Steamed to Death

by Peg Cochran

  “Unless we’re dealing with two different murderers, it can’t be Vanessa.” Gigi explained about her trip into the city and how the girl at the Vandenberg Gallery had given Vanessa an alibi.

  “Well, that does mean she didn’t kill Derek, but I can definitely see her killing Felicity,” Alice said. “She’s ruthless. She wanted Felicity’s man, and she wanted her part on the soap. Or”—Alice’s face lit up with a sudden thought—“maybe she was in it with Don? Maybe she doesn’t give a fig about Winchel but is just playing up to him to throw everyone off the scent, so to speak. Vanessa kills Felicity, and Don makes sure he has an alibi. Then when Derek becomes a problem, Don does the deed”—Alice ran her finger across her throat in a slicing gesture—“and Vanessa makes sure she’s the one with the alibi.”

  “Have you told Mertz what you learned at the gallery?” Sienna rubbed her belly, which was pressed up against the cocktail table.

  “I left a message, but I’ll try him again.” Gigi pulled her cell from her purse. She glanced at it and frowned. “No service. I’d better go outside.”

  “Vanessa can stew for a bit. Do her good, if you ask me. Besides, I imagine they’ll hold her for theft of Felicity’s Emmy if nothing else.” Sienna put her hand on Gigi’s arm. “You enjoy your drink.”

  “I have some news, too.” Gigi looked around, but the people at the nearest tables were deep in conversation.

  She explained about the clipping and how it appeared that the woman in the obituary was Anja’s sister.

  Sienna wrinkled her nose. “Don’t you think it’s rather odd that Anja would choose to work for the very woman who accused her sister of stealing? Assuming we’re right, and Anja is this girl’s sister.”

  “It’s not odd at all.” Gigi reached for an olive. “Not if Anja was planning on avenging her sister.” She popped the olive into her mouth. “I think she got her revenge. I think she murdered Felicity.”

  Alice regarded Gigi with her mouth open in a round O.

  Sienna took a sip of her lemon water. “Revenge is certainly a strong motive. Especially if the sisters were close.”

  Alice’s face was creased in a deeply furrowed frown. Sienna turned toward her.

  “What is it?”

  “There’s something we’re forgetting.” Alice worried her napkin between her fingers. “I can’t get hold of it. Give me a minute.” She furrowed her brow even more.

  Suddenly she slapped the table with her hand. “I’ve got it now. Anja can’t have done it. She wasn’t there. Don’t you remember? She went off into town on that bicycle of hers to fetch that special tea Felicity liked.”

  Gigi felt her face fall. She was surprised that her chin didn’t actually hit the table. She was so positive that she’d solved Felicity’s murder! She fiddled with the paper napkin under her drink.

  “I suppose you’re right,” she said with a soupçon of ill humor.

  “Cheer up! If it turns out Vanessa really didn’t do it, we still have plenty of suspects.” Alice reached for her purse. “I don’t know about you, but I’d best be getting along home.”

  “Me, too.” Sienna opened her purse, pulled out her wallet and put a credit card on the table.

  Gigi pulled her wallet from her handbag with leaden fingers. She had been so sure she was right!

  The waitress came by and swooped up the tabs. “I’ll be right back with these.”

  She was as good as her word, and moments later they were headed toward the front door. Declan’s had filled up, and many of the patrons looked as if they had come off the train from the city. Gigi supposed they were the ones who could afford Declan’s prices for dishes like roast quail with figs.

  The cold air outside made them all gasp, and Gigi pulled her collar up around her neck as they walked toward where she’d parked Alice’s car.

  “You look tired,” Alice admonished Sienna when they reached Alice’s Taurus. “You should go home and put your feet up.”

  “Oh, I will,” Sienna assured her. “I just have to stop by Winchel’s. I think I left my flash drive somewhere in the office I was using.”

  “Just be careful,” Alice said with a dark look. “Terrible things have happened in that house.”

  “Don’t be silly.” Sienna gave Alice an affectionate squeeze. “Nothing is going to happen to me.”

  Gigi got behind the wheel, and after several false starts, the Taurus roared to life. She dropped Alice off at her house and gratefully turned the car toward home, breathing a sigh of relief as her cottage came into view. She pulled into the drive, and she and Reg got out.

  The wind grabbed Gigi’s scarf and slapped it playfully against her face. “Come on, Reg,” she called to the Westie, who was busy sniffing a bush, “it’s freezing out here.”

  Gigi closed her cottage door behind her, leaned against it and groaned with relief. It was good to be home! Reg ran through the living room and into the kitchen, sniffing furiously as if reacquainting himself with what were once old, familiar smells.

  Gigi kicked off her shoes and padded out to the kitchen. Her stomach growled briefly, reminding her it was dinnertime. Fortunately, she had a container of homemade chicken soup in the freezer. She would heat that up and along with a piece of toast, she’d be more than satisfied.

  She was pressing the defrost button on the microwave when Reg began mewling and scratching at the back door.

  “All right, Mr. Whiny Pants, I’ll take you out. Although I suspect what you really want to do is check out that bush you were sniffing earlier, a bit more thoroughly.”

  Gigi pulled her coat from the closet and put it on, Reg circling her legs the entire time. She stuck her hand into her pockets to retrieve her gloves. A piece of paper came out with them and fluttered to the floor.

  She was tempted to leave it but instead bent and picked it up with a sigh. She glanced at it briefly and was about to put it on the table in the foyer when she did a double-take.

  It was the receipt from Bon Appétit that she’d meant to give back to Anja. And the information on it made her knees weak and her hands tremble.

  Chapter 27

  “Come on, Reg,” Gigi commanded as she opened the front door. “We’ve got to get over to Felicity’s.”

  She had to drag him past the bush that had enticed him so, but he jumped into the car readily enough when Gigi opened the door.

  Gigi had to resist the urge to speed on the way to Felicity’s. She thought of calling Mertz, but by the time she explained the situation and convinced him she was right, it might be too late.

  The receipt from Bon Appétit that she’d pulled from her pocket clearly showed that Anja had purchased Felicity’s herbal tea three days before Felicity’s murder. She had planned the whole thing in cold blood and had even given herself an alibi.

  And Sienna was there, possibly alone, with a killer.

  Gigi pressed down a little harder on the gas. Five miles over the limit ought to be safe enough. She rounded the corner, and nearly missed the turn into Felicity’s driveway. She made the left on two wheels, cringing a bit at the squealing of her tires. The only car in the driveway was Sienna’s. A light was on over the front door, but no other lights shone through the front windows.

  Gigi parked behind Sienna’s car. “You’ll have to stay here,” she said to Reg, who was ready to jump out as soon as she opened the door. “I’ll be right back.”

  Gigi walked around toward the back of the house. A bright light was burning in the kitchen. It shone through the window and cast a pool of light on the shriveled herb garden outside. She tiptoed toward the back door and peered through the window. The room appeared to be empty, and there was a pair of black leather gloves sitting on the table alongside a purse that she thought she recognized as Anja’s. She pressed her nose to the glass, attempting to see farther into the room, but it was in vain.

  Gigi tried the back door handle and breathed a sigh of relief when it turned easily. She slipped into the kitchen and looked around. Everything was
neat and tidy—all cleaned up and put to bed for the night. She wondered if Winchel was dining out. Certainly Anja had left no preparations for his evening meal.

  There were no sounds from the hall, so Gigi cautiously inched out of the kitchen. The living room was dark except for a small lamp on top of the piano. The dining room was completely dark, and for once, there was no light coming from Winchel’s library. Two battered-looking suitcases stood to the side of the front door. Gigi flipped the luggage tag over on one of them. Anja’s name and a foreign address were printed in neat block letters. It looked as if Anja was ready to make a run for it.

  Gigi began to creep up the staircase, staying to the side where she knew the stairs wouldn’t creak. She made the second-floor landing undisturbed. A wall sconce cast a dim splash of light across the carpet.

  She rounded the bend in the staircase and started toward the third floor. She wanted to call out for Sienna, but didn’t dare. If Winchel was home, he’d have every right to call the police and have her ejected. The thought of Mertz arriving to find her . . . her face burned like an overheated oven. She tiptoed even more quietly up the third flight of stairs toward Sienna’s old office, and the room that had been Anja’s.

  A small lamp was lit in the hallway, but the rooms were dark. Gigi checked Sienna’s office first, but no one was there. She wasn’t surprised—why would Sienna be sitting there in the dark? She suppressed a nervous giggle at the thought and made her way toward the other end of the hall and Anja’s room.

  It, too, was cloaked in darkness. Gigi swept a hand along the wall until she found the light switch. The sudden glare from the overhead light nearly blinded her, and she closed her eyes quickly. When she was able to open them again, she could see that the room was empty. The picture frame was gone from the top of the dresser and so were the comb and brush and other little odds and ends Anja had kept there. She tiptoed farther into the room and slid open a drawer—also empty.

  Gigi started down the back stairs, which would lead her directly to the kitchen. She paused every few steps to listen, but save for some creaks and groans, the old house was silent. She wondered where Anja had gone. Obviously her departure must be imminent if her bags were already packed and waiting by the door.

  There was a noise, and Gigi nearly slid off the step. It was too faint to identify—it could have been coming from inside or out. Her heart beat so loudly in her ears that it was hard to hear, and she had to wait until the rhythm slowed. She had her foot on the last step when she heard the noise again. It was definitely coming from inside, and unless she was mistaken, it sounded like someone calling.

  She peered into the kitchen, but Anja had not reappeared. She couldn’t imagine where Sienna had gone—she couldn’t be far away with her car still parked in the driveway. Gigi realized she hadn’t checked the butler’s pantry, although she couldn’t imagine what on earth Sienna would be doing in there.

  Just as Gigi pushed open the swinging door to the pantry, she heard the noise again. It was someone calling, and it sounded as if it were coming from the basement. She paused to listen and was caught off guard when someone shoved the pantry’s swinging door hard against her.

  Gigi stumbled backward and slipped on a throw rug. She went down hard, knocking her head against a cabinet door. She looked up to find Anja standing over her.

  “Get up.” Anja put out a hand, and Gigi had no choice but to grab it for support.

  As soon as Gigi was on her feet, Anja transferred her grip to Gigi’s upper arm.

  “Ouch.”

  Anja snickered. “If you hadn’t started sticking your nose into things.” Anja gave a wicked smile. “Although it was very helpful when you discovered that I’d moved the chair away from the sauna after I was quite certain Madam was dead. I needed to know what your policeman knew to prepare myself.” Anja threw her head back and laughed. “And then that idiot Vanessa taking Madam’s Emmy. As if I cared.” She snorted. “But at least it occupied the police for a while.”

  Anja had a viselike grip on Gigi, and although Gigi tried to pull away, Anja held fast.

  “Let me go.”

  Anja shook her head, her lips set in a thin, determined line. “You’re going to join your friend in the basement.”

  “Sienna?”

  Anja nodded her head.

  “You can’t do that. She’s pregnant. She’s having the baby any day now.”

  “I do not care. It is her own fault.”

  By now, Anja had already hustled Gigi halfway to the basement door. The sounds she’d heard earlier were louder now, and she was fairly certain it was Sienna calling from the cellar. Gigi increased her struggles, but Anja increased her grip and marched her in lockstep even closer to the door.

  Gigi’s head throbbed, and she was fairly certain there would be a sizeable goose egg on her scalp. She gathered all her strength and tried to throw Anja off, but it was impossible. She grabbed the edge of the counter and held fast. Anja was momentarily stymied, but when she picked up a meat mallet and threatened to bring it down on Gigi’s fingers, Gigi let go. She thought of grabbing for the mallet herself, but Anja blocked her before the idea had even completely formed.

  Gigi thought she heard Reg barking from her car parked out front, and she panicked. What would Reg do without her? She renewed her efforts to break Anja’s grip, but to no avail. She soon found herself face-to-face with the door to the basement. Sienna’s cries were quite clear now. Her voice was choked with tears and that infuriated Gigi. She rounded on Anja with all her might, but Anja already had her hand on the doorknob and managed to yank the door open. She gave Gigi an almighty shove that sent her tumbling down the stairs head over heels.

  Chapter 28

  Gigi landed on the cold, stone floor with a thud. For a moment, she was too startled to understand where she was or what had happened, but it all came back as her head cleared. She looked up to find Sienna standing over her, her face collapsed in worry.

  “Are you okay?” Sienna sniffed back tears.

  “I’m not sure. I think so.” Gigi moved both arms, then both legs. Nothing was broken, although she throbbed from her head to her toes. “Give me a hand.” She held out her hand to Sienna and got rather unsteadily to her feet.

  Gigi swayed slightly, and Sienna grabbed her quickly. “Maybe you’d better sit down.”

  “I’ll be okay. Give me a minute.” Gigi explored the back of her head. She was right—there was a huge goose egg forming. She winced and turned toward Sienna. “How are you? Is everything okay with the baby?”

  Sienna put a hand on her protruding stomach. “I think so. It’s kicking like mad, and that’s a good sign.”

  “We have to get you out of here.” Gigi looked around the basement. She’d been down there once before but hadn’t paid much attention. Canned goods and other supplies were stacked on the rough wood shelving unit that lined one wall. A small window, caked with dirt, was high up on the other wall. Unfortunately, there were no ladders or even step stools that might have helped her reach it. She didn’t doubt that Anja had already bolted the basement door, so there would be no escape that way.

  “I guess we’ll have to wait until Anja leaves and Winchel comes back.” Sienna gave a brave smile. “We won’t be down here forever.” She brushed some dust off an overturned carton and sat down, a hand at her back.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Sienna nodded. “A cramp. It’s nothing.” She closed her eyes and clenched her fists at her sides.

  Gigi didn’t believe her. Sienna was in labor. They were going to have to get out of there sooner rather than later.

  “If I could reach that window,” Gigi said when Sienna opened her eyes and looked up again.

  “It’s not worth it. Winchel is bound to come home eventually. We can wait till then. I don’t want you to risk getting hurt.”

  Gigi bit down on her impatience. She didn’t want to upset Sienna, so she spread out a plastic bag she found on one of the shelves and eased i
nto a sitting position on the floor, her back against the shelving unit. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. It was hard to think with her head throbbing so badly.

  “What’s that smell?” Sienna sniffed loudly.

  Gigi’s eyes flew back open. “What smell?”

  “Maybe it’s my imagination . . .” Sienna’s brow furrowed as she took another deep breath.

  Gigi closed her eyes and took a sniff. There was the hint of something in the air, but she couldn’t place it. She inhaled deeply again.

  Suddenly Sienna jumped to her feet. “It’s gas! I smell gas.”

  Gigi shook her head. “No, I don’t think . . .” She took a deeper breath and sputtered. “You’re right. It’s gas! Anja must have turned on all the burners and blew out the flames.” She turned toward Sienna. “We have to get out of here now. If there’s a spark . . .”

  Sienna gave a sob and once again closed her eyes, both hands pressed hard against her back.

  “If I could reach that window . . .” Gigi looked around the basement again, but nothing had materialized since her earlier perusal. The shelving unit caught her eye, and she went over to examine it. She gave it a good shake.

  “This doesn’t appear to be attached to the wall,” she said excitedly. “If we can take everything off and move this over by the window, perhaps I can use it as a ladder.”

  “Are you sure? It’s not very sturdy.”

  Gigi coughed. The smell was getting stronger. “We don’t have any choice.” She started shifting cans of diced tomatoes and chicken broth to the floor. “It’s this or . . .” She didn’t have to spell out the consequences to Sienna, who immediately began moving some of the lighter items.

  By the time the shelves were emptied, Gigi was sweating and sneezing from the dust; however, the most difficult part of the task was still at hand—moving the unit itself. It was fairly light but very awkward. Gigi would have been tempted to give up except for the strengthening smell of gas and the thought that at any minute a spark could blow them both sky high.