Barbara Graham - Quilted 05 - Murder by Sunlight (28 page)

It gave Theo the creeps.

Added to Candy’s junk, after the investigation, there was a fine dusting of fingerprint-powder residue or dirt on every surface in the house. Cleaning it all was not going to be a quick process.

At noon, Ruby’s employee, Pinkie Millsaps, roared up on her motorcycle, delivering their lunch. The sixty-year-old grandmother had her gray hair pulled into a ponytail, tattoos of flowers and unicorns covering her arms, and was dressed in her traditional black leather pants and a vest. Like the Pied Piper, Pinkie led the workers up the gravel driveway and past the detached garage into the shade. Pinkie avoided the bags of garbage as she spread a picnic blanket for them and arranged their food. Then she climbed back on her motorcycle and roared away, promising to return to pick up after them.

The women cleaning had already filled numerous bags and put them out on the driveway for Claude. They were feeling proud they had completed cleaning the main level of the house, even if they had worn out a mop and killed the vacuum cleaner found in a closet, hidden behind more boxes. The poor thing had not been built for industrial-strength grime.

The women gathered around the bags of food and sat outside in the shade, enjoying the fresh air. Even the sweltering temperature couldn’t damper their enthusiasm for food.

“Have you found any treasures?” Nina bit into a thick sandwich and chewed enthusiastically.

“There’s some nice antique glassware. I’d guess it belonged to Alvin’s grandmother, maybe even his great-grandmother. If Alvin decides he wants to put it up for sale, I know several collectors who might be interested,” Willow said. “It would probably fetch some decent money for him.”

“I’ve found boxes and wrappings for some expensive items, but only the boxes.” Martha examined her empty potato chip bag, her face registering disappointment. “A lot like this.”

“I found some of those too.” Willow sighed. “It’s like she bought things but then forgot about them, or they weren’t what she thought she was getting, and she kept the wrapping rather than take the time to throw it away.”

“Nina and I found some clothes in the refrigerator.” Theo waved a chip before popping it into her mouth. “They still had the store tags on them. Nice things that should sell fairly quickly in the yard sale.” She chewed slowly, wondering how to learn about the notebook Tony wanted without giving out more information than necessary. “Have any of you found any personal items, things that might have actually meant something to her or to Alvin? Jewelry? Notebooks? Photographs?”

Five heads shook from side to side.

They finished eating, drank copious amounts of water, and headed inside to clean the upstairs rooms. Theo and Nina were the youngest ones, so they were assigned the attic.

Nina stood in the center of the attic, the only spot where she could straighten up without whacking her head on the ceiling. “Even the dust looks old up here.” She pulled her mask back over her nose and mouth. “Let do it.”

Theo hauled clothes and junk and boxes down the stairs and trotted up for more while Nina was methodically going through everything, separating it into piles. Keep, toss, and ask Alvin.

“Hmmph.” Nina fumbled with an antique tobacco box. It slid out of her hands, crashing onto the floor, barely missing her toes. “Good gravy, that thing weighs a ton.”

Intrigued, Theo crawled over and flipped up the latch. Gold coins gleamed through the dusty air. “Oh, my.” The metal box was about a foot long and wide and maybe six inches deep. It wasn’t full, but there were at least a hundred coins inside, some tiny and some the size of a fifty-cent piece. “Alvin’s rich.”

Nina picked up one of the tiny coins and read the date. “Eighteen hundred sixty-one. They’re old.”

“You can bet Candy didn’t know about them.” Theo pulled out her cell phone and pressed the number to connect her to Tony.

“I’d call that motive in a box, if anyone knew about them.” Nina looked at various different-sized coins. Holding them up to the light, one at a time, she whispered, “They’re beautiful.”

“Tony,” Theo began.

He interrupted her before she could say more. “Did you find the notebook?”

“No. Nina and I did find a box of gold coins, though. We’re thinking of slipping a few out of the box and taking a trip to a spa, a very nice spa.”

“A what?” Tony’s voice boomed from the telephone and through the room. And then, “Gold?”

“Alvin’s inheritance.” Theo reached for a plastic lunch box. It was heavy for its size. “Wait a minute.” She flipped the latch on the dark blue box with cartoon figures on the front. Alvin’s name was written on the back. “Alvin’s old lunch box is loaded with coins too. Will you come get these before Nina and I ditch our friends and family and run off to live in luxury, preferably someplace with no dust?” She sneezed several times in succession, drowning out most of Tony’s reply.

Only a few minutes had passed before Tony and Wade arrived and climbed up the narrow stairs and into the low-ceilinged attic room. They paused at the top of the stairs and stared. Theo guessed the sight of the two incredibly dirty, sweaty women surrounded by piles of gleaming gold coins was what made Tony laugh.

“You two look like you’ve been prospecting for gold.” After his initial view of the women, Tony didn’t take his eyes from the treasure.

Wade whistled admiringly and reached down and picked a coin off the nearest stack. “That is some pretty coin.” He started to straighten up, as if to examine it more closely, and whacked his head on the low ceiling. A muffled oath escaped as he quickly returned to his hunched position. “Oh man, my head hurts.”

“Have you counted them?” Tony seemed struck by the beauty of the gold, not the monetary value of it.

Wade’s experience made him continue to stay bent over in an uncomfortable stance, staring at the floor. Theo guessed it wouldn’t take long before his back started screaming.

“It really is mesmerizing, isn’t it?” Wade said.

“Sorry, you two don’t get to keep any either. Yes, we’ve counted it, and we’re turning the list over to Alvin.” Nina gave the two men a mock frown and waved the paper in the dusty air. “I know neither of you would filch anything, but it’s always nice to have a list.”

Tony agreed wholeheartedly before he and Wade each grabbed a box and headed down the stairs.

Theo could hear them talking as they left.

“For lack of a better idea, we’ll store the coins in the evidence locker until Alvin wants them. Or at least until all the legalities are sorted out,” said Tony.

“Where do you suppose they all came from?” Wade’s response fit Theo’s own question.

Theo couldn’t hear Tony’s answer, but she did hear a few of the antique lovers on the second floor asking to examine the old tobacco box. It created a stir, but none of them learned what the boxes contained. “If Tony’s not telling . . .” Theo looked at Nina.

“I know. Neither are we. Being sworn to secrecy has its drawbacks. I need a friend who gossips more than you do.” Nina pulled her dust mask over her nose again. “Back to work.”

“You didn’t know anything about the coins?” Tony studied Alvin. The boy looked better than he had the previous day, but still had the lost-puppy expression in his eyes. “There are quite a few of them.”

“No.” Alvin held the old lunch box and its valuable contents on his lap. “Grandpa said something one time about my future being held in the treasures of the past. He made a big deal about it at the time but never mentioned it again.” His words trickled away. “Of course, it was years ago when he brought it up.”

“That’s all he said?” Tony didn’t know what else he expected. Maybe for Grandpa to tell Alvin to search the attic in hard times.

“Yeah, I remember my mom coming into the room about then and Grandpa changing the subject.”

Tony felt a glimmer of understanding. “So, your mom probably didn’t know anything valuable was up in the attic.”

Alvin shook his head. “Mom was
not
good with secrets.” At his own words, Alvin started laughing. “That’s like saying there’s water in the ocean.”

“I had hoped she might have kept her code book up there, but unless she could fly, she would have left footprints in the dust.” Tony sighed. “My wife and her friend didn’t find any kind of notebook like you described.”

“Sheriff, Mayor Cashdollar is here.” The disembodied voice came through the speaker.

“Send him on back, Rex.” Tony glanced at Alvin. The boy suddenly looked overwhelmed. “But maybe ask him to walk slow.”

A few moments later, Mayor Cashdollar tiptoed through the doorway. “Alvin?”

“We found money.” Alvin swallowed hard, and tears glistened in his eyes. “I can pay for Mom to have a proper funeral.”

“She was always going to have one of those.” The mayor nodded a greeting to Tony, his attention focused on Alvin. “She was my best friend’s beloved daughter and deserves to be treated as such.”

They all sat in silence for a while, Alvin clutching his lunch box, Mayor Cashdollar leaning forward, his long arms resting on his knees and his hands clasped tightly together. Tony alternated between watching them and wondering how he could diplomatically get them out of his office.

Calvin broke the silence. “Have you thought about when you might want to have her service?”

“Tomorrow? The day after?” Alvin sounded like the lost child he was. “I don’t know about these things, but would the day after be okay?”

“Yes, we’ll have the funeral the day after tomorrow.” Clearly realizing the boy needed advice, Calvin’s professional demeanor kicked in. “How’s ten o’clock?”

Alvin nodded but said no more, leaving the major decisions up to Calvin.

Theo was beginning to think she would never get enough water to drink. She gulped down three big glasses full almost the moment she made it out of the attic. The upstairs room was spotless, and all of its contents were either under lock and key or spread out in the living room.

Finally rehydrated, she and Nina, having had the smallest area to clean up, trudged back upstairs to help the others.

On the second floor, there were three bedrooms and a bathroom. Two bedrooms were currently being scrubbed, one crew per room. One of the masked cleaners called out, “You two can either take the other bedroom or the bathroom.”

Theo and Nina exchanged glances. “Dust or mildew?” Theo asked.

“What the heck,” said Nina as she snapped the wrist opening on her left glove. “Let’s go for the bathroom. We’ve done our share of dust abatement.”

“Oh, goodie.” Theo pulled her mask back over her face. “Nothing like a little sweat and mildew in the afternoon. Maybe I should go check on Jane.”

“Not your baby girls?” Nina shook her head and made a tisking sound. “What kind of mother are you?” Knowing Theo was a devoted mother made it impossible for her to keep a straight face. “I think you’re just looking for an excuse to ditch me and our lovely project.”

Theo didn’t disagree but acted wistful. “Celeste is there for Jane’s backup. By the time I can go collect them, the girls will be spoiled rotten, if they’re not already.” Theo glanced down just in time to move her foot before a giant cockroach scampered up her leg. “Oh, ick. I hate those things.”

Nina leaned forward a bit, even as she took a step backward. “Look, it’s wearing a hard hat and a tool belt.” Armed with her industrial-sized spray bottle filled with bleach, Nina zapped it. When it paused, she crushed it with her foot. “Keep an eye out for the grieving relatives.”

“That’s nasty.” Theo felt a shiver of disgust run through her. “You know, it’s probably only one member of an extended family. I think we’d better have the exterminator pay a visit before anyone moves in here.” She reached into the medicine cabinet and began dropping its contents into their biohazard bucket or the trash bag, depending on what it was. “We’re going to use a lot of bags. I think some of this stuff belonged to Candy’s parents.”

Nina’s response was muffled.

Theo turned to look and started laughing. Nina had pulled a plastic shower cap over her auburn hair and donned a swim mask and snorkel she’d obviously borrowed from her kids. Behind her, bathroom foam was sliding down the filthy tiles like something escaping from a test tube. It reminded Theo of some grade-D science fiction movies she’d watched. She lowered her voice like a radio announcer. “Tell me, Professor, have you found any signs of life in your underwater laboratory?”

Nina nodded and made swimming motions.

Theo went back to tossing Candy’s garbage, including the mildewed shower curtain. She set aside whole bars of soap, an unopened bottle of shampoo, and lotion. Maybe Alvin would want these items, or maybe he’d donate them to the community shelter. They found some more of Candy’s drugs stashed in the toilet tank.

By the time they’d tossed the trash and scrubbed every inch of the room, they were well past filthy and sweaty. Towels and linens they took downstairs to the washing machine. Almost everything else not permanently attached to the floor, and lightweight enough to pick up, was headed to the dump. Theo almost felt sorry for Claude. She didn’t know how he had things arranged in his domain. The man lived for garbage and was even more fond of recycling, or repurposing. She hoped there was a special area for toxic refuse like this. It was dirtier than dirt.

One of the volunteers, Willow, had brought along a carpet and upholstery cleaning machine. The poor machine slurped sludge for hours, helping remove years of food stains, yard dirt, and spots no one wanted to get near or examine very carefully. While its owner worked in the first two bedrooms, the extra woman, Aspen, joined Theo and Nina in the third bedroom.

Looking at its contents, Theo guessed the room had been Alvin’s while he lived here. They carefully cleaned and then set aside all of the old toys and games. A bookcase filled with early readers, a trophy from a spelling contest, toys from kid-meal boxes. Typical, normal stuff. Theo checked everything carefully. No pink notebook.

Under the bed, they found another stash of pills. “Pretty brazen, hiding them in Alvin’s room.”

Theo glanced out the now spotless window and saw Alvin’s old truck slip into a parking space at Kwik Kirk’s. He headed across the highway toward the house on foot. For a moment, Theo was confused. She laughed at herself when she realized their mountain of garbage was taking up a fair amount of the front yard. Alvin couldn’t even park on his own driveway. Time to call Claude.