by Mary Clay
"Willows looked in it when he stopped by supposedly to visit Kevin. I turned my back for a mere second, and he was already pawing through the books," Ruthie said. "He had enough time to drop something in there."
"Wait a minute," I held up my hands. "Did you ever think that Marzano and his buddy might have intended to leave something instead of take? Maybe they put in the container in the box."
Penny Sue took a long drink of her now watered-down scotch. "Damn, Leigh. I'm getting a headache. There are too many possibilities." She glanced at the clock. "It's almost midnight and I'm tired. Why don't we think about this tomorrow?"
No one argued.
The next four days were blissfully uneventful. Ruthie spent most of her time with Kevin, since he was confined to Penny Sue's condo. They were supposedly going through Abby's computer and cataloguing books. Wink, wink. There was no way there were that many books, but they did find interesting information on Abby's computer. They discovered several letters about the Deland U. chairmanship, and a couple of emails to Willows saying she was coming down for a visit and hoped they could meet for dinner. There was also an encrypted folder marked SWD. It would have to wait for Carl's return from the West Coast. None of us had any idea how to crack the code.
Alice played cards at Guthrie's place several times and even tagged along on a couple of his repair calls. I believe Alice's absences for repair calls and card games explained why it was taking Kevin and Ruthie so long to inventory the books. Of course, Kevin was also helping Ruthie with the plans for her new bookstore and apartment.
Penny Sue was hot on the trail of a new wardrobe, as well as Susan Marzano, which conveniently fit together. Susan did all of her shopping at The Mall at Millenia in Orlando, which housed upscale shops like Neiman Marcus, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Cartier, so Penny Sue was able to talk Susan into a couple of shopping sprees. Along the way Penny Sue bemoaned the fact that she had put on weight, and she pumped Susan for tips. Whenever Penny Sue asked Susan for her weight loss remedy, Susan changed the subject, apparently not trusting Penny Sue enough to reveal her secret.
When Penny Sue wasn't shopping, she was focused on Peter O'Brien, who came down from St. Augustine for the library's Wii bowling tournament. Of course, Penny Sue made a point of being there to cheer him on. The local champ was in the game, and the tournament came down to a roll off between the two men. It was close, but Peter was ultimately victorious, which provided the perfect excuse for Penny Sue to take him out for a celebration. Their little party was a big success, evidenced by Penny Sue's smudged lipstick and the news that Peter was driving down to take her to dinner the following night. Penny Sue had obviously ruled him out as a suspect.
I worked at the library, doing my best to go the extra mile since Terry was noticeably cool after my day and a half absence, though she thawed slightly each day. I also volunteered for the checkout desk at every opportunity, to keep an eye out for Susan and Andy Marzano. On one occasion, Susan met a member of the investment club in the library, and they chatted briefly on a deserted aisle.
Leonard Kydd staked out the library that same night and saw a repeat of the merry-go-round of cars and book drops. He also trolled surfers by day and found out that Andy Marzano's nickname was Speedo. Although the moniker might refer to a bathing suit, Leonard believed it meant that Andy either used or supplied speed. Once he overheard a surfer say, "Speedo had dexies."
The day after Leonard witnessed the library drug deal, he called and asked to speak with us. I invited him over to my place. "I think it's time to report this to the authorities," he said. "My magazine won't allow me to stay much longer, and I won't rest until the people responsible for Duffy's death are arrested. I owe the man that much."
The weather was pleasantly warm and Penny Sue, Leonard and I were sitting on my deck sipping sweet tea. He stared out over the water for a few minutes. "The police haven't released Duffy's autopsy report, but it's clear the rattlesnake was the cause, one way or another. I feel certain Marzano and his drug buddies got wise to Duffy and put the snake down the book chute. Poor Duffy may have asked too many questions."
"We'll need irrefutable evidence," I said. "The Marzano family is very prominent in New Smyrna Beach. I know the prosecutor won't touch it without solid proof." I stared at three small children chasing birds on the beach and considered whether I should tell Leonard that Cobb and Marzano were linked to the attempted robberies at my condo, and the police were checking fingerprints. I hadn't told him before, because I was certain the burglaries were linked to Abby's death, and I didn't want to confuse the issue or get Kevin involved. Perhaps it was time to tell Leonard the whole story, which I did.
When I finished, Leonard drained his tea and motioned to the pitcher on my circular deck table. I told him to help himself. He took a long drink before he spoke. "I heard about the burglaries and suspected they were related to the death of the lady scholar. I figured you'd tell me in due time."
Unusually quiet until now, Penny Sue said, "There's only one thing to do. We need to set up a sting!"
"Pardon?" Leonard said.
"A sting. You know, arrange a drug drop so the cops can catch them red-handed. That's the only way Woody would go after Andy Marzano and his mother."
"How do you propose to do that?" I asked.
Penny Sue reared back. "While Susan and I were shopping, I mentioned Rich and how desperate I was to lose weight before his return."
"Who's Rich?" Leonard asked.
"An old boyfriend," I replied, before Penny Sue could confuse Leonard with the details of Bike Week and the police protection program. "Have you really heard from Rich?" I asked Penny Sue.
"No," she said with a hint of sadness. "I told Susan that as an excuse. I can read people fairly well, and I believe she's on the verge of divulging her diet secret."
"You mean the dexies," Leonard said.
"Yes. I'll call her right now and see if I can buy some of her secret potion. I'll tell her Rich is due in a week and I'll pay anything to lose ten pounds. If she agrees, we'll call Woody and arrange for a police sting."
"That could be risky if she suspects a trap," Leonard cautioned.
"I'll be okay if Leigh brings the liquid taser, and the police have the place staked out."
"Liquid taser?"
"Don't ask," I replied. "It's a long story." I turned to Penny Sue. "Are you sure?"
She picked up her BlackBerry and stood. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
Leonard and I made awkward small talk as we watched Penny Sue pace and talk in the great room. Children scampered up the boardwalk, chasing a cat. A fisherman rambled by, pulling a wagon laden with a chair, pole and other gear. The minutes dragged on, and still Penny Sue talked. Leonard and I both poured another glass of tea. Finally, Penny Sue turned our way and gave us the thumbs up. She made a few more quick comments before she hung up and joined us.
"Tonight at eleven o'clock. Five hundred dollars for twenty pills. It's the real stuff, not something cooked up in a garage," Penny Sue said. "I'm to come alone with the $100 bills in a zip lock bag. She said I should buy rubber cement at the drug store and spread a thick layer on one side of the bag. When I open the door for the book drop, there's a flat space above the curved door where I should stick the money. I need to return a library book at the same time. Then I'm to drive around for a half hour and park on a side street. A green Volvo will deposit a book and a few minutes after it leaves, I'll find the pills in the same place I put the money." She took a long drink of her tea. "It was a tough sell. Susan only agreed when I told her I wanted to wear Rich's favorite dress, a Versace, and I couldn't zip it up."
"Well done," Leonard said. "You proved our suspicions were correct." He turned to me. "Will you call the authorities, or should I?"
"I'll call. We're already working with the prosecutor on the break-ins."
Wonder of wonders, I reached Woody on my first try and gave him a quick outline of our plan. There was a long pause before Woody said
he'd prefer to discuss it in person and would be right over. About a half hour later, Woody and a very muscular man dressed in black arrived at our front door. Woody introduced his partner as David Yates of the Drug Task Force. Penny Sue's eyes lit up at the sight of David. Good grief! A few minutes later, Ruthie wandered in from next door.
I ushered them into the living room, served sweet tea, and we hatched a plan. David and his men would stake out the area with sound equipment and cameras situated around the nearby gymnasium. If Penny Sue felt she was in danger at any time, she was to flash her headlights. They were going to focus on Stuart Cobb and Andy Marzano, not Susan, since the boys were suspects in two crimes. They would set up their equipment and be in place by ten o'clock, in case the druggies were casing the scene. David thought that was plenty of time, since this seemed to be a penny ante deal that he hoped would lead them to bigger fish and the source of the drugs and beach burglaries.
David, a taller version of Guthrie's hunky Timothy, put his arm around Penny Sue's waist and asked if she was up to the task. If not, they could have a female detective make the drop.
She gave David the big grin that showed her gums. "Thanks so much for your concern," she replied with honey dripping out of her mouth, "but I'll be fine. I've taken a number of self-defense courses. My father's a judge, you know."
David backed away after a stern look from Woody. "Don't worry, Penny Sue, I'll be there, too," Woody said. "With the Marzanos involved, I don't want anything to go wrong. Let's synchronize our watches," he said, which came out like a line from Dick Tracy. In any event, we did as told. "Call me if you have any problem."
"Don't worry, Woody, I've handled tougher stuff than this," Penny Sue said.
"Yes, I know you have."
We saw them to the door and once it was closed, Ruthie turned on us with a panicked look. "What in Heaven's name are you doing?"
Kydd spoke up. "I witnessed another drug drop at the library--" he started.
"And we're sure the druggies are linked to Abby's death," I added. "So, if we nab them, we can clear Kevin." Ruthie was mollified by that response.
"Just one more thing," Penny Sue said, leading us into the great room. "Leigh, I want you there in the enclosure by the library with the taser. It's charged, isn't it?
"Yes, and I received additional saline," Ruthie shot back.
Penny Sue turned to Leonard. "I think you should go with Leigh and take your car. Everyone knows she drives a yellow VW Beetle." Leonard had obviously become acquainted with her take-charge persona, so he agreed without hesitation. "If the cops are going to be set up by ten, you need to be in the enclosure next to the book drop by nine-thirty," Penny Sue continued. "You should park at the movie theater; it won't draw attention so late at night. I have to drive my car. Otherwise I'll look suspicious."
We nodded. Penny Sue was on a roll.
"I'll dress normally. I think y'all should wear dark clothes."
We nodded again.
Penny Sue glanced at Ruthie. "Your job is to keep Alice and Kevin in check. They don't need to know anything about this."
"Understood," Ruthie agreed. "Maybe I'll invite Guthrie down as a diversion."
"Good idea. It keeps him out of the way, too." Penny Sue turned to Leonard. "If you and Leigh are going to be in place by nine-thirty, you should here no later than nine." He winked. Finally finished with her instructions, Penny Sue held up her hand, and we did another one of our high-fives that Leonard definitely didn't understand.
Leonard and I followed our directions to the letter. We parked at the theater and walked the few blocks to the library. I carried the taser in a gym bag. We were sitting at the table by the library at nine-thirty, as Penny Sue instructed. We peeked through the spaces between the slats in the fence and saw motion over by the gym. David and Woody were getting in place. Since we had an hour plus to wait, Leonard brought a deck of cards, and we played gin rummy by the dim glow of a streetlight. I'd never have thought of that, but he'd obviously done a lot of waiting in his line of work and knew how to pass the time. He was a good player; I wasn't. Thank goodness we were playing for pennies, or I would have gone broke. We were in the middle of a hand where I had good cards for a change, when Leonard whispered, "Here she comes."
I grabbed the taser, he grabbed his night lens camera, and we both peeked through the fence. If anyone went after Penny Sue, I was going to fire, and he was going to get a picture. It went like clockwork. Penny Sue got out of the car with a book, went to the drop, pretended she had a hard time getting the book into the slot (I think it was my phonebook!), and left. Just as before, another car, this time a Caddy, pulled in shortly afterward. At first I feared it was Alice, but soon realized it was Susan. She must have switched cars with her husband. Susan went to the book drop, fiddled around, probably stripping off the money, and left. In about the time it took her to drive several blocks and call her son, the green Volvo sped in. The pigtail guy got out with a book, exactly as he'd done before, and was returning to the car, when a helicopter appeared with a spotlight. Floodlights flashed on from the gym. A hoard of men in dark outfits headed their way.
Before pigtailed Cobb could get into the car, I put the tip of the taser in a gap between the fence and the building, and fired off a round that downed him. With Cobb half in and half out of the car, Marzano hesitated long enough for the police to shoot out his tires. No tires, a helicopter overhead, and a spastically twitching friend were enough to bring Andy Marzano out of the car with his hands up.
As this went down, Leonard ran out of the enclosure to snap photos and noticed Susan's Cadillac parked on a side street. Bless his heart, he took a half dozen pictures of the car that included its license plate. Yep, 'ol Leonard knew his business.
A moment before the Drug Task Force arrived, Leonard and I dashed into the darkness, hoping to stay out of the fray. However, I'm sure Woody recognized the taser's effect on Cobb and knew we'd been there. Leonard and I jogged back to the theater, where Penny Sue's Jag was parked next to his car.
"Did they get them?" Penny Sue asked.
"Yep, the cops got them, and Leonard has pictures of Susan Marzano."
"That's fabulous. But, damn, I never got any pills," Penny Sue moaned.
"You don't need pills! You're perfect the way you are. How about we go home and have a drink?" I asked.
Penny Sue grinned. "No argument from me."
Chapter 18
Yes, it was a good four days, which was Alice's limit. We were sitting in Penny Sue's living room, having early afternoon cocktails and congratulating ourselves over the sting, when Alice exploded. "Why is Kevin still under suspicion and wearing that stupid bracelet?" she screeched. "What's wrong with those dimwits? Why do they want to frame Kevin? He had no motive for killing Abby, and we know she died of nicotine poisoning. Why hasn't the autopsy report been released? I called Myrna Johnston today, and she said the people down here told her they hadn't ruled on the cause of death. It's time to light a fire under these local hicks!" Alice reached in her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. Kevin lurched and snatched it out of her hand.
Brave man. I wouldn't have done it! I believe a move like that could lead to a bullet between the eyes. Penny Sue wasn't kidding: Alice had a mean streak a mile wide.
"Mom," Kevin said, holding the phone behind his back. "Let's talk about this first. There's no sense calling in the heavy artillery until it's the last resort."
Alice stared at him with her hands on her hips. "Okay, son, I'll try it your way. Talk."
"I'm a candidate for the chairmanship of the History Department of Deland University, one of the most prestigious private institutions in the South. This is the chance of a lifetime and I don't want to blow it, if it's still a possibility after this mess. I fear that your friends could ruin my chances while they're trying to help."
Alice tilted her head back and looked down her nose at all of us. "All right. I want to know everything you know. Don't leave out a single detail. I have years
of experience dealing with complicated situations. You think managing a sewer department is easy? You can't imagine how complicated waste disposal is in New Jersey, especially with all of the rival factions. I'm still alive, so I must be good." She gave us a searing glare and handed her empty glass to Penny Sue, who got her a refill. Alice was sitting in the wicker throne chair, and the rest of us sat across from her like grinning fools. No one wanted to admit we'd withheld information from Alice. She was already angry that we'd kept her out of the loop about the drug sting.
I was the first to find my voice. "Why don't you tell us what you already know," I said to Alice, "and we'll pick up from there."
"Abby died of nicotine poisoning and the cops think Kevin was responsible. I surmise the little container they found in the box was for nicotine and they're probably checking it for fingerprints now. I'd bet money the container's been wiped clean, if the perps are pros. I know my son is innocent, so who would want to frame him? I believe we need to concentrate on a motive first, and the suspects second."
Damn, the old girl was sharp. We'd been following suspects and hadn't focused on the big question: why?
"Why would someone want to kill Abby?" Alice asked.
"Revenge," Penny Sue blurted, and then realized what she'd said. "Of course, I didn't mean Kevin. Their affair was over years ago."
"Money," I said. "It's truly the root of all evil and the motive for most crimes."
"Add to that power and prestige," Ruthie said. "Money, power, and prestige are all tied up in the chairmanship, and we know from her emails that Abby had dinner with Willows while she was here. Maybe they thought Kevin was the strongest candidate, so they wanted to discredit him."
"Discredit him in the debate, discredit him with Abby's death, or both?" I asked with a smirk. "There's only one person I can think of who would really gain from her murder--Willows! He eliminates all of his competition and kills two birds with one stone."