Murdered by Superstition

by Dianne Harman

  “I recall asking Nicole if she ever heard from the woman, and she told me she’d called her a couple of times after she’d been fired and found out she’d moved to Colorado to be with her family. Nicole said she’d received a recommendation request from a bank in Denver, and she’d given the woman a very good letter of recommendation, because she had applied for a low-level secretarial job. Nicole felt she’d be fine doing secretarial work, but she certainly wasn’t qualified for a management position.”

  “Hmm.” Liz twisted a strand of her hair around her finger. “I wonder if anyone from the bank stayed in touch with the woman? Did Nicole mention if she got together socially with anyone?”

  “I think so. One time she introduced me to a woman she called the assistant manager. She’d brought her to the fitness center as a guest. As I recall, her name was Maddie. Maybe she’d know something. I’m sure I can find out.”

  “Okay, the only other thing I can think of is some kind of romantic relationship that went south,” Liz said. “I wonder if you could call Maddie at the bank, and we could have lunch with her? Maybe we could find something out before we go to New Orleans. I really would like to know if Nicole was seeing anyone. Why don’t you call her first thing in the morning and ask her to meet us at Gertie’s? Gertie knows everything that’s happening in town anyway, so she probably already knows about Nicole’s death, but why don’t you call Maddie in the morning?”

  “Will do,” Judy said as she stood up. She hesitated and looked intently at Liz. “Okay, spill it. You’ve got that funny look on your face again. Hearing voices?”

  “As a matter of fact, I am.”

  “And what did the voice say this time, if I might ask?” Judy asked.

  “You might. The voice had a pretty good thought. It said that maybe somebody wanted Nicole to get fat, so she wouldn’t be a threat to anyone. The voice said we might look to see who would want her to be fat.”

  “My take on that would be to see if she was seriously dating anyone.” Judy said. “If she was, perhaps the murderer was someone that her male friend or friends were seeing before they started seeing Nicole, and they’d hope that if Nicole got fat, the man who was seeing her would lose interest.” She shrugged. “It makes sense to me, but I’ve started hearing a little voice that tells me I need to get my body in bed. Today has been a little more exciting than I’m used to, and I’m tired. I’ll call Maddie and the cooking school and tell you in the morning what I’ve found out. I also need to call my manager at the hotel and tell her I’m going to be gone a little longer than expected.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Liz made a pot of coffee early the next morning and looked over the menu of the cooking school she’d be attending in New Orleans. This was a first for her – going away to a cooking school. She’d easily justified the expense to Roger because not only was the Red Cedar Lodge and Spa booked for months in advance, but her dinners at the lodge were always booked as well. In order to spice things up, she planned on using what she learned in New Orleans for the dinners she served at the lodge, to spice things up a little.

  Just reading the cooking school’s brochure made her hungry. If I don’t gain weight from pecan praline bites, catfish couvillion, jazzmen rice, Cajun gumbo, and cornbread dressing cake, it will be a miracle. Maybe if I started smoking again and kept it to only two cigarettes a day I wouldn’t get fat, but I definitely can’t let Roger know, and I’ll have to swear Judy to secrecy. When I get back, I could concentrate on giving them up for good, but I’m sure a couple a day while I’m in New Orleans couldn’t hurt.

  She could hardly believe what had just crossed her mind, and a moment later, she thought Where did that come from? I haven’t had a cigarette in over twenty years, and I have no intention of starting again. It was hard enough to stop all those years ago. No, that’s definitely a road I don’t want to go down again.

  She looked at the brochure again. The rooms in the antebellum mansion where I’ll be staying look fabulous! There’s so much to do today to get ready, plus I may be having lunch at Gertie’s if Judy can get in touch with that woman at Nicole’s bank.

  Liz watered the plants, had a meeting with Bertha, her manager, and checked with her to make sure she and her husband were planning on taking care of her two dogs, Winston and Brandy Boy. Liz got her suitcase out of the garage and began to take clothes out of her dresser and closet. Comfortable clothes, something she could wear when she was cooking.

  While she was deciding what to take she heard Judy’s voice. “There you are, you big beautiful boy. Winston, one of these days I’m going to kidnap you and take you home with me to Calistoga. I could sure use a good guard like you.”

  She walked over to the stairs and said, “Liz? Are you down there?”

  Liz walked upstairs from the downstairs large apartment where she and Roger lived and said, “Well, is it a go? Are you coming with me?”

  “Yep. You’re stuck with me. The cooking school said they’d love to have me. I paid with my Visa card, so I’m perfectly legal. I decided they didn’t need to know that I don’t like to cook, but if I’m asked, I can always say that I’m there to get ideas for the cook I employ at my hotel and spa. That should satisfy them. I rather doubt they’ll feel like giving me a refund even if they do find out. And I’d be happy just to be a taster.”

  Liz laughed softly. “I’m so glad. This is going to be fun, well, as fun as it can be when we’re also investigating a voodoo murder. Were you able to get in touch with Maddie?”

  “That I was, and we’re meeting her at Gertie’s Diner at noon. That doesn’t give us much time. I need to go back to my cottage and make some calls. I’ll be back up here about 11:45, and then we can head over to lunch. Okay with you?”

  “Yes, I’m just taking care of a few last-minute things. Do you need to borrow any clothes from me or did you bring enough that you’ll be okay?”

  “No to both questions. Other than the clothes I’ve worn to dinner here at the lodge, I just brought clothes for working out and the spa. It’s a huge sacrifice on my part, but I guess I’ll just have to buy some new clothes in New Orleans.” Judy grinned as she walked out the door with a backward wave.

  Promptly at 11:45 Judy returned to where Liz was standing in the hallway, saying goodbye to her dogs.

  “Well,” Judy said, “if it wasn’t for Nicole’s murder and this voodoo thing, I’d be ecstatic about going to New Orleans. I told you I went there when I was a kid, but I sure wasn’t able to take advantage of everything New Orleans has to offer. Are we renting a car?”

  “No,” Liz said as she ran her hand over Winston’s fur coat. “The cooking school van will meet us at the airport and take us to the school. It’s in the French Quarter, and I thought we could pretty much walk wherever we wanted to go from there. Plus, from what I read, parking is a nightmare, and honestly, I just didn’t want the hassle.”

  “Sounds good to me. Let’s go see Gertie.” Judy held the door open and rubbed her stomach with her other hand. “Love seeing you, Liz, but I have to tell you that the highlight of anybody’s trip to Red Cedar is a hamburger and milkshake at Gertie’s Diner.”

  While they were driving to Gertie’s, Liz’s Bluetooth rang in the car and it was Roger, checking in with her before she headed off to New Orleans. They talked about what each of them had been doing, and then Liz told him about Nicole and how Judy was going to join her in New Orleans.

  Roger’s comment was thoroughly predictable. “Liz, please don’t get involved in this.” His voice was heavy. “For better or worse, and I know it’s probably for worse, Seth is the police chief in Red Cedar. Let him do his job and stay out of it. You can’t take Winston with you, and you’d probably have trouble taking a gun with you. Just leave the whole thing alone.”

  “Roger, I’m not at all involved,” Liz replied, with a light and breezy tone to her voice. “The only thing I intend to do is find out what’s up with the voodoo dolls. Since I’m going to be in a place known for voodoo, don�
�t think that will be a problem, plus I’m interested in the subject. Just satisfying my own curiosity.”

  “Uh, huh,” Roger said. “I can tell from your voice that you’re probably not telling me something. I’m just glad Judy will be with you. Hopefully, she’ll be a steadying influence on you, although knowing her, that seems a stretch.”

  Liz glanced over at Judy, who was stifling a giggle.

  “Anyway, call me when you get there and fill me in on New Orleans,” Roger continued. “I’ve never been there, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as well as the cooking school. At least, from everything I’ve heard, I won’t have to worry about you eating well.”

  “I promise I’ll be thinking about you as I devour what New Orleans has to offer. Right now, Judy and I are off to see your favorite diner owner, Gertie, for one of her famous hamburgers and milkshakes.”

  At the mention of Gertie, Roger’s tone lightened. “Tell her I said hi. I’ve got to go. My client just walked through the door. Be safe, and I’ll talk to you soon.”

  “That was good timing. You didn’t even have to explain that the reason we’re going to Gertie’s is to meet someone in connection with Nicole’s murder,” Judy said when the call had ended.

  Liz nodded. “Thank heavens for that. I really don’t like to lie to Roger, but sometimes it’s better if he doesn’t know exactly what I’m doing when it comes to solving murders, or at least attempting to.”

  “Maybe that’s why none of my marriages ever worked out. I had no problem lying to any of them,” Judy said with a twinkle in her eye and a sly smile on her face, just as a call came through on her cell phone.

  CHAPTER 5

  “Judging from the lack of parking spaces,” Liz said as she pulled her minivan into a space two blocks from the diner, “I think it’s safe to assume that Gertie’s is packed. I hope she can find somewhere for us to sit.”

  Judy ended the call to her hotel manager and turned to Liz. “Since she thinks of you as her younger sister and Roger is her tenant, somehow I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.” A few minutes later when she opened the door to the diner and saw the crowd of people waiting to eat, she turned to Liz and groaned. “I may have misspoken. It might be a problem.”

  Fortunately, she was wrong. As soon as they entered the diner, the indefatigable octogenarian, Gertie, tottered over to them in her stiletto high heels, pencil behind her ear, blond beehive hairdo plastered in place with so much hairspray nothing moved, and chewing a wad of gum. Lately she’d started wearing a big bow at the top of the beehive. Today was a salute to red, in the brightest hue conceivable. She gave both Liz and Judy a hug. “Judy, didn’t know ya’ was in town. If I had, woulda’ had a burger and shake waiting’ fer ya’.” She gave them both a wink, her wrinkled eyelids shimmering with bronze eyeshadow.

  “Gertie,” Liz said, “I know you don’t take reservations, but you might want to start. From the looks of the crowd in here, it’s almost like you’re giving away food. How long is the wait going to be? We’re meeting someone for lunch.”

  “Already taken care of. She’s in that booth at the back, and don’t it beat all, but I was jes’ told that Gertie’s Diner is now a stop fer some fancy-schmancy bus limo excursion trip.” Gertie grinned, revealing several gaps in her smile where her teeth were missing. “They take people from San Francisco to some of them state parks in the northern part of California. Kinda’ cool, don’tcha think? I’m gonna’ get ‘em comin’ and goin’. This keeps up, might have to expand this ol’ diner. Follow me, ladies.”

  Gertie was an institution in the city of Red Cedar. She knew everyone and everybody knew her. There wasn’t much that happened in the small town that she didn’t know about. And if she didn’t know about it, she always knew someone who did.

  She looked over her shoulder at Liz as they made their way through the crowded diner. “So, ya’ gonna’ talk to Maddie and see if she knows anything about that voodoo murder, right?”

  “Gertie, how do you know about the voodoo dolls?” Liz asked in amazement.

  For an answer, Gertie simply rolled her eyes. “Liz, girl, yer’ talkin’ to Gertie. People tell me everythin’. Might wanna talk to Madame Dika. Remember she’s that tarot card reader. Hear she’s gettin’ active again, and not necessarily in a good way.”

  She was referring to the murder of Seth’s deputy, Leroy, and how Seth visited the tarot card reader and had used that as an alibi, although Madame Dika had not supported it. Liz had heard she’d moved away from Red Cedar after the murder had been solved, and her brother was implicated, but according to Gertie, she was back in the area again.

  A moment later, Gertie stopped at a booth at the back of the diner and made the introductions. “Don’t know if ya’ all have met, but Maddie - this is Liz and Judy. Trust me, they’re good people. Hope ya’ all can figure out who offed Nicole. Murder in small towns ain’t good fer business.” She stepped aside as Liz and Judy sat down in the booth opposite Maddie. “Back with yer’ orders in a few minutes. Not botherin’ to give you a menu, ‘cuz I know what you all want.”

  And with that she tottered back to the front of the restaurant, ignoring the looks from the people who had just gotten off the tour bus, obviously amazed that this old dynamo with the red bow on her head was the force behind a place to eat that was popular enough that tour companies brought their charges to eat there.

  *****

  “Maddie, thanks for meeting with us, and I’m glad you know Gertie, because with the tour bus people, I don’t think there’s any way we would have been able to get a table,” Liz said to the attractive green-eyed redhead facing her.

  “Gertie is one of my favorite people, and I wouldn’t miss a chance to eat here for anything, particularly when Judy told me she was buying,” Maddie said with a laugh. “Actually, I’m glad you called. I feel so bad about Nicole. I’m the assistant manager at the bank, and I was devastated when I got a call from the chief of police last night. The staff meeting was pretty rough this morning. Nicole was really liked, and she did a superb job as manager. I have no idea what will happen now.” She stopped speaking and brushed away a teardrop from the corner of her eye.

  “I never met her,” Liz said, “but Judy says she was a wonderful person. The reason we wanted to meet with you is to see if you can shed any light on why someone would have murdered her. I understand there was an incident when she took over the branch where she had to fire someone. Can you tell us about that?”

  “Yes. The name of the woman who was fired is Susie LaMotta. I can certainly understand why Nicole fired her. It was long overdue; however, Susie really is a nice person. After she left the bank, she and I continued to correspond by email. She went to Colorado, met a man, and is planning on marrying him soon. She loves her job. Nicole wrote her a letter of recommendation, so I’m certain she wouldn’t have had anything to do with Nicole’s murder. If you’re thinking about going down that road, it’s probably a dead end. Thanks to Nicole, Susie got her happy ever after.”

  “Based on what you’re telling me, I would agree,” Liz said. Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of their hamburgers and milkshakes. Each of them was quiet for several minutes as they enjoyed their meal.

  Liz paused from eating her hamburger and took a sip of her chocolate milkshake, topped off with a dollop of cream and a cherry on top. “Maddie, I understand Nicole had lost a lot of weight recently. I have a couple of thoughts about that. One, I understand she had a sister she wasn’t close to who took the name of Marie Laveau, who is considered to be a voodoo queen in New Orleans.”

  Maddie looked at her before answering. “Liz, I’m a little unclear as to why you’re spending time looking into her murder. You haven’t been hired by anyone to help find the murderer, have you?”

  Liz was quiet for a moment, trying to decide how to answer the question, which was a valid and fair one. She could also sense Judy looking at her with a quizzical look and probably wondering what she was going to say.<
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  “No, Maddie, I’m not a licensed private investigator, but perhaps you might think of me as an interested person who wants to help a friend. How about calling me an unofficial private investigator? Quite properly, the investigations into Nicole’s murder falls under the jurisdiction of the chief of police, the man you spoke with last night. Just between us, I have had a number of dealings with him, and several times I have had to help him with his investigations, because, and I’m not sure how to be politically correct when I say this, some people in Red Cedar consider him to be a rather inept chief of police.”

  “You can say that again,” Maddie said heatedly. “I was furious when I got off the phone with him last night. Talk about insensitive. The man said he really couldn’t talk for long because he was filling out some papers about speeding tickets. I couldn’t figure out what that had to do with a murder, and whatever it was, it seemed to me it wouldn’t be as important as finding out who killed Nicole.”

  “That’s why I’m involved,” Liz said. “I didn’t personally know Nicole, but my friend Judy did. Unfortunately, we were the ones who discovered her body. I sensed she didn’t have a lot of people in her corner, and since I’ve been fairly successful in helping solve other cases like this one, I find that I simply can’t walk away from it with a clear conscience.”

  “I’m glad,” Maddie said, dipping a long, thick French fry into the pool of ketchup on the white greaseproof paper lining the red plastic dinner basket her meal was served in. “Nicole deserves to have someone help her. It really seems like a sick twist of fate that once she’d finally gotten her life together, she was murdered.”

  “There’s another reason I’m involved. I’m leaving tomorrow morning for New Orleans, which has a reputation for being pretty much the home of voodoo and things of that nature. I don’t know if you’re aware of it, but someone had been sending voodoo dolls to Nicole. As a matter of fact, there was one lying on the porch next to where we found her. I thought I might do a little research while I’m in New Orleans and see what I can find out.