Murder Wears a Veil

by Maddie Cochere

  We had just walked into Milly’s Beauty Shop. The fact that Milly knew Addie surprised me. I was even more surprised Milly had insulted her by mentioning her eyebrows.

  Addie smiled and gave Milly a hug. “It’s been a long time,” she agreed. “How are Wilbur and the kids?”

  Milly returned her hug. “Everyone’s great. What are you doing in town?”

  I had entered another dimension. Milly knew everything in town. The beauty shop was ground zero for the town’s gossip. She ran a gossip hotline and would surely know why Addie was in town.

  Addie poked her with her elbow. “Have you lost your touch? I need a makeover. Something like you did in ’79. I liked that look.”

  Milly nodded her head. “That was a great look on you.” She turned to me. “Jo, give us three hours. No, make it four. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

  Addie checked her watch. “Make it five. We might do some shopping, too.”

  I was out the door before they could change their minds. It had been an exhausting morning, and it wasn’t even ten o’clock yet.

  I drove to our offices with the intention of hiding out for the entire five hours. When I arrived, Arnie and Nancy insisted on a play-by-play of my interaction with Addie so far.

  “What do you think of the old broad?” he asked.

  For once, I didn’t chastise him for disparaging a woman.

  “To be perfectly honest, I think she’s rude. She called me a nitwit in front of a client.”

  Nancy couldn’t hold back a giggle. Arnie didn’t actually laugh. That would be too out of character for him, but he did smile. By the time I filled them in on her arrival and our short time together, Nancy was laughing uncontrollably. Arnie’s smile was bigger than I had ever seen it before.

  “Where is she now?” he asked.

  “I left her with Milly. She’s getting a makeover.”

  “Believe it or not,” Arnie said, “she was a stunning woman in her prime. She’d walk into a joint and every palooka in the place would nearly break his neck trying to get a gander at her. She had the best gams in town. There were a lot of unhappy wives when she was around.”

  “You never talk about her,” I said. “Until I saw she knew Milly, I didn’t know she had ever been in Buxley before.”

  “We grew up here,” he said. “You were probably just a little thing when she married a musician from Cincinnati and moved down there. The marriage only lasted a year. She never married again, and she never moved back. It’s been a good fifteen years since she’s been in town for a visit.”

  It was hard to believe the tall woman with the bushy eyebrows had ever been attractive. Her features weren’t the most pleasant in the first place.

  “What’s next on your agenda?” Nancy asked.

  “I’m taking a nap in my office.”

  She giggled. “I mean with Aunt Addie. What are you doing this evening?”

  “I haven’t thought that far ahead. Do you and Hank want to take her out to dinner?”

  She held her hands up in a stop motion. “Not on your life. I’ll see her on Saturday.”

  I sent an inquisitive look at Arnie with my eyebrows raised.

  “I’m working tonight,” he said.

  “You are not,” I shot back. “All of our cases are caught up, and I highly doubt anything came in this morning that already has you working nights.”

  “I’ll be watching the ball game and working on a case of Budweiser. If I’m lucky, Addie will be in and out of town without crossing my path.” He walked into his office and shut the door.

  “Is there bad blood between the two of them?” I asked.

  Nancy shook her head. “Not that I know of. Dad said the three of them got along fine when they were kids, and he and Aunt Addie still talk on the phone a few times every year, but Uncle Arnie likes to keep to himself when it comes to family.”

  That ruled Arnie out as someone to occupy Addie for a few hours this week.

  “I was serious about taking a nap,” I said. “If anyone calls for me, take a message.”

  The sofa in my office was a new addition. Arnie was old school and liked to have a paper trail of everything. The wall space the sofa occupied had originally been intended for filing cabinets as our business grew, but until I needed that much space for files, I determined the comfortable sofa was more useful.

  I had just closed my eyes when the door opened and the overhead lights came on. I half opened one eye and saw a vision in white standing before me.

  “Is business that slow?” Jackie asked.

  I begrudgingly sat up. “Nancy’s Aunt Addie is in town for the bridal shower this weekend. She’s staying with Glenn and me. I’m trying to catch up on some sleep while she’s at Milly’s getting a makeover.”

  “Well, get up. I have something to show you.”

  She sat down in one of the chairs facing my desk. I didn’t bother putting my shoes on and walked over to plop down in my chair. Jackie unfolded a map on the desk.

  “Look at this. I think this is the hotel where you stayed in Hawaii, right?” She circled the spot where our hotel was situated on Oahu. I nodded in agreement. “And this is the location where Natalie Ping washed ashore.” She circled an X she had already placed on the map. “The two locations are relatively close to each other. Do you know the location of the timeshare where Pete Sinclair was staying?”

  “I do, but I don’t have it with me. Nancy might still have the address. She looked it up when we were there.”

  Jackie slipped out of the office and returned a few minutes later with an address. She tapped it into a map app on her phone and pulled up the location. She marked the house with another X. The distance between the timeshare and Natalie’s location appeared to be less than five miles.

  Jackie poked a finger at both marks. “What do you make of this? I have a contact at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. So far, the location where Natalie washed ashore is the only information she’s been able to get. The police are being super tight-lipped about her death, and they aren’t leaking anything.”

  A thought ran through my mind, and I suspected Jackie had the same thought. I grabbed my bag and fished around until I found the creased and somewhat soiled card of Detective Hale. The card showed a number for the police department and another number for emergencies.

  “Why do you throw everything in that bag?” Jackie asked. I could tell by the tone of her voice she was disgusted by the card. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to keep important cards in a card file?” She scanned my desk. “Where’s your rolodex?”

  “I have my bag. I don’t need a rolodex,” I said. I picked up the handset on my desk phone and punched in the detective’s emergency number.

  It took several rings before he answered.

  “Detective Hale, homicide,” he mumbled into the phone.

  Oops. I had forgotten about the six-hour time difference.

  “Detective Hale, this is Jo Ravens. I mean Jo Wheeler. Do you remember me?”

  Why did I sense he was kicking himself for answering the phone?

  “Yep,” he said curtly. “What can I do for you?”

  “I heard you found Natalie Ping.”

  “Yep.”

  “And I know the location where she washed ashore.”

  “It’s not a secret, Wheeler.”

  Wheeler. Wow, did that sound weird being called by my last name. That’s how the guys at the station addressed Glenn, and it didn’t feel right having the singular name applied to me.

  “You can call me Jo.”

  “What can I do for you?” Now he sounded impatient.

  “I wanted to ask you a question.”

  I hesitated for a moment.

  “It’s too early for games, Wheeler. Ask it.”

  “When Natalie Ping washed ashore, was she wearing a tuxedo?”

  It was as though the line went dead. I couldn’t even hear the man breathing.

  “Hello? Are you still there?” I asked.

 
“Who have you been talking to?” he demanded. He sounded awake now. “Who gave you that information?”

  I obviously caught him off guard, because I had fully expected him to tell me she wasn’t dressed in a tuxedo, or at least to say he couldn’t divulge any details of the case. That’s what I would have done if I were in his shoes. However, now that he had basically confirmed the tuxedo, and I knew for certain the groom on the cliff was Natalie, it put an entirely different spin on who the bride might be.

  “Wheeler, this is no joke,” the detective said. “Where did you get that information?”

  I quickly opened my desk drawer and grabbed a cellophane wrapped mint from Parker’s. I unwrapped it with one hand and crinkled the cellophane into the receiver.

  “I’m sorry. I think we’re breaking up,” I said and hung up.

  Jackie looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. “You know that doesn’t work, don’t you? Telephone communication lines are the best they’ve ever been.”

  “I know, but I’ve always wanted to do that ever since I saw it in a movie.”

  She smiled. “Parent Trap. Matt’s niece loves that movie. She makes me watch it with her every time she sleeps over at our house.”

  I had no idea Jackie had sleepovers with a niece. Even though we had become close in the last few years, there was still a lot about her I didn’t know. I knew Jackie and Matt had large families on both sides. Not only were they often busy with family, but their social contacts through her work at the newspaper and his at the law firm put them on A-lists from Columbus to Pittsburgh. I’m sure it didn’t hurt that Jackie was an impeccable beauty and added a bright spot to any function.

  I couldn’t help wondering if Addie in her younger years was a version of Jackie today. Arnie had certainly painted her as such. I stared at Jackie and tried to envision her older and with a unibrow.

  She reached up to rub her cheek. “Why are you staring? Do I have something on my face?”

  “Would you believe I was trying to picture you at Addie’s age? Have you ever met her?”

  “Nothing you do surprises me, Jo, and no, I’ve never met her. I hear she’s a real pistol though. Every now and then, someone will bring up a story about her in the newsroom. I guess she used to make the paper fairly often when she lived here.”

  I was all ears. Maybe Jackie knew something I could use as leverage to keep Addie from bossing me around. “What kind of stories?”

  Her phone buzzed. She took a moment to read the text.

  “I have to run. Heather Wood’s attorney has finally agreed to let me interview her. I still have a strong instinct she’s innocent. I guess I’ll soon find out.” She reached into her briefcase and pulled out a newspaper. “There’s nothing new here, but this article has a picture of Natalie with her parents and her sister. I thought you might want to have a visual of her.” She placed the photo on top of the map. “I probably won’t see you before the shower on Saturday. I have more than one deadline this week, but if anything else pops up with the Ping murder, I’ll give you a call. If you solve the murder before Saturday, let me know.”

  I doubted I’d be solving this murder at all, let alone by Saturday. I studied the picture. Natalie’s hair was dark, and she wore it short. That was why she appeared to be a man when the bride was dragging her down the yard to the cliff. If she had longer hair, I might have known the body belonged to a woman.

  I watched Jackie walk out of my office. She was the only person in the world who could wear a white suit and keep it spotless throughout the day. I would have already had blueberry stains on it from grabbing the pancake scrap and throwing it into the carrier for the new Pickles.

  After getting Detective Hale and my mind worked up, I decided I no longer wanted a nap. I left the office and headed home to make something to eat. I regretted missing out on Addie’s blueberry pancakes. If I was lucky, there would be leftover batter in the refrigerator.

  Half an hour later, I was sitting in front of the whiteboard in my murder room space. The tuna fish sandwich I made wasn’t as satisfying as blueberry pancakes would have been, but Addie must have ditched the batter along with my breakfast.

  I took a few minutes to add Jackie’s new information and Detective Hale’s almost confirmation of Natalie in the tuxedo to the board before sitting back down with my sandwich to study the information as a whole. The questions were obvious.

  If Natalie was in the tuxedo, who was in the bridal gown? Pete Sinclair was the obvious choice, but I honestly didn’t think he would kill his wife. Yes, he was much too calm when she was thought to be missing, but he also seemed certain she would find her way back to him in Chicago. It was her parents who were ruining their plans.

  Pete thought Natalie’s parents hired someone to kidnap her. What if things went wrong and the hired man accidentally killed her? Was he the person who shoved her over the cliff? If so, why were they dressed in bridal attire?

  There was no way I could afford to fly back to Hawaii. I regretted calling Detective Hale. I didn’t mean to antagonize him. I would actually like to work with him on this case, but I knew it was best not to speak with him anymore. I didn’t need someone showing up with a subpoena for my court appearance in Hawaii. Glenn would kill me for sticking my nose in too deep and causing us to spend money we were trying to save for our future.

  I pondered the receipt from the bridal shop. It was handwritten with no details other than a dollar amount of five hundred dollars. I initially assumed the receipt was for Natalie’s gown, but Pete said she was overly flashy with her expensive clothing. Her gown would have surely cost in the thousands of dollars. Maybe the receipt was for Pete’s tuxedo rental, even though I found it in the garment bag with the gown.

  I set the plate with my half-eaten sandwich on the end table and slumped down to get a little more comfortable while I continued to study the information on the board.

  When my phone rang, I was startled into a sitting position. A bit of drool was at the corner of my mouth, but my mouth must have been hanging open, because it was dry as a desert.

  I tried to clear the cobwebs from having fallen asleep, attempted to bring some saliva to the desert, and answered the phone with a groggy, “hell-oh.”

  “Where are you, you nitwit? You were supposed to be here half an hour ago. I can’t spend the night here. Get your butt over here and pick me up.”

  My head pounded. I should have eaten more than half a sandwich, and why didn’t I bring down something to drink? Between dehydration and Addie’s irritating demeanor, I felt a migraine coming on. I’d never had a migraine before, but I was certain I was working up to one.

  “I’ve been busy working a case,” I managed to say. “I’ll be right there.”

  She hung up without a response.

  I dashed out the front door just in time to see a Buxley police cruiser pull up. Glenn exited the passenger side and waved Clay off. I waited for him on the porch.

  “What’s going on?” I asked. “Why are you home so early?”

  He slipped an arm around me to give me a quick kiss. “Hello, Mrs. Wheeler. I’m off to bed. Clay and I are pulling a security detail tonight, so I need to grab some sleep before we head out again. Want to join me for an hour or two?”

  I was disappointed. He didn’t work nights very often, but I missed him when he did. I didn’t like sleeping without him beside me.

  “You won’t be home to help entertain Addie tonight,” I said with a hint of panic in my voice.

  He smiled. “You’ll get along fine with her. Please play nice.”

  “I’m not playing anything with her. If I’m lucky, she’ll go to bed at seven o’clock, and I’ll climb into bed and watch television all evening.”

  “Wishful thinking,” he said and grabbed my hand. “Come inside with me for half an hour.” Once again, his mischievous grin attempted to seduce me.

  “I can’t,” I said with a pout. “I’m late picking Addie up from the beauty shop.”

  I gave him a
peck on the cheek and dashed to my truck. When I pulled away, he was still standing on the porch with a big grin on his face. I supposed he thought it was funny I would be entertaining Addie alone tonight. He was probably envisioning the two of us wearing our pajamas, jumping on the beds, and having pillow fights. I couldn’t help smiling at the thought, and strangely enough, the smile made me feel a little better. I’d be sure to ask Addie if she’d like to have a pillow fight tonight.

  Chapter Nine

  I was still smiling when I walked into the beauty shop, but the minute I saw Addie, my smile faded, and my jaw dropped.

  “What do you think, Jo?” Milly asked. “Would you ever in your life believe this woman is eighty years old?”

  “I’m not eighty yet,” Addie said. “Not until August. There’ll be a big shindig then, and I’ll be back for a touchup.”

  I still couldn’t find any words. If I wasn’t hearing the words come out of her mouth, I would swear this wasn’t the same woman I dropped off earlier.

  Her brown chestnut hair had transformed into a beautiful shade of gray with delicate highlights of blonde and sable. It was still shoulder length but had been layered around the bottom, giving the style a flirty, youthful vibe. The hairstyle would have been absurd on her this morning, but Milly had completely tamed the unibrow, giving Addie perfectly shaped brows that brought life into her face. I was suddenly aware of what beautiful, taut skin she had.

  The transformation had been completed with masterful touches of makeup along with a new outfit that was chic and showed off what a great figure she still had. An image of what she must have looked like in her youth came to mind, and I no longer doubted Arnie that she had been a stunning woman.

  “Well, don’t just stand there with your mouth hanging open, you nitwit” Addie said. “Let’s go. I haven’t had anything to eat since breakfast, and I’m starving.”

  I felt like a dunce. I still hadn’t uttered a word. I watched as Milly and Addie hugged with promises to see each other again soon. I tried to make up for my awkward stance when we were in the truck.