“Boy, I had it all wrong. I thought you were his caregiver. Isn’t that silly?”
She cocked her head and studied me. “That’s how we met, but he and I had a special connection right from the start.”
“Wow. That’s like a fairytale with a happy ending and all.” I sipped my tea. Despite all the sugar I’d added, it was amazingly bad, very bitter, and that reminded me of my reason for visiting. “Before I forget, let’s talk about the cat. Someone dumped a bunch of empty windshield fluid bottles into my recycling bin.”
“Are you accusing Dr. Bergen?” Her nostrils flared, and her voice took a hike.
“No.” I answered quickly, eager to calm her down. “Not at all. I just don’t want Bart or some other pet to lap up any spilled fluid or lick the bottles. They could get sick or die.”
“Why would they do that? Get into that stuff?”
“I guess the fluid is sweet. That’s what I’ve been told.”
“But the caps are on the bottles. How could an animal get the caps off?”
“Beats me. Chew them off? I suppose there might be traces around the mouth of the bottle. Maybe even liquid that has trickled down and dried on the outside. I imagine it wouldn’t take much to hurt a pet.”
“Hmmm. Sounds like I need to find that stupid cat and keep him inside the house. What time do they usually pick up the recycling? Why don’t you just keep your stuff inside until they come?”
“Here’s the thing. Those weren’t our bottles. I don’t know how they got in our bin. What if more bottles show up? What if there are other bottles out there in our neighborhood, and the cat finds them? I think you need to keep him inside. At least for a while.”
“I doubt there’s any problem.” Enid picked up her cup and carried it to the sink. She rinsed it with such fervor that the water sprayed all over her and the counter. “But I guess, I’ll have to go and look for him. That cat. He is a pain in my butt, for sure.”
75
I carried my cup and saucer to her sink. After I set them down, my phone rang. It was Robbie.
“Kiki? Where are you?”
“What do you mean?” I responded. Enid was watching me carefully.
“I’m in front of your house and you aren’t answering the door.”
“That’s because I’m not at home.”
“Where. Are. You?” He emphasized each and every word. “Right now? This instant?”
“Huh? I’m over here at the Bergens’ house.”
He swore under his breath. “Listen very carefully. Do not say my name out loud. Do not tell anyone who you’ve got on the line. Get out of there now. Right now. Make some excuse and get out! I’ll meet you on the sidewalk.”
“Okay.” I ended the call, glancing up to see Enid. She was staring at me with such a hateful look.
“Who was that?” she demanded.
A sixth sense told me that I needed a reasonable excuse. I wasn’t sure what was happening. I had no idea why Robbie was so frazzled. I shrugged. “A friend of my mother-in-law. She’s incredibly bossy. You wouldn’t believe how she treats me.”
With an exaggerated sigh, I shoved my phone in my pocket. In the space of that brief call, Enid’s body language had changed. Her eyes had hardened. Her face shut down, and her hands balled into fists.
Instinctively, I knew that I was in danger. I didn’t know how or why, but I could feel it. Willing my face to stay blank, I reviewed my options quickly. My goal was to find common ground — a way to prove she and I were equals. “You would not believe the family I married into,” I said as I rolled my eyes. “My husband’s mother and her friends think they can boss me around. It’s totally annoying. How do Dr. Bergen’s daughters treat you?”
For a second, I didn’t think it would work. But slowly, Enid relaxed.
“They treat me like dirt.” She snorted angrily. Shaking her head, she added, “When we first met, they didn’t have any time for him at all. Couldn’t be bothered with dear old dad. But after they heard we were getting married, it’s phone call after phone call. They’re all sweetness and light with him. But with me? It’s one threat after another. Huh.”
“First they ignore him, now they’re all over him, huh? What right do they have, sticking their noses into your business?”
“That’s what I say. I make him happy. Serves them right for ignoring him. Mark my words, a lot of people are going to sit up and take notice. People who did me dirty. They’ll get their comeuppance.”
“What goes around, comes around,” I said as I edged toward the hallway where the front door was in sight. “Hey, this has been delightful. I can’t wait to have you over.”
My nose is pug, but I felt it growing with every lie. For good measure, I added, “Of course, as a new bride, you’ll probably be busy. Changing the décor and all.”
“You’ve got that right. I’m going to dump all this boring stuff. Change things up. New furniture. The works.”
I inched toward the doorway. The knob was two inches from my fingertips. “Thanks so much for your hospitality.”
“Really?” She arched an eyebrow.
I froze. If I moved too fast, it would look like I was fleeing. I didn’t want to spook her. “Yes, really. I feel like I’ve made a new friend.”
Enid gave me an unsure smile. “Right. Me, too.”
I touched the handle, but that cold metal reminded me why I’d come. “How about if I go through the garage instead? We could check to see if Bart’s hiding there. Maybe between the two of us, we can grab him. I’d hate for him to get sick.”
She studied me.
“It’s up to you, of course.” It sounded a bit lame, but I was putting control back in Enid’s court.
“Right this way.” She waved me down a hallway.
The garage door rumbled as it rolled open. Bright sunshine streamed in, blinding me. “Kitty-kitty-kitty?” I called out.
Enid stood next to Talbot’s older model Saab. She leaned against it with her arms crossed over her chest. I’d expected her to join me in calling for the cat, too, but she didn’t. Instead, she watched me carefully.
“K-k-k-kitty?” I walked in a slow circuit around the garage. Noting the industrial strength shelving packed with boxes designated as old clothes, paperwork, containers of bug spray, motor oil, and so on. Dropping to my knees, I looked under the car.
“K-k-k-kitty?” The word sounded extra sorrowful, because I was giving up hope. Returning to my feet, I shook my head. “Don’t see him. Oh, well. At least I tried. See you soon, okay?”
She hit the garage door button and grabbed my arm. Her strength surprised me. I was her captive. My heart fluttered with fear. Putting her mouth close to my ear, she said, “You see? I got nothing to hide. Nothing!”
“I never said you did! I was just trying to help you find your cat!”
Why, oh, why hadn’t I gone directly out like Robbie had told me to do?
“You’re nosy.” It came out like a angry hiss. She tightened her grip on me.
“Maybe, but I’m more worried about Bart. I don’t want a dead cat showing up in my garage, and I’m sure you don’t want one either! Can you imagine the smell? And wouldn’t that upset Dr. Bergen?”
Just as suddenly, she let me go. The odd glitter in her eyes seemed to fade away. “Dead cat. Yeah, you’re right. He wouldn’t like that.”
“See? I was only trying to do you a favor.”
“I want you out of my house.” She pushed me into the hallway and toward the front door. Opening it with one hand, she said to me, “Get out and don’t come back.”
Enid gave me a little shove that sent me careening over the threshold. Rather than fall down the stairs, I gripped the wrought iron railing with both hands. The Bergens’ front door closed behind me with a loud thump. But I did not hear the comforting snick that would confirm Enid had locked the door behind me.
And that spooked me.
As promised, Robbie Holmes stood at the end of the block, next to his police cruis
er. He held a microphone pressed against his mouth. When he spotted me, he gestured that I should hurry toward him. The passenger side door of his car stood open, offering me a safe haven. I was afraid to run. What if Enid came after me?
Instead, I forced myself to walk at a quick, but casual, pace.
When I reached the cruiser, I threw myself inside and slammed the door. My heart banged around in my chest, threatening to break my ribs. Robbie climbed in, shut his door, and hit the locking mechanism.
“Whew,” he said. “That was a close one.”
I buried my head in my hands. “You’re telling me.”
76
“You’re okay now.” Robbie reached over and patted me on the shoulder.
What followed was the world’s shortest car ride. He backed up, turned his cruiser around, passed the vacant lot, and pulled into my driveway. A Ladue police cruiser sat in front of my house, directly across from the Nordstroms.
Everbright was behind the wheel of that car. As soon as Robbie gave him the thumbs up, Everbright drove past us, heading the way we’d come. Three more Ladue police cars came racing out of nowhere with lights flashing. They turned into the subdivision, following Everbright.
“Let’s get you back into your house,” said Robbie.
Car doors slammed in the distance. My hands shook, making the act of getting the key up into the lock a test of dexterity. Finally, the door swung open to reveal a very protective Zoe.
The fur stood up on her back as she barked and growled at my guest.
“No, no,” I said, as I led her by the collar into the kitchen. “He’s a friend.”
After checking Robbie out, she calmed right down.
“When did you get a dog?” asked Robbie.
“She belongs to Brita Morgenstern. I’m watching her because Leesa Nordstrom doesn’t like animals. I do.”
Robbie pulled up a kitchen chair; I knew the drill. I measured grounds and water into the pot. Once the coffeemaker was doing its thing, I turned to the cop and asked, “Okay, why am I scared half-to-death? I know something is wrong, but I can’t tell you what it is. And what was that nonsense with all the cop cars? The ones from Ladue?”
“Give it a minute, and I’ll explain,” he said. “But for future reference, always trust your instincts. Always. Your gut will never lie to you. You got out of there and that’s the important thing.”
I set the sugar bowl, the cream pitcher, and cups on the table. Robbie’s phone rang. He answered, listened, nodded his head, and ended the call. “Got her.”
“Her? You mean Enid?” I took a chair myself, while keeping my eyes on the slowly percolating coffee. The aroma of hazelnut scented the air.
“Enid James, also known as, Edith Janson, Evelyn Jordon, and other aliases. Wanted for extortion, fraud, theft, and other charges. A scam artist, who typically targets senior citizens, but also preys on other trusting souls.”
“You do know that she’s engaged to Talbot Bergen, don’t you?” I got up and poured coffee. Opening the freezer, I found the last box in my stash of frozen Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies. Although I hated sharing them, good manners won over selfishness.
“You sure about that?” Robbie frowned. “That they’re engaged to be married?”
“Positive. She showed me her ring. A big, honking diamond.”
“I’ll pass that along.” He sighed. “Dr. Bergen’s daughters have been trying for weeks to get in touch with him, calling, knocking on the door, sending letters, dispatching friends to contact him, whatever. To no avail. Ms. James has blocked them at every turn. Finally they called social services. That’s how the Ladue police got involved. You happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sheila and I were talking on the phone, when she mentioned you were home alone. She was worried about you. I dropped by, discovered you weren’t home, but your car was here, and I assumed the worst.”
“Sheila? Worried about me?” That was a shock.
“With Sven’s killer on the loose, yes, she was.”
“What will happen next?” My whole body sagged with relief. Would Enid really have hurt me? I wasn’t sure. Turning my arm over, I saw the imprint of her fingers from where she’d grabbed me.
“Mr. Bergen’s oldest daughter, Nancy, is waiting at the police station. Once she gets the all clear, she plans to go in and see to her father’s welfare. She’s already sworn out a restraining order designed to keep Ms. James from setting foot on the property. Nancy Bergen Stevens is rightly worried about her father’s mental state. She knows he’s suffering from dementia. But it might have gotten worse. The first step will be getting him to a doctor and having him checked over.”
I nibbled a Thin Mint. “But none of this clears Brita Morgenstern.”
Robbie raised a curious eyebrow at me. “I never said it would. Look, I know you have a kind heart, but facts are facts. She did it, Kiki. Killed her half-brother. Mrs. Morgenstern stands to inherit a lot of money. Immediately after her brother died, Brita Morgenstern demanded that Leesa Nordstrom release the body to her. That’s a common tactic. The poisoner opts for cremation to destroy evidence. See? Everbright has a great case.”
Zoe lifted her paw and set it on my thigh. When Brita’s name was mentioned, the Lab flexed her nails, digging them into my leg. The dog’s brown eyes focused on me exclusively, almost to the point of being creepy.
How could I help Brita?
In the distance, I heard the rumble of a truck. I jumped out of my chair and ran to my front window. The recycling truck was rounding the corner, coming toward our house. Throwing the door open, I headed for the blue recycling bin. The sigh of hydraulic brakes told me the crew was on the job. They pulled up next to my driveway and stopped. A man jumped down.
“Stop!” I yelled, standing over my discards with outstretched arms.
“Kiki?” Robbie stepped outside of my house.
“Robbie? Get over here and grab this.” I pointed to the box in my curbside bin.
“I can pick that stuff up for you, ma’am,” the recycling guy offered politely.
“Thanks but no thanks. Please, don’t touch any of it. Robbie? You need to see this. Grab that sealed box. You can open it.”
Robbie tore off the tape. “That’s a lot of windshield fluid bottles. They all yours?”
The truck pulled away from the curb, and I shouted over the noise of the engine. “Nope. None of those bottles are ours. That’s why you’ll want to take them.”
“You sure?” Robbie lifted the box and carried it to his car.
“Positive. I even checked with George. They didn’t come from him. In fact, when I first dragged the recycling out, it was nearly empty. I’d filled the tub myself so I know what was in there. But then, someone came by and dumped all these windshield fluid bottles in the bin. Enid told me she found Dr. Bergen messing with my recycling.”
“Really?” Robbie raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t trust her. You don’t either, do you? Is that what they found in Sven Nordstrom’s body? Windshield washer fluid? You never said.”
Instead of answering my question, Robbie countered with one of his own. “What made you worry about the bottles? Why did you concern yourself with them?”
“I didn’t. Not initially. Mert noticed them as she was leaving. She’d gone with me to get Zoe. I told her about Bart, Dr. Bergen’s cat. She realized that an animal might get sick if it licked up the fluid, so she called me from her truck to warn me. I looked up windshield washer fluid and discovered how lethal it can be. That’s how Sven died, right? Windshield washer fluid in his Gatorade?”
Robbie stroked his chin and stared down at the box. “I won’t talk about the investigation.”
“These must have something to do with Sven’s murder. It’s gotta be!”
“Let me call a crime scene unit. We’ll need a bona fide change of custody, in case Everbright wants to use this.”
Doing a little victory dance, I pumped my fists and cheered. “I guessed it, didn’t I?”<
br />
My feeling of satisfaction was short-lived, as I realized that I had been holding back. In my eagerness to be a good friend to our environment, I had hidden the murder weapon.
77
One week later…
“Let me get this straight.” Mert set aside her mop and looked over her work. The hallway floor was finally clean and the tiles gleamed. “You had a Gatorade bottle in your car, this whole time? And it was the murder weapon?”
“Yup. Can you believe it?” I stepped back to admire our great room, the books were in the bookshelves, the furniture all in place, the coffee table perfectly situated, and everything looked terrific. “When Sven collapsed and lost his grip on his bike, that particular plastic bottle was knocked out of the holder. It wound up in the gutter. After the EMTs carted Sven away, I picked up the bottle, because I hate litter. I tossed it into my car, intending to put it in with our recycling. Then I forgot all about it. A lucky mistake, I guess. I wish I could claim credit for thinking that through, but I didn’t.”
“Sakes alive.” Mert smirked at me. “Grabbing evidence and holding onto it? That’s perverting the course of justice. Could you wind up in jail?”
“Thank goodness, no. In fact, Robbie Holmes gave me this.” I reached into my pocket and withdrew a child-sized badge. “He said I have a bright future in crime detection. Isn’t that funny?”
Mert gave me an odd look, one that suggested she was uncomfortable with his suggestion, and then she smiled. “I’d say you want to steer clear of cops in the future. Mark my words, they ain’t all nice like Deputy Chief Holmes is. Once’t you get on their radar, you’re sunk.”
“I promise to stay away from cops in the future.”
“You swear?” With a damp cloth, Mert finished mopping up the last of the dust and dirt from the baseboards.
“I swear.” I held up three fingers, as if I was going to make a Girl Scout pledge.
Kiki Lowenstein Books 1-3 & Cara Mia Delgatto Books 1-3: The Perfect Series for Crafters, Pet Lovers, and Readers Who Like Upbeat Books! Page 20
