If Hooks Could Kill (22 page)

“If we do it your way,” she said. “They’ll have to stop in Honolulu.”

“It isn’t as if they have to change planes. They don’t even have to get off if they don’t want to. It just makes a stop to pick up passengers,” Mason said in a tired voice. “I’m just happier with that airline,” he said. Mason got off the freeway in North Hollywood and went to a warehouse district. Finally he parked and we got out. “Jaimee wanted to go here,” he said gesturing toward a low building. It looked plain on the outside, but when I followed them in, I was amazed. It reminded me a little of Kelly’s father’s place, only much bigger. There was stuff everywhere. Odd pieces like old dress forms, and tables made out of unusual doors. Jaimee rushed off, but Mason hung behind.

“I’m sorry to have put you in the middle of this.” He took my hand and squeezed it. “But you’re probably keeping me from killing her, again.” Jaimee had gone into a room with large carved horses and life-size bronze statues of cavorting nymphs. “I can think of a lot of other ways to celebrate the detective moving home,” Mason said with a devilish wink.

“It’s hard to feel exactly happy about it,” I said before giving him the details of how it came about. Mason was dumbfounded when I told him about going to see how the work was coming in Barry’s condo and my subsequent arrest.

“You should have used your phone call to call me,” he said.

“It never got to that. Barry showed up and straightened it out.”

“However it happened. It’s good that he’s gone and you can get on with your life.” He turned to look at me and his expression grew warm. “And we can start acting like a couple.” The words were barely out of his mouth, when Jaimee yelled for him to come look at what she was sure was the perfect gift for Thursday.

“Maybe Barry’s living at my house isn’t the only obstacle.” I said. “Maybe after the wedding.” I let it hang, but I was pretty sure Mason got my meaning. I wasn’t going to be a girlfriend in the shadows. I didn’t want any strings, but I wanted an all-access pass to his life. Being invited to the wedding would demonstrate that.

“Meeting Jaimee wasn’t enough,” he said with a laugh. I shook my head and followed along through the warren of rooms. Just as we caught up with Jaimee, I noticed a leaded glass lamp and detoured to look at it. Mason stopped with me and it took Jaimee about two seconds to get impatient with the delay.

“C’mon,” she said in an annoyed voice. She seemed even more upset when the salesman came toward me. “Did I mention that I will probably be one of the housewives on
The Housewives of Mulholland Drive
?” she said trying to monopolize the salesperson’s attention.

“It reminds me of the lamp I saw in Kelly’s workroom and later was in the storage locker,” I said as way of explanation to Mason. I turned to the store clerk. “What’s the value of something like this?”

“This particular one is a Tiffany-style lamp. If you’re talking about a real one. . . .” He whistled to indicate the price was way up there. Jaimee was doing eye rolls in the background. He asked me what the one I’d seen looked like.

“I don’t remember exactly. It was blue and green and there might have been some flowers.”

“It’s probably a copy.” He mentioned the real ones had a signature on the bottom. “An original similar to what you’re describing was connected with a murder a while back. The police contacted us to ask if we’d seen it.” He gestured toward the array of unusual items. “We get our pieces all over.”

“I actually want to buy something,” Jaimee said, pointing toward some fountains in a courtyard up ahead.

“You were asking about the lamp we saw?” Mason said. I had to break the news to him about my fiasco with Detective Heather. He didn’t know about the coins I’d found or the watch. He seemed disappointed he was out of the loop. “You should have called me,” he said. “Maybe I could have helped.” Our moment was interrupted by Jaimee calling from the courtyard, commanding his presence.

I was amazed at Mason’s self-control. No matter how much he wanted to kill her, he never let it show. I didn’t do as well.

C
HAPTER
32

With a wedding gift finally chosen, we walked out onto the street. Actually, they’d chosen two. The fountain was going to be delivered and installed. The metal cherubs with the banner reading “Love Forever,” Mason loaded into the trunk. Jaimee rushed and opened the passenger door as she prepared to get in.

Mason shut the trunk and said, “We’ll drop Jaimee and the gift off at her house. Then we can—”

“That won’t work,” Jaimee said interrupting. “I want to take the cherubs to Thursday now.” She trained her gaze on Mason. “You should come with.” She swiveled her head in my direction. “And you shouldn’t. Mason has always kept his women away from anything with our girls.”

Mason stepped close to me and put his arm around my shoulder. “I’ll make it up to you,” he whispered in my ear. Jaimee was still half in and half out of the front seat and saw what Mason did. She groaned and rolled her eyes. “Oh my God, Mason, you’re acting like some lovesick puppy.”

I had to give Mason credit. He didn’t react at all to what she’d said. Thankfully the ride back to my house was quick and I jumped out as soon as the car came to a stop at the curb. Mason cut the motor and rushed out of the other side before catching up with me.

“I’m sorry.” He shook his head. “I’m so tired of saying that. I promise you when the wedding is over, Jaimee will be out of the picture. He hugged me and went to kiss me, but I backed away.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “You have your family thing to take care of.” Yes, there was an edge to my voice. I didn’t like the reference to “Mason’s women” that Jaimee had made. It made me feel like I was just another female in the shadows. Right then I made the decision that it was best to continue to view Mason as just a friend, rather than let him move up into the spot of boyfriend.

Back at home I had the quiet house I’d been wishing for. What’s that thing about being careful what you wish for . . . ? I checked the freezer and saw there was an unopened pint of Bordeaux strawberry ice cream. It had been a killer day. I was going to have to do something to make my life less dense.

What had started out like any other day had turned into a day where I got arrested for being in what I thought was Barry’s place, followed by him coming clean about the situation and exiting my house and life. I’d found out that Kelly had been keeping valuable coins hidden in her crochet pieces and it probably had to do with why she’d gotten killed. To cap off the day, I’d had the encounter with Jaimee and Mason. I didn’t even care about the leaded glass lamp information I’d gotten. Besides, now that it was gone there was no way to check if Kelly’s lamp was an authentic Tiffany.

Well, I’d done it. I’d gone from too many men in my life, to none. And thanks to the whole episode with North Adams’s gun and then the disappearing stuff in the storage locker, I’d lost any credibility with solving Kelly’s murder.

After my ice cream dinner, I walked into what had been Barry’s room. The sooner I got it back to my crochet room, the better. I needed to get my life back on track. I grabbed the keys to my storage locker and headed out to bring home my supplies.

It was the end of twilight when I pulled into the storage place. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get everything in the greenmobile, but if I got all my yarn back, I’d feel better.

I parked the greenmobile as close to the rows of little garages as possible, sorry now that I hadn’t chosen the deluxe ones that allowed you to pull your car right in front of them. I had dressed for moving stuff and left the tote bag I was using as a carryall at home. I had essentials in a tiny pouch I’d worn across my chest. Instead of making things easier, it felt odd, like something was missing and I kept thinking I’d left my purse somewhere. I was glad I’d brought a flashlight as the daylight was almost completely gone.

I thought I had memorized exactly where my locker was, but quickly realized I was in the wrong row. I had gone into the row where Kelly’s locker had been. I recognized the spot of spilled white paint on the asphalt I’d noticed in front of her locker when I’d been there before.

I trained my flashlight on the blue pull-up door and saw there was no lock on it. I pulled it open just for the heck of it. Inside it was dark and empty. What was I expecting?

I continued down the row illuminating my way with the flashlight. The beam of light hit the blue doors along either side of the walkway. The line of repetitive doors was making me a little dizzy until something made me stop.

Something on one of the locks glowed when the beam of light passed over it. When I got closer, I recognized there was a strip of reflective tape on the lock—just as I’d seen on Kelly’s lock. Was it really her lock and had someone just moved everything to a new unit?

If it was the same lock, the key I had should still open it. I felt for my carryall and remembered I just had the pouch—so the key was back home. Maybe it was just as well. What could I do about it anyway?

Besides, it was completely dark now and definitely spooky. I wanted to get my stuff and get out of there. I found my own locker and loaded up what I could in the greenmobile and drove home.

By now the events of the day had caught up with me. I carried in the bags and bins of yarn and odds and ends of stuff and deposited them in the crochet room. I’d put everything away later. Now all I wanted was sleep.

The next morning I felt much better, but as I walked through the house followed by a parade of animals, I half expected to see Barry sitting at the kitchen table. I fed everybody and let them all out for some time in the yard before getting ready for work.

I skipped coffee at home and went right to the bookstore. On the way in I stopped in the café. Bob saw me and started making my red eye. I recognized several crew members from the production, carrying trays of drinks as they headed toward the door.

Mrs. Shedd smiled at me when I came in holding my red eye. I was on time and there for the duration of my shift. Not only would I be working the information desk, but I’d finish going through the file of events we were planning for the fall.

“Excuse me, but I need some help,” a male voice said as I read over a sheet for a Girl Scouts’ reading badge event.

“Mason,” I said in surprise. He was dressed for work in a wheat-colored suit and a creamy off-white cotton shirt that probably had a thread count of a thousand. “I was worried. I tried to call you, but there was just voice mail everywhere.”

I avoided his eye. The truth was I had deliberately not answered any of my phones. What was there to say?

“I finally called the bookstore this morning. Your boss said you should be here, but these days she wasn’t sure anymore.” He touched my arm fondly. “I thought we could at least get a cup of coffee.”

I held up my red eye. Undaunted, he continued. “I am so sorry about everything. I wanted to call you last night, but it just went on and on,” he said.

“I get it. Family comes first. You’ll always do what’s best for them. And even though you’re divorced, Jaimee is still part of your family. I just can’t handle being on the outside.” Mason said he was going to get a coffee and would be back momentarily. I should have known he wouldn’t just give up. He was a criminal lawyer and losing wasn’t an option for him.

Mrs. Shedd walked up to the information desk holding a stack of books. I recognized the cover as being the one featuring Stone. She set them down on the counter in front of me. “Mr. Royal asked Stone if he’d sign these before he goes. He said he’s stop by this morning.”

“He’s leaving?” I said. Mrs. Shedd shrugged in answer and said that was what Mr. Royal said.

“I’ll send him over here when he comes in,” my boss said.

Mason and Stone arrived at the information desk together. What a weird pair they made. Mason in a suit and Stone in the khaki shorts, loose Hawaiian shirt and smelling of suntan lotion. I was relieved that Mason understood dealing with Stone was part of my job and he hung to the side while I took out a felt-tipped pen and opened the books to Stone’s picture.

“So, you’re leaving,” I said.

“In a couple of days. I want to go home, but first I have to go back to Denver and finish what I came for,” he said. “I was in the middle of finalizing the partnership for the energy drink when I got the call about Kelly.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything to help the cops close in on Dan,” I said. He began to scribble his name along the bottom of the photo of one of the books.

“I appreciate that you tried,” he said. Mr. Royal joined the little group and shook hands with Stone. He had the same awed look he’d had when Stone did the event and started talking about waves, riding tubes and how dangerous the pipeline was. I wondered if I should bring up the storage locker. Since I’d already ended up looking foolish once, and since I wasn’t completely sure about the contents being moved to a new locker, I kept quiet. I could see Mason was getting impatient and was edging closer.

Mr. Royal had taken over Stone, so I turned my full attention to Mason. It didn’t seem like the right time to discuss anything about us, so we made small talk until Mr. Royal shook Stone’s hand again and picked up the signed books before they parted company. Mason watched it all with a smile. “It’s funny how people worship athletes. Even one’s who have given up being professional.” Then he turned the conversation back to us.

“Sunshine, if all this is about last night, you have to give me another chance. I tried to get away, but Jaimee wouldn’t give up about the honeymoon trip. She kept working on Thursday, trying to get her on her side. Finally, I just said whatever. What was the difference?” I must have looked confused because he explained there had been a disagreement about the flight they should book for Thursday’s honeymoon. “I can’t believe you missed it. Jaimee was arguing with me about it nearly the whole time at that showroom.”

“Why mess up a good thing? Let’s keep it as just friends,” I said. “I understand that you want to keep your family separate. It’s just uncomfortable for me.”

Mason’s cell phone rang and he excused himself while he answered it. When he’d finished the call, he came back. “Sunshine, I have to go. I’m already late for an appointment. But this isn’t over.” He hugged me and then headed for the door.

“You’re still here?” Adele said when she came out of the kids’ department. “It must be a dull day for you. You haven’t gotten arrested or led the cops on a wild-goose chase.”

I rolled my eyes at her.

“Look who’s here,” she said, nodding toward the door. Dan had just come into the store. He had the usual energetic walk and cheerful expression.

He came up to us. “My kids are coming back tomorrow,” he said. “It’s been a bad time for all of us. I wanted to get them something. Maybe there are some books you could recommend.” His glance went between us.

“Pink, can help you. I’m meeting my boyfriend.” Adele pointed toward the café and Eric waved from a table. Adele was wearing rosy pink overalls over a pink and white striped shirt. She had her hair pulled into a tiny ponytail. I wasn’t sure if the outfit had something to do with story time or she’d chosen it for no reason.

Dan turned to me. “My kids are eight-year-old twins.”

I began pulling out books. I noticed I was getting angrier and angrier as I did. Kelly was dead. Her future was gone. Her kids had no mother now. And Dan was just picking out books for his kids as if nothing had happened.

The time had come to confront Dan. After all, what did I have to lose?

“It’s obvious you’re going to get away with killing Kelly, but don’t you feel any remorse?”

Dan stopped and looked at me. “You think I killed her, too?” He looked down and shook his head. “Why would I kill Kelly? I loved her. We had our differences, partly because we had both been married before. She had a hard time trusting and needed to have her own life, her own business. I admit I had trouble with that, but kill her?” His expression sank to the floor.

“I know all about the storage locker. How you moved it. I’ve already contacted the cops about it.” I left it hanging.

“That detective asked me about a storage locker, too. She didn’t seem that surprised when I didn’t know anything about it. I didn’t understand what she meant, but she said something about she should have known it was a wild-goose chase.” Dan was beginning to get annoyed. I should have figured he wasn’t going to confess. “I can’t take the suspicion anymore. And you aren’t the only one. I’m glad my brother-in-law is leaving. From the moment he called, no matter what I told him, I could tell he thought I’d done it.” The cheerful look was gone. “Are you going to help me find some books, or just keep grilling me?”