Bonefire of the Vanities (32 page)

Coleman would find Amanda’s and Lola’s killer or killers. If it was Yumi, she’d experience the hospitality of the Sunflower County jail. Tinkie and I could go back to Zinnia with Oscar and Graf. I had a script to read and a man to play house with.

*   *   *

Doc Sawyer signaled me outside the front door of Heart’s Desire. It was time for dinner, and Marjorie had insisted she would dress and go downstairs. Graf was in her room, waiting to escort her.

“Tinkie was right in her diagnosis. The cuts were mostly superficial. She’s determined to go home.” Doc rubbed the corner of his mouth. He was clearly dubious.

“Should I stop her?”

His hesitation said a lot, but his answer was firm. “No. I think she’ll be happier in her own place. Her blood pressure is fine, her pulse steady. I’m concerned about these spikes in blood pressure. The medication I gave her should control this better. She says she’s not taking other medications, but something isn’t right here.”

“She had a bagful of medicine, but Tinkie removed it. You’re worrying me, though. People with money can get whatever they want.”

“Marjorie has changed so much. The woman I knew was indomitable. She’d never harm herself. Time has extracted a harsh price.”

“Do you think she should be put in a hospital or clinic?”

Doc sighed. “She seems to have come to a decision about her life, and that will have a positive impact on her health. She needs a total workup—physically, mentally, and emotionally—but she won’t hear of it right now. We can’t stop her from leaving, and right now, I think that’s the best plan for her. Marjorie has to come to terms with her emotions, and she has to want to live a happy and productive life. Maybe she’s turned that corner.”

“I’m a worrywart.”

“She’s releasing the idea that Mariam is lurking around in the nether regions, waiting for a chance to talk to her. She told me she’d given Mariam’s spirit multiple chances, and that if she truly wanted to communicate, she would have done so. I think Marjorie is ready to live, because she’s finally accepted that Mariam no longer needs her, and she doesn’t have to punish herself.”

19

Tinkie and I helped Marjorie pack her mountain of belongings. I was eager for her to be clear of Heart’s Desire and the murders. With Marjorie on the way out, Tinkie and I could concentrate on stalking a killer. Even though Marjorie was leaving, I had no intention of abandoning the search for Amanda’s killer with so many other things left up in the air. Palk had conducted another search for Amaryllis and Yumi. The guards were insistent no one had left the premises, yet both women remained missing.

Graf and Oscar questioned the staff and guests about Amaryllis, but they’d turned up nothing. She’d vanished without a trace, or at least a trace we could find. Her belongings were in her room. Her rental car was in the client garage. If she’d left, she was on foot. Not exactly the mode of transportation that came to mind when I thought of the well-turned-out blonde. I feared the worst.

Humping luggage to the front of the house, I ran into Brandy and a strangely apathetic Sherry. The Westins, mother and daughter, assumed no responsibility for anything that had happened. “You brought this mess into our house,” Brandy accused. “I had no role in this.”

Tinkie, hauling two more bags, joined us in the foyer. “We’d like a copy of Yumi’s résumé,” she said. “Now.”

“I’m not obligated to give you anything,” Brandy said.

“You might want to rethink that.” Tinkie drew herself up to her full five feet two inches.

“The buck stops with you, Brandy. When you called Yumi’s references, did they give her a good report?” I asked.

“I didn’t bother to call. Her résumé was excellent. I was lucky to hire her.”

“You didn’t do a background check on the head chef?” Tinkie was incredulous. “You could have hired Velma Barfield.”

“Who?” I nudged Tinkie.

“Executed for poisoning.” Tinkie wasn’t in a mood to hand out facts.

Brandy’s chin tilted up. “Yumi worked at the White House. She has all of her papers. She’s a superb cook and knew how to run a kitchen. What more could I want?”

“A reference who could say she wasn’t a killer,” Tinkie snapped. “You people! I run a garden club luncheon with more professionalism.”

Brandy bristled. “I knew you weren’t a maid. Too sassy. And you!” She drilled into me. “You aren’t a maid, but you aren’t society, either.”

“Correct on both counts. I’m a private investigator, and you have a huge problem on your hands. Finding Yumi and your missing guest should be your top priority, not bickering with me and Tinkie.”

“Mother, I don’t feel well.” Sherry’s eyes were glazed, and it struck me that she was honestly sick. If she was truly a medium, and Graf believed she’d channeled Granger’s spirit, she might need pharmaceuticals to find peace. I knew from dealing with Jitty that haints could be very demanding.

“Go to the penthouse,” Brandy said.

Sherry started to obey like a willing child, when I touched her arm. “Do you know who killed Amanda and Lola?” It was worth at least asking.

Her shoulders rounded even more. “They won’t come to me. They’re afraid. I’m sorry, I’m exhausted.” She stumbled away, and I thought I heard a sob.

“Palk! Palk!” Brandy called the butler. “Dinner is canceled. Have the kitchen staff prepare trays. Serve everyone in the private suites. Tonight’s séance is canceled. My daughter is unwell. Heart’s Desire will resume normal operations only after the riffraff has been pushed off the premises.”

For all intents and purposes, Heart’s Desire was in shutdown.

Graf and Oscar showed up as the gathering disbanded. Graf pulled me aside. “Shimmer Addleson is sitting in the middle of the floor surrounded by crushed perfume boxes. She’s out of control. She believes Roger helped Amaryllis escape Heart’s Desire and she’s furious. Oscar and I calmed her down, but she’s still threatening to kill Roger when she finds him.”

My fiancé and Tinkie’s husband were a great addition to the detective agency.

My head was still spinning when Lacey Polaterri, the Zinnia lawyer I’d called, arrived. Marjorie reclined on the chaise and dictated the contents of her new will as Lacey typed on her laptop. Upon Marjorie’s death or permanent impairment of mental faculties, Chasley would inherit everything. Stocks, bonds, real estate, bank accounts, property, a yacht anchored in Miami, a villa in Spain—the list went on and on. Marjorie, who had a bachelor of science degree in home economics, had displayed amazing abilities to invest. Her other talent was marrying well, an art honed on the campus of Ole Miss.

“She could feed and care for a small country,” Tinkie whispered to me.

“Don’t hold your breath.” Feeding third-world countries was not on Marjorie’s agenda. Her entire focus had shifted to patching the rift with Chasley, and she was throwing every penny she had at it.

Through the long listing of goods, Chasley was propped against a wall of the suite. He showed no emotion, and I wondered if he’d known what all his mother had accrued in her lifetime.

Lacey printed the document in Brandy’s office and presented it for signatures. Marjorie signed with a flourish. Tinkie and I had no choice but to serve as witnesses, and lo and behold, Brandy appeared with her notary seal. The talents of the Westins went on and on.

Marjorie was adamant that not another minute should pass without the new will created, signed, and prepared. Spoiled and used to having her own way, Marjorie let us all know that instant gratification was not fast enough for her.

Luckily Marjorie had no life-threatening illnesses. Given enough time, she might change her mind about the dispossession of her wealth. Or perhaps she would come to terms with Chasley and they would undo the past and become a loving family.

I’d seen glimmers of a hurt and unhappy man behind Chasley’s perpetual sneer. Being excluded can make a person mean and spiteful. This rapprochement might lead to a kinder, gentler Chasley. Hell, if I stood to gain billions, I could work hard to be loving and tender.

Five minutes after Lacey left, my cell phone rang. Coleman’s warm baritone, filled with concern, asked if I was okay.

“We’re all fine,” I assured him, then told him our covers were blown, Amaryllis was missing, Roger was hiding out from his irate wife and a pissed-off me, and Yumi Kato might be a hit woman.

“I’ll be heading your way as soon as I wrap up this murder. Peckerhead-on-peckerhead crime spree. One man is dead and two gut-shot. They argued over the best battery for an ATV.”

“Say that again?” Surely I’d heard him wrong.

“Baxter Ray shot his cousin Earl Ray and killed him, and then shot two other drinking buddies in the gut because they disagreed with Baxter that Polaris was a better battery than Yuasa.”

“He killed a man over which battery is best?”

“Like I said, peckerhead-on-peckerhead crime.”

I bit back a remark about Darwin and evolution. Coleman took all crime seriously, and I respected that. “When do you think you’ll get here?”

“Couple of hours. Let me round up Baxter Ray. He took off through the woods vowing to kill Earl Ray’s wife and kids. I don’t think he’d really do it, but he was pretty drunk.”

“Make it as quick as you can.”

“I’ll put out an APB for Ms. Dill. If we find her, that’s one less worry. We still have to find Amanda’s and Lola’s killer. Watch your back, Sarah Booth.” Coleman’s words mimicked my thoughts and I was aware once again of the bond we shared.

“Will do.”

Marjorie, will in hand, wanted to hit the road. Dwarfed by all her possessions, she tossed orders left and right. “Call Palk to move the remainder of my things downstairs. You, pack my shoes.” She gave the order as if Tinkie and I really were hired servants. The path of least resistance dictated I do what she asked.

I got Palk and two of the guards to haul the rest of the bags to the hired car that waited in front of the house. Marjorie had not wasted a moment. When everything was loaded, Marjorie kissed both Tinkie and me on the cheek. The driver handed her into the backseat. She let the window down. “I’ll put a check in the mail to you. Thank you for all you’ve done.”

“No rush,” Tinkie said, and this time I kicked her on the back of her calf. She might not need the money, but I did.

“You’ve both been wonderful to an old woman.” She took a deep breath. “I believe Chasley and I will work this out. We have to.”

“We didn’t really resolve the issue of Mariam,” I reminded her. I couldn’t shake the feeling of unease. I was ready to tell her about the ghostly presence I’d seen, the young girl asking me to protect her mother. I worried for Marjorie and consoled myself that now she looked better than I’d seen her. Strong and determined. Hopeful, even. Perhaps it was time to put Mariam to rest and focus on the living.

Marjorie grasped my fingers lightly. “You made me understand resolution isn’t important. What matters is Chasley, my living child. Because of you and Tinkie, we have time to repair those years of damage.”

Chasley exited the house, his bags in hand. He continued past me and Tinkie and kissed Marjorie tenderly on the cheek. “I’ll be right behind you, Mother.” Her car began to pull away.

“Wait a minute!” Tinkie ran alongside the window. “You forgot Pluto!”

Holy bejesus, in all the excitement, the cat had been overlooked. If Pluto realized how severely he’d been snubbed, he would definitely make someone pay for the oversight. Marjorie had a lot of shredded furniture in her future. “I’ll get him.”

“Wait!” Marjorie’s voice was strong. She motioned both me and Tinkie to the car window. “Would you find Pluto a new home? I can’t take him.”

I couldn’t believe this. Pluto was once the heir apparent of her fortune. Now he was dumped? “You aren’t going to abandon Pluto, are you?” I couldn’t understand how someone could simply walk away from a living creature that was part of a family.

“I have to, Sarah Booth.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Chasley needs for me to do this. For once in his life, he has to come first. Pluto attacked him. Justified or not, Chasley has not forgiven the cat. He’s asked me to get rid of him. In this instance, I have to make my son believe I choose him over anyone or anything else.”

I started to say something harsh, but Tinkie grabbed my arm and squeezed. “It isn’t fair of Chasley to ask you to pick him between two things you love,” she said softly.

“Perhaps it isn’t, but what I’ve done to Chasley isn’t right, either. As much as it distresses me, I need to find Pluto a new home.”

“If you leave him here, the Westins will take him to the pound.” What in the hell was she thinking—just to walk off like he was an unwanted shoe?

“You and Tinkie won’t leave him here. I know you that well.” Her smile was sad. “I have no choice.”

“You have a huge home. Surely you could put Pluto in a part of the house where he wouldn’t interfere with Chasley.” I couldn’t accept this. “The cat is attached to you. Think how he’ll feel when he realizes he’s been thrown away.”

“Maybe, after some time, I can reclaim him. Right now, though, I have to make it clear to Chasley that nothing stands between us. Not even a cat. I’ll include a handsome amount in my check to cover his future vet bills and food.” She reached out the window and caught hold of my wrist. “I know you’ll find someone to take good care of him. Thank you.”

She disengaged and leaned back into the seat. “I’m ready to go.”

The limo pulled away, followed by Chasley’s car. Marjorie had taken a huge step in her life. I hoped it would bring her happiness and peace, but it was my personal opinion such things couldn’t be bought by shirking responsibility.

“I can’t believe she just left Pluto,” Tinkie said. “Maybe she never really cared for him. Maybe she left everything to him to piss off Chasley.”

“Maybe.” Tinkie was angry, but my anger had given way to confusion. I didn’t understand her action. I’d worry about that another day, though. I was bone weary. Every muscle I had throbbed from my tumble down the stairs, but the night was far from done.

*   *   *

Graf, Tinkie, and I gathered in the drawing room. Palk had been sent by the Westins to give the perimeter guards their orders, but I was growing concerned. He should have been back, and I wondered if he’d tricked me. Were he and Yumi working together?