Sandie James Mysteries Box Set

by Tessa Kelly

  As I walked out, I ran into Lauren. She gasped, spilling red wine on her dress.

  "Lauren! I didn't see you coming," I cried. "I'm so sorry!"

  She winced and shook her head, looking too pale even for her. "I was going upstairs anyway. This headache just keeps getting worse. I told Sonny I needed to lie down. He should be okay without me for a while."

  I followed her gaze to a table at the center of the room. Sonny had his arm draped over Angela's shoulders, oblivious to everyone, including David over by the fountain throwing him dark glances. I turned back to Lauren.

  "Are you sure you should be alone if you're not feeling well?"

  "Oh, I won't be." She gave me a tired smile. "I asked Valeria to come with me. You can spare her for the rest of the night, can't you?"

  It made sense she'd asked Valeria. She and Lauren had been friends for several years. Because Sonny and Lauren's house was right next door, Valeria often stayed over when she had an early shift at the bakery. She wobbled over in her purple dress, the big plastic bag with her change of clothes slung over her shoulder. A genius when it came to gourmet sandwich-making, Valeria was more comfortable in a jersey than a dress.

  I stuck my fists on my hips and mock-frowned at her. "So just because Lauren's your friend, you get to shimmy on out of here while I'm stuck working?"

  Valeria's wide face stretched into a grin. Playfully, she punched me on the shoulder. "That's right, sucka! I'm outta here."

  An hour later, I leaned against the wall and stifled a yawn. Kathy appeared next to me with a look of understanding.

  "Hold up, Sandie. It's not long now. They'll do the fireworks, and then we can clean up and go home."

  "It can't come soon enough." I glanced at the bar, but Dad wasn't there. Alarmed, I straightened away from the wall. "Where is he?"

  "I just saw him a few minutes ago," Kathy said. "Maybe he's in the bathroom?"

  "That's fine, as long as he stays away from Sonny."

  "If they were at it again, we'd hear it. They're not exactly quiet." She sighed. "I think I'm past caring. Remind me to never cater one of Angela's weddings again. Speaking of which, she wanted more wine and dessert before the fireworks. Could you see that everything's set up for that?"

  More wine meant a trip to the cellar. I trundled across the main room and down the stairs. Like the rest of the place, they had been decked out to the max with a gazillion fairy lights hanging from the walls. But not the cellar. I welcomed the quiet as I stepped down into the dimly-lit space, glad to be alone for a few moments.

  But I wasn't alone.

  I stared at the two people in front of me, not quite understanding what I was seeing.

  Sonny lay on his back, a dark pool of blood under him. Stooping over Sonny, Dad appeared just as immobile as the dead man. Except for his left hand, which shook. It held a gun.

  Before I could think of what to do, there was the sound of fumbling footsteps on the stairs behind me, and a couple waddled down, the quiet cellar exploding with their laughter. It died abruptly as if suffocated by a lack of air. The couple’s eyes glazed in horror.

  Then the woman's scream filled the cellar like the siren of an approaching squad car. The martini sloshing from her glass, she whirled round unsteadily and tripped up the stairs, her scream trailing in her wake.

  Chapter 2

  I approached Dad and pulled him away from Sonny's body, trying not to look too closely at the pool of blood darkening the floor. The shock made Dad slow to react, and he moved as if in a dream. Other guests were gathering behind us, alerted by the drunk woman's screams. Someone must've told Kathy because she came running down the stairs. She stopped on the last step and clasped her hands over her mouth to stifle a gasp. Then she rushed over to help me get Dad away from the body.

  We walked him to a low stool next to the wine racks lining the walls and sat him down.

  There was a rapid clicking of heels on the stairs, and Kim flew into the cellar, followed by Angela and David. With a cry, Kim rushed to her father's body, but David grabbed her by the elbow. "No, stay back!"

  "Let go of me, that's my dad!" She tried to free herself from him, but Angela rushed over and together she and David restrained her.

  Over the hushed whispers behind us, I heard David dial the police. The precinct being only blocks away, we had five, maybe six minutes before the place was swarming with cops. I wished I had my phone so I could text my brother and tell him what happened. A detective with the Brooklyn police, Will would be on call tonight. If I could alert him, he would find a way to get here first.

  But my cell phone was upstairs, together with my change of clothes. There was nothing to do but hope Will would be the one to answer the call. I took Dad by the shoulders and looked into his eyes.

  "Dad, what happened here? Talk to me! Whose gun is this?"

  He frowned and lifted the gun to eye level. Was it the murder weapon? Though no stranger to guns, I had to fight the instinct to recoil.

  Dad stared at me and shook his head. His mouth slightly open, he looked almost surprised. "It's mine," he said. “I keep it in my study. What's it doing here?"

  My heart sank. Now that I had a better look at it, I recognized Dad's Colt Government pistol, passed down to him by his own father. I'd watched him use it in target shooting plenty of times when we visited Dad's side of the family outside Louisville. As with most Kentucky natives, the love of firearms had been ingrained in Dad since childhood. The love that, to Mom's intense disapproval, even the decades of East coast living hadn't managed to shake. Mom used to say Dad's interest in firearms would bite him in the butt one day. It seemed she had been right.

  The commotion on the stairs announced the paramedics' arrival, followed by the cops and two unfamiliar plain-clothes detectives. They had their weapons drawn as they approached us. Dad started to get up, but the taller of the two men put up his hand in warning.

  "Sir. I need you to put down the weapon and step aside slowly. You, too, ma'am."

  We did as he said. The man picked up the gun and examined it carefully, then handed it to his partner. "It's been fired recently." He looked at Dad. "I understand you were with the gun at the crime scene?"

  Dad nodded.

  "Name?"

  "Nicolas James."

  "Is this your gun?"

  Dad nodded. "Had it for fifteen years. I've got a permit for it." He swallowed. "But I didn't shoot him. I swear."

  The first man walked over to Sonny's body and consulted with the paramedics in low voices. The other, a dark-haired man with a balding forehead, turned to the small, well-dressed crowd around Sonny.

  “Move away, people. This is a crime scene. I'm detective Greene. My partner, detective Carver and I will head the investigation. Go upstairs and don't disturb anything. But nobody can leave, either. I'll need to take down everyone's statements." He switched his attention to Dad again.

  "He didn't do it," I said, helping Dad to sit back down. "This was all some kind of horrible mistake."

  The detective's deep-set eyes narrowed on my face. "And who are you?"

  "Sandra James." As much as I tried to look calm, my shaking voice gave me away. "This is my Dad. My brother, William James, is on the force."

  At the mention of Will, the detective's eyebrows shot up, causing his receding hairline to move up and down as well. He scratched his balding spot and cleared his throat. "I see."

  What did that mean? Somehow, I got the impression Will being on the force didn't play in Dad's favor. "How well did you know the victim?" Greene asked.

  "Not well. Just from the neighborhood. Well... he came into my sister's bakery a lot," I hastened to add as his eyes drilled into me.

  At that moment, there were more footsteps on the stairs, and to my relief, my brother appeared. Like the other detectives, he wasn't in uniform. He came straight over and gave me a hug, then squeezed Dad's shoulder reassuringly.

  "I came as soon as I heard," he said.

  I let out my breath
in relief. Surely Will would clear up this whole terrible mess. He'd see to it that the cops treated Dad fairly.

  Detective Greene cleared his throat again. "Look, James. I know this is your family and all, but let's get clear on something. This is my investigation."

  Will turned to him with a steely look in his eyes. "This is my father, detective. I won't get in your way, but don't expect me to go home."

  Behind us, the paramedics lifted Sonny's body onto the stretcher and covered it with a white sheet, then carried him up the stairs. Where his body had been, there was now a chalk outline marking the floor, next to some old scuffs.

  Detective Carver, who had gone upstairs to take down witness statements returned to the cellar and whispered something to Greene.

  Greene turned to Dad. "Is it true you were involved in a heated argument with the victim earlier this evening?"

  Dad shrugged. "I was steamed, sure. But then I sat in the bar for a while, had a couple of sodas and cooled off. Thought maybe I could try and reason with Sonny. Bottom line was, I wanted that first edition. If it came down to laying more cash than Sonny's collector was offering, I didn't care anymore. I'd just fork it over. I found Sonny and convinced him to meet me somewhere private. Told him I just wanted to talk business. You know, calmly. And that I'd make it worth his while. He agreed, said we could meet in the cellar in twenty minutes. I had another ginger ale at the bar and came down here. Found Sonny already dead, and my gun was lying next to him."

  "And you just picked it up." The detective's voice was grim.

  I swallowed. This looked really bad for Dad.

  "I shouldn't have. I know." Dad covered his face with his hands and shook his head. "I didn't think of it. I saw it, I picked it up..." He went quiet and let his hands fall to his sides. His eyes suddenly glazed as he stared at something over my shoulder.

  Turning around, I saw Sonny's wife and Valeria coming down the stairs. Someone must've gone next door and told them what happened. Or they could've heard the squad cars arriving.

  We stared at them The air in the cellar seemed to grow colder with their presence.

  Lauren wore slippers and a mint green bathrobe over blue satin pajamas. She made two steps toward the chalk outline before an officer stopped her. "Ma'am, you can't go over there."

  She put her hands over her mouth, her big gray eyes glassy. The rest of her suddenly looked small and frail.

  The detective made a beeline to her. "Ma'am, I understand you're also related to the victim?"

  Lauren was too shocked to answer.

  "That's his wife," Valeria mumbled.

  "And where were you when this happened?"

  Haltingly, Valeria explained about Lauren's headache and that they'd left the party early. "Then we were in that house next door the whole time," she added when she finished.

  The detective lifted an eyebrow. "So, the victim lived next door."

  "Yes. In the house adjacent to the restaurant," I said. "Sonny owns... owned... both of these buildings."

  "I see." He wrote something down in his pad, then looked at Valeria. "What did you do after you left the party?"

  "I was watching a movie downstairs. Lauren went to bed."

  "That would be upstairs?"

  "Sure."

  "Neither of you left the house for any period during that time?"

  "No."

  "Did you hear anything suspicious?"

  They didn't. Not until the squad cars arrived.

  Greene made some more notes in his pad, told an officer to take down their information, and said he'd be in touch.

  "Can we take my Dad upstairs with the others?" Will asked.

  The detective nodded. "I'll be up there in a few."

  "Can't we take him home?" I asked as we guided Dad up the stairs.

  Will shook his head, avoiding my eyes. "No, we can't."

  In the main dining room, detective Carver was still questioning the guests. As we came up, he had just switched his attention to Dora hovering nearby.

  "Did you see or hear anything prior to the murder, ma'am?"

  Dora had her cream-colored shawl wrapped protectively around her body. She shook her head. “I was upstairs when that woman ran up screaming. I came down here with the other guests and saw Sonny dead on the floor.”

  Someone touched my shoulder and I turned to see Will, looking pale and drawn. The balding detective stood close behind him.

  "They're taking him in," Will said.

  "They're arresting Dad?" I clutched at his hand. "You can't be serious!"

  He swallowed. "Dad had the motive, the means, and opportunity."

  "Who cares? You know he didn't do it."

  "Yes, I do. But that's not how it works."

  Carver approached Dad and took him by the elbow. "Nicolas Andrew James, you have the right to remain silent..."

  I couldn't believe any of it was happening. "Will, they can't do this! There's no way Dad would ever kill anyone, especially not over a book!" I turned to Dora standing a few paces away. "Dora, back me up here. Dad couldn't possibly have done this!"

  To my surprise, Dora hesitated. I blinked. "Dora?"

  She nodded quickly as if remembering herself. "Of course, Sandie. No, sure. Nicolas couldn't have done it."

  The detective led Dad out and steered him toward the squad car. The rest of us followed them.

  Lauren stopped in the doorway and her eyes locked on Dad. I didn't think she blinked once since she saw the outline of Sonny's body.

  "We should get you upstairs," Valeria said. "I'll stay over like I was going to."

  Lauren didn't seem to hear her. She just kept watching Dad. Valeria stepped from foot to foot and shot me an imploring look. I nodded.

  "She's right, Lauren. Go upstairs... get some rest." Though, rest was probably the last thing on Lauren's mind. But what else could I say in the face of such tragedy?

  Lauren shook her head. "Why would he do that? Why?" I wasn't sure if she even knew she'd spoken the words out loud, but they sent a shiver down my spine, waking up something primal and protective deep inside. This was my dad, my family she was accusing. My voice came out harsher than I intended. "He didn't do it, Lauren! It's all a mistake."

  She turned her eyes on me slowly, as if only just realizing I was standing there. "A mistake? How can it be a mistake? You were the one who found him with the gun in his hand. Weren't you?"

  Before I could answer, her eyes fluttered closed and she sank to the ground. Will barely managed to catch her and keep her from cracking her head on the asphalt.

  Two paramedics hurried over and took Lauren from him. They checked her vitals and assured us she would be okay.

  "Will you take care of her?" Will asked.

  "Yeah. We got this, detective. We'll take her inside, you stay with your family." They nodded at Valeria. "Ma'am, do you have the key to the house?"

  Most of the crowd had already dispersed. Angela had taken Kim home, though David and Alex were still giving their statements.

  I turned to Will. "I don't want to leave Dad on his own. I'm going to the precinct with you."

  "Sandie, no." Will put a hand on my shoulder. "There's nothing you can do for Dad right now, and you look like you're barely standing on your feet. Go home. I'll take care of Dad, I promise. I'll text you as soon as there's any news."

  Kathy came up to us at that moment. She was holding herself around the middle like she was freezing, even though the night was warm.

  "Jeff's gone to bring the car around," she said. "We'll drop you off on the way."

  The blue Sedan appeared at the far end of the narrow one-way street. I shook my head as it approached. I didn't want my sister driving me when I needed to be alone and think.

  "Thanks, Kathy. But I'm going to walk home."

  Her eyes widened and she shook her head. "Sandie, it's almost one in the morning! And what about your feet? You've been complaining about those shoes all night. Now you want to walk home? That's eight whole blocks!"


  I shrugged. "It's fine. I can't even feel my feet anymore."

  "That's because you're in shock," Will said. "We all are. You shouldn't be alone right now."

  The squad car with Dad in the backseat drove past us slowly. We watched it go by. Dad didn't look at us. His head was slumped forward as if he was asleep. Though, of course, he wasn't.

  As soon as the car was gone, Jeff pulled up to the curb and Kathy hustled me inside. "Don't be difficult, Sandie. After what happened tonight, I'm not letting you walk home alone."

  There was no arguing with my big sister when she was in that mood. I climbed into the back and immediately realized what a relief it was to sit down. Leaning my head against the headrest, I closed my eyes and rubbed my neck to let out some of the tension.

  As Jeff rounded the corner, Kathy reached over from the front and handed me the plastic bag with my change of clothes.

  "I grabbed these before they herded us out of the restaurant. I'm sure you want to change out of those heels."

  "I do. Thanks."

  I kicked off my stilettos and slipped into my worn and comfortable flats, then put my green jacket over my shoulders. Along the quiet street, the sleepy rows of brownstones followed us on both sides.

  "A heck of a night," Jeff remarked.

  Kathy sighed. "I just can't believe Sonny is dead! I mean, one minute I was pouring him the champagne, the next... It's like some kind of nightmare. And Dad? It's not possible, he'd never do anything like that. It had to be someone else who was at the party. Right?"

  Jeff grunted. Kathy peered over at him with a frown. "What does that mean? Jeff?"

  He shrugged. "Look, if you're going to talk about this all night, I'm putting on the radio. Give me a break. I'm beat, okay? Don't want to talk about that anymore."

  Kathy fell silent.

  Seething inside, I did my best to keep my face neutral. This wasn't the first time I'd witnessed my brother-in-law being rude to Kathy, but if I'd learned anything during my years in high-school, it was you never interfere in other people's relationships. Whole friendships had been ruined beyond any hope of repair, just because you may have mentioned seeing your best friend's boyfriend with that buxom brunette who sat behind him in Economics. Besides, I knew from earlier experience that if I said anything, Jeff wouldn't hesitate to tell me off the same way he did my sister.