Seams Like Murder (9 page)

“What did you do, match her up with a missing person’s report?” I asked. I could tell by Barry’s expression I was right. I glanced at the photo. “And that picture was in the file.”

“You must have some idea how CeeCee could have been connected with the victim.”

“I don’t. Really. I have no idea what Delaney has been up to lately. Even when I knew her in the past, it was minimal.”

“Are you sure you’re not holding anything back?” Barry said, scrutinizing my eyes.

“That is all I know, honest. How about a cup of tea?” He
seemed to accept that I didn’t know anything else and agreed to the tea. I cleared the table and then spent some time in the kitchen putting the dishes in the dishwasher before making the tea and finding some cookies to put on a plate. When I brought in the tray of tea things, Barry was just sliding back in his seat. He began to pack up his notebook and the photograph as I set down the steaming mug of Earl Grey tea in front of him. The fragrance of the oil of bergamot perfumed the air, and I set the plate of cookies between us.

“How’s Mason?” he asked as he picked up the cup.

His question made me feel uncomfortable. I tried to be noncommittal and said he was improving and hoped to be back at work soon.

“I’m just kind of surprised that he isn’t recuperating here. I stayed here when I got shot,” he said. It was true—Barry had stayed at my place because he couldn’t deal with stairs for a while. We hadn’t even been together at the time. I’d done it out of friendship. I could see it did seem like I’d abandoned Mason.

“He’s got plenty of help. One of his daughters moved in with him.” I wanted to leave it at that, but Barry was a very good detective, and he immediately picked up that there was something more. I might be good at keeping details of a crime scene from him, but when it came to personal stuff, it was a whole other story.

“There’s an ‘and’ in there,” he said, locking his gaze on my face.

“Well, she isn’t exactly a big fan of my relationship with Mason,” I said finally.

“There’s still more, isn’t there?” he prodded.

“Okay, his ex-wife is staying there, too.” Barry’s eyes opened wider and he laughed.

“Now I get it. That’s the funny thing about kids in a
divorce—they want their parents to get back together, no matter how old they are. I went through it with Jeffrey when he first came to live with me.” Barry’s gaze softened. “He stopped pushing it so hard after he met you.” Barry stopped talking abruptly, and I had the feeling that Jeffrey might now be trying to get me and Barry back together. I certainly had a soft spot for Barry’s son.

He polished off a couple of cookies and drank down the last of the tea. As he set the cup on the table, he said, “That will do it for now.” There was a heavy emphasis on the word
now
. He blew out his breath and shook his head as he looked directly at me. “I know you didn’t tell me everything you know. We’ll talk again soon.”

It was only after he left that I noticed the door handle was back on the French door, the chair was back to all four legs, and even the switch plate was secure.

I was wired when Barry left, and anxious to brainstorm with someone now that I knew who the victim was. I still couldn’t get over the revelation that it was someone I knew. It was too late to call Dinah. Even though she claimed it was never too late to call her, I knew she was probably asleep. Ah, but there was Mason. Since the accident he’d had insomnia. I figured he was probably watching television and would be glad to have something else to occupy his mind.

I called his cell, not wanting to disturb the house. As soon as the phone was answered, I blurted out, “I found out who the victim is.”

“Who is this?” a perturbed female voice said. Brooklyn and her mother sounded a lot alike, so I wasn’t sure who it was. “It’s too late to be calling,” she continued. I sensed she was about to hang up, but Mason apparently managed to get the phone from her.

“Sunshine, it’s you, isn’t it?” He sounded annoyed, not at
me, but at whoever he’d grabbed the phone from. Apparently, he’d walked away from the phone for a moment, and it was his daughter who’d answered the call. “Brooklyn, I’m fine. You can go on to bed now,” he said, talking away from the phone. She didn’t go quietly, though—I could hear her telling him he shouldn’t let me get him all worked up. Then she reminded him she’d left him some hot milk to help him sleep.

“Finally,” he said, and I gathered she’d left the room. “Hot milk, my daughter bossing me around and treating me like an old man—” I imagined that he had thrown up his hands in frustration. “Please, oh please, don’t ask me how I’m feeling or if I’ve taken some pill.”

“No problem,” I said. “I called to brainstorm. I found out who the victim is.”

“And?” he said.

“Her name is Delaney Tanner. She’s lived in Tarzana for years and years—”

I was surprised when Mason interrupted me. “You just found out, this late? Who told you?” He sounded worried. I didn’t really want to tell him about Barry’s visit, but I wasn’t about to lie, either.

“Since I’m the one who actually found the body, the cops wanted to talk to me again.”

“So a couple of uniforms came by almost at midnight and asked you a bunch of questions?” He seemed even more perturbed. “You should have told them you wanted your lawyer present—me.”

“It wasn’t a couple of uniforms. It was Barry,” I said.

I heard Mason make an angry sigh. “The same goes for him. Don’t talk to him unless I’m there.”

“It was fine. I just gave him a few facts. I got more than I gave. I found out the victim was Delaney. All he found out was that I sort of knew her a long time ago.”

“I suppose he wanted to know if there was a connection between her and CeeCee. If he didn’t, I do.”

“I have no idea if or how she knew CeeCee. But somebody there must have known her, or how else would she have gotten inside?” I explained the electric gates and intercom.

“I suppose CeeCee has an attorney, but in case she needs one, I could hobble over there,” he said with a chuckle. I was relieved that he was back to his good-humored self. “Sunshine, it isn’t that I don’t trust you with the detective. I just don’t want to see him bothering you at all hours on his quest for justice.”

“I was awake anyway.” I didn’t mention the food or the tea. I did my best to make it sound like we’d stood in the doorway talking. And I certainly wouldn’t have wanted Mason to be there. The last thing I wanted to do was to have the two of them vying to see who was top dog. “I think it’s easier for me to deal with him directly.” I took a breath before continuing. “That is, as long as he doesn’t start looking at me as his prime suspect,” I said, trying to lighten the moment.

“What’s your next step?” Mason asked.

“What makes you think I have a next step?” I countered. I was glad when I heard him chuckle.

“We all know that you’ve probably already started trying to connect the dots in this case.”

“To be honest, until I knew who the victim was, I had no idea what to do.”

“But now you do?” he said. It was such a relief to hear him sound like his old self. It seemed whenever I called, Brooklyn was somewhere in the background, making it difficult for him to talk. Now there was the addition of Jaimee. I was glad that for once it was just the two of us talking with no audience.

“Actually, that’s why I called. I thought we could shoot ideas back and forth.”

“Of course,” he said. “There’s nothing I’d like to do more.” He stopped, and I heard him chuckle. “Well, there is, but due to my mobility issues at the moment, it isn’t on the table.” Cosmo jumped next to me on the couch. “Why don’t you come over? I can let you in without the ladies finding out. We could at least cuddle while we talk.”

It sounded appealing, but by then the long, long day had kicked in, and I wondered if I’d even be able to get off the couch. “Rain check,” I said. “And we better talk fast. I’m fading quickly.”

Mason suggested talking to CeeCee and whoever else was regularly in the house. “That would be the housekeeper and Tony Bonnard,” I said.

“Really?” Mason said in a gossipy voice. “He’s living there?”

“CeeCee said it was just temporary. He’s trying to put together a web-only show, now that he’s off the soap.”

“I knew that,” Mason said. “And every other Hollywood tidbit. I need to stop watching all this television. It’s so much better to talk about something real.”

I was quiet for a moment, and he asked if I was still there. I’d gotten distracted because the image of the body on the ground had come back in my mind, and I was thinking about the vest. “Sorry,” I said. I mentioned the vest and the fact that something about it seemed familiar.

“I’m afraid I can’t help you with that,” he said. I yawned, and he heard it. “Sunshine, maybe I can’t sleep, but you certainly need yours. We’ll talk tomorrow and do some more brainstorming.” He signed off with his usual “love you.”

“Me, too,” I said before clicking off.

I didn’t dare sit longer or I would have fallen asleep. I undressed quickly and fell into bed. I was drifting off to sleep as I felt my assorted animals join me, all in their usual spots.

*   *   *

I woke up the next morning with the vague memory of some very odd dreams. First, I’d been investing in a yarn company, and then a line of sheep had walked through the scene. There were some dancing crochet hooks that tripped over one another and fell down, then a pair of knitting needles popped up in a triumphant manner.

“Knitting needles winning,” I said aloud and swung my feet over the side of the bed to get up. “I better not mention this dream to Adele.” Felix put his head up when I spoke. He seemed less concerned with what I had to say than with the prospect of being let outside. He was off and running across the house before I had put on my slippers.

I was still thinking about the dream, trying to figure out what it meant while I drove to the bookstore. I guess I should be grateful I dreamed about dancing crochet hooks rather than dead bodies.

On my way into the bookstore, reality hit, and I wondered if any of our group would show up for our regular get-together. I was totally shocked when I’d barely walked in the front door of the bookstore and I saw CeeCee hanging out by the poster promoting Yarn University.

People often came up to CeeCee at the bookstore and wanted an autograph or a photo, and she never, ever refused, so she always took special care to look nice when she came here.

But this morning, she was dressed to be ignored. CeeCee was smart enough not to don a big hat and sunglasses if she wanted to be invisible, but this was the first time I’d ever seen her in jeans—and these weren’t designer ones, either. She had a hoodie over the washed-out jeans and a bandana tied over her hair. She made eye contact with me and pointed toward
the yarn department in the back. Instead of walking straight to it, she stuck to the side of the store, practically in the shadow.

I let her get a head start before taking the direct route, so we arrived in the yarn department at the same time. She flopped into a chair and leaned back in exhaustion. “I had to get out of there,” she said, making a vague gesture, probably toward her home. “The cops are relentless. They were back at the crack of dawn to question us again, and this time they had the identity of the victim.”

“Then you don’t know Delaney Tanner?” I said when I joined her at the table. I wanted to ask her if Barry was part of the questioning committee, thinking of how late he’d left my place. But I didn’t want to mention his visit, so I didn’t say anything.

“No. The name didn’t mean anything to me or Tony.” CeeCee had done a poor job of securing the bandana, and it slid off. I’d never seen her hair look so disheveled before.

“What about her face? They did show you a photo, didn’t they?” I asked.

CeeCee seemed tired of the questions. “Dear, I glanced at it, and she didn’t look familiar. Tony did the same and had the same response. They wanted to question Rosa, and they got very upset when I explained that after she’d stayed so late, I had to give her time off this morning.” CeeCee shook her head in distress. “I thought Detective Greenberg was going to put out an APB for her.”

So, Barry was part of the questioning team. I wanted to ask her if he looked tired, but I mentally told myself to snap out of it. Whether or not he had circles under his eyes was not my concern. Surprisingly, CeeCee actually had brought a bag with her current project, and now she pulled out the yellow baby blanket she was making. There was a state law that a mother could surrender her newborn at a fire station
with no questions asked. CeeCee wanted to give baby blankets to the local fire station so they’d have something when someone left them with a baby. She absently began crocheting as she continued her tale of woe.

“The worst was how they’re grilling Tony. They wanted to know exactly what our relationship was and if he was living at my place. They even asked what financial arrangement we had. He’s already embarrassed about his circumstances.” Her eyes went skyward. I considered asking just what those circumstances were, but it didn’t seem like a good time since she was already so upset.

“I wonder how long Delaney was up there,” I said. It felt very strange to add her name to the body I’d seen. CeeCee responded with an uncomfortable grunt.

“They certainly weren’t giving me any information. They were trying to pull it out of me. They kept asking me about last Thursday. Who was at my place? Who did I let in? And to be honest, dear, I’d rather not think about it. I just want this whole thing to be over with.” She got to the end of a row and, with barely a pause, did a turning chain and started on the next row.

“What did you tell them?” I asked.

“That none of us let that woman in,” CeeCee said. She set down the crochet as she suddenly had a realization. “I suppose that means they know she died on Thursday. That means she was up there all weekend.” CeeCee shuddered. “Imagine if Tony or I had gone up there alone? I’m just glad you were there when we found her.”

Her comment made me uneasy. I had heard over and over how killers tried to arrange for someone else to find their victim, or at least to have someone with them when the body was found. Hadn’t Tony encouraged her to take us up there to see the “studio”?

CeeCee picked up her work again and began to crochet. I could see that she was beginning to relax. “It feels so much better to be here, talking to you. Dear, please work your magic and figure this out. Nobody has said it yet, but I saw the way those detectives were looking at me. Even Barry. I’m one step away from being their number one suspect.”

I had a bad feeling she might be right.

Rhoda arrived at the table and dropped her tote bag before pulling out a chair. “Elise isn’t coming. And Eduardo has something going on at his store.” She did a double take when she saw CeeCee, and she pulled me aside. “What happened? Did they take her down to the station and keep her overnight? She looks terrible.”

Dinah arrived a moment later. “What have I missed?”

CeeCee waved a tired hand at me. “You tell them, dear.” I was up to the part where we’d figured out that the time of death was the previous Thursday, based on what the cops had said, when Babs showed up. She had come prepared and had a bag with yarn and crochet tools.

“Oh, that’s you,” she said, trying but failing to hide her surprise at CeeCee’s appearance. She gingerly patted her on the shoulder and turned to the rest of us. “I hope it’s okay if I join you all today. You have no idea how much I miss this kind of companionship.” I explained that I was just bringing Dinah and Rhoda up to speed on what was going on at CeeCee’s.

Babs listened intently as I continued. She gasped when I mentioned that CeeCee was concerned about being considered a suspect.

“Nobody can possibly think you’d hurt somebody,” she told CeeCee. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.” She glanced over CeeCee’s appearance and let out a few tsks. “First things first. Let’s get you fixed up.” She helped CeeCee up and took her off to the bathroom.

With them gone, Dinah, Rhoda, and I began to talk. Rhoda was the first to speak. “No matter what CeeCee says, there is one thing that is absolutely true. One way or another that woman ended up in the guest apartment.”

“And I bet the cops think she was invited. With the locked gates CeeCee has now, there’s no way she just wandered in,” Dinah said.

“She was alive when she got there,” I said. I didn’t want to mention the gory details of the vomit and pills and was glad when nobody asked why I was so sure. The image of Delaney’s body flashed in my mind again, and I thought of the vest. “The vest she was wearing seemed oddly familiar,” I told them. “It has to be something about the yarn.” I looked at the cubbies of yarn, which had swatches in both knit and crochet hanging off them.

“You probably just have yarn on the brain,” Rhoda said, watching as I checked out a couple of the swatches.

I let go of the swatch of some variegated worsted-weight yarn in shades of brown. “You’re probably right.”

“Molly,” Mrs. Shedd said, coming into the yarn department with a young woman. Our arrangement was that I could sit with the crochet group as long as I took care of any customer who needed help.