by Laura Durham
“Nothing to worry about,” Fern said. “I had a little disagreement with your neighbor.” He eyed her drinks. “I hope one of those is for me, honey.”
Darla looked at both drinks as if deciding which one to give up. “If you mean the horrible people across the street, be careful. The husband runs around threatening anyone his wife gets angry at. Our poor gardener was thrown against his truck for waking her with his weed whacker.”
Kate’s eyes rested on Fern, darting away before she exchanged a look with me. I knew she was thinking the same thing I was—Fern was no match for Mr. Thick Neck.
Mack followed Kate’s eyes and leaned over to us. “Don’t worry. We’ll watch out for him.”
“Thanks.” I squeezed Mack’s arm.
One nice thing about having friends who looked intimidating enough to belong to a motorcycle gang—no one needed to know the toughest thing their Christian biker gang did was activate their prayer chain.
“If you’re okay, we need to run and take care of a few things,” I said to Darla.
She waved a hand and sloshed some Bloody Mary onto her wrist. “Of course. Go.” She began teetering down the stairs. “I thought I’d get my hair done in the kitchen so Fern and I could watch the rest of the setup.”
I motioned for Fern to follow me as I led the way to the back of the house. “You have good light by the bay window.”
When we reached the kitchen, I looked out the glass, scanning the pool area for Matt. I didn’t see him, but I saw the door to the pool house standing open. It hadn’t been open when I’d been outside earlier.
“Come on,” I said to Kate. “Let’s go find the suspect before Reese gets here and finds out we had him and lost him.”
Fern heaved his bag onto a barstool. “I’ll watch all the fun from here.”
“What’s all this ‘we?’” Kate said, stepping to the outside through the door I held open. “You aren’t throwing me under the bust, are you?”
“No.” I tried not to draw a mental picture. “I’m definitely not throwing you under the bus.”
Hermes ran up to us as we walked onto the pool deck, sniffing around our feet before disappearing again. This meant Richard was near, although I couldn’t hear his shrieks—a sign things were going well.
The pool décor had been finished, and the pink fabric now created a high canopy resembling the top of a carousel. It was high enough so light came through and hit the blue water in slats, and we could easily see under it to the other side of the pool and the long white bar where stacks of cardboard liquor boxes remained. It seemed clear Matt had abandoned his bar setup.
We were close enough to the pool to smell the chlorine and see a few leaves floating on the surface. I made a mental note to fish out all the leaves before the party started the next day.
“So where did he go if he came out this way?” Kate asked, watching the staff unfurl pink linens over the cocktail tables.
I pointed to the open glass door. “Maybe he’s hiding in there.”
Kate ran a hand through her bob. “Unless there’s a back door, that doesn’t seem like a great escape plan.”
She had a point. “Okay,” I said. “Why don’t you run around the front of the house and make sure he isn’t there, and I’ll pop my head in the pool house?”
Kate and I split up, and I headed for the brick building—a scaled-down version of the big house. I knew it wasn’t too scaled back, especially for a pool house, because it had a living room, kitchenette, bedroom, and full bathroom. All decorated as lavishly as the main house.
I pushed open the glass-paned French doors and stepped inside. The lights weren’t on, but since the walls of the living room were glass, it was still bright inside. “Hello?” I called out. “Matt?” I paused and was met with silence. “Rhoda?”
The living room had a pair of white sofas covered in a heavy twill fabric and a coffee table of silvered distressed wood topped with a glass bowl of sand dollars I knew had been purchased, not collected. A unit of built-in cubbies by the door held turquoise beach towels and baskets filled with flip-flops and pool toys.
Hermes appeared in the doorway and scampered past me, sniffing the space until he reached the bathroom door. Then he began yipping. The door opened and Matt emerged, edging himself along the wall.
“Call off your dog,” he cried.
I glanced down at the tiny black-and-brown dog inspecting Matt’s pant leg. “You’re afraid of that?”
“I’m not a dog person,” he said, cringing as Hermes sat back on his haunches and looked up at him, his little pink tongue hanging out of his mouth.
I made kissing noises and scooped up Hermes when he ran to me but kept myself positioned in front of the door. “Do you want to tell me why you ran when you opened the door?”
“You said the cops were coming for me, and I was a suspect.” He touched a hand to his receding hairline, and I saw a glimpse of Rhoda in the movement. “I freaked.”
“Why didn’t you mention your record?” I patted Hermes on the head as he wiggled in my arms.
He put one hand on his hip. “Would you bring that up if you were me?” He swirled his hand in the air. “It was a long time ago, and I was a foolish kid. I’ve tried to put it behind me.”
“So you’re telling me you had nothing to do with either murder?” I asked.
“Of course not. Why would I?” He took a step closer to the door, keeping his eyes on Hermes. “I’m happy to talk to the police when they arrive.”
Kate ran into the room and stopped as quickly as she’d entered. “No sign of . . .Oh, you found him.”
“Her attack dog found me,” Matt said.
“Attack dog?” Kate’s eyes surveyed the room, finally landing on Hermes. “Do you mean him?”
“He’s not a dog person,” I explained.
Fern rushed into the room and smacked into Kate, sending her stumbling into me. Hermes yipped as I caught myself on the arms of one of the couches, and Matt backed away with his arms in the air.
“Thank heavens I found you,” Fern said, trying to catch his breath.
“It’s okay,” Kate said, straightening up. “We found the suspect.”
“And aren’t you supposed to be with Darla watching the setup from the kitchen window while you do her hair?” I asked.
“That’s why I’m here.” Fern put a hand on Kate’s arm and leaned into her. “I saw him.”
“It’s okay.” I motioned to Matt. “We found him.”
Fern waved both hands in front of himself. “Not him. I realized who I recognized.”
“What are you talking about?” Kate said. “Are you sure you didn’t inhale too much hairspray?”
“No.” Fern leaned against Kate. “I’m certain of it. I saw him at Perry’s. It didn’t click until today when I saw him.”
“Who?” I asked, starting to think maybe Kate had been right about the hairspray.
“I think he means me.” A low voice made us all turn toward the back of the pool house.
Chapter 29
Tina’s husband walked out from the short hallway leading to the bedroom, and Hermes began growling.
“I guess there is a back door to this place,” Kate said, taking a step back and bumping into Fern.
“I don’t understand.” I looked from the dark-haired man to Fern.
“I’m Sal.” He bared his teeth in a forced smile. “I wanted to have a little chat with your friend about what happened earlier.”
“You mean with the cars?” I glanced at Fern, and he jerked his head to one side while winking. Either he was having a stroke or he was trying to tell me something.
“Yeah.” Sal took another step forward and pointed a beefy finger at Fern. “Your buddy with the ponytail there made my wife upset. I don’t like it when people make my wife upset.”
Matt scooted around so he was standing closer to me, obviously deciding his chances were better with Hermes than with Sal.
“Why don’t we do this?” Fern sa
id. “You send your wife in to see me, and I’ll give her some highlights that won’t look so brassy. While I’m at it, I can do something with your pompadour. On the house.”
Sal blinked a few times, and I knew he was trying to figure out if Fern had insulted him. He scratched his head, and I noticed the flash of his pinky ring. Where had I seen a pinky ring lately?
I gasped out loud as things shifted into place for me.
“That’s what I was trying to tell you,” Fern whispered to me. “He’s the man in black.”
“Wait, what?” Kate’s head snapped in Fern’s direction.
I motioned to Sal and nudged Matt. “Could this have been the guy you saw near the gold velvet at Perry’s?”
He looked startled but turned to Sal and narrowed his eyes while he studied him. “Definitely. He’s the right size, and I remember the guy had dark hair.”
“You think you know something?” Sal laughed. “You don’t got proof of nothing.”
“Sure we do,” I bluffed, feeling my eyelid betray me and begin to twitch. “Matt isn’t the only person who saw you at Perry’s. We can place you at Perry’s and The Wharf Hotel.”
I didn’t break eye contact with him, even though the last location was a guess on my part. I figured he must have been at his wife’s styled shoot when the police arrived to question Antonio. I recognized him as the man I hadn’t known at her styled shoot on the rooftop, so it wasn’t a stretch to guess he was at her other styled shoot.
His dark eyes flashed with anger. “So? I got business dealings with the owner of Perry’s, and I go to all my wife’s events to keep people in line.”
“I’ll bet it works,” muttered Kate.
“So what happened?” I asked, pushing Kate behind me as I backed toward the door. “Your wife got mad at Cher Noble and you took care of it? But you had to take care of Blanche Davidian, the witness who was leaving the crime scene at the same time you were and might have been able to finger you for the murder?”
I could hear Kate and Fern shuffling backward, but I didn’t want to look at them and give them away. “So when Antonio was picked up, you had to kill him before he talked to the cops because he might have seen you at Perry’s, right?”
Sal opened and closed his fists. “You got it all wrong, girlie. I just want to set your friend straight.”
“I don’t think so.” I twisted around to face Kate and Fern. “Run for it!”
Fern threw open the glass door and ran out with Kate close at his heels. I held tight to Hermes while I dashed out with them, hearing Matt scream over the furious yelping coming from the dog under my arm and Sal curse and scramble to chase after us.
Fern looked over his shoulder and shrieked, throwing his arms up as he darted around the cocktail tables. I was afraid to look behind me, but I could hear heavy breathing and Matt yelling for me to get out of his way.
“Watch out, Annabelle!” Fern called out as he craned his neck to look at me.
Kate glanced back, her eyes wide as she stumbled and knocked into Fern, who teetered for a moment on the edge of the pool before falling in. I heard a splash behind me and realized Sal had jumped in after Fern and was trying to swim to him, a murderous look on his face.
“He’s going to drown him,” Kate yelled to me.
I searched the pool area for something to use as a weapon but came up short. Fern let out a piercing scream when he saw Sal coming for him and started flailing in the water as he tried to make it to the side.
The pink-and-white-striped pole in the center of the pool swayed as Sal knocked into it. I knew it had taken hours for the crew to set up the poles and draping, but I couldn’t let this guy kill Fern. I reached for the closest pole along the edge of the pool and pulled it out of the clamps holding it steady, before kicking off my flats and jumping into the pool.
The freezing water was a shock, and my teeth began chattering immediately. I wiped the water from my eyes and located Fern. He was a few feet away from a ladder with Sal almost on top of him. My pole still had pink fabric attached to the top, but I managed to slam it down in front of Sal, startling him.
He turned his attention to me, cutting through the water in my direction. I lifted my pole and brought it down again, missing his head by inches. He roared as he lunged for me, taking hold of my pole and jerking it toward him. I lost my grip and let go, backing away from him and treading water as the pool floor dropped off under me.
“Right behind you,” Kate cried, flinging off her heels and pulling down another pole before landing with a splash next to me.
Before Kate could raise her pole, Sal grabbed it and pulled it out of her arms. At this point I could hear shouting and barking from the pool deck, but it was hard to see through all the fabric now sagging around us.
“Swim, Kate!” I called out as I turned and began cutting through the water.
I reached the side and tried to hoist myself up when I felt a hand pull me back by my ponytail. I went under, my arms reaching back and trying to loosen the iron grip on my hair as he held me under. The shouts from around the pool were muffled under the water as I scratched at his hands and arms. As my lungs began to burn, I felt a massive surge of water knocking me forward. The grip on my hair released, and I pushed up to the surface.
A pair of arms pulled me out of the pool, and I was standing next to a dripping wet Fern who patted me on the back as I coughed up water. I turned around and saw both Buster and Mack in the water, holding Sal limply between them.
“They landed on him,” Fern said. “Both of them.”
The two enormous men jumping in must have been the surge of water I felt. I was a little surprised there was any water left inside the pool at all.
“The draping!” Richard ran around the corner of the house, skidding to a stop when he saw Buster and Mack dragging Sal out of the pool, while Fern and I helped Kate up the ladder at the far end. “Are you all out of your minds? What are you doing in the pool?”
I pointed to the inert Sal as Buster and Mack deposited him on the concrete and Hermes circled him barking. “He’s the killer.”
Reese stepped out of the house, followed by Darla with half of her head in hot rollers and a Bloody Mary still in her hand, her mouth dangling open, and her celery stick nearly falling out.
Reese paused as he took in the chaotic scene, and his eyes lingered on my dripping wet form. “Who did you say was a killer?”
Kate, Fern, and I all pointed to the wet lump on the ground that was Sal. I wondered if we should check to see if he was breathing before I remembered him holding my head under water, and my concern vanished.
“Don’t worry,” Buster said, poking Sal with his toe. “He’s not going anywhere.”
The leather of Mack’s vest groaned as he crossed his arms.
“Thanks, guys.” I took a few steps over to the closest chaise lounge chair and sank onto it. “That’s Tina Pink’s husband. He killed Cher, Blanche, and Antonio.”
Reese’s eyebrows popped up.
“And he tried to drown Annabelle when she jumped in to save me,” Fern said, his pink-and-white-striped vest clinging to his nearly transparent shirt as he sat down next to me. I looked into the pool and saw his straw hat floating in a corner.
“Then we jumped in,” Mack said.
“And landed smack dab on top of Sal.” Fern shook his head. “Seeing those two flying through the air was—“
“Terrifying,” Kate finished for him.
Reese called for backup, slipped his phone into his jeans pocket, and sat beside me. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “How did you manage to get in this much trouble in the time it took me to drive over here?”
“We solved your case for you, Detective,” Kate said. “Don’t look a gift whore in the mouth.”
Reese blinked a few times, and I could tell he was trying not to laugh. “Now that’s advice you don’t get every day.”
Richard slapped a hand to his forehead. “Just shoot me.”
Chapte
r 30
“I didn’t think there would be this many cops to haul away one guy.” Fern stood by the kitchen windows in a white terry cloth bathrobe and a towel turban on his head, both courtesy of Darla.
I adjusted my own robe—a fluffy pink one left in Debbie’s old bedroom—as we watched Reese outside with the swarm of cops and other uniformed officials who’d descended on the backyard. “We didn’t know Sal had been under investigation by the DEA for over a year.”
“Talk about a surprise,” Kate said as she perched on a barstool with her legs crossed and plenty of thigh showing underneath the red silk shorty robe she’d chosen from Darla’s offerings.
“He was a nightclub owner, sweetie. Not a missionary.” Fern ran his fingers through his wet hair. “I don’t think anyone’s surprised a guy like him ran drugs through his clubs.”
We’d moved into the kitchen and shed our soaking wet clothes once the police had arrived in force. Now we were waiting to be questioned and for everyone to leave so we could clean up and continue with setup for Debbie’s baby shower. Matt, aka Rhoda Dendron, had disappeared in all the confusion, although I didn’t blame him.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t postpone?” Darla asked Richard as they walked into the kitchen.
“Absolutely not.” Richard shifted Hermes from one hip to the other. “Give us a few hours and you’ll never know the police were here.”
Darla picked up a coffee pot from the counter. “Can I freshen anyone’s coffee?”
Darla had made coffee to warm us all up, but I’d noticed her topping off the pot with Irish whiskey before she served it. I looked at my mostly untouched cup and shook my head. I didn’t think being tipsy when I spoke with the police was the best plan.
Fern left his post at the window to walk over, holding out his oversized mug. “Just a splash, hon.”
“Thank you for the robes,” I said to Darla.
“Don’t mention it. I couldn’t have you sitting around in wet clothes.” She filled her own mug to the brim. “I only wish I’d had robes big enough for Buster and Mack.”