Malicious Mischief (A Rylie Keyes Mystery) (Entangled Select) (6 page)

I blew out a breath. “I didn’t kill anyone. Two old people ran me off the road. I made some bees mad. Solo catapulted off his Vespa. There was this strange episode with fire. His Vespa blew up. And bam, Otto Weiner’s lifeless hand popped out.”

She gasped, fumbling with the daisy at her ear. “How’d Otto die? Was it his heart?”

“Suffocation, I think.”

Her uneasy expression changed to shock. “How awful.”

“I didn’t know you knew him.”

“I didn’t, really. We met at a fundraiser a while back. So he suffocated…how?”

“Someone taped a plastic bag over his head,” I said. “Did Otto have heart problems?”

“I think he mentioned heart business once. Everyone dies of heart failure, you know. Physiologically speaking. Writers know these things. And?”

“And what?” I asked.

“Did you kill him?”

“Of course not!”

“If someone peed on my car seats, I’d kill them.” She pointed to the Mercedes Coupe in the garage. “They’re of the finest leather. Then again, the van’s seats are probably Naugahyde. Oh my, I cannot believe you’re going to muff dive in prison over pee-stained Naugahyde.” She scratched her chin, thinking. “Hmm, there’s a book in there somewhere. Lesbian love stories are so hot right now.”

“Geez, this isn’t complicated. I didn’t kill Otto—or those two other seniors.”

Lilith’s eyes popped wide. “Three dead seniors? Rylie, we need to talk. Sure, you normally bore me to tears, but there is a dark side to you I’d love to explore.”

Kill me now
.

“We’ll start tonight,” she said, patting my arm. “At Leland’s birthday party. Did you get something nice to wear, dear?”

Silence.

“A dress or suit?” she asked. “Tell me you bought something to spruce yourself up.”

“I found a dress at Ross, but a woman in a burka grabbed it from me.”

“And where may I ask is she going to wear a dress? Sure, she might sneak out and club, but if caught, she’ll face a firing squad of her brothers. You should’ve fought her for it.”

“I’ll try harder next time,” I said, eying her injured hands. “Those bruises look painful.”

She shrugged. “I have pain meds. What’s that fishy smell?”

I checked Zach’s jacket over my backside. “It’s fish oil for Leland’s vitamins.”

“Those vitamins exhaust me. It must be all that oil. Fat takes more energy to digest, you know. I’ve heard others complain.”

“Really? Who?”

She shrugged again. “Oh dear, I do hope Leland is happy with his birthday party tonight.”

“It’s nice of you to throw it for him.”

“But I must. I mean, if things go south for you, then your grandfather will sell Leland your property. Leland will then build Nava her dream house—”

“Mansion,” I said absently.

“Right you are. It is going to be huge, I mean
huge
! And only yards from my house. So I must make every effort to become the best of friends. And with Nava and him getting back together—”

“Are they?”

“Oh yes, very soon I suspect. He’s decided to do things her way.” She said it with such raunchiness—despite her frown—I had to smile.

“Her way, how? What do you mean?” I asked.

“It’s nothing. Salacious stuff, that’s all.” She looked at me with troubled, almost loving pity. “Too much for your virginal ears.”

“Wait a second—”

“Do you know the parable of ten virgins?” she rushed on. “Never mind, you probably don’t read much. The point is you need to stay alert. Your time will come.”

I just stared at her.

“Now what was I saying?” she asked through a puzzled frown. “Oh yes, Leland’s party. Well, I simply had to host it. Not to mention the points I’ll make with your grandfather for being neighborly.” She gave me a sugary wink. “After all, everyone knows Leland has a lot of money tied up in his anti-frailty drug. So if things turn south for him, my offer to beat his price for your property stands. You’ll remind your grandfather of that, won’t you, dear?”

I paused a moment to absorb her heartlessness, trying not to cry out, “Hell no, you can’t have our home.” I knew I was being grumpy, but our humble abode—craftsman, olive green, dark brown trim, and super modest in size—had been built by my great-grandfather, Hamilton “Handsome Ham” Keyes, and I loved it. Four generations of Keyes had lived inside those crooked walls. Sure, our home was rundown, but it would kill my Granddad to lose it.

Zach climbed from the squad car. “Rylie, hurry up, Lipschitz is waiting.”

“Probably choking the chicken,” I said louder than I intended.

“No doubt,” he said.

I laughed, my ears burning. “Zach must have sonar hearing,” I told Lilith.

She grabbed my wrist. “Does he really have demon powers?”

“Wish he did,” I said. “Then he’d know who killed Otto Weiner.”

“Do you think he knows?”

I shook my head. “Pretty bad demon, uh?”

She nodded. “I expect more of my demons. Then again, maybe I should check him out. I’m sort of a demon divining rod.”

I wondered if insanity was contagious. “I need to change clothes.”

“Oh, look.” She pointed a finger southward. “Mount Rainier has escaped the clouds.”

I turned to the volcano peek-a-booing through the trees in the distance.

“It feels close enough to touch,” she said wistfully, then beetled her brows. “Why don’t you cut down your trees? They ruin your view.”

“But they keep our house from sliding downhill to the lake,” I said.

She shrugged. “That’s the distress of living on a hillside. As you know, I have the finest beachside view on the lake. It’s worth billions.”

“Billions, huh?” I said a bit sarcastically, even though a Mt. Rainier view was kind of prized in Washington.

“Do not mock me, Rylie. Sure, the real estate people might say a million, or even two million, but in my heart, I know our view is priceless. After all, we have no obstructions, not a single one,” she added, her voice haughty.

Zach came up behind me. “We’ve got three dead seniors, no answers, and a detective eager to proposition you for God knows what. I know we’re partially late because of me, but if we make him wait much longer, he’ll throw you in jail just for kicks.”

“Zachy,” Lilith said, playing with a button on his shirt. “For research purposes, would you let me study your demon staff?”

Omigod
. “Not a good idea.” I angled my body between them. “What would Paul say? You two are so good together.”

“Oh yes, smart women do marry the well-to-do. Remember that, dear. Of course, my sweet Pauly also has his frisky moments. And, purr, last night was one of them.” Yet incredibly, she trailed a finger down Zach’s arm. “I wore my sex-executioner cat suit.”

“The one with the tail and whiskers?” I asked, not looking at her face as my eyes were on her fingers tickling Zach’s palm.

“That’s the one.” She laughed huskily; it was an alluring laugh, creamy and cloying with no naïveté in it. “One must never underestimate the power of a titillating whisker. And I do apologize for leaving the bonfire early.”

“I hope you got a chance to grab a s’more before you left,” I said.

She looked at me. “Ah, yes, two in fact. Chocolate sex.” Out came that laugh again. “My Pauly likes his chocolate melted.”

I stayed exactly where I was, between Zach and her. “Thanks for your generous donation. Leland plans to use the money to buy Wiis to help Solo exercise the seniors.”

She waved a blasé hand. “We won’t miss it.”

The Desmonts’ twenty-five-year-old daughter reached the top of the staircase from the top floor of their lakeside house down below. Sure, it was a redundant means to go up and down the hill since they also had a tram, but the city required a second way up in case of fire or a power outage. Mackenzie Desmont wore her reddish-brown hair straight and blunt cut to the shoulders. One side—the side with a long black streak at the temple—she’d tied back with a tiny black bow. Black eyeliner and near-black shadow called attention to her nearly violet eyes. The result was stunning, yet I thought she looked sad and lost.

“Hi, Mackenzie,” I said.

She sneered at Zach’s jacket around my waist. “Cute. I suppose you will be at tonight’s chaos, the party for Leland, I mean. It’s a chance for you to meet lots of potential employers, I suspect.” She slapped a strained smile on her dark lips. “It must take hours to make sense of that crazy quilt you call a résumé.”

I would have thought that comment was funny normally, but now I found it bitchy. She liked to make me look bad in front of Zach. It was no secret she wanted him for herself. Well, I was thrilled to see her expensive leather jacket had a gooey stain near the cuff.

“Mother dear,” Mackenzie said to Lilith. “Fat chance, I know, but how about having lunch with me today? It’s my last day at Starbucks—”

“Starbucks?” I said. “I thought you were doing filing at Leland’s lab.”

“I quit weeks ago. You try working with all those chemical smells. And don’t get me started on those nasty germs and diseases burning up in their incinerators.”

“So how come you’re leaving Starbucks?” I asked. She had an employment track record about as dismal as mine.

“The commute,” she said. “I thought I’d like working in Seattle, so much more urban than boring old Bellevue, but it turns out I hate it. And then there are the hordes of tourists at Pike Place Market. They’re so demanding.” She focused on Lilith. “So are you up for lunch?”

“I’ll have to pass, darling. I am rather tired today. I must get my beauty rest.”

Mackenzie barked a bitter laugh. “And why not, you put everything else before me, why not your beauty rest?”

“Nonsense. Have you forgotten all the sacrifices I’ve made for you? Inches to my waistline, several sleepless nights before your nanny arrived. And how can you forget all those vile months as your Girl Scout leader—”

Mackenzie brushed past her, drew near the squad car, and paused. Solo, a piece of licorice between his lips and just returning from his sailboat, shook his head when Zach asked if Leland was home.

“Are those Twizzlers?” Mackenzie asked him.

Solo smiled, held out several sticks, and opened the passenger door to the squad car. “Take ’em. Rylie’s got a big bag.”

“She would. Have you gotten a look at her fat ass?”

Zach whispered into my ear, “It’s been a hit with two men today.”

Despite my best effort not to, I giggled girlishly.

“Where are you guys headed?” Mackenzie asked Solo.

“To the police station.” He settled in the car, then told her about the accident.

“So what senior kicked the bucket? One of Leland’s?” she asked him.

“Someone killed Otto Weiner.”

“Really? I heard Leland threaten a guy named Otto last night.”

Zach stepped closer. “Leland threatened Otto?”

Time appeared to stand still as she stared up at him. “Well, not threaten exactly. He told a black guy that he couldn’t wait for Otto to get what he deserved.”

Zach’s gaze met mine, all serious now. “Black guy?”

“Booth Jackson,” I said. “You’ve met him. He’s FoY’s associate chef.”

Lilith grabbed my arm. “I knew there was something suspicious about Booth. All that glitz.” Her voice was hushed, but there was a tone of incredulous disbelief. “How can anyone working for Leland afford Armani?” She eyed my casual clothes as though to prove her point. “And Leland and he both acted strange last night. Writers notice these things.”

“Lilith, believe me. Leland isn’t involved in this.” I shifted to Zach just in time to see Mackenzie smooth a stray hair from his forehead.

“Nice one, Rylie, protecting your boss.” Mackenzie tossed away a half-eaten stick of licorice. “Of course, by nice I mean pathetic. What you won’t do to keep a job.”

“This isn’t about keeping my job.”
It was a little.
“It’s about supporting a friend.”

“Don’t you mean protecting a friend?” she said.

“Mackenzie, let’s get back on topic. What else did Leland say?” Zach asked.

“I’m no snoop or eavesdropper,” she told him pleasantly enough. “I overheard them as they built the bonfire. Then Leland took off.”

Zach looked at me. “Leland left the fundraiser?”

I nodded. “Particulate matter gives him asthma. He heads inside once the fire gets going.”

“What time was that?” he asked.

“About nine thirty.”

“How much staff did that leave?” Zach asked.

“Three. I made s’mores while Tita and Booth packed. Then Booth left shortly after. He took the Desmont’s tram. I remember because he said he had a cab waiting.”

Lilith tugged on my arm. “Who’s Tita?”

“She’s FoY’s head chef,” I told her without turning my head.

“Oh, that little shit. She had a fit when I asked for a virgin Bloody Mary.”

Now I did look at her. Lilith dearly loved her full-throttle cocktails. “Virgin?”

“Yes, I planned to write later. I wanted a clear head,” she said. “Last night I chatted with her assistant—Booth is it? He also adores Mt. Rainier and he also thinks Leland’s vitamins cause fatigue.”

I shifted to see Zach staring at his cell phone. He looked up and faintly smiled at Mackenzie, whose thumbs were on her cell. When he swung my way, his face fell. “I need to call this in.” He stepped away.

Mackenzie snorted, hands on hips. “Really, Rylie, who taught you how to make s’mores? You skimped on the marshmallows. I had to add more myself—
myself
.”

This explained the sticky stuff on her cuff. She had worn the same jacket to the bonfire last night. “Oh yeah?” I feigned some goggle-eye awe. “All by yourself?”

“I like lots of marshmallows. So does Zach. Don’t you, Zachy?”

This angered him; his eyes were unsmiling when they met hers.

“Yes, very stingy of you, Rylie,” Lilith piled on.

“See?” Mackenzie said.

We frowned at each other, a foul duo of rivals. Then at the sound of a passing truck uphill on the road, her chin shot up. “Shit. My bus will be here soon.”

“Don’t pout, darling,” Lilith said. “You can’t blame your father for making you use mass transportation. Two cars totaled in six months. Tsk, tsk. But I will keep working on him. He’ll buy you an admirable one soon, maybe a nice BMW.”