“Is this Kate Connolly?” asked a soft female voice with a Russian accent.
“Yes.”
“You called me yesterday. I didn’t hire an investigator.”
“Mrs. Avery?” I asked.
“Svetlana.”
“Oh. Sorry. I was trying to reach Gloria Avery,” I said.
“Gloria?” her voice sounded alarmed.
“Yes. Do you know her?”
“My mother . . . well, er, mother-in-law,” Svetlana said.
The first wife.
“Gloria hired an investigator?” Svetlana asked.
“I think so. That’s what this guy said.”
Svetlana let out a breath. “Ohh . . .” Silence filled the line. Finally she asked, “Can we meet?”
I clicked Laurie’s car seat into the base in the backseat and took off toward Chestnut Street, the metro hip part of San Francisco.
Nothing like an outing to avoid further self-analysis.
I was meeting Svetlana at a teahouse. I had never been to one before and was mildly curious about it, although not as curious as I was about Svetlana.
What could she want to meet me about?
I found parking in a much too small space in front of the teahouse. My bumper hit both cars front and back as I crammed my Cavalier in.
Love taps. Hope the owners aren’t in sight.
At least I’d be able to watch my car from inside the tea shop and make sure no one broke into it.
I grabbed Laurie’s little bucket car seat and stared into her face. Still sleeping.
Had she even moved?
I gently shook her. She woke up and began to wail.
Great, wake a sleeping baby!
I glanced at my watch. I had been so nervous about being late that I was early. Time to kill, I might as well nurse Laurie in the comfort of my Cavalier.
I settled my feet on her diaper bag, which was squashed in between the baby carrier and a first aid kit.
Maybe the car wasn’t so comfortable.
Where had all this gear come from? The infant car seat took up two-thirds of the backseat and the rest was occupied with rattles, blankets, and stuffed dolls.
I had to clear out my car.
Another item to add to my to-do list.
I watched a tall, elegant woman make her way to the front door of the teahouse. She had straight black hair and was dressed in brown slacks with a russet-colored shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Could that be Svetlana? I finished nursing Laurie and swaddled her tight. She needed a diaper change. There was no room to do it in the car, so the ladies’ restroom in the teahouse would have to do.
I nestled her back into the removable car seat and picked up the entire bucket. This bucket was starting to be a real pain. It had seemed so light when we purchased it, testing it against all the other models. But now it seemed to weigh a ton.
Thank God I had parked close.
I stepped inside the teahouse and into another century. Beautiful lace curtains covered the windows, and the pink walls were decorated with fine china from around the world.
I wondered if my postpartum butt would fit on any of the delicate chairs.
The lone customer was the lady I had seen walk in. She eyed me curiously.
“Svetlana?” I asked.
She stood. “Kate? I didn’t know you had a baby!”
“Yes.” I hobbled over to her, trying to tread lightly. My pelvic bones hadn’t stopped hurting since the outing from the other day, and the bruise on the back of my leg didn’t help matters.
She pulled out a tiny chair for me. I dropped my bag onto the floor and settled Laurie’s bucket beside my chair.
“How old is she?”
“Three weeks.”
Svetlana gasped. “In Russia, we never take such small baby out.”
More reprimands? What, indeed, was I doing out of the house? Laurie ogled up at Svetlana.
“This is why I love America,” she continued. “Baby girl will learn fast.”
My guilt was assuaged for the moment. What would I be doing at home anyway? Sleeping? Laurie kicked off her blanket. Ha! Not likely. I yawned as I pulled the blanket up over her again.
“Where’s the restroom?”
Svetlana pointed to the back. I removed Laurie from her car seat and picked up her diaper bag. Everything now, even using the restroom, was an ordeal.
As I entered the restroom, I realized that I wouldn’t be able to change Laurie. There was no diaper stand, only a small Victorian sink and a retro toilet. I wouldn’t even be able to use the toilet myself, since I couldn’t very well put Laurie on the floor.
I returned to the table and grabbed the Godforsaken car seat bucket. I packed Laurie into it and made my way back to the restroom.
I changed Laurie’s diaper in the bucket seat. Then Laurie watched from her little bucket cocoon as I relieved myself in the Victorian toilet.
Would life be any easier if I returned to the corporate world?
Laurie, as if reading my thoughts, let out a little cry in protest.
I held my finger out to her, which she grasped tightly. “Easier maybe, but not nearly as much fun, peanut.”
Svetlana ordered us green tea, cucumber sandwiches, and raspberry cookies. The cucumber sandwiches arrived looking a little lackluster. Svetlana gobbled one up. I joined her.
How could I lose any weight if I ate even the unappetizing stuff?
The teacups were tiny, like having a shot of tea. I had to refill my cup after one sip.
“You were married to Brad?” I asked.
Svetlana nodded, washing down another sandwich with tea. “Three years. We had a lot of trouble. He met Michelle and . . .” She made a gesture with her hands, placing her index fingers together then pulling them apart to demonstrate a split.
Brad had left Svetlana for Michelle? How’s that for motive?
“How did you two meet?”
“In school. I study baking. Brad cooking.”
The restaurant, of course.
“We drink tea after class.” She gestured around. “This was our favorite place. Our old school is around the corner.”
“Do you know what happened to Brad?” I asked.
Her eyes searched mine, giving me the feeling she was trying to gauge what I knew. “Police find him in the bay, right?”
I nodded.
“How do you know Brad?” she asked.
“I didn’t know him. Michelle was an old friend from high school.”
Svetlana looked deflated. “Oh. Michelle,” she said, then crammed a cookie into her mouth.
Oops, wrong subject to bring up.
“Why did you want to meet with me?” I asked, trying to get her mind off the woman who had stolen her husband.
Svetlana snapped to attention. “Did Gloria’s investigator ask about me?”
“No. Why would he? We don’t even know each other.”
“Gloria doesn’t like me. I wonder if she hire inspector to deport me back to Russia.”
“I imagine she hired him to help the police find out what happened to Brad.”
Svetlana’s lips twitched. “Gloria doesn’t like me,” she repeated. “I open new business six months ago. I can’t go back to Russia now. I have new beginning here.”
I nodded. “When was the last time you saw Brad?”
“My birthday. June ninth. Why?”
“You kept in touch?”
She studied Laurie. “We had a baby, Brad and me. We stay in touch.”
A child had lost her father. With the hormones in my system, I couldn’t control the emotions that flooded me. I grabbed at a napkin and dabbed my eyes, trying to fan myself at the same time.
“Was he going through anything unusual the last time you saw him?”
She frowned. “Unusual?”
“Anything strange. You know, anything out of the ordinary going on in his life?”
She shrugged, keeping her eyes on the floor. “He told me he wanted to leave Michelle. He was in love with someone else.”
Nice pattern. Jerk.
“Yes. Michelle told me he was having an affair, that he left her on June fifteenth. The night the police think he was murdered.”
Svetlana nodded. Her composure had shifted; her shoulders drooped a little and she seemed withdrawn.
Could Brad and Svetlana have rekindled their love affair?
“Do you know who Brad was in love with?” I asked.
She covered her eyes for moment. “No. Someone from restaurant, I think. Brad always there. Had to be someone from there.”
I took a stab in the dark. “Do you know George Connolly?”
Svetlana’s face was blank. “Your husband?”
“No. My husband’s brother. I think he works at El Paraiso.”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t know anyone from there. Except the manager, Rich. He was the best man at our wedding.”
Ah. Mr. Creepy.
Remembering him caused my hair to stand on end.
“So, you know Rich pretty well?”
Svetlana adjusted her shawl. “He was a friend of Brad’s. They were friends for long time, but he’s not reliable. When you need a friend, you cannot depend on Rich.” She looked down at her hands. “The police call my house to know where I was June fifteenth. I was home. Alone. I don’t go out much anymore. Not since . . .” She studied her nails.
I drank another shot of tea and waited in silence. After a moment she said, “My baby drowned. Three years ago.”
Every mother’s nightmare. My heart tightened and I suddenly felt panicky. Tears flooded my eyes. “Oh my God! I’m so sorry to hear that!”
I grabbed another napkin to wipe my eyes. Svetlana was crying freely, not making any noise, just letting the tears, blackened by mascara, fall down her face.
I pulled Laurie’s car seat closer to me and glanced down at her sleeping angel face.
“Brad always blamed me . . . now the police come to ask questions, and Gloria has an investigator. Baby dead, Brad dead. Gloria think only person can be responsible is Svetlana. But I never hurt my baby, or Brad.”
“Why would Brad blame you?”
“I took Penny to the park. There is a big lake . . . they had little boats to rent. I thought she’d have fun . . .” Her eyes glazed over. “I was buying popcorn. Penny by my side. She was two. They don’t listen. I told her to stay by my side. Then a stranger talking to me, someone spilled a soda, someone yelling . . . When I turn around, Penny gone. She fall in the lake. I can’t swim, but I jump in. People help us, but it was too late. I was in hospital for long time.” She pointed to her temple. “Depression. Brad blamed me. Gloria blamed me. I blamed me, too. But doctors say it wasn’t my fault.”
I put my hand on hers. She held my hand a moment, then said, “I tell you, Kate. I didn’t hurt Brad, but I’m not sorry he’s dead.”
We sat in awkward silence. The waitress swung our way. “Anything else, ladies?”
Svetlana looked at me and asked, “Kate?”
Before I could I answer, the waitress said, “I’ll leave the dessert menu. Give it a look and let me know.”
Svetlana squinted at the menu, then held it farther away. She pulled her handbag off the back of the chair and rummaged through it. She sighed.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I don’t have my glasses.”
I read the dessert menu out loud. Each cake, pie, and pastry was paired with a recommended wine.
“Oooh, who can resist the ‘chocolate trio’?” I raised my eyebrows at Svetlana. “A sampling of three chocolate desserts: the chocolate mousse, an orange chocolate pâté in a filo coconut crust, and warm chocolate bread pudding.”
Svetlana listened and smiled. “Sounds good. But no. I will have wine. And you?”
No fun eating chocolate by yourself.
“Nothing for me.”
Svetlana waved down the waitress and ordered a chardonnay.
My heart quickened.
Relax, Kate. Everybody drinks wine. It doesn’t mean a thing.
I poured myself another shot of tea. “Svetlana, can you tell me where you were yesterday morning?”
Her face registered surprise. “Yesterday? I stay home. Sometimes I still . . . it’s not good. I know. But sometimes I still feel depression.”
“Did you talk to anyone? Can anyone verify you were home?” Now I was starting to sound like Galigani.
Hmmm.
Svetlana shook her head. “When I get depression, I get a migraine, too. So I don’t talk to anyone, just try to sleep. Why?”
“I found Michelle Avery dead yesterday.”
Svetlana inhaled a deep sharp breath, then closed her eyes and pressed her hands to her temples. “Oh, no!” she gasped, leaning forward in her chair as the waitress placed the chardonnay in front of her.
Svetlana pushed the wine aside. “Migraine coming on.”
“Is there something I can do for you?” I asked.
“No. No. Thank you. Must go. Very sorry, Kate.” She dug into her purse and pulled money out. When she placed it on the table, her face contorted in pain.
“Don’t worry about that,” I said.
She waved off my concern about the bill. She kissed her fingers and wiggled them at Laurie, then disappeared through the side door.
I sat in silence, starting at Svetlana’s wine. She hadn’t known about Michelle? I leaned forward and peeked at Laurie. Still snoozing. The wine beckoned me. Oh well, a small sip wouldn’t hurt. I sipped the wine and scribbled
“Missing glasses, drinks chardonnay, but was surprised about Michelle . . . ?”
onto a napkin.
Hmmm.
I’d need to remember to pack my notebook if I was going to launch a new career as a PI.
I settled Laurie into the car and drove home to meet Mom. She was going to watch Laurie this afternoon while I went to the Haight.
To do what? Ring doorbells, looking for George?
What was I thinking? Just because Galigani got paid two hundred an hour didn’t mean I was going to. After all, Jim was right. Galigani had a paying client. I was just being nosy.