4 A Dead Mother

by Anna Celeste Burke

  “Does she pocket them?” Laura gasped.

  “No. She drops them back into the jewelry box when Steve Landis steps into the frame. They run off and I’m betting the action picks up again on that camera in the guestroom.”

  “Like Goldilocks, isn’t it?” Tommy asked. “Someone’s been sleeping in my bed,” Tommy added in a silly high-pitched voice. Brien thought that was hilarious.

  “According to my video tech guy, that’s exactly what happened next,” Peter responded in a serious, slightly irritated tone. “I didn’t view what’s on the guestroom cam because I was more interested in who else had been in Ms. Windsor’s house. The video from the cam in the master suite goes back as far as the previous Friday night when the older footage was downloaded.”

  “What’s funny about those idiotas playing house in such a nice woman’s home?” Bernadette asked.

  “Idiotic might be a better word for it,” Peter explained. “I doubt Dee Delacroix was going for the bizarre fishbowl effect she created by leaning in and leaving an ultra-closeup for posterity. She’s vamping it up, too, as the video continues recording before she takes off with Ms. Windsor’s trusted GC for their liaison in the guest room.”

  “That would make a great clip on one of those world’s dumbest crooks shows,” Tommy added.

  “She won’t be laughing when the cops pick her up for questioning,” Kim commented. “They must be scrolling through that video, too.”

  “Whoa, you’re right about that. That bogus GC is nabbed, and going to feel a little overexposed if that camera in the guest room was working as well as the one in the master bedroom.” Brien was moving his head slowly up and down in a favorite “man-in-the-know” way he has when he’s sure he’s on to someone or something. It was a bit hypnotic, although he always reminded me too much of a bobble-head, dashboard doll when he bobbed his head like that.

  “The guy does make himself at home. Not just in the bedroom. He helps himself to food and drink from the fridge, pours himself a shot of liquor, and settles down for a few minutes on the couch in the family room,” Peter added.

  “A cushy break room,” Laura interjected.

  “This is clearly a situation where not asking permission isn’t so easily forgiven,” I added wondering what kind of people would take advantage of Beverly Windsor’s good will.

  “Excellent point,” Brien exclaimed as his head bobbed again.

  “Is there a camera in the kitchen too?” I asked.

  “No. On the mantle in the family room that’s open to the kitchen with a perfect line of sight to the liquor cabinet. Our mystery snoop is caught searching through drawers in the kitchen before she ends up in Ms. Windsor’s bedroom. She’s moving fast, dropping stuff here and there as she goes, and not too worried about picking it up.”

  “Is there any identifying information from those images of the snoop—height, weight, age, a wedding ring, or distinctive jewelry?”

  “She’s dressed in a baggy, nondescript dark gray warmup outfit with a hoodie so only a little blond hair is visible between the edge of the hoodie and her sunglasses. Medium build, five-foot-five maybe, and she’s wearing latex gloves.”

  “Are you kidding me? No fingerprints, dang it!” I snapped.

  “The only way I know for sure she’s got those long red nails is that she pulled off a glove when she poked herself on something sharp while going through a drawer in the kitchen.”

  “Did she draw blood?” I asked.

  “It could be. When she took that glove off, she put her finger in her mouth like you’d do if you’d pricked a finger and it was bleeding.”

  “Did she leave that object in the drawer?”

  “I’m pretty sure she did. Detective Havens’ team must be glued to those videos by now, maybe they’ll notice.”

  “Oh, I’ll bet they can’t take their eyes off the footage given what Brien said about Steve Landis overexposing himself,” Laura quipped. “Let’s hope they spend as much time trying to figure out who the gloved woman was who let herself into to Ms. Windsor’s house and went through it. She was on a tight schedule to get in there after lover boy Landis left and before the brooch-loving neighbor showed up. I swear! It was like Grand Central Station that day despite guard gates, keys, and security systems.”

  “Not just that day. Landis and his guys were in there the day before. At least they appeared to be doing business—going over plans spread out on the kitchen island as he shares chips with them and pours a round of tequila.”

  “Roger never would have done that,” Laura said with a note of sadness entering her voice. It hadn’t occurred to me until then that all this talk about a misbehaving General Contractor might be hard for her to hear since Roger had earned his living that way before he was murdered. I decided it was time to wrap this discussion up.

  “Ms. Windsor certainly would have been better off with your Roger,” I said. “I’m sorry she didn’t have that option.” Laura smiled sweetly.

  “Me too. You’ll make sure her daughter takes care of Steve Landis so he can’t do such a thing to another woman as trusting as her mother, won’t you?”

  “I sure will. I’ll ask Rikki about that when I ask what they’ve discovered by reviewing the video footage. If she doesn’t bring it up, I’ll also mention the pinprick issue and will get her to go through the items in the drawer in case there’s a sharp object with enough DNA on it to help ID the mystery woman. Maybe it’ll match what they get from the fingernail tangled in Ms. Windsor’s hair and we’ll nab both the killer and the burglar. One more question. I take it the video clips you’ve reviewed didn’t show Landis or that woman stealing the laptop?” I asked.

  “There’s no nanny cam in the den or at the front door. Ms. Windsor must have been focused on specific suspicions about the nature of Landis’ partying. When she was in the master bedroom, the gloved woman took a file folder from a drawer and stuffed it inside her zippered jacket. It was baggy enough that she could have had the laptop in there, too.”

  “Okay, thanks for all the updates.”

  “What about the file folder?” Kim asked. “Is there any way to tell what was in it?”

  “That’s a great question!” I exclaimed.

  “This was our first pass through the footage, so I can’t answer that question. We can go back and take another look. Maybe you should review it, too, Kim.”

  “Could I? I’d like to do that if you’ll send me a copy.” Peter nodded and pulled out his phone to text someone at his command center no doubt.

  “Whoa, I could help you,” Brien offered.

  “Me, too,” Tommy added. “We could have a video viewing party to make sure we don’t miss a thing.”

  “Hold on, you two. Basta!” Bernadette interjected. “You’re not fooling anybody. The Cat Pack isn’t going into the stag party business. I don’t want to see Steve Landis overexposed. It’s bad enough anyone’s got to see that crook with his clothes on.”

  “I agree,” Kim added. “I don’t need to see those clips unless your guys, Peter, or the police find something of interest to the investigation during their review. At some point, you don’t ever need to see another overexposed person—man or woman—if it’s not absolutely necessary.” After what she’d been through working for the freakish Mr. P., I understood what she meant.

  “Okay, it sounds like the matter is settled for now. I’m almost as worn out as Anastasia. What about your news, Bernadette?” I listened attentively as Bernadette told us what she’d learned from the nanny about what had gone on at Jim’s house. Not just the day Marty Hargreaves died, but also in the weeks before he was dealt that final blow, so to speak.

  “Good grief,” I said. “Wait until Frank hears about this.”

  “Frank? Don’t you mean Paul? What does Frank have to do with Jim’s situation?” Jerry asked.

  Uh-oh, I thought as I mentally crossed my fingers, preparing to fib to Bernadette and the rest of the Cat Pack. They all stared at me like cats about to pounce o
n a mouse scurrying from view.

  “Paul, too, of course. Sorry. Since Frank couldn’t join us for dinner, I’m going to update him about our discussion tonight including Bernadette’s discovery. I’m sure Detective Havens is doing that, but she’s not up to speed on everything we’ve learned either.” Bernadette was eying me with a penetrating gaze as though unleashing her superpowers. Tommy and Brien seemed to have moved on, but Kim, Peter, and Laura still stared at me. Jerry had said nothing since he asked his initial question.

  “Paul definitely needs to hear this before he interviews the nanny,” Jerry had folded his arms across his chest. “If there’s any truth to what Bernadette’s learned, it could be a motive for someone other than Jim to have murdered Marty Hargreaves. Or at least enough to create reasonable doubt about his innocence.”

  Now what? I thought as I squirmed under his gaze, too.

  “You’re right. I’ll take care of it. Promise,” I said. I’d keep that promise to speak to Paul, too, but only after giving Frank a heads-up first. Frank and I would have plenty to discuss after Frankie’s birthday party. I had the uneasy feeling that my interactions with Frank were going to take us in an unexpected direction. Not necessarily a completely pleasant one.

  Just what I need, I thought. This is a recipe for more conflict with tiramisu. If two murders, several detectives, and scores of suspects running amok didn’t create a little tension, what would?

  26 Birthday Surprises

  “Let’s get out of here and head to the pub. Mom and Dad can handle it from here. I need to talk to you before Rikki Havens joins us, if you don’t mind.”

  “Why not? Are you sure your mom and dad won’t mind our leaving before all the mess is cleaned up? They must be exhausted.”

  “What are you saying? You treated Mom to a spa day. She’s glowing from all the buffing and polishing that went on upstairs. I went to look for her once and heard her giggling, so I decided not to barge in on you all. I don’t think she’s had that much fun in a long time. Dad approves of the new hairdo, too. He can’t take his eyes off her,” Frank said.

  “Aw, they’re so sweet. How wonderful it must be to feel that way about someone after decades of marriage.” He didn’t say another word, but grabbed my hand and led me from the backyard to the kitchen where Don and Evelyn were laughing. The kitchen in Frank’s house was clean as a whistle, except for a couple of large garbage bags that need to be taken out.

  “Wow! Frank said you had this clean up under control. I would have sworn a riot went on in here half an hour ago,” I exclaimed.

  “We could have had it done quicker if Evelyn approved of the way I loaded the dishwasher. She had to reload it. Somehow, she gets twice what I can into it. It’s like magic.”

  “Some things never change. The ways of the dishwasher remain a mystery after all these years,” Evelyn laughed again, and Don put an arm around her.

  “You have to give me credit since I do know my way around a vacuum cleaner.” She nodded and kissed him on his cheek.

  “That you do!” I tried to relish rather than envy their happiness, but I did long for it. How wonderful to have all those years together. Even the prospect of fighting the same old fights about how to load a dishwasher seemed like a gift to me after the lousy hand I’d been dealt in marriage. Not that I was alone on that front. Did Frank’s heart sing and cry at the same time as he witnessed such everyday gestures of love that had weathered so many storms after the failure of his own marriage?

  “Where are the kids?” Frank asked, scooting a bit closer to me.

  “In the den playing video games on Frankie’s new laptop. He’s in such a good mood he’s teaching Evie how to play!”

  “It was a great party with plenty of surprises,” Frank said. “Did he tell you he had a girlfriend, Mom?”

  “Not directly,” Evelyn replied. “He’s asked my opinion about several things ‘as a woman’ recently, so I figured something was up.”

  “She’s cute, even in that nerd get-up she wore. The geek theme Frankie chose was perfect. He’s clever, although he had help from his dad coming up with that idea,” I said.

  “You put your two-cents-worth in on it, too. I think he came close to telling me about Jenny when he said he wanted girls at the party, too, even though they make him nervous and he acts ‘more like a geek than normal.’ When Jessica suggested I tell him ‘geeks rule,’ the party theme became obvious.”

  “It was a great way to handle his first boy-girl party. If you do something nerdy or klutzy—who cares?” Don commented.

  “Once we talked about that as an option, Frankie ran with it. He came up with the idea to give out Rubik’s Cubes and fidget spinners as party favors right on the spot, and started working on ideas for the games and activities. That build-a-robot station he set up in the garage, using what looked like junk, was a big hit.”

  “His idea to serve TV dinners was genius! Easy on me, too, with pizza being his other food choice. It was great fun watching that Big Bang show outside on the big screen. Those tickets to a taping of an episode next season put Frankie over the moon, Jessica. He’s a thirteen-year-old geek superstar himself, now!” Evelyn hustled around the island in the kitchen to give me a hug.

  “Jenny’s got to be more stuck on him than ever—what a great first date that’s going to be,” Don added.

  “Jessica always finds a way to add a wonderful surprise of her own to an event, doesn’t she? Your galaxy bark was amazing, though, Mom. So were those delicious star and moon butter cookies Bernadette made.”

  “Yes, she does, Son.” Don gave us a knowing look as his eyes dropped, I realized Frank and I had been holding hands since Frank had moved closer to me.

  “We’re heading out for a drink and then I’m going to drop Jessica at the Mission Inn,” Frank said, taking my hand that he was holding and draping it around his arm as he scooted toward the front door. His car was sitting in the driveway where he’d moved it, so Frankie could use the garage for that robot making station and some game he’d set up using a Periodic Table.

  I said my goodbyes to Evelyn and Don with a round of hugs. “You’d better say goodbye to the kids before you leave. They’ve got a couple of hours left before one or both collapses in exhaustion. You might miss your chance to say goodnight.”

  “Good idea, Dad. Even teenagers run out of energy, eventually,” Frank said a little wistfully as we located them in the den.

  “Jessica,” Evie cried, flying toward me like a sweet, gangly poodle. She threw her arms around my waist. “Are you leaving? You’re staying overnight at the Mission Inn, why don’t we do girl stuff with Grandma again tomorrow?”

  “That would be fun, but I have to get back to Rancho Mirage. I’m on poodle duty now.” Frankie hadn’t looked up from the video game he was intent on playing, but he was obviously following the conversation.

  “Bernadette knows how to do that, doesn’t she?”

  “Yes, she does, but when I brought Anastasia home, I promised that I’d assume principal responsibility for her care.” I giggled. “That came out more like a lawyer than I intended it to.” Evie hugged my waist tighter as she stared up at me—not a great distance now that she’d grown like a weed the past few months.

  “Why shouldn’t you sound like a lawyer? You are one. When are you going to take me to the office with you, so I can see what lawyers do?”

  “That’s up to your dad and your teacher,” I said. “Evie has a Career Day event coming up. I told her she can shadow me for a day or two—whatever her assignment requires—if she gets permission from the two of you.”

  “Can I go, Dad? She’s given me ‘appropriate notification’ that lawyers don’t do anything very exciting. I’m prepared to accept that.”

  “Talk about sounding like a lawyer,” Frankie added his fingers still moving so fast they were almost blurry.

  “Plus, I’ll get to meet Anastasia, and maybe we can schedule a little more pampering at the end of a hard day at the office. I
can’t ever remember feeling more relaxed.” She backed off and did a spin that reminded me of the exuberant poodle puppy dancing on her hind legs.

  “She looks a lot better than normal, too. More work couldn’t hurt,” Frankie added, stopping long enough to smirk at Evie who now stood with her hands on her hips. Frankie was the spitting image of his dad with that smirking, sideways grin on his face. Frank must have known it was time to settle the matter, though, before that friendly sibling teasing could turn into bickering.

  “We’ll work it out, Evie.” Daddy’s girl, now, she ran and threw her arms around Frank.

  “Oh, thanks, Dad. You’re the best.”

  “She’s got that right. This was the best birthday ever. Thanks!” Frankie didn’t get up and throw his arms around Frank, but he did free one hand to give his dad a thumbs-up. “You, too, Jessica!” That thumb poked up in the air again.

  “We’d better go,” Frank said.

  “See you later, you two!”

  “Goodnight, kids.” Frank gave Evie a kiss and then leaned over to ruffle Frankie’s hair. Evie spun on her toes again and flitted around to sit beside her brother.

  “They’re great, aren’t they?”

  “Don’t I know it. Every time I see some young guy in cuffs trying to look tough even though he’s scared out of his mind about some trouble he’s caused, I’m so grateful I can keep the kids safe, under my roof—and my thumb.”

  When we were in the car and on our way to the pub in downtown Riverside, we chatted for a few more minutes about Frankie’s party, his new interest in girls, as well as Evie wearing a little makeup tonight.

  “They are growing up, aren’t they?” He asked as he merged onto the highway.

  “Yes. That’s inevitable, isn’t it? So far, so good, too. They both seem to be pacing themselves—not trying to grow up too fast, right?”

  “Still, once they’re out on their own, I’ll have so much less influence over them and no control. It makes me feel anxious, old, too, and like time’s running out.”