Elizabeth C. Main - Jane Serrano 02 - No Rest for the Wicked (9 page)

I was working on a diplomatic response when Velda slid up beside me.
“
Excuse me, Alice, but Minnie needs to talk to Jane.
”

I breathed another silent thank you to Velda for her help as I murmured an apology
to
Alice. I wove my way through the crowd toward Minnie
. She held
up the now-empty platter in front of me like a stop sign. Subtlety was not Minnie’s strong suit.

Minnie darted a look around to make sure no one was close enough to hear and then spoke out of the side of her mouth like some demented gangster.
“
We talked to you-know-who.
”

“
I
got
Bianca’s message. Upsetting, but things
will
be
fine
.
”

“
Oh, really?
”
Minnie raised her eyebrows. Sighing at my na
i
veté, she continued her ludicrous James Cagney impression.
“
Sh
e was told not to leave town.
”

“
They let her go. It was just circumst
—
”

“
But, she’s not to leave town.
”
Minnie
emphasized each word.
“
You’ve re
ad the same mysteries I have.
”

In truth, I avoided the bloodthirsty true crime that Minnie loved, so this was something of a misstatement, but I sensed the volcano building. For Minnie, reading mysteries had become a pale substitute for solving them. Minnie intended to play detective again, even if it meant turning a circumstantial molehill into a sinister mountain on the verge of eruption. From the flush on
her
plump cheeks, I surmised that the Murder of the Month Book Club was
preparing
to use its deductive powers to sa
ve the world, or
,
at least
,
Alix.

“
But t
here’s nothing to do
.
”
Damage control was a non-starter, now that Minnie was on the track. I m
ight
as well have told Nick everything last night. The cat was so far out of the bag that it was probably in the next county by now.

“
Yet. B
e grateful for that. It gives us time to plot strategy.
”
Minnie looked
past me
and smiled at the sight of Bianca in conference with
Velda
.
“
Good. Bianca’s filling Velda in
.
I
’ll
stay to bring Tyler up to speed, but you
go see
Alix
, before the press gets there
.
”

“
Has something new happened?
”
Dread buil
t
in the pit of
my stomach.

“
I saw Brady this morning
.
He looked absolutely stricken. He found the body, you know.
”

Before I could ask again, Velda limped up to us.
“
How
can I help?
”
Minnie turned to her
.
I seized my chance to
intercept
Bianca
.

“
Everything
’s okay.
”
I propelled her into the office, closing the door behind us.

“
You don’t understand. There’s something you don’t know.
”

“
Then s
he told you about …
?
”

“
T
he marriage. Yes,
and
she was acting so weird.
”

“
Probably embarrassed. Look,
h
oney, everyone makes mistakes
.
”

Velda stuck her head into the room.
“
Sorry to interrupt.
”

I
snatch
ed a
tissue
and
thrust
it to
ward
Bianca.
“
What is it?
”

“
Sorry, but Tyler and Laurence have both disappeared and people want to buy books. Should I tell everyone the store is closed
,
or what?
”
Velda twisted her hands in indecision, her plain face
still
blotchy with the strain of trying to work up the nerve to speak in public.

I exhaled in frustration. Couldn’t anyone manage anything without consulting me?
“
I’ll be there in a minute. Thanks.
”

Velda let her hands drop to her sides, almost like a soldier coming to attention.
“
I can do it.
”
She started to close the door, but stuck her head back inside.
“
Would it be helpful if Minnie and I cleaned up the refreshments?
”

I couldn’t believe the indecision Velda brought to the simplest task. How did she decide which clothes to put on each day?
“
That’d be great.
”

Velda made her painful way toward the front of the store. Now that she had a clear notion of what was expected of her, she was on firm ground. I only hoped I could work similar magic with my daughter.

“
Look, Arnie knows Alix had nothing to do with the murder. Otherwise he wouldn’t have let her go home last night.
”
I
smoothed
Bianca’s
silky hair and spoke in
my most soothing voice.
“
Everything’s fine.
”

“
But
Arnie
knows
Alix
saw Hunter Blackburn the day he was murdered
.
You think he’s going to
forget
that information when he can’t find the real killer
?
”

“
Alix
told
Arnie
that
?
”
Alarm
raised my voice about an octave.

Bianca nodded, her long hair bouncing with the intensity of her movement.

I flashed back to my interrupted talk with Alix last night. Asleep, she’d looked so peaceful that I hadn’t awakened her to finish
the conversation. Seems
I should have.

“
Get Tyler behind that counter. Now. We’re going to see Alix.
”

Chapter 8

Alix was scrubbing the sink when Bianca and I burst into her kitchen. After one startled glance at us, she returned to her task.
“
Coffee if you want.
”
She gestured toward the sleek black Cuisinart coffeemaker
.

Fleeting thoughts of Lady Macbeth washing away imaginary blood rushed through my mind before reason could reassert itself. This was my friend Alix, not some evil monster, but I was
off-balance
and
frustrated.
“
Why d
idn’t you tell me
last night
that you’d seen
him?
”

Mechanically,
Alix
polished the
already-
gleaming chrome faucet before turning around
at last
.
“
I’m sorry. I should have told you
—
would have
—
but it felt so
good to get out of
that
place
last night
that
I
…
just let go
. That make
any
sense?
You
were gone when I woke up
.
”

“
And Arnie knows?
”

A rueful nod.
“
Figured he’d find out soon enough. Better to come from me. And
Bianca and Minnie double-teamed me this morning. You know how that is.
”

Her wan smile coaxed a reluctant one in return from me. Bianca and Minnie acting in concert constituted determination personified and doubled. I reached for a kitc
hen chair and
dropped into it.
“
Okay, let’s hear it.
”

“
Yes, p
lease explain it
to her
, Alix.
”
Bianca danced from foot to foot, hardly able to contain herself.

I looked at her, but my normally loquacious daughter didn’t seem to have anything to add. Were we playing
“
Twenty Questions
”
? If so, I needed a few more clues.

Alix snapped off her yellow rubber gloves and flung them into the now pristine sink.
“
I just told the
police
that one thing.
T
hey let me come home, so maybe it didn’t matter all that much
.
”

Bianca looked helplessly at me
.
I was too
amazed
at Alix’s attitude to answer.

I found my voice at last.
“
You’re right. Why should something as simple as learning that you saw your ex-husband, a man who was murdered later the same day,
be of any
interest
to
the sheriff?
”
Concern for my friend gave my question a calculated sharpness as I struggled to break through Alix’s defense.
I could barely hear her low response.

“
It’s not something I want to think about.
”

I continued to press her.
“
You can avoid the topic with us, but h
ow do you plan to avoid
it with
Arnie
? Unless the murderer strolls into his office and confesses, I guarantee
you
’
ll meet Arnie
again
in his official capacity
rather soon
. Alix, we’re on your side, but you have to think this through. Probably reporters are setting up their cameras outside right now.
”

Alix still didn’t seem to get it.
“
But
I didn’t know
Hunter
was going to get himself murdered.
”

“
That’s certainly good news,
”
I said
.
“
And I hope Arnie
appreciates
that
when you discuss the matter
again
, as I have every expectation that you will.
”

“
Please don’t be mad at her, Mom,
”
Bianca said. If I hadn’t been so
focused on getting
Alix
to take an interest in her potential peril
, I’d have been amused at Bianca. My daughter had no trouble finding fault with me for being too conventional, but she skipped right over any possible flaws in Alix, who apparently shed husbands the way an umbrella sheds raindrops.
“
Alix
is just in shock
. She wants your help. Don’t you, Alix?
”

An uncomfortable silence hung in the air
until
Alix put out a hand to me. Without actually looking
up
, she
whispered
,
“
Please.
”

Embarrassment at witnessing her humiliation washed over me
.
Some friend I was. My attempt to force her to talk only caused her more pain.
I reached out my hand to join hers. We might have remained locked in a tableau of mutual discomfort for some time if Bianca hadn’t piped up.

“
Should I get some paper, Mom? You know, to take notes?
”

Now Alix and I cast sidelong looks at each other, smiles tugging at our mouths in spite of the tension between us. Bianca had many fine qualities, but secretarial ability wasn’t among them. The idea of her taking notes was ludicrous.

“
Thanks for the offer.
”
Alix flicked a glance at Bianca before she squared her shoulders and looked at me.
“
But what we really need right now is—
”

“
Tea. I have some nice green tea in my bag,
”
Bianca said.
“
We could sit and—
”

“
I was thin
king more along the lines of an
apology,
”
Alix said.

“
That’s okay.
”
A big smile broke out on Bianca’s face.
“
We didn’t mind.
”

Alix tossed her
hair
impatiently.
“
No, it’s not okay, Bianca.
”

“
You were upset. We knew that. When I was a kid and rude to Mom, she knew I’d just had a fight with a friend or something. She never took it personally.
”

Yeah, right, I thought. Superwoman that I was, I never took it personally when my daughter was rude to me. I absorbed those situations like a blotter. Couldn’t get enough of them.

Alix gave Bianca a long, level look that indicated she was reading my
mind. When
she spoke out loud, she confirmed it.
“
Thanks for trying, Bianca. Go ahead and make tea, get paper and pencils for notes, do whatever you want, but please let me get through this apology. I’m out of practice.
”
She paused.
“
Who am I kidding? I’m not sure I’ve ever tried before … to apologize, I mean.
”

“
Or ask for help,
”
I said slowly.

“
That either.
”

“
Apology accepted,
”
I said.
“
Also, the offer of tea.
”
Alix sat down across the table from me and we watched in silence as Bianca poured water into the tea kettle and rescued several packets of Tazo tea from her fashionably slender wallet on a chain.

“
You have room for tea in that tiny thing?
”
I deliberately made idle conversation to give Alix time to collect her thoughts.

“
Always room for tea.
”

Bianca moved around the room with swift, sure motions, setting out three oversized white mugs decorated with abstract patterns, pouring soy milk into a squat pottery jug. I couldn’t imagine Alix buying soy milk, so Bianca probably had contributed that to the kitchen supplies. Bianca didn’t offer sugar, of course, as she was on a permanent campaign to wean me from its non-nutritional grasp.

“
A matter of priorities. You drag that suitcase of yours around to make sure you have a can opener, while I stick to essentials like green tea.
”
The kettle whistled and she poured steaming water into our cups.
“
Okay, ready.
”

Alix sat silently at first, turning her cup around and around. Without looking up, she said,
“
I don’t know where to begin.
”

“
His real name,
”
Bianca said.
“
What was it?
”

“
That’s your first question?
”
Alix and I asked in unison.

“
Well, I have a bunch of them, but that seemed sorta basic.
”

“
Martin Selway.
”

Bianca made a face.
“
No wonder he changed it.
”

Alix nodded.
“
Yeah, later, after we split.
”

“
Then you were actually Mrs. Martin Selway?
”
Bianca’s tone left no doubt as to how she felt about that concept.

“
Yep, briefly. I was eighteen.
”
Alix went silent, perhaps searching her memory for clues to an earlier self.
“
I bailed, once I got the stars out of my eyes and found out what he was really like, crooked as they come.
”

“
And that was what … fifteen years ago?
”
I prompted.
“
So why’d he have your phone number?
”

Alix crossed her arms over her stomach, almost as though in pain.
“
Look, I didn’t kill him.
”

“
We know
that
.
”

Alix looked everywhere but at us before she shrugged, seeing no way out.
“
He was hoping to shake me down again.
”

“
Again? This happened before?
”
Bianca was incredulous.
“
You actually paid him?
”

“
Just a couple of times.
”
Wincing at the disappointment on Bianca’s face, Alix turned to me, as though maybe I’d understand better.
“
I knew he’d be back—the proverbial bad penny—but it was a short-term fix.
”

“
Why pay him at all?
”
Bianca asked. She was getting a crash course in a world she knew nothing about.
“
He sounds like a creep.
”

“
He was, but he could have made life embarrassing for me.
”

“
That’s just wrong.
”
Bianca was red with youthful outrage.
“
You should have stood up to him, not let him get away with that.
”

“
I was hoping he’d just go away. Didn’t work out that way.
”

“
So you saw him the day he was killed,
and Arnie knows it
,
”
I said.

Alix nodded.
“
I
assumed
someone
would have seen
us talking
.
Thought it would be better if I admitted it up front. That
was hours before
he
died
anyway
, according to the paper.
”

“
It’s good that y
ou told Arnie yourself
. Shows good faith
,
”
I said.
I hoped Arnie would look at it the same way. Talk about taking lemons and mak
ing
lemonade.

“
I was hoping … I don’t know … for a miracle or something. Maybe they’d find the killer right away and no one
but Arnie
would have to know I’d seen him. I thought maybe if I had time to think, I’d be able to come up with something to help. I’m sure Arnie’ll keep me in mind if
he
doesn’t find
the killer
.
”

“
And
then he’ll come right back to you
,
”
Bianca said. So much for putting a positive spin on things.

“
The fact that I’m innocent ought to slow
him
down at least a little bit.
”

“
You don’t have an alibi,
”
I stated
.
S
he
would
have mentioned it before this if she did.

“
That would clear everything up.
”
Bianca brightened at the thought.
“
He was killed the night before he was found, or maybe early that evening? And you saw him at …
?
”

“
About three, give or take. From what I read, he died about six or seven that night.
”
Alix spread her hands wide, palms up, in a helpless gesture.
“
I was at the Wedding Belle. No appointments, no phone calls, not even Wendell. I was upset after seeing him, so I wasn’t looking for company. Bad choice.
”

“
If you knew this creep was prowling around Juniper, why didn’t you warn anyone?
”
Bianca voiced the question I’d been about to ask.
“
You actually could identify someone you knew was a criminal, maybe save someone from losing his life savings, so—
”

“
Why didn’t I?
”
Alix flushed and spoke harshly.
“
Don’t you think I thought of it? Sure, I thought of it a lot, but . .
.
”
She covered her face with her hands.

Bianca’s voice was thick with scorn.
“
But what? You chickened out because you were embarrassed. You didn’t want to ruin your image. That’s … that’s—
”

“
—human,
”
I finished.

Bianca was still young enough to be judgmental, certain that she would always do the brave thing, the right thing. I’d been around long enough to know that as people age, they sometimes blur what were once bright lines in order to make it through tricky situations. Suddenly
,
I remembered a recent conversation at
the
book club the night we discussed Sue Grafton’
s
T is for Trespass
, which centered on elder abuse. The usually cool Alix had been uncharacteristically vehement in her comments about it.

“
It was you who suggested the SOS group. In fact, you practically insisted on it, but you stepped back from organizing it. Now I see why.
”

“
Well, I don’t.
”
Bianca stood with arms crossed, still disgusted.