Creeps Suzette (9 page)

Judith nodded. “I understand. I also have the feeling that when she sees the detectives, she's going to have a small fit.”

“Why is that?” Dr. Stevens asked with a frown.

“Because they're not lily-white,” Judith replied.

Dr. Stevens's handsome face wore an expression of irony. “Neither,” he said, “am I.”

Embarrassed, Judith's hands flew to her cheeks. “I'm
sorry. I didn't mean…That is, I gather that Mrs. Burgess is rather…prejudiced.”

The doctor nodded. “She's a product of her generation and social class. If you took a census of Sunset Cliffs, you wouldn't find a single non Anglo-Saxon. Unless you count the hired help, which no one does.”

“Has it been difficult for you to treat patients in this community?” Judith asked as they paused in the sitting room.

“Yes,” Dr. Stevens replied frankly. “I've been in practice almost three years, and some of the residents still refuse to let me see them. White blood tainted by black blood, no matter what the ratio, is inferior, and thus not qualified for the professions.” He paused, his expression ironic. “That's one reason Dr. Moss couldn't retire.”

“But Leota Burgess wasn't one of the holdouts,” Judith remarked.

“No.” Dr. Stevens's eyes shifted away from Judith. “Excuse me,” he said, picking the phone up from a walnut demi-lune console, “I'm calling for a private duty nurse. Hopefully, Millicent Fritz is available. She's been to Creepers on other occasions.”

Feeling dismissed, Judith went downstairs. The detectives had now been joined by the coroner, who had his bag of grisly tricks next to Dr. Moss's body.

“Ma'am,” Sorensen called in a weary voice before Judith could reach the last two steps, “
please
. You can't keep coming through here.”

“I have to,” Judith protested. “It's the only way I know to get from one floor to the other.”

The female detective looked up. “Are you the one who found the body?”

Judith nodded. “I'm Mrs. Flynn. My cousin Mrs. Jones and I did. That is, we found Dr. Moss's body lying on top of Mrs. Burgess.”

The woman, who conveyed what Judith guessed was probably a deceptively affable demeanor, turned to her partner. “We'd better talk to them, Junior. You're almost
through here, aren't you, sugar?” she asked the coroner.

“Just about,” the coroner replied. “The ambulance is waiting outside.”

“Good,” the woman responded. “I'll get the deputies to bag as much evidence as they can find.”

Judith stood off to one side, by the entrance to the drawing room. She glanced across the open area to the entry hall where she saw Sarah Kenyon and Ada Dietz looking bewildered.

“What's happening?” Sarah asked in a tense voice. “Is that Dr. Moss? What's that black and yellow tape?”

The crime scene tape was being unwound by the young male detective. “Step back, please,” he said in a light, pleasant voice. “We have a homicide here.”

The female detective went over to the two stunned staff members. “I'm Detective Edwina Jefferson,” she said. “My partner's Danny Wong. Are you family?”

Sarah, whose eyes were riveted on the corpse, shook her head. “I'm the housekeeper, and this is Ada Dietz, the cook.”

“Are there other live-in employees?” Edwina inquired.

Sarah replied that there were, naming Kenyon and Edna. “Our quarters are on the third floor. As I was going to bed, I happened to look out the window and I saw the emergency vehicles.”

“We'd like to talk to them,” Edwina said. “Could you bring them down and have them wait for us?”

The housekeeper nodded. “I'll take them into the library.”

Thinking of the note on the library desk, Judith intervened. “The parlor would be better, Ms. Kenyon. It's more…cozy.”

Sarah and Ada both gave Judith a curious glance, but didn't argue. The ambulance attendants entered with a gurney and began the removal of the body.

“Where's your sister, honey?” Edwina asked.

“She's my cousin,” Judith corrected. “We're as close as sisters, though. Maybe closer. She's in the drawing room.
One of the grandsons is here, too. He must have gone back to his room.”

Edwina nodded, then turned to her partner. “Junior, have one of the servants send for him. I'll start the inquiries and you can join us when everything's squared away out here.” She stepped aside and let Judith lead the way.

Renie was nursing a second brandy and leafing through an old photo album. She put the hand-tooled book on the side table, stretched, yawned, and smiled somewhat sheepishly.

“This is like a fashion history of the last century or more,” Renie said. “I've only gotten to the end of World War One.”

“Good for you,” Judith said. “We've gotten to the interrogation point. This is Edwina Jefferson. I believe she's the primary.”

Edwina gave Judith a penetrating look. “You seem to know the drill, honey.”

“I do,” Judith replied. “My husband just retired as a homicide detective with the metro police force.”

Edwina beamed. “Joe Flynn?” She shook Judith's hand. “I've met him on a couple of cross-jurisdictions cases. He's a great guy. The squad was sorry to see him go.”

So was I
, Judith thought. “You must know his former partner, Woody Price. He's teamed now with Sancha Rael.”

“I haven't run into her yet,” Edwina said, sitting down in a tan leather chair with armrests and legs made of ivory tusks. “But I do know Woody from working with Joe. He's also very good.” She paused and let out a gusty laugh. “Even though he is ‘colored.' They made a terrific team.”

Renie was yawning again. “Can I go to bed? It's one
A M.
and about five minutes past my bedtime.”

“Sorry, honey,” Edwina said, taking a legal-sized tablet out of her big black purse. “I have just a few questions. Let's start with the basics—names, addresses, and so forth.”

The preliminaries took less than three minutes. By that
time, Danny Wong had joined them. Edwina jokingly referred to him as her junior partner.

“Danny was just promoted the first of the year,” Edwina explained. “That's a big deal for him, since he only graduated from the law enforcement program at Sunset Community College three years ago. We've worked just two homicides together, and they were both cut-and-dried. When I don't call him Junior, I call him my Number Three Son. I've got two of my own at home.” She poked him in the ribs and laughed again. “See how he shows respect to his other momma? I tell you, honey, this boy never pokes back.”

Renie was smiling. “You remind me of the old days in Reno and Vegas, before the casinos got cold and corporate. Most of the dealers were very friendly and they called everybody honey.”

Edwina gave Renie a shrewd look. “I call everybody honey—until I can trust them. Then, if they're real sweet, they might get to be sugar.”

Judith's eyes widened. “You don't trust us?”

Edwina shook her head. “Not quite, honey. But I'll cut you some slack because you're Joe's wife. You probably know better than to try hoodwinking the cops.”

“Somebody thinks they can,” Judith noted.

“Somebody always does, “Edwina replied. “That's how Junior and I keep our jobs. Okay,” she went on, getting down to business, “tell me why you were asked to stay with Mrs. Burgess.”

Judith went into the events that had raised the alarm for both Leota Burgess and her daughter Bev. “We still haven't figured out if the attempts on her life were serious or not.”

“Really?” Edwina said. “I think you have to take them seriously now. Wouldn't you agree that the intended victim wasn't Dr. Moss, but Leota Burgess?”

J
UDITH SUPPOSED THAT
in the back of her mind it had already occurred to her that the killer had made a terrible mistake.
How did it go so wrong?
The words on the notepad leaped in front of Judith's eyes, and she immediately informed the detectives about the scribbled question.

“Danny, will you have a look?” Edwina requested. “And see if the rest of the servants and the grandson are in the parlor.”

Judith had turned to Renie. “Did you see the note when you called 911 from the library?”

Renie's forehead wrinkled. “I don't think so. But frankly, I might not have noticed. I grabbed the phone, punched in the number, gave the message, and came tearing back to the staircase.” Giving a little start, she put a hand to her mouth. “There was one other thing, though—I thought I heard someone running outside of the library. It was probably just the wind.”

Edwina had settled into the leather chair. “Are you sure?”

Renie shook her head. “I wasn't focused on anything but the phone call.”

Edwina uttered a small sigh. “Okay, let's go over what led up to finding the body.” She was still looking
at Renie. “You definitely heard something from your bedroom, honey?”

“It was very faint,” Renie replied, “but I was still awake. I suppose I was on the alert, too, since we'd been asked to watch for anything unusual. In fact, I'd heard something odd a moment or two earlier, a sort of cry or…I really can't describe it. I thought it was the wind, which started blowing about the time we came up to our rooms.”

Edwina nodded. “Yes. It started to rain just before we got here. This place is hard to find in the dark. Go on, honey.”

“Anyway, when I heard the next noise, I woke Judith and we went first to Mrs. Burgess's room because there was a light on and the door was open. We heard the noise again while we were in her boudoir.”

“Do you agree?” Edwina asked Judith.

“Yes. I didn't hear it the first time—I was asleep. But I heard the second sort of groan or moan. There were no lights on in the corridor, so we had to search for the switch. When we turned it on, we saw what looked like a big pile of dark clothing at the bottom of the staircase.”

“And then?” Edwina prodded.

The cousins exchanged glances, then Renie nodded to Judith. “We saw something move,” Judith said, taking the cue, “and then we saw the top of Mrs. Burgess's head. I don't recall whether I checked Dr. Moss's pulse before or after we got Mrs. Burgess out from under him.”

“Do you know why Dr. Moss was here?” Edwina inquired, as Danny returned from the library with the tablet.

“Mrs. Burgess didn't send for him,” Judith said, explaining about the doctor's key to the house, the buzzer system, and how the lights had gone out just as the old lady started down the stairs.

Both detectives stared at Judith. “You mean,” Danny began, “that someone was in the entry hall?”

“Yes,” Judith agreed. “The other switch is just around the corner from the staircase area.”

“So,” Edwina said thoughtfully, “the killer attacked after
turning out the lights and popped the wrong person.”

“That must be what happened,” Judith said, though there was a note of doubt in her voice. “But what if Mrs. Burgess hadn't fallen downstairs? What if she'd remained at the top? How would the killer have known since the lights were out?”

Edwina gave a little shrug. “Whoever it was heard her fall. As you mentioned, Mrs. Jones, she cried out, which was the first sound that caught your attention. Obviously, the attack came after that.”

Judith didn't want to seem argumentative, so she kept a kernel of skepticism to herself. Edwina, meanwhile, had taken the tablet from Danny Wong. “Hunh,” she said after reading the single question. “‘How did it go so wrong?' That's curious. Do you recognize the handwriting?”

“No,” Judith answered. “We really don't know these people.”

“Along with fingerprints, we'll get samples from the household so a handwriting expert can analyze it,” Edwina said, putting the tablet in a plastic bag. “What about the evening's events? Did anything unusual happen? Was anyone else in the house besides the people who are here now?”

“There were quite a few visitors,” Judith replied, “but I gathered it wasn't unusual.” She turned to Renie. “Who came first? Peggy?”

Renie nodded. “Peggy Burgess—I mean, Peggy Hillman, who is a stepdaughter, got here while we were having cocktails. She stayed to dinner.”

“That's right,” Judith agreed, thinking that dinner seemed like a very long time ago. “The stepson, Wayne Burgess, showed up after dinner to see Mrs. Burgess. He runs Evergreen Timber, which is the family business.”

Danny took notes while Edwina continued to ask the questions. “You have any notion how Peggy and Wayne get on with their stepmother?”

“They seem to be on good terms,” Renie put in, “at least as far as we could tell. The only complaint from Mrs. Bur
gess was that Wayne had interrupted one of her favorite TV programs.”

“Then a grandson came by, Wayne's son,” Judith continued. “He owns Bop's Pizza Palace out on the highway.”

“What time was that?” Edwina asked.

Judith considered. “A little before nine. Bop had an extra pizza which he left at the house.”

“Then came Kenneth,” Renie said, rolling her eyes. “He was upset. He'd seen a woman in Sunset Cliffs wearing fur. Kenneth is one of those animal rights activists.”

Edwina wrinkled her nose. “If you can afford it, flaunt it. I would, I'd have fur from the top of my head clear down to my heels. Does he live at Creepers?”

Renie shook her head. “He used to, I gather, but he has a place in town. Still, he sometimes spends the night here, judging from what his grandmother said.”

“Anyone else?”

“Nobody we saw,” Renie replied. “Mrs. Burgess retired before ten, and we went upstairs about fifteen, twenty minutes later.”

Edwina paused, waiting for Danny to catch up. “Is there anything else you two can tell us?”

Judith looked at Renie who shook her head and yawned again. “I guess not,” Judith began, then snapped her fingers. “Yes, there is one thing—I noticed some dirt by Dr. Moss's body. I assume you saw it?”

“Yes,” Edwina nodded. “We bagged that, too.”

Judith turned to Danny Wong. “Did you find Kenneth Ward?”

The young detective said that the housekeeper had found him out in the garden. “I guess he was pretty distraught.” Danny winced. “In describing him, Ms. Kenyon used the phrase ‘baying at the moon.'”

“Oh, great,” Renie murmured.

“By the way,” Judith said, rising from the sofa, “have you found the weapon?”

“No.” Edwina's plump face showed no expression.

“There's plenty of heavy bric-a-brac around,” Renie said.
“Maybe Dr. Moss was struck by a ceramic gopher.”

Edwina chuckled. “That's the problem, honey. We're examining everything in the vicinity.”

“You found nothing under the body?” Judith asked.

“That's right,” Edwina replied, then added, “We'll ask the housekeeper for a list of family members who should be notified.”

“Most of them live close by,” Judith offered. “There's Beverly Ohashi, of course. Maybe my cousin should call her now. It must be daytime in Egypt.”

“I meant Dr. Moss's relatives, too,” Edwina said. “Do you know if he had any family?”

“His wife died a few years ago,” Judith responded. “I've heard no references to children.”

As they exited the drawing room, Renie gave Judith a sharp jab in the ribs. “All I want to do is go to sleep. It's damned awkward to have to be the bearer of bad news at one-thirty in the morning.”

“But Bev has got to find out that somebody may have tried to kill her mother—again,” Judith countered. “Goodness, the woman is like a cat—nine lives.”

“You really think she was the intended victim?” Renie asked as they made their way around the crime scene tape.

Judith sighed. “I don't know. Doesn't it seem strange that Dr. Moss came to Creepers? He had his black bag, as if he were making a house call. If Mrs. Burgess didn't summon him, who did? And why?”

Just as they started up the staircase, Dr. Stevens began his descent. “Nurse Fritz will be here shortly. I've been in Mrs. Burgess's sitting room, standing guard.” He paused and looked slightly sheepish. “Maybe that sounds silly, but you never know. Would you mind taking over for me until the nurse arrives? I've just been paged by the hospital.”

Renie sagged against Judith. “Can I jump in bed with the old girl?” she asked. “I'm beat.”

“I'll stay,” Judith volunteered.

“Ooh…” Renie gave Judith another jab. “Okay, okay. I'll stretch out on the settee.”

“Good.” Dr. Stevens smiled at the cousins. “Oh, by the way, I should get Dr. Moss's key to the house. I suppose I'm now the official Creepers physician.”

Judith didn't think he looked pleased by the prospect, but she made no comment. “The keys probably went with the body,” she said. “You'll have to get them later, when you or whoever collect the rest of his belongings. Did he have family?”

Dr. Stevens looked away to the spot where Dr. Moss had been found. “No. He and Mrs. Moss were childless and his only brother died several years ago.”

Danny Wong came through the entry hall and into the staircase area. “Forgot my pen,” he mumbled, embarrassed.

“Detective,” Dr. Stevens called after him. “When will I be able to retrieve Dr. Moss's keys?”

Danny turned around. “What keys?”

The doctor frowned. “Pardon?”

“There weren't any keys,” Danny replied. “His wallet, credit cards, everything else was there in his cape pocket. But no keys. Odd, huh?”

Judith thought it was more than odd, it was downright suspicious.

 

The cousins peeked in on Mrs. Burgess, who was sleeping soundly. Renie flopped down on the settee by the phone and looked for a directory. “I know Bev's number, but I forget the international calling code.” She leaned over and fished around in the side table drawers. “Here it is.”

A few moments later, Renie was talking to Bev. “No,” Renie said, “it's not bad news about your mother…Well, it's not exactly good news, either…Remember Dr. Moss?…Let me put it this way, remember the
late
Dr. Moss? He was killed this evening and…sort of fell on top of your mother…” This time, Renie's pause was longer. “No, of course not. If he'd been pushed off the roof, I would've said so. Somebody hit him in the back of the head, apparently while he was talking to your…No, I've
no idea who did it…Yes, really, your mother's fine. Judith and I found them at the bottom of the…”

Judith stood by the fireplace and listened to the wind in the chimney while Renie finished her story. It took some time, with many interruptions from Bev. Finally, Renie ended the conversation.

“Yes,” she said, her words a bit slurred from weariness, “they were going to notify Peggy and Wayne as soon as possible…Yes, I realize Kenneth may be unstable…What kind of animals?…Oh,
those
kinds of animals…No, I don't know how the servants are taking it…Please, Bev, don't worry so…No, don't think of coming home at this point. The police will sort it all out. Call me tomorrow, and I'll let you know what's happening, okay?”

Renie finally hung up and promptly assumed a fetal position on the settee.

“Aren't you going to tell me what Bev said?” Judith asked in an incredulous voice.

“No,” Renie muttered. “It was nothing important.” She burrowed her head into a trio of small satin pillows.

“How,” Judith demanded, pacing the floor, “can you possibly sleep? I can't stand it. I feel as if I should be talking to the staff, or Kenneth, or whomever. Where were all the family members when the murder occurred? Virtually everybody lives close by. They're all recognizable by the guards at the gatehouse. Did Dr. Moss say anything to the guard when he was waved through? Did you really hear footsteps outside the library?”

“Mmm,” Renie rolled over, her face against the back of the settee.

“What about the weapon? Surely it must be one of those statues or fireplace tools or another one of the dozens of lethal items in the entry hall and the staircase area. Why was there dirt on the floor? It hadn't started raining yet—the ground was dry. Are there footprints outside?”

Renie said nothing.

Judith went to the window and peered through the heavy drapes. “It's really blowing and the rain's coming down
hard. But the storm didn't move in until after Dr. Moss was killed. Have any telltale footprints been washed away by the rain?”

Renie was snoring softly. Judith started moving away from the window, then noticed a faint light in one of the outbuildings to her far right. She tried to identify which one, but between her unfamiliarity with the garden's layout and the rain slashing against the windows, she couldn't tell.

But she could go look. A sleeping Renie wasn't as effective a watchdog as an alert Renie, but at least she was there. Judith left the suite and hurried down the hall to check from her own rooms where the angle was much better.

It took a minute, but Judith got her bearings. The light was coming from the pool house. Putting on her walking shoes and raincoat, she started back down the hall, then stopped. The back stairs had to be nearby. Judith didn't want to run into the detectives again, at least not just now. If the main staircase was outside Mrs. Burgess's suite, then the back stairs should be in the same area, only to the rear of the house. But there was just one more room before the hall dead-ended into a large linen closet. She retraced her steps, and suddenly an idea struck her: The back stairs must run behind Mrs. Burgess's suite.