Black Beans & Vice (26 page)

James led them outside. "Well, just remember who your friends
are when you get that big paycheck from the software company,"
he teased and handed Francis a twenty. "Still, I insist on a token of
thanks. Go get one of Luigi's specialty pizzas."

"That's a deal!" Francis beamed and then turned thoughtful. "I
kind of forgot about that monster check. We should be getting it
any day now, right Scott?" He elbowed his brother, who was staring off into space. "Right Scott?"

The twin placed a hand on his flat stomach. "You had me at
pizza' I'd trade our future LCD monitor for a pineapple and ham
thin crust."

Francis' eyes lit up. "Then let's go get one! We can eat it while
watching Season Five of Battlestar Galactica. Again. G'night, Professor."

James waved at the twins and drove off, wishing that he too
would be dining on something from Luigi's menu that evening.
However, he forgot all about the pizza parlor the moment he
stepped into his house.

"Hello?" he called and waited expectantly. Eliot always raced
into his arms as soon as he heard the front door opening, but no
footsteps sounded in the empty hall.

"Daddy! I'm cooking dinner!" Eliot shouted from the next
room.

Smiling, James walked into the kitchen to find his son dressed
in a fire truck apron and matching chef's hat. He was standing on
a stool, filling a bowl with grated cheese. Jane was setting the table. The moment she set down the last fork and napkin she walked
over and kissed James on the cheek.

"What are we having?" James asked his son, who waved at him
with a spatula.

"Pizzadillas" His little chest puffed out with pride. "Mommy
and I made it up."

James cocked an eyebrow at Jane. "Please elucidate."

Jane gestured at the buffet station she and Eliot had created on
the counter. "Choose your toppings, just like you would at a pizza
parlor, and then Eliot will arrange them on a tortilla. I will cook
each pizzadilla in the skillet and you can create `slices' using the
pizza cutter."

"Wow," James said as he made a big deal over the display. "You
two should have your own food show. You could call it, Vegetarian
Creations."

The Henrys sprinkled cheese, black olives, mushrooms, and
vegetarian sausage onto tortillas. As they ate, Miss Pickles amused
herself by batting a grocery store receipt across the floor.

"That cat loves paper," Jane stated.

Eliot grinned. "Yeah, you should see what she did to the toilet
paper in my bathroom!"

Jane formed her hands into claws. "Shredded the whole thing
until it looked just like this bowl of mozzarella."

Snickers was lying half in the living room and half in the
kitchen. When James asked Jane how the dog had fared that day,
the little schnauzer lifted his head, wagged his tail, and then closed
his eyes again.

"I'm a bit worried about him." Jane cast a concerned glance
at Snickers. "He hasn't eaten much today and he's been moping
about. Do you think he's homesick?"

Eliot stopped chewing in order to listen to his father's answer.
James shot Jane a warning look. "No. He's just a tired doggie."
Later, as he and Jane loaded the dishwasher, he whispered, "Snickers might be sick. Not homesick, but physically ill. Is he drinking
any water?"

Jane turned the dishwasher on and waited for the noise to
overpower their hushed conversation. "He's lapped up a little, but
not much. Also, he hasn't done his doggie business all day. I've
already made an appointment with a vet Gillian recommended.
I'm sure he'll be fine, but I wanted to play it safe" She slid an arm
around James' waist. "How are you doing? After all that's gone on
lately... "

"My supper club is going to meet tomorrow night to help Lucy
with her case. She hasn't got a single lead regarding Tia's murderer.
There's also the matter of our stalker. We're really going to have
to think outside of the box if we want to flush Kenneth out of the
bushes. If this whacko really is Kenneth." He smiled at her. "But all
of these things-even Pop's stroke- are much easier to bear with
you and Eliot under this roof. You two chase away the shadows."

Jane squeezed him tightly and then backed away, snapping at
his legs with the damp dishrag. "I'll finish in here. You go read to
Iron Chef Junior. He's picked out Green Eggs and Ham but I've
been instructed to tell you that `ham' should be replaced by the
words `yam' or `jam."'

"Green eggs and jam?" James grimaced. "Dr. Seuss is going
vegetarian? Somebody had better warn the Grinch." He lowered his voice until it sounded like a radio announcer's. "This Christmas, he shall carve the roast beets!"

Groaning, Jane aimed the dishtowel a little higher and shooed
him from the room.

Lindy was in such high spirits over Alma's fascination with Luigi
that she offered to make bean and cheese enchiladas for the supper
club's gathering the following evening.

She entered Lucy's house humming a lively tune, her cafe an
lait skin flushed with good humor. Popping the casserole dish containing the enchiladas in Lucy's oven, she performed a little twirl
in the center of the floor, holding her flouncing black skirt out and
clacking an imaginary pair of castanets.

"Alma's in love. Alma's in love," she sang.

"You hired a Flamenco dancer for us, Lucy?" Bennett joked as
he uncapped five bottles of cold beer.

"Better open the whole six-pack," Lucy instructed. "Sullie's
coming over."

Bennett paused, the opener hovering over the last bottle. "For
our meeting?"

James and Gillian exchanged glances. It had always been just
the five of them. Lindy had never thought to include Luis or James,
Jane. This was their time to celebrate their friendship and to help
one another solve personal problems as well as tackle eating issues.
They were the Flab Five. The number five was sacred.

"It's his case," Lucy replied firmly. "And he knows how well we
work as a team." The set of her jaw relaxed and she elbowed Bennett. "I know the newspapers give me all the credit, but I've told Sullie about every case we've cracked as a team. He'll just sit back
and listen. You'll never know he's here."

Lucy's statement turned out to be false, because Sullie was a
social creature. He small-talked with Gillian about her businesses,
sympathized with Bennett over the subject of junk mail, told
James he needed to come in to get a library card, and went out
of his way to praise Lindy on her enchiladas-and James couldn't
agree with the hunky deputy more.

"Have you transformed into a vegetarian too?" Gillian asked
him, her face alight with pleasure.

James tried to ignore the thought that his friend resembled a
bowl of tropical fruit with her papaya-colored hair, banana-hued
blouse, and lime green skirt. She accessorized her vibrant ensemble with a pink belt and matching sandals. "I haven't officially converted," he said and carried his plate to the sink. "But I've really
enjoyed the meals Jane's been making. She wasn't much of a cook
before, but she's learned for Eliot's sake and I am certainly reaping
the benefits."

Bennett pointed at the fridge and made a drinking motion
with his right hand, indicating that James should bring him another beer. "At least you're bein' healthy, man. I've slipped on the
whole no-sugar thing," he said glumly. "Ate a bunch of donut holes
durin' my route yesterday. I gotta listen to those CDs more."

Gillian gazed at him fondly. "The problem is that you fall into
a deep sleep the second the CD begins and I don't think your subconscious can hear Harmony over your own snoring. I really think
you should try an herbal remedy such as fresh ginger mixed with
honey or even some wild yam."

"Do I look like a man who's gonna eat wild yam before I go to
bed?" Bennett scowled.

The friends laughed and worked together to clean up their
meal. When the table was clear and the dishes were washed, Lucy
produced a gallon of sugar-free frozen custard.

"Chilly Willie's created a new flavor," she announced, brandishing an ice cream scooper. "I told him about our plan to kick our
sugar addiction a few weeks ago and he's been experimenting with
sugar-free flavors ever since. This is called Guiltless Grasshopper
Parfait."

Lindy rubbed her hands together. "Mint and chocolate? Yummy!"

"I'll read you Willie's description." Lucy tilted the gallon sideways. "It says, `Guiltless Grasshopper Parfait is a creamy blend of
mint custard, ribbons of fudge, and chocolate mint cookie crumbles. You'll be hopping across town to get your feelers on this
sugar-free treat!"'

Bennett accepted a bowl and took a bite of the custard. "Willie
Lamont is a gentleman and an artist. This stuff is too good not to
be bad for us."

No one answered, being too busy licking spoons clean.

Lucy finished her ice cream first, pushed her bowl aside,
opened a file folder, and uncapped a pen. She placed a yellow legal
pad at her right elbow and surveyed her friend's faces. "Okay, let's
get to work. The death of Tia Royale really bothers me. First of
all, she was only twenty-six. Second, she was devoted to her cause.
Third, her killer roughed her up, bruising her neck while he tried
to pin her down, to prevent her from fighting for her life."

"And that girl had plenty of fight in her," Bennett mumbled.

Ignoring him, Lucy continued. "Tia had no official job. Her
parents bought her the house where her body was found and sent
her a monthly allowance. While they were generous with money,
they kept their distance. According to Tia's daddy, his daughter
wasn't `a good image to be associated with their company.' And as
her mother told me this morning, Tia was `different' from the rest
of the Royales."

Gillian sighed theatrically. "Poor little black sheep."

James smiled as Sullie gave Gillian a bewildered look. Turning
his gaze to Lucy he asked, "Not to interrupt, but did you ask Mrs.
Royale about Tia's pets?"

"Yes," Lucy said. "The Royales want nothing to do with them.
Mr. Royale claimed that they travel too much to care for Tia's pets"

"It's destiny! Those animals were meant to be yours!" Gillian
exclaimed. "Did Snickers go to the vet today?" She whispered the
word vet as though her cat, The Dalai Lama, were present. Whenever her intelligent feline heard the threatening word, he took off
for the hills, sometimes staying away for days.

"Turns out, Snickers needed minor surgery. He had stopped
eating and drinking altogether. The vet said he had a blockage,"
James answered. "The procedure went smoothly and Jane should
have picked him up by now." He looked at Gillian. "I'm glad he's
mine, but I wish the Royales were footing the bill. I could have
added a new deck for the cost of that surgery. And if Miss Pickles
doesn't stop shredding every object made out of paper-especially
toilet paper-then I'm going to have to keep a basket of leaves in
my bathroom!"

Once the laughter died away, Lucy finished relaying the case
details. "Tia's assailant entered her bedroom and the two of them struggled, leaving her neck bruised. However, the cause of death
was heart failure. Until the lab results come back, we won't know
if she was drugged or not, but the M.E. says there are no obvious
indicators of the presence of drugs or poison in her system."

Sullie stirred on the other side of the table. "The Royales are
big supporters of the governor. Mark my words, those labs will be
done in record time. It's our only break so far."

Lindy was twirling a lock of black hair around her index finger,
a sign that she was deep in thought. "The only evidence of struggle
was in her bedroom. Ground or second floor?"

"Second," Lucy answered and then, guessing what Lindy would
ask next, added, "There was no sign of forced entry around the
windows. In fact, they were locked."

"So Tia knew her murderer. She let him inside," Lindy stated
with a shiver.

Sullie's eyes grew round and he stared at Lindy. "You all are
sharp! Lucy and I came to that conclusion too. We believe she
was expecting this guy and that she wasn't as afraid of him as she
should have been. She's made a bunch of cash withdrawals over
the last two weeks. Drained her account dry."

"Yeah, Sullie got a copy of her monthly statement right before the bank closed today," Lucy added excitedly. "Tia barely had
enough to live on until her next allowance check came. Her balance was down to the minimum. We think she was being blackmailed."

James used the tip of his finger to capture the last drop of
Guiltless Grasshopper Parfait from his bowl. "How much money
are we talking about?"

Lucy consulted the case file. "Somewhere in the neighborhood
of twenty-five thousand. She made five withdrawals of five thousand dollars each."

Bennett, who was pulling on his toothbrush mustache while
Lucy talked, whistled. "Whoa! But why kill your own personal
ATM machine?"

Gillian put her hands over her heart, her face forming an anguished expression. "How can you talk about that tragic young
woman in such a callous manner?"