Murderous Muffins (11 page)

“Do you think that Joseph killed him?” Cat asked.

“I really don’t know. But I couldn’t find the satchel in Mr. Phong’s room.” Luiz looked out the bedroom window.

“So, Joseph must’ve killed Mr. Phong, then stolen the satchel or whatever was in it,” Cat said.

“And his ring,” I added.

Luis faced us. “I went to the pawnshop hoping to find other items stolen from my company. No luck.”

“Did you see the ring?” Cat asked.

“What ring?” Luiz asked.

“Mr. Phong wore a gold ring with a ruby and diamonds, and it went missing the day he died. Now it’s at the pawnshop. Although we’re at a blind alley because we don’t know who brought it there,” I said.

“I may be able to help out. Let me make a few calls.” Luiz cleared his throat. “We gave Joseph a few extra vacation days, just to get him away from the company for a while.”

“You don’t want to keep the wolf with the sheep,” I said.

Cat grinned at me.

“Oh?” Luiz furrowed his brow.

Seeing his face gave me an indication that he may have been confused at my expression. “Removing Joseph from your company was a good move. That way he can’t steal anything.”

“Yes, now I understand. Is that a common expression?” Luiz asked me.

“For some, yes,” I said.

“She’s adorable, even if, at times, she’s difficult to understand.” Cat smiled.

“I should have brushed up on my American clichés and expressions.” Luiz nodded. “Anyway, I’ve been trying to use all of my resources in an attempt to find proof that Joseph is indeed the spy. And I also thought that Joseph may’ve killed Mr. Phong. Since my family is how you say, “well connected,” I found out, even before the police got the official report, that the muffins were poisoned. Whoever made them, or had access to them after they were made, could have done this.”

I remembered thinking that Mr. Phong had choked to death. I raised my hand. “I made them, but I assure you I did not poison them.”

“She’s innocent.” Cat laid her hand on my back.

“No, please excuse me, I was not accusing you in the least,” Luiz stammered. “Your muffins are delicious.”

I attempted to smile as my eyes welled up. Mr. Phong had loved my baking, and now, because of that, he was dead. Poor, sweet, dear man.

Luiz knelt in front of me and then held my hand. His touch was warm and firm. “I’m a sorry man that I made you sad. Bezu, forgive this fool for hurting you. That was not my intention.”

I sniffed. It wasn’t what he had said, it was everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours.

He went into his drawer, pulled out a handkerchief, and then offered it to me. “You are too kind and lovely a lady. You’re loyal to your friends. I’ve never met someone like you.” Luiz locked eyes with me. “I only hope that one day I can be as fortunate to have a friend like you.”

Breathing in deeply, I composed myself. “Thank you, Luiz. You’re very sweet. And it’s not what you said that made me sad. Right now, a lot of things are going on that have left me emotionally vulnerable.”

The door flew open.

“Freeze.” José held a gun at arm’s length in our direction. I jumped. Luiz held up his hands.

Cat’s mouth hung open. “Oops.”

“Keep your hands up where I can see them.” José’s gun was aimed at Luiz.

“Um, you can put that away.” Cat pointed at José’s gun. “It may not be funny now, but just give it time, and we’ll all laugh at this.”

José grimaced as he put his gun in his holster. “Someone better tell me what’s going on—now.” José crossed his arms on his chest and slit his eyes.

Luiz, Cat, and I explained everything to José. Cat and I apologized to José for troubling him. He instructed, well, demanded, that we let the police handle Mr. Phong’s case.

After José left, Luiz said to us, “Ladies, if you could keep my identity and name a secret just a while longer, I’d forever be in debt to you.”

As we all made our way downstairs, Cat muttered to me, “Like four college tuitions in debt to us?”

I nudged Cat in her side as we stood in the foyer. “Luiz, you don’t owe us anything. It would behoove us all to keep this to ourselves until your company spy is unearthed and Mr. Phong’s killer is in police custody.”

“And it could very well be the same person,” Cat said.

“Ladies, we should keep in contact in case anything comes up,” Luiz said.

We exchanged phone numbers.

“Now if you would excuse me, I need to return to work. I’ll see you later on.” Luiz strode away.

Cat said, “He has gazillions of dollars, and when someone that rich says he’s in debt to you, you have to wonder.”

I giggled. “I have to admit, for a split second, I thought about an amount equal to what it would take to fix this place up.”

“And you jabbed me in the side with your bony elbow when you were thinking the same thing.” Cat laughed. “So now let’s get back to sleuthing.”

“Remember, José said leave it alone. Let the police handle it,” I said.

“We’re so close; we just need to catch Joseph with the files,” Cat said. “You and I can do this. It will be easy. Trust me.”

“And poof. Handcuffs appear out of thin air and go on him. Then instantaneously he’s behind bars, right?” I snapped my fingers.

“It could happen that way.”

“How did we get into such a pickle?”

“A guy died in your house after eating tainted muffins, your muffins. So, Bezu, whether you like it or not, you are involved.”

My gut sank. “Cat, what’s going to happen when the police get a hold of the report about the poison in the food—my food?”

Cat draped an arm around me. “We have to take control of this and hand over the real killer before the police take you in.”

“Even though I don’t want to butt up against José’s wishes, I think you’re right. We need to be proactive.” I clenched and unclenched my hands.

“Relax, I’m going to be with you the whole way,” Cat said.

“When Hattie would face a fear she needed to conquer, she’d say ‘Damn the consequences, it’s time to throw caution to the wind.’ Maybe this is what I need to do, too.”

“Great.”

“So, expert sleuth, what next?” I asked.

Cat said, “We need to find Joseph. He has to be the killer.”

“Where do we begin?”

“Luiz told us that he gave Joseph a few days off of work. We need to find him. But where do we start?”

“When he came here yesterday demanding money from Mr. Phong, he sat on the front porch and dropped some receipts,” I said.

Cat twisted the ring on her thumb. “So he’s a litterbug. How’s that helping?”

“One was from Sanders Tavern and one was from the oriental food market off Whitaker.”

Cat’s face lit up with a huge smile as she embraced me. “That’s the clue we need.”

“How so?” I asked. “He bought some food, and he drinks, so what’s the big deal with that?”

Cat grabbed my shoulders. “Don’t you see? This all makes sense now.”

“What does? Are you talking about the receipts?” I asked.

“Not the oriental market one but the other one from Sanders Tavern.”

“Oh?”

“Sanders Tavern is known to have a high-stakes poker game in their back room. Very confidential and by invite only.”

“Okay, now you are worrying me. How do you know about this?” I smiled.

“José.” Cat held a finger up. “That’s how.”

“That’s where he plays poker?”

“Yes.”

“I guess I didn’t catch the details.”

“Here’s what I think. Joseph has a gambling problem and is over his head in debt to someone. He needs money to pay them back. That’s why he’s stealing secrets and selling them. And that’s why he needed the money back from Mr. Phong, enough to kill him.”

I wanted to share her enthusiasm, but I had my doubts. “That is quite a stretch. I’m sure that people get tangled up in money issues and don’t resort to being a murderer.”

“I know, but what if Joseph got threatened by someone from a mob, and they wanted payback?” Cat rubbed her eyes.

“‘Revenge is a dish which tastes best when served cold.’”

“Say what?”

“When I heard you say mob, it reminded me of a line from The Godfather. Anyway, if Joseph was caught up with someone ruthless, like in the Mafia, then he could be in huge trouble. Enough that he’d do anything to get out of it,” I said, although I thought that this speculation sounded no more productive than a dog chasing its tail.

Cat said, “Now you’re on the right track. Let’s go find him.”

“If that’s what you think we should do, then I will go with you.” My phone rang. I held up a finger for Cat to hold on a second, and then I pulled it from my purse and answered.

“Miss Bezu, this is Lily, and I am so very sorry to bother you.”

“Hi, Lily, what can I do for you?”

“I ran out today, and I think I left my flat iron on. I feel so bad. It has an automatic shut off and all, but it hasn’t been working very well. I don’t want to burn down your house. I left it on the sink in my bathroom,” Lily said.

I asked her, “Would you like me to unplug it?”

“Yes, that would be great. Please don’t mind the mess. I didn’t have a chance to clean up, either,” Lily said.

“Don’t worry about anything. I’ll be glad to turn it off. You have a good day.” I clicked off.

“Is everything okay?” Cat asked.

I put my phone in my purse. “I just need to go upstairs and turn off Lily’s flat iron. You’re welcome to join me.”

A few moments later, with Cat beside me, I unlocked Lily and Frank’s bedroom door.

Upon entering the room, I noticed a pile of clothes in the corner, but also a plate on the dresser. The same floral china I put out every morning with the muffins. My stomach twisted as I walked over to get a better look at it. Picking up the plate, I saw crumbs from my muffins. I called over to Cat, my voice shaking, “I hope Lily and Frank didn’t eat any of the tainted muffins.”

“If they did, they would be sick by now or worse, right?”

I loudly exhaled as though my breath had been caught in my chest. “I guess you’re right. Maybe this was from an earlier batch.” I set the plate down and strode to the bathroom. On the marble sink was the flat iron. It was still warm. I pulled the plug from the wall. “I’m glad Lily called and told me that she left this on.”

“Wow, that is one sexy, skimpy outfit.” Cat pointed at a red rhinestone and chiffon negligee that hung from a hanger on the closet door. Under that on the floor were sky-high stilettos. Three more similar outfits were on a chair.

Turning away, I said, “I feel like I’m violating their privacy seeing all of this.”

“She gave you permission to come in here.”

“Yes. But this still bothers me.” I waved my hand at the red outfit. Taped on the wall next to it was a poster announcing a bodybuilding contest with a ten thousand-dollar prize.

“Hey, they’re young. When Andrew and I were newlyweds, I played dress-up for him.” Cat grinned.

“Too much information, Cat.” I held up a hand.

“I’m just saying lighten up.” Cat pointed to a stack of bills. “Whoa. That is a lot of green.”

There were three stacks of bills, each an inch tall. “She said she worked over the bridge. I’m assuming all that is from tips.”

Cat arched an eyebrow. “The only thing over the bridge is a strip club.”

“I know.” I shook my head. “I hoped she was a wait staff somewhere else, like the waffle house down the street or the hotel. I’m not sure that they wear outfits that revealing, but who knows?”

Cat waved a hand. “No server that I know dresses like that. I think she may be working the stage.”

I sighed. “She’s such a sweet girl to be a stripper. I wish she did something else to make money.”

“It doesn’t mean she’s a bad person. People do what they have to do.” Cat peered out the window above the dresser.

“Thinking of all of those creepy men who go to those places staring at Lily, it just tears me apart.” My stomach sank as though a bowling ball were lodged in it. “Maybe if she had a better job, then she wouldn’t have to do that.” Then I remembered that Luiz had said that he wanted to hire more staff at his company. Perhaps I could get him to hire Lily.

“Good news.” Cat picked up a large black T-shirt and held it up. On the front, in bold white letters, was Bare Assets Club Bouncer. “Looks like her boyfriend works there, too.”

“How is that positive?”

Cat turned her palms up. “I’m sure he looks out for her, right?”

“I would certainly hope so.” I strode to the door. “Let’s get out of here.”

Cat followed me. “Good point. We need to get going and find Joseph.”

Locking the door, I said to Cat, “That was emotional, seeing what I saw in there. She’s like a daughter to me.” My heart sank as I pictured Lily in the strip club.

Cat placed her hand on my back as we moved down the hallway. We stopped at the top of the stairs. Cat faced me. “But she’s not your daughter. She’s a woman making her own decisions. And she seems like a smart girl, too. So trust her.”

We took the stairs. “I don’t know how you do it. Having four kids to fret about. I’d be near the grave if I were in your shoes.”

Cat opened the front door. “I’m taking one day at a time, hoping that I build a strong foundation for them that will help them make good choices. That’s all I can do. That and love them a lot.”

A few minutes later, we were driving down Victory Drive. The inside of Cat’s SUV smelled like bubble gum and coffee. Cat flicked her turn signal. “So I say we head to Sanders Tavern. I think it’s near Sunshine Market.”

“It’s a little farther past your store on Bull Street.”

“Have you been there?”

“Not me. But I know about it. On the first Friday of the month, my father had a standing meeting with a group of his friends. They had what they called their monthly burger, beer, and bull session.” I smiled as I thought of my father.

“That sounds like it was fun.” Cat merged into the right lane.

I nodded. “So what are we going to say when we get there? And what do we do if Joseph is not there?”

“Slow down there, Bezu. We’ll wing it. That’s what we will do. These things seem to work out somehow. Annie Mae and I lucked out finding Lucy’s killer.”

“From what you all told me, you also nearly got yourself killed, burned up in a dumpster, and arrested.” I frowned, thinking of my friends placing themselves in danger.

Cat smiled. “It worked.”

“Let’s just make sure you and I stay safe, okay?”

She shrugged. “No promises.”

***

We entered the dark, smoky tavern. “Folsom Prison Blues” played on the jukebox. Both Hattie and I loved Johnny Cash and listened to his music ceaselessly. I could recognize any of his songs in one beat. Humming along, I followed Cat as we wove our way around some tables and chairs.

A lone man sat at the bar; other than that, Sanders Tavern looked pretty empty.

The bartender, who had colorful tattoos adorning his arms and neck, asked us, “You girls want a beer?”

“Not me,” Cat said.

After what had been going on in my life, a little fortification wouldn’t hurt. “Do you have Baileys and coffee?”

Cat cocked her head as she looked at me.

“What? I need a little strength.” Taking out my credit card, I placed it on the bar. After completing the transaction and having the first jolt from my drink, we walked around. “What are we looking for?”

“You sure are a lightweight. One drink and you forgot that we’re looking for Joseph.” Cat grinned.

“That’s why I have you as a friend. You keep me from going off chasing butterflies when I should be picking vegetables.”

“I’m assuming that’s what happened in your childhood, right?”

“Yes.” My heart warmed for a moment as I recalled our family’s backyard garden. Hattie would send me out to pick vegetables for dinner and I would come back empty-handed. Instead, I would regale her with a story of a butterfly that I had seen.

We approached the back of the bar. There were three closed doors. One of the doors was marked men, the other, ladies. One was unmarked.