by Diane Weiner
Susan hopped into her blue Prius and entered the address of the Omni into the GPS, patting herself on the back for knowing how to do this. It was a beautiful, clear day. The sky was as blue as a robin’s egg, the air was crisp and dry, and the sun made the snow glisten. It was her favorite kind of winter day. She turned on the radio. They were playing a Maroon 5 song. Adam Levine was a far cry from Pavarotti but she enjoyed his songs. An hour later, she pulled in front of the Omni. Sunlight reflected off the glass skyscraper. She gave the valet her key and walked through the ornate lobby doors. Wow, this place is beautiful, she thought. The floor was marble and the walls were decorated with colorful modern artwork. Black leather sofas and love seats formed a conversion pit in the center of the lobby. She walked up to the front desk.
“Can I help you?” said the woman behind the desk.
“Good morning, I was wondering if you remember seeing this woman. I dropped my wallet right in front of your hotel a few weeks ago and she picked it up and returned it to me. You know, that’s unusual for city people. Anyhow, I had taken a photo of your beautiful lobby doors and, low and behold, when I went home and saw the pictures, she was in that one. I know I thanked her already, but when I got home I was thinking maybe I should have offered her a little reward.”
Susan held her breath. She showed her the picture on her phone. It was actually from one of Susan’s concerts. “I guess I dropped my wallet while taking out my camera.” Susan surprised herself with how elaborate her lie was. She hoped it would be believable.
“No, I’m sorry I don’t recognize her,” said the uniformed ‘customer welfare specialist.’ That was her actual title. Susan was surprised that whole thing could fit on a badge.
“Thanks, anyway.” Susan decided to try the ‘uniformed room hygiene specialists.’ She took the elevator to the tenth floor. Even the elevators are ornate, thought Susan. She brushed her hair in the mirror, feeling suddenly self conscious. Susan worked her way down, showing Vicky’s picture to any of the cleaning women, bell hops, and room service workers she saw in the hallway. No one remembered seeing her. Susan couldn’t help feeling disappointed even though she knew coming into this that it would be a long shot.
Susan got back into the car and tried the same routine at the Hilton. The lobby was less ornate than the one at the Omni, but it was impressive none the less. She tried the restaurant first. This time she hit pay dirt. The waitress in the café remembered seeing Vicky.
“Yes, she came in here a few times with a handsome, dark haired guy. He had these great dimples––a real charmer.” The waitress handed the phone back to Susan.
Dimples, thought Susan. Handsome? Dark haired? She scrolled through her photos and found another concert picture. This one had Antonio in it.
“Was this the man you saw by any chance?” asked Susan.
“Yes, I’m pretty sure that’s him.”
Now she knew Antonio was either boy toy or macho man. Susan wasn’t sure how this information would be helpful but she had a hunch it would be. She had to figure out a way to relay this new info to Lynette without getting a lecture about snooping.
“Thank you,” she told the waitress. It was long past lunch time and Susan was starving. After enjoying a spinach salad and French onion soup, she left a generous tip and headed back home.
Chapter 27
Antonio and Hayley lived in an upscale neighborhood in the newer part of town. On Saturday night, Susan and Mike arrived at the Petrocelli house carrying a platter of cut vegetables and artichoke dip. Susan’s emerald green dress complimented her stylish blond hair. Mike wore a striped dress shirt and gray slacks. The invitation said semiformal dress which Susan knew he’d interpreted as not having to wear a tie. His wavy brown hair had just been cut and Susan could smell a hint of aftershave. She loved how he looked when he was dressed up. Mike knocked on the cherry wood door.
“Come in. So glad you’re here,” said Hayley.
“This house is beautiful,” said Susan.
“Thanks. We really worked with the builder to get it just the way we wanted it. We had the fireplace moved from the living room to the den.” Hayley pointed to a door on the other side of the living room. “We added a Jacuzzi and a walk-in closet to the bedroom, and we upgraded to granite countertops in the kitchen. I’ll have to give you the tour later.”
“Well, it looks lovely,” said Susan. “I hope you enjoy many happy years here.”
Hayley looked gorgeous in a low-cut silver dress. Her hair was sculpted into an up-do. She took their coats and ushered them into the living room. Susan put the vegetable platter on the table which was filled with miniature quiches, egg rolls, Swedish meatballs, and bacon-wrapped scallops. Classical music played softly in the background.
“What can I get you to drink?” she asked
“I’ll take a glass of white wine,” answered Susan.
“I’ll have the same,” answered Mike.
Susan was glad he was savvy enough not to ask for a beer. Somehow, beer just didn’t go well with canapés and bacon wrapped scallops.
“Hi, I’m Margaux. I’m Hayley’s mom,” said a classy-looking woman in a black cocktail dress. Susan thought the designer dress a bit over the top for semi-formal. She extended her hand. Susan could definitely see the family resemblance, especially around the chin area.
“I’m Susan and this is my husband Mike. I worked with Antonio.”
“Glad to meet you. I’m so happy that Antonio finally got a principal job. No one can support a family on a teaching salary.”
Susan was thinking that you indeed could if you could live without up-dos and granite countertops, but she refrained from voicing her opinion. Just then Theresa and Jody arrived.
“What an incredible spread,” said Jody. “And this house is gorgeous.” They assembled heaping plates of food and came into the living room.
“Hi, Susan. You look great. We miss you at school. My kids don’t come back from music as excited as they did last year. They miss you,” said Theresa. She sat on the leather couch next to Susan.
“Thanks for telling me that,” said Susan. “I miss them too, although I can’t say I’m not enjoying all the free time I have now.” I’ve lots of time to paste pictures into scrapbooks and organize the refrigerator, thought Susan. How did I ever survive having the mayonnaise thrown into the crisper drawer?
“You’re lucky you’re gone,” said Jody. “Kids today are crazier every year. Their parents are too. I wish these parents weren’t so clueless. If it’s your kid you should know if they are heading into problems, don’t you think?” She took a bite of her egg roll.
“Yes, I saw a lot of changes in the years I taught. When I first started teaching most of the kids wouldn’t dare talk back to a teacher or a parent. There’d be maybe one bad seed in the bunch. It’s all technology’s fault. They just play those video games and text all day long,” said Susan.
“I think it’s because families don’t eat dinner together anymore,” added Theresa.
Antonio came over in the middle of this conversation.
“Don’t worry, I’m cleaning up the behavior now that I’m in charge.” Antonio chuckled but Susan knew there was some truth in that. Or, at least Antonio believed it was true.
“I’d like to propose a toast.” Hayley’s father clinked a fork against his champagne glass. He was tall and handsome with the same dimples that Antonio had. Hayley had hired a helper for the party. She came around with a tray of champagne. “To Antonio and his new position. I knew it would happen eventually.” Glasses were raised and the guests drank to Westbrook Elementary’s new principal.
“Come get some dinner,” said Hayley. The appetizers had been replaced with trays of lasagna and carved ham. There were dinner rolls still warm from the oven, and the butter was shaped into little rosebuds. Susan and Mike helped themselves and sat down at a folding table covered with a linen tablecloth.
“This is delicious,” said Mike. “I haven’t had ham in a while.
”
“It sure is. I love this lasagna. You know me and Italian food; we’ve had a love affair all my life,” said Susan.
Jody and Theresa set down their plates and had seats at the table with Susan and Mike. “These rolls taste like they just came out of the oven,” said Theresa. They cleaned their plates while conversing. All four of them went back for seconds.
“Excuse me, but I need the ladies room,” said Susan. She rose from the table and felt how full she was. “I’ll be back in a minute.” Susan tried the bathroom door but it was locked.
Hayley walked by. “There’s another bathroom in our bedroom,” said Hayley. It’s just at the top of the stairs on the right.”
Susan found the bedroom without a problem, but when she opened what she thought was the bathroom door, it turned out to be a walk in closet. She flicked the light on. It’s at least as big as a bathroom, thought Susan. She couldn’t help rifling through the clothes on Hayley’s side of the closet. Hayley had impeccable taste. Lynette would have called this snooping, but really it was just research. Who knew when she would have a fancy banquet to attend? Suddenly something gold and sparkly caught her eye. On the floor, behind the clothes, was a gold sequined purse. It looked familiar but Susan didn’t think it was Hayley’s. This was a little gaudy for Hayley’s taste. Besides, Hayley always carried a fabric bag. Susan had even ordered a Vera Bradley diaper bag for Hayley’s baby shower because she’d heard Hayley mention loving that designer on more than one occasion. I wonder what that’s doing here? She knew it was wrong to keep snooping but she couldn’t help it. She unclasped the purse. Inside was a leather wallet. It still smelled new. Susan found Vicky’s driver’s license and credit cards inside. Oh, my God! she thought. This means that either Hayley or Antonio killed Vicky. She found an Epi-pen in the purse as well. This would have saved her, she thought. Either Hayley or Antonio was so cold-blooded that they’d put peanuts in the cupcake and then made sure Vicky would die from anaphylactic shock.
Which one, though? Antonio benefited from Vicky’s death because he got her job. It was difficult to come by a principal job in Westbrook. And he was having an affair with her. Maybe she threatened to tell Hayley. Then again, maybe Hayley found out about the affair and took it out on Vicky. Hayley could be very calculating. She could picture her executing such an elaborate plan. I’m sure she hasn’t been getting a lot of sleep with a new baby. Maybe she even has post-partum depression. Maybe she snapped from exhaustion. And she did enjoy baking. Her chocolate brownies were to die for. Oops, that was not a good choice of words, thought Susan. It was impossible to determine which of the Petrocellis had stashed the purse here.
Susan suddenly heard voices in the hallway and quickly thought to close the closet door and turn off the light. How embarrassing would it be to be caught in here? She held her breath and her heart was pounding. Oh no, now I’m sweating in my good dress. She hoped she wasn’t in the process of creating underarm stains but then she remembered she had bigger issues. Someone was coming into the bedroom. She heard talking.
“Oh, here it is. I must have left it in here. The doctor said to use it with every diaper change because the baby’s rash was pretty bad.” Susan recognized Hayley’s voice and hoped she didn’t remember having sent her in here to the bathroom. “No problem. I’ll take care of him,” Susan recognized the young voice as that of the hired helper. Then she heard the bedroom door close and it was quiet again. Susan let out her breath. She gently opened the closet door, went down the stairs and rejoined the party.
Chapter 28
“But, Mike, there’s no plausible explanation as to why Vicky’s purse was in the closet. Either Hayley or Antonio has to be responsible for Vicky’s murder.”
“There you go with your overactive imagination again. Maybe it wasn’t even Vicky’s purse,” said Mike.
“Then why were Vicky’s wallet and Epi-pen inside?” asked Susan.
“Well, maybe Vicky borrowed the purse from Hayley and returned it, forgetting her things were still inside.”
“Now who has an overactive imagination? Vicky would have checked inside before returning it,” said Susan.
“Let’s get some sleep. You can discuss this with Lynette in the morning.” Mike nudged Ludwig off the bedspread and climbed under the covers.
Susan was anxious to tell Lynette, even though it meant admitting she’d been snooping. It wasn’t intentional snooping though. It truly was an accident, or maybe karma, that she wound up in that closet. Finding out that Antonio was in all likelihood boy toy or macho man by driving to the Omni and the Hilton and showing Vicky’s picture around under false pretenses–that was a different story.
She tossed and turned all night long. The blue walls weren’t helping tonight. What if Westbrook Elementary was being led by a cold blooded killer? It was bad enough that he was a cheater. Poor Hayley––pregnant with his child, holding things together at home while her husband was out gallivanting. Susan got out of bed and turned down the temperature. Maybe that would help her fall asleep. 2am, 3am….the red light of the clock radio was a constant source of stress, reminding her of how few hours of sleep she was getting. Thank God she didn’t have to go to work in the morning. Maybe she should ask her doctor about a prescription for Ambien in case this happened again. Her friend Maggie swore by it. No, maybe that wasn’t such a great idea. She remembered seeing a segment on Dr. Phil about this lady who took Ambien and started cooking and eating pasta in the middle of the night. She kept gaining weight and didn’t understand why because she had no recollection of doing this. Her husband was going to leave her because he thought she’d become a prescription pill addict, and because she’d gained thirty pounds. Dr. Phil had to patch things up for them. Susan decided to make herself a cup of chamomile tea.
Susan was relieved to see the first hint of sunlight through the window.
“Lynette, I have some important information for you.” Susan called Lynette’s cell even before getting out of bed. Mike was still sound asleep beside her. “I found Vicky’s purse in Antonio and Hayley’s closet last night. Don’t ask. I think you need to go over there and get it. The Epi-pen was still in it.”
“Vicky’s purse in Hayley’s closet. How much sleep did you get last night, Mom?”
“I’m serious. This is really important.”
“What on earth were you doing in her closet?” asked Lynette.
“I was looking for the restroom. That house is so big, I’m sure I’m not the first person to have gotten lost in there,” said Susan.
“Uh huh. We’ll go with that,” said Lynette. “How do you even know it was Vicky’s?”
“I checked the wallet,” said Susan.
“This really sounds crazy, Mom,” said Lynette. “I wish you would just keep your nose out of trouble.”
“But Lynette…this is an important clue. You should be thanking me for this information.”
“Yeah, okay, Mom. I’ll check it out. It’s Sunday so it might take a while to get a search warrant.”
“I have one more piece of information for you. I don’t want any lectures about snooping though,” said Susan
“Just tell me.”
“I took a little ride to the Omni and the Hilton the other day. The waitress at the Hilton recognized Vicky and Antonio and remembered seeing them together on a few occasions. I’ll bet he’s one of the cryptic contacts that were on Vicky’s phone.”
“Mom, I told you Jackson and I are going to look into that. You have to be patient. Just because Vicky and Antonio were involved with each other doesn’t mean he killed her.”
“I know, but it could be a piece of the puzzle,” said Susan.
“But this isn’t your puzzle, Mom. Let me go and get busy securing a warrant. Go work on your scrapbook. I’ll talk to you later,” said Lynette.
Chapter 29
It had taken several hours, but Lynette had the search warrant in hand.
“Come on, let’s get over to the Petrocelli household,”
said Lynette. Jackson followed her into the cruiser. He looked like a bird that had just swallowed a canary.
“Okay, Jackson. I know you’re dying to tell me something.”
“I called Theresa Rizzo last night,” said Jackson.
“Wow, I’m proud of you. What did you say?”
“I told her I thought she was really pretty and nice and I wanted to go out with her,” said Jackson.
“That sounds a little sketchy,” said Lynette.
“I guess it was. She said she was really busy with work right now but maybe sometime. Sounds like a blow off to me,” said Jackson.
“Well, don’t lose hope. Next time we’ll do a little role playing before you call.”
Jackson raised his eyebrows and tilted his head.
“Relax. Not that kind of role playing,” said Lynette.
Just then, they pulled into Antonio’s driveway. Jackson knocked on the door.
“Can I help you?” Antonio answered the door wearing a thermal undershirt and pajama bottoms. He had yet to comb his hair. “What can I do for you, officers?”
