Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 03 - They Call Me Ace (11 page)

Chapter Twenty

“I also heard that someone was hanging around and watching the house. Was it the same guy?” It appeared that someone had filled Ben in on everything.

“It could have been, but I can’t say for sure. Where the heck did you hear all of this?” I asked.

He smiled. “We stopped by Kimberly’s house this afternoon and the Turnbal sisters were next door. They made a point of coming over and introducing themselves, and offering their condolences to Cloene.”

“Ah, you’ve met the twins, and they blabbed. Why doesn’t that surprise me? Do you think Janet Murphy will be upset that we’re getting involved?”

“As short-handed as we are? I doubt it. I’m not part of the Homicide Division but they’re using me to help investigate.”

I liked Ben. He was easy to talk to, and he approached me as though we were old friends. He seemed to be easy to get to know.

“Why don’t you go back and join Cloene? Chris and I will come over to talk to you when things slow down. For a

Tuesday night, it’s been pretty busy.”

He nodded. “What’s good tonight?”

“Everything. Our chef is the best in town. Trust me.”

Ben nodded again, and he passed by Chris on his way to the table. They nodded at each other so slightly that it was almost imperceptible. It was a guy thing. Heaven forbid they should stop and shake hands.

Things began to quiet down and most of the tables were full. I glanced at the reservation list to see how many more people to expect, and when I looked back up, a man was standing at the desk.

“How are you this evening?” I asked.

“Good. How about you?” He smiled, and I had to force myself not to stare. His teeth were very yellow and crooked – and they were too big for his face, like horse teeth. The size wouldn’t have mattered as much if he hadn’t had other problems, like bits of food stuck between the yellowed incisors. He wasn’t a bad looking man until he smiled. Around five-foot-seven, he was slender and nicely dressed. His brown hair was thinning, but he wasn’t bald yet.

“I’m good. Thank you for asking. Do you have a reservation, sir?” There was something about him that seemed vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place him.

“No, I don’t. Do you think you could fit me in tonight? I stopped in because I’ve heard you have good food.”

I smiled, showing off nice white teeth that had been straightened with a few years of wearing braces – they’d obviously been worth the discomfort. He made me feel better about those embarrassing years.

Glancing around the dining room, I saw an empty table for two on the far side. “Follow me. I think we can take care of you this evening.” I picked up a menu and headed for the table.

“I think I’ve seen you somewhere,” he said.

“You look vaguely familiar yourself.” I glanced back

over my shoulder.

He snapped his fingers. “I know where I’ve seen you. Haven’t you been spending time at the old Turnbal house over the past few days? Aren’t your parents buying it?”

Without meaning to, I stopped and turned to face him. It was a reaction to his statement, not a planned action. “How do you know about
that
?” My question sounded sharp.

I’d stopped too suddenly and he almost bumped into me. “I live nearby, and I drive past the Turnbal house a couple of times a day. Say, that was too bad about Kimberly, huh?”

“Yes, it was. Where did you say you live?”

“On the other side of Kimberly’s house. Just two doors down.”

“I see.” Turning, I moved on toward his table. Maybe that’s why he looked familiar. Sometimes you see people but their faces don’t register until you’re actually face-to-face with them. I might have seen him out in his yard or on the sidewalk.

After pulling his chair out for him, I set the menu on the table. “Your waitress will be by in a moment to take your drink order, and she’ll tell you what tonight’s specials are. Enjoy your dinner.”

There was something about this man that made me feel uncomfortable. I turned and walked slowly back to the Reservation Desk, thinking about him. It struck me like a ton of bricks. I couldn’t help wondering what he might look like if he was wearing a baseball cap. I shook my head, realizing that if he was the man who’d hit Cloene and who’d been watching the house, he certainly wouldn’t walk up and introduce himself. Come to think of it, he hadn’t actually introduced himself. I had no idea who he was and knew nothing about him other than the fact he said he lived two doors down from the Turnbal house.

By glancing around the room I found I was able to keep my eye on the man. Could we have a killer sitting in our

restaurant? Oh, for heaven’s sake! Nothing had happened to indicate the man had anything to do with Kimberly’s death.

Chris was talking to a customer and I waved him over. He nodded at something the customer said and joined me at the Reservation Desk.

“Ace went back to play with the dogs for a while,” he said.

“I’m glad you told me, but that’s not what I wanted. Don’t look now, but there’s a lone man at the table for two near the cocktail lounge.”

As soon as the words were out of my mouth Chris turned and took a look.

“Oh, you’re a great detective,” I said. “I tell you not to look, and what do you do? You look.”

“Doesn’t matter. There’s no one sitting at the table.”

I glanced over Chris’s shoulder and, sure enough, the table was empty.

“Maybe he went to the Men’s Room.”

Phyllis, our waitress who resembled Marilyn Monroe, was working that area. She saw me looking in her direction and walked over to see if I needed something.

“Do you know where the man went who was sitting at the table for two by the cocktail lounge?”

“What man?” She looked puzzled. “I came out of the kitchen a couple of minutes ago and no one was there. Should there be someone at the table?”

I shrugged. “I seated someone there, but he seems to have left. I didn’t see him leave through the front door though.”

“I’ll go check the Men’s Room,” Chris said, turning and walking away.

“Is there a problem?” Phyllis asked.

“Not really. It’s just odd that he disappeared.”

Chris returned, shaking his head. “There’s no one in there. What did the guy look like? And why are you interested

in him?”

“I think it might have been the same guy who hit Cloene and who’s been watching the Turnbal house.”

“Are you two on another case?” Phyllis asked. “Of course you are. You’re always getting involved in something. That’s one of the things that makes working here so interesting.” She left us and returned to her customers, her hips swaying and her sexiest Marilyn Monroe smile in place. She had a way of looking innocent and sexy at the same time. The customers loved her, especially the men. Marilyn had often played the role of a ditzy blonde. Phyllis was anything but ditzy. She was smart and didn’t try to hide it.

“Just a minute,” Chris said, holding his index finger in front of me. “I’m going to bring Ben in on this conversation.” He walked over to Ben and Cloene, and the copper accompanied him back to the front desk.

“Tell Ben what you just told me.”

After describing the man, I told Ben and Chris about his questions and comments, and that it seemed like he knew too much. The two men looked at each other before turning back to me.

“And you let him leave?” Chris asked.

I tried not to, but I couldn’t help myself. I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t
let
him leave. He must have slipped out the exit in the cocktail lounge while I was talking to you.”

“Do you think you’d recognize him if you saw him again?” Ben asked.

“Absolutely. I got an up close and personal look at him.”

Chris nodded his approval. “And he said he lived on the other side of Kimberly’s house? That would be easy enough to check.”

“Experience tells me he was probably lying. If he was really a neighbor, I don’t think he would have snuck out like he did.” Ben was watching the table for two as though he

thought the man might miraculously reappear.

“I think I’ll go check out that house tomorrow to see if he really lives there.” Chris had a thoughtful look on his face and I had a feeling he was talking more to himself than to me or Ben.

Ben nodded. “I’m off on Wednesday and Thursday, so I’ll go with you.”

Chris turned to him. “Yeah, it probably wouldn’t hurt to have a copper along for the ride.”

Judith and Chris Sr. walked in and looked at the three of us talking.

“What’s going on?” my mother-in-law asked. “You all look so serious.”

“I think the guy who’s been watching the house might have been in here posing as a customer,” I explained. “He said he lives on the other side of Kimberly’s house. And after I seated him, he disappeared.”

“Interesting,” Chris Sr. said. “What’re you going to do about it?”

“Ben and I are going to see if he really lives next door to Kimberly’s house.”

“Want your old man to go with you?” Chris Sr. had that tight-lipped smile on his face.

I studied him and came to the conclusion this was probably the most excitement he’d had in a long time.

“Did you find any more secrets at the Turnbal house?” I asked.

Chris Sr. didn’t hear me. He, Chris and Ben walked off in the direction of Ben and Cloene’s table. She probably felt like she’d been abandoned, so that was probably a good place to head.

“We did,” Judith replied. “We found another space, and it’s bigger – more like a closet.”

Her answer surprised me. “Where was it?”

“There was a panel behind the piano. We found it by

accident, actually. I was joking with Chris Sr. about the piano hiding a wall, and when I slapped my hand on the wall a door popped open. I think my hubby was disappointed that he didn’t find it.”

“Was there anything in it?” I asked.

“Where’s Mikey?” she asked, looking around.

Like mother, like son. I was going to have to pry the answer out of her.

Chapter Twenty-one

“Mikey’s in the kitchen.
After
you tell me what you found in the closet, I’ll go get him.” Sometimes threats were the only thing I could use to get Chris to explain himself. Apparently the same applied to his mother.

“It’s late. I’m sure he must be awfully hungry. I know your father-in-law and I are.”

What a frustrating woman. “Judith, what did you find? I’ll trade you food for an answer.”

She started to laugh. “I’m just messin’ with ya, Pamela. All we found were some handwritten notes for one of Marguerite’s books.”

“That’s
all
you found? If they’re her handwritten notes, they could be quite valuable. You should show them to a rare book dealer and see what they think.”

“Really? I almost threw them away, but then I changed my mind. I thought it would be interesting to have some of her work to show off.”

“You’ve got to be joking,” I said. “You almost threw them away?” I felt my heart palpitating. “After my grandmother passed away my mother cleaned out her house

and threw out a whole slew of old dime novels. She should have had someone look at them. By the time I found out about it, they’d already been picked up by the trash collector. Such a loss.”

“You really love books, don’t you?” Judith watched me, studying my face.

“Yes. Books open up whole new worlds.”

She folded her arms and watched me closely. “Then I can’t believe you never read any of Marguerite’s books. But at least now I know we have books in common.”

“Well, I’m about to take care of that little problem. I brought
Summer’s Ghost
with me and I’m going to try to start reading it tonight. And if I like it, I may try some of her other books.”

“When we go back to the house, I’ll grab a copy out of the basement and read it, too. Maybe that’s the book with a clue to the treasure in it. Now, I’m going to go find Mikey so we can eat.”

While my mother-in-law disappeared in the direction of the kitchen, I waved at Chris Sr. and pointed to the table where they’d be seated. He said his good-byes to Ben and Cloene and followed me to the table, where I set out menus.

“Cloene is quite a nice young woman,” he said, pulling out a chair and seating himself. “She really misses her friend, and she’ll do anything she can to help find the killer.”

“I hope she doesn’t have to do anything. She’s been through enough already.”

Judith and Mikey joined Chris Sr. and I. After I took their drink orders, they looked at the menus. Gloria arrived to take their orders just as I set the drinks in front of everyone.

“My, you sure look like Myrna Loy,” Judith said, staring openly at her.

Gloria smiled. “So I’ve been told. I had no idea who she was until I started working here. Pamela told me to go home and watch some old movies. I did, and now I can talk like her

and move the way she did.”

Judith laughed. “And you do a mahvelous job, dahling.”

While my family ate dinner, Lila James climbed up the stairs to the stage with the help of one of the band members and began to sing. The band always helped Lila, both in deference to her age and because of their respect for her talent. She started with
I’ll Walk Alone
, and some of the customers moved out to the dance floor to sway to the music.

I heard a young woman say, “You know, this old music isn’t half bad.”

Her boyfriend nodded and hugged her closer.

Chris Sr. held out his hand to Judith. She touched his hand and they took a break from dinner to dance. The Bogey Man and I stood together and watched them.

“There’s still a little romance left in those two,” he said.

“There’s still a little romance left in us, too.” I took his hand and led him out to the dance floor. It was the first time we’d ever danced together at the restaurant, and I saw Mikey giggle. I smiled at him waved him over. He shook his head and stayed in his seat, taking a bite of dinner.

The song ended and Chris and I went back to work. I saw Phyllis and Gloria exchange a few words and they quietly clapped for us. The employees at
Bogey Nights
rarely left to take other jobs – we were like a small extended family.

While Chris seated some new arrivals, I heard Lila change the pace and sing
Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar
. Her range fascinated me. It seemed like there was nothing she couldn’t sing. Occasionally she’d sing a more current song, if you consider the sixties and seventies current, but she favored forties music.

Chef Luis stuck his head out the door and motioned to me to come into the kitchen. I told Phyllis where I was going and headed that way.

“What’s up?” I asked.

Chef Luis pointed to our sous chef. “Phillip heard the dogs barking so he went out to see what was going on. Someone slashed one of your tires. The dogs were going crazy. It looks like whoever was out there threw rocks at the dogs.”

My mind immediately zeroed in on the man who said he lived next door to Kimberly. He’d sneaked out, and now we had a slashed tire. Were the dogs okay or had he hurt them?

“Phillip, please go get Chris. I’m going to check on the dogs.” I left the two men standing in the kitchen.

I turned on the outside light and ran out the back door of my office. The dogs were excited to see me and did a nervous little dance. I spoke softly and tried to calm them but it wasn’t working. Dropping to my knees, I immediately realized I’d made a mistake. They knocked me over in their exuberance at my visit. Examining them, I didn’t see any blood. I felt their heads and bodies and thought I found a small lump on Sherlock’s head.

Gritting my teeth, I surveyed the little yard and found four large rocks just inside the fence.

Chris had left by the front door and came around the restaurant. “What’s going on? Phillip said someone slashed one of the tires on the Chevy.”

“That’s not all they did,” I replied angrily. “Someone threw some big rocks at the dogs, and it looks like one of them hit Sherlock on the head.”

“
What?
Are you sure?” Chris opened the gate and joined me.

I led Sherlock up to the porch where I had better light and looked at his head again, pushing his fur aside. While he wasn’t actually bleeding, there was a raw spot where the rock had broken the skin.

“I’m sure. Look at this.”

Watson tried to approach Sherlock and he growled at

her, something he rarely did. Tail between her legs, she returned to the yard. I wasn’t sure if he’d growled at her because his head hurt or if he liked the attention he was getting and didn’t want to share the limelight.

Opening the office door, I shooed Sherlock inside and closed the door. Chris opened it and followed Sherlock inside to take a closer look at his head.

Tapping my chest with my hand, I looked at Watson and said, “Come.” She was hesitant and glanced toward the closed door before she slowly walked over and sat for me.

“Good girl,” I said. “Nobody messes with my dogs and gets away with it.” I patted her head.

Chris opened the door. “It’s a good thing these dogs have hard noggins. He’s going to be fine.” He held the door open for Watson and me.

Walking inside, I got down on my knees and gave both of the dogs a hug. “Somebody’s going to pay for this, I promise you.”

I left the dogs inside and walked out to the car with Chris. Someone had really slashed one of the tires. I wondered if that someone might have done more damage if the dogs hadn’t been there.

“You go ahead and go inside,” he said. “I’ll change the tire before I go back to work.”

“Don’t you want me to stay here and watch out for trouble?” I asked.

“No, I’ll be fine. Between the dogs barking and Phillip coming out here, whoever did this is long gone.”

“Mom?” Mikey called from the office door. “What’s going on?”

“I’m coming, Ace. Everything is fine. Don’t let the dogs out.”

I could see him pushing them away from the door with his foot. He was no match for the two big lugs, but he managed to keep them in check.

We returned to the restaurant, leaving the dogs in the office.

“What’s going on, Mom? I was just coming to get you because of what Grandma Judy’s about to do and I heard Luis and Phillip talking about trouble in the parking lot.”

“Everything is fine, Son. Your dad is changing a flat tire. That’s all.”

It took a moment before what he’d said sunk in.

“What Grandma Judy’s going to do? What are you talking about?” And why did that strike me as ominous?

Mikey smiled. “You’ll like this. Come on.” He took hold of my hand and pulled me behind him. “It’s a surprise.”

We returned to the table where Judith was finishing her dinner. I couldn’t help but notice she’d separated each item on her plate, apparently not wanting things to touch.

“She’s not doing anything, Mikey.”

“Just wait. She will.”

Judith turned and smiled at me before turning back to her food. I turned to Chris Sr. and he shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t seem to know what was going on either.

“Sit down, Mom. You can have my chair.”

“Thanks. Mind telling me what this is all about?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

Again, I turned to Chris Sr. “All I know is that she and Mikey went up to the stage and talked to your singer. By the way, that little lady can really belt out a tune.”

“Yes, she’s very talented. Do you know what Judith and Lila talked about?”

“Not a clue. But I never question the things Judith does anymore.” Chris Sr. was so easygoing. He and Judith made a good team.

“Mikey?”

“I know what’s going on, but like I said, it’s a surprise.” He made a zipping motion across his mouth, then made an unzipping motion. “You’ll find out as soon as Dad gets here.”

The
n he zipped back up.

While we waited for Chris, I saw Lila and Judith watching each other. Lila had taken a break and sat with Nate. Lila was no spring chicken, and she usually sang two or three songs and then took a break while the band played a few tunes on their own. She filled in on the nights our regular songbird was off, and once in a while they both sang.

Chris turned up about fifteen minutes later, and after seeing where I was, he joined us.

“It seems your mother has a surprise for us,” I said.

“Oh? Swell. Just what we need, another surprise.”

From the time I’d joined the family at the table, Judith had never said a word. Now her eyes traveled around the table, and she smiled. She nodded at Mikey, and he took hold of her hand and let her toward Lila’s table.

Lila stood up and Mikey led the two women toward the stage. Chris, Chris Sr. and I looked at each other in surprise.

“Can your mother sing?” I asked.

“I’ve never heard her sing before. Dad?”

“Ya got me, Junior.”

Travis, one of the band members, helped the two women up the steps and onto the stage. He handed each woman a microphone, and the band began to play.

Lila and Judith stepped up the pace and sang
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
. My mouth dropped open. They sounded like The Andrews Sisters. Mikey stood in front of them and watched in fascination. Judith bent slightly, put her hands out with her palms facing the audience, and wiggled her shoulders, forties style.

I looked at Chris and his father, and we all sat and smiled like fools. We were astonished. The customers were on their feet and truly enjoying themselves.

The women finished the song and the applause was thunderous.

And then the dogs raced through the restaurant, long thick tails flying and chairs being knocked over.