by Diane Bator
"Fine." Marion took a step back. "Then count me out. I'm going to hang out with Razi. If you were smart, you'd go talk to Mick before he thinks you forgot about him." She paused. "Or you went back to Thayer."
"Like that would ever happen." Gilda snorted.
"You do spend a lot of time hanging out with the police these days."
Gilda smacked her forehead. "Oh, come on. All I need is for you to keep watch while I poke around Miss Claudia's apartment."
"Oh yeah?" Marion stuck her hands on her hips. "And how do you plan to get into her apartment? Do you plan to break the door down or something?"
She still hadn't thought that far ahead.
The stairs that led to Miss Claudia's apartment were behind a wooden door she'd never really paid attention to. The door stood between the storefronts of Kane's shop and the fabric store. The stairs beyond seemed to divide one store from the other.
Gilda glanced up and down Armadillo Street before she tried the doorknob, not surprised it was locked. When she jiggled the knob out of frustration, the door popped open as though the lock hadn't totally been in place.
Marion snorted. "Look like someone's on your side today. You'd better take advantage before anyone sees."
"Good idea. Try to act casual. If I'm not back in ten minutes or if anyone questions you, text me." Gilda slipped inside and crept up the creaky stairs to Miss Claudia's apartment door.
She paused on a faded blue doormat at the top of the stairs in front of a tired-looking door with peeling white paint and a new brass doorknob. Pry marks dented the wood along the doorjamb near the latch. Someone had broken into Miss Claudia's apartment, or at least tried to. In the dim overhead light, fingerprint powder stood out on and around the doorjamb, but not on the shiny knob. The break-in had probably occurred before Miss Claudia's death.
Gilda searched beneath the mat for a key. Nothing.
Next she checked the top of the doorjamb and all around the frame. Still nothing.
Either the police had already found and confiscated her key or there simply wasn't one.
She turned her back to the door and took a small flashlight out of her purse. As she shined the light around the stairwell, she blew out a breath. Where else would Miss Claudia hide a spare key besides beneath the mat?
Two paintings hung on the wall to her left, one of a sailboat, the other of a whale. It seemed an obvious hiding spot, but she checked anyway. While there were no keys taped to the back of either picture, the cardboard backing on one picture seemed to bow out a quarter inch more than the other. As she removed the cardboard, a brass key fell to the wooden floor.
"Jackpot," she whispered.
The key fit the lock, and seconds later she swung the door open slowly.
From the outside, the building appeared old and worn, yet Miss Claudia's apartment was just as neat and shiny as the fabric store. Orderly, spotless, and very traditionally furnished with what appeared to be antiques.
Gilda headed toward a large oak rolltop desk near the window that overlooked Armadillo Street. She crouched to be sure no one could see her from below and searched the desk drawers. Each drawer contained different office supplies. Pens in one. Blank, lined paper in another. A few photos and several clearly labeled file folders in the others. Miss Claudia must have had an obsessive-compulsive disorder.
She ignored the pens and paper to focus on the photos and files in the bottom drawers. Image after image of Miss Claudia with local celebrities and ladies holding intricate quilts and outfits. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until she reached the bottom of the stack and saw a photo of Randy and Adam Vines with an older man she guessed was their father, Malcolm. Next to them stood Miss Claudia, her jaw tight and eyes narrowed in anger as she glared at the camera.
The next picture behind that was of Malcolm, Miss Claudia, and Gary del Garda.
Gilda set both pictures on the floor and snapped photos of them with her cell phone before she tucked them all back in the drawer where she'd found them.
One by one, she sifted through the file folders and took photos of lists of people Miss Claudia had spoken to about her plans for Armadillo Street. Nothing odd jumped out at her until another photo fell out of one of the folders she'd picked up and landed on the floor next to her feet.
Gilda's first reaction was to snap a picture of it before she even took a closer look. A younger Miss Claudia had posed with a frail, blonde girl who looked to be about six. In the background stood a lighthouse, much like the one on Ponderer's Point. Where Miss Claudia exuded strength and masculinity, even back then, the girl appeared delicate and fairy-like.
Aislin Chadwick.
She shook her head. "No way."
Once she was able to upload the image to her computer at work, she hoped she'd be able to see the girl's face more clearly. She flipped the photo over in the hopes someone had written on the back. They had, but only two words, Sandstone Cove. No year and no names.
Her hands shook as she went through the remaining files. Just financial records for both the store and Miss Claudia personally.
As Gilda perused Miss Claudia's bank statement, she noticed one oddity: each month she transferred a payment to a savings account. She made note of the account numbers and searched the rest of the folders. Nothing interesting, save a small scrap of paper with a Sandstone Cove address. She took a picture and returned the original to the folder.
Her cell phone chimed.
You almost done? Marion's text read.
Five more minutes. Gilda closed the drawers and headed for the small bedroom at the back of the building. No photos, no ornaments, no fluffy throw pillows, nothing to suggest a woman lived there. Just a bed, a dresser, and plain brown bedding.
She opened one dresser drawer after another. Miss Claudia's undergarments were just as utilitarian. Nothing from Victoria's Secret tucked in those drawers, not that she needed to know that. Everything seemed to be straight out of her grandmother's closet.
Gilda searched through the skirts and blouses hanging in the closet and pushed aside the assortment of black and blue suit jackets before her phone dinged again.
This time Marion's text was in all capital letters, HURRY UP!!!
Gilda ran for the front door then paused at the sound of voices below. Marion and Thayer. She bowed her head and bit her lip, trying to figure out where to hide. As her heart hammered, she heard Marion say good-bye to Thayer. What seemed like an eternity later, her phone dinged again.
All clear.
She blew out a breath and tucked the key back behind the sailboat painting and made her way back down the stairs. At the bottom, she peered out the door and caught a worried look from Marion, who sat on a nearby bench and shook her head as Gilda's phone dinged again.
The instant she stepped outside the door, someone clapped a handcuff on her left wrist. She sucked in a sharp breath and spun around to face Thayer.
He scowled. "I think you and I need to have a little chat."
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
"What are you doing here?" Gilda yanked her hand away from Thayer.
"Sorry. I tried to warn you," Marion said as she got off the bench, her face red. "He said he was leaving then went into the tattoo shop and snuck back while I texted you."
Thayer growled. "I should take you both to the station and book you for breaking and entering."
Gilda flared her nostrils. "I didn't break anything. I had a key."
"Who'd be dumb enough to give you a key?" He stared her down. "Hand it over."
Marion stepped between them. "Hey, leave her alone. She's only trying to help."
"Oh yeah?" Thayer snorted. "Well, maybe she should just butt out before she gets hurt."
Gilda hid behind Marion and thought fast. She shouldn't have told him about the key. What if she needed it to get in again? "I left it inside on the desk then locked the door from the inside."
Thayer's eyes narrowed. He was either about to call her a liar or lock the cuff on her other wrist to
o. His jaw clenched. "Fine, but if I go up there and find out there's no key on the desk…"
"Then you can lock us both up and throw away every key in the police station," Marion said. "We get it."
"Stop helping." Gilda nudged Marion and met Thayer's gaze. "So what did you find in Miss Claudia's apartment that was so important anyway?"
"Nothing." He snapped. "What did you find?"
She hesitated. "Just someone with a very lonely, colorless life."
Thayer flinched. "I don't know about that. Miss Claudia's store was always busy, and she received a lot of awards for citizenship and stuff."
"That doesn't mean she wasn't lonely. It doesn't look like she had any family or close friends. Who lives like that?" Gilda asked.
He shrugged. "Does it matter? She's dead now."
Gilda raised her eyebrows. "Isn't it your job to figure out if it does matter?"
"What exactly are you looking for?" Thayer frowned. "In the past, you've meddled for good reasons. This time…I don't get the attraction. Is it because she ran the store next to Kane and threatened to shut him down?"
"It's complicated." She swallowed hard. "I found her body. I feel like I owe her."
He seemed to study her face for a long minute.
Finally, Gilda held up her wrist with the handcuff attached. "Do you mind getting this off me? People are starting to stare."
"Fine." Thayer released a long, slow breath. "But if I see you back here again, I'll cuff your hands to your feet and throw you in the lake."
Marion snorted. "You're really bad at smack talk, you know that?"
Thayer returned to his car and drove away.
Gilda turned to Marion. "You're not going to believe what I found."
"What?" Her eyes grew wide. "Don't keep me in suspense."
Gilda tapped her phone screen until she pulled up the picture she took of Miss Claudia posing with the blonde girl in front of the lighthouse on Ponderer's Point. "This."
"Is that Fairy Girl?"
"Yeah, when she was about six."
Marion grimaced. "That means not only was Aislin in Sandstone Cove before she moved here recently but she also knew Miss Claudia."
"Or had at least met her." Gilda glanced around them. "But why take a picture with someone you just met unless they were famous or family? I think I need to talk to Fabio and see if we can find out more about our resident psychic."
"Don't worry. I'll get us answers." Marion turned toward the Healing Spirit Gift Shop and took a step forward.
"No." Gilda held her back. "I think we need to be a little more subtle about this. Maybe I can talk to Fabio first and see if he'll give me anything."
Marion huffed as her phone chimed. "Then can I corner her like a rabbit?"
"If Fabio can't tell me much, then you can corner her."
"Deal." Marion checked her phone then hugged her. "Oh, wow. I can't believe I forgot I'm meeting Razi for a late lunch. That's why I wore these stupid heels. I'd love to rough up Fairy Girl, but I have to go. I'll see you later. Stay out of trouble."
Gilda left Marion at one of the restaurants up the street then walked home, absorbed in thought. She threw her keys on the counter and poured a tall glass of water, but before she could take a sip, someone pounded on her front door.
Not eager to deal with anyone else just yet, she growled, "Go away."
The pounding continued as she drank.
Definitely not Kane. His knocks rattled the dishes in the cupboard.
Mick would have tried to open the door by now, only to find the spare key gone.
Finally, with both her water and patience done, Gilda opened the front door then flinched. "Aislin. What are you doing here?"
The tiny woman folded her arms across her flat belly. "I saw you leave the police station with Marion and wondered what was going on. I heard you found that woman's body the other day, and I thought maybe they were interrogating you again."
Gilda huffed. "Interrogation nothing! I've already gotten the first, second, and third degree from Thayer lately. I'd love to go back and give him a piece of my mind, but it's all gone to mush. What did you say to him that made him even remotely suspect me, especially after they'd already cleared me?"
"Me?" Her blue eyes grew wide. "Why would I say anything when I don't even know what actually happened?"
"For the same reason you followed me from the police station after I dropped Marion off at work to ask." Gilda yanked her inside. "Probably one of your predictions."
"Hey, don't forget that all of my predictions have come true so far, haven't they?" Aislin asked with a smirk.
"Yeah. With one hundred percent accuracy." She shut the door. "Which makes me wonder how you always seem to know exactly what's going on."
"It's a gift."
Gilda frowned.
Aislin rolled her eyes. "Even with all that proof, you still think I'm a fraud, don't you?"
"Totally." Gilda met her gaze. "Now, what's really going on?"
"You and Kane, apparently." Aislin placed her hands on her hips. "I want you to stay away from him. Not only is he trouble, but he's mine."
Gilda laughed. "You wouldn't say that if you actually knew him. Believe me. I've been trying to stay away from him for months. He's the one who keeps coming to find me."
Her nostrils flared. "Then quit."
"Quit what?"
Aislin tightened her jaw. "Quit hanging around with him. Quit training with him. Quit dropping by the store to check up on him."
"Whoa." Gilda held up her hands between them and took a step back. "You've only known the guy for a few days. Why are you suddenly so possessive?"
"Why would you care? I would have thought you had your hands full with your boyfriend, Mick, anyway." She smirked. "I'll bet Kane must be a huge distraction to that relationship."
Gilda opened her mouth, but no witty comeback emerged. She did want her relationship with Mick to run smoothly. She also wanted Kane to be occupied elsewhere. Didn't she?
"I thought so." Aislin flashed a triumphant smile. "I'd say you could have him, but I'm not done with him. You might want to keep your distance so you don't get caught in the cross fire."
Gilda's stomach sank. What cross fire? "What do you mean you're not done with him?"
"Don't concern yourself. You have much bigger things to worry about." She turned to leave. "Like Gary's accident."
The room suddenly seemed unusually still. Airless. Finally, Aislin smiled and opened the door before she walked away.
Gilda stood in the middle of the living room, her eyes wide, wondering what she should do first. Call Gary? Follow Aislin? Or see how much Kane really knew about his new employee? Before she could make a decision, her cell phone rang.
"Gilda, you need to get to the hospital right away." Mick sounded upset. "Gary's been in a car accident."
"What?" She sat on the end of the couch as a chill rolled over her like a waterfall. Yet another one of Aislin's predictions had come true. A strong shudder shook her whole body. "Is he okay?"
"Yeah, but he's been asking for you," he said. "Do you want me to pick you up?"
"No, I'll just drive myself crazy waiting for you. It's not far. I'll be right there." Once the worst of the shaking had passed, she grabbed her keys, locked the front door, and ran to the hospital.
Kane leaned on the railing along the front steps of the hospital with a cup of tea in one hand. He nodded when he saw her and tapped Mick, who sat nearby, with his head in his hands, a paper coffee cup beside him.
Mick glanced up then stood slowly. "Hey."
"Is Gary okay?" She threw her arms around him and held on for dear life. "Why aren't you guys inside with him?"
"Doc kicked us out." He stroked her hair. "They were taking Gary for X-rays and a bunch of tests so he sent us to get coffee."
Bile rose in the back of Gilda's throat. "Is Gary that bad?"
"Yeah," Mick whispered.
Kane placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "Come o
n, let's go wait inside. You both need to sit down. I can go grab you a latte, Gilda, but you have to promise not to get in Doc's face until I get back."
"It's okay. I'm good. Let's go wait inside." She clung to Mick's hand and glanced at Kane, glad both men were with her, or she would probably have a meltdown. Gary had not only been her protector but a huge support when she'd thought Mick was a murderer earlier that summer and then again when he'd lost his hearing. "What happened to him?"
Mick took her hand. "Fabio figures a deer jumped out in front of his car, but there was no sign of an animal. Gary drove into the ditch and hit a tree to avoid it. His seat belt and airbag saved his life, but the impact broke some ribs and probably his collarbone and shoulder."
"Oh wow." Gilda's legs grew weak.
Kane caught her. "At least he's alive, love. Doc says he'll need time to heal, but…"
"But what?" She turned to face him.
He kept one arm around her as he steered both her and Mick inside the hospital. " You need to sit. Let's get you inside before we talk."
"No." Mick shook his head. "We need to talk to Gary first, so we can sort things out."
"What's going on?" Gilda stepped back. "What are you guys hiding?"
Kane and Mick exchanged glances until Kane bowed his head. "Sorry, love."
Mick blew out a slow breath. "Gary told Fabio something before they loaded him in the ambulance. It might have just been the pain talking, but…"
"But I asked them not to say anything until I can talk to Gary." Fabio stood three feet away behind Kane with a deep frown etched into his face. He held a cup of coffee in each hand as Thayer trailed behind him. "It looks like I came back just in time."
"I'm sorry, but she needs to know," Mick said. "You'd better talk to her now before she hears any rumors. Gilda's the closest thing Gary has to next of kin in town."
Fabio closed his eyes and motioned to a vacant office nearby. "Gilda, could you please come with me?" He turned to Kane. "When Doc comes back, would you please be kind enough to knock and let us know?"
"Yes, sir." Kane nodded, his gaze downcast and his expression grim.
Gilda hugged her stomach as Mick put one arm around her to escort her to the nearest office. Fabio was being overly polite, a sure sign his anger was ready to explode. Her chest and throat constricted, forcing her breathing to become more shallow. Why didn't anyone just come out and tell her what was going on?
