Clarets of Fire

by Christine E. Blum

  I put a harness on Bardot and attached a long leash. In this case I needed to let her take the lead. When we reached the shell remains of the mall, we stopped at the section where the drugstore had been. I hadn’t thought about how we were going to get up to the attic section of the stores, and I hadn’t brought a ladder. I took a quick look around and saw a possibility. There was a structure next to the mall but a separate building that had not burned. There was a shed at the side of it that you could climb onto from the building’s backdoor steps. From there it was a short hop to the mall roof and the ventilation holes that the firefighters had made into the attic.

  “Okay, Marisol, you limit your search to what you can find on the ground floor of the drugstore. Here’s a handful of baggies, so collect anything that you think might be useful and bag it with your gloved hand. I’m talking glass shards, cigarettes, matches, hair samples, anything that looks out of place for this kind of store. Got it?”

  “This isn’t my first rodeo.”

  “Most importantly, be safe. If anything feels wrong, you get out of there right away.”

  “Anything? Like you and Bardie falling on my head? Like that anything?”

  “We’re going to be super careful up there too. I only plan to step inside a short way and only onto metal beams.”

  “There’d better be some wings in my future.”

  I watched her step inside the gutted building, and then I hoisted Bardot onto the roof of the shed. Instead of being afraid, she seemed to think that this was the kind of adventure that she’d been waiting for her entire life. She wasn’t being reckless. She seemed to recognize the importance of this mission. I must remember to ask Jack just exactly what he does with her when he takes her to the Santa Monica Mountains for night training without me.

  I climbed up onto the shed as well and donned my night vision goggles. It was actually more like a pair of binoculars with a head strap, but the thermal imaging made objects appear as clear as in daylight. I wondered where Marisol got all this paraphernalia and what it cost. I figured that this was another one of her schemes she’d work with somebody on to get them for cheap. The jump to the roof of the mall was just a couple of feet, but this time I went first to make sure that there was something solid to stand on. When I felt safe, I commanded Bardot to hop up. Once on top, her nose started pulsating and working overtime. I let her smell the gold pen again. She wagged her tail and put her nose down to what was left of the attic floor. I tied one end of the long leash around my waist so that if she fell through, the harness would stay on and I could pull her back up. Assuming that I didn’t fall with her. I spread my feet apart to get a steadier purchase of the beam below me. Meanwhile Bardot seemed to recognize that she needed to proceed with extreme caution.

  “Find anything?” I heard a shout from below.

  “Quiet, Marisol, or someone will hear you and call the cops.”

  “Just asking,” she said in a softer voice.

  Bardot started to gently tug on the line. We were getting close to the area where the firefighters had made a vertical ventilation hole. It was a clear drop from there all the way down to the floor.

  “Slowly, Bardot,” I whispered.

  Pieces of debris fell off the edge as we moved closer to the opening.

  “Ouch! You did that on purpose.”

  “Marisol, shhhhhhh.”

  Bardot stopped and started scraping away bits of roofing material with her paw. She was working harder than a cat with a fresh litter box. I crouched down to get a better look. Suddenly, she began a barking sequence.

  Crap, I bet she’s going to do this ten times.

  Sure enough that was the count that Jack had taught her to do when she found her target. I bent over with my goggles and saw a piece of something that looked orange. I could hear a siren in the distance, so I quickly scooped it up into a baggie.

  “Marisol, we have to go. NOW!”

  We reverse-engineered our ascent, but this time I went first down to the shed and then helped Bardot with a half lift from me and a half hop from her. The marine layer had battled with the warmer evening air and won, making all the surfaces damp and slippery with dew.

  Marisol was waiting for me on the back steps of the undamaged building when we got down. In her hands she held at least a half dozen filled baggies.

  “Good work. Now quietly and slowly let’s walk to the car.”

  The sound of the siren got much closer, and we looked at each other and broke out into a run.

  I was not spending a night in jail with Marisol.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The next morning, I woke up late and as I padded into the kitchen to make tea, I scanned all the baggies that I had strewn across my living room coffee table. I was pretty sure that it had been Augie in that police car last night, but even if it wasn’t he would have been told about possible intruders at the mall. Which meant that Marisol couldn’t ask him to do any testing on our evidence without giving ourselves away.

  I heard Jack’s truck pull up outside and quickly scooped up the bags and hid them under the sofa. Bardot, also sleepy, thought that a game was commencing and got down on her belly to try to retrieve them.

  “No, Bardot. Leave it. This is not a game. I am just cleaning up for a change.”

  “Hi, babe, you just get up?” Jack looked at his watch. “Isn’t Penelope supposed to be here in like twenty minutes?”

  “Yes, I’m just making some tea and then I’ll dress quickly. I couldn’t get much sleep last night, Jack.”

  “Aww, I’m sorry, darlin’. It’s because I wasn’t there to keep you warm.”

  He enveloped me in his arms.

  What? I didn’t lie, I hadn’t had much sleep. That’s the truth!

  I put the kettle on and returned to the bedroom to throw on some clothes.

  “Hey, I talked to Mark this morning, and he says that the DEA’s got a lead on some pharmaceutical Oxy that’s just hit the area. They were going out to investigate today. Somewhere by the beach in Venice,” Jack shouted from the living room.

  I also heard the chomping noise stop and figured that Bardot had finished her morning kibble. The sound of a soft burp confirmed it. Right about now I bet that she was ambling out the back to resume sleeping in the sun. Who could blame her? I only wished that I could do the same.

  “Hello, luvs. Is that the kettle I just heard go off?”

  “Your timing is perfect, Penelope,” I said, coming through the hallway. We exchanged kisses on both cheeks. “Make yourself comfortable while I make the tea. I actually have some orange scones to go with.”

  “Excellent. Hello, handsome Jack. I bet that you’ve already had a full day of dog training. I know that you start even before the roosters crack an eyelid.”

  “That’s true, Penelope. The best time to work with dogs is before they’ve had their breakfast and haven’t eaten in about twelve hours. They’ll do pretty much anything you command for a treat.”

  “You’re marrying such a wise man, Halsey.”

  “He can’t be that smart if he’s marrying me.” I brought in a tray with the tea and scones.

  “I’m the luckiest man in the world.”

  Jack was sitting on the sofa under which I’d stashed last night’s evidence. Which was a relief because it meant that it would stay firmly in place under his weight. Bardot came in after hearing Penelope’s voice and gave her a smooch. She then went down on her back on the sisal rug and made serpentine undulations to thoroughly back scratch.

  That’s my family.

  “All right,” Penelope said, unpacking a stack of photos from her bag. Now that the date is set, we can start working on some of the details for your wedding. Having recently gone through this myself, it’s all fresh in my mind, including the vendors we used.”

  Penelope laid out a series of pictures of table settings with floral centerpieces.

  “These run the spectrum of very formal to more casual and natural.”

  “I’m casua
l and natural,” I heard Sally say, popping her head in the doorway. “I saw Penelope’s car out front and had to make sure that I wasn’t missing a party.”

  “You’re not and we could use your help, Sally. We’re doing some wedding planning.” I motioned for her to join us.

  “Oh Lordy. Joe and I got hitched during the Carter administration and we were poor as church mice. It was held in his uncle’s backyard, and in honor of Carter we had bowls of peanuts in the shell at each table for the reception.”

  “Sounds like my kind of party.” Jack grinned.

  We spent the next hour discussing and debating the merits of different florist styles, save-the-date cards, the guest list, the menu, and the entertainment. We really didn’t settle on much as Aimee, also attracted by the cars outside my house, dropped in, adding another opinion and more fuel for debate. At one point I just looked at Jack and smiled. He mouthed the word elope and raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders.

  It was a tempting thought.

  “I found this fellow waiting around outside and figured that he belonged to one of you,” Peggy announced, leading Andrew into my house.

  “Oh, Andrew, sorry we’re running a tad late,” Penelope apologized. “We rode in together so that he could chat with the Brunos about our joint venture.”

  “Come on in, you two. Is that still on, with the pizza place being out of commission?” I asked Andrew.

  “Certainly our side of the bargain is. Isabella has worked out an arrangement with Aimee to use her kitchen space on off-hours to prepare and freeze individual artisan pizzas for us to bake and sell at the winery.”

  “That’s what I was coming to tell you, Halsey,” Aimee explained. “Isabella called me this morning to ask if they could rent some space in my store. Of course I refused the money, but she insisted.”

  “What a perfect solution,” Sally beamed.

  “And they want to buy a real pizza oven for our kitchen.” Penelope clapped her hands.

  “I thought that Malcolm was building an outdoor stone oven?” Peggy commented.

  “He is, but Isabella doesn’t want to rely on that to be the only resource.”

  Rico and Isabella must have gotten some insurance money . . .

  My living room was now filled with people so, of course, Marisol waltzed right in.

  “Is that all you’re serving?” she asked me. “You’re getting cheap in your old age.”

  “Cheap? I don’t remember inviting—”

  Bardot let out a growl, got down on her belly, and tried to shimmy under the sofa.

  “What’s up, girl, did your ball roll under there?” Jack asked, standing up. Sally and Andrew who were seated there as well followed Jack’s lead.

  “No!” I shouted, causing everyone to stop and stare at me. Except Marisol, because she had her head in my refrigerator and was scrounging for food.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell, but I’m working on Bardot’s manners. She doesn’t get to be the center of attention when I have guests.”

  “Ah, good point,” Jack said, sitting down again.

  Bardot kept trying to flatten her body to the width of a deli sandwich and was pawing at the space under the couch.

  “Psst,” Jack said, putting a stop to her machinations.

  Marisol returned to the living room with a plate holding a sandwich and a pickle.

  “You know, this is probably the first time that we’ve all gathered in one room without any open wine bottles,” Aimee remarked, and the girls looked at each other.

  “Too early for me. I haven’t even had breakfast,” I said.

  Jack stood. “I’ve got to hit the road, babe. I’m working with a pair of whippets this afternoon in Westlake Village. Thanks, Penelope. I hope we were of some help at least.”

  “You were, Jack. Really.”

  “What we need is a Wine Club devoted to wedding planning,” Sally declared.

  “Brilliant idea,” Peggy chimed in.

  Great, the waters were muddied enough when everyone was sober.

  “Your dog is staring at me, Halsey. Why is she doing that?” Andrew asked.

  Jack had left and so had Bardot’s manners.

  “Maybe she thinks that you’re an Afghan hound with that long curly hair, Andrew.” Penelope laughed.

  “Very funny. We should be getting back to Malibu. I know that Malcolm was hoping that I’d help him in the fields this afternoon.”

  Andrew got up, leaving only Sally to weigh down the sofa. Since it sat on the wood floor and not the rug, Bardot could push it back if she put enough muscle into it.

  “Yes, we must be off. Thanks for the tea, Halsey. And ladies, don’t forget the harvest is on Halloween, so get ready for a sleepover.” Penelope gave me a hug.

  “Sounds like fun,” Andrew remarked, staring at me.

  “Is it really one o’clock? I’ve got to get to the yogurt shop!”

  “I’ll walk out with you, Aimee,” Sally said.

  When Sally got up off the sofa, Bardot went to work on moving it. Peggy and I watched, and I must admit I was impressed with her determination.

  “Why don’t I just pick one end up; it’s clear that she’s not going to give up until she retrieves her ball,” Peggy said, lifting one arm of the sofa into the air.

  Bardot quickly moved in and started batting baggies away until she found the one with the orange piece of plastic that she’d tracked in the mall attic.

  She then began her sequence of ten barks again.

  “Don’t you have any cookies?” Marisol asked, handing me her empty plate.

  * * *

  “I’m relieved to hear what these really are . . . for a moment I thought that I’d found your stash of crack cocaine bags.”

  I’d gathered up all the evidence and spread it out on the coffee table for us to review. Peggy picked up one that looked to contain some pieces of colored glass.

  “The claret wine bottle is green. I saw it up close the other day when Jack and I drove up to the winery to talk about the wedding venue. I’m not sure where the other colors of glass would have come from.”

  “You ever go into that drugstore?” Peggy asked. I shook my head and looked over at Marisol as she did the same. I noticed that she was now enjoying my Jeni’s Middle West Whiskey & Pecans ice cream.

  “I’ll have you know that that is a twelve-dollar pint of ice cream that you are inhaling, Marisol.”

  “It’s good, but you’re going to need to get some more though.” She spooned the last bit of creamy, salty, butterscotch vanilla into her mouth.

  “Ahem, back to the glass,” Peggy said to focus us. “The store had a collection of old apothecary jars in different colors displayed on a shelf that hung on the side wall. I strongly suspect that is where these shards came from.”

  I was starting to think that this had all been a horrible waste of time. And I was getting a massive headache from not eating.

  Peggy picked up a couple more bags.

  “Who collected these?”

  “I did. Halsey told me that if I found hair, I should bag it up.”

  “It looks like you found several different ones, Marisol. The blond one is pretty long, and not dyed . . . look at the root.”

  Peggy handed me the bag. I saw Marisol staring at my roots and gave her a threatening stink eye.

  “I’m out. I need a nap,” she said.

  “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Marisol.”

  “I can’t hear you.”

  “If I ever kill her, which could be any day, I hope that I can count on you to provide me with an alibi, Peggy.”

  “You got it.” She picked up another bag, one that had a long, dark hair strand in it.

  “I’m trying to picture the staff in there. I know that the pharmacist was a bald man with glasses, but he did have at least a couple of assistants. Both women, if I recall.”

  I took the bag from her and held it up to the light.

  “The fire was on a Sunday, wh
en the drugstore was closed. I think that they close around four on Saturdays. The key thing to know is whether their janitorial staff comes in after they close for the weekend or before they open on Monday.”

  “I can check on that. I’ve got a couple of prescriptions that came from there and I have the pharmacist’s card. I’m pretty sure that it’s his cell phone that is listed.”

  I remembered Peggy’s comment about getting old, a worrying thought.

  “And we have this,” Peggy said, examining the piece of orange plastic that I had recovered in the attic.

  Bardot instantly stood up and watched Peggy handle the evidence.

  “Believe me, I have stared at that thing and examined it under a bright light from every angle. I got nothing. The only way this could be of help would be if it tested positive for fingerprints and those prints were in the system to identify the owner.”

  “I can probably have the test done if I may borrow this for a while?”

  “Sure.”

  “Oh, and my associate got back to me with what he found on this Liza Gilhooly. You ready for this?”

  “I am, Peggy, but Marisol has just consumed every ounce of food I had and if I don’t eat in the next ten minutes, I’m going to bite into a vein in my arm and suck out all my blood.”

  “Sounds pretty drastic. We’d better go then!”

  * * *

  Even though this was an “any port in a storm” dining emergency, the thought of melted cheese and corn tortillas had popped into my head and now it was that or bust. Really only ten minutes away, Paco’s Tacos was the destination of choice.

  For forty-five years this fine establishment has been serving the Mar Vista area with freshly made Mexican fare. The story goes that Paco Haro went from a modest taco stand to an eighteen-table restaurant that is so popular that you’ll often find groups of people sipping margaritas in the lounge waiting for their tables to open up. Despite the taco place being open every day of the year. The menu offers everything from burritos to enchiladas to seafood and yes, delicious tacos. Staff freshly chopping pico de gallo and crafting tortillas from scratch are in full view to the diners. The Supermex Burrito filled with beef, avocado, beans, and topped with special green sauce and melted cheese is the fan favorite and exactly what the doctor ordered for me.