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

by Anna Celeste Burke

  “Did she react to anything you said last night?”

  “Not really. No, wait. Now that you mention it, I complimented her on the bracelet she wore. It was a lovely diamond tennis bracelet. She said her sister gave it to her and then she seemed upset. I changed the subject and invited her to come in and talk to me while I cooked dinner. That’s when she made the phone call. Maybe that’s when she remembered she’d left something at Kay’s house, and that’s what upset her.”

  “Cicely, I don’t believe that’s it at all. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m afraid Rebecca may be no more reliable than Melody. I’m sorry I’ve gotten you mixed up in this situation. I’m going to ask Carol to call and say I’ve hijacked your day and that you won’t be in for work today. Then I’m coming to pick you up. Lock the door, draw the blinds, and don’t answer the door for anyone until I get there.”

  “If you think it’s necessary.”

  “Yes, I do,” I said before she could say another word. “Call 911 and ask them to get a message to Detective Jack Wheeler if Rebecca shows up and won’t go away. He’ll be aware of your situation because I’m calling him now too. Lock up. Make a cup of tea. I’ll be there as quickly as I can.”

  I had a horrible feeling that the atmosphere around me had turned to molasses. My mind was racing, and seconds lasted forever—like the seemingly interminable wait for my computer to boot up or find a file when I’m in a hurry. When I reached Carol, she was heading out the door to go to work.

  “Georgie, is everything all right?”

  “Rebecca’s gone. She pretended to call Kay last night, which was impossible because I was on the phone with her at the time. Rebecca was wearing the tennis bracelet Ernie gave Melody at the party. There’s only one way she could have that bracelet.”

  “She had to be at the party. Ann saw her. You said Rebecca was smoking when you spoke to her yesterday.”

  “Yes, but why lie about being there unless she was involved in Melody’s murder?” I continued dressing while I was on the phone and explained what I was doing. Carol said she’d call in for Cicely and let the members of the park’s Food and Beverage Buyers Committee know I wouldn’t be at their meeting.

  “Promise you’ll call me when you and Cicely are back behind the gates at home.”

  “I will. I’m calling Jack next.”

  “Jack,” I said when he picked up my call.

  “Hang on a minute. I’m putting my old pal, Mick, into a squad car. Officers are going to place him in protective custody at a nearby hotel and order breakfast for him. We’re not taking any chances that the members of the burglary are on to him.”

  While I waited, I dabbed at my face with makeup and ran a comb through my hair. The cats sat silently, side-by-side on the bed like a pair of Sphinxes.

  “He had some interesting news for us,” Jack said when he returned.

  “Burton saw two women near that rowboat, didn’t he?”

  “Yes. How did you know? He heard voices and looked out the window, afraid the cops were out there. That’s when he saw the women standing toe-to-toe as if they were about to fight. He sped up his effort to find the items he was sent there to pick up so he could get out of there.”

  “How is it possible for burglars to have advance information about what to steal?” I asked.

  “Cute, huh?” Jack asked. “Someone in the theft ring has access to insurance records. Maybe hackers or it could even be an inside job. The team investigating the burglaries is all over it.”

  “Yes, I guess so. Here’s the reason I called. Rebecca’s gone. She took off in the middle of the night.” I filled him in about the tennis bracelet and the phony call to Kay. “I’m sure that call was made to Greg, and he picked her up.”

  “Why was she wearing that bracelet? How dumb was that?” Jack said. “I can’t wait to hear her try to wriggle out of that one.”

  “I’m sure Rebecca realized she’d made a mistake. She had to be at the party for Melody to have given her the bracelet.”

  “You’re right, although I’m not as sure as you are that Melody gave it to her. Listen, you stay put. I’m going to send someone to pick Cicely up. I don’t want you out on the road until we round up Greg and Rebecca.”

  “She’s expecting me…”

  “Call her back and tell her the police are on their way. No more discussion. They can get there faster than you can. What’s her address?” he asked. I gave it to him. “Call Cicely now, and I’ll call you right back.”

  “But, Jack…” I said too late. When I looked up, I was being watched by two hoot owls disguised as cats. They were perched on the table near the garage door, ready to ambush me if I tried to leave.

  “They can’t possibly know what he said, Georgie,” talking to myself again as I placed the call to Cicely.

  “Hello,” she said. “Are you here already, Georgie?”

  “No. I just spoke to my husband, who’s in full-blown detective mode. He insists on sending a squad car to pick you up. Other officers are looking for Rebecca Hardesty and Greg Bustos, who may not be as ‘ex’ a boyfriend as we believed. Please sit tight. Carol’s on her way into the office to cover for us there. Jack says someone will be there in minutes.”

  “Oh, my, this is getting complicated, isn’t it?”

  “I’m so sorry,” I said.

  “Are you kidding? This is the most excitement I’ve had in years. Thanks for getting me out of it, though.” Cicely laughed, and I heard the beep telling me I had a call.

  “That must be my husband trying to call me. I’m going to ask him to have the police bring you here to keep me company since I’m grounded now too.”

  “Thanks. I’d enjoy that.”

  “I hope you like cats,” I said as Miles bellowed.

  “I love them!”

  “See you soon, Cicely.” I walked into the kitchen as I took Jack’s call.

  “The dispatcher is sending someone to Cicely’s home now. They’re also sending officers to pick up Greg Bustos and Rebecca Hardesty at his apartment if that’s where she went last night. If they’re not there, we’ll issue a bulletin to be on the lookout for them. We’re checking the DMV for cars registered in either name. Melody Monroe’s name too, in case Rebecca has stolen her sister’s car as well as her bracelet.”

  “I hope they find them soon. Will you have the officers drop Cicely off here? She’s being very upbeat about this, but it must be difficult for her.”

  “I’ll do that. I didn’t finish telling you about the rest of the story our informant passed on from Burton. Our dead burglary suspect said one of the two women picked up an oar and bashed the other one in the face with it. Then she fell and hit her head hard on the side of the rowboat.”

  “What a jerk not to call the police—even if he was a crook in the middle of a crime! Melody might have still been alive.”

  “Burton said he was too scared to do that because the people he worked with wouldn’t like it, and ‘you don’t want them not to like you.’ Burton packed up and got ready to leave. Minutes later, when he left the house, he saw a man near the site—‘kind of a little guy’—whatever that means to a six-foot-tall guy like Burton,” Jack continued.

  “That rules out Duke, don’t you think?” I asked.

  “Yes, no one would call him a little guy. Greg was at the party two doors down, so it must have been him. From what Burton said he was doing, it’s not clear if he was cleaning up or planting evidence to point a finger at someone other than Rebecca.”

  “If he planted evidence, the crime lab will find it. I can’t believe it’ll be subtle or hard to spot. Did the crime lab find Duke’s money?”

  “The last I heard, they were still looking for it at her apartment.”

  “Shoot! Maybe it isn’t in her apartment. Rebecca claimed she checked Melody’s car and her locker at work. She mentioned a gym locker or a locker at a spa. She’s such a liar; I doubt it’s worth bothering to see if Melody had a spa or gym membership.”

/>   “Let us worry about it from here on out. You’ve done your share.” Jack paused. “I’ve got to take a call from Doug. I’m going to sit on a bench and eat the muffin you packed for me. Why don’t you do that too? Call me if anything comes up.”

  “I will. You’ll call me if you find Rebecca or Greg or the money, won’t you?”

  “You can count on it.” I slipped my phone into a pants pocket and removed the blazer I’d put on. Both cats sang another of their mournful duets.

  “What now? You got your way. Momma’s not going anywhere.” I fixed a muffin and a few berries before I realized my furry kitchen companions weren’t with me. Unless they’re deep asleep in one of their power naps, they rarely leave me unattended in the kitchen. When I searched for them, they were in their Sphinx pose, once again, only this time only a few feet from the front door.

  “Come on, you two. You’ll like Cicely.” They didn’t budge. I shook my head and went back into the kitchen to eat my breakfast. I’ve got to learn to take those two Siamese more seriously.

  21 A Cuckoo in the Nest

  I’d barely finished my breakfast when my phone rang. It was Carol, and she was speaking almost in a whisper.

  “There’s a server here from the Bayou Bay Shrimp Shack. She says she’s Greg’s girlfriend and wants to tell you what happened to Melody, so he doesn’t get into trouble.”

  “Will she do that over the phone? Jack’s having officers bring Cicely here, and I’m supposed to be here when they arrive.”

  “Let me ask her.” The conversation was too muffled to hear. Carol must have worked it out because the voice on the end of the line was an unfamiliar one.

  “Who’s this?” I asked.

  “It’s Tina Verlander,” she replied. “I met you once at a Shrimp Shack sampler day for servers and such. You were so kind, and I thought you could help me.”

  “I’ll sure try. What can I do to help you?”

  “It was a prank. Melody wanted to see if she and Rebecca could get away with it if they switched places for a few minutes. Greg said they look alike with a wig and with makeup on, and that it’s almost impossible to tell them apart. They did it in high school a few times. Melody even took Rebecca’s driving test for her.”

  “Did they pull this prank at the party Friday night?” I asked as if I didn’t already know.

  “Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying. It was a prank, but Melody also wanted to get away if this guy named Duke showed up at the party. That’s when everything went wrong. He showed up, and when Melody told him to take his money back and go away, he hit her in the face. She fell backward and smashed her head. When Duke checked her, he said she was dead. Then he made Greg and Rebecca put her in the water, so she’d disappear.” I heard a hitch in her voice followed by sniffling. “Greg wanted to call the police because it was an accident, you know?”

  “I understand,” I said. “Why didn’t he call?”

  “Because Duke said he would kill him and Rebecca too. What can Greg do? What can I do?”

  “I want you to wait with Carol while I call my husband, Jack Wheeler. He’s a wonderful detective, and he needs to hear what you have to say. Have you heard from Greg today?” I asked.

  “No, he was so wasted last night when he told me this, he might not be able to go to work today. I never saw him cry before. This morning, when I heard the other servers saying you were trying to help Rebecca figure out what happened to her sister, I came over here quick. Greg needs help too.”

  “Will you talk to my husband if I call him?” I asked.

  “Okay, do you want me to put Carol back on the phone?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m back,” Carol said.

  “Don’t let her out of your sight. Jack needs to hear her story. It puts Greg and Rebecca at the scene of the crime with a little gobbledygook thrown in. Give her a pop. Feed her. Talk to her. Whatever it takes to keep her there with you.” The doorbell rang. “Hang on a second. The police must be here with Cicely.”

  “Don’t answer without checking first.”

  “Georgie, it’s me, Cicely.”

  “Thank goodness, it’s Cicely!” I said and opened the door. Without skipping a beat, I added. “Can you make that call for me? Please apologize that I won’t be able to get away from my meeting in time to help.”

  “What? You can’t get away… help… I’ve got it. Jack’s on speed dial. I’d be happy to call him for you.” She’d gone back into Executive Assistant mode with her guest still sitting there.

  “Thanks so much, I’ll talk to you later.” As soon as the call ended, Rebecca took my phone and smashed it. I didn’t resist because she had a gun pointed at me. Greg shut the door once the three of them had come inside.

  “We won’t be here long, but you’re not going to make any phone calls after we leave. Cicely isn’t going to call anyone either.”

  “How did you get past the guards at the gatehouse?” I asked.

  “I did what Rebecca told me to do. I said you’d invited me over for the day and these two were dropping me off. He tried to call you but got a busy signal. He asked us to wait.”

  “Cicely’s a peach,” Rebecca said. I tried not to react when she said that. The only person I’d heard use that phrase in a long time was Melody Monroe, referring to me at the time. The same hint of sarcasm had been in her voice then. Suddenly, a flood of hunches and seeming impossibilities all came together.

  “She was so sweet when she told him ‘the kids are going to be late for work.’ He bought the worried granny routine,” she added.

  “Now what?” Greg asked.

  “You tie them up while I get the money. Start with Georgie.”

  Greg looked around and pulled a roll of duct tape from inside his jacket. “This is some house!”

  “Shut up! All we want to know is how to get into the garage.”

  “Why, Melody?” I asked. She started for an instant, and then a smile spread across her face. Cicely gasped.

  “I wondered how long it would take you to figure it out. I knew Cicely would call you and tell you about the bracelet. That’s about the only slip up I’ve made, isn’t it? I decided it was time for plan ‘B’ since the police are taking so long to arrest Duke for murdering me.”

  “Greg should have been clearer when he told his new girlfriend, Tina, with the story that Duke killed Melody. You’d be better off if she’d gone straight to the police this morning instead of calling me,” I said, watching Melody carefully. “Not that they’re going to buy the wig bit. Even if it hadn’t come off in the water, no medical examiner would miss the fact that the dead woman was wearing a wig.”

  “It’s not my fault,” Greg said. “Tina got it mixed up. I told her you did this before wearing wigs, but you had your sister’s hair done, bought her same dress and scarf to be sure you could pull off the prank at a swanky party. I honestly did tell her to go to the police, just like you said I should do.”

  “What we should have done, was call tell the police about the rowboat. I didn’t think it would take them so long to find it. I’d feel better if Duke was locked up while we took the money and left—even if it was only for a little while. Nothing’s ever perfect, is it?”

  “Why did you kill your Rebecca?” I asked.

  “I told you nothing’s ever perfect. She blew it with Frederick and came running out of the basement like a nutcase. I was signing autographs when I spotted her. I excused myself and edged my way around in the dark like a rat. When I got to Rebecca, I tried to calm her down. It’s not like Frederick was going to make a scene. I gave her a few pills and lit a cigarette for her, but that didn’t do it. I made her walk away from the party, trying to reason with her. By the time we reached that rowboat, I was out of ideas and out of time. I picked up the oar, told her to get into the boat, and leave if she didn’t want to wait a few more minutes for Greg to take her home. She shoved me and said Greg was no match for Frederick. Rebecca was getting louder again, so I panicked and hit her
with the oar. She fell, slammed her head on the edge of the rowboat, and that was that.”

  “Not quite,” I sputtered before I could stop myself. “The blows to her face and head didn’t kill her. She was strangled.”

  “That wasn’t on purpose either. No one was around, so I thought it would be easy to roll Rebecca’s body into the water and let it drift down the canal closer to the party house. The stupid scarf got caught on something and I pulled and pulled it before it came loose. That must be what strangled her. After that, I hit her more times to make her stop staring at me. Using the oar to turn her face down worked much better. That’s when I went inside and told Greg what happened. He was upset, but I explained that we could make it work. If she turned up dead, and people thought it was me, my trouble with Duke and Bill Yeats would be over. We could take the money and leave if he gave me a little help.”

  “And Greg was so helpful. He finished cleaning up your mess, didn’t he?” Greg didn’t say a word. Melody spoke again.

  “He can be very handy to have around. After I kicked him out of my apartment yesterday, Greg headed back to the administration building. While you were handing me off to Cicely, he was putting the money in the trunk of your car. Even if you’d opened the trunk you wouldn’t have seen it because the satchel underneath the spare tire in the wheel well. Greg has some skills considering he didn’t damage your trunk or set off your car alarm. Kitchen? Door to the garage?”

  I turned to point her toward the kitchen. What I saw absolutely astonished me. There are shelves way above our heads in the great room that run around the entire room. They’re meant to display plants or collections of pottery or baskets. When the sun shines in, one or more of the glass objects displayed up there cast colors on the walls, always in unique and changing patterns. They’re held in place using museum putty which has allowed them to stay put during several quakes.