Seams Like Murder (22 page)

“Nothing happened?” Dinah said incredulously. “Maybe it takes a few minutes for the allergy to kick in?”

“I don’t think so. I made it clear it was wool, and he didn’t say anything like, ‘Get that off me.’ Well, he did say something to that effect, but it wasn’t because of the wool. He seemed to think I was coming on to him.” I rocked my head, reliving the embarrassment as Dinah tried not to laugh. We were seated in the café at the bookstore. I’d called Dinah as soon as I’d gotten to work. Her house was barely a block away, so she’d come right over and bought me a red eye so I could drown my sorrows in caffeine. I took a long drag on the drink. “How could I have been so wrong? He wasn’t allergic to wool. And he just seemed impatient when I brought up the idea that I knew stuff about Delaney’s death.”

We sat, brooding over our coffee for a few minutes. “All I can say is, I’m sure glad I didn’t go running to Barry pointing an accusing finger at Evan. Or send that text message.”

Dinah leaned across the table and gave me a consoling pat. “And I’m glad you didn’t listen to me when I suggested it.” She hesitated. “I really hate to say this, but what if the cops have it right this time? Maybe Tony invited Delaney to meet him at the party. It sounded like there were a lot of people, so she might not have been noticed by the hosts. Didn’t they tent part of the yard?” Dinah picked up the end of her scarf and waved it around. “Maybe we should do the wool test on Tony.”

I shook my head at the suggestion. “It’s complicated. Mason told me not to investigate, and I’m certainly not supposed to do anything that involves his client.”

“And you’re going to listen?” Dinah asked.

“I don’t know.” I was about to explain my dilemma with Mason when Mrs. Shedd came into the café and interrupted.

“There you are,” my boss said. “We need to talk.” She had that sound in her voice that made it clear we weren’t going to be talking about anything good.

Dinah gave my arm a reassuring pat. “I’m sure you can handle it whatever it is. And now I have a class to teach.” Her chair scraped the floor as she got up. I followed Mrs. Shedd into the bookstore. When she led me to her office, I knew it was really trouble.

“Sit,” she said, indicating a chair. “Molly, we are days away from starting Yarn University, and I just found out that Sheila is having a problem. I heard she couldn’t even make it through a practice class!”

I saw her point. The office was filled with boxes of Yarn U T-shirts, tote bags and knitting and crochet tools. “I’m afraid you’ve gotten distracted with this latest murder business.”

“I was the one to find the body,” I said.

“Okay, but that doesn’t mean you have to find the killer. Besides, the police already arrested Tony Bonnard. Just let it go and do something to solve the Sheila problem.”

It was clear she was finished, so I got up and went back to the yarn department.

It was one of those moments when everything seemed to be caving in. I’d been wrong about Evan, I wasn’t happy with what Mason had said about me investigating, and what Mrs. Shedd said about Sheila was true. Maybe I could at least do something about the last one.

I marched over to Luxe and walked in as Sheila was handing a customer her package. I waited until the customer had left the store before reading Sheila the riot act. “I know you said you didn’t want to do a practice class, but you absolutely have to,” I insisted. Sheila didn’t seem happy with the idea but agreed to come to the bookstore during her lunch break.

Then I marched back to the bookstore and called Adele out. “I know you told Mrs. Shedd about Sheila,” I said.

“I didn’t mean to. I was trying to help by telling Mrs. Shedd that if anything went wrong I could step in,” Adele said. I shook my head. Adele couldn’t help being Adele. I told her about the practice class.

“Just be there,” I said.

I agreed with Mrs. Shedd that Yarn University should be my first concern, but I couldn’t help thinking about who killed Delaney Tanner. I still couldn’t believe I could have been so wrong about Evan. All the pieces seemed to fit. I pulled out my cell phone. I knew Dinah was teaching a class, so I sent her a text asking her to get more details from her student about the owner of the nail salon and his manicure.

I didn’t care what Mason said to do or not do. I had to be true to myself. I called CeeCee, prepared to ask her straight out if Tony was allergic to wool and if he’d had a rash recently. But I got her voice mail. I left a message asking her to call me back.

I felt better now that I had taken steps to deal with
everything. But the good feeling was short-lived, as I saw Jaimee and Todd come into the bookstore a few minutes later. I had the feeling they were going to be trouble. Jaimee was dressed in her usual expensive-casual look, and Todd was in tennis clothes. Seeing him from a distance reminded me of something, but I couldn’t sort out what. Mrs. Shedd went over to them, and the next thing I knew, Jaimee was pointing in my direction. Todd held on to her hand and then reluctantly let it go, before he turned to leave. Did that mean they were back together?

Jaimee had a big smile when she reached me in the yarn department. I almost fell over when she hugged me.

“I understand you’re the one who explained to Todd why I was upset. I am a little surprised, though. I thought I’d made it really clear to him what the problem was, but I guess he didn’t get it.” She stopped for a breath. “He’s invited me to stay with him until the house is done. Then, who knows?” She seemed as giddy as a teenager. I waited for what was to come next—I didn’t really believe she had just come here to share her news.

“Now I realize how petty it was to keep Todd’s things, but I was so angry. Anyway, I want to get everything back to him.” She looked around, as if she was worried he was still there. “I don’t want him to know that I lied to him when I told him everything was in a storage unit, when it was really at my place. Brooklyn is against us getting back together, so she won’t help, but I want to get his things and surprise him. Todd dropped me off here. He thinks you and I are having lunch together. Could you give me a lift to my place and help me get the stuff? You can drop me off at Mason’s.” When I didn’t say yes immediately, she went on. “I’m sure you want me out of the house so you and Mason can get cozy.”

She definitely hit a nerve with that comment, so I agreed
to take her during my lunch break. Sheila was coming into the bookstore as we were walking out, and she seemed relieved when I said I’d have to postpone her practice class.

*   *   *

Jaimee couldn’t make enough comments about the greenmobile and all the modern amenities it was missing. “I’m surprised it has seat belts,” she said, putting hers on. I started to react to her comment, but she claimed she was just joking, which I doubted since she seemed to have no sense of humor.

She directed me through Encino and then up into the hills to Mulholland Drive. My phone made a few noises to announce something, but I ignored it. We had a mesmerizing view of the Valley below us as the road curved around, until she had me turn off into a small development of luxury homes—really just a long street that ended in a cul-de-sac. They were all similar but had slightly different designs done in off-white stucco with terra-cotta tile roofs. It seemed very quiet, like nobody was home in any of the houses. There were a few cars parked on the street and in some of the driveways. Jaimee pointed out hers, and I pulled in.

There was a Dumpster out front, but it appeared the workers were gone for the day. I expected the inside of her place to be stripped down, but as we passed the living room, it looked intact. “I thought you were redoing your house,” I said. What I didn’t say was that it looked like she didn’t really have to move out.

“I’m redoing the den,” Jaimee said, pointing out the next room we passed. It had been emptied, and the flooring had been stripped down to the concrete. A workbench with a saw and other tools was in the middle of the room. I noticed a stack of lumber and some cinder blocks. The room seemed
dimly lit, even with the French doors leading outside. Then I saw that the patio outside was covered, which cut down on the light that made it inside.

I followed her to one of the bedrooms. She folded back the closet door, and I saw an array of men’s clothes hanging from the rack and a stack of blue gym bags on the ground. She seemed surprised by the amount of stuff. “Maybe we’ll just take some of it now.”

I was really trying to be better about my cell phone. Remembering that it had chirped with the sound for messages, I pulled it out and looked at the screen, but it said “No service.” Jaimee noticed what I was doing. “Cell service is spotty up here. You might have to drive around the cul-de-sac. Just keep an eye on the screen until you see that you’ve got service and stop there,” she said. I guess I gave her a look, because she told me they were putting in a tower nearby that was going to assure consistent service. Of course, that was no help to me now.

I got in the car and backed out of the driveway and then started toward the dead end of the street, going about five miles an hour. I reached the end and came back around and still, no service. I turned around where the street fed into Mulholland and tried again. I finally had to drive out onto Mulholland before the phone would work. I checked through the phone and saw that I’d received a text.

“What?” I gasped as I read it over. Dinah had gotten some information from her student Emily that absolutely changed everything.

I quickly drove back and went into the house to get Jaimee. When I passed the den, I saw that she had moved some of the gym bags in there. I went to have a look at them. The first couple held tennis balls and rackets, but the next one was full of cash. There were bundles of singles and
five-dollar bills. And then I heard voices.
This is not good
, I thought. I couldn’t tell where the voices were coming from, so I grabbed the first hiding spot I could find. It wasn’t very original, but the closet seemed like it would work. The door had louvered slats, and I could see into the room, but I was pretty sure I couldn’t be seen. I tried my phone again, but it still had no service.

“Yes, I followed you, sweetie,” Todd said. “I knew it would be too much for you to manage. I’ll just take all the gym bags. You can bring my clothes if you want.”

“Bring them where?” Jaimee said.

“Just take them back to your ex’s. I’ll come by later or call you.” He grabbed three gym bags and started to walk toward the front door.
Let him go, let him go
, I thought, hoping Jaimee would pick up on my mental telepathy.

“Wait a second,” Jaimee said. “Was this all just a plan for you to get your stuff back?”

“No, honey. Like I said, you take the clothes, and we’ll meet up tonight.”

Jaimee went for one of the gym bags. “No way.
You
take the clothes, and I’ll take the gym bags.” She unzipped the one she’d grabbed and then squealed. I couldn’t see what she was seeing, but it seemed like a safe bet it was filled with cash, like the bag I’d seen.

“I don’t understand,” Jaimee said. “What are you doing with bags full of money?”

Todd grabbed the bag from Jaimee’s hand and swore under his breath. “I was a dead man if I didn’t find these,” he said. “You don’t cross Mr. X.”

“Who? Where did the money come from?” Jaimee asked. Apparently she hadn’t paid any attention to the TV show that Mason had on incessantly.

Todd looked like he was going to ignore what she said, but
then he seemed to have a need to explain. “One of my clients asked me to do him a favor. He had a lot of cash from something. He asked me to deposit the money in my account, then transfer it to an offshore account he had. He offered to pay me a percentage for doing it. It was easy money, so how could I turn it down? Then he asked me to do it again, and again after that. All I had to do was go to the bank a lot. As long as the deposits were small, nobody asked any questions. At least that’s how it was supposed to be. I was ready with an answer just in case—I gave clients a discount if they paid me in cash for lessons. I was a victim of my own success, and pretty soon I was accumulating bags of cash faster than I could deposit them. I started bringing some of them here.”

“Okay,” Jaimee said. “Just do what you have to with these bags of money and then tell him you quit.” She went to hug him. “We’ll work this out together.” I watched in horror as he turned her sign of affection into an opportunity to grab her.

“There is no quitting. I made a deal with the devil. When I tried to tell him it was more than I could handle, he just told me to get help.” Todd zipped up the bag and added it back to the stack. “Why couldn’t you have just made this easy and let me leave with the bags without interfering?”

“You should have told me there was a problem,” Jaimee said. “I can help you.”

She couldn’t see it, but Todd rolled his eyes and gave her an angry look. “You really don’t understand, do you?”

“I can help you make the deposits,” she said. “We can work this all out together.” Her tone was cajoling. I had no idea what she was thinking. Did she really mean she wanted to help him, or did she realize she was in danger and was trying to act like she was on his side so he would let her go?

“I have help. When that woman at the bank started asking all those questions and commenting on how odd it was that
all my tennis students paid in cash and in small bills, I got a partner. I thought it would shut her up when I told her I was a partner in some nail salons, too, and was making deposits for them. But she only talked more. Evan said to ignore her like he did, but when she joked more than once that it was almost like I was laundering money, I knew I had to get rid of her.”

“What do you mean get rid of her?” Jaimee squealed.

His demeanor and voice changed, and it almost seemed that he was talking to himself. “It turned out to be very easy. Delaney was flattered when I invited her to the party. She didn’t have a clue that I’d doctored her drink. And then I took her into the Collins place through the back gate. I arranged her on the floor and turned the heat on full blast. On the way out I stuffed up the vent.”