Bookmarked For Death (Berkley Prime Crime Mysteries)

by Lorna Barrett

  Tricia heaved a sigh. "I found her. Just like--" She risked a glance over her shoulder. "Like she is."

  "And you didn't kill her."

  Tricia's jaw dropped. "Of course not. She was my guest."

  "Did she argue with anyone tonight?"

  "No." She thought about it. "Although she had a little tiff with her niece, Kimberly Peters. And Kimberly did leave in a rush. I suppose she could've come back, snuck in through the open back door and . . ." The thought was too terrible to contemplate. A family member killing for-- what? Money, revenge? Weren't they the usual motives?

  "Kimberly also let it slip that her aunt was being blackmailed."

  The sheriff raised an eyebrow, and Tricia explained.

  "Was she teasing or serious?"

  "That I couldn't say."

  Wendy Adams grunted. "I'll need a list of everyone who was at the signing tonight."

  "I can't give you one. I mean, I don't know everyone who came. I sent press releases to the Stoneham Weekly News and the Nashua newspaper, and advertising circulars. We had a good crowd. Maybe twenty-five people in all."

  "Give me a few for instances."

  Tricia exhaled again. "My sister, Ginny Wilson, Mr. Everett, Russ Smith, and Grace Harris, of course. Then there were Deborah Black, Nikki Brimfield, Frannie Armstrong, Julia Overline--" She thought about the faces . . . but no other names came to mind. "That's all I can think of. Ginny or Mr. Everett might be more helpful. They've lived in the area longer and are more familiar with the locals."

  The sheriff's expression said not helpful enough. "Had you noticed anything out of the ordinary with the victim?"

  "Her niece said Zoe had to take her medication at precisely eight o'clock. I thought that was a little odd, but apparently that's about the time she disappeared. I think I was on the register at the time. I sort of lost track."

  "The victim didn't disappear. She died. In your bathroom, and not from taking any medication." It sounded like an accusation.

  "I assure you, I had nothing to do with her death. And I don't know why anyone else would want to kill her, either."

  "Do you recognize the murder weapon?"

  Tricia blinked. She'd never thought of a bungee cord as a weapon before. Her insides twisted. "I . . . think . . . it could be one of the shop's. I don't know. I bought a bunch of them at the dollar store in Nashua some time ago. There were three or four in the package."

  "Where would you keep them?"

  "On one of the dollies in back."

  Sheriff Adams bent down, grasped Tricia's elbow, and hauled her up. "Let's go have a look."

  One of the deputies stood outside the washroom, taking digital photographs of the room and the victim from every angle. Tricia averted her gaze, feeling every muscle in her body tighten as they passed the tiny room and its deceased occupant.

  The dollies were lined up along the wall near the back exit, two piled with boxes of books, one empty. Another deputy was crouched before the door, dusting for fingerprints, but straightened as his boss approached. "Only one or two clear prints." He eyed Tricia. "She said she touched it--they're probably hers."

  Tricia swallowed her annoyance. Getting angry or protesting in her own defense would only cause them to think she could be guilty. But there was no way. This time she had witnesses.

  "Where do you keep these bungee cords?" Sheriff Adams asked.

  Tricia pointed to a rack of shaker pegs on the wall where a red and a yellow pair of bungee cords hung, along with an old umbrella, one of her zippered sweat jackets, and Ginny's, Angelica's, and Mr. Everett's coats.

  "And you think there may have been a green one among them?"

  She nodded. "Mr. Everett or Ginny might know for sure."

  The sheriff's sour expression and general attitude relayed her unspoken belief that Tricia was clueless about her own property. But honestly, was she supposed to account for every pushpin, paper clip, and bungee cord on the premises?

  "Just to be clear, because Ms. Carter was a famous person, Stoneham is likely to be inundated with press from Nashua, Manchester, and probably even Boston as soon as this breaks. I don't want you talking to anyone about what you saw in that bathroom."

  "Russ Smith saw Zoe's body, and he's a reporter. He's sure to write about it."

  "Yes, but he won't give his scoop to another news outlet, and by the time the next issue of the Stoneham Weekly News comes out, the story will be as stale as week-old bread."

  Tricia swallowed her resentment. "Can I reopen in the morning?"

  Sheriff Adams shook her head. "Not a chance. This store is a crime scene."

  "But I also live here."

  "Not tonight. And maybe not for a few days."

  "But I have customers. Haven't Got a Clue is participating in the book fair and statue dedication this weekend. I have to be ready."

  "If the Sheriff's Department is finished with its investigation, there'll be no problem. If we're not--" Wendy Adams's smile was positively wolfish. "Too bad."

  "What about my cat? Can I at least retrieve her, some clothes, and other personal items?"

  "Sure. And a deputy will accompany you as you gather these things."

  Did the sheriff think Tricia had already stashed some kind of evidence upstairs? That she needed to retrieve it to avoid prosecution? Tricia couldn't keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "Thank you, Sheriff."

  The streets of Stoneham had been deserted for hours by the time the last of the witnesses had been interviewed by the sheriff and her staff. Standing on the damp pavement

  outside Haven't Got a Clue, Tricia, Angelica, Ginny, Mr. Everett, and Grace, who were finally given permission to retrieve their coats, had assembled to talk about the nearterm future.

  Ginny's lower lip quivered. "We aren't going to reopen? But--but I can't afford to lose even one day's pay," she said, alarm creeping into her voice. "We need a new roof. The water heater sprang a leak. And now the dryer is on the fritz--"

  Ginny's newly purchased, darling little cottage in the woods--all appliances included--had turned into a gigantic money pit.

  Tricia had saved the bad news about closing her bookstore until the sheriff had questioned everyone who'd remained after the signing. By then, it was nearly eleven o'clock. Zoe's body still hadn't been removed, but the sheriff assured Tricia she'd take care of securing the premises.

  "Don't worry, Ginny, you can come work for me for a few days," Angelica suggested, her voice oozing with sweetness. "You, too, Mr. Everett. I'm a bit short of help this week, and it would solve everyone's problems."

  "Not mine," Tricia said, and shivered. She was hanging onto her purse, an overnight bag, her laptop computer case, and the cat carrier. Beside her on the sidewalk were a bag of litter, the cat's box, and a grocery bag of food, bowls, and kitty toys.

  Angelica leveled a glare at her sister. "We'll all regroup at the Cookery tomorrow at nine thirty. See you then!" She gave Ginny a shove toward the municipal parking lot. Mr. Everett and Grace Harris followed reluctantly.

  Angelica looked around hopefully. "Isn't Russ going to help us with all this stuff?"

  "He went back to his office. Said he wanted to get started on the story. He might even put out an extra edition if he can't stop the presses on the current issue," Tricia said, and grimaced. "Right now his top story is Stoneham's mounting goose poop crisis. What happened to Bob?"

  Angelica pulled a key ring from her jacket pocket. "Damage control. He said something about calling the Chamber members to fend off any bad publicity that may come from this." She unlocked the door to her shop, turned back, and eyed the little gray cat. Miss Marple gave an indignant Yow!

  "I'm not touching that cat box. I'll take your other stuff," Angelica said, and grabbed the purse, overnight bag, computer case, and grocery bag, leaving Tricia with the cat carrier, the litter, and the box.

  Tricia followed her sister into the Cookery, both of them having thoroughly wiped their feet on a bristle doormat before entering the store. The
Canada goose population had exploded in the past few weeks, with migratory birds joining their fellows who'd decided to winter near the open water of Stoneham Creek, local retention ponds, and the water traps in the neighboring Stoneham Golf Course. The result had been traffic snarled by wandering geese, and sidewalks littered with the birds' droppings.

  Tricia followed her sister through the shop and over to the little dumbwaiter at the far end of the building. "We can put most of this stuff in there. That'll save trudging up all those stairs with it," Angelica said.

  "Not Miss Marple!"

  Angelica shrugged. "Suit yourself. But you'll be banging that carrier into your knees for two flights, and probably give the cat motion sickness. And I am not cleaning up any cat barf."

  Tricia looked up the brightly lit stairwell. What Angelica said made sense. "Okay, but don't send it up until I get upstairs and can unload her. I don't want her terrified by the ride."

  "All right."

  Miss Marple didn't travel light; it would take two trips on the lift to bring up everything.

  Angelica pulled her keys from her pocket. "Here's the apartment key. Holler when you get upstairs, and I'll send up the lift."

  "Okay." Tricia trudged up the stairs, opened the apartment door, flicked on the lights, and breathed in the everpresent smell of Angelica's perfume. She tended to use too much scent, making Tricia glad she wasn't prone to respiratory problems.

  Angelica's loft apartment was completely different from her sister's next door. Where the stairs up to the third floor opened directly into Tricia's kitchen, Angelica's opened into a narrow hallway which ran the length of the building. Near this end was the bedroom. Beyond was a spacious living room. Or, rather, it would have been spacious if it weren't stacked with cartons and furniture. Angelica had reopened the Cookery with great fanfare in time for the Christmas rush only six weeks after acquiring the property. The loft conversion had taken over three months. A rented bungalow at the Brookfield Inn had been Angelica's home during that time.

  In the time since Angelica had moved in, she'd been working ten-hour days in her store, which hadn't left her a lot of time to set up her home. Retaining employees had quickly become her single biggest problem. Angelica blamed them all for laziness, but it was her own perfectionism (or perhaps anal retentiveness) that had them quitting in droves. The fact that she'd lost five employees in the past two months should have given her a clue as to what the problem was.

  Miss Marple survived the trip in the dumbwaiter just fine, and Tricia had unloaded everything and sent the lift down for the rest of her baggage, which made the return trip in record time. She'd carried some of it into the living room by the time Angelica made it to the third floor.

  "Throw your stuff anywhere," she told Tricia as she picked up the last few items and headed for the living room, but there wasn't anywhere to put it.

  "I need to set up Miss Marple's litter box. And it's way past her dinnertime."

  Angelica frowned. She was definitely not a cat lover. "The box can go in the bathroom. You can put her food and water bowls on the kitchen floor--some place I won't step on them, if you please."

  Tricia looked around the warehouse of a living room. She hadn't seen the apartment in at least a month, but it didn't seem to have changed a bit. "Where am I going to sleep?"

  "The couch is a sofa bed . . . but I don't think there's room to pull it out. It would take too long to restack these boxes. And anyway, I have no clue where the sheets and blankets are. In one of these boxes . . . somewhere. I have a king-size bed. You can either bunk with me or sleep on the floor."

  "Ange, how can you live like this? It's so not you."

  "Tell me about it. I haven't exactly had all the time in the world to sort through everything and find a home for it. And there's no one around here I can hire to do it. Believe me, I've asked."

  Soon a wary Miss Marple had been freed from her carrier and shown where to find her litter box and her food. But the cat had concerns other than eating, and disappeared among the jungle of boxes to explore the confines of her temporary home.

  The kitchen overlooked Stoneham's quiet main drag, but Tricia was drawn to the center island with its low-hung, Mission-inspired chandelier and its high-backed stools. Though not the most comfortable places in the world to perch for any length of time, the chairs at the dining table currently offered the apartment's only functional seating. The alternative was the bed, and Tricia was too wired to sleep. "Got any wine, Ange? After what I saw tonight, I need something."

  "And I'll bet you haven't eaten all day. I'll whip you up some comfort food. What would you like?"

  "Something totally bad for me. Fried chicken."

  Angelica turned to inspect the refrigerator's interior. "No can do. How about I make you an omelet? At least the eggs came from a chicken."

  Too weary to suggest anything else, Tricia nodded. She plunked one elbow on the counter and rested her head in her hand. "What if the sheriff keeps Haven't Got a Clue closed for a week? That woman hates me," she groused.

  Angelica pulled out a carton of organic brown eggs and a half-empty bottle of chardonnay, shoving the fridge door shut with her hip. "Well, you did steal her boyfriend."

  Tricia sat bolt upright, remembering the incident from the previous September. "I did not. I had lunch with him. Once. It wasn't even a real date."

  Angelica shrugged, snagged a couple of glasses from the cupboard, poured, and handed Tricia the wine. "What do you want in your omelet? Veggies? Cheese? A big scoop of pity?"

  "Hey, be nice to me. You said yourself I've been traumatized by finding poor Zoe dead on the toilet."

  "Not where I want to be found when it's my turn," Angelica said, and opened the fridge once again. "I've got cheddar or mozzarella. Which do you prefer?"

  "Mozzarella. It's gooey and probably more fattening. Toss in peppers, onions, and anything else you'd find on a pizza."

  "Right. Mushrooms, and I think I've got a tin of anchovies in the cupboard."

  Tricia shuddered. "Let's not get too crazy." She tapped her right index finger on the granite counter. "The sheriff is going to make this as unpleasant for me as she can."

  "Then I suggest you hold onto your temper," Angelica said, as she grabbed a knife from the block to chop an onion.

  "I don't have a temper."

  "No, but it wouldn't be hard to develop one if you're forced to interact with Sheriff Adams for any length of time." She waved the knife in warning. "I don't care how long she keeps your store closed. Don't rile the woman. I'll talk to Bob. We'll let him handle it."

  "What?" And be beholden to him? "No way."

  "Yes, way! Or do you want Wendy Adams to shut you down indefinitely?"

  "She can't do that."

  "Do you really want to take the risk?"

  Tricia looked away. No, she didn't. Somehow, she'd have to make nice with the sheriff, or be prepared to wait a very long time to reopen her shop.

  t h r e e

  The telephone rang at six a.m., waking both sisters. Angelica groped for the bedside phone. "H'lo?" Tricia rolled over onto her stomach, squeezing her eyes shut.

  "What?" Angelica said, sounding a bit less sleepy. The bed jostled as she sat up. "Yes, I was." Pause. "No, I didn't." Pause. "She's my sister, why?"

  Tricia opened one eye.

  "Oh. Well, okay. Yes, I will. Have a nice day," she replied by rote and hung up the phone.

  "What time is it?" Tricia asked. The clock was on Angelica's side of the bed.

  "Six oh two."

  "And what was that all about?" Tricia asked.

  The telephone rang again.

  "The Manchester Union-Leader. They wanted to know about--"

  "Zoe's death," Tricia finished for her, and pulled herself into a sitting position.

  "Yes." Angelica reached for the phone again.

  "Don't answer that!" Tricia said, and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

  The phone bleated again.

  "
If I were you, I'd unplug the thing. That is, unless you're willing to be interviewed again and again--and again."

  "They're certainly not catching me at my best," Angelica said, and pulled at the cord, which led her to the jack just above the baseboard by the side of the bed. She unplugged the phone, but the extension in the kitchen continued to ring. "You take your shower first, Trish, while I go unplug the kitchen phone and get the coffee started."