Organized for Murder (18 page)

"Demonstrating yet again how you two band together," Valerie cut her off. "I understand. Let's move on. They're likely long gone, like you said." She turned on her heel and headed for the garage, radiating her irritation like an aura.

Replicating turn-of-the-century design, each bay to the three-car garage was side-hinged and latched in the middle. After Valerie heaved the ajar door fully open, the trio took positions at the sides, peering into the cavernous interior. Kate wiped damp palms down her slacks, and shifted a step to better see inside. Automotive tools hung from a pegboard along the back wall, but nothing was labeled to point up anything missing or being readied by some mysterious marauder to strike one or more of the women. A dark blue MG, likely Danny's, was the only car in view, but the vehicle stood on a hydraulic lift, leaving little means for hiding anyone. A couple of large multi-drawer tool chests could have shielded a person from view, but by looking in various windows the women determined no one crouched behind either one.

"So, did someone run in here or not?" Meg asked.

"I'd guess not." Kate's heart pounded in her ears.

Waving at a walk-through door in the east wall, Valerie said, "Or the person shot out that side door and is long gone, hidden by the trees."

"Well, we've already gone this far." Meg took off walking around the building. "I say we check out the rest of the area as best we can."

The backyard resembled a still life in green, although none of the flowers had yet bloomed, a set of filigreed steel furniture and one whimsically-sculptured cupid fountain added interest to the scene. Everyone stayed well away from the forest. The thick glass of the greenhouse, like individual viewfinders to the unique beauty inside, offered a careful scrutiny through the windows. The sudden fall of a rake made the women leap in surprise, then freeze, waiting for a new danger. Nothing else happened. No one was there.

"We must have scared 'em off." Meg picked up the rake. "Or it was nothing more than one of the mansion's doors closing in a draft."

"Don't be ridiculous," Valerie strode ahead. "We heard the back door slam, and it wasn't a draft. It was someone. Someone who wasn't supposed to be here. I'm not saying anyone dangerous, but definitely a person or persons unknown who wanted his or her identity kept that way."

"I'm still for calling the police," Kate mused, as she and Meg followed Valerie back to the parlor. "After all, we picked up the key today, and the lawyer said, except for his own key, we had the only copy."

"Like he has a clue how many keys are in circulation." Valerie sniffed, planting herself in the middle of the sofa, and laying her arms possessively along the back. "I'll bet any number of people has access to this mansion."

Thinking of anyone in particular?
Kate knew her face mirrored the look on Meg's, and that they shared the feeling Sophia could, and would, enter anytime she wanted. Who else might have a similar agenda?

"Good point, Valerie." Meg closed the laptop and shoved it back into the case. "We have nothing to offer the police if we called. We can't even narrow down suspects. After all, the alarm wasn't set when we arrived."

"You're right." Kate retrieved her cell phone. "However, Mr. Walker should be notified, for our own protection."

Valerie jumped up from the sofa. "I need to find a ladies' room. My nerves are too sensitive for this kind of stress."

If she met Meg's eyes, Kate knew they would both burst into laughter. A deep breath later she dialed the attorney's number.

"I think you should leave immediately," Walker said, after his secretary left Kate on hold for more than five minutes. "The slammed door may have been a ruse to get you outside, leaving the intruder to hide inside. I'll send out a security team, but I don't want you to take any chances with safety, Ms. McKenzie."

"I quite agree, Mr. Walker. Security looking around is a good idea, but activating the alarm system already in place is useful as well."

"Generally, the alarm is on," Walker explained. "But knowing your group was coming this afternoon, I went by at lunch and deactivated it. I'm not authorized to release the code to anyone. Insurance you understand."

Kate did understand. Her first job out of high school was interning at one of the nation's largest insurance companies, and she found many of the rules arcane and illogical. Besides, if the intruder was a family member Amelia had likely given out the alarm code herself.

"Have you reset the code following Miss Amelia's death?"

"Not yet. But I'll have the security team take care of it this evening."

The answer did nothing to reassure her Walker was on top of the situation. "When you came by to deactivate the alarm, did you open the back door?"

"No, I entered and exited through the front." The lawyer coughed. "Listen, Ms. McKenzie, in case someone is in the house, I want you to—"

"Don't worry, sir," Kate interrupted. "We're leaving."

"Well, one day down," Valerie remarked, coming in at the end of the conversation. "Even if we haven't gotten anything inventoried, time to close shop for today."

The laptop case hung from Meg's shoulder.

Kate nodded. "Let's clear out and meet back here in the morning, after I get the green light from security."

Valerie scooped up her tiny, faux alligator bag and headed for the door. "Well, if I don't hear anything different in the early a.m., I'll assume I should report at nine."

"Whoa, missy." Meg dropped the bag gently to the floor, and ran after the departing decorator.

"What?"

"We still have to search each other."

"But we didn't get any work done."

"
But
we've all been in the house." Meg walked back into the parlor and scooped up the video camera, the red light signaling it was resolutely recording everything within view. She pointed the lens at the other women. "Katie, you and Valerie search each other then one of you can hold this camera while the other searches me."

"I'm not removing any clothes—" Valerie protested.

"Don't be absurd," Kate snapped. "We're not making an Internet porno flick for crying out loud." She shoved her tote-sized purse into Valerie's grasp and held out a hand until the diminutive reptile bag was released to her.

Nothing out of the ordinary surfaced, as expected, and the tension diminished slightly by the time she finished Meg's search and Valerie turned off the camcorder. Once outside, Kate credited her careful planning for another job success and pulled out her van keys as Valerie's Miata tore down the drive.

"She is more agreeable than I'd expected." Meg slid the side door open. "I think this may work out, despite the odds. She simmers pretty high but never boils over."

"I agree." Kate opened the driver's door, then froze as her eye fell on an item propped in the bucket seat. An African death mask, one she knew normally hung with the collection displayed in the conservatory, sat angled comfortably against the upholstery and stared sightlessly out the windshield.

Kate's hand shot to her chest. "Omigod! Meg, look!"

"Now we know why we were lured to the back of the house," Meg said as she stepped closer.

"Yes, to taunt us with something else that should be in the house." Kate took a cleansing breath and snapped the rubber band on her wrist. She leaned in and used a two-handed grip to extricate the mask from the seat and shoulder belt. All she needed now was to mar some priceless artifact. "At least we can get this returned before Sophia or anyone else can miss it."

Meg took a long look around, her gaze sweeping every direction. "You don't think someone is taking pictures of us with this mask, do you?"

"Stop." Kate used her hip to close the driver side door, and laughed shakily. "I'm the worrier in our group. Your job is to always minimize my reactions. If you turn paranoid now, I'll have to find a new best friend."

Meg hurried up the porch steps to unlock the front door. "You're right. This is where I should have said, 'Don't worry, Katie, even if we do get arrested we can testify in the defense of each other, and share a cell while we await the verdict.'"

"Thanks. I needed that."

Kate and Meg re-hung the mask, then rushed home and scanned the video at super-fast speed. Since the walkie-talkies hadn't squeaked a bit of evidence, they were desperate to spot any sign of the mask thief. Nothing and no one came to light.

"But the conservatory is on the opposite end of the house from the parlor. It would be a fluke if the video caught anyone." Kate sighed.

Meg nodded. "The intruder probably went out the back door with the mask, and headed for the front while we were investigating the back."

"Some sleuths we are."

"One misstep, Batgirl, nothing more."

Kate held up her purse and key ring. "Even more scary, though. These stayed safely in the parlor's video range the entire time."

*

Keith had a rare evening off thanks to the radio station replaying his interview with Wayne Gretzky. Kate would have normally lined up a babysitter for a night out, but circumstances remained far from normal. Instead, she, Keith, Meg, and Gil all sat around the McKenzie kitchen table and discussed the growing seriousness of the situation. Thumps and bangs echoed from upstairs to indicate the kids were taking full advantage of their parents' preoccupation and enjoying the usually forbidden game of indoor dodge ball.

Meg had already filled Gil in on past days' events, and his thick blond hair showed the evidence of having run frustrated fingers through repeatedly. True to their natures, the husbands telegraphed their feelings in open expressions: Keith's showed relaxed interest, while Gil's fair complexion turned stormy.

"I think you need to go to the police," Gil said, tilting his head ceiling-ward as an unusually loud
whomp
reverberated from the upper floor. "Maybe I should go—"

Kate touched the top of his left hand, halting his rise from the chair. "Wait. See if anyone screams." When nothing more than another round of bumps and thumps followed, she finished, "They're obviously okay, and as long as they're focused on the game we can talk out our options."

Keith raised an eyebrow. She knew he probably wondered who this strange blond woman was not racing upstairs to assess the damage, but she ignored the questioning brow and seconded Gil's recommendation. "I agree we should probably take this to the authorities. The mask was too blatant. Almost a dare."

"No, Kate—" Meg began.

"The police may not see things our way," Keith cut in.

Gil shook his head. "Whoever this is, the level of potential threat is escalating."

"But what if setting me up does have something to do with Amelia's murder?" Kate bit her lip.

"You're right. Exactly," Gil said. "One more point for going to the authorities."

"Handing Kate over to the police as a potential thief isn't the answer either." Meg's thin brows made a jagged line above angry eyes. She turned to Kate. "Think hard before you do this, honey. You can't control what conclusions they may draw in order to close a high-profile murder case." She clasped her friend's hand. Kate's fingers felt cold next to Meg's warm ones.

"Right." Keith moved to the back of his wife's chair, and wrapped his arms around her, bending to rest his chin on the top her head. "You've already been interrogated once and cleared, but who knows what may happen if you go in again. The state police are under pressure to find her killer, and you don't want to be accused of concealing evidence in a murder investigation."

She twisted to look up at him. "One more reason to go. If they're aware someone is trying to frame me—"

"They might think you're doing it to yourself to cast suspicion elsewhere," Keith added.

"That's ridiculous, I've been cleared."

"And we want you to stay that way." Meg squeezed her hand. "Don't jeopardize your freedom."

Overwhelmed, Kate looked at Gil, who appeared thoughtful. She asked, "What's your take on this?"

He stared at her a moment, then shrugged. "Actually, I'm beginning to think our spouses make a number of good points." He checked at his watch. "My surveillance guy should be here any minute. Let's find out what help he can offer for your work time in the mansion and get his opinion on everything else."

The doorbell chimed.

Jefferson Meeks was a former all-state tackle, and he looked like he could still pull down a six-pack of halfbacks. His huge left hand dwarfed a leather portfolio, and at Gil's introductions, he used the other to shake all around.

"This guy's the best in the business," Gil said, smiling. "No matter what the situation, if I need to find out anything on anybody, I call Jeff."

The big guy ducked his head modestly, then grinned, his smile bright as moonlight on snow against his dark skin. His voice rumbled. "Gil's one of my biggest fans."

"Well, hopefully we'll all be fans after tonight," Keith said. Once confidentiality assurances were obtained, Keith laid out the situation and addressed everyone's fears.

Meeks's answer was a long whistle. "If anyone needs my help, you ladies do. How 'bout I meet you on-site in the morning around seven and get more cameras set up to monitor who goes where and why?"

"Sounds great," Gil said.

Practical as always, Kate had to ask, "How much will this cost?"

"Doesn't matter." Meg turned to Meeks and said, "You can send the bill to Charles Webster Walker."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

STACKED IN YOUR FAVOR

KATE MCKENZIE, PRES.

Tuesday, April 13th

WORDS TO STAY ON-TRACK:

"Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it's not all mixed up."

— Christopher Robin —

GOAL(S) FOR THE DAY:

1) Meet with Meeks.

2) Get "you-know-what" put back.

3) Go by Mrs. B's and check out kitchen.

4) Attend Amelia's funeral this afternoon.