Life is Better Brunette

by Diane Bator

  Four cars behind Gary's Buick, a man with a mop of black hair slouched behind the steering wheel of a gold-colored car and sipped from a paper cup. A shiver ran up Gilda's arms as she pushed in the ear buds connected to her cell phone. While she had no idea who the stranger was, his presence alone was enough to make her antsy, especially after finding Miss Claudia dead in the fabric store.

  Gilda pushed play on her cell phone and started to jog along the lakeshore, away from the beach and the police station. She needed time alone to think. She'd run about a mile and a half when she noticed the gold car following her.

  She blew out a breath and shook her head. Surely she was just being paranoid.

  Half a mile later, the car drove past her and disappeared around a bend in the road. Not long after, a dark-colored Buick passed her as well. Rather than follow, Gilda turned around and ran back to her house. She tossed around the notion of telling Fabio about the gold car. He might just brush her off. But then again…

  She glanced over her shoulder and scanned all the cars in front of her house before she walked up to the front porch. The cars were empty, and Gary was gone.

  Gilda wiped her forehead then went inside to shower, careful to lock the doors before she stripped off her soaked clothing. Once she'd showered, dressed, and eaten a light breakfast, she walked the few blocks to the police station, with the sight of the strange man and the yogurt she ate for breakfast both unsettling her stomach. Maybe she should have checked the expiration date on the yogurt and called the police about the stalker sooner.

  Fabio waited on the front steps when she arrived. He handed her a latte then ushered her away from the station to the beach. "I was going to take you into an interrogation room, but I was getting claustrophobic. Since all hell broke loose during a drug bust last night, the rooms are all being used anyway. I guess there's no good place for us to talk, aside from our usual spot."

  The weather-beaten log on the nearby beach.

  "Works for me." Gilda inhaled the sweetness of the warm drink and tried to smile. "At least I don't feel like I'm in a ton of trouble anymore."

  He smiled. "You were never in trouble, Sherlock. We know there's no way you could've gotten Miss Claudia into that closet without Marion's help, and she's too squeamish to go near blood, let alone a dead body."

  "That's good." Relief flowed over her in a refreshing waterfall. "Then why did you question me like that yesterday if I'm not a suspect?"

  "Let's wait until we sit." He limped toward the log and settled in the center.

  Gilda sat next to him and gazed at the waves as she took a sip of her latte. "Did you tell Gary I found Miss Claudia's body? He was staked out in front of my house this morning."

  "I may have mentioned it." He hesitated. "He does enjoy looking out for you."

  Gilda smiled. "I wish I'd known. I might have slept better. Did you have an undercover officer there as well?"

  "Nope. Just Gary. I figured everyone's used to seeing him at your house anyway, so I let him know what happened. Sending anyone else would just raise suspicion."

  She frowned. Perhaps the dark-haired man had just stopped to check directions to somewhere else. "Then what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

  Fabio appeared to hesitate before he spoke. "This is strictly between you and me. If you tell anyone, I'll know."

  She lowered her cup, a little unnerved by his seriousness. "I promise. What's going on?"

  "I did some digging on Miss Claudia after the medical examiner called me with some concerns. Miss Claudia wasn't who, or what, she appeared to be."

  Gilda narrowed her eyes. "Okay, so who or what was she?"

  He hesitated. "The ME got a big surprise when he started doing the autopsy on a middle-aged woman and found male body parts instead."

  She sucked in a breath as her jaw dropped. "Miss Claudia was a man? That explains the big feet, among other things."

  "Like what?" Fabio frowned.

  "Her broad shoulders, deep voice, strong jawline, that kind of thing."

  "Women can have those too, you know." He scowled.

  "I know that, but…"

  Fabio stopped her. "The point is, Miss Claudia was a man who moved to town, opened a fabric shop, then lived here as a woman. To me, that screams he was on the run and hiding from something or someone."

  Gilda shrugged. "Or that she was transgendered and trying to make a new start."

  "Yeah." Fabio sipped his coffee. "I tried to go with that idea for a while, but there were a lot of red flags that came up to say she was a man simply in hiding. For starters, who he was before his transformation and the fact there are no traces of excess female hormones in his blood work."

  She scrubbed her face. Their topic of conversation was far too heavy for so early in the day, even after her run. She needed stronger coffee. "Does the lack of hormones in his system mean that much? Maybe he just liked dressing like a woman without having the mood swings. Or maybe he was in the Witness Protection Program?"

  "Maybe, but then I would have come up against a lot more dead ends. Whoever hid him was connected, but not likely with the federal government." He scratched his chin and sighed. "Miss Claudia was born Robert David Sullivan and had a long list of priors since the age of twelve for breaking and entering, felony possession, burglary, and kidnapping."

  "Kidnapping?" Hadn't Randy also said something about a kidnapper being caught in his store? Probably a weird coincidence.

  Fabio held up a finger. "I'll get to that. Sullivan stopped reporting to his parole officer and supposedly died six months before Miss Claudia came to town and set up shop with a little financial help from Mr. Gary del Garda."

  "Gary?" Gilda released a gush of air like she'd been kicked in the stomach. "How did Sullivan know Gary?"

  "That's unclear so far. However, I do plan to find out the truth. Straight from the bookie's mouth, preferably."

  She assumed neither of them would like what he'd find out. "How did you connect Gary to Miss Claudia? Doesn't he usually hide behind dummy corporations, like in the movies?"

  Fabio nodded. "Yup. Fortunately, we're onto him. Thanks to Mick."

  "Mick?" Gilda sat up straight at the mention of her boyfriend. While Mick did have financial dealings with Gary in the past, he had dug himself out of debt in no time. So she'd heard, anyway. She closed her eyes and sipped her latte before she could blurt out anything she'd regret. "What does Mick have to do with anything?"

  "That's confidential." Fabio gazed out at Lake Erie.

  She snorted. "That's confidential? You just told me Miss Claudia was a man who had ties to a known mob bookie, but you won't tell me how my boyfriend is involved in a murder case?" She jumped up to face him. "If you're looking to me for information, I don't know anything. I appreciate you sharing what you know, but don't expect me to fill in any gaps."

  Fabio gazed at her and shook his head. "Sit down, and stop making a scene. I have one very simple question for you."

  Gilda sat with a huff. "Which is what?"

  "What were you really doing in Miss Claudia's fabric shop when you found her body?" he asked. "You can tell me the truth. There's no video camera."

  "I already told you. Marion needed some purple thread, and I went to find out why Miss Claudia wanted to shut down so many local businesses." Gilda hugged her cup with both hands. "I swear on my father's grave she was already dead in the closet when we got there."

  "All right." He rubbed his head. "I believe you."

  "Finally." She groaned. "I'm already aware of how bad things look. If you plan to arrest me, just let me finish my latte. I'll call Mick and Marion, and then you can book me."

  Fabio chuckled. "I don't plan to arrest you. Not only was the door unlocked, but you had reason to be worried for Miss Claudia's safety, as far as I'm concerned. All of the business owners she'd threatened weren't exactly unhappy to hear news of her demise. My guess is they'll turn that town hall meeting tonight into a party."

  Gilda stared at the s
and. "I take it you've already talked to all of them."

  "Most. The elderly gentleman from the smoke shop seems to be avoiding me and left town, according to Shawn, the guy who works for him. I'm not sure when he'll be back, but we'll keep checking."

  She sucked in a sharp breath. Hadn't she just seen Fergus the day before? "Did you search his store? Maybe whoever killed Miss Claudia got him too. If he was getting ready to retire, he might have caved in to her deal and the killer found out."

  "Or maybe he is the killer and fled town before we could question him." He frowned.

  "Do you think so?"

  Fabio rolled his eyes. "Gilda, Fergus O'Reilly's in his seventies and has severe arthritis in both legs. He uses a walker and is a less likely suspect than you are."

  Gilda sat back and mulled over what he'd said. "Yes, but you're the one who told me Miss Claudia wasn't who or what she'd said. What's to say Mr. O'Reilly isn't really a young, able-bodied man pretending to be old and feeble?"

  "Doc Graham, who's known him for thirty years."

  "Okay." She bowed her head. "So, what's your theory now?"

  Fabio shook his head. "For you to stay out of trouble and keep your nose out of my investigation."

  "Translation, you're not sharing any other information with me until you have something concrete." Gilda smiled, her toes crossed inside her running shoes. "No problem. Is it at least okay if I go to the town hall meeting tonight?"

  He touched his fingers to his forehead. "I know I'll regret saying this, but I can't stop you or anyone else in town from showing up."

  "Actually, it might be interesting to go just to see who does show up." Gilda sipped her latte. "Have you talked to Happy lately?"

  "Personally or professionally?"

  Gilda met his gaze. "Professionally. Happy told me Miss Claudia had made a visit to his shop as well. Apparently her plans extended well beyond Armadillo Street. Once she'd set things in motion, she planned to branch out and remodel the entire town of Sandstone Cove."

  Fabio raised his eyebrows. "Did he tell you this freely or did you question him?"

  "He heard I'd found her body." She wiggled her shoe into the sand. "He showed me the flyer she'd given him about the town hall meeting. He was angry, just like all those shopkeepers on Armadillo Street were."

  "Do you think he might have killed her?" he asked.

  Gilda shook her head. "Happy might be big and strong enough, but he's no killer."

  "You'd be surprised," Fabio said. When Gilda turned to face him, he winked. "Don't worry. I'll talk to him. I'll see you later."

  * * *

  When Gilda arrived at the town hall for the meeting at seven that night, she was surprised to be redirected to one of the pubs on Armadillo Street. Not only had someone relocated the meeting, but the pub was packed.

  "A toast." Randy Vines, the tattoo artist, climbed on a wobbly bar stool, then stood on the bar, foam sliding over his hand from the mug of beer. "To Miss Claudia for giving us one more reason to drink."

  "Hear, hear." Shawn O'Reilly, who worked at the smoke shop, hoisted a dripping shot glass. He was a lean man with a scruffy beard and shaggy hair. Gilda had gone to school with him from third grade and had always thought of him as a bit of an odd duck and loner. "Only this time it's for a good reason."

  Laughter rang through the pub as everyone raised their glasses in unison.

  Kane frowned and leaned closer to Gilda. "I'm sure this isn't what Miss Claudia had in mind when she planned this little get-together, is it, love? I have a feeling she'd be a wee bit peeved by all this."

  "Peeved?" She raised her eyebrows. "More like she'd start looking for a dozen reasons to shut down the pub too."

  "Now that would be a bad thing. I kind of like this place." Kane waved to the bartender and ordered two bottles of beer.

  Gilda shook her head. "No thanks. I'll just have a soda."

  "Trust me." He met her gaze. "You and I need to talk, love. I think you'll need the drink."

  "Then make it a white wine." She blew out a sharp breath and glanced around the room. "Where's Razi? I thought he was coming with you."

  "He's on his date with Marion. I asked one of the senior students to teach class and lock up tonight." Kane handed the bartender cash for his bottle of beer and Gilda's glass of wine.

  "Ah." Gilda slapped her forehead. "I forgot all about Marion and Razi's date tonight. I wanted to go spy on them."

  He handed her the glass of wine then draped one arm across her shoulders and steered her toward a booth near the back of the pub. "Just as well you're stuck here with me then. I doubt they'd want you anywhere near them. I suspect they want a little privacy."

  She scowled and slid onto one bench of the booth. "What makes you say that?"

  "The fact that Razi refused to tell either of us where they were going."

  Gilda laughed. "That would do it."

  "Oh, and I told Mick about the meeting tonight. I said we'd call him later to let him know what happens." He leaned into her. "You need to call him. I think he's starting to wonder if you've found another boyfriend or something."

  "What did you tell him?"

  Kane whispered in her ear. "That I was taking real good care of you."

  "I told him I've been busy." She sipped her drink, her hand shaking. "I did text him on the way over here."

  "Good." Kane sat across from her and leaned forward. "I heard you've been asking a lot of questions about Miss Claudia already."

  "Let me guess." She met his gaze. "You're going to tell me to keep my nose out of things before I get hurt."

  "Actually, I was going to ask what you've found out."

  Gilda blinked. "You what?"

  "While you've spent all that time with Fabio, I've been asking around." Kane sipped his beer. "It seems our Miss Claudia had a real thing for the old guy who used to own the building she bought. She used to bring him these chocolates he loved, right up until he got really sick, and then she started to bring homemade chicken soup and biscuits."

  Her jaw dropped. Odd behavior for a man dressed as a woman. Unless the cross-dressing had all been part of a bigger plan. What had Miss Claudia actually been up to? "Are you thinking she poisoned him?"

  "No." Kane flinched. "I was going to say that seemed like a really nice gesture. Now that you mentioned it, what she did seems a little creepy."

  She patted his hand. "You're probably right. Miss Claudia was simply being nice, and I overreacted after hearing what other people have said about her."

  "Uh-huh." He took another sip of his beer but didn't look convinced.

  Gilda shifted in her seat. "How are things going at the shop with Aislin?"

  "She's doing good. She knows a lot about the stuff on the shelves." Kane took a bigger gulp of beer and sat back. "I'd prefer to have someone like you running things, mostly because you know what you're doing, but…she's okay."

  "Well, well. Fancy running into you two here." Gary del Garda nudged Gilda over to sit next to her. "Anyone know what happened to the actual town hall meeting? It seems to have turned into an Irish wake."

  Kane raised his glass. "With Miss Claudia gone, I guess this is the community's way of blowing off a little steam."

  "So I gather." Gary nodded. "Well, there should be no shortage of suspects around here for you to choose from, Sherlock. With all the alcohol flowing, I'm sure you'll hear a lot more than you'd like to."

  Gilda scowled. "Yeah, I'll bet, but I'm not here to point fingers. I just came to find out what everyone has to say about Miss Claudia's plans for Armadillo Street."

  "Well that seems like a waste of time now, doesn't it?" Randy stopped at the end of their table. "The witch is dead, and whatever she had in mind for destroying our businesses is no longer a concern. I, for one, think that's where the whole business should end."

  "About Armadillo Street?" Gilda asked.

  Randy sipped his beer. "About all of it. The rezoning, shutting down stores not only on Armadillo Street but all ov
er town, and Miss Claudia, may she rest in hell."

  Gary narrowed his eyes. "You don't think it's a good idea to find her killer and bring him to justice?"

  "Nope." Judging from the way Randy swayed, he'd already had a few drinks. "I think we need to scrap her fancy ideas and get back to normal. I've been talking to some of the others and they agree with me."

  Gilda frowned. "But the woman was murdered. Doesn't it bother you there's a killer loose in Sandstone Cove?"

  Randy waved a hand. "Nah. As far as I'm concerned, he did us all a favor."

  "Not all of us, I'm sure. Miss Claudia had a lot of regular customers at her shop who are sad she and her store are gone."

  "I don't know about that." Shawn leaned on Randy's shoulder. "I've worked across the street from her shop for the past five years, and she didn't have a lot of customers. Sure, there were the same few little old ladies that went in once a week or so. Other than that, she had less people shopping there than the smoke shop ever gets."

  Gilda had her doubts but planned to ask Fabio to go over Miss Claudia's books. If the fabric shop didn't have many customers, how was she able to keep the place afloat for the past twenty years?

  A small wad of paper hit the end of her nose.

  "I know that look." Kane scowled as he tore off another small strip of the label from his beer bottle. "You're thinking about tracking Miss Claudia's killer, aren't you?"

  Gary shook his head. "That's not a good idea, Gilda. I know I've told you to keep your nose out of things before, but this time I'm dead serious. Let the police handle this. You have no idea what you're getting into."

  "Then tell me what's going on." She turned to face him.

  "Excuse me?" Randy frowned. "Are you trying to tell us you know something we don't?"

  "No." Gary studied his lowball glass of what Gilda guessed was rye or Scotch. "I don't know anything more than you do."

  "Yeah, well you'd better not be holding out on us." Randy slammed his beer glass on the table and sat next to Kane. "If I find out you know something you're not telling us…"