by Sofie Kelly
I pulled out my phone and called Ruby’s cell. She answered on the third ring. “Hercules and I are in the parking lot,” I said. “Could we come in?”
“I’m on my way down,” she said.
I rummaged in my bag for a second, picked up the cat, locked the truck and reached the back door of Riverarts just as Ruby reached the bottom of the stairs. She let us in and smiled at Hercules. She was wearing a T-shirt with the sleeves rolled back and a pair of baggy overalls.
“Does Maggie have another interloper down at the store?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No. We just came from seeing Roma. And before you ask, he’s fine.”
“You had a doctor’s appointment?” Ruby said. She made a face. “I hate doctor’s appointments. You’re so brave.”
He preened in my arms. Ruby’s words seemed to carry a lot more weight than mine did.
“I’ve been playing around with a couple of ideas for another calendar. I’d love to hear what you think.”
She was still talking to Hercules, I realized, not me.
He murped an okay.
“Actually, could he stay with you for a few minutes?” I asked. “I was hoping I could go talk to Ray.”
“Sure,” Ruby said. Her hands were in her pockets and she rocked forward and back just a little in her red high tops. She looked like she wanted to say something so I waited for a moment.
“You haven’t found anything to clear Elias yet, have you?” she finally asked. “I, uh, I’ve been trying not to bug you by calling or texting.”
I shook my head. “I haven’t come across anything that puts Elias in the clear. I’m sorry. I’ve eliminated some people but I haven’t found anything that eliminates him.”
She played with one of the several earrings in her right ear. “If someone accused your father of murder you’d know they were wrong, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes,” I said.
“And it wouldn’t just be because he’s your dad. It would be because you know what kind of a person he is. You know him better than just about everyone.” She tapped the left side of her chest with a closed fist. “You know what he’s like in here.”
I nodded. “I do.”
“I know Elias that way. He’s not my dad, but he’s the closest thing I have to one.” Her eyes were locked on to my face. “He wouldn’t lie to me. If he had killed Kassie he would have told me. I’m not saying he would have told the police, but he would have told me. So I don’t mean to put pressure on you—” She stopped abruptly and a tiny smile played at her mouth. “Actually, that’s not true. I do want to put pressure on you. Elias didn’t do this, which means somebody else did.”
Hercules was getting restless and I set him down. He shook himself and moved to sit next to Ruby.
“I wish I had answers for you,” I said. “I can tell you this much. I haven’t given up. And I know that Marcus hasn’t, either.”
Her expression grew serious again. “One question. Do you think Ray could have killed Kassie?”
“No, but I do think they had more of a connection than he’s admitting to. That’s why I need to talk to him.”
She sighed. “Okay. I guess I’m going to just have to go with that.” She looked at Hercules and tipped her head at the stairs. “Let’s go,” she said. He didn’t give so much as a backward glance to me. I had a feeling even with sardines waiting at home I was going to have a problem getting him back into the truck.
I followed the two of them up the stairs, pushing through the doors to the second floor and walking down the hall toward Ray’s studio. His door was partway open.
I tapped on the door frame and Ray looked up from his easel. “Kathleen, to what do I owe the pleasure? Again.” His tone made it clear that me being there wasn’t something he was happy about.
I’d had the picture of Ray and Kassie in my messenger bag and I’d fished it out before Hercules and I had gotten out of the truck. Now I pulled it out of my pocket and smoothed out the wrinkles before holding it up. “This,” I said.
“You’re not still beating that dead horse, are you?”
I took several steps toward him. “How old do you think that photo of the two of you is, Ray? Sixteen years? Seventeen, maybe?”
“Yeah, probably,” he said. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Seventeen years ago you were taking a class from Tim Dougall.”
He shrugged. “Maybe. I’m not sure of the date.”
I smiled. “I am. I checked.”
He was good. He didn’t break my gaze. His face didn’t flush. “If you say so.”
I was still holding the picture. I turned it around so I could take another look. “Why did Kassie have this photo of the two of you?”
He shifted on his stool and looked at the drawing he was working on before he looked at me again. “I already told you I don’t know.”
“That’s a lie,” I said. “I think Kassie had that picture of the two of you because it was a way to remind you that you didn’t spend a summer studying with Tim Dougall. You got kicked out in the first week. Which means you’ve been lying on your CV.”
He swore and looked up at the ceiling for a moment as though he’d find answers up there. His eyes dropped to mine again. “You can’t just stay out of things, can you, Kathleen?”
I was surprised how angry I suddenly felt. “And you keep lying and cheating, looking for the easy way out. I don’t get it. You have talent. Genuine talent. Why do you have to keep lying about who you studied with and who liked your work? You’re better than that.”
Ray pulled a hand over the back of his neck. “You don’t have a clue what it’s like to do something creative. I’m not explaining myself to you.”
“You knew Kassie was going to be one of the judges, didn’t you?” I said. “It was one of the worst-kept secrets in town after the news got out that Elias was going to be filming the show here in Mayville Heights.”
He didn’t say anything but the way the muscles tightened in his jaw made me think I was onto something.
“You used that connection with her to get on the show, or at least up the odds in your favor.”
“You can’t prove any of that,” he said.
I folded the picture and stuck it back in my pocket. “Kassie saw your CV. It was probably in the information packet on the contestants that the producers put together. You spent that summer hanging out so she knew you’d been kicked out of Dougall’s class.”
“Yeah, fine, she knew.” He wouldn’t look me in the eye. “She was trying to get me to throw the competition for some reason. But I didn’t kill her.”
I folded my arms over my chest. “Why should I believe you?”
His mouth twisted and pulled to one side. “Because when Kassie was killed I was in bed with Caroline.”
chapter 16
Caroline?” I said. I had to have heard him wrong.
“Yes.” There was a smugness to Ray’s voice that I didn’t like. He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Would you like me to call her?”
“Caroline’s married.”
He shrugged. “So? Maybe she got tired of being the perfect little earth mother.”
“She was at the library that night with Kate Westin,” I said. “I talked to them.”
He shrugged. “She walked over from my apartment. I don’t know where she connected with Kate. And before you ask, after Caroline left I was online playing World of Warcraft.”
I believed him. It was all too easy to check. I wondered if Marcus knew what Ray had been doing. And who he’d been doing it with.
Ray looked at his drawing again. “Any more questions?” he said.
I nodded. “Just one. Were you going to do it?”
“Do what?” he asked.
“Lose on purpose, the way Kassie wanted you to.”
&
nbsp; He smiled. “That depends.”
“On?”
“On whether she made it worth my while.”
I had no more reasons to stay in the room with Ray so I turned around and left. I went out into the stairwell and sat on the top step. Ray truly was reprehensible. I had no problem letting Maggie and Ruby know what I’d learned. It was up to the co-op whether or not he stayed.
I was stunned that Ray had been with Caroline. And not just because she was married. She was warm and nurturing and kind, and in my experience Ray was none of those things.
So far it felt as though all I had learned amounted to nothing more than gossip. Charles had slept with Kassie. Ray had slept with Caroline, and Russell was still sleeping with Stacey. Not to mention that Kassie had tried to blackmail Charles and Ray and undermine Caroline, Stacey and Kate. And she’d threatened Eugenie. The only person she hadn’t gone after was Rebecca and that was because Kassie had put a large wager on her. The Baking Showdown had a lot more in common with The Wild and Wonderful than I ever would have expected.
I went to Ruby’s studio to collect Hercules. They were looking at something on Ruby’s laptop.
“Did you get what you needed from Ray?” she asked.
“I think so,” I said. “I need to talk to you about Ray. I don’t have time right now. It doesn’t have anything to do with Kassie’s death.”
Her eyes narrowed in curiosity but she didn’t ask any questions. “Text me when you have the time.”
I nodded. “I will.”
“Are you coming to class?”
I reached for Hercules. “I have to take this one home so I might be a bit late.”
Ruby waved at him. “Thanks for hanging with me,” she said.
“Mrrr,” he said in return. Ruby had very rapidly become one of the little tuxedo cat’s favorite people.
I drove home, let us into the kitchen and dumped my things on the table. Before I did anything else I got Hercules his two sardines. There was no sign of Owen anywhere.
I ran upstairs, changed and washed my face. Back in the kitchen again, I made a peanut butter and banana sandwich and filled my water bottle. I crouched down next to Hercules. He’d already made short work of one of the sardines. “I’m going to tai chi,” I said. “Stay out of trouble while I’m gone.” I gave him a scratch on the top of his head and he breathed sardine breath in my face.
“See you later, Owen,” I called. After a long pause I got an answering meow. From the sound he was somewhere upstairs. That probably wasn’t a good thing.
Maggie had just started the warm-up when I got to class. I changed my shoes and slipped into the circle next to Taylor King.
Maggie worked us hard and my T-shirt was damp with sweat by the time we finished the form at the end of class. I had forgotten my towel so I wiped my flushed face with the edge of my T-shirt. “Roma had to go to Minneapolis to give a second opinion on a surgery,” I said to Maggie. “That’s why she wasn’t here.”
“Thanks,” she said. “I guessed it was something like that.” She stretched one arm up over her head. “Is Hercules okay?”
I smiled. “He got a clean bill of health and celebrated with two sardines.”
Maggie smiled. “I think that’s how I celebrated the last time the dentist told me I had no cavities.” She held up one hand. “No wait. It wasn’t two sardines. It was two brownies.”
“Hercules would be happy to celebrate with two brownies if I’d let him,” I said. I pulled at the neck of my shirt. I was still warm.
“Did you bring your water bottle?” Maggie asked.
I nodded. “It’s in my bag. I’ll get it in a second. I just . . . I need to talk to you about Ray.” I held up my hand. “Not right now. In a day or two when things aren’t quite so busy.”
“Okay,” she said slowly. “You found out something, didn’t you?”
“I’m sorry, Mags. I did. I don’t mean to be vague, I just don’t want to tell you now and then take off before I can explain everything. And it’s something Ruby should hear as well.”
“So in a day or two the three of us will sit down and you can tell us what you found out.”
“Sounds good,” I said. “I need to get going.” I was hungry. I had wolfed down my makeshift sandwich on the way down the hill but I was pretty sure I’d used all that energy in class. There was chili in my freezer and soup in my fridge and I was going home to have some of one of them.
Rebecca was sitting on the bench under the coat hooks changing her shoes. “I brought you something,” she said, gesturing at her canvas tote bag.
“For me or for my two furry roommates?” I asked with a teasing smile.
“For you.” She pretended to think about her answer for a moment. “Although . . .”
I laughed. “Next time Roma gets after me about their diet I’m just going to tell her to call you. Don’t say you weren’t warned.”
Rebecca stood up and took a rectangular metal cookie tin from her bag. “I babysat Roma,” she said. “I changed her diapers. She doesn’t scare me.” She smiled and handed me the cookie container.
I eased the lid up on one corner and peered inside. There were two slices of a Swiss roll inside. I looked at Rebecca. “I smell orange and hazelnut and something sweet.”
“It’s probably the honey,” she said. “I was going to make my chocolate raspberry roll, but this was my grandmother’s recipe and I thought it might bring me good luck.”
“Just based on how delicious this smells, I don’t think you need any luck,” I said. My stomach growled loudly.
Rebecca laughed. “Thank you for that vote of confidence,” she said. “Sometimes I want to pinch myself. I can’t believe I made it this far. I can’t believe I made it on the show at all.”
I closed the lid of the cookie can before I was any more tempted to eat both slices of cake here and now. “What makes you say that?” I asked, setting the container on the bench. “You finished in the top three in the regional qualifier.”
Rebecca sat back down and started to tie her shoe. “That was far from a sure thing. In fact, if Dorrie Park hadn’t dropped out, there’s a very good chance that I wouldn’t be on the show right now.”
“She’s the one who left the contest right before the semifinals.”
Rebecca nodded. “Some kind of family emergency. She was a talented baker and extremely creative. She would have placed ahead of me for certain.” She held up a hand before I could object. “That’s not false modesty on my part, Kathleen. I know my own strengths and weaknesses. Ray, Kate and I were the top three bakers but I have no idea in which order we were ranked. If Dorrie had stayed, who knows how things might have worked out?”
I stepped out of my tai chi shoes and stuffed them in my bag. “Well, they worked out well for you and I hope they worked out for her as well.”
“As far I know, they did,” Rebecca said. “One of the crew said Dorrie just got back from Paris.” She glanced at her watch. “Heavens! I need to get going. Everett is waiting.”
“Thank you for the cake,” I said.
She got to her feet again and reached for her own bag. “You’re welcome. Enjoy.”
* * *
When I got home Hercules was nowhere to be seen. Owen was in the kitchen sitting at the table. I glared at him and pointed at the floor. “Get down,” I said firmly. This was getting to be a habit. I took a step toward him. He made more grumbling sounds than were strictly necessary but he jumped to the floor and went to have a drink.
I hung up my tai chi bag and picked up the things I’d dumped on the table earlier. After I’d washed my hands and splashed water on my face I got myself a bowl of soup and warmed it in the microwave. I was at the table crumbling crackers into my dish when Marcus called.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m in the middle of . . . something. I’m not going to make
it.”
I knew “something” could be a new case, a current case or even an older one that was working it’s way through the system.
“It’s okay,” I said. “One question, though. Does Ray Nightingale have an alibi for the night Kassie was killed?”
He hesitated. “Yes.”
“He was with Caroline Peters.”
“One of them told you,” Marcus said.
I was nodding even though he couldn’t see me. “Ray did.” I hesitated. “And you need to ask more questions about the lorazepam.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Trust me, you do,” I said.
“No, Kathleen, I really don’t.”
I got it that time. He knew about Stacey. I didn’t know whether she’d told him herself, or Russell had, or he’d found out some other way.
He knew. Why was I surprised? Marcus was good at his job.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I really have to go.”
“Stay safe,” I said. “I love you.”
I set the phone on the table and went and got one slice of the Swiss roll from Rebecca’s flowered tin. It tasted even better than it smelled. The cake, with hints of spices, honey and vanilla, was wrapped around a creamy orange-flavored filling with just a hint of nutmeg. I had a feeling Rebecca was going to be the next episode’s Hot Shot of the week as well.
As I licked orange filling from the back of my fork I thought about what Rebecca had told me. How could she not have made it on the show? She had described the young woman who had dropped out of the qualifier as being talented and creative. But so was Rebecca.
Curiosity got the better of me. I got up and got my computer. When I got back to the table, Owen was in my chair.
“That’s my seat,” I said.
“Mrrr,” he replied, blinking his golden eyes at me. I suspected that was his way of saying “finders keepers.”
I set the laptop on the table, scooped up Owen and set him on my lap once I’d reclaimed my place. It didn’t take us long to find an article in the Chronicle about the regional baking contest. I scanned the photo that accompanied the piece. Dorrie—short for Dorian—Park was in the front row between Kate and Rebecca. She looked to be nineteen, maybe twenty. She had black hair twisted into two buns, one on each side of her head, and choppy bangs. The left side of her nose and her left eyebrow were pierced. She wore a black T-shirt under a red-and-black-plaid shirt and black Doc Martens. She was looking directly at the camera and while she wasn’t smiling it seemed to me there was just a tiny hint of something—arrogance maybe—in her dark eyes.