Office Heretics (A Coffee & Crime Mystery Book 2)

by Nan Sampson

  Despite the blast of hot air from the car’s heater, the inside of the car grew frigid again. Lacey.

  Ellie closed her eyes, quickly constructed a bubble of energy around her. Lacey was angry, her spiritual energy buzzing around the inside of the car like a swarm of angry hornets. Forcing herself to remain calm, Ellie opened her eyes again, half-expecting to see her old friend sitting in the passenger seat. Almost wishing to see her – it would be a hell of a lot easier to communicate if she could manifest.

  “Lacey, I’m sorry, but I’m going home.”

  She could see her breath now, and the energy level in the car was so intense it took every ounce of will not to open the car door and bail out.

  She shook her head. “I know you’re angry, but there’s nothing I can do.”

  The buzzing noise, which she knew was really all her mind, eased a bit. Shaking her head, she checked her rearview mirror and backed out of the spot. Despite it being early the sky was overcast, making it feel much later in the day, and if she wasn’t going home to a disaster, she would have looked forward to curling up on the couch and taking a nap with Erik the Red.

  She had just maneuvered the car down the ramp and back onto the highway when the energy level spiked again. It literally felt like she was being dive-bombed by angry insects. She swatted the empty air around her head, trying to make it go away, but it was impossible to swat away psychic energy. In a matter of moments, she had to pull over to the side of the road, or risk losing control of the car.

  The minute she pulled over, the buzzing eased up again and she could almost feel Lacey smirking.

  “Damn, Lacey! You could have gotten me killed. I don’t know what you want me to do. The evidence is gone, and the cops aren’t going to pursue this without it.”

  Zzzzzz. The noise increased.

  Ellie checked her mirrors, put the car into drive and eased out into traffic again.

  She’d barely come up to speed when Lacey attacked again. This time, she felt as though the energy was actually pelting her. Panicked, she pulled off the road again.

  An image of the earring came to her – the earring and then Muriel’s necklace. They weren’t just a matching set, she realized. They were both earrings. It’s just that the one around Muriel’s neck had been strung onto a chain.

  “They were your earrings, weren’t they?” she asked the spirit.

  The buzzing nearly became a scream.

  “She took it as a trophy. It wasn’t Lawson at all. It was Muriel. But why, Lacey? Why would she want to kill you? Was it over the promotion?”

  Silence.

  Ellie sat there, shivering, not knowing what to do. She knew now, without a doubt that Muriel had killed Lacey. But without proof, what could she possibly do? And yet she knew she had to do something. Not only because it was the right thing, but because clearly Lacey was not going to let her do anything else. Ellie had to go back.

  “You want me to confront her. Get her to confess.”

  The buzzing started again, ringing in her ears like electricity. The sound cut through her, setting her on edge, making her teeth hurt, making her pulse pound.

  “And then what?”

  An image came to her, an image of her strangling Muriel with her bare hands.

  Ellie pushed the thought away. “No. That is not going to happen.” She took a breath, took a firm grip on the steering wheel. “Okay. I’ll go back. I’ll talk to her. I’ll see what I can do, okay? But you need to stop messing with me when I’m driving. If you get me killed, you’ll never get justice.”

  The energy level dropped instantly. Lacey’s answer was clear as a bell.

  With a prayer to whatever gods controlled traffic, Ellie pulled out onto the highway again. She’d turn around at the next exit and head back into the city. That would give her at least several hours to put some more detail around her very Ghostbuster-like plan of just ‘get her’, although she was pretty sure even Dr. Peter Venkman would have a hell of a time getting out of this.

  Chapter 44

  Construction traffic slowed her down to the point where she was pounding on the wheel swearing at the cars surrounding her. It had been a long time since she'd experienced road rage, and she discovered she didn't miss it one bit. Sitting there, barely moving, she pulled out her cell phone, saw that Charlie had left her yet another voice mail. What the hell? She hit redial, trying to think of something sufficiently scathing to say to him when he answered.

  But the phone rang and rang then went to voice mail. Goddess, she could even hear him grinning over his recording. Infuriating idiot. She waited for 'the beep' then left a terse message. "McCallum. I know who did it. It was Muriel. I'm heading back towards the city. Meet me at her condo as soon as you can."

  She inched forward in traffic, trying to see if it opened up or if it was going to be bumper to bumper all the way to I-294, but there were big trucks in the way and she couldn't get a view around them. Grabbing her phone again, she dialed voice mail. She'd listen to Charlie's messages - surely being pissed at him was better than being pissed at the driver ahead of her, who was stuck just like she was.

  The first message was simply, 'Hey, it's Charlie. Call me, it's important."

  The second was only a little more informative. "Hey, Ellie, call me. Look, I know you think we're done with this, but I'm not. I’ve been digging into the data from the thumb drives. I, um, made a copy of it before I turned them over to the cops. Look, Lawson had to have an accomplice - there’s some very sophisticated accounting monkey business going on. And guess who just happened to work in accounting before she was in marketing? If you didn’t guess Muriel Theissen, you’re wrong. The same Muriel who Lawson allegedly once had an affair with. Remember I told you I didn’t see him going for her type? Well, now it makes sense. He didn’t have the hots for her, he just wanted her to help him get rich. I also went back to the restaurant. I talked to Vittorio and he told me he wasn’t actually at the podium when Lacey allegedly left. He was out front smoking a cigarette. And he didn't see her leave, but he did see Lawson come and talk on the phone. He said it sounded like he was talking to a woman - said it was all mushy gushy stuff - my guess is he was talking with his current fling. Vittorio said he was only out there a couple of minutes, then went back in to the table. So Lawson couldn’t have been the one who killed Lacey. Damn it, where the hell are you? Call me, okay?”

  The next voice message was empty – sounding like Charlie had dialed, waited for her to answer then hung up.

  The fourth message made her scream. 'Hey, Ellie, it's Charlie. Look, I'm gonna go have a conversation with Muriel. If you get this message... oh, hell. Just call me."

  Damn his eyes, no way was he going to get there before her. This was hers to finish. She swore and pounded the steering wheel again, which earned her a belligerent glare from the guy in the Lexus next to her. She stuck out her tongue at him and continued to inch forward. Slowly, over several miles, the speed picked up and she was able to make some progress.

  Even so, it was over an hour before she was past the 90/94 merge. Another fifteen minutes and she got off on Division and headed towards the Lake. At a stop light, she redialed Charlie's phone.

  "Yo," he answered. "Where are you?"

  "Division, just west of Halsted. Where are you?"

  "North Avenue and Western. I'll be at her place in fifteen, maybe twenty minutes."

  Hah, she thought, I'll be there before you. "Okay. I'm surprised you're not there already."

  There was a beat and then, "Car wouldn't start. I had to call in a favor, then take the train in."

  Was it wrong of her to be glad about that? "Gee, sorry about that."

  "Uh huh. Look, Ellie, if you get there before me, wait, okay? If I’m right, and it’s her, she’s clearly dangerous."

  "I can take care of myself, McCallum."

  "I'm sure that's what Lacey thought too."

  "Cop pulling up behind me. Gotta get off the phone." She hung up, tossing the phone onto the
passenger seat, smiling grimly. She wasn't lying, there was a cop car pulling up behind her. That it conveniently kept her from promising she would wait for him was merely a coincidence. This was hers to do and that was that.

  Chapter 45

  By the time she got into Muriel’s neighborhood, the sky was a leaden mass of clouds, making it feel as though it were six in the evening. Something between snow and rain was falling, making the roads a mess and traffic even more stupid. Keeping her eyes on the road, she consciously loosened her vise-like grip on the steering wheel then rolled her shoulders to loosen them.

  She passed the co-op building where Muriel rented, looking for a parking spot. It took her five or six loops around a three block area to finally find someone leaving. She swooped into the spot, then locked up and jogged back to the building. So far, so good, there was no sign of Charlie.

  The building had a security door. She found the apartment number, pushed the button next to it, and waited. She was taking a chance that Muriel would even be home. It was after working hours, but she might be out for dinner or at the grocery store, or picking up her dry cleaning. She waited glancing around behind her, expecting Charlie to suddenly appear. She didn't fully understand why it was so important for her to do this on her own. Yes, all that crap about her quitting had pissed her off - especially because he was so far off base. She was not a quitter. But it was more than that too. Lacey had asked her for help. And even if she could never take Muriel to trial, she wanted to know for sure, for herself, who had been responsible. She'd never get that closure for her parents, but at least she could get it for Lacey. Not to mention the fact that she didn’t think Lacey was going to let her leave town without it.

  She pressed the buzzer a second time then stuffed her hands deep into the slash pockets of her parka for warmth. A chill breeze had spring up, forcing her to huddle into her coat.

  There was no response. Damn. Why couldn't the woman have just been home? She scowled, looking up and down the street, expecting Charlie to show up at any moment. He'd probably know some trick to getting into the building, but she didn't want his help for this. She wanted to do this herself.

  The temperature dropped suddenly, so that she felt as though she were standing in a meat locker, and the hairs on the back of her neck and on her arms stood up, even as she sensed an angry, agitated presence next to her. "Lacey?"

  The cold air swirled around her and she felt something akin to being pushed towards the door. "Damn it, Lacey, I can't just phase through the door. And no one is answering the buzzer."

  The fury in the air felt like needles pricking her skin. Seconds later, all the buzzers on the panel next to the door went off - and it wasn't just as though someone had pressed each one once. No, it was as though someone were leaning an arm against all of them, holding them down.

  A handful of voices barked out of the speaker, wanting whoever was messing with the buttons to stop, in various colorful ways. Ellie couldn't help grinning. "Way to go, Lace. You can piss people off even from the other side."

  The door rattled against its metal frame and suddenly Ellie heard a click that meant someone had buzzed her in. "Hah! Nice job."

  She pulled on the door quickly before the lock could engage again and felt something give her a shove from behind as she stepped through into the vestibule. "Okay, okay! I'm going!"

  Energy swirled around her as she climbed the steps to the third floor, which was also the top floor. She could sense Lacey growing more and more agitated, which only solidified her conviction that Muriel was Lacey's killer.

  The units on the third floor were lofts with high ceilings. Clearly Muriel didn't make peanuts either. Ellie walked slowly down the hall, and though she’d wanted to approach quietly, something crunched under her feet. Someone must have spilled something recently.

  As she searched for Muriel’s unit number she could tell that the building had been newly remodeled. The decor was sleek and modern, with brushed-nickel, industrial looking wall sconces and door hardware. The floor was one of those glazed concrete affairs – not Ellie’s style, but probably easy to maintain.

  There were four units on this floor, the doors staggered on either side of one long hallway. At the far end of the corridor she found unit #4 on the left hand side, not far from a door marked "Roof - Residents Only". Maybe this was one of those buildings that had a roof terrace. Must be nice.

  She approached Muriel's door, sensing Lacey's energy still swirling around her, although less intensely than it had outside. Ellie raised a hand to knock but the door opened before she'd touched it. It was a toss-up who looked more surprised.

  "What are you doing here?"

  Ellie felt a shift in the energy around her, for once not caused by Lacey, and she took an almost involuntary step back. She tried for a friendly smile, even while every fiber of her being was recoiling from the woman. The reptilian part of her brain – right now probably the smarter part -- was telling her to run away. "Hi, Muriel. I was wondering if you had a few moments. I'd like--"

  Muriel stepped out into the hall and closed her door firmly behind her. She was wearing her coat, Ellie noticed, that horrible red parka. The same red parka she had seen on the killer in her vision of the bathroom of the restaurant. And the necklace, with the pearl surrounded by diamonds - which matched the earring still riding around in her coat pocket. "No. Sorry, but I'm late for an engagement."

  She brushed past Ellie on her way to the elevator.

  Ellie followed, still trying to be pleasant. "I won't keep you long. I just thought you might want this." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the earring, held it in her open palm for Muriel to see.

  Muriel pushed the elevator call button, then glanced at Ellie's outstretched hand. The woman's face twisted into a look of disbelief. "Where did you get that?"

  "In the restroom of the Ristorante Angelina. I thought of you right away - I remembered your necklace and knew the two belonged together."

  Muriel tried to grab the earring, but Ellie snatched her hand back, closing her fingers over the thing. Muriel grimaced. "Give it to me."

  Ellie shook her head. "I don't think so."

  "I thought you said you came here to give it back to me."

  "No, what I said was that I thought you might want it."

  Muriel glared at her, took a step towards Ellie. Ellie found herself moving backwards in response. She felt again that vague repulsion, and if she didn't know better, she'd swear the woman had cast some sort of ward. Reaching out, she searched for Lacey's presence, but realized she hadn't felt it since Muriel had opened her door.

  Muriel smiled, but there was nothing pleasant about the expression. "Give me back my earring."

  Ellie forced herself to stand her ground. "I wasn't sure if it really was an earring. It kind of looked like a cuff link. Was it a cuff link originally? Who did it belong to? Rob Lawson?"

  Muriel took another step towards her forcing Ellie to back up again in an effort to stay out of reach. "That's none of your business. Now give me the earring."

  "That's it, isn't it? Rob gave them to you."

  Muriel's eyes flashed and her smiled grew feral. "He did not give them to me, the bastard. Oh no,” she sneered. “Not me. He never gave me a damn thing. No, he gave them to her.” She took a step towards Ellie. “To her! I did everything for him. I helped him get the Director’s slot - he never would have gotten that without my presentation skills. I gave him a place to go when he couldn’t stand being with that harpy he married. I helped him prepare his speeches for his campaign. When he wanted a way to sock away enough money so that he could leave the bitch, I gave him the back door into the damn accounting system. And he had the nerve to sleep with her? Give those earrings to her?” She pulled her shoulder bag around to the front. “So I took one back. I deserved it. I tried to find the other one, I heard it fall off, but I didn’t have time to look for it that night.” Her laugh made the hair on the back of Ellie’s neck stand up. “I was in a bit of a h
urry.” The woman reached into her bag and to Ellie's shock, pulled out a gun. "Maybe this will persuade you to return what's mine - what should have been mine in the first place."

  Great. Now what? She glanced behind her, saw the heavy metal door that led to the roof. Would Muriel shoot her if she tried to sprint down the hall toward it? Or was the gun just a bluff?

  As if reading her thoughts, Muriel's smile grew wicked. "Go ahead. Run. The other units on this floor are vacant. Two of them aren't currently rented and my only actual neighbor is in Greece for the next three months." She gestured at Ellie with the gun. "Rob used to take me to the shooting range so I'm an excellent shot. There won't be much of a mess, this is a small caliber pistol, and the concrete floor will make it easy to clean up." She chuckled. "Or you could just give me the earring and go away and never come back." She leveled the gun at Ellie. “I’ve cleaned up one mess tonight already. Hell, I’ve spent the last five years cleaning up Rob Lawson’s messes. Lacey. Cary. You won’t be any different.”

  Ellie's heart was hammering in her chest. If she’d been smart, she’d have been recording this. Too bad life wasn’t really like a Hallmark mystery. "You really did it. You killed Lacey."

  "You can't possibly find that surprising. You knew her for much longer than I did. I imagine you wanted to kill her many times over." She snarled. "She was a vicious, elitist, skinny, hag-faced bitch." As she spoke, her eyes narrowed and her face got blotchy. "Everyone hated her, Rob included, even though he still felt compelled to add her to his list of office conquests." She lunged suddenly and Ellie stumbled backwards. Her feet slipped out from under her and she fell hard on her ass.

  Bits of something hard and crunchy stabbed at her palms as she struggled to regain her footing and she realized the hallway was covered in coarsely ground salt. Salt. For protection. Was that why Lacey had suddenly disappeared? Had Muriel blessed the salt before scattering it? And was the reason for the blessed salt because Lacey had been harassing Muriel just as she'd been harassing Ellie?