“Man, you would have been so proud of me. I mean I nailed the look of someone delivering room service. Getting the coat and everything else was pretty easy, but then I realized I don’t ever want to go back to prison. The coffee I gave him was just that, coffee. I let you down and I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t do it. I know you probably won’t understand, but from what I hear someone else did it, so maybe the whole thing was just meant to be.”
Mimi was quiet for a moment and then she said, “So, if you didn’t do it, I wonder who did?”
“Mom, I have no idea. I gotta go. Guess my life’s beginning to turn around. Believe it or not, I’ve got an interview for a job, and I don’t want to mess it up by being late. Talk to you later.”
After her call from Josh ended, Mimi sat at her desk for a long time, wondering who killed Johnny Roberts. She wasn’t the only one who wondered.
CHAPTER 18
Just one more quick stop, DeeDee thought when she arrived on Mercer Island.
She felt like she’d handled the meeting with Mimi very well, and the idea to see if anyone was home at the Sunrise Apartment building where Derek Adams and Annette Lewis lived had just occurred to her. In the back of her mind DeeDee had a nagging thought that no one knew she was going there, which was a bad idea in case something happened to her. But she told herself that she had Balto, and she was only going in the apartment house for a minute or two. Then she would go straight to Cassie’s home without any more detours. The streets near the apartment building were still familiar to DeeDee, and she easily found a parking space.
“Okay Balto, we’re going for a little walk now,” she said. Balto jumped out as soon as she opened the door. “I need to make a quick visit somewhere.”
She gave Balto some water and waited while he drank it, then she locked the car door, and the two of them walked towards the Sunrise Apartment building. It was a quiet Monday afternoon, and a light wind was blowing leaves across the sidewalk which was deserted except for Balto and her. Since it was Monday, and the people living in the apartment were more than likely working people, she was worried no one would be home.
When they arrived at the shabby building, there was a “No Dogs” sign hanging prominently on the gate at the entrance to the building. She thought for a moment and said, “We’d better not draw attention for getting ejected by the apartment manager or an angry tenant, Balto. I’m going to have to take you back to the car.”
The nagging thought in the back of DeeDee’s mind had become a voice and was getting louder by the time she’d made the round trip to the car and back. Standing in front of the apartment building without Balto, she couldn’t stop herself from thinking about what the outcome might be if Derek became angry. She couldn’t rely on Balto for help, although if she didn’t return to the car soon, she wouldn’t put it past him to start barking and alert people there might be a problem.
What would Jake tell me to do? she thought. She could hear his voice saying ‘Get out of there right now.’
Hesitating before pushing on the creaky gate, she knew the sensible thing to do would be to turn around and forget the whole thing. She pressed ahead regardless, telling herself there was no reason to be afraid, even though her heart felt like it was about to pound right out of her chest. She hoped there was a directory of tenants inside the building, or she’d have to start knocking on random doors. She didn’t want to hang around this place any longer than was necessary.
Once she was inside the building she found herself in a dreary hallway that was dark and forbidding with no sunshine in spite of the name of the apartment building. DeeDee was glad to see a list of the tenants and their apartment numbers next to the elevator. She noted the information she needed ad then stepped around a shallow pool of unidentified liquid to enter the elevator. On the ride up to the fourth floor, she couldn’t help but notice the traces of graffiti written on the walls, which cleaning had been unable to erase.
When DeeDee got out of the elevator, there was even more evidence of why this wasn’t considered to be one of the better apartments on the island. The stench of blocked sewer drains hit her, intermingled with cooking smells, and a trace of stale cigarette smoke. She thought the place could definitely do with a renovation to its plumbing and air-conditioning systems, preferably something that filtered the unpleasant odors.
DeeDee knocked on the door of apartment 4e and waited. She thought she could hear someone crying softly inside the apartment, and she moved closer to the door.
“Hello?” she said in a loud voice, her face as close to the door as she could get it without banging her nose on the splintered wood. “Is anyone home?”
The crying stopped for a moment, and then a woman’s tear-filled voice called out, “Who is it?”
“My name is DeeDee Wilson. My friend’s husband died recently when he was on a golf trip to Whistler. He was a member of the Island View Golf Club. I’ll only take a moment of your time, but I wonder if you could help me.” DeeDee waited in anticipation, but there was no response. “Please? I really want to talk to you.”
DeeDee’s head was bowed, and she noticed that some of the brown liquid from downstairs had seeped onto her gray Italian leather shoes. She shook her foot in dismay.
The door opened a crack, and then a little more, until DeeDee was face-to-face with a small woman who appeared to be in her twenties. Her eyes were red and swollen, and she was holding a Kleenex up to her nose. Her messy brown hair was pulled back off a pretty face which had several raw patches of eczema. She was dressed in sweats and slippers, and DeeDee noticed her hands and lower arms were also covered with red and white patches of flaky skin.
“I’m sorry for disturbing you,” she said to the young woman, who regarded her through narrowed eyes. “It looks like I’ve caught you at a bad time.”
“S’ok,” the woman said, opening the door wide enough for DeeDee to enter. “I’m sorry about your friend. I’m Annette Lewis.”
She motioned for DeeDee to enter the plainly furnished apartment. The smell of antiseptic and bleach in the room stung DeeDee’s eyes and tickled her throat. She swallowed. There was a kitchen dinette area on one side of the room, and a living area on the other which had a small couch, a coffee table, and an arm chair on the other. A glass of water and several white medicine bottles were on the kitchen counter alongside a cleaning rag.
“Please, have a seat,” Annette said with a tight smile. DeeDee sat on the sofa while Annette sat on the edge of the arm chair beside it.
“Derek isn’t here right now. It’s very nice of you to come and visit me.”
It occurred to DeeDee that Annette was sick, and that maybe she’d misunderstood the reason for DeeDee’s visit.
“That’s okay,” DeeDee said. “My friend’s name was Johnny Roberts. The coroner thinks he was poisoned. Did you or Derek know him?”
“Please excuse the apartment,” Annette said, ignoring DeeDee’s question. “The place is a mess. I wasn’t expecting company.”
DeeDee looked around. The place was spotless. There was nothing out of place, and judging from the smell, DeeDee had no doubt that everything in the apartment was white glove clean.
“I had some treatments last week,” Annette sniffed, rubbing her nose with the Kleenex. “Trauma therapy. It was for an incident…well, it happened a long time ago. I’m afraid it’s released so many emotions that I can’t stop crying. I’m not usually like this at all. Right now, I’m afraid to even go outside.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” DeeDee said, her heart going out to Annette. At first glance she looked sad and broken, but somewhere behind the vacant gaze, DeeDee suspected there was a strong woman waiting to emerge.
“Good for you, for taking the steps necessary to deal with those issues,” DeeDee said. “That takes a lot of courage. Now, getting back to what I was saying about my friend, I just wondered if you might have heard anything?”
Annette nodded. “I’ve heard the name Johnny Roberts before. I don’t thi
nk he was nice to Derek.” She reached for a long strand of hair hanging beside her ear, twisted it round her finger and placed it between her lips, chewing on the hair as she spoke. “I remember Derek came home from work one day and said he’d been in a terrible argument with that Johnny man. He said Johnny was always getting to him by talking about how much better he was at golf than Derek.”
Annette let the lock of hair fall from her mouth and shook her head from side to side. “That’s not true. Derek is the club’s pro, and he’s the best golfer there. He’s just had a lot on his mind lately, and I’m sure that’s what the problem was with his game.”
“Sure,” DeeDee said, trying to placate Annette. She didn’t want to be the cause of her crying again.
“I don’t think Derek even knows about Johnny’s death,” Annette said. “I believe he would have said something to me. It sounds very sad.”
“Yes, it is,” DeeDee said, nodding.
“I’m know Derek wouldn’t have wanted anything bad to happen to him,” Annette said, playing with her hair again. She sat there smiling at DeeDee with an innocent, angelic look, on her face. Just then there was a knock at the door, and Annette’s head turned towards it with a jerk.
“It’s me, Louise Higgins,” DeeDee heard a woman say from the hallway. Annette got up slowly, and walked over to the door. When she opened it, DeeDee saw the woman standing in the hallway hand Annette a casserole dish.
“I heard Derek leave for work this morning,” Louise said. “I’m glad you’re feeling better dear, so Derek could go out. He’s been so good staying home with you the past few days. I brought you dinner for later.”
“Thanks Louise. I haven’t felt like cooking,” Annette said, shuffling from foot to foot.
“Derek told me he was so worried about your weight loss,” Louise said. “I want you to eat all of this and get your strength back, you hear me?” She beamed at Annette and squeezed her arm. Peering inside the door, Louise greeted DeeDee.
“Hello dear, I’m glad Annette has a friend over. She’ll be back to her old self in no time.”
DeeDee took that as her cue to leave. “I’m sorry, Annette, but I do have to go now. Thank you so much for your help, and I apologize again for bothering you.”
“It’s no problem,” Annette said. “I hope you can come back soon.”
DeeDee tiptoed out of the building, carefully avoiding any suspicious wet spots on the floor. Outside, she gasped for fresh air and hurried back to her car. While she was driving to Cassie’s house she called Jake to let him know about the conversation with Annette.
“That’s one less suspect,” Jake said when she was finished. “Seems like Derek has a rock-solid alibi, so that’s probably a dead end.”
“I think you’re right,” DeeDee said. “I’m not sure that Annette is the most reliable witness in her current state, but the neighbor would be if she saw Derek there the past few days.”
“I think we can cross Mimi off the list as well,” Jake said.
“That surprises me.” DeeDee hadn’t liked Mimi at all, and wouldn’t have minded seeing her spend the rest of her years in an orange prison jumpsuit. Even the thought of that perfect body and face in that outfit made her smile.
“Why’s that?” Jake asked.
“Tell you in a minute. You go first.”
“Okay,” Jake said. “I called the General Manager of J.R. Mercedes to try and get some more information about Mimi. It looks like while she may seem as hard as nails, she also has a soft side to her.”
“I didn’t see that coming,” DeeDee said. “Go on.”
“Her grandmother is ninety-six years old,” Jake continued. “Mimi pays for her to be taken care of in the most expensive nursing home in Portland. Mimi owns a condo there, and most weeks she goes there on her days off.”
DeeDee had a hunch what was coming next. “I suppose the next thing you’re going to tell me is that’s where she was when Johnny was killed.”
“Better than that. I followed up with the nursing home,” Jake said. “They confirmed that Mimi visited her grandmother the morning Johnny died. She has an iron clad alibi. That only leaves Johnny’s brother and Greg as possible people of interest.”
“It sure looks that way based on what we’ve learned about Derek and Mimi.”
“Inspector Stewart is in Seattle to see what he can find out about Wayne. He seems to live a shady life, mostly under the radar. His police team has Greg under surveillance. He came home from Whistler the day golf was canceled, saying he was ill, but so far nothing unusual has turned up on him. Oh, and one more thing, DeeDee.”
DeeDee thought Jake sounded stern. “Yes?”
He sighed. “I don’t think it was a good idea for you to go to Derek’s apartment building without telling me. Please, don’t do anything dangerous like that again.”
“You don’t need to worry,” DeeDee assured him. “I was fine.” She didn’t want to admit how scared she’d been when she entered the building, and how she’d anticipated Jake’s disapproval, but ignored it. “Oh, and I have to say I’m surprised about Mimi. That’s what I was going to tell you. I met with her earlier as well.”
Suddenly, DeeDee didn’t feel quite so clever about her meeting with Mimi. She told Jake about her visit to the dealership and how she’d pretended to be interested in ordering a new Mercedes. She noticed that Jake was very quiet while she told him about it.
“DeeDee, in the future when you intend to meet with people of interest in a murder investigation would you please tell me about it beforehand? They might be murderers, you know.”
“Ha-ha. I was only trying to help Cassie,” she protested meekly.
“I know,” Jake said, in a patient tone. “But you can’t help anyone if you’re dead.”
DeeDee was more than happy to listen to Jake’s lengthy safety lecture for the rest of her drive to Cassie’s. She liked the sound of his voice so much she was willing to put up with it.
CHAPTER 19
“I’m sorry I’m late,” DeeDee said to Cassie. “My appointment took longer than expected.”
She embraced her friend, and followed her into a spacious kitchen with beautiful oak cabinets and granite countertops, Balto bringing up the rear.
“Don’t worry,” Cassie said, pulling out two high stools from the side of the kitchen island. She motioned for DeeDee to have a seat. “We just got back from the mortuary a little while ago, so there would have been no one at home.”
DeeDee looked at Cassie with concern. Cassie’s petite frame appeared to have shrunk in the two days since DeeDee had seen her. At least she’d regained her composure since the previous afternoon when they had spoken on the phone. Even though Cassie wore a casual blouse, fitted jeans, and ankle boots, DeeDee could tell no thought had gone into her appearance when she’d dressed for the day. She wore no makeup, her cropped hair was slightly tousled, and dark circles hugged eyes that were filled with sorrow. Most of all, DeeDee thought she looked fragile, like she might shatter into pieces at any moment.
“The coroner and the police gave the go-ahead for Johnny’s body to be released. It was brought back from Whistler to Seattle this morning,” Cassie explained. She poured two glasses of water from the pitcher on the countertop, handing one to DeeDee. “I’ve decided to have a small, private funeral as soon as possible.” Elbows on the counter, Cassie leaned her head on one hand, and closed her eyes for a few moments. When she’d regained her composure, she looked back up at DeeDee. “No fuss. There will be a memorial service later, for his wider circle of friends and business colleagues.”
“I think that’s a lovely way to handle it.”
“The funeral is scheduled for tomorrow,” Cassie said. “To change the subject from bad to bad, Johnny’s brother called me last night. He’s making a terrible fuss about the trust fund money. I’m glad you’re here, because he’s on his way over right now.”
DeeDee squeezed Cassie’s hand. “No problem. What is the process for Wayne to get his f
unds, now that Johnny’s deceased?”
Cassie shrugged. “I really don’t know. Johnny was the one who dealt with that. I’ve never even seen the paperwork on it, and I’m not sure where it even is. Johnny had a safe in his office at the dealership, so it might be there.”
“Cassie, Wayne can’t expect that to be your priority when you have yet to bury your husband. I’m sure he’ll understand and be able to wait for a reasonable period of time.”
The sudden sound of banging on the front door made her suspect she may have been mistaken about Wayne willing to wait. If that was Wayne, he sounded impatient, very impatient. They heard Briana’s voice in the hallway greet whoever had banged on the door, followed by a deep hacking cough that DeeDee had heard before. She and Cassie exchanged looks, before turning in unison to view the disheveled man who walked into the kitchen.
Wayne Roberts was tall, like his brother, but any similarities stopped there. Wayne’s face was red, and there was a sheen of perspiration visible on his forehead. His eyes were sunken dark slits above puffy cheeks. The raised veins on his face and his red bulbous nose were clues to his excessive drinking habits. In case there was any doubt, Wayne smelled like he’d just come from a bar, the odor being one of a mixture of cheap alcohol and stale cigarette smoke. A receding head of lank, greasy hair that needed to be cut curled up on the collar of a leather jacket that looked like it had been expensive, but now it just looked like it had seen better days.
“My favorite niece let me in,” Wayne said, staggering across the room to Cassie. He held out his arms and stumbled into her, almost knocking Cassie off of her stool. He righted himself and grabbed Cassie’s slender shoulders, leaning into her face in an attempt to kiss her. Cassie recoiled, and Wayne ended up kissing the side of her ear.
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