The Misadventures of the Laundry Hag (20 page)

Neil bristled like an irate hedgehog, but I placed a hand on his arm, signaling that I could handle the confrontation. “Don’t worry Capri, I’m not lawsuit happy. I have to live in this town, too.”

Her gaze steady, she nodded once. “That’s good to know, but it’s not what I want to speak with you about.”

“My wife isn’t about to say anything without her attorney present. Come on, Maggie.” Neil pulled on my arm, but Capri blocked his path. Tension radiated off him in waves and I was afraid if Capri didn’t move her bony ass, Neil would knock her down then be charged with assaulting an officer.

“Neil, it’s all right. Let me talk with her and be finished with this mess.” He didn’t budge. “Please,” I wasn’t above begging.

Capri was smart enough not to smirk as I signaled Brentwood. “May I have another moment of your time?”

“I’ll wait here.” Neil said.

We followed Capri’s brisk stride to her office and Brentwood shut the door.

I opened my mouth to tear a strip of flesh from her hide, but my lawyer spoke first. “I want it on record that my client is cooperating in full with this investigation.”

“Noted. Maggie, tell me more about your encounter with Valentino. What was your impression of his attitude at the time?”

I thought back. “Confident, arrogant even. Pretty much the same as the other encounter I had with him.”

“Did he seem at all upset? Angry?”

“Only when I mentioned Amelia Kettering. He seemed jealous of her former relationship with Candie. Perhaps he felt threatened.”

“I’ve run a background check on Ms. Kettering. Everything seems simple enough. She’s single, thirty-five years old, an advertising executive for a national firm. She moves around quite a bit, rents instead of owns. She’s not flush with money, but she is comfortable, financially. Do you believe she might have anything to do with Mrs. Valentino’s disappearance?”

“Not unless she’s a brilliant actress. She seemed genuinely surprised that Candie lived nearby, and shocked when I told her about the kidnapping. I don’t think her reactions were feigned and she didn’t strike me as the vengeful sort.”

Capri glanced at Brentwood. “For the record, I want you to understand that I never believed you were capable of extortion and that I trust your judgment. However, the feds are in charge of this investigation. I’m required to follow their playbook. I hope this won’t affect our future working relationship.”

I rolled my shoulders back, stared her in the eye. “Detective, do you honestly believe everything is going to go back to the way it was? Finding a cleaning job in this town will be like searching for a specific tick in the forest. It’s a small community, word will spread and my reputation will be in tatters. The last thing I’m worried about right now is feeding you more information.”

“Noted,” Capri said again and I turned to the door.

“For the record, I only wanted to help Candie Valentino.”

“Funny, me too. I suggest you look into Valentino’s business dealings, specifically a project named falcon. My impression is he cares more about that than his wife.”

I left without a backwards glance. The cops had the ball and they could stuff it for all I cared. Finding Candie cost too high a price for me to even consider paying.

“My office will bill you.” Brentwood said as we parted ways in the lobby.

Case in point. I sighed and gestured to Neil.

“I want to go home now.”

“As you wish, milady.”

* * * *

As the sun headed toward the western horizon, the calls began. My arrest in connection with Candie Valentino’s disappearance wouldn’t hit the newspapers until Monday morning, but word of mouth was almost as reliable. Every stinking job I’d lined up for the following week had been canceled. I was a pariah, not convicted by the courts, but by my community. No one wanted a possible extortionist/arsonist mopping their floors.

After the fifth cancellation, I shut my cell phone off. Penny, eyes wide, squeezed Marty’s hand as they watched me prepare dinner. The greens were washed and chopped and I kept busy sautéing pine nuts in extra virgin olive oil for a salad topper. A mountain of chicken cutlets sat warming in the oven and the rice pilaf stood ready, awaiting distribution.

Neil was propped up against the refrigerator. Flanked by his offspring, three sets of blue-green eyes bore witness to my every move. I loved them, but the staring was driving me nuts. The relief at my quick return home had evaporated as reality of what was next for our family to endure settled over us. The Laundry Hag was officially
persona non grata
.

“We don’t need the money; we were getting by just fine before you started cleaning houses.” He said for the fifth time.

“You’re absolutely right.” I agreed, scooping the nuts onto a paper towel to cool.

“Maybe we should head out.” Marty offered.

Normally, I would fight him on it, but arguing required more fire than I possessed at the moment. “Do you have somewhere to go?”

Marty’s lack of reply was answer enough. “Boys, wash your hands and set the table please. Neil, would you call Sylvia, see if she would like to join us for dinner?” The salad alone could feed fifty after all and I didn’t want to think about her sitting all alone, abandoned.

“Sure thing, Uncle Scrooge.” Neil picked up the phone, but put it down just as fast. “Maybe I’ll walk over their instead, I could use some air.” He headed out of the room to get his jacket.

“What would you like to drink, Penny?” I opened the fridge and surveyed the beverage selection.

“I’ll get it myself. “ Penny drawled but I cast a black scowl over my shoulder. This was not a night I would tolerate someone taking over. I needed to stay busy and hold onto the illusion of control.

“What… Do… You… Want…. To… Drink.” I bit out.

Penny and Marty exchanged silent communication. “Milk, please.” She squeaked.

I poured an enormous glass of milk, then turned to Marty. “And you?”

“How about a beer?”

I didn’t bother to look. “We’re out. How about milk?”

“Sounds like a plan.” My brother grumbled.

“Milks all around.” I announced and emptied the gallon into various cups.

“Let me carry those for you, sis.” Marty reached for the glasses, but I jerked them back. Milk sloshed over the rim, slopping onto my sweater and landing with a splat on the floor.

“Jesus Marty,” I began as the liquid seeped into the fabric.

My brother hung his head. “Sorry, I’m so sorry Maggie.”

I knew he was referring to more than the milk. Harnessing my temper, I headed for the laundry room and a mop.

Wisely, Penny and Marty shuffled into the dining room to assist Kenny and Josh with table duty. I’d just emptied the bucket into the kitchen sink when the doorbell rang. Grumbling, I slouched down the hall. “Neil, did you forget your key…?” I trailed off when I saw Leo on the other side of the door. He looked pale and shivery, understandable since he stood in the cold, coatless, but the stricken look on his face told me more than the weather was to blame for his haggard appearance.

“Come in here before you freeze.” I hauled him inside. “Where’s your coat? Lord above, it must be in the single digits out there.”

“Maggie, I’m so sorry.”

“Not your fault I’m nosy and got in over my head, Leo.” I snatched a blanket off the air mattress and wrapped him up. “Let’s go in the kitchen, the oven is on and you’ll warm up faster.”

Obediently, Leo shuffled after me. “I have to talk to you, in private.” He cut his gaze toward the dining room where Marty had dropped some silverware.

“Can it wait until after dinner? We’re just about to sit down and Neil should be back with Sylvia any time now. You’re welcome to stay and—”

“Now, Maggie.” Though his tone was forceful, I worried he might start to cry if I refused.

“Let’s go in my bedroom.” I led the way; calling out to the assembled family members that I would be back shortly.

“What’s going on?” I asked as soon as he shut the door. “I can’t remember ever seeing you this upset.”

“It’s Richard.”

Concerned, I rubbed his arm. “Is he all right? Was he in an accident?”

“No, he’s fine, just a real dickhead.” Leo snorted. “Dick Head, the dickhead, why didn’t I see it?”

Ignoring the unmade bed, I pulled Leo over and sat down. “Wanna tell me what happened?”

Leo nodded, misery incarnate. “He stole files from Valentino’s office.”

“Excuse me?” I was sure I hadn’t processed his words correctly.

“When he went cleaning with you. I didn’t know, until I went to his house this afternoon. His mother let me in, you see. She’s so sweet, if a bit demanding and Richard didn’t know I was there. He was in the shower and I decided to wait for him in his bedroom. The computer was on and I must have nudged the keyboard or something because this file opened up. It had Valentino’s corporate logo on the header, so I knew it wasn’t his. From what I could tell it was quarterly stock reports for Safari and a list of shareholders. So I started, you know, scrolling through the files. And I found this status report for something called falcon, as well as a bunch of bank statements. I knew it couldn’t be a coincidence.”

I closed my eyes. “Damn it all to hell and back.”

“There’s more. I searched through his room and found this.”

Where he pulled the manila file folder from, I had no idea, but my curiosity subsided as I leafed through its contents. Pictures, all of Valentino and Candie, some cut from magazine or newspaper articles, others paparazzi-style candid shots of one or both subjects walking, talking to someone. Dozens of clippings pertaining to Falcon, Safari Power Solutions, and Candie’s disappearance.

“This is bad, Leo.”

Leo lost the battle and his face crumpled. “I’m so sorry Maggie, I confronted him about it. He claimed he had a source who fed him the information online, that he was just monitoring the project, the company. I knew he was B.S.-ing me though. I mean, where does he get the money for the rent, if he’s not working? His mother’s a retired kindergarten teacher for God’s sake. He has to be some sort of corporate spy.” A tear slid down his cheek.

My brain was on a tilt-a-whirl. “Leo, listen to me. This is not your fault, you hear me? You had no way of knowing what Dick Head was up to. I didn’t know and I was right there with him. But now that you are aware of what he’s been doing, you need to tell the police. He might be involved in the kidnapping.” If so, he was probably half way to Zimbabwe by now. I looked back to the file, my heart like a hunk of granite in my chest. I really didn’t want to have another run in with the law today.

Leo nodded. “I’ll go right now. I should have gone there first, but I wasn’t thinking.” I offered him the file; sorry my fingerprints were on it, but in his distress he fumbled and papers fluttered to the carpet.

“Sorry Maggie, I’m so sorry….” Leo droned on but I tuned him out while I restacked the clippings. “No freaking way,” I said as one headline caught my eye. “What is it?” Leo stoppered his verbal diarrhea of apology and leaned over my

shoulder.

“Maybe nothing. Go now, ask for Detective Capri. I’ll have Marty drive you.”

Too upset to even make a joke, Leo jumped up. He opened the door to Neil, fist aloft, poised for knocking.

“Neil, go get Marty. He’s going to go to the police station with Leo.”

Neil cocked his head, studied me. “You don’t want me to ride with him?”

“Not this time, slick. We need to have a chat.”

Chapter Eighteen

“Son of a bitch.” Neil said as he accessed Safari’s corporate website. “Here it is in black and white. Why didn’t I pick up on this sooner?”

I leaned over his shoulder, kissed his cheek. “You’ve been busy. Why would you notice?” I couldn’t suppress my grin. It wasn’t often I figured something out before Neil.

Candie Valentino, not Markus, was the owner of Safari Power Solutions. True, Markus was the business tycoon, the man behind cutting-edge advances, but fifty-one percent of the company’s stock was held by his wife. She came from money, a true Dallas socialite and sole heir to her father’s oil fortune.

“Okay, let’s assume the feds know all this. Chances are, Candie’s WASP parents, not Markus Valentino, called in the FBI. Valentino’s under the gun because he’s late bringing his new project, falcon, to fruition. He’s made big promises and backed them up with smoke. Meanwhile, his existing customers are all sorts of pissed off, because he’s not paying as much attention to them. The market is shaky right now and he can’t afford his stocks to tank when he’s invested so much in falcon. What better way to gain a little sympathy than a stalking threat, followed by his wife’s disappearance? The question is, was it a voluntary disappearance?”

Neil looked stunned, then a slow grin broke across his face. “You think she’s just hiding, faking the kidnapping for her husband’s sake?”

“I’m not sure. I’d like to believe Candie is incapable of this sort of duplicity, but there is a possibility she’s part of it. But like I said, the feds probably know all this. And Valentino’s under a microscope. What better way to divert attention from him, than to set me up as blackmailer?”