Camilla T. Crespi - The Breakfast Club Murder

by Camilla T. Crespi

“Thanks, Warren,” Lori said, waving back to Angie. “What a beautiful spot.”

  Warren’s eyes were focused beyond her shoulder, on the empty path leading back to the house.

  “I’m sorry,” Lori said, understanding. “I didn’t reach Margot, but I left her a message.”

  “Thanks.” His face didn’t betray any disappointment as he reached for a glass pitcher filled with green leaves steeped in a cloudy liquid. He slipped dark sunglasses over his eyes. “A mojito to get you in the beach mood?”

  Lori accepted half a glass and settled in the other Adirondack chair. They made small talk and munched on potato chips while watching the girls splashing in the water with the dog, whispering girl secrets in each other’s ears, laughing. The sliding sun enveloped them with the soft light of late afternoon.

  They are so happy together, Lori thought. May it last forever.

  “You came up here for help,” Warren said after Angie and Jessica, with Gertie in tow, ran back to the house to change. “What can I do?” His jovial tone had turned somber.

  “You wrote up Rob and Valerie’s will.”

  “Yes, I did. Not my department usually, but they thought it was urgent so I complied. Good thing, too. Now that Rob inherits so much money, I think we should revisit your financial arrangement with him. It’s worth a try. We can play on his guilt. No reason he should be the only one to benefit.” Warren lifted the pitcher to refill Lori’s glass.

  “No more, thanks. That’s not why I’m here, Warren.”

  He refilled his own glass. “I hope you aren’t taking my helping Rob and Valerie personally.”

  “I didn’t like it at first. I guess I felt you belonged to me, you were my lawyer, but I was being childish. Business is business.”

  Warren leaned forward, his big bear face now close enough for Lori to see his eyes behind the sunglasses. “I didn’t stop to think how it would affect you. I’m not good in the sensitivity department, as Margot liked to remind me. Sometimes I think it’s the secret of my success as a divorce lawyer, but it makes poor marriage and friendship material.” His voice softened. “I’m sorry, Lori.”

  She wanted to believe him and yet she couldn’t stop the questions. “I don’t understand why Rob didn’t use his own law firm for the will. He could have gotten some young lawyer to work over the weekend for him.”

  “It’s good policy to keep your private business away from ambitious young lawyers in your own firm who might one day use it for their own advancement.”

  Lori hadn’t thought of that. She never liked to focus on people’s baser instincts. She took a stab in the dark. “You used to date Valerie before Margot came along.”

  Warren sat back and took a long sip of his drink. “That was a long time ago.”

  “She called you when she wanted a lawyer.”

  “What are you trying to get at?”

  “Valerie received a phone call while she was driving the girls back to Margot’s house the night she died. Angie made Jess promise not to tell anyone who it was. I can only suppose it was you Angie is trying to protect.”

  “Not Margot?”

  “Why protect her? She had every reason to call, since Valerie was driving Angie home.”

  Warren’s shoulders slumped. “Lori, what are you doing?”

  “I’m trying to help Jess’s father. Forgive me, Warren, I am turning into a woman I hardly recognize and don’t like much, but I was looking at our two girls having a great time, and I want it to stay that way. Please tell me if you called Valerie that night?”

  “Even if I did call Valerie, it doesn’t make me her killer.”

  “I’m not saying it does. You called her and she told you she was driving the girls back.”

  “I had no reason to call her. The wills were signed. She left nothing in my office. Why would I call her?”

  “Maybe because you were friends. Maybe because you are the man she was still in love with.”

  Warren chuckled. “Who fed you the fantasy that she was in love with anyone besides herself?”

  “Her cousin Ruth.” She wasn’t going to tell him that Rob had confirmed it.

  Warren slipped his sunglasses on the top of his head. “You believe her, but not me.” He was looking at her kindly when Lori had expected him to erupt in anger. That disarmed her.

  “I don’t know,” Lori confessed. “I’m so scared of what could happen that I clutch at anything that floats before my nose.”

  “I understand that, but you’ve got to admit you make a lousy sleuth. You expect everyone to tell you the truth. That’s not the way it works with most people.”

  Rob used to remind her that she always saw the glass as three-quarters full, a viewpoint she had picked up from Papa and thought she had lost thanks to Rob. Maybe she hadn’t yet. “Why would Ruth lie to me?”

  “Ask yourself, instead, why would Ruth tell you the truth?”

  “Because it’s simpler.”

  “For you it is. For a lot of people, lies are easier. They make life livable. Ask your friend Margot.”

  “She had nothing to do with Valerie’s death, so let’s please keep her out of it. Are you lying to me?”

  “You’ll have to be the judge of that.”

  She felt manipulated. “Tell me about Waterside Properties.”

  “It’s a good investment. I own a fourth of it.”

  “I know.”

  His eyes widened just enough to register mild surprise. “Your sleuthing isn’t so lousy, then.”

  “Someone else found out. Why did you tell Margot not to invest?”

  “Because I knew Rob would never pull it off.”

  “How did you know that?”

  “Thanks to Valerie, he was spending way over his limit, and I sensed he was counting on her money to close the deal.”

  So he knew Valerie well enough to know she wouldn’t deliver. “You could have let Margot invest with you, then,” Lori said.

  “Love and business are a lethal combination. Tell me this, why do you keep asking questions? If no evidence has turned up yet to implicate Rob, he’s not going to get arrested.”

  Lori was surprised at how obtuse Warren was about being a parent. “If no murderer is found, Jess might look at her father and wonder. She already has to deal with the fact that he walked out on her—children always end up thinking it’s their fault. That’s enough of a burden for one lifetime. Don’t you understand? I want to clear my daughter’s head of any doubts about Rob and Valerie’s death. If I can somehow uncover something that will help find the murderer . . .” Lori raised her arms in a gesture of helplessness.

  “You think you can?”

  Lori peered into Warren’s face. He seemed genuinely curious. “I have to try, Warren. You would do the same for Angie. For Margot.”

  Warren looked down at his knees. “I love those two more than I thought a man could bear. Let’s leave it at that.” He lifted himself up from his chair like a man with a heavy weight on his shoulders. “The girls are coming back and it’s time to get the grill going. I hope you like corn and shrimp.”

  “Love it,” Lori said, not caring what she ate. She followed Warren’s slow gait up the path, her feet sinking into the still-warm sand. She had come no nearer to knowing the truth of Valerie’s death, but at least she had a better picture of Warren. He was an egocentric man, even an unpleasant one, but not mean or dangerous. Jess was safe. She had no reason to spoil her daughter’s fun by making her come home.

  Lori was about to fall asleep when she felt a sudden weight on the bed, followed by a wet tongue on her cheek. She pushed Gertie’s face away and skated her hand down the dog’s silky back. The only sound was Gertie’s panting and the distant repeated ping of a line blowing against the mast of the sailboat. She didn’t remember leaving the bedroom door open, but she must have. Lori pulled Gertie against her stomach. The dog was soft, pliable, sweet-smelling. Having a dog might be nice, she thought, as she found a fresh spot on the pillow and closed her eyes. Better t
han feeding raccoons.

  “Mom?”

  Startled, Lori sat up and turned on the lamp. “What’s up, honey? You can’t sleep?”

  “It’s only eleven thirty!”

  Jessica dropped down on the bed, lifted Gertie on her lap, and started rubbing her stomach, which made the dog throw back her head in contentment. Lori waited.

  “Dad called,” Jessica finally said. “He wants to come home.”

  How dare he use Jessica to get his way, Lori thought angrily. It was blackmail. “I know, Jess,” she said.

  “My heart started jumping, you know,” Jessica said, the words coming out with unusual slowness. “I thought, wow, he wants us back. We’re going to be a family again. And then I thought, Oh God, what if Mom doesn’t want him back? I’ll never forgive her.”

  “Jess, I—”

  A flutter of hands interrupted Lori, followed by, “Let me finish, Mom.”

  “I’m sorry,” Lori said meekly. Her own heart was pounding.

  “I mean,” Jessica continued, “this went through my head really fast. I know Dad was waiting for me to say how great that was. I thought it, but before I could say it something else popped in my head.” Jessica leaned into the lamp light as she lowered Gertie to the floor.

  Lori briefly caught her daughter’s lovely profile and she felt her chest squeeze painfully tight. She would do anything for her. She really had no choice. “Hon, if you want—”

  “I asked Dad what he meant about coming back. Like for how long?” She shifted her weight on the bed, coming closer to Lori. “Mom, you don’t love Dad anymore, do you? You don’t want him back, right?”

  Lori reached out and placed a hand on Jessica’s arm. It gave her courage. “This morning I told your father it was too late for him to come home. Please understand, it would only—”

  “It’s okay, Mom. I mean it. He would have just hurt us all over again.” Jessica leaned over and kissed Lori on the cheek. “ ’Night, Mom.”

  Lori hugged her. “You are a very special girl, Jess. I’m so lucky to have you.”

  “Sure.” Jessica stood up. One day she’ll take compliments in her stride, Lori thought.

  Jessica walked to the door. “I didn’t mean that about not forgiving you,” she said. “Dad just surprised me.”

  “What did he say when you asked him how long he wanted to stay with us?”

  “Two or three days, that’s all.”

  How could Rob be so insensitive? “I’m sorry, sweetie.”

  “I’m not.” Jessica closed the door behind her, and Lori thought her daughter, their daughter, was brave, but she was going to hurt for years to come.

  CHAPTER 29

  * * *

  “Hey, what got into you? I thought you were an early riser.”

  Lori felt sudden light trying to make its way through her eyelids. What time was it? And who was screeching at her?

  “Come on, wake up. I’ve got to talk to you.”

  Lori opened her eyes. The window blinds were up and Margot looked down on her with glistening red lips, subtly shadowed eyes, and a mug of steaming coffee in her hand. “With half-and-half the way you like it,” Margot said and twisted herself down on the bed with one sinewy motion. Lori glanced at the digital clock, the only touch of modernity in the room, sitting on the blue bureau. The red numbers read ten thirty-three. She had slept almost eleven hours, which didn’t surprise her. Ever since she was small, she had buried raging emotions in the soft cotton of sleep.

  “Good morning,” Lori said, as she sat up and shook herself awake. She moved over to make more room for Margot, taking the coffee mug from her. Margot was wearing turquoise terry-cloth shorts that showed off her milky white long legs and a black strapless top that was sure to give Warren heart palpitations. “What time did you leave to get up here?”

  “I couldn’t sleep. And I’m here to see Angie and you.”

  Lori raised an eyebrow. “Just us?”

  Margot managed to look annoyed.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re here,” Lori said, “but you can see me anytime in Hawthorne Park. I’m going back as soon as I get myself out of bed and dressed. What do you need to talk to me about so urgently?”

  “Oh.” Margot blinked and turned her head away toward the door.

  Lori took hold of Margot’s arm. “Are you okay?”

  Margot looked back at Lori with a toss of her hair. “I should ask you that. Do you need an aspirin or anything? You were sleeping so soundly I was sure Warren got you drunk last night. That Beethoven of yours has been ringing I don’t know how many times since I got here.” She handed Lori’s cell phone over. It had been sitting on the table by the door. “The notes sounded urgent.”

  Lori flipped the phone open and checked the screen.

  “Who called?” Margot asked, leaning over to see.

  “Rob.” Last night’s dream came back to her: Detective Scardini reading Rob his rights while Detective Mitchell handcuffed him. Instead of being upset, she had felt vindicated. Maybe he had been arrested for real. “I’d better get this.”

  Margot didn’t budge while Lori took a long gulp of her coffee and punched in Rob’s cell phone number.

  “Where are you?” Rob asked.

  His impatient tone told her he hadn’t been arrested, which was great, but she had a mind to tell him it was none of his business where she was. Since she had an audience, she chose politeness. Chewing him out for asking Jessica if he could come home was for another time. “I’m at Warren’s in Cape Cod, visiting Jessica.”

  “She didn’t tell me.”

  “Is there any news?” Lori now wondered why he had called.

  “Yes. Thank you for setting my own daughter against me.”

  “Jess didn’t consult me.”

  “You’ve set her against me.”

  Lori knew Rob was waiting for her to answer, but Margot was still glued to the bed and, anyway, it was a waste of breath to argue with him.

  “I hear you’ve been seeing Jonathan Ashe,” Rob said in a sugar-coated voice. “I wouldn’t put my eggs in that man’s basket if I were you.”

  Lori felt her cheeks pulse with heat.

  “If you’re wondering how I know, someone in the firm saw you and him all goo-goo-eyed at some waterside restaurant. He’s not too dependable with the ladies or his business partners. I tried to save his neck at the old law firm, but they kicked him out anyway for working with a client behind the firm’s back. At least I stopped them from prosecuting.”

  “How kind of you,” Lori said with as much sarcasm as she could muster.

  “You’re damn right. It would have looked bad for the firm. Funny thing is, his mother thinks I’m the one who got him fired. Sent me countless letters of venom. She’d drop dead if she knew he gave me a million dollars of her money for the Waterside Properties deal.”

  Lori clutched the top of her pajamas. The burn was turning into a clammy coldness. “Did you pay him back?”

  “He can wait. Your new boyfriend owes me his reputation, and I told him that I don’t appreciate him going out with my wife, even if she is an ex.”

  Lori shook her head in disgust. Rob was unrecognizable. He had turned petty and mean. Vengeful. She turned to Margot, who was looking supportive at the end of the bed. “Do you mind?” Lori asked, nodding her head toward the door.

  Margot shot up. “Sorry. Of course not.” Two long strides and she was closing the door firmly behind her.

  Lori brought the cell phone back to her cheek. “What did you do, Rob? Threaten to tell his mother or refuse to pay him back?”

  “You should be thanking me.”

  “This is absurd! What do you care who I go out with? What business is it of yours?”

  “I don’t want you to demean yourself with worthless men. It reflects badly on me. And I don’t want him anywhere near Jessica. He’s perfectly capable of seducing her.”

  Lori cringed as nausea edged up her throat. “Please stay out of my life,” she said and
flipped the phone shut. She felt seasick, with everything shifting and changing underneath her feet. Lori slipped down and pulled the covers over her head and, in the warm darkness, waited for the nausea to subside.

  Maybe stress and grief were turning Rob into this awful person and soon, with the murderer found and time passing, he would turn back into the good father he had always been. She at least was well rid of him. The thought reassured Lori. She slipped out of bed and opened the bedroom door. Margot was sitting at the bottom of the stairs, carefully covering her legs with suntan lotion.

  “I’ll be right down,” Lori called out.

  Margot looked up at her. “You okay?”

  “Yeah. He was just being obnoxious.”

  “Hurry on down. Warren is making French toast.”

  Lori began to dress. If what Rob had said about Jonathan was true, then Jonathan had consistently lied to her, about why he left the law firm, about not knowing Valerie, about not having enough money for Waterside Properties. What else had he lied about?

  “Warren called me last night,” Margot said, lowering the large brim of her straw hat over her eyes. “That’s what brought me up here.” Lori and Margot were alone, walking barefoot along the beach, Gertie panting behind them. A thick wall of clouds hid the sun and a strong sea breeze kept the air cool. After breakfast, which both Lori and Margot had barely touched, Warren had whisked the girls away to town to buy tickets for tonight’s pop concert. Margot was going to stay over.

  Lori rolled up her pant cuffs and splashed her feet in the water of the bay, which was surprisingly cold. She looked back at Margot, standing still, face hidden by her outsized hat, arms and legs shiny with suntan lotion. “He still loves you,” Lori said, “and I think you’re still in love with him, too. Am I wrong?”

  Margot joined Lori and they started walking slowly, their feet dragging through the shallow water. “I’ve told so many lies to you, and Jan and Beth, some outright, some by omission. I don’t know where to start.”

  Lori linked her arm in Margot’s. “I’ll make it easy for you. Beth sneaked a look at your driver’s license once, so we know your real age. And we think you had work done on your face because you’re too gorgeous and young-looking for words, and we’re jealous.”