Coffee & Crime (34 page)

Zelda stood at the door. "Scotti, we can still do this."

Boomer ran into the bedroom and leapt up on the bed
—
wiggly waggly as always. "You want to go in the car? You want to go for a ride?" Boomer yapped and chased his stub in glee. "Okay, road trip it is." I jammed the kit bag into the duffel and zipped it shut. Then I slung my bag over my shoulder, grabbed Boomer with one hand and the duffel with the other. "Excuse me."

Zelda blocked my exit. "You can't give up."

"No diner. Nothing to give up, it's all gone." I nudged past her out of the bedroom.

"What's the point?"

Zelda followed me. "Uh, $100,000? Is that enough of a point for you?"

I turned back to her and shook my head. She just didn't get it. "Zee, it could be a hundred million dollars and it wouldn't matter. I don't need it anymore."

Zelda wouldn't give up and tugged on my duffel to stop me. "Manny's isn't the only place in the world. We'll find another diner. A better one."

I wrestled the duffel away from her. "You don’t get it
—
that was
my
diner. I don't want another place. I don't want any place."

Zelda stamped her foot. "But we're so close. We don't want to give up."

I shrugged. "You don't have to give up. Knock yourself out. Maybe you'll figure out who killed George and then maybe Maggie Manston will pay you the reward. Maybe she won't. You never know, right?"

Zelda drew back. "Ouch."

Feeling like a shit, I blew out a sigh. "Zee, I'm not trying to hurt you. I just can't play this game anymore. They took the one thing that I wanted. I lost. They won. It's just over." I turned for the door. "I don’t know how else to say."

Zelda followed. "Where are you going?"

"Vegas? Pacoima? I don't know." I opened the door. "I just want to be alone."

"But you're coming back, right?"

I kept my back to her because I didn't want her to change my mind. For once, I wanted to be the only one deciding my fate. "The rent and the utilities are paid, the fridge is stocked and there's cash in the bottom desk drawer if you need it."

Zelda came up behind me and threw her arms around me. Quietly I said, "I hope you do get the money if only to spite Maggie Manston. Bye Zee."

<<>>

For the first hour of the drive, I cried, punched the dashboard and screamed — then I felt better. Calmer. My mind went still and my stomach wasn’t trying to eat itself. It was like I'd finally broken out of prison after years in a box. I had nowhere to go and no place to be. No agreements to keep, no expectations to live up to, no promises to honor, I was free.

The diner was Lily's headache now. Good or bad, that burden was no longer mine
—
and neither were the fears and anxieties connected to it. I wondered if George's death had been a wake up call meant to shake me loose from a childhood dream that no longer made sense. The dream of having my own place had helped me survive childhood
—
but maybe that was all it was ever meant to do. Life without the diner was new and strange but not terrifying. I'd survive. I'd find a new dream. And strangely, I was okay with that.

Our aimless wandering eventually dumped us out at Pacific Coast Highway. I buzzed down the windows and breathed in the cold briny air. The spin of tires against the pavement and the drone of the ocean serenaded us as we sped toward Malibu. At the open window, Boomer yapped at the crashing waves that churned black in the pale moonlight. It was new, this unanchored life of mine and I think I liked it . And we drove until my stomach growled and Boomer farted.

We found a beach-front shopping center about a mile up the road. The main attraction of the center was a seafood restaurant called the Cove Seaside Tavern
—
as an afterthought, they threw in an all-night drug store, a mini-mart, and a burger stand. The Cove was known for its tasty seafood and pricy menu, and judging by the cars in the lot, the Malibu trade was in high attendance.

Even dressed in jeans and sneakers, I could've dined with the wealthy folk and feasted on lobster with a good bottle of wine. But having Boomer as my dining companion wouldn't fly.

The Burger Shack suited us just fine, and we shared a Beach Comber Combo in the car. The temps hovered in the forties, and the short walk to and from the burger joint left me shivering. After we finished our dinner and the heater warmed up the car, I started missing my bed. And Zelda. And my kitchen. I peered out the windshield at the night filled with strangers and all things unfamiliar. I'd had my tantrum and run away but where was I running to?

The pathetic truth was that I was a homebody. I didn't like wandering out into the world without friends and a permanent address. I liked knowing where my hat was hanging and that the fridge was stocked. In truth I was acting like that whiney kid who takes her

Barbies and leaves because she didn't get her way. I could only pretend I didn't give a damn for so long, and I'd reached my limit. I gave a damn all right
—
maybe even too much of a damn. Let George's killer get away? Not on your life. I sighed and smiled at Boomer, still licking his chops from the delicious junk food he rarely got to eat. "Want to go home, buddy?"

Boomer yapped and wagged his stub. But, Boomer yapped and wagged his stub at everything, so his opinion didn't carry a lot of weight. Still, my tantrum was out of my system, and it was time to put on my big girl pants and go home. Maybe I could even patch things up with Ted.

I put the car in gear then looked behind me to back up. A red Mini-Cooper zipped past so fast I wasn't sure I saw it. I craned my neck, but if it was there it was gone now. I frowned at Boomer. "Is Mommy seeing things?"

Shaking it off, I backed out of the space and rolled toward the exit. Then I hit my brakes. Twenty yards away from me, Lily sashayed through the parking lot. She looked less ingénue and more tramp in her stilettos, shiny raincoat and party dress. "Lily?"

Keeping an eye on her, I pulled into the first available parking slot. I cut the engine, slouched, and watched her hurry toward the restaurant. My stomach did a pirouette when she laughed and waved. But it wasn't me Lily had spotted
—
it was a tall man strutting toward her.

The dim lighting made it hard to see, so I popped the glove box and poked around for my old binoculars
—
left over from the Dodger fan-girl days. I held the them up to my eyes and played with the focus until the couple came into view. "Are you kidding me?" Jake Kannanack strode toward a smiling Lily. "Well, isn't this an interesting development?"

When they met in the middle of the lot, it was clear this wasn't a casual dinner with a family friend. Lily hung on Jake like a longtime lover. Her young and lost ingénue persona was replaced by a shrew who knew how to handle a man. Who was this chick?

Jake planted a greedy kiss on Lily and she cooperated fully. When they broke apart, they groped and giggled and then had a skip-race to the restaurant.

I waited a few minutes before I got out of the car and hurried to the restaurant. The large windows and ample foliage provided a perfect environment for spying. Ducking behind a cluster of elephant plants I watched them through the window.

They languished at the bar with drinks and finger food that Lily was delighted to feed Jake. Seeing the two of them together like that turned my stomach. It was beyond wrong and bordered on incest. "Oh George, thank God you're not here to see this." But what if George had seen it
—
Lily and Jake together? Had they fought over money or Lily? Jake was used to having his way
—
did he kill George just to keep Lily as his plaything?

I pulled out my phone and snapped a couple of pictures of them. The pictures wouldn't be great but might be good enough to prove what I saw. First money, now sex
—
Jake was racking up the motives.

Voices and laughter turned my attention to the parking lot. A group of decked out Malibu beauties headed for the entrance. I backed out of the bushes and casually started for my car. If the women noticed me, they gave no indication. They opened the restaurant door, letting out a rush of voices and music mixed with the smell of grilled seafood into the night air.

I kept my head bowed and scanned the lot to ensure I was alone. On quick and silent feet I hurried to Lily's car. When I was sure no one was watching, I snapped a few pictures of the Mini. I bent and pressed my face against the car window looking for our missing evidence inside. But if Lily had it, she kept it elsewhere.

Off in the distance, a gull screeched as though in warning. I ducked and bobbed my way back to my car. Boomer whimpered through the crack in the window and I waved him back when I opened the door. Grabbing my bag I said, "Be right back Booms."

Constantly scanning, I speed-walked across the lot to the Burger Shack. "One large coffee, a plain dry burger and a cup of water," I told the skinny kid at the order window. Shifting from foot to foot and glancing over my shoulder, I waited for my order. The kid put everything in a cardboard carrying tray and slid it through the window to me. I tossed him a twenty, told him to keep the change and rushed back to my car.

When I got back in the car, I checked the time — Lily and Jake had only been inside for a half-hour. If they were having dinner, they'd be at least another hour
—
even a second round of drinks and another platter of hot wings could keep them inside that long. Without turning on the headlights, I moved my car closer to Lily's. Close enough to see her but not close enough to be seen. And then I waited.

<<>>

I jerked awake and took a few seconds to remember where I was. It was almost eleven and I'd been asleep for over an hour. "Oh crap!" I reached for the binoculars but they weren't on the seat next to me. I felt around on the floor for them. When my hand closed around them, I whooped, jerked my head up, and smashed it into the dashboard.

After the stars stopped dancing in front of my eyes, I realized I was sweating. I couldn't buzz down the window without the engine on, so I opened the door a crack. The cold ocean air helped clear my head wake me. Lily's car was still in the same spot, and I did a silent air punch. Boomer yapped from the back seat. "Quiet Booms, we don't want them to hear us."

He wagged his stub and clawed at the window. Making that special sound that meant only one thing. "Shit." I got out of the car on my knees and gasped as the cold of the concrete sunk into my bones. "Here, boy."

Boomer whined and crawled over the center console to the driver's seat. I whispered. "Come on, you have to go potty?" He inched close enough for me to grab him. Tucking the dog under my arm, I locked the car and peeked over the hood. All clear. Boomer trembled so hard I had to zip him inside my jacket. "Hang on Booms." Using the cars for cover, I hunch-walked toward the beach until we were too far away to be noticed or recognized. Once I could stand up straight, I scooted behind the Burger Shack where the beach stood ten yards from its back door. I stepped over the guardrail that separated the lot from the beach and put Boomer down. "Okay boy, do your thing."

Boomer wagged his stub and proceeded to sniff for a spot. But I felt like a target standing on the dark beach
—
all I could see was the back of the burger stand and the faint outline of cars parked near it. "Boomer, hurry up." He ignored me and continued his search for the perfect spot to leave his calling card. "Boomer!"

My gaze darted from Boomer to the parking lot behind me
—
trying to cover all the bases. A couple of times I jumped at shadows that seemed to come to life. Though I didn't see anyone, I had that spidery crawl on the back of my neck. Anybody could come up behind me and strangle me before I knew they were there. The crashing waves would drown out my screams and Boomer would be an orphan once again.

Boomer found his spot, did his business, then ran to me. His thank you licks left my face sticky and stinking of fast food burger. With the dog tucked into my jacket, I stepped over the guardrail. Peeking around the back of the burger stand, I surveyed the lot, then went for it. Halfway back to the car, I froze at the sound of an engine starting and headlights winking on. I dropped on one knee and pretended to tie my shoelaces until the car rumbled past and continued to the exit.

Once the car turned onto Pacific Coast, I hunch-walked around and between vehicles, ducking at the slightest provocation until at last we reached the car. I tossed Boomer inside and slid behind the wheel.

My heart thumped in my chest and I had this nervous energy that made me twitchy all over. "Damn Booms." But he was already curled up on my sweatshirt and cruising in doggie dreamland by then. It was almost midnight, and I feared that Lily had left her car in the lot and driven off with Jake, during my nap. I was cold but too scared to turn on my car for fear of being noticed. Then my brain went into overdrive again. Why was I shivering in a dark parking lot waiting for Lily anyway? What was my plan? To confront her? Or was it just curiosity? A voyeuristic impulse to catch Lily in a vulnerable position, so I could hurt her back? I didn't know and it didn't matter. Fate had put me there for a reason and I was going to find out why. I turned off the dome light, cracked the door, slouched in my seat and waited in shivering silence.

A few minutes later, footsteps and the murmur of voices raised my head — Lily and Jake sauntered toward her car. About ten yards from the Mini, Jake pulled away from Lily and veered off in the other direction. Heading to his car no doubt. Lily scowled and walked quickly to the Mini, pulling up the collar of her raincoat against the night air. She unlocked her car and watched Jake walk away. It wasn’t the look of love or even desire but disgust. Her eyes followed Jake's car as it pulled out of the lot. Then she ducked into the Mini and revved her engine hard. She zipped out of the parking space and shot for the exit like someone had a gun to her head.