Arsenic and Old Cake (12 page)

As we drove a few blocks to a nearby restaurant Pastor Rod had recommended, Gabriel told me about his conversation with Cleveland and Dontae, and a few interesting tidbits he’d picked up about the Hoyt sisters. Primrose had never been married. Hyacinth’s husband had died a few years ago.

I forced myself to listen while he talked, but then filled him in on my conversation with Monroe—particularly the exciting news that I’d seen the birthmark.

Gabriel’s nonplussed expression pleased me. “I’ll be damned,” he said.

We pulled up to the restaurant, an Italian place in a run-down strip mall a few blocks from the inn. Without Pastor Rod’s recommendation, I would have driven right past the place, but what it lacked in ambiance, it made up for in heavenly aromas.

As soon as we placed our orders, we went back to dissecting everything and speculating about the possibilities for Old Dog Leg and his brother. That is,
I
dissected and speculated. Once the food arrived, Gabriel mostly chewed and emitted an occasional “Mmm-hmm” to maintain the illusion that he was actually listening to me.

I couldn’t really blame him. The food was excellent. We shared an order of calamari lightly breaded and cooked tender, not chewy, then dove into bowls of rich, creamy oyster and artichoke soup before moving on to our entrées.

After I’d dissected and speculated through the appetizer and soup, we wound back to the Hoyt sisters.

“I got the impression that Hyacinth and her husband had separated,” he said as our server placed our entrées in front of us. “But I don’t think they ever divorced.”

I’d ordered
cappelini ala Bordelaise
, pasta tossed with toasted garlic and parsley. Gabriel had a slow-roasted
osso buco
with rich
jus
gravy that smelled so good it made my mouth water.

I inhaled the garlicky aroma wafting up from my plate and sighed happily. “They’re from a generation that didn’t really believe in divorce. I admire that, really.”

Gabriel looked up, surprised. “Weren’t you and Philippe in the middle of a divorce when he died?”

“We were, but marriage is hard. More work than anyone lets on. Somebody ought to warn people what’s in store for them before they say
I do
.”

Gabriel grinned slowly. “If they had, would you have listened?”

I shrugged and filled my mouth with pasta and garlic. “Probably not. But that’s beside the point. We’re not talking about me anyway. So Hyacinth’s a widow on a technicality. That actually gives us something in common. Maybe I can use it to get more information out of her.”

“Like what?” Gabriel asked. “We found out what we need to know. Our work is done.”

I’d been floating in a little bubble of excitement since seeing that scar, but now my bubble popped suddenly. Gabriel was right, but curiosity about those old men and women was eating me alive. I wanted to know what their story was and how Monroe fit into their world. For Dog Leg’s sake, of course.

“Is our work done?” I asked. “Don’t you think we should find out everything we can for Old Dog Leg while we’re here?”

Gabriel shook his head. “No, I don’t. He asked us to find out whether Monroe is who he claims to be. And based on what you say you just saw, it appears he is. That’s it. The rest is none of our business.”

Technically, maybe, but that didn’t stop me from wondering about a few things. Like the expressions on peoples’ faces when Monroe walked into the parlor earlier. “Hyacinth didn’t look all that happy to see Monroe,” I reminded him.

“Not our concern.”

“And what about Dontae? Did you see the way he acted when he thought Monroe was going to sit on the couch beside him?”

Gabriel arched an eyebrow. “Even if there are bad feelings between Monroe and Dontae, it’s not something we need to worry about.”

“What about Primrose and Cleveland? I thought they were going to take each other apart. There are bad feelings between those two, and they have something to do with Monroe.”

“Maybe. But Dog Leg didn’t ask us to pry into Monroe’s life. He merely asked us to figure out if the man was really his brother. Now that we’ve done that, the rest is up to Dog Leg.”

I put down my fork, my appetite suddenly gone. “So you’re just going to let Old Dog Leg walk into that viper’s nest . . . blind?”

Gabriel reached for his wineglass. “Let’s review one more time, shall we?”

“Don’t you dare patronize me,” I warned. “Monroe knows Primrose and Hyacinth from before, and judging from their conversations during the cocktail party, he knew the rest of them, too. If there’s an issue smoldering among them, we should find out what it is so Old Dog Leg isn’t caught off guard.”

“Dog Leg’s a grown man, Rita. He doesn’t need you to take care of him.”

“Some friend you are.”

Gabriel laughed and turned his attention back to his meal. “I’m not the kind of friend who pries into things that are none of my business, if that’s what you mean. If Dog Leg wanted us looking into his brother’s affairs, he’d have asked us to do so. But he didn’t.”

“Dog Leg doesn’t
know
about his brother,” I reminded him. “That’s the whole point.”

But Gabriel wouldn’t budge, and eventually he stopped responding altogether to my comments about the interesting old characters at the Love Nest.

I don’t mind admitting that his attitude rankled. By the time we returned to the inn, I was thoroughly irritated with him. It was nearly ten when we climbed the stairs to our room in silence, and I escaped into the bathroom to change. I slipped into a pair of comfortable pajama pants and a tank top—not ugly, but also not sexy or suggestive—and emerged from the bathroom to find Gabriel bare chested, a pair of jogging shorts slung low on his hips. Judging from the
zing
I felt when I saw him, maybe it was just as well that I was annoyed with him.

I managed not to look at him—much—and made myself comfortable on one side of that imposing heart-shaped bed, all without saying more than a word or two. But when he lay down on the other side of the bed with his back to me, I broke the silence.

“I thought you were going to sleep on the floor.”

He slid a glance over one finely toned shoulder. “If you feel that strongly about not sharing the bed, go ahead. Make yourself comfortable down there. But I paid good money for this room, and I’m sleeping on the bed.”

I thought about moving off the bed, but my principles will only stretch so far. I plumped my pillow and tugged the sheet out from under his butt. “Now you’re just being selfish.”

“Yep.” He leaned up and looked me over so slowly I could feel my blood warming. “I could show you how
un
selfish I can be if you’re interested.”

“Fat chance, Romeo.” I rolled onto my side again, and he chuckled as he turned out the light. A whole slew of unspoken words swirled between us, and all of mine were tinged with disappointment and irritation. We’d be checking out in the morning. Gabriel saw no reason to stay longer, and I couldn’t stay without him, so that was that.

I must have dozed off quickly, because the next thing I knew, a bloodcurdling scream tore me out of a deep sleep. I bolted upright, startled, frightened, and struggling to get my bearings. I was vaguely aware of Gabriel scrambling off the bed and pulling on a pair of pants as he hurried toward the balcony doors.

Oh, yeah. The Love Nest.

“What was that?” I tried to follow him, but my feet were tangled in a sheet.

“I don’t know.” Gabriel glanced back at me and barked, “Stay there.”

Yeah. Sure. Another scream shattered the night, and I finally managed a coherent thought. “Don’t open the door,” I warned. “You don’t know what’s out there.”

“It’ll be fine,” he said as he tried to shoulder open the swollen wooden doors. “Just stay there.”

“Are you nuts?” At last I managed to kick my feet free of the bedding and half fell off the bed. I glanced at the glowing numbers on the clock and saw that it was just past midnight. “There could be gang members out there. With guns.”

Gabriel tossed a look over his shoulder and hit the doors again. “Would. You. Just. Stay. Back? I don’t want to worry about you getting hurt.”

The doors finally swung open, and I could hear a woman shouting for help as I trotted up behind Gabriel. By now, I was awake enough to pinpoint the sound as coming from almost directly below us in the garden.

Apparently, Primrose’s locked-gate security wasn’t all she’d played it up to be. I could hear voices in the distance, raised in alarm. Lights flicked on in the windows of the old folks’ annex across the garden.

Gabriel leaned over the balcony railing, careful not to put his weight on it. “Are you all right ma’am?” he called down.

“No! I need help!” the voice replied. It sounded like Primrose.

We both turned on a dime and bolted across the room. Gabriel was out the door a half step ahead of me, but I was hot on his heels and racing down the hall toward the stairs.

We were halfway there when a door flew open at the other end of the hall. A young woman stumbled out of the room, followed by a rangy young man wearing boxers and a wife-beater T-shirt. I didn’t recognize them as one of the other couples I’d seen before, and I wondered if they’d made themselves scarce earlier or if they’d checked in after the cocktail party.

The young man rubbed his eyes and focused slowly on Gabriel and me. “Hey. What’s going on?”

Gabriel didn’t even break stride. “I think someone’s hurt in the garden. I’m going to see if I can help.”

The young man started after him, but his companion clutched his arm and stopped him. “No, Antwon. Don’t. Please.”

Gabriel had almost reached the end of the hall and was about to head downstairs without me. I tried to edge around the young couple, but they were blocking my way and neither was paying the slightest bit of attention to me.

“It’s all right, Tamarra,” the young man said as he tried to disentangle himself from the woman’s grasp. “We’ll just go check to see what’s going on. If there’s trouble, we’ll call for help. I promise.”

His plan sounded reasonable to me, but Tamarra shook her head wildly. “You could get hurt.”

“I’ve got to go, baby. This place is crazy. You
know
what it’s like. God only knows what these people are up to now.”

Crazy people up to no good? I shot an “I told you so” look at Gabriel, but he didn’t even glance back. “You know the folks who live here?” I asked.

Tamarra stared at me as if she’d forgotten I was standing there. “Of course. My grandmother is the owner. Who
are
you anyway?”

“Rita L—” I caught myself from giving my real last name just in time. “My husband and I are here on our honeymoon. That’s him heading downstairs.” I pointed toward the top of Gabriel’s head, which was the only part of him still visible, and then waved my hands at the blockage they were creating. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on outside, but I’d feel better if Gabriel didn’t go out there alone.”

Antwon kissed Tamarra quickly and managed to step clear of her grasp. “She’s right, baby. I have to go. Somebody could be hurt. You two stay here. We’ll be right back.”

He pressed Tamarra toward me and thundered down the stairs behind Gabriel, apparently confident that we’d stay behind like good little girls.

So of course I bolted after them.

Tamarra shouted for me to stop, then changed her mind and ran after me. I could hear her behind me, breathing hard as we ran. By the time we made it downstairs, residents were beginning to wander in from the old timers’ wing.

Blinking in the sudden flare of light, Cleveland led the charge—if you could call it that. He was followed closely by Grey, who’d changed from his uniform to flannel pajamas and now looked like an ordinary old man from the current century.

Lula Belle shuffled into the parlor on her walker, wearing a pair of lacy white pajamas that were oddly disconcerting on a woman her age. “What’s going on?” She sounded different, and it took me a moment to realize that she’d left her teeth in her bedroom.

“Someone’s in trouble,” I said as I hurried past. “Gabriel and one of the other guests went to see if they could help.”

Lula Belle spotted Tamarra and stopped moving. “Well hello, honey. When did you and your handsome husband get here?”

“A couple of hours ago.” Tamarra looked distracted and edgy, but when Lula Belle lifted her cheek for a kiss, Tamarra complied almost without thinking.

“Why didn’t somebody tell us you were coming?” Lula Belle fussed. “I would have waited up.”

“It was a last-minute decision,” Tamarra said with a tight smile. She glanced toward the patio doors and chewed her bottom lip. “You don’t think Antwon’s in any danger, do you?”

Lula Belle patted her arm reassuringly. “Now, honey, don’t you fret. I saw Primrose and Hyacinth outside a little while ago. One of them probably fell, that’s all.”

That scream hadn’t sounded like a twisted ankle to me, but I didn’t want Tamarra to get worked up, so I kept my opinion to myself. “That’s probably it,” I said. “Why don’t you stay here with Lula Belle? I’ll check on the guys and be back in a minute.”

Tamarra seemed relieved by my suggestion, so I pushed out through the doors and set off along the path that led toward our bedroom window. Overgrown shrubbery tore at my clothes as I raced toward the sound of voices. But when I saw Dontae Thomas on the ground, his legs on the sidewalk and his huge upper body in the dirt, my own legs stopped working. The stench of vomit filled the air, and I covered my nose and mouth with a hand to keep myself from adding to it.

Clearly agitated, Antwon was pacing the short length of sidewalk. Primrose and Hyacinth stood to one side clutching each other tightly, their faces frozen in stunned disbelief. Gabriel was hunkered down beside Dontae checking for a pulse.

“What happened?” Antwon demanded. “What in the
hell
happened?”

Tears streamed down Primrose’s face. She tried to back away from Antwon’s anger, but Hyacinth held her fast and skewered the young man with a look. “I don’t know, Antwon, and neither does Primrose. She came outside to throw out the trash and found him like this.”