The Root of All Trouble (10 page)

Rolling his eyes, he said,
"Everyone came back from lunch in such a bad mood that I suggested to Delphine everyone just leave for the day. I needed a break. They're...a lot to handle."

With all the arguing that had gone on that day, I understood the bad moods. And that meant that Bear could have been the man Mario overheard talking to Joey.

Interesting
.

"
Well, Mario needs to tell the police about the fight and the person that was there."

Shaking his head, he said,
"He refuses to talk. And now that Delphine has been arrested, he won't have to."

"
Perry..."

"
Nina, you promised you would keep a secret."

"
I said I'd
try
."

"
Try really, really, really hard."

"
I think that third really was a little gratuitous."

His eyes twinkled.
"Really?"

I smiled. I couldn
't help myself. Then I sobered. "Did you think that Mario had something to do with..." I gestured across the street.

"
No. Not much." He held up two fingers an inch apart. "Maybe a little. Joey crossed a line, and it triggered something in Mario I'd never seen before. I was scared. For Mario and for Joey. But I guess I didn't have to be. Because Joey apparently had lots of enemies, including one seriously ticked-off girlfriend who did a lot of people a favor, in my opinion."

It was hard to argue with that. After all Joey was about the least likeable person I ever met.

I was ready for the whole seedy mess to go away and for life to get back to normal. To forget about Joey and Delphine and...everything. It was time to look ahead.

A car door slammed and I spotted Brickhouse backing out of Mr. Cabrera
's driveway. The back of her car was stuffed with stuff—clothes, boxes, a Crockpot. I waved as she drove past, but she didn't see me, or even glance over in a wistful goodbye to her former boyfriend. Sometimes looking ahead meant not looking behind you.

"
That can't be good, her car packed like that," Perry said.

"
No, it can't."

I wasn
't convinced the situation between Brickhouse and Mr. Cabrera couldn't be fixed, but it was going to take more than a sly smile or a strudel this time.

"
Breakfast?" I asked.

"
What're you making?"

I laughed.
"I thought you'd cook since, you know, you're living here free of charge for the foreseeable future."

He looked like he was about to argue, then said,
"How about egg white omelets with goat cheese and bran toast?"

"
Fine, I'll cook. Waffles with whipped cream and real maple syrup?"

"
Sounds good."

We
'd just headed for the door when the screeching of tires stopped us in our tracks. I turned in time to see a small sports car swerve into my driveway. The driver's door flew open and a wild-eyed man jumped out and raced up to the porch.

"
Jean-Claude? What's wrong?" I hadn't seen him since yesterday afternoon in the cab of my truck. "Are you okay? Where've you been?"

He waved away my questions.
"You have to come with me, Nina. Hurry and change. No, we don't have time for that."

"
I'm not going anywhere in my robe and slippers."

"
Then hurry," he said.

"
Where to?" Perry asked.

"
The police station."

Ah, now I understood.
"Is this about Delphine's arrest?" She was his cousin after all.

Jean-Claude dragged a hand through his hair.
"Of course! The police are making a huge mistake. You have to stop them. They'll listen to you."

"
Listen to me about what?" I asked.

"
Delphine is innocent."

"
Jean-Claude," I said softly.

"
She's innocent, Nina. The Reauxs are lovers, not fighters. She didn't kill Joey Miller. And I can prove it."

Chapter Nine

I
t turned out there was no reason to go to the police station with Jean-Claude because he refused to tell me how he knew Delphine was innocent on grounds that he might incriminate himself.

That comment had certainly raised my eyebrows, but he insisted that
he
hadn't killed Joey, and that he didn't know who did, but only knew that Delphine was innocent. That I'd have to trust him.

Oddly, I did trust him—about this. Sure, he was a conman at heart but there was no mistaking his earnestness when he spoke about his cousin.

But unless he was willing to spill what he did know, then Delphine would be staying in jail.

Jean-Claude had left in a huff.

That had been two hours ago, and I was still stewing about it. I was feeling curious and anxious and a little bit guilty for not jumping in to help.

But there wasn
't anything I could do unless he spoke up.

Nothing I could do except...

"You have that look," Ana said. She'd come over to see about borrowing my truck to haul her stuff to Kit's house and had stuck around for a cup of coffee.

"
What look?" I asked.

"
You're planning something."

I plunged my hands into soapy water. I
'd never minded washing dishes—it was a soothing chore for me. "I was just thinking that if Jean-Claude doesn't spill what he knows then the only way to help him is to prove Delphine is innocent."

Ana
's dark hair had been pulled back into a sleek ponytail. "And how do you plan on doing that?"

I wiped off the waffle iron.
"I guess the only way is to find out who's really guilty."

She set her mug on the counter.
"You mean, you're planning to catch yourself a killer."

I really wished she wouldn
't put it that way. "I guess so. Want to help?"

"
Hell, yes."

I smiled.
"Good. You know I hate killer-catching on my own."

"
The sad fact of that statement is that you've actually had experience with it. I guess it goes hand in hand with you being a corpse whisperer and all."

I threw a wet sponge at her as Mr. Cabrera dragged himself into the kitchen and lurched onto a stool.
"Who's a corpse whisperer?" he asked in a monotone.

"
Nina is," Ana said.

He winced at the pitch of Ana
's voice. "I shoulda guessed that. It's her curse."

"
What's with him?" she asked.

"
Too many gin and tonics yesterday."

He groaned.
"Don't say that word."

"
Which one?" I asked. "Gin? Tonic? Gin and tonic?"

He blanched.
"You're a cruel, cruel woman."

I slid another mug of coffee over to him.
"I've been called worse."

"
Make the room stop spinning," he begged.

"
Put your head down on the countertop," Ana advised.

He smushed his face against the cool tiles.
"Is Ursula back yet?"

"
Nope," I said.

"
She'll be back," he mumbled.

"
Where'd she go?" Ana asked.

"
A vacation," I said.

She glanced between Mr. Cabrera and me.
"A regular vacation or one from him?"

"
Both."

He started snoring.

We stared.

"
Should we wake him?" Ana asked.

"
Leave him." I motioned for her to follow me into the living room. For a house that was packed to its rafters with guests, it was relatively quiet.

Gracie was asleep beneath the couch, Riley was at work—he had a part-time job at the sports complex where my mean trainer Duke worked—and Mario and Perry had an appointment with their decorator. Maria had offered to go with them, and they
'd taken pity on me and agreed.

I felt bad about it, until I could practically hear my mother
's voice in my ear saying, "Gift horses,
cherié
, gift horses."

They were due back in another hour—just in time for Nate to swing by and pick up Maria.

As I gave the "Cliffs Notes" version of why Brickhouse had moved out, I handed Ana the keys to my truck, which was still parked across the street.

She headed for the door, jangling the keys.
"It shouldn't take too long for me to move—I've been slowly bringing stuff over to Kit's for months now. I'll let you know when I'm done so we can start our hunt."

"
I'll do a little prelim work online while I wait for you. See what I can learn about Delphine and Joey."

She pulled open the door.
"Don't go off without me."

"
I'd never!"

She rolled her eyes. Then perked up when she spotted something on the porch.
"What's that?"

"
What's what?" I asked, coming up behind her.

"
Looks like a present." She bent, picked it up, and flipped a small tag. "It's for Perry, but it doesn't say who it's from." She handed it over.

I shook the box.
"Must be another gift from his secret admirer."

"
I forgot he had himself an admirer! Who do you think it is?"

"
I don't know, but whoever it is has impeccable taste. You should have seen the watch he got last week."

"
It's a little strange," Ana said. "The gifts have been so expensive."

I glanced up at the sound of footsteps and spotted Kit coming up the driveway.
"What's strange?" he asked, coming up the steps and dropping a kiss on Ana's lips.

Kit Pipe should be terrifying. He stood six-foot-five and didn
't have an ounce of fat on his 250 pound tattooed frame. His bald head bore a skull tattoo, and his eyes were lined in black ink. Tattooed sleeves covered both arms. He looked every inch a Hell's Angel, but he was one of the best guys I knew.

"
Perry got another gift," Ana said.

Kit frowned.
"Here?"

"
On the porch," I said.

"
That is strange." He looked at Ana. "You ready?"

"
Whoa-ho! What's strange? Why'd you say it that way?" I asked.

"
It's bizarro that the admirer knew to leave the present here and not at Perry's house. Someone's watching him."

Ana shuddered.
"It's beginning to sound more like a stalker than an admirer."

A shiver went down my spine, too. I hadn
't thought of it that way.

"
Mario's going to have a fit," Ana said.

It
's true. He was. Mostly because he didn't have a stalker of his own.

"
Maybe I'll hide it and give it to Perry later. Mario's already upset about the house renovations." I nudged Kit with my elbow. "Did you know they're staying here with me until their water situation is fixed?"

Stepping aside, he said,
"I heard."

"
That means they could possibly be staying with me for weeks, maybe months unless someone takes pity on my soul and fixes their bathroom." I stared at him.

Ana patted his arm and whispered,
"I think she means you."

"
No," he said.

"
Please?" I begged. "It's only a matter of days before Mario is redecorating my house."

"
It needs it," Kit said.

It was hard to argue with that. My room and the master bath had recently been done but the rest of the house could use a little TLC.
"True, but he'll have Gucci wallpaper on the walls in no time." I glanced at Ana. "Does Gucci do wallpaper?"

She shrugged.
"Maria's the one to ask about that."

"
Anyway," I said, "you know what I mean."

"
No," Kit said.

"
You know," Ana said, "we do have that nice guest room. Mario and Perry could probably stay with us for a little while. We can swap weeks back and forth with Nina until their house is fixed. That way, it doesn't feel like such a burden on her."