Nightmares Can Be Murder (A Dream Club Mystery) (32 page)

I nearly jumped out of my seat, but Amber waved me back down.

“Don’t answer it,” she barked. “Let’s see who it is,” she said in a dangerously soft voice. “Maybe we should invite some of your friends over for a tea party.”

My pulse jumped as the answering machine switched on. “This is Joe,” the message began.
Oh no!
My heart squeezed. It was the guy from Northern Georgia Tech Supply. “Gary left this picture for me to look at, and yeah, this is the girl who picked up the potassium cyanide. This is her, all right. I never forget a face.” He rambled on for another minute while I sat frozen in my chair.

Amber gave a strange laugh. “So you
were
checking up on me. My instincts were right. I wonder how you happened to have my picture. It doesn’t matter. I knew you were going to be a problem from the first moment I met you.”

“Really?” I pretended to be shocked. “I was struck by how sweet and idealistic you were. I remember thinking that Councilman Walton was lucky to have you on his staff.”

Her mouth twisted in a frown. “I have a sweet deal with Walton,” she said, her voice harsh and guttural, “and I’m not going to let anyone mess it up. That’s why Chico and Gina had to go.”

“You killed both of them?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

“I had to. Chico was blackmailing Walton because of his slut wife, but you probably already figured that out, didn’t you?”

I nodded, afraid to say yes or no.

“Then you’re not quite as dumb as I thought,” she went on. “She was an idiot to get involved with Chico. Why risk her husband’s career over a dance instructor? So I knocked off Chico. He never knew what hit him. That’s the advantage of potassium cyanide. It’s quick and hard to trace.”

“How did you get him to drink it?”

“Easy. I just slipped into the back door of the studio, pulled out a bottle of that swamp water he drinks, and poured it right in. I screwed the top on tight and stuck it back in the fridge. I figured if I was lucky, it would be the first bottle he reached for.”

“But they never found the empty bottle.”

“Of course not,” she cackled. “I watched while he drank it and tossed the bottle in the trash bin. I did a little Dumpster diving and retrieved it. It takes ninety seconds for the cameras to do a sweep of the alley; I had plenty of time.”

“Very clever,” I admitted, and she rewarded me with a sneer.

“It’s pretty easy to kill someone; you just have to be smart,” she said smugly.

“And you were the guest for dinner that night?”

She grinned. “Yeah, I thought that was an inspired touch. He invited me to dinner, hoping to get more money out of Walton. I was the go-between, but I guess you already know that. I stayed long enough to eat a few bites and watch while the potassium cyanide hit him.”

“And Gina?” I prompted. “How is she involved in all this?”

“Gina tried to pick up where Chico left off. She figured Walton would pay her hush money, too.” Amber chuckled. “No way, José. I surprised her in her apartment. She didn’t put up much of a fight.”

“Walton had no idea that you were killing his blackmailers, one by one?”

Amber shook her head. “He might have had his suspicions, but there was no way to prove anything. He should have thanked me or given me a promotion.” She gave me a hard look. “Who else knows about all this? I’ve seen you around town with that reporter and the private detective. I figure they’ve both been sticking their nose in my business. And you’re friends with a cop. You really do like looking for trouble, don’t you?” She waved the gun in a lazy figure eight in the air just a couple of feet from my chest. If she was trying to intimidate me, it was working.

I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever get out alive. Now that Amber had confessed to everything, she’d have to get rid of me.

And then I saw a shadow flickering in the hall. Amber had her back to the hallway that led to the bedrooms, but my view was unobstructed. The shadow moved cautiously, hugging the wall. I didn’t dare stare, but I took a quick peek out of the corner of my eye. The shadow was moving steadily forward, and my heart nearly leapt with joy.

“What’s going to happen now?” I asked, hoping to distract Amber.

“You’re going to be the victim of a home invasion,” she said coolly. “I screwed up the first time, but this time will be easier.”

“So that
was
you, prowling around in the dark, the night that Ali was out of town?”

“You must have a thicker skull than I thought,” she said, giving me an appraising look.

“You gave me a concussion,” I said irritably.

Amber grinned. “Well, this time it’s going to be a lot worse.”

Barney strolled into the kitchen just then, and before I could stop him, he rubbed against Amber’s leg. “Get that cat away from me!” she hissed. Her nose twitched and she gave a gigantic sneeze. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, trying not to sneeze again, and this time she rested the gun on the kitchen table. I saw my chance, reached across the table, and with one sweep, the gun clattered to the kitchen floor.

The shadow moved quickly then, almost a blur, covering the few steps to the kitchen and stopping a foot away from the oak table. It was Sam Stiles. Gun drawn, cop face on, she was a formidable figure. She held her gun in her right hand and reached for a pair of cuffs with the left.

She deftly yanked Amber to her feet while I watched in astonishment. “You’re under arrest for the murders of Chico Hernandez and Gina Santiago,” she said, calm as you please. “You have the right to remain silent, you have the right to an attorney.” She pulled Amber’s arms behind her, and I heard the cuffs clicking into place.

Amber was squirming furiously, but two deputies moved swiftly into the kitchen. One scooped up the gun from the floor, and the other grabbed Amber by the upper arm. Sam finished reading the rights, and the deputies led Amber down the stairs to the street. Barney and Scout, fascinated at the real life cop show unfolding before them, jumped up on the window seat, their eyes wide.

“Are you okay?” Sam said solicitously. She rested her hand on my shoulder, her eyes searching mine.

“I think so,” I said. I’d jumped up when Sam barged into the kitchen, but my legs felt rubbery and I sank back into my chair. My heart was slamming like a jackhammer in my chest, and I could feel a muscle jumping in my jaw.

“Then I have a few questions for you,” Sam said, slipping into a seat at the table. Her expression turned serious, and I figured she was going to read me the riot act for doing my own investigating.

“Well, I have a question for you, too.” I swallowed hard, wiping away the beads of sweat that had sprouted on my forehead.

“You go first,” she said, pointing at me with her pen.

I took a deep, steadying breath and grinned. “What took you so long?”

36

“I don’t understand,” Rose said, adding a touch of honey to her tea. She was perched on the edge of the sofa, balancing a plate filled with lemon squares, brownies, and thumbprint cookies. “Amber had to kill Chico and Gina because Councilman Walton was paying them hush money?”

“Yes,” I said. “She didn’t want anything to interfere with Walton’s career. All she wanted to do was see him elected senator so she could go to Washington with him. When Chico started squeezing Walton for more money, she decided it was time to pull the plug on him.”

“It’s hard to believe,” Minerva said, shaking her head. “I wouldn’t put anything past Chico, but I can’t imagine Gina blackmailing anyone.”

“Maybe we didn’t know her as well as we thought,” Lucinda said thoughtfully. “She always seemed a rather flamboyant type. She had that fiery temper, the same as Chico.”

She flushed a little when she said his name, and I wondered if she regretted her brief encounter with him. She’d only taken one dance lesson from him, but she felt her reputation was sullied.

“It’s amazing how many people got caught up with Chico,” Dorien said. “I never should have brought dinner over that night. It’s going to take years to live that down. I just hope my catering business can recover.”

“The newspapers never should have mentioned that dinner, my dear,” Sybil said soothingly. “Your food had nothing to do with his death.” She looked carefully at the selection of pastries Ali had set out on the coffee table and reached for a napoleon. “They just want to sell papers, so they sensationalize everything.”

“I know, but once the idea is planted, it takes root,” Dorien said miserably. Everyone knew Dorien was in tough shape financially. Her tarot card readings were on the decline, and her catering business never got off the ground. The negative news about Chico’s death certainly didn’t help.

“You were very brave,” Minerva said admiringly. “When I think of you all alone in the kitchen with the killer, I feel faint. I don’t know how you kept your head.”

“Taylor always keeps her head,” Ali said, grinning at me. “Sam told me she played it exactly right, keeping Amber talking until she confessed to both crimes.”

“I’m not sure how much credit I deserve,” I said ruefully. “Talking was the only thing I could think of to do.”

“Nonsense!” Persia exclaimed. “You managed the situation perfectly.”

We were silent then, tasting some new selections Ali had added to the shop menu. She has a real flair for creating “handheld desserts,” and I was proud of her. With the new marketing in place, business at Oldies but Goodies had taken off, and we’d attracted a lot of attention in the local press. “So Amber targeted this young chemist and befriended him, just to have access to the potassium cyanide?” Persia asked. “Is that what happened?”

“The cops aren’t sure about that part,” I said. “Sam said it might have started as a real friendship and then she realized she could use him, or maybe she planned the whole thing from the start.”

“Persia,” I began uncertainly, “there’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask you—”

“I know,” Persia said, flushing, “I’m afraid I didn’t tell the truth about Kevin Moore the other day.”

“We spotted you having coffee with him,” I said. “What was all that about?”

“My big mouth got me into trouble,” Persia admitted. “I didn’t know Kevin Moore from a hole in the ground, but he called the office and said he was looking into some real estate deals in Savannah.” She paused, fingering an opal ring the size of a walnut. “We talked on the phone a few times, and I agreed to meet with him when he came to town. I should have been suspicious—all he wanted to talk about was the hush-hush development deal that Chico had going. I started blabbing about it, and he asked a bunch of questions. In the end, he was just using me.” She gave a sad little sigh. “I guess I was flattered by his attention. You’d think I’d know better at my age, wouldn’t you?”

“You were too embarrassed to tell us?” I asked. “That’s why you pretended you didn’t recognize him in the photo?”

Persia nodded. “There’s no fool like an old fool,” she said sadly.

“So he had nothing to do with the murders?” Minerva asked.

“No, nothing,” I told her.

We were all silent for a moment.

And then Rose spoke up. “Going back to Amber Locke, how could such a sweet-looking little thing be a killer?” Rose mused. “She looked so pretty in that newspaper photo.”

“Councilman Walton certainly has some explaining to do,” Minerva said. “It’s going to be embarrassing when everything comes out at the trial, both for him and his wife.”

“It probably won’t go to trial. I’m pretty sure Amber will make a plea deal. There won’t be any more secrets, that’s for sure,” Ali offered. “The newspapers will have a field day with the story. The truth will out, as they say.”

“I think it always does.” Lucinda’s tone was sad. She’d been shaken by her interview with the police and had decided to put her Internet dating plans on hold. She and Dorien had been cleared immediately, but such a close brush with murder had sent Lucinda back into her shell. I figured it would take weeks to coax her out again.

“I wish Sam Stiles could have been here tonight,” Minerva said. “We owe her a lot, don’t we?” She gave me a broad smile. “You’re here with us, safe and sound.”

“It’s a good thing Noah had his suspicions,” Ali said. “Somehow he knew you were headed out to that tech supply place. And he figured Amber would be hot on your trail, so he called Sam to look out for you.”

“Maybe he’s psychic,” Sybil said, clasping her hands together.

“I don’t think so,” I said, laughing. “Noah just knows me too well.” Noah had been at the airport when he had a premonition I was doing something “reckless,” and had called Sam and asked her to check on me. Sam sent a couple of her deputies to the shop, and when they spotted Amber’s car parked down the street, they ran the tags. Sam told them to get inside the house immediately, and said she’d be there in a few minutes. Luckily Amber had left the back door open so the deputies could easily slip inside.

“Shall we start on a dream interpretation, ladies?” Sybil glanced at her watch. “This murder has taken up most of the meeting.” She tsk-tsked.

“Who wants to go first?” Ali asked.

Dorien was silent, idly petting Barney, who’d jumped up next to her on the sofa. Her abrasiveness had vanished; now she had a perpetually worried frown on her face. Lucinda looked demure, wearing a classic gray sheath with matching pumps. The Harper sisters were happily munching on Ali’s new desserts, cheerful as ever, and Minerva looked up with a bright smile.

“Taylor,” she said, her eyes beaming, “you look like there’s something you want to share with us?”

I smiled and hesitated. So much had happened in the past couple of weeks that I barely had time to make sense of it. “I . . . well, it’s not a dream, but I do have some news,” I began.

Rose clapped her hands together. “I bet I know what it is. You’re going to stay in Savannah!”

“Honestly, Rose,” her sister chided. “Let the poor girl tell her story her own way. Go ahead, Taylor,” she urged.

“Yes, tell us,” Ali said, slipping into a seat next to me.

I looked around the circle. I felt connected with all these women; along with Ali, they were my family. “I’ve decided to stay,” I blurted out. “I’m selling my condo in Chicago and moving in with Ali. We’re going to run the shop together.”

“I knew we could win you over!” Ali said, reaching over and giving me a quick hug. “This is what I’ve always hoped for,” she said, her eyes moist with happy tears.

The meeting went on for another hour, and it was dark when we ushered the last guest down the stairs to the front door. It had been an emotional evening for both of us, and Ali decided to turn in, Barney trailing after her.

I was making a cup of chamomile tea when Noah called.

“I go out of town for a few days and look what happens,” he teased. Sara told me that after learning that I was all right, he’d immediately left on a business trip to Atlanta. Apparently a Fortune 500 company was trying to recruit him to head up a new threat management and risk assessment division. I was sure the pay was tempting, and I wondered what he’d decided.

“I have news,” we both blurted out at the same time.

“You first,” Noah said, his voice husky.

“I’ve decided to stay in Savannah,” I said quickly. “Ali and I are going to be co-owners of the shop.” I hesitated. “It’s a big leap, but I’m going to start a new life here.”

“Wow,” he said softly. “Not what I was expecting but I’m glad to hear it.” A beat. “I had an interview in Atlanta—” he began.

“I know, Sara told me,” I cut in fast. “What did you decide?” My pulse jumped. Was I going to lose him again? I felt a ripple of regret over the time we’d gone our separate ways in Atlanta. Our work lives had taken up our whole existence, and our relationship had ground to a halt. Was this a case of history repeating itself?

The silence stretched out for a moment, and then he said, “I decided to stay here.” His voice was strong, firm. I hadn’t realized I’d been holding my breath, and I let it out in a little sigh. This is exactly what I’d been hoping for.

“When did you decide?”

“Just now,” he said, his voice slipping over me like a caress. “I can’t leave Savannah because I can’t leave you.” A long pause. “I think we need to talk. In person,” he added. “Is it too late to come over?”

I swallowed and managed to find my voice. Scout jumped on my lap, and I looked around the cheerful kitchen. The black cat with the rolling eyes was swishing his tail on the wall clock, and all was right with the world. I grinned, and a little curl of desire fluttered in my stomach.

“It’s never too late,” I told him.