Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries Boxed Set: Books 1-3 (The Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries)

by Heather Haven

  Chapter Eighteen

  A Trip To The Zoo

  My destination was the San Francisco Zoo. I took Route 280, Skyline Boulevard, and then the Great Highway, which runs along the ocean. Gripping the wheel with white knuckled hands, I often pushed the car to eighty miles per hour. It was still close to one p.m. by the time I arrived at the Zoo. Parking is difficult at the best of times in that area, and I didn’t want to spend precious time looking for a space. I parked in the first spot I came to, a fire hydrant, and didn’t give a tinker’s dam if the car got towed. Douglas would understand…eventually.

  Just as I opened the car door to get out, the cell phone rang. It was Richard. I was so relieved I had to control my voice to keep it from shaking. “Richard! Where have you been?”

  “Never mind that. Erica said you know it isn’t Grace Wong. Do you mean you know who killed Portor Wyler?”

  “Yes,” I replied eagerly. “Not only that...”

  “Well, sit tight on it, would you? We’re in Las Vegas. Victoria and I flew here last night. Where are you? Home?” he asked anxiously.

  “Not exactly. I’m at the San Francisco Zoo.”

  “What! Why?”

  “Richard, listen to me. Mrs. Wyler killed her husband; I don’t care what her housekeeper says. I’ve got proof. And I’m pretty sure she also killed David Chen last night.”

  “Chen is dead? What happened? My God, what’s going on?”

  “I’ll tell you everything later. Right now Mom’s with Mrs. Wyler at the Zoo, and I’m here to grab our mother and take her home.”

  “If you think the wife did it, call the police, Liana. Let them take care of it. You can’t just march in there with both guns blazing like John Wayne! You didn’t bring your gun, did you? You know how I hate those things,” he exclaimed, with panic ringing in his voice.

  “Yes, I did, but I promise to keep my six-shooter in its holster. I just want to go and quietly get Mom out of there.”

  “Jesus Christ, Lee, you’re crazy! Please, don’t do anything stupid. You said she’s already with Mrs. Wyler, didn’t you? What are you going to say to them? Don’t you think they’re going to wonder what you’re doing there?”

  I kept my voice calm. “I’ll tell Lila something urgent has come up, and she’s needed at the office. Once I separate them, then...”

  “Don’t you dare go in there. That’s all I need is both of you getting hurt! Go find a policeman! God, Lee, you almost died a couple of days ago! This has got to be brain fever or something.”

  Victoria’s anxious voice sounded in the background, as Richard’s tone became higher pitched and louder. I could tell my brother was beginning to work himself into a frenzy.

  “Wait. Wait. Slow down, Richard. Take a couple of deep breaths, will you?” I deliberately took a deep breath myself and began talking very slowly and clearly. “Richard, if I had thought this through, I would have probably just waited for Mom to come home later on today. Maybe I went off the deep end.”

  “Maybe?” Richard commented, but he was calming down somewhat.

  “I’m sure I’m worrying about nothing,” I added. “They’re here for some kind of birthday party for Siberian tiger cubs. There was no reason for me to drive up here like a bat out of hell like I did, but as long as I did...”

  “Oh, God, she’s off,” my brother interjected.

  “Richard, I might as well go get her. Yvette Wyler doesn’t suspect anything. Why should she?” I added, stressing the last sentence. “Just let me go in and get Mom, okay, partner? Both you and I will feel better if I separate the two of them. Right? We can deal with who killed Portor Wyler later.”

  Richard’s voice sounded somewhat reluctant as he answered, “Okay, but you’d better know what you’re talking about and not scaring the bejesus out of me for nothing.”

  “Okay! I’ll call you when we get home,” I answered and started to break the connection.

  “Oh, no, you don’t,” he countered. “Lee, leave your phone on. I want to hear what’s happening. Don’t do anything stupid, Liana, or I’ll call the police from here right now. I swear it. And don’t hang up on me, either.”

  “What do you mean, don’t hang up? I can’t leave this phone on. Everything’s going to be just fine, Richard. You can trust me.”

  “I never trust anybody who tells me I can trust them,” Richard stated flatly. “Now, leave the phone on, go get Mom, and take her home.”

  “Oh, all right. Can you hear me?” I asked anxiously, as I stuck the phone in the pocket of my sweatpants.

  “Okay, yes, yes. I hear you. Don’t do anything stupid, Lee!” he shouted.

  “Stop saying that.”

  “Can you hear me, Lee?” Richard shouted even louder.

  “Of course, I can hear you and so can the rest of the Bay Area. Keep your voice down. Don’t say anything. It looks strange to have my pants talking,” I said, as I stepped out of the car. I felt much calmer now than I did before. Just having Richard overwrought on the other end of the line sort of had a soothing affect on me. Brothers and sisters can be like that.

  I told myself to concentrate on my goal. The primary thing was to find our mother and take her home, I repeated again and again. The fact the woman she was with murdered two people would have to become a secondary issue.

  However, precautions should be taken. I opened my handbag and checked the revolver regretting it was too large for the shallow pockets of my jacket and too heavy for the sweats. I held the handbag tightly to my side and started across the street to the entrance of the Zoo. Every now and then Richard would ask what was going on, and I had to threaten to turn the phone off to silence him.

  Paying the entrance fee, I walked inside and headed for the large cat area. I fought the urge to run, which would only attract attention and probably start my head pounding. As it was, I was feeling a little delicate and precariously close to getting a headache. I wondered if I had any Tylenol with me, as I approached the door of the stucco building.

  I heard the growls and movements of large animals plus the sounds of an excited crowd. There was also a smell, but we won’t go into that. I worked my way through the throng and came upon the one-year old feline celebrities in their glass enclosed pen sound asleep, oblivious to the pink and blue balloons, gawking spectators and photographers. Okay, I found the cubs but where was the party?

  I looked around and saw a young woman dressed in a faded brown uniform standing by a door marked “staff only” and went to her. I asked about the location of the party and was told the birthday cake had just been cut.

  Pieces of the five-tiered, eighty-five pound cake were now being handed out only to a “select crowd, members who had donated a certain amount of money,” the attendant added, contemptuously.

  Knowing Lila was always part of the “select crowd,” with or without contempt, I asked where that was.

  “Unless you’ve got a gold membership card from the Zoo, you can’t get in. Do you have one?” the young woman asked in a tone of voice daring me to produce one, given how I was dressed.

  “Yes, I’ve got one,” I replied, as I searched my handbag for my wallet. We donated to the zoo under the family plan, so each of us had a card. Flashing it, I smiled as sincerely as I could and pushed past her.

  “Outside in the enclosed green,” the attendant finally said curtly, pointing with a dirty, stubby finger to a door on the far side of the room. “Show the security man at the entrance gate the card.”

  “Thanks, and I’ll bring you back a piece of cake, if I can,” I said over my shoulder.

  The attendant, in surprise, gave me a “thumbs up” sign.

  Buildings surrounded the outside patio on all sides. This was an area usually reserved for private parties. In the center of the grassy knoll, all four sides of a large white tent flapped uneasily in the winter winds. Stakes strained against periodic gusts in water-saturated ground. The whole thing looked like it might blow down any minute. I wondered why on earth they didn’t s
imply have the party inside a building during this type of weather, or better yet, hold it in May. I walked the two or three yards to the entrance.

  Once inside, overhead heat lamps beamed down on over two hundred people crammed in an area that normally should accommodate seventy-five or eighty.

  It was oppressively hot. Balloons bobbed up and down on strings tied to support poles as “The March of the Baby Elephants” blared from overhead speakers. Frankly, I would have rather been in the cage with the sleeping cubs. I weaved in and out of the crowd feeling my head begin to throb. With some difficulty, I found an empty corner where I could search my bag for Tylenol, hoping I had brought the bottle along. Fortunately, I found it and swallowed two without any water, one of my least favorite things to do. I grimaced from the bitter, sharp taste in my mouth. I heard my mother’s voice.

  “Liana! My God! I thought it was you! I saw you from over there,” Lila gestured to a group of several dozen people talking animatedly to one another some ten feet away. I gagged on the residue of the pills and tried speaking, as Mom continued excitedly, “What are you doing here? And what are you wearing?” Lila added derisively as she looked down at my battered sweatpants and beat up running shoes. I coughed in a very unlady-like manner, sort of like Tugger bringing up a hairball, while I reached for my mother’s arm.

  “Yvette,” she called over to her friend who was chatting nearby. “Look who’s here. Liana.”

  I managed to swallow enough of the grainy medicine to find part of my voice. “M… Mom, I came to get you. You’ve got to come home with me right…” I had another coughing fit and Mrs. Wyler joined us, wearing a thin smile. I returned her smile and continued brokenly,

  “So, Mother, really, you turned off your cell phone and now nobody at the office can reach you. So I came.”

  Lila ignored me as she touched my forehead with her hand. “You shouldn’t be out of bed, dear. What’s so important they have to track me down at the San Francisco Zoo?” Lila looked at her friend and both women turned to stare at me while I choked a little more quietly. I had the undivided attention of both of them, unfortunately.

  I felt my throat become even drier and the coughing started again. I noticed a plastic glass of liquid in my mother’s hand. I grabbed it and drank the green-colored glop down. It was nauseatingly sweet, but at least it was wet, and it washed the residue pills down.

  I made a face as I asked, “What was that? Melted lollipops?”

  “Never mind that,” Lila retorted. “What are you doing here when you should be in bed recuperating?”

  I tried to smile winningly at my mother. “I think it’s too complicated to go into right now, Mother. I’m sure Patti can explain it to you better. Why don’t we just go? We...”

  I could see anger swell in her breast, and she interrupted indignantly, “Of all the nerve! Sending my daughter from her sick bed to come and get me.” She pulled her cell phone out of her handbag. “I’m going to give that Patti a piece of my mind. I’ve never in all my life…”

  I reached out and took the phone from my mother’s hand, seeing this was not going as I’d planned.

  If only I can get her away from Mrs. Wyler for five minutes to explain.

  “No, no, Mom. Don’t bother calling. Let’s just go. Come on.” I put my arm around my mother’s shoulder and tugged at her. “I’ll explain to you in the car.” I turned to Mrs. Wyler and said brightly, “You don’t mind if I take Mother away, do you?”

  “Liana, give that back to me,” Lila ordered as she took the phone from me and shook her shoulders free. “Now, what’s going on here? You’re acting very strangely.”

  Mrs. Wyler, who had been watching the two of us intently, finally spoke up. “Why don’t we all go, Lila? We’ve been here for several hours, and Liana looks as if she really wants you to leave with her,” she said as she looked directly into my eyes. Her smile was tight, and her eyes were cold.

  She took hold of Mom’s arm and began pulling her towards the exit. Lila, too much of a lady to protest, tried valiantly to keep up with her friend as Yvette moved through the crowd like the prow of a ship, with her in tow. Lila reached back and grasped my hand. I followed as closely as possible, while Mrs. Wyler pushed her way through the mob.

  Lila was the first to speak as they returned to the relative open space of the large cat room. “I don’t know what’s happening,” she began as she turned over her shoulder and spoke to me, “but I‘m going to take you home and put you to bed, young lady.” Then she turned back to her friend who was still pulling her across the lion house and toward the exit. I struggled to keep up.

  “Yvette, you don’t have to leave. Why don’t you stay here and listen to the lecture on The Loss of Habitats across the World? It should be fascinating.”

  We were near the exit of the Zoo, and Mrs. Wyler wheeled around and stopped. She looked past Lila at me and said in almost a whisper, “You know, don’t you?”

  I was so stunned by her words, I took a step backward, then tried to regain my composure. The falter had been slight, but it probably didn’t make any difference. Mrs. Wyler seemed to know the answer to the question before she asked it.

  “Know? What does she know? For pity’s sake, why are you two acting so oddly?” Lila demanded, in an irritated tone. By now, Mom had followed Mrs. Wyler out of the Zoo and stood on the sidewalk buttoning her powder pink coat against the sharp gusts coming off the ocean. She looked from one to the other.

  Mrs. Wyler glanced around her, reached out and pulled Lila closer to her with one free hand. The other was inside her jacket, which had kangaroo style pockets.

  “Stop yanking me around, Yvette,” Lila said, losing her temper. She tried to pull free, but Mrs. Wyler held her in a vise-like grip.

  The woman is much stronger than she looks, I thought.

  “Quit squirming, Lila,” she ordered. “Tell your mother, Liana. Tell her what you know,” she said with a harsh smile.

  “I’m leaving,” said Lila finally pulling free. “This is a highly unorthodox way to behave, Yvette, I must say. I think you’ve lost your…”

  “Shut up,” snarled Mrs. Wyler as she grabbed Mom’s arm again and turned back to me. My mother’s mouth dropped open, and she stared at her friend, who seemed to be going mad before her eyes.

  Mrs. Wyler glared at me and said, “They never found the gun. That’s because I’ve got it right here. Daddy’s antique derringer.” She moved the pocket of her jacket, revealing the vague outline of the pistol inside. “If you don’t want me to use it right now, start walking in the direction of the parking lot.”

  Lila gasped and reached out to me. I moved toward her protectively. “Derringer? What are you…?” Lila stuttered, trying to comprehend what was happening.

  “Move!” Mrs. Wyler demanded. “Don’t make me shoot you right here.” She started pushing us with her free hand. We crossed the street and headed for the parking lot, about two hundred yards away.

  “Yvette! What do you mean, shoot us? You can’t mean that. Why, we’ve been friends…” Lila broke off and tried to laugh but stopped when Mrs. Wyler did not reply. “What’s going on, Liana?” Mom asked, as she drew me to her.

  I thought of the phone in my pocket and hoped Richard was still listening. Maybe he would call the police, as he threatened before.

  Please, oh, please, call the police, Richard, I prayed silently. I said aloud, “Mrs. Wyler killed her husband, Mom. It wasn’t Grace Wong.”

  “Yvette, you…killed Portor?” Lila asked.

  “Just keep moving,” was the harsh reply from the woman holding us captive.

  “It’s true, Mom. I’m sorry.” I looked back over my shoulder. “How much did you pay your housekeeper to lie for you? I thought it rather telling she went on a very expensive vacation immediately after the death of your husband.”

  “You! You don’t know anything.” Mrs. Wyler’s response was bitter. “Money wasn’t the issue, although I have rewarded her with a considerable sum. She beli
eves in me. She’s on my side. She understands why I had to do what I did,” Yvette told us in a trembling voice. “You have no idea what I’ve been through.” We arrived at her four-door sedan and both of us looked expectantly at Mrs. Wyler, afraid to make a wrong move.

  “Liana, you drive, and keep both hands where I can see them. You get in the front seat with her,” she told Lila.

  I looked around and saw there was no one else either in the parking lot or on the sidewalk. At this time of year, there wasn’t the influx of crowds coming and going you would have in the summer. The party for the Siberian cubs was still in full swing, and no one would be leaving for quite a while. It was windy, cold, and lonely. Except for the cars whizzing by on the highway nearly a block away, it was just the three of us.

  I opened the car door, got in and placed my purse by my side. At the first opportunity, I would try to retrieve my revolver. I should have had it more accessible, I rebuked myself. However, a “shoot out” with Mrs. Wyler was almost as repugnant a thought as being kidnapped, I realized.

  I started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. We came to the intersection of the Great Highway and stopped for a red light. I watched several cars driving through the intersection at fairly high speeds.

  Directly across the highway were the sand dunes, which led down to a three-mile long stretch of beach. Mother and I sat in the front seat with Mrs. Wyler directly behind, waiting for the light to change.

  Yvette Wyler rubbed her forehead with the tips of her fingers and said harshly, “Don’t wait for the light. Turn right. Turn right. I remember where we’re going now.”