With Vics You Get Eggroll (A Mad for Mod Mystery Book 3)

by Vallere, Diane

“Ms. Night, are we going to find anything incriminating when we go through the cemetery?”

  “Like what?” I asked, and then suddenly flushed red when I realized what he was asking me. “Sergeant, I told you. We were there to talk about Lt. Allen’s family, nothing more.”

  “So there’s no evidence to place either of you anywhere inside those gates?”

  “Yes, there is. Lt. Allen’s jacket. He loaned it to me because I was cold. When we ran out, it fell from my shoulders. It’s inside on the ground somewhere.”

  He nodded and capped his pen. “Thank you, Ms. Night. If you think of anything else, give me a call.”

  “Who is she?” I asked.

  “Who, the woman? I don’t know. I sure hope she’s one of the abducted women we know about.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We have reports of five abducted women. Kate Morrow and Linda Gull were found dead. Cleo Tyler’s going to make it. I don’t know yet about this woman. If she’s one of the five, then we can assume the perp is only holding one more woman. If she’s not, then we really don’t know how many women he’s got.”

  Sgt. Osmond walked me to my car. I shook his hand and unlocked the car. There wasn’t anything I could do for Tex. It was time to go home.

  Rocky and I spent the night on the sofa at Thelma Johnson’s house with the local news channel on the TV. I learned nothing I didn’t already know, and I woke up with a neck so stiff I could only twist my head halfway to the side.

  Crestwood Pool was closed on Sunday. I dressed in navy and white plaid pants and a navy blue belted tunic. I packed up Rocky and drove to Mad for Mod.

  We stopped off for an ottoman that someone set out by the curb and arrived at the studio shortly after nine. I locked the ottoman in the storage locker out back and then opened Mad for Mod for business, even though it was early. Never underestimate the attention of a morning walker, I say.

  I distracted myself for an hour by cleaning the furniture in the display area of the studio, but eventually found myself back in the office. I pinned the photos of the abducted women back on the wall of cork. Two of them had been murdered. Two of the women had been left alive. I now discounted Effie’s encounter, knowing it was Chad, but her friend Barbie fit the pattern. As far as the police knew, she was the last missing woman.

  I went to the recycle bin behind the studio and dug out the newspapers that had accumulated. Inside, I stacked them by date and flipped through, looking for information on the women who’d been abducted. Each time a report had been filed, a brief bio of the woman had accompanied the article and the growing list of safety precautions that were being issued by the police.

  Kate Morrow: only child, visiting her mother.

  Linda Gull: passing through Dallas on her way to meet friends in Shreveport.

  Cleo Tyler: recently purchased a second home in the Lakewood area.

  Susan Carroll: headed to the airport after a reunion weekend where she and her brothers celebrated their parents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary.

  Barbie Ferrer: after living in New Mexico for several years, she was moving back for a new job.

  Kate and Linda were now dead. Cleo had been left in the grocery store parking lot, and Susan had been dropped off behind at the cemetery, barely alive. What was the criteria that determined who lived and who died? The flip of a coin? If so, then how long until that coin was flipped for Barbie Ferrer?

  I’d gotten immune to the impact of Dan Tyler hanging up on me and called Cleo.

  “Cleo, this is Madison Night. How are you feeling?”

  “Honey, I saw the report on the news about that woman they found at the graveyard. We need to talk. How fast can you get here?”

  I hopped in my car and took off for Sweetwater Drive, parking in front of the Tyler residence twenty minutes later. Another pickup truck sat in the driveway. The sound of a power saw pierced the otherwise quiet Sunday morning.

  Cleo met me out front. Today she wore a red one-piece bathing suit with cutouts on the side, loosely covered with a sheer sleeveless duster printed with giant Hawaiian flowers. Heavy makeup on her face hid what was left of her fading black eye. A gold band was wound around her upper arm like a coiled snake. Flesh-colored bandages were wrapped around each wrist, hiding the welts from the handcuffs.

  After an exchange of hellos, Cleo said, “Madison, I’d like to apologize for my husband.”

  “You don’t have to apologize. I’m sure he wasn’t himself from the moment you were abducted.”

  “That’s not it. He hasn’t been himself since we came to Dallas. Truth is, I thought the change of scenery would do him good. He’s been more and more self-contained lately and I don’t know how to draw him out. Our colleagues have started to pick up on it, and we’re losing business with the studio because of him.”

  “Where is Dan right now?”

  “I sent him out for groceries. He won’t be back for a few hours.”

  “He spends hours at the grocery store?”

  “I gave him a list that encompasses four different stores. It’s going to take him awhile.”

  “How are you feeling, Cleo?”

  “Honey, I’m not saying I like being tested, but southern women are built to last.”

  “I’m sorry to ask this, but is there anything you remember from when you were taken? Did the man say anything to you? Anything that can help the police find the last woman?”

  “I wish I could help, honest I do. He held something up to my face and I passed out. When I came to, I was blindfolded and sitting on the floor. I don’t know where we were. The only thing I remember was him asking me about my family.”

  “He asked you about Dan?”

  “He asked if I was married, if I had brothers or sisters, and if I had any children. I wasn’t going to say a word, but that’s when he hit me.” She put her hand to where the makeup hid her bruised cheek.

  “Cleo, I’m so sorry.” I put my hand on her arm.

  Cleo’s words were clipped, as though she’d separated herself from the nightmare and was only able to speak in mechanical terms as if it had happened to someone else. I knew she’d been over it with the police and I didn’t want to make her relive it.

  “I’ll survive. I wish I could remember something else that would help the girl who’s still missing. The reporter on the news says she’s twenty-five years old.” She shuddered and took a long pull on her drink. “But this isn’t why I wanted to talk to you. I need something to take my mind off of what happened, and as long as we’re in Dallas, this house is it. The way I see it, there’s only one thing to do. Pretend Dan never fired you, and get it into shape.”

  “Excuse me?” I said.

  “I can’t entertain in a half-finished house. The pool needs landscaping, the fireplace needs refinishing, and I still want my Japanese great room.”

  “Cleo, are you sure you’re up for this?”

  “Honey, I can’t let myself stop and think about what happened.”

  “But Dan was quite specific about firing me.”

  “You leave Dan to me. Now, how soon can you start back up here?”

  Aside from the whiplash a yo-yo might experience, I thought it best to seize the opportunity before her husband returned and changed her mind. “How’s this afternoon? I’ll call my contractor and we can start to tackle that wall of glass blocks.”

  “Perfect.”

  Cleo went back inside and I called Hudson. “Hi,” I said.

  “Hi.”

  “I guess you’ve heard about the woman they found outside of the graveyard last night?”

  “Susan Caroll. They’re saying she’s going to make it.”

  “Hudson—are we okay?” He was silent for a beat longer than was comfortable. “Okay, different question. Professionally speaking, is
there any chance I can convince you to do some work today?”

  “Depends what you had in mind.”

  “Remember I told you about Dan and Cleo Tyler?”

  “The Cliff May. I thought they fired you?”

  “So did I, but the wife assures me that’s not the case. She wants me to tear down a partition of glass blocks that was put in during the eighties.”

  “And you’re sure there isn’t something else going on there?”

  “Cleo just went through a pretty nasty scare. I don’t want to do anything to upset her, but I don’t trust her husband. I can’t predict his reaction when he sees me here working.”

  “You’d like to stack the deck by bringing me in to diffuse any residual hostility on the part of the husband.”

  “You’re good at reading between the lines, aren’t you?”

  “One of my specialties. That’s it?”

  “Well, there’s one more thing. There’s a chance that they’re interested in more than your carpentry skills.” I told Hudson what Cleo had said about wanting to meet him to talk about the film rights to “our story.” His laughter told me he wasn’t too concerned.

  We made arrangements for Hudson to swing by Mad for Mod to pick up the elements of the Asian interior that I’d left in the hallway. As I was about to hang up, he said my name.

  “Yes?”

  “We’re okay. See you soon.”

  I unhooked Rocky’s leash and he took off for the backyard and the sound of Daisy barking.

  I headed straight for the bathroom to check the status of the pink fixtures. It had turned out beautifully. Once we added in white tile trim to the rest of the tile work, it would be heaven. I pulled my coveralls on over my outfit, pulled my hair into a low ponytail, and stuck the hardhat on my head. When I stepped outside of the bathroom, I found Cleo standing in the great room.

  “Madison honey, the last time you were here you said you might want some help,” she smiled. “This here’s Jake. He’s been looking for work and like I always say, the more the merrier!”

  A man stepped out from behind the glass brick wall. My smile wasn’t nearly as genuine as Cleo’s. The new contractor was Jake—Jacob—Morris, the man Tex had tried unsuccessfully to arrest all those years ago.

  TWENTY-NINE

  “This is quite a coincidence,” I said, my voice shaking. “I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m Madison. We met at the pool.”

  “Of course I remember you,” he said. He held out his hand and I shook it. He leaned in and said, “I’m the reason you got the job back.”

  I straightened up. “How’s that?” I asked.

  “I heard her and her husband arguing about their choice of decorators. He wanted you out but she wanted you here. After what happened to her, he’d agree to just about anything to cheer her up. I took a chance that there weren’t many women named Madison who specialized in mid-century modern interiors, so I told her you were the best and she should rehire you. And then I added that she should bring me on board to make sure the job got done to her specifications.”

  “I have my own contractor,” I said. “Hudson James.” Out front, Hudson pulled up behind my Alfa Romeo. “That’s him now.”

  “Like Cleo said, the more the merrier.” Jake stood in the middle of the room, shirt off, jeans on. Safety glasses were pushed up on top of his head.

  “Are you sawing in here?” I kept my voice steady even though my insides were dancing like teenagers on American Bandstand. I didn’t want to be alone with Jake. I didn’t want Cleo to be alone with Jake. I didn’t know what he was capable of, and I didn’t want to find out.

  “Why not? You’re going to demo that wall, right? So the whole place is going to need to be cleaned when we’re done.”

  “Yes, but we need a path from the front door to the great room. When we demo the glass wall, we’ll partition off the rest of the house so we’ll make less mess. You’re going to have to go outside.”

  “Sure, okay.” He took the glasses off the top of his head and stuck them into the back pocket of his jeans. He unplugged the saw and lugged it out back.

  I went out the front door and met Hudson halfway. Before he could say anything, I told him about Jake.

  “You don’t like him,” Hudson said when I was done.

  “I don’t trust him.” I told Hudson about the verbal assault the first day I’d met Jake at the pool, and how he’d followed me to my car and checked out the board with color streaks from Paintin’ Place. I didn’t have to find the piece of wood to remember that Mitchell had left a sticker with his store name and address on the bottom. “Now he’s taking credit for getting me back on this job, but really he used me to get work for himself.”

  “There’s something else bothering you about him, isn’t there?”

  “Tex arrested him for holding a woman against her will several years ago. There was a shootout and the woman died. The district attorney couldn’t make the case stick and Jake went free. He moved to Arizona,” I said.

  “But now he’s back in Dallas. When did he show up?”

  “Right around the time the first body was found. He knew about my affiliation with Paintin’ Place, and Cleo was abducted in the parking lot in front of that store. And now he’s here in her home. She’s probably not recovered from the whole experience. I have no idea why she’s so trusting, but she is.” I pulled the hardhat off of my head and set it on the floor. “I need to talk to her about this. She needs to know I have no experience working with that man.”

  I went outside and found Cleo lounging on her chair with a fresh mimosa in her hand. The portable TV was on a small tulip table in front of her, and Rocky and Daisy were resting on the concrete next to her.

  “Cleo, where’s Jake?” I asked.

  “He’s setting up the drill in the garage. Do you need to talk to him?”

  “No, I need to talk to you.”

  “Sure, hon, what’s on your mind?” She waved toward the other chaise and I sat down.

  “Jake might have misrepresented his relationship with me.”

  “Honey, you don’t have to explain anything.”

  “No, Cleo, I don’t think you understand. I met him three days ago, and it wasn’t a particularly nice first meeting.”

  She tipped her head to the side and her red hair cascaded over one shoulder. “Oh?”

  “This isn’t about me. Jake has a history with the law. He wasn’t found guilty of anything, but you went through something pretty horrible recently, and I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be so agreeable about a stranger coming into your house.”

  Cleo leaned forward and rested one elbow on her thigh with her hand cupping her chin.

  “Honey, I’m not exactly sure what happened between the two of you, but Jake is my baby brother. I know all about why he moved to Arizona, but we’re the reason he’s here now. After I came home from the hospital, Dan asked him to move into the spare room so I wouldn’t feel so alone.”

  If I hadn’t been about to operate heavy machinery, I would have asked Cleo to pour me one of whatever she was drinking. Instead, I forced a smile onto my face and let her have her laugh. There was no way to describe how glad I was that Jake had already been relegated to the garage. If he’d have seen that exchange, I might have to quit and refund the Tyler money out of sheer embarrassment.

  I rejoined Hudson in the living room. The unasked question of how it went was written on his face. I put my hand up, palm side out. “I don’t want to talk about it.” I picked up the hardhat and squashed it down on my head. Before Hudson could say another word, I took a rubber mallet and swung it at a concrete block that sat on the floor. The mallet bounced off the concrete without doing any damage.

  “Demoing this wall would be more of an outlet,” Hudson said. He held a chisel in on
e hand and a hammer in the other.

  “I don’t think you want to let me loose on that wall right now.”

  “It has to come down, right?”

  We took the next half hour to frame out our work space with sheets of brown butcher paper from a construction roll taped to the ceiling and floor. After we’d created temporary walls around us, we used more paper to line the floor. Once the cocoon was complete, Hudson drilled a couple of holes into the mortar around the top left glass block. Next he tapped at the mortar with a chisel and hammer.

  “Your turn. Break that glass block. It’s going to feel good, but if we do this the right way, it’s the only one you’re going to get to break. I’m not sure you can control your destructive impulses at the moment.” He grinned.

  “Let me at ’em, let me at ’em,” I said, winding up my fists like the cowardly lion pretending to take on the Wicked Witch of the West.

  “Put on your safety glasses, gloves, and ear plugs and then give it your best shot.”

  I climbed up on the top step of a two step ladder and tapped the hammer against the block a few times to get a feel for it. After three taps, I put a little more energy into it. The block imploded into a thousand pieces. The hammer got caught in the remaining jagged glass edges.

  I tapped against those that protruded up, knocking them inside with the others. When I’d cleared most of them, I looked down at Hudson.

  “Done like a pro,” he said.

  “Are you sure we don’t need to demolish all of them?”

  “I’m sure.” He handed me a chisel. “Tap the mortar around the block you broke until it feels loose. Once we get that block out, we should be able to take down the rest of the wall block by block.”

  It was a good thing I had Hudson with me. In my current frame of mind, I would have shattered all three hundred and sixty blocks. His calming instructions would save three hundred and fifty-nine of them that could be resold to another contractor.

  I tapped the end of the chisel this time, more gently than I’d smashed the glass block. Soon I felt the mortar shift. When it was loose enough, I used my gloved fingers to dig away at the joint to free it and then lifted out the remaining scraps. I handed them down to Hudson and he put it in a black industrial garbage bag.