A Season for Killing Blondes (15 page)

Did Sofia really think her fling with Roberto would turn into a long-term relationship? Roberto was a well-known womanizer and heavy drinker who frequented the bars in search of younger, female companions. He would comfort his older female clients, but he married women under thirty. He had three ex-wives and, surprisingly enough, no children to show for his fifty-plus years. I couldn’t imagine him changing for Sofia. I managed to plaster a fake smile for her benefit. “I won’t say anything until you are ready to come out with him.”

“You would think he was gay or something.” Sofia laughed as she powdered her nose and fixed her eye makeup.

“Or something,” I mumbled. I glanced at my watch and exclaimed, “It’s almost eleven o’clock. Weren’t you planning to go to mass with your parents?” I usually went as well, but I didn’t feel up to it today.

Sofia waved her hand. “Oh, I can be a little late. Everyone will think I’m doing something for the tea.”

“Are you still planning to go through with all of that?” I couldn’t imagine spending an entire afternoon smiling and making small talk after telling all those lies to Carlo. Sofia must have nerves of steel.

“Don’t worry about me. The Autumn Tea is just the diversion I need.”

Chapter 17

I watched Sofia pull away and head toward the church. With her social mask firmly in place, no one would think anything amiss. I then realized I would have to put in an appearance at the tea. I wouldn’t hear the end of it from my mother and Sofia if I didn’t attend. I owed Sofia, and now I also owed Roberto Ongaro. That still rankled.

I entered the building and headed toward the elevator. I noticed an older woman sitting in the lobby. Mrs. Harrison. A large tabby cat purred at her feet, and a small suitcase sat on the floor next to her chair. “Good morning, Mrs. Harrison. Are you going somewhere?” I pointed to the suitcase.

“Am I supposed to go somewhere?” She frowned at me. “Who are you?”

“I’m Gilda Greco. I live on the fifth floor. My cousin Sofia and I usually see you in the elevator.”

“Gilda…Sofia…I don’t know any of these people.” She started to tremble. “And I don’t know where I’m supposed to go.”

A younger woman appeared. “Please stop confusing my aunt with all these names.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to confuse her. I just wondered where she was going.”

“That’s none of your business, but if you must know, she’s not going anywhere. We’ve just come back from North Bay. She spent a week there with me and my family. I dropped her off at the front door and then went to park my car in the visitors’ lot. I wanted to save her a few steps.” She smiled at Mrs. Harrison. “Aunt Rita, let’s go upstairs and have a nice cup of tea.”

They took the first elevator up, and I waited patiently for the next one as my mind started spinning. Sofia had used Mrs. Harrison as part of her alibi, and she hadn’t even been in the building. What if Carlo called today and decided to question her while her niece was still visiting? And then my mind filled with all the other questions I should have asked, but didn’t. Where had Sofia gone last night? I doubted very much that she sat quietly while I slept. And as for buying the cake mix, I wondered if it had been in the cupboard all along. I hadn’t bought it, but Sofia could have picked it up during one of her shopping expeditions. The whole day loomed before me. I knew that I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. I changed into my sweats and went downstairs for a short workout. Afterward, I swam several laps.

As soon as I entered the condo, the phone rang. I groaned. Could Carlo be calling? When I checked call display, I saw Jenny Marie’s number. “Good morning…I mean afternoon, Jenny Marie. I’m so sorry to hear about Anna May’s death. We didn’t always see eye-to-eye, but I never wanted to see her end up like this.” My pulse quickened. “I don’t know what you’ve heard.”

“Relax, Gilda. I never suspected you for a minute. Not in Anna May’s or any of the other deaths. I just got back from the police station.”

I thought of Sofia and her lies. Carlo must have caught her in one of them. I was so engrossed in my negative thoughts that I barely listened and caught the tail end of Jenny Marie’s conversation.

“…and she’ll be here for the rest of the week.”

“I’m so sorry, Jenny Marie. I didn’t get much sleep last night. I only caught that last part about somebody being here for the rest of the week.”

“Anna May left her cell phone behind when she went out last night. I checked her messages this morning and discovered a number of calls from certain men. You remember Ray Centis, Anna May’s ex? Well, he and some of his pals have been in regular contact with Anna May. I don’t know the full extent of their involvement, but Carlo feels it bears investigating.” She sighed deeply. “They found blonde hairs in Anna May’s right hand and in Natalia’s left hand. I hate to say this, but I think my sister might have been involved with the other two deaths. And my daughter agrees. She’s driving up from Toronto, and she’ll be here later this afternoon.”

I felt badly for Jenny Marie. In addition to losing two sisters and her cousin, she also had to deal with the fact that Anna May was a murderer or an accessory to the fact. My thoughts turned toward Ray Centis. I had little use for Ray and his crowd, and I had no plans to get involved with any of them. They were always getting into trouble and stirring things up. I had considered attending Anna May’s memorial service, but I didn’t want to run into Ray or any of his cronies. “What about you, Jenny Marie? Aren’t you afraid of them? What if they’ve been killing off your family—?”

Jenny Marie interrupted, “There’s no proof of that. I always liked Ray, and I thought that he was misunderstood by everyone. As for the others, they’re harmless.”

“I still remember all those dead animals we kept finding in our garden.” I shuddered. “And every summer, a few garages and sheds were set ablaze. One of them…I can’t remember which one even tried to burn down the school. You need to be very careful. If they’re after blondes and Godfreys, you could be the next victim.”

Jenny Marie laughed. “I didn’t think anything could make me laugh today. Where on earth did you get that idea?”

“The evidence speaks for itself. No brunettes or redheads.”

“You’ve been reading too many murder mysteries,” Jenny Marie said. “Don’t worry about me being alone. My daughter will be here in a couple of hours. I hope you can meet her before she leaves.”

“How about coming over this Thursday or Friday evening?”

“Thanks, Gilda. We’ll come Thursday evening around seven. See you then.”

“Bye, and thanks for calling.” I hung up the phone and glanced at the clock. Two fourteen. My mood had picked up. I would go to the tea and touch base with Sofia. While I still didn’t feel comfortable with her lies, Carlo knew I wasn’t involved.

I caught a glimpse of myself in the hall mirror and groaned. I took a quick shower and restyled my hair. I took extra care with my makeup. I added more blush than normal and experimented with different shades of mauve eye shadow. I wore my black pinstripe pants with a light mauve cashmere sweater and my purple leather jacket.

I arrived at the church shortly after three o’clock. I paid the admission fee and went downstairs to the hall, packed solid with women. I stopped to chat with a couple of my mother’s neighbors and got caught up on the latest gossip. No one brought up any of the murders.

My eyes traveled around the hall. Sofia had outdone herself. Pumpkin, green, and cream streamers were strategically arranged throughout the room, and each table had a unique cornucopia as its centerpiece. The sponge cakes were arranged in colorful hat boxes on a side table, again repeating the pumpkin, green, and cream color scheme. How did Sofia come up with these spectacular and ingenious ideas?

Sofia was surrounded by a group of ladies who gushed and made the appropriate noises. I waited until they left and then approached. “The hall looks great, and everyone is singing your praises. You must be thrilled.”

“Thanks, Gilda.” She then gave me an appraising once-over. “I didn’t think you would show up this afternoon. I even prepared our mothers for your possible absence.”

“Why don’t you just relax and let things happen.”

“I’ve had more than enough experience with things just happening in the last year,” Sofia said.

I winced. “I had forgotten about Andrew.”

“We are not going down that road again.” I heard a sharp edge to her voice. And then she flashed a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’m curious. This morning you could have passed for an aging nun. And now you’re back in the land of the living. What gives?”

I gave her a brief rundown of the conversation I had with Jenny Marie. Sofia’s smile faded and gave way to a frown. “I don’t know why you need to continue your involvement with the Godfreys. Let it go, Gilda. You’re scot free. You heard it first from Roberto and me, and now you’ve heard it from Jenny Marie. What more proof do you need?”

“I know that Carlo doesn’t think I had anything to do with the murders, but I still want to know why someone would go to all the trouble of helping Anna May frame me for the murders.”

Sofia shrugged. “It could just be a coincidence, random murders.”

“All blondes, all killed after meeting with me. What are the chances of that happening?”

“I don’t know. You’re the mathematician. You figure it out.”

“Very funny.” I made a face and then continued. “I am looking forward to seeing Jenny Marie and Grace. I want to hear more about those men who called Anna May.”

“I hope you’re not planning to investigate any of them or follow them around or—”

I shuddered. “Sofia, please. Think of the members of that crowd. Ray Centis, Mike Grant, Jamie Douglas. I didn’t like them when they were bad boys. Why on earth would I have anything to do with them now?”

Sofia yawned. “They’ve all settled down to boring middle-age lifestyles with wives and children.”

“If that’s the case, why were they calling Anna May?”

Sofia threw up her hands in defeat. “I don’t know and have no interest in finding out. You won’t be too upset if I don’t join you and Jenny Marie when she comes over?”

I had no intention of inviting Sofia to join us. “No, not at all. I’m hoping that we could all get back to our own lives. You don’t have to stay with me anymore.”

Sophia smiled widely. “I have been itching to get back to my place and redo my bedroom. I’m pitching everything and buying a new bed, furniture, linens, the works.

“Isn’t that a bit extreme?” Sofia redecorated every other year, and she had spent a large chunk of her million on home decor.

“I want to purge Andrew out of every corner of my home and start fresh with Roberto.” Just mentioning Roberto’s name brought an instant smile to her face, and her eyes sparkled with anticipation.

I hesitated, taking a deep breath. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but I think that Roberto is another Andrew. Are you sure you want to continue your relationship with him?”

Sofia’s mouth tightened. “Gilda, I love you dearly, but please stay out of my personal life. I don’t know, and I don’t care if Roberto isn’t Mr. Right. All I know is that he is Mr. Right Now, and that’s what I need.”

I was taken aback by her very firm, no-nonsense tone. It was the same tone I would have used to discipline unruly students in my classroom. “I’m sorry. I just don’t want you to get hurt again.”

“I know all about Roberto’s affairs and relationships with younger women,” Sofia said. “I’m not planning to marry him or anyone else for that matter. I’ve played the long-suffering, dutiful wife for a very long time, and it’s my turn now.”

I started to turn away, and then I remembered what had transpired a few hours earlier. “I ran into Mrs. Harrison this morning. She just came back from North Bay. She spent a week there with her niece.”

Sofia frowned. “And your point is?”

“You told our parents and Carlo that you helped her last night.”

Her eyes flashed with anger. “Don’t worry about Mrs. Harrison. I doubt very much that Carlo will be contacting her, and if he does, I will say that I confused her with someone else.”

I persisted. “But the rest of your story. I don’t know if it will hold up.”

Sofia rolled her eyes in annoyance. “If you must know, I spent the evening with Roberto.”

“Did he ask you to lie for him?”

“He left everything up to me, and I didn’t feel ready to expose my affair to Carlo Fantin or anyone else for that matter. No one asked Roberto about his whereabouts, so he didn’t have to lie.” She added, “If I had told the truth, you wouldn’t have an alibi.”

The queasiness came back. Before I could reply, my mother and Aunt Amelia joined us.

Chapter 18

Monday, October 31, 2011

Was it good or back luck to be opening my office on Halloween? When I had made the decision last week, I hadn’t checked the calendar. I just knew I needed to establish some kind of routine as soon as possible. I also knew, deep down, that if I postponed the opening, it might never happen.

I went inside and was greeted by Sofia and Belinda sitting together at the reception desk. Belinda listened attentively as Sofia explained the telephone system. I was surprised to see Sofia after our conversation yesterday afternoon, but then I remembered her offer to train Belinda. In spite of our differences, Sofia would not shirk her responsibilities or go back on her word.

I went into my office and started going through the emails from the previous weeks. I would be spending most of the morning dealing with these messages. But after twelve days of murders, confrontations and accusations, I welcomed normal, everyday stuff. One thing still saddened me. After yesterday’s encounter with Carlo, I didn’t think he would be calling me anytime soon.

I worked steadily and managed to get through all the messages and the accumulated paperwork by eleven. I got up and stretched. I peeked outside. Still quiet in the outer office. Hopefully, it would pick up soon. I sighed as I thought of the aborted open house. It might be a good idea to plan something toward the end of November, a pre-Christmas type of event. I would discuss it with Sofia. And then I remembered. Sofia had made it clear she was no longer interested in working at ReCareering.