The other voice was muffled and still sobbing. Marissa heard the word, "Sorry". She tried moving around the opening in the door, but her view was limited to the wall and nothing else.
Zack sighed loudly. "'Sorry' won't cut it if we get caught. I still can't believe this situation. It's a nightmare. Don't you have any brains at all?"
A woman's voice shot back. "You never expressed an interest in my brains before." Marissa furrowed her brow as she tried to determine the speaker's voice which sounded vaguely familiar. She definitely approved of the way the speaker stood up to Zack. He had a tendency to mow down people who didn't agree with him.
Marissa heard steps and the woman spoke again. "Zack, stop it. You're hurting me." The sound of glass breaking filled the air and Marissa hurried back to Louise's desk.
"Louise, I don't know what the heck is going on in Zack's office, but it sounds like he's hurting the woman in there with him. I'm going to call Adam." Marissa picked up the phone and dialed security.
Louise looked at her when she hung up the phone. "You'd better make yourself scarce for a little bit, honey. If Zack finds out that you've listened at his door and called security, he's likely to fire you or worse. Why don't you come back in a few minutes and act like you just got here? I'll handle things from here on out."
"But I need to talk to Adam, too. The protesters are back, and I don't want to have to get new display cases again."
Louise rolled her eyes. She made little waving motions to shoo Marissa back into the store. "You give new meaning to high maintenance. Come back in five minutes. Everything should be settled by then."
Marissa left the offices and walked back the long aisle to the bridal department. She strolled through the rows of china, watching the entrance closely. Adam went in the office area, and Marissa went back to her browsing. She winced as she saw the pattern that she and Dan had picked out when they were happily engaged. She wanted more out of her life than just making a spouse happy these days. Once upon a time, she'd been content to stay at home and cook for Dan when he came home from work. Now she'd experienced work and deadlines and the thrill of her own paycheck. She didn't want to give up those things just to be married again.
Marissa took a deep breath and walked back to the office, measuring her steps slowly. Louise still sat at the desk, typing. "He's alone now. You can go on back."
"You don't seem very upset. Does this happen all the time and I've just missed it?" Marissa slid her fingers over Louise's keys.
"Don't. I'd prefer not to say anything. I like working here, and I really need the money." She pushed at Marissa's hand with her own stubby yellow fingers. Marissa had never noticed the tobacco stains before. Another smoker, but one too short to have attacked her in the garage.
Marissa sighed as went back to the office. She was getting as suspicious as the police. Zack Martin stood behind his desk, looking out the window.
"Nice view of the grocery store." Marissa slipped into the office and closed the door behind her.
"Is this necessary? I'm not feeling well."
"I'd like to think so. First, I wanted to tell you that I need to expand the advertising budget for the Perchance promotion. We got another shipment in yesterday, and I want people to know that we have it. Westgate is at a disadvantage since all the other stores have had it in stock since the murder. I spoke with Shelly at Tri-County, and they've sold over thirty cases in the past week. So, I was thinking of some print ads, maybe a quarter sheet in The Enquirer for ten days. Would that be all right with you?" Marissa paused to take a breath in the speech she had prepared last night.
Zack didn't turn around. "Sure, that's fine. Just tell Louise, and she'll take care of all the details."
She had never dreamed that Zack would be so uninterested. Usually, he was all questions, challenging assumptions, and fascinated with every details. "How much can we spend? I'm worried about the Christmas sales figures with all this — mess going on." Marissa stuck her tongue out at her boss, since he wasn't looking. The solution to one of the problems in cosmetics had filled her with childish glee. "We have the potential to be number one in the district, but that's only if we don't scare the customers away."
"A full page ad for two days in the newspaper and then eight days of the quarter page. If that's all . . ."
"Actually, it isn't. I found the missing cases of Perchance this morning."
"What?" Zack turned around slowly. His face was colorless except for a red hand-shaped print across his left cheek. His eyes were dull, and she couldn't read any expression in them. Marissa shuddered as she watched him. "You found it? That means we called the police and alerted the media for nothing."
"Maybe 'found' was the wrong word. The cases were returned with an unsigned note. Nicole was working this morning, but she didn't notice the cases being returned, which isn't surprising. “
"Nicole is a great employee, but that's not the point. Why would someone go to all the trouble of stealing eight cases of cologne only to return them?"
Marissa shrugged and averted her gaze from Zack's lifeless eyes. She noticed a small red stain on his collar, lipstick perhaps? She tried to keep her mind from running over the possibilities of Zack's guest and on the conversation. "Maybe they got scared. The police think that the thief and the killer are the same person. Maybe the thief returned the goods to stop the police from investigating further."
Zack's head drooped. "Whatever. At least we have the stock back. You might want to notify the police, especially since you seem to be on very good terms with them."
The hair on the back of her neck stood up, but she didn't speak for a minute. "The protesters are back again today. How should I handle it?"
"Call security. I don't want a repeat of the other day. We have enough problems. Get them out of here no matter what it takes. You're right about scaring customers. You're going to have to excuse me now." Zack turned around to face the window again.
Marissa stood up quietly and left the room, keeping the door ajar as she did.
She stopped at the secretary's desk. "Louise, you better keep an eye on Zack. Something is definitely not right with him. He's scary." Marissa related the details of the promotional budget to the woman.
Louise stopped typing and looked up, her gray eyes watching Marissa. "I already know the details, but I'm not going to tell you anything. So don't even ask."
"Well, I have to ask. I need to talk to security. Is Adam around?" Marissa watched the woman's eyebrows go up. "The protesters are back. I want to have someone watch them or run them out of the store or something. I have visions of one of those nuts attacking my display cases again."
"Then you'd better get down there, and stop asking me questions. I can call security and see if they can't send someone down."
Marissa gave the woman a forced smile and walked towards the escalator. She slowed her steps as she puzzled over this development. What was so important that everyone was covering for Zack? After being the center of attention for days, Marissa felt neglected. No one even seemed to care about the return of the cologne or the picketers in her department. She almost tripped as the escalator cascaded into stairs and her foot dropped to the lower step.
Nicole was still watching the men with the placards when Marissa returned. "I'm glad to see you. Isn't that the same guy who almost killed us with the crowbar?"
Marissa craned to look. "No. This guy is blond and skinny with ears like an airplane ready to taxi down a runway. Mr. Crowbar was dark and stocky with little tiny ears. Has anyone from security been here yet?"
Nicole pulled apart a piece of register tape, leaving the little paper remnants on the counter. "No, but I wish they would."
"It'll probably be Ellen. Adam dragged someone from Zack's office, and from what I can piece together, he must have taken her home although Louise was no help at all."
"Did you see who it was?" Nicole's eyes were open so wide that Marissa noticed the red veins around the outside.
"It was a woman
, but I never got to see who."
"Oh, I see." Nicole turned around quickly and started to wipe the confetti from the counter.
"Nicole, who was it? I can tell that you know something. Spill the beans." As Marissa put a hand on the clerk's shoulder, she felt Nicole's body stiffen.
"Please, don't make me tell. I'm already in trouble with Brenda. I don't want more trouble between us." The girl's lip trembled as she faced Marissa.
Ellen Perrino appeared and started talking to one of the protesters. The three men shuffled away from the counter and towards the door. Ellen rubbed her palms together and walked towards the counter. "Another crisis averted. You seem to have more than your share, you know?"
Marissa smiled. "What exactly did you say to them to make them leave like so fast? Maybe I could use it on unwanted suitors."
"I told them that if they didn't leave, I was going to get one of the sales reps to start applying Perchance samples to them until they did, that simple. It's hard to have righteous indignation and smell like citrus. So how about some lunch?"
Chapter 17
"Okay, so spill it. What's going on around here?" Marissa looked at her friend across the table.
Ellen gently set her fork down in the four-way chili piled high on a white china dish. "Marisser, never tell me to spill something when I'm eating chili. Especially when I'm wearing white silk." She caressed the fabric of her blouse. Ellen also wore a navy blue pleated skirt that made her look trimmer. Marissa wondered what the occasion was. "I can't believe I eat this stuff now. When I first got here from Boston, I hated this place. Now I'm here once or twice a week."
The pair sat in the Skyline Chili restaurant in the mall. The small eatery was filled with shoppers who ate the combinations of chili, cheese, and spaghetti first made by a Greek immigrant who had come to Cincinnati in the 1940s. His recipe for chili was more closely guarded than the secrets of eternal youth.
"I think it kind of grows on you. Some things in this town are easier to take than others. Besides, you should have ordered the coneys like I did. They're a little neater. You learn these things as a mother." Marissa took a bite of the chili-covered hot dog. "You're trying to change the subject. Exactly what did I walk in on in Zack's office this morning, and why is everyone covering for him?"
Ellen cut a small pile of cheese and spaghetti and quickly moved it to her mouth. "I can't tell you everything that goes on around here, especially stories about the boss. Security is supposed to keep things discreet, not make things worse."
Marissa wiped off her mouth and threw the napkin on the table, knocking an oyster cracker from the plastic bowl. "Why is everyone so afraid of Zack? Is it because of his temper? I'd never seen him react like he did today. I was trying to talk to him about the department, and it took everything he had to hold in whatever was bothering him."
"It's not fear, it's pity. He's having a rough time right now." Ellen stuffed some more chili spaghetti in her mouth before Marissa could ask another question.
"He gets mad, abuses some woman that's having an affair with him, and you feel sorry for him. I bet you had a pity party for Jack the Ripper, too. What's going on here?"
Ellen's head pivoted quickly to both sides and then leaned over the table. "The woman you heard was Brenda. The girl from Bridal."
Marissa's napkin fluttered to the floor unnoticed as her eyes widened. Was everyone having secret affairs around the store except for her? Kantor's was the original gossip factory. How could she have missed a rumor like that? "The one who screwed Steve Douglas in the conference room. She sure has been busy. So has Zack contracted HIV from her?"
Ellen rolled her eyes. "Why don't you go ask him? 'Excuse me, Zack, but did you and the sleaze from bridal sleep together before or after she slept with someone else who just happened to be HIV-positive?' After he fires you, he might give you a honest answer."
"Okay, so maybe you or Adam can't ask, but what about the police?" Marissa leaned forward and whispered. "This gives Zack a great motive for killing Steve."
Ellen used her fork to cut more spaghetti. She seemed to spend more time than necessary studying her plate. "Motive? When did you get to be a junior detective? In case you've forgotten, a murderer also needs means and opportunity."
"I don't have to be Nancy Drew to figure out that Steve was not a well-liked individual. Now we have to consider Zack as a serious suspect. He has a motive for killing Steve, and he smokes."
"He only has a motive if he knew before Steve was killed that Brenda had messed around with him and that Steve was HIV-positive. Zack would have to be a real moron to admit that. In fact, judging from his reaction today, I don't think he knew about the incident at all."
Marissa pointed an oyster cracker at her friend. "He could be acting. He has plenty of experience at hypochondria. I mean this is murder. We're talking death sentence or life imprisonment if he gets caught."
Ellen smiled. "If he got HIV from Brenda, he won’t know for weeks. There is no immediate test for it, though a doctor can prescribe some antivirals in the meantime. Besides, when did you get to be so suspicious? I seem to remember you complaining about the police's attitude. 'Is everyone guilty until proven innocent around here?'"
"I've had plenty of experience with lying men. You'd be surprised at how easily they can fake it. Trust me." Marissa popped the cracker into her mouth.
"Even if Zack was lying, why? Brenda didn't get intimate with Steve until after lunch, just before the photo shoot. So how could Zack have known to poison him at lunch?"
Marissa shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Maybe he had a hunch. Brenda doesn't look like the faithful type." She arched her back and stuck out her chest to mimic the clerk.
"Be serious. The police have been looking into people who knew Steve when he lived in Cincinnati. Those people are about the only suspects who could have prepared the nicotine and given it to Steve during his visit to Kantor's. This wasn't a spur of the moment crime. Whoever killed Steve Douglas planned this out carefully and that included the time to come up with nicotine as the method for murder and a way to stump the police as to how it was done."
Marissa took a sip from her water glass and looked carefully at it. "Did the police ever figure out how Steve got the poison?"
"They never got the chance to analyze his food and drink. Someone had the room cleared before the police had time to investigate."
"Oh." Marissa stared harder at her water glass, pretending to watch the ice melt. Sometimes she just had to go that extra step and get herself in trouble. When would she learn to keep her mouth shut? "Do the police still think that the murderer called maintenance to clean the room?"
Ellen's head snapped up. "Why the sudden interest? What exactly do you know about this?"
Marissa sighed and set down her glass, not meeting Ellen's glance. She played with a piece of shredded cheese on the table while she weighed her options here. She wouldn't learn the benefit of silence today. "Ray West, Steve's manager, called maintenance to clean the room. He also took the cases of Perchance from the stockroom. I figured it out when I logged the new shipment of cologne — I decided to record the numbers from the boxes. The case numbers matched the number in Steve's jacket pocket. Anne thought it was a phone number, and so did I, but it turned out to be a case of Perchance. So when I saw that Steve knew the order numbers of the cases of cologne, I knew that he or his manager had to be the one who took it."
Ellen reached across the table and slapped Marissa on the arm. Marissa looked down to inspect the red spot. "That's part congratulations and part annoyance. When were you going to tell me?"
"I told Zack this morning, but he didn't care. I only figured it out last night. After that, I wasn't sure who to tell."
"How about the police? They've only been asking questions for a week now. This is a high profile murder case, the kind of case careers are made of. It's not some back-alley stabbing that can be pushed aside in a few weeks. This case will have to be solved, or heads are going t
o roll down at the station. Kantor's might decide to get new security at the store."
Marissa shrugged. "They wouldn't do that. You weren't even here when Steve was killed. I don't want to help Bandarra. I want to see him squirm. If he doesn't know who killed Steve, I'm happy."
"You seem pretty certain that West didn't do it. How can you be so sure?"
Marissa thought she saw something cross her friend's face, but she couldn't be sure. The expression had evaporated faster than cheap hairspray on a rainy day. "He was so — open about his part in the whole thing. He's trying to drag out the investigation so he can make more money. I don't think he's going to kill off his star client. West likes money too much for that."
Ellen led Marissa to a panel of doors and headed outside. She opened her purse and pulled out a cigarette. She lit it and inhaled deeply. "You'd be surprised at what people do. When I worked in Boston, the store manager used to go out after work and dress in casual clothes. It turns out that he was taking the clothes from the store and wearing them out. The bag he brought in every morning was empty. The store was out thousands of dollars, but nothing could be proved because it was done a small amount at a time."
Marissa wrinkled up her nose. "What are you trying to say? You think Ray killed him, because he was stealing from Steve and Steve found out about it and was going to fire him?"
"I don't know. I'm just trying to tell you not to rely on intuition or feelings. You need to concentrate on the facts to solve a crime." Ellen knocked the ashes from her cigarette into the tinfoil ashtray.
"The facts are that someone fed some nicotine to Steve, and he died. How are you going to solve a crime from that?" Marissa popped more crackers in her mouth. Was it her imagination, or was Ellen making fun of her?
"There's a lot more to this case than that one particular fact. There's the note to Steve, the fact that everyone ate the same food and drank the same drink." Ellen set her cigarette down to tick off her fingers. The smoke rose in tendrils that tickled Marissa's nose. "Don't forget the missing cases of Perchance, Steve's rendezvous with Brenda in the conference room when Adam was supposed to be watching him, and the attack on you."
Love Stinks Page 12
