If Hooks Could Kill

by Betty Hechtman

  He smiled briefly and then his expression dimmed and he looked away. “You caught that, huh,” he said in a low voice. “Run away to the beach with me and I’ll tell you all about it. We can still make the sunset.”

  I checked with Mrs. Shedd and she was fine with me taking off. Mason was waiting by the door when I came to the front with my things.

  “Okay, what’s up?” I said once we were in the black Mercedes sedan and on the freeway.

  He sighed deeply. “I have been spending too much time with my ex-wife. I can’t trust her to do anything on her own with this wedding. I spent the afternoon tasting appetizers and looking at flowers. Jaimee can’t seem to get it through her head that we need someplace for the flowers to be delivered to first. If she would just let me handle it, it would be better, but she’s insisting on being in the middle of everything. When I told you my ex and I had a civil relationship that was because we barely saw each other when there wasn’t other family around.”

  I had never seen Mason like this. He was usually jovial and fun. And yet I liked it because he was opening up to me.

  “By the way, I gave my daughter the hankie you crocheted. She thought it was lovely.”

  “I’m just curious. Who did you tell her it was from?”

  “I said you were a special friend,” he said starting to get back to the Mason I was used to.

  “And she probably thinks I’m the sweet little old lady who lives down the block, right?” I looked over at Mason and he was grinning.

  “Maybe,” he said in a teasing tone. He’d gotten on the 101 Freeway and transitioned onto the 405. Traffic wasn’t bad and we flew past the mountains in the Sepulveda Pass and then through the Westside. I had expected him to turn off someplace, but he kept driving. I wondered if he was so distracted by everything with Jaimee that he’d forgotten where we were going—wherever that was. All he’d said to me was the beach. Should I say something?

  As I watched the connection to the Santa Monica Freeway go by, I decided to speak up. “Are we headed any place in particular?” I said gingerly. “I thought I better say something before we ended up in Tijuana.”

  “Sunshine, I assure you, I’m never so distracted that I’d drive through the border crossing without noticing,” he said with a good-humored laugh. He let out a deep breath and his shoulders relaxed. “I have a plan. I need the ocean, but not the usual Malibu or Santa Monica.”

  He finally turned off the freeway and took surface streets going toward the sun that was hanging low in the sky. I was glad he knew where he was going, because I hadn’t a clue. He pulled into a parking structure and we got out. When we reached the street, he made a grand gesture with his arm. “Manhattan Beach.”

  It had to be at least twenty degrees cooler than the Valley, which was a welcome relief. He took my hand and we crossed the street to a coffee place. “Cappuccinos are a perfect complement to the sunset,” he said before ordering one for each of us. Carrying our drinks we headed down the street of interesting shops and restaurants that sloped toward the water. Ahead the ocean caught the orange sun and a pier jutted out into the water. Just before the beach, a paved walkway went off in both directions. Being a weekday, it wasn’t crowded. The stragglers were carrying their folding chairs and brightly colored towels as they left the beach. A few joggers went past and, on the separate bike trail, some riders rode by. Mason suggested we go to the right.

  “Take a deep breath, sunshine. Smell that cool breeze,” he said as we strolled down the path, sipping our drinks. A gull was almost eye level as it rode on the wind, before it flapped it wings and changed directions. The sky was apricot and pink as the sun hovered over the water.

  On one side was the beach and on the other, houses that were so close to the walkway, we could have stepped right onto any patio and plopped on their lawn furniture. We found a bench and sat facing the water.

  “Uh-oh,” he said with his trademark grin. “I’m starting to think about my ex and the wedding again. Quick, distract me with something in your life. What’s going on with the murder investigation?”

  “You asked for it,” I said, with a laugh. I started to download everything that had happened. “Dan Donahue still seems to be the number one suspect.” I listed the motives, from insurance money to help his business, to it being the no-pay way to get a divorce. “But the trouble is the absence of a murder weapon,” I said. Then I told him about all the swabbing and testing that had been done on Dan’s gun and how none of it came back incriminating Dan. “They need the murder weapon. They need some solid evidence so they can arrest him.”

  “You seem to have a lot of inside information,” he said. “Barry?”

  I rolled my eyes and rocked my head. “Mostly as a stall when I asked him about when he’d be moving out.”

  Mason’s expression faded and he asked if Barry and I were spending a lot of time together. Before I could say anything, he asked if I’d gotten anything specific about when Barry was moving out. Mason shook his head when I told him about the work being done on Barry’s place.

  “That could go on for a year,” Mason said. “You’ve made it entirely too comfortable for him and his son.” Mason realized his tone sounded a little harsh and put his hand over mine. “I know. It all started when he was injured and vulnerable. You are too kind. But that’s what I lov—like about you so much. And you’re fun besides. And I want more time with you.”

  This seemed like the perfect time to bring it up and I asked him about my coming to the wedding.

  “I don’t know. My daughters have never met anyone I—” He interrupted himself. “What is it you were telling me about your day?”

  At least I could tell he was thinking about inviting me. It wasn’t so much about the wedding itself, it was about letting me have full access to his world. He certainly had access to mine.

  But I let the subject go and told him about Adele in her Wizard of Oz outfit and Jeffrey trying to get into the L.A. 911 shot and how weird it was that Jeffrey’s girlfriend’s mother was the Donahue’s next-door neighbor. When I got to the part about sending Jeffrey down to check out the action, Mason seemed concerned again.

  “You’re really attached to that kid, aren’t you?”

  I sighed. “Yes, I can’t help it. No matter that its over between Barry and me, I don’t want to let go of Jeffrey.”

  Mason didn’t look happy.

  By now the sun had slipped into the water like a coin into a piggy bank. The last of the pink and orange glow hung above the water while the sky had turned a soft blue. The breeze felt cold now and Mason took off his suit jacket and draped it around my shoulders. I covered the silence by going on about Adele and Eric and how she kept flaunting all her inside information. Finally Mason chuckled.

  “You’re worried she’s going to solve this one before you do,” he said. I hung my head and nodded.

  “Do you have any idea of what it would be like if she did?” I said and Mason chuckled again.

  “I think I have a pretty good idea. But Molly, you’ve solved mysteries without inside information. You always said all Barry ever said to you was to keep out of it. You’ve done it with this,” he said touching the side of my head to indicate my brains. “And maybe a little help from me on occasion.”

  Twilight was slowly deepening and the sand, water and sky were all blending together. Mason let out a little shiver. “I don’t know about you, but a nice cozy restaurant and some food sounds good.”

  We retraced our steps up the hill and went back to the car. Mason had a restaurant in mind in Palos Verdes. He pulled into a parking lot on a cliff high above the water. The restaurant had a wall of windows and outside the twilight had almost turned into night.

  “Maybe I can help you. Tell me everything you know about the case.”

  I began to throw out things I remembered or had heard. “Kelly had an online business according to Dan. She sold things she crocheted. Dan is obsessed with his store. He would talk about Kelly for a moment and t
hen go back to talking about his plans to have a nationwide chain.” I stopped and sighed. “I don’t think this is getting anywhere.”

  “How about talking about the last time you saw her?” Mason said. He even suggested I close my eyes and describe what I saw.

  “It was a treat to see Kelly’s workroom again.” I sighed. “When Barry goes and I get all my stuff out of the storage locker, I’m going to get my room organized.” I heard Mason laugh and then he encouraged me to go on.

  “The lamp,” I said. “How could I have forgotten to tell the group and you about that. It was there the first two times I went to Kelly’s but when we went afterward, it wasn’t there. Dan didn’t know anything about it, or so he said. I told Barry about it, but I don’t know what he’ll do with the information.” I had opened my eyes and Mason urged me to close them again.

  No sooner had I shut them when out of nowhere, I remembered Kelly going to answer the door. “Kelly said it was a real estate agent handing out brochures. Wait,” I said in an excited voice. “Kelly had us go out through the yard. I bet she didn’t want us to see who it was.” I laughed out loud. “And Adele, super detective that she claims to be, never even noticed.” I put my hands up in a triumphant Rocky pose. “I’ve got an important clue and she doesn’t.” Maybe I sounded a little childish, but then she’d sounded that way first.

  “You’re a genius,” I said to Mason throwing my arms around him. “All I have to do now is figure out who came over.”

  CHAPTER 18

  As soon as I walked through the door of my house, I called Dinah and told her about my recollection of the last time we’d seen Kelly.

  “It never occurred to me that Kelly didn’t want us to see who came to the door,” Dinah said. She reminded me that we’d thought of Kelly answering the door while on our trip to the dollar store, but in all the commotion over the dollar-of-the-hour special, we’d gotten distracted and dropped it. I’d hoped she could add some new observation, but she seemed a little distracted and I could hear Commander in the background. “Let me sleep on it,” she said. I would have liked to talk about it longer, but I certainly understood.

  Since I didn’t have Dinah to talk to, I began to replay the evening in my mind. Dinner with Mason had been fun. Once we stopped talking about weddings and murders, we told each other funny stories and laughed a lot. Afterward, he’d driven me back to the bookstore to get my car and then followed me home to make sure I got inside safely.

  I’d pulled into my driveway and expected him to drive on, but instead, he parked at the curb and walked to where I was standing. “This is so sweet and romantic,” he said taking me in his arms and kissing me good night. “I feel like I’m in high school all over again.” As he said that the motion sensor light came on. Mason laughed and said it was like in the old days when someone’s parents ended a makeout session by turning on the porch light. He gave me another quick kiss and bid me good night.

  * * *

  But now that I was home I still felt wired. I went into the kitchen to make a large cup of tea, figuring I would take it to my room and spend some time crocheting. There was nothing like the repetitive motion of the craft to iron out the kinks and get me to relax.

  “Having tea again,” Barry said and I jumped. I hadn’t realized he’d come in the kitchen. “Just to let you know, the trash has been taken out, and I let the dogs out in the yard for a last hurrah before bedtime. The cats have been fed and their box attended to.” This time he didn’t even ask if he could join me and just took out two mugs. He checked the basket that held my assortment of teas. “What shall we have tonight?” He held up a box of Earl Grey and I nodded. He filled the mugs from the hot water dispenser. The air filled with the unique fragrance of the tea laced with oil of bergamot.

  “Go on outside. I’ll bring it,” Barry said. When I looked up, Jeffrey had come in the room and was standing behind his dad. When we made eye contact, he started doing elaborate hand gestures and there was a touch of panic to his expression. I answered with a knowing nod. He didn’t have to worry. I wouldn’t tell Barry about him getting caught trying to sneak in the L.A. 911 scene.

  Jeffrey smiled with relief and then announced that he was going to bed. I went on outside and sat down. I heard the door open and click close and a moment later Barry set the mugs on the small round glass table. He settled into the chair next to me, pushing his legs out in front of him before stretching and flexing the leg that had been injured.

  “It’s still stiff,” he said in a dispirited tone. He lifted the mug. “It’s so strange keeping regular hours. I don’t know what to do with myself.” He gestured toward the fence. I fixed your gate. It was dragging.” He mentioned a few other repairs he’d done. Barry could fix anything and one of my concerns when we broke up was that my house would fall apart. He drank some of the tea and commented on the interesting flavor before setting the mug down and turning to face me. “I just want to let you know I understand about the condo in Simi.” I was going to say something, but he continued. “I learned my lesson for next time. It was wrong to try to force that condo on you.”

  An image came to mind as he was talking. A few months ago, Barry had this idea we should make a fresh start if we got married. Unilaterally he’d picked out a condo in Simi Valley he thought would be perfect for us. Thank heavens he hadn’t put a deposit on it because I wasn’t interested in moving so far away from my job and my friends. It had turned out to be the beginning of the end for us, anyway.

  “You mean for you and Heather?”

  “For me and whoever,” he said.

  “Whatever,” I said, trying to dismiss it. I didn’t want to get into a discussion about his future romances or reopen talking about that condo. It was a little awkward, but I turned the subject to Kelly. “I remembered something that happened when I went over to Kelly’s that last time.” I told him about the doorbell and that I thought she’d said it was a real estate agent handing out something. “I was thinking that maybe it was somebody she didn’t want us to see, so that’s why she hustled us out of there so fast.”

  “You said Adele was with you,” Barry said beginning to smile. “Maybe Kelly just wanted to get rid of you guys.”

  “Maybe so,” I said. “But if there really was a real estate agent, they might have seen something.” I was thinking out loud. “The ones who have come by my house always leave a notepad of paper with their picture and information.” I thought about it for a moment. “I bet Kelly’s brother would help me look around their place.”

  “The adorable surfer,” Barry said with distaste. His face slipped into cop mode and he seemed to be considering something. “Heather would probably dismiss your real estate agent tip because it came from you. . . .” His voice trailed off and he seemed to be battling with himself. “I need to get these cold cases taken care of and get back to my real job,” he said, shaking his head. “You didn’t hear this from me, but here’s something to think about. If a real estate agent stopped at the Donahue’s, they probably worked the whole area.”

  I got his point. “Then they might have stopped at Dinah’s and the Donahue’s next-door neighbor.” I smiled at Barry. “Good thinking. Thanks for the help.”

  “Don’t mention it,” Barry said. Then he rolled his eyes. “And I really mean don’t mention it. I don’t want it to get back to Heather that I helped you.” Barry yawned and mentioned his early morning. We got up to go inside. The tea and conversation had gotten rid of my wired feeling and sleep sounded good.

  As I headed across the living room to my side of the house, Barry called after me. “By the way, I know all about Jeffrey,” he said. “I’m a detective, remember.”

  Uh-oh.

  * * *

  I called Dinah first thing in the morning and asked her if she’d found a notepad or anything from a real estate agent left at her front door the day of the murder. While she was trying to remember, I told her why and who had suggested the line of thinking.

  “Barry’s help
ing you now?” she laughed.

  “I think it’s all about him missing his regular detective job, and he can’t resist getting involved.”

  “And an excuse to spend time with you,” Dinah said. While we talked, Dinah checked various places in her house. “I don’t remember getting anything, but I could have just picked it up off the porch without thinking.” She said she would have tossed a brochure, but would have kept the pad of paper. “They come in handy for phone calls and writing down notes on crochet projects. I could have just stuck it somewhere.” I heard the clang of hooks hitting the floor. “Nope, not in my crochet bag.”

  “The person might not have gotten as far as your house,” I said. “I was thinking about stopping by Kelly’s.”

  “I’m in,” Dinah said. “Just give me a moment to throw on a scarf.”

  I parked the greenmobile in the bookstore parking lot and walked over to Dinah’s. She was standing on her tiny porch, with a long, white gauzy scarf flapping in the breeze over an outfit in shades of olive green. Her salt-and-pepper hair looked perky with all the uneven spikes. She was down the steps before I opened the gate to her yard.

  “Are we climbing in any windows?” my friend asked with a sparkle in her eye. “It’s so good to be sleuthing along with you again.”

  “I was thinking we could just knock at the door and ask?” I said. “I’d rather go there when Dan isn’t home.”

  Dinah nodded. “Right, we don’t want him to know we’re investigating.” As we walked around the corner and down the street we talked about Dan.

  “Maybe he has two guns. The legal one he showed Detective Heather and another one he used to shoot Kelly. I’m betting that one isn’t legal. But what did he do with it and how did he manage not to have residue on his hands and clothes?”

  “Maybe it won’t matter. If the real estate agent saw him and can place him there a while before he went running for Eric—”