Clean the house—now there was an unwelcome thought. When Greg and I married, Cruz Valenz, the housekeeper I’d had for years, started working her magic at Greg’s house. He’d been using a service with spotty results and was thrilled with Cruz. Her husband, Arturo, who had been taking care of the few plants and shrubs I had on my patio, migrated to Greg’s with Cruz. Arturo was happy to see we had a real lawn, both in the front and back, and lots of greenery. Now that I’d be off work, I might have to go back to cleaning my own house. Cruz had spoiled me. The idea of taking care of this house, which was much larger than my condo, was not appealing. It’s not that I don’t know how to clean, it just wasn’t my strong suit.
Greg kissed me goodbye and underlined Steele’s admonishment to keep out of trouble. As soon as he got home and showered, we’d be off to see Lily. I couldn’t wait to see her, even if it was under tragic circumstances.
Before I did anything, I placed a call to Tina Swanson, the office manager at Woobie, and left a voice mail to let her know I would need to take a couple of unplanned vacation days. Tina’s position seemed safe since Hamlin-Hawke had not brought any management positions over with them, but she definitely seemed the worse for wear since the merger. I’d heard a rumor she was shopping around her résumé, and I wasn’t surprised.
I didn’t give Tina an exact day I’d be back but simply said an emergency had come up and I would be in touch. I also told her in the voice mail that there wasn’t anything on my desk that couldn’t wait until my return. That was a laugh. There wasn’t anything on my desk at all to speak of, and what was there was routine. Erica and Mark had seen to that. Normally I would never do such a thing as take unscheduled time off like this except for a very serious reason. But I wasn’t busy, and I did have quite a few vacation days accrued and didn’t want to face the office. Last night Greg and I did the math. I had enough vacation days that even if I gave Woobie a two-week notice, I’d never have to go back to work before officially leaving the firm. Steele had encouraged me not to pull the trigger so fast on quitting, but to wait it out for a few days to see if they’d make me an offer to leave with cash, so we shelved the plan for me to give notice on Tuesday.
I had just thrown a load of towels into the washer when the front doorbell rang. Usually Wainwright would echo the chimes with barking, but he was with Greg. The cats were both useless when it came to announcing people at the door. I glanced at the clock on the microwave. It was just after eleven. Greg would be home shortly after one. Sunday dinner with the Washingtons was at two thirty.
“Hi, Odelia,” said a familiar voice when I opened the door. Standing on the other side of the locked screen door was Alyce Allen and her husband, Gary, both dressed in their Sunday best. “I hope you don’t mind the intrusion,” Alyce said, “but when we heard what happened to Lily’s mother, I wanted to see for myself that you were okay.”
“You know what happened?” I remained dumbstruck, not moving to invite them in.
Alyce nodded. “The police came by our house yesterday.” She glanced at Gary as if awaiting permission to say more. He gave her a small smile of encouragement. “They asked a lot of questions about Erica and”—she paused—“and about you.”
I shook off the surprise of their visit and unlocked the screen door. “Please come in.”
The Allens came into my home and awkwardly looked around. I invited them to sit down. They sat side by side on the sofa like a mismatched set of salt and pepper shakers but didn’t take off their coats. “Can I get you anything to drink?” I offered.
“No,” Gary answered for the two of them. “We’re fine.”
“I’m surprised to see you,” I said to Gary. “Especially since you’re a pastor. Shouldn’t you be behind a pulpit about now?”
He gave me a slow, calm smile, the same type he gave his wife. I’ll bet the man had great bedside manner when it came to comforting the sick and grieving. “Our worship service is at nine in the morning. It’s a small congregation of early birds.”
“Usually we go out for brunch after,” Alyce chimed in, “but today we left our kids with friends and came to see you. I hope that’s okay.”
“I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Alyce. Have you heard from Erica at all?”
“Not a peep,” she answered. “And I don’t think the police have found her yet either. Under the circumstances, I’m getting pretty worried about her.” Gary reached over and placed a comforting hand on his wife’s arm. The gesture made me smile. Greg would have done the same thing to me.
Gary glanced around. “Your husband home? I’d like to meet him.”
“He’s off playing basketball. He plays twice a month in a wheelchair league.” For some reason I couldn’t explain, I tacked on, “We’re not much on going to church.”
The pastor laughed. “Not to worry, Odelia. We’re not here to proselytize, just to see how you and Lily are holding up.”
“Lily’s not here either.”
Alyce looked alarmed. “The county didn’t take her into protective custody, did they?”
“Yes and no,” I answered truthfully. “Lily is now under the authority of the county but is still with my friends. They know some of the higher-ups and were granted permission to keep her at their home until her family could be located.”
“That’s wonderful,” said Gary with obvious relief. “A much better solution to an overcrowded children’s home.”
“Yes, my husband and I are going over there later for dinner and to visit with Lily.”
Alyce looked about ready to cry. “It must have been just awful finding Connie like that.”
“The police told you I found her?”
She nodded, her eyes cast down. “I’m glad it wasn’t me who found her. Sometimes Erica had me drop things off at her house.” Alyce visibly shivered.
“Did they say anything about Hank Holt?” I asked, wondering if the police had disclosed that bit of information during their questioning.
“Only if I had ever met him,” Alyce answered, “which I hadn’t.” Her brows knitted with concern. “You don’t think he killed his wife, do you?”
“Let’s pray that’s not the case,” added Gary with deep concern. “The child has enough to deal with in losing her mother without her father being a murderer.”
While the Allens contemplated their prayers for Lily, I kept my mouth shut. If the police were choosing to keep Hank’s murder on the QT, I wasn’t going to trample on their investigation. My plan was to stay off their radar as much as possible.
“Odelia,” Gary said, swallowing hard, “could I trouble you for that drink you offered? I guess I’m a bit dry after my sermon this morning. Water would be just fine.”
“You sure? I have some freshly made iced tea.” I got to my feet.
“No, the water would be great. Thank you.”
I looked at Alyce. “How about you, Alyce? Can I get you something?”
“No, but I would like to use your bathroom, if I may.”
“Sure, I’ll show you where it is.”
I directed Alyce down the hallway that led to the guest room, our home office, and the guest bath. “It’s the first door on the left.” As she toddled off, I went into the kitchen to get Gary his drink. I’d just filled a glass with cold water from the jug we kept in the fridge when I felt something close by, like a ghost leftover from Halloween. I turned around, coming face to face with Gary Allen. Startled, I sloshed the water but managed to hang onto the glass.
“I’m so sorry, Odelia,” Gary said, grabbing my arms to steady me. “I didn’t mean to startle you. These darn shoes don’t make a bit of noise. I should have at least cleared my throat.”
“It’s okay. Really.” Grabbing a dish towel, I wiped the glass and handed it to him, making it necessary for him to unhand me. Then I dried my hands and dropped the towel to the floor to sop up the spill. “It’s just water.” I gave off a nervous laugh. “Now if our dog was here, he’d have that lapped up in a heartbeat.”
Gary chuckled along with me but didn’t move out of my personal space, nor did he take a drink of the water. His behavior almost made me wish Wainwright was home for other reasons. Just then the doorbell rang. I scooted past Gary to answer it. At the door was Dev Frye and Beverly, the woman he’d been seeing for quite a while.
“Hey, Odelia,” Dev said. “Bev and I were on our way home from brunch and thought we’d stop by to see how you were, considering yesterday.”
“Seems to be my day for company,” I announced, trying to shake off the creepy feeling I’d gotten from Gary. “Gary and Alyce Allen are here. Alyce is Erica Mayfield’s secretary.” Just as I said her name, Alyce emerged from the hallway. She looked surprised.
“We’ve already met Detective Frye,” Gary told me. He turned to Dev. “Nice to see you again, Detective. You here to question Odelia again?”
Beverly flashed a smile at all of us. I liked her. She was tall and slender and about my age. She’d been teaching high school for years and had a sharp wit that kept Dev on his toes. “We’re here in an unofficial capacity,” she said, nudging Dev lightly in his side. “Isn’t that right, Dev?”
“Yeah, I guess,” Dev confirmed with a shrug. “But you can’t turn off being a cop like you can a spigot.”
“The Allens dropped by to make sure Lily and I were okay,” I informed Dev.
“We can see Odelia is in good hands,” Gary announced, taking his wife’s arm. “We should go, dear, and get back to the children.”
As the Allens started to take their leave, I remembered something. “By the way, Alyce, I won’t be in the office for a few days.”
She looked at me through her oversized glasses like a spooked owl but said nothing.
“I’ve decided to take some time off. I’ve already left Tina a voice mail. If anyone needs me, have them e-mail me. I’ll be checking it often.”
“A few days off sounds like a great idea,” Dev said as he helped Bev out of her coat.
“I agree with Detective Frye,” Gary said to me. “Taking time off sounds sensible after everything you’ve been through. But if you need anything, anything at all, please call me or Alyce.”
After the Allens left, I had a short but lovely visit with Dev and Beverly. With Bev’s help, Dev managed to steer clear of talk of the investigation, at least until they were leaving.
“Mrs. Allen seemed somewhat squirrelly. Any idea why?” Dev asked, one foot out the door and the other still in my house.
I shrugged. “She’s always a bit of a nervous Nelly, but I’m sure all this stuff with Erica Mayfield and her sister is making it a lot worse.”
Dev and Beverly weren’t gone but fifteen minutes when my cell phone rang. The display was Mark Baker’s office number.
What in the hell did he want?
In the months since he’d come to Woobie, Mark had only called me on my cell once, and that was on a weekend to ask about a client file he couldn’t find—a client I had always handled until Erica reassigned the matter to Mark.
I answered with a snarl, which was fast becoming my signature response to the phone. “What?”
“Charming way to answer the phone.”
“I’m busy, Mark.”
“Okay, I’ll make it quick. A firm-wide e-mail just went out from Tina saying you won’t be in for a few days. Any particular reason?”
“Since when are you the boss of me?”
“Just want to make sure you’re okay. I saw Erica’s house on the news. You didn’t happen to be there when that went down, were you? After all, you do have some anger issues and a résumé for finding bodies.”
I’m sure steam started coming out of my ears about then. Instead, I decided to be a smarty pants and answer his question with one of my own. “Been to Erica’s house much, have you?”
“A few times to drop stuff off or to give her a ride when her car was in the shop.” Mark paused. “You saying you’ve never been to Mike Steele’s place in all the time you worked for him?”
He had me there.
“Why would you think I’d know anything about what happened at Erica’s? It’s not like we’re BFFs like you two. All I know is what I saw on the news.” I wasn’t about to tell him anything, and it sounded like the police hadn’t reached Mark yet to question him. “Although expect the police to be grilling you about her. They’ve already talked to Alyce and me.” Neither was I going to admit I was the one to find the body.
“I wasn’t around much this weekend until just now,” Mark told me. “The police will probably catch me tomorrow at the office.”
I’d love to be a fly on the wall when the police questioned Mark, especially when Detective Fehring went after him. “Speaking of Erica, have you heard from her?”
“Not a word.”
“Would you tell me if you had?”
“No, Odelia, I wouldn’t. Not unless she wanted me to tell you.” Another pause. A long one. “Listen,” Mark finally said, “the real reason I called is I wanted to know some of the background on the Shane acquisition that went down last year. Erica wanted me to handle some cleanup on it. I’m in the office going over it this afternoon.”
Kiss-ass. I didn’t have any work, but he had enough to pull overtime. And on a matter I had handled with Mike Steele. I wanted to crawl through the phone and choke Mark on principle alone. I’ll show him anger issues.
“I was going to ask you about it tomorrow,” he continued when I remained silent. “But since you won’t be in and it doesn’t say when you’ll be returning, I thought I’d give you a quick call now.”
“And it didn’t occur to you that I might be busy or have people over? It is the weekend. Some of us have lives outside the office.” I looked down at the dirty towels clutched in my left hand. They were going into the washing machine with a bunch of their friends when the current load was done. Mark Baker was getting overtime on my client, and I was separating whites from coloreds. I wanted to scream. Greg and Steele were right—I needed to leave my job.
“Forget it,” he snapped. “I’ll figure it out on my own.” It sounded like he was going to hang up without saying goodbye, which was fine by me, but instead he tacked on, “Hey, with Erica MIA, you still stuck with that kid?”
“Sorry, Mark. I’ve got people to see and things to do.” Click.
“Cheesehead Squirrel!” Lily screeched as she launched herself into my arms. I clung to the little orphan like an octopus until she wiggled to be put down so she could make a flying leap at Greg. He picked her up and plunked her down on his lap and did a quick wheelie. She giggled with delight. We weren’t the first greetings she gave. Those went to Wainwright.
In my hand was a small bag with the extra clothes I’d picked up at the Holt house and the tacky doll I’d gotten from Erica’s. I pulled out the doll and showed it to Lily. She immediately snatched it from my hands and clutched it to her chest in delight. “Mummy.”
“That’s Mummy?” I asked her.
Lily wiggled back and forth with joy. “Mummy.” Then she ran off into the den with Wainwright on her heels.
“I’m glad you brought that, Odelia,” Zee said as we hung our jackets up by the back door.
We’d just moved all Lily’s baggage from the van into the house, including the car seat. We’d only sent her to the Washingtons’ with a change of clothes, thinking she was coming right back to our place. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all this, it’s that kids seldom travel light.
“She had a nightmare last night,” Zee continued, “just as you described—was crying ‘Mummy’ over and over.”
“Who knew,” added Greg, “that Mummy was a doll. And not a very cute one, at that. We thought she meant her mother.”
“So did we,” replied Seth. “Her scream in the middle of the night about set my blood to curdle. I’d forgotten about those kinds of nights. Our own had a few from time to time.”
I stuck my nose in the air and sniffed. “Oh, Zee, you doll. You made my favorite, chicken and dumplings.”
“It’s perfect for a damp day, and I figured Lily would eat it. She likes chicken real well.”
“What can I do to help?”
“Not a thing,” Zee said. “The dining table is set, the salad’s made, and we’re just waiting for the food to be done.” She turned to Seth. “Can you see Lily from where you are?”
He glanced into the den and nodded. “She’s on the floor, playing with the dog.”
Satisfied, Zee turned to me and Greg. “I almost had to call and cancel this visit,” she told us, her voice low.
“What?” we exclaimed in unison. I followed up with, “Is Lily okay?”
“She’s fine—in fact, her cold is almost gone—but we had a surprise visit from the county this morning,” Zee explained. “Lily can stay with us, but they didn’t want her upset by a visit with you and Greg. Seth had to do some fast talking to get them to change their minds.”
“I don’t understand.” I grasped to make sense of it. “We’re not planning on upsetting the child, and I’m not a suspect in her parents’ murders.”
“Keep your voice down, Odelia,” Zee warned. “Little pitchers have big ears.”
“It’s not that,” Seth said, returning to the topic. “They felt it would upset her to see you and not be able to go with you. And on that, they’re right. She keeps asking about Cheesehead Squirrel. She told them about Cheesehead Squirrel and the doggie and kitties.”
We stayed in the kitchen, where we could talk softly and still keep an eye on Lily in the den. I took a seat at the table. In my head all the players and information twirled until I was dizzy.
“As soon as they find Lily’s family,” Zee said, picking up the explanation where her husband left off, “she’s going to be handed off to them, and they didn’t want her traumatized any more than necessary. Seth finally convinced them that a visit from you would be healthy for her since she’s bonded to you so well.”
Hide and Snoop (The Odelia Grey Mysteries) Page 16