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

by Anna Celeste Burke

  “This package was halfway out of my purse,” Kay said as she handed the envelope to Jack. “They’re copies of all the notes from my secret critic, plus the new one that says, ‘GO HOME.’ Detective Kingsley took the two recent notes, and the originals for the old ones are in a file at my lawyer’s office. When I got that second note several days ago, I told Ernie I wanted copies of everything in my lawyer’s file. We hadn’t met yet, Jack, but Max spoke so highly of you as a person and a detective, I’d already decided to ask for your opinion. That was even before I found the third note waiting for me when I woke up yesterday.”

  “They’re chewed on, Jack,” I said as I leaned over and picked Ella up.

  “So, I see,” he replied.

  “We don’t mind a few bite marks, do we, Ella?” Kay asked as she petted Ella, who gurgled her agreement. “Too bad those marks aren’t on the hand of the bad person who wrote the vile things.”

  “I hate to say it, but you’d better check your purse in case something is missing. Our Klepto-kitty here loves to help herself to other people’s things. She’s particularly fond of shiny objects.”

  Ella must have thought that was a compliment. She nuzzled my neck and purred loudly.

  I tried not to be too obvious, but I was dying to read the content of the notes Jack was reading. While he went through them, Kay dug through her purse, piling items on the table in front of her.

  I spotted several objects that Ella would have coveted, including a gold pen and a shiny silver lighter. Both would have been fun for her to bat around in the hallway. I was about to conclude I’d made a mistake when Kay looked up at me.

  “I’ll be darned. My tennis bracelet is missing! The clasp came loose, and I dropped it in here until I could take it to a jeweler to fix it for me.”

  “Ella, you little thief! Where’s your precious new shiny toy? The pretty bracelet doesn’t belong to you, it’s Kay’s.” When I put her down, Ella turned tail and flounced away.

  “Don’t worry. It’s not valuable. A friend gave it to me years ago,” Kay responded.

  “Then it’s a keepsake,” I responded. “Why don’t you and Jack fix a plate of food and have a seat outside. I’m going to check the little devil’s favorite hiding places before she can come up with a new one.”

  “I’m hungry. Eating sounds good to me,” Jack said as he slid the notes back into the envelope. Then he stood and the envelope to a drawer on the side table we use for the mail until we can sort it. Miles, who’d been sitting on the side table since Kay handed the packet to Jack, took a swipe at the envelope as Jack put it in the drawer. “E tu, Brute?”

  Jack’s question got a laugh from Kay. When Miles jumped to the floor, I could have sworn he harrumphed as I do when I’m annoyed. Anyway, he came after me as I turned the corner and headed down the hall. Miles almost careened into me when I suddenly stopped and stepped back into the kitchen as I heard Jack ask Kay a question.

  “Did you suspect anyone of being the person who left the notes?”

  “I saw a man lurking about after several shows. He wasn’t distinctive in appearance—well-dressed, middle-aged, with brown hair and eyes. He never approached me, but I was convinced I’d seen him in at least three different cities.”

  “The guys your manager hired to watch out for you should have spotted him before you did,” I huffed. “Some bodyguards.”

  “They didn’t start working until after our conversation with the police, and my manager, Ernie Meyer, grew concerned that I was losing it.” She made eye contact with me.

  “You met Ernie, didn’t you? He arrived at the party even later than Melody did,” Kay said. “Ernie doesn’t like Max very much; despite the money he’ll get from the generous offer Max has made me.”

  “I met him briefly. He was looking for you and Melody,” I replied. “We didn’t speak long before I was approached by a group of women wanting me to answer questions about you, Kay. He seemed delighted by the opportunity the evening represented for you. As I recall, he even had a kind word for Max.”

  “Ernie’s a smooth operator, so that doesn’t surprise me. After hearing what the police had to say—one of them suggested that celebrities sometimes needed to get away from showbiz for a while—almost certain Ernie hired Stan and Dave to humor me. He also probably thought it would keep me performing which it did for a while. One night, as one of the bodyguards and I left the theater, I pointed out the man I’d seen several times before—in different cities. That seemed odd. Just as I did that, the man waved at a woman at a taxi stand. I felt like a fool.”

  “Did she wave back or walk toward him?” I asked, wondering if the gesture was genuine or intended to throw Kay off.

  “She waved, I think,” Kay said slowly. Then she shrugged. “I don’t remember. Anyway, it wasn’t long after that happened that I did take time off. I planned to return after a few weeks when I felt my voice was in better shape. The strategy backfired, and the longer I was at home, the more uncomfortable I felt about returning to the stage. My vocal cord trouble didn’t ease up right away, so weeks turned into months. Eventually, I stopped countering rumors that I’d retired, and people quit asking.”

  “Ernie couldn’t have been happy about that,” Jack said as he handed Kay a plate.

  “He wasn’t, but Ernie’s older than I am. After a few half-hearted tries, he gave up trying to coax me into returning to the stage. I figured he’d retired too, until he said something about signing Melody.”

  I’d started down the hall, again, to check the shoes in my closet since my shoes are one of Ella’s favorite places to stash her loot. When I heard what Kay said, I spun back around. I had to catch myself before tripping over the cats and landing on my sore knees.

  That wouldn’t have been good. I’d changed the bandages this morning, and my knees looked awful. So did my shins. Dark, ugly bruises had started to appear below my knees, which were still oozing. After checking my vital signs and making sure nothing was broken, the EMTs had warned me the damage would look worse today.

  I tried to hear what Jack said next, but they must have gone out to the patio. To me, Ernie Meyer signing Melody seemed to be a significant development. I wanted to hear more about what sort of arrangement he’d made with the ambitious young singer. I hustled on down the hallway as fast as I could. The ballerina spin had reminded me that I was barely in shape to walk, much less dance, so I cooled it. After drinking a glass of wine on an empty stomach, the spin had left me dizzy. I needed to find that bracelet and eat lunch.

  “Come on, baby girl, show momma where you put Kay’s pretty bracelet.”

  “Eureka!” I said a few minutes later when I joined Kay and Jack outside. I set my plate on the patio table and handed the bracelet to Kay.

  “Georgie, you get better and better at solving Ella’s crimes,” Jack said. “You found the bracelet in record time.”

  “I had a little help from her pal. Miles gave her up just like that,” I said, snapping my fingers. “The promise of a slice of turkey was all it took to get him to squeal.”

  Miles may also have felt sorry for me since I groaned when stooping over to check the shoes on the lowest closet shelf. It would have taken me much longer to find the bracelet if I’d had to go through all of them. In addition to my chocolate addiction, buying shoes is one of my vices. When I stood to stretch my back, I made that offer of turkey, and Miles leaped to the top of a chest where we store accessories like belts and scarves. He knocked one of the red pumps I’d worn last night to the floor, and the bracelet spilled out.

  “Thank you for finding it. Ernie insists it’s a good luck charm. I wore it last night, but it slipped off before I even arrived at the house,” Kay said, stabbing a bite of food with her fork. “Now, I’m not sure if that was lucky or unlucky. The performance went well, which was good luck. Finding out my co-star was murdered later qualifies as bad luck. If the attacker was aiming to kill me and killed Melody instead, is that good luck or bad?”

  “Does Er
nie believe it’s lucky because he gave it to you?” I asked hoping to change the subject since I couldn’t answer her question. I was also curious about the nature of their relationship.

  “Yes, I’m sure he believes the good luck it brought me was mostly about signing with him. In case you were wondering, the gift of jewelry wasn’t a romantic gesture. He worked hard for me and gave me the bracelet after he’d arranged for me to perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival years ago.” Kay paused to eat. “This antipasto is delicious.”

  My stomach growled, so I dug into my food. Jack was deep in thought. As a cop, he’d learned to be a fast eater, so his plate was nearly empty.

  “This isn’t over by a long-shot, is it?” Kay asked. “I’m not just talking about the murder investigation. Ernie invited several journalists to the private party, and I can’t believe one of them won’t try to profit from the circumstances surrounding Melody’s murder.”

  “Max must not have let them in. Our corporate publicist was there with a photographer and videographer. They’ll be discrete. If there were other journalists at the party, none of them approached me,” I added. “Max would object to bad publicity. How about Ernie?”

  “Ernie’s as old school as they get. Under other circumstances, I’d say he’d rely on the old cliché that there’s no such thing as bad publicity. Publicity about a dead client won’t help her or his bottom line, so I doubt he’ll try to make a buck off of Melody’s murder.”

  “I thought I heard you tell Jack he’d signed Melody. Was that recent?”

  “I should change my tune a little,” Kay said, obviously feeling better. “I don’t know he’d signed her, but he sure was trying. This had to be a recent turn of events. When I mentioned it to Max, he scoffed at the idea and insisted that I’d misunderstood her,” Kay replied.

  “Did that come up last night?” Jack asked.

  “Yes. I was waiting for Melody to join me, so we could ride to the hotel together. She’d come out to the street when she heard the limo had arrived. Then her phone pinged, and she dashed off again. Max asked me where Ernie had gone since he’d left too. I told him Ernie was probably trying to sell Melody on a deal he was working on for her. Max was obviously confused.”

  “Unless the deal meant she wasn’t going to be available during the making of JAZZ!, I don’t know why it would have mattered,” I said. “Melody was an employee of Marvelous Marley World in the Arts and Entertainment Division. She must have signed a separate contract for any role she’d play in the animated feature at the Max Marley Studios. No matter what Ernie had in mind, he couldn’t expect her to violate the terms of the contract with Max.”

  “Max didn’t say anything about the picture or her role. He said I had it wrong because he’d sent Melody to a friend for advice about representation and her career. I was exhausted, and I can’t remember the man’s name. Maybe Max didn’t even tell me his name. That’s when Max told me to get into the limo and go to the hotel, saying he’d call another one for Melody and Ernie.”

  “How did you know Ernie was trying to sell Melody on a deal?” I asked.

  “I saw Ernie speaking to her not long after he showed up. She stomped off. Later, when I asked him what that was about, Ernie said she didn’t like the terms he’d arranged for her on some gig he was trying to set up. That’s the first time he’d said a word about representing her.”

  “Ernie must have been upset,” Jack commented.

  “Ticked, yes. He called her a brat. If you’re wondering if he was angry enough to kill her, I doubt it. Plus, he’s not in great shape anymore. Melody could have fought him off if he’d attacked her.” Kay paused as if considering what she’d just said. “You should speak to Ernie, though, to get the details.”

  “Frederick said he spoke to someone at the hotel last night. Whoever that was, told him you and Melody were both in your rooms. Would he have spoken to Ernie?”

  “I’m not sure. He could have been the person Frederick spoke to. Melody and I were also assigned a personal concierge by the hotel, so maybe that’s who told Frederick we were in our rooms. Weird, huh?” Kay asked. “I mean, how could Melody have been in her room if she’d been murdered and shoved into the canal?”

  “Weird is right,” Jack replied.

  “Max swears he put her in the limo himself, although he didn’t say a word about Ernie being with her,” I added. “We… um…. someone needs to sort this out with Ernie, Max, and the hotel staff.”

  “Maybe you should be the one to pin Ernie down. I’ve already heard you’re the ‘Max wrangler,’ Georgie.” Kay smiled. “If you could wrangle Ernie too and teach me how to do it, I’d love it.”

  “Who told you that about Max?” I asked.

  “Carol suggested that I go to you if Max gave me any guff. She actually used the word guff and called you the ‘Max wrangler,’” Kay responded. “During my few conversations with Max, your name came up several times. It’s obvious he relies on you a great deal.”

  “I’ll talk to Max and make sure he tells Detective Kingsley everything he learned later about where Ernie was when he should have been in a limo with you,” I said. “I can’t imagine Max didn’t demand to know why he’d kept you waiting.”

  “Even if Max doesn’t bring it up, Doug will get around to Ernie. I don’t recall meeting him,” Jack said. “Ernie must be on Max’s invitation list, so the police will interview him. Questions about where he was and what he was doing throughout the evening are routine. He’d better get it straight if he wants to establish an alibi.”

  “Now that Kay’s told us he recently established a business relationship with Melody, I’m sure the police will get to him sooner rather than later. You can tell Doug that, can’t you, Jack?”

  “Yes,” Jack said. “That’s a good idea.”

  “In the meantime, Kay, I’m going to find out all I can about what efforts were already made to identify your persistently nasty pen pal. I take it this all stopped once you quit performing.”

  “Yes, but I also shut down the post office box. The press also got word about the threats and that I’d gone to the police about them. That may have scared the person sending them into knocking it off. I still received fan mail using a street address Ernie or my lawyer set up. As far as I know, I didn’t get another note until the ones left for me at the hotel.”

  “Can you give me phone numbers for Ernie and your lawyer?” Jack asked as he slid a pen and notepad across the table to Kay. “What year did you file a complaint about the notes? Did you do that with the Pasadena Police Department or somewhere else?”

  “Pasadena PD, I think, and it must have been four, no five years ago. Gene Reisner, my lawyer, can tell you the exact date. In addition to the original notes, he also has correspondence with the police department. Thanks, Jack. I appreciate anything you can do.”

  “The correspondence will be helpful. I’ll check into the previous investigation—if you can call it that,” Jack said. Then his phone pinged. He pulled it from a pocket and glanced at me.

  “That was a text from Doug Kingsley, advising me that I’ve been added to the team investigating Melody Monroe’s murder.”

  “Imagine that,” I muttered under my breath.

  “Thank goodness!” Kay explained. “What’s for dessert?”

  8 Not a Bandleader

  Max didn’t show up unannounced Sunday, but; Doug Kingsley did. I wondered if he was being passive-aggressive not to have given us notice. Maybe payback for the fact no one had given him a heads up that Jack would be added to his team. Fortunately, I’d felt well enough to go for a walk with Jack on the beach this morning, so I wasn’t in my pajamas and a robe.

  “One of you has friends in high places,” Doug said, stepping into the foyer without being invited.

  The detective was a tall, fit, attractive man, with dark eyes that searched the foyer. The brown bushy mustache above his lip was the defining feature on his face. The mustache, along with the Aloha shirt he wore, gave him a Magnum P.
I. vibe. His eyes widened as he wandered from the foyer to the great room. When he spotted the ocean view visible through a wall of windows on the far side of the room, he stopped.

  “Nice digs.”

  “Won’t you come in and have a seat,” I said and walked into the room, motioning for him to follow. Doug didn’t move and was still gawking at the view as Jack stepped in to play host.

  “Good to see you,” Jack said, shaking hands with the man. Doug clutched a leather portfolio in his other hand as he greeted Jack. “We can sit in here or outside if you’d prefer.”

  “That’s a spectacular veranda out front. It’s your call,” Doug replied.

  “We prefer the smaller patio off the morning room in the kitchen. It feels, um, less exposed,” I suggested. I hadn’t ever quite put my preference for the smaller patio into words. The veranda in front of the house is enormous with a spectacular place for parties, but it’s big and too formal for everyday use.

  “The architects must have been geniuses to figure out how to give you a view here and from the kitchen.” His mouth was moving, but his gaze didn’t waiver from the beguiling blue Pacific Ocean. Then he snapped out of it. “Take me to the kitchen, but let’s stay indoors. The view is too distracting to concentrate on the case.”

  “There’s a view from the kitchen, but it isn’t as expansive as this one,” Jack said. “It’s still nice. The house was built to take advantage of the long stretch of coastline that’s visible from this height. Can I pour you a cup of coffee?”

  “Yes, please,” Doug responded. “We’ve only begun, and this case is already running me ragged. I’m chugging caffeine to keep up. Sorry about my crack about friends in high places. The first thing I should have said was thanks for being willing to pitch in.”

  “Not a problem. Georgie and I have our own reasons for wanting to figure things out as soon as possible,” Jack said as he walked into the kitchen and morning room. “I’m happy to help.”