Behind the Seams (11 page)

Nell finished her drink by using the straw to vacuum up the last smidgens in the corner of the glass. “If it’s any help, I know where Robyn lives, uh, lived.”

CeeCee’s cell phone rang, interrupting us, and she fumbled in her purse to get it. Her ring was something like a royal flourish and seemed completely appropriate. She stepped away from the rest of us and turned her back as she took the call. Even with her facing away, I could hear the little shrieks she was making. An
uh-oh
went off in my head.

A few moments later, a pale CeeCee came back to the table. She put her hand on Nell’s for support and then turned to the rest of us. “That was my housekeeper. The police are there with a warrant to search Nell’s room. She called to find out what she should do.” CeeCee’s head hovered lower. “As if there was a choice.”

And here I’d been worried about telling her what Detective Heather had said about Nell being in their crosshairs.

I USUALLY LIKED GOING TO CEECEE’S HOUSE. THE stone cottage was set far back from the street in a miniforest and had a fairy-tale-like feeling to it.

But not this time.

I pulled Nell’s car behind the two cruisers and black Crown Victoria parked at the curb. Mrs. Shedd hadn’t been pleased when I said I had to leave, but when she saw how flustered CeeCee and Nell were and I explained I didn’t think they should drive, she told me to go.

We all got out of my car and went through the open front gate. CeeCee’s housekeeper, Rosa, was standing outside the front door. Marlena and Talullah, CeeCee’s two Yorkies, must have been stationed just inside the door and sounded hoarse from barking.

CeeCee rushed ahead and asked Rosa if the cops were in the house. The housekeeper shook her head. “They only wanted to see Miss Nell’s room.”

CeeCee tried to hide it, but I knew she was relieved. I followed as she continued on around the outside of the house. I’d never noticed the garage before or that her property went all the way to the street behind. The garage was a separate building and the driveway went back to the other street.

CeeCee hadn’t mentioned the details of where Nell was staying, and now explained there was a small apartment above the garage she’d given to her niece. Nell rushed ahead to a stairway on the side of the building while CeeCee and I followed. Detective Heather and two uniformed officers were coming down the stairs.

Nell appeared wild-eyed and CeeCee had reached new levels of upset as they eyed the brown paper bag in one of the officer’s hands. Detective Heather gave me a dirty look and gave Nell a list of what they’d taken. Nell pushed it on me and ran up the stairs and went inside to see what damage they’d done.

Heather said something to the effect that they were done
for now
before they left. I glanced at the list.

“What did they find?” CeeCee sounded agitated.

“Dirty laundry. It says they took some items from the hamper. A denim shirt with something on the pocket.”

“Not that shirt,” CeeCee said with a sigh. “Nell and I had a big battle about it. The clothes those production assistants wear are so dismal looking and I wanted to give her something special. I bought the shirt and added a subtle round motif to the pocket. Nell protested about the decoration but finally gave in. I don’t suppose you had those kind of problems over clothes with your boys.”

I said it was true, but I left out that I’d never interfered with their clothes choices, either.

“What do they want her dirty shirt for?”CeeCee asked.

There was no point in hiding the truth from CeeCee. “They probably want to check it for trace evidence to see if there is anything to connect Nell to Robyn.” I thought back to that morning in the waiting room and got a bad feeling as I remembered that Nell had taken the packet of sweetener out of her shirt pocket—a pocket with a small blue motif on it.

We went up the stairs and into the large room that served as both her living and bedroom. Thankfully, the cops had been neat and had not tossed the place. The bed was rumpled, but I guessed it had been left that way when Nell left. She was looking around and appeared uneasy. I could understand how she felt. Her privacy had been invaded. It was like having a stranger go through your purse.

“Maybe you’d rather stay in the house,” CeeCee offered. Nell accepted before the words were all out of her aunt’s mouth. She rushed ahead of us and said she’d get her stuff later.

CeeCee led me inside and we settled into her living room. The windows looked out at the tangle of trees and kept the room shadowy even though the sun was shining.

“What should we do?” CeeCee said.

I directed my gaze at Nell. “You might want to talk to Mason Fields. He’s an excellent lawyer and a nice—”

“No,” Nell said, vehemently shaking her head before I could finish. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I know how it looks. You hire a lawyer and people think you’re guilty and trying to hide something. I don’t need a lawyer.”

No matter what CeeCee and I said, Nell wouldn’t budge. I finally mentioned what Detective Heather had said about being confident that Nell was the guilty party.

“Oh, dear,” CeeCee said. “I had no idea it was that bad. It’s totally ridiculous. They should be out looking for other suspects. For the person who really killed that woman.”

I hated to be the bearer of bad news, but they needed to deal with the truth. “I think all of her efforts are just going to build a case against Nell.”

“But they can’t. I didn’t do anything. Aunt CeeCee, do something,” Nell wailed.

CeeCee turned to me. “Molly, you have to do something.”

“Well,” I said, “the one thing we can do—if they won’t look for other suspects, we can.” I looked to Nell. “You said anyone could have gotten into Robyn’s drawer where she kept the sweetener.” Nell started to nod, then her eyes widened and she almost smiled.

“Or the poison could have been added before she even got it. How could I have forgotten? Someone sent the box of sweetener to Robyn. I know because I was in her office when she was opening it. She seemed real happy about it and put the whole box in the drawer. I’m probably the only one who knows about it, though.”

“Did you have any idea who sent it?” I asked.

Nell shrugged. “Are you kidding? She barely talked to me. But there’s a way to find out. We log in every package that comes in and who it’s from.”

“Well, there’s the solution,” CeeCee said. “We just find out who sent her the sweetener and the cops will have their real killer.” She looked toward her niece and Nell looked toward me.

“I can’t call any of the other PAs and ask them to check. You saw how they were, Molly. They all think I’m guilty. You think anybody is going to try to help me. No way.” Now they were both looking at me.

“Maybe I can figure something out,” I said.

I had to walk back to my house and pick up the greenmobile and drive back to the bookstore. I did my best to make up for all the lost time. I updated Mrs. Shedd on the fake book signing, telling her about the scheduling board and that I’d met the person who was taking over for the dead woman. I thought it might make her feel a little better about me being gone.

“I’m glad you got something accomplished for the bookstore,” Mrs. Shedd said. “As far as I’m concerned, the business with the blogoir author is off my plate and on yours. Just remember our aim is to get something that says Shedd and Royal Books and More in the shot.”

Just before I left for the day, I went over to the event area and tried to picture where to put a sign. Through the window, I saw that the sky was my favorite translucent blue and still had a hint of light. It had been a trying day and I was glad to be finally going home.

I left the car in the driveway and crossed through my backyard. The orange blossoms were just about finished, but the air was still filled with their sweet scent. Floodlight illuminated the lawn, which thanks to the winter rain was a bright spring green. Pink and red carnation blossoms showed as bright spots in the flower beds. More hyacinths and daffodils had popped up from the bulbs I’d randomly spread around the previous years. The dogs flew out as soon as I opened the back door. Okay, the
flew
related to Cosmo. The little black mutt loved to charge out and run around the yard and check his territory. Blondie followed more slowly and, after a few sniffs, draped herself on a chaise lounge.

I’d left the house in a hurry. Nell had just honked and I’d run out. I was surprised to find the coffee mug I’d left on the table was in the dishwasher. Someone had brought the mail in and set it on the kitchen table. I was pretty sure it must have been Barry, because his flannel shirt was hanging on the door handle. I checked on the shelving unit and it was definitely closer to being finished.

During my afternoon at the bookstore, I’d thought about the best way to deal with who had sent the sweetener to Robyn. I was sure the cops could do a more efficient job than I could, but I didn’t think Detective Heather would appreciate my suggestion. More than not appreciate it, I was pretty sure she’d ignore it. But if it came from someone else—

I picked up the phone and called Barry’s cell. Expecting to get his voice mail, I had my message all worked out. I was caught off guard when he answered and barely croaked out a hello.

“Babe,” Barry said with a lift in his voice when he realized it was me. “You found the brochures I left about a condo development in Simi Valley. Don’t you agree it would be perfect for us?”

He sounded a little disappointed when I said I hadn’t seen them yet, though as I was talking, I found them on the counter and promised to look them over. I told him about my morning at the studio and about Nell’s remembrance about the box of sweetener. “I was just thinking maybe you could tell Heather about it. Nell said they log everything in. Whoever sent it has to be the real killer.”

There was silence at Barry’s end for a moment and then a tired sigh. “Molly, I can’t suggest anything to Heather. I’m sure she’s already checking on who had access to the sweetener and where it came from.” He paused a moment. “Doesn’t it seem awfully convenient that Nell suddenly remembered that the sugar substitute was sent to the victim and that only she knows about it?”

“Barry, she’s CeeCee’s niece, and even though she barely crochets, she’s one of the Hookers. She’s not a murderer.”

I heard Barry breathe for a moment before he spoke, which is what he usually did when he thought I wasn’t going to want to hear what he had to say. As usual, he was right. “Murderers have families and hobbies. Just because you know someone, doesn’t mean they’re innocent.” Before I could protest, he continued. “I did hear it was confirmed the poison in the drink was cyanide and it was the cause of death.” He told me more than I wanted to know how cyanide worked and finished with, “It acts so fast. Once she drank the coffee, it was already too late.”

I tried to tell him that Heather was so sure Nell was guilty, she wasn’t checking anything else.

“Molly,” Barry said with a frustrated sound. “You know I can’t get mixed up in Heather’s case. Let’s talk about something else like that I’ll be finished soon and I was planning to stop by for a while.” His voice was heavy with suggestion. “We could look over those brochures together, among other things.” There was a short pause. “Should I pick up some Chinese?”

I wasn’t happy with his answer even if I understood. Just when I was going to agree to the Chinese food, someone started talking to him and abruptly he said he had to go. So much for any plans. I sat down at the kitchen table and glanced through the condo brochure. It showed off a nice-looking town house with a small yard along with listing all the amenities like the pool and clubhouse. I understood why he wanted us to start with a new place, but I wasn’t sure I agreed. In any case, there was lots of time to think about it. It wasn’t like he’d put a down payment on a place. I left the pamphlet on the table. I was sure if Barry hadn’t gotten off the phone so quickly, he would have repeated his usual admonition for me to stay out of the investigation. It was pretty much a given, just the way it was a given I wasn’t going to listen.

If he wouldn’t get Heather to check out who had delivered the package, I’d have to figure out a way to do it myself. I already had an idea.

I pressed in Mason’s number. He answered on his cell, but he was home. “What’s up, Sunshine?” he asked.

I started to tell him about the whole scenario from the morning, but he stopped me. “I was just going to go out. I was going to pick up some dinner. Join me, and you can tell me all about it on the way,” he said. Why not? Mason said he’d be by in a few minutes.

“I was just going to get some food to go,” Mason said as I got into his black Mercedes, “and take it back to my place. Does that work for you?”

“I interrupted your plans,” I said with a shrug, “so, sure, whatever you were going to do is fine.” Mason said something about being glad for the company and the next thing I knew, he’d gotten on the 101 freeway.

“I hope you don’t mind a ride. I have to pick something up from my office first,” he said. He got off at Coldwater Canyon and headed toward the mountains. I barely noticed the twisty ride and the lights of the houses on the hillside as I gave him the whole unvarnished story from the morning.

“Nell should really call me,” he said. “She needs to have somebody advising her on what to do and say or not say.”

“She thinks because she’s innocent that that’s enough. She thinks getting a lawyer makes her look guilty.”

Mason made a tsk sound. “I hate to say it, but she’s right about the general feeling that someone who hires a lawyer when they haven’t even been arrested is guilty. Not that I’m saying she shouldn’t get one anyway. But think about it. What kind of reaction do you have when you see some guy’s lawyer speaking for him on a morning talk show.”

“Yikes, now that you mention it, you’re right. She’s right,” I said. I thought back to watching the news and seeing some lawyer doing the talking while his client mutely stood by. My first thought was, what’s the guy afraid of saying. And my second thought was that he was guilty of whatever he was being accused of.