Designer Detective (A Fiona Marlowe Mystery) (17 page)

“It is perfectly clear to me that you must owe
money and that the men who keep company at your place are trying to collect.”
Well, it wasn’t that clear to me, but it seemed like a respectable hunch given
the circumstances.

“I don’t owe money. They’re bringing me decent
clothes and a car. Opal and I will go to Albert’s place and see what’s to be
done. We’ll be out of your life.”

“Praise all the saints and angels.”

I noticed he hadn’t included Jake in that
scenario.

“When are they coming? I have to leave.”

“Within the hour.”

“You can wait in the lobby for them.”

“I can’t go out like this.”

“Stop stalling, Cody. I’ve had enough.”

“What if I say I’m staying?”

I was afraid of this. I wondered if Jake was
going to be on my side if we got into a standoff. I should have been nicer to
him. I should have kissed him. I looked out the window, considering my options,
which weren’t many. The rain had stopped. The sky was overcast. The gray,
dreary world matched my mood. How did I get stuck with this odd assortment of
humanity? I’d have to retire from interior design if I kept getting clients
like these. How was I going to get rid of this crew?

A spectacular idea came to me. It was something
Olympia had said once about plot. When the plot is floundering, kill someone.
The problem was that I didn’t have a gun and that was another of those acts
that carried a jail sentence. Knives were an option but I had never been good
at carving a roast. I couldn’t kill anyone, so who was I kidding?

The phone rang as I was mulling over the
possibilities. I looked at caller ID and didn’t recognize the number. I debated
if I should answer. Given my current predicament it might be an improvement.

“Hello,” I said.

“Miss Marlowe?” a familiar voice said.

“Yes?”

“This is Hudson.”

“How are you?” I wanted to blurt out, I’m so
glad to hear your voice and I’m so glad you are alive, but I held back, playing
it cool.

“I’m quite fine. There’s been a fire at the
Lodge house. I called to let you know. I didn’t know if I’d catch you at home.
I’m so glad I did. Is Opal with you? Is she all right? Has she heard about the
fire?”

“Yes,” I said, not turning around to see who
might be listening.

“Is something wrong, Miss Marlowe?”

“Yes.”

The doorbell rang. Cody jumped up to answer it before
I could. I didn’t want to hang up on Hudson. In the commotion made by Cody’s answering
the door, I said to Hudson, “I need help now. Cody is holding me hostage. Send
help.”

“Where are you?”

I gave him the address and hung up, still
watching the door. I caught sight of a fedora and, could it be?
A woman.
Cody stepped outside and closed the door. I hadn’t
got a good look, it all happened so fast but she looked like the Liz Taylor double
from the party. What was she doing here? It was everything I could do not to
follow Cody. Maybe Opal knew her.

“Opal, come, we are going to get you dressed.”

She followed me to the studio.

“Do you know who that man and woman are?” I
said.

“What man and woman?”

“The ones who were at the
door when Cody answered.
Didn’t you see them?”

“I’m sorry, Fiona. I couldn’t see from where I
was sitting. I wondered why he went into the hall.”

I helped her from the boa wrapper and into her
street clothes. “Do you remember a woman who looked like Liz Taylor, who was at
the wake?”

Opal seemed to reach into the dark recesses of
her mind. “I’m not sure.”

 
“Black hair, striking eyes, voluptuous figure, lots of cleavage.
She was with several straight laced men when I saw her.”

“Oh, that woman.
Yes,
Cody said she was a friend of his, but if he said her name, I’ve forgot. I
didn’t get to speak with her. We were with some other people at the time.”

That meant I had to ask Cody who she was. I
tried a different tack with Opal.

“Who inherited the house?” I said.

“Why, Hudson. That’s what the lawyer told us.”

“Did you see the actual written will?”

“Well, no.”

“Do you know this lawyer well?”

“No, but Albert knew him for years. He handled my
brother’s legal work.”

My mind was racing. The lawyer could be in
cahoots. Albert had to have someone who knew the ins and outs of an
international business. Who better than a lawyer, a lifelong friend who could
cover for you when necessary, who you gave a piece of the pie? Hudson had said
he had inherited the house in a manner of speaking. That didn’t sound
affirmative. Maybe Hudson was a cover for something. Cody wouldn’t have been
surprised at a fire that he had orchestrated. Hudson must have known about the
fire and that was why he wanted Opal out of harm’s way. Why hadn’t Cody taken
care to make sure his aunt was out?
Unless he had told Hudson
to.
Cody must be blackmailing Hudson, and that’s why Hudson said he
inherited the house in a manner of speaking.
But why?

Jake appeared in the doorway as we were
gathering up Opal’s coat and purse. He came in and closed the door.

“Fiona, I made some phone calls. I’m trying to
get help for you and Opal.”

“Are you on our side or theirs?”

“Yours, of course.”

“How do I know I can trust you?”

“Opal, can she trust me?”

“Oh my, yes,” said Opal.

Remember, this was the little old lady who was
on drugs and made up stories. I wasn’t comforted.

I said, “I’m not sure we’ll be able to get out
of the building. Cody may still be in the hall with those people. Do you know
who they are? Who that woman is? Did you see her at the wake?”

“What woman?”

“The woman in the hall.
The Liz Taylor look alike that Opal says is a friend of Cody’s.”

He seemed genuinely puzzled.

“C’mon, Jake.
Don’t
tell me you didn’t see her at the party. She was very striking.”

“Yes,” said Opal. “She didn’t stay long. As a
matter of fact, I remember now that Cody excused himself, said he had to talk
to someone and left me with some friends. I happened to see him walk this nice
looking woman, if it’s the same one, to the door. But I lost sight of them
because I was talking to a lot of people it seemed all at the same time.”

“I didn’t see any woman in the hall,” Jake
said. “But the woman at the party . . .
 
you
mean, Alice?”
 

“Alice?” Opal and I said in unison.

“Alice. I talked with her while Fiona was
dancing the night away. I mean a woman looks like her you want to at least talk.”
He managed a weak grin and shrugged. “She seemed nice enough but she was with a
tight lipped guy who didn’t seem to like me talking with her. I mean I was just
making conversation. I mean I was supposed to be the private investigator,
right?”

“Keeping digging yourself into the hole, Jake,”
I said. “Let me understand this. You talked to this good-looking Alice woman,
but you didn’t find out who she was, what she did, or why she was there?”

He shrugged again. “I don’t know. She told me
how Albert created the card hedge out in the patio for her because she liked
the Alice in Wonderland story. That’s all. Besides, the guy with her was trying
to escort her out of the room.”

“Albert created the hedge for her?
How intriguing.”
My mind went into overdrive again. Alice
was the name Opal had said was Albert’s lover. Alice was the good looking woman
at the wake. I needed to know if she worked with Albert. I bet Cody knew that
detail. A friend of Cody’s indeed.

“I hate to end our little chat,” Jake said, “but
we have a crisis situation here. Is there any other way out of the building?”

“The stairs,” I said. “In a pinch we can try
the fire escape. I know my neighbor pretty well on the floor below. Maybe he’s
home and would come to our rescue if we came down the fire escape.”

“My rodeo buddies are coming to pick Opal and
me up. You’re coming, too, Fiona.”

This should be good. I wasn’t sure I needed to
be rescued but climbing down a fire escape didn’t excite me. I’m afraid of
heights.

“Let’s see what Cody is up to,” I said. “Maybe
he left. Maybe we won’t need the fire escape alternative.”

“I’ll check.” Jake started for the entrance. He
listened at the door, cracked it, opened it wide, and peered down the hall.

“No one there.
C’mon. We’ll
use the stairs.”

Jake steered Opal out the door.

I had the presence of mind to run to the
kitchen and pull plugs on the appliances. I took one last look around.
 
Who knew when I’d be back?
 

Of course, I had no intention of going anywhere
with Jake and Opal. Australia, here I came.
I
headed for the basement, taking the elevator to avoid the stairs since Jake and
Opal had gone that way. For some perverse reason the elevator stopped at the
lobby level and opened. There stood Cody with his back to me in jeans and
leather jacket. I wondered what he had done with my pink sweat suit. I rather
liked it. The man in the fedora was with him but the mysterious woman was not
in sight. The two seemed to be holding high level talks with cell phones stuck
in their ears. Cody didn’t seem to be in any rush to get to Albert’s burning
mansion.

I punched
the close door button in rapid succession. The door stuck. What a time for
mechanical breakdown. Maybe I had scrambled its computer brain by pushing every
button in sight, trying to get it to do something. Cody turned toward the open
elevator door, phone still appended to his ear.

“Fiona,” he said with a grin, “just the girl we’re
looking for.”

“I’m not really here.”

Why-oh-why wouldn’t this stupid door close so I
could get to the basement, my car, and freedom. My escape had been working so
well. In desperation I kicked the door. It belched a metallic croak and slid
closed. Regrettably, Cody managed to shoot his hand into the opening, and the
electric eye sensor stopped the door. He wedged in and the door slid open
again.

“Where are you going, Fiona?” he said.

The door tried to slide close. Cody got caught
in a banging elevator door routine. I let out a nervous laugh and kept punching
buttons.

“I was checking my mail,” I said as the door
banged Cody.

“Do you check mail wielding a carry-on bag?”

He grabbed my arm and tried to pull me from the
elevator.

“Get your hands off me,” I said.

He wouldn’t let go of my arm.

“I’m going to scream if you don’t unhand me,” I
said and whacked his arm hard with my purse.

“What do you have in that thing?” he said,
wincing.

I brought it down on his arm again. With the
added inconvenience of my whacking his arm, he lost his grip on the banging
elevator door and stumbled back out. His buddy had been watching the scene at a
distance. I guess he didn’t think Cody needed help. The elevator door slid closed
but started up. Now where was it going?

It stopped on floor five. An old gentleman got
in. I smiled at him and exited, deciding to risk the stairs. I certainly didn’t
want to get hung up in the lobby. I worried that Cody would figure out that I
was on my way to the basement to get my car. But maybe he was so out of it last
night he wouldn’t remember where my car was or how to get there.

I started down the stairwell, trying hard not
to make clicking sounds with my cute black Bruno Magli boots. I stopped and
listened on the first floor, holding to a bare minimum my gasps for breath. I
heard no one on the stairs.

I sneaked past the lobby door.
One more level to go.
At parking level one I inched the door
open a crack. No one appeared in my line of sight. I opened the door until I
could squeeze through and started for my car.

I had wondered as I fled down the steps, exactly
what Cody wanted with me. The problem was I knew too much, and I didn’t like
the looks of Cody’s friend. I hurried to my car, hoping it was still there, that
no one had done something stupid like steal it. Praise all the gods of Olympus.
It was there. I guess I was too focused on getting to the car and getting out
of there. The next thing I knew someone grabbed me from behind and spun me
around.

“You’re not trying to get away are you?” Cody
said, holding me in a King Kong grip. I struggled side to side, trying to free
myself.
Dammit
all. I had almost made it to the car
and now this had to happen.

“Let me go,” I said between grunts. “Whatever
do you think you’re doing, Cody. Unhand me.”

“First, tell me where Jake and Opal are.”

“They left ahead of me. Jake said they were
taking a taxi.”

Of course, I was lying.

“Where are they going?”

“To Albert’s house to straighten out the mess
you left behind. Let me go. I can’t breathe, and you’re ruining my clothes.”

He eased his grip, and I stood trying to catch
my breath.

“Let me go, and I will disappear from your life
forever. I never heard of the Lodge family, estate or anything related.”

Cody’s piercing blues drilled into mine. “Fiona,
there’s just one problem. You know about the rifles. We can’t have this. My
friend is concerned that you and Jake know about our clandestine operation. If
it got out, they might go to jail. I might go to jail. You wouldn’t want that
would you?”

I stretched to my full height, thinking I might
be more intimidating that way. “Cody, why did you ever get mixed up with this bunch?”

“They came with the territory.”

“You mean the rifle business?”

He nodded.