by Sarah Kelly
India nodded. “I bet she’s thrown away the one with the poison, though. If it’s really her.”
“Good point, we should get the trash searched,” Xavier said. “Unless it’s already gone. Anyways, we might find some traces on her other stuff.”
“Let’s hope,” India said, a little sadly. She’d warmed to Answer quite a lot, despite her slightly offbeat ways. But if she was a killer, she was a killer. “You don’t think Mark’s accusing her to throw the heat off himself, do you?”
“I don’t know.” Xavier leant against the counter and sipped his juice. “But I think that’s probably wishful thinking.”
India sighed. “Probably. I mean, Hayden accused her as well. I should be asking the same question about him. And Gianna. Oh, man, this is confusing.”
“Well, at least the lab will tell us what we need to know,” Xavier said. “Let me just call Kimble. I’m not sure if I need a warrant for this.”
***
After Kimble’s advice, “Don’t get a warrant, just fricking bust in there,” India and Xavier stood at Answer’s door. India breathed heavily, and when she took a glance at Xavier, she could see through his bold demeanor. He was a little scared.
“We can do this,” she said.
“Damn right. Let’s catch a killer.”
India knocked on the door. “Answer? It’s India.”
“Oh, hey,” came Answer’s peaceful tones. After a moment or two she opened the door. She was a picture of innocence, in a pale pink chiffon shift dress that wafted around her ankles. Her purple hair was covered by a white scarf. She almost looked like a little girl, her face fresh and makeup free and pure. She looked like the last person in the world who would be a murderer, but India knew appearances could be deceiving.
Still, there was no need to go in heavy handed. “Sorry about this,” India said. “We just need your aromatherapy oils.”
“And whatever you keep them in,” Xavier added.
Her face clouded. “Why?”
“To investigate,” Xavier said simply.
India tried a softer tack. “It’s just procedure. Nothing to worry about.”
“But… but… they’re helping me get through this tragic time. I use them to heal myself. To clear the anxiety, and the depression, and the fear. I need them, to keep me balanced. To rebalance my chakras.” She was stammering, looking between them with fearful eyes.
India’s stomach dropped. She really did look guilty.
“I’m afraid we’ll need to take them,” Xavier said firmly, stepping into the room. “Now hand them over please, ma’am.”
With tears in her eyes, she went over to the dresser and took her beloved basket into her arms. She looked down at it mournfully as she crossed the room back to them. “Take it,” she said aggressively, thrusting the basket at Xavier. “Do what you want.”
“Thank you,” India said gently, though her chest felt like a crashing ocean inside her.
As soon as they closed the door, they heard her burst into sobs.
They made their way down the corridor, and India rested her head on Xavier’s shoulder.
“She’s so upset,” India said. “And I don’t know whether to care or not. I have no idea if she’s innocent or guilty.”
“Neither me,” Xavier said. “Let’s see what the lab has to say.”
CHAPTER 6
The air conditioning in the police station was always cranked up high, but India kept forgetting to bring along a sweater. She never needed it anywhere else. Shivering in her floral sundress, she hoped it would all be finished up quickly.
“Wow,” Xavier said, standing over the computer at the front desk.
India rushed up from her seat. “What?”
He pushed out his lips and raised his eyebrows. “Looks like our spiritual adviser has quite a record.”
“Really? What’s she done?”
“Well, it’s all from back when she was Gabrielle Fuller. She has a couple charges for DUI, a robbery charge that never came to anything, and…” He scrolled down. “A charge for attempted murder in New York. She was cleared.”
India felt her heart sink. She really had liked Answer and her quirky spiritual ways, but was beginning to realize it must have all been an act. “Looks like we’ve may just have our girl.”
“Maybe. She was found not guilty of the attempted murder, but it’s a question mark that it’s even on her record.” Xavier leant against the wall and looked at his wristwatch. “Just have to wait for the lab report. Should be any time now.”
India paced the room, suddenly feeling agitated. The whole business shocked her to the core. “Any more information on that attempted murder?”
He tapped into the computer again. “Not much.” His deep, dark eyes flashed up to her, and he gave her a small smile. “I sure hope it’s her. Then we’ve cracked our first case together.”
“First?” India said, smiling right back. “Sounds like you want to keep going, Detective Columbo.”
“Maybe I just might,” he said. “Like you said, I can make more difference being a detective. If I keep doing good on the patrol, maybe in two years I’ll get there.”
“And…?” India said.
He frowned, confused. “And what?”
“What about me?”
“You’re a lifeguard,” he said, deliberately misunderstanding.
India felt her chest tighten a little. “I already told you I feel right doing this.”
“And that’s great,” he said. “You were in the right place at the right time and you solved the case. But surely you’re not planning to make a habit of it?”
India flopped back down in her chair in the waiting area. “I don’t know.” The truth was, she’d hoped her magical abilities would have wrapped the case up quickly, but all the confidence was slowly seeping out of her. After all, what had led them to Answer wasn’t her powers, but a comment from Mark Meyer. Anyone could have followed that up. “Maybe not.”
“Please don’t,” he said. “I want you to be safe.”
“And don’t I want you to be safe?” she shot back. “You’re in one of the most dangerous jobs there is.”
The soft, humorous quality of his voice that she loved so much seemed to disappear into thin air. “When you met me, I was already a cop,” he said testily. “This is different, you’re making a choice.”
India felt her tone raise a little higher than perhaps it should. “And what if it’s the right choice and you’re blocking me from making it?”
Detective Kimble pushed open the side door so hard it flew open and banged against the wall. “What in the heck is going on here?” he said, then smiled as he saw their expressions. “Lovers’ tiff, eh?” He strode over to the water machine and thrust a cup under the spout. “If you want my advice, kids, don’t ever get married. Especially you, Bradford. Women act all nice before the wedding day, then change completely the day after. Then you’ll spend the rest of your life worrying how you can extract yourself from her without losing half your money.”
India felt sick, and looked up to gauge Xavier’s reaction. He was about to speak, but then his cell phone sprang to life.
“One sec,” he said to Kimble.
Kimble gave India a sleazy grin, and she looked away.
“Bradford here,” Xavier said into the phone. “Yes… All right… Really?... Okay… Well, thank you.” He hung up the phone, seemingly stunned.
“What was that, Bradford?” Kimble asked.
India stood up without even realizing. “So? What’s the news?”
“Looks like we were right,” he said, looking dazed. “Onyx died of internal asphyxia by way of cyanide poisoning. And Answer’s frankincense essential oil was laced with it.”
“Wow,” India said, sitting back down. “So it was her all along.” She thought back to their conversations – first in the dining room, then out on the balcony – and felt sick to her stomach. All the time she had been talking to a cold hearted murderer. “She se
emed so nice.”
Kimble threw his glass of water down his throat, then chuckled. “They often do, missy. Now Bradford, get your butt down there and haul her in for me. I’ll squeeze a confession out of her in five minutes flat.”
“Yes, sir,” Xavier said. “I’m on it.”
***
As they rode along in Xavier’s cop car, India couldn’t shake off her nervousness. Her heart rate was elevated, and her hands shivered and sweated both at once.
“You okay?” Xavier asked, though his expression showed he was as apprehensive as she was.
“Yep, fine,” she said quickly. “I’ve just never confronted a murderer before.”
“Neither me. She doesn’t look like your stereotypical killer, does she? Just goes to show, sometimes we end up pointing the finger at innocent people who look bad, while the killer pretends to be a good guy and slithers away.”
India nodded. She thought of Mark and wrinkled her nose. Hayden, though he seemed like an old friend, was no doubt unstable. And Gianna wasn’t exactly sunshine and rainbows either. “Answer seemed like the nicest person of them all.”
Xavier adjusted the rearview mirror as they pulled into the mansion’s driveway. “I’ll know what to look out for next time, huh?”
“We will know.”
“Not this again, India.”
“Don’t call me India,” she snapped.
He pulled the police car to a stop on the driveway. “It’s your name, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Xavier, it is.” She knew she was being petty but couldn’t stop herself.
After a moment of silence, Xavier burst into laughter. “Can we stop this now?”
India grinned. “Okay.”
He leant across to kiss her on the cheek, and then she kissed him back, pressing her lips against his chiselled jaw. He pulled her into a quick hug. “Let’s go catch our killer.”
In the few moments it took for someone to answer the door, India turned her attention to the scenery. It really was so beautiful there, what with the botanical gardens blooming in vivid reds, pinks and oranges, and an abundance of green surrounding the place. Laundry - sheets, towels, Gianna’s 50s style swing dresses, and a man’s shirt and pants - fluttered on a washing line in the warm sunshine. India had always loved seeing that. It just felt like home.
It was a slightly dishevelled Gianna who answered India’s knocks. Nowhere near the usual perfection of her put together self, Gianna’s auburn hair was unwashed and limp, pulled back into a messy topknot. She wore huge shades that seemed to cover nearly half her face. The rest was covered in tiny acne bumps India had never noticed before. “Hey,” she said, trying to pull the creases out of her turquoise maxi dress. “Please excuse how I look.”
“It’s not important,” Xavier said. “Is Gabrielle Fuller… Answer… is she here?”
Gianna sighed. “Everyone’s here. Trapped in this limbo hell hole of purgatory until some cops get their act together and clear our names.”
“That might be sooner than you think,” India said.
Gianna pushed her shades on top of her forehead and widened her eyes. She looked totally different without makeup. Softer. Less intimidating. “You think Answer did it? That’s why you want to speak to her?”
“That’s classified information,” Xavier said. “Do you know where she is in the house?”
Gianna shrugged and slipped her shades back on. “No idea. Probably in her room. I’m going to fix myself dinner, if you’ll excuse me.”
“Sure,” India said.
Xavier and India went up the stairs and came to the upstairs hallway. Answer’s door was at the end. They looked at each other, then India slipped her hand into Xavier’s. “Let’s do this,” she whispered.
But when they got to the door, there was no answer. After a few minutes, India pushed open the door with a tentative touch. “Answer?” All the furniture was in its place, but there was no sign of Answer.
“Maybe she’s run away,” said Xavier. “Knew she had been caught out and skipped town.”
India felt by instinct that wasn’t quite right. “Maybe, maybe not. I think we should search the rest of the house. She could be hiding somewhere inside.”
“Good idea.”
They stuck close together, and Xavier’s hand hovered around his service pistol as they walked down the hallway. The rambling beach house seemed to have an interminable number of doors, and they thrust them open one by one, hoping to catch her off guard. After a series of four empty rooms, they came to the closed door of Gianna’s suite.
“Gianna?” Xavier called out. No answer. “Probably still downstairs fixing herself dinner. Ready?”
India put her hand on the doorhandle, her heart beating fast. “Ready.” Then she flung open the door. It banged against the wall. The room was clear. The drapes billowed at the windows in the tropical breeze. India was surprised to see how messy the room was, considering how pristine it had been previously. Clothes were strewn about all over the place, and the bed was unmade.
“Nothing to see here,” Xavier said.
After a couple more empty rooms, they came to a door pinned with a piece of paper reading Onyx.
“Why does she have her name on the door when no one else does?” India whispered.
Xavier shrugged and whispered back, “Maybe just personal preference. Ready to go in?”
India grabbed the doorhandle. When Xavier nodded, she thrust it open. The sight that greeted them was the last thing she’d expected.
“Oh…” she said, barely able to catch her breath. She stood, transfixed, unable to pull her eyes away, as much as she wanted to.
“Wow,” Xavier said, dropping his hand away from his service pistol and to his side. “Wow.”
Answer lay dead on the floor.
***
“For once you were right, Bradford,” Kimble said, straightening up from where he had been examining Answer’s body. “She was strangled and there was a struggle, like you said.”
Other cops and forensics personnel scoured the room. One of them was even crouched on the bare mattress in his white suit, picking up tiny pieces of dust with tweezers and placing them carefully in a clear plastic zip bag.
“Lucky guess, of course,” Kimble said cruelly. “You wouldn’t know your butt from your elbow.”
India felt heat rush up to her throat. “Don’t you—”
“So what’s next, sir?” Xavier interrupted.
“Your shift is over, ain’t it?” Kimble said.
“Yes, but I’d be glad to stay on longer and help.”
Kimble sneered. “Nobody likes a hero, Bradford. Go home and watch TV like a normal person.”
“Yes, sir. See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah.”
Xavier strode out of the bedroom, his head high, and India followed, feeling her blood boil.
“You can’t let him talk to you like that,” she said, struggling to catch up as he walked quickly down the hallway.
“Trust me, I know what I’m doing,” Xavier said. “To get along, you have to play the game. If I want to be a detective, I’m going to have to do a whole lot more playing, trust me. It’s best I get used to it now.”
India followed him down the stairs. That was the difference between them. She couldn’t play along, no matter how hard she tried. She remembered back to her first fast food job during high school in Wisconsin. When the manager had hollered at her, peppered with personal insults, because a clumsy customer had dropped their pizza on the floor outside and India had given them another for half price, India didn’t hesitate to step up and defend herself. She’d lost the job on the spot, but her pride was intact. “If he knows he can treat you like that, he’s just going to push you around.”
“Maybe for now,” Xavier said. “But in time, he’ll respect me, when he sees how good my work is. For now, I don’t want to get on his bad side and have him have a personal vendetta against me.”
“But—”
As they r
eached the hallway, Xavier put both his hands to his head. “Anyways, I really wanna take a break from all this.”
“Okay,” India said, then grinned. “Frankie’s?”
“Hmmm, nah. I want to be outside right now, somewhere free. What about Frankie’s takeout on the beach? I’ll go home and freshen up, then pick you up later on?”
India smiled. “Sounds perfect.”
Before long they were sitting on the sand at the darkened beach, listening to the rush and hiss of the waves as they lapped forward and back. The breeze was pleasantly light, and the air was warm around them. The moon shone enough for them to see each other.
“Ah, this pizza is so good,” India said, taking up another slice.
Xavier laughed. He’d changed into his red shirt and stone colored slacks. It was her favorite outfit on him. “Well, we do have it about three times a week, so I would hope so.”
She giggled. “Tastes different on the beach somehow.”
“I actually know what you mean,” he said.
They fell into silence, listening to the waves and the sound of distant cars.
“So looks like the case isn’t as straightforward as we thought,” India said.
“Looks that way. I was thinking at first she might have killed herself because she’d gotten caught, but there was no rope anywhere, and oil was slathered all over her neck.”
“Really?”
Xavier smiled. “How are you ever going to be an investigator if you’re too squeamish to look at a body properly?”
“I don’t know, it was just weird. That’s the first dead person I’ve ever seen.”
Xavier took a bite of pizza. “What about Onyx?”
“She was alive before,” India said. “It was different. I’ve never just walked in and seen a dead body, until today. Anyways, you said there was oil all over her neck?”
“To try and hide any fingerprints, I guess,” he said. “Weird method, but it works. Seemed to piss Kimble off at least.”
India thought for a moment. “What kind of oil? Like baby oil, or cooking oil, or what?”
“No idea,” Xavier said. “The autopsy will bring it up.”