by Krista Davis
He looked at me as though he had just awakened. “Thank you. Good luck to you, Florrie.” He turned and walked down the stairs, a sad, stooped figure.
For no good reason, I followed a few steps behind and watched from a window when he left the store. He walked along the street,just another weary businessman in a good suit. No one would ever guess the pain he carried in his heart.
Bob was busy with a customer and another petted Frodo, while patiently waiting to pay for five books. I rang them up. When I was done, I located two items in my purse—the phone number for Ms. Strickland, and Emily Branscom’s health club membership card. I slid the card into my pocket and called Maxwell’s lawyer.
“Good morning,” I said. “Any news on the professor’s case?”
“The autopsy results are back. I had hoped Delbert might have been on a psychedelic drug that caused him to hallucinate. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The spear was the cause of death, but I guess we knew that.”
“Any indication of the time of death?” I asked.
“I’ll spare you the gory details, but they’re speculating between eleven at night and nine in the morning.”
“That’s a broad window of time.”
“That’s what I think. How’s Mr. DuBois?”
I told her about his confusion at night, and then segued into the crossed wires and the likelihood that it had been done intentionally. “One of the police officers suggested that we buy a number of outdoor cameras since the estate is so large. They can be monitored on an iPhone or iPad, giving the security guards the ability to see more of the estate at one time.”
Happily, Ms. Strickland was all for the proposed setup. We made financial arrangements for it, and I hung up, feeling much better about everything.
I texted Jonquille to let him know just as Zsazsa waltzed into the store. She breathed deeply, enjoying the scents of the store, smiled, and helped herself to coffee and a lemon cupcake.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Oh? Has something happened?” Her eyes widened with eagerness.
“Hey Bob,” I called. “Cover for me? I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Sure.” He ambled over and snatched a cupcake. “Gotta get the chocolate-iced ones while I can.”
Zsazsa followed me upstairs to Maxwell’s office. I closed the door behind us. I felt slightly guilty for sitting in his chair like I was the boss, but it was the most private place to talk.
“Last night, as far as we can ascertain, someone broke into the carriage house and crossed wires in the refrigerator to shock me. The refrigerator had to be pulled away from the wall and in the back, this was discovered.” I withdrew Emily Branscom’s gym club identification card and held it out to Zsazsa.
She pulled on reading glasses covered with sparkling rhinestones and frowned at the card. “You think Emily broke into the carriage house?”
“No. I think Emily might have been a regular visitor there.”
Zsazsa blinked at me. Her eyes widened so far that the tips of her fake eyelashes touched her eyebrows. “The mysterious man in her life is Maxwell?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I can’t imagine that she broke in to create a short in the refrigerator. She certainly has no reason to want to harm me. The only thing I can conclude is that she must have lost the card there before I moved in. It was probably swept under the refrigerator by mistake.”
Zsazsa stared at the card. “It was renewed recently.” She tapped the card against the desk. Her lips, the color of a ripe tomato, drew into a sneaky smile. “You have come to the right woman, Florrie. I believe a few carefully placed inquiries may yield some useful information. But I am quite concerned about you. Would you like to stay with me?”
It was such a generous offer that I was taken aback. “You’re too kind, Zsazsa. But the police are making arrangements for better security. I’m not worried.”
“Would these police happen to include a certain Sergeant Jonquille of the most amazing blue eyes?”
“As it happens, yes.”
She clasped her hands together in joy. “I hoped so. You must bake for him. Something special.”
“His father owns a restaurant. I hardly think he’ll be impressed by my baking.”
“It is a gesture of love, my dear. The tender flakiness, the soft crumb, the delicate sweetness. These are things that speak to the heart.”
“It’s not like that, Zsazsa. He’s just helping me out. That’s all.”
“Very well.” She smiled as though she didn’t believe me. “I am still glad that he is looking out for you. Love blooms in the strangest of situations. Now, I shall take this interesting identification card and do a bit of sleuthing.”
“Thanks, Zsazsa.”
We walked down to the main level, where I noticed that she checked in with her pal Professor Goldblum before she left the store.
Color Me Read was doing a brisk business. I hated to imagine that the publicity about Delbert’s death and the professor’s arrest was bringing in new customers, but that appeared to be the case.
The carpet layer showed up promptly at one o’clock. When he saw the stair landing, he asked, “Is this where that guy was murdered?”
“I’m afraid so. Can you tack this all back into place?”
“Sure. Sure I can.”
He followed me up to the third floor. “Any chance that you can match the maroon of the carpet in the hallway?”
“No problem.”
“Florrie!” I knew Veronica’s voice without looking.
She stepped up the stairs in ridiculously high heels and an elegant suit.
“How can you walk in those?” I asked.
“You get the hang of it. You should try a pair.”
“I’d snap my ankle in a matter of minutes.”
“But they look so great, don’t you think?”
The carpet layer piped up. “Nothin’ like a great pair of heels on a lady.”
I motioned to Veronica to follow me downstairs. “What are you doing in Georgetown in the middle of the day?”
“Can you take a quick break?” Veronica’s forehead wrinkled with worry.
Chapter 26
“Sure,” I said. “I haven’t had lunch yet.”
I let Bob and Helen know I was going out. Bob promised to keep an eye on Peaches. I took Frodo along on his leash.
Veronica chattered on the way to a restaurant with outdoor seating where Frodo was welcome. We lucked into a table in the shade. Veronica ordered a salad, but I went for a juicy burger without onions, which I promised to share with Frodo.
When unsweetened iced teas were sweating in front of us, I asked, “What’s going on, Veronica?”
“I lost my job.”
“No! What happened?”
“I was sabotaged by an idiot who wanted my position. He spied when I logged into Twitter, got my password, and started sending inane tweets. He said the most awful things about the company and my boss. To make matters worse, he picked fights with people online—all in my name!”
“That’s not your fault. Didn’t you explain that to your boss?”
“Of course! But people were complaining to the company about those tweets. They were afraid of losing clients. It was a nightmare.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? Do you need money?”
“I was so embarrassed. Fired, Florrie. I was fired! I thought if I could get a new job right away, I could pretend I had made the move on purpose. You know, like I was moving up. Mom and Dad don’t know yet. Oh, Florrie! I’ve never been fired before. It was awful.”
“Veronica, you know we’ll all love you no matter what. Especially since you were wronged.”
“So I got a new job not too far from here—”
“That’s great!”
“—that I loathe. I hate every minute. I can barely face each day. It’s a horrible place. I like everyone. Right? I’m a friendly person. Right? I don’t know what’s going on there,
but they’re all angry and tense. No one wants to cooperate. There’s all kinds of backstabbing going on. I spend my days huddled in my cubicle, afraid to speak or even send emails to coworkers. I reread all my emails obsessively before I send them because I’m terrified of starting some kind of in-house antagonism toward me.”
Our food arrived. Frodo immediately offered me a paw to earn his share of the burger.
I cut off some pieces for him. “I’m sorry, Veronica. That’s the kind of thing you can’t know until you actually work somewhere.”
“I want to quit.”
“I don’t blame you.”
“But I feel like I can’t because I don’t have another job lined up.”
“I have some money saved from the sale of my coloring books. I can help you stay afloat for a little while.”
“Thanks, Florrie. I’m not on the street yet. But is it awful of me to quit? Am I being a big baby? What will I say when I interview for other jobs?”
“You could tell them the truth. Say that you left because it was a hostile work atmosphere.”
“Oh right. If I were interviewing people for a job and someone told me that, I would peg her as a diva who isn’t satisfied with anything. A troublemaker and complainer.”
“Do you want to work at Color Me Read for a while?”
“Could I?”
“Sure. Bob, Helen, and I work long days. We’d love a fourth regular so we could get a little more time off. And I’d like it because I know I can trust you.”
Veronica finally picked at her salad with a fork. Her shoulders relaxed and her relief was obvious. “You’re a lifesaver, Florrie. That would prevent me from having a gap on my re-sumé. Thanks.” She toasted me with her iced tea. “I don’t know what I would do without my big sis.”
“What are you going to tell Mom and Dad?”
“Ugh. I know they’ll be understanding, but I shudder at the thought of Mom calling all her friends to ask if they’re aware of any openings. As if her buddies even understood what social media marketing is.” She pierced a slice of avocado with her fork. “Florrie, promise me you won’t tell them? I’ll do it eventually, but for now, I’d rather they didn’t know.”
At that moment, I couldn’t help thinking of Jacquie Liebhaber. Life was so much easier when you could depend on someone. Jacquie wasn’t my sister. She wasn’t even really an acquaintance. But if she was telling the truth, the stakes were much higher for her than anything I had ever experienced. Imagine the guilt if I told someone about her being in the carriage house and then she was murdered. I couldn’t live with myself. I was more determined than ever to keep her secret.
Veronica’s natural cheerfulness returned during lunch. When I picked up the check, she said, “I’m going to stop at the jewelry store to have my pearls restrung, then I’ll head straight to work to quit. After that I’ll come to Color Me Read. Does that work for you?”
“Perfect timing. We’re having a reopening celebration tomorrow. Emily Branscom is coming to sign books. And we’re having contests for children and adults, in which they can win coloring books and colored pencils.”
“Ohhh! Perfect. I can start social media buzz about the events at the store. This will be fun!”
After lunch, I was busy organizing the store for the next day. Helen grudgingly helped arrange displays. Bob and I set up extra seating and low tables so kids could color in the children’s room. Then we brought up folding chairs from the basement for adults to sit in while they listened to Emily Branscom talk in the parlor.
True to her word, Veronica showed up two hours later. She hustled me into a private niche and whispered, “It was awful. I don’t think they cared one bit. I wonder if someone quits every day. There was no fuss at all. My boss just said ‘okay’ and took a phone call, like I wasn’t even standing there in front of her.”
“I think you’re better off out of that place.”
It turned out that my gregarious long-legged sister was a natural saleswoman. She didn’t know much about books, but she enthusiastically rang up sales and signed people up for our newsletter.
Bob had a new crush, and Helen appeared to be annoyed by Veronica’s presence.
At ten that night, I turned on the alarm and locked up. “Want some dinner?” I asked Veronica. “I thought I’d stop by that Peruvian rotisserie chicken place.”
“Sure. I can wait outside with Peaches and Frodo.”
Thinking Jonquille and his buddy might be at the mansion installing the security cameras, I bought two chickens, a large pan of flan, and doubled all the side dishes. The scent of the chicken, black beans, platanos, and three different sauces was incredible. On the way home, Frodo kept sniffing the bag, and Peaches mewed nonstop.
I had to give Veronica credit. In spite of her high heels, she kept up a good pace and didn’t complain once about her feet hurting.
About one block from home, Veronica said, “Don’t look now, but I think somebody is following us.”
Chapter 27
“Where is he?” Adrenaline pumped through me.
“Opposite side of the street. He’s back a bit. Let’s test him.”
My first instinct was to protect Veronica. She had no idea what she was walking into. I should have warned her. But I followed her lead when she stopped walking and pretended to have a pebble in her shoe.
I positioned myself sideways, head down as though I was helping her, but I gazed back and saw the man on the other side. He had quit walking and just stood on the sidewalk, as if waiting for us to resume our pace. In spite of the streetlights, I couldn’t make out his face.
I should never have put her in this situation. “Veronica, there are a few things I should have mentioned to you. But for now, let’s just walk really fast. We’re almost at the mansion.”
We picked up speed, striding so fast it was just short of a jog.
Veronica looked back. “He’s still there!”
We turned up the driveway at a run. “Felipe!” I shouted.
Jonquille and another guy were outside. They jogged toward us.
“We’re being followed.” My breath was ragged.
“I see him,” said Jonquille, who dashed toward the sidewalk, a few steps ahead of his buddy.
“Police!” Jonquille shouted. “Hands in the air!”
The guy on the sidewalk complied immediately.
Jonquille exchanged words with him for a moment. “Florrie! Do you know someone named Goldblum?”
I hurried back toward them. Sure enough, poor Professor Goldblum’s little round face peered at me in the dark. “I am so sorry! What are you doing following us? You scared me half to death.”
“You can lower your arms,” said Jonquille.
“I wasn’t going to let you walk home alone after someone tried to kill you,” said Goldblum.
Veronica shrieked. “Is that true? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I have two chickens and a ton of side dishes,” I said. “Why don’t we all go inside and have some dinner?”
“You are just like Dad,” hissed Veronica. “Let’s have a nice dinner, and oh, by the way, did I mention that someone shot at me?”
“No one shot at me.”
Jonquille and I both bent to check the status of the straw in the front door of the carriage house. We grinned at each other because it was still there.
“Is this some kind of house-entering custom that I don’t know about?” asked Veronica.
Jonquille’s buddy explained the straw method to her while we all entered the carriage house.
“Wow. I never heard of that.” Goldblum was impressed. He crossed the room and checked each of the French doors. “They’re all intact! No one has been here.”
Veronica and Jonquille helped me carry the food out to the dining table in the garden. I wished I had taken the time to put up fairy lights. Candles would have to do. I fed Peaches and Frodo and brought cold drinks outside to the others gathered at the table.
I couldn’t help noticing
that Veronica had discarded her impossibly high-heeled shoes in the house. Not that I blamed her. I wouldn’t have lasted half an hour in those things.
Jonquille introduced his buddy, Cody Williamson. “Cody used to be on the force with me but he started his own security firm.”
While we ate, we told them the story of the burglar, the crossed wires on the refrigerator, and the plan for surveillance.
Goldblum held a chicken leg in his hand. “Surely this can’t all be related to the murder at Color Me Read?”
“Jonquille and I have different opinions about that, but I think he’s beginning to see it my way. I always thought there was a connection between the burglary and Delbert’s death.” I savored the piquant sauce on the smoky chicken.
Veronica shot me a frightened look. “Why would anyone want to kill you?”
“I truly don’t know. Delbert’s mother seems to think her son’s death is my fault because I moved into the carriage house. But I can’t imagine that she would want to kill me for that.”
Goldblum licked his fingers with smacking noises. “It’s because you’re getting too close to the truth!”
“That can’t be the reason,” I said. “We have nothing to go on. I’m at a total loss. Delbert hurt so many people that there’s a decent field of suspects, but so far, we haven’t been able to tie any of them to the murder.”
“The burglary sounds like someone was looking for something,” said Cody. “But the refrigerator ruins that theory. Unless it was two different people with two different objectives.”
“The person who crossed the wires must have been watching the houses because he knew there was a guard. He sent a pizza to distract the guard so he could enter the carriage house,” said Jonquille.
The way he put it chilled me to the bone. I shivered in spite of the warm summer night.
“Florrie,” said Veronica, “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me all this. I’ve been yammering at you about my petty problems, and all the while you’ve been going through sheer terror.”
“I’m feeling much better about it now. Did you get the cameras set up?” I asked Cody.
“This is the safest house in town that doesn’t have the Secret Service guarding it,” he bragged.