“Well, everyone has their different strengths, Julia,” Kat said. “Nova Catering, you say. All right. I’ll look into it.”
“You’re trying to find out who killed Marie in case it isn’t Auberon, aren’t you?”
“You’ve got it,” Kat said.
“Well, let me know if I can help in any way.”
“You’ve already been a great help, but I’ll keep you in mind.”
Julia smiled, and it came through in her voice. “Thanks for being so nice to me. It helps. A lot.”
“You don’t have to thank me for that,” Kat said warmly.
“Oh, but I do.”
Kat got the impression Julia didn’t have a particularly easy life at home, but she had nothing to base it on. It was just a feeling. “Well, you’re always welcome, Julia. And if you need anything, be sure to give me a call, and I’ll help any way I can. Apart from anything else, that’s what Marie would have wanted. She was clearly as fond of you as you were of her. Very much so.”
“Yes,” Julia said sadly. “I’m going to miss her so much.”
“Me, too.”
“Well, I guess I should go grab my things and leave now. Bye, Kat.”
“Bye, Julia. Call me anytime.”
“I will.”
When she ended the call, it was like Kat came to her senses. She’d been so focused on her conversation with Julia, she hadn’t realized how far she’d walked with Jazz and Rudy. She must have been pretty much power walking, she thought, laughing to herself. They were near the entrance of the park, opposite the large white Baptist church, which was a new building but with old-fashioned architecture.
It was a beautiful day, and usually Kat would have slowed down to enjoy the dappled shade the trees cast on the park pathways, and to feel the gentle breeze gently fluffing back her hair as she walked, but there was little time for that now. Not only did she have a family in transition at home to support, she also had a murder to solve.
She considered turning around and walking home right away, but Jazz and Rudy tugged her in the direction of the park and looked back at her with big, doleful eyes.
She chuckled at them. “All right, but only ten minutes. We need to be back for Florence.” She hoped she wasn’t being too interfering, but just supportive. Lacie and Tyler were clearly doing a wonderful job as new parents. She only wanted to make it easier for them in any way she could, knowing how difficult a newborn could be.
While she and the dogs were walking through the park, Kat mulled the murder of Marie Moorhead over in her mind. She wondered if it really could be Auberon. He stood to gain a huge amount in inheritance, so that provided the motive. He’d been out of contact with his mother for so many years it indicated that their relationship wasn’t close enough to call into question his ability to kill his own mother.
The only thing she couldn’t work out, though, was how he would have done it. He couldn’t have been at the party himself, of course, because Marie would have noticed. How would he have even known when the party was? Perhaps it was mentioned in the press.
Kat Googled Nova Catering, and found their telephone number. She put in a call to the company, and asked if she could get the list of who had been sent to do the catering work. Thankfully, the receptionist was extremely professional and didn’t even ask why. She said, “Sure, Ms. Denham. What email address shall I send it to?” Kat was glad she didn’t have to spin any more white lies.
Even better, the email was in her inbox before she left the park. A notification pinged on her phone, and in a moment she was reading the list of waiters and waitresses sent to Marie’s launch party. Her heart beating wildly, she went through the list. She looked at it, hoping that a name would jump out at her, but none did, and the list was quite long.
When she and the dogs returned home and she put her key in the lock to get in the house, it all came together. She gasped. “Oh, my goodness.” Kat let Jazz and Rudy off their leashes in the hallway, feeling dazed. She heard Blaine, Lacie, and Tyler talking in the kitchen, but she couldn’t focus on what they were saying.
She’d just realized who killed Marie Moorhead.
CHAPTER 19
Kat walked into the kitchen, trying to focus on the family for a moment. Lacie was sitting at the kitchen table, feeding Florence, while Tyler and Blaine were clearing away the breakfast dishes.
“Thanks for a wonderful breakfast, Kat,” Tyler said. “That was sure a nice surprise when we woke up.”
Kat smiled. “My pleasure.”
Lacie peered at her. “Are you all right, Mom? You don’t look so good.”
“I’m fine, honey, don’t worry,” Kat said. “More to the point, are you all right? How was your night.”
“Just fine,” Lacie said. “Florence woke up to eat every four hours and went right back to sleep each time.”
Blaine grinned. “I don’t think this little one’s going to be too much trouble.”
“I just want her to be a happy girl,” Lacie said. “For her own sake.” Kat nodded approvingly.
“Mom,” Lacie pressed. “What’s going on? Don’t hold something back on my account. Does it have something to do with Marie? Or the letter you got?”
Kat sighed. “I can’t hide anything from you, can I?”
“Nope,” Lacie said, stroking Florence’s little head gently.
“I just realized who murdered Marie, and how it was done,” she said.
“Really?” Lacie said. “Who did it?”
“I haven’t got all the evidence yet, Lace, so I don’t want to say right now.”
“You can still hand over what you’ve found out to the Beverly Hills police,” Blaine said. “They can take it from there. You never know, they might have the piece of evidence you’re missing.”
“Okay,” said Kat, with a deep breath. “I think I’ll do it now before I lose my nerve.”
So she did. She called and asked for the lead detective on the case, and was immediately put through to a Detective Julius.
“Who’s this?” the detective barked. She had a very stern, abrupt manner.
Kat tried to match her forcefulness with her own voice, though it didn’t come all that naturally. She opened the doors to the patio and went outside, not wanting her stern voice to upset Florence. She introduced herself, then said, “I have some information on the Marie Moorhead case. I think I might know who did it.”
“We already have Auberon Lennon-Schroeder in custody, ma’am.”
“I know that,” Kat said. “But it’s not him. I don’t believe he did it. Would you listen to the information I have?” That came out in a more pleading way than she’d intended.
“Fine,” Detective Julius said, sounding like she was only humoring Kat.
Kat told her the information.
“Thank you for your interest in the case,” Detective Julius said blandly, like she hadn’t even been listening. “What you have told me will be duly recorded in my report.” Then she hung up the phone.
“Ugh!” Kat said with frustration. She took a couple of deep breaths before she came back to the kitchen, shaking her head. “Well, that’s going nowhere. Just give me a moment.”
She went to the end of the yard where Jazz and Rudy were playing. They trotted along behind her, looking a little concerned. Kat just wanted a moment away from everyone, to get her mind straight.
What was she going to do?
If Auberon really was innocent, which she suspected, then he was needlessly in jail, which had to be very distressing for him and his family. It was the last thing he needed at this sad time. But the most important thing was that the real killer was walking away scot-free.
There was nothing Kat wanted to do more than forget all of this was happening, and focus on the cozy new set up in her family. She wanted to stay home and learn how to knit, so she could make a blanket for little Florence. She wanted to go out with Lacie and buy cute outfits for Florence. She wanted to stay home and cook wonderfully nutritious family meals for t
hem all to enjoy. She wanted to have late breakfasts with Blaine while he was off from work.
But she couldn’t forget Marie. She felt compelled to obtain justice for her. But if the police didn’t want to listen to her or follow up her leads, what could she do?
She felt completely torn and mixed up about what was happening. In the end, she decided to see if she could get a phone call through to Auberon even though he was in police custody. She knew it was a long shot, but miraculously, her call was put through to him.
“Kat?”
“Auberon,” she said. “I’m so sorry about what’s happening.”
“I didn’t do it, Kat. Really, I didn’t. I know why it might look that way, what with the inheritance and all.”
“Don’t worry,” Kat said. “I believe you. In fact, I think I know who it is. I got the catering company from the launch party to send me a list of the waiters and waitresses who were there that night, and a name on the list rang a bell with me. I realized it was a man who had a strong link with someone I’d already been considering as a suspect. I’m pretty sure they sent him to put poison in Marie’s food or champagne.”
“You sound reluctant to say who it is.”
“I am. I have less evidence than I’d ideally like to have. I actually called the lead detective and gave her the information I have, but it got nowhere.”
“You’re wasting your time there,” he said bitterly. His voice became very quiet, and Kat thought there might be a policeman within earshot. “I’ve overheard people talking, and they said they’re getting set to charge me. Someone mentioned there wasn’t enough evidence, but they said they’d fabricate it. This place is corrupt to the core.”
“Oh, Auberon.”
“I think the killer is paying them off. There’s one good guy. I heard him saying something about justice and procedure. He’s called Handsworth. But from the way the boss spoke to him, I expect he’ll be squeezed out any day now.”
“Handsworth. Handsworth. Maybe I could get through to him. The only other way is to try to squeeze out a confession, and I admit, I’m not overjoyed at the prospect.”
“I understand,” Auberon said, his voice tightening in his throat. “I know your daughter just had a baby, but please Kat, do whatever you can. Otherwise I may be looking at spending the rest of my life in prison. Who knows how far this corruption goes up? The judge might be in their pockets, too.”
“Okay,” Kat croaked. “I’ll do what I can, Auberon.”
Kat had been absentmindedly picking leaves off a nearby bush as she talked to Auberon. When she turned around, she came face to face with Lacie, who had Florence asleep on her shoulder.
“Lacie, what are you doing out here?”
“Sorry, Mom. I knew something more was up,” Lacie said, “from the way you rushed to the end of the yard to make a phone call. I know it’s bad manners to eavesdrop, but I heard everything. Go, Mom. Go to Beverly Hills and try to wrap this up. I think we owe it to Marie. And Marie would want you to help her child, too. Just like she helped your child.”
“That’s true.” Kat sighed.
“Anyway, the killer already knows you’re onto them,” Lacie said. “They sent the threatening letter to you, so you have no option but to get them put behind bars.”
“Sounds good on paper, Lacie, but the police there don’t want to know the truth. Even if I could get a confession, they’re not going to want to do anything with it. We could be in even more danger than if I just drop it.” She sighed. “But I can’t do that to Marie.”
Lacie paced for a moment, then looked at Kat, her eyes full of light. “Mom, I have an idea.”
Later that day, Kat was sitting in the boarding area of the airport, about to fly to Los Angeles, with Rudy sitting next to her. Blaine had driven her at the airport and had wrapped her up in a big hug when he said goodbye to her on the curb in front of the airport.
“I don’t think you investigating murder cases is ever going to get easier for me,” he’d said. “But you’re a free woman. And my job isn’t to tell you what to do. It’s to love you, despite the crazy things you do.” They’d laughed together, and then she and Rudy had hurried inside.
She had ten minutes or so before they boarded the plane, and she used her time researching white snakeroot, which she cursed herself for not having done before.
Ageratina altissima, also known as richweed and white sanicle, she read. She’d expected it to be an exotic plant, but found out it was a simple weed, found pretty much all-over North America. Usually it became a problem when cattle ate it, since it contaminated their meat and milk.
When humans consumed it, they got ‘milk sickness’ or tremetol poisoning. Apparently thousands had been killed by milk sickness in the early 19th century, including Abraham Lincoln’s mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln.
So Marie hadn’t been poisoned by some exotic South American flower extract, as Kat had imagined. She wondered why she’d even thought that. Perhaps because Marie was so glamorous, the poison used to kill her would have had to have been equally glamorous. It was a silly oversight for which Kat mentally scolded herself. An assumption she hadn’t even realized she’d made.
When Kat’s plane touched down at LAX, she began to get nervous. Could she really just turn up, tell what she knew, and expect a confession? She felt somewhat better with Rudy at her side, but she knew what she was doing was rash, and yes, dangerous. As she waited for a cab she wiped her brow, not sure if she was sweating from the heat or from the prospect of catching the killer.
She’d set up Lacie’s idea. Now she just hoped it worked.
She and Rudy got in the cab, and far too soon, it pulled up outside her destination. “Stay here, please,” she told the cab driver. “I cannot stress that enough. Please wait for me.”
The cab driver grinned. “I’m not a getaway driver, am I?”
Something like that, she thought. “No, no, not at all. I’m just in a hurry. I have to catch another plane pretty soon,” which was true. She’d booked a flight for that evening, hoping she’d be at home and tucked up in bed by 1:00 a.m. The flight was flexible, though, so if she needed to, she could move it to another day.
Kat and Rudy got out of the cab. “Here goes nothing,” she whispered to him.
CHAPTER 20
“I think you’re still in time to catch him,” the receptionist said. “Quick, come with me.”
She led Kat and Rudy to a side door and then outside. While the receptionist was looking for Christo Alexiadis, Kat concentrated on placing a phone call that would hopefully make the plan work, the thing Lacie had told her to do. When she finished, she looked up and saw Christos Alexiadis in a golf cart, a little ways away from where she was standing.
“Mr. Alexiadis,” the receptionist called out in a loud voice. She turned to Kat and said, “He’s just going into the nearby woodland to look at locations for a new fantasy movie we’re doing.”
Kat’s heart was thundering in her chest as Christos stopped the golf cart and turned around. He smiled. “Ms. Denham. What a pleasant surprise.”
Kat’s mouth went totally dry. “Hello.”
“I’m afraid I can’t stay for a chat,” he said. “I’m a busy man. Care to join me?” He tapped the seat next to him ominously.
No, no, no, no, no, Kat thought. All of her instincts were screaming at her, but she knew what she had to do. She plastered a fake smile on her face on her face and said in a pleasing tone of voice, “I’d love to.”
“Your dog can ride in the back,” he said.
Kat got Rudy situated in the back of the golf cart, then sat next to Christos, wishing all of this was a nightmare, and she could wake up from it. He stank of coffee and cigars. When he smiled again, up close she saw that his teeth were stained yellow and brown. His bulk was such that he was sweating in the folds of his neck, and sweat was dripping down onto his blue shirt.
Kat somehow managed to suppress the shudder she felt.
“Off we go,” he said, wit
h an excitement that intimidated her.
The studio lot was situated on a large flat piece of land covered with concrete, like an airport tarmac. But he stepped on the gas and they were going far too fast as they made their way off the concrete and onto woodland paths. The way he was going, bouncing over roots and bumps on the ground, Kat wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised if the golf cart rolled over and they were both injured.
But when she looked over at him, there was a sick, kind of excited joy in his eyes, which were shining far too brightly.
“So, what brings you to Hollywood?”
“You know very well why I’m here,” she replied.
“Oh, do I?” He made a dramatic swerve, and Rudy fell off the back of the golf cart, yelping in shock.
“Stop! Stop this cart right now!” she screamed.
Christos laughed. “Whoops!”
Kat wondered if she could just jump off the cart, but it was traveling at such a high speed, she knew she’d be badly injured if she tried to jump. She looked back to see Rudy running behind the golf cart, even though he seemed to be favoring his right front leg.
They turned a sharp corner, and Rudy was out of sight.
Christos chuckled. “You didn’t really think I’d let your dog intimidate me, did you?”
Kat felt like crying. But the only thing she was holding onto was the hope that her plan would work, and everything would be okay.
“You killed Marie Moorhead, didn’t you?”
“Certainly not,” he said. “Remember, I told you I wasn’t invited to her launch party.”
“No, you weren’t, but you sent Tucker Lombard in to do your dirty work. He was listed as a waiter with Nova Catering, the catering company who catered her launch party.”
He chuckled nastily. “You’ve been doing your homework, haven’t you? Unfortunately for you, I don’t even know who Tucker Lombard is.”
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