Murder in a Basket (An India Hayes Mystery) (24 page)

Chapter
Forty-Three

I looked over the railing. It was pitch black, but I most likely didn’t want to see the sad remains of my cell scattered on the cement.

David stood beside me
, looking down. “I’m so sorry.”

I moved away from him back to the tethered dog.
“It’s okay.” I hid my face and started working on the knots.

David circled me.
The knots were tight, and I wasn’t making any headway on them. Damn my short fingernails. Lasha’s dragon claws were better suited for this type of canine rescue.

“
You’re a very bright girl, India. I’m sure you know that.”

I didn’t respond and concentrated on the knots.

“You just wouldn’t let Victor go.”

I looked up for the briefest moment at David, and involuntarily cowered at his massive size.
A chill ran down my back. Zach must have felt it, too, because he shivered. “Victor?”

“
Yes, Victor. This is his dog after all.”

I doubled my efforts on the knots, but my speed made me clumsy.
I took a deep breath and ordered myself to calm down and concentrate on the knots. The letter came to mind.

“
I can’t wait for you to figure this out. I need to take care of it now,” David said.

I felt cold because I’d already figured it out.
David was the killer. He’d murdered Tess, and Jerry, too, to keep Victor’s secret safe.

“
I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“
You’ll never get them untied without a knife. I made sure the knots were extra, extra tight when I tied them.”

I froze.
Zach growled low and deep in his throat. I scratched behind one of his ears and stood slowly. “Why would you murder Tess to cover up a crime Victor committed?”

“
I wasn’t covering up his crime. I knew what Victor had done, and it was only a matter of time before she learned of my own indiscretions. Stupid woman. Just like you.”

I swallowed.
My throat was dry like ash, funeral ash.

David leaned against the silent bell.
“She was just like you, you know. She was looking for trouble. She said she found a letter from her uncle, a confession of sorts, and she wanted to know more of what happened. She said she wanted to know everything, so she could tell her son and he could know the truth about what happened to his father. She came to me because she thought I would know, because I was his assistant. I knew everything about his life, and she was right.

“
You see, after dear old Victor killed, accidentally of course, his niece’s husband, he asked me to take care of it. I went back to the scene to make sure there was no damning evidence there. I got the car fixed. I made the whole mishap go away.”

“
You must have thought a lot of your boss.” I desperately scanned the area for a weapon, but all I saw were pigeon feathers, mouse droppings, and cobwebs, none of which would be much help to me. “That was a big risk you were taking, covering it up for him.”

“
Yes, it was a risk, but I didn’t take it for Victor.” He walked calmly to the other side of the room, giving me a clear escape route down the stairs. He knew I wouldn’t leave Zach trapped there with him, and he was rubbing my face in it.

There was
a skittering sound from down below, and I jumped. Zach began to whine. He felt my body tense. David peered over the edge. “Long way down. I imagine there are some pretty huge rats in this old place. It’s just like your parents to want to save some worthless relic, isn’t it?”

“
We were talking about Victor, not my parents.”

“
You’re right. You see, after covering up the accident, I owned Victor. I owned him and his millions.”

“
You blackmailed him.”

“
How else was I going to open my own artist co-op? It had always been my dream. I could be an artist full-time and dedicate myself to my craft. You, yourself, said you have that same wish.”

“
I wouldn’t reach it the way you did.”

“
Then you never will, my dear. The art world is not kind. Very few can make the jump from avocation to vocation.” He wrinkled his nose. “And I’ve seen your paintings. Your odds aren’t good for making the leap.” He sighed. “I even threw the old man a bone by asking his widowed niece to become one of the founding members of the co-op. I liked to keep her close to remind him I could tell her the truth at any time.”

“
If you told her, the money would run out.”

“
How true, but it was a gamble Old Vic wasn’t willing to take.”

“
What about Jerry? Did he know? Is that why you killed him?”

David snorted.
“Jerry didn’t know anything, but I was afraid Tess’s murder wasn’t going to stick to him like I hoped. Celeste turned out to be a better person to frame.”

“
You killed Jerry to frame Celeste for both murders?” I felt my eye begin to twitch.

He shrugged.

A scrape-scrape came from below. Zach leaned against my leg. I placed a comforting hand on the top of his head. I thought I saw a light. My mind is playing tricks on me, I thought. It’s just the moon’s reflection off the bell.

“
So what now?” I asked.

“
You’re going to have a little accident. You’ll be a hero though. I will tell them you fell trying to save the two-million-dollar dog.

I imagined how awful my parents would feel, especially my father
, since he felt responsible for Zach going missing. Unheeded, I thought of Mains and his warning, of the fact I might never get a chance to figure out how I felt about him, of the fact I was no longer afraid to think about how I felt about him. “I don’t think so,” I said.

“
This isn’t a choice, my dear.” He started walking toward me. I stayed close to Zach. The big curly dog bared his teeth.

“
Go ahead and bite him,” I told the dog.

David paused only for a
millisecond. “If he bites me, he’s the next one over the side.”

Bang, bang, bang.
Footsteps rushed up the stairs. A form flew across the room and catapulted itself onto David’s back.

My mouth dropped
open. It was Derek.

David was knocked down in surprise
, and the two rolled on the floor. David quickly had the advantage and pinned Derek in place. I rushed David from behind and kicked him hard just south of the border. He yowled.

Zach barked wildly.
I helped Derek to his feet. He had a black eye and a bloody nose, a matching set to the ones he’d gotten from the dorm fight.

David stood and leaned on the railing.
“You . . .” He held himself up, gasping for breath.

Derek wiped the blood from his nose, which only smeared it across his cheek.

“Derek, do you have a cell phone?” I asked.

He didn’t hear me.

“You killed my mother.”

David was panting.

“Derek! Derek, give me your cell phone. I’ll call for help, and we’ll be fine.”

I was torn between working on the knots that tethered Zach and getting
Derek out of there. I patted the dog’s head. I had to hope David wouldn’t do anything to him. I had to get Derek out of there.

Derek was crying, and I couldn’
t make out what he was saying.

David groaned and stumbled
to his feet with murder in his eyes.

I grabbed Derek’s arm and pulled him toward the stairs.
“Be careful,” I warned as I pulled him behind me. I held the penlight out in front of me like a sword, but all it illuminated was my hand. We made it to the first landing when I heard heavy footsteps on the stairs above.

“
You bitch!” David’s steps hit the stairs with force. He was coming down at a run. I pulled on Derek’s arm and increased our pace but was afraid to break out in a run.

From the landing above
a cry rang out followed by a thud, thud, thud. I pulled Derek to the side of the stairwell and flattened us both against the rough brick wall. A moment later, I felt David brush past us as he tumbled down the stairs.

We stood there for a minute.
I clutched Derek’s arm. I wouldn’t be surprised if he found a bruise there later.

“
Stay here,” I whispered. I inched down the steps with my weak penlight to lead me. I found David sprawled at the bottom of the stairs. His neck was bent at a sharp angle. He was most certainly dead.

I don’t know how long I stood there with my penlight trained on David’s blank face. Derek placed a hand on my arm.
I hadn’t even heard him come down the steps.

“
What are you doing here?” I whispered.

“
I was at the library and told Bobby I needed to talk to you. Bobby said he thought you were here tonight for the school board meeting. By the time I got here the meeting was over, but I met this guy in a wheelchair who said he was your dad and that you and David were looking for Zach. I heard barking and came to the tower. You and David were already there.”

My throat felt scratchy.
“The bell tower might not be as safe as my parents think.”

Zach howled agreement from above.

I sent Derek outside to find my father, and we cut Zach free with Dad’s pocket knife. The dog, Derek, Dad, and I sat outside of the tower waiting for the police to arrive. They didn’t take long. With sirens blaring, lights flashing, they took over the high school parking lot.

Mains was the first one out of the car. He jogged over and stopped short when our eyes met.
His expression was a mixture of relief and frustration. “I told you to leave it alone.”

Dad was fondling Zach’s ear.
The dog was half in his lap and looked as if he never wanted to leave. “You should know by now that a Hayes never does what he or she is told.”

Mains
’s eyes softened. “I’m learning.”

The Saturday before Thanksgiving
, my family and I were all at the New Day Artists Cooperative’s holiday craft show, held in the co-op barn. With the recent deaths, the question had arisen whether or not the show would go on as planned. However, when Celeste was cleared of any wrongdoing, she turned her grief into action and took over the organization with abandon. Without Celeste’s leadership, the co-op would have degenerated into disarray quickly, as Ansel, AnnaMarie, and Carrington were too shocked to do much of anything. Within a week, Celeste was unanimously voted in as their president.

Celeste claimed
that the co-op might have a place for me after all, and I told her I’d think about it. I knew I needed some distance from my recent experience with the co-op and its members. I did, however, take the free vendor table she offered me to sell my paintings at the craft show.

My parents, Carmen, and her family were milling around my booth
, Mom making what she thought were helpful suggestions. “Honey, your paintings can be so provincial. Why don’t you try something more daring?”

“
The people who come to these shows don’t want daring. They want landscapes and portraits of kittens.”

Nicholas
sat in my chair behind the booth. “I love landscapes.”

Chip laughed.
“Maybe we should enroll him in art classes here.”

“
That’s a great idea,” I said.

Nicholas was thoughtful.
“Ina said she could give me art lessons.”

Carmen looked aghast, but the rest of the adults laughed.
The twins giggled, even though I’m guessing they didn’t get the joke.

“
Nice show,” Mains said from behind me. Because of the laughter, I hadn’t noticed him approach. He was wearing an olive green sweater. His changeable hazel eyes reflected the color.

I smiled.
“I’m glad you could come.”

Carmen’s eyes widened
.

Dad reached up and smacked Mains on the elbow.
“I didn’t know you were into the arts.”

“
I’m starting to get more interested.”

I felt myself blush.
I bent my head and rearranged a few of my paintings.

“
That’s good. That’s good,” Dad said.

Wh
ile Mains was engaged in a conversation with our father, Carmen mouthed, “What’s going on?”

I shrugged as if I had no idea what she was talking about.

“I hope Zach is doing okay,” Dad said. His tone was wistful.

Zach was in his new home with Debra. She, Lepcheck, and their lawyer
s finally came to an agreement. Debra would receive the dog and the trust, but the money would be divided evenly between the two siblings after Zach passed on.

“
I checked on him last week,” I remarked. “He’s doing great and is a big hit at Debra’s condo complex. I hear he’s a fixture on the bocce court.”

Dad sighed.
“That’s nice.”

Mom crossed her arms.
“Don’t even tell me you want to get a dog. Do you think I have time to take care of dog with everything else?”

“
I’d be the one taking care of it.” He pouted. “And what do you mean by everything else?”

“
The church. The kids. The bell tower. You know very well we are nowhere near our financial goal for the tower.”

“
I don’t see how a dog would hurt the bell tower. Why, he could be the bell tower mascot! Dogs are very good at that sort of thing. My dog would be the perfect mascot. Don’t you think so, Rick?” Dad asked.

“
Absolutely.” Mains grinned at me, and I felt my chest tighten just a little.

Mom
tried to scowl, but her face cracked into a smile. Nicholas giggled. Dad didn’t know that she was already planning to give him a dog. Mom, Nicholas, and I had visited Hands and Paws the day before, and agreed that Trufflehunter was the perfect pooch to bring home. Mom had already signed the adoption papers, and Truffie would be coming home in a week’s time.

Dad cocked his head, reminding me of Zach.
“Are you up to something, Lana?”

Nicholas giggled even harder. This made the twins start up again. The
ir chuckling sounded like high-pitched hoots of baby owls.

Chip put an arm around his son.
“We’re going to take a look around,” he said. He bent close to his son’s ear. “Before you spill the beans.”

“
Why don’t you all go exploring while I finish putting out my paintings?” I asked. “I need to concentrate.”

“
Are you implying we are distracting?” Mom asked.

“
I’m not implying it. I’m saying it.” I said this with a smile before I ducked under my table to grab a few more kitten paintings.

“
Hello?” I heard a tentative voice ask while my head was under the table.

Carmen gasped.

My heart flipped in my chest. I knew that voice. I yanked my head out from under the table, and it painfully connected with the edge of the table in my haste to stand up. The paintings on the table toppled over from the impact.

Mains stepped over to me.
“Are you okay?”

I said nothing, just rubbed the back of my head. No one else in my fam
ily seemed to notice my clumsiness.

They were all staring at
Mark. Tears pricked my eyes. Numbly, I felt Mains squeeze my wrist.

Mark looked nervous, but my once rail-thin brother had filled out. His chest was broader, and he had a full gro
wth of beard. There was no mistake; it was Mark.

“
Ina told me you all were here.”

My mom
hurried toward him, arms outstretched.

Mark looked behind him.
“Come on, honey, I want you to meet everyone.”

Mom pulled up short as if she had hit some invisible wall.

Honey?

Then I noticed
a short Latina with lovely black hair and broad shoulders standing behind my brother.

“
Everyone,” Mark announced. “I’d like you to meet my wife.”

T
o my right, I heard Carmen’s yelp and my father’s choked sob.

Wife?

My legs tingled as all the blood in my body rushed to my head. Mains stood behind me, and I felt his hands on my back steadying me. I was glad he was there.