“But that’s not really the issue,” I said. “Twice I’ve seen him at the bank depositing a lot of cash. A whole bag of cash.”
“I hear you,” Dinah said. “And we know the nail salon doesn’t seem to be open much. Even when they are, they don’t have much business.” She stopped to think for a moment. “So when Emily said the owner had been in there getting his nails done, it must have been Evan.” Dinah started to say something, but she stopped herself. “Oops—can’t say anything bad about men getting their nails done. Commander gets manicures. Though no polish,” she added quickly.
“So what do bags of cash for a business that doesn’t seem to be doing well say to you?”
“He’s got money coming from somewhere else and he wants it to look like it’s coming from the nail salon.” Dinah picked up the cup and put it down again. “And it’s a pretty sure bet that it isn’t something legal.”
“Exactly,” I said. “And Delaney handled most of the transactions. Everybody I talked to said she took the friendliness a little too far. Suppose she started to ask questions and figured out the same thing that we just did.” I backtracked to the note on Tony’s business card. “I didn’t realize it at first, but that note wasn’t about a rendezvous with Tony; it was for the Willises’ party. The teller I talked to confirmed that Delaney had said she was invited to a party.”
Dinah had forgotten all about her wedding worries and was caught up in our Sherlock Holmes game. I was pretty caught up in it myself. “Here’s what I think happened,” I said. “Delaney went to the party and was given a drink with something in it. When she got all woozy, somebody took her to CeeCee’s guest apartment. I remember now that there was some dirt on the front of her shoes, as if she’d been ‘helped’ through the back part of the yard and her feet had dragged. The somebody could have turned on the heat and then stuffed something in the vent after they left.”
There was something rattling in my brain that wouldn’t quite come together. “The vest,” I said loudly. “It was wool. Babs’s daughter-in-law said somebody at the party had a reaction to wool. She said something about how if people were allergic to wool they ought to know better than to put their arms around it. If somebody was helping a half-passed-out Delaney, they would have had their arms all over that vest.” I was on a roll now.
“And remember at the nail salon, when Adele asked about the lambskin pad? The manicurist said it was fake because the customer she’d just had, which Emily told us was the owner, was allergic to wool.
“It’s Evan, I’m sure.” I had remembered something else. “Kelsey returned that cream because she said it had lanolin in it. Lanolin comes from sheep, and if you’re allergic to wool, you’re allergic to lanolin as well.”
Dinah was nodding along excitedly, and I felt sure we’d really made a breakthrough. Now, what to do with that information?
CHAPTER 28
It was chilly the next morning, so I put on a multicolored wool infinity scarf and wound it around a few times as I got ready for work. I was still thinking about what to do with what I had figured out. Dinah had suggested I call Barry and tell him about Evan Willis and the bags of cash and how I thought it was connected to Delaney Tanner’s death. But I had two concerns. When I went over it all in my head again, I thought it might sound a little crazy, and also like I was just trying to get the heat off Tony. And I thought Barry might take it all as just an excuse to call him. No—before I told him anything, I had to be sure.
I thought I had put it all on the back burner of my mind, but as I started to drive to the bookstore, I felt a sudden desire to take a detour. I turned in the opposite direction and drove to the street behind CeeCee’s property. I pulled to the curb and looked at the wall of greenery along the back of her place. I could tell by the dip in the curb where the gate was, which was almost directly across from the Willises’ house, though that didn’t really prove anything, especially since Babs had found out that the gate was common knowledge.
As I was staring at the fence, I saw the gate across the driveway opening as a car waited to pull out. Inside the yard, Evan, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, was crossing toward the house, bouncing a small ball.
I didn’t stop to think but rather just seized the moment and rushed across the street. The car pulled out and cleared the driveway, and I slipped in just before the gate shut.
A voice in my head screamed, What are you doing? Get out of there while you can! But I couldn’t stop now, though I did pause to compose a text message to Barry, just in case I got in over my head. It had happened before. But my tote bag swung forward, and I must have hit the phone, because the partial message seemed to have disappeared. There was no time to fuss with my phone to find it. Besides, I had just come up with a plan.
I got to the front door and was going to knock, but it pushed open easily when I touched it. “Yoo-hoo,” I called as I went in. I added a few more hellos but got no response. Nobody was in the living room, and the soft soles of my shoes didn’t make a sound on the terra-cotta pavers in the hallway. As I got closer to the kitchen, I heard water splashing.
I called out another yoo-hoo as I went into the room and put on a friendly smile. Evan was standing at the sink—the noise of the running water must have covered up my greeting. He jumped when he saw me.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded.
“Oh, I’m sorry if I scared you,” I said in a breezy voice. “The gate was open and I wanted to show something to Kelsey. It’s about the baby shower.” I held up the tote bag.
“She’s not here,” he said, coming across the kitchen in an obvious attempt to guide me out of there.
“Well, then, you can help me,” I said. I barely stopped to breathe, continuing to talk, doing my best impression of Babs. “You must be in shock about Tony being arrested for Delaney Tanner’s murder. I know you said you didn’t know who she was, but I’m sure by now you realize she was the teller at the bank. And of course you know about the back gate at CeeCee’s.”
He had been nodding noncommittally as I went on, but he finally interrupted. “Until the other night, I didn’t know anything about that gate. How about you just get to the reason why you’re here?” He sounded annoyed.
“I know you own the nail salon,” I said. His face registered surprise and displeasure.
“It’s nail salons, plural,” he said with an edge. “What’s your point? That it doesn’t have the same prestige of my former job?” he asked. He was clearly getting impatient and irritated—not a good combination in a possible murderer. “I’m busy now. Why don’t you come back when Kelsey is here?”
“I know more than that,” I said. “I know what really happened to Delaney Tanner.”
Evan didn’t lose an ounce of his calm. “And so do the cops. They arrested Tony Bonnard.”
He had taken my arm and was walking me to the door. I only had moments left to get any evidence against him. “Okay, then,” I said, stopping. “The real reason I came here was to show Kelsey a sample of this.” I reached in my bag, feeling around for a project. “I wanted to make sure she thought it was soft enough.” All I came up with was the cowl I was making for Samuel. Bamboo yarn wouldn’t do any good. I needed wool. We were almost to the door when I remembered my scarf. I grabbed the longer loop of it and rubbed it against his cheek. “It’s one hundred percent wool,” I said. I took a step back and waited for the fireworks to start.
CHAPTER 29
“Nothing happened?” Dinah said incredulously. “Maybe it takes a few minutes for the allergy to kick in?”
“I don’t think so. I made it clear it was wool, and he didn’t say anything like, ‘Get that off me.’ Well, he did say something to that effect, but it wasn’t because of the wool. He seemed to think I was coming on to him.” I rocked my head, reliving the embarrassment as Dinah tried not to laugh. We were seated in the café at the bookstore. I’d called Dinah as soon as I’
d gotten to work. Her house was barely a block away, so she’d come right over and bought me a red eye so I could drown my sorrows in caffeine. I took a long drag on the drink. “How could I have been so wrong? He wasn’t allergic to wool. And he just seemed impatient when I brought up the idea that I knew stuff about Delaney’s death.”
We sat, brooding over our coffee for a few minutes. “All I can say is, I’m sure glad I didn’t go running to Barry pointing an accusing finger at Evan. Or send that text message.”
Dinah leaned across the table and gave me a consoling pat. “And I’m glad you didn’t listen to me when I suggested it.” She hesitated. “I really hate to say this, but what if the cops have it right this time? Maybe Tony invited Delaney to meet him at the party. It sounded like there were a lot of people, so she might not have been noticed by the hosts. Didn’t they tent part of the yard?” Dinah picked up the end of her scarf and waved it around. “Maybe we should do the wool test on Tony.”
I shook my head at the suggestion. “It’s complicated. Mason told me not to investigate, and I’m certainly not supposed to do anything that involves his client.”
“And you’re going to listen?” Dinah asked.
“I don’t know.” I was about to explain my dilemma with Mason when Mrs. Shedd came into the café and interrupted.
“There you are,” my boss said. “We need to talk.” She had that sound in her voice that made it clear we weren’t going to be talking about anything good.
Dinah gave my arm a reassuring pat. “I’m sure you can handle it whatever it is. And now I have a class to teach.” Her chair scraped the floor as she got up. I followed Mrs. Shedd into the bookstore. When she led me to her office, I knew it was really trouble.
“Sit,” she said, indicating a chair. “Molly, we are days away from starting Yarn University, and I just found out that Sheila is having a problem. I heard she couldn’t even make it through a practice class!”
I saw her point. The office was filled with boxes of Yarn U T-shirts, tote bags and knitting and crochet tools. “I’m afraid you’ve gotten distracted with this latest murder business.”
“I was the one to find the body,” I said.
“Okay, but that doesn’t mean you have to find the killer. Besides, the police already arrested Tony Bonnard. Just let it go and do something to solve the Sheila problem.”
It was clear she was finished, so I got up and went back to the yarn department.
It was one of those moments when everything seemed to be caving in. I’d been wrong about Evan, I wasn’t happy with what Mason had said about me investigating, and what Mrs. Shedd said about Sheila was true. Maybe I could at least do something about the last one.
I marched over to Luxe and walked in as Sheila was handing a customer her package. I waited until the customer had left the store before reading Sheila the riot act. “I know you said you didn’t want to do a practice class, but you absolutely have to,” I insisted. Sheila didn’t seem happy with the idea but agreed to come to the bookstore during her lunch break.
Then I marched back to the bookstore and called Adele out. “I know you told Mrs. Shedd about Sheila,” I said.
“I didn’t mean to. I was trying to help by telling Mrs. Shedd that if anything went wrong I could step in,” Adele said. I shook my head. Adele couldn’t help being Adele. I told her about the practice class.
“Just be there,” I said.
I agreed with Mrs. Shedd that Yarn University should be my first concern, but I couldn’t help thinking about who killed Delaney Tanner. I still couldn’t believe I could have been so wrong about Evan. All the pieces seemed to fit. I pulled out my cell phone. I knew Dinah was teaching a class, so I sent her a text asking her to get more details from her student about the owner of the nail salon and his manicure.
I didn’t care what Mason said to do or not do. I had to be true to myself. I called CeeCee, prepared to ask her straight out if Tony was allergic to wool and if he’d had a rash recently. But I got her voice mail. I left a message asking her to call me back.
I felt better now that I had taken steps to deal with everything. But the good feeling was short-lived, as I saw Jaimee and Todd come into the bookstore a few minutes later. I had the feeling they were going to be trouble. Jaimee was dressed in her usual expensive-casual look, and Todd was in tennis clothes. Seeing him from a distance reminded me of something, but I couldn’t sort out what. Mrs. Shedd went over to them, and the next thing I knew, Jaimee was pointing in my direction. Todd held on to her hand and then reluctantly let it go, before he turned to leave. Did that mean they were back together?
Jaimee had a big smile when she reached me in the yarn department. I almost fell over when she hugged me.
“I understand you’re the one who explained to Todd why I was upset. I am a little surprised, though. I thought I’d made it really clear to him what the problem was, but I guess he didn’t get it.” She stopped for a breath. “He’s invited me to stay with him until the house is done. Then, who knows?” She seemed as giddy as a teenager. I waited for what was to come next—I didn’t really believe she had just come here to share her news.
“Now I realize how petty it was to keep Todd’s things, but I was so angry. Anyway, I want to get everything back to him.” She looked around, as if she was worried he was still there. “I don’t want him to know that I lied to him when I told him everything was in a storage unit, when it was really at my place. Brooklyn is against us getting back together, so she won’t help, but I want to get his things and surprise him. Todd dropped me off here. He thinks you and I are having lunch together. Could you give me a lift to my place and help me get the stuff? You can drop me off at Mason’s.” When I didn’t say yes immediately, she went on. “I’m sure you want me out of the house so you and Mason can get cozy.”
She definitely hit a nerve with that comment, so I agreed to take her during my lunch break. Sheila was coming into the bookstore as we were walking out, and she seemed relieved when I said I’d have to postpone her practice class.
* * *
Jaimee couldn’t make enough comments about the greenmobile and all the modern amenities it was missing. “I’m surprised it has seat belts,” she said, putting hers on. I started to react to her comment, but she claimed she was just joking, which I doubted since she seemed to have no sense of humor.
She directed me through Encino and then up into the hills to Mulholland Drive. My phone made a few noises to announce something, but I ignored it. We had a mesmerizing view of the Valley below us as the road curved around, until she had me turn off into a small development of luxury homes—really just a long street that ended in a cul-de-sac. They were all similar but had slightly different designs done in off-white stucco with terra-cotta tile roofs. It seemed very quiet, like nobody was home in any of the houses. There were a few cars parked on the street and in some of the driveways. Jaimee pointed out hers, and I pulled in.
There was a Dumpster out front, but it appeared the workers were gone for the day. I expected the inside of her place to be stripped down, but as we passed the living room, it looked intact. “I thought you were redoing your house,” I said. What I didn’t say was that it looked like she didn’t really have to move out.
“I’m redoing the den,” Jaimee said, pointing out the next room we passed. It had been emptied, and the flooring had been stripped down to the concrete. A workbench with a saw and other tools was in the middle of the room. I noticed a stack of lumber and some cinder blocks. The room seemed dimly lit, even with the French doors leading outside. Then I saw that the patio outside was covered, which cut down on the light that made it inside.
I followed her to one of the bedrooms. She folded back the closet door, and I saw an array of men’s clothes hanging from the rack and a stack of blue gym bags on the ground. She seemed surprised by the amount of stuff. “Maybe we’ll just take some of it now.”
&n
bsp; I was really trying to be better about my cell phone. Remembering that it had chirped with the sound for messages, I pulled it out and looked at the screen, but it said “No service.” Jaimee noticed what I was doing. “Cell service is spotty up here. You might have to drive around the cul-de-sac. Just keep an eye on the screen until you see that you’ve got service and stop there,” she said. I guess I gave her a look, because she told me they were putting in a tower nearby that was going to assure consistent service. Of course, that was no help to me now.
I got in the car and backed out of the driveway and then started toward the dead end of the street, going about five miles an hour. I reached the end and came back around and still, no service. I turned around where the street fed into Mulholland and tried again. I finally had to drive out onto Mulholland before the phone would work. I checked through the phone and saw that I’d received a text.
“What?” I gasped as I read it over. Dinah had gotten some information from her student Emily that absolutely changed everything.
I quickly drove back and went into the house to get Jaimee. When I passed the den, I saw that she had moved some of the gym bags in there. I went to have a look at them. The first couple held tennis balls and rackets, but the next one was full of cash. There were bundles of singles and five-dollar bills. And then I heard voices. This is not good, I thought. I couldn’t tell where the voices were coming from, so I grabbed the first hiding spot I could find. It wasn’t very original, but the closet seemed like it would work. The door had louvered slats, and I could see into the room, but I was pretty sure I couldn’t be seen. I tried my phone again, but it still had no service.
“Yes, I followed you, sweetie,” Todd said. “I knew it would be too much for you to manage. I’ll just take all the gym bags. You can bring my clothes if you want.”
Seams Like Murder Page 22
