Barbara Graham - Quilted 03 - Murder by Music (27 page)

“Come in and make yourself to home.” He shook hands with everyone before pointing out where he wanted them to stand. He even supplied a bucket for Wade before turning to business. “There's probably already several Internet nuts claiming either responsibility or blaming the extraterrestrials. What say we find out the truth?”

Tony barely nodded before the man launched into his monologue again. The doctor talked non-stop for the rest of the time they were there.

The most important thing they learned was the paper in Elf's throat was a song. She had drawn some music notes and written a fair amount of lyrics on the paper she used when composing. The paper had been folded several times and the creases crimped tightly. The tightly folded paper had been shoved deep into Elf's throat before the wire, a dulcimer string, was wrapped around her throat. She did not die instantly but would have struggled for a while. She suffocated.

Not a good way to die, in Tony's opinion. It was similar to Scarlet's death, but slower.

The sweatshirt and jeans she'd worn were carefully bagged and labeled. “I'm sending these to forensics for you.” Dr. Gould looked cheerful. “There's oil and grime of some nature on the back of the sweatshirt.”

Wade copied the lyrics from the paper before it was whisked into another bag headed for the lab.

Tony, Wade and Doc Nash stared at each other and waited for Dr. Gould to announce his opinion.

“Cause of death is clearly suffocation.” Dr. Gould began signing his forms. “Manner of death is homicide. And I'd say by the same person as killed her sister.” He chuckled. “Of course, that last bit is just my personal opinion.”

Tony wanted to talk with Elf's driver. With Wade by his side, he found the man sitting at a table by the window in Ruby's Café. He stared at the motor home. A half-eaten sandwich was on a plate near, but not in front of, him. It looked like he'd lost his appetite and pushed it away.

Ruby whispered that he'd been in the café all day, in the same pose.

Tony and Wade slid onto the chairs facing the man.

Before either of them could ask a question, the driver looked up, his eyes red, but dry. “What happened to her?” A shudder worked through his whole body.

“Actually, we hoped you might be able to shed a bit of light on what happened last night.” Tony didn't think the driver killed Elf, but thinking something didn't make it so. “You were her escort to the reception but didn't sit with her at the wedding.”

“No.” His eyes flickered away from the motor home and back.

“Because?”

“She wanted to be the center of attention.” He frowned and played with his fork. “As much as I liked her, most of the time, she had these spells of pure crazy. I learned fast not to argue with her then. It was like she became a whole different person.”

“Could you start with your full name?” Wade put his notebook on the table.

“Pericles Antonopoulos.” He spelled it for Wade. “It's Greek.”

Tony managed not to blurt out “No kidding” and concentrated on his questions. “Were you in the church for the wedding?”

“Yes. I sat in the back.”

“How did the two of you get out to the museum for the reception? I didn't see you in the shuttle bus line.” Tony glanced at the motor home parked behind miles of yellow tape. “You don't tow a car.”

“No. We rented a car from the guys at the garage.” Pericles sagged in his chair. “It ran. It was clean. And Elf chewed my ear from one end of this hick town to the other about it. She wanted a limo.”

“Doesn't she have a fleet of cars out at the mansion?” Wade waved his pen in the air. “Including a limo?”

“It
was
weird.” Pericles straightened. “The whole trip was weird. She didn't want to go out there, and usually she can't wait to get into the house and play with the ATVs and drive one of her little sports cars.” He rubbed his forehead. “I thought maybe Scarlet's death scrambled her brains, but the truth is, she was acting weird before.”

“Did you know Scarlet?”

“Oh, yeah. She visited Elf a lot. They was really good friends but acted otherwise when they got within fifty miles of this place.” He shook his head. “I have no idea why or what was going on.”

“How long have you been with her?” Wade said.

“About three years now.” Pericles poked at his sandwich. “Before me was a guy named Gavin.”

Tony decided it was time to get back on track. “So, you drove her back to the motor home from the museum. And then?”

“She said she had to work on a song and I should sleep in my bunk. I have a private space between her living area and the front seats.”

“Was that unusual?” Wade looked up from his notepad.

“No. In fact, it was the most normal thing about this trip. I stretched out on my bunk and watched movies on my DVD player.”

“Did you hear anything? See anything?”

“Nothing but the sound of the movie coming through the headset. I fell asleep with it on.” An expression of horror tightened his face. “I slept through her murder.”

Tony sat in silence thinking about the man's story. He couldn't stop wondering why Elf hadn't wanted to go to her house. As soon as he and Wade were through at the diner, he voted for a drive. He glanced at Pericles. “When did you find her?”

“I cook her breakfast every morning. It's part of my job.” Pericles blew his nose on a napkin. “I let myself in with my key. The door was locked but it's automatic.” He gulped air like a beached fish. “She was . . . was staring at me with those big, dead eyes.”

“Can you think of anything else weird happening recently?”

Pericles stared at the motor home for a long time. “She thought she had an overly interested fan.”

“Like a stalker?” said Wade. “Or an admirer?”

“Stalker, I'd say. She complained about little items missing from the motor home. But it's locked all the time, and I keep my eye on things.” He cleared his throat. “You know really, I think she lost or mislaid things and then blamed it on this mysterious person. This all started when she began working on her life story. It made her nervous.”

“She was writing a memoir.” Tony guessed.

“No, she was telling the story of her life.” Pericles gave Tony the “how dumb can you be” look. “I think she was really dishing the dirt though.”

“How many people knew?”

“I dunno.” Pericles studied his hands. “We didn't talk much about it.”

Tony was almost in the Blazer when Nellie Pearl accosted him.

For as long as he'd known Nellie Pearl, which was nearly thirty years now, she had been in the habit of dressing without paying any attention to the constraints of fashion. It was not unusual to see her wearing jeans and a shabby flannel shirt, even in church. She always wore steel-toed work boots.

He dimly recalled seeing her in a dress—it might have been at his father's funeral. In his memory, the toes of those worn boots peeked out from under the crooked hem on her baggy, overlong dress.

He stared at the apparition before him.

Nellie Pearl stared back. Her expression belligerent, her arms crossed over the layers of plaid flannel covering her chest. Even from this distance, Tony could identify three different shirts worn together. The buttoning was uneven, some pieces of shirt sticking above the collar of the next, and one side of the tails hanging lower. Her jeans were unbuttoned. It looked like this pair was covering another pair. They were zipped.

He found his gaze riveted to her feet. Exposed by the too-short pants, her customary boots were gone. Feet that looked like weathered wood, gray and rough, were stuffed into bubble gum pink high-heeled sandals. A leather daisy drooped against the largest, longest, thickest and most yellow toenail he'd seen in his life.

A wave of nausea took him by surprise.

He called Sheila, begged her to come deal with Nellie Pearl and climbed into the Blazer. He knew he was running away like a weasel and called himself names.

In the passenger seat, Wade made no comment.

Tony glanced at Wade just before he turned into the driveway of Elf's mansion. “We'd better get someone out here to keep uninvited guests out. Surely we can bill the estate.”

Wade radioed dispatch. “Hey, Rex, the sheriff needs someone to watch Elf's mansion.”

Tony nodded his approval. “Thank goodness it's Rex back on duty now instead of Flavio. There's no one better in an emergency or with the press.”

Wade didn't respond. All his attention was on the view. He was staring straight ahead. “Oh, my.”

A half-second later, Tony realized what Wade saw—or rather what he didn't see. “The house is gone?” He stopped the Blazer in the driveway and climbed out. Sure enough, as he walked forward he saw a massive hole where the mansion had been.

“When's the last time anyone was out here?” Wade frowned.

“What did they do with the rubble?” Tony was flabbergasted. The house had been a huge three story juxtaposition of Victorian gingerbread and traditional farm house. “There's not even a board left.”

“The garage and cars are gone.” Wade removed his sunglasses and blinked in the bright sun. “Elf must have known. That's why she stayed in town.”

Tony felt like his head was bouncing on a spring. “Why not tell Pericles?”

“Why tear down a million-dollar house?”

“And who did it?” Tony could think of several contractors, including Gus, who could do the job. “Were they sworn to silence, or did we just not hear about it?”

As if conjured by Tony's question, Gus's big pickup came up the drive and parked behind the Blazer. He had a huge grin on his face. “Quite a hole, isn't it?”

“You did this?” Tony was shocked by Gus's cavalier attitude. He was angry. Gus's expression went from jovial to wary in a heartbeat.

“Don't tell me she changed her mind and called you in.”

“Who?”

“Elf.” Gus looked to Wade as if searching for answers. “Who else?”

And then Tony realized his brother had no idea Elf was dead. Had they managed to keep her murder from the media? “You listen to the radio today?”

Gus shook his head. “Book on CD.”

“Elf's dead.”

“No way.” Gus held his hands up.

“Oh, put your hands down. I know you didn't do it.” Tony gestured to the site of the former home. “What's this all about?”

“Elf decided to level the house and give the acreage, with a check, to the newlyweds. She hired me to do the demolition.”

Wade stared down the driveway. “Does Patrick know?”

“About the house or his mother?”

“Mother.”

Tony nodded. “Only by chance, I happened to know where the couple is spending their weekend honeymoon. I called the sheriff over there and asked him to relay the news.”

“Doesn't seem like a good weekend for honeymoons. First Mike and Ruby didn't get one, and now Patrick and Celeste are probably on their way back from theirs.” Wade continued, “At least Grace and I got an entire day together.”

Gus said, “I guess I'll go home. I just came by to make sure we got everything cleaned up.”

Tony looked at Wade. “Let's go talk to the out-of-town relatives before they escape. Call Rex back and cancel the guards. No one's stealing a hole.”

They found the MacLeods and Durands eating a leisurely brunch together at the River View Motel. Four smiling faces looked up when Tony and Wade walked in. “Join us?”

Tony hoped a bit of coffee would snap his brain into high gear. A waitress wearing a cat costume came to take his order and reminded him it was Halloween. The prospects for a good night's sleep vanished. “Better make it strong.”

He told the two couples the news about Elf and then excused himself from the table and called Theo.

“You've reached the insane asylum.” Theo's voice sounded chirpy but not happy.

“Theo, honey.”

“Oh, no. Any time you start a call with ‘Theo, honey,’ it's a disaster. I don't have time for this.”

The sound of myriad women talking in the background made him groan. “I guess your customers heard the news about Elf?”

“You're a bad man. Why didn't you tell me why you wanted me at the shop? You said she was dead, not that she was murdered, I thought she'd been in an accident. I could have used a bit of warning,” Theo hissed. “I was blindsided by about twenty customers this morning. Each one them had a different story to tell, but I gather the main fact is accurate. Elf really was murdered?”

“Yes. There's no way her death could have been accidental.”

“One of my ladies claims there is a curse on the Flowers women,” Theo fumed. “And I'm standing there, er sitting, with my mouth open because I didn't know anything about it.”

Tony thought a little change of subject might help settle her down. “Today's Halloween.”

“What?” Theo caught up with him. “Oh, no. I'd almost forgotten. We were working on the cookies when you sent us into the madhouse.”

“I doubt I'll be home to take the boys trick or treating. They won't want to stay home, and I don't want you wheeling around in the dark either.”

“I have to say, neither of those sounds very pleasant to me either.”

“Maybe Nina will take them with her merry band.”

Tony heard Theo sigh.

“I'll call later.” He hung up and returned to the parents, who were now discussing Elf in hushed tones.

“I seem to have lost my appetite.” Mrs. MacLeod placed her napkin on the table. “I didn't always get along with Elf, but I never stopped thanking her for Patrick. He is a wonderful son.”

“She put on quite a display of temper last night.” Mr. MacLeod reached for his wife's hand. “Frankly, I was surprised. When we talked a couple of weeks ago, she was all sweetness and light, and she said if she was able to attend, she would just sit back and enjoy the party.”

Mrs. MacLeod nodded. “I think that's why we were so irritated. She promised one thing, and the next thing we know Elf's dancing down the aisle in that red cocktail dress at the rehearsal. Her behavior was terrible.”

“Not to mention wearing black to the wedding,” Tony added. “Her dress was not the usual wedding attire.”

“I thought Celeste and Patrick handled it very well.” Mrs. Durand jumped into the conversation. “I'd say she looked like she'd just come from singing in a bar. We met her for the first time at the rehearsal.” Her expression conveyed a combination of displeasure and unwillingness to speak ill of the dead.