Grand Prize: Murder!

by Vivian Conroy

  A conspicuous brooch is found beside the dead body, pointing at her as possible killer.

  “Don’t you think this is a little coincidental?” Bella’s eyes were huge as she whispered, “The cozy author suspect, the brooch that belongs to her found beside the body? It’s almost like the actual murder.”

  “Well, to involve a cozy author could be a bit of a joke. And that some clue is found beside the body is pretty common in cozy mystery scenarios. You do have to make somebody look suspicious right away. And that person usually doesn’t turn out to be the killer, so…” Vicky tried to smile. “What are we worried about?”

  Bella seemed unconvinced. She clutched the sheet and marched up to DuBree, who was talking to his assistant. “I demand to know who decided to involve a cozy author as a murder suspect in the scavenger hunt?”

  DuBree blinked. “I think Lisa suggested it.”

  “Since when is Lisa on your creative team?”

  Vicky bit her tongue to refrain from suggesting Lisa had whispered it into DuBree’s ears as they were making out the other night. She wasn’t sure it had been Lisa and she didn’t want to create trouble.

  DuBree said, “I thought it was a very good idea. People appreciate some humor.”

  Bella crumpled the sheet in her hand. “Your sense of humor might turn out to be the biggest mistake you ever made.” She threw him a murderous look. “Then the joke is on you, my friend. And it’s going to hurt.”

  DuBree stared after her as she marched off. He raised both hands in a gesture of fake surrender. “I haven’t got a clue as to what she’s so upset about.”

  Of course he didn’t, as he wasn’t aware of the real-life murder yet.

  Vicky tried to ease the tension, saying, “Bella probably had a tough day. She was late because her car broke down along the way and she had to wait for a tow truck. It didn’t show up in time, so she even hitched a ride with some cucumber deliveryman to get here before the book signing started. I think you should give her some credit for that.”

  “Her car broke down?” DuBree suddenly seemed anxious. “Anything serious?”

  “I have no idea. How come?”

  He shrugged, but he gestured at his assistant to come over right away. As Vicky gathered up her things, she heard DuBree say he wanted to know what garage the car had been taken to. “Find out what was wrong with it. If there was any sign of tampering with it, inform me at once.”

  Vicky stood motionless, her hands frozen on her purse. Tampering?

  Did that mean that somebody was trying to harm Bella?

  Maybe even kill her?

  “That same person could be behind the murder,” Ms. Tennings said. She had listened to Vicky with rapt attention, almost forgetting about her dinner. “If somebody is out to get her, he or she could be willing to go far.”

  Vicky nodded. “It could be related to the earlier attack on Bella that Michael told me about. The person who threw something at Bella during a book signing. I have to ask Cash to look into it.”

  She rubbed her forehead a moment. After they had cleaned away the used paper cups at the community center and all the wet patches left on the floor where kids had spilled their drinks, Vicky had been pretty tired and eager to accept Ms. Tennings’ offer to make her a quick pasta dinner.

  She had also hoped that the retired nanny with her keen psychological insight could create some order in her muddled thoughts. Ms. Tennings often managed to ask the right questions or make a sharp observation. And as a big Bella Brookes fan herself, she was eager to help out her favorite author in a spot.

  Vicky mused, “There is of course one big problem with the theory that someone is trying to frame Bella for the murder. How did this person get hold of a piece of her fan? Bella doesn’t even know it was damaged.”

  “She said she did not know. I think she did. She must know, but for some reason she’s reluctant to share.” Ms. Tennings frowned. “Maybe it was an embarrassing moment. Maybe she is ashamed of something that happened and… You did say she was out and about with Sydney Haverton? And he took a huge interest in her? What if he had one drink too many and tried to come on to her? Maybe she hit him with the fan, and he tore it up. She doesn’t want to tell to save Lilian the embarrassment.”

  Vicky pursed her lips. “It’s possible.” Her reluctance to embrace this theory was audible in the few words.

  Ms. Tennings made a gesture as if she herself was also on the fence. “On the other hand, Bella must understand the danger she is in now. I doubt that she would retain information that can save her, merely out of consideration for a woman she hardly knows. If it had been some scrape with Sydney or another man at the party, she would have said so, to exonerate herself.”

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  Ms. Tennings held her gaze. “While Bella won’t take risks for just anybody, she might for someone she wants to protect.”

  Vicky considered it. “So the fan got damaged in an incident with someone she wants to protect and that’s why she pretends she doesn’t know how and why it happened?”

  Ms. Tennings nodded. “That seems most likely to me.”

  Vicky thought about this possibility. “But who can that be? Bella is obviously at odds with DuBree, and Lisa has only worked for her for a few days, so… Besides, what’s the connection with the attacks against her? If her car was indeed tampered with, as DuBree supposed…”

  At a loss to make sense of it all Vicky sighed. She moved the last bites of spaghetti around on the plate in front of her. Her stomach felt too full already, knotting for Bella’s sake. “Cash said that if he doesn’t have a theory by Monday, he will take Bella in. I have no idea what that might mean for the scavenger hunt. If it ends prematurely…”

  She wet her lips. “I don’t want to seem selfish, but it feels like this whole promotional idea that seemed great is now backfiring.”

  “Why don’t you call Bella?” Ms. Tennings gestured at her phone on the sideboard. “She must be concerned as well after what you told her. And with the scenario in the hunt actually including a cozy mystery author…”

  “DuBree said it was Lisa’s idea.”

  “Then ask about this Lisa. How she came to work for Bella. Also ask about any car trouble Bella might have had earlier or other suspicious incidents, pointing at sabotage. If you can make a strong case that Bella is under attack, Cash might be willing to take the investigation in that direction instead of focusing on Bella as a murder suspect.”

  Vicky sighed again as she rose. “Bella will not be happy when I start suggesting sabotage. She will say I’m just making things worse.”

  “Well, it is not getting better either if we just sit and do nothing.”

  Vicky grabbed the receiver and pushed in the number of the apartment.

  Bella answered at the third ring.

  “How are you?” Vicky asked carefully.

  “Fine. Why wouldn’t I be fine? Sure, I might get accused of murder, especially since my own team wrote an incriminating scenario to use in the scavenger hunt… As if they knew I’d be in this spot and couldn’t wait to watch me squirm.”

  Her voice pitched. “And Paul putting the blame on Lisa… Cheap! Even if she had suggested something, his team needn’t have listened to her. She’s an English lit student on a summer job, not a marketing professional.”

  “Yes, how did Lisa end up with you, to begin with?” Vicky asked, happy that Bella had started the topic herself.

  “I told you before that she was assigned to me. That’s how things work. I heard she’d be my assistant for the book tour in New England. That was it. I had never met her before. She was just a name to me.”

  “But you do know who hired her for you?”

  “Paul’s firm. I guess some overworked and underpaid executive there had to hire some English undergraduate to do the job and looked at a résumé and decided she was perfect, put a signature underneath an agreement, and that was it. I don’t even suppose they interviewed her. But that’s not Lisa
’s fault.”

  “Of course not. About your car… What was wrong with it this afternoon?”

  “Oh, I lost braking power. I noticed on a straight bit of road, where there was little other traffic. No sweat. I put her on the side and called for the tow truck.”

  “Any trouble with this car before?”

  “She’s not mine. She was rented for my stay here. By Paul’s company. I suppose they did make sure to engage a reputable car rental agency. I saw nothing wrong with the way she looks. But I didn’t dive under the hood. I’m technically challenged.”

  “I see. But you…you’re fine otherwise?”

  “You mean…” Bella asked slowly.

  “Well, I was just wondering if somebody has it in for you.” Maybe with a type like Bella, honesty was the best policy. “Did you notice anything unusual before you got car trouble, like phone calls where somebody hung up before saying their name?”

  “Or finding a tarantula in my mailbox?” Bella sounded cheerful. “No, not at all. Nobody would bother to threaten little old me. There is nothing to gain from it.”

  Vicky waited a moment before phrasing the next delicate question. “Suppose something did happen to you. Who would benefit?”

  “Well, I have no husband or children, so I’m leaving all I own to several charities. I do leave a nice sum to my sister. But she lives in Australia. Has a career of her own as a consultant. I’m sure she would not want me dead to touch my money.”

  “Of course not. None of the people you work with can expect something from you?”

  “No. I’m not the soppy type who leaves money to the butler or the gardener. I like to reward people while I’m still alive. Give them a nice little extra. If they do a good job.”

  Vicky frowned. None of this seemed to be very helpful. “Could you give me the phone number of the person who arranged for Lisa to come work for you?”

  “Sure, but it’s not going to do you much good. It’s Saturday.”

  “I know. But first thing on Monday I will be on the phone following up on my leads.”

  “And for you there is not even a trip to London to win.” Bella laughed softly. “I wonder why you care so much what will happen to me, Vicky. I suppose your store’s reputation would suffer if I ended up in jail. Local business owner invites murderess to town…”

  “Don’t be cynical. We all like you. We love your books. You have to stay free and continue to write them. That’s our angle.”

  “I’m not sure if I should be flattered or insulted.” Bella laughed again. It really sounded better this time, more genuine. “But thank you. And if anything else comes to mind, I will call you.”

  “Yes, especially about how your fan got damaged.”

  The tentative silence said it all.

  Bella knew very well how the fan had gotten damaged at the party.

  But she was not telling Vicky.

  Not yet.

  Chapter Nine

  On Sunday there was no new clue in the scavenger hunt so Vicky had planned a quiet day with her mother. They went to church together and had coffee with pink-glazed donuts, Claire’s favorite guilty pleasure. After lunch they walked through town to look at everybody’s garden, Claire pointing out which plants were doing great and which were not in the right place.

  “I don’t understand,” she groused, “how people can buy plants and not know anything about caring for them. Look at that. It needs half shadow. Do you see shadow anywhere? No. But people believe sunshine is good for plants. Well, not for all plants.”

  She threw Vicky a glance. “How is your garden coming along? I thought you had plans to change the flowerbeds in front.”

  Vicky nodded. She waited a moment for Mr. Pug to catch up with them. “I did, but right now I don’t have the energy for it. I’m close to the deadline for my new column and I haven’t got a clue what to write about. I had wanted to use Bella’s visit of course…”

  She fell silent as she realized her mother knew nothing about the murder and wasn’t supposed to either. Cash had given her a little time to find another suspect than Bella and he had only allowed her to share with a few select others. Not with someone whom he considered the source of all gossip flying around Glen Cove.

  “But you don’t feel like it after the party debacle.” Claire walked with her hands folded at her back.

  Vicky frowned at her innocent expression. “How do you mean?”

  “Come on. Do you think nobody notices when a whole team of people show up at some place in town? My friends called me before noon the other day to ask what was up at Lilian Rowland’s.”

  Vicky’s heart skipped a beat. She leaned down and rearranged Coco’s leash. “What did they see then?”

  “A lot of activity and even a dark car. Someone suggested it moved a dead body. But I take it that’s just speculation. If you had known anything about it, you would have told me, right?”

  Vicky avoided looking at her mother. “I left the party around one o’clock in the morning and things were fine then.”

  Claire studied her. “But? What happened after that?”

  “I have no idea. I’m not part of the grapevine.”

  Claire laughed softly. “You have the best access of all of us. Cash Rowland.”

  Involuntarily Vicky flushed. “What about Cash?”

  “I heard you danced the night away with him.”

  “I danced with a lot of men.” Vicky picked at a loose thread on her coat. “I didn’t know that your informers were also invited to Lilian’s party.”

  Claire shrugged. “The mayor’s wife talked on the phone, and her housekeeper overheard bits and pieces. She told us.”

  Vicky rolled her eyes. “You are all incorrigible.”

  “I’m an old woman. Let me have some fun.” Claire glanced at her again, now suddenly serious. “I wasn’t smiling when they told me about the dark car and the dead body. I don’t want you mixed up in anything shady. Once was enough.”

  Vicky exhaled. “It’s not like I’m asking for it.”

  “I could understand the whole thing with Celine. You wanted to know what had happened. We all did. But if somebody did die at Lilian Rowland’s party, it’s none of your business.”

  Suddenly Claire’s hand was on Vicky’s arm, and Vicky halted to look her mother in the eye. Even the dogs stopped scampering about and sniffing garden gates as if they were waiting for what was to come.

  Claire said, “Promise me you won’t do any more sleuthing.”

  “Mom, I…” Vicky took a deep breath. “I can’t make that promise right now.”

  “So somebody is dead. And you are looking into it.” Claire’s expression tightened even more. “Sometimes I wish you had stayed in London. I wasn’t half as worried about you then.”

  She walked on with short angry steps. Mr. Pug waddled after her to keep up, while Coco ran ahead, yapping.

  Vicky rushed after the trio. “Mom, it will be fine. I just have to do…a few things to make sure it doesn’t get out of hand. For the store as well. All my savings are in it.”

  Claire huffed. “You can lose some money. You have only got one life.”

  “I’m not taking any risks. I promise. I’m just gathering some information for Cash. I will let him handle the case and especially the killer, all right? Now can we just go home and have a nice afternoon together? I brought a book that I started twice and never finished. I’ll read all the good bits to you. Around six I’ll make my special fried rice and we can do a chocolate fondue for dessert. OK?”

  Claire sighed, but didn’t protest any more. She slipped her hand through Vicky’s arm and just walked with her like that.

  Vicky’s throat was tight. Her mother might give her that independent act every day, but deep down inside she also needed togetherness. She counted on her only daughter to be close to her as she grew older.

  That was something to think about when you were hunting a killer.

  Whether it was the sense of pressure as the Monday deadli
ne approached, or too much chocolate over the fondue with Claire, Vicky didn’t know, but she had a terrible night dreaming fitfully of people in bizarre masks chasing her around a conservatory filled with gigantic tropical plants that all had thorns and snapping flowers that wanted to take a bite out of her.

  Around six in the morning she gave up and got out of bed to throw her nervous energy into vacuum-cleaning the entire cottage and pulling all the bedding off her bed to hang out on the clothesline in the garden.

  Weeds had shot up everywhere, and she pulled them out with her bare hands, hurting herself on the nettles. The pain barely registered, as in her mind she was rehearsing a story to convince Cash he shouldn’t arrest Bella. Not yet.

  But she knew she had little to nothing to offer him by way of an alternative suspect. Unless the call about Lisa Coombs would deliver something.

  The firm concerned had offices in various cities, and Bella had given her a number for NYC, which was in the same time zone, fortunately. Had it been LA, Vicky would have had to wait longer for offices to open there. She called at nine sharp and talked to a nice young woman who told her they had selected Lisa Coombs from among a number of college undergraduates who had sent an application to them. It was usual people approached them of their own accord, as jobs like this were very much wanted among young people who were trying to get a foot in the door in the publishing or entertainment industry.

  Yes, she had Lisa Coombs’ data on file, but of course she could not give information to just anyone who called.

  Vicky told her politely that there had been a threat to Bella Brookes’ life and the police were looking into it. Did she prefer the police to contact them directly and demand the file be released to them?

  The woman seemed shocked by the mention of police and said she’d email a copy right away. Vicky gave her email address and waited with clammy hands. As the email pinged its way into her inbox, she rushed to open the attachment and study the information.

  At first sight nothing seemed wrong: age and education seemed to be about right, the other data like place of birth and hobbies/memberships were not very revealing as they meant nothing to her.