by K E O'Connor
“You’re such a good girl.” Elita patted my hand. “And thank you for helping me yesterday. Chelsea is proving to be a problem.”
“It must be tricky having to share your home with her.”
“Tricky is one way of putting it.” Elita sank into the chair behind her desk. “I wonder if the easiest thing would be to move out and find my own place. But this has been my home for years. We moved here after Lonnie’s business affairs were wound up.”
“The gold robbery business is a tough one to stay in for long.”
Elita gave me a shrewd look. “It has its disadvantages.”
My eyes strayed to the desk where the gold was concealed. “Do you think Lonnie would ever have come clean about what he did?”
“He was torn sometimes,” said Elita. “Part of him knew stealing was wrong, but he could see the good he would be able to do with so much money. And although he didn’t tell me what happened to the gold, I know he had some melted. I overheard him talking to someone about it and planning mold designs to pour the gold into. It makes it easier to transport and sell on.”
“Maybe it was taken out of the country? If I was trying to hide so much gold, that’s what I’d do.”
Elita smiled. “We’ll make a criminal mastermind of you yet. And, you’re right; he might have done that. But that was one good thing about my Lonnie. If he ever did anything naughty, he never told me about it. He didn’t like to think I’d get in trouble if the worst happened. He was so good like that.”
It amazed me how Elita was happy to skim over the fact Lonnie had been unfaithful to her and left her for someone else.
Elita looked at her watch. “I’ve yet to have any breakfast. Why don’t you head to the kitchen and see if they can sort out some brunch? And you’d be welcome to join me.”
“Brunch sounds lovely.” I left Elita in the study along with Flipper, who was dozing on the rug by the fireplace.
As I walked past the window on my way to the kitchen, I spotted Ignatius in the garden. He was strolling towards the pond, a plastic bag in one hand. Could he be trying to hide some evidence of his involvement in Lonnie’s murder?
Before I could convince myself it was a stupid thing to do, I headed out the door and followed him. He slowed, and before I had a chance to hide, turned and looked in my direction.
Ignatius’s thick dark eyebrows rose. “Shouldn’t you be working?”
“I’m taking a break,” I said, walking closer to him. “How about you?”
Ignatius gave me a lopsided smile. “I come out here and feed the fish.” He shoved his hand into the bag he held and scattered a handful of pellets into the water. “We keep Koi Carp; they’re enormous fish. They could probably take a finger off if you let them.”
“I didn’t know Koi had teeth.” I peered into the water and saw a bright orange head appear, its mouth open as it grabbed the pellets of food.
Ignatius chuckled and continued throwing food into the water. “I like fish. I go shark fishing when we’re in Hawaii. Nothing beats taming a wild beast and being able to control such an animal. I always eat what I kill. Have you ever eaten shark?”
I repressed a shudder. “I prefer seeing them in the sea where they belong.”
Ignatius shrugged. “They are gristly, sometimes. But I do enjoy the hunt.” He flashed me a grin.
I cleared my throat. “About our recent car journey.”
Ignatius held up a hand. “Best we don’t mention that to anyone. It was important you know where you stand. I’ve seen staff come and go who haven’t understood their place. And you’ve got such a pretty face. I would hate for that to disappear.”
I unpicked several threats in those words. “I definitely don’t want my face to disappear or any other part of me. I’m not going to cause problems.” Although I’d like to cause problems for Ignatius. The man had a serious attitude. He’d been raised as a gangster, but that didn’t mean he had the right to threaten anyone he liked. Although, it probably did.
“You know, there are also piranha in here.” Ignatius gestured to the water.
“Don’t they eat the Koi Carp?” I looked into the murky depths of the pond.
“The carp can hold their own.” Ignatius grabbed my arms and spun me so my back was facing the pond.
“What are you doing?” My fingers dug into his arms, determined not to get another drenching.
“Just seeing how easy you are to scare.” Ignatius smirked. “And making sure you don’t get any silly ideas to go poking your nose in where it’s not wanted.”
I glanced at the water, half expecting to see a dozen hungry piranha glaring back at me, but all I saw was the giant, slow-moving orange body of a carp.
“Do you want to take a closer look at the fish?” asked Ignatius. “They really are beautiful.”
“I can see them well enough from here.” I aimed a kick at Ignatius’s shin, but he avoided it and laughed.
“I’m only joking with you.” Ignatius let go, and I dodged out of his way before he changed his mind and threw me into the pond.
“You have a different sense of humor to me.” I glared at him and rubbed my arms where his fingers had dug into my flesh.
“I like my women to find the fun in life,” said Ignatius. “It’s one reason I’ve always liked Elita. She could find a reason to laugh, even when Lonnie was not treating her as he should.”
“Elita has been kind to me,” I said. “Lonnie should have stayed with her. I bet she was good for him. Do you know why they split up?”
“Because he’s a fool,” said Ignatius, screwing the bag up in his fist. “And he thought he could get the edge over me by taking her away.”
“You and Elita were together?”
Ignatius shot me a glare but then nodded. “I met her at the Candy Club in London. She wasn’t even eighteen at the time and lied about her age so she could start earning money. There she was, working the room and getting all the hopeless idiots who fell for her charms to buy expensive bottles of champagne. She caught my eye the second I walked in. She had on a bright red corset and a long black skirt with a slit up her thigh. It wasn’t so much her beauty that captured my attention, but her laugh. I don’t hear her laughing much anymore.”
“Is that why you wouldn’t help Elita when she was fighting with Chelsea?” I asked. “You’re still angry with her?”
Ignatius shrugged. “It was a long time ago. We were all just kids.”
“First love lingers,” I said.
“I never said anything about love.”
Despite his denial, I could tell Elita meant more to Ignatius than he was letting on. And if Lonnie took her away from him, that could leave the desire for revenge.
“Chelsea and Elita are a problem these days,” said Ignatius. “Lonnie dropped us all in it by leaving them half the house each. They fight over it constantly, and I can’t see that changing.”
“Your suggestion of them buying a house each was a good one,” I said. “It would solve the problem.”
“What would have been good was if they’d both drowned in the swimming pool yesterday,” said Ignatius. “Then they wouldn’t constantly go on about wanting the gold.”
I scrubbed my nose. It had been Ignatius who’d brought up the gold, not Chelsea or Elita. “It must keep you awake at night wondering what Lonnie did with it.”
“Knowing how soft Lonnie had become, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn he melted it down and gave it away,” said Ignatius. “He lost his edge before he died, ever since deciding to retire the family here.”
“And you don’t approve of being here?”
“Changing where you live doesn’t change your nature.” He shot me a wry smile. “There I go, getting all poetic on you. You’ll accuse me of being a philosopher if I don’t keep my mouth shut about my messed up family.”
I doubted that, but this conversation was useful. Ignatius still had a thing for Elita and a grudge against his brother. Perfect motives for wanting Lonnie dead.
<
br /> “Are you going to keep searching for the gold?” I asked.
“Not sure where else to look.” Ignatius gestured to the garden. “The only place I haven’t turned upside down is out here. Lonnie barely spent any time in the garden. Well, he liked to play with his toy tank sometimes. He had a real thing for collecting military vehicles. It was the one thing he never liked anyone helping with. It was his weird little hobby. But you’d never find him scouting around and looking for suitable places to hide the gold. And it would be a rookie mistake anyway, burying it. Buried things are hard to uncover. I’ve lost count of the number of guns I’ve had to write off after hiding them in a hole. Some of them were my favorites, as well. Hard to find a good gun these days.”
I opened my mouth but then snapped it shut. I didn’t need to know about Ignatius and what he did with his guns. It couldn’t be anything good, and I got the impression he wasn’t talking about hunting rifles.
“I should leave you to your fish.” I backed away. “I need to get back to work.”
Ignatius’s phone rang in his pocket, and he took it out. “Run along then. And just remember, if you stick to the rules, we’ll get along fine.”
I hurried away from the pond, glad to be leaving Ignatius’s intimidating presence. He had the gangster model down to a tee, and it intimidated me and made me even more certain he killed Lonnie. Now, all I needed was some proof.
Chapter 19
I’d made it less than fifty steps from Ignatius when a muscular arm shot out from behind a broad oak tree and grabbed hold of me.
My heart leapt in my chest as I dug my fingernails into the arm wrapped around my waist. I kicked out, making contact with the shinbone of whoever was holding me.
I wriggled out of my attacker’s grip and spun around. Michael stood in front of me, massaging his shinbone, a frown on his stubbled face.
I glared at him. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
“So talk! There’s no need to grab hold of me and whisk me into the bushes. I had no idea it was you.”
“I didn’t want anybody to see us.” Michael straightened and shook his leg. “You’ve got quite a kick on you.”
“I’ll kick you again if you don’t tell me what’s going on.” I folded my arms over my chest. “And you shouldn’t be skulking around out here. People will think you’re up to no good.”
Michael pointed over his shoulder, and I glanced over to see Sylvia asleep in her wheelchair. “I wasn’t doing anything dubious. I’ve been taking Sylvia around the gardens when she nodded off. I thought she’d appreciate some shade while she slept. I was waiting here until she woke up, then I saw you talking with Ignatius and thought I’d better warn you about him.”
“Why do I need to be careful of Ignatius?” I didn’t need to ask that question, having almost been thrown into a pond by him and told to stick to the family rules. It didn’t take a genius to figure out Ignatius was not to be trusted. But I was interested in what Michael thought of him.
“There’s something off about him,” said Michael, keeping his voice low. “I don’t trust him around Elita.”
“You think Ignatius is trying to hurt Elita?”
Michael’s jaw muscles twitched. “He’s sending her gifts and trying to get on her good side. I know what he wants with her. But he’s never going to worm his way into Elita’s bed.”
“Is Elita interested in Ignatius?” I asked. “Wouldn’t it be a bit strange, her marrying her ex-husband’s brother?”
“She can’t stand the guy,” said Michael. “She’d never consider marrying him or doing anything with him.”
“Elita doesn’t mind having him around the house, though.”
Michael shrugged. “Ignatius is family. You have to put up with them, no matter how stupid they are.”
“But you don’t want to put up with him,” I said. “Has it got anything to do with your feelings for Elita?”
Michael’s head shot up and his eyes widened. “What do you know?”
“I know you’re fond of her. I saw the way you helped her after she fell into the swimming pool. And, I might have seen you on a date with her.”
“Have you been following Elita?” Michael took a step towards me, anger flaring in his eyes.
“Not for a second,” I said, “but you’re not great at hiding the fact you like her. And she’s a nice lady. I understand why you’re interested in her.”
Michael scuffed his feet on the ground and his shoulders slumped. “She’s a lovely lady. Too good for me.”
“There’s nothing wrong with you,” I said. Well, I was a bit concerned he was more into using his fists than words, but as I got to know Michael, I realized he was simply shy and came off as stand-offish because of that.
“Have you been seeing each other long?”
“I’ve always liked Elita.” Michael’s cheeks glowed. “I never said anything or did anything about it when she was married to Lonnie. And I never thought she’d look twice at me. But then Lonnie left her for Chelsea, and Elita was heartbroken. I made sure I was always around so she had somebody to talk to. We got to know each other, and well, things just happened.”
“She made a move on you?”
“I was happy about it,” said Michael, a small smile sliding across his face. “I remember the day well. I’d taken her out shopping, was standing around with half a dozen bags waiting for her to finish in the last store. When Elita came out, she handed me a tiny brown bag and then kissed me. I wasn’t bothered about what was inside the bag, though; her kiss was the best present I’d ever gotten. Since then, we’ve been together.”
“Does the family know?”
“Of course not,” said Michael. “The hired muscle doesn’t get with the lady of the house.”
“Technically, that’s now Chelsea,” I said. “Elita’s a free woman. Since Lonnie divorced her, surely she’s able to date anyone she likes.”
“Providing the family approves of the match,” said Michael. “And they won’t approve of our relationship. But I don’t mind keeping it a secret, so long as I get to see Elita happy.”
I looked over to check Sylvia was still asleep. “What about Lonnie? Perhaps he figured out the two of you were seeing each other and didn’t like it.”
“I don’t think he’d have liked it,” said Michael. “Even though he was no longer with Elita, he didn’t want anyone else to have her. That wasn’t fair in my eyes. He threw aside someone as lovely as Elita, but then refused to let her find happiness with another man.”
“That’s a good motive for murder.”
Michael blinked at me several times. “Who did I murder?”
“Lonnie! I’d understand if you got frustrated about having to keep your relationship with Elita a secret. If you thought Lonnie had figured out the two of you were dating, you might have felt you had to get rid of him before he revealed your secret and forced Elita to give you up.”
Michael shook his head. “There’s no way I’d hurt Lonnie. Why would you even think that? His death was an accident.”
“So everyone’s been led to believe,” I said. “But his death has left the way clear for a lot of people to get their hands on what he’s been hiding.”
“You think someone killed Lonnie for the gold?”
I nodded. “It doesn’t add up the way Lonnie died. Sounds like he always used the radio in the bathroom. He’d have known where to place it safely. And people in this house would have known his routine, known about his love for singing loudly to music while in the bath. It would have been easy to sneak in and throw the radio into the water.”
Michael’s jaw dropped. “I can’t believe it. No one mentioned any foul play when it came to Lonnie. Everyone said it was an accident.”
“With Lonnie gone, the way is clear for the family to hunt for the gold, without having to hide what they’re doing.”
“They are obsessed with finding it,” said Michael. “But to kill Lonnie o
ver that, I can’t believe it.”
“If it wasn’t them, Lonnie being dead left the way clear for you to pursue Elita, without him looking on with disapproval,” I said. “Did he find out about the relationship and threaten you if you didn’t end things?”
Michael frowned at me. “That never happened. And Lonnie was my idol. He taught me everything I know, and I’ll always be grateful to him for that. And he introduced me to Elita. The first time we met, I was a teenager. Elita is older than me, but she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen and has a laugh that makes my toes curl. I couldn’t believe it when she took an interest in me. I’m the luckiest man alive, although I don’t deserve to be.”
“If you make Elita happy then you deserve her, and you deserve to be with her,” I said. “Lonnie didn’t treat Elita well when they were married, so it’s right she gets a happy ending.”
“He was always messing around behind her back,” said Michael. “I know part of the reason he did it was because he wanted children and refused to believe he was firing blanks. But we all knew the truth; just didn’t have the guts to tell him. But when I think of all the nights I had to stand outside Elita’s bedroom and hear her sobbing herself to sleep because Lonnie didn’t come home...”
“And that made you angry enough to kill him?”
“No! I was loyal to Lonnie. I doubt I’d be alive if it weren’t for him,” said Michael. “He had his faults, we all do, but I’d never do anything to harm Lonnie. If you know for sure he was murdered, though, I’ll help you get whoever killed him. That can’t go unpunished.”
I could tell the loyalty ran deep in Michael and found myself warming to him as he revealed his feelings for Elita. It must have been frustrating for him to stand by and do nothing when he cared for her so deeply. And to do so proved he was loyal to Lonnie.
“I don’t know for sure who’s involved in Lonnie’s murder,” I said. “You said to be careful around Ignatius. Do you think he would harm Lonnie?”
“They had their moments when they’d beat on each other.” Michael scratched his stubble. “Ignatius has always loved violence and is always looking for a fight, looking to wind people up enough so they snap and give him a reason to attack them. Sometimes, he doesn’t even bother doing that; simply picks a fight and goes to town on the person he’s taken a dislike to.”