“No, I just found out this second.” I could hardly stand in place, I was so excited. “Jake witnessed Rob walking with somebody else other than me after the party.”
Jake put up his hand. “Hold on a second. I told you, I couldn’t tell who it was, not even whether if it was a man or a woman.”
“Okay,” I said. “But the point is, this person was skinny. I’ve never been so happy to be fat in my life.”
“You’re off the hook. Well, what are you waiting for, girl? Call your lawyer.”
This was the third good reason I needed to call Steven. There was nothing unusual in Rob’s things, and I was excited to report a new witness. But should I tell him about the pills? Or about Charles possibly having a drug problem? I punched in Steven’s number. Should I, or shouldn’t I? I was still debating when I noticed that Toni had followed me into the back. She was two feet away, nonchalantly chopping a bunch of fresh chives.
“Toni, there’s already a bowl full of chopped chives right next to you.”
“Oh, right,” she said, and continued.
I gave Steven the information, all except about Charles. It didn’t seem right, considering I had no proof whatsoever. But from now on I would keep an eye on him. “Of course we tell the police about the pills,” Steven said. “How can you even question that?”
“What if the police think I was involved?” I questioned. “What if they think the pills were mine?”
“If you don’t tell them and they find out, then you’ll really look guilty.” His voice calmed. “If there’s a drug angle to this case, that means it might not have been a crime of passion. I’ll inform the police about the pills and arrange a time for you to give a statement.”
“Could you make it tomorrow?” I asked. “We’re just getting ready for dinner.” I wished I could delay this indefinitely.
“Leave it to me,” he said before hanging up.
* * *
“Explain to me, again, why we still have to get that tape?” Toni asked.
It was eleven forty-five in the evening and Skinny’s on Queen was empty except for Toni and me. We were sipping coffee instead of wine—my suggestion, of course, and luckily this time she had agreed that getting tipsy right now would be a very bad idea. In fifteen minutes, we’d be breaking into Mona’s house.
“I don’t see the point now that Jake’s come forward. Plus, with the drug angle, surely the police know you didn’t do it.”
“And what exactly did Steven say about that?”
She grimaced. “I know Steven warned you not to get too excited, but he’s a lawyer. It’s his job to worry.”
I sighed. “You’re the one who insisted on coming. I can do this by myself, you know. You can stay here.”
She shook her head vehemently. “No, no. You’re right. The man with the least insurance always dies first.”
I stared at her, bewildered. “Now you’ve lost me. How does that relate to my situation?”
“I’m looking at that tape as insurance. If you have insurance, you—”
“Okay, I get it.”
“I only hope you’re grateful for my help.”
“Yeah, right!” I countered, in my most ungrateful tone.
“Honestly, you should appreciate the efforts I make for you,” Toni argued plaintively. “I had to break a date for this, you know.”
“A date?” Now this piqued my curiosity. “Who with?”
“None of your business.” She quickly changed the subject. “By the way, did I tell you that when Kim was canvassing, she met your neighbor? She agrees with me that he’s very cute,” she said with a suggestive drawl.
“If you happen to like that type,” I retorted. “And since when have you and Kim become so chummy.”
“Why, Nicky, you sound jealous.”
“That has to be the most stupid comment you’ve ever made.”
Toni grinned and changed the subject. “Ready to go? Let’s get that skinny bitch,” she said with the gleeful excitement of someone going to a party. How she could consider this fun was beyond me. Still, I followed her out to her car.
We parked on Carlaw, near Danforth, two blocks from Mona’s house. We wore dark jeans and black long-sleeved T-shirts—better than the catsuits I’d envisioned. But I still had the paranoid feeling that dozens of eyes were following us up the street.
“Oh, shit,” I exclaimed. “I forgot to bring gloves.”
Toni froze. Even under the street lamps I could read the apprehension in her eyes. “We could always come back tomorrow.”
I nodded slowly. “Yes, but the longer we wait, the greater the chance she’ll get rid of that tape. I need that tape, Toni. My gut tells me, unless I can prove somebody else killed Rob, they’ll pin his murder on me.” I took a deep breath. “If we don’t go through with this now, I’ll chicken out.” I walked on. “Don’t worry, we don’t need gloves. It’s not as if we’re going to rob her. I’m only taking what’s mine. And besides, what’s she going to do? Call the cops?”
“I guess,” she said unsurely.
“Then stop worrying. You look guiltier than a married lover caught with his pants down.”
“Who cares how I look?” she argued. “You said nobody would see us at this time of night.”
“They’ll notice you if you look like a prowler. You’re not walking, you’re lurking. Now stop tiptoeing and stand up straight.” For all my show of strength, I was terrified of getting caught, but less so than of a murder conviction.
She came to an abrupt stop. “There it is.” She pointed at a small bungalow. “That’s her house.”
It was a barracks-type bungalow, painted mocha and trimmed milky white. I would have preferred to find out that Mona lived in a dump, but as much I hated to admit it, her house was pretty. But not as pretty as mine, I told myself. That’s when it occurred to me that perhaps a small part of the reason I was doing this was that I wanted to know all I could about Mona. I was curious. I knew exactly what Toni would have said to that.
“Don’t just stand there. Help me find the key,” I whispered, turning over decorative stones around the walk.
A key could be hidden anywhere. I walked up to the front door, stuffed my hand in the mailbox and felt around. Nothing. Now, where…? I turned over the small welcome mat.
“I’ve got it.” I held it up.
“You’re a natural.” She gave me a high-five. A second later, the door was open.
“You stay here and be the lookout.”
“I don’t believe it. No way. You be the lookout and I’ll play detective,” she hiss-pered.
“Don’t be silly. I know what the recorder looks like. You wouldn’t recognize it if it fell in your hands.”
“You always give me the boring jobs.”
I ignored her and stepped inside, pulse racing. If we were allowed only so many heartbeats in a lifetime, I’d gone through most of mine in a week.
I groped along the wall for the switch and the light turned on, briefly blinding me. When my eyes adjusted, I found myself in a combined living and dining area separated from the kitchen by a small breakfast bar.
The inside of Mona’s house was as attractive as the outside. Her style was similar to mine, at least when it came to décor—and to men. Like mine, her walls were yellow, but sponged-on instead of roller-painted. Her kitchen cabinets were white, like mine, and her counters black. Is that real granite? It can’t be. How much do nurses earn these days? The furniture was dark wood with a distinctly Victorian flavor. All in all, the woman had taste. This did not make me dislike her any less.
“Stop standing around and start searching. I don’t want to stand out here all night,” Toni ordered from the doorway. “And while you’re at it, keep your eyes open for drugs, too.”
I had already thought of tha
t. I ventured forth with shaky knees. But where to start? That tape could have been anywhere. Okay, think. Where would I stash something incriminating?
Inside the hall closet was the usual assortment of coats, umbrellas, boots and other accessories. I rummaged around, moving everything to one side, then to the other. I ran my hand along the top shelf and checked the inside of two shoeboxes, rifled through gloves and scarves, but no recorder.
It occurred to me that I should leave things exactly as they’d been. I carefully put everything back and moved on to the kitchen. I opened drawers and cabinet doors—glasses, dishes, pots, pans—nothing more than the usual stuff.
In the living room, I looked behind the sofa, under the sofa, under the cushions, inside the entertainment center and behind the entertainment center. I felt more and more ridiculous with every passing second. This was such a waste of time. Five minutes later, I’d searched the entire living area. Maybe in one of the bedrooms. I tiptoed down the hall, opened the first door and flipped on the light.
For a moment, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, that I was having a horrible nightmare. Or maybe I was going crazy.
It couldn’t be. I didn’t want it to be. Oh, shit!
There on the floor, at the foot of the bed, was Mona. She was wearing blue scrubs, and in the middle of her chest was a large red circle, much like a target. And in the center I recognized the handle of a Chroma. Even in death the bitch was gorgeous. My shock turned to panic, and I bolted, screaming all the way out the front door.
Toni slapped me back to my senses. “What are you trying to do? Wake up the dead?”
I shook my head and stuttered. “Mo-Mona…” I gasped. “She—she…”
“Breathe, Nicky, breathe.”
“Mona’s in there. She’s dead.”
“What?” The blood drained from Toni’s face.
“Go see for yourself.”
She tugged at my hand. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
“But what if she’s not dead?” I had a small doubt. “Maybe we should call the police.”
Toni pulled. “You just told me she was dead. Now let’s go.”
“But I—I don’t know for sure. What if she isn’t? If I don’t try to help her, that’s the same as killing her.” I pictured the scene. “There was an awful lot of blood.”
Toni hesitated. “Go see if she’s breathing.”
“I—I can’t.” I pulled out my cell phone.
“Who are you calling?”
“911.”
“Wait!” Toni grabbed the phone from my hand. “Dial *67 first. Do you want this call traced back to you?”
“Oh.” I took my phone back and punched in *67, waited for the tone, and then 911.
“I’m calling to report a medical emergency,” I said, disguising my voice. “She’s been stabbed and needs an ambulance fast.” I gave the address and hung up.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said.
I was already halfway down the street.
i might not sleep for the
rest of my life
Toni pulled up in front of my house, and we sat in the dark, trying to calm our frazzled nerves. This, of course, didn’t prevent Toni from making her stupid comments.
“As Yogi Berra said, ‘That was déjà vu all over again.’”
“Toni, this is no time to be funny.”
“I wasn’t trying to be funny. I was just saying—”
I cut her short. “This must be the most stupid thing I have ever done. Why, why, why, did I go through with that cockamamie plan? Because I’m stupid, stupid, stupid,” I said, hitting my head with the heel of my hand. “Now, what are we going to do?”
Toni turned off the motor. “What we do is forget this ever happened.”
“I don’t know…” I shook my head slowly.
“Listen, we did the right thing. We called for help. As far as I’m concerned, our breaking into her house may have saved that woman’s life. We have no reason to feel guilty.”
I so wanted to believe that, but I felt miserable. Then I remembered. “Uh…Toni! My fingerprints are all over her house.”
Silence stretched. Toni broke it at last. “You didn’t touch her body, did you?”
“Of course not!”
“You said she was in the bedroom? Did you touch anything nearby?”
“I didn’t go past the doorway.”
“I think they’ll take prints off the murder weapon and everywhere around the body. They won’t be looking for prints inside closets and cupboards. You should be okay.”
I took a shaky breath. “Oh God, I hope you’re right.”
Toni reached across the console and patted my hand. “Don’t worry. I’m sure everything will be fine.” She didn’t appear any more convinced than I was.
There was a long silence, during which a dozen thoughts crowded my mind. “We were working on the theory that Mona killed Rob, but now that she got stabbed, that eliminates her as the murderer,” I said.
“If Mona wasn’t the murderer, then who was?” she asked. “Hold on.” She tapped a finger on the steering wheel. “Well…Jake said he couldn’t tell if the person was a man or a woman, didn’t he? We just wanted it to be Mona.”
“You’re right, and you know who else is skinny and works at the hospital? Harry Johnson. Not only that, but he knew about Rob’s drug problem.” I hesitated. “You don’t think Charles could have…? No, that’s just too crazy.”
She looked at me, stunned. “Did he even know Rob?”
I shook my head. “Forget it. It doesn’t make sense.”
She chuckled. “I agree. That’s just nuts.”
“Okay, enough. Let’s get back to the subject. There are two possibilities here. Number one, it really was Mona who Jake saw walking with Rob. Mona might have seen something that night. Maybe she was at my house when the killer showed up, in which case she would have known too much.”
“Okay.” She nodded.
“The other possibility is that Mona was never at my house. The skinny person Jake saw must have been Harry Johnson. Mona could have stumbled on something incriminating at the hospital—after all, they all worked in the same department. This makes more sense, because if Mona had been at my house that night, surely the murderer would have killed her then.”
“Not if he didn’t see her,” Toni said, “but you’re probably right.
“So we’re not trying to get a skinny bitch anymore.”
“Maybe you should let the police deal with this. I don’t want the killer coming after you.”
“As you just said—all we have to do is keep our mouths shut. Remember, unless we find that killer, chances are the police will pin this on me.”
This time Toni didn’t tell me I was crazy or paranoid. “I sure hope you can prove your innocence without getting a Chroma through your heart.”
I just gulped.
As I stepped out of the car, Toni called out softly. “Don’t worry, Nicky. We’ll solve it, I promise.”
“I think you should stay out of it.”
Toni called out something as she roared away but all I could make out was “Blah, blah, blah, friendship,” and “Blah, blah, blah, gratitude.”
Inside, Jackie greeted me with frantic circles and made a desperate dash to the back door. She hadn’t been out for hours and needed to go now. I unlatched her doggie door and left it open. Jackie could come back in on her own. I wanted to get ready for bed.
I pulled myself upstairs and was about to plop into bed when I remembered. Shit. I hadn’t made sure Jackie had come back in or locked up the doggie door behind her. I ran downstairs but Jackie wasn’t in the kitchen. Strange. I opened the back door. “Jackie,” I called into the yard. “Jackie, come.” But there was no sign o
f her.
I combed the house room by room, and still no Jackie. I was beginning to panic. My yard was the size of a postage stamp and completely fenced in. There was no way Jackie could have gotten out. Or could she? I turned on the outdoor light, stepped out and—oh no! The answer was evident. The gate was open. Now Jackie was loose somewhere in downtown Toronto.
This was a disaster. Jackie was not street-smart and she was smaller than a house cat. A kitten could beat the hell of her, never mind cats. In this neighborhood, raccoons roamed the streets at night. If Jackie came face-to-face with a raccoon, she didn’t stand a chance.
I frantically ran up and down the street in my pink chenille robe, calling hysterically for Jackie. I even threw in a few shouts of “Come, get a treat,” to which she would normally have come galloping. Not tonight. I made such a ruckus that pretty soon half a dozen neighbors were calling for Jackie along with me.
I was on my hands and knees, looking under the front porch when…”Let me do that,” a voice startled me.
I bumped my head on my way out. “Ouch!” I rubbed the back of my head.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
I looked up at that strange neighbor of mine. His eyes were dark, almost black, and to my surprise they were full of compassion and rather nice.
“I can look under there for you,” he said, holding up his flashlight.
Now why hadn’t I thought of a flashlight? I just nodded. When he got on his hands and knees, I noticed that he had a nice… Oh for God’s sake. What was the matter with me? Here I was, sick with worry for Jackie, and I was checking out my neighbor’s butt. And not just any neighbor, but weird-guy neighbor at that.
He crawled back out. “She’s not here,” he said, flicking off the light. “How long has she been missing?”
“About an hour,” I replied, near hysterics.
“I’ll help you look for her,” he offered. “You take this side of the street and I’ll take the other. If I find her, I’ll whistle.” And off he went.
I searched under every porch, behind every fence, in yards and even in garages. The longer Jackie stayed lost, I knew, the higher the risk of her being injured—or worse.
Getting Skinny Page 14