I liked the sparkler they put in the lime pie, though it was leaving a bunch of dark specs on the skimpy piece of pie. We sang “Happy Birthday” to her, and the sparkler died out during the chorus. I really liked the sparkler; it reeked class.
As soon as the waiter left I dug out the ring and put it on her plate.
“Happy birthday, sunshine.”
She seemed surprised but didn’t touch the box.
“Go ahead and open it.”
She opened it as if she were defusing a bomb. I thought the red ruby showed great against the black velvet it sat on.
“It’s nice. You didn’t have to get me anything.”
“I know, but I wanted to.”
“I appreciate it, though it really wasn’t necessary.”
“You like it?”
“It’s stunning.”
“Well, put it on then!”
She put the ring on her pinky finger. What was that?
I said, “You mean a lot to me, you know.”
“I know, Dom.”
“We should spend more time together, like we used to.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready, Dom.”
“Ready? What’s that supposed to mean? You got to seize things when you can.”
“I know, but it feels like Phil went missing only yesterday.”
“It’s been a year, and it didn’t stop you from going out with that patsy from the office.”
She glared at me. “What I do is none of your business.”
“Well, two can play that game.”
“What game?”
I was glad I saw the danger sign flashing ahead for a change. “Just forget it. I’m sorry I brought it up. I really understand how difficult this has been for you, Robin, and I just want to help.”
Atta boy! She softened immediately.
***
On a scale of ten, the birthday dinner was a fat five. Zero movement. Time’s a wasting, and time I ain’t got. Got to explore my options. That Melissa had three out of four of what I was looking for. She was no Robin, but her old man, who owned three Ford dealerships, was ‘off the hook’ loaded. Her body was an eight, eight and a half maybe, but her face was six and a half at best.
Melissa liked me for sure. I resisted her continual overtures, excepting a couple of recent ones. Come on, a guy’s a guy. Maybe it was time to ramp it up. After all, what’s the downside? I get to jump on Melissa’s bones while making Robin jealous. Time for her to eat the food she made. If it didn’t change things with Robin I’d move on. Melissa was a good, no, outstanding alternative. Either way, I’d be riding high soon.
I grabbed a beer, sat on the lanai and pulled out my cell. It was late, so I’d text Melissa and let her know I was coming in tomorrow to take her to lunch, and who knows, maybe go shopping for a new Mustang.
Chapter 30
Luca
To say the doctor’s office was jammed was putting it mildly. I signed in and grabbed two magazines before settling into the last seat, which was under the TV. I started to doze off when my cell rang. It was Vargas.
“Where are you?”
“Sitting in my doctor’s office.”
“Oh, are you feeling okay?”
“Fine, I had a scan, but it’s just routine. What’s up?”
“You sure?”
“Of course, I’m sure, Mommy. What’s up?”
“I’m down at Clam Pass. They found a body in Outer Clam Bay.”
“A boating accident?”
“Afraid not, the body was weighed down.”
I stood up. “I’m on my way.”
“Don’t you dare, Frank! You stay there.”
“Why not? You forget that I’m the leading homicide—”
“Hold on. You need to take care of yourself. This guy’s dead already. Come on down after you’re done.”
“But this place is packed. It’ll take another—”
“Listen to yourself. You’re a good detective, Frank, but nothing’s gonna change with or without you around.”
“You’re a real sweetheart, ain’t you?”
“I’ll see you later, after you’re done with the doctor.”
“Make sure the scene is secure.”
“This isn’t my first rodeo, Frank.”
“I know, I know.”
“I’ll see you later.”
I pleaded, “Call me if anything comes up. Okay, Vargas? Hey, Vargas, you there?”
***
I finally got to Clam Pass as the crime scene investigators were taking off their protective clothing. I’d missed a critical part of the investigation and was pissed. Seeing the scene before it was trampled on was a huge advantage. The best opportunity to try and recreate what could have happened was lost. Now I’d have to wait until the place cleared out to envision away.
The pee-pee alarm on my cell phone sounded as I got out of my car. I hit the snooze button and ducked under the yellow crime-scene tape. It was breezy and the palm trees were dancing a bossa nova.
Wearing a blue pantsuit, Vargas was talking with Darren Grumman, who led the forensic team. Grumman was a mousy guy who never gave you anything until it was fully processed. He never appreciated that we had to move quickly. As a result, half the time we figured things out without him.
Grumman was outfitted in his usual cheap, beige seersucker suit.
“What did I miss?”
Vargas said, “A kayaker spotted the body about ten thirty and called it in.” She raised her arm and pointed. “It was wrapped in plastic and weighed down under the mangroves about ten yards from the boardwalk. Forensics cut the plastic away and the body’s pretty much intact but covered in a waxy type thing no one’s seen before. It looks to be an important clue.”
Nodding, I asked, “Male?”
“Yeah, male, Caucasian, about six foot, one hundred seventy to two hundred.”
I looked at Grumman. “Any idea on age?”
“Difficult to say.”
“I know it’s difficult, that’s why you guys are here.”
Mr. Helpful shook his head and walked away. Vargas said, “You know, sometimes you can get more with candy than vinegar, Frank.”
“Hey, I’m at a disadvantage, not only am I late, thanks to you, but I don’t have your good looks.”
“What did the doctor have to say?”
No way I’d tell her he was ready to stick a needle in Little Luca to try and wake him up. “Good as new. Any idea on how old? Sounds like someone in decent shape.”
“Tough to say, but Simmonelli said he thought the victim was around forty.”
I flipped through the rolodex in my head as Vargas said, “They’re pretty much done.”
“I can see that.”
She frowned. “Look, I gotta run. I’m due in court in under an hour.”
Vargas handed me a drawing of the crime scene and I said, “Hustle along then. I need to do my thing.”
I took a couple of deep breaths and slowly surveyed the scene until my alarm went off again. A handful of people were still hanging around, so I walked over to the hotel, which bordered the parking lot, to use their pool bathroom.
By the time I emptied my bladder there was only one officer left, and his role was to guard the crime scene.
The parking lot for Clam Pass was at the end of Pine Ridge. At the end of the lot there was a long boardwalk that passed over the bay and led to a nice strip of beach. The boardwalk was so long that golf cart shuttles, run by the adjoining hotel, transported most of the beachgoers.
I walked the area, all pavement, so no tire tracks or footprints to look for if this was a new crime. I wondered how long it took the uniforms to get the sun worshippers off the beach to clear the parking lot. Not the best PR for a town known as paradise.
After picking out the sole CCTV camera, I checked its sight line. I looked up at the hotel, but as expected, at their room rates, none of the rooms had a view of the lot. Circling the perimeter of the lot I couldn’t find any other access
points.
Drawing in hand, I headed to the boardwalk. The body had been weighed down in a secluded area only about twenty yards from the gazebo where the tram stopped. There were three plausible ways the poor sob ended up in the muck. He could’ve been walking on the boardwalk when he was attacked, maybe a robbery gone wrong, and then dumped.
Problem was he was weighed down and tied up. That suggested that if it was a robbery then the thief was ready to kill and dump the body, requiring a highly unusual robber. I didn’t buy it. So, the odds at this point were that whoever did this was planning to kill this guy the entire time. It had to be. I didn’t feel it was a morphing kind of situation.
He could have been lured there to be murdered, but unless there was a record of a car being left that remained unclaimed, my suspicion was that the body was transported here. Now the question was how. By car or a boat of some kind?
I started leaning toward a car being used. It just gave the killer more flexibility, that is, unless the killer had access to a remote place to launch a small boat and navigate to where he dumped the body. Nah, if he was in a remote place to begin with, why not hide the body there? Why risk it?
I tucked the boat theory in a pocket to explore later. Killing wasn’t rational, so you had to be on guard for other irrational behavior.
The autopsy should help narrow things down, giving us a reasonable time frame to work with. The wax thing was something the lab guys would figure out quickly, providing us with a lead. Hoping we’d get more than that from the autopsy and forensics, I pulled out my cell. We’d need to go through the camera footage of the parking lot and see if the hotel or anyone else had any cameras. But first I’d call the Collier County Parks department to be sure any CCTV footage was held intact and was made inaccessible to anyone but the police.
Chapter 31
Luca
We pulled up to the house and sat quietly for a minute before I said, “You ready?”
Vargas said, “As ready as I’ll ever be with these things.”
We walked up the driveway as the sun reappeared after a brief shower. The house looked even better then I remembered, making me wonder if she had done some new landscaping or something. I tried to recall the last time I was here and hit the bell.
Robin opened the door wearing a multi-colored dress. I normally didn’t like what I called ‘Florida’ dresses, but this gal would look great in a Whole Foods bag.
Her smile evaporated when she saw us. “Oh, hi. Is something going on?”
Vargas said, “May we come in?”
She hesitated. “Of course. But please, tell me what’s going on.”
Vargas commented on the furnishings as we took seats in the great room.
“I’m sure you’re not here for the decor, so why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”
I quelled the willies in my belly and said, “I’m sorry to inform you that the body found in Clam Pass was your husband, Phillip Gabelli.”
Robin fell back and covered her mouth. “Oh no!”
Vargas got up and kneeled in front of her. “We’re sorry for your loss, Mrs. Gabelli.”
Robin’s eyes moistened. “I could feel it from the minute he disappeared.”
Vargas was ready with a pack of tissues and said, “Is there someone you can call to come over and stay with you?”
Robin shook her head. “I don’t need anybody. Frankly, I’d been expecting this. What happened to him?”
I said, “We don’t know for sure.”
“Did he drown?”
“No.”
Robin dabbed her eyes with a tissue. “You think he was murdered?”
“We believe so.”
“Why? Was he shot? Or stabbed?”
I swallowed before saying, “He was weighed down beneath the water.”
Robin sniffled. “Oh, my poor Phil. What did they do to you?”
“We’re going to have to do an autopsy. It’s standard in all suspicious deaths.”
She nodded. “Okay, I understand.”
Before I could say anything, she said, “Why would anyone want to hurt my Phil? He was a sweetheart.”
Vargas said, “We’re going to see to it, that whoever did this, is brought to justice.”
I said, “I know this is a lot to handle, but we’ll need you to identify the body, Mrs. Gabelli. I realize this comes as a shock, but the sooner the better because we’d like to do the autopsy as soon as possible.”
“Where is he?”
“At the medical examiner’s, on Domestic Avenue off of Industrial.”
Vargas said, “I would be happy to take a ride with you. You shouldn’t have to drive alone.”
“You want me to go now?”
“Only if you feel comfortable with it. We’re not trying to rush you, we just want to conduct the autopsy as soon as possible so that we can release his body to you.”
Robin buried her face in her hands and cried. Vargas rubbed her back for a minute until she regained her composure.
Robin blew her nose and said, “I’ll go see Phil now. I just need, say a half hour, to get ready.”
“Would you like me to ride with you?”
“Thanks, but that won’t be necessary. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay then, we’ll meet you down there.”
***
Vargas and I waited for Robin in the beige, low-slung building that housed the medical examiner’s facility. We continued to discuss Robin’s reaction to the news in the lobby, keeping an eye on the door. We both felt that Robin reacted normally when we advised her about finding Phil’s body. Sometimes a suspect is just a little too scripted when the inevitable news is delivered.
Wearing a black pantsuit and low heels, Robin paused before entering the building. Vargas went to the door and escorted her to the family room. I went to the receiving room to make sure the body was ready for viewing.
Gabelli’s body was rolled out of the stainless-steel refrigeration room into the center of the smallish viewing room. I picked up the phone to let Vargas know it was showtime. As the door opened I drew a deep breath. Vargas trailed Robin by a hair as she approached the sheet-covered gurney. I looked Robin in the eye and, lip quivering, she nodded.
I drew the sheet down to her husband’s neckline and Robin gasped as a wave of nausea rolled over me. Robin broke down and I quickly covered Phil’s face, knowing there wasn’t an undertaker in the world that could make his funeral an open casket one.
Chapter 32
Stewart
“What matters is not the idea a man holds, but the depth at which he holds it.” - Ezra Pound
“Oh no, Dom, Phil’s dead.”
“What?”
“Detective Luca came over. He said the body found in Clam Pass was Phil.”
“Oh no, I’m so sorry, Robin. What did they say happened?”
“He was murdered.”
“Murdered?”
“I can’t believe anyone would want to hurt Phil.”
I thought, really, Robin? Phil was a pretty good guy, but you knew he was cocky assed and only looked out for himself. She knew he pissed people off and was ‘over the top’ selfish to boot.
“There’s a lot of crazy people out there.”
“They want me to go identify the body.”
The body? I choked down my fear and forced myself to ask, “Do want me to come along with you?”
“No. That’s okay.”
“But Robin, it’s a very, uh, difficult thing to have to do alone. Let me come with you.”
“Thanks, but it’s okay.”
Robin sounded good—strong. She was as smart as they come. Even though we never talked about it, she seemed to know Phil wasn’t coming back.
“Okay, but if you change your mind, I’m there for you.”
“You know they’re going to do an autopsy.”
“Really? Why?”
“Detective Luca said it was standard in murder cases.”
“Oh, I feel terrible for you an
d Phil.”
“It’s going to be all right, I just wanted to let you know what was going on.”
Atta girl!
“Give me a call if you change your mind. I’ll be there in a flash for you.”
***
I drove past Hodges Funeral Home two times before pulling into the parking lot. My original plan was to get there early so I could be a concrete pillar for Robin, but I was never good with funerals, and this one had really turned me into jelly. Florida funerals, with everyone in black, felt as off as going to the beach on Christmas Day. I had my Zegna suit on, even though it needed to be pressed, with a crisp white shirt and blue tie. It felt appropriate.
A group of guys we hung out with had arrived the same time I did and I attached myself to them like a pilot fish to a shark. We entered and were greeted by the smell of stale air infused with floral overtones.
All of us dutifully signed the register book, another stupid tradition. I mean, who goes over it? Do what with it after the funeral? Check if Johnny so-and-so came? So what if he did or didn’t. What are you going to do, not go to his wake if he didn’t come to one of yours?
I took comfort in the loud chatter in the room. Robin was smiling as she chatted with a group of her coworkers. Dressed in a long black dress, she looked good, even without any makeup. Sitting on top of a brown casket was a large heart-shaped arrangement proclaiming My Beloved Phil. Man, was I glad it was a closed casket.
As I approached her to pay my respects, I started crying. I made sure Robin saw the tears before I hugged her. I think she was wearing the new Dior fragrance. She pulled away too quickly, in my opinion, and I went and knelt before the casket. I had my eyes closed the entire time and counted to forty before getting up and heading out to the lobby.
I stood in the lobby for two hours and only came back in the room when a minister held a brief service. Phil was going to be cremated, and I was thankful to be spared having to attend a burial.
Luca Mystery Series Box Set Page 32