Killer Beach Reads

by Gemma Halliday Publishing

  Josie choked back a laugh. "What happened after that?"

  Alana dabbed at her eyes. "Luisa threw the dish and your grandmother left in a huff. Of course, I was the lucky one who got to clean up the mess."

  I experienced a twinge of pity for Alana. It must have been a nightmare working for Luisa all of those years. "Grandma said the teapot is missing."

  She nodded. "I noticed that too. I thought perhaps your grandmother had taken it."

  "So you didn't touch it?"

  Alana's mouth fell open in surprise. "I'm no thief, Sally. It was there when I left that evening after your grandmother's visit. The next afternoon, when I came in—that was when I found your aunt." Her lower lip trembled.

  "Did you notice it then?" I asked.

  She shook her head. "To be honest, I really wasn't paying attention. I called for an ambulance, then went to the hospital with Luisa and waited for your grandmother to arrive." Alana blew her nose in a tissue. "After they said there was nothing they could do, I went home. I didn't notice for sure that the pot was missing till the next day when I went back to the house. Like I said, I figured your grandmother took it. She always told Luisa the teapot was supposed to have been hers. Are you sure Rosa doesn't have it?"

  "Positive. My grandmother doesn't lie, Alana."

  Her face fell. "I didn't mean to imply anything. But hey, I know how much she always wanted the thing. Plus, it was worth a lot of money. Luisa had it appraised recently. The guy who came to the house said its value was about twenty-five grand."

  My ears pricked up. "What man? Where was he from?"

  Alana heaved herself out of the comfortable chair and walked over to the old-fashioned rolltop desk in the corner of the room. "I think she put his card in here." She opened a drawer and started rummaging through some papers. "Ah-ha! Here it is." She waved it triumphantly and read aloud. "Art Millington, appraiser and owner of Art's Gems." She handed me the card.

  I studied the address. I knew where the store was—only about a ten-minute ride from Luisa's. I stared at Josie. "What do you think?"

  Josie glanced at her watch. "It's past five. He may already be closed."

  I sighed. "All right, we'll try tomorrow." I placed the card in my purse. "When was he here to see Aunt Luisa?"

  Alana paused to consider. "It was the week before she died. I can't remember the exact day, but he offered to take it off her hands immediately. Said he'd write her a check right then and there for eighteen grand. But she told him no." She watched me with weary eyes. "Luisa didn't need the money that badly. Besides, she loved torturing your grandmother with it."

  That much was obvious. "Did anyone else come by to see her?"

  "Only her nephew, Lorenzo." Disgust was written all over Alana's face as she said the name. "It was the same day your grandmother came by. One of his infrequent visits." She rolled her eyes. "But this time Luisa told him to get out. Said the well was dry, and he wasn't getting another dime out of her. Then she said something really weird. That he could tell whomever he wanted. Why should she care, she was an old lady and would probably die soon anyway. To stop holding things over her head."

  I drew my eyebrows together and stared at Josie, who gave me her I've got nothing look. Curious, I leaned forward. "Do you think he could have been blackmailing Luisa with something?"

  Alana's mouth compressed in a thin, firm line as her eyes held mine. "Excuse my language, but I wouldn't put anything past that piece of crap gold digger. If anyone stole that teapot, I'm betting it was him."

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The next morning, I was up before the birds. There was a lot to do, and I needed to make an early start.

  I took a leisurely shower, basking in the hot spray while humming to myself. For the first time in a long while, I was happy. It felt good to be excited about something again. My divorce was behind me, and life was already changing for the better. I was starting the business I'd dreamed of for years.

  "Sal." My father banged on the door, interrupting my thoughts. "Hurry up. I want to get to Denny's before the breakfast rush."

  Why my father insisted on going to Denny's for a grand slam breakfast instead of eating the yummy frittatas my grandmother made was a complete mystery, but also a bona fide reason for me to move out. In a week since being home, I'd already managed to gain three pounds. The other reason to leave, of course, was to have my own place. As much as I loved my parents, I really needed my space.

  I was anxious to start my new beginning. Ever since that horrible day when I'd come home early from work and found my husband in bed with someone else, life started to descend downhill at a fast clip. Time to forget the past and focus on the present. I was twenty-eight years old, healthy, and had my entire life ahead of me. My divorce wasn't going to break me. If anything, I hoped it would make me stronger.

  Kara and I had an appointment to meet at her office at eight o'clock. I signed the lease and wrote her a check for the security deposit and one month's rent. She presented me with the keys and assured me the owners were fine with my moving in as soon as I wanted. They'd charged me a prorated amount for the month of August and I was free to purchase the building at any time during the rental year. If the shop did as well as I hoped, that was my intention.

  I spent the next couple of hours contacting suppliers and ordering equipment. I reached out to Fred Thompson, who said he'd had a recent cancellation and could be at the shop tomorrow to start work. I hand delivered my application to the health department and was informed an inspector would probably be by later in the week to check out the place. Everything was falling into place. Heck, life was full of second chances and I was determined this would be mine.

  At noon, I pulled up in front of Josie's cute yellow bungalow and honked the horn. My sister's car was already there. She'd offered to babysit the kids so Josie could accompany me to the pawnshop and Lorenzo's.

  "How's she doing?" I asked as Josie settled herself in the passenger seat.

  Josie's lips curved upward into a sly smile. "They're playing court. Danny's going to prison and Gianna's the judge. Should be very good training for her law career."

  We laughed. Unlike myself, Gianna was no great lover of children, but the kids had won out over a possible visit to see Lorenzo. This spoke volumes about how much she hated him.

  A few years back, Lorenzo had asked Gianna to go to the movies with him. He'd recently broken up with his girlfriend, and Aunt Luisa claimed he was depressed and encouraged Gianna to go. "Such a nice, handsome boy," she had said.

  Reluctantly, Gianna gave in and spent the entire evening trying to get away from Lorenzo and his sleazy come-ons. After he finally realized he wasn't getting to first base, he'd thrown her purse into the road and sped off as she went to retrieve it. When Gianna called my parents crying, our father was only too happy to visit Lorenzo and his parents' house with a baseball bat. This did nothing to help mend the already fragile relationship between my grandmother and aunt.

  "Did you sign the lease?" Josie asked

  Smiling, I held up the keys to the shop. "Be ready to start painting tomorrow, girlfriend."

  She screamed so loud I thought she might shatter my eardrum. "I can't believe it. We're really going to do this."

  I pulled out of the driveway. "Me neither. You don't know how much I'm looking forward to this. It's a chance to start everything anew for me."

  "A new business and maybe a man, too." Josie winked.

  I shook my head vehemently. "Way too soon for that. Do you realize this is the first time since sixteen I haven't had a guy in my life? Well, except for those couple of weeks after Mike and I broke up. I'm looking forward to a break."

  Josie feigned a cough. "Hm. Yeah, right. Speaking of your sexy ex, I ran into him at the drugstore last night. He asked about you."

  A tingle ran through my body before I could stop it. I tried to appear nonchalant and kept my eyes fixed on the road. "Oh yeah? And what'd he have to say?"

  She snorted. "Let's see, I'
m trying to remember. Oh shoot, I must be suffering from amnesia again."

  "Don't play that game with me, Jos."

  "Okay, okay." Excited, she turned in the seat to face me. "He asked if your divorce papers had come through and I said yes. I swear that gorgeous face of his brightened like sunshine when I said the words. He also asked where you were living now and I told him all about the shop."

  I groaned and stopped for a red light. "Why did you do that?"

  She shrugged. "It slipped out. Besides, everyone will know soon enough. You remember how fast gossip spreads around here."

  As I pulled into a metered spot across from the store, Josie laid her hand on my arm. Puzzled, I turned to look at her.

  Her blue eyes filled with hope. "Sal, you never gave him a chance to explain. He isn't seeing anyone now and I think—"

  "Well, don't," I replied rudely. I caught the hurt look on her face and sighed. "Sorry, I don't mean to be a jerk. What Mike and I had died ten years ago. Let's leave it in the past, okay?"

  "If that's what you really want," Josie said.

  I squeezed her hand but didn't answer the question. "Come on, let's see what we can find out for Grandma."

  Art was tall and wafer thin, dressed in an ill-fitting suit and tie that must have been uncomfortable in the shop's warm temperature. Spending three years in humid Florida had helped me adjust somewhat to the heat, but now I was sweating profusely and knew my hair was in need of major de-frizzing. There'd been days in the Sunshine State when I'd seriously considered shaving my head bald.

  "Don't you have air-conditioning?" Josie wiped at her forehead.

  Art gave her a saccharin smile. He was in his fifties, with dark brown hair receding in the front, and a fair complexion that came about as close to Albino as one could get. "It's broken. I'm hoping it will be fixed by tomorrow."

  I rearranged my ponytail. "I'm curious about the visit you paid to my great aunt a few weeks ago. She had an antique Italian teapot you appraised. It was shaped like an octagon with green flowers and leaves. Do you remember it?"

  He jerked his head up from the necklace he was cleaning. "The Vezzi teapot? Why, I certainly do." His green eyes gleamed like a cat's. "Has she decided to sell?"

  Josie shook her head. "She's dead."

  Art attempted a sympathetic expression but failed miserably. He wet his lips and tried to keep his voice steady. "What a shame. Did she leave it to you in her will? Do you have it with you? I have a buyer that's willing to pay top dollar. Maybe you—"

  "Hold on, ratchet jaw," Josie interrupted. "The teapot was stolen. We were wondering if you'd seen it."

  He raised his dark, bushy eyebrows at her. "What do you mean, 'have I seen it?' Are you implying I stole the teapot?"

  "Well, did you?"

  Horrified, I elbowed Josie and narrowed my eyes at her. "Ha, she's such a kidder. Anyway, it's gone. We thought maybe someone had brought it here to sell."

  "No, I haven't seen it. I don't get many teapots here." He glared at Josie. "And I don't appreciate red's attitude, either."

  Josie's nostrils flared. "Listen, you big—"

  I cleared my throat loudly and smiled at my best friend. "Didn't you want to look at some artwork for our shop?"

  Art shot us both a dirty look. "I have no artwork here."

  I gave Josie a slight push toward the rear of the store. "She loves to browse. I'm sure she'll find something to her liking."

  Josie grunted and walked away without another word.

  Art shook his head at Josie's back. "Rude. In answer to your question, I remember the old lady very well. Snarky little thing. She wanted to know what the teapot was worth. Said it had been in the family for over a century. When I offered eighteen thousand, she acted highly insulted and told me to get out."

  That sounded like classic Aunt Luisa behavior to me.

  He folded his arms across his chest. "You know, the old lady had a lot of nerve. The amount I offered was more than fair. She wouldn't get a penny higher anywhere else."

  A lightbulb went on inside my head. "Are there any other pawn shops around here? I mean, if someone wanted to make a quick sale of the teapot, who could they take it to beside you?"

  Art puffed out his chest. "My shop's reputation speaks for itself. There would be no reason to go anywhere else." He paused. "Of course, there is Pawn and Stuff over on Western Avenue. They won't pay nearly as much as I do though. Especially if they don't have a buyer interested."

  A young couple who had been looking in one of the display cases waved a hand in the air at Art. He nodded and held up a finger. "Please excuse me for a moment."

  I nodded. "Of course. Thanks so much for your time."

  Art stared back at me with an odd expression. "Good luck. I'm guessing the teapot is long gone by now. Serves her right for not selling it to me." He tossed his head defiantly and walked toward his customers, rendering me speechless.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  As I drove away from the shop, Art's disturbing words continued to ring in my head. "What a horrible thing to say about a woman who just died."

  "A first class creep," Josie agreed. "And he wasn't telling the truth."

  I stole a sideways glance at her. "What do you mean?"

  "About not seeing any teapots like Luisa's. When I went to the back of the store, I noticed a separate room with some other merchandise on shelves. Maybe it was stuff he recently bought. There were at least three other teapots in there. One was kind of similar to your aunt's. Sounds like Art's a liar or has an addiction to tea."

  Was it possible Art's appraisal business might be a bit shady? "Okay, he did seem a little off, but maybe all antique dealers are like that? I can't see him having anything to do with my aunt's death."

  "Sal, it's twenty-five thousand dollars," Josie said. "I've read stories about people being killed for way less than that."

  I put my blinker on to turn left. "True, but I'm convinced Lorenzo is involved somehow. Think about it for a minute. He comes to see Aunt Luisa the day before she dies—how convenient is that? And she refused to give him any more money. Plus, Alana said he was blackmailing her about something. It all adds up."

  "Lorenzo's slimy reputation does speak for itself," Josie said. "I mean, look at what he did to your sister."

  I let out a groan. "Please don't mention him to Gianna. I thought she was going to claw her eyes out last night when I said his name."

  Lorenzo lived in the basement apartment of a multi-family unit owned by his mother. Grandma Rosa said he was in between jobs and spent most of the day drinking beer and playing video games. Gee, what a missed opportunity for Gianna.

  I was almost hoping we wouldn't find him at home and then spotted his beat up Dodge Dakota parked at the curb. I exhaled a sharp breath as we pulled up behind it.

  Josie wrinkled her nose as if she smelled something rotten. She gripped the iron rail as we descended the cement steps to Lorenzo's lair. "Do we really have to do this?"

  I nodded. "I promised Grandma."

  Before we could knock, the door swung open, and Lorenzo looked out at us. He had classic Italian good looks with thick, black hair and sideburns a bit too long. He glanced from me to Josie and his grin widened.

  "Well, hello there." Lorenzo addressed my chest.

  Ick. "We'd like to talk to you if you have a moment."

  "We can talk or do anything else you want." He stepped aside and allowed us entrance. As Josie passed by, Lorenzo grabbed her hand and kissed it. "How lovely to see you, Mrs. Sullivan. It's been a long time."

  Josie yanked her hand away. "Not long enough."

  He was dressed in baggy cargo pants and a white muscle tank that hugged his slender frame and revealed enough chest hair to make myself a shawl or, at the very least, a thick scarf. "So, what brings you beautiful ladies to my rocking bachelor pad?"

  Rocking was one word that didn't come to mind when I glanced around at the surroundings. We were standing in Lorenzo's combined living room and sleeping qua
rters. To our right was a tiny kitchen, which held a card table and two folding chairs. The sink and the table were piled high with dirty dishes and pizza boxes. Directly in front of us was a sleeper sofa, pulled out and unmade, the sheets begging to be washed.

  A flat-screen television was mounted to the wall and an Xbox sat on the coffee table, accompanied by half a dozen or so empty beer bottles and an issue of Playboy. Charming. From the appearance of the frozen television screen, it looked like we had interrupted an important game of Grand Theft Auto V.

  Lorenzo hooked his thumbs into the straps of his tank and tugged, pulling the shirt down even further. I wasn't sure if this was an attempt to reveal even more hair for our liking or just an unconscious gesture. Either way, we weren't impressed.

  He sat down on the sofa bed and patted his lap, giving Josie a sly wink. "Would you like to sit down, ladies?"

  "I'd rather be fed rat poison," Josie mumbled.

  My best friend was anything but subtle. "We want to ask you a couple of questions about your recent visit to see Luisa."

  His grin faded. "What's it to you? I was worried about my aunt. You know, with her being so old and all that."

  Josie placed her hands on her hips and stared him down. "Come off it, Lorenzo. You were looking for money. And your visit was the day before she died. What a coincidence."

  Lorenzo's enormous dark eyes turned black with rage, and he pursed his lips together. "Wait a second, sweetie pie. What're you getting at? And my conversations with Luisa are none of your business."

  He wasn't doing anything to help his credibility here. "Alana said she heard you threatening Luisa. She wouldn't give you any money this time, would she? Does your mother know you were blackmailing her?"

  "I don't know where you get these crazy ideas from," Lorenzo growled. "I asked her for help with a new business idea I've got going. She told me no, and that was the end of it. I never threatened her."

  "Uh-huh," Josie said. "You only came back the next day and killed her."

  "You're nuts." Lorenzo folded the bed up into the sofa, never even bothering to remove a plate and beer bottle still sitting on the sheet. Yuck. He looked at Josie and wet his lips. Just being near the guy was enough to make my skin crawl.