Murder Wears a Veil

by Maddie Cochere

She didn’t answer. I heard water running in one of the three sinks. I don’t know why I didn’t just shut up, but I continued to attempt a conversation. “Your mom said you and Keith are going back to public school next fall. I bet you’re happy about that.”

  Once again, no response.

  My blood suddenly ran cold, and I broke out in a sweat. Kelly’s shirt was red, but it was a t-shirt not a button-down blouse like the one on the person with the veils. I had recently met another woman with a slight build that would resemble that of a teenager.

  The water stopped running. I heard the restroom door open and close. I rushed to get out of the stall. I wanted to call Glenn right away.

  I bolted out the door and headed to the sink only to realize the woman with the veils was standing in the doorway of the stall next to mine. She stepped forward. I didn’t miss that she was holding a gun with a silencer on the end - even though she hadn’t yet pointed it at me.

  I forced myself to breathe.

  “Naomi Ping,” I said with a calm demeanor I certainly didn’t feel. My heart felt like it was going to burst from my chest.

  She removed the veils. “When did you figure out it was me?”

  I didn’t want to tell her it was only seconds ago. “The minute I saw you with Pete in Chicago, I knew you killed your sister.”

  “It was an accident you know. I loved Natalie. I wouldn’t deliberately hurt her.”

  “Then why didn’t you call the police? Why did you throw her over the cliff?” I couldn’t help the involuntary shudder that ran through my body. I couldn’t imagine doing something like that to Pepper even if I accidentally killed her. Naomi still hadn’t raised the gun toward me. I felt my only hope was to keep her talking. “Why were you wearing a wedding dress?”

  Naomi seemed tired when she said, “The night before the wedding, our parents and their security team brought Natalie home. They refused to let her marry Pete. I sneaked her out in the morning to go back to the timeshare, but Pete wasn’t there. We decided to wait for him. Natalie was afraid Mom would get rid of her wedding dress, so we brought it with us. Natalie thought it would be fun if I tried it on. She always said I would be a spinster, and this would be the only chance I’d ever have to wear a wedding dress.”

  She paused, and I thought it best to be quiet. I didn’t want to break her train of thought.

  “We’re sisters. We were just being silly on her wedding day. I put on her dress, and she put on Pete’s tuxedo.”

  I believed her. That was something Pepper and I would do.

  “When I told her our parents would never let her marry Pete, she laughed and said it didn’t matter, because they were already married.”

  “That took you by surprise, didn’t it?” I asked.

  Her face turned dark with a frown. “He loved me. He didn’t love her. He said it was a mistake to hook up with Natalie. Knowing our parents would never let them get married, I played along to the wedding day. Pete said we could be together after everything died down with their breakup. We were going to be married and run off to Spain. When Natalie told me they were already married, I went ballistic and shoved her. She tripped on Pete’s pants and fell. I grabbed a glass dish from his dresser and bashed her on the side of her head. When I saw she was unconscious, I still had so much rage, I dragged her out of the house and shoved her over the cliff.”

  I was shocked by her words. “Was she still alive?”

  Naomi sounded panicked and tears began to stream down her face. “I don’t know. All I could think about was getting rid of her body and getting out of the house before Pete came home. I couldn’t risk him finding out I killed her.”

  I knew it was only a matter of minutes before she made good on her threat against me. I tried harder to keep her talking. “That’s when you saw me. Why did you have a gun with you?”

  “Natalie and I are heiresses to a fortune, and Dad insisted we be armed at all times. I keep my gun strapped to my thigh. It took a minute to get it from under the gown, but I got a shot off at you. Too bad I missed. I tried to warn you off yesterday, but when you called my phone last night, I knew you weren’t going to let this go. You’re the only witness. With you out of the way, they’ll never be able to prove it was me.” She finally raised the gun and pointed it at me.

  Before I could say anything, the last stall door in the row burst open behind Naomi. Addie must have been standing on the toilet, because she launched herself in the air, yelled “Ay Caramba,” and landed on Naomi’s back.

  They didn’t fall to the floor right away. Naomi did a good job of continuing to stand with Addie on her back until Addie flicked a foot out to kick the backside of Naomi’s right knee. Naomi twisted her body in an attempt to keep her balance, but down she went, causing Addie to crack her head on the edge of the marble countertop. The sound made my stomach turn. Almost simultaneously, a loud phut sound echoed in the room.

  Both women lie motionless. Naomi was on her side with Addie face down across Naomi’s midsection. Blood began to pool on one side of them. A scream fought its way to my throat, but I clamped my hand over my mouth and hyperventilated through my nose for a minute.

  When I regained some control, I checked for pulses. Naomi’s was strong, but Addie’s was gone. With a sinking heart, I realized she was dead.

  I pulled my phone from my pocket and hit number one on my speed dial. I was surprised when Sergeant Rorski answered.

  “What do you want, Ravens?”

  I ignored that he called me Ravens and said with a shaky voice, “I’m in the restroom at the Ramada Express. Naomi Ping is in here. She just shot Addison Chambers. Addie’s dead.”

  He slammed the phone down, but he must have missed the cradle. I could hear him swearing, using choice words I’d never heard come out of his mouth before. I ended the call on my end.

  Jackie walked in and was stunned by the sight before her. She stood speechless for a few moments before asking, “What happened?”

  Before I could answer, Mama burst through the door, nearly knocking Jackie over. “Jo, what are you doing in here? You’re missing all the gifts.” She saw Addie and Naomi on the floor. “Holy moly. The witch is dead.”

  Jackie looked at me for confirmation.

  “That’s Naomi Ping under Addie,” I said. “Her gun went off when they fell. Naomi’s alive, but Addie’s dead.”

  “Nonsense.”

  I looked at Mama. “What’d you say?”

  She frowned. “I didn’t say anything.”

  Jackie looked at me and shook her head.

  Mama reached a toe out and poked Addie in the side.

  “Don’t kick me, you cow. Help me up,” Addie mumbled.

  Jackie and Mama helped Addie to her feet.

  I was astonished. “I checked you for a pulse. There wasn’t one.”

  “I’m nearly eighty years old, you nitwit. I’ve got a resting heart rate around fifty. You probably didn’t wait long enough to find it.”

  Jackie looked Addie over. “Have you been shot?”

  “No holes in me,” she said and rubbed her forehead, “but I’ve got a knotter. Must have hit my head when we fell.”

  I let out a phew sound. “You did. I can’t believe your skull didn’t crack open.”

  “She’s got a hard head,” Mama muttered under her breath. Addie chose to ignore her words.

  “Her hard head saved my life,” I said to Mama. I looked over at Addie and asked, “What were you doing hiding in here?”

  “Not hiding. Just being discreet. Jackie told me about the boy at the school - the one who hangs out in a stall in the boy’s bathroom so he can overhear conversations. I thought I’d try that today to see what the Baranski’s thought of the Frasier’s and vice versa. I was just getting ready to get down off the toilet, and you came in. You haven’t washed your hands yet, you know.”

  It was only a few minutes later that Sergeant Rorski barged through the door, knocking Mama into Addie. Addie tripped over Naomi. I reached out to hel
p steady her before she fell to the floor.

  “What the hell is going on in here?” Sergeant Rorski shouted. “I thought you said Addison Chambers was dead.”

  “Nonsense,” Addie said.

  “Oops. My bad,” I said.

  Naomi moaned on the floor. All eyes turned to her.

  Glenn and Clay pushed their way into the restroom. I could see Officers Winnie and Collins craning their necks behind them to see what was going on.

  Sergeant Rorski’s face turned purple. “Out,” he yelled. “Everyone out. Wait for me in the lobby.”

  Glenn gave me a sympathetic look and squeezed my arm as I walked by. We both knew it was going to be a long night.

  Chapter Nineteen

  It was nearly one o’clock in the morning. I didn’t bother trying to stifle my yawn.

  Parker had agreed to stay open late to feed us. I knew he really agreed to accommodate us so he could hear the details firsthand. What happened at the hotel was going to be the gossip du jour tomorrow.

  Jackie and Matt were seated across from Glenn and me. She had already filed her report with the Buxley Beacon. The story would, of course, be page one news tomorrow.

  It had taken several hours for Detective Hale to fly back from Chicago, and he and Sergeant Rorski hit it off famously. They were prepared to gang up on me until Matt showed up as my attorney of record and insisted if I wasn’t being charged with a crime, I was only required to write a statement. I didn’t know if that was true, but I was grateful to have him by my side to run interference.

  Sergeant Rorski had already questioned me and nearly had a stroke when I reminded him that none of this would have happened in the first place if he would have told me to call the police when Natalie was thrown over the cliff. “So, in essence,” I had said, “everything that’s happened since then is your fault.”

  Nancy and Hank sat next to me with Clay and Jazz seated opposite them. Addie sat at the end of the table.

  “Quit yawning,” Addie said to me. “You need some vitamins or supplements. You’re too young to be so tired all the time. Eat some liver. Get more iron.”

  I became defensive. “I haven’t had hardly any sleep since you came to town.”

  She primped her hair. “Neither have I, and I look fabulous, don’t I.”

  Why was she picking on me? Other than telling Parker what had happened, no one seemed to want to talk about Natalie, Naomi, and Pete, and the conversation was bouncing all over the place. I wished someone would pick a topic and stick to it.

  I still had a few questions about Pete Sinclair – like why did he marry Natalie then continue to string Naomi along? And did Pete know or at least suspect that Naomi had done something to Natalie, so he then concocted the break-in and stolen coins story in an attempt to frame me? Glenn said there were some things we’d probably never have the answers to, but his guess was that Natalie pressured Pete to get married in Chicago, and he couldn’t tell her no without divulging his relationship with Naomi. Because of the money, he couldn’t risk losing both of them.

  “He probably thought he hit the jackpot when Natalie turned up dead,” Glenn said.

  “What a horrible thing to say,” I said.

  “It’s true. He stands to inherit money from Natalie’s death, and if he then married Naomi, he’d be sitting on a pretty big fortune one day.”

  He was probably right. All I knew right now was that I was dog tired, and I didn’t need Addie picking on me. I turned my attention to Clay.

  “Clay, how would you like to buy my house?”

  “I don’t know,” he said, making a pretense at being thoughtful. “I kind of like having a landlord who maintains the place.”

  “Well, I’m either going to sell it out from under you, or you can buy it. Your choice.”

  “Geez, you’re bossy,” Addie said.

  Clay laughed. “Glenn mentioned you wanted to sell. I’m interested. Will you throw in the appliances and the furniture you left behind?”

  “Sold,” I said. “I’ll give you a good deal. I like knowing you’re across the street from Pepper and can keep an eye out for her and her family. I’ll take that into consideration when I give you a price.”

  Jazz looked at Nancy and asked, “Were you able to get all your gifts out of the hotel?”

  Nancy nodded. “Estelle had Roger make a couple of trips and take them to their house. We’ll open them tomorrow after family dinner.”

  I felt bad for Nancy. She had only opened a handful of gifts before Officer Collins put a stop to the festivities and wanted to question everyone in the room. I told him no one knew anything or had seen anything, but he was following Sergeant Rorski’s orders and shut the bridal shower down.

  “Don’t sit on the sofa when you open your gifts, “Addie said. “Roger’s jingle bells are on a first name basis with the material.” She shuddered, and I couldn’t help smiling.

  I stared at Addie for a few moments. The thought that formed in my head fell out of my mouth. “Why do you and Mama hate each other so much?”

  Addie smiled. “You don’t know? She never told you?”

  I shook my head.

  “Have you ever heard of the BBB?”

  “Duh. Of course. It’s the Better Business Bureau.” I couldn’t see how a business organization would have anything to do with Mama and Addie.

  Addie laughed. “Have you ever heard of the Buxley Broadway Blast?”

  I looked around the table. I had not only never heard of it before, but it appeared no one else had either until Jackie piped up. “I’ve read something about it at the newspaper. Wasn’t that a talent show?”

  “Yep,” Addie said. “It was held annually for over twenty years. The winner was given an opportunity to audition for a Broadway show in New York. Nuthill’s Hardware Store sponsored the event until they went out of business. The talent show went out of business right along with Nuthill’s.”

  “The newspaper article I read was about the year someone made it into a big show.”

  “Several people landed roles over the years,” Addie said. “One or two of them made it pretty big. Andrew McMasters landed a starring role on Broadway in Brigadoon.”

  I was tired. Addie’s face became a blur, and I didn’t want to hear a long drawn out story. “So what’s that got to do with Mama?” I asked.

  “I didn’t know your mother. She’s a good twenty years younger than I am, so we didn’t have the same acquaintances. We ran into each other when we were trying out for the BBB. I was singing and playing the piano, and she was tap dancing.”

  My mouth fell open. Mama? Tap dancing? No way. Addie was lying.

  “Ask her,” Addie said, seeing my disbelief.

  Hank vouched for her. “Mama’s mentioned a time or two that she used to like to dance. When I was little, she always made me laugh when she pretended to tap dance. I didn’t know she really could.”

  “I hate to say it, but she was pretty good,” Addie said.

  “So what happened?” Glenn asked.

  “Estelle and I were in the final four. Our personalities didn’t mesh from the get-go, and we were both highly competitive. On the day of the semi-finals, one of the stagehands told me he’d seen Estelle pouring molasses into the piano. I was the only one who would be playing it, so I knew she was sabotaging me. When I saw her talking to the producer about her act, I went into the dressing room, stole her tap shoes, and threw them in the dumpster behind the school gymnasium.”

  Glenn was enthralled with her story. I was horrified Mama would have done such a thing. “What happened?” he asked.

  “Neither of us could perform. When the producer found out what was going on, we were both disqualified for unethical behavior.”

  I sat back and folded my arms across my chest. “I don’t believe you,” I said. “Mama may be a lot of things, but I’ve never known her to be dishonest. She certainly wouldn’t cheat.”

  Addie looked at me like I was a nitwit. “It was a long time ago. People ch
ange.” She paused for a moment. “But you’re right. We found out later the girl who won the contest was the niece of the stagehand. He thought I was the one to beat and poured the molasses into the piano so I couldn’t play. I offered to help your mother get her shoes from the dumpster, but she was furious. She never forgave me for ruining her chance at a Broadway career. Like I said, our personalities clash anyway, so it’s probably best we don’t hang out.”

  My head began to ache. I was sorry I had asked.

  Parker walked over to the table. “You folks want anything else before I close up the kitchen? Any dessert?”

  “Do you have any of Jackie’s pies back there?” Nancy asked.

  “There’s most of a peach pie left. Should I bring it out?”

  “You bet,” Hank said with a smile.

  When everyone had a slice of pie in front of them, Hank said, “I know it’s been a tough day, but I’m grateful everyone’s safe, and Nancy and I have some news to share.”

  You would have thought Addie was channeling Mama when she blurted out, “You’re preggers!”

  Nancy giggled and said, “Not yet.”

  Hank pulled an envelope out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Glenn. I leaned over to watch as Glenn opened it. Inside were two first class tickets to Hawaii.

  “You’re going back to Hawaii?” I asked.

  “We are,” Nancy said, her eyes shining. “But you and Glenn are going first. Those tickets are for you.”

  I was speechless. I heard Glenn say thank you, but his voice held confusion.

  Just as I was about to ask why they would do this, a light bulb went off over my head. I practically yelled when I said, “You bought a house!”

  They both laughed. “We did,” Hank said. “And you’ll be going out ahead of us to finish your honeymoon in our guest house. The realtor assured us it’s just as we saw it, fully furnished and ready to use.”

  “The pool has been maintained, too,” said Nancy. “You’ll have your own private paradise until we show up five days after you.”

  Glenn hesitated and held the envelope out to Hank. “Thanks for the offer, but this is too much. You’re just starting your lives together. You can’t spend this much money on us.”