by Judi McCoy
Arlene blew the parrot a kiss. “Mommy loves her boy.” She stood and dug in her pocket. “Just let me give him an M&M.” She kept digging while Myron squawked; then she frowned. “Sorry, baby. Mommy must have left them in the kitchen drawer.”
“Awwwk! Good dog. Good boy,” Myron continued. Then he began to bark and the three Boston Terriers joined in.
“That’s it,” Evan said, rising to his feet and tossing his napkin on the table. He stomped to the perch, took it in hand, and disappeared through the door.
“Myron is all I have to remember the last good man in my life by,” Arlene said, her voice trembling. “I can’t imagine why all those people want to pay their respects to Martin. He was a drug dealer and practically a pedophile. I decided I’m going to hold the main service on the beach and let the tide take him away.” Tears filled Arlene’s eyes. “I still can’t believe I almost married the man.” She sobbed. “Worse, that he slept with my sister.”
Evan returned while she was talking and took his seat. “Don’t worry, honey. We’re straightening it all out. For now, I have a little speech to make. Hear, hear!” he began, tapping his wineglass with his fork. “I know it’s a bit premature, but I believe we should toast Ellie for the work she’s done for us.”
Everyone did as he asked and Ellie inhaled a breath. With Arlene so maudlin, this was not the time to add to her tears. All she could do was mutter a grateful “Thank you.”
The family finished their salads while she continued to think of tomorrow and the idea of so many strangers flooding the estate. Somehow, she had to get the extended family into the house alone so she could untangle the strings to get Uncle Mickey arrested.
Viv stood and cleared the plates. “I’m going to help Rosa,” she said, heading for the door. “Be back in a second.”
Vanessa reached across the table and touched Ellie’s hand. “Viv told me you were on a clue hunt today. Did you find anything you can share with us?”
“I can share, but you both have to promise to keep your lips zipped. If I’m correct, revealing the culprit too early could ruin everything.”
“Then don’t tell us,” said Evan. “Vanessa has a hard time keeping a secret and—”
“I do not,” Vanessa bit out. “But I can wait. It’s almost like watching a movie unfold and waiting until the big moment when the hero unveils the killer.”
“Do you really know who killed Martin?” asked Arlene, her voice still quivering.
“I think so, though it wouldn’t be smart to alert the murderer ahead of time,” she said, hoping she sounded as if she knew what she was doing. “I believe surprise is everything in this type of situation.”
“Okay, fine. I can buy that,” said Evan. “Besides, if I know ahead of time, I might just whack the guy over the head when he walks through the door.” He sipped his wine. “In case you haven’t noticed, I tend to get hot under the collar when things get tough.”
“I noticed,” said Ellie, “and I’m happy you agree to keep the killer under wraps. If I’m wrong, the night could be an utter failure.” She glanced around the table. “I noticed that Adrianne is missing. Any news about her?”
Arlene shook her head. “Mom and Dad have her under house arrest.”
“She’s been ordered to her room,” said Vanessa. “Where she will stay until she agrees to apologize to Arlene for her totally inexcusable behavior. She owes an apology to you and Vivian, as well.” She crossed her arms on the table. “We’re giving her time to think about the damage she’s done to this family.”
“We’re treating her the way we should have when she was a child,” added Evan. “Letting her get away with things wasn’t just Vanessa’s fault. I did it, too.”
“I imagine she’s not happy about that,” said Ellie. Adrianne was in her midthirties and still living off Mom and Pop. If that had turned out to be her, Ellie would have done anything to set herself free.
“Well, I don’t care,” Vanessa answered after taking a swallow of wine. “Of course, she’s not speaking to us. She’s been hiding in her room, playing loud music and stomping around. There’s food in the kitchen, so she fixes her own meals, and she has a laptop and her painting supplies, so I believe she’s all set.”
“Has she said anything to you about why she wanted to hurt Arlene?”
“Not a word,” said Evan. “And that troubles me. It’s almost as if she’s planning some type of revenge.”
The remark added to Ellie’s worries. “Revenge?”
“I have no idea what, but Vanessa and I have already come up with our version of ‘tough love.’ We told Adrianne she has two choices: She can move out, support herself, and find out how to live in the world on her own, or she can spend a few months in rehab. We’ll pay the bill and she can put her priorities and her life in order.”
Arlene leaned into the table. “They found a place in upstate New York that handles people with all sorts of problems. Adrianne can paint, eat healthy food, talk to professionals. They even have physical fitness classes, so she can continue her martial arts training.” Her expression grew rigid. “If you ask me, that’s more like a vacation than a place to reform your life.”
“We’re asking her for a three-month commitment,” Evan continued. “Then we’ll welcome her back to the family fold.”
“Well, that’s—that’s some offer.” Ellie couldn’t believe Adrianne would accept such a challenge. She seemed too used to getting her way after so many years.
Viv took that moment to push through the door, carrying a tray filled with so many gadgets Ellie had to concentrate to name them all. Besides the tools for eating a lobster, there were small stands holding candles, bigger stands with cuts of butter on the top, plates, and more napkins.
Setting down the tray, Viv said to her dad, “How about passing things out and starting up the butter warmers? Rosa has the food, but it’s on two more trays.”
Two more trays?
Evan separated all the pieces and passed them around. When he was done, he opened the box of matches Viv had supplied and lit the candles under the towers topped with butter. “Good thing each of these warmers has a shield. One gust of wind and the flame would be gone.” He took his seat. “Hot butter is the best way to enjoy these babies.”
Ellie removed her navy sweater, aware that when most people ate lobster, the fishy liquid usually flew in all directions, and, along with the McCreadys, donned the full-body plastic apron Rosa had supplied.
The kitchen door swung out and Viv appeared, a large platter piled high with steaming ears of corn, a stack of rolls, and lemon wedges in hand. She bumped her butt on the door and held it open for Rosa’s grand entrance with a huge tray filled with bright red lobsters.
“Ta-daa,” said Viv in an exaggerated tone, setting her tray on one end of the table. “Dad, do you want to do the honors?”
Evan stood and reached for the platter. “I say we all just dig in. One at a time please. Looks like there’s plenty for everyone.”
“What do you mean ‘the painting is gone’?” Ellie asked Viv later, when the McCreadys had left for a movie along with Rosa, Julio, and their daughters.
“Exactly what I said. I took a walk today after Arlene and I made our calls and ended up near the guest cottage. I was going to see if Adrianne would talk to me, but she didn’t answer when I knocked on the apartment door, so I wandered into the doc’s office.”
“And . . .”
“And the wall was empty. I thought maybe Arlene had Julio or Tomas remove the portrait and burn it.”
“Burn it?”
“That’s what I would have done. I came back here and mentioned it to Arlene, and she said she had no idea where the painting went.”
“Was she worried? Did she think someone broke in and stole it? Maybe somebody who was looking for Dr. Kent jimmied the lock, saw it, and took it out.”
“Good for them, is all I have to say. I hope the stupid thing ends up on display at the Guggenheim with Adrianne’s name
plastered over her ass.”
Ellie recalled all that had happened on this vacation that would make her best friend so sour. Viv had wanted to come here for some R&R and a little sisterly bonding. Instead, she’d fallen into a family disaster that had yet to end. “I wouldn’t have minded if you went to the movies with your parents and Arlene tonight.”
Viv emptied the last of the pinot grigio into her glass and took a long drink. “And leave you here to plot out tomorrow night all alone? Not a chance.” She stood and brushed off her purple sweater, definitely not from the Ralph Lauren collection. “I’ll be right back.”
Ellie rested an elbow on the table and placed her chin in her palm. Who could have taken that painting? And what were they planning to do with it?
When Viv returned with a corkscrew and another bottle of wine, Ellie sighed. “Uh, Viv, don’t you think you’ve had enough?”
Vivian shrugged. “Who the hell cares? My family is falling apart and I can’t do a thing to stop it. Now I’m wondering if it’s my fault, something that could have been fixed years ago. Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten so angry when they forgot my birthday, or Mom took Adrianne to the spa and not me. Maybe I could have—”
Ellie laid a hand on her friend’s arm. “No, you couldn’t have. They were the ones who left you out in the cold. Look at it this way. Their neglect is one of the reasons we’re so close. I don’t have a sister, so I adopted you, and you’ve been the best sister a girl could hope for. You know how to be warm, funny, and supportive. Without you, I’d probably be wearing army fatigues and combat boots. You’ve turned me into a fashion plate—”
Viv swiped a tear from her cheek. “Let’s not go that far. You have a long way to go before you’re a fashion plate.”
“It might still happen,” said Ellie, grinning. “For now, why not forget about the wine and help me finish the plan for tomorrow? I need someone with a clear head, and if you drink any more wine, I’ll have to—”
“Talk to me,” came a voice from under the table.
“I’ll have to talk things over with Rudy.”
Viv pushed the wine bottle and corkscrew out of reach. “You’re right. Let me hear what you found out so we can finalize things.”
Ellie pulled the notebook and pen from her side pocket. “Before I tell you about my day, I want to hear about yours. Arlene hinted that she was expecting a lot of people. Is that true?”
“Oh, please, you wouldn’t believe it. We started calling right after you left and by the time we were finished, Arlene’s house phone was swamped.” Viv narrowed her eyes. “I envision a three-ring circus, complete with the clowns, so when I invited Detective Wheeling I suggested he bring officers for crowd control.”
“Wow. That’s hard to believe.” Ellie pulled the paper napkin out from under her wineglass and began to shred it. “You didn’t tell him about our plan to unmask the killer, did you?” She crossed mental fingers. If we come up with a plan . . .
Viv cracked a smile. “Of course not. I want to see him grovel when you hand over the murderer. Agent Bond, too.”
“Did you actually talk to him?”
“To Double O Seven? No. I left a message on his phone, and he hasn’t returned the call.”
“I don’t expect he will.” Ellie shrugged. “My guess is he’ll just show up, as usual.”
“And how did things go for you?” Viv gazed at the darkening sky and the silver quarter moon hanging over the water. “Wait. It’s getting late. How about we go up to bed, and you give me what you have there?”
“Okay, fine,” Ellie answered, breathing a sigh of relief. Maybe she’d have an aha! moment in the next few minutes, and find the last few pieces of this puzzle.
Viv cleared the leftovers from the table while Ellie led Mr. T and Rudy down the stairs and into a pen. “Last out of the day, boys. Do your business so we can call it a night.”
A moment later, Viv joined her at the bottom of the stairs. “I’ve been thinking. I don’t believe we’ll ever find out about the painting. If Adrianne took it, well, she’s the artist and she’s also the person in the portrait. She gave it to Dr. Kent as a gift, and now she’s taken it back.”
“Arlene should talk to a lawyer. The way I understand it, the doc’s brother has signed off on everything, so it’s hers. Dr. Kent’s two cars are still in the parking lot, his boat is in Sag Harbor, and his clothes are in her house.” Ellie opened the gate and let Rudy and Mr. T out. “She said he didn’t have a will, so what is she supposed to do with it all?”
“Donate it to a good cause?” Viv grinned. “I bet Martin Kent would have a fit if he knew every nickel of his dirty money went to charity.”
They laughed in tandem as the brisk ocean breeze seemed to push them up the stairs. By the time they reached the deck, Ellie was happy she’d slipped her sweater on after dinner. When her cell vibrated as they were opening the rear door, she stopped and checked the number. “Vivie, it’s Sam. Can you take the boys up? I’ll meet you there in a couple of minutes.”
Viv gave her a wave, corralled the dogs, and scooted them through the kitchen.
“Hey, you,” Ellie began, greeting her guy.
“Hey, yourself. How are you?” Sam asked, his tone low.
“I’m fine . . . just great.” She walked to the fruit bowl as she talked. “How about you?”
“Things are a little slow. I was thinking about taking that ride we talked about.”
Choosing an apple, she cut off a chunk and brought it to Myron. When she heard Sam’s comment, she swallowed a protest. “Uh, ride? We talked about a ride?”
“We discussed it in our last call. I asked you if there was time for me to come out, and you said something about a memorial service for that friend of Viv’s sister. I told you I’d be happy to show up and help you take your mind off things.”
“Oh, oh, yeah. That ride. But the service is tomorrow night, and we have a ton of work to do here to prepare. And I heard there might be another round of storms coming in. That’s going to make more trouble. I just don’t think it’s a convenient time for us to be together.”
“More storms? Funny, because I talked to Captain Carmody a little while ago, and he said tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day ‘out east.’ He practically ordered me to take some time off and go see you for a day or two.”
“Captain Carmody said that?” The dirty rat! She sat at the breakfast table and slumped in the chair. “How sweet of him.”
“I thought it was a nice gesture. So, what do you think?”
The knot on her forehead began to throb. She’d already told him what she thought. What else could she say to keep Sam away? Next thing she knew, the cast of Riverdance was doing a warm-up drill in her temple.
“The man sees how hard you work. I’m sure he meant it as a reward of sorts, but this just isn’t a good time.”
“Okay, if you say so, but I really miss you. I’ve grown used to having someone sleep next to me.”
“Lucky for me I still have Rudy.”
“Ha-ha. Next thing I know you’ll be letting him into bed with us.”
“Only when you’re not there. He’s been very good here. He’s still protecting me”—she swallowed—“from—from—things.”
“From things?” Sam went into cop mode. “What kind of things?”
If she blurted out one word about the police or the DEA, she was toast. “Uh—stupid stuff. Arlene’s three Boston Terriers, her African gray. That sort of thing.” The Riverdance cast slowed their drill. “That’s all.” She took a deep breath. “I have to go, Sam. Viv’s waiting for me upstairs.”
“Planning on a little girl talk?”
“Yep. Girl talk. So I’ll say good night. But I’ll be home in three more days. That’s not so long.”
“Nope, not so long. Okay, babe. See you soon. And be careful, whatever you do.”
Ellie closed her phone. Be careful, whatever I do? What was that all about? She heaved a sigh. Things were going fine until Sam mentioned
Captain Carmody, though it didn’t sound as if he knew about the conversation the captain had had with Jim Bond or her involvement in Dr. Kent’s murder.
Sam always told her to be careful. It was probably nothing.
Putting the phone call behind her, she headed up the back stairs. She still had to fill Viv in on her trip to Dr. Bordowski, and she should probably tell her about the warning she’d received from Officer O’Brien.
They only had about eighteen hours to come up with a workable plan of action for unveiling a murderer, and she still had no idea what to do.
Chapter 18
The next morning, shortly before lunch, Tomas Suarez sat at the terrace table with Ellie and Viv, his shoulders hunched against the gloomy sky. The kid had a funky tattoo on his right arm she guessed was gang related, and another on his left wrist, but his hair was neat, his face free of stubble, and he wore clean but faded jeans and a sparkling white T-shirt. She was certain that Tomas, of medium height with a wiry build, could hold his own in any sort of one-on-one confrontation, especially with a weapon, like the knife the police had found under Dr. Sleazeball’s desk.
Though he was polite, his sullen attitude made her again wonder if he was guilty of the doc’s murder. But Ellie trusted Rosa and Julio’s judgment. Their son swore his innocence with such conviction he’d agreed to go to Mexico with his parents and crawl on his hands and knees up the center aisle of a church, if Ellie could muster her crime-solving skills and prove him blameless.
And since the promise of a manda sounded sincere, she also had to assume that, with the help of his parents and sisters, Tomas would find his way back to his loving family. Which meant she had to ignore his punk guy attitude and fill him in on their plans for the beachside service.
“So you’re saying you think this hombre maldito who killed the doc will be at tonight’s memorial?” Tomas asked, raising an eyebrow. “And you’re going to out him in front of the whole crowd.”
“Not exactly the whole crowd,” Ellie admitted. “Because if everyone who called and said they were attending actually showed up, there would be too many people to carry out our plan. We’ll have to take the final steps inside the house, probably in the living room, with the smaller group that was at the family party that night.”