Murder in the Stacks (A DAFFODILS Mystery)

by Mary Clay

  Alice smirked at Guthrie. "Exactly what I think. Nicotine poisoning proves that Kevin had nothing to do with her death. And, since I know New Jersey won't insist on extradition, Kevin should be released tomorrow morning."

  I looked askance at Alice. "You know they won't insist on extradition?"

  "How can you be sure?" Ruthie chimed in.

  "I have sources," Alice said.

  Penny Sue turned around to face us. "Which was it, the Italians or Russians?" she asked Alice.

  Alice arched a brow. "Both."

  Carl dropped us off at Penny Sue's condo. Everyone was exhausted, so there was no offer of coffee or a liqueur. Even Guthrie immediately headed up the hill to his condo, mouthing a weak "good night" over his shoulder. We went straight inside Penny Sue's unit, set the alarm, and checked Lu Nee 2's status next door. We'd left the lights on in my condo, and Lu Nee's control panel showed no intruders during our absence. Alice tossed her folder on the dining room table, declaring she was too tired to deal with it. The withering look she flashed in our direction said we'd better not touch it, either. No problem. We were too worn out to think about anything other than making up Penny Sue's pull-out sofa bed, which we did in record time. A half hour later we were settled in our beds, make-up and all, and drifting off to Never Never Land.

  I felt like my head had barely hit the pillow when an Alert Intruder sounded from Lu Nee's control panel. I was the first to locate the box with the tiny television screen on the kitchen counter. Next door, Lu Nee was buzzing and screeching, Halt! as its head rotated to scan the room. The scan picked up two young men standing beside the stack of boxes in my dining area. Still groggy, I couldn't remember how to stop the scan and zoom in on the perpetrators. Penny Sue and Ruthie were leaning over my shoulder, yet they couldn't remember how to stop the scan either. It was good old Penny Sue who found the intercom button and yelled into the box, "The police are on their way!" Meanwhile, Ruthie gathered her wits and hit the panic button on Penny Sue's alarm. A deafening blare filled our condo and sent the burglars on the run. Lu Nee 2 caught their backsides as two slender males, probably in their teens or early twenties, scurried out the sliding glass door. The pole for the track, my security system, was lying in the middle of the floor. This time they'd succeeded in jimmying the door.

  Penny Sue raced to the linen closet for the taser as Alice pounded down the hall with her long barreled pistol. Ruthie flipped on the deck spotlights just as a loud knock sounded at the front door. "Sheriff!" a male voice shouted. It was Tommy, Heather Brooks' young partner. "Is everyone all right?" he asked excitedly. We said we were and that it was the unit next door that had been burglarized. We motioned to the sliding glass doors that led to the deck, where Heather stood surveying the scene. It was one of those foggy beach nights when the humidity hugged everything like a wet blanket.

  "A car was waiting again," Heather said. She glanced at Penny Sue holding the taser, and Alice with the pistol, and grinned. "They got away. No shooting tonight, ladies."

  Alice stuffed the pistol in the pocket of her velour robe and headed back in the house. "Damn, then I'm going back to bed."

  Heather motioned to my condo, where Lu Nee 2 was still screeching Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert! Salty dew was streaming down the glass doors. Heather shrugged. "The likelihood of lifting fingerprints from this mess is slim to none. Come on, Leigh, let's do a walk-through to see if anything was stolen."

  I punched the button on Lu Nee's head to silence it. "I don't believe they had time to get much. Lu Nee 2 went off immediately, and Ruthie pushed Penny Sue's panic button a moment later. I saw two young men head for the boxes stacked against the wall, but the robot's head kept swiveling, so I couldn't see if they took anything. By the time Lu Nee's camera went full circle, they were headed out the door. I believe their hands were empty, but I couldn't swear to it."

  "What's in the boxes?" Heather asked.

  "Books and a laptop computer."

  "Are they valuable?"

  "Some of the books could be; they're pretty old," Ruthie answered. "They belonged to Dr. Abigail Johnston. She willed them to Kevin, who was her former research partner."

  Heather stroked her bottom lip, thinking. "You're talking about the lady who died at the library? She willed her books to the man who's now sitting in jail as a person of interest?"

  Ruthie's eyes flashed. "Yes, but Kevin had nothing to do with Abby's death. He'll probably be released in the morning--"

  I was standing behind Heather, facing Ruthie. I shook my head to shut her up. The last thing we needed was for Ruthie to say something that connected us to the Medical Examiner and the file Alice stole. Fortunately, Ruthie got the point.

  "He'll probably be released tomorrow," Ruthie continued, "because his lawyer met with Woody this afternoon."

  Heather studied Ruthie. She was a terrible liar, and her normally pale skin was red as a beet. Heather apparently chose to ignore the obvious. "Do you have an inventory of the books, so you can tell if anything is missing?"

  "Kevin and I started one," Ruthie said, "but didn't get very far. The books we logged are all on the top, so it should be easy to determine if any of them are missing."

  I jumped in. "And the thieves didn't have time to dig through the boxes before the alarm went off. We should be able to determine if anything was taken pretty quickly."

  Heather checked her watch. "Tomorrow's soon enough. I've pulled another double shift and I'm beat. Will you be available tomorrow afternoon?"

  "I'm sure we can make arrangements," I said. I was scheduled to work, but felt sure Terry would give me the afternoon off.

  "Good. Leigh, did you think about an alarm system of your own?" Heather asked, giving Lu Nee 2 a distasteful look.

  "Yes," Penny Sue fired back. "One's being installed tomorrow."

  Heather nodded approval. "It's pretty strange that someone would try to break into your condo two nights in a row."

  "God's truth. Especially since there isn't anything valuable here," Penny Sue said flippantly.

  Nothing valuable? The nerve! If I'd been holding the taser, I would have shot her in the butt. Tommy saw my reaction and stepped away. Heather picked up the cue to leave.

  Chapter 12

  We were sitting at Penny Sue's kitchen counter, sipping coffee, having just polished off some cantaloupe and a basket of bagels with cream cheese. Alice wasn't up yet. I was dressed for work, while Penny Sue and Ruthie were still in their robes. Even though I was absolutely exhausted from the previous night's escapade, there was a place in me that longed for the normalcy of the library. Checking in books, sorting books for shelving--it was like a meditation. And I only expected to work half a day so I could get in a nap after the interview with Heather.

  At eight a.m. on the dot, Penny Sue's BlackBerry played the Georgia football fight song. "Who in the world ..." she started, then hopped down from the stool and took a seat in the living room. "It's Daddy."

  Ruthie and I exchanged a puzzled look. The Judge knew Penny Sue was rarely awake so early. In fact, she'd still be asleep on the sofa bed if the odor of the French vanilla coffee I made hadn't roused her. After all, I had to go to work. My first thought when her phone rang was that I hoped the Judge was okay. I'm sure Ruthie wondered if he had news about Kevin. We watched intently, as Penny Sue stared at her feet and listened without interrupting, a rare occurrence in itself. Then a smile stretched her lips and her eyes lit up like the Fourth of July.

  "How much was that again?" she asked. A pause. "You're sure the deal will go through?" Another pause. Then her tone changed from subdued to sassy. "You've known about this for weeks and didn't tell me?" A long pause. "Yes sir, I understand. Thanks Daddy, I love you." She hit the off button and blasted halfway to the ceiling. When she came to earth she danced a jig and sang, "I'm in the money. I'm in the money. Money honey. New car, new clothes, and I won't need a full time job. My prayers have been answered!" She planted her feet, looking happier than she'd been since she arrive
d. "Hell, I think I'll join that New Smyrna Beach Ladies' Investment Club at the library. It meets today, doesn't it, Leigh?"

  "Yes, at ten o'clock. What just happened?" I demanded. "Details, woman, details."

  "You know that old folks home across the lake--"

  "It's a progressive community, not an old folks home," I corrected.

  Penny Sue blew me off. "Whatever it is, they want to expand with some very upscale duplexes and buy up all the property around the lake. Daddy's known this was in the works for a long time and turned down their first offer. Well, my house was the last piece of the pie, so they upped the ante. Daddy got six million! Can you believe it? Six million!"

  "Don't go crazy, Penny Sue," Ruthie advised. "Without a good investment plan, you could run through six million pretty fast."

  Penny Sue forced herself to be serious. "You're right, of course. I'm turning over a new leaf. I'll buy a new car and some clothes, but I'm going to be cheap and sensible like Leigh. I'm going to be responsible. I'll start today by joining the investment club, then I'm going to drive my Mercedes to the dealership and trade it in on a new one. No more embarrassing clunk, clunk for me. Praise the Lord, my ship has come in!"

  Alice scuffed down the hall, looking like a woman who'd been to hell and back. For all her New Jersey bravado, the previous day had taken a heavy toll on her. "What's all the commotion? Can't a person get a decent night's sleep around here?"

  "Penny Sue sold her house," Ruthie exclaimed.

  Alice struggled up on a stool and motioned for coffee. I poured a cup and passed it across the counter. She took a long pull of the black coffee. "I'm happy for you, Penny Sue. Judging from the singing and carrying on, I gather you got a good price for it."

  "Yes ma'am. Thanks to Daddy, I made out very well."

  Alice nodded. "I always liked your Dad, he has a good head on his shoulders. Did he have any news about Kevin?"

  "No ma'am, he had a meeting and only had time for my news. However, I'm sure he'll check on Kevin as soon as he gets a break. One of the junior partners may be doing it now."

  "Not necessary. I have that lawyer's cell number and will call him in a little while." Alice took another swallow of coffee. "Leigh, would you fetch the file I found at the Examiner's office? I tossed and turned most of the night wondering what it says. I never got a chance to look at it. Being stuffed in that tiny cubicle, it's a wonder I didn't suffocate. I suppose I should know what it says before I call Kevin's attorney."

  I retrieved the file and we all gathered around her, peering over her shoulders. The file contained two sheets of paper titled "Dr. Abigail Johnston." The first sheet was a stylized drawing of the front of a woman's body. The other sheet was the outline of the back. Superficial markings on the body were penciled in with annotations down the side of the page. Except for a scar on her right arm and a faint circle above one boob marked "adhesive outline," the first page was uninteresting. The second page was intriguing. There was a butterfly tattooed on her buttocks and several faint circles labeled "adhesive outline." On her right shoulder blade was a filled in circle marked "nicotine patch (21 mg.)." However the real standout was a square adhesive marking on the back of her upper left arm that had a number of dots drawn inside. The dots were circled in red with a question mark and the annotation read "high and irregular concentrations of nicotine on the skin."

  Alice studied the dotted square. "What do you suppose that means?"

  "Maybe Abby put on a patch the day before and it buckled in the heat," Penny Sue said. "You know, steam from a shower, getting caught in the rain, or perspiration could make tiny pockets in the glue so the patch didn't stick evenly. Maybe the salt in sweat can dissolve nicotine and cause it to dribble around."

  Alice drummed her fingers on the counter. "Possible. I really don't know anything about those transdermal patches they use nowadays."

  "Neither do I, but the good news is that nicotine can't possibly be related to Kevin." I glanced at my watch. "I've got to run if I'm going to get to work on time. Penny Sue, the New Smyrna Ladies' Investment Club meets at ten o'clock. You'd better get hopping."

  "Yeah, I want to look good. All of those women are so slim. Maybe they have a big investment in pharmaceuticals and get discounts on diet pills or something."

  "You wish. See ya." I snatched my purse and headed out of the door.

  My day at the library was pleasantly dull. Leonard Kydd had assumed his post in the magazine section and gave me a little wave. Terry agreed to let me have the afternoon off so I could meet with Heather. I spent the morning shelving books. Penny Sue tracked me down a little after eleven o'clock.

  "I met the nicest lady at the investment meeting who invited me to lunch. Would you like to join us? She's skinny as a rail. I'm going to try to find out her secret."

  "Penny Sue, we have to meet with Heather this afternoon. Besides, I want to go home and see what the alarm people are doing to my condo."

  "Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. Well, if you're not going, we'll do an early lunch and I'll be home by one-thirty. Is that okay? I doubt Heather would come any earlier, since she pulled a double shift yesterday."

  I sighed. My response really didn't make any difference. Penny Sue was going to do what she wanted to do, no matter what. "Sure, one-thirty's fine. How did the meeting go?"

  "Everyone was real nice. I pledged to invest $100,000."

  "A hundred thousand? You don't know anything about these people! Besides, you haven't gotten the settlement from your house yet, either. The papers haven't even been signed."

  "Daddy said the sale was a sure thing and I can get that much money from my American Express card. I didn't want them to think I was a pauper and not let me in the club. Members have to be voted on, like in a sorority. I think that's the reason Susan invited me to lunch. She's the president, and I suspect she wants to feel me out. Anyway, they must be legit if they meet at the library."

  "I don't believe the library does background checks on all of the groups. They're probably on the up and up. I've never heard anything negative, but you really should be careful. You need to check out the members like they're checking on you. Do you have a list of members?" I asked.

  Penny Sue started twirling her hair with her index finger. It was a nervous habit I'd come to recognize. "I believe the membership is sorta secret, you know, like a twelve-step program."

  "A secret investment club? Penny Sue, that doesn't make a grain of sense."

  She untangled her finger. "Well, I may be wrong on that. Everyone seems to know everyone else. I suspect they're old New Smyrna." She patted my arm. "Don't worry, I'll be sensible like you and get the facts before I hand over any money." She glanced at a blonde lady standing by the front door, who was dressed in a tailored black dress and wearing a number of gold necklaces and bracelets. "That's Susan. Let me run, so I can get home in time to meet with Heather. You really don't need to worry. Thanks to Madoff, my poverty stint taught me a good lesson."

  "Okay, but don't sign anything or give anyone money!"

  Penny Sue smiled meekly. "Well, I signed a pledge card, but I'm sure it's not legally binding." She dashed off, clearly not wanting to discuss her stupidity any further.

  I finished my shift at noon and drove to Wendy's for lunch. They were having a special on chicken sandwiches. I thought of calling Ruthie to see if she wanted one, but decided against it. First, Ruthie adamantly opposed fast food. "Full of preservatives and chemicals," she said. Maybe that's true, but those chicken sandwiches tasted good. Secondly, I was afraid an offer would turn into a big production involving Alice, Guthrie and maybe even the alarm crew. I was too tired to deal with it. So, I sat in the parking lot, eating a sandwich and drinking a chemical filled soda before going home.

  A three-man crew was busy wiring my alarm system, while Ruthie sat at the counter reading the morning newspaper.

  "How's it going?" I asked.

  She canted her head toward the workmen. "I believe they're almost finished. But it
has been one heck of a morning."

  "Why, what happened?"

  "Alice spoke with the lawyer, and Kevin isn't going to be released today," Ruthie replied.

  "But the nicotine poisoning proves Kevin had nothing to do with it."

  Ruthie folded the paper angrily. "Yes, but we're not supposed to know about that, and the lawyer didn't mention it. Alice couldn't tip her hand. The Medical Examiner apparently hasn't filed his report yet."

  "So why is Kevin being held? I thought the New Jersey warrant wasn't going to be enforced."

  Ruthie sucked in a breath and held her fingers like quotation marks. "That's unofficial." Frown lines formed between her eyes. "Kevin is still being held on the New Jersey warrant and is classified as a flight risk here. Needless to say, Alice is on the warpath and spent most of the morning calling her contacts up north. She may bring in another attorney."

  "Oh, no. I hope it's not a mob lawyer," I moaned.

  "My gut says it is."

  I folded my arms on the counter, put my head down and spoke to the countertop. "That's all we need."

  "I know."

  Our pity party was interrupted by the crew supervisor. "We're finished. Let me show you what we did and how it works." Basically, we were alarmed to the hilt. Glass breaks on the windows in case of a smash and grab attack, sensors on all of the windows and doorframes, and a smoke alarm. The alarm panel was identical to Penny Sue's, with a panic button. They even wired the system into a call center that would report a break-in if we were away.

  Ruthie gave the men a check and ushered them to the front door. "I dare anyone to try to break in tonight," Ruthie said when she returned.

  I glanced at the boxes of books. "What in the world were the burglars looking for? I suppose they think one of the books is valuable. But, to risk breaking in two nights in a row? That's pretty gutsy."