Dead and Breakfast

by Lisa Rene' Smith

  “I’m on my way—be there in thirty if Houston traffic cooperates.”

  Zoe hung up the phone not knowing what to make of it. Her father was gone one day and this?

  “Oh, daddy,” she said aloud. “Why is this happening?”

  Exactly thirty minutes later, she turned onto Heights Boulevard to see two squad cars parked in front of her dad’s place and Merilee perched on the front steps like a watchdog. Where was Mischief? If anything happened to him…

  By the time Zoe came to a stop in the driveway, one of the officers was crossing the lawn with Marilee glued to his heels.

  Her friend’s words tumbled out in a clumsy attempt at introductions until the cop held up his hand.

  “Ma’am, are you Zoe Macmillan?”

  “Yes, what’s happened?”

  “There’s been a break-in. It looks like they came through a back window and went straight for three things.”

  “That’s what I hear—a drum and two swords. Anything else?”

  “Not that we can tell, but we need you to take a quick inventory. Now, Miss Macmillan, I understand a new group is coming in tomorrow?”

  “That’s right. We’re sponsoring a belly dance convention at the George R. Brown. It’s actually an international convention that’s too big for us to pull off by ourselves, so we’re working with numerous dance studios across the United States. We’re just one of many bed and breakfast facilities and hotels in the area set up to house the registrants.”

  “Will all the activities be at the convention center?”

  “As far as classes, panel discussions, and performances go, yes. We have one floor reserved and that includes everything— sales booths, food—regular convention ware.”

  “That means you’ll be away from your residence most of the time… Let’s back up. How many days will this go on?”

  “Three. Are you saying we should have someone stay here?”

  “Not necessarily, but the intruder may be watching you. I’d take some precautions.”

  “All right, consider it done.”

  The officer scrutinized Zoe—unusual to see anyone so composed in a situation like this.

  “Why do you think they took those specific items without going through the rest of the house?”

  “You don’t know they didn’t take anything else, do you?”

  “No, but your assistant doesn’t think so. What I need you to do is give the house a quick once over. Do you usually leave the drum and swords in the front room?”

  “No, but since we’re expecting a dance group tomorrow, I set up some common areas for my guests before I left this morning. That particular room is the largest and some of the performers will probably gather there to play the drum and dance with the swords.”

  “I see.” The officer looked like he just crossed the threshold of another world. “Okay, then, I’ll also need a list of the people coming in for the convention—the ones staying here and if you have it, those staying at the other B & B’s. Another thing, Miss Macmillan, it would help to have a list of guests who just left too.”

  “If you’ll hold on, I can give all of it to you now.”

  After making arrangements to get an inventory to the precinct the next day, Zoe turned to Merilee. “Where’s my baby?”

  * * * *

  Zoe and Merilee rushed into the house screaming for Mischief, the Doberman, grand protector of the premises. Everyone made fun of his name, but it suited him. About that time, an impatient bark sounded from the butler’s pantry. When they opened the door, Mischief rushed out bringing multiple packages of flour and sugar with him.

  Merilee doubled over laughing. “I swear, Zoe, that dog of yours.”

  “I know, but at least he, they, whoever the hell broke in here, didn’t hurt him. Come here, you big whoosh.” She didn’t need to call him—he was all over her.

  Zoe sat on the floor looking up at Merilee. “The crew is coming in about ten in the morning. We have our work cut out for us.”

  “You got that right.”

  “Listen, I’m going to call Doug and see if he can give us a hand.”

  “I was wondering when you’d get him involved.”

  Zoe raised an eyebrow. “So, all right, I like him.”

  “Did I say anything?”

  “You didn’t have to. Anyway, why don’t you take our friend here outside so he can get rid of some of his energy. After I talk to Doug, I’ll check things out.”

  * * * *

  Doug Nelson owned the construction company that converted Mr. Macmillan’s turn of the 19th century house into a more contemporary Queen Anne Bed & Breakfast. After renovations were complete, Zoe’s dad invited Doug for dinner to celebrate and asked Zoe for the same night. His plan worked—they were immediately attracted to each other, but there were problems— past relationships left deep tire marks on both their hearts that were hard to erase. So, they played tag with their emotions. Even though Zoe was unwilling to admit how much she cared for Doug, it didn’t stop her from praising his magical transformation of this treasured jewel of the past.

  Zoe was finishing the last of her inventory when she heard Doug’s truck pull to the back of the house. Relief flooded over her when she saw the giant man walk up the back steps. She rushed downstairs flying out the door into his arms, almost knocking him down.

  “Well, I’m glad to see you too.”

  “Oh, Doug, I…”

  “Hey, c’mon now. It’s going to be all right. Fill me in.”

  Rubbing Mischief’s ears, Doug didn’t say a word until Zoe finished.

  “Are you missing anything else besides the three items?”

  “Not a damn thing. Go figure.”

  “That’s what I’m trying to do—figure out why only those items were taken. It doesn’t make sense.”

  “Not to me either unless someone around here doesn’t approve of belly dancing and is making a statement.”

  “A pretty rough statement if that’s the case.”

  Zoe grabbed his arm. “Doug, I’m worried and Dad’s gone for three weeks. What if we have some kind of nut on our hands?”

  Doug wrapped her in his arms. “Calm down, baby. Let’s go in, grab Merilee, sit down with a good bottle of wine, and figure this out.”

  “Sounds good, but it can’t be for long—tomorrow is right around the corner.”

  * * * *

  Zoe’s dream shattered into a thousand pieces—she and Doug, a seashore wedding, flowers in her hair…

  “Miss Macmillan?”

  “Who’s asking?”

  “Officer Sutton, HPD. I was at your home yesterday.”

  Zoe regretted her abruptness. She’d have to get her act together to run this ship like her father. “I am so sorry. Of course I know who you are. Do you have news?”

  “No, but I was wondering if any of your other belongings are missing.”

  “Not a thing as far as I can tell. I planned to call you later, but we have a busy day ahead of us here.”

  “I know you do, but Miss Macmillan . . .”

  “Make that Zoe, please.”

  “Zoe it is then. Can you think of anyone who might harbor a grudge against either you or your father?”

  “No, absolutely not. My dad is a stand up guy and I haven’t had anything happen to me that would make me suspicious of anyone.”

  “Give it some thought. Maybe an old boyfriend or someone you noticed hanging around some recent performances. Another thing, I’d like a list of everyone who has access to your home. ”

  “As far as the boyfriend thing goes, I’ll think about it, but the second request is easy. I can give it to you now if you’ll give me a minute.”

  Zoe ran through the names of the staff, cooks, cleaning and landscape people, adding Doug, his secretary, Rachel, as well as Merilee and herself.

  Signing off, Zoe looked in the mirror. What a mess—a major overhaul was definitely in order. As she opened the door, she heard Merilee moving around in the kitchen.
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  “Hey, why didn’t you wake me up?”

  “I was going to when the phone rang. Grab some cereal and then we better give the rooms a double check. Zoe, I need a list of dancers and the rooms you want them in.”

  “Rooms? What?”

  “C’mon, shake the cobwebs. We took care of everything last night but assigning rooms. Your dad labeled each one, thank God, so it will be easy to direct them.”

  Zoe twisted her face. “What would I do without you?”

  “What indeed.” Merilee poured some cereal in a bowl, showered it with cream, and shoved it in front of Zoe. “Here, eat.”

  “All right already. Let me get my list first and while I’m doing that, you can write down the rooms for me, names and sizes, but make it simple okay? Large or small will do it.”

  Zoe knew she’d have trouble managing without Merilee. As her friend told her so many times—she might be dynamite on the dance floor, but put paperwork in front of her….

  She placed the guest list in front of her assistant. “Okay, Miss Smarty-pants, give me the list of rooms. One thing’s for sure—I want the largest one for Phaedra.”

  “Is she bringing that big hunky partner of hers?”

  “Yeah, they make a great team, don’t they?”

  “He’d make a great team with anyone, but back to business. The largest room, the Hibiscus, is theirs. They’ll love it. It’s the one with the huge old-fashioned tub and the walk-around shower.”

  “Enough, Merilee.”

  “I’m just saying... Anyway, moving right along. Who’s next?”

  “Salome.”

  “Salome in the Palm Room. Next.”

  “Leila.”

  “Leila in the, hmmm, the Oleander.”

  “Fakir.”

  “Man, woman, or beast?”

  “A very healthy man.”

  “About time. Let’s put him in Bird of Paradise. Fitting don’t you think?”

  “You’ll like him—wait and see. All right, next we have Fatima.”

  “Put her in Azalea.”

  “Gotcha. How many more?”

  Zoe skimmed the list. “Actually only one, Altheda.”

  “Good thing. We’re running out of rooms. We’ll put Altheda in Lily and that leaves you in the Rose, me in the Daisy, and one extra.”

  “What did my dear old dad name that last one?”

  “Zinnia.”

  “My God, Merilee, is there any rhyme or reason why he picked these particular flowers besides Rose which I know is for mother?”

  “He’s your father, you tell me.”

  “I don’t have a clue, but don’t you think Cleopatra, Tutkanhamen, or Nefrititi would be better than these crazy flowers?”

  Zoe cleaned the table and marched toward the computer. Merilee headed her off.

  “Forget new names—no time. I’ll make up a diagram with the guests and their assigned rooms. Why don’t you go over the rooms once more and make sure everything is in order. Then, by the time you get ready, our guests should start arriving.”

  “Man, are you bossy.”

  “That’s why you pay me the big bucks—or not. Now, scoot.”

  Zoe looked around for Mischief. “Where did you put my baby?”

  “Out back in the old butler’s quarters. You don’t want him pouncing on your dancers, do you?”

  * * * *

  Phaedra and Ismail arrived first followed by enormous amounts of luggage. Zoe hadn’t seen them in five years and she admitted her dance technique suffered for it. Their New York studio was too far away and since they traveled the four corners of the globe during the summer imparting wisdom to their subjects—a whole year, then another, and another was gone. She used to envy their glamorous lives, but after commuting a few hundred miles, she realized living out of a suitcase wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

  Momentary shock invariably overtook her every time she saw Phaedra, whose dark beauty dimmed every other woman’s presence. Her raven hair, flawless complexion, and deep green eyes crowning an exquisitely sculptured body was enough to make every woman jealous. On top of that, physical beauty wasn’t alone in Phaedra’s magic cauldron—her personality bubbled like a freshly opened bottle of Champagne.

  After the usual hugs, Zoe turned her attention to Ismail. He might play Phaedra’s support for a minute but not much longer. In Zoe’s eyes, Ismail could have walked in either Alexander the Great’s or Ulysses’ shoes. Now, however, he was in her dad’s bed and breakfast and the white tee shirt adorning his powerful physique and harmonizing with skin tight jeans suited him. Although she preferred his dance garb of tight black pants topped with an open vest that allowed chest hair to play tag with multiple silver chains. Of course, he wasn’t bad in a tux either. Ismail’s arms interrupted her thoughts as he surrounded her in a light hug.

  Zoe glanced at Merilee over Ismail’s shoulder. She was smitten.

  Turning her attention back to Phaedra, “I’m so glad to see both of you. You’re hard people to catch, you know.” Not waiting for a response, she went on. “Anyway, I can’t wait to relive good times. Now, though, I’m sure you’d like to unload your things. Merilee will show you to your room and after you settle in, come down, and we’ll have some refreshments. The others should be arriving shortly.”

  * * * *

  Two more hours passed before Zoe and Merilee breathed a collective sigh of relief—everyone present and accounted for.

  Merilee grabbed Zoe’s arm and maneuvered her into the panty.

  “Why didn’t you give me a heads up and remind me about Ismail?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “About how absolutely, positively gorgeous he is.”

  “Careful, girlfriend, Phaedra won’t like you salivating, but while we’re secluded among corn and beans, I want to remind you to downplay the robbery, or I should say burglary.”

  “My, aren’t we precise.”

  Ignoring the remark, she went on. “What I’m saying, there’s no need to get everyone stirred up. I have a friend who’s bringing over a couple of drums and swords. No one will be the wiser.”

  As they opened the pantry door, Fakir walked into the kitchen area.

  “Well, ladies, you don’t have to go into the pantry if you want to be alone.”

  “Get out of here—you know better than that.”

  He smiled and stretched to increase his height. The man had the heart of a giant and the body of a Lilliputian, but he couldn’t complain. Because of his diminutive size, he could pull off more dance movements than most men and many of the female dancers yearned to partner with him. He preferred going solo, but if he had to partner, it was always tiny, petite Leila.

  Zoe walked over to him running her fingers lightly up his arm. “Looks like you’ve put on a little weight since the last time I saw you, lover.”

  “Watch your mouth.” He pushed her away from him. “Maybe I could say the same for you, but uh-uh, you look great. Merilee, why don’t you get in this crazy business of ours? We could use a flaxen hair beauty like you to brighten our ensemble.”

  Merilee’s face turned as red as Zoe’s hair. “Go on with your bad self, but if I could knock off about two inches, I’d be your gal.”

  Fakir turned to leave when Zoe called him back.

  “Fake?”

  He frowned. “Do you have to call me that? I hate it.”

  “Sorry. I need to talk to you about something. Come in the pantry with me.”

  A smile spread across his face. “Now you’re talking, my beauty. Merilee, join us for a threesome.”

  “Better not. All the brain trusts can’t be gone at the same time. Go ahead. I’ll hold down the fort.”

  After Zoe confided to Fakir about the burglary and what the officer said about having someone around, he volunteered to get some security. When he heard about Doug, he agreed to work with him.

  About that time, Phaedra came running into the dining room screaming for Zoe.

  Merilee headed her of
f. Phaedra was like a bloodhound. If she saw Zoe and Fakir coming out of closed doors, she’d be suspicious and it wouldn’t be of the break-in.

  “Phaedra, what’s the matter?”

  “Where’s Zoe?”

  “She’s out of pocket. Can I help you?”

  “Someone’s been in our room. Ismail and I put all our things on the bed for the lessons today. We came down for coffee to take back to the terrace. When we got back to the room, our zills were gone.”

  “Gone?”

  “Merilee, don’t be dumb. Our zills were g-o-n-e kaput, vanished, gone.”

  “Phaedra, I don’t think anyone would take your zills…”

  “They damn well did. They are not in our room; we looked everywhere.”

  “Hold on. I’ll find Zoe and get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, you do have other zills, don’t you?”

  “Of course, that’s not the point.”

  Merilee thought the best defense at the moment was to play dumb as Phaedra said.

  “Are your initials engraved in the missing sets?”

  Phaedra struggled to keep her anger contained. “Yes, Merilee, they are engraved, however, I’m sure the thief is not running to the nearest pawn shop. Anyway, find Zoe and ask her to come to our room.”

  Phaedra had just gotten out of sight when Zoe and Fakir turned the corner into the dining room.

  Merilee gushed. “It’s happened again.”

  “What?”

  “Sit down. You’re not going to believe this.”

  Zoe winked at Fakir. “Well, I’m sure not going to believe it if you don’t tell me.”

  “It’s happened again.”

  “And again I ask you—what?”

  “Phaedra and Ismail’s zills have been stolen. Phaedra is fit to be tied and I don’t blame her.”

  “Merilee, start at the beginning. Where were Phaedra and Ismail when this happened?”

  “According to her, they arranged all the things they would need for classes on the bed. They came down for coffee to take back to the room and when they got back, their zills were gone.”

  “My God, what’s going on here? I’m going out to the butler’s quarters to call Officer Sutton.”

  Merilee bit her bottom lip. “Hurry, Zoe, I don’t think I can go another round with Phaedra.”