Death on a Platter (21 page)

“Not as disgusting as Mr. Litter Box Foot.”

“He took a bath. I watched him.”

“Terrific. Now his foot is covered in cat spit instead of cat—” Josie’s tirade was interrupted by a knock on the front door.

“I’ll get it,” Amelia said, eager to get away from her angry mother.

“Check who’s on the porch first before you open the door, Amelia,” Josie said.

“It’s Grandma!” Amelia said. She greeted Jane with delight—and probably relief. Harry disappeared under the couch.

“We’re having pizza,” Amelia said. “Do you want to join us, Grandma?”

“Thanks, honey, but I’m not hungry. I need to see your mother right away.” Jane’s face crumpled and she collapsed, weeping, into the living room chair.

Josie ran in and kneeled beside her. “Mom! What’s the matter? Were you in an accident? Are you hurt? Are you sick?”

She was shocked by her mother’s appearance. Jane’s lipstick was bitten off and her sprayed hair stuck out in sticky wings. Her skin looked grayer than her hair.

“It’s not me. It’s Tillie,” Jane said. “That lawyer you like so much—Renzo Fischer—wants a hundred thousand dollars for her trial. He says he can’t work for toasted ravioli now that she’s facing the death penalty. He has to hire expert witnesses, get lab tests and exhibits, and if it goes to trial he’ll need more. He has the nerve to claim he’s giving her a special discount rate because she’s a friend.”

Jane gave a most unladylike snort. “Some friend.”

“Mom, I can ask Alyce to talk to her husband and see if Jake can find a better lawyer for her, but I think that may be a low price for a capital murder trial. I’ve heard they can cost a quarter million or more.”

“Where’s she going to get the money for that terrific discount?” Jane’s voice trembled and her head wobbled a little. “She’ll have to sell her restaurant to that Desmond buzzard. And he’s withdrawn his offer for a million dollars. He says her business isn’t worth that anymore. Now he wants to give Tillie one hundred ten thousand dollars for her business and building.

“After she pays the lawyer, she’ll have almost nothing for a lifetime of work,” Jane said. “Tillie can’t live on ten thousand dollars. And that leaves nothing for Lorena. She’ll be out of a job. Lorena was duped by that Desmond with his flashy diamond ring.
Ha!
He chased after that girl, pretending to be such a Romeo. Ruined her life, that’s what he did. And her mother’s. If Tillie needs more money for that trial, she’s out of luck. You’ve got to do something, Josie.”

Jane seemed exhausted after recounting Tillie’s tribulations. She sat back in the chair and shut her eyes. “My friend is going to be in jail forever. She could wind up on death row. Can’t you help her? Haven’t you found anything yet?”

“I have one small lead,” Josie said. “Gemma Lynn may be able to help. Alyce and I can see her in the morning.”

“This can’t wait until morning, Josie. Desmond’s given Tillie forty-eight hours to accept his offer. You have to go now.”

“I’ll call Gemma Lynn and see if she’s still at her shop.” Josie dialed the number. It rang and rang, but no one picked up.

“She’s not at work, Mom, but I expect her store is closed at this hour.”

“Then call her at home.” Jane didn’t bother hiding her impatience. “Do you know where she lives?”

“She has an apartment above the shop,” Josie said.

Josie found Gemma’s home number through directory assistance and called. Her phone rang four times, then went into voice mail. She left a message. “Hi, Gemma. It’s Josie. I was in the other day with my friend who bought the white coffeepot. I need to talk with you as soon as possible.” She left her cell phone number and hung up.

“You heard, Mom,” Josie said. “She’s not home.”

“Then go see her.”

“Now?” Josie said. “It’s seven thirty. It will be eight o’clock by the time I get there. Gemma’s street is deserted during the day. I shouldn’t go alone at night.”

“Then I’ll go with you,” Jane said. Her color was improving.

“No, I need you to stay with Amelia, Mom.”

Amelia, who’d been lurking by the kitchen door, said, “I can take care of myself, Mom.”

“The last time you said that, I found out you’d hitchhiked to Clayton with a backpack full of wine coolers,” Josie said. “We had three people searching for you at midnight.”

“I was trying to help you, Mom. Besides, I’m a different person now. I’m almost a teenager.”

“That’s what worries me,” Josie said. “You are not staying home by yourself.”

“Could Alyce go with you?” Jane asked.

“Not at night. That’s her family time.”

“What about Ted?” Jane’s eyes were bright and she was standing taller.

“He’s working at the clinic tonight,” Josie said.

“Can’t he get his partner to take over for an hour or so?” Jane looked a decade younger. The defeated old woman was growing stronger now that she had some hope.

“I can call him and find out,” Josie said.

“Call him from your car,” Jane said and pushed her toward the front door. Now Jane seemed as strong as a quarterback.

“Thanks for doing this,” she said briskly. She handed Josie her purse and keys and shoved her out her own door.

“But, Mom,” Josie said.

“Don’t dillydally,” Jane said, and slammed the door in her daughter’s face.

“I didn’t get any pizza,” Josie said to the closed door.

Ted’s clinic was less then ten minutes from Josie’s home. She drove straight there to pick him up. She was relieved to see his tangerine Mustang in the lot and no other cars. Maybe he could get free.

The clinic door was unlocked. Josie ran inside and saw the powder blue waiting room was empty. Magazines were neatly stacked on a side table. Josie caught the light scent of dog hair under the thick odor of disinfectant. The receptionist’s computer was off and her desk was neat. Ted must be here alone.

Josie ran down the narrow hall to his office. All the examination rooms were empty. Good. In Ted’s office, his black Lab was sleeping under the desk. Festus barked a greeting and ran over to Josie, tail thumping.

“Where’s Ted?” Josie asked the dog.

Festus nosed open the swinging door to the back rooms and led her to the surgery. Ted was in green scrubs, standing by a long table, setting sharp, scary-looking instruments on a tray, including what looked like a saw. Josie’s stomach turned. Ted was so engrossed in his work that he didn’t see her.

“Arf!”
Festus said. That got Ted’s attention.

“Josie, what’s wrong?” he asked. “Why are you here? Is Harry sick? Is Amelia all right?”

“Everyone is fine,” Josie said. “I need you, Ted. I may have a lead on who killed Clay.”

She paced the room, wringing her hands.

“Calm down, Josie,” Ted said. He found a blue plastic chair and pushed her gently into it. “Here. Sit down. Let me get you some coffee.”

“That will only make me more jittery,” Josie said.

“How about some tea?”

“Please, Ted, I don’t need anything except for you to listen.”

“Then I’m all ears.”

Josie took a deep breath and said, “I took your advice. I did an Internet search and found another source for castor beans.”

She told him what she’d read online about castor beans and maracas. “Remember when Gemma said someone bought up all but one pair of her Mexican maracas? I thought she was trying to pressure you into buying that last set. Now I don’t. I think the person who bought those maracas wanted them for their castor beans. The buyer could be Clay’s killer. Gemma knows the name. I have to go see her tonight. I need you to go with me.”

“Josie, I can’t. I’m getting ready for emergency surgery. Can’t this wait till morning?”

“No,” Josie said. “Tillie needs a hundred thousand dollars right away.”

She told him about the lawyer’s need for more money and Desmond’s demand for an immediate sale. “Mom says this can’t wait until morning. She wants me to see Gemma Lynn tonight. She’s at my house taking care of Amelia. I need you.

“If Gemma Lynn tells me who bought those maracas, we could find Clay’s killer. I tried to call Gemma at the store. Then I called her home. No one answered, so I’m driving there now.”

“You can’t go alone, Josie. That street is too dangerous at night.”

“I was hoping you’d come with me,” Josie said.

Ted made a whimpering sound, almost like Festus. “I can’t, Josie. I just got off the phone with Hans’s owner. He’s a sweet old Great Dane who likes to chase cars. This time, a Buick caught him. He got hit in the leg. His owner is bringing him in. From what he said, it sounds like Hans has a compound fracture of his right front leg. He said the bone is sticking through the skin.”

Josie hissed in sympathy.

“He’s five—that’s old for a Dane. If the break is as bad as he’s telling me, I’m going to have to operate on the old boy. At his age, he may not make it.”

“What about your partner, Christine?” Josie asked. “Couldn’t she do it?”

“She’s at her son’s basketball game. She told me she was going to turn off her cell tonight. Let me see if I can reach her.”

Ted picked up the receiver on the wall phone and dialed. He waited, then said, “Hi, it’s Ted. I’m at the clinic. I’m sorry to bother you on your night off. Any chance you could call me? Thanks.”

He hung up and shook his head. “Her phone is definitely off, Josie.”

Josie gathered up her purse and found her keys. “It was selfish of me to bother you. I still have that canister of pepper spray you gave me to ward off wild dogs. I’ll be fine. I’d better go.”

Ted grabbed her arm. “No, you won’t. I promised I’d be there for you. Now the first time you need me, I’m stuck at work.”

“This is ridiculous,” Josie said. “I can take care of myself.”

“Yes, you can,” Ted said. “But what about your daughter? You’re looking for a killer, Josie. Someone who poisoned a man in front of a restaurant full of witnesses. That’s cold-blooded. He won’t hesitate to hurt you. Do you want your mother raising Amelia if anything happens to you?”

“No, but—”

“Then turn on your phone. I’ll stay with you while you find her.”

“But I’m only twenty minutes away from River Bluff,” Josie said.

“I don’t care,” Ted said. “You can’t go there alone. Do you want me to abandon that poor dog?”

“No, that would be cruel,” Josie said.

“Then turn on your cell phone and call me.”

“What if Hans’s owner needs to contact you again?” Josie said.

“Call my cell. That will keep the clinic line open. I’m not going to run out of minutes. Are you?”

“No,” Josie said. “My plan is unlimited.”

“Then do it, Josie. Please.”

Josie dug out her cell and called Ted. His pocket rang and he took out his cell phone and pressed a button. “Okay, it’s on. Don’t hang up. Keep your phone within reach on the car seat. I’ll hang on, but I won’t talk unless you need me. I’ll be right here, Josie. And if that line goes dead, I’ll leave poor Hans and come after you. His future depends on you.”

Josie didn’t like the choices facing her. To help her mother’s friend, she had to risk her daughter’s future and that poor dog’s life.

“I can do this,” Josie said. “I’ll be fine. Amelia is safe with my mother and I’ll find Clay’s killer. I’m safe as long as I have backup.”

She kissed Ted good-bye, rushed into the chilly fall night, and turned her Honda toward Gemma’s neighborhood. Traffic was light at that hour. Seventeen minutes later, she parked in front of Gemma’s Junktique and picked up her cell phone.

“I’m here,” Josie told Ted. “The lights are off in the shop and upstairs in her apartment.”

“Give me the address, just in case,” Ted said.

“It’s thirty-eight sixty-seven Gluckman Avenue,” Josie said. “That’s in River Bluff. I’m getting out of my car now.”

“Wait!” Ted said. “Any other cars on the street? Do you see any people?”

“It’s completely deserted,” Josie said. “I don’t even see that cat you flushed out last time.”

“I don’t like this, Josie,” Ted said.

“You worry too much.” Josie slammed her car door, locked it, and walked carefully toward Gemma’s shop, scanning the empty street and boarded buildings. “We saw Gemma yesterday. It’s only eight o’clock. She’s probably at dinner or grocery shopping. I have no reason to be frightened. The streetlights make Gluckman Avenue bright as day. You’re talking to me on the phone. I’m approaching the shop now. I’m on the sidewalk right in front of the store.”

Josie stopped. “That’s funny,” she said.

“What’s funny?” Ted asked. “Josie, are you there?” She heard the fear in his voice.

“Of course I’m here, Ted. The shop door is wide-open. I’m going inside to check.”

“NO!” Ted’s voice blasted out of the tinny speaker. “Josie, do not go in there. Go back to your car and lock the doors. I’m calling nine-one-one.”

“I can call the police myself,” Josie said.

“Get in your car, Josie, please. Don’t hang up. I need to stay in touch with you. Otherwise I’ll have to abandon Hans and drive straight there. I’m calling the cops now. Hang on.”

Josie didn’t run to her car. She stayed on the sidewalk calling, “Gemma! Gemma Lynn. Are you there?”

No answer. But she heard a hollow
tappety-clip, tappety-clip
sound. Josie jumped, then saw an empty fast-food cup blowing down the street. Her heart was banging against her ribs like it was trying to escape. Josie didn’t feel quite so secure now.

She ran back to her car, climbed in, locked the doors, and felt in her purse for the canister of pepper spray. She didn’t think she needed it, but maybe if Ted knew she was holding it, he’d feel better.

“I’ve got the nine-one-one operator on the clinic phone, Josie,” he said. “A police officer is on the way. The operator wants to know if you’re safe.”