Death Comes in Threes

by Marja McGraw

  “It’s okay, Pete. This way I can have the wedding of my dreams. You’re just coming along for the ride anyway. You’re kind of, uh, peripheral.”

  “Yeah, I’m so peripheral that if I don’t show up for the wedding there won’t be one.”

  “Point taken.” I surely loved this man, and I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life with him.

  We hung up, I locked the office, and my mother and I caravanned to my house. I’d invited Felicity to come with us, but she said she thought Mother and I should have some alone time. Alone time? What a little chicken!

  Pete and I had talked about where we’d live after we were married and we decided to stay in my house. It had belonged to my great-great-great-grandparents, and over the past couple of years I’d developed some loving feelings toward the old place. I’d had a few adventures in the house, too, like when Bubba seemed to think there was a ghost in the attic.

  My mother broke into my thoughts. “Do you want me to sleep upstairs or in the office downstairs?”

  The office was half office and half guest room. I also had a guest room upstairs. “I’d like you to stay in the nicer room upstairs if you don’t mind all the climbing.”

  “It’s good exercise. I need lots of exercise.” Her voice sounded tight, and tired.

  “Mother, why don’t you call your doctor and go back on the hormone pills. You felt so much better when you were taking them.”

  She dropped her suitcase, threw her arms around me and sobbed. I held her tightly, feeling like I was the mother, not her.

  Bubba had been excited to see my mother. She wasn’t the least bit afraid of him, even though he was so big, and she usually babied him. He melted under her attention. Now he sat and watched helplessly as she cried. He stood and lumbered over, rubbing against the back of her leg and almost knocking us over.

  “At least we don’t have to worry about that damned killer,” she said through her tears. Mother never cussed. That one word could fill a whole book about how she was feeling. She reached back and patted my mangy mutt.

  Later that evening I drove to an In-N-Out and picked up burgers for dinner. We both thought of it as comfort food, and we both needed some comforting. Adding a little chocolate ice cream for dessert made the evening tolerable.

  Chapter Four

  The next morning my mother and I rode to the office together. She wanted to sit in on some of the things I do. With more than a little trepidation, I agreed, but only on the condition she’d call her doctor as soon as his office opened. She agreed and the road to sanity became less foggy.

  We’d been in the office for about an hour before my mother excused herself to use the restroom and a big storm blew in the front door.

  “What’s the matter with that dipstick partner of yours? I swear I’ll sue you for everything you’ve got! He’s a pig and I’m sorry I ever hired you idiots!” Larry Larkin stormed through the doors of Webster & Goldberg Investigations like a hurricane in progress, screaming at me before the door had finished closing.

  “What are you talking about?” I jumped up, almost knocking my chair over. Knowing I had to take control, I sat down again and tried to remain calm and professional.

  Larry’s attitude was a surprise. I hated it when that happened. His thinning hair comb-over was standing straight up in the air. I bit my tongue so I wouldn’t make things worse by laughing.

  “You should see my house,” he ranted. “Chairs knocked over, lamps broken and antiques in pieces on the floor. So much for keeping me and my home safe. And the worst part? My coin collection is gone and so is Pete.” He looked at me and narrowed his puffy little eyes, as though I was at fault.

  It was time to panic. The client’s house was a wreck and something valuable was missing. What could have possibly happened?

  The door to the office restroom opened and my tiny mother stomped out. I could practically see the steam pouring out of her ears.

  “That’s my daughter you’re yelling at, buster, and I just won’t have it. Do you understand? I won’t have it!” Tears began to stream down her face.

  Larry backed up a few feet. I was used to my mother’s moods and stood up, knowing it was time to really take charge. I appreciated the distraction she’d created though.

  “Mr. Larkin, you remember my mother from yesterday. She has some issues…” I left it there. Her issues weren’t any of his business.

  Turning to my mother, I saw the well had dried up and the anger was returning.

  “Mother, sit! And stay out of this.” I had no choice. I had to rein her in.

  My mother’s outburst seemed to temporarily slow Larry down, but I knew it wouldn’t last. I could see him building up to another rant.

  “Larry? Sit down.” I shoved a chair in his general direction. “I can’t help you if you don’t calm down and tell me what happened.”

  He sat, but before he could say anything, the door opened again. Pete and Stanley were talking and laughing – that is until they looked up and saw Larry’s red face and my mother’s tear-stained cheeks.

  “You!” Larry stood and turned to Pete, his accusing finger waving in the air before he leveled it at Pete. “You have a nerve, showing up here and laughing about what you did my house.”

  “Let me explain,” Pete said, sounding calmer than he looked.

  “I can vouch for everything he says.” Stanley was wide-eyed.

  I slowly swung my head around and gazed at each individual face. “If I’d known the circus was coming to town I would have headed in the other direction.” I was mumbling, but everyone heard me during a brief moment of silence. What lousy timing.

  “Sandra,” my mother said, using her motherly warning tone of voice. She only called me by my given name when she was truly annoyed, and she’d called me Sandra more than once in the last twenty-four hours.

  I shrugged my shoulders and hoped the moment would pass quickly.

  Larry was still hot. “Where’s my coin collection? I hired you to protect me, not steal from me. And you made a mess out of my house.”

  I could see Pete was nearing his boiling point. The little scar beside his mouth was turning white again. “Listen up, Larkin. L.A.P.D. has your coin collection. I’m not a thief. Got it? Now do you want to hear what happened or not?”

  Larry seemed to shrivel a little under Pete’s scrutiny. “Okay,” he said softly. “What happened?”

  Pete walked over to his desk and sat down, purposely dragging out the moment and Larry’s discomfort. I couldn’t really blame him. I wouldn’t want to be called a thief either.

  “After you made a show of carrying your suitcase to your car, I settled in and waited. I know what I’m doing, Larkin. You should have been more trusting.”

  Larry spoke again, but this time he sounded whiney. “But my house is in such a mess, and the coin collection – ”

  Pete held up his hand, effectively cutting Larry off. “Shortly after dark Stan called me on the walkie-talkie and said it looked like the guy was about to make his move. I told him to wait until the guy was inside, call the cops, and then come on in – which he did.

  “The perp broke a window and climbed into the house where he rummaged around until he figured out where your collection was hidden. By the way, he didn’t have any trouble finding it in your closet.”

  “I’ve been meaning to put it in a safety deposit box. I guess I’d better stop thinking about it and just do it. My collection is quite valuable.” Larry sat down on a chair and scratched his head. He began tapping his foot, appearing agitated.

  “Yeah. Okay, so as soon as he found your coins he left the bedroom and headed toward the door. Guess he didn’t think he needed to use the window again. I came out of the dark and stood in front of the door, blocking him. He turned to run to the broken window and as I reached out to grab him, Stanley unlocked and opened the front door and knocked me over.

  “The perp took advantage of the moment and bolted, but I jumped up and chased him. I know a coup
le of things got knocked over, but – ”

  Larry’s temper was back. “A couple of things? You just about destroyed my living room, you dolt!”

  Pete’s anger returned, too. “Hey! What’s worse – a couple of broken lamps or a missing coin collection? You hired us to do a job and we did it. I’ll pay for the damn lamps myself.”

  “Just the lamps?”

  “Just the lamps. Your house was a mess when I got there, so don’t try to blame me for your bad habits. Now, do you want to hear the rest of the story or not?”

  Larry nodded, his lips sealed tightly and forming a thin line across the lower part of his face.

  “Okay, so I grabbed him before he could climb out the window. End of story.”

  Stanley held his hand in the air like a student wanting to ask a question. “There is a bit more. I’m afraid I owe Mr. Larkin for a broken television.”

  Pete groaned. “Stan, it wasn’t your fault.”

  “Oh, but it was. While Pete restrained the culprit, I decided I’d wait outside for the police to arrive. The living room was so dark, and I couldn’t see the television stand sitting in the middle of the room.”

  “I can’t see it if it’s back against the wall,” Larry said, sounding quite defensive.

  “Shouldn’t have been in the middle of the room. Stan owes you nothing.” Pete wasn’t stubborn very often, but I could see him digging in his heels on this one. He leaned forward and squinted slightly, glaring at Larry.

  “Pete? What’s the matter with you?” I asked. “Larry is a client, and – ”

  “Larry’s a pervert,” Pete said. “I had plenty of reading material while I waited for the perp to make his move.” He slowly moved his eyes from me back to Larkin. “Oh, yeah, and you left your computer on. I bumped the mouse when I went after the thief and your screen came to life. You’re a dirty old man, Larkin.”

  Larry sat quietly. His mouth opened but he didn’t say a word. He closed his mouth and swallowed.

  “Pete?” There was something more going on here than just the coins. Well, duh, of course there was.

  “Later, Sandi. Let’s just say that although the police arrested the perp, they also want to talk to Mr. Larkin.”

  The office was deathly quiet. My mother looked surprised, and Stanley’s eyes practically rolled back in his head. I tried to contemplate what Pete might have seen, but quickly decided I didn’t want to know.

  “Do the police want me to come to the station to pick up my coin collection?” Larry tried to sound innocent, but it wasn’t working. His face belied his tone of voice. His bright red complexion and the bulging vein in his neck spoke volumes.

  Pete glanced out the window. “As a matter of fact, I think they’re going to give you a ride, compliments of the City of Los Angeles. They took more than just your coin collection as evidence.”

  The door opened and two officers walked in. Pete pointed at Larry and the cops took over. None of us said a word as he was read his rights and hauled out the front door.

  “Pete? What did you find in his house?” Stanley looked confused. “I didn’t see anything.”

  “You were in the dark most of the time so you wouldn’t have seen anything. I had plenty of time to see what was in that house, and I wasn’t being nosey. Everything was right there, in plain sight. Let me just say I believe the children in this town are going to be a little safer now. Larkin is the worst kind of pervert. He likes kids.”

  “Well.” My mother stood and walked to Pete’s desk. “It appears my daughter is marrying a man with standards and morals, but I guess I already knew that.” She leaned over and kissed Pete’s cheek.

  He looked embarrassed. “If you’re through fawning over me, I’m going home to pack my bag for the camping trip. I told Frank I’d head over to Arizona early tomorrow morning.”

  “Good thing we require partial payment up front,” Stanley said. “At least we got something from that nasty man.”

  “He makes my skin crawl,” my mother said. She picked up her purse and began digging through it.

  “What are you looking for, Mother?”

  “The doctor’s phone number. I know I’ve got it in here somewhere. I can’t explain it, but somehow that man made me think about my own state of mind. I’m going back on the hormones. I’d rather think in terms of quality of life rather than quantity. And just maybe those pills aren’t so bad anyway.”

  As she dug through her purse I glanced at Pete. He was smiling, and so was I.

  “Let me help you, Mom.” I reached toward her and she slapped my hand away. I pulled it back in surprise.

  “I can do this myself.” She pulled out a piece of paper and waved it in the air.

  Success!

  Now Pete would leave on his camping trip and my mother and I could spend some quality time together making wedding plans. After all, October wasn’t all that far away. Larry would be taken off the streets, a thief had been arrested, and David Smith had become merely a memory again. Could life get any better?

  Chapter Five

  Early the next morning Pete stopped by the house before leaving on his trip. My mother was still asleep and I didn’t wake her.

  Bubba greeted Pete with a nudge to his backside before the dog sat down and grinned at him. My dog is known for smiling. He’s so big that his toothy grin scares people. They think he’s baring his teeth, just like I thought the first time I saw him.

  Bubba was no puppy when he entered my life. He was full grown and huge. He’d lived in my house at one time and he returned when his previous owners hadn’t seemed to care about him. And he adopted me as much as I adopted him.

  My mangy mutt wanted to go outside so I opened the door and let him out to do his doggy business.

  “I told Frank I’d be there as early as possible. I wanted to see you before I leave. The thought of going back to Wolf Creek makes me think about you and all the fun we’ve had together.” Coming from Pete, that was quite a compliment.

  We’d discovered a ghost town called Wolf Creek that no one had entered, except for one scary cowboy, in over a hundred years. We ended up stranded there with the cowboy and an 1880s tale of murder. It was that town and its story that made me finally agree to set a wedding date. Our adventure there had changed our lives.

  “Well, at least you won’t have to worry about me while you’re gone. We don’t have any big cases at the moment, and David’s back in jail.”

  Pete smiled. “What about your mother? She still scares me a little sometimes.”

  “We’re picking up her hormone pills today. Everything should be back to normal by the time you come home.”

  Pete put his arms around me and gave me one of his special hugs. His hugs engulf me, heart and soul.

  “I’ll miss you,” I said, giving him a squeeze.

  “We’ll be gone for about five days. And I’ll miss you, too.”

  Yeah, sure he would. Ha! He’d be so wrapped up in his camping trip that he’d probably never give those of us left behind a thought.

  Walking out with Pete, I waved as he drove away. One of those unexplained little things happened when he turned the corner. My stomach did a quick flip flop, and I wondered if I’d ever see him again. I shook my head, figuring it had something to do with pre-wedding jitters.

  Returning to the house and kitchen, I started to pour myself a bowl of cereal, but waited when I heard my mother coming down the stairs.

  “Mornin’, Ma. Want some cold cereal?”

  She raised her eyebrow at me. “Ma? Is that what you call me now?”

  “Well, with Pete and Frank headed for a ghost town, it just seemed appropriate.”

  “I see.” She ran her hands through her messy morning hair. I wasn’t sure what shade it would be if she hadn’t started coloring it a soft light brown. “What’s on our agenda today?”

  “I haven’t really thought about it. I’d better check in at the office, and maybe we can go shopping and out to lunch after that. We might stop at the
bridal shop and I can try on dresses. How does that sound?”

  “Fine.” She sounded grumpy, but not menopausal. “I want to go by the pharmacy before we do anything else, if that’s okay with you.”

  “Works for me.” I tried to sound light and cheerful, although the only thing on my mind was the pharmacy. It broke my heart to see my mother in her moods because I knew what she was like before menopause had kicked in.

  We ate, cleaned up and stopped at the office before heading for the mall. Felicity was there with Stanley, and they were huddled together until they saw us.

  “How are you ladies this morning?” Stanley asked.

  “Just ducky.” Mother’s sarcasm wasn’t lost on any of us.

  Stanley sat down at his desk and quickly turned his head in the direction of his computer screen.

  “Mother,” I said, “we’ll head over to the pharmacy soon. Take a deep breath and start over.”

  Surprisingly, she did. “My doctor said going off the hormone pills as suddenly as I did can cause memory problems. I think he’s right. It’s very frustrating. I should have listened to him.”

  “Why? What did you forget?” Felicity asked.

  “Well, young lady, if I knew what I’d forgotten then I wouldn’t have a memory problem. Would I?” Tears began to run down her face. “I’m sorry, Felicity. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

  Stanley jumped up from his desk. “What pharmacy do you frequent? I’ll drive over and retrieve whatever it is your mother needs.”

  I thought about asking if I could go with him, but ended up just giving him the information he needed. He had his car keys out and left before anyone could say another word.

  Since my mother’s doctor was in Arizona, she had to call a local pharmacy and have the prescription transferred from the pharmacy there to California.

  “Oh, dear, now I’ve upset poor Stanley. And he’s such a darling man. I feel so bad.” Mother continued to cry.

  Apparently Felicity decided a distraction was what Mother needed. “Would you two explain how you first met Stan? All he’ll tell me is that someone was stalking him.”