Silence of the Lamps (4 page)

She studied the model at the top of the stairs. Her dress was a strapless concoction of tulle, froth, and glass beads that made the whole gown shimmer. It was beautiful. Still—“That’s not me,” Caprice said with certainty.

Bella cut her a sideways glance. “It’s gorgeous.”

“Maybe, but I don’t want Cinderella. I want retro-elegance.”

Bella rolled her eyes, something she did quite often. “Are you going to search for a vintage wedding gown?”

“When the time comes, I might.”

“The time is now, dear sister, especially if you’re going to hunt down one of those.”

It could be fun checking online websites for vintage wedding gowns. Not that she had a lot of spare time to do it. Nevertheless . . . Searching for a vintage wedding gown might help embrace the future.

Wasn’t she ready to dream again?

* * *

Carrying bags from her stop at Grocery Fresh after she’d left the expo, Caprice let herself into her house and was immediately struck by the silence. Quite a difference from the music and constant background hum of voices at the expo or the Sunday shoppers at the grocery store. Silence could be good or it could be bad. Where were Uncle Dom and the fur babies?

Hanging her purse on the antique oak mirrored stand in her foyer, she looked for signs of the cats and Lady in the living room and the dining room. Had something gone terribly wrong and Dom had to cage everyone and take them to the vet?

In the kitchen, she set her bags on the counter and spied Mirabelle and Sophia in one of their rare moments of close proximity. Mirabelle sat on the counter at one corner of the window over the sink while Sophia sat at the other. They were both staring outside.

Caprice suspected they were watching more than a stray ladybug. They didn’t seem mindful of her at all as she came up behind them. She touched them both at the same time, not wanting to play favorites. Mirabelle meowed loudly and then directed her focus back out the window. Sophia butted her head against Caprice’s hand but didn’t move away from whatever was out there.

“I guess I’d better look too,” Caprice capitulated. She laughed when she saw Uncle Dom rolling around on the ground with Lady. They seemed to be tussling over a toy that Lady used to play fetch.

“I’ll be back in,” she told her two felines. “As soon as I round up Uncle Dom and Lady.”

She opened the back door and the screen and stepped out onto the porch. One side led into her garage. Another side was decorated with wrought-iron railing. The third side led down two steps into her backyard. She hopped down the steps and went to stand by her uncle.

He looked up, his face wreathed in a grin. “Lady’s giving me a workout.”

“Or you’re giving her one.”

Uncle Dom got to his feet and tossed the toy about ten feet away. Lady scampered to it, picked it up in her mouth, and shook it back and forth several times.

Dom waved his hand at her. “You can play with it. Bring it in when you’re ready.”

He walked to the porch with Caprice. Instead of going up the steps and sitting on the fifties-style, robin-egg-blue glider, he sank down onto one of the steps. “I think I’m going to like this.”

“
This
, meaning pet sitting? You’ve made a decision?”

“I have. One of your mom’s friends, another teacher, hired me to pet-sit her Lab and two cats for a week starting tonight. I’m going to house-sit too. That way I’ll be out of your parents’ hair. I know living there is a real imposition. My background check is being completed to become bonded, and I’m making inquiries into the insurance. If this pet-sitting experience goes well and she gives me recommendations, I’ll be able to move into my own place. We’re heading into vacation time, so more work will be coming. I’ve been doing bookwork on the side for a couple of small businesses, and I’ve stowed that money away. I’m sure your mom and dad will be happy about it.”

“But they’ll miss you too. I know they will. You’re going to stay in Kismet?”

“Yes, I think I’d like to. When I was a kid, I used to complain like everyone else that there was nothing to do here. But now that I’m an adult, I can see the possibilities. There are plays at Hershey Theater, at the Fulton in Lancaster too. Baltimore and D.C. aren’t that far away for concerts.”

“Don’t forget the Giant Center in Hershey. Ace Richland’s going to play there soon.” Caprice had staged a house that Ace, a rock star legend, had purchased. Since then, they’d become friends.

Like a whirlwind, Lady came bounding over to Uncle Dom, dropping the toy at his feet. Then she turned to Caprice, circling her legs, pushing against her, wagging her tail.

“She certainly seems happy enough. And I can’t believe the cats are sitting together at the window.”

“I brought a secret along. A woman at the farmers market in York makes catnip pouches. I brought one for each of them. They played with them for about a half hour, and they weren’t that far apart then. So maybe catnip promotes peace.”

Caprice laughed out loud at that thought. She was about to ask her Uncle Dom if he’d like a glass of iced tea when the phone in her pocket played “Let It Be.” She was surprised to see the caller was Nikki.

Uncle Dom said, “Go ahead and take it. I made a pot of coffee. I’ll have another cup.”

Caprice answered her phone. “Hey, Nik. Did something happen while you were wrapping up?”

“No, I just had more time to think. The hairs on the back of my neck are tingling, and I think my blood pressure’s up. I want to confront Drew.”

“About the white horseradish beef?”

“About everything. He’s not going to get away with this, Caprice. Using my recipe, stealing my clients. He needs to know I won’t put up with it.”

“When are you going to do it?”

“Well, that’s the thing. I want to be reasonable and civil. Will you go with me?”

“When?”

“Now. I want to get this over with. Can you meet me at Drew’s grandmother’s house?”

“How do you know he’s there?”

“When I was closing down my stand and carrying things to my van, I overheard him say he was meeting someone.”

“And you want to just barge right in?”

“Yes, I do. I want to take him by surprise. I want to catch him off guard.”

“I need some time to thank Uncle Dom properly, put groceries away, and make sure Lady and Mirabelle and Sophia are happy to curl up for the evening. If I feed them before I leave, they should be ready to do that.”

“Maybe Uncle Dom can stay.”

“He’s starting to pet-sit tonight for a friend of Mom’s. I think he’s really going to like the pet-sitting profession.”

“So how long do you need?” Nikki asked.

“An hour and a half should do it. I’ll meet you at Rowena Pierson’s house at seven-thirty.”

Caprice disconnected and went inside. There she thanked her uncle. When he wouldn’t accept payment for his stay with her pets, she insisted he take along slices of the chocolate-coffee loaf that she’d baked that morning.

After he left, she stowed away her groceries, played with Lady for a while, and made sure the cats got affection too. Then she went to change clothes. If she was going to help Nikki confront Drew, she wanted to be comfortable doing it. She changed into shorts and a tie-dyed T-shirt. Her platform sandals were retro all the way. After she fed her furry crew and cleaned up a bit, her watch said seven-fifteen. Time to hit the road.

She left Lady with a ball that dispensed kibble for treats, picked up her fringed purse, and headed for her yellow Camaro. The car had been in an accident recently, but thanks to Don Rodriguez’s body shop, it was as good as new. It varoomed nicely as she started it up, backed out of her driveway, and headed for an older section of town.

On her way, she drove through downtown Kismet with its sand-blasted brick buildings with white window frames and black shutters, heading for a neighborhood on the south side of town. She drove up the tree-lined street, knowing she liked the older neighborhoods better with their maples and elms, poplars and birches, myrtle and ivy. She spotted Nikki’s blue car parked in front of a two-story brick home set back from the street about twenty feet. She pulled up behind Nikki’s car and exited her Camero, meeting her sister at the curb.

“There’s Drew’s van,” she said, nodding to the driveway. It was large and white with Drew’s Portable Edibles logo painted on the side.

“Do you know why Drew lives with his grandmother?” she asked Nikki.

“When we were on talking terms, he told me he moved in with her because she was having more trouble getting around and seeing properly.”

“That was nice of him.”

“
If
that was the real reason he wanted to live here,” Nikki added. “From what he said, I think he spent some of his childhood here.”

As they walked up the cement block path, Caprice said, “So you two really got to know each other.”

Nikki hesitated. “Some, before I realized—”

Caprice stopped her sister by grabbing her arm. “Did he only make a pass?”

Nikki hesitated, then sighed. “Let’s just say it was a very strong pass, and I had to knee him where it hurt to get him to back off.”

“Nikki! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I took care of it. At least I thought I did. But I think this rivalry between us is all about that.”

They walked up the rest of the path in silence and mounted the three porch steps sandwiched between mature arborvitae. On the porch, they stared at each other. The screen door was a wooden one. The door inside was open.

They both stepped up to the door rang. It was shadowy inside.

Nikki called, “Drew? Mrs. Pierson?”

There wasn’t an answer.

“Is his grandmother hard of hearing?” Caprice inquired.

“I don’t know.”

“The door is open. Just step over the threshold and call inside.”

Since Nikki wanted to get this over with as much as Caprice, she opened the screen door and did what Caprice suggested. But a moment later, she gasped, let out a yelp, and backed out quickly.

“What?”

“Drew’s on the floor. There’s blood all around his head.”

Caprice didn’t hesitate. She stepped inside and saw for herself what Nikki had seen.

“Call nine-one-one,” she told Nikki. “I’ll see if he has a pulse.”

But from the blood pooling on the floor around his head and the flat look in his wide-open eyes, Caprice was fairly sure that Drew Pierson was dead.

Chapter Four

Caprice wrapped her arm around Nikki and felt her sister tremble. A patrol car had arrived, and so had the paramedics.

“What happened in there?” Nikki asked Caprice, not for the first time.

“I don’t know, Nik,” Caprice answered honestly. She tried to remember the details she’d absorbed by standing in the room for a few minutes.

A Tiffany-style lampshade sat on a side table with the base nowhere in sight. A tall Tiffany-style floor lamp had obviously been knocked over and lay on the carpet near the sofa. Miraculously it hadn’t broken. Whether they were true Tiffany lamps only an expert could determine. But if they were . . . Caprice remembered some auction figures on Tiffany lamps from her design courses. Besides the possible worth of the lamps, she had noticed another thing. There had been a slip of paper sticking out from the base of the floor lamp. She knew better than to handle anything that could be considered evidence, or else she would have examined it. As it was, that piece of paper was part of the crime scene and she knew she shouldn’t touch it.

There had been one other important detail. The outside back door in the kitchen had stood open. She wished she could record all of this on her electronic tablet, but she’d left that at home. If she concentrated on those details, maybe she could forget about seeing Drew’s body. Maybe she could forget about the blood.

Yet she knew that might be impossible, because she’d witnessed crime scenes before.

“When I called Vince, he said he’d be here right away,” Nikki murmured.

Caprice patted her back. “That was only a few minutes ago. Grant said the same thing.” Caprice knew what was going to happen next, and they both would want a lawyer by their sides.

Ten minutes later, she was proven right. Detectives Carstead and Jones drove up in the same sedan, an unmarked vehicle.

“The patrol officer should have separated you,” Jones snapped as he passed them and nodded to one of the officers to do just that.

Caprice watched Carstead and Jones as they pulled on booties, filled in the police log, and went inside. Five minutes later, they were back out.

Caprice was at the curb with a patrol officer at one end of the property, and Nikki was with another officer at the other end . . . outside the crime scene tape.

Detective Carstead approached Caprice, and Jones went toward Nikki. Caprice wished it was the other way around. Nikki was shaky, and Caprice didn’t want her to say something to the hard-core detective that could be misinterpreted.

Carstead just arched his brow at Caprice as if asking why she was at another crime scene. But he didn’t vocalize the question, at least not that one. Rather he inquired, “Are you ready to tell me what you saw?”

“I’ll tell you whatever I can,” she assured him.

“Did you touch anything inside?”

“No. Just the door when I went in after Nikki.”

“So she went in first?”

“She did.”

Just then a gray SUV pulled up in back of the patrol car and parked. Caprice told the detective, “I called Grant Weatherford.”

Again Carstead arched a brow. “Well, of course you did. You’re getting to be an expert at this, aren’t you?”

She didn’t answer. She knew better than to say too much. That had been drummed into her by her brother
and
Grant time and time again. Being helpful was one thing. Being too chatty was another.

Grant made a beeline for Caprice, took her hand, and squeezed it.

Carstead gave Grant a nod, noticing. “Can we go on?” he asked Caprice.

“Sure. Ask away.”

“How did you know Drew Pierson?”

“He was a chef and worked with Nikki for a while.”

Carstead made notes in his pocket-sized spiral-bound book. “For a while? Were they working together now?”

“No.”

“Just no? Was there a reason?”

Caprice thought carefully about what she wanted to say, and then decided to give him a little bit of information. After all, Nikki did have a connection to Drew.

“For a while Nikki thought she and Drew might go into a partnership with her catering business. But then Drew decided to go out on his own, and Nikki decided she might want to partner with someone else.”

The detective made notes. “Were you friends with Pierson?”

“No.”

He eyed her carefully. “When did you last see him?”

“I saw him this afternoon.”

The detective said, “I thought you said you weren’t friends.”

“We aren’t . . . weren’t. There was a wedding expo in Kismet, and he had a booth. So did Nikki.”

“And why did you come here tonight?”

“I came along with Nikki to discuss business.”

“Your sister’s business?”

“Yes.”

“And you just came along for support?”

This detective seemed to know her a little too well, but maybe that was because he’d done background checks on her, including looking into her family. After all, Bella and Joe had been involved in a murder investigation. So had Caprice’s friend Roz. And then there had been Ace’s situation . . .

“I did come along to support her.”

Grant gave her arm a little squeeze, maybe because he didn’t want her to say more.

Carstead saw the signal and sighed. “You can go for now, but you’re going to have to come down to the station tomorrow for more questions and to give your statement.”

Caprice noticed that Vince had arrived and was standing beside Nikki. She was glad he was there . . . glad he could protect her.

“I want to stay and wait until Detective Jones is finished questioning Nikki.”

“I know if I tell you you can’t, you’re just going to give me an argument, and then your lawyer friend here is going to weigh in on it too. As long as you stay on the public side of the tape, you can wait.”

As Carstead moved away, a snazzy red sedan zoomed down the street, pulled up at the driveway, and parked right across it.

Vince and Nikki came over to join Caprice and Grant.

“How did it go?” Vince asked Caprice.

“All right. I have to go down to the station tomorrow and give my statement.”

“So does Nikki. But I have a feeling Jones is going to put the screws to her. He’s got a chip on his shoulder that I’d like to knock off. But I know better.”

Caprice could see that Grant was ready to take her home and get her away from yet another crime scene when two women emerged from the sporty red sedan and Detectives Carstead and Jones immediately went to them.

“The woman with the cane is Drew’s grandmother,” Nikki told Caprice. “He had her photo on his phone. I saw it when she called him. I’ve seen her at church too.”

“And I know Kiki Hasselhoff, the woman with her,” Caprice said. “I often stop in at her bookstore for the latest crime novel.” She also knew Kiki from Chamber of Commerce meetings.

Caprice could see Rowena Pierson was in tears now. She’d taken a handkerchief from her purse and was dabbing her eyes. Kiki had her arm around her friend’s shoulders.

“Detective Jones isn’t going to let them inside,” Grant said.

“Maybe we should stay until after the detectives talk to them,” Nikki offered. “Drew’s grandmother might need something.”

“But you shouldn’t be the person who offers to give it,” Vince warned her.

“Don’t be silly, Vince,” Nikki scolded. “Nana and Mom know Mrs. Pierson from church. Both would want us to help her if we can. Imagine how devastated she is.”

They all thought about that.

“Wait until Carstead and Jones are finished talking to them,” Grant counseled. “If Drew’s grandmother and her friend don’t leave, you can approach them then.”

Fifteen minutes later, Rowena Pierson looked wrung out and shaky as Detectives Carstead and Jones went inside the house to the crime scene once more.

Nikki nudged Caprice. “Let’s talk to her.”

Vince advised, “Maybe you shouldn’t, Nikki. Just let Caprice go.”

Nikki looked defiant. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m going to tell this woman that I’m sorry her grandson is dead. If the police don’t like it, they can arrest me for being compassionate.”

With that, she started toward the two women. Caprice just gave her brother an I’ll-watch-over-her-look and followed her.

Nikki approached Kiki and Rowena slowly. Caprice could see that Kiki recognized them both.

When they stopped beside the two women, Kiki said to Caprice, “You must be the person who found Drew.”

“My sister did,” Caprice responded.

Nikki introduced herself to Rowena. “Mrs. Pierson, I’m Nikki De Luca. Drew and I worked together at one time. I’m so sorry for what’s happened here.”

“You found him?” Rowena asked. “They won’t let me see him. That detective asked if I had a photo, and I did in my wallet. But they won’t let me go in.”

Caprice gently touched the older woman’s arm. “You don’t want to see Drew like that. You don’t want to remember him that way.”

“He was like a son to me.” Tears dripped from Rowena’s eyes. “I raised both Drew and his sister, Jeanie, you know.” Rowena went on, “Drew and Jeanie came to me when they were just little ones after their parents died in a small plane crash. Drew was ten and Jeanie was eight. Oh my gosh—Jeanie. I need to call her.”

Kiki stayed Rowena’s hand as the woman rummaged in her purse. “Give yourself a little time to absorb what’s happened. The detective said he’d notify Jeanie.”

“Did he?” Rowena asked, looking a little lost. “I don’t remember that.”

Caprice knew that devastating news was enough of a shock to make a person forget her name. She said, “We don’t want to keep you. We just wanted to give you our condolences. Do you have someplace you can stay? I imagine the forensics unit will have the house tied up at least through tomorrow.”

After studying Caprice, Kiki remembered, “You’ve been through this before.” Apparently Kiki remembered the articles about Caprice in the
Kismet Crier
when a reporter had interviewed her in conjunction with murders she’d solved.

“A few times,” Caprice responded.

“Rowena’s going to stay with me,” Kiki revealed. “For as long as she needs to.” She shook her head.

“I just can’t believe that two hours ago we were sitting at the American Music Theater enjoying a production.”

Rowena said, “I can’t see too well. I have to have that cataract surgery I’ve been putting off. But I can hear just fine. The music was lovely. I expected to come home and hear how Drew’s day had gone—”

Kiki opened the passenger side of the vehicle. “The detective said we can go. Let me take you to my place. Then you can call Jeanie and maybe she’ll come over for a while.”

After Caprice and Nikki gave their condolences again and said their good-byes, they returned to Grant’s SUV. There was more hubbub around the house than before because the crime scene unit had arrived. Now the evidence gathering would begin in earnest.

Vince was still standing at Grant’s vehicle too. He asked, “How is she?”

“She’s devastated,” Caprice answered. “It seems she was more like a mom to Drew than a grandmother.”

Vince nodded toward the house. “Carstead was on the porch watching you two. If your conversation had gone on too long, he might have broken it up. As it was, I think he realized you were just giving your condolences. I want to talk to you and Nikki about what you saw and heard. Let’s go back to your place,” he said to Caprice.

“Since your car and Nikki’s will be impounded, why don’t you go with Vince and Nikki,” Grant suggested. “I’ll pick up Patches and meet you back at your house.”

They heard the front door of Rowena’s house open and shut as techs went inside. Carstead was still on the front porch watching them.

“I think he likes you,” Grant muttered to Caprice.

She was totally surprised by that remark. “Why do you think that?”

“I’ve seen him question witnesses before. He’s always respectful, not like Jones who can be sharp. But Brett was almost kind with you.”

“We’ve crossed paths several times before. He knows I wouldn’t kill anyone.”

“Maybe,” Grant said thoughtfully.

In spite of the situation, Caprice’s heart turned just a little bit lighter. She asked, “Do you mind if Detective Carstead likes me?”

Grant took a long moment to answer, and then he said, “Yeah, I mind.”

Caprice liked the idea that Grant could be just a little bit jealous. But she didn’t want him to worry that she had eyes for another man. So she rose on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll see you and Patches in a little while. I’ll make lemonade.”

After Grant gave her a hug, she joined Nikki and Vince. The four of them were going to have a lot to talk about.

* * *

By the time Grant and Patches arrived at Caprice’s house, she had served Nikki and Vince tall glasses of lemonade and had set some out for herself and Grant. With golden eyes, Mirabelle watched them from her perch on the lowest shelf of the cat tree. Sophia was stretched out on the fireplace hearth, just looking pretty. Lady ran to the door to greet Patches when Grant came in. It wasn’t long until they were all sitting around the coffee table, sipping lemonade, and eating slices of chocolate-coffee loaf.

Vince gobbled up half a slice and then shook his head. “I don’t know how you always get involved.”

“I’m not involved,” Caprice protested. “Nikki is. She’s the one who knew Drew.”

“Not really,” her sister disagreed with a little sigh. “I mean, I knew his work history. I knew where he’d studied and where he’d cooked before coming back home. But I never knew his grandmother raised him. I thought he just lived with her to help out. In fact, that was one of the things I admired about him.”

“
Did
he live there to help out?” Grant asked. “Or had he moved in with his grandmother again because his finances were on the downturn? That wouldn’t be unusual if he lost a job one place and came back here to find another.”