Murder Wears a Veil

by Maddie Cochere

  Natalie. Pete couldn’t even afford to rent his own tuxedo.

  “Why don’t you have normal receipts?” Addie asked, refusing to be pleasant. “Why give cryptic handwritten receipts to your customers and keep a book with the details?”

  The woman sniffed in Addie’s direction. I’m sure it was her continued attitude of contempt toward Addie rather than an attempt to smell her perfume, which was actually rather pleasant.

  She pointed to the receipt I had handed to her. “Obviously, a receipt can fall into the wrong hands. Would you want your eight hundred guests talking about the fact that you were wearing a used gown or the fact that it was an eight thousand dollar Marchesa?”

  I didn’t give Addie an opportunity to respond.

  “Thank you for your time,” I said with another attempt at being charming. “You have a lovely shop, and you’ve been very helpful.”

  Addie snorted behind me.

  Once outside, Addie said, “So Natalie bought Pete’s tuxedo. She probably spent ten thousand or more on her dress. Why do you suppose she didn’t want to spend money for a tux for Pete?”

  “I don’t know. With their social life, you’d think she’d want him to have a good tuxedo rather than something used that smelled like a thrift store.”

  “Ha!” Addie said in my face. “You smelled it, too.”

  Sometimes she was funnier than she was irritating. I couldn’t help smiling at her vehemence. “Maybe a little,” I said.

  “This is your gig,” she said. “What do you want to do next?”

  “Let’s see if we can find Natalie’s office.”

  She shook her head. “Already looked into it. She worked as an independent contractor out of Dennis and Crain Interiors. All employees have been instructed by management to give a no comment response to anyone asking about Natalie.”

  When did she have time to look into Natalie’s work? Irritation with Addie began welling up again. “How much information do you have that I don’t have?”

  “None. It only took a minute online to find out where she worked. I called Dennis and Crain while you were sulking outside Pete’s offices.”

  “I wasn’t sulking. I called Glenn and then I talked with one of Pete’s employees. And that reminds me. What should we do about Eve’s Apple? Do you want to swing by there now and see what we can find out?”

  She shook her head again. “If we’re going to talk to Pete before heading home, we need to go there tonight.”

  “No way. We have to be at the airport by six o’clock.”

  She ignored me. “Ten o’clock sounds like a good time to catch up with him.”

  I stamped my foot. I probably hadn’t done that since I was a child. It even felt foolish to do it now, but I couldn’t help it. “I’m not missing our flight. I want to be home, in bed, with Glenn – tonight.”

  “You two have had so much sex lately, you’re probably already pregnant with triplets. Give it a rest. This is more important. Don’t forget, you won’t have any sex when you’re hauled off to Hawaii as a witness in a murder trial. You’ll be lucky if you’re only gone six months. Shoot, you might even have those babies you’re pregnant with in Hawaii.”

  Now she was talking crazy talk, but once again, I had to admit she was right – not about the sex or the babies but about solving the murder as quickly as possible.

  Before I could comment, she hailed a cab. She gave the driver an address I didn’t recognize. I didn’t bother asking where we were going. I knew she would only say I’d find out when we got there.

  The taxi parked in front of a large, two-story Victorian home with six columns in front. An ornate sign on the front lawn indicated this was Garner’s Bed and Breakfast.

  “What does this place have to do with Natalie’s murder?” I asked.

  “Nothing. We’ll need a place to stay tonight, and this is it.”

  I obviously had no say in the matter, and as I had been doing all day, I continued my lemming behavior and followed her from the cab into the house.

  She picked up a bell on a small desk by the door and began ringing it nonstop. Did she have any manners at all?

  A woman who could have been Addie’s twin before her makeover came into the room and shouted, “Addison Chambers, have the cows come home, because I haven’t seen you in years. What are you doing in Chicago?”

  Addie gave me a wink. “I brought this nitwit to look into a murder. She’s a private investigator. Jo Wheeler, this is my cousin, Mabel Baranski. She’s a spinster and probably a lesbian, but she won’t admit it to anyone.”

  Addie’s lack of manners continued to astound me, but Mabel laughed heartily and said, “You know I’m not a lesbian, and I have two kids to prove it.”

  Addie countered, “You’ve never had a beau, never been married, and I’ve always suspected you got those babies from a sperm bank. They’re much too good looking to come from any man who would sleep with the likes of you.”

  “I have skills,” she said with a twinkle in her eye, but the twinkle quickly faded. “And who are you to talk? You were only married two months, and you’ve been alone all these years. I’d be inclined to think you’re not into men.”

  “You know full well I was married fourteen months, and maybe I’m not into men, but I’d never tell you.”

  The atmosphere in the room had gone from jovial to contentious in a split second. Mabel’s words struck a nerve with Addie, and I suspected she knew they would. There was some definite hostility between these two.

  I quickly intervened, which gave me an opportunity to continue practicing being charming. “It’s nice to meet you, Mabel. You have a lovely place here.”

  Glenn had used the word lovely when Addie first arrived. It seemed I couldn’t stop using it myself.

  “Lovely place, my butt,” Addie muttered under her breath. “Do you still have bedbugs? We can’t stay here if you have a bedbug infestation.”

  Mabel drew her lips tight in a straight line. “You know full well I’ve never had bedbugs. I keep my house spotless. Why do you have to be like this? How long are you going to hold a grudge?” She didn’t wait for a response and opened the book on the desk. “The room next to the kitchen is available. Do you want it or not?”

  “How much is it? Do I get a discount?”

  “No, Addie, you don’t get a discount, and the rate is three hundred a night.”

  I had the impression money wasn’t a concern for Addie. She was simply being difficult. I barely heard her say highway robbery before mumbling, “We’ll take it.”

  A few minutes later, we stood facing each other at the foot of an antique four-poster bed. The room exuded charm from a deft decorating hand and attractive antiques, but the bed looked unusually small. There was no way the two of us could sleep without touching each other, and the thought didn’t sit well with me.

  “I’m going out for a while,” Addie said. “You might as well grab a nap. We’ll probably be out late tonight, and I don’t need you falling asleep in a bar.”

  She didn’t give me an opportunity to protest or ask about her relationship with Mabel. She was out the door in a flash.

  As enticing as a nap sounded, there wasn’t time to sleep. If I took a cab over to the hospital right now, I could talk with Pete. That would eliminate chasing him down at Eve’s Apple tonight. Navigating hospital staff would be easier without Addie, too. My social skills weren’t the greatest, but she could give lessons on how to be unpleasant to others.

  I sat on the edge of the bed and fished through my bag for my phone. After a quick 411 call to obtain the hospital’s number, I waited patiently while someone attempted to track down Doctor Sinclair.

  It took nearly ten minutes, but a man came on the line. “There’s no Doctor Sinclair on our staff.”

  “Actually, he’s a dentist,” I said.

  “We don’t have a Dentist Sinclair on our staff either.”

  “I know he’s not on your staff. He runs his own practice.”

 
There was a long pause on the other end.

  “Then call his office,” the man said, and the line went dead.

  I could have handled that better. I called again and explained to the woman answering the phone that the dentist I was trying to reach would most likely be in the emergency room. I asked her to transfer me to that department.

  After waiting on hold another five minutes, a woman’s harried voice sounded over the line. “Emergency. How can I help you?”

  “Hi,” I said. “I’m trying to locate a dentist who was called in to handle an emergency this morning. Pete Sinclair.”

  She didn’t respond. Cheerful hospital promotions once again sounded in my ear. I fell back onto the bed and resigned myself to another round of on hold.

  Chapter Thirteen

  A few loud raps at the door woke me. My phone was next to me on the bed. I was a complete dunce. I had fallen asleep while on hold and had missed the opportunity to talk with Pete.

  I pulled myself to a sitting position and glanced at my watch. It was five o’clock, making it four o’clock Chicago time.

  Addie wouldn’t be the one knocking at the door. She would have barged in. I opened the door to find a smiling Mabel.

  “I’m sorry to disturb you, Jo, but Addie asked me to wake you before dinner. She said you hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast, and she wanted to be sure you ate something before she got back.”

  “Do you know where she went?” I asked, stifling a yawn.

  “Not a clue. Take a few minutes to get awake and then come into the kitchen. Ok?”

  I nodded and fought another yawn. I could have easily slept until tomorrow morning.

  The odor of roast beef filled the air. Hunger pangs hit me, and my stomach rumbled.

  I went across the small hallway to the bathroom and attempted to freshen up with the few personal items I had in my bag. While I brushed my hair, I further berated myself for not catching up to Pete this afternoon. I didn’t want to go to a bar tonight, and I didn’t want to sleep in the same bed as Addie. I’d probably wake up with her spooning me. I wanted to sleep with Glenn.

  I shoved my pouting aside and walked into the comfortable kitchen. Mabel was pulling loaves of freshly baked bread from one of two ovens.

  “It smells wonderful in here,” I said. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”

  “Not a thing,” she said with a smile. “Make yourself comfortable at the table.”

  I noticed a large bin of potatoes waiting to be peeled and was glad she hadn’t put me on potato duty. Mama couldn’t understand why I couldn’t peel potatoes with a paring knife without taking so much of the potato with the skin. I told her peeling was an art, like with people who could peel an apple and have the skin come off in one long peel. I wasn’t artistic. I preferred to use a potato peeler and attacked the job with such vigor, I shook from head to toe with every swipe. I solved my potato peeling problem by serving all forms of potatoes to Glenn with the skins on.

  Mabel removed the lid from a roaster sitting atop a trivet on the counter and dished out a helping of beef, carrots, and cabbage. She cut a large slice of the hot bread and placed it on the edge of the plate before setting the meal before me. It took considerable restraint not to wolf the food down in seconds.

  After savoring a few bites, I said, “This is delicious. Do you bake fresh bread every day?”

  She nodded. “My father taught me to bake when I was twelve. I’ve been baking fresh bread ever since, and it’s been a hit here at the inn. A lot of our online reviews mention my bread.”

  I could see why. The slightly sweet, yeasty taste made this some of the best bread I had ever eaten.

  “Your house is beautiful,” I said. “Have you lived here long?”

  “Over twenty years. The house was built in 1893 by my great-great grandfather, and it’s been in our family ever since. My uncle owned it last. He died in ’89, and when no one in the family was interested in buying the property, I snatched it up.”

  Smart woman. I wondered if she was a Mensa candidate, too.

  “What’s the story with you and Addie?” I asked.

  The look on her face let me know she wasn’t happy about their greeting earlier today.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

  “It’s all right. She’s just such an insufferable woman. We lived next door to each other growing up. Aunt Maureen pretended Addie was a genius and said she didn’t need to go to school, but all that accomplished was setting Addie up to think she was better than everyone else. And they played that stupid game, telling everyone Addie was older than she really was. I couldn’t stand her.”

  “Why didn’t you ignore her? Didn’t you have other friends?”

  She looked at me as though I didn’t understand. “We’re Polish. Everyone understands big Italian families who share meals and spend time together. Multiply that by ten for my Polish family. Until I was old enough to date, every minute of family time was spent with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Our entire clan lived in the same neighborhood and had meals together every day.”

  Sunday dinners at Mama’s were sometimes an effort. I couldn’t imagine spending every day with my family.

  “Addie and I were close in age, so we were expected to play together. I suppose we did ok until boys entered the equation.”

  I raised my eyebrows. The subject of men had been the catalyst for their earlier tension.

  “No one denied Addie was the prettiest girl around. Every boy I brought home from school wasn’t interested in me once they met Addie. It was a lot of heartbreak for a teenager.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “Don’t be. It was a long time ago.”

  She didn’t proceed with her story until she had pared nearly half the potatoes.

  “Addie met a man she wanted. The harder she tried to land him, the more he rebuffed her advances. She convinced herself she was in love with him.”

  “Did she check to find out if he was already married or had a girlfriend?” I asked.

  “He tried to keep it a secret, but he did indeed have a girlfriend.”

  “Did she ever find out?”

  “She found out when she caught us making out in his car.”

  My eyes flew open in surprise. “You were the girlfriend?”

  Her smile was wholly satisfactory. “I was. I never let him meet my family, because I didn’t want Addie to get her claws in him, but she crossed paths with him in the market a few times, and it didn’t take long for her to give chase. Brian was a handsome man.”

  “What happened when she realized the two of you were seeing each other?”

  “She caused a huge ruckus. Everyone treated me like I committed a crime by stealing a man Addie had her heart set on. I could never understand why everyone coddled her so much. For the sake of peace, I broke the relationship off. My grandfather even made me apologize to Addie, but she never forgave me.”

  “Wow. That’s a soap opera right there.”

  Mabel smiled. “The story didn’t end there. A year later, Brian and I got together again. He wasn’t happy when I later found out I was pregnant. He refused to marry me. I never told anyone he was the father.”

  I think my eyes flew open even wider than they had before. “One of your children is the son of the man Addie thinks you stole from her?”

  “Both of them are. My daughter, Ann, is my first child. My son, Ronnie, is my second. Brian and I tried, but we couldn’t stay away from each other.”

  “Forget the soap opera,” I said. “You should write a book.”

  Mabel laughed. “I’ve given it some thought. The drama between Addie and me was only the tip of the iceberg with our family.”

  I was tempted to ask her about Arnie, but I didn’t want to hear anything that might diminish my respect for him. He was good to me and had been a great mentor so far.

  “Do your children have a relationship with their father?”

  “T
hey never met him. He died before Ronnie was born.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said again. This was no longer a soap opera. This was a tragedy.

  “It was a long time ago. Everyone in the family helped raise my children – even Addie, and they had plenty of surrogate fathers.”

  I began to feel uncomfortable hearing so much personal information and attempted to steer the conversation in another direction.

  “Do you know I work with Arnie? He’s been mentoring me so I can obtain my private investigator license.”

  “Addie mentioned it. She used to work with Arnie herself. They were a good team. It was a shame Graves made her give it all up, and then he left her. No matter what she says, we’re both cut from the same cloth. We’ve both done well on our own without a man.”

  “I wonder where she went?” I mused aloud.

  “She has friends here. She’s probably visiting.”

  “I think she’s working on my case. She wants to prove she’s the better investigator.”

  Mabel laughed. “That sounds like her. Was the murder committed in Chicago?”

  I shook my head. “Hawaii. But the victim lived here. So did her husband, although they didn’t live together.”

  I filled Mabel in on the general details of the case.

  “It sounds pretty cut and dried to me,” she said. “The husband killed her. There’s a reason the police always suspect a spouse first, because the spouse is usually guilty.”

  “I know. He had motive, and his alibi is weak. I’m surprised he hasn’t already been arrested.”

  I paused for a moment. I had a feeling similar to the one Jackie had about the school superintendant. She felt deep within that Heather Wood wasn’t guilty of the charges brought against her, even though the evidence was overwhelming. I had the same feeling about Pete, and it wasn’t because I thought he was a nice guy. I didn’t. It was something else that didn’t feel right. I just couldn’t put my finger on what it was.

  “It doesn’t make sense that he would have dressed Natalie in his tuxedo while he wore her gown.” I said. “That’s so bizarre.”

  “Maybe they were having an opposite wedding. It’s becoming a thing, you know. The bride wears the tux, and the groom wears the gown.”