Tears sprang to my eyes. I hadn’t expected this greeting and hadn’t thought it would strike such a chord. “Thanks, Maggie. I do appreciate that.” Her eyes were Michael’s eyes, the same green flecks in the brown that gave them a hazel tinge.
“You can call me anytime.”
I glanced up at the front door. Maggie had left it wide open. I spotted Harry, Michael’s dog. When Michael and I had first started seeing each other, we went bicycling in the park whenever we could. One day, I spotted something moving under a bush and halted. We investigated and found a beautiful white poodle, half starved, smelling very bad and suffering from infections. He’d obviously been abandoned and someone had beaten him severely. Michael left me to watch over him and hurried back to retrieve his car. We loaded the bikes on the back and I held Harry on my lap all the way to the emergency vet. Michael paid for all his treatments and then adopted him. His budget as a student was tight, but he didn’t hesitate to help a wounded creature. I think that was when I fell in love with him.
“Harry’s with you?”
Maggie followed my gaze. “Harry! What are you doing?” Harry had knocked over the shopping bag and was sniffing it. When he heard his name called, he raised his head, one of Michael’s gloves in his mouth. He whimpered and looked at us.
“Oh, God.” Maggie said. “He knows that’s Michael’s glove. Poor guy. Come here, Harry,” she called. Harry dropped the glove and bounded down the stairs. He came straight at me and leaped toward my face. “He remembers you.” Maggie said.
“Of course he does.” I bent down and hugged him as Harry left slippery kisses on my face. I looked up at Maggie. “I’m so glad you’ve kept him.”
“I’d never let him go. I just love Harry to death. It’s like having a part of my brother to hold on to.”
Seeing Harry had brought a rush of memories. I had to get out of there before I turned into a blubbering idiot. I hugged Maggie and thanked her. As I started the engine, she leaned in the window. “Just remember, Julia—it’s not you. It’s nothing you’ve done.”
I nodded, blinking back more tears, and drove away into the park. When I reached the Botanical Gardens, I pulled over and wiped my eyes in an effort to clear my head. Seeing Harry had stirred a memory. I tried to retrieve it but it eluded me, just out of reach. Whatever it was, it would come back. I checked my watch. A little after two o’clock. Matt wasn’t due to arrive for his reading until five. I had some free time and tried to figure out the best use of it. I did need to reach Geneva and bring her up to date on the little bit I’d learned. And I wanted to find out if she was aware of Brooke’s arrest. I called the Leary house. Again, no answer. I turned the car around and headed for 35th Avenue.
twenty-nine
As I turned the corner, I spotted Geneva’s car pulling up to the garage door. I cruised down the street and parked in front of their house. Mary stepped out of Geneva’s car and, without a word, climbed the stairs and entered the house. Geneva waited on the sidewalk for me.
“I’ve been trying to call you,” I said.
“We just came from making arrangements. The wake is tomorrow night at seven at Nordenson’s on Sloat. Can you be there?”
“Of course. I’ll bring Gloria. I know she’d want to come.”
Geneva’s face looked terribly drawn and gray. Dark circles colored the pale skin around her eyes. “You haven’t heard the worst part yet. Brooke’s been arrested.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“I was with Rob when he took the call.”
“Rob? Why?”
“The bracelet. I thought on the off chance it belonged to Brooke he might know. But he didn’t recognize it.”
“Oh. I forgot all about the bracelet.” Geneva rubbed her forehead. “Let’s go inside.”
I followed her up the stairway to the front door and waited while she hung her coat in the closet. She peeked down the hallway to make sure her mother wouldn’t overhear our conversation.
“Marjorie’s doing what she can to get Brooke released. Ianello told her they discovered emails between Brooke and Moira proving they were planning to kill Rob.”
“Are you telling me the police think they emailed each other about a murder plot?”
“It’s completely crazy. The police confiscated Moira’s computer after she died, remember? The emails were deleted but apparently some computer forensics person checked it. They explained it to me but it went right over my head. You can delete emails but they remain on the hard drive somehow, and then there are copies saved on the server for a certain number of days. I didn’t really understand it all. Then they got a warrant and took Brooke’s computer at home and the one in her office too. Look, even if it were true, which I don’t for a minute believe, Brooke would never have dragged Moira into anything. She was always getting her out of scrapes, not into them.”
“Did Moira have access to Brooke’s computers?”
“Well, she went to Brooke’s office sometimes. Oh God, what are you saying? That Moira sent them to herself—something like that?”
“It’s possible.”
“I can’t take all this in.”
“Why in heaven’s name would they want to kill Rob?” I asked.
“Supposedly the motive was insurance money.” Geneva laughed harshly.
“But Brooke really doesn’t need the money. How much insurance are we talking about?”
“Five hundred thousand. Frankly, it’s really not much of a policy for a man in Rob’s position.”
The whole concept was astounding given what I knew of Brooke. “Do you believe this?”
“Not for a minute!” Geneva said vehemently. “It’s completely ridiculous. I don’t know what they found in the emails, but it’s not true. I will never believe that. They must be desperate to close this case, that’s all I can say. When I saw you pull up, I was actually hoping you had some good news for me. Have you found anything out?”
I filled Geneva in on my conversations with Rita and Steve. “But I think there’s more. I think Rita’s holding back something. In fact, if I can, I’m going back there this afternoon to try to get it out of her.”
“I had no idea there was another man in Moira’s life. A black sedan, you say?”
I nodded. “I know that’s pretty vague, but the picture I got was of someone far more affluent than the crowd that hangs out at the Alibi. I caught up with Andy the night before last. He was tying one on big time at the Plough.”
“What did he have to say for himself ?” Geneva’s tone was caustic.
“He thought there was someone else in the picture too. He’s been suspicious of a guy who’s a bartender at Macao. I went there yesterday to try to find him.”
“Did you?”
“No. It’s a long story but I think the place is a clearing house for heavy drugs.”
“Oh, great! I hope to God Moira wasn’t involved in anything like that.”
“Did Moira ever mention a guy like that?
“Yes. Andy’s an idiot—he’s talking about Tony. He and Moira were friends, that’s all.”
I took her statement with a grain of salt. It was quite possible Moira and Tony were something else and Geneva would be the last person to know.
“If they were more than friends, I’ll find out,” I said.
“How?”
“I don’t know yet, but I’ll think of a way.”
“Oh, Julia, before I forget to tell you …” I waited. “We got a call today from the Inn. Sally Stark passed away.”
A chill ran up my spine. “What? How? I mean …”
“They had no other information. It was just a courtesy call to let us know. I guess they’re running tests or they’ll be an autopsy.” She looked at me. “What’s wrong? You look so upset.”
“Uh … it’s nothing. It’s just a shock.” I didn�
�t want to tell Geneva what Moira said in the car after the wedding. Not that it made a bit of difference in the end, but for right now, it was better left unsaid.
Geneva walked me to the front door, once again checking that her mother was safely in the kitchen. “There’s more, Julia. Now that the autopsy finished, we know Moira wasn’t pregnant. That’s such a relief. Here’s the bad part—the bullet that killed her was definitely a .22 caliber.”
“Not such good news with David’s gun missing, is it?”
“No,” she replied. “I’m just panicked about it. So is David. I’d give anything to know who took it from our car. Without that … there’s no way to prove one way or the other if it was his gun. I just hope they’ll release Brooke tomorrow. She should be at the wake. Now I wish we could postpone it, but it might not be possible with all this happening. You’ll come tomorrow night?”
“I’ll be there. Call me in the meantime if you need anything.”
thirty
There was still time to stop by the Alibi. I tried to recall what had been nagging me about my conversation with Rita. When was that, anyway? The days were passing but didn’t seem to be in any logical order. The day before yesterday? I cast my mind back. Something I’d asked her and then felt I hit a nerve. I was sure she was holding something back, but then we moved on to another topic. What was it? Suddenly I remembered. I’d asked her if there was anyone else she’d seen Moira with, other than Steve and someone in a black car.
I pulled into the parking lot across the alleyway from the bar and entered from the back door. The place looked dingy even in the bright light of day. Warm afternoon sun filtered through the grime of the front windows. This time two younger men sat at the bar watching a soccer match. Rita leaned against the counter. Her body language was suggestive. One arm rested on the counter, giving the guys a good shot of cleavage. She was doing her best to pull their attention away from the game. Judging by the men’s intent expressions, she was wasting her time. The sound from the TV was deafening. She turned and spotted me. Her smile vanished. I’d rained on her parade.
I grabbed a stool and waited for her to approach. She looked disgruntled.
“You haven’t told me everything, have you?”
“Whadda ya mean?” Her lips twitched again. This girl should never play poker. “I told you everything I know.”
“Come on, Rita. You’re holding back. I knew it the other day.”
Her jaw tightened. “What do you want from me?”
“I want everything you know. And you haven’t told me everything. Maybe you didn’t like her. Maybe she was a pain in the ass, but she had a family and they’re wonderful people and they’re in bad shape. I need your help. I need to know everything you know.”
Rita’s shoulders slumped. “Oh, Christ.” She threw the rag down on the bar and headed for the back door. I followed her. Outside, she pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her apron and lit up, inhaling deeply.
“I asked you if there was anybody else hanging around Moira besides Steve. You didn’t answer my question.”
“There was somebody else,” she admitted grudgingly.
“Who? Was it the guy in the black car?”
“I don’t know.” She caught my expression. “I don’t think so, though.” She took another drag from her cigarette and was polite enough to blow it out the side of her mouth away from me.
“Tell me what you don’t know then.”
“This guy … he’d sometimes come in and hang out at the bar. Moira used to talk to him, but she didn’t seem happy about it.”
“Another boyfriend, maybe?”
“Nah. Don’t think so. I couldn’t figure it out. She’d get real nervous when he came in. Like she was in trouble with him or something.” Rita hesitated. “To tell you the truth, I wondered if he wasn’t a cop. Dressed casual, but something about him … his body language … I don’t know.”
“What did he look like? Do you remember?”
Rita shrugged. “Kinda burly, big guy. Reddish hair. Dressed in slacks and a jacket, shiny shoes. A little too clean-cut, I guess.” She laughed. “Maybe that’s why I got the cop vibe.”
There were a lot of men around Moira. This guy at the bar. Steve, and Andy, who took Steve’s place. But Andy didn’t strike me as the type to drive a black sedan. I couldn’t remember his car from the wedding, other than Brooke driving it home because Andy was drinking, but if memory served me, it was a silvery-gray coupe. And if that was the case, then the driver of the black sedan was yet another man, and perhaps the object of Moira’s intense attachment.
The Pluto transit had been hitting her natal Venus. Somebody very important was in the picture. Who was Moira’s real lover? I knew she had one. I just didn’t know who he was.
thirty-one
I pulled out of the alleyway and headed down Waller. The church where Rita claimed the local drug connection hung out was a block and a half away. I drove as slowly as possible. The only man I spotted was a janitor hosing down the sidewalk in front of the entrance of the church. I was starting to wonder if Zims, the old vet, was a myth. Maybe he conducted business inside the chapel. Frankly, in this neighborhood, nothing would surprise me.
I kept going and headed out on Geary to the Avenues, passing by the Honda shop. Glancing over, I noticed the metal gate was down and the shop was closed. Steve was such an unpleasant character I couldn’t imagine what Moira could have seen in him. When I reached my apartment, I parked on the street and ran up the stairs. Wizard padded down the hall to greet me, his bell jingling. I scratched his ears and doled out some food. He circled and rubbed against my legs ecstatically until I dropped the nuggets into his dish.
Something was hovering at the edge of my consciousness, but it still eluded me. Something to do with seeing Michael’s dog Harry today. I reached down and rubbed Wiz’s tummy. If it hadn’t been for Wizard, I might have adopted Harry myself. Although he was better off with Maggie. My schedule is far more erratic and a dog is a lot more work.
I washed up and brushed my hair, adding a little makeup. I checked the apartment and straightened up my desk, making sure I had my tape recorder, water, and tissues at the ready for Matt’s session. I slipped into a skirt and fresh sweater, made a small pot of coffee, and then lit a cone of incense, placing it in the belly of the Buddha. Everything was ready.
Matt arrived exactly on time. Once jovial and larger than life, he was now quiet and seemed subdued. The stockbroker façade had dropped away.
“Come on up, Matt. Would you like some coffee or tea?”
“No thanks, Julia. I’m fine.” We’d reached the top of the stairway. “By the way, I should ’fess up. I Googled you.”
I turned to look at him. “You did what?”
“I hope you don’t mind.”
I shrugged. “Not at all. I could have offered you some references if you were concerned.”
He smiled. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Here it comes. “Tell you what?”
“That you were the astrologer that broke up that preacher’s cult last year. I had no idea you were so well-known.”
“Oh Matt,” I groaned. “Please. I’m not famous, I’m not rich. I’m a pretty good astrologer, but I doubt I’m any better than many others.”
“Well I was impressed.” He laughed. “Maybe you should see what the world is saying about you.”
I led him down the hall to the office. “Frankly, I’d rather not. I’m just grateful I got through it all.” I avoided mentioning a former friend who hadn’t survived.
“Shall we?” I indicated the client chair. Matt sat and I turned the screen slightly so he could visualize what I was referring to. From my study of his chart, I suspected his problems were romantic.
“Well, Julia, what do you see? I’ve never done this before, so …” He laughed again. “I guess I’m a little nervous.”
“Most people are, the first time, but that’ll disappear when you understand more. Now, I see you’ve just gone through a Saturn transit over your fourth house cusp. That’s an important transition. You’re concerned with building a more secure foundation in your life. Financially and emotionally, you’re ready. However, I also see there’s been a recent disappointment. Several months ago. A romantic disappointment. Saturn by transit opposed your Venus and made a hard angle to your Moon. That must have been quite lonely and tough.”
Matt nodded. “Amazing. You’re absolutely right. You know, I really hustle to make good investments for my clients, and I’m doing all right. But I want to do more.”
I ignored his effort to change the subject. “I think that’s brilliant and very much in line with Saturn’s transit over the fourth house cusp. But let’s talk about your emotional life.”
Matt cleared his throat, obviously not so comfortable.
I waited. He didn’t respond. “There was a breakup, I assume?”
“Yes. I got involved with someone who … wasn’t free, and I … I guess I got in over my head. I feel really bad about it. I’m still having trouble with it and I can’t seem to get her out of my mind.”
“Do you have her birth information? Perhaps we could have a quick look. It might give us some insight.”
“Only her birth date, no time or anything. It’s October third. She’s a Libra.”
I started to plug the information into the program and stopped, my fingers hovering above the keyboard. He had given me Brooke’s birth date, fresh in my mind from Geneva’s notes.
“Matt, I have to stop you. I think I know who this woman is.”
“You do?” He looked quite surprised.
“Geneva is my client, and she gave me her family’s information.”
“Oh. Oh, I’m sorry. I’m so embarrassed.” He wiped his forehead. “I just don’t know who I can talk to. It’s been awful. It started when she and Rob were having trouble, about a year ago. It didn’t last very long though. I met her at Geneva and David’s. I’ve thought maybe I couldn’t forget about her because I feel guilty, or because I know it’s taboo, you know what I mean?”
All Signs Point to Murder Page 18