Murder the Tey Way: A Golden Age of Mystery Book Club Mystery (The Golden Age of Mystery Book Club Mysteries 2) (6 page)

“All right,” I said when the waitress left, “if I ask Joy to help me check out the others, do I tell her about Gayle?”

Rosie thumped her forehead in disbelief. “Of course you tell her about Gayle!  That’s the purpose of all this. So she can help you. Joy’s not on the Feds’ payroll, and she’s not a cop. But she has connections. She might be able to get you information about the bent cop that killed Gayle’s boyfriend.”

“And find out more about the other club members,” I mused. “I know nothing about them, aside from what they’ve told me. For all I know, they all have lurid pasts.”

Rosie grinned. “That’s the spirit!”

We chatted about her daughters and my son, Jesse, until our food arrived, then we got down to some serious eating. We ordered decaf coffee, and Rosie ordered an apple pie. I must have frowned despite my attempt not to show disapproval, because Rosie said, “I know I shouldn’t, but I have been getting to the gym most mornings.”

“Working out in the gym is good,” I replied in my best nonjudgmental tone of voice.

To her credit, she pushed away her dessert plate, the crust mostly intact. I finished my coffee refill and gazed out at the bowlers while Rosie asked for the check.

“Feel like bowling a game or two?” I asked. “I’m too restless to go home.”

“Who could blame you for being on edge? Sure, I’m game.”

We paid the bill then went to rent bowling shoes. As we laced them up, Rosie said, “The last time I bowled was for some charity do.”

“I think the last time I went bowling was when we were still in college.”

Rosie pointed at me. “Senior year. During one of your break ups with Godfrey.”

I nodded, remembering. “You and Hal took me bowling, then out for pizza.”

We each selected a bowling ball and carried it to our lane.

“Do we get a few practice balls?” Rosie asked.

“I sure hope so, considering how long it’s been.”

It felt good, tossing a heavy ball before me. At first most of our balls ended up in one gutter or the other, but as we played, our skills picked up. Our scores remained close, which infused me with a sense of excitement and the desire to win the game. But Rosie won, by seven points.

I glanced at my watch. “It’s nine-thirty. Care to bowl another game?”

“Sure, but after that I have to go home. In fact, I’ll call Hal, then toddle over to the ladies‘ room.”

“I’ll be here,” I said.

I sat down and looked around. Most of the bowlers belonged to teams, judging from their same-colored shirts. It was a fun sport, I supposed, but not one I cared to pursue. Actually, I wasn’t interested in any particular sport, though I intended to join a gym and take aerobics and yoga classes. Maybe one day, when things settled down.

My cell phone rang. It was Gayle.

“Where are you?” I demanded.

I heard an intake of air, voices in the background. “At my friend’s house. But I can’t stay here. I’m leaving tomorrow. Did the police tell you who that man was?”

“He’s a small-time hoodlum from New Jersey.”

“I knew it! Shawn sent him.”

“We don’t know that. Why did you—?”  I stopped, afraid to hear what she’d say when I asked why she’d lied about seeing the body before she woke me up.

“Why did I what?”

“I meant to say, why don’t you come back here?”

“I can’t. If Shawn sent that guy, he’ll send someone else to finish the job.”

I let out a humorless laugh. “Come on, Gayle. This Shawn from Utah isn’t all that powerful.”

“You don’t know him, Lexie. If he can’t get someone to kill me, he’ll come after me himself.”

Before I could say Len’s murder probably had nothing to do with her, she hung up. I pressed the call back button before I remembered her phone wouldn’t take my call.

Angry at myself for not handling things better, I headed outside for a breath of fresh air. I sidestepped a group of noisy teenagers, and walked toward the parking lot.

Gayle was terrified and believed she had no place to go. Instead of badgering her, I should have asked why she had to leave her friend’s place. I should have been supportive and kind, instead of logical and sarcastic. She was my baby sister. She was terrified and alone, and I’d done nothing to protect her.

The sound of two men going at it hammer and tongs jarred me from my musings. They faced off in the shadows beside a pickup truck. The younger of the two –almost seven feet tall and built like a bull—loomed over the paunchy older man, who, though no match for The Giant, stood his ground.

His midwestern accent caught my attention. “My wife and I paid you what you asked! We expect you to keep your end of the bargain!”

“Like I said, expenses cropped up we didn’t figure on. Bring me another ten grand by next week, or the deal’s off.”

“How do I know next week you won’t ask for more? So far, you’re not a man of your word.”

The Giant roared with laughter. “Man of my word? Who do you think you’re dealing with—the clergy? I’m the only hope you have of ever seeing that kid. Meet me here next week with the money.”

They lowered their voices and I couldn’t make out their final exchange. The older man stomped off to his car in the second row of parked vehicles. When the light caught his face, I covered my mouth to keep from gasping.

Evan Billings, of all people!
What was he mixed up in?

I hurried inside, and felt a great sense of relief when I caught sight of Rosie. I wasn’t up to bowling a second game, but I didn’t want to disappoint her, so I said nothing.

“What’s wrong with you?” she demanded after I’d thrown my fifth gutter ball.

I told her about Gayle’s phone call and Evan Billings’ conversation.

“Time to call it a night.” She gathered up her belongings. I did the same, and followed her to the shoe rental room.

In the parking lot, she gave me a fierce hug. “Lexie, Lexie. Always involved in intrigue and drama. Try to get a good night’s sleep.”

“I will.”

“Are you coming to dinner Friday night? Hal said to tell you he misses you.”

“Sure” I smiled. “Tell him I miss him, too.” 

I backed out of my parking space, still smiling. Most people would find it odd that Hal, who’d been devastated when I’d broken up with him in college, ended up happily married to my best friend and on the best of terms with me. However, it suited the three of us just fine. I drove home worrying about my sister, and wondering why the Billingses were paying money to a thug.

To do what?
I had difficulty imagining they’d break the law, much less arrange a contract killing.

Then again, I couldn’t cast
any
of my book club members in the role of murderer, though one of them might have murdered Len.

At home, I was too restless to settle down. I opened the refrigerator and, though I wasn’t hungry, made myself a toasted cheese sandwich. My mom used to make them for Gayle and me on rainy days and when one of us was too sick to go to school. Puss stood by my chair and meowed, not something he usually did. Though I didn’t want to start a bad habit, I pulled off a tiny bit of my sandwich and gave it to him. He devoured it in record time.

The phone rang as I was undressing for bed. I picked it up and heard a click as someone hung up.

Damn! This was getting annoying. And scary. Gayle’s fear was affecting me. I wondered if Shawn was at the other end of the phone, trying to find out if she was here in my house.
Would he break down the door and kill me?

I jumped when the phone rang again. I answered after the third ring. “Yes?” I demanded, my voice sharp and staccato.

“Lexie, it’s me. Mike.”

I heard his mellow laugh and wanted to slap his face—for scaring me and for deceiving Joy.

“What is it?”

“I want to talk to you.”

“Did you call five minutes ago?”

“Yep.” He lowered his voice. “Sorry I hung up. Joy walked by. I didn’t want her to hear me talking to you.”

“What’s this about?” I asked.

“A surprise birthday party. At The Lion’s Head Inn the second Saturday night in December. Joy has a big one coming up December fifteenth.”

I counted on my fingers. “She’ll be thirty-five.”

“Right. She tells me she’s turning into an old hag, though I swear she looks as good as when we met. Still, every morning she checks her eyes for crow’s feet and other signs of aging.”

“What should I say?” I asked dryly.

Mike chuckled. “Come on, sweetie. You know you look great.”

Sweetie!
“You mean, for my age?”

“Hey, Lex, I thought we were friends. What’s with the attitude?”

“Did you call someone last night and whisper into the phone?”

He thought a bit. “I called my sister. Started telling her about the surprise party, when Joy came into the room.”

“Joy thinks you’re having an affair.”

“You’re putting me on, right?”

“No.”

“That’s crazy, Lexie. Why would I have an affair?”

Because that’s what men do
, I thought, then reconsidered. Mike wasn’t most men. Joy and his kids came first. “I believe you. The problem is, you have to convince Joy that you’re not.”

“I refuse to tell her about the party,” he insisted. “It’s gotta be a surprise.”

“She’s furious, Mike. You’d better come up with something.”

“I’ll work on it,” he said and hung up.

A fierce wind was gusting when I turned down Magnolia Lane late Friday afternoon. I had an armful of papers to grade that would keep me busy most of the weekend. I’d stopped at the supermarket for Puss’s food, but they were out of the only flavor he’d eat. I had to go to two pet stores before I managed to buy a carton of his turkey meals. I hoped the company wasn’t planning to stop making that particular formula. If they did, I’d have a starving feline on my hands.

“Lexie!”

I slammed on the brakes, barely managing to avoid hitting Felicity as she dashed in front of my car to reach me.

I rolled down the window. “Careful, Felicity! I nearly mowed you down!”
Again
, I thought, but didn’t have the heart to say aloud.

She flashed me a nervous smile. “You’d never do that.”

“Not
on purpose
, but what if I couldn’t stop in time?”

“Sorry.” She leaned on the frame of the rolled-down window. In a frantic whisper, she asked, “Lexie, what was Leo doing in your backyard yesterday morning?”

“Leo? Oh, you mean Len.”

She nodded. Even in the poor light I could make out her strained expression.

“I’ve no idea what he was doing there. Did you know him?”

“Yes. He came to our house to fix the furnace.”

“He fixed things for me, too.”

“But he liked
me!
”

For a moment I feared the poor creature was deranged. Tears filled her eyes. Regardless of what went on inside her head, her emotions were real.

Then it hit me. “Felicity, had you arranged to see Len er-Leo Wednesday night?”

The tears spilled down her cheeks. “We had a date, but Corinne said I had to go to the meeting. I didn’t want her to find out about Leo and me, so I went.”

“Do you think he looked in on our meeting hoping to catch your attention?”

She nodded again. “He asked me to meet him instead of going to the meeting because he had to tell me something important. I said I would.” She glanced around, worried someone might hear us. “But Corinne was in one of her moods. When that happens, there’s no talking to her. And I couldn’t call Leo. Not with Corinne in the house.”

“Why not, Felicity? Why not tell Corinne you had a date with your boyfriend?”

Felicity reared back, as if I’d dangled a snake in her face. 

“Corinne says I’m too fragile to have a boyfriend. I’d be devastated if we broke up, and then…” she gulped, “and then I’d end up going back to the hospital.”

“You were in the hospital?”

“Yes, but I’m fine now. Only Corinne worries. She’d be angry if she found out about Leo.” She gripped my hand so hard, it hurt. “You won’t tell her! Promise me you won’t tell her about Leo and me.”

I pulled my hand free. “Of course I won’t.” My voice remained calm but inside my heart was singing. Len and Felicity had a romance going. He had nothing to do with Shawn from Utah. Now Brian would have no reason to link Gayle to the murder!

My sense of relief was cut short when it occurred to me that Gayle might have killed Len because she
thought
he worked for Shawn. She could have changed her bloodied clothes before waking me and stuffed them in her duffle bag. No, that was too preposterous. I ignored the tug at my moral strings and said I had to get home.

Felicity gave me a tremulous smile. “I don’t mean to be a bother, only I feel I can talk to you.”

“I’m glad, Felicity. Any time.”
Except now.

I fed Puss, showered and got dressed for my dinner at Rosie and Hal’s. I thought about my conversation with Felicity. Now I knew why Len had been peering in at our meeting. But it didn’t explain how he ended up dead in my backyard the following morning. I hadn’t realized until now that Felicity was terrified of her sister and  fearful of making her angry. I could understand why Corinne wanted to protect Felicity. They were no more than two or three years apart, and must have been close their entire lives. True, Felicity was fragile, and she had awful taste in men. I wondered if, even now, she knew that her boyfriend had been a thief. But did that give her older sister the right to control her? 

Which made me think about my sister. I laughed out loud, and it wasn’t a pretty sound. Gayle was naïve and did one stupid thing after another. Not that I blamed her for running when she realized Shawn had murdered her boyfriend. But I’d never presume to have the right to control her life.

Had Len really cared about Felicity, or did he have an ulterior reason for getting involved with her? She was easy prey. Given her sheltered life, she had little opportunity to socialize and was probably thrilled that a nice looking man like Len was interested in her. I wasn’t too surprised when she told me she’d spent time in a hospital. I assumed it was a psychiatric hospital, where they probably fed her tranquilizers until she was calm enough to leave.