by Rita Lakin
Morrie answers, “The maid’s cart is still in the hall. He either got her to open the door for him, or he snuck in when she wasn’t looking.”
Jack adds, “Perhaps he took a key from Colette.”
Morrie shakes his head. “No. We ascertained that she had her own room key with her when she was attacked. It was with her when she was brought to the hospital.” He turns to Michelle to ask about her key.
I add, “He got lucky that the maid was here while we were out, but not so lucky for the maid, poor lady.”
But Michelle isn’t interested in what we are talking about. She races from room to room in the spacious suite, screeching at the same time. “Where is it? Where’s my laptop?” She turns to Morrie. “I don’t see it. Do you have it?”
Morrie is not happy to give her the news. “If you had a laptop in here, I’m afraid it’s missing. Perhaps you would look around and tell us what else is gone. It might help.”
She is out of control. “Help what! I don’t give a damn about anything else!” She tears at her hair in frustration. “How could I be so careless? I never leave that computer. Never!”
One of the policemen tries to give her a cup of water. She smacks it out of his hand. “Leave me alone.”
She paces the room again: a caged tigress. “You want to know what else is missing?”
I watch the woman lose total control. She runs her hands feverishly through her jewel box lying open on a chest of drawers. “Two diamond bracelets and a pendant.” She tosses the box onto the floor, upending it, scattering the rest of her jewelry. She flings herself down on a chair in anguish. “And what do I care anyway.”
Jack walks slowly up to her. “Michelle, please try to stay calm. What can I do to help?”
I fully expect her to smack him or something else in her rage and frustration, but Mr. Magic seems to be the only one able to comfort her. She drops her head down, starts sobbing.
Jack says, “I’m so sorry I didn’t go back up for the laptop.”
She looks up at him, tearfully. “My fault, not yours. Oh, how could I do that? I never, never go anywhere without that case. Just this one time … ”
She looks up at him, poignantly. “I can’t bear it.”
“I know. I know,” Jack says soothingly.
Yeah, I know, too.
“Brandy.” She points to the mini bar. The hotel manager hurries over and removes one of the bottles and pours her the drink. He passes it to Jack, who reaches down and hands it to her. She sips at it, and then shudders.
I watch all this, fascinated. The amount of rage inside her and her obedient reactions to Jack; she is something to watch. The men have no idea how to handle her volatility, even while they’re attracted to her beauty. I may be the only female on the premises, but I know she wouldn’t take kindly to Jack’s fiancée trying to comfort her so I stay out of her line of sight.
I try to imagine what must have happened while we were at dinner. If the thief knew the maid was inside, why did he go in? Probably because he knew Michelle was out, but he didn’t know for how long. Perhaps he didn’t think he had enough time to wait. It seems obvious that the missing jewelry is just a diversion. He wanted that computer. And no one was going to get in his way.
Morrie walks over to Michelle and shows her an eyeglass case in a plastic evidence bag. “Is this yours?” She shakes her head.
I recognize the unique logo of Eye Openers. “Morrie, that’s from a shop in the Sawgrass Mills Mall.”
Morrie comments, “We found it under the larger bed. Might have belonged to a former guest, and not swept up after they left.”
The manager speaks up again, trying not to be confrontational. “We are a five-star hotel. I assure you, our staff is trained to thoroughly clean the rooms before, during, and after each guest’s stay with us.”
Morrie places the eyeglass case in a box with other filled bags. “I’ll have to check this out.” To the manager, he says, “Please move Ms. duBois to another suite. This is now a crime scene.”
He nods. “Right away.” He starts out of the room.
Michelle adds, “And hurry.” She is staring in horror at where the maid’s body had lain.
Morrie and his team have gone. We are the last to leave. We waited until Michelle was relocated to another room, where she’s now languishing on the couch. A policeman has been assigned to guard her. She’s finished three of the little brandy bottles and it’s quieted her down. I can tell Jack is reluctant to leave.
“I’m so sorry,” he says to her. “This has been a bad-luck trip for you.”
“I can’t wait until I can take Colette home.” She’s hardly able to keep her eyes open. She no longer plays the grand dame. It’s as if all the stuffing has been pulled out of her. I feel sorry for the woman, in spite of all my conflicted feelings about her.
I would like to say something kind to her, but even in her pain, she ignores me. She speaks only to Jack.
She yawns. “I need to sleep now.”
Jack agrees quickly. “Yes. You should. You are safely guarded. The thief is long gone.” There’s a soft plaid throw blanket on the arm of the couch. Jack tenderly covers her with it.
Oh, Jack, look at you. And that expression of so much concern. But then again, I was thinking of doing the same thing. If I did it, she’d probably snap at me. But it’s unnerving to watch my love do something that intimate to another woman.
As we head out, Michelle’s eyes are closed. She doesn’t hear us leave.
We pass the policeman standing guard outside the door. He nods to us. It’s past midnight by now and the hotel is very quiet.
“Do you believe what you said?” I ask Jack, who takes my arm as we head for the elevator. “That she’s safe and he’s long gone?”
“Not really. But I didn’t want to frighten her even more.”
“Are you thinking what I am? About the coincidence of her suite being robbed?”
He nods. “Probably fifty or more rooms and hers gets picked? Not too likely an accidental choice.”
We get off the elevator, being replaced by a noisy group of revelers still wearing their convention name tags. Looks like there will be some painful hangovers in the morning.
I share my thoughts with Jack. “My guess, it’s the laptop he wanted. The jewelry was supposed to fool the police. The thief left all the other expensive pieces. Following the logic that she has many enemies, then perhaps the attack on Colette wasn’t an accident—it was Michelle he was after. Not just for whatever is on that laptop.”
The lobby is equally quiet. Here and there I see a lone reader who isn’t ready or able to sleep yet. The night clerk ignores us as we exit the building.
It’s gotten cooler and I wrap my arms around myself while Jack retrieves his car. I am not a happy camper. I thought tonight was good-bye to Michelle for good. But I’m not rid of her yet.
Once I’m seated in my usual front seat, Jack turns the heater on for me. I can still smell the residue of Michelle’s perfume. It almost feels strange for me to sit in “her seat.” I wonder if that thought strikes him as well.
We’re quiet for a few minutes, both minds busily at work.
Traffic is fairly light now and we drive quickly back toward home. Jack speaks first. “I was thinking along the same lines. Someone who doesn’t want that book published and knows enough of Michelle’s habits to go for her as well as the computer. And the manager’s comments about the safety record in his hotel makes me sure this is a professional job. I’ll talk to Morrie in the morning and tell him what we know. Or think we know.”
So much for our dinner tonight being a farewell. Jack is very quiet now. And I wish I knew how he feels about this evening. Suddenly, our once easy relationship appears to have shifted. Are we no longer going to share our every thought as we did before?
However, the private eye in me is getting excited. Something about the eyeglass case waves a red flag at me. I wonder …
“Gladdy.” I glance over at J
ack when he speaks, but he keeps his eyes on the road. “I’m sorry about tonight. I thought this would be the last I’d see of her.”
“I thought so, too.”
“But I can’t just walk away now.”
“Can’t you just let Morrie handle it?”
“It’s not that simple. Whoever’s after her is getting impatient. He took a chance breaking into the room with the maid there. He missed her in the book room and now in her suite. He must know that she will leave the country very soon. I have a strong feeling he’s about to make his next move. I need to be in closer contact with Morrie and Michelle.”
“I suppose you do.” I try not to sound like I’m whining.
He finally throws a fleeting glimpse at me. “I don’t want to, but I should. That was another terrible shock she got tonight. I have to help in some way. I’m sorry.”
The Snake peers out from the stairwell, glancing toward the redhead’s new suite. He’s not surprised to see a police guard sitting on a chair, sipping coffee from his thermos. The Snake smiles. Part one is fini—he has the laptop. Gaston had better be prepared to pay him well after he finishes off this pesky flea who buzzes around his ear. The Snake grows tired of this so-called Sunshine State. No comparison to his beloved Riviera. And besides, just before he left, a new yacht had pulled up alongside of his, with a luscious female appearing topside. He smiles at the memory. A nice rich widow, he hopes.
14
AT THE MALL
The next morning Evvie and I step out of the Phase Two elevator. I already have my car keys in hand. Abruptly Evvie punches my arm and turns me to look at what she’s seeing. “What’s with them?”
Ida, Bella, and Sophie are standing in the parking lot in front of my old Chevy, yelling at one another. Rather, Ida and Sophie are doing the shouting as Bella kind of backs away from the conflict. A few neighbors see them but walk right on by. We increase our pace and reach them. Ida and Sophie wave their multicolored canes as if they are about to strike one another.
“Hey, hold it. What’s with the war?” Evvie tries to stand between them. They push her away.
Bella says timorously, “Make them stop.”
Ida says defiantly, “I hate liars. You know how much I hate liars!”
Sophie humphs. “Miss Perfect. And you never told a lie in your life? Besides, we weren’t lying.”
Ida addresses us. “I run into them yesterday morning. Being friendly, I ask where they’re going.”
Under her breath Sophie says, “And what was it your business anyway?”
Ida ignores her. “So one of them says they’re going out for a stroll, the other says at exactly the same moment, they’re going to the post office. Both look guilty as hell.”
Sophie is insulted. “I don’t need to listen to this.” She turns her back on Ida and sticks her fingers in her ears.
Ida fiddles with her hair at the back of her head. In her anger, her thick bun is coming undone. “So when I follow them a little bit just to see, they don’t stroll or buy stamps, they go into Jerry’s Deli.”
Bella and Sophie exchange panicky looks. What’s going on here? Why are they so upset? Maybe I should interfere, but Evvie seems to be on top of it.
Sophie turns back to Ida. Waving her cane she screams, “You what? You followed us? I think I’m going to hit you.” She lashes straight out with her cane, chanting the Cane Fu instructions. “Swing hard. Hard as you can—”
Evvie grabs Sophie’s cane away from her, drops it to the ground, and jumps on it.
I hold up my hands, trying to calm them. “This is not a big deal. So the girls must have changed their minds and gone for breakfast.”
“Yeah!” Bella says eagerly. “No big deal.”
“Yes, big deal,” Ida says ferociously. “My morning class was canceled, so I decided to join them for breakfast and when I got to Jerry’s there was no sign of them.”
“We’re fast eaters?” Bella whimpers, looking at Sophie in terror.
“You lied.” Ida crosses her arms and glares at Sophie. “You could not possibly eat that fast. I demand to know where you went!”
Sophie puts her hands on her hips. “You demand? Who are you to demand?”
Evvie warns, “Don’t say anything you’ll be sorry for later.”
“Keep out of it, Evvie,” Sophie says as she points her finger right into Ida’s gut. “Maybe we wrapped our take-out egg salad sandwiches and went to the park. Maybe we walked in, decided we weren’t hungry, and walked out again. Maybe we saw a cockroach on the wall. There’s a thousand different possible explanations.”
Ida grimaces. “None of those are true. How about the other 997 lies?”
Sophie’s had it. “You want the truth? Okay, here’s the truth. We saw you coming and we didn’t want to eat breakfast with you.”
That does it. Evvie is right. Those are words that can’t be taken back. Ida is in shock. Bella tries to hold back her tears. Evvie shakes her head in disbelief and Sophie pulls her cane out from under Evvie’s feet and thumps away.
Oy. The last fight any of us had was back around ten years ago when a lone handsome senior bachelor came to pick out a bride. It was hell, sheer hell. This is not good.
All three girls walk off quickly in different directions.
Evvie calls after them, “Come on back here. We’re going to the mall—with or without you. Right now.”
Evvie gets into the front passenger seat. I follow suit and take my place as the usual designated driver.
One by one, still scowling, the other girls take their seats. What a sight. All three of them scrunched together, arms tightly crossed and refusing to look at one another.
There’s one way they’ll forget their animosity. I filled them in briefly when I phoned them early this morning about why I wanted to go to the mall. Now I’m giving them more details about dinner with Mme. Michelle. Followed by returning to the hotel after it was robbed and the poor maid was killed. They listen openmouthed with the avid attention they give their favorite soap operas.
The rest of the ride is me being battered by dozens of questions. What did she wear? What did she say? What did you eat? How did Jack handle it? And their shock to learn that Jack went back to see her today again. To comfort her?
Sophie sums it up. “What a piece of work she is. I’m glad she lost her computer. So there!”
Frankly, by now I’m sorry I invited the girls along to go to the mall to look in on Eye Openers, the eyeglasses store. I should have left them home. They start bickering again as soon as they get out of my car and are facing one another. Fortunately this time they run out of steam quickly.
Finally Sophie says, “I still don’t know why we’re doing this. Isn’t it Morrie’s job?”
“Morrie has enough on his plate trying to track down the killer. Tracing eyeglasses will be low on his priority list, and I have a strong hunch this is important. We can give him a hand.”
“Are we there yet?” Bella whines like a three-year-old who’s been taken on a long trip and wants out.
Sophie says, “You know how she hates walking through this mall. It’s the size of Chicago.”
“You shoulda entered at the north entrance. We’re going the long way,” Ida adds to the chorus of kvetchers.
The three adversaries click their canes along the tiles as emphasis for their arguments.
Since today is a weekday, the mall is not too crowded, so we’re able to move at a good pace. Evvie had been enjoying the window shopping, but now she’s annoyed. “Stop exaggerating. And complaining. And why did you have to schlep those silly Cane Fu canes along? Watch out, they’ll make you so crooked, you’ll really need them.” She doesn’t bother to hide her sarcasm.
Sophie humphs. “And someday you’ll be glad we did. Maybe we’ll stop a purse snatcher or something.” She looks around searching for suspicious faces.
“Yeah, sure,” Evvie adds. “That’ll be the day. If you’re not happy, go home.”
“But I want t
o go detecting. That’s our job,” Bella whines again.
Ida snarls. “You detect? That’s a laugh.”
Sophie puts her arm around Bella. “Look who’s talking. What do you contribute?”
I’ve had it. “Enough already. When are you going to stop this silly argument? Finger pointing. She lied. No, she lied. Who cares? We have to live with each other.”
Ida humphs. “You call this living?”
Evvie looks at me. “Let’s leave them here right now.”
Bella startles. “Noooo … we’d get lost and we don’t have a car.”
Ida stamps her foot. “That’s a cheap shot. You know we’d never find our way out of here.”
Bella sits on a bench to tie her sneaker. Sophie immediately joins her, seemingly exhausted even though we’ve been here only fifteen minutes. Ida moves away, arms crossed, her cane leaning against the wall. It’s her favorite stubborn position.
I chide the group. “You know I’m trying to help Jack solve his problem. Until it’s solved I’m stuck with Mme. duBois in my life. You promised to help. Whining is not helping. Arguing is not helping. I need us to work together.”
Evvie points her finger at the three of them. “You heard how that French piece of stale pastry treated Gladdy at dinner. Like she was some bit of chewing gum under her shoe. How she humiliated Jack by paying the check behind his back.”
Ida grins. “Lucky for you she did. You’d be eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the next few months to pay for it.”
“All right already. So stop fighting and be of some help.” Evvie stares them down.
The three enemies look properly ashamed.
Evvie points. “And see—there’s the store now.”
“Sorry,” says Bella, head down, blushing.
“Yeah, me too.” Sophie pulls her ample shoulders back and straightens up, ready for work.
