Murder After Midnight

by Dianne Harman

  DeeDee could see the wistful look in her friend’s eyes. It was only about three months ago that Cassie’s husband had died, murdered on the golf course in Whistler, British Columbia. Before DeeDee’s divorce and her subsequent move to Bainbridge Island, the two women had been neighbors on Mercer Island in Seattle. Their children had grown up running in and out of each other’s homes, and DeeDee and Cassie had formed a bond that had never diminished, even though they didn’t see each other as often as they had before DeeDee moved to Bainbridge Island.

  DeeDee nodded. “I do, and that’s the way it should be. We don’t need our children babysitting us. They have their own lives to lead. By the way, what’s happening with the sale of your house, is it still going ahead?”

  Cassie stirred her tea and took a sip. “Yes,” she said, smiling. “A banker and his trophy wife have bought it. They’re talking about knocking the whole place down and doing a complete rebuild. The wife said the house was old and boring.” Cassie laughed. “Just like me, I guess.”

  “I love your house,” DeeDee exclaimed. “Especially the twisty staircase leading up to the attic at the top. Does Liam still use that as a darkroom?” Liam, Cassie’s son, was a very good amateur photographer, and had won a couple of National Geographic awards.

  Cassie shook her head. “No, he hasn’t used it in a long time. Liam has his own darkroom in the house he bought with his girlfriend. I think she wanted to use the space as a walk-in closet, but they worked something out. I’ve started packing my place up, and the movers are coming next week. No sense waiting around, huh?” Her brown eyes were shining. “I guess I’m ready for the next phase of my life, whatever that may be.”

  The strong talk coming from Cassie was at odds with her fragile appearance. Her petite frame was immaculately dressed in a tight roll-neck sweater and capri pants, along with ballet flats on her doll-size feet. A pixie haircut framed her pretty face, which was lined but still looked young, probably because it was free of makeup. Cassie had been a hippy in her youth, and she still embraced a ‘less is more’ philosophy.

  DeeDee watched her in admiration. “I love your outlook on life. I knew when Johnny died you’d be bereft, but that you’d soon bounce back. Please don’t be offended by me saying this, but you’ve coped far better than I would have. Look at me. I can hardly last two minutes without a man. Exit Jake, and I fall apart. Al calling me like that was a miracle.”

  Cassie raised an eyebrow. “You don’t really think he heard a voice from the grave, do you? I’d bet Roz called him.”

  “Yeah, she probably did.” DeeDee reached for a second piece of cake. “But whatever the reason, I’m not complaining. When you see Al, you’ll know what I mean. I know I’ll be able to sleep when he gets here, that’s for sure. Having someone like Al on your team means a lot.”

  Cassie considered DeeDee’s remark. “And having someone like Jake on your team—would that not mean a lot too? You haven’t said much about what happened, but I can tell you’re hurting. I’m sure if he knew about you being threatened, he’d want to help.”

  DeeDee’s chin trembled. She continued to chew her cake, dropping her eyes away from Cassie’s gaze. “Can we talk about something else? ”

  Cassie remained quiet, and lifted the teapot to refill their cups.

  “Fine,” DeeDee said after a long pause, setting her empty plate down on the table. “If you must know, I feel so bad about how I treated Jake, I’m ashamed to call him. He’s been nothing but a hero to me, and I’ve behaved horribly. To ask for his help now would just be rubbing salt in his wounds. I couldn’t do it that to him. It wouldn’t be fair.” Tears welled up in her eyes.

  Cassie touched DeeDee’s arm, and handed her a Kleenex. When DeeDee had finished crying, Cassie spoke again. Her voice was gentle.

  “DeeDee, all you need to do is tell him what you just told me. Tell him that you feel bad, and you’re sorry. You’ll have cleared the air, and whatever else happens, I’m sure he’d appreciate your honesty. Don’t you think he deserves that much, no matter how hard it is for you?”

  DeeDee sniffed and nodded, dabbing her eyes with the Kleenex before blowing her nose. “Okay, I promise I will. When this is over, I’ll return his things and talk to him. Now, are you going to tell me where you’re moving to?”

  “Good girl.” Cassie gave DeeDee an approving smile. “I’m taking a suite at the Four Seasons, until I decide what to do next.”

  DeeDee’s eyes widened. She’d never known Cassie to blatantly show off her wealth, despite the fact that Johnny had been a very successful businessman.

  As if sensing DeeDee’s shock, Cassie laughed. “It’s not going to be for long, nor is it as extravagant as you might think. I’ve accepted an offer for a long-term charter of our yacht that’s moored in Barcelona. That alone will cover the Four Seasons’ costs. And the money from the house, along with Johnny’s investments, is more than enough for me to live on the interest, without even touching the principal. As for the Mercedes dealership, I’ll probably sell that too. Also,” Cassie blurted out, “I’ve given two weeks’ notice at the Seattle Art Museum.”

  DeeDee looked at Cassie in amazement and grinned. “I approve,” she said, stretching her arms out to give Cassie a hug. “I know you loved that job, but I’m sure they’ll be happy to have you back as a docent any time you want to, although, I can’t imagine you being idle for long. Do you have anything in mind?”

  Cassie shrugged. “Brianna has been nagging me to buy a fixer-upper, so she can help with remodeling it. And I volunteer at the dog rescue center most weekends anyway. Apart from that, I’m open to offers.”

  “Brianna would love that,” DeeDee said. Brianna, Cassie’s daughter, was an interior designer who’d inherited her father’s entrepreneurial talents. “And feel free to give her my number if she’s at loose ends. I’d love her advice about this place.” DeeDee’s eyes looked around the great room. “It’s a little dated, and it really could use some tender loving care. I’m sure Brianna could give me some ideas. Of course I’d pay her.”

  DeeDee froze at the sudden sound of a car outside, her face taking on a stricken look.

  Cassie jumped up from her seat. “Don’t move,” she warned DeeDee in a low voice. “I’ll go see who it is.”

  “Balto, go with Cassie,” DeeDee whispered, cowering on the sofa. She watched Balto follow Cassie over to the door, which clicked shut when they left. DeeDee’s teeth were chattering as she sat there, despite the heat coming from the fire. After a while she heard muted voices talking outside on the porch, a man’s deep voice, complimented by the lighter tone and unmistakable laughter of Cassie.

  A beaming Cassie burst into the room several minutes later, followed by the familiar bulky silhouette of Al, dressed in black and wearing his customary sunglasses despite the late hour .

  “Al,” DeeDee said, standing up to greet him. “I’m so happy to see you. Thank you for coming all this way.”

  Al extended his hand to DeeDee, which she ignored as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a warm embrace. Al appeared sheepish at the welcome. “Now ladies, don’t y’all go throwin’ yerselves’ at me,” he smiled, when he’d extricated himself from DeeDee’s hug. “How about I settle Red in yer’ yard, and then we can talk.”

  “You must be hungry,” DeeDee said. “Let me make you something to eat. Can I tempt you with an Italian beef sandwich?”

  Al’s face lit up. “Did ya’ get a message from Vinny, too? Ya’ must be some kind of clairvoyant. Don’tcha know it—an Italian beef sandwich, nice and wet, is the way to ol’ Al’s heart.”

  Cassie, who had been watching the interaction between DeeDee and Al, interrupted. “I think I’d better get out of your way, guys.” Turning to DeeDee, she smiled. “It looks like you’re in very capable hands.”

  DeeDee watched Al staring at Cassie, fascination written all over his face. Cassie was looking at Al and blushing.

  “Oh now, don’t be goin’ cuz’ of me,” Al p
rotested, meekly removing his sunglasses and placing them in the top pocket of his jacket. His eyes beseeched Cassie to stay.

  It was Cassie’s turn to be flustered. “Um, it’s after 10:00 p.m.,” she said shyly, “and I don’t like to be traveling on the ferry alone much later than this.”

  DeeDee, picking up on the electricity in the air between the two of them, looked from Al to Cassie in amusement. “Why don’t you stay, Cassie? There’s enough bedrooms, and it’s no trouble. The more, the merrier.”

  Cassie lifted her purse. “Really, I should be going,” she murmured. “ It was very nice meeting you, Al.”

  “The pleasure was all mine, ma’am.” Al shook Cassie’s hand, neither letting go. “Why don’t I see ya’ out?” he said, seemingly mesmerized by Cassie.

  Watching the two of them walk to the doorway, Al holding Cassie’s coat while she put her arms into the sleeves, DeeDee didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Al’s tenderness was so endearing, particularly the way he held the door open for Cassie before walking her out to her car. Apparently, the fact that a murderer was on the loose was not on either of their minds at that moment.

  DeeDee headed out to the kitchen to fix Al something to eat. There would be plenty of time to talk after he’d eaten, made Red at home in the yard, and gotten himself settled in the guest bedroom. Already, Al’s presence reassured her, and although she wished it were Jake protecting her, she found herself humming as she turned on the stove.

  CHAPTER 10

  Al pushed his empty plate away and with a sigh of satisfaction, wiped his mouth with a paper napkin. “DeeDee, ya’ sure know the way to a man’s heart. I’m telling ya’, if Vinny was still alive and tasted that Italian beef sandwich, he woulda’ proposed to ya’ on the spot.” Al grinned at DeeDee, whose face remained serious. The strain she was under was plain to see, her brow creased with worry.

  “I’m not sure about that, but I would have welcomed the opportunity to know Vinny better,” DeeDee replied, removing Al’s empty plate and replacing it with a generous helping of caramel cheesecake. “I’m sure you have a lot of exciting stories to share about him. I’d love to hear them some time.”

  “That I do,” Al said, between bites. “But first, I wanna tell ya’ not to worry. Yer’ safe now that Al’s here, ya’ got that?” He gave DeeDee what he hoped was a reassuring smile, flashing several gold teeth. “Al’s not gonna let anyone hurt ya’, that I promise.” He paused, watching DeeDee stifle a yawn. He was pretty tired himself, after the long flight, a crossing to Bainbridge Island on a speedboat, and a high-speed drive across the island in his friend’s Mustang. “Listen, I know it’s late and all, but we gotta get to work. Ya’ said ya’ had a list of names of the people ya’ could remember from the party. Wanna show me what ya’ got, so we can get started?”

  DeeDee nodded. “I’ll get it now. I guess we could do with some coffee too, would I be right?”

  Al smiled. “Yer’ learnin’. I take mine strong and sweet. Jes’ like me.” He was pleased to see the edges of DeeDee’s mouth curl upwards, ever so slightly.

  Al studied the piece of paper DeeDee gave him and made some mental notes, while she fixed the coffee. When she rejoined him at the table, he began to voice what was on his mind.

  “I need to ask ya’ some questions. A lil’ birdie already tol’ me the chief of police indicated Dana was stabbed with a front entry type of thrust. The chief thought she probably knew the person. Let’s start there, shall we?”

  DeeDee hesitated. “Sure, but wouldn’t Dana have known everyone, since she’s the one who invited all of them to the party? There were a lot of well-known people there that I recognized from TV and magazines.”

  Al scratched his chin. “Good point, but I reckon she woulda’ known some better than others. Them media parties, there’s certain people on every guest list. Don’t mean they’re all buddies, or even get along. Dana probably had a few people she had to invite, fer one reason or another.”

  Running down the list, Al and DeeDee discussed some of the names. “I saw a few people leave right after the fireworks display,” DeeDee said. “I’m pretty sure the two news readers left, along with the comedian, that guy,” she pointed at the paper, “who isn’t funny at all.”

  Al rolled his eyes. “I’m with ya’ on that one. When I was livin’ here with Vinny, we weren’t fans of him either.” He drew a line through several names. “Problem is, that’s still leavin’ us with a very long list. We gotta whittle it down. Nail some suspects, people who mighta had a reason to kill Dana. Ya’ know what I mean?”

  DeeDee looked up at Al with a glum smile. “I sure do. Seems like I’ve been doing this quite a lot, lately.”

  “Okay,” Al said as he slurped his coffee. “Smart money always goes first fer the people who knew her best, or hated her. Let’s start there. How about her husband? I don’t know him.”

  “Mickey Donnelly,” DeeDee said. “Dana was wrapped around him all night. I’m supposed to go to his office tomorrow and pick up the remainder of my fee. Thing is, I feel bad about that now.”

  “How so? Ya’ can’t feel bad ‘bout askin’ for the money, just cuz’ his wife’s been done in. Ain’t yer’ fault ya’ gotta earn some dough.” Al reached down to stroke Balto, who had been glued to Al’s side ever since his arrival.

  “I know, and the arrangement was that he and Dana were going to split it, because both of them wanted to offset the catering fee as a business entertainment expense for tax purposes. Dana already paid me her half, plus a very generous bonus. Mickey seems like a nice guy, but I overheard some talk at the party that he was having financial problems.”

  “Hmm. That’s interestin’. I’d say ya’ go and meet him as planned, and see what ya’ can find out while yer’ there. If yer’ goin’ to his office, it’s probably pretty safe. Where is it, in Seattle?”

  DeeDee shook her head. “No. He works as an international banking consultant, but he has his own office right here on Bainbridge Island.”

  “Right. Let’s put him at the top of the list. It’s always the husband, huh?” Al said, winking at DeeDee, as he wrote Mickey Donnelly’s name down on a separate piece of paper. Looking back at DeeDee’s list of names, his pen hovered over one that was half way down. “We’re warmin’ up. I recognize this dame, Sonia McNulty. She’s the weekend version of Dana Donnelly, right?”

  DeeDee nodded. “Yes, she covered weekends and holidays when Dana was off. She’s a bit too phony, in my opinion. There’s a hardness about her that seems to turn people off. She doesn’t come across as genuine, like Dana did.”

  “Yeah, I’d agree with ya’ there. Do we know anythin’ else ‘bout her?”

  “Not really, but she did come into the kitchen during the party and tell me how much she enjoyed the meal. She asked me for my business card.” DeeDee’s eyes widened. “I just remembered something else kind of stupid.”

  “Go on.”

  “She freaked out a little when she was in the kitchen. She broke a nail and said she’d have to get it repaired. I asked what nail salon she went to, because her nails were beautifully done.” Al saw DeeDee clasp her own hands together, trying to hide her nails from view. “She gave me the name of the salon, Nails By Nikki, I think it was. I thought I might make an appointment for myself.”

  Al scrawled Sonia’s name underneath Mickey Donnelly’s. “Why don’tcha make an appointment with Nikki Nails and see what ya’ can find out about Sonia?” He set the pen down, and rubbed his eyes with balled up fists.

  “Sure. More coffee, Al? You look tired.”

  Al gave DeeDee a grateful nod. “You could say that, fer sure, and yeah, I would like some more. Thanks.”

  His thoughts strayed to Cassie while DeeDee made a fresh pot of coffee. He hadn’t tried to put a move on Cassie, which would have been inappropriate, but nothing was going to stop him from seeing her again. That was something else he’d have to figure out, when he could think straight with the aid of caffeine. The next hit of coff
ee brought him back to reality with a jolt, and he pushed his idle thoughts of wooing Cassie to the back of his mind. Until later.

  “Dino and Gia Argyros?” Returning to the task at hand, the names jumped out at Al, and he raised his eyebrows. “I talked to Dino ‘bout Vinny’s cousin’s wife, Theresa. Seems like I ‘member somethin’ ‘bout him and Dana. Vinny musta’ mentioned it. Kinda think I even seen somethin’ recently in Page Six sounded like they were up to no good. Know anythin’ ‘bout that?”

  “Not really, just that Dino and Gia live next door to the Donnellys. Like you, I’ve heard whispers about Dino and Dana, but I never even saw them speak to each other on the night of the party. In fact, come to think of it, I’d go as far as to say Dana was avoiding him.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “I saw Dino looking at Dana, in a way that was more than just friends, if you know what I mean. And his wife, Gia, had a face that looked like a thundercloud the whole evening, but every time Dino moved in Dana’s direction, she went the opposite way.”

  Al stretched his arms over his head and yawned. “I ‘member Dino and Vinny was friends. Think Vinny was the one said it, that for a smart guy Dino was actin’ pretty dumb because of the television broad. Since I’ve already talked to him, I’ll follow up on him, and his wife as well.” The pen made a scratching noise as Al wrote the names of Gia and Dino Argyros on the piece of paper, before he continued to tap the pen on the table. “I’m missin’ a trick here. Somethin’s swirlin’ ‘round in my brain, but I can’t quite nail it. Lemme think for a minute.”

  He looked at the guest list for a while longer, head in his hands, before raising his gaze to DeeDee with a triumphant grin. “That’s it. Vinny liked to watch Dana’s show, and sometimes I’d watch it with him. This guy, Jerry McGee, was on her show, then he upped and stormed off the set. Said he was ill and had to leave, but he knocked over a cameraman on the way out.” Al circled a name on the page.