by Vickie Fee
“Is everything okay?” I asked. “Difficult customers?”
“The customers are fine. It’s big brother who’s getting on my nerves. Bart encouraged me to get out for a while. I guess I was getting on his nerves, too,” she said with shrug.
“You should take a break while Bart’s around to mind the store. The weather’s beautiful and we’ve both been cooped up inside all day, why don’t we talk a walk?”
“You’re right. It’s too pretty not to soak up some sunshine.”
I locked the door and we started strolling.
“Where should we go?” I asked.
“Let’s head up toward the hotel. That way we’ll be walking downhill on our way back.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
We pointed to a few things in shop windows, but didn’t talk much as we weaved through the tourists. We reached the top of the hill, arrived at the beautifully landscaped hotel grounds and sat down together on a park bench.
“I didn’t know Bart was going to be here today.”
“He drove down on a whim. Simon won’t be home until late tonight. How’s business at the Star Movie Palace? I saw some people coming out of your establishment laughing. Looked like they were having a good time.”
“Yeah, the wine was flowing pretty freely today, especially for a matinee. A bunch of people also told me they were excited to finally see Charade on the big screen.”
“Audrey Hepburn films in general are probably a safe bet and I’m not knocking Charade, or anything with Cary Grant, but I lean more toward musicals or a screwball comedies. Musicals would be enough to bring Bart down for a show, too. Be sure to let me know when one of those is coming up.”
“I’ll do you one better. You and Bart make a list of some of your favorites. I have a bit of pull with the theater owner.”
“Excellent. I’ll e-mail you a long list.”
My mind had wandered somewhere else. Suddenly I was aware of Kendra waving a hand in front of my face.
“Hello, Halley? Anybody home?”
“Sorry for spacing out. Your librarian friend, Alan, was at the show today. I see what you mean about him being a little shy. But something else about him just occurred to me.”
“What’s that?”
“He was privy to all the research at the library into Jesse James and buried treasure lore by Vince, Edward and you. Maybe he was Vince’s partner,” I proposed.
“You think Alan could be the killer? I’m having a hard time envisioning that.”
“Remember how you said Alan had referred to the theater as a local treasure? He used those same words again today when he was talking to me. Maybe there is a connection to some tunnel or cavern through the theater basement. If Vince knew about it, Alan could’ve killed him to stake a claim for himself.”
“If that’s true, that could mean Edgar’s life is in danger, as well,” Kendra said. “I still don’t see Alan as a killer, but I guess we should add him to the list of suspects.”
“And in the meantime, you need to be careful what you say around him, as well as Elaine Stedman.”
We stood up and wandered around the grounds, stopping by a trickling fountain near the entrance to the hotel. Once again my mind wandered.
“Halley, I’ve lost you again. Do you need to take a nap?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was just thinking about something Father Ben said to me last night about why he likes the movie Charade so much. He said he loved how the thing they were frantically searching for turned out to be right in front of them the whole time.”
“You’re wondering if there’s something we know about Vince’s murder that we just haven’t put together?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
My mind was wandering again—to a place I really didn’t want to go. I had a growing uneasiness and a terrible sense that I might know who the murderer was.
“Kendra, it’s beautiful here, but I better head back. I just remembered I left laundry in the washer that I need to move over,” I said, making up an excuse to leave.
“That’s okay. I really should get back and check on Bart. It’s been pretty busy today. I probably shouldn’t leave him on his own for too long.”
We walked back and parted ways at the escape rooms. Just as the streetlights came on I crossed the side street and took a seat on the bench in the pocket park, trying to gather my thoughts, pull all the jumbled pieces of the puzzle together. What was it Father Ben had said? It was right there in front of them the whole time.
Only now, it was right in front of me.
CHAPTER 27
When I talked to Marco earlier he had referred to Vince as a blackmailer. But I was absolutely certain I’d never mentioned anything about blackmail to him—I’d promised George and Trudy I wouldn’t. And I knew it hadn’t been in the newspaper, either. I wasn’t even sure if the police knew about it. How could he know?
Something else was there, too. What was it?
On opening night, Marco was behind the bar. He was in a perfect position to slip something into a drink without being seen. And I had been writing the customers’ names on the coffee cups as I made them and set them out for pick up on the side bar, making it easy to identify his target.
The autopsy report had shown evidence of Cracker Jacks and coffee, along with a lethal dose of some prescription heart medicine in Vince’s stomach contents. And Marco’s dad has a heart condition. Marco mentioned it at the winery when his dad was pouring on the charm for me.
Why would he want to kill Vince? It didn’t make sense.
I kept running it over in my head. I needed to be sure before I mentioned it to anyone. The whole idea was crazy, wasn’t it? There had to be a perfectly reasonable explanation.
I let myself in through the front of the theater and walked to the back. I needed to vacuum, but that could wait. I ran up the stairs and entered my apartment, half-dazed.
I looked up and gasped.
“Marco,” I said, struggling to breathe. I could feel myself trembling.
There he was standing in my kitchen next to a board of chopped onions and tomatoes, holding a large knife. He lay the knife down and took a step toward me.
I jumped back a step.
“Halley, I’m sorry. I wanted to surprise you, but I certainly didn’t mean to startle you.”
I tried to steady my breathing and act normal.
“Well, you did. I’m used to coming home to an empty apartment, except when my cat decides to visit.”
Eartha slinked over and rubbed against my leg before leaping onto the recliner and curling up on top of the headrest.
“How did you get in?”
“Trudy gave me the key. Please don’t be upset with her. I talked her into it. I wanted to surprise you by making a spaghetti dinner for us. I’m a pretty good cook by the way.”
When he took a couple of steps in my direction I nearly jumped out of my skin. I forced a smile, but the fear in my eyes had betrayed me.
“I slipped up earlier today, didn’t I?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t try to play coy, cara. You have a lovely face, but it’s not a poker face. Please understand that Vince Dalton left me no choice.”
“He had been blackmailing some people into selling their businesses. He wasn’t trying to buy the winery, was he?”
“No, but once he saw how lucrative his little blackmail sideline could be, he didn’t mind expanding his circle of terror. My father isn’t perfect, but he is a good man. His family, and his reputation, mean everything to him. I wasn’t about to let the likes of Vince Dalton drag my family’s good name through the gutter.
“My dad wasn’t born Rafe Carvello. He grew up as Ralph Carver in Brooklyn. He’d learned some Italian, spending a lot of time at his Italian neighbor’s home while his mom worked.
He worked hard to climb his way out of a poor neighborhood, married my mom, had me. But then he had some tough breaks financially. Finally, through a series of fortunate events, you might say, he won some money at the casinos and had a chance to reinvent himself. He spent a bit of time in Italy and eventually ended up here as respected winemaker Rafe Carvello, living his dream life. And Dalton thought he could take that all away. My dad had already paid that scumbag, and he came back for more money. I knew he’d never stop coming back, unless someone stopped him.”
My heart was pounding so violently I felt bruised from the inside. Marco had killed Vince—and I was his next victim.
Stall, Halley. Stay calm. Keep him talking.
“Why did you decide to kill him at the theater? Were you trying to frame me by putting the drug in the coffee?” I choked the words out, my throat as dry as dust.
“You may not believe this, but I didn’t plan it. I’d entertained plenty of murderous thoughts about Dalton, but I had no plan as to how or when. The night of the opening, an opportunity just presented itself, as if it were predestined.
“I had picked up my dad’s heart medicine at the pharmacy before coming to the theater because I knew they’d be closed after the show. I told the guy at the drug store I didn’t need a bag and just stuck the pill bottle in my pocket. Did you know cardiovascular drugs are the second most common cause of all fatal overdoses?
“I knew that too much of the medicine could be deadly. The doctor had cautioned us, and I read up about it online so I’d understand more about the prescription and how it might affect my dad.
“I had no idea Dalton would be at the theater. Then suddenly there he was, standing in line at the counter. I stepped to the side and quickly crushed up the pills. I worried they might not dissolve in the wine. Then I heard him order coffee, a hot liquid to dissolve the pills. I saw his name written in marker on the side of the cup. I walked over to get more wineglasses from beneath the counter and dumped the powder formed by the crushed pills into his cup as I leaned over. It was almost too easy.”
Marco had slowly made his way from the kitchen area into the living room.
“We could’ve been good together, Halley. Dad really liked you. He’s never liked any of the women I’ve gone out with before. But you just wouldn’t let go, even after I gave the cops another suspect to get you off the hook.”
“You put the prescription pills in Joe’s car?”
Marco didn’t reply. Instead he pulled a scarf out of his pocket and wound a length of it around each of his hands, pulling the fabric taut. He inched toward me and I stepped behind the recliner, as if that would provide protection. I could scream, but who would hear me? My eyes darted around looking for a weapon, but there was nothing within reach. Eartha Kitty, catnapping on the top of the recliner, must have sensed my fear. She suddenly leapt at Marco with a ferocious growl and dug her skillful mouse-hunting claws into his face.
I bolted out the door that hadn’t completely closed when I came in, scrambled down the stairs to the back door and hit the alley in a dead run. My legs instinctively started running to George and Trudy’s, although it probably would’ve been smarter to round the building in the other direction and flee into the lighted, well-populated main street.
I never heard Marco’s footsteps behind me and never turned around to look for him, but a chill down my spine told me he was in pursuit. When I made it to the cross street, suddenly a man’s hand grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the side of the building. I twisted against his stronghold, struggling to escape.
“Halley, it’s Joe.”
I spun around to face him as he quietly said, “What’s wrong?”
Relief and terror coursed through me in equal parts.
“Joe, hurry inside the restaurant,” I said in a panicked whisper. I grasped his hand and he followed along as I ran down the side of the block, across the street and into Jade Garden. Once inside, he led me down the hallway and into the office.
“What’s going on? Who are you running from?” he asked as he closed the door. I reached past him and turned the lock before taking a deep breath and collapsing into the desk chair.
“Marco. He admitted to me that he killed Vince. Now he wants to shut me up for keeps.”
“We have to call the cops.”
I picked up the receiver on the desk phone.
“The line’s dead,” I said, holding the phone to my ear. I patted my pocket. “And my cell phone is under the counter at the theater.”
“My cell’s dead. I forgot to charge it—again,” Joe said.
The lights went out and a cacophony of voices speaking English and Chinese rang out in the restaurant, and a few seconds later the crash of breaking glass as a fist punched through the glass panel in the office door just behind Joe.
Dimly illuminated by emergency lights in the hallway, I could see Marco’s hulking figure. He wrapped his arm around Joe’s neck. Joe freed himself, dropping down to a squat and stabbing his elbow upward into Marco’s stomach as he shot up from the kneeling position. Marco doubled over briefly then lunged at Joe. I grabbed the desk phone and slammed it into the side of Marco’s head as hard as I could.
He reached out and grabbed my leg as he fell to his knees before collapsing forward.
Bright flashlights blinded my eyes as a familiar and humorless voice said, “Okay, everybody, hands up where I can see them,” just as the house lights came back on.
In a moment, Detective Stedman came lumbering up behind Officer Stone.
“What’s going on here, Mr. Chang?”
I jumped in. It might’ve been Joe’s restaurant, but this was my party.
“Marco Carvello killed Vince Dalton. He told me so just before he tried to strangle me.”
“That so,” the detective said doubtfully. “Did he happen to say why he killed him?”
“Yes, he did,” I said, trying not to show how ticked off I was at the moment. “He said Vince was blackmailing his dad. And after his father had already paid him, Vince demanded more money.”
“I see,” Detective Stedman said, pulling his notepad out of his pocket and jotting down a note as if he were making a grocery list, completely ignoring the semi-conscious man at his feet. We could tell he was alive from the moaning, but there was a possibility he needed medical treatment. Not that I was all that concerned about his health, since he’d planned to kill me. But it seemed to me the cops should have expressed some interest. Officer Stone finally put away her sidearm and knelt down to take a closer look at Marco. She talked into the microphone clipped to her collar and said, “Send an ambulance to Jade Garden.”
I was in disbelief as Detective Stedman stood silent, staring at his notebook. Joe jumped in.
“Detective, I bumped into Halley as she was running out of the alley, terrified. She said Marco was chasing her and we hurried in here and locked the office door. The lights went out, Marco broke the glass in the door, came in and jumped me. I punched him in the gut and Halley clocked him in the head with the desk phone. Then you showed up. By the way, how did you know to show up? When we went to call the police, the phones were dead.”
“Officer Stone was in line at the takeout counter when the lights went out. She heard breaking glass and then overheard an employee tell Mrs. Chang there might be a robbery in progress. I was waiting in the car when the officer radioed me about the situation,” he said in his droning monotone voice.
Only Detective Stedman could make the takedown of a murderer sound boring. I bet his ghost stories around the campfire have the scare factor of a bed sheet flapping on a clothesline.
“Um, hello, Detective? Here’s the guy who killed Vince Dalton, tried to kill me and just attacked Joe. And you’re standing there like you’re waiting to be seated for dinner.”
He glanced up at me briefly before scribbling something in his little notebook.
; It was a long few minutes before the EMTs arrived and loaded a still addled Marco onto a stretcher. Officer Stone handcuffed him to the gurney and accompanied him as the EMTs wheeled him out.
CHAPTER 28
Joe and I went down to the police station to give statements. It was late by the time I emerged from the interview room. George was waiting for me in the area by the front desk.
“Trudy insists you’re staying at our place tonight. Told me not to come home without you, so don’t get me in trouble with the missus by saying no. By the way, I think she’s right.”
I’d held it together pretty well until then, mostly because I was in shock, I think. But hot tears began to roll down my cheeks. I leaned into George’s shoulder as he wrapped an arm around me.
“Okay, kiddo, let’s get out of this joint.”
We got into George’s car and drove the few blocks to their place. I thought about having him stop by the apartment to pick up a few things, but I just couldn’t face the specter of the spaghetti sauce Marco had been preparing. And the raw emotions of everything else that had happened tonight.
“By the way, Joe was waiting for you when I arrived. He didn’t think you should be on your own. I told him Trudy and I would take care of that.”
Trudy was waiting for us in the kitchen when we arrived. After a tearful hug, she said, “Let me heat up some meatloaf for you, hon. You’ll sleep better with something in your stomach.”
“Thank you, but I’m too tired to eat.”
“I understand. I’ll fix you a big breakfast in the morning.”
Trudy had made up the sofa bed for me. An oversized t-shirt was lying on my pillow.