Nightmares Can Be Murder (A Dream Club Mystery) (30 page)

She’d already thanked Minerva and Rose for their quick action, told them they could go home, and closed and locked the front door after them. I noticed she’d slipped on a pair of gloves before touching the door handle.

“No, I’m not sure of anything.” My head was throbbing and I had sharp twinges in my neck.

“Height and build?”

“I don’t really know—”

“Use yourself for comparison,” she suggested, with her pen poised. “When he stood next to you, did he seem taller or shorter?”

“Oh, well, he was about my height, I guess. I’m five-eight. And I think he was well built, but I couldn’t tell for sure because he was wearing a heavy sweatshirt. He was strong, very strong.” I gave a little shudder. “And I think he knows karate,” I added, remembering that sharp, well-placed blow to the back of my neck. “He seemed like a pro.”

Sam raised her eyebrows. “Interesting.”

“How so?” I carefully moved my neck from side to side. I didn’t have much range of motion, but I knew it could have been worse, much worse.

“A lot of women are taking up karate for self-protection,” she said flatly.

“I suppose it could have been a woman.” I winced in pain, and Sam quickly stood up.

“We’re getting you to the ER,” she said firmly.

“But—”

“No buts about it. You have a head injury, and they need to check it out.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. “I’ll call Ali for you and explain what’s happened.” She glanced around the apartment. “I’ll have a couple of crime scene techs sweep the place, but we may not get much.”

“Okay,” I said, feeling suddenly passive. My head hurt too much to think straight. “But can I ask you a favor?” When she nodded, I continued, “Please don’t tell Ali until later this morning. There’s nothing she can do here, the cats are safe, and I’m fine. I don’t want to spoil her reunion in Charleston.”

“If you insist,” Sam said with a sigh. “But we’re leaving for the hospital right now, and I don’t want to hear any more objections.”

“Whatever you say,” I told her gratefully. It was good to have someone else make the decisions, and I was glad that Sam had taken control.

34

“I’ve been worried sick!” Ali exclaimed later that day. “Sam told me you wouldn’t let her call me earlier.” Ali had come flying home from Charleston and was by my side at noontime. “It’s amazing you don’t have a concussion—or worse,” she said ominously.

“We’ve all been worried about you, dear,” Minerva said. She and Rose had come over to check on me, and Ali had insisted they stay for lunch. I didn’t have an appetite for the homemade cheese soup Ali had pulled from the freezer, but I managed to eat a few spoonfuls. I’d been given painkillers in the ER, and they were making me feel woozy.

“You weren’t able to identify the attacker, were you?” Minerva asked, her blue eyes sharp and penetrating.

I shook my head. “Not at all. I’m not even sure if it was a man or a woman. I just know the attacker must have been a street fighter,” I said, only joking a little.

“A street fighter, my word,” Rose said. “That does sound alarming.”

“It’s just an expression,” Minerva told her. “Don’t be so literal.” She paused. “Or do you really mean it was a trained assailant, Taylor?”

I touched the back of my neck. Luckily I’d moved just in time to shield myself. The ER doc had said that if the blow had been a couple of inches either way, I could have been paralyzed.

“It could have been. It was someone who knew how to do a lot of damage in less than a minute.” I was hoping we could change the subject. The attack was over and I didn’t want to focus on it any more.

Minerva bit her lip. “Women are taking up self-defense, you know,” she said thoughtfully. I nodded in agreement. That was exactly what Detective Sam Stiles had said. “I know how much Gina enjoys her Krav Maga classes.”

She let the statement just sit there for a moment and waited a beat. “She’s certainly gotten in good shape; she says it’s quite a workout. Of course, she did all that dancing at Chico’s studio. She’s probably a natural at Krav Maga.”

I conjured up a mental image of the fiery assistant with the long red hair. She certainly had a terrific figure and managed to be both toned and voluptuous.

“You’re not suggesting Gina had anything to do with this,” Ali cut in.

Minerva leaned back and smiled. “No, of course not, my dear.” She helped herself to some rosemary bread from the basket. “It would be awful to think that someone you knew did something so terrible. I just meant that self-defense classes are popular right now.”

“I suppose it was just a random act of violence,” Rose offered. “You read about this happening all the time.”

“Yes, you do.” Minerva gave me a thoughtful look, and I knew she didn’t believe a word of what her sister was saying. This wasn’t random; this was personal.

“Has anyone seen Gina lately?” Ali asked. “I noticed she’s missed a few of the club meetings.” She was right. Gina had been off the radar screen for the past few days, and I wondered what was up.

“She’s been busy with community activities,” Minerva offered. “Someone told me she’s been at loose ends since the studio closed, and she’s looking for another job. Right now, she’s doing a lot of volunteer work down at the Hispanic Center. Since she speaks both Spanish and Portuguese, she’s very valuable at the reception desk.”

“That’s nice,” Rose said idly. “It’s good to be bilingual. Or in her case, trilingual.”

Someone who speaks English, Spanish, and Portuguese. A little red flag went up in my head. Why is that important? As hard as I tried, I couldn’t bring the answer into focus.

*   *   *

“I want you
to take it easy for the rest of the day,” Ali said later, collecting the soup bowls and carrying them to the sink. She’d offered the Harper sisters dessert and coffee, but they said they had to be on their way. They were headed to an outdoor food festival at the Riverwalk this afternoon and were looking forward to sampling the goodies.

“Yes, Mother,” I teased Ali.

“I mean it,” Ali said, her eyes flashing. She looked around the apartment. “The whole break-in is baffling. There’s nothing here to steal, so that means it was personal.”

“I’m afraid so,” I admitted. “Noah said the same thing.”

“He must be worried out of his mind.” Ali forced some cinnamon tea on me. It was a new item she planned to feature in the shop. It had a spicy aroma and was delicious with a bit of honey added. I held the cup with both hands, inhaling the tantalizing scent, feeling oddly comforted.

“He is. He’s coming over later today, and I think he wants me out of the investigation.” I waited a beat. “He can say whatever he wants, but I’m in for the long haul.”

“Do you think the attack last night was related to Chico’s death?” She curled up on the wicker sofa next to me, her eyes thoughtful.

“I think it must have been,” I said guardedly. “But it won’t happen again. Noah is having the locks changed on the front door, and we’ll be safe and sound.” I didn’t want to alarm Ali, but I wondered if it really was safe to stay in the apartment. Sara, our investigative reporter friend, had offered us the use of her extra bedroom, but I felt it was important to stay where we were. If someone was really out to find us, we weren’t safe anywhere. I’d rather be on home turf if we were facing another attack.

Ali went down to the shop to help Dana, and I stayed on the sofa with a throw over my legs. I made a few notes about the case. I hadn’t considered Gina as a suspect before, but I wondered if it was time to take another look.

Suddenly I remembered the raised voices Minerva and Rose heard the night of the murder. Chico was arguing with a woman, and the sisters heard either Spanish or Portuguese. I’d originally thought Lisa Ortez was the woman arguing with Chico in the studio on the night he was killed, and later considered Amber. But what if it was Gina?

What would her motive be? Could she have been in love with Chico and found out that he was seeing Jennifer Walton? Or did she have another reason to be angry with Chico?

When Noah arrived a couple of hours later, Ali ushered him upstairs with a smile. “Your gentleman caller,” she said, grinning.

Noah was carrying a bunch of bright yellow tulips, my favorite flower. “For you,” he said, swooping down and kissing me on the cheek. Ali hurried to put them in a vase filled with water and then disappeared back to the shop.

“They’re beautiful,” I said, burying my face in them. “I’m surprised you remembered how much I love yellow tulips.”

“I remember everything about you, Taylor,” he said, his gray eyes locked on mine. He pulled a chair over next to the couch. “Okay, start from the beginning and tell me what happened. I already talked to Sam, and the techs didn’t get anything. No trace evidence, no fingerprints. Whoever attacked you was good.”

“I know,” I said ruefully. “It was a blitz attack. I was sound asleep, and suddenly, there she was.”

“She?” His eyebrows inched upward in surprise.

“Did I say
she
?” I asked, flustered. “I don’t know why I said that. It was impossible to tell if it was a man or woman.” I quickly filled him in on the details of the attack.

“Go back to the bedroom,” Noah said quietly. I must have looked puzzled because he said, “Just bear with me, I want to try something. Let your mind go back to the bedroom. You’re sound asleep and something wakes you up. What was it?”

“I guess it must have been the sound of the pot falling off the kitchen counter. I figured it might be the cats because they weren’t in bed with me.” I hesitated. Something felt off, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I remembered being startled out of a sound sleep. The sound of the pan dropping on the floor came a few seconds later.

“What’s wrong, Taylor? Don’t overthink it. Just let the memories come to the surface.”

I shook my head to clear it. These pain pills had stalled my brain, I decided. “Something woke me up—”

“You said it was the sound of a pan falling off the kitchen counter.”

“Something happened before that,” I amended. “Another sound. I just can’t place it.”

“Yes you can,” Noah said gently. “Close your eyes and take a minute. Take a deep breath and imagine yourself back in the darkened room.”

I closed my eyes and tried to visualize the scene. I was lying in bed, and a little frisson of fear went through me. I’d been sound asleep and then I’d heard a sneeze. “Someone sneezed!” I said, my eyes flying wide open. “That was what woke me up. Someone sneezed in the kitchen.”

Noah smiled. “You see, you remember more than you think you do.”

I nodded. The sneeze didn’t seem significant, but maybe more details would come back to me. The ER doc had told me that I had a mild concussion and that some memory loss was to be expected. He predicted that the memories would return in a day or two.

“What’s new with the investigation?” I asked a few minutes later. Noah had been flipping through his notebook and frowning.

“Nothing as dramatic as what happened to you, but I did come up with a few facts,” he said. “Did you ever suspect that Gina Santiago had violent tendencies?”

“Gina? She’s a member of the Dream Club.” I remembered Minerva telling me about Gina’s proficiency in Krav Maga. “I can’t imagine her hurting a fly.”

“That’s not what the records show,” Noah said confidently. “Her ex-husband took out an order of protection on her.”

“Wow, I wasn’t expecting this.” I blinked. Gina was experienced in martial arts, was about my height, and had shown a propensity for violence. Could I have been on the wrong track all along? Was Gina the prime suspect? I still didn’t know why she’d want to kill Chico.

“There’s more,” Noah went on. “Gina knew that Jennifer and Chico were involved, and she was furious. She hinted that there’d be ‘payback’ for his actions. The word on the street is that Gina had a longtime crush on Chico, and I don’t know if he encouraged her or not. Maybe it was all in her head, or maybe he really was having an affair with her, but in any case, she could be a woman scorned.”

“Hell hath no fury,” I said quietly. So Gina had a crush on Chico? And Noah had found out about it? I knew that Noah had sources everywhere. His diligence had paid off.

“Exactly.” I told Noah about the Krav Maga classes and he scribbled a note. “This moves her up the list, I think.” When I mentioned she spoke Portuguese and Spanish, he put a little star next to her name.

“I need to rethink everything I believed up to this point,” I said.

Noah left shortly afterward, and I was helping out in the shop when Amber Locke strolled in. I hadn’t seen Amber since that dinner at the Walton estate, and I wondered what had prompted her visit. Somehow I didn’t think she was here because she had a sudden craving for retro candy.

“Taylor,” she said, taking both my hands in hers. “How are you? I heard about someone breaking into your apartment. That’s just awful.”

“I’m fine,” I said, gently pulling my hands away. There was something a bit unsettling about the woman’s cool, unflinching gaze. I felt her eyes boring into mine like a drill, and I wondered what she was up to. “How did you find out about the break-in?”

She smiled. “The councilman likes to look out for his constituents,” she said smugly. “We have ears everywhere.”

Ears everywhere?
That sounded pretty intrusive. “He asked me to stop by and see how you were doing,” she went on. Her tone was patently false, and I felt a touch of annoyance. If she was going to succeed in politics, she was going to have to learn to lie more convincingly.

“Well, that’s very kind of him, but as you can see, I’m all right,” I assured her. “Would you like some candy?”

“There’s quite a selection,” Amber said, staring at the display counter without any real interest. “It’s very colorful.” She seemed distracted and was checking out the shop, glancing at the stairs that led to the second floor.

“Why not some peppermint chocolates?” I asked innocently. “Denise loves them.”

“Denise?” She gave a puzzled smile.

“Denise from the councilman’s office.”

“Oh,” she said softly, “yes, she does. I’ll take a pound.” I was sure Walton had told her I’d visited the office, but I knew she’d never admit it.

I scooped out the candies and watched as Amber fumbled for some singles in her bag. A small inhaler was nestled next to her change purse. “Do you have asthma?” I asked solicitously.