Cynthia Hamilton - Madeline Dawkins 02 - A High Price to Pay (33 page)

“Did you set up a heating duct cleaning service a week or so ago?”
Madeline asked.

“A what?”

“Did you arrange to have the heating
ducts cleaned?”

“Of course not. That’s not my job,” she said sharply. “Why in the world would you
think that?”

“Never mind. It’s unimportant,” Madeline said, as a wave of heat washed over her. “Cherie, listen to me…I think I understand what’s behind all this. I can’t tell you now,” she said, standing up and raising her hand to ward off Cherie’s protest. “I’ve got to move fast. I’ll keep Ross informed. But please, whatever happens with the police, don’t
lose hope.”

“Madeline! Where are
you going?”

“Stay calm. And remember what I said. Vivian did love you, more than
you realize.”

Only the uniformed policeman was outside the door when Madeline came charging out. She grabbed her phone and placed a call to Alice as she went in search of Ross. When Alice answered, Madeline wasted no time
on pleasantries.

“You logged all the gifts Cherie received, didn’
t you?”

“Yes, but only a handful were opened,” Alice replied after missing a beat.

“How about Miss Story? Did you log a gift from her?” Madeline asked anxiously as she reversed direction and went down the corridor toward the cafeteria, her eyes
darting everywhere.

“No, but she did come to me the day before the party, asking if I wouldn’t mind wrapping a gift for Cherie. I told her I’d be
happy to.”

“And…?”

“She told me she’d have it ready for me soon, but then I forgot about it until the day of
the party.”

“So, she didn’t bring you a gift to give
to Cherie…?”

“No. It occurred to me while I was logging the gifts as the guests arrived that she hadn’t brought hers to me yet. So I went up to see if she still needed me to wrap something for her.”

Madeline stopped in her tracks when she heard this, giving Alice her full attention. “Did you speak
with her?”

“Yes. I thought she’d be getting ready for the party, but when she opened the door, I could tell she hadn’t started to dress or anything.”

“What did she say about the gift?” Madeline asked, resuming her search
for Ross.

“When I asked her if she still needed me to wrap something for her, she seemed really distracted, like she didn’t know what I was talking about. Then she told me she would take care of wrapping it herself. I offered to do it quickly for her, but she became sort of flustered and said that wasn’
t necessary.”

“Alice, this is very important—did Vivian bring you the gift before
the party?”

“No.”

“Could she have put it in the gift
room later?”

“I guess so. But I didn’t see her do it.” Madeline abandoned her search and headed for the nearest nurses’ station.

“Can you meet me at the Alexanders’ right away? It’s very important,” Madeline stressed. “I’ve got to make sure if there’s a gift from Miss Story
or not.”

“Sure, I can be there in about ten minutes,”
Alice said.

“Great. If you get there before me, start looking for something that snuck in without you
seeing it.”

“Okay…”

“And don’t let anyone at the house know what you’re doing there. Just tell them you’re doing something for Cherie. Be as vague as
you can.”

“Okay.”

“Thanks,” Madeline said, ending the call. She paused at the nurses’ station and asked if they knew where Mr. Alexander was. When all she got was shaking heads, Madeline thanked them and looked his number up on her phone. Ross answered on the
first ring.

“Are you still with Cherie?”
he asked.

“No, I just
left her.”

“How does she seem
to you?”

“Okay. She seems pretty even, under the circumstances,”
Madeline reported.

“Oh, thank God. That’s such
a relief.”

“Ross, yesterday, when you were looking for those missing pieces of your mother’s jewelry, did you happen to come across an art deco diamond and sapphire bracelet?” The line went silent for a moment while Ross grappled with
her question.

“Does that description ring a bell?”
Madeline prompted.

“Oh sure, I know exactly the piece you’re talking about. I don’t remember seeing it, but I was pretty out of it at the time. Why are you asking about that piece? I didn’t think it was one of the pieces taken.” Madeline steeled herself
before replying.

“Ross, I hate to ask, but I need you to meet me at your house so we can be certain if the piece is missing
or not.”

“Now?”

“Yes,” Madeline answered matter-of-factly.

“You just need me to open the safes, is
that it?”

“Yes, and identify the bracelet, if it’s there.”

“I can get Helen to open the safes for you. She has access to all the combinations, in case of emergencies. It sounds like you know what you’re looking for…” Madeline felt a clammy chill run through
her body.

“I thought Helen took a couple days off to visit
her son…”

“She’s back, bless her. She said she couldn’t relax knowing what we’re all going through.” Madeline fought down a strong feeling
of nausea.

“Ross, I can’t go into it now, but it’s very important that Helen not know I want to check the contents your mother’s safe.” There was a pause during which all she heard was Ross’s labored breathing. “Ross, you’re going to have to trust me on this. Don’t let anyone know. Not even Liz or Cherie. Do you understand?” Madeline asked as she headed for the elevator.

Ross hesitated for a moment. “Yes, I understand. All right. I’ll get back to the house as soon as I can. I need to check in with the doctor and Cherie, then I’ll head over, if I can get through the mob
of reporters.”

“Please hurry. Alice is meeting me there to go over the gifts. If we find what we’re looking for, I’ll let
you know.”

“If you find what you’re looking for, do you still need me to
go home?”

“No. But I have a feeling that’s not going to be the case.”

THIRTY-NINE

Madeline left the hospital through a side exit on Pueblo Street in order to avoid the throng of reporters still hanging around the main entrance. As soon as she pushed through the door, she
called Mike.

“Where
are you?”

“I’m on the 101 heading south, in Camarillo, just about to go up the Conejo Grade,” Mike said. “I caught up with Kris’s car just in time to see him leaving a pack of very dodgy-looking miscreants. He seemed pretty agitated, scared I’d say. I’ve been following him ever since, though it appears he’s trying to set some land speed record. Had I known I was going to be shadowing Al Unser, I would’ve rented something with
more spunk.”

Madeline listened to this accounting as she walked around to the back side of the hospital, where her own rental car was parked. It took effort to follow Mike’s story; she could barely keep up with her own thoughts. Somewhere in the coursing information, the two
scenarios intersected.

“Listen, I think you need to stay on the kid,” she said. “I just found out from Ross that Helen’s back at the estate. Not only is she back, but she is now at the top of my list for
both murders.”

“What did you
find out?”

“Nothing conclusive yet, but while I was talking to Cherie, I recalled a conversation I had with Vivian about a bracelet she planned to give Cherie for her birthday. It had recently been appraised at nearly fifty-grand. I just got off the phone with Alice, and it appears that Vivian’s gift never materialized.”

Madeline unlocked the rental car from a distance as she waited for Mike’s response. Instead, she heard four beeps, signaling the call had ended. Annoyed, she got in the car and started it before she called him back. The call went
to voicemail.

“Shit!” she swore as she whipped out of the lot and headed for the freeway. Her phone rang as she sped up the onramp. She cursed again for not taking the time to set up the Bluetooth. She merged with the traffic and answered the call just before it went
to voicemail.

“Sorry, I must’ve gone through a blackout area,” Mike said. “What were you saying?” Madeline growled
in frustration.

“I’m headed to the estate to see if I can prove Helen is the murderer,” she said, keeping her voice as steady
as possible.

“Should I
come back?”

“No, stay on the kid. If my hunch is correct, he may be on his way to fence another
hot bracelet.”

“Are you sure you don’t need me there?” Mike asked. Madeline weighed the pros and cons of having some backup versus having Helen’s son tailed, but only out of courtesy. “Hey, why don’t you give Lauren a call? I’m sure she’d drop whatever she’s doing to help out.”

Madeline let out an exasperated huff. “I don’t need her help,”
she snapped.

“C’mon, how long are you going to blame the girl for what happened to Vivian? She didn’t lag intentionally,”
Mike argued.

“Look, I don’t have time to mollify an employee. And I don’t need her or anyone else under foot. If I’m right, I’ll
call Slovitch.”

“I didn’t hear that last part,” Mike said, his voice coming in faltering bursts. “You’re breaking up again.” Madeline ended the call, barely resisting the urge to hurl the phone out the window. Instead, she stuffed it back in her purse and changed lanes to exit at Hot
Springs Road.

By the time she pulled up to the security gates, Madeline had managed to get thoughts of her coworkers out of her head. Her mind was completely focused on the task ahead. Only a faint flicker of doubt kept her emotions
in check.

As she got out of the car, Alice pulled up behind her. Madeline waited for her and they fell in step together as they neared the
front door.

“Helen’s back,” Madeline warned under her breath. Alice looked at
her inquisitively.

“I didn’t know she was gone,” she whispered back.

Madeline considered this. After the party broke up on account of Vivian’s sudden demise, there was no need for Alice’s services, especially since Cherie was the prime suspect in her mother-in-law’s murder. That also meant she was completely in the dark about so much that had happened.

“We can’t let on to Helen what we’re doing here,” Madeline said quietly as they mounted the front steps. “By the way, Cherie is in the hospital.” Alice looked at her aghast. Madeline cut her off with a raised hand. “Just follow my lead. What we’re looking for is
vitally important.”

Madeline composed herself before giving the brass knocker a series of short raps. The door opened within seconds, a sign that Helen hadn’t been far away and had probably observed
their arrival.

“Helen, I thought you had taken a couple days off,” Madeline said, shifting her body closer to the threshold, wearing a smile that was meant to be both convivial and reverent.

“Duty called,” Helen said stoically. Madeline leaned in slightly as if to enter the house. Helen didn’t budge.

“Ross asked us to do a favor for Cherie,” Madeline said, her smile tightening as she assumed the role of intermediary. “She’s going to be all right, thank God.”

With this remark, Madeline nodded slightly to Helen, signaling to the housekeeper that she needed to step aside so they could get busy with their task. Helen backed away, but kept her head high and her gaze aloft, treating the visitors as if they were ordinary tradespeople, not part of Mrs. Alexander’s entourage. Madeline maintained eye contact with Helen and motioned for Alice to lead
the way.

“What happened to Cherie?” Alice asked as soon as she closed the door to the giftwrapping room.

“She tried to kill herself,” Madeline said bluntly. The crush of reporters camped out around the estate had made her mindful that employees are easy targets for tabloid bribes. And if Madeline was wrong about Helen’s role in this multiple tragedy, then Alice would soon be unemployed, which would make selling her inside story all the
more alluring.

“Oh, my God!” Alice cried, hand to her mouth as she dropped onto a nearby stool.

“Alice, if we’re going to save Cherie from going to prison, we need to work fast and methodically. Do you understand?” Alice nodded, her face a vivid canvas of confusion and grief. “All right, let’s go through these packages one by one. You tell me who it’s from and I’ll check it against the list. We’re looking for one that Vivian might have slipped in when you weren’
t here.”

Madeline set the clipboard down and fished out her cell phone to call Ross. “It’s Madeline. We didn’t find what we were
looking for.”

“I’m just pulling into the gates.”

A surge of adrenaline rushed through Madeline’s body. They were so close to finding the truth. If she was right. “I’m worried about Helen bolting,” she said. Her concerns were met with silence. Walking into the storage closet so Alice couldn’t hear her, she tried again. “Ross, I realize this is hard for you to face, but right now, it comes down to either your wife or your housekeeper as your mother’s murderer. We have to err on the side of caution.” A muffled sound, like a choked-down sob, was all Madeline could hear on the other end.

“Ross?”

“I’ll call security to make sure she doesn’
t leave.”

“Better have someone on the back perimeter. On satellite photos, that looks like a
weak spot.”

“All right,” Ross said before disconnecting.

Madeline tapped the backside of her phone with nervous fingers while she debated calling Detective Slovitch to give him a heads up. It would save time if her suspicions were right, but it would be a waste of the detective’s time if she were wrong. Plus, it would tip her hand as far as Helen was concerned. Instead, she rejoined Alice just as Ross walked in the
front door.

Helen was there to greet him, the significance of which was not lost on Madeline. She stood beside a very confused Alice as they watched the interaction between employer and employee. The tension in the air was palpable. It was obvious to Madeline that Ross felt suddenly awkward around the woman he had trusted to run his home for twenty years.

Covering her embarrassment, Helen became overly solicitous, offering refreshments all around. Ross was quick to decline for everyone, leaving Helen with orders that he not be disturbed for any reason. Madeline was reluctant to take her attention away from the housekeeper, yet very anxious to find out if she was right about her or not.

As she turned to follow Ross to his study, she nearly smacked into Alice. Now a new quandary presented itself: what to do with Cherie’s assistant. Madeline caught Ross’s attention as he opened the door. She conveyed with a sideward glance the downside of leaving Alice unattended. Ross silently evaluated the situation and motioned with his head for both of them to come into
his study.

“You remember that you signed a very binding confidentiality agreement when you were hired…?” Ross said to Alice as she passed into the room behind Madeline.

“Yes, sir,” she replied nervously, her distress and
confusion palpable.

“Have a seat over by the fireplace,” Ross directed. Alice complied at once, sitting on the sofa with her back to them, making herself as small as possible. Once she was out of the way, Ross got busy opening all three safes.

“This will go quicker if you help me,” he said to Madeline as he laid the contents of Vivian’s safe out on his desk. They each examined everything carefully and came to the
same conclusion.

“Okay, let’s see if it got put in mine by mistake,” Ross said. There was no enthusiasm in his voice, only urgency. “You know this doesn’t really prove anything if we don’t find it,” he said quietly to Madeline before restoring the first safe and taking
out his.

“It might lead to the proof,” she maintained, though she knew Ross was right.

“Nothing here. That leave’s Cherie’s.” They each took a deep breath, both realizing that things could go from bad to worse if the bracelet showed up among the items in Cherie’s
personal safe.

Ross exchanged the safes and put Cherie’s on the desk. After a thorough rifling, they stood back and regarded each other solemnly. “It’s definitely not here,” Ross admitted. Even though it was the outcome Madeline had been hoping for, it didn’t conclusively point to Helen as
the thief.

“We should check Vivian’s room,”
she said.

“We can’t. It’s still cordoned off.”

Madeline sagged against the desk, uncertain what the next move should be. The only prudent course of action was to call Detective Slovitch, but that was risky. If the police searched the rooms and found the bracelet, there went the hope of throwing suspicion away from Cherie. The longer Madeline entertained the notion of Helen being behind the theft of all four of Vivian’s missing pieces, the more she warmed to it. Not only did it tie nicely together with Vivian’s murder, but it practically guaranteed that Helen was responsible for Teresa’s brutal death as well. All three crimes dovetailed into place when Helen was inserted as the perpetrator, whereas they remained random and disjointed
without her.

“I think it’s time to call the police,” Madeline said. “Your mother’s bedroom has to be searched.”

Ross didn’t say anything at first. Madeline could now see he had become invested in casting Helen as the villain, as painful as it must’ve been to embrace the idea of the woman he trusted the most killing the woman he had loved all
his life.

“Make
the call.”

“I’m still concerned about Helen getting suspicious. If we’re right,” Madeline said, her voice low so only Ross could hear her, “desperation might make her do
something reckless.”

“As soon as you make the call, I’ll ask her to bring some coffee.”

Madeline nodded and retrieved her phone from her purse. She called Detective Slovitch’s cell number as she walked to the north-facing window to be out of hearing distance
from Alice.

“John Slovitch,” the detective answered. Madeline gave him a succinct accounting of her hypothesis, stressing the urgency of searching the primary victim’s rooms for the missing bracelet. Before she could finish, Detective Slovitch
interrupted her.

“I just got a call from your partner. He requested police backup in Reseda. He witnessed Kris Bagley going in the rear entrance of a pawnshop. According to the detective I spoke to, the owner of the shop has a prior for fencing stolen goods. A search confirmed Kris was carrying some hot rocks. A very expensive looking diamond bracelet. Looks like we’ve got ourselves a solid motive
for murder.”

Madeline held her hand over the phone and turned toward Ross. “Ask Helen for the coffee now,” she said, her heart pounding. Ross wasted no time. He crossed to the door and opened it to yell out
his request.

“Helen!” he called out while Madeline resumed her conversation with Slovitch. “Can you bring me some coffee?” he said, sheltering the view inside his study with the door. “Just one,” he answered. When he closed the door, Madeline ended her call
with Slovitch.