Tacked to Death (26 page)

"Pepe has kept that one under wraps,
hasn't he?" Joe said. "Not surprised. Pepe likes to act like he's
all about being on the up and up, and as far as I know he is, but I
do find it interesting that he's related to this guy and that his
daughter hangs out at that club."

"If you want my two cents," Marianne
said, "I'm betting that Lucia and her brother, Mario, had something
to do with the murders and now tonight with Michaela."

"But why go after Carolyn Taber?"
Michaela asked.

"That's a good point, and I don't know
why, but we need to trap that little brat and get her to talk,"
Marianne said.

"And how do you plan to do that?" Joe
asked.

Marianne thought for a few seconds, and
then a smile spread across her face. "I got an idea."

Thirty-Nine

They stayed up late into the night
talking and planning. Marianne had a good idea to get Lucia to
talk, but it also involved some delinquency on everyone's part. Joe
was surprised by his wife's sneaky side and by the way Joe patted
her on the butt when they finally went to bed, she got the feeling
that Joe wasn't only surprised by his wife, but that it also had
ignited something else in him.

Michaela camped out on the couch. She
awoke the next morning to four big, round brown eyes staring at
her. The twins were up early. It wasn't quite seven and Isabel was
touching the side of Michaela's mouth, which was open, and she
realized that she'd been drooling. Oh, thank God they were only
two. She swallowed and realized how badly she needed to brush her
teeth. Instead of waking Joe and Marianne, she found bowls and some
cereal and gave the twins breakfast. Vincent came padding out as
she brewed a pot of coffee.

"Thanks," he said.

"For what?"

"Making the twins something to
eat."

He was a good-looking boy with dark
hair like his dad, and light green eyes like his mom. "It didn't
take much. Just poured some Frosted Flakes into a bowl."

"I know." He smiled. "But it's still
cool. My mom is tired a lot and it's good she's sleeping in. My
dad, too."

Michaela felt a nudge of guilt. Had Joe
spent too much time trying to help her? And now Marianne was
involved. "You know what? Why don't you and me surprise the two of
them? Your dad mentioned something about their wedding anniversary
coming up. Why don't we send them away for a weekend and I can stay
with you guys?"

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure you'd want to do that?
The twins are crazy and Gen is a lot to handle sometimes. And have
you ever seen little Joe throw a tantrum? It's ugly."

Michaela touched Vincent's shoulder.
"And what about you? You look like trouble."

He smiled sheepishly. "I try to be
good."

"I think you've got it handled. So I'll
make some plans for them and then we can surprise them on their
anniversary."

"I think that's cool."

"I think you're cool. Listen, I've got
some things to do. Will you let your mom and dad know that I'll
call?"

"Sure."

Michaela cleaned up and left Vincent
with the twins. What a good kid…and spending a weekend with Joe and
Marianne's family was the least she could do, given all they'd done
for her.

She made a quick trip home, where she
fed the animals, cleaned up, and got back on the road. This morning
she was going to find out what the truth was between Erin
Hornersberg, her girlfriend, Sheila, and Sterling Taber. She wanted
to be sure all of the bases were covered before the planned attack
on Lucia Sorvino went down.

Forty

Michaela found the salon that Erin
Hornersberg worked at and Sheila owned. It was definitely one of
those posh spa places where all beauty services were rendered. The
sound of ocean waves played over the speaker system, and the scents
of patchouli and rose filled the air. Camden would love this place.
Off to the right of the beige marbled flooring and peach
faux-finished walls were a couple of manicurists and their clients.
They spoke in hushed tones as they lacquered the nails of their
cucumber eye-patched patrons, who sat in neck-massaging
chairs.

A receptionist dressed in a white lab
coat, as if she were a doctor of some sort, eyed Michaela as she
walked up to the desk and asked for Erin.

"Oh, Erin hasn't been in for a few
days. She must've quit."

"Did she call?"

"No." Another woman slid in next to the
receptionist and looked at the appointment book. She had long
golden hair, which cascaded down her back, a flawless complexion,
and bright blue eyes. Her nametag read SHEILA.

"Sheila?" Michaela asked.

The young woman looked up. "Yes? Are
you my next client?"

"No."

"She's looking for Erin," the
receptionist said.

"Funny. Me, too."

"Oh?" Michaela wasn't sure what to
say.

"Can I ask why you're looking for
her?"

She leaned in and lowered her voice.
"It has to do with a murder investigation."

"Are you a cop?"

"No, I'm not. Erin did a job for me
last weekend. I'm sure you've heard about Sterling Taber's murder
in the papers?"

The receptionist looked up. Sheila
grabbed Michaela's arm. "Tell my client when she shows up that I'll
be back in a few minutes. Come on."

"What?"

"Come on. I'll get you some
tea."

"I don't want any tea."

The girl practically dragged her into a
rear storeroom. She closed the door and crossed her arms. "What the
hell do you want?"

"I told you that I wanted to talk to
Erin. Can we keep the door open?"

"No. This is a place of business and I
run a professional operation. I don't appreciate you coming in here
asking nosy questions about Erin."

She should've brought Joe with her like
she initially planned; she hadn't expected to be dragged off into a
storage room. She didn't like this one bit.

"Wait a minute." Sheila snapped her
fingers. "Did you and some other woman stop by Erin's the other
night?"

"Yes."

She nodded. "Uh-huh, then you're the
reason she took off."

"What? I have no idea what you're
talking about. I'm here because a man was killed and she might know
something about it. She had his address written on the back of her
business card, and now another woman associated with Sterling is
dead. I know that Erin was probably jealous of what happened
between you and Sterling."

Sheila played dumb. "What do you
mean?"

"Come on. Erin even told me that you
went home with him."

"Who are you?"

"I am the woman who was accused of
murdering Sterling. He was killed in my office."

"Oh, I see, and you think that Erin did
him in because she was jealous of me and him."

Michaela shrugged. "Why don't you tell
me?"

Sheila shook her head. "Erin had that
address because the morning after I was with that jerk, I needed a
ride home. Yes, it bugged her what I did, but we got through
it."

"Did you know that Erin was looking for
Sterling the morning of the polo match?"

"I told her not to bother. Look, the
guy was calling and harassing me. He made up lame stuff like he had
me on video and he was going to show his friends and anyone else
who wanted to see. Erin wanted to track him down and tell him to
leave me alone. She found out he was going to be in that match, so
she went looking for him. Then she wigged out when she realized
that she would have to do his makeup."

"She told you all of this?"

"Yes, she did. We don't keep things
from each other."

"What if I told you that Sterling
wasn't lying to you about you being on tape?"

"What?" Sheila looked truly horrified.
"How do you know this? Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, and it's a long story,"
Michaela replied.

"Oh my God. I thought he was only
trying to get me to come back over to his place. He was such an
ass. Oh jeez. I never in a million years thought he was that
sick."

"Do you think Erin knew about the
tape?"

"No way. How would she?"

"I don't know, maybe Sterling said
something to her about it at the show. You know, she came really
unglued because he was harassing her about you."

"No, and you know what? Contrary to
what people think about Erin, she's not a bad person. She's had
some rough experiences and she's pulled through them."

"But you're looking for
her?"

"Yeah," Sheila replied. "After you and
your friend stopped by to talk to her the other night, she kind of
freaked out. She called me and said that you were asking a lot of
questions, and she was afraid that after the argument she and
Sterling had on Sunday that the cops would come back and press her
about it. Cops aren't exactly Erin's favorite people. She spent
nine months in jail for a crime that she didn't commit. So she
packed up and split, and I've been calling around looking for her
ever since."

"I'm sorry." Michaela could understand
how Erin might've felt. The police had been on her back since
Sterling's murder, and even though she had nothing to do with it,
Peters had been relentless. "You mentioned something about Sterling
and his harassment. You figured that it was all just
talk."

"I guess I was wrong."

"Do you know who his friends might
be?"

She sighed. "No. I only spent one night
with the guy, but I remember who he was partying with the night I
went home with him."

"Who?"

"This one guy, middle-aged Italian
dude, thought he was Al Pacino or something. I think he runs that
club—Sinners and Saints. What a jerk—but Sterling told me that he
did business with him. There was this little chicky there, too. I
never caught her name, but she didn't like me hanging around with
Sterling. I got the feeling she was hot for him. She looked kind of
stupid, though. I'd seen her before."

"Stupid?"

"A wannabe. I know she had a wig on.
Too dark a complexion for blonde hair. I don't know, maybe she dyed
it, but it looked like a wig to me because she had one of those
Britney Spears kind of beret hats on and she just looked dumb. I
think she knew the Italian guy, too, because he kept whispering
something to her."

"Were they there as a
couple?"

"I don't think so. I think they
could've been related. Then this other kid came in. Kind of a cute
boy-next-door type with dimples, but trying to be a bad boy, you
know. He wore a tank, looked like he had a new tattoo, and wore
earrings."

"Earrings? What kind?"

"Diamonds. Big freaking ones,
too."

"What was his name?"

"I don't know. I know they talked about
playing polo."

"Was it Zach or Tommy?"

"Like I said, I don't know. I wasn't
paying attention. Look, that's all I know. I went home with
Sterling. He was an ass at about five in the morning, kicking me
out. That's when I called Erin to come rescue me."

"Thanks. Hey, I'm sorry about Erin,"
Michaela said.

"Sometimes she likes to spend time in
Big Bear, when she needs to think. She'll be back. We've had our
issues before, but we always get past it. I might drive up there if
she's not home in a day or two."

The receptionist tapped on the door.
"Sheila, your client is here."

"Thanks. I better go."

Michaela eased out of the storage room
and headed to her truck.

So, Sterling, a middle-aged Italian
guy, and a younger Italian woman with a blonde wig had hung out. It
hadn't been Mario wearing the wig after all, but more likely Lucia
Sorvino, hanging out with her cousin Diamante Pizzini. What kind of
craziness had they all been up to together? And the other guy? It
had to be either Tommy or Zach. They both were good-looking and
played polo. Michaela was banking that it was Tommy hanging out
with them that night.

It was time to talk with Lucia
Sorvino.

Her cell phone rang, snapping her out
of her thoughts. Joe said, "Hey, thanks for feeding the twins and
hanging with Vince this morning. Me and Marianne were kind of beat,
I guess."

"No, thank you. I should've waited
until you woke up, but I wanted to try and question Erin
Hornersberg some more. It looks like she's skipped
town."

"Interesting. Well, I may have
something on the Sorvino girl. Can you meet me? I've got to take
little Joe to soccer practice. Wanna come to the field?"

"Definitely. I'll be there in twenty. I
found out some other things, too."

"Can you bring me a soda and maybe a
bag of chips or something? I'm kind of hungry."

"Who do you think I am, the errand
girl?"