Murder the Tey Way: A Golden Age of Mystery Book Club Mystery (The Golden Age of Mystery Book Club Mysteries 2) (29 page)

He was escorted out of the warehouse, kicking and cursing. One of the cops prodded him into the wagon. 

“Any sign of Corinne, dressed like one of the men?” Joy asked, grinning.

“Unfortunately, no.” I scanned the faces of the police higher ups. “I don’t see Brian here, either.”

“He’s a homicide detective. I wouldn’t expect him to take part in this.” Joy  gestured with her chin. “See the truck? They were all set to move the stolen goods out of state. This bust was done right! They caught them in the act.” Pride rang in her voice.

We continued watching until the last of the gang was loaded into the police wagon, then we walked along the edge of the road to my car.

“Did it work so well because they had someone undercover working with the gang?” I asked.

Joy grinned. “I’d put my money on your Johnny Scarvino.”

Amazed, I gaped at her. “Johnny? But he’s one of them!”

She laughed. “‘Cause his father was?”

I nodded.

“The force gets some of its finest officers from The Families.”

“Hard to believe.”

A blanket of gloom settled over me, and I said nothing else as I drove home. I was unhappy because what I’d expected hadn’t taken place.

I told myself I should be glad the police had caught the thieves red-handed, putting an end to the burglaries in the area. They’d be brought to trial, and most of them would do time.

Instead, I was despondent because Corinne wasn’t at the warehouse, along with The Giant and his cronies. Was I so fixated on her guilt, so certain she was a criminal because I found her obnoxious and wanted to see her punished? Was I flat-out miserable because my assumption was wrong? For all I knew, Johnnie Trevino had been their boss.

“Hey!”

I shot up with a jolt. We were back in Joy’s driveway, where I’d driven on auto-pilot.

“Lexie, are you all right?” she asked, sounding concerned. “Want some coffee?”

I shook my head. “Tonight they caught some bad guys, but we still don’t know who killed Tim and Len Lyons.”

“We don’t, but that doesn’t take away from the big bust. And who knows?  Maybe one of the guys in that crew will know something about the murders. If they do, they’ll use it in exchange for a shorter sentence.”

I forced a smile. “That sounds promising.
If
they know anything about it.”

“They might. For all we know, Len was one of the gang, and Tim had his own connections with the underworld.”

I hugged her good-night and drove home. Puss came to greet me as I entered the house from the garage, welcoming me with head butts as if I’d been gone for days instead of hours. Of course he had an ulterior motive. He gobbled down some of his new treats and begged for more. I obliged him, telling myself my obsession with the stolen goods warehouse wasn’t a total waste. Puss got something for my troubles.

My cell phone rang. I ran to retrieve it from my pocketbook, which I’d left on the hall bench. I grinned when I heard Brian’s voice.

“How are you?” he asked.

“Fine. I just got back from witnessing the big bust.” All the excitement must have triggered something in my system because suddenly I was starving. I made a beeline for the kitchen and peered into the freezer.

Brian chuckled. “So I heard.”

No ice cream. I checked out the pantry. No cookies. “You have spies everywhere,” I complained.

“Not really. I’m down at the station doing paperwork. One of the guys called in to give us the lowdown. Mentioned he’d seen you and Joy on the scene.”

“And we thought we’d kept a low profile.”

“The guys didn’t care, as long as you and the other looky-lous kept out of the way.”

I opened my mouth to complain about his lumping Joy and me with the other rubberneckers, when the sound of two women shrieking at each other came from outside. I switched off the lights and ran to the kitchen window but couldn’t see anyone.

“Gotta go,” I said breathlessly.

“What’s up, Lexie?” Brian demanded.

“Talk to you later,” I said and disconnected. The land phone rang, but I ignored it.

Felicity and Corinne must have been going at it hammer and tongs in their backyard. Why outside? The temperature was in the low forties. I ran up to my bedroom and flung open the window, but couldn’t make out more than the occasional phrase Corinne spit out like acid.

“...ungrateful bitch...”  “You’ll come crawling back….too late...”

“I can’t stay here with you another minute,” Felicity answered in her little girl’s voice.

I didn’t catch what nastiness Corinne spewed back, only Felicity’s shocked response, “No, Corinne. You mustn’t!”

Though I knew Corinne would vent her anger at me the moment I showed my face, I couldn’t allow her to go on abusing her sister. I grabbed my parka, slipped out the front door, and edged along the bushes separating our backyards. I’d keep out of sight until I figured out the most diplomatic way to convince Corinne to lay off her sister.

Cajole? Threaten police intervention?

“I know it’s the truth because Johnny told me.” Felicity’s voice rose defensively. “And I believe him!”

That earned her a roar of sardonic laughter from Corinne, followed by a string of curses. Felicity must have repeated what Johnny had told her in the diner, and Corinne let her have it with both barrels.

It wasn’t a gun Corinne held on her sister, but a Bowie knife. She stood behind Felicity, her sister’s hair wrapped around one hand, the other hand wielding the blade at her sister’s throat. I gasped. From Jesse’s brief obsession with knives and daggers when he was fifteen, I knew just how lethal a Bowie knife could be.

Thank God Corinne hadn’t heard or noticed me inching closer. I had to stop her from killing Felicity, though how I was going to perform that feat remained a blank in my mind. Corinne’s expression was somber. Tragic. Medea came to mind. The woman in pain who causes more pain. I expected to see helpless terror in Felicity’s face. Instead, fury burned in her eyes.

“You killed Leo! The only man who ever loved me!”

Corinne let loose a jeering laugh that sent shivers up my spine. “Loved you! That
idiota
didn’t love you! He figured if he latched on to the boss’s sister, he’d get more than his share of the take. I did you a favor by getting rid of the scum.”

Felicity turned her head until the blade cut into her skin. “Nooooo. Leo didn’t work for you.”

Again that derisive laughter. “Who else would hire that numbskull? Robbing people he knew. I would have let him go years ago, except his father worked for the family.”

Felicity bowed her head. “I didn’t know. He never said.”

“Hah! I’m sure there was plenty he didn’t tell you. For instance, your dumb Leo had a gambling problem. He owed me big time.”

Corinne must have eased up on her grip, because Felicity sank to the ground. “He wanted out of all that.”

“Never an option. Leo had to repay his debts.”

Like a bullet, Felicity shot to her feet. She spun around and put her hands around Corinne’s neck. “You shouldn’t have killed Oscar, Cathy.” There was madness in her voice. Why hadn’t I ever noticed?

Caught by surprise, Corinne released the knife. I watched it fall to the ground.

“Oscar was ill, Frannie.” Corinne’s tone remained clipped. “I put the creature out of its misery.”

Felicity scowled at her sister. “You enjoyed killing him. I saw in the photo.” She pursed her lips. “I suppose you killed Tim, too.”

Corinne shrugged. “Leo must have told him I was behind the robberies and the bank job. Tim made the mistake of trying to blackmail me.” She snorted. “What a joke!  Trying that on
me
!”

“Poor Sadie.” Felicity’s hands went limp. “You ruined her life”

“Sadie,” Corinne dismissed her with a wave of her hand. “How long was she with Tim? A day? A week? She’ll get over that by Christmas.”

She crouched down to retrieve the knife. I considered running at Corinne and grabbing it from her. I had surprise on my side, but Corinne was a killer. She wouldn’t hesitate to stick the blade between my ribs.

Too late. Corinne was standing again. She held the knife in her right hand behind her back. Felicity stared at Corinne, apparently unconcerned about the whereabouts of the knife. It dawned on me that both sisters were crazy, each in her own way. Was it their genes? Their upbringing? Finally, Felicity said what had been troubling her the most.

“Worst of all, you killed our parents! You deserve to go to prison for that!”

Corinne’s laughter rang out. “John killed our parents. Have you forgotten the trial? Why we’re living here in Ryesdale? John’s in prison for the rest of his life.” 

“No,
you
killed Mommy and Daddy. You hated him for being so mean to us. Johnny told me.”

“Johnny’s dead.”

“He isn’t,” Felicity insisted. “I saw him. He told me everything.”

Corinne grabbed her sister’s hair, twisting her around so that they were in the same position as when I came upon them.

“You’re crazy, Frannie, you know that?” Corinne said in her sister’s ear. “I told you, ‘Don’t listen to him. Be strong.’ But you let Daddy get to you.”

Felicity’s sobs grew stronger. “I wanted him to love me, but he always pushed me away. He said we were useless because we’re girls.”

Corinne’s voice turned harsh. “Our own mother was no better. She should have protected us from his anger. His cruelty. That’s why I killed them. I did it for us!”

“You shouldn’t have!” Felicity began to cry, sniffles and moans turning into wrenching sobs. “Mommy tried to help.”

“She sent us away! To that cold place where everyone hated us.”

I watched transfixed as Corinne let go of Felicity’s hair and pulled her sister against her chest. She hugged Felicity, all the while never loosening her grip on the Bowie knife.

“I love you, Frannie, but you’re out of control. I have to end it, once and for all.”

She pulled back Felicity’s head to draw the knife across her throat. I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out.

“No you don’t, Frannie!” 

A figure flew past me and tackled the two sisters to the ground. The struggle lasted less than a minute. Johnny Scarvino held Corinne in a tight grip, her hands behind her.

“Felicity, call the police,” he ordered.

Felicity stared at him.

Johnny glared down at Corinne. “I knew you killed them and framed my father, but I had to hear it for myself.” He tapped his chest. “I got it all down on tape.”

I wanted to hold Felicity in my arms, but something primordial kept me from moving forward. “I’ll call the police,” I offered.

“Thanks, Lexie,” Johnny said, sending me a beautiful smile.

He knew I was there all the time.
I started for my house when I heard a police siren coming closer. Then another. I grinned as a wave of relief sweep over me. Brian! He’d figured it out.

He was at my side a minute later, then he closed in on Felicity and Corinne or Catherine and Francisca. Johnny stepped back to let the police officers do their job.

“So tell me, Is it true you guys are planning to move in together?” Mike shouted above the soft rock and conversation buzz in the elegant Skyler Room of The Lion’s Head Inn.

I didn’t answer. Neither did Brian. Instead, he leaned over to nuzzle my neck.

“Well?” Mike persisted. His third vodka martini had made him oblivious to how close I was to taking a swing at his face. He had no business asking about something I’d agreed to but hadn’t quite accepted in the deepest recesses of my soul.

Mike remained standing before us, grinning like a fool. Clearly, he wasn’t walking away until he got a satisfactory answer.

“That’s the plan,” Brian answered, “soon as Lexie can wrap her mind around the idea.” He planted a kiss on my nose. Despite my best intentions, I giggled. “Al’s the most considerate landlord,” Brian continued. “He told her to stay in the house as long as she likes.” He tilted my head so he could kiss me full on the lips. “And I’m amenable to letting her take the rest of the year to make her decision.”

Now I wanted to kick Brian in the shins for being so damn clever. So I was frightened. I was scared. He had no right to turn this into a joke. Though I knew he was serious about the deadline. Less than three weeks remained to the year, but who was counting?

“You guys will be happy. Like Joy and me.” Mike zoomed in to hug us, and managed to drop his lemon peel on my shoe.

I pushed him away. “Mike, you’re turning into a sloppy drunk. You’re the host, remember?”

My words had no affect on him. He planted a resounding kiss on my cheek. “I’m the host. I can have as many martinis as I like.”

I breathed a sigh of relief when he finally wandered off to ask, God knew what other personal questions, of his guests.

The song changed. Brian took my hand. “Care to dance?”

The dance floor was small, forcing us to hold each other close. He hummed as he wove me around Joy and Mike’s guests, most of whom I knew.

I felt safe in Brian’s arms, secure with a tingle of sexual anticipation. So why was I terrified of moving in with him?

“Don’t fret, Lexie. We’ll be fine together,” he whispered.

“I know. I want to. I just—”

“Have cold feet. Had bad experiences. Need my space,” Brian finished for me.

I laughed. “All of the above.”

He stroked my cheek with the back of his hand. “I’ll give you plenty of space,” he said softly. “And you won’t have to make dinner most nights.”

I nodded. “I want us to live together. It’s just taking some getting used to.”

And that was it, I realized. I was terrified of making changes in my personal life for fear of making another wrong decision.

But Brian wasn’t a wrong decision. He was decent through and through, and I loved him. I rested my head on his shoulder and smiled up at him.

We wandered over to the
hors d-oeuvres
table and helped ourselves to mini quiches and skewers of chicken satay. We managed to find an empty table. A minute later, Marge and Evan joined us. We chatted about Joy, who looked amazingly sexy in a slinky black dress, and the delicious food. Then Evan leaned over to kiss my cheek.