Death of the Family Recipe (A Scotti Fitzgerald Murder Mystery Book 3)

by Anita Rodgers

  Dan tapped a finger on his shiny desktop. "Would you convict?"

  I shrugged. "Without knowing the prosecution’s strategy and yours, I couldn’t answer that question. It’s definitely not open and shut one way or the other." I shifted in my chair trying to un-wedgie my shorts. "You’d have to put me in the undecided column."

  Dan chuckled and went back to looking pleased. "So you could be swayed?"

  I hunched a shoulder. "Hard to say. If your evidence was compelling and your alternate theory of the case was convincing, possibly." I looked at Joe. "I assume you two have a few tricks up your sleeve."

  Dan sat back in his chair and laced his fingers in front of him. "Anything that bothers you? One way or the other?"

  I nodded. "A couple things. There were two wooden buttons found — one at the crime scene and one in Atkinson’s car, but they don’t match the clothing evidence, and there aren’t any notes about them. Don’t know why, but it sticks in my head. But the big thing is that the baby hasn’t been found. If the cops are right and Atkinson is the killer, he had about two hours to kill Devereaux, remove and get rid of the baby, set up an alibi and report the killing." I shook my head. "That’s a lot to pull off in a couple hours. He didn’t have time to drive any distance to dispose of a body. If he’d dumped it nearby, then the cops should’ve found it by now. Why haven’t they?"

  Dan nodded. "Why indeed?"

  The overly cool room had dried my sweat into a sticky film on my skin, and I wanted to get out of there, so I could go home and shower. I sat up and inched to the edge of my seat. "Also, it’s all so clean. No signs of a struggle, no skin or tissue under the victim’s fingernails, no scratches on Atkinson. If it was a crime of passion the scene should be messier. So, if the D.A.’s is thinking they’ll sell that to a jury, I don’t think it’ll fly. Except for the body and the blood, nothing is disturbed. Whoever did it, had a cool head the whole time. Which makes me think the killer planned it."

  Dan looked more pleased by the second, and I held up a hand. "But don’t start gloating — nothing points to any other suspects either. Atkinson is a computer engineer. He’s probably so organized he color codes his underwear drawer. He’d have the kind of mind that could plan and execute the murder." I shrugged. "The only conclusion that I can draw is that it wasn’t a crime committed in the heat of the moment. It was planned and premeditated, in my opinion." I clucked my tongue. "Whether or not that’s good for your client, is for you to decide."

  Dan leaned an elbow on the desk and rested his chin on his hand. "Just because the police have been derelict in their duties and haven’t bothered to look for other suspects doesn’t mean there aren’t any."

  Surprised, I turned to Joe. "Zelda and Eric are looking for suspects?"

  Joe scoffed. "Hell, no. I got them doing some canvas interviews is all."

  I turned back to Dan. "Then who? There was nothing that pointed to another suspect in that file you gave me."

  Dan flapped a hand. "Anything else bother you, Scotti?"

  I hunched a shoulder. "I don’t think the baby is dead — they’d have found it by now if it were." I looked at each of them. "And if I were investigating this case that’s what I’d be looking for — the baby. Because whoever has that baby will lead you to the killer."

  Dan raised an eyebrow. "Who do you think might have the baby?

  I snorted. "Damned if I know. Atkinson’s partner? His family? Some crazy person who wants a baby?"

  Dan leaned back in his chair and stroked his chin. "Not the biological father?"

  I frowned and thought about that for a minute. "There was nothing in the file about who he was — just a first name. According to your client, he was a one-night stand that Tina had. My guess is that the D.A. agrees, or they’d be turning the town upside down to find him." I shrugged. "Even if Devereaux lied and he was still involved with her, it doesn’t get your client off the hook. It could just provide another motive for the murder — jealousy." I sucked in my lips. "So maybe you should hope they don’t find him."

  Dan leaned forward and put both elbows on his desk. "I’d like you to meet with Spencer. Not alone, mind you, Joe’d be there with you. How about it?"

  I shuddered and shook my head. "I don’t know if I could handle that Dan." I frowned. "And what would be the point, anyway?"

  "Because I want him to. He might surprise you."

  I snorted. "You think he could sway me?"

  Dan shrugged his broad shoulders. "Maybe."

  I smirked. "Really? Are you planning to put him on the stand?"

  Dan tapped his lips with a finger. "Haven’t decided on that one yet."

  I shrugged. "Then Atkinson’s charm is irrelevant."

  Dan dazzled me with another smile. "I’d still appreciate it mightily if you’d consider it."

  Dan was a hard man to say no, to. I pursed my lips. "I’ll think about it."

  <<>>

  I stopped at Ted’s shop, hoping we could share a quick dinner before he went home to work on the kitchen. When I arrived at his office door, his office manager Kathy, had her keys in her hand and her bag slung over her shoulder. "Hi Kath, is he in?"

  Kathy dropped her bag on the desk. "Scotti!" She said it so loudly I stepped back. "Get over here and show me that ring." I held out my hand, and Kathy grabbed it to get a good look. "Gorgeous!. And it looks so perfect on your hand." She smiled really hard. "Are you excited? Wedding’s pretty soon, eh? Wow, that’s fast. I don’t know how you’ll get it all done so quick."

  I frowned at her. "Any reason I can’t go in and see my fiancé?"

  Kathy looked away and reached for the phone. "Let me buzz him."

  I put my hand on the door knob. "Since when do you announce me?" I opened the door and stepped into the office. And the first thing I saw was Ingrid, lounging on the sofa.

  With a little finger wave she said, "Hello Suzie."

  I clenched my teeth and spun toward her. Ted jumped out of his chair and put his arm around my shoulders. "Ingrid was on her way out." He glared at her. "Weren’t you, Ingrid?"

  She smiled smugly and unfolded herself from the sofa. The woman towered over me like an evil comic book villain. "All right Teddy, I guess I’ll be seeing you then."

  Ted glowered. "Goodbye, Ingrid."

  The ice came back into Ingrid’s eyes, but she kept her smile bright and cheerful. She pushed past me, and I got a nose full of Chanel, which made me want to gag. She paused at the door and said, "Nice to see you again."

  "Yeah, too bad I can’t say the same."

  She threw me a look, and I threw it right back to her.

  After the door closed behind her Ted pulled me into a hug. "What a nice surprise. What are you doing here?"

  I ducked out of his embrace and glared at him. "Really? We’re just skimming over the evil ex girlfriend lounging on your sofa part?"

  Ted heaved a sigh, mimed shooting himself in the head. I was not amused and he shrugged. "She just showed up."

  I fanned my arm toward the sofa. "So you invited her into your office?"

  "Kathy put her in the office and told me I had a prospect waiting." He rolled his eyes. "So I walk in and there’s the barracuda, batting her eyelashes and sharpening her fangs."

  I smirked. "She looked pretty comfortable on that sofa."

  "Honey, I warned you about her. She does shit so you’ll draw your own conclusions — usually the wrong ones."

  He had warned me, and she had made me draw my own conclusions. "You were supposed to fix this."

  He pulled me into his arms and hugged me. "Tomorrow, we hire a day security guard. Kathy will never put anyone in my office she doesn’t know again. And if that doesn’t work, I’m siccing Melinda on her."

  I laughed. "Melinda? Not the police?"

  Ted laughed too. "Believe me, Melinda is way scarier."

  "Yeah, you’re right. I’d pay to see that match-up." I him pushed toward the door. "The hell with Ingrid, let’s go eat."

  We went to the
coffee shop across the street and gorged on pot roast, mashed potatoes and cherry pie. Afterwards, we lingered over coffee like we were on a date. "Don’t you have a kitchen you have to rush home to?"

  Ted shook his head and smiled. "Nope."

  I grinned. "Is it done?"

  "Nope."

  "Then what are you so damn happy about?"

  Dave had found a crew that was so eager for work, they agreed to work in two shifts — eight to six and six to midnight. Dave was supervising the day shift and Brett was supervising the night shift. If all went as planned, the kitchen would be done before the wedding. I stroked his hand. "So, your construction days are over?"

  "For now." He wiggled his eyebrows. "And I’ve got nowhere to go until midnight." He whispered in my ear. "Want to have a play date?"

  We paid the check, made a quick stop to lock my car in the shop’s garage and headed to my place. As soon as he parked the car, we jumped out, and Ted scooped me up in his arms. "I hope you don’t think you’re sleeping tonight."

  "Who needs sleep?"

  He whisked me inside where we found Eric and Zelda laying on the sofa watching a movie — surrounded by boxes and luggage. Ted put me down. "Hey guys."

  Eric smiled at me. "Hey roomie."

  I scowled at Zelda. "Roomie?"

  Zelda jumped off the sofa. "Yeah, sorry. I meant to tell you. Just happened so fast."

  I was steamed. Not only was my tiny living room jammed with Eric’s crap, but he’d set up his computer station on my antique dining table. Eric got up and pushed a few boxes out of the way. "I’ll figure out what to do with this stuff tomorrow."

  I nodded but said nothing — although they could probably hear my teeth grinding.

  Ted stepped around me and picked up two suitcases. "Where do these go? Zelda’s room?"

  Eric’s casual smile turned into a frown. "Ah, yeah I guess." He rolled off the sofa, grabbed a suitcase and shuffled behind Ted. "Take it easy with that okay?"

  Zelda shook a fist at me. "How am I supposed to walk through my room now?"

  I shrugged. "The same way I was supposed to walk through my living room?"

  She threw up her hands. "He showed up with all his stuff. What was I supposed to do?"

  I threw up my hands. "Not my problem. You can let Eric walk all over you all you want, but he’s not walking all over me." I pointed to his makeshift computer station. "I agreed to share a bathroom not let him cover my antique table with his crap." I looked back to her. "This is your mess. So if anybody is going to be climbing over shit, it’s you two, not me."

  Zelda glared and folded her arms over her chest. "Fine!"

  I flapped a hand at her. "Fine!" I flopped onto the sofa and giggled. "You could always use the boxes as a sound buffer." My giggle turned into a belly laugh. "So my hormones won’t keep you up?"

  Zelda plopped next to me and snickered. "Shut up."

  I shoved her "You shut up."

  Zelda roared with laughter. "Bitch."

  We rolled on the sofa laughing uncontrollably. Ted and Eric stood in the doorway puzzled. "What did we miss?"

  Chapter Ten

  When Ted closed the bedroom door I jumped on him and we never made it to the bed. Afterwards, we lay on the floor panting.

  Ted backhanded the sweat off his forehead. "Damn, baby. What was that?"

  I hooked my leg over his and nuzzled in closer. "You belong to me." I raised my head and looked into his eyes. "I wanted to make that clear."

  Ted pulled me closer and grinned. "You did. Crystal."

  I climbed on top of him. "I’m not kidding."

  He kissed me. "Copy that, Ted belongs to Scotti."

  "That’s right, and don’t you forget it."

  He reached up and looped my hair behind my ear. "There was never any doubt."

  I smirked. "Some people doubt it."

  He kissed me again. "But they don’t matter."

  "Good." I rolled off him and stood. "Time for cupcakes." I tossed on his shirt and blew him a kiss. "Be right back."

  I went to the kitchen, unlocked the pantry and pulled out six cupcakes, then locked the pantry quickly. Zelda’s nose was so attuned to food that she could wake from a dead sleep to pursue a cupcake — and I wasn’t taking any chances.

  I put the cupcakes, two glasses of milk and napkins on a tray and returned to the bedroom.

  In my absence, Ted had found the bed, and he rubbed his hands together at the sight of snacks. "Oohrah, we loves our grubs."

  He took the tray and I dropped his shirt on the floor, then slid into bed with him. We fed each other cupcakes. "How bad is Zelda’s room with all of Eric’s stuff?"

  He wiped chocolate frosting off my lips with his finger and then stuck it in his mouth. "They can still open the door." He grinned. "Eric was ticked — most of it is computer equipment."

  I bit into a spice cupcake and groaned from the sugar rush. "Too bad. They were supposed to give me a heads up before he moved in."

  Ted smeared chocolate frosting on my neck then licked it off. "You could always move in with me."

  I shook my head. "No kitchen, no move in." I pushed his frosting-globbed finger away. "And quit smearing me with frosting." I wiped my neck with a napkin. "I’m not a cupcake."

  He licked the frosting that I missed from my neck. "You’re my cupcake. And you taste good." I rolled my eyes. He moved the tray off the bed and said, "Speaking of cake…"

  I groaned. "Who wants a cake now? Doesn’t anybody realize that I have a wedding to plan? What is it, your Aunt Myrna’s 50th anniversary?"

  Ted wiggled a finger in his ear. "Easy babe, you’re going to wake all the dogs in the neighborhood." I swatted him, and he laughed. "What I was going to say is that since our birthdays are three days apart, Mom wants to celebrate them together. Okay with you?"

  I hadn’t thought about either of our birthdays since the engagement. Mine was Friday and Ted’s was on the following Monday. We were getting married in three weeks and birthdays didn’t fit into the crazed pattern of our lives. But what was one more party? "Sure, if we keep it simple. What did Melinda have in mind?"

  Ted shrugged. "Probably just family, a cake and some funny hats."

  I smirked. "What, no cruise? No theme? No funny costumes?"

  Ted tweaked my nose. "It’s best if you roll with it, honey."

  "Okay. But ask her to keep it simple. We’re already having the wedding at her house. I feel like I’m imposing on her."

  Ted swiped the last cupcake off the tray. "You have met my mother, right? Just let her have her mom fun, okay?" I nodded then burst into tears. He put his arms around me. "What’s wrong?"

  "Nothing. I just thought that it should be my mother planning this stuff. Birthdays, the wedding, the baby…" I wiped my nose with a napkin and shrugged. "Never mind. It’s just my hormones screwing with me."

  Ted pulled me closer and stroked my hair. "It’s not your hormones honey. Of course you’d want your mom to be here. I’m sorry she can’t be."

  I snuggled against him and sighed. "Me too."

  He tipped up my chin and said, "But everybody who loves you will be there. All your friends, me, Zelda and Joe." He laughed. "I can’t wait to see him in a tux."

  I made a face. "We’re not doing tuxes."

  "The hell we ain’t."

  "But."

  "No buts. Melinda is tuxing everybody up and there’s no point in arguing."

  I patted his chest. "You’re right, I’m being an ungrateful brat. Without Melinda, we’d be getting married in a tacky Vegas chapel."

  Ted took my hand and kissed my ring finger. "In three weeks, you’ll be my wife." He wiggled his eyebrows. "Are you scared?"

  I shook my head. "I thought I would be, but after I said yes, all the jitters went away."

  His eyes got dewy and his voice low. "Because you finally realized that we belong together?"

  I started to tear up too and whispered, "Yes."

  Ted kissed me, and we started to slide do
wn, but I pushed him back. "Wait a minute, there’s something else we need to talk about."

  Ted groaned and swished his lips. "Now? What?" Quickly, I brought him up to speed on my part in the Atkinson case and the meeting with Joe and Dan that afternoon. He listened politely, but his body was tense and his jaw tight. "And?"

  I flinched. "Dan wants me to meet with Atkinson."