”
Her face lit up. “Yes! Of course. We were working on renovation plans.”
He nodded, handing the note back to the police. “Anyone who gave this note to Marilyn, hoping to lure her to the pool to kill her, must have found it in the trash or on the floor of the bathroom.” He ran a hand through his thick hair. “They thought they could implicate me, didn’t they? The bastards.”
“The note might have been left in the pocket of the robe days ago,” Roy suggested. “Miss Greer might have found it there, thought it was from you and headed for the pool. The murderer might not have even planned it. He or she might have noticed her going to the secluded area of the pool, and realizing Carlton was busy with other business in another part of the house, took advantage of the opportunity to catch Marilyn by surprise.”
Carlton shrugged, looking dreadfully sad. “Who knows? She’s not here to tell us.”
That was the moment when Roy noticed us creeping closer and closer. “Hey, you’re not supposed to be here,” he pointed out, frowning.
“Lieutenant,” I said formally. “It’s after midnight. We thought you might be willing to let us go home and show up tomorrow at the station to give our statements. None of us knows anything.”
He stared at me. “Are you kidding me?” he said sharply, though his eyes were twinkling. “You probably just about have this whole case locked up. Don’t you? And you think you should be able to get away with keeping all those answers from us?”
I gaped at him, not sure if he was laughing at me or with me.
His crooked grin gave me the answer to that one. “Oh go home, the lot of you. Come in tomorrow by noon.” He looked at Deb. “I think Captain Stone has been questioning your friends in the next room. I don’t expect he got much and they’re probably on their way to bed.”
He stood. “Sorry for your loss, Carlton, Deb.” He even nodded at Jagger who was getting to his feet too. “We’ll try to get this wrapped up as quickly as we can. But you all can go.”
We all breathed a sigh of relief, but before we turned away, he added, looking straight at me, “And if any of you have any thoughts on this matter, any suspicions, any sudden insights, give me a call. I’d appreciate it.”
He handed out his card to each of us. I took it even though I knew all his numbers by heart. One quick smile and I turned away.
But I put a hand on Carlton’s shoulder before I left, and gave him a squeeze. “I’m so sorry, Carlton,” I said.
Then I gave Deb a quick hug and we turned to go. And all the time I was wondering if I shouldn’t give Roy the heads up about the snake charmer and the fact that I was afraid Deb’s friends knew more than they were admitting right now. But that could wait until morning.
I needed sleep!
Chapter Ten
Well, as to sleep, I didn’t get much. It was pretty hard conking out after all that had happened. What a day! I had my first paid private investigator work… By the way, I hadn’t seen anything definite on what I was getting paid yet. Hmmm.
But anyway, besides being a P.I., I was a robbery suspect, then I had a fight with the robber and fell down a long, long way, yet survived. Foiled the robber’s escape. Got kissed by Roy. Got ghost transported by Dante—for the first time. That was something that really stood out. And was now poised to help solve a murder.
Maybe.
If I ever got any sleep.
I must have finally drifted off, because when my phone rang at 6 in the morning, waking up was really hard.
It was Deb.
“Mele, I need help.”
“What?” I was instantly wide-awake. “What’s happened?”
“Nothing, really. It’s just…listen. Last night I completely got the sense that you had some suspicions about my friends. Suspicions about the murder. Maybe. I hate to even say that, but…”
“You’re right,” I said. “I do have some questions that need to be cleared up.”
“That’s what I thought. And I wish you would get over here fast, because they’re getting ready to leave.”
“Leave?” An electric shock shot through me.
“Yes. They say they were really bummed by what happened and they want to go. Sonja’s going to drive them all down to LA with her.”
“Didn’t Captain Stone tell them not to leave town?”
“They say he didn’t. And maybe that’s right, because he didn’t really have any reason to suspect them I don’t think. Did you tell Roy anything?”
“Not really.” Oh, I could just kick myself for not doing it! “I was planning to talk to him this morning. But Deb, I really don’t have much to say. I can think things all I want, if I have no proof…”
“Okay, listen.” For the first time I noticed that she was sort of whispering. “I’ve been talking to them and they’ve told me some things that I want to tell you before it’s too late. Can you come over?”
“Right now?”
“Right now. Or they’ll be gone.”
“Okay. I’ll be right over.”
“No. Wait. I have to tell you first, because it will be hard once you’re here and they’ll be hanging around.”
“Tell me what?”
She took a deep breath. “Okay. We hardly got
any sleep and I’m a little punchy, but here’s the story. They were the snake charmer.”
“’They?’ There was only one.”
“No. Pam was pretty upset and we stayed up almost the whole night talking, and finally, she admitted to me, they took turns.”
“What?”
“See, here’s what they did. Sonja has this great touch for the dramatic about her and she went to a film studio where her cousin works, looking for a costume. He pulled out the green body stocking and she knew right away that it would be perfect. She really wanted to stun everybody with it. And you have to admit, she did.”
“Oh yeah.”
“She brought it when she came last week but she kept it a secret from me. She showed it to the others. They all wanted to wear it, it was so amazing, but there was only one. So they decided to take turns wearing it to surprise me.”
“I see.”
“If I’d stopped to think I would have realized that only one of them would have known the secret passages in this house that let them come and go without being noticed. There’s a direct link to the bedroom suite where they’ve been staying.” She sighed. “So Pam wore it first.”
“And that was when I noticed the silver shoes.”
“Right. Then Katers came out and took a turn around the floor, but she says she was too embarrassed by it all and she went back pretty quickly. And finally, Sonja was the one who took her performance to the top of the dais.”
“She not only took it to the dais, she took it to the limit,” I noted. “And she was the one who was barefoot.”
“Yes.”
“The problem was that Pam and Katers were doing it as a lark and hoping to join us in a big laugh when it was done.” She sighed. “Sonja seems to have had other goals.”
“Like impressing your father.” Now I could see how intent she must have been to attract Carlton’s attention. And he didn’t pay any attention at all.
“My father, who didn’t stick around to watch her.”
“That must have hurt.”
“And made her mad.” Deb sighed. “Sonja gets mean when she gets mad.”
“Oh.” Yes, we were talking about a murder here, weren’t we? Motives, always the motives. And about who might have done it and why. But Sonja? It couldn’t be. Could it?
Mele's Ghostly Halloween Caper: Plus Sami's Story by J.D. Winters and Dakota Kahn (Destiny Bay Cozies Mysteries Book 6) Page 7
