"It was an act." She picked up her sweatshirt and used it to wipe blood from her face. "I need to tie her up, and then I'll let you down." She went to the switches by the door and flipped one.
The silk hammock next to mine lowered.
She went to Katrina, who was facedown in a growing pool of blood, and dragged her by the armpits to the hammock.
"Don't forget the scarf and cameo," I said. "They're in her pocket."
"Ooh, thanks for the reminder." She retrieved the items and placed them on the floor. Then she took the silk loop and wound it around Katrina's neck, hands, and feet as deftly as a cowboy hogtying a calf.
She returned to the switch.
I watched, apprehensive, as Katrina's body rose to my height. Even unconscious, I was afraid of her.
"Nice work, Elise," she said to herself. She pulled down the switch that controlled my hammock and lowered me to her waist.
I closed my eyes, thankful to be alive.
"Hm." She tugged at the silk binding my ankles, and the throbbing returned. "Katrina knotted the loop somehow."
"Can you try my hands?"
"They're knotted too. Let me go get the scissors from the spa. We use them to cut my seaweed wraps."
I didn't care what they were used for as long as they cut me free.
Elise left the gym, and as I waited, anxiety crept into my chest. I didn't actually know how Alex, Big Ron, and Tommy were. I wanted to get to the sauna to make sure they were alive.
The door creaked open and closed with that click.
Elise's feet came into view. "Hold still so I don't cut you."
I listened as she made a few snips.
"She's got you wrapped up tight. I'm going to have to lower you to the floor to cut this silk." She walked over to the switch and flipped it.
I went up.
"Wait." I continued to rise, and she came into view. "Wrong way."
"No, it's right." Her mouth twitched, amused. "You didn't really think I'd let you live, did you?"
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The hammock reached the ceiling of the gym with a jolt, but it was nothing compared to the one Elise had just given me. "I don't understand…Katrina was trying to kill you."
Elise scowled at her alleged best friend's body. "She was. To stop me from framing her for Vincent's and Jesse's deaths."
Although I was suspended, I felt like I'd hit the floor. And it wasn't because she'd killed Jesse. "You murdered my uncle?"
"I had to tell you a few fibs earlier to get you to help me."
She was so blasé that my body jerked.
And I heard a rip in the silk.
I had to keep calm despite the emotions coursing through me, or I would plummet to my death. "But why? What did he do to you?"
"He lied and cheated." She scooped the fishnet stocking from the floor. "If he were alive today, I would strangle him again."
Bile gathered in my throat. I swallowed. "Does this have something to do with the casino deal?"
"No, the Blue Diamond."
"The illegal Viagra?" I was floored—as in stunned, not flattened on the ground. "Did you sell that with him?"
"Do I look like a criminal?"
At the moment, yes.
She paced and twisted the stocking. "Vincent was a lothario, and my Jesse wasn't."
True. He was a lizard. And a snake.
"He seduced me, and I was prepared to leave Jesse for him. But we started having problems in the boudoir. So on New Year's Eve I went to surprise him in sexy lingerie, and I found him asleep in bed with Katrina, next to a bottle of that fake Viagra. Incensed, I picked up one of her stockings from the floor." She paused and wrenched the fishnet. "And Vincent Conti rung in the New Year with his neck wrung."
Anger lit up my limbs, but I had to control it, channel it into freeing my hands. "Is that when you found out that Jesse had bought the stockings for Katrina?"
"Yes. When she woke up and saw what I'd done, she told me the police could trace the stocking to Jesse, and we'd all be implicated."
I glared at Katrina's unconscious body. Her first thought had been to protect herself rather than seek justice for my uncle. Look what her selfishness had accomplished.
"Can you imagine?" Elise wailed the question. "My own husband cheating on me with the same woman as my lover?" Her chin dropped. "The gall, Elise."
Indeed. "Why didn't you frame Katrina then? Why wait until now?"
"Because she'd lost my mother's cameo somewhere in that room, and we couldn't find it."
"So you and Katrina moved the furniture to make sure the police wouldn't find it in his real bedroom and link you to the murder."
"And we made a pact to cover one another."
"Why would she agree to be your accomplice?"
"Guilt for betraying me, and to keep her cushy job. Plus the knowledge that I would frame her if she turned me in."
Elise had powerful connections, so people might have believed her over Katrina. And Mr. Filipuzzi's testimony would have damaged Katrina too. "What prompted you to break the pact?"
"Duncan Pickles' article with the names of the men who'd purchased the street Viagra from your uncle. My Jesse was on it." She yanked the stocking, and it tore.
I flinched and worked my wrists harder. I needed that fishnet intact.
"Vincent told me he loved me, but all the while he was giving Jesse Viagra to keep me out of his bed so he could be with her. Oooh. The nerve of that man." She picked up a ten-pound dumbbell and threw it across the gym.
I started at her strength, and the silk tore a little more.
"Jesse was lucky he was in jail awaiting trial for killing Sonny Torlone, or I would've strangled him with this stocking. But I took comfort in thinking he'd get life, and I didn't want to bring any suspicion on myself by killing Katrina. So I let it go."
"Then he got off on that technicality."
"And he found this stocking in Katrina's room." She held up the fishnet and shook it at me. "Of course, Jesse acted like he'd never seen it before, which enraged me all over again. So I decided to get revenge on them both in a way no one would suspect."
With yew berries and a vow renewal ceremony.
"Of course, you and your cousin had to be involved because you'd become a problem."
"Did you really expect us not to investigate our uncle's murder?"
"Most people don't. But that's enough chitchat." She tossed the stocking. "Now that I've given you closure in the death of your uncle, you can go to your grave in peace." Her head lowered. "You've always been so thoughtful to others, Elise."
Yes. Quite.
She reached for the switch and flipped it several times, causing the hammock to jerk up and down.
A loud rip echoed through the gym, and I plunged.
Then I stopped with a bounce.
I hung by my feet.
"One more flick of the switch," she singsonged, "and you're going down."
The fear was so intense I could taste it, along with the sweat that had erupted from my pores. I had to buy time. Zac would be on his way, surely. "You are so thoughtful." I worked my wrists harder. "So would you grant me a final request?"
She leaned against the wall. "Such as?"
"Could you tell me why you framed George Fontaine too?"
She smoothed her hair. "That's a long story, and I have to be at the B&B before breakfast. I'm sorry, but I need to make it look like Katrina killed you and then took her own life. And I know you don't like going first, but you'll have to so that damn medical examiner doesn't get suspicious."
Nice of her to take my feelings into consideration.
"Ooof. That Catharine Cooper just riles me. Did you see the sad look she gave me before she left my home? There I was distraught after killing my Jesse, and she couldn't be bothered to say a kind word."
My mouth hung, like my body.
She lowered her head. "Some people are just awful, Elise. You have to ignore them."
The woman was psycho
tic. And I was out of time. I had to make a move, regardless of the outcome. I pulled my right arm with all the strength I had left. My hand slipped from the binding.
And the silk ripped.
Sweat ran in rivers into my eyes.
The gym door blew open.
Zac.
I tried to blink away the sweat, but all I could see was a flash of…
Leopard?
"You mess with my niece, brutta strega, and I'm gonna go Jersey on you."
Elise gasped. "Did you just call me an ugly witch, you vile Italian creature?"
"You think that stings me, WASPy?"
"Be careful, Aunt Carla. She's as strong as a man."
"Oh, I came prepared after Zac called and told me you were here."
"Where is he?"
Elise kept her gaze on my aunt. "Didn't I tell you, Cassidi? He showed up while I was getting the scissors."
Panic and rage exploded through me, and I did a midair sit-up to reach my bound ankles. The silk band was more than half torn. Gripping the area above the tear, I worked the knot with my free hand. I had to get to Zac. And I had to help my aunt. Her cat-fighting skills were no match for Elise's MMA training, and her acrylic fingernails were too thick and dull to do any damage. "Aunt Carla, she knows mixed martial arts."
"Oh yeah? Well, I've got mob moves." She thwacked her nails against the doorjamb and held them up, broken and jagged like miniature bottles. "Come at me, and I'll cut you."
"You ethnic types are pathetic." Elise charged and pushed her against the wall.
"Flip the switch right next to you, Aunt Carla."
My aunt swiped across Elise's cheek, and she jumped backwards and touched her face.
Aunt Carla flipped the switch.
I started my descent.
"If those cuts leave scars, I'll haunt you in death." Elise kicked my aunt in the gut and pulled the switch down.
The silk band jerked and ripped.
And I went up.
I wiped sweat from my eyes, and looked over my shoulder.
Elise had her hands around my aunt's neck.
She was choking.
"You're killing her," I shouted, helpless.
My aunt's face was red, and her mouth was open, gasping for breath.
I had to do something to make her fight harder. "Aunt Carla, Elise killed Uncle Vinnie."
She went still.
"No," I screamed and yanked at my ankles.
The silk band gave out.
And I went down.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
"When I heard Elise killed my brothuh, I jammed my knee into her cuca—that's Italian for vajayjay—and knocked her across the gym." Aunt Carla deposited a platter of cannoli, her favorite breakfast dessert, on the coffee table in my living room. "Meanwhile, Cassidi fell by her culo—that's Italian for booty—and landed flat on top of her." She raised her chin. "And she literally busted that murderess's gut."
Alex, Big Ron, Tommy, and Zac stared at my aunt with dazed expressions—and it wasn't because of her gym showdown or the head injuries they'd sustained from Elise's dumbbells.
I leaned into Zac on the couch and struggled to keep my eyes open. It was eleven a.m., and none of us had been to sleep thanks to hospital checkups and police questioning.
My aunt added a jar of Nutella to the breakfast options. "After I told that Detective Marshall what happened, I had one more piece of information for him. I said, 'You go after my daughtuh and my niece again, coppuh, and I'll sic the network on you faster than you can say focaccia.'"
Alex's head retracted. Then she rubbed her lump. "You threatened an officer with the Mafia?"
I pressed my back into a heating pad. "The network isn't the Mafia—at least, not in the traditional sense. It's pretty much all the Italian-American housewives in the tri-state area. When I clarified that for the detective, he actually looked more terrified."
"Because we don't take no crap." My aunt flashed jagged nails. "And I'd proved that by taking down Elise Rothman."
Everyone stuffed cannoli into their mouths rather than risk getting her more riled up.
"Morning, everyone."
Our heads jerked toward the hallway.
Detective Bud Ohlsen rubbed his hands. "Under the circumstances, I wanted to personally deliver your loved ones."
The detective stepped aside, and a disheveled Gia entered, followed by a dapper George.
Aunt Carla threw her arms around her daughter, and Alex embraced her man. After some tearful moments, a round of hugs and handshakes commenced, and Bud Ohlsen attempted to slip out.
"Detective, wait." I sat up gingerly. "Could I ask you a few questions?"
He stopped beside my aunt next to the fireplace, and his smile bordered on paternal. "Now that you know what happened to your uncle, I was hoping you'd be done with your investigative work."
"I'm retiring after this, I promise." I shot a sheepish smile at him and Zac. "Elise didn't tell me everything, like how she met my uncle and poisoned Jesse."
"She gave a confession in the hospital, so I suppose I can share some things." The detective looked at George, who was in an armchair next to the couch, preparing to bite into a cannolo. "But I'm not the only one who has inside knowledge of the case."
George dropped the dessert. "Looks like I'm on."
"Yes, because you're retiring too." Alex took a seat on the arm of his chair. "From being an international flower man of mystery."
His grin was as shiny as his hair pomade. "You look ravishing today, Mrs. Charles."
"Don't change the subject, coward."
"Yeah." Big Ron grunted the word from his barstool, still not ready to trust George with his friend and boss.
Gia hopped from the couch. "And don't start until I get back." She raced down the hall and returned with a makeup bag. "K. Ready."
George crossed his ankle over his knee. "Elise was the head of a British firms clan, and Rhys worked for her."
I gasped. "She was the silent partner in the casino deal, not Katrina."
Aunt Carla tapped her nostril. "Flavia said it was a woman. She can always sniff out a rat."
Tommy started on the barstool next to Big Ron. "If this Flavia needs a job, let me know."
"Not until she's given this place a solid sniffing over," I joked. "Carry on, George."
He folded his arms against his argyle sweater. "Rhys used his social connections to steal art, and he and Elise kept the family hardware store as a front. They fenced the art to private collectors through gallery owners, including my parents." He gazed at his wing tips. "So I moved to Danger Cove to keep an eye on them."
Alex stared at him, shocked.
Gia and I did too.
Detective Ohlsen cleared his throat. "Elise recognized George when he moved to town, so she shut down the art ring. But they needed money, so Jesse stole Sonny Torlone's investment capital and killed him. When he was charged with the murder, he purchased a stolen painting from George's parents to hide the money."
Alex looked at George. "So that's why Elise framed you."
"To get me out of the picture, so to speak. But she also wanted to pay me back for returning some paintings Rhys had stolen that she'd planned to sell on the black market." He leaned forward on his knees. "When I went to the mansion to take the flower order for the vow renewal, I mentioned that I was late to make a delivery to The Clip and Sip." His lips wrinkled. "That's when Elise had Katrina slip the yew frond into Gia's arrangement."
Gia brushed on hot pink blush. "Then she asked us to do the hair and makeup for the ceremony."
"And when we showed up to do the job," I said, "she saw you wearing her mother's cameo and confronted Katrina."
The detective took a plate from Aunt Carla. "Jesse recognized the cameo too, so he ordered a hit on Elise—and Katrina while he was at it."
I gripped the couch arm. "The hit wasn't on Gia and me?"
"No, and we know because the hit man turned him in, not realizing Jesse was already de
ad."
My aunt harrumphed. "Some hit man, breaking the code of silence."
I gave her the side-eye, wondering just how she'd learned that Mafia nail move. "So, I know Katrina was blackmailing Jesse for the casino money, but why did he want Elise killed?"
The detective swallowed a bite of cannolo. "Jealousy. She told him she'd lost the cameo on a trip they took to Europe. When he saw it on Gia, he put two and two together and figured out that she'd lost it here while she was with your uncle. And, according to Elise, he'd already suspected her of cheating on him with Vinnie back when they all met in Atlantic City to negotiate the casino purchase."
Aunt Carla clenched her jagged nails into a fist. "So she's also the woman who cost my brothuh that deal."
"She cost him a lot of things." His gaze went to the floor.
I broke the sad silence. "Detective, how and when did Elise poison Jesse?"
"She ground a yew seed into the coffee beans of Jesse's first coffee that morning. After he died, she put a seed in the cup Gia served Jesse so there would be some taxine residue."
"So the taxine was administered earlier that morning, just like A Pocket Full of Rye."
The detective nodded. "We recovered the library copy in Katrina's room at the B&B, by the way. She and Elise were meticulous in their planning."
Aunt Carla looked at him. "If these broads were so meticulous, why didn't they take the stocking from my poor brothuh's neck?"
"Elise wanted to humiliate him by leaving the public a clue that he was strangled by a woman. And the competitor in Katrina agreed."
"That muscled monster," Gia grumbled.
Detective Ohlsen shoved his hands into his pockets. "We could've caught them sooner if we'd known about the return special order of those stockings. But Marjorie died before she could tell us about it."
Gia looked up with one blue-shadowed eye. "I think Katrina offed Marjorie in the back room at Lily's."
"No, there were witnesses. She was suffocated by a corset." He shook his head. "Hazard of the profession."
I squirmed. The heating pad was hot, and that lingerie death made me uncomfortable. "One last question, Detective. Was Elise the reason my uncle moved to Danger Cove?"
"She was. And I think, in her own way, she loved him. She cost him the casino deal, but she set him up here with a wealthy clientele for his salon. And she loaned him the money to buy this painted lady, which made his betrayal with Katrina that much more enraging."
Killer Eyeshadow and a Cold Espresso (A Danger Cove Hair Salon Mystery) Page 18