Buttercream Bump Off (27 page)

“Oh, nuts. It’s been so crazy, I completely forgot. I’ll go look at it now. Can you start class without me?”

“Sure. Neither the Felixes nor the Gatwicks are here yet. Should I start without them?”

“Yes, we can help them catch up when they get here.”

Mel crossed the kitchen and ducked into her office. It was little more than a closet, but she didn’t need much more than basic office equipment.

She picked up the manila folder that held all of the registration and payment information for her couples’ class. She sifted through the papers until she found the one with a bright pink Post-it on it. Angie had noted the date and time that she had run the transaction. It had been declined.

Mel looked at the information. It was for the Gatwicks. That couldn’t be right. The Gatwicks were loaded; everyone knew that. She felt herself go still.
Unless they weren’t.

She remembered the charity luncheon, the women talking about how wonderful Jay Gatwick was and how he spoiled Poppy. But what if they were wrong? What if Jay Gatwick was broke? And what if he was broke because he had invested with Baxter Malloy? Would that drive him to murder?

She remembered his face when her mother had announced her date with Malloy. She had thought he was offended by Joyce’s appearance in her pajamas, but what if that wasn’t it? What if he’d been interested,
too
interested?

She needed to call Uncle Stan. He would be able to contact Detective Martinez and find out if the Gatwicks had lost money to Malloy. She hadn’t seen any connection between Gatwick and Malloy other than a social one, but maybe she’d missed something. She decided not to call from the office, as she might be overheard. She picked up her cell phone and stepped out into the bakery.

She caught Angie’s eye and gestured that she needed to make a call. Angie nodded. Mel slipped out the back door. This shouldn’t take long, and then she could duck back into class.

She stepped out into the alley and opened her contacts list. Uncle Stan was alphabetically at the bottom, and she scrolled down until his name popped up. She was about to press the call button when a hand reached around her and snatched her phone.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Mel gasped and spun around. Jay Gatwick was standing there looking as squeaky-suave as Ryan Seacrest in a dark suit and highly buffed shoes. Mel noted they were narrow at the toe and had a small heel. The hair on the back of her neck prickled in alarm.

“You startled me,” she said. “What are you doing back here?”

“I’ve been watching you,” he said. “I knew it was only a matter of time before you figured it out.”

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Mel bluffed. “Here, we really should be getting into class. The others will wonder what’s become of us.”

“You maybe, not me,” Jay said. “Poppy called earlier and left a message on your voice mail to say we wouldn’t be able to make it tonight. She’s feeling under the weather. In fact, I left her sleeping and, given the sedative she took, I’m sure she’ll believe I was home with her the entire time.”

“What do you want?” Mel asked.

“For the moment, I need to make sure you don’t make any calls to that uncle of yours,” he said. “Come, let’s go upstairs where we can talk. And don’t try to signal anyone in the kitchen. I’d hate to have to harm so many innocent people.”

Mel knew she shouldn’t go, but the lethal-looking gun Jay pulled out of his pocket made her reconsider. Well, that and she hated the thought of putting the rest of her students and Angie in harm’s way. She’d just have to try to bluff her way out.

“Shall we?” he said. He gestured up the stairs towards her apartment.

“Angie will be expecting me to return,” she said.

“Too bad you’re going to call her first and tell her you have to run a quick errand. Meanwhile, you’ll sadly expire from a carbon monoxide leak in your little apartment.”

“Do you really think people are going to believe that?” Mel asked.

“Well, you did seem awfully depressed that your relationship with the assistant district attorney was moving so slowly. Have you two even slept together yet?”

Mel gritted her teeth. “None of your business.”

“I thought not,” he said. “Poppy has a friend—what’s her name?—oh yeah, Susan Ross. Beautiful woman. She works with your boyfriend and apparently everyone in his office knows that you two aren’t all that. I’m sure Susan will be happy to comfort him through his time of grief.”

Mel felt her temper surge. If she ever got out of this, she was going to jump on Joe and not let the man up until they were officially shacked up.

She reached the door to her apartment and fumbled for her key. Her fingers were cold and clumsy. Jay sighed impatiently, and she feared he might shoot her just to be done with it. She turned the lock and pushed the door open.

As she stepped into her apartment, she became immediately aware of two things. First, someone was in her apartment already, and second, the gun at her back lowered, probably in surprise.

Rose petals covered the floor, her futon had been made up with gold satin sheets, champagne and chocolates sat on the counter, candles were burning all over the room, and jazz was playing on the stereo. It was beautiful, romantic, lovely, and perfect.

The bathroom door opened and out stepped Joe, drying his hair with a towel while another was draped loosely around his hips.

He paused, as if suddenly sensing he wasn’t alone. He lowered the towel and glanced at Mel and Jay and said, “You’re here. And you’re not alone. That was not really a part of my plan.”

“Mine either,” Jay said dryly.

Mel knew Jay would kill them both. He had too much to lose. She had to act fast. She ducked away from Jay and dashed around the futon to stand in front of Joe.

“You can’t kill us both,” she said.

“Are you kidding?” Jay asked and then laughed. It wasn’t a pleasant sound. “This is like a gift from above. Look at this place. It looks like one of those cheap hour-rate motels on Van Buren Street in Phoenix.”

“Hey!” Joe protested.

“Think of it,” Jay continued. “The lovers finally get together, and
kaboom!
How terrifically tragic.”

“He’s going to blow us up?” Joe asked Mel. “Why?”

“He killed Baxter Malloy,” she said. “And I figured it out.”

“Naturally, it wouldn’t be a date with you without some sort of life-threatening drama,” Joe said.

“Is that a slam?” Mel asked. “Because, really, I don’t think this is my fault.”

“Of course it’s your fault,” Jay cut in. He waved the gun at them, motioning for them to sit on the couch. “You couldn’t leave it alone, could you? Oh, no, you had to crash the charity luncheon, you had to chase down the Hargraves, you had to keep asking questions, your partner had to start dating the perfect fall guy. You ruined everything.”

“How is killing us going to help you?” Mel asked. She laced her fingers through Joe’s. Feeling his warmth gave her strength. “You’re still broke.”

“Ah, yes, but with you gone, I’ll be able to pin the murder on someone else. And then I’ll go back to doing what I was so good at before it all fell apart.”

“What’s that?” Joe asked.

“Blackmail,” Jay said. “I’m not so stupid as to invest in Baxter’s Ponzi scheme, but once I caught on to what he was up to, I realized I had a much more reliable way of making money. Baxter had to pay up, or I’d out him to his clients and the SEC. I must say, it was quite lucrative while it lasted.”

“Then why did you kill him?” Mel asked.

“That was an accident,” Jay said. “I was trying to convince him to resume his payments. He said he didn’t have the money, but was hoping to hook up with a rich widow soon. The fool thought your mother was loaded. In my ire at his stupidity, I got carried away. It was an unfortunate miscalculation.”

“You strangled a man to death,” Mel snapped. “That’s not a miscalculation.”

Joe squeezed her fingers as if trying to calm her. But Mel didn’t feel calm. She felt like grabbing the nearest heavy object and smacking Jay Gatwick upside the head with it.

“You have been following my mother, haven’t you?”

“I had to be sure she didn’t see me that night,” he said.

“What if she had?” Mel asked.

He shrugged. Mel took that to mean it would be Joyce who’d be gassed or blown to bits. She felt her body begin to tremble, but she wasn’t sure if it was fear or rage.

She had thought Jay was her friend, trying to help her figure out who had killed Malloy, when all along he’d been stalking her mother and using her for information.

“What’s the fuss? It wasn’t as if Malloy was a great guy,” Jay said. “He was a con man. Do you think any of his investors are sad that he’s gone? Frankly, they should all pay me a pest-removal fee.”

“So, your plan now is to kill us?” Joe said. “I can tell you as a DA that you could plead Malloy’s murder, but you won’t be able to do that if you murder us.”

“That’s okay,” Jay said. “I’m not planning on getting caught. You know the story about how Poppy and I met in Italy, and I decided I had to marry her. Well, that’s only half of the story.

“You see, I let people believe I was the son of wealthy Swiss parents, who had sadly been killed in a plane crash. In reality, I was working my way around Europe as a pick-pocket. It can be a cushy income if you’re quick with your fingers and know how to blend into the crowd.

“Then one day, I saw Poppy walking along the street without a care in the world. Only people with money can walk like that, and I knew that was what I wanted. I wanted her, and I wanted that life. So, I charmed her and her parents, and as I got to know the members of their world, I realized that so many of them had so much to hide. Infidelity, addictions, dark family secrets—they were all ripe for the picking, and I was the king of the orchard.

“That’s how I began gathering my wealth, and I needed to be wealthy. You see, Poppy is like a flawless diamond. She comes at a price, and if a man can’t pay the price, he can’t have Poppy.

“But then, I met Baxter Malloy. He tried to talk me into investing with him, but I knew he was a con man like me. So, I studied him, and I watched him, and then when I knew I had enough proof to blackmail him, well, then the big money started rolling in. It was beautiful.”

“Until you killed him,” Mel said.

“Hmm, pity,” Jay agreed.

“Well, as fascinating as all of this is, could a guy at least put on some pants before he dies?” Joe asked.

This time Mel squeezed Joe’s hand to keep him calm.

Jay tipped his head and considered them. “No, I think it’s better this way. In fact, Melanie, you need to lose some clothes. Hey, at least everyone will think you two are finally getting it on.”

Joe looked at Mel and shook his head. “Does everyone know?”

Mel shrugged.

Joe gave her a small smile. “That was the plan for tonight, by the way.”

“Everything looks lovely,” she said. “Thank you.”

Joe looked into her eyes, and Mel was struck by how much she loved him. It caught her by surprise, and she gasped. She had always had a crush on him, she had always lusted after him, but somewhere in the past few months she’d fallen in love with him, head over heels, from the bottom of her heart in love.

Joe gave her a slow smile. “I feel the same way,” he said.

“All right, break it up,” Jay snapped. “I’m on a schedule here.”

Joe gave Mel’s hand one last squeeze before he let go.

“You don’t really think I’m going to let you harm her, do you?” Joe grabbed his towel in one hand and stood. He turned to face Jay.

“How do you propose to stop me?”

Mel had never been athletic. During her first and only beach volleyball game, she’d gotten spiked on the head with a ball and was rendered unconscious. Softball had been a dual humiliation entailing striking out repeatedly and getting hit in the booty with a slow pitch, which slow or not still hurt like the devil and left her with a purple butt cheek.

However, this was more life and death than volleyball or softball. There was a candle within reach, and it was burning in a chunky glass votive she’d picked up at the Denmarket furniture store. If she could grab it and by some miracle hit Jay with it, she and Joe might stand a chance.

The next few seconds happened in an adrenaline-fueled blur that Mel would never be able to fully recall, as she retained only strobe-flash memories of the events.

She grabbed the candle in her right hand. Joe made a sudden leap across the back of the futon at Jay. Jay jumped back in shock. Mel threw the candle as hard as she could, but now Joe was in the line of fire, and the heavy glass struck him on the shoulder. He landed with a
splat
on the floor. Jay was so busy watching him that he didn’t see the candle continue its trajectory until it hit him in the throat. He dropped his gun and landed on his knees, grabbing his throat and making harsh, guttural animal noises.