Brutal Brûlée (Lexy Baker Cozy Mystery Series Book 11) (3 page)

“
S
uicide my patootie
,” Nans said after Garrity and his entourage had made their exit. “That man was full of vim and vigor. Did he seem like a man who would take his own life?”

“Now, ladies, let’s not jump to conclusions ... like you
usually
do.” Jack slid his eyes over to Nans. “You don’t really think one of the people in this room is a killer, do you?”

Nans looked around at the room, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Don’t answer that,” Jack said. “Let’s just leave it to the police.”

“Sure. He probably just passed out and the pills fell to the floor and bounced into the crevices. The grout on these floor tiles is loose in some spots. They probably just fell in there.” Ida snagged a lone Danish that sat on the plate and wrapped it in a napkin, which she tucked into her purse.

The four ladies pushed up from the table.

“Let’s not waste our lovely time here thinking about murder. Let’s go outside. I want to show you the rare lady slippers I found growing by the fountain.” Ruth tapped her iPad and headed toward the French doors that opened to the garden, with Nans, Ida and Helen close behind her.

Jack covered Lexy’s hand with his. “Do you have some free time out of the kitchen?”

Lexy nodded. “I have a few hours before I need to do some prep work. I’m all yours.”

Jack raised his left brow suggestively. “Then let’s take Sprinkles for a walk in the garden. It’s such a beautiful day and we can enjoy some time together.”

Sprinkles was in the room, so they went upstairs, walking solemnly by Leonard’s room. Lexy cringed at the yellow crime scene tape making a big ‘x’ in the doorway.

“
Meow!
”

Houdini appeared in the doorway, rubbing his tail in the tape, which had become fuzzy with black fur.

“Stay out of there, Houdini. If there’re pills on the floor they could kill you.” Lexy peered into the room, a cold feeling spreading in her chest. It felt like a ghost had walked right through her. A ghost? No, that was crazy.

She shooed the cat away and when he was safely in the library, they proceeded to their room, harnessed Sprinkles and went back downstairs, this time taking the back stairway that came out beside the kitchen, where they used the kitchen door to get outside.

“Let’s go down here.” Jack pointed to where the ground sloped down behind the building. It was overgrown with the most beautiful, vibrant pink roses that provided a striking contrast to the dark stone walls of the mansion.

“
Hiss!
” Houdini darted out at Sprinkles, who had been sniffing a moss-covered bird bath.

“
Woof!
” Sprinkles started after the cat at full speed, then yanked to a quick stop at the end of his leash. “
Yipe!
”

“That cat is everywhere,” Jack said as Sprinkles trotted back to them.

“Now, don’t go chasing him anymore.” Lexy squatted down to pet Sprinkles while she lectured him. “He has sharp claws and you could get hurt.”

“This is almost like our own private garden. No one else is down here,” Lexy said.

“It’s a bit out of the way.” Jack looked up at the mansion, which towered four stories above them. “I guess we must be at the basement level. The pond is over there at this level, but then the grass slopes up. You can’t see it from here but the terrace must be over on the east side.”

“Oh, that’s why there’re no windows here.” Lexy pointed to the stone walls where a few adventurous vines had started to scale toward the upper floors. “I like it down here, it’s private.”

Lexy took Jack’s arm and they sauntered around the garden, enjoying the peace and quiet for almost an hour. They strolled over to the pond which was a bit muddy at the edges. Sprinkles, undaunted by the mud, explored the edges, not caring that the white fur on her paws was turning a reddish brown.

Eventually, they found themselves climbing up the grassy area toward the terrace where Nans, Ruth, Ida and Helen were seated at one of the wrought-iron tables, their heads bent over Ruth’s iPad.

“Whatcha up to?” Lexy asked.

“Oh, nothing. Ruth was just showing us the different species of plants she’s identified in the garden.” Ida rolled her eyes behind Ruth’s back.

“Hi, Sprinkles!” Helen bent down to pet the dog, picking up her reddish-stained paw. “You know, a mixture of cornstarch and hydrogen peroxide might take these stains out, Lexy.”

“Thanks,” Lexy said. She noticed Nans looking absently at the paw Helen held while straining to hear the conversation that Danny and two of the other production crew members were having two tables over. The sound of Danny’s voice, pitched high in anger, drifted toward them.

“I deserve that job after putting up with Leonard all these years.”

“Shhh...” One of the others at the table mumbled something Lexy couldn’t make out. She bent down, pretending she was adjusting something on Sprinkles’ harness, and scooted a few inches toward the table.

“I did everything ... won’t matter .... the production is better off without him ...” She could only make out snatches of the conversation. She looked up to see Nans adjusting her hearing aid. The sneak was turning it up so she could hear them better.

Clackity. Clack. Clack.

They turned to see Gloria coming up the steps in a short, navy blue skirt and navy and white high heels. With a navy and white striped shirt, she looked like she was ready for a boating expedition.

“What’s going on? Are we going to proceed with the documentary?” she squeaked.

Nans jumped at the sound of her voice. Her hand flew to her ear to adjust the hearing aid as she scowled at the former starlet, her eyes drifting down to the hem of the very short skirt.

“Oh, dear, what happened to your leg?” Nans points at six red scratches.

Gloria glanced down. “Oh. That cat. He scratched me.” She adjusted her skirt in an attempt to cover the scratches.

“You should put something on that. Cat scratches can get infected,” Helen said.

Before Gloria could reply, Inspector Garrity made an entrance and all talking on the terrace stopped.

“I’m glad I could catch most of you here. It seems we have a problem,” Garrity said.

“Another one?” Danny asked impatiently.

“Yes. The toxicology report came back. Leonard Bottaccio didn’t die because he'd ingested too many sleeping pills like we thought.” Garrity paused and everyone perched on the edge of their seats, waiting for him to finish. “He was poisoned ... and we suspect it was murder.”

“
I
knew it was murder
,” Nans whispered as Garrity continued talking.

“I hate to inconvenience you folks, but I’m afraid we’ll have to do some more questioning. I’ll have to ask you all not to leave town.”

The crowd groaned. They were still waiting for word as to whether the documentary was going forward, but no one wanted to be required to stay if it wasn’t.

Violet rushed over to Nans’ side.

“Do you think it’s true?” she asked.

“I’m afraid so,” Nans said. Lexy didn’t think Nans looked at all sorry about it. In fact, she looked gleeful.

“Wait a minute. We don’t know all the details yet,” Jack pointed out.

“Pshaw, I know a murder when I see one. The killer made it out to look like a suicide by putting poison in the drink and taking the pills so it would look like Leonard took them all.” Nans glanced around. “Now if we can just find someone with all those pills.”

“Oh, dear,” Violet fluttered. “I do hope this won’t damage the hotel’s reputation. Her concerned eyes darted from Jack to Nans. “You two
will
get to the bottom of this, won’t you?”

“I hardly think you need us.” Jack gestured toward Garrity. “Inspector Garrity seems quite competent.”

“Yes, but I don’t
know
him and I doubt he'll look out for me like you two will.”

Nans patted Violet’s arm. “Don’t worry, dear, we’ll look out for you.” She gave Jack ‘the look’, the one she used to give to Lexy when she was a kid and she wanted Lexy to do something. Apparently it worked on Lexy’s husband, too. “Won’t we, Jack?”

“Yes,” Jack sighed.

Nans was a good amateur detective. She’d even been pulled in to consult on a few cases by Jack and she, Ruth, Ida and Helen had helped him solve more than one crime.

“Shh..!” Mrs. Pendrake leaned over from the next table to shush them. “The inspector is talking.”

Garrity
was
still talking. “... We’ll need to reconstruct the night’s events so I want everyone to think about if they saw anything strange or unusual. Did anyone see anything outside Mr. Bottaccio’s room? Or anything at all suspicious?”

“You think one of
us
is the killer?" someone asked.

“One or more.”

The crowd erupted in angry whispers.

Helen scanned the terrace. “Maybe the killer will make a break for it.”

“Maybe he already did,” Ida said. “I don’t see that mustache guy here.”

“Oh, no, he’s not the killer. He’s a nice man,” Ruth cut in. “I talked to him out by the irises and he knows a lot about flowers.”

Nans eyes slid over to Ruth. “Just because he likes flowers doesn’t mean he’s not the killer, Ruth.”

“Shh..” Mrs. Pendrake looked at them sharply.

Garrity was
still
talking. “We’ll need to go over the timeline in more detail than we did this morning. Who saw Mr. Bottaccio last?”

“We all did, at dinner,” Danny said. “Remember he told us all to go to bed early.”

Garrity cocked his head to the side and squinted. “No, that wasn’t the last time anyone saw him because he had a drink brought to his room, didn’t he?”

“That was
her
,” someone pointed out and everyone looked over to where Karen was fumbling a tray of dishes and mugs. One mug slid off and shattered on the floor.

“Umm... Hi,” Karen looked at Garrity meekly. “That
was
me. I brought him a drink.”

“Okay, then I’ll start my questioning with you,” Garrity said.

The crowd quieted down as Karen walked off with Garrity and then everyone started whispering.

Violet’s hand flew to her chest. “You don’t think it was Karen? Why would she kill Leonard? She didn’t even know the man.”

“He’s just talking to her. That doesn’t mean he suspects her,” Jack said. “She was the last person to be seen with Leonard and she brought him the drink, which I assume must have had the poison in it. He’s just starting with her because it’s the logical place to start.”

Nans’ eyes narrowed. “I did notice that the girl doesn’t seem to have very good waitressing skills. You said she was temporary help, didn’t you, Violet?”

“Yes, that’s right. She’s filling in for my regular girl Darlene. Darlene had to go out of town for her grandfather’s funeral and she recommended Karen. In retrospect, I should have just gone to the agency and gotten someone temporarily, but Darlene assured me Karen could do the job.”

Lexy remembered how she’d caught Karen making that phone call in the kitchen. Karen had seemed upset that she’d been caught. Lexy wondered if she was upset because Violet didn’t like people taking calls during working hours, or perhaps there was a more sinister reason.

Behind them, a chair scraped on the cement as Mrs. Pendrake scooted her chair closer to their table. “I couldn’t help but overhear. Did you say that Darlene was out of town for her grandfather’s funeral?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Violet said. “She went to California and will be back on Monday. Do you know her?”

Mrs. Pendrake nodded. “Oh, yes. Darlene Cross, right?”

“Yes.”

“Hmmm.” Mrs. Pendrake’s gray eyebrows tugged together and her lips pursed into a thin line. “Well, that’s very strange because I took a trip into town for a new blouse this morning and I saw Darlene at
Ellerton’s Fashions
... and she was buying a mighty expensive outfit.”

L
exy could practically see
fireworks going off in Nans’ eyes when Mrs. Pendrake mentioned that Darlene was still in town. She knew her grandmother smelled something fishy and would want to investigate. But Lexy had to get in the kitchen and start cooking, so Nans got Darlene’s address from Violet and she Ruth, Ida and Helen borrowed Violet’s car to see if they could talk to Darlene. Luckily, she lived right in town, so they weren’t disobeying Garrity’s orders.

Jack went to talk to Garrity to see if he could wrangle any inside information out of him. Lexy headed to the kitchen where she gathered the ingredients to make magic bars for dessert. She’d already planned on double chocolate cake and red velvet cake with vanilla frosting but, by the way the way things were going already, she had a feeling they might need lots of desserts by the time the day was over.

Three hours later, Lexy had finished in the kitchen and Nans and the ladies were back and bursting with excitement. Violet ushered them into the conservatory and shut the French doors so they could talk without being overheard.

Nans, Ida and Helen sat on one of the white wicker sofas. Ruth walked over to the window, inspecting the plants. Lexy stood next to the fireplace.

“What did you find out?” Violet asked anxiously. “Was she really in town?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so,” Nans said.

“But why would she lie to me?”

“The age-old reason. Money.”

“Money usually does it,” Ruth said as she fingered the leaves of a ficus.

Violet started pacing. “I don’t understand why Darlene would lie. Did Karen need the money from the job that badly?”

“No, it’s not that. Karen
paid
her to get this position here.”

“Why?”

“That’s a good question,” Ida said. “Darlene didn’t know the answer, but Karen paid her an awful lot of money, so it must have been pretty important for her to insinuate herself in this house.”

Violet sucked in a breath. “Then she must be the killer!”

Nans lips twisted. “It would seem that way. But then, the question is … what was her motive?”

“I think she was up to something. Yesterday, in the kitchen, I saw her being very secretive about a phone call. I thought maybe she just didn’t want to get caught making a personal call on work time, but maybe it was something else,” Lexy said.

Violet nodded. “I’ve never made a rule about that. Most of the help has the common sense not to carry their phones around when they're working.”

“
Meow!
” Houdini mashed his face up against the outside of one of the French doors that led to the lower garden.

“My word, that cat is everywhere!” Ruth walked over to let him in, stopping at a potted plant whose sickly brown leaves were drooping to the floor. “This peace lily could use some care.”

Once inside, Houdini ran over to Violet who scooped him up in her arms, petting him soothingly.

Back at the window, Ruth fussed with the plant. She was really getting into this gardening thing, thought Lexy. Nans glanced over at her, a frown creasing her forehead. Maybe Nans didn’t like the way Ruth’s new obsession with plants was distracting her from their amateur detecting activities.

“Any-whoo,” Ida broke into everyone’s thoughts, clearly eager to get on with the investigation. “It sounds like this Karen is suspect numero uno.”

“I wonder if Garrity knows?” Helen asked.

“That should be easy enough to find out.” Nans tilted her chin toward the door that led to the hallway, and Lexy saw Jack and Inspector Garrity walking toward them.

Violet dropped Houdini, who landed on the floor with a soft thud and a belligerent meow, then she opened the door for Jack and Garrity. “What is it inspector Garrity? Have you carted Karen off to jail?”

“No.”

“Why ever not?”

“No reason to put her in jail.”

Nans frowned at Garrity. “We heard she might have some questionable motives.”

Garrity looked at Jack. “You were right. They were investigating. Do they do this all the time?”

Jack shrugged. “Yep. I’m sorry to tell you there’s no stopping them, you might as well just join forces with them.”

Garrity nodded slowly as he considered it. “Okay. I’ll bite. You tell me what you know and I’ll tell you what I know.”

Ruth, Ida and Helen exchanged a look. Each gave a slight nod to Nans, who then described their visit with Darlene and how she'd admitted that Karen had paid her to make up a story so Karen could replace her at the mansion.

Garrity listened intently nodding his head. “Well that corroborates what she told me.”

“So, she
is
the killer?” Violet sank into one of the wicker cushioned chairs, her hand fluttered around her neck. “Oh dear, I hired a killer.”

“I didn’t say that,” Garrity said. “I said the story of her paying Darlene corroborates what Karen told me.”

A look of confusion crossed Helen’s face. “She’s not the killer?”

Garrity shook his head. “I don’t think so. She
did
pay Darlene to get this job here. But it actually wasn’t for her. It was for the management of the production company that is doing this documentary.”

“Why would they do that?” Nans asked.

“It seems there's a mole in the company. Someone is passing along the documentary ideas to a rival production company. Apparently, good ideas are worth a lot of money. But they don’t know who it is, so upper management hired Karen to infiltrate and see if she could ferret out the mole.”

“And that’s why she paid off Darlene?” Violet asked.

“Yep. The company gave Karen the money to pay Darlene, and Darlene persuaded you to hire her.”

“Are you sure she’s not just making that up, you know, so you’ll let her go and she can make a getaway?” Ida asked.

Garrity’s face twisted comically. “Gee, I didn’t think of that.” He paused then leveled Ida with a look. “Naturally we made a phone call and checked it out. She’s legit. But I’d appreciate it if you ladies didn’t tell anyone. It’s in our best interest to keep that secret while the investigation is on-going. If the killer thinks we suspect Karen, he might get sloppy and screw up.”

“That’s why she was being so secretive on the phone and why she didn’t really have any relevant experience,” Lexy said.

“That’s right.”

“And you don’t have any other clues or suspects?” Nans asked.

“The pill bottle was wiped clean, so there were no prints on it. We never found the extra pills. We figure the killer either disposed of them or still has them. The hot toddy was laced with cyanide.” Garrity’s eyes twinkled as he turned to Nans. “You made the hot toddy so, you might be my next suspect.”

Nans bristled. “I hardly think I would have a motive.”

“That’s the problem. We don’t know who
did
have a motive.”

“Wait a minute,” Lexy said. “You said that Karen was here to look for a mole in the production company. Someone who’s giving secrets to a rival company.”

“That’s right.”

“If there is a mole, then maybe Leonard caught him or her and threatened to prosecute. That might be a motive for murder.”

Garrity twisted his lips together. “Possibly. Leonard’s room was locked from the inside which means he must have let the killer in. Once inside, the killer probably distracted him and added the cyanide to his glass. We need to find out who he let into the room last night.”

“Too bad no one has come forward to say they saw someone,” Lexy said.

Nans tapped her fingers on her lips. “Maybe somebody saw something and they just don’t realize it’s important.”

“Like that busybody Mrs. Pendrake. She seems to be everywhere,” Helen leaned back to look out into the hallway as if expending Mrs. Pendrake to be out there spying on them. “She probably saw something.”

“Maybe, but is she reliable?” Ruth asked.

“Are any of them?” Ida replied.

Nans snapped her fingers. “We don’t need Mrs. Pendrake or any other witness. I think we have something much more reliable.”

“Whats that?” Jack asked.

Nans turned to Violet. “Didn’t you say you’d installed a security system that would show anyone entering the library?”

“Yes, I have valuable books in there.”

“Well, Leonard’s room was right next to the library.”

Violet shot out of her seat. “That’s right! Leonard was in the blue room. The camera is pointed at the hallway outside that room. Whoever went in there last night would be captured on the computer files.”