Death Loves a Messy Desk (40 page)

Inside the Casa di Mario, wall sconces reflected soft light on the Tuscan murals. The white tablecloths, the flickering candles, the clink of glasses, and the laughter of the guests gathered around the huge table testified to a great party. It was the first time we misfits and other key players had been together since all hell broke loose at Quovadicon two weeks earlier.

“Are you going to eat the rest of your
ravioli al burro e salvia
?” Attaboy. Jack knew how to bounce back. He was sporting a new Hawaiian shirt with bright blue and orange parrots and even wore long pants in honor of the occasion.

I said, “Help yourself. You earned it.”

Pepper, more pregnant than ever, leaned forward to catch Jack’s eye from her seat at the end of the large table. For reasons I didn’t fully understand, Jack and I were sitting next to Pepper and Nick, with Sally and Benjamin at right angles to us at the other end.

Pepper said, “I suppose you’ll be taking advantage of that flesh wound for the rest of your life.”

Jack said, “It seems to be working for me. How about you? Are you going to finish your ravioli, Pepper?”

“You bet your dumb Hawaiian shirt I am,” Pepper said.

Margaret called across the table. “Relax, Jack. The next of several courses will be served soon. You might want to save room for the
pollo al limone
and the risotto, among many other things.”

Frank D’Angelo stood and raised a glass of red wine to Margaret, at his side and gorgeous in an ivory silk cocktail suit, with her hair twisted into a glamorous updo.

He said, “A toast to my beautiful bride.”

As we rose to join in the toast, Margaret produced an unlawyerly blush. That encouraged a loud clinking of forks on water glasses, and Frank dipped Margaret into an adults-only clinch.

Next to me, Sally sighed and whispered, “I don’t remember the last time I saw her in anything but a navy blue suit. But I suppose you can’t really buy a navy blue two-piece wedding dress in a wool blend. And even though she cheated us out of a big wedding, you have to admit an elopement is very romantic. It did keep her parents off her back.” Sally’s husband glared at her, as he so often does, not that she noticed.

Next to the surprise bride, Mr. and Mrs. Tang sat, smiling for once. Perhaps it was the constant glass clinking. Or more likely the new Italian son-in-law who looked like he could make tall, dark babies.

Sally said, “Margaret thinks her parents are planning a giant Korean celebration after this.”

Jack said, “Cool. I love Korean food.”

People took advantage of the lull between courses. As Pepper got up and walked around the table to chat with Margaret and Frank, Nick nudged me and said, “You know, Charlie, I never figured out everything that was going on. Did you?”

“Eventually,” I said.

“Pepper flips if I ask her about it. She’s real touchy lately. I can’t really ask any of the guys at work, because I’m supposed to know this stuff. But you’re my friend, so I figure you’ll tell me. So this Barb person was undercover?”

“Private security and her real name was Angie something,” I said, hoping Pepper didn’t react to this cozy conversation. “She was hired by Reg Van Zandt to find out whether someone inside the company was using his fleet and logistics systems for criminal purposes. He didn’t know who, or what they were doing, and he didn’t know who he could trust, but his foreman figured out that something funny seemed to be going on. Numbers weren’t quite matching up. They thought maybe they were shipping counterfeit goods or even drugs using the fleet, but it turned out that the Quovadicon system was being used to transport stolen high-end vehicles with fake documentation. That was the same case that Frank had been working on and I guess Tierney had some involvement in that investigation, too, not that he confided in me.”

Connor Tierney took that moment to leave his seat and pull up his chair between Nick and me. I’d been surprised to see him show up at the celebration dinner, but apparently he and Frank were the best of pals. He said, “They supplied the cars and fitted them up with false vehicle information numbers. With the fake VINs, no one could trace them. A big business. Halliday used the Quovadicon rigs, and he arranged to have the drivers you knew as Mel and Del hired on at the company. Autumn was in charge of fake documentation that didn’t make the official records. After all, Halliday was an old friend of the big boss. As far as the Hallidays knew, no one was the wiser, until Barb showed up. She was able to pass on information to her partner, and they thought they would be able to report fairly soon, but he got too close to one of the dummy rigs one night and—”

“So long, sucker.” Nick chuckled, not reacting to the looks he got from me and from Tierney. “So that receptionist was in on it from the start? The hot one?”

Tierney said, “Don’t be fooled. Autumn Halliday was more than a pretty face. She was a lot smarter than she looked. She made sure that the shipments were coordinated and invisible with false shipping documentation. She learned it all from Daddy. Halliday was a businessman himself. Just not an honest one.”

Nick bristled. “I wasn’t fooled.”

I said, “I was. In fact, no one suspected her, and she had the run of the office. She often stayed late. She didn’t like me showing up, for sure. She stole my cell phone and used it to place the call to clear out the building; Fredelle fell for the message, and for a while you suspected me.”

Nick looked puzzled. “But why did she do that again?”

Tierney answered with admirable restraint. “So she could deal with Dyan, who had been spying on Barb. Dyan knew something. She just didn’t have time to figure out what she knew, and Autumn made sure she didn’t find out.”

Nick’s voice rose. “Well, then who killed the guy in the trunk?”

I said, “The guy in the trunk was Barb’s partner. I should really say Angie’s partner, because that was her real name. She kept in close touch with Van Zandt. I think she even called him from the crime scene and told him her partner was dead and she was taking off.”

Ramona, regal in blue shantung silk and twinkling silver earrings, had followed Tierney over and joined us. She butted in at that point. “No kidding. I think this Angie and her partner were the ones who took the library files on Quovadicon when they were researching. Should be a hanging offense. You all keep that in mind.”

Margaret glanced over and said, “Don’t worry. We want to keep on your good side, Ramona. We’ll play by the rules.”

Nick said, “But why did they kill him like that?”

I said, “They wanted to stop his investigation. They would have killed Angie, too, and she knew it. She panicked and fled, just ahead of them. I’m guessing that someone in the Woodbridge police told her he was dead and warned her to get away from the office fast. I wonder who that was.”

Tierney had the grace to look sheepish. I said, “At least you don’t need to lie about it any more.”

He said, “I knew Angie from school, and I knew her partner, too. I didn’t like him quite as much. She got in touch when she came to town and let me know what she was doing. So sure, I passed on the information when we found the first body. She was vulnerable, and Frank here kept me in the loop. Frank and I started to suspect that there might be a connection with his car theft project. Big money in that game. We knew that the people running this car theft ring were high-stakes players with a lot to lose. After her partner’s murder, I told her to stay out of sight, but she kept in touch. That’s why we stalled you, Charlotte.”

Sally said, “It makes my head hurt, it’s so complicated. So who killed the so-called Mel and Del?”

Tierney said, “We’ll probably never prove it, but we’re sure one of the Hallidays disposed of them. Mel and Del were great as muscle, but they weren’t bright enough to withstand questioning. And Charlotte had recognized them. They became a liability. We’ve tied that killing to Autumn’s weapon, although it will be hard to know which Halliday pulled the trigger. That’s why conspiracy is so useful.”

Sally interjected, “So Angie was on the run, afraid for her life. Whatever made her come back to Quovadicon?”

I said, “Apparently, love makes women do crazy things. It seems she was just as smitten as Robbie was. He fell for her despite that disgusting desk, and she fell for him despite his lack of social finesse. She decided to see him one more time to say good-bye and explain what had happened. She called on the office phone and foolishly set up a meeting on a side road near Quovadicon. Autumn eavesdropped on that call as she had on so many others. Autumn sent her father to collect Angie, while she took care of Robbie. He told Angie they would kill Robbie if she didn’t play along. She must have realized that the Hallidays meant to murder them both.”

Ramona said, “Good thing it didn’t work. I think they’re made for each other.”

I nodded. “I guess those wedding magazines I spotted in her apartment were more than just décor.”

Ramona said, “I told you he was sweet. I’m glad they met up. Too bad it led to all this turmoil and danger.”

I nodded. “No kidding. A lot could have been avoided if Reg Van Zandt hadn’t tried to control the investigation, not that he suspected Robbie or Fredelle, but he didn’t trust their judgment.”

Ramona had an update on that. “At least it was the turning point for Robbie to get out from under his father’s thumb. Robbie has tons of money squirreled away. As you can tell from his wardrobe and car, he never spends a cent. Now he’s taken Angie off to a resort in the Caribbean to rest and recover.”

Sally said, “What does Robbie’s father think about that relationship?”

“I think Robbie’s past caring. He has a reason to be his own man now. I, for one, am glad. I think they’ll end up at the altar before too long,” Ramona predicted.

Pepper, edging back to her seat, overheard. A small smirk hovered on her lips. “I guess they’ll find out in time what that’s worth.”

Nick looked up at her with big sad puppy eyes. “Aw, come on, babe. You don’t mean that.”

Sally said, “I hope the Van Zandts appreciated how many people were endangered.”

I said, “Well, Robbie apologized for getting me out to Quovadicon that day. He’d called me, being so mysterious, because he’d figured out that Autumn had fooled Fredelle. I let the cat further out of the bag by telling Autumn he was meeting me, too. I didn’t even suspect her at that point. I thought I was being sensible calling Tierney. Who could have predicted what was going on?”

Sally had been unusually quiet. “So why did Fredelle show up?”

“She’d left for the day and when she spotted Robbie racing back, she circled back and followed him. She’s always been a mother hen to him and she just wanted to apologize, but she found herself facing Autumn and her weapon. Then Tierney showed up waving his badge, I bet. Is that right, Connor?”

Jack said, “Those chicken cutlets are taking a while. What about your rosemary bread? Are you going to eat that?”

Tierney had returned to his seat at the other end of the table, opposite Sally and Benjamin, but he was close enough to hear most of our conversation. “At that point, they were between a rock and a hard place.”

I said, “Perhaps that’s when they hatched the plan to kill everyone and make it look like I had done it, because I’m widely known as a danger to Woodbridge. That might have kept the investigation from leading to them.”

Pepper said, “Well, they’re locked up now, and they’re not getting bail.”

“It all worked out all right, except that Charlotte missed her Therapy Dogs orientation meeting,” Sally added.

I said, “That was okay, too. The pooches still need a lot of work. The spring session seems more realistic.”

Jack stood and said, “You’re right. And since we’re toasting, here’s to happy endings. And hey, look, here comes the
pollo al limone
.”

The wineglasses were lifted. “To happy endings.”

Pepper raised her water glass. “Yeah, sometimes they happen.”

The bride stood and added her own toast. “To friendships. And to new beginnings.”

Jack gave me a nudge.

From the end of the table, Tierney winked.

Mary Jane Maffini
is a lapsed librarian, a former mystery bookseller, and a previous president of Crime Writers of Canada. In addition to creating the Charlotte Adams series, she is the author of the Camilla MacPhee Mysteries, the Fiona Silk series, and nearly two dozen mystery short stories. She has won two Arthur Ellis awards for short fiction, and
The Dead Don’t Get Out Much
, her latest Camilla MacPhee Mystery, was nominated for a Barry Award in 2006. She lives in Ottawa, Ontario, with her long-suffering husband and two miniature dachshunds.