4 Cupids Curse (17 page)

I couldn’t believe Salinger was actually being nice to me. Maybe he wasn’t the lowlife scum
bag I’d always thought he was.

“
I did some checking, and it turns out that although there’s a prisoner Fresh Start program of sorts, Joey Marino was never a part of it,” Salinger continued. “Kevin admitted that Joey is actually Maureen’s younger brother.”

“Of course. Mom’s recipes.”

“Recipes?” Salinger asked.

“When we spoke to Maureen
, she mentioned that she and Trent both enjoyed Mom’s recipes. She said ‘Mom’s’ recipes, rather than ‘
my
mom’s’ recipes. Maureen must be Reenie.”

“Reenie?” Salinger asked.

“A couple of the people I talked to mentioned that Trent spoke of someone named Reenie from time to time. Trent, or I guess I should say Joey, was quite a bit younger than Maureen, so chances are that Reenie was Joey’s nickname for his big sister. So why the ruse about the Fresh Start program?”

“According to Kevin
, after Joey was released from prison, Maureen talked Kevin into giving him a job. They decided they didn’t want to advertise the fact that they were related, so they made up the story about a Fresh Start program. When Anthony Martucci showed up looking for Joey, Kevin suspected they were in trouble. Kevin admitted he spoke to Martucci at the job site on the Friday before Trent’s death, and then again the following day at the market. He had already planned to go skiing with friends on Sunday, so after Joey assured him that he’d leave town as soon as he finished a couple of jobs he’d already committed to
and
kept a low profile until then, Kevin went ahead and followed through with his plans.”

“So why do you suspect Maureen?” I asked.

“She’s the only one other than Kevin who knew that Trent was Joey and that Martucci was in town to find Joey, and that Joey had Kevin’s wrench, and where Martucci was staying. If Kevin was out of town, Maureen has to be the killer. When I suggested this to Kevin, he didn’t disagree. He said Maureen and Joey grew up in a highly dysfunctional family and Maureen more or less raised Joey. The two of them were very close, and Kevin admitted he wouldn’t be at all surprised to discover that Maureen had taken revenge for her brother’s murder. The problem is that all we have is a theory. We need some sort of physical evidence to link Maureen to the crime. We’ve swept the area for fingerprints, clothing fibers, anything we can dig up, but have come up empty. If Maureen did it, she was careful. I know you spoke to her and hoped you had some ideas.”

“If Maureen did kill
Martucci, it looks like she intentionally set up Kevin to take the fall. Why would she do that?” Zak asked.

“Kevin
said there’s been tension between the two of them ever since Joey came to Ashton Falls. Kevin was never a big fan of getting involved with his wife’s brother. He was afraid that if Giovanni found out where Joey was hiding, it could put them in danger as well. When Martucci showed up, Kevin informed Maureen that he had asked Joey to move on, and she was livid that he would desert her only family. Maureen wanted Kevin to talk to me about having Martucci arrested, but Kevin realized that even if he
could
have gotten Martucci out of the way, Giovanni would simply send someone else. Kevin thinks Maureen set him up as some sort of revenge for not trying harder to protect Joey. It seems far-fetched to me, but Kevin indicated that his wife is emotionally disturbed and might very well do such a thing.”

I thought back to my conversation with Maureen. At first it didn’t make sense that she’d call me for help if she was the actual killer
, but the more I thought about it, I realized the distraught-wife act was actually a brilliant decoy. I thought about the entire conversation, moving through the events in my mind, trying to come up with anything that might help Salinger bring home his case. Maureen had been acting odd that day. The more I thought about it, the more certain I was that Salinger was actually on to something.

“
If Maureen killed Martucci, she must have known that Joey was dead,” I speculated.

“
Possibly. Kevin has two theories. One is that Maureen went to the motel to kill Martucci as a way of protecting Joey. She might not have even known her brother was already dead when she did the deed. The other theory is that she went to the Zoo to talk to Joey, most likely to talk him out of leaving, or perhaps to talk him into taking her with him. She found Joey dead, realized that Martucci had killed him, and then went to the motel and killed Martucci with Kevin’s wrench.”

“
If Kevin had come to you, could you have stopped Martucci?” I asked.

“Probably not. I couldn’t have arrest
ed Martucci based on nothing more than Kevin’s opinion of his intent. Unfortunately, the law requires that I have proof that a crime has actually been committed before I can arrest someone. Which I guess brings us back to Maureen.”

“The mud,” I blurted.

“Mud?” Salinger asked.

“When we went to
see Maureen, I noticed there was mud tracked on the floor. She made a comment about contractors and their muddy shoes, and how hard it was to keep the house clean. I didn’t think anything about it at the time, but I just remembered getting mud on my shoes when I went to talk to Martucci at his motel. The same red mud that’s actually not all that common in this area. I’m sure she’s vacuumed, but maybe she hasn’t cleaned her shoes.”

Salinger thought about it. “Martucci was killed on Sunday
, February 2. You spoke to Maureen a week later on the ninth. Do you think the mud could have been left on the floor for an entire week?”

“The place was a mess,” I confirmed. “If I had to guess
, there was at least two weeks’ worth of grime on the floor and dust on the furniture.”

“It’ll be tough to arrest her for the mud alone
, but maybe we can find a way to use it as leverage when we talk to her. You’re correct in the fact that the red dirt found near the old mine where the motel was built is unique to that area.”

“I’m happy I c
ould help.”

It was late by the time we returned home. It had been a long day at the end of a long week, and the only thing I wanted to do was sleep until I had to go to work on Monday, but I
did
have a killer dress for the Sweetheart Dance and I was certain Zak would look all 007 in his tux. I decided to take a long bath in Zak’s huge tub to ease the tension in my body before washing and styling my hair. Luckily, I’d thought to bring my dress to Zak’s, so all I’d need to do was muster enough energy so slip into it after applying a light dusting of makeup.

As I leaned back into the deep tub
, I closed my eyes and thought about the surreal nature of the afternoon. Thankfully, Zak had had the presence of mind to pretend to leave my dad’s house, only to slip back in after Blythe had started to go to the basement and pushed her down the steep stairs before she could shoot us. Blythe had been arrested for trying to kill us. She wasn’t talking, but Zak had enough of what she’d said in the basement recorded that she had little chance of avoiding a good long stay in prison.

As I shampooed the long
, curly hair Blythe hated so much, I thought about my mom and dad. They still had a lot to work out, but it appeared that they’d decided to try to slowly rebuild a relationship of some type, whether it be as friends or otherwise, while they prepared for the baby’s birth. This might be wishful thinking, but if things did work out the way I hoped they would, baby sister Harper would grow up in the same home as both her mother
and
her father.

After drying my hair
, I twisted it into a sloppy updo and applied just enough makeup to accentuate my features. I slipped into the floor-length red dress that hugged my frame and accentuated the few curves I actually had. I put on a pair of uncomfortable high heels and looked at myself in the full-length mirror. The dress was sleeveless and as thin as tissue paper, so I was certain I would freeze before I got to the dance. I was weighing the pros and cons of changing into something more practical when Zak walked into the bedroom.

“Wow
.” He simply stared.

“You like?” I asked nervously.

Zak started to respond but seemed uncertain what to say. “You look beautiful,” he finally managed.

He walked across the
room and tucked a stray lock of hair into the loose hairpins I’d used to try to get my mane under control. I shivered as his hand brushed my cheek.

“Maybe we should just stay in,” he suggested.

“No way,” I argued. “It took me two hours to transform myself into Cinderella and we’re going to the ball.”

Zak kissed my neck. I sighed.

“It
would
be a shame to waste the effort,” he whispered as his kisses ventured lower.

“H
mm.” I was becoming less and less interested in the conversation
and
less and less interested in the ball as Zak’s kisses continued.

“Levi and Ellie are expecting us,” I whispered.

“Then I guess we should go.” Zak claimed my lips with his.

“Yeah
.” I groaned as Zak began massaging my bare back with his thumbs. “I suppose we should make an appearance.”

“I guess we should.”

“Or,” I found myself weakening, “I could call them. I’m sure they’d understand.”

“We could
do that,” Zak agreed. “Although,” he said, “I think I hear the limo I ordered out front.”

“Limo?”

Zak took a half step back and a deep breath. “I figured, only the best for Ashton Fall’s most successful amateur sleuth. We can’t have you showing up in a truck.”

“You got me a limo?
But I was totally wrong about Blythe being Martucci’s killer.”

A serious look came across Zak’s face. “
But you were right about Blythe being a killer. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you when you insisted she was up to no good. My lack of faith could have gotten you killed. I need to start remembering that your instincts are usually right.”

“Do you find that annoying?”
I looked directly in the eyes of the man I was certain I couldn’t live without. “A lot of men don’t take kindly to a woman who insists on steering the boat.”

“Oh
, I like it when you steer the boat.” Zak pulled me into his arms and kissed my neck. “I find”—he lowered his mouth just a bit—“your desire to steer the boat”—he found my mouth with his lips—“to be”—he whispered—“quite sexy.”

I wrapped my arms around Zak’s neck and showed him just how sexy I could be.

By the time we got to the dance
, it was more than half over. Zak had ended up paying the limo driver a bunch of money to wait for us, but it had been worth it. I’d given up on the idea of redoing my hair and decided to wear it down in its usual wild style. When we arrived, Ellie and Rob were swaying as one on the dance floor, while Levi looked on with an irritated expression on his face.

“You here alone?” I asked. Zak had gone to get us some champagne.

“Wow. You look wow. What did you do with Zoe?”

“It’s amazing the natural glow almost being killed can provide,” I
said with a laugh.

“You were almost killed?”

I filled him in on the highlights of the day while I waited for Zak to return from the bar. The last thing I wanted to think about was the monster who had almost gotten away with murder, but Levi had really helped me out and deserved to hear the end of the story. I looked around the community center as couples in love danced in each other’s arms. The decorations were perfect and the music outstanding, but I found myself longing to be back home in Zak’s big bed, or perhaps sharing the spa under the stars. I scanned the crowd, looking for the tall man with the broad shoulders and form-fitting tuxedo.

“Have you heard anything I said?” Levi asked.

“Hmm? Oh, sorry. I guess I’m just tired. What was that about Barbie?”

“She packed her stuff and left.”

“Left? Where did she go?”

“I have no idea. I went by her place to once again try to get my key
and a few things I left there, but her apartment was empty. Then I stopped by the yoga studio and they said she quit without giving notice.”

“Well
, at least you don’t have to worry about any more attacks on your personal property.”

“Yeah
.” Levi sighed. “I guess I’m glad she’s gone, but it sucks being alone.”

“Oh
, please. You’ve only been alone like two minutes.”

“I know. It’s just that
. . .” Levi looked out across the dance floor. “I really thought Ellie would change her mind and come to the dance with me.”

I looked at
my best friend wrapped in Rob’s arms and then back at Levi. “You’re jealous.”

“What?” Levi spat. “I’m not jealous. It
just would be nice to have someone to dance with.”

“No,” I insisted, “you’re jealous. When you could have had Ellie you didn’t want her
, but now that Rob has her, you realize you don’t like someone else playing with your favorite toy.”