Closet Confidential

by Maffini, Mary Jane

  “Help me out here, Pepper. I don’t know what you want from me.”

  “I want you to listen. I want to talk about this out loud, and I’m not even sure what will come out of my mouth.”

  “Deal. Talk. I’ll listen.”

  “Then, when I’m finished, I want to hear what you think about what I’ve said.”

  I nodded. There wasn’t much else I could do.

  “He’s slumping around, not sleeping properly, and jumping at shadows. You know, the way you do.”

  “Thanks,” I muttered under my breath.

  “It’s not like him. He’s not afraid of anything, even when he should be. He has the judgment of a rubber ducky, you know that.”

  I held my comments back. Pepper has always seemed to be in denial about Nick. For all I knew, she’d be back to normal the next day and mad at me for having listened to her.

  “He won’t answer the phone, and he’s incredibly secretive.”

  “Like you were tonight?”

  “I didn’t want him to pick up one of my messages and figure out that I was coming to see you. He’d show up and I wouldn’t be able to have this difficult conversation.”

  Pepper bit her lip, a little-girl gesture that was completely out of character with the hard-edged detective she’d turned into.

  I said, “I’m not married. I never had a dad or even a stepdad who stuck around and did dadlike things with me. I don’t know what normal daily family life is supposed to be like. I won’t be much help to you here, unless I fall back on my useless women’s magazine advice.”

  She grinned wanly. “I am worried sick and I can’t cope with this on my own. That’s why I called you.”

  “I’m happy to be here for you, Pepper. Although I’m not doing much good.”

  “This is very hard for me to say.” She met my eyes and glanced away.

  Little Nick stirred and whimpered. He squirmed and scrunched up his perfect baby face. He opened his perfect rosebud mouth and let out one hell of a holler, without even a warm-up.

  Truffle and Sweet Marie quivered before racing into the bedroom and hiding under the bed. I would have joined them, but I didn’t want to sever this new bond between Pepper and me.

  She picked up Little Nick. “He’s hungry and I have to take care of that. It’s midnight, his last feeding. And I must be nuts,” she said.

  “What?”

  “What am I doing here with you talking about my husband?” She stood up and turned toward the door.

  I said, “You thought I could help.”

  “Seriously, how could you help? You’re an organizer, not a therapist. And you’re bossy and opinionated on top of that.”

  “I’ll admit to all of those things. I’m so happy to be your friend again. And I’ll do whatever you want me to . . .” I obviously couldn’t say “help” again as that hadn’t worked out so well the last time I’d said it. “I’d like to hear what you have to say. Maybe you’ll feel better for saying it, too.”

  She stared down at me, jiggling the squalling baby. “Sorry I bothered you. I have to go.”

  Truffle and Sweet Marie emerged as soon as Pepper left. I sat there, stroking their fur, stunned. What had happened? I couldn’t let it go by. I thundered down the stairs and out to Pepper’s new bright red Ford Edge. She was leaning her head against the wheel, weeping. Little Nick was screaming his head off.

  A light went on in Jack’s apartment, and he appeared barefoot and wearing pajama bottoms. “Did I dream I heard a baby crying?”

  “Look who’s here, Little Nick. It’s Uncle Jack,” I shouted to the wailing baby. “Uncle Jack’s going to fix your problem. Open the door, Pepper, and give Jack the baby and the bottle.”

  Jack said, “What?”

  “Be quiet. Don’t argue. You’ll love it. You know what you’re like.”

  “Sure,” he said. “I’ll take him upstairs. Let me know when you want him back.”

  I reached in and picked up Little Nick and transferred his enraged being to Jack’s arms. “Hey, little buddy, pipe down,” Jack said.

  The howl died on Little Nick’s lips. He stared. He reached out his tiny hand for Jack’s glasses. I took the baby bottle from Pepper’s hand and passed it to Jack. “You’re on your own,” I said. “The dogs will be no help.”

  As Jack headed toward the house, I climbed into the car and put my arms around Pepper. “You’re not getting rid of me that quickly this time.”

  “There’s nothing you can do.”

  “Try me. I’ll understand.”

  “You couldn’t even begin to understand, Charlotte. You’re not involved in law enforcement.” She managed a weak smile. “Except on the other side.”

  I knew this meant something big. Pepper is the third generation of her family of police officers. And Nick’s father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had all been cops in Woodbridge. That’s not even mentioning the uncles.

  “Why did you come to see me then?”

  She turned away, stared out the window. “Exactly because you’re not a cop. I thought it was a good idea, but now I realize how stupid it was.”

  “Yeah well, that’s misfits for you. Dumb as a bag of hammers.”

  She gave a weak smile, leaned back against the headrest, and closed her eyes. “I’m so desperate, Charlotte. I think Nick is involved in something seriously bad.”

  “We’ve ruled out women, so what does that leave?”

  “Think about it.”

  “Oh! A crime?”

  “It must be.”

  “What kind?”

  “I have no clue, but he’s put his foot in something, and I’m so afraid he’s going to get himself hurt or even killed.”

  8

  Make space. Move out-of-season clothing to another location. Don’t overlook the space under your bed to store items in shallow containers.

  “For the last time, I don’t want you to do anything. I needed to say it out loud.” Pepper followed this by blowing her nose emphatically.

  All right, I may have overreacted to her comment about Nick getting himself killed.

  For the fifth time, I said, “But—”

  “But nothing. Your job is to listen. That’s what friends do.”

  “We can’t let Nick get killed. I have to do something about that.”

  “That’s right. When our lives are in danger, we call our closet organizer to fix it all up.”

  “Wouldn’t be the first time the closet organizer solved the crime.” Maybe I snapped that.

  “He’s not your husband.”

  “True, but he’s . . .”

  “I feel that he’s involved in something. And don’t ask me for details again, because I don’t have any. It’s intuition. And yes, cops use that.”

  “So you think criminal?”

  “I don’t know.” She blew her nose again to make the point.

  She meant yes. I decided the best thing might be to sit there and quietly listen, just as she’d suggested. Perhaps that would bring out a bit more information.

  After a minute, Pepper glared at me. “If you’re trying to wait me out, I know all about that. I’ve interrogated enough people. It won’t work.”

  “I’m trying to listen. What do you want me to do?”

  “I don’t know that, either.” She managed a weak grin. “Let me rage and carry on in a paranoid manner, I guess.”

  “Okay. Rage away.”

  She leaned back on the headrest of the driver’s seat and closed her eyes. “I can’t. I’m too tired. I haven’t been sleeping, and that may be all there is behind this. Nick is not the easiest person . . .”

  I bit my tongue to keep myself from finishing her sentence with “at the best of times.”

  “He’s not good at communicating. And he doesn’t have a knack with looking after Little Nick. He’s not natural daddy material like Jack.”

  I turned to look at the lights in my apartment where apparently he was being natural and entertaining Little Nick. It kept
me from saying, Damn straight Nick’s not good at communicating. Still, I had to contribute something. “So what made you think that something’s wrong with Nick?”

  “He jumps at his own shadow.”

  I raised an eyebrow. Whatever you could say about Nick, he’d never been a coward.

  “Sometimes I’ll tiptoe into the room trying not to wake the baby and he’ll freak.”

  “Whoa.”

  She nodded. “Yeah. Not like him.”

  “Well, after I was attacked last year, I screamed at every loud noise. And some not so loud ones. I had flashbacks, too. And nightmares.”

  “I thought of that. But except for those two incidents that involved you, he hasn’t had any bad encounters. He hasn’t been shot at or shot at anyone else. He hasn’t even had a chase. And after that dangerous situation that you were involved in, he didn’t lose any sleep, although you were both nearly killed.”

  “And Jack, too. Don’t get mad, but I understand that this happens to lots of guys: Do you think it’s fatherhood?”

  “I asked myself that, too. I think he’s not all that interested in Little Nick yet. I don’t think he’s afraid of him or afraid to be a father. I’m sure he’ll be better when the baby starts to do things. And if you are planning to suggest that he’s afraid of me because I look like hell, you can forget that.”

  I gasped. “I would never suggest that. You are too hard on yourself. You look fine.”

  “And he’s keeping strange hours and going out in the middle of the night sometimes. But he doesn’t get himself fixed up as if it were a woman he wanted to impress.” She chewed her lip.

  “Perhaps it’s all in his mind, a bit of delayed posttraumatic stress disorder. Do you want me to talk to him?”

  “That is the last thing in the world I want. What could you do for his PTSD, not that he has that?”

  “Okay. Well, if you do want me to help in any way, let me know. If you want me to come over and let you catch up on your sleep sometime, I can do that. I can plan for it. I know you don’t have your mom to help out. New mothers need—”

  “Thanks. I appreciate that. Little Nick’s not so new anymore. That reminds me. I’d better go get him before Jack decides to keep him.”

  “Pepper, I keep saying, let me know what I can do to help.”

  She opened the driver’s door and hopped out of the vehicle. “You have helped, Charlotte. A lot. More than you know. I’ll be able to sleep tonight.”

  Which was a lot more than I could say for myself.

  Tuesday was fully booked. By nine thirty I had headed out to Wendy’s place, carrying a file full of ideas, sale brochures, and digital photos from the dollar stores and my other favorite haunts. I had my digital camera with me to take a “before” photo. People are always amazed to see where they started from at the end of a project. After the strange conversation with Pepper the night before, it felt very good to be meeting Wendy, kind, uncomplicated, agreeable. I put the contract in my briefcase, told the dogs to behave, and headed over to North Hemlock to pick up Lilith at Rose’s place.

  I had turned onto Long March Road when I jerked at the sound of a siren behind me. A patrol car was on my tail, roof lights flashing. I pulled over, heart thumping. What had I done now? Was I so caught up in my own schedule that I hadn’t signaled? Had I cut someone off? I knew it wasn’t Tierney this time. He wouldn’t be caught dead in a patrol car.

  I opened the windows, fished out my license and insurance papers, and did my best not to look guilty. Until Nick Monahan’s face loomed in the open window on the passenger side. He opened the door and got in.

  I said, “Oh, what the hell? Are you trying to give me a panic attack?”

  “Hi, Charley.”

  “This calls for more than ‘hi,’ Nick. This requires an apology for practically freaking me out. Sirens and flashing lights? What’s that about?”

  “I wanted to talk to you.”

  “Trust me, there are easier ways.”

  “I know, but I saw you and I got the idea. You don’t mind if I pretend to be giving you a ticket?”

  “What?”

  “You don’t mind if—?”

  “I heard you, but why would you want to pretend to give me a ticket if all you want to do is talk to me?”

  “Because I don’t want anyone to know.”

  “Anyone? You mean Pepper?”

  “No, I mean anyone. So let’s see your license.”

  I handed it over, but at least I got to roll my eyes. He took my info and pretended to write a few things.

  I said, “I think you need my registration, too.”

  “I know that, Charley.”

  “I’m sure you do, but in case anyone is watching, we might as well look realistic.”

  “Good thinking.”

  “And I believe you need to take my documents and go to your squad car and check them on the computer. I don’t think you’re supposed to sit in my passenger seat and have a heart-to-heart. Although I’m not the cop here.”

  “We’re just talking . . . but maybe you’re right. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  A few minutes later, he returned and handed me back my documents through the open window. “You’re clear,” he said.

  “Imagine that. Okay, what are we talking about?”

  “Pepper.”

  “What about her?”

  “She came to see you last night. What did you talk about?”

  “How do you know that she came to see me last night?”

  “Because I . . . you know what, Charley? I think you better come with me to the squad car. To look realistic.”

  “Um, I’m not sure that is realistic, Nick. Do you put many of the people you ticket into the squad car?”

  “Good point. Okay, I’ll get in yours.”

  “No. Stay where you are and keep talking. How do you know that Pepper came to see me? Did you follow her?”

  “No way.”

  “You’re a lousy liar, especially considering all the practice you get. Following your own wife around? Shame on you, Nick Monahan.”

  “I didn’t follow her. I happened to turn onto your street and I saw you sitting in the car together. I need to know what she said.”

  “She didn’t say much of anything, Nick.”

  “Come on, Charley. This is Nick. You can’t fool me.”

  I don’t know where he would get an idea like that. My dogs are harder to fool than Nick is. “Believe me. It was all girl talk.”

  He snorted. “Pepper’s not much for girl talk.”

  “As a rule, I’d agree, but she’s been changed by motherhood. It was girl talk, Nick. Accept that.”

  He stared at me for a while, trying to read my thoughts, I guess. “Like what?” he said finally.

  “Oh, you know, hair and stuff.”

  “You mean she’s going to do something with her hair? That would be good. She’s let herself go.”

  “You listen here, Nick Monahan. Your wife is up half the night with your son. And then she’s there alone with him during the day. Babies take a lot of time and energy. How’s she supposed to spend time on herself?”

  “Okay, okay, don’t get your thong in a twist. I thought her hair used to look better.”

  “Haven’t you ever heard of hormones?”

  He blinked. Of course, Nick was a walking hormone, but that didn’t mean he’d be up to speed on the effects of a birth on skin, hair, and mood. “What’s that got to do with it?”

  “New mothers, lots of hormone changes. Get used to it. Be a man.” I wasn’t sure if hormones would be much of a factor after nearly eight months, but what did I know. Anything to distract him.

  “It’s not easy to get used to, Charley. But forget the hair. Did she say anything about me?”

  I sat back and pretended to think. “Like what for instance?”

  “Nothing special. Didn’t she mention me at all?”

  “She usually talks about you, but I honestly don’t recall.”


  Of course, I’d said honestly, which is always a clue that I’m fibbing. A white lie in this case, because I had good reasons. Whatever Nick was mixed up in, it wouldn’t do any good to have him think that his wife might be blabbing it all over town. If it was dangerous for him, it could be dangerous for her, too.

  “That’s kind of weird, you know, Charley.”

  “It was late. She was tired. The baby woke her up. I think he’s teething. You sleep through that usually. She did mention that. So I guess she did talk about you. You know what, Nick? You’d better try to take better care of your wife and child.”

  He stood up and looked down at me with sad puppy eyes. “That’s what I’m doin’, Charley.”

  Through my rearview mirror, I watched him walk back to his police car, no sign of his usual swagger. No question, Pepper had something to worry about, all right.

  It was only after Nick peeled away in the cruiser that I realized I had missed an opportunity. I was still distracted by that when I picked up Lilith. Of course, her enthusiasm could always bring me back to the moment. And if that didn’t do the trick, then her teal blue hair sure would. I knew she’d already picked up the bins from my off-site storage and delivered them to Wendy’s place using Rose’s car. I had to give some serious thought to investing in a more practical vehicle. Of course, I love my Miata. It’s paid for and we’ve been through a lot together. So rent-by-the-day vans and Lilith’s services would have to do for the time being.

  “This will be awesome,” she said, hopping into the Miata. “And in case there’s not enough food at Wendy’s place, Rose sent along some of her Toll House cookies.”

  “No danger of there not being enough food,” I said, sniffing the air. “But I don’t think the cookies will last long anyway.”

  “Rose thought Wendy might need a break from baking if she’s working on her closet.”

  The drive to Wendy’s was long enough that I got caught up on what was happening to Lilith at college and her three jobs, and how Rose was doing.

  “I’m sorry about my outburst over Anabel. I know you knew her and liked her. I was bothered by that thing with Dimitri, but I realize it wasn’t fair to her memory.”