Murder Wears a Little Black Dress

by Debra Sennefelder

  By the time the girls left the boutique, they’d purchased a few items for Halloween and a few items each for themselves. They admitted they were surprised to find clothes in a consignment shop they would actually wear, and it was all because Kelly styled the looks for them. A parting suggestion from the petite blonde was to sell prom dresses because they were expensive.

  Kelly hadn’t thought about catering to a younger demographic, but it was a genius idea. She quickly made notes in her notebook so she wouldn’t forget them. Pepper joined Kelly at the sales counter.

  “Good news?” Pepper asked, herself now smiling.

  “Sales!” Kelly’s grin stretched ear to ear. “I made a few sales. Four teenagers came in looking for garments for Halloween and not only found some things useful for that but also a few items for themselves. We actually made some money!”

  “How wonderful!” Pepper threw her arms around Kelly and hugged her. “This is exciting. Maybe our luck is turning around.” She let go of Kelly.

  “I also have some ideas for marketing next year because those kids came in.”

  The front door swung open, and Bernadette ran in with her arms flailing. Kelly was caught off guard and braced herself for another dire vision.

  “Kelly! Thank goodness you’re here.” Bernadette continued to the sales counter and dropped her purse on the countertop with a thud. “I was just at the police department. Detective Wolman wanted to interview me again. There’s no doubt in my mind anymore. I’m a suspect.”

  “And you’re here why?” Pepper asked.

  Kelly glanced at Pepper. The older woman’s lips had set in a thin line, and she glared at Bernadette. Clearly, Kelly wasn’t the only person fed up with the circus atmosphere.

  Bernadette looked taken aback for a moment, but then it passed and her attention shifted back to Kelly. “I don’t know what to do. I’ve never been suspected of any crime, much less killing my own cousin. It’s absurd. What should I do? You have to help me. I think I need a lawyer.”

  Pepper pulled on Kelly’s arm and dragged her out of Bernadette’s earshot. “I admit, I’ve been difficult lately because of all of the changes you’re making, and I know I’ve hurt you. But, you have to know I only want the best for you. Your grandmother loved you so much, and I’ve always thought of you as a daughter, so I want you to know I don’t trust her.” She glanced over to Bernadette and then back to Kelly. “Something’s not right with her.”

  Torn between Pepper’s concern and Bernadette’s need for help, Kelly was at a loss for what the right thing to do was. She looked at Bernadette. She’d just lost her cousin, and now she was a murder suspect. Then she looked back to Pepper. Worry filled her blue eyes. The worry for Kelly’s well-being.

  “I appreciate what you’ve just said, but I can’t stand by and do nothing. She needs help. I hope you can understand.”

  “You aren’t responsible for her.”

  “I know. I know.”

  “You say that, but I don’t feel you believe it. Look. Look at your boutique. Do you see any customers?” Pepper did a Vanna White motion with her hand to drive home her point. The sweeping view showed no one in the boutique, other than the three of them. “She’s responsible for this. For the lack of customers, aside from the teenyboppers who came in earlier. You don’t owe her a thing. It’s the other way around.”

  Kelly nodded. What Pepper said was true. She couldn’t argue with it. She returned to Bernadette, who looked forlorn, and she caved. Yeah, Kelly Quinn was a sucker. How could she not help someone who obviously needed help?

  Wait a minute. Detective Wolman said Kelly could have mistaken Maxine for Bernadette and killed the wrong woman. Okay, the thought sent chills down her spine because she never thought anyone would think she’d commit such a heinous crime, but that was beside the point now. If she could have mistaken Maxine for Bernadette, then maybe someone else could and did.

  Bernadette could have been the intended target.

  “What’s wrong, Kelly?” Bernadette asked.

  “She has something to say. Don’t you?” Pepper prompted Kelly.

  “What? Right. I do know a lawyer. Though, I’m not sure she’ll take your case. Actually, I don’t think she handles criminal cases, but maybe she can refer someone.”

  A small smile touched Bernadette’s lips. “I’d appreciate any help.” She stepped forward and rested a hand on Kelly’s arm and squeezed. “Thank you.” She released Kelly’s arm. “I have to go. I have funeral arrangements to make.”

  In a flash, Bernadette was gone from the shop and Kelly was yet again on the receiving end of the “Pepper glare.” Oh boy.

  “I thought we agreed you’d stay out of her problems.”

  “I didn’t agree. Besides, she could be in danger.”

  “How so?”

  “Detective Wolman suggested I mistook Maxine for Bernadette and killed her by mistake.”

  “Absurd. You didn’t kill anyone.”

  Kelly appreciated Pepper’s confidence in her innocence. “Yes, but the killer could have mistaken Maxine for Bernadette. And he or she may decide to finish the job.”

  Pepper gave Kelly a concerned look. “I hope you’re not still planning on poking around Maxine’s murder. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Why do you think I would?”

  “Other than what you said to Gabe the other night? You and Liv played Nancy Drew all the time. One of you hid something, a clue or piece of evidence of some crime, around town, and the other one had to try and find it.”

  Kelly thought back to her childhood, and Pepper was right. She’d forgotten all about her Nancy Drew phase. “As I recall, I was quite good at it.”

  “Well, it was a game back then. Nobody was really murdered.” The boutique’s door opened and drew Pepper’s attention from her lecture. “We’ll continue this later.” She stepped out from behind the counter and approached the customer.

  If Kelly had any sense, she’d be quaking in her suede booties because Pepper’s voice had been stern and she meant business. She was also right. Poking her nose into an ongoing investigation wouldn’t be the smartest thing for Kelly to do. First, she could be arrested for interfering with the police investigation. From what she’d seen on social media, no one ever took a good mug shot. Even with false lashes. Second, tracking a killer was dangerous and she could end up, well, dead. Third, she had a business to salvage, and it didn’t leave her much time to chase down a murderer.

  Speaking of business, she needed to get back to work. While Pepper assisted the customer who’d walked into the boutique, Kelly turned her attention to pulling garments and putting up a new display in the boutique’s window.

  The rest of the day flew by, thanks to a handful of customers who seemed to throw caution to the wind and shop in the supposedly haunted boutique. Kelly put the final touches on the new window display and made a note to pick up some autumn decorations for the boutique. She locked up after Pepper left and then headed out the back door. Ariel had called after lunch and invited her to dinner. She also said they could review her notes on Maxine’s scam back in Chicago.

  She had just pulled the door closed behind her and locked it when she heard her name. She looked over her shoulder. Her uncle Ralph was walking toward her. His short legs carried his stumpy body across the parking lot. His arms swung as his suit jacket flapped in the cold breeze.

  “Glad…I…caught you.” The short walk from his Cadillac had left him winded. “We need to talk about the roof. I heard you’ve been calling around for estimates. I have a roof guy, and he’s ready to start next week.” Ralph dug into his jacket breast pocket, pulled out a business card, and shoved it in Kelly’s hand.

  She glanced at the card. Fast Bernie’s Roof and Siding. And then she glanced at the roof of her building and back to her uncle. “Cancel the appointment. I’ll find my own contractor.”

&nb
sp; Ralph shook his balding head. “What do you know about roofs?”

  “Not much, but I know I don’t want some guy named Fast Bernie fixing my roof.” She gestured for her uncle to take the card back, but he refused. Fine. If he was going to play that game, she would be happy to join him. She ripped the card in half. “I don’t need you to interfere in my business.”

  “Interfere? You’ve got it all wrong, kid. I’m just trying to help.”

  “And don’t call me kid.”

  “You don’t have any experience owning a business, or a building for that matter. There are plenty of people who’ll try and take advantage of you.”

  Yeah, she was looking at one of them. She didn’t doubt for one second Fast Bernie would kick back some money to Ralph if she let him repair her roof. Dear Uncle Ralph didn’t do anything if it didn’t in some way give him a payoff.

  “Thanks for the warning.” She shoved the torn card into her tote bag at the same time she remembered her theory from earlier. “Do you know Bernadette Rydell?”

  “That psychic nutcase? Hey, whatever pays the bills, right? As long as her check clears, I don’t care what she does.”

  “Check clears? The house she rents is one of yours?”

  Ralph owned dozens of properties in and around Lucky Cove, so she wasn’t surprised to find out he owned the Gothic Victorian house. Though, it seemed more than just a coincidence he was Bernadette’s landlord. Maybe her idea he’d put Bernadette up to causing the disruption in the boutique wasn’t such a far-fetched idea after all.

  “What’s with all the questions? Listen, Bernie is a good guy. He’ll do right by you.”

  “I doubt it. I have to go.” She brushed by her uncle and hurried to her borrowed SUV. Once behind the wheel, she glanced at the rearview mirror and spotted Ralph throwing a punch in the air and stomping back to his car. He definitely wasn’t happy with her, and she wondered how far he’d go to drive her out of business.

  Chapter 12

  Kelly followed Ariel into the spacious eat-in kitchen, and her stomach growled as the heavenly aroma of lasagna wafted in the air. “Dinner smells delicious.”

  She dropped her tote bag on the table and slipped out of her suede barn jacket. She left her scarf wrapped around her neck because she was still chilled. Late October was turning out to be an early preview of December weather. She rubbed her hands together for warmth.

  “You’re just in time.” Ariel navigated her wheelchair over to the wall oven and grabbed two potholders from the counter. She opened the oven door and slid out the casserole dish.

  Kelly dashed over to the oven and felt the comforting rush of heat from the oven wash over her as she took the lasagna from Ariel and carried it to the table and set the dish on a trivet. Her gaze fixed on the bubbling dish of cheesy comfort. “Oh. My. Goodness. It looks delicious.”

  “Thank you.” Ariel moved to the island and grabbed the bowl of salad greens. “The lasagna should set for a few minutes.”

  At the table, she placed the salad greens next to the lasagna. “Why don’t I show you what I have so far on Maxine? Then the lasagna will be ready to eat.” She wheeled past Kelly and led her down the wide hallway to an office.

  Ariel’s home was an average-sized ranch house that had been custom fitted for her needs with wide doorways and hallways and ramps at both the back and front doors. Kelly heard Ariel’s parents had paid for the renovations to the home so their daughter could lead an independent life. A twinge of guilt flickered inside Kelly. She took so many things for granted, like climbing the staircase to her apartment, while Ariel had to do extensive renovations to her home to live there.

  “I have bunches of notes and interviews from people who have been scammed by psychics. For the article I’m writing, I had to focus on the over sixty-five set. Luckily, at least for me, Maxine had several elderly victims.”

  “I can’t believe she took advantage of all those people, especially the elderly. How could she lie to those poor people and take their money?”

  Ariel shrugged. “More than half of her elderly victims were far from poor, but when Maxine finished with them, they were exactly that. But she wasn’t just giving them phony readings.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Ariel wheeled over to her desk and gestured for Kelly to sit on the leather ottoman next to it. “She used the readings to convince her clients to invest in Ponzi schemes.”

  “Are you serious?” Kelly was all too familiar with that type of fraud. One of the biggest Ponzi schemers came from New York City and, for months, captured the headlines of major newspapers. “She convinced them a deceased loved one wanted them to invest their money, and her partner acted as the financial advisor?”

  “Pretty much.” Ariel opened a file and spread out the papers on her desk. “She worked with her brother, Marco. He does have some background in finance so he sounded legit. What happened was, Maxine referred her clients to him and he set them up with an investment and made sure it paid a healthy return. Which resulted in the client wanting to invest more because he or she felt confident they’d made a sound decision. After all, he was getting money back. Who wouldn’t want to continue with a winning investment?”

  “Let me guess. Maxine reinforced the client’s decision by telling them the deceased loved one was pleased and wanted the client to continue to invest?” Ariel’s nod indicated Kelly was spot on. “How awful. Why aren’t people more suspicious of a sure thing?” Kelly used air quotes for “sure thing.” In the city, there was always someone looking to take advantage of a tourist, a new Big Apple transplant, or someone who chose to believe the best in people.

  “You would think their bullcrap radar would pick up the scam, but Maxine and her brother preyed on a vulnerable population. Believe me, when you have no hope, you’ll believe anything that promises a glimmer of it.”

  Pain swelled in Kelly’s chest as she swallowed the lump lodged in her throat. The events of the late-summer night party flashed in Kelly’s mind. “If I could take back what happened that night I would.”

  “Me too, but it’s not possible. We both made the decision to go to the party, and we both decided on how the evening would end. Your decision was in no way the cause of me ending up paralyzed.”

  “How can you say that? If I hadn’t snuck away with Davey, you wouldn’t have gotten in the car with Tamara.”

  “Getting into Tamara’s car was on me. I shouldn’t have. I knew she’d been drinking a lot. I had other options, and I chose the wrong one. You have to stop beating yourself up about how my life turned out.”

  Kelly dipped her head. “I don’t think I can.”

  “Hey, yes, you can. I know you went through a lot after the accident.”

  Kelly shook her head and lifted her chin. “Nothing compared to what you went through.”

  “The rift between you and Caroline is still there.”

  “True. She’s still angry with me for abandoning you that night. At least my parents found a way to stop blaming me. But, you know, what I’ve gone through pales in comparison to your paralysis. I’m not looking to wallow in pity. I’d just like a chance to be friends with my sister again.”

  “You’re back here in Lucky Cove, so maybe you both can work on repairing your relationship.”

  Kelly’s heart swelled with hope. She’d love nothing more than to be able to send a text to her sister about something not very important or maybe even go for lunch together. The fact that she was sitting in Ariel’s house with all the baggage between them did give her a little hope.

  “Are you sure you’re doing okay?” Kelly asked.

  “I’m alive and I have a full life. Not one day goes by I’m not grateful I’m still here.”

  “What about those days when you had no hope?”

  Ariel shrugged. “There were definitely bleak days following the accident. I didn’t think an
yone understood how I felt, and it seemed like no one knew how to handle me. My own parents didn’t know how to talk to me. Everyone was afraid I was too fragile and would break, and the more they treated me like that, the more I became like that. That’s when I latched on to the telephone psychic.”

  “Telephone? Really?” Dial-a-psychic? Who fell for a 900 psychic these days? “Sorry, I don’t mean to be all judgey.”

  “I know. I know. Lame, right? But I was desperate to talk to someone who didn’t talk to me like I was some crippled girl.”

  Kelly arched an eyebrow at Ariel’s description of herself.

  “I know no one says that word anymore, but that’s how I felt. Physically and emotionally. Let’s face it, if my own family couldn’t communicate with me like they used to, how on earth was a guy ever going to be able to? Seriously, they suck at communication to begin with.”

  Kelly and Ariel shared a deep laugh, and it felt good, just like old times. For the first time in a very long time, the weight of Ariel’s accident eased from her shoulders.

  “The psychic told me what I wanted to hear, and that’s why I called her again and again. I spent a ridiculous amount of money, but, luckily, I finally realized the calls were nothing but a scam. At the time, I was seeing a therapist twice a week, and he helped me realize what was going on with the psychic. But there are people out there who don’t have someone to intervene on their behalf.”

  Kelly dipped her head and looked through the papers from Ariel’s file. They were all accounts of victims of psychic fraud. A handful were clients of Maxine and her brother. “You’ve compiled quite a bit here.”

  “It’s taken some time. I think when I’m done with the article for Senior Spotlight, I will rework the material for another article. I think I have a few angles I could exploit.”

  Kelly looked back at Ariel. “You’re hardcore.”

  Ariel nodded. “Damn straight. My parents helped me retrofit this house for my needs, but I’m the one who pays the bills around here.”

  “We gals gotta be independent.” Kelly returned her attention to the papers, and one newspaper clipping caught her eye.