Death Comes to a Retreat (Book 4 Molly Masters Mysteries)

by Leslie O'Kane

  “Er, no.” Jim rose. “You’re absolutely right.” He gave us a wan smile. “I’m going to go take a shower and get cleaned up.” He left the room with purposeful strides. I very much doubted that he had even the slightest idea of what Lauren was talking about, and probably didn’t even know that Tommy was staying at a hotel after their argument.

  Lauren merely sat there, staring into her cup, forgetting that the point of having a cup of coffee was to drink it. Her expression reminded me of Tommy’s face last night and broke my heart. It was never a good idea to meddle in another couple’s relationship. Then again, never might be a tad strong. After having inadvertently gotten between her and her boyfriend in high school, I actually owed it to Lauren to help patch up one relationship for her. Besides, I couldn’t stand to see two people I cared so much about making each other so unhappy.

  “Lauren? I happen to know that, here in Colorado, you don’t need blood tests for marriage licenses. You can head down to the justice center with a couple of witnesses, get your certificate, locate a judge, and do it all in one fell swoop.”

  Lauren shot me a furious glare.

  “I’m just saying you could have a quick civil ceremony here and then have the wedding of your dreams when…”

  Lauren was clenching her jaw so hard I was afraid her teeth would break if I continued.

  “I’ve often wondered where the expression ‘fell swoop’ comes from,” I muttered. “Probably has something to do with birds dying in midflight.”

  Rachel finally came down to the kitchen, looking groggy.

  “Hi, Rach,” I said. “Is there anything I can do to anger you? I’m four-for-four right now and I may as well try for a clean sweep.” Rachel merely eyed me suspiciously. In truth, I’d already succeeded in annoying myself into self-imposed silence.

  I thought I’d be in for a peaceful afternoon. Karen and Rachel had been invited to a friend’s house down the street. I’d calculated that this left nobody for Nathan to argue with.

  However, within a few hours, I’d learned that my having acquired Betty Cocker was a lot like having obtained a second Nathan. While underneath it all they were both sweeties, it seemed as though I spent most of the day admonishing one or the other of them for playing too rough, making too much noise, or growling at the other. Nathan followed BC around and grabbed her snout to yank everything she chewed on out of her mouth. This was a constant avocation, as the puppy was willing to chew on anything, except the dog biscuits Celia had given us.

  In the meantime, Jim was zoned out on TV. Lauren had spent hours now pretending to read a magazine, but she seldom even flipped pages. She was lost in her own sorrow while waiting for Tommy to call. I brainstormed for ideas for my lone job—the editor of the university press—but was literally “drawing” blanks.

  By mid-afternoon, I desperately needed a break and faxed descriptions of all the various cartoons I’d worked on for the last few days to the potential client. I’d read somewhere that sore muscles were the result of lactic acid buildup and that, therefore, the best way to ease your pain was light exercise. This was the same hair-of-the-dog theory that could keep alcoholics going for years, but at least it was a course of action.

  Lauren—go figure—declined my invitation to go for a walk. Jim was still too ill to join me, and Nathan and BC too involved in a tug-of-war game.

  It occurred to me that I might as well head through Allison’s neighborhood. Maybe then I could bump into Lois or Celia and find out whether they’d talked to the police about my getting locked in the sauna.

  The weather was lovely—cloudless sky, bright but not too hot. It was slightly more than a mile to Allison’s house. My muscles were having quite a scream over the concept that any of this was actually going to ease my pain. Each step felt as if I was dragging an anvil. It was remarkable how many muscle groups I’d managed to injure. Even blinking was painful.

  I reached the street, wishing I’d simply cut through Allison’s backyard. Her house looked completely deserted now. Next door, Lois’s front windows and door were open. There was no sign of her, though. Up ahead, Celia was out in her yard, tending to her flower beds. In this bright sunlight, her frosted and teased hair had a cotton-candy sheen. How strange that her heavy makeup never seemed to change, even when she was home alone. She spotted me and leaped to her feet. “Molly! I can’t believe you’re actually out here! The police came and rang my doorbell last night at an outrageous hour. By the sound of it, someone tried to kill you!”

  “Yes, that’s true. But I’m fine now.”

  “What are you doing, walking here all by yourself? If it were me, I wouldn’t ever leave the house.”

  Which is exactly how the killer would want me to act, I thought. “Tell me something, Celia. Late last night someone drove out of Allison’s garage. Do you have any idea who that might have been?”

  She pursed her lips and shook her head. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Nevertheless, that’s what I saw. It was a white Toyota Corolla. An older make.” I knew very little about cars, except for those brands I happened to own myself, which was the case now.

  “Oh.” Celia’s eyes widened. “I wonder if that could have been Allison’s housekeeper, Maria Chavez. That sounds like her car. But she wouldn’t park in Allison’s garage, surely. And what time was this? Weren’t you locked in a sauna?”

  “It was around midnight.”

  “I wonder if she’s living there. I think I remember that Allison had said something about letting Maria live in for a couple of weeks. But I can’t recall for certain. And, surely, now that Allison is dead, Maria shouldn’t be there.” Celia looked as if her mind was elsewhere. “How do you like my lupines?” She gently brushed her gloved fingertips along a tall hyacinth-like flower.

  If she was trying to change the subject for some reason, that wasn’t much of an attempt. Her lack of concern about her immediate neighbors struck me as odd If the victim of an unsolved murder had been living one house down from me, I’d sure want to know why her housekeeper was apparently coming and going at will. “So you think it’s possible that Maria’s been living two doors down from you, but you don’t know for sure?”

  Celia gave a little shrug. “Lois’s property blocks any view of Allison’s house from mine. Yet, I must say, I’ve never seen any trace of Maria for the last few weeks.”

  At the sound of a badly tuned engine, I turned, and last night’s dented car drove in front of us. “That’s the car now,” I said.

  “Oh, yes,” Celia said, waving at a Hispanic woman behind the wheel. “That’s Maria, all right.”

  I watched for Celia’s reaction, but she gave none. If uneasy or surprised at Maria’s coincidental arrival, Celia was doing a good job of masking it. Was Celia truly apathetic about Allison’s housekeeper’s comings and goings, or was Celia hiding something? Perhaps it was basic paranoia on my part, but I suspected the latter.

  Celia excused herself, saying she had a phone call to make. Maria had parked in Allison’s driveway and entered through the front door. She had the garage-door opener in her possession as of midnight. But perhaps she didn’t want Celia and other neighbors to see her drive into the garage as if she owned Allison’s house. My curiosity was such that I dashed over there as quickly as my aching legs could move. At the very least, even if Maria Chavez was unwilling to speak with me, I could ask to go through the backyard for a shortcut home.

  I rang the doorbell and smiled at the attractive, bright-eyed woman who answered the door. “Hello,” I said, “My name is Molly Masters. I was a friend of Allison Kenyon’s. Could I speak to you for just a minute?”

  She gave me a puzzled smile and said, “No comprendo. Hahla usted espanol?”

  “No, I don’t. Do you speak any English at all?”

  She shrugged and shook her head, emphasizing our language gulf by rattling off something that I couldn’t understand.

  Using gestures, such as walking fingers and pointing, I asked, “Could
I cut through the lawn to get to the road?”

  Maria giggled, said, “Si, Senora. Buenos dias,” and went inside.

  I let myself in through the gate, though that was almost more trouble than it was worth. The fence was a two rail with a wire mesh attached that I could easily step over. Why would a housecleaner come here at least twice, several days after her client’s death? How much cleaning could there possibly be? Maybe she was living here through the end of the month, despite Allison’s death. If so, why hadn’t she gone to the funeral to pay her respects?

  Allison’s lawn, a good half an acre or so in size, had been mowed recently, cared for as if nothing had happened. Her housekeeper was apparently coming and going at will. It was as if the house and property were the living body, and Allison had only been the tonsils.

  I froze at a sound behind me. It sounded like the growl of a dog or a wolf. I turned slowly. Two Dobermans were on Allison’s back deck. Their front paws were on the edge of the deck. The dogs looked all set to spring at me.

  “Oh, shit,” I said under my breath, my heart racing in abject terror. “Nice doggies. Stay.” I tried to back away as smoothly as possible. I had a considerable distance to go till I made it to the road. Even then there was nothing to protect me from getting mauled. Except oncoming traffic.

  The dogs watched me take one or two backward steps, then charged. I screamed, whirled around, and ran for my life.

  Chapter 12

  I Fold

  I made it to a tree and swung myself up into it in one motion born out of desperation. I was hanging like a possum, my legs and arms wrapped tightly around the branch. The dogs were leaping at me, growling and snapping.

  I could feel their hot breath against the back of my neck. One dog’s leap and snap almost got hold of my hair. I pressed my cheek against the bark of the branch and tried to pull myself higher. All I had going for me was that their barks were making a ferocious racket.

  The noise had roused Allison’s housekeeper, thank God. She yelled to me in Spanish. I could only see her in the corner of my vision. She was standing on the edge of the deck, her hands to her face, screaming. She made no move to charge out and grab the dogs or to go inside to call for help.

  I shouted back to her, “Call nine-one-one!” Oh, damn! Why had I taken German instead of Spanish! “Uh… nunez-uno-uno!”

  I couldn’t hang on for more than a minute or two. The police would never get here in time.

  “No, wait! Call Julie Murphy. Hulie Murphy!”

  I tried to tum my head enough to see if Maria had gotten to the phone, but couldn’t. Shit! Maria probably didn’t know who Julie was. Celia, one door down, didn’t even know if Maria was living here!

  Rough tree bark pressed against my skin. I clung to the branch for all I was worth, my eyes shut tight. I was afraid to move, even to breathe. My arms and legs already ached with exertion. The dogs barked and snapped their strong jaws, leaping to within inches of my flesh.

  My mind seemed to go into a semiconscious state as I clutched the branch. My body was trembling so much, the entire tree seemed to be shaking. The Dobermans’ growls and barks grew ever louder. In my mind’s eye, their teeth grew longer and sharper as well.

  If only I hadn’t exercised so much yesterday, I might have had more stamina. Damn! The one time I do something “healthy,” and it could cost me my life. I told myself that I could lock my elbows and knees into this position and stay here for as long as it took. However, with a pair of dog jaws drooling for me, I was also saying my prayers.

  A minute or an eternity later, I heard a woman’s voice from the direction of Allison’s house scream my name. Julie, I thought. She hollered, “Tammy! Peek-a-boo! Drop!”

  Just like that, the commotion below me ceased. I risked enough movement to allow myself a quick look down. The Dobermans were lying on their tummies, panting sheepishly at Julie, who was fast approaching with a pair of leashes.

  “Bad dogs!” she said

  Yeah, bad dogs, I thought, trying not to whimper with exhaustion. Eviscerating me for walking across someone else’s yard was a definite no-no! My shoulders felt as though they were about to disconnect. If I let go now, I’d fall right on top of the dogs. A pair of metallic clicks let me know that Julie had snapped the leashes onto their collars.

  “You can come down now, Molly.”

  I tried to loosen my grip with my legs and realized my arms no longer had the strength to support my body even momentarily. “Not without falling flat on my back, I can’t.”

  “Oh, gosh. Just a moment.” Julie slipped the loops of the leather leashes over a metal stake supporting a nearby sapling, then ran over and held my shoulders while I swung myself down. The pain from my change of position was so great I groaned.

  “Molly, I am so sorry. Somebody must have deliberately opened the gate and let the dogs out. I happened to look out my window at the gate not fifteen minutes ago, and it was closed tight then.”

  Standing straight up required an enormous effort; my arms and legs wanted to stay locked in place. Every muscle in my body was trembling. It felt like a one-person earthquake. I glanced over at the dogs, lying on the grass a short distance away, looking at me with indifference. They seemed perfectly docile now.

  “What were they doing in Allison’s yard?”

  “They must have leaped Allison’s fence, but I can’t begin to guess why. They’ve never even been on this side of the road before. And I’ve never seen them attack someone like this, either. You weren’t teasing them, were you?”

  “Of course not!” My emotions teetered between terror and rage. “I was simply trying to walk across Allison’s lawn!” I took a couple of calming breaths. Having those dogs watch me and their owner from such a short distance away, however, was good motivation to keep my temper in check. “I don’t …” I paused and lowered my voice. “How the hell did this happen?”

  “I’m sorry,” Julie said again. “It’s just that I’m so…surprised.”

  “I was outside talking to Celia in front of her house just a few minutes ago, and I walked right down your street to get there. The dogs had to have already been on Allison’s deck by then, or they must have crossed the street just after I’d passed your house.”

  “I can’t believe they did this,” Julie said, shaking her head, her eyes brimming. “I’ve lived with these dogs for three years now, and they’ve never tried to hurt anybody. They’re really gentle dogs.”

  “Gentle? They were trying to maul me!” I studied her youthful, pretty face. She shrank back at my words, staring at me as if afraid of what I’d do to her. By all appearances, she was as horrified as I was.

  “Well, it seems as though you’ve saved my life twice in less than twenty-four hours. Thanks.” Odd, though, that both times I’d been in jeopardy thanks to her: the sauna in her gym and now her husband’s dogs. Was that really just a coincidence?

  Lois trotted up to the fence along her property, her stiff-legged gait hinting at serious knee troubles. Perhaps she had strained a muscle last night. She hadn’t had much trouble moving around during Zumba last night.

  “Julie, Molly. What in God’s name is going on out here?”

  “Somebody let my husband’s dogs out of the fence, and they were in Allison’s yard. They chased Molly up a tree.”

  To my severe annoyance, Lois chuckled. Despite the heat, she was still wearing her basic black sweat suit, on to which was fastened the bluebird pin that Allison had given me. Her dark hair had been pulled back into a tight ponytail.

  “Where’s the woman who cleans Allison’s house?” I asked Julie, doing my best to ignore Lois, who’d climbed over the fence and was approaching us gleefully. “Is she still inside?”

  “Maria? She drove off while I was running over here.”

  “What’s all the commotion?” Celia cried, rushing through Lois’s yard.

  Where the hell was everybody while I was clinging to a tree branch for my life?

  “Julie’s dogs chas
ed Molly up a tree,” Lois announced, still smiling.

  I watched Lois out of the corner of my vision, hoping the Dobermans would at least growl at her. Instead, they were sitting at attention and eyeing her, their stubby tails wagging, as if expecting her to toss them a treat.

  “Did Maria call you?” I asked, again directing my attention only to Julie.

  “Yes. She just said, ‘Come get your dogs right away. They’ve chased a skinny lady up Allison’s tree.’ “

  “But… she doesn’t speak English,” I protested in confusion.

  “Maria Chavez?” Lois said to me. “She speaks better English than me.”

  “Apparently so,” Celia said with a haughty toss of her lacquered coiffure, “since proper grammar is ‘better than l.“

  “Oh, yeah?” Lois said. “Well, there are a lot of things that are better than you, Celia, including proper grammar.”

  Julie retrieved the dogs’ leashes and said briskly, “If I don’t hurry, I’m going to be late for my next class at the gym.” My impression was that she mainly wanted to get away from Lois and Celia and their brewing confrontation as quickly as possible.

  Meanwhile, Celia’s attention was focused solely on Lois. Celia gaped, putting her hands on her hips. “Why, I never—”

  “Good,” Lois snapped. “I don’t care if you never. Just get out of my yard!”

  Celia crossed her arms. “I’ll leave your yard as soon as you leave Allison’s.”

  “Oh, yeah? Who died and appointed you caretaker?”

  “Allison did, as a matter of fact! She admired my gardening talents! The least I could do was maintain it until the estate is settled. She was my dearest friend!”

  “Like hell she was. You just lusted after her husband!” Lois started marching toward Celia.

  Celia did a remarkable job of backing up at exactly the same pace. “I did not! You’re the one who ‘lusts’ after Allison’s business partner! I had no interest in Richard whatsoever. We were just good friends.”