As the group broke up, CJ spotted me. But instead of coming over, he shooed everyone toward their cars. I slid down in my seat, hoping no one else would notice me. A few minutes later there was a tap on my window. I popped back up to let CJ inside the car.
“What’s with the subterfuge?” he asked as he climbed in the passenger seat.
“You didn’t answer my calls, and I didn’t want you to have to be seen with me if I’m the person of interest you mentioned in the press conference.” CJ’s warm presence seemed to fill the car.
CJ shook his head. “I’ve been busy. What do you need?” He didn’t do anything to reassure me that I wasn’t the person of interest.
“Why do you assume I need something?”
“Because that’s how it’s been between us.”
Was that true? I thought over our interactions of the past few months. He wasn’t being fair, but that wasn’t why I was here. I held in a sigh. “I’m here because I stumbled across a connection between Frieda Chida, Margaret, and Juanita.” I filled him in. “I just wanted to make sure you knew. And I was worried about how angry Frieda seemed.”
“You can afford a cleaning lady now?”
“That’s your takeaway from what I just told you?” I stared at him. “It was a one-shot deal. The garage sale on base is taking a lot more time than I expected. As is the virtual site.” I knew he wouldn’t like that my real reason for having Frieda come over was to find out what she knew.
CJ leaned back against the seat and blew out a breath. “Thanks for the information. I didn’t know how angry she is.” He opened the door, climbed out, and looked back at me. “I miss you.”
He closed the door and walked to his car. He folded himself into his little red Sonic. Without looking back at me, he pulled out.
“I miss you, too.”
* * *
“He said he missed you?” Carol asked. Her last class had just let out as I pulled up into my driveway. I’d hightailed it over to her shop to talk over my conversation with CJ. We both held glasses of wine and sat in her studio behind the classroom section of her shop.
“Yes. I don’t get it. First, he’s short, then he’s Mr. Official Police Chief, and now this.” I took a large gulp of wine. “I’m so confused.”
“I’m guessing he is, too. You tell him to stay away. Then you look all hot when he’s taking you out to dinner. And now you lurk in a dark parking lot to talk to him.”
“Whose side are you on? You’re the one that wanted me to go all out the night we went to dinner.”
“I’m on your side.” Carol smiled. “CJ needed a reminder of what he was missing. And it looks like it worked.”
“I envy you and Brad.”
Carol’s smile slipped a little.
“You two are okay, aren’t you?”
She took a drink of her wine. “Yes. It’s just that between the stresses of both of our jobs and the kids, we don’t have much time.”
Brad worked at the Veterans Administration hospital in Bedford. “He must be under a lot of pressure with all the scrutiny and accusations about the VA,” I said.
“That about sums it up. Things have picked up a lot here, which is good, but it keeps me busy on the weekends and evenings, when he’s home.”
“Do you want me to babysit the kids or the shop some night?”
“That would be lovely. Why did you go see CJ in the first place?”
I told her about the connection between Frieda, Juanita, and Margaret. “I’m trying to find other connections between them.”
“I might know of one.”
“How do you even know who Frieda and Juanita are?” I figured everyone knew Margaret, so asking about her wasn’t necessary.
“With my schedule, I’ve been using cleaning ladies. Frieda uses too many strong chemicals. I had to air the place out.”
I nodded.
“Then I saw a coupon from Juanita. And who can pass up having your house cleaned for fifty dollars?”
“Did you have any problems with her?”
Carol stared into her wineglass for a second. “It wasn’t exactly a problem.”
“What happened? Doors unlocked? Windows open?”
“The bathroom smelled a little like cigarette smoke. But maybe it was just my imagination. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I stopped for coffee at that place off Great Road, Ellie’s Deli.”
I leaned forward.
“As I parked, Frieda and Juanita stomped out at the same time. Both looked angry. When I went in, Margaret was sitting at a table in the corner, looking like she was holding court.”
“Was she by herself?”
“Someone else was there, but I didn’t recognize her. Why do you care?”
“I think I might be a person of interest. The one CJ called a news conference about. I found Margaret and Juanita. That sounds fishy, even to me.”
“Oh, no. I know how that feels.”
“I flat out asked CJ, and he avoided answering.”
“Have you talked to Vincenzo?”
Vincenzo had represented Carol last fall, when she’d been arrested for a murder. “Not about this. I didn’t think I needed to. Yet.”
“Have you asked Seth?”
“No. But he called me this morning and said he’d call back, and he hasn’t.”
“The night’s still young.”
I looked at Carol’s wall clock. “Holy crap. It’s almost nine. I should go so you can get home.”
* * *
I pulled up in front of Seth’s house at 9:20 p.m. A sleek black sports car that definitely wasn’t Seth’s was parked in the drive. But at this point I didn’t care who he was entertaining and hurried up the drive. The door opened, and Nichole strolled out, looking very satisfied with herself. She stopped short when she saw me walking toward the door. I didn’t think she liked seeing me here one bit. Before acknowledging me, she opened her purse and pulled something out.
“Here’s my business card. Call me if you need representation.”
She thrust it at me, and I grabbed it without thinking. Oh, no. She thought I needed a lawyer. Why did she think that?
“I . . . I . . . I don’t need a lawyer,” I said, actually stammering. Darn it. If she was right, I’d be calling Vincenzo, not her, anyway. I tried to hand the card back, but she brushed by me and got in her car. I rang Seth’s doorbell and turned when I didn’t hear the car start. Nichole lit a cigarette. Yeesh. I’d never realized how many people still smoked. She rolled down her window and waved as she pulled out.
The door opened behind me. “What now, Nichole?” Seth didn’t sound happy. I turned back. He looked tired and none too pleased to see me. That couldn’t be good. He ran a hand over his stubbled face. He stepped out on the porch, instead of asking me in, so I knew things were bad.
“Am I the person of interest CJ talked about in the news conference yesterday?”
Seth looked down at the porch. “I can’t talk about it.”
“But you could with Nichole? She just asked me if I needed representation.”
He met my eyes this time. “She’s a salesperson. She hands out her cards to everyone. Don’t let her play mind games with you.”
“You didn’t answer either of my questions.”
“I can’t talk to you about the first one. And Nichole’s good, if you need a lawyer.”
I trotted down the steps and hurried to my car.
“Sarah, wait,” Seth called out.
But I didn’t. Tomorrow I had to work even harder to find out who killed Margaret and Juanita.
Chapter 28
Thirty minutes later I stood in front of my living room window, looking over the dark town common. Light reflected off the four stories of church windows. Maybe I should call Vincenzo if I was a person of interest. But there really didn’t seem to be any reason to call him right this minute. I’d wait until the morning.
Through the floor I heard Stella singing a song from South Pacific. The one about being in love with a
wonderful guy. I’d been so caught up in my own drama, the words just now registered. I’d noticed Officer Awesome’s car parked in front of the house when I came in. Wow. That was fast. I hoped for the best for Stella, but, boy, romance certainly had more downs than ups. She’d probably be singing the one about washing him out of her hair in no time.
My phone chimed. I wondered if it was Seth, with an apology. I was pretty angry and was not sure I felt very forgiving right now. I walked over to the couch and dug my phone out of my purse. If it was Seth with one of his sad face photos, I might throw the phone out the window. But it wasn’t. It was me. Standing in my apartment window two seconds ago. I swallowed a huge lump in my throat. Whoever had sent it had made it look like a drop of blood was dripping from my chest. The black heart was back, too.
Freaked out, I ran to the window and yanked at the curtains, desperate to get them shut. I jerked so hard, I pulled them and the flimsy curtain rod right off the wall. Now I was really exposed. I hugged the whole mess to me, staring out into the darkness. Was someone out there? Watching all this? Laughing?
I flung the curtains and rod down and one-finger saluted whoever was out there. Take that, you crazy stalker. Then I came to my senses and ran over to shut off the overhead light. Now I missed Mike and his brothers and wished they were still next door. I dropped to the floor and crawled back to the window. I peeked over the sill, but I didn’t see anyone moving or any cars driving away. Up until right now, I’d loved looking at the common at night. Loved the way the moonlight lit the church. The way the trees looked silvery without their leaves.
Awesome’s car was still parked down below. I scurried across my apartment and tore downstairs to Stella’s. I shoved open her door, thinking she really should keep it locked. A startled Officer Awesome leaped off the couch, holding a beer in his hand. Stella whipped her head toward me, mouth open. Thankfully, they were both fully clothed.
“Someone sent me another picture. Me standing in my window.”
Awesome leaped up and was out the door before I said more.
“Are you okay?” Stella asked.
I wasn’t sure if I was okay. I wanted to be, but that photo with the drop of blood, of me in my own apartment . . . Some freak had been spying on me here, in my own home. And his intentions clearly weren’t good.
“Come sit,” Stella said. She poured me a glass of wine and herself some scotch. “Here. This will help. You must be scared.”
I thought about that while I took a drink of the wine. “Scared? Yes, I’m scared, but now I’m mad, too.” I tried to convince myself that anger was the stronger of the many emotions circulating through my head. “I’m going to figure out who’s messing with me. Sending me all these disappearing photos . . . I almost wonder if it’s more than one person.”
“Why?”
“Because some of them are nice pictures complimenting my clothing. Then others are dark. Scary. Threatening.” I tried to hold on to the anger but felt myself slip back to scared. I set my wine on an end table. “I’m an idiot. The angry pictures always come after I’ve been with Seth.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I should have realized it before. Except for the other night. He came over for dinner, and there wasn’t a photo after that. I wonder what was different about that night.” I hugged my arms to my waist. “So now I just have to figure out who doesn’t want me to be with Seth.”
“I don’t have a clue. Do you?”
“Seth’s mother, but I can’t picture her doing this. Nichole. And . . .” I didn’t want to say it out loud.
Stella looked at me. “And CJ. He wouldn’t want you to see Seth.”
“No way it’s CJ. Do you remember meeting James last fall? He’s with the security forces on base.”
“Yes. Do you think it’s him doing all this?”
“I don’t want to. But he’s different since he came back from his deployment.” I stared into the glass of wine. “Maybe there’s someone we aren’t even thinking of.”
Stella nodded but didn’t look convinced. “What about Seth? Doesn’t he seem to be a little too good to be true?”
“No.” I shook my head so hard, it hurt. “I can’t think about this anymore. Let’s talk about something happy. Are you in love with a wonderful guy?”
Stella looked at me like I’d just spoken Russian.
“You were singing about it.”
“Yuck, no. I was practicing. I’m singing at an event to honor Rodgers and Hammerstein. They did a drawing, and that’s the song I got. Trust me, after the last debacle, I’m not in any hurry to fall in love.”
Awesome came back in, frowning. “I didn’t see anyone, but I’m guessing between the time of the picture and the time you got down here, they had plenty of time to get away.”
I sighed. “Figures. No one’s seen who’s doing this. Not once. Not even me.”
“I found some cigarette butts by a tree. I read the reports that there have been others in scenes involving you. They could have been there awhile. It’s not like they were warm.”
Yeesh. Scenes involving me. Reports about me. I stood. “Thanks.”
“I bagged them, just in case.”
Stella hugged me and insisted I take the glass of wine with me upstairs. I looked back at her as I left. “Keep your door locked,” I told her.
Back in my apartment I got out my drill and reattached the curtain rod to the wall and re-hung my curtains. Then I deleted the PopIt app from my phone. I’d been reluctant to do it until now since I’d used it to promote my business. But I didn’t want to see one more picture of myself being watched. It was like living with a bogeyman, and I was tired of it. I couldn’t keep on like this, jumping every time my phone went off or constantly worrying I was going to be arrested for not one, but two murders. I needed to do something. I thought about the night I met Awesome and the bait car, about how the car lured the criminal to them. Maybe that was what I needed to do. Make myself the bait.
Chapter 29
The first thing I did when I woke was download the PopIt app again. The sun had chased away the bogeyman and my fears. I might need PopIt for my plan to work, and I certainly needed it for my business. What had I been thinking last night? I made a cup of coffee and opened my computer. I sat with my fingers poised over the keyboard. I’d come up with a plan, and I’d looked at it from every angle I could think of. It should work. I opened my garage sale site and posted a note: Cleaning and other services available. Introductory offer $50.00. Willing to take on any job.
I took a deep breath and hit SEND. This seemed like a safe way to find out what was going on. The way I figured it was that the person hiring the cleaner was an innocent victim. It was the cleaning person who was caught up in some kind of crime ring. I hoped by putting myself out there, I might flush him or her out with no risk to myself. Since I was undercutting the competition and saying I’d do any job, he or she might think I was the perfect person to replace Juanita. If I got any creepy notes or threats, I’d be at the police station faster than you could empty a wastebasket. Now all I had to do was sit back and see what happened.
Two people answered almost immediately, saying they’d sent me private messages. A third message was from Frieda, and all it said was, WTH?
I chose to assume she meant “What the heck?” and decided that responding wouldn’t do any good. I looked at the other two private messages. One woman asked if I could come today, and the other wanted someone tomorrow. I said yes to both. I gathered what cleaning supplies I had in my house and stashed them in an old galvanized metal bucket that had been sitting under the kitchen sink. I decided to run to the grocery store to pick up a few extra items before going to the first job.
This was kind of exciting. I’d earn some extra money, and how hard could cleaning be? I’d been cleaning up after myself since I was a little girl, my family being firmly behind the idea that a busy kid was a good kid.
* * *
Many hours later—which felt like s
everal days—I dragged my weary rear end back into the house. It was only 5:30 p.m., but it felt like bedtime. Even my fingernails seemed to ache. I’d faced three thousand square feet of disaster, and I wondered if the woman had ever cleaned the place before. She had somehow seemed to think my title was miracle worker, not cleaning lady. Sharpie hadn’t come off the painted walls no matter how many magic cleaning products I’d tried. Then she’d argued about paying me the full fifty dollars, for goodness’ sakes. And I wasn’t any closer to figuring out who had murdered Juanita and Margaret. Or who my stalker was.
I poured myself a glass of wine and eased down onto the couch. The only good news that had come out of the whole ordeal was that she had also hired me to run a garage sale for her in the spring. I’d upped my commission by 10 percent, and she hadn’t blinked. My phone buzzed on the end table. It had been vibrating all day. I had updated the garage sale site when I took quick breaks but had ignored the new voice mails from numbers I recognized. I took a deep breath and looked at the list: CJ, Seth, and Carol. I listened to Carol’s message first.
“Have you lost your freaking mind? You’re cleaning houses now? Come work for me if you need money.”
Next up, CJ. “Do you need money? I’ll increase your alimony or give you all my retirement pay. This housecleaning nonsense better not have anything—let me say that again, anything—to do with Margaret’s and Juanita’s murders.” There was a pause. I could picture him pinching his nose. “Just stop it now. Whatever it is you’re doing.”
Seth. “I heard a wild story that you started a cleaning business. Call me.”
All Murders Final! Page 16
