A Canary in the Canal Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery #8 (Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery Series)

by Anna Celeste Burke

  “I haven’t seen her record but sealed or expunged doesn’t mean the information is gone. It’s just less accessible.” Jack stared out at the ocean, perhaps pondering how Melody could have afforded such a good lawyer since that’s what had popped into my mind. “If her name was legally changed to Melody Monroe, that could have made it harder for your HR folks to link her to past legal or financial problems.”

  “Changing her name would have been a snap for her lawyer. A lawyer, by the way, who must have been willing to help her before she had a cent to her name,” I added.

  “You’ve been reading my mind, haven’t you?” Jack asked, smiling at me. “The lead detective must be thinking along the same lines. I doubt it’ll be too hard to find the name of the lawyer and ask a few questions about the nature of their relationship.”

  “I feel less guilty about disliking Melody or Jacqueline—whoever she was.” I paused for a few seconds. “Dislike isn’t the right word. Mistrust is more like it.”

  “Trust is something someone has to earn. There’s no reason for you to feel guilty about being cautious around a person you don’t know well.” Jack’s demeanor still bore some of the seriousness that had settled on him last night. His dark eyes peered at me as he spoke again. “You’re a good judge of character. Was there a specific reason you mistrusted her?”

  “You saw the way she acted around Max—flattering him and flirting. She struck me as experienced at playing up to men like Max, especially for someone so young.” I shook my head, folded my arms, and harrumphed.

  “I sense you dislike women who get ahead by using their feminine wiles.”

  “I most certainly do! If we want a level playing field for men and women in the workplace, then women need to rely on competence and effort to advance their careers, not goo-goo eyes and pouty lips. Given all the sensitivity to sexual harassment, it isn’t smart for Max to put up with her fawning over him. He doesn’t need to make it easier to believe his boundaries around women aren’t clear.”

  “His boundaries aren’t clear around anyone who works for him. I understand what you’re saying, though.” Jack commented. “I was shocked at how uncomfortable he was when Kay kidded around with him during her performance.”

  “So was I since it was clearly an act on her part. Once he figured that out, he was fine. Max is a mass of contradictions, isn’t he?”

  “That’s putting it mildly,” Jack remarked. “He’s a man with more alter egos than I can count. Sometimes I feel like shouting, ‘will the real Maximillian Marley please stand up!’”

  “Wait until he realizes Melody wasn’t the sweet young thing she pretended to be. One of those alter egos is going to rear its head,” I said, wondering which one it would be—sad clown, righteously indignant fool, or weary man of the world. Then I recalled what he’d gone through with his daughter, Mallory. “Max hasn’t ever said much to me about Melody, but maybe she reminded him of Mallory when she was younger, and he still had so much hope for her. Mallory was a master manipulator, using both flattery and bullying to get her way.”

  “Max is susceptible to flattery and not above using it to manipulate people into doing his bidding,” Jack added.

  “Manipulating men could explain how Melody found herself a skilled lawyer who was willing to help her out of the tight spot she was in with the law.”

  “That’s entirely possible,” Jack responded. “Doug Kingsley is the lead detective on the case. Let’s see what he finds out once he’s had more time to dig into her background.”

  “Okay. I shouldn’t be so quick to characterize Melody as a culprit since she’s clearly the victim at this point. Can you find out more about how she got into so much trouble at such a young age?” I asked.

  “Her murder didn’t happen in my jurisdiction, sweetheart.”

  “Since when has that mattered to Max?”

  “Thankfully, Max hasn’t issued one of his edicts. Besides, he doesn’t get to set the rules in the ‘real world’ just because he’s the master of his own entertainment empire,” Jack replied. The conviction in his voice waned even before he finished the sentence.

  “How many times have you uttered those words or something like them?” I replied. “I can’t believe Max hasn’t already called in hysterics about the poor young woman’s untimely death.” I hammed it up, adding gestures to the drama in my voice. Then I flashed on Jack’s words about Melody’s face. “Max could have a reason to be alarmed about a maniac who’d strangle and beat one of his employees. What if it was a coworker?”

  “At this point, there’s no reason to believe that her murder has anything to do with her job at Marvelous Marley World. Let’s be grateful for small miracles if your boss is displaying concern for you by not calling at the crack dawn after what you went through last night,” Jack said.

  “Fat chance that’s what’s going on. He just hasn’t gotten around to us yet,” I responded. I could see Max pacing back and forth in his office at work or home and ranting at someone on his phone.

  “For now, we have the day to ourselves, and you deserve to be pampered.”

  “What have I ever done to deserve such a thoughtful husband?” I gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  “Besides making my heart race when I saw you lying on the ground, you mean? If I could, I’d turn off both our phones until tomorrow. Max could call until his battery went dead.”

  “I’m sorry you were scared last night. Unfortunately, shutting off the phones will only bring him to our doorstep. We don’t have the day to ourselves anyway. Kay’s planning to join us for lunch. Did you forget?”

  “I should have said most of the day because I didn’t forget about Kay. In fact, I’ve ordered lunch to be delivered, so you don’t have to prepare it. You’re right about Max, which is why I haven’t shut off the phones.”

  “I’m glad nothing broke when I hit the ground. Don’t ask how I skidded on my knees and have a sore backside too,” I said as I stretched in my chair and felt a jolt of pain shoot up my spine. “You’ve already succeeded in making me feel pampered, by the way. You and the cats let me sleep in this morning while you made coffee and fixed us breakfast.”

  “Miles and Ella didn’t want to leave your side. I had to wave a turkey slice at the bedroom door to get them to join me in the kitchen. They were unusually quiet too.”

  “They’ve also been careful not to jump or walk all over me. Those two cats are sensitive creatures, aren’t they? I don’t like dwelling on the fact that they did their best to keep us at home last night. Once I start, I slide down the crazy cat lady slope fast. Cats with ESP? Come on, Georgie, buck up.” Jack was staring at me with his head tilted. “What?”

  “I find it fascinating to hear your inner dialogue. You’re tough on yourself, but I agree that we shouldn’t make more of the cats’ behavior than what it is,” Jack responded. “I’m glad Miles is taking it easy on you. He’s usually so agile, but when his aim is off, he can knock the wind out of me.”

  “Yep. A pounce on the stomach by a ten-pound Siamese isn’t like being run over by a fleeing burglar, but it’s not nothing either,” I agreed. “Thank you for not revealing the gory details about Melody’s demise. Was the damage to her face done before or after she was dumped in the canal?”

  “Only the medical examiner can answer that question once the autopsy’s complete and the M.E. releases the report.”

  “That’s not true for the lead investigator. He must already have some idea from the preliminary report. Will he share the information with you if you ask?”

  “He would, yes, but I don’t have a reason to ask him.”

  “Maybe you do. What if the killer did that to Melody in a rage because he’d killed the wrong woman? We need to warn Kay if that’s the case.”

  “It’s Doug’s job to get a lead on who killed Melody and why. If you’re right that she used men to achieve her own ends, that could have been a motive for murder and for messing up her pretty face,” Jack responded.

  �
��Ugh,” I said and shivered. “What does the bungling burglar have to say about any of this? He was in the area when Melody was murdered. Did he see anything before he ran for it?”

  “He’s a piece of work. Word about him got to us quickly since our team that’s working on the burglaries in our county wants to interview him too. I already spoke to one of my colleagues this morning, who says Victor Burton insists he’s a burglar and not a murderer. The burglar part has been confirmed. The trunk of the car he’d parked near the bridge was already loaded with stolen merchandise, in addition to the sack of stuff he ditched when he realized he wasn’t going to outrun the police.”

  “That makes him a busy burglar. Maybe he’s lying, and he started multi-tasking by adding murder for hire into the mix,” I suggested. Jack shrugged, and I could tell he wasn’t buying it. “The bumbling burglar would have made an even worse mess of murder, huh?”

  “The murder didn’t go that well given how quickly you found the body. I doubt it was the work of a professional. The way the killer beat, and strangled Melody her murder’s more about rage than a paycheck, if the M.E. concludes that’s what happened.” Jack shoved his empty plate back and scooted closer to me. “The burglary suspect has a few priors on his record. I’m surprised there aren’t more if he’s really part of what appears to be a fairly sophisticated burglary ring.”

  “If he’s new at it, that would explain how he got caught. Can you charge him with assault for running over me during his getaway?”

  “Yes! That’s upped the ante on the charges he’s facing. I also imagine his partners in crime aren’t happy about the fact that he’s been arrested. I don’t know how well organized the ring is since that’s not my case either, but if he can identify members of the burglary ring, he’s better off in police custody than back on the street.”

  “Well, darn! I wish my collision had made a greater impact on him than it has,” I exclaimed slapping the table.

  “Any greater impact, and you would have ended up in the canal too.”

  “You know what I mean.” In an awful imitation of Katherine Hepburn’s mob moll accent she used in Bringing Up Baby, I tried to make my point. “I wish he was singing like a canary, see?”

  “I get what you’re sayin’, doll,” Jack replied in his fake detective voice. “The stool pigeon’s singing, all right. So far, he’s hit plenty of sharps and flats singing a tune that’s way off-key about the murdered songbird.”

  “You’ve lost me, Detective. If I drop the phony voice, will you just give it to me straight? I want to know what you mean by sharps and flats and that his tune is off-key.”

  “First, he claims he doesn’t know who hired him, which I find hard to believe. Victor Burton also says he saw something related to the murder. So far, he hasn’t even hinted at what information he has to play let’s make a deal. He’s lawyered up, which means he’s going to package what he knows into the smallest pieces he can to use in his deal-making.”

  “He’s a bumbler at deal-making too, and I bet he’s bluffing,” I responded. “Here’s another question for you. If the M.E. confirms that the circumstances surrounding Melody’s murder are about rage, that means it’s personal and makes it more likely she was the intended victim all along, right?”

  “You sound like a seasoned pro,” Jack commented. “A crime of passion filled with such rage, committed up close, does suggest the killer new the victim.”

  “You call that ‘overkill,’ and that also means it’s likely to be about love gone wrong,” I added, basking in the glow I felt from Jack’s “seasoned pro” comment.

  “Overkill, yes. Maybe you’ve acquired a little too much seasoning.”

  “Or watched too many of those television cop shows,” I said. Jack shrugged.

  “Maybe, but besides love gone wrong, we can’t rule out jealousy related to her profession or revenge for some other perceived injustice.” Jack shrugged again.

  “Sadly, that makes sense,” I said and then paused. “While I’m sharing my inner dialogue, I might as well confess that I’ve been worried that Kay played a role in Melody’s murder. What bad luck for her to have Melody breathing down her neck as she’s trying to make a comeback. You heard Kay’s remarks last night, she’s obviously feeling insecure. Do I have to share my concerns with the detective when he interviews us?”

  “A good detective like Doug has his own inner dialogue. He won’t need our help to figure out that Melody was an eager young woman who wasn’t shy about breaking the rules to get ahead. Kay can’t be dismissed as a suspect out of hand, but according to Max, when he put Kay in a limo and sent her to the hotel, Melody was still alive. If the driver confirms she went straight to the hotel, that’s a good alibi. Besides, this can’t be the first time Kay’s had to deal with a singer like Melody. Max has been clear he’s committed to Kay being one of the leads in his feature film. It’s not just her voice, but her age and stature as a jazz singer that makes her valuable to him. I doubt she regarded Melody as much of a threat.”

  “I agree with everything you’ve said,” I responded, sighing with relief. “As irritating as Melody was, I doubt Kay had dealt with her long enough to want to bash her face in. Surely strangling would have been enough.”

  “That’s not funny, is it?” I asked when I saw the shocked expression on Jack’s face. That’s before I realized he was teasing me. “Stop it.”

  “Maybe dealing with Melody or getting a better handle on the relationship between Max and Melody is the reason Kay wants to have lunch with us today.”

  “No, if that were true, she would have asked to speak to me, not you,” I argued. “Not to mention that her request came not long after telling us what a good detective Max says you are.”

  “I hope she’s not mistaking me for a private detective. If that’s what she’s looking for, I can recommend someone, but I can’t take on her case.”

  “You can recommend someone?” I asked.

  “Yes. Several retired colleagues continue to do detective work in private security firms or as P.I.s.” Jack paused. “Speculation is pointless. Once Kay gets here, we’ll clear it up.”

  “I wonder what she’ll have to say about Melody’s murder. Even though she didn’t work with her for long, she could have noticed something will be helpful to the investigation.”

  “Don’t get carried away. I want to hear what’s on her mind before we give her the third degree about what she saw or heard at the party or hotel last night. My guy at the hotel said when he checked on Kay this morning, she claimed she was fine and seemed puzzled by his inquiry, so she didn’t appear to have heard about Melody’s death.”

  “Did he tell her what had happened?”

  “No, because he’d seen Detective Kingsley in the hotel lobby and figured he was about to pay her a visit. I don’t envy Doug, given the mess he has on his hands. Wait until he gets around to meeting with Max.” Jack shook his head. “In one of those moments when all the personalities, politics, and paper-pushing get me down, I’ve considered retiring and becoming a P.I.”

  “Now, I’ve learned something new about your inner dialogue. Anytime you want to do that, it’s fine with me. I’d enjoy helping you set up an office here at home or in town if that’s what you want.”

  “That’s sweet of you to offer since I’d have no idea where to start. So far, it’s been a passing thought and not one I’ve seriously considered. Most of what P.I.s do isn’t exciting.”

  “What’s wrong with that? Providing you with excitement’s my job, isn’t it?” Jack’s jaw dropped open as I sent him a flirty wink. His phone rang, which stole the moment from us. His eyes rolled upward when he heard the voice on the phone.

  “Hello, Max.”

  6 Swan Song

  “Georgie isn’t taking calls right now. She’s feeling better, but I’m insisting that she take the day off.” Jack quit speaking. That he’d managed to get in a few words was good news since it meant Max wasn’t spitting fire yet. “Okay, go ahead.”


  I spoke too soon. Jack went silent again, and this time, it was for longer than thirty seconds. He opened his mouth to speak a couple times, but he gave up quickly. Without being able to get a word in edgewise, Jack leaned his head on a hand and listened.

  “I hear your concerns, but you know by now that it takes time to carry out a murder investigation. I’m sure they plan to interview you today. Since you were one of the first and last people to see Melody Monroe last night, I’ll bet you’re at the top of the list we gave to the police. You should call and give the director of the human relations department a heads up that the police may want to speak to whoever hired her.”

  Jack stood up and began pacing on the patio. I tried not to watch as he sped up—it made me anxious and a little dizzy. More silence on Jack’s end had to mean Max had gone off on a rant.

  “I’m not trying to tell you how to do your job. Georgie and I were just talking about what a tragedy it is that Melody Monroe was murdered.” Jack finally said. “You don’t need to worry. The lead detective knows his stuff. We can’t tell him how to do his job, and I can’t just insert myself into the murder investigation. That’s not how it works when you’re in different jurisdictions. We need to be patient and…”

  Eek, I thought, holding my breath, realizing patient is not a word that’s in Max Marley’s vocabulary. Telling him to be patient is worse than telling him how to do his job.

  “I understand you want results. We all do. Uh-huh, that’s true. Southern LA County and Orange County are close geographically, but they’re still in different jurisdictions. Yes, we sometimes cooperate… Max, I have to be asked to be part of the investigative team in another jurisdiction.” Jack turned and made eye contact with me. He knew he’d blown it, but it was too late. “Alright, Max. Do what you have to do.”

  “Why do I bother?” Jack asked as he put his phone away. “He’s dialing the mayor or the chief of police right now. He has them both on speed dial, doesn’t he?”