“It’s simple. We find somebody he cares about and we threaten them. Gramps always succumb to your demands to protect the people they love.” Ace laughed, checking his teeth. “It’s in their job description.”
Chapter Twelve
“You ready, Rubes?” Ellie leaned out of her apartment door.
Ruby grunted. “Quiet.”
“Oh, sorry. I forgot about the secrecy crap.”
Shaking her head, Ruby placed a finger to her lips.
Ellie adjusted her black winter hat. “Marissa, Ruby says to be quiet.”
Marissa pressed her lips together. Ruby almost snapped her fingers, but caught herself. She checked the hall one more time, then motioned with her hand. They crept out of Ellie’s apartment and down the softly lit hallway.
Ellie and Marissa had dressed for the occasion: black shoes, pants, turtlenecks, and hats. Ellie couldn’t find ski masks, so she’d painted their faces and hands with black craft paint. Ruby suppressed a giggle. They might not believe or even want to listen to her theory about the murders, but both her friends were excited to be involved in a second covert operation. This time they would investigate Richard’s and Anne’s rooms. Ruby prayed they’d find something.
“You supposed to be detectives or criminals?” she whispered.
Ellie’s black-rimmed eyes narrowed. “We are private investigators, and don’t you forget it. My secretary will bill you for our services in the morning.”
Ruby and Marissa laughed, and this time Ellie gestured for silence. Ruby clamped her mouth shut, her chest rumbling from withheld merriment.
Soon, they reached Richard’s door. Ellie tried the knob, but it was locked. Ruby sighed. “I am such an idiot. Of course they would lock it.”
Ellie grinned. Her black cheeks crinkled and the thick paint began to flake. She reached into her pocket and withdrew a silver key. “Lucky for you, I am not an idiot.”
“Good girl,” Marissa said.
Ruby’s heart sped up. “Oh, Ellie. Richard’s room key?”
“Even better.” Ellie ran her hand the length of the key like she was Vanna White displaying the next item. “The master,” she drawled out.
Ruby’s jaw dropped. They would be in trouble if they got caught sneaking around the Palace like this, but stealing the master key? That could be a valid reason for expulsion. Ruby didn’t want to be cast out of her home again. “How did you get that?” she asked.
“How dare you question me?” Ellie retorted.
Ruby folded her arms across her chest, staring until Ellie squirmed. “Where did you get it?”
Ellie opened her eyes wider. Ruby scowled more fiercely. It was a staring contest, and she wasn’t about to give in. She wasn’t going to be dragged down with Ellie this time.
Finally, Ellie blinked and tossed her hands in the air. “Oh, heavens,” she said with a huff. “You’re so immature. I asked that cute little maid, Sara. She’s been my biggest fan since I gave her a fat Christmas bonus. We just have to get the key back to her in the morning.” Ellie’s whitened teeth flashed against her black skin. She inserted the brass key into the doorknob.
Ruby heard a sound in the hallway perpendicular to the one where they stood. She jumped. “Ellie, Rissa,” she hissed.
Ruby linked her arm through Ellie’s and clutched Marissa’s hand, strolling down the hallway. A moment later, Jennalou rounded the corner. When she saw Ellie and Marissa, she gasped and looked like she was ready to run. Then recognition flared in her eyes and she glared at both of them.
“What is wrong with you three?”
Ellie smiled, and more paint flaked off her face and onto the recently vacuumed carpet. “Whatever are you talking about?”
“What are you doing?” Jennalou demanded.
“Just out for an evening stroll,” Ellie said.
“Inside the building? Wearing black clothing and paint?” Jennalou tossed her stringy hair. “Are you thieves planning to break into my room again?”
“Nah.” Ellie chuckled. “It only took us a few minutes to realize there was nothing worth looking at in your hovel.”
Marissa giggled.
“Stay away from my room.” Jennalou glowered.
“Don’t worry.” Ellie gave a wide smile. “Next time we get that bored, we’ll go watch the seagulls poop.”
“Oh!” Jennalou seemed to struggle to come up with a good response. Finally, she grinned and flipped them off.
“Well, I never.” Ellie pressed a hand to her heart. “How crude.”
Marissa’s giggles turned to a loud laugh. Ruby couldn’t help but join in.
Jennalou lowered her finger and brushed past them. “You three are… you are psychos.”
Ellie laughed loudly. Jennalou whirled to give them one last scowl before retrieving an antibacterial wipe and brushing at her ruddy fingers. Ruby wondered how the ornery woman had any skin left, the way she constantly scrubbed her hands. Finally, Jennalou stomped out of sight.
Ellie turned to Ruby. “Now that’s scary. The quacker just called us psychos.”
“Takes one to know one,” Ruby said. “I wonder why she never turned us in to the managers.”
“She knows they wouldn’t believe her after the hundreds of complaints she’s decorated their desks with.” Ellie scratched at her cheek, leaving a trail of pink skin under the black.
“Or is she the murderer?” Ruby pivoted and started back down the hallway, not waiting for Ellie’s snide reply. “C’mon, let’s get in that room before anyone else comes.”
They hurried to the door, squeezed through, and locked it behind them. Ruby flipped on the lights, then paused for a moment. Everything was exactly as Richard had left it. Ruby’s fingernails dug into her palm. Oh, Richard. He’d watched over her since they were children. She could still see him slamming Timmy Weezer into his high school locker and telling him exactly what would happen if he ever made crude comments about Ruby again.
Richard had been her protector whenever Michael wasn’t around to fulfill the job. Michael. His name could still make her feel lightheaded. Just the thought of his arms around her this afternoon made her heart race.
Ellie poked through Richard’s stack of mail. She held up Maxim magazine, with a barely-clothed brunette decorating the cover. “Thought Richard couldn’t see.”
“Ooh la la,” Marissa said.
Ruby snapped back into the present. “Put that down.”
Ellie dropped the magazine. “What makes a pretty girl think the only thing she has to offer is her cleavage? Sad.” She picked up several credit card offers. “Think there’s anything worth looking through here?”
“Who knows? You search through those. Marissa, look in the kitchen. I’m going to look at his medicine.”
Fifteen minutes later, they exited Richard’s apartment no wiser than when they had entered. The few liquid meds Ruby found in the bathroom didn’t smell like Richard’s neck had the night he was killed. There was nothing unusual in his fridge or cupboards, and his mail only depressed them. An amazing man, reduced to bills and a girly magazine. Not one card or letter in the stack. Ruby’s temperature flared. How could children and grandchildren so easily forget and neglect someone who loved and cared for them their entire lives?
“To Anne’s?” Ellie asked.
Ruby slipped from the depressing apartment and trudged down the hall. “Might as well.”
“Buck up,” Ellie said, then locked the door behind Marissa and hurried to catch Ruby. “Maybe we’ll find some sort of connection.”
“To what?” Ruby stopped and glared at her. “We found nothing.”
“Stop raining on my sightseeing adventure—I was trying to be upbeat.”
They silently climbed the stairs to the third floor and padded down the hallway. Ellie unlocked Anne’s door and opened it.
Ruby entered the apartment and gasped. “No.”
Ellie closed her eyes, then opened them and tossed her head like an angry bull. “Spit shined. Dang mana
gement has to make a buck. It’s all ready to rent to the next poor sucker.”
Marissa shook her head. “Don’t let everyone forget about me as fast as they have Anne.”
“What a silly thing to say.” Ellie gave Marissa a one-arm hug. “You’re not going anywhere, and we haven’t forgotten Anne.”
“But we haven’t been as concerned as Ruby.” Marissa pointed at her.
Ruby walked around the empty apartment. One week and everything of Anne’s was gone. She touched a hole in the wall where Anne’s favorite Thomas Kincaid painting had hung. She brushed her fingers along the smooth marble countertop that had always held a candy dish filled with Smarties and Dum-dums for Anne’s grandchildren. Ruby’s throat tightened. Her friend was really gone. She clenched her hands. “This has to stop.”
“What has to stop?” A deep male voice asked from the open doorway. “You three breaking into apartments?”
Ruby spun to face him. Her heartbeat quickened. “Leave us alone.”
“I don’t think it’s safe to.” Michael’s blue eyes twinkled. “What did you find in Richard’s apartment?”
Ruby backed up a step, her mouth open. “You’ve been stalking us?”
“Don’t act so shocked.” Michael splayed his hands, the epitome of innocence. “I’ve been doing it since you were fourteen.”
Marissa giggled.
Cackling, Ellie scratched at the peeling paint on her nose. “Thank you, sir, for saving me from my misery.” She made a grandiose gesture to Michael and tugged Marissa past him. “I think we’ll leave you two alone.”
“Get back here,” Ruby demanded. “You can’t leave me. We haven’t found anything yet.”
Ellie’s eyebrows arched, and webs of lines appeared in the paint on her forehead. She looked around the spotless room. “You keep at it. Wake me up when you’re ready to go confront the murderer.” With that she and Marissa exited the room and slammed the door behind them.
Ruby turned to stare at Michael. He shrugged and smiled that lopsided grin she used to love. Used to.
The door swung open and Ellie poked her blackened face in. “Hey, don’t forget to lock the door. I’m the responsible party here, you know?”
The door banged shut and Michael laughed. “Responsible for breaking and entering?”
Ruby let herself smile. “She takes her job seriously.”
Michael moved two steps closer. She didn’t back up as she normally would have. She thought of his arms around her this morning and yearned for that feeling again. Michael didn’t disappoint. He reached out and enfolded her in his strong embrace. Ruby inhaled his scent. It wasn’t the spicy cologne she remembered, but soft and musky. She leaned into his firm chest. She should’ve pushed away, but her body wouldn’t respond to her brain’s commands.
“What are you doing, Rubes?”
She forced herself to pull away. “Trying to figure out who murdered Richard and Anne.”
Michael nodded. “Okay. I’ll help you.”
“You’ll help me? You believe me?” Tears welled in her eyes. She should’ve known she could rely on Michael.
He held onto her elbows. “I might not be a hundred percent convinced that Anne and Richard were murdered,” he said with a smile. “But you’re absolutely beautiful. How could any sane man pass up an opportunity to be around you?”
Usually, she would’ve responded to such a comment with anger. Instead she found herself laughing. “Compliments will get you everywhere.”
His grin widened. “Oh, I hope so.”
***
Chanel bent over a patch of Shasta daisies. They were spreading too fast. She dug out a few with the shovel and transplanted them to a bare spot in the garden. A bit of grass poked out of the dirt. She ripped at the roots and tossed it into her bucket.
“The last gardener they had here didn’t look nearly so nice leaning over.”
She straightened, her back stiff. “Maybe you should stop checking out people’s backsides.” Whirling, she came face to face with Jake. “Oh. I, uh…” She ducked her head, looking at him from underneath her eyelashes. “I didn’t know it was you.”
He arched an eyebrow. “If you’d known it was me, would you have shown me your backside again, or bit my head off more cleanly?”
Chanel laughed. “Try your line one more time and we’ll find out.”
“Did they add gardening to your job description?”
“I just enjoy it out here.” She pointed at the mini forest behind them and the lush vegetation surrounding them. “How could you not?”
He nodded, staring at her face instead of the foliage. “How could you not enjoy looking at such beauty?” He gestured down the path. “Want to walk?”
Chanel dropped her shovel and gloves, and Jake offered his hand.
They walked past patches of aspen and pine trees interspersed with dogwood and lilac bushes and seasoned with perennial flowers. Chanel’s fingers tingled from Jake’s touch. She loved the secluded, sprawling garden that encompassed half of the Palace’s backyard and blended into the wooded hillside that formed the southern canyon wall.
“How’s your cell phone?” he asked, drowning out the song of the robins twittering above them.
“Dead.” She gazed up at him. “Yours?”
“Working like a champ. Thanks for asking.” Jake grinned, his nose scrunching like a little boy’s. “How ’bout I take you to town and buy you a new phone.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Bit of sarcasm there?” Jake asked.
“Yeah. A bit.”
He pulled her to a stop. “Which company are you with? We’ll drive to Logan and buy you a new phone today. A better one.”
Chanel shook her head. “It was a company phone. The managers already took care of it.”
“Oh.” His face fell. “Could I buy you something else to make it up to you?”
A soft laugh escaped her throat. “Just itching to spend some money?”
Jake shrugged, the warmth of his gaze negating the shade trees protecting them from the sun. If he kept looking at her like that, she’d need to reapply her Lady’s Speed Stick.
Ruby, Ellie, and Marissa were suddenly in front of them. Jake released Chanel’s hand and smiled at the older women. “Look who found us,” he said.
Ellie cocked an eyebrow and said to Marissa, “I love these two. He’s got more sex appeal than James Bond, and she feeds right off of it.”
“Ooh la la. C’est chouette,” Marissa murmured.
“So, Chanel,” Ellie said, “tell me what you and Jakey have been accomplishing hiding out in the garden. A little nibbling on the neck, perhaps?” She raised her eyebrows.
“Ellie!” Ruby said sharply.
“What are you ladies up to today?” Chanel asked.
“Oh, come on,” Ellie said. “Nobody cares what we are up to. You and Jake give us a little show—that’s all we need. You don’t have to share all the gritty details.”
“The filthy details?” Marissa asked, then covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh my.”
“Enough,” Ruby said.
Jake folded his arms across his chest and studied the top branches of a nearby maple tree. Chanel rubbed her birthmark.
Ellie grinned wickedly. “Relax, Chanel, we don’t want all the filthy details, but we would appreciate you pretending we aren’t here. We like watching you flirt with Jakey.”
Ruby snapped her fingers, and Ellie stuck out her tongue.
“You can stop now, Aunt Ellie,” Jake said.
Chanel noticed Jake staring at her fingers as she rubbed her birthmark. She forced herself to clasp her hands together.
Ignoring Ellie, Ruby turned to Chanel. “We were just planning a pool party at Jake’s house.”
Jake arched an eyebrow. “Really? And when were you going to inform me of this party?”
“After we planned it,” Ruby said with a sweet smile. “Would you come, Chanel?”
“Uh, well…” Chanel looked arou
nd at all the expectant smiles. “Of course, I’d love to come.”
When Jake grinned at her, Chanel knew she’d answered correctly.
“Good,” Ruby said. “Ellie decided we needed a break from all the stress of the murders, and for once I agree with her.” Ellie tried to interject, but Ruby kept talking. “Is this afternoon at three okay with you? Then we’ll be back in plenty of time for dinner.”
“That sounds great,” Chanel said. “Can I bring anything?”
“Just yourself,” Ruby replied.
“Just your string bikini,” Ellie said.
Ruby snapped her fingers again.
“What?” Ellie said, feigning innocence. “Jake already said he’d like to see her in it.”
Chanel shook her head. “I was raised to dress modestly.”
“Good one, Chanel,” Marissa cheered.
“Don’t be so boring,” Ellie said. “You can repent when you’re my age. When you look like that” —she gestured with a small hand— “you need to show it off.”
“Weren’t you just saying yesterday that young girls shouldn’t show off their bodies?” Ruby asked.
Ellie spoke out of the side of her mouth. “That was on those magazines. I’m trying to look out for my boy.” She winked at Jake.
Chanel glanced at him. He was grinning at the interchange. She blushed and promptly excused herself, not wanting to offend Ellie by telling her to take a vacation far away. “I better get back to work. I’ll see you all in a few hours,” she said. Then she added as a parting shot, “In my tankini.”
She walked away to a chorus of goodbyes. Her friends’ eyes burned into her back. When she turned a corner in the path and was hidden from their view by a dense cluster of pine trees, she released a breath.
Footsteps pounded after her. She slowed to let him catch up. Seconds later, Jake was by her side—alone. She turned to face him.
“Sorry about Aunt Ellie.” He jammed his hand through his dark hair.
Chanel sighed. “That’s just Ellie. I shouldn’t let it embarrass me.”
Jake reached out and touched her pink cheek. “I like that it embarrasses you. And you did a great job battling her.”
Poison Me Page 10
