A Secondhand Murder (32 page)

“
She's fine,” said Grandy.

I shot her an accusatory look. “What are
you
doing here? Out of the hospital? Out of bed?”

“
I came to find out where the locket was.”

I looked at her in shock. “That damn locket—”

“
Right. It's more trouble than it's worth. I'm giving it back to the family. To Constance.”

I turned to Frida. “You didn't tell Madeleine when you called?”

“
I did.”

“
It'll be waiting for Constance when she gets out of prison. Something to remember us by.” Grandy seemed pleased with her decision. “I'm so tired of having to defend my ownership. Its significance is long past.”

“
Aw, shit.”

“
You don't approve?” asked Grandy.

“
No, that's not it. It's just … I left my Jimmy Choos out in the swamp.”

A cup of hot chocolate in my hand helped me forget about the shoes, at least for the moment. And everyone was eager to hear the truth about Valerie's murder, so storytelling served as another distraction.

“
Apparently Dwight saw Constance sneak out of the shop. When he confronted her, she claimed self-defense, saying that her mother had taken a knife from their kitchen, brought it with her to the shop and attacked her in the dressing room. Dwight didn't believe it, but he went along with the story. At least for a while. Then he decided to ask for money in exchange for his silence.”

“
What did Valerie do with the money she got from pawning the family jewels?” asked Madeleine.

“
She bought into Eduardo's drug scheme. Right?” I turned to Frida for confirmation. She nodded.

“
Someone, probably Constance, disguised herself in order to sneak back into my shop. She was worried that the cops would search their house, only to find the knife that she had taken from home missing from the set.”

Frida jumped in. “She had noticed the set in the store, so she decided to buy them, but when she found the store empty and you in the bathroom, she took a look around and spotted the knife from the set in your shop on the floor. She got lucky and took it, then convinced Dwight to put it in the Sanders' kitchen to make it seem like one wasn't missing. I think that was the night that some of you visited the house.” Frida's accusing glance traveled the room, landing on Grandy, Alex, Madeleine, Jerry, and finally coming to rest on Nappi.

“
Why would Dwight do that?” asked Madeleine.

“
I think Eduardo talked him into it. He can be very persuasive.” I flashed back to the scene in the stables when Spelling and Randolph had seemed unable to say no to any of Eduardo's commands.

“
Eduardo and Constance were worried that you were coming too close to the truth when you accused Dwight of killing his stepmother,” Frida said.

“
So both Dwight and I had to go. But I made it out of the swamp alive, Dwight turned the tables on his killer, and Leon had the foresight to protect his son by claiming the body was his.”

“
Eduardo managed everything but the murder. He sent the hit men after Dwight and your Grandy. He's not against killing but he has others do it for him,” said Nappi.

“
Yep,” said Rob and Antoine together.

“
He seemed to be fed up with his wife's behavior earlier tonight when she ran out of the stable,” I said.

Frida's cell rang. She answered, listened intently then flipped the phone shut.

“
I guess Eduardo was more than a little fed-up. He boarded a plane at Miami International bound for Argentina. He's going home, and not alone.”

I tried to imagine who could possibly be going with him. Randolph? Spelling? No. He'd never take those peons. He had told me he was surrounded by idiots. Who then?

All eyes in the room were on Frida. Her face displayed a look of disgust, perhaps because the authorities hadn't been able to take his passport from him, yet her lips twitched as if trying to keep a smile from forming.

“
He had his wife with him.”

“
Constance? She's still in lock-up, pending her hearing,” Alex said.

“
Well, the passport had her name on it, but the picture was of a tall, dark woman with angular features. I'm told she looked like Eduardo's sister.”

“
Not his sister,” I said. “His personal secretary. I thought there was something funny there.”

“
Well, regardless. They're halfway to South America by now,” said Frida.

“
Nonstop flight?” asked Alex.

She nodded.

“
Extradition?”

“
Maybe. I suspect that the Argentine authorities will be interested in what the U.S. has to say about his drug smuggling. I talked with the DEA and they have heard that he's having some trouble with his drug contacts there. Something about ‘not delivering on promises,' meaning he owes them money. So if the police in Argentina don't grab him when he lands, the cartel will.” Frida shook her head.

So did Nappi. “It's not smart to play fast and loose with drug kingpins. They understand punishment.”

We all got quiet. I would have preferred that the American legal system was handling him and his crimes. I wondered what would happen with the horses, but I knew that, no matter what, they'd have better lives without him and his cronies. He was a cruel man. Cruel to the animals in his care and cruel to his family. A man without feelings, who manipulated the lives of everyone around him. I shuddered when I thought about all of the terrible things he had done. In some ways I had more compassion for Constance, who had acted out of desperation when she saw her inheritance snatched away. Eduardo was all about money, greed, and cruelty.

Alex must have noticed the tension in my body because he put his arm around me. I looked up into his eyes and trembled—not out of fear, but anticipation. For once, my family and friends were tuned into my desires. Max and Grandy fled to the spare bedroom, while the others quickly departed, insisting that I needed sleep.

Alex walked me into the bedroom, his lips hovering close to mine as he laid me on the bed.

“
At least this time I won't be in this bed alone,” he said.

He might as well have been by himself. I smiled, yawned, and fell into a deep sleep.

As Alex and I were getting ready to leave for our picnic the next afternoon, the doorbell rang.

“
I'll get it,” said Grandy. “You two lovebirds stay put.”

Alex and I were in the kitchen, holding hands across my center island and contemplating the abundance of food Grandy had packed for us.

“
We're never going to eat all this,” said Alex.

“
I don't know. I'm pretty hungry.”

“
You got up late and had a huge breakfast. You're still hungry?”

I changed the subject. “I think I like this detecting business. Maybe we should join forces and become a PI team.”

“
You got lucky, that's all.”

“
Oh, don't worry. I'm only kidding. I think I'll stick with the consignment shop. Of course, I'm going to have to get another job now, seeing as I have to make the payments on this house
and
the payments on my loan to Jerry—or Nappi, or whoever is holding the paper on it.”

Grandy entered the room, carrying an envelope. “This arrived for you by special courier. Must be real important. I didn't think there were any special messengers in these parts.”

I tore open the envelope. Inside was a letter, signed by Nappi. I scanned it quickly, then began to laugh.

“
What's so funny?” asked Alex.

“
Well, your number one competitor kept his word. Nappi told me that he had arranged something with Leon Sanders when he returned those papers. Boy, did he! Listen to this. ‘So sorry for all of your misfortune. I feel somewhat responsible, seeing as my daughter was the one to have your automobile blown up. She hired one of my more incompetent men to give you a scare. I know how much you loved that car, so I've taken the liberty of buying you a new one. You can take your insurance money and do with it as you like. Perhaps a vacation in the Keys? Of course, I've given her a good talking to and have taken some of her allowance money as reparation.' ”

I continued to read aloud, “ ‘Enclosed is the deed to your house in Sabal Bay, and I've forgiven the loan on your business. Jerry will be paying that back to me, seeing as how he was the one foolish enough to sign over all those properties to Mr. Sanders in the first place. As you said, that was your divorce settlement. Now he'll be working for me at very low pay for years. I hope the experience will make him a better man. I'm only sorry that it couldn't have come before the two of you were divorced.' It's signed ‘Nappi.' Oh, there's a PS.

“‘
As for the marriage between him and my daughter, it turns out that Monica isn't pregnant and, having discovered that Jerry is only one of my employees now—and not the owner of a house, condo and boat, as she originally thought—she seems to have fallen out of love with him. She clearly doesn't have the staying power of her father, who continues to be the devoted servant and admirer of your Grandy and you.' ”

“
Yeah, I kind of got that.” Alex rolled his eyes.

“
Now isn't he just the most lovely man,” said Grandy.

Neither Alex nor Max seemed to agree with Grandy and me. Both wore looks of disdain, prompted—I'm guessing—by an overdose of testosterone.
Men
.

I was feeling pretty damn happy as we drove south on 441. I had my little house in Sabal Bay and my business. I guess that meant I could become more than a “winter visitor” in rural Florida. I could be a resident. Florida would become my adopted home.

I shared my joy with Alex, who still seemed a bit peeved about Nappi's generosity.

“
It'll come back around. He'll show up one day demanding a favor.”

“
I'd be glad to grant it.”

“
It'll be something outside the law.”

“
I've done stuff outside the law. Sometimes you have to.”

Alex slapped his forehead. “Oh, right. I forgot who I was talking to. The breaking and entering queen.”

“
Oops. Slow down. This is our turn.”

“
I still don't see why you want to picnic in the spot where you almost got killed.”

“
Nostalgia, I guess.”

“
For what?”

We travelled down the pavement, turned onto the gravel road and then pulled up to the dirt lane that served as the ranch's driveway. Rob's SUV was parked next to Eduardo's old office.

“
Don't we ever get to be alone?” asked Alex.

Rob walked out of the building and greeted us.

“
What are you doing here?” I asked.

“
I could ask you the same.”

“
We thought we'd picnic. Care to join us?” I asked.

“
Nah, I'm here with my lawyer. We're meeting Leon Sanders and his attorney. With Eduardo out of the country and unlikely to return, we're trying to see what it'll take for me to buy this place.”

“
Really?”

“
Yup, and it turns out that the whole thing was registered in Constance's name, with Cory Burnside as a minor partner.”

At the sound of her name, Cory emerged from the office.

“
Oh, it's you,” she said.

“
How's Randy today?” I asked her.

“
Randolph is at home. I bailed him out yesterday, the same day Eduardo left for Argentina. And, of course, Randy knew nothing about murder or drugs.”

“
Yeah, right. That's why he was willing to hold a gun on me and my friends and offer to kill us.”

“
A misunderstanding, my dear.”

“
What's to not understand about ‘bang, bang, you're dead'?”

“
Randolph and I are getting divorced, you know.” With this comment, Cory turned her bony face away from me and smiled up into Rob's eyes.

“
Well, stop by the shop,” I said. “I have just the ensemble for divorce court. In a junior size zero. We can take it in for you.” I just loved teasing her about her tiny frame.

“
The bugs here are as big as mocking birds,” Alex grumped along next to me after we had left Rob and Cory. We were walking out across the paddock toward the woods, retracing the path Constance and I had taken only last night.

“
I brought spray.” I held up a bottle.

We tramped deeper into the palms until I could see the swamp ahead. In the sunlight it looked cool and inviting, although the mosquitoes were buzzing around our ears. The storm had blown in a cold front, so the day was cool and the wind was at our backs. Alex stopped in a patch of sunlight.

“
This is good. The sun will chase away the skeeters, and the breeze will keep us cool, so we won't get over-heated.”