Treated and Dyed (A Bekki the Beautician Cozy Mystery Book 13) (5 page)

“Did you need something, Bekki?” Holly asked again. She brushed her dark brown hair back from her shoulders. Her cheeks were slightly sunken as if she hadn't been eating well. She had dark bags under her eyes that Bekki found herself dying to use some concealer on.

“I’m not sure what they are called but I was looking for the little powdered candies,” Bekki described. She was startled that there were none on display. “I was going to get some from the shelf but it looks like you're all out.”

“Yes, those were Stella's favorite,” Holly said. “She grabbed a bag every time she came in here. She didn't pay for it of course.”

“That must have been frustrating,” Bekki said. “I've heard that she was very difficult to be in a business relationship with.”

“The police already came asking for them and as I told them I am out-of-stock, I don't have any more in the back,” Holly said. Once again she had completely avoided Bekki's question. “Can I get you something else?”

“Do you have any red wine, preferably Chares?” Bekki asked.

“Let me check,” Holly said. She disappeared into the back room. While Holly was gone Bekki tried to get a good look behind the counter. She wasn't sure what she was looking for but the way Holly was acting made her seem a little suspicious.

“Here you go,” Holly said and placed a bottle of wine on the counter. “Anything else?”

“No, that's it,” Bekki said. As she was pulling out her wallet to pay for the wine she glanced up at Holly.

“Stella stopped here yesterday morning, didn't she?” Bekki asked.

“Sure she did. She stops every morning if I am going to be late on the rent,” Holly rolled her eyes. “I wasn't even late yet.”

“Did she seem upset to you?” Bekki asked. “I know when she arrived at the salon she said she was having a hard morning.”

“I don't know what could have been hard about it for her,” Holly said. Her tone was dismissive. “I think she wasn't too happy with me because she showed up here expecting me to tell her that I had the rent, when she knew that I wouldn't have it until next week. I mean, I had called and left her a message, it's not as if I left her in the dark about it,” Holly took a breath. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get worked up. Look Bekki, I know it's a terrible thing that she is gone, but to be honest with you I'm not that upset. If you want to talk to someone about Stella, you should find someone other than me.”

“You do know that the police have opened a murder investigation, right?” Bekki asked. She watched Holly closely for her reaction.

“A murder investigation?” Holly asked. “No, I didn't realize. I thought they were just investigating for the life insurance. How strange,” she shook her head. “I really need to get back to work,” Holly said. She turned and walked away from the register. Bekki was a little startled by the abrupt way that she ended their conversation. She stood in front of the counter for a moment. Then she turned and walked out of the shop. As the door clanged closed behind her she decided to call Morris.

She was sure that if Stella had been getting any threats she would have spoken to her lawyer about it. She called Morris' number on her walk back to the salon parking lot.

“Hello?” Morris said.

“Morris, I'm sorry to interrupt your afternoon, I was just wondering if you could give me the name of Stella Black's lawyer,” Bekki asked.

“Why?” Morris questioned in return. “I already gave it to Nick and Dave. I'm sure they've been over to talk with him already.”

“I'm just curious about something,” Bekki explained.

“Curious about getting into the middle of a murder investigation?” Morris asked.

“She did die in my salon, Morris,” Bekki reminded him.

“All right, but don't tell Nick or Dave where you got the information from,” Morris said. “I thought Nick was a stickler, but Dave is a real pain to deal with.”

“It'll stay between you and me,” Bekki promised him. Morris rattled off the address of the lawyer's office. Bekki was familiar with the building. “And his name?”

“It's McAllister Dane,” Morris replied. “A big name for a small man.”

Bekki raised an eyebrow at the description, but she didn't ask any more questions. “Thanks Morris,” she said. “Make sure you and Sammy have a good time.”

“I'll do my best,” Morris replied.

Bekki had reached her car by the time she hung up the phone with Morris. She unlocked the doors and then glanced over at the salon. The front door was still blocked off with police tape, but it was dark inside. There were no police cars or other vehicles aside from her own in the parking lot. She assumed that everyone had left, which meant that Nick might just be waiting at home for her again.

Bekki drove a little above the speed limit to the lawyer's office in Lightbrough which was the next town west of Harroway. She didn't want to be too late to make dinner. When she reached the office she hurried up to the door. Bekki knocked lightly. The door swung open from the pressure of her knock. She peered inside. The office was much more cluttered and dusty than she had expected. For a lawyer who catered to the rich he didn't have a very nice office.

“Hello?” she called out.

“Who's there?” a voice said from her left. Bekki turned to see a short statured man stepping out of what she assumed to be the bathroom.

“My name is Bekki,” she said and stepped further into the office. “I don't mean to bother you, I just have a few questions for you.”

“Oh, I guess somehow you already found out?” he asked as he studied her.

“Found out what?” Bekki asked. She was confused by the way he was staring at her.

“That you are mentioned in Stella Black's will,” he said. “You know it never ceases to amaze me. She's not even in the ground yet and you're already here trying to collect.”

“I think that you must be mistaken,” Bekki said. “I'm not related to Stella. I just came to ask you a few questions about whether she had received any threats lately.”

“I'm not mistaken, I know exactly who you are,” he said and paused in front of her. “You are Rebekah Malonie and you are mentioned in her will. I can tell you that she received threats all the time. But there was nothing that stood out. I already looked over all of my records and spoke with the police about it. I don't think any of the threats were serious.”

“Someone killed her,” Bekki said, she wanted to ask more questions about Stella naming her in her will but she first wanted to get as much information about Stella’s murder as possible. “They had to have a reason.”

“I've seen it before,” he admitted. “When a woman of Stella's considerable wealth begins to age, old relatives and friends come out of the woodwork. They try to position themselves close so that when the time comes their name will be fresh on the mind of the victim. They do it all in hopes that they will inherit even a small amount of money.”

“That's so sad, and cruel,” Bekki shook her head. “I had no idea that Stella dealt with so much stress.”

“She wasn't the easiest woman to get along with, but she was careful with whom she associated with. She was convinced that everyone was out to take advantage of her,” he explained.

“That's no way to live,” Bekki frowned.

“Bekki, you were one of the few people in town that she felt was honest. That's why she had me add you to her will,” he said.

“What?” Bekki shook her head. “That doesn't make any sense, we barely knew each other.”

“She didn't make friends easily,” he said. “I suppose that was why she was so fond of you.”

“We talked a bit,” Bekki said. “But she was always very busy. Was anyone causing her more trouble than usual lately?”

“She was having a hard time collecting some rents. Also, she had just broken up with her latest boyfriend,” he said.

“She had a boyfriend?” Bekki asked. Her eyebrows raised with surprise. Stella was still quite a beautiful woman, that she would have a boyfriend is not what surprised her. What surprised her was the fact that she had never mentioned this boyfriend to Bekki. “Who was he?”

“Me,” he replied. His expression was passive as he shrugged.

“Oh,” Bekki's eyes widened. “I'm sorry for your loss.”

“Like I said, she dropped me like yesterday's trash,” he smiled. “That's just how she was.”

“So, you two weren't serious?” Bekki asked.

“I would have liked things to be a little more traditional, but after the death of her third husband she insisted on having only casual relationships,” he shook his head. “I guess she got used to having the freedom of being single. It doesn't matter now, does it?”

“I guess not,” Bekki frowned. She glanced around his office once more. She noticed the clutter was gathered in and around boxes. “Are you moving offices?”

“I'm closing up shop,” he explained. “I'm ready to retire. Stella worked right up until the last day of her life. I don't want that to be me. Handling her will is the last thing I have to do before I can leave all of this behind.”

“It isn't difficult for you?” Bekki asked. She couldn't imagine losing Nick and then having to act as his estate lawyer.

“It's difficult I suppose,” he said. “At least I know what Stella wanted, which makes it easier. I'm sure that all of the wackos in her past will come to try to collect what she never owed them.”

“Do you know of anyone who might have been harassing her more frequently lately and then suddenly stopped?” Bekki asked.

“Listen, I know what you're trying to do here,” he said. “I think it's kind of you to try to get to the bottom of what happened to Stella, but to be honest I don't think she would want you to. If she could tell you anything right now, it would probably be to let sleeping dogs lie, she didn't like people digging into her past.”

Bekki opened her mouth to argue with him, but she let the urge pass. If McAllister wanted to let sleeping dogs lie, that was his business. Bekki most certainly wasn't going to allow a murderer to go unpunished and possibly the wealth that Stella had worked so hard for, to possibly fall into the hands of the person who murdered her.

“Thank you for your time, McAllister,” Bekki said. She turned towards the door.

“I'll be reading the will after the memorial, Bekki,” McAllister said. “I'll need you to be present.”

Bekki nodded a little as she stepped out the door. She couldn't imagine what Stella might have left her in her will. She was too preoccupied to even think about it further. Stella's daughter, Jodie, was acting like the killer did her a favor, most of the people of the town including Stella's renters didn’t seem very upset that she was gone, and Stella's own lawyer slash boyfriend was acting as if her death didn't matter. It felt as if Bekki was the only one who cared and everyone else was a suspect.

***

On the drive home Bekki's thoughts were troubled. She didn't think it was fair to Stella that it seemed as if people were secretly celebrating her passing rather than grieving. Then again her only impression of Stella growing up had been that of a young girl admiring a very well-known socialite.

Bekki had always loved the purses and shoes that Stella would wear. She would come into the salon to see Bekki’s mom for a cut and style and occasionally for her hair to be treated and dyed, even when Bekki was just a little girl. Even though she had a harsh word for just about every adult she encountered, she had always spared a wink or a pat on the head for Bekki. Sometimes that was all it took to brighten Bekki's day. She felt a little guilty about not working harder to do the same for Stella while she had the chance.

As Bekki pulled into the driveway of the house she was relieved to see that Nick's car was not there yet. She knew that if he had been home already he would have had a lot of questions for her. Nick trusted her, but he knew that she liked doing her own investigating and with his line of work he saw too much not to worry about her if she wasn't home when he expected her to be.

Bekki grabbed the bottle of wine and carried it into the house. She flipped the kitchen light on and set the bottle down on the counter. She opened the cabinet above the sink and got down two large wine glasses. She set those on the counter beside the wine. Then she turned the oven on to preheat it. She was going to make Nick one of his favorite meals.

Bekki turned on some soft music. She was hoping that it would help her to relax. She also wanted to create a certain ambience for the evening. As she prepared the roast for the oven, she swayed her hips slowly to the music. She had always found solace in music, even if she didn't really have a talent for dancing. Something about being lost in the beat and the melody made her feel very free no matter what was troubling her.

“I could watch that all night,” Nick said from just inside the kitchen door. Bekki looked up at him with surprise.

“You're always sneaking up on me,” Bekki laughed. She walked over to him and kissed him. “Dinner is almost ready.”

“Great, I'm starving,” Nick said. “But you didn't have to go to all of this trouble, I know how trying today must have been for you.”

“Hey, I had the day off,” Bekki reminded him. “You were the one investigating a crime.”

“Yes, and dealing with endless dead ends,” Nick said. He furrowed his brow. “If that makes any sense.”

“It does,” Bekki shot a smile in his direction. “So, no progress?”

Nick ruffled his hair and peered cautiously at her. “You're not going to tell anyone, are you?”

“You know better than that,” Bekki said. She met his eyes with a steady gaze.

“Well, the water in the water cooler has been cleared. However, the candy has not. There's a powder on it,” he explained. He peeked at the roast and smiled at the way it looked.

“That's how they always are,” Bekki said. “It's powdered sugar.”

“Well, it wasn't just powdered sugar on the candies in the bag that we found in Stella's purse,” Nick said. “It was something else. We haven't confirmed just what yet, but we suspect that the candy is the source of the poison. The theory is that some kind of pill was crushed up to make the powder.”

Bekki cringed at the thought of someone planning ahead so nefariously. Someone had to crush the pill, then roll the candy in it, then wrap the candy, and stow the candy back inside the bag. She recalled how close she had come to accepting a piece of candy from Stella. Nick must have noticed the startled look on her face. He stroked her cheek soothingly.

“Let's try not to think about it tonight,” he said as he gazed into her eyes. “You're safe, and that's what matters most to me. From now on, let's focus on only eating and drinking what we have in the house, just in case. It's very likely that Stella was targeted, but we can't know that for sure until we catch the killer. It could be that some nutcase is going around poisoning random people.”

“That's terrible,” Bekki said and shook her head. “I would never believe that could happen here in Harroway.”

“There are a lot of newcomers,” Nick pointed out. “People are moving in every day. Who knows who might have done it. Hopefully we'll get some good information once we finish processing the candy, it's packaging, and do some further questioning.”

Bekki nodded. She tended to the roast silently. Nick remained near her. She could feel him watching her go through the motions. Once the roast was in the oven she turned back to face him.

“I just can't stop thinking about it,” she said quietly.

“It's still so fresh in your mind,” he pointed out.

“If I had known,” Bekki said quietly.

“You couldn't have, Bekki,” Nick said. “Only one person knew that candy was poisoned, and trust me I'm going to find out who it was.”

Bekki nodded. “I know you will. Why don't we watch a movie until the food is ready?” she suggested.

“Great, but let's make it a comedy,” Nick said. “I've had enough drama for one day.”

Bekki did her best to keep her mind off the murder as she watched the movie with Nick and then shared dinner with him. She wanted their home to be a place where he could unwind and not talk about work all night. But no matter how she tried to distract herself, her mind kept turning right back to Stella. Stella, whose last act was to walk into her salon.