Murder with a Twist (10 page)

“This Lizzy person!” said Daphne.

“Maybe. The police don’t know yet. And, as of now they aren’t saying anything with regard to a suspect. At least not to me, anyway.”

Daphne stared at me in confusion. “But
…
”

Olive cut her off. “Oh, dear God. What will the press do with this? Is there any way we can keep it out of the papers? This will kill Audrey.” She opened her purse and began to rummage through it. “Where are my pills? I feel another anxiety attack coming on.” She quickly flipped open the bottle cap and tossed two white pills down her throat. Chasing it down with a gulp of wine, she then turned to me and asked, “What do you plan to do about this, Nicole?”

I stared at her in confusion. “What do I plan to do about what?”

Olive took a deep breath and spoke as one might to a child. “About minimizing the publicity, of course. Can’t you talk to your police friends and make them understand that Audrey has suffered enough? To have her see the sordid details of Leo’s latest betrayal splashed across every tabloid is too much to ask of the poor child.”

“Your estimation of my influence flatters me. And that’s not something I ever thought I’d say. But I have no control over what the police or the press do. Besides, Audrey was bound to find out about their relationship eventually. Just thank God that she didn’t know about Lizzy earlier. The police would definitely have some uncomfortable questions for her otherwise. ”

An awkward silence met my remark. “No one told Audrey about Lizzy, right?” I asked.

Daphne glanced at Olive. Olive pressed her lips together and
stuck out her chin. “Well, what if I did?” she said. “After all, I think she has
a right to know what her husband is doing.”

My left temple throbbed. “You told her about Lizzy?” I snapped. “Why? I
specifically
told you not to! You
specifically
agreed not to!”

“She needed to know the truth about him,” Olive began.

“She knew the truth about him!” I countered. “She didn’t care! But now the police are going to want to talk to her!”

Olive bristled. “That’s ridiculous. Why would they want to talk to Audrey? She didn’t have anything to do with that woman’s death.”

“How do you know?” I asked. “Were you there?”

“Of course not!” Olive said dismissively. “I just know Audrey. She wouldn’t hurt a fly. The only crime Audrey ever committed was marrying Leo.”

“Well, given her absurd devotion to him, she might be all the more upset at the woman who possibly ratted him out to Fat Saul.”

Olive sniffed. “You know I don’t understand that rough jargon. Please speak English.”

“Gladly. You’re an idiot. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to find Audrey and talk to her before the police do.”

twenty-two

The fact that Audrey
wasn’t answering Daphne’s phone calls didn’t necessarily mean she wasn’t at home. Happy to have an excuse to leave the art show, Nigel and I made our way to Audrey’s apartment. It was a sprawling, five-bedroom, three-fireplace dwelling in one of New York’s most sought-after locales. Luckily, the guard at the front desk knew Nigel and waved us upstairs. Outside Audrey’s door, our repeated knocks went unanswered. However, I swore I heard faint movement inside, so we persisted. Finally, Nigel called out, “Audrey? Please open up. It’s about Leo. There’s been an accident. He’s in the hospital, and he’s calling for you.”

Within seconds the door swung open. I quickly stepped inside the large foyer before she could rethink her decision. Audrey’s face was puffy from crying. Her hair was disheveled, her nose was red, and I smelled alcohol on her breath. “Leo’s calling for me?” she asked, her voice wobbly, her eyes fearful.

“How should I know?” Nigel answered good-naturedly as he let Skippy off his leash. Skippy gave a happy bark and ran off.

“Wait,” said Audrey slowly. “So, Leo isn’t in the hospital?” Her voice steadied, but the fear in her eyes remained.

Nigel sighed. “It’s called a lie, Audrey. Do yourself a favor and don’t drink your feelings anymore tonight. I have no idea if Leo is hurt or if he’s even calling for you. However, if I had to guess, I’d guess no. Now where’s the bottle?”

“What bottle?”

Nigel rolled his eyes. “The bottle containing whatever it is you’re drinking.”

“Oh. In the kitchen.”

“Thank you. Next, do you have any coffee? I’m going to make you a pot.”

“Um, yes. That’s in the kitchen, too.”

Nigel nodded. “Then, unless you ladies need me, I will be in the kitchen.”

I turned to Audrey. She stared back at me miserable, tipsy, and confused. “What’s going on? Is Leo in trouble? Is he … is he in jail?”

I steered her into the living room. “I don’t know,” I answered. “Should he be?”

“No … I mean, I don’t think so. No, of course not.”

“That’s reassuring,” I said as I gently pushed her down onto a black suede couch. Behind it was a mahogany console table crowded
with silver-framed pictures of Audrey and Leo, and a silver bowl filled with Werther’s caramels. I sat down in a gray-and-cream striped wingback chair. On the coffee table between us was another silver bowl filled with more Werther’s caramels. “What’s with all the candy?” I asked.

Audrey looked down at the bowl of candy. Her lower lip trembled. “Those are Leo’s favorites. I keep them around the house for him.”

I restrained myself from asking if Leo was a six-year-old who could be bribed with sweets. “Okay. Listen, I need to ask you something, Audrey. And I need you to be honest.”

Audrey’s gaze slid away from mine and focused on the chair next to me. “Okay.”

“Did you go to Lizzy Marks’s apartment?”

“Whose apartment?”

“Please don’t play dumb with me. I’m in no mood. I’m tired, and I have a headache. I know that Olive told you about Lizzy Marks. What I need to know is whether or not you went to her apartment.”

“No, no, of course not,” Audrey told the chair. “Why would I do that?”

“Because you knew Leo was involved with her,” I answered.

Audrey squeezed her eyes shut. “That’s … that’s not true. You don’t know that. Who told you that?”

“Lizzy, actually. She told me when I went to see her a few days ago.”

Audrey’s eyes flew open, and she looked at me. “Was Leo there?”

“No.”

“What … what did she tell you? Did she say whether she was
…
did she know where Leo was?”

I helped myself to a Werther’s and leaned back into the chair. “She claimed not to know where Leo was. As for the rest, well, she said a lot of things. Who knows if any of it was true?”

“Was she in love with him?”

“Does it matter?” I asked, popping the candy in my mouth.

“I don’t know. It might.” She stared at me for a moment, seeming to debate something.

“Leo owed a lot of money to a man named Fat Saul. Ever hear of him?”

Audrey shook her head. “No. I only heard him talk about Frank. Frank Little.”

“Yes, I know. Frank worked for Fat Saul. Apparently, Fat Saul wanted Leo to pay back the entire loan.”

Audrey opened her mouth, no doubt to protest that she always covered Leo’s debts, but I cut her off. “It was more than what you could take out without Max and Olive co-signing,” I said. Audrey flinched as if I’d slapped her. “Once Fat Saul called in the loan, Leo dropped out of sight.”

“So you think that’s why Leo’s gone?”

“It’s a possibility. However, the other night someone killed Fat Saul. We know that the night he died, he got a call from a woman and then went out looking for Leo.”

Audrey’s eyes grew wide. “Are you saying that Leo had something to do with that man’s death?”

I shook my head. “No. I’m only telling you what happened. But it is a possibility. If Fat Saul found out where Leo was hiding, and went there, there might have been a fight. It’s possible that Leo killed Fat Saul in self-defense.”

Audrey stared at me. “Do you think that’s what happened?”

“I have no idea.”

Audrey closed her eyes and sank back into the couch. “Oh, God. Where is he?” she moaned.

“That does seem to be the sixty-four thousand dollar question. However, that’s not why I’m here. I need to know if you went to Lizzy’s. The truth.”

Nigel came into the room carrying a tray. Setting it down on the oval coffee table, he handed Audrey a cup of coffee. “Drink this,” he instructed.

Audrey took a sip. Nigel poured me a cup and passed it to me. From somewhere in the house came the sound of something falling over and nails skidding on a wood floor. “What was that?” Audrey asked.

“Reindeer,” said Nigel. “I believe Nic was asking you something?”

Audrey took another sip. Then another.

“Audrey,” I said after her third sip, “I already know Olive told you all about Lizzy. What I need to know now is if you went there.”

“But why?”

“Because she’s dead,” I said gauging her reaction to this news. Audrey didn’t appear shocked. “And when—not if—the police find out that you knew about her, they’re going to want to question you. And they won’t be as nice as me. So, for the last time, Audrey, tell me what happened.”

Audrey took a deep breath and burst into tears. “I didn’t kill her,” she sobbed. “I swear! She was already dead when I got there! Oh God! What have I done?”

twenty-three

It took several minutes
to get a coherent story out of Audrey. Finally, she told us that after Olive told her about Lizzy, she’d gone home and tried to calm down. “But I was just too mad,” she said, once her tears had subsided. “Why was he with her
of all people? I’d given him everything! Everything! And he humiliates me by going off with
her
! He
promised
he would stop. After Aunt Olive told me about her, I figured that that’s where he’d been holed up. I decided to go there and tell him what I thought of him. When I got there, I saw that the door was open. I knocked, but there was no answer. So I
…
I walked in. That’s when I saw her. She was lying on the floor. I knew she was dead. Her eyes
…
” Audrey closed her own eyes at the memory. After a minute, she continued. “I know I should have called the police, but I just wanted to get away from there. I had to get away from her eyes.”

“What time was this?” I asked.

“About eleven-thirty.”

“Did you see anything that might have indicated that Leo had been there?”

“No. Absolutely not,” she said immediately.

“Take your time. No need to rush your answer.”

She took a deep breath. “I didn’t see anything. I just saw her. And then I left.”

“Did anyone see you there?” I asked.

“No, I was careful not to let anyone see me,” she said with a hint of pride.

I sighed. “Actually, it would have been better had you been seen. The police think Lizzy was killed earlier in the evening.”

Audrey stared at me, her eyes wide. “I don’t understand.”

“Yes. That much I know,” I said.

From the other room came the sound of crashing glass. Nigel put his cup on the table and stood up. “Excuse me for moment,” he said before heading toward the chaos in the other room.

Audrey and I sat in silence listening to Nigel try to coax Skippy back onto his leash. Audrey sat quietly and picked at her nails. “Audrey, if you know something, you really need to tell me,” I said.

Audrey continued to stare at her hands. “I’ve told you everything,
” she said, her voice small.

I took a sip of my coffee. I didn’t believe her for one second.

After Nigel got Skippy onto his leash, I called Daphne and told her what had happened. “Balls,” she said, her voice annoyed. “The little idiot.”

“I agree. But she’s in no condition to be left alone. Can you come over?”

“I’ll see what I can do. I just got a call from one of my clients and have to take care of something for them. If I can’t come, then I’ll send Toby.”

“Fine. We’ll wait until one of you shows up.”

“Okay. Bye.”

_____

Toby arrived twenty minutes later. “What’s happened?” he asked as he shrugged out of his overcoat.

“When Audrey heard that Leo was seeing Lizzy Marks, she decided to pay her a visit. Unfortunately, when Audrey got there, Lizzy was dead.”

Toby’s brown eyes grew wide. “That’s not good.”

“That’s putting it mildly. She tried to drown out the experience with scotch. We made her some coffee, and Nigel took away the scotch
…
”

“A good start.”

“But I think someone should be with her tonight. To put it mildly, she’s a mess.”

Toby shook his head. “The poor thing. She doesn’t deserve this. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of her. I’ll make sure she’s okay.”

“That’s good, but there’s more. Audrey found the woman dead, but she didn’t call the police. She just left.”

Toby shook his head. “Oh, Audrey,” he said under his breath.

“Yeah. Well, I think you’ll agree that this is a problem. She left a crime scene and neglected to call anyone. She needs to rectify that.”

Toby looked at me, his expression guarded. “What are you suggesting?”

I blinked. “Wow. Okay. I didn’t think I was being unclear. I’ll try again.” I took a deep breath. “She needs to pick up a phone and call the police and tell them what she knows. Did you get my meaning that time?”

From the shocked look on Toby’s face, I gathered he did. “Are you crazy?” he hissed. “Can you imagine the field day the press would have if they got ahold of this? They’d crucify her!”

I stared back at Toby in equal disbelief. “Do you have any idea what the police will do to her once they find out that she was at the apartment of her husband’s lover? And that she found the woman dead and
did nothing
? What the press would do to her pales in comparison to what the police will do!”

Toby shook his head. “I understand your concern, Nic. I do. But Audrey was under no obligation to report anything to the police. I would think as a former detective, you’d know that.”

“Yes, legally she doesn’t have to. But what about her moral obligation? What about what a prosecutor will do with those facts if it comes out? Because, let’s be honest. It will come out.”

Toby bristled. “Not if I can help it. She’s been through enough. I will not let her suffer anymore.”

“If she calls the police now and tells them, she won’t suffer. But if she doesn’t, it will only be worse for her.”

“I disagree and as her lawyer, I will advise her not to talk to the police about this. And, I’d advise you to do the same.” I stared back at Toby in disbelief. He had suddenly morphed into someone quite different. Doris would never think to call the steely-eyed stone-faced man in front of me now “spineless.”

“You’re making a mistake, Toby,” I said. “But Audrey will be the one to pay for that mistake. Is that what you want?”

“Of course not,” said Toby. “I only want to take care of her and protect her. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

Remembering his cozy date the other night, I wondered if that was still true.

_____

Nigel and I left a few minutes later. Audrey was slumped in Toby’s arms. Despite the lousy circumstances, she looked happier than I’d seen her all week.

“Why do I have this nagging suspicion that Olive will still find a way to blame me when this all hits the fan?” I asked.

Nigel wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulder. “Don’t take this the wrong way, darling, but if you only have a ‘nagging’ suspicion that Aunt Olive is going to blame you, then maybe it was a good thing after all that you got shot and had to quit the department. You must have been a crummy detective.”

“Thanks.”

“Anytime. Are you going to call Marcy?”

“Toby asked me not to. I think I agreed,” I said.

“Well, to hand Audrey to the police now would be akin to kicking a puppy. I think you can give yourself a break on this one.”

“I wonder if Marcy would agree. I have a headache from this case,” I complained. “I need a hot bath and then a dirty martini.”

“Your wish is my command,” Nigel said offering me his arm. “And, if you’re a very good girl, I’ll take you out for a drink afterwards.”

Before I could answer, my phone rang. According to the readout, it was from either Max or Olive. I looked at it in dismay. “I think this is your Aunt Olive calling,” I said.

“Oh, well,” said Nigel. “Better to rip off the Band-Aid than to let it linger.”

“Gee, that’s comforting.” I answered the phone with a lukewarm greeting, while I mentally steeled myself to do battle with Olive.

“Hey, Detective Landis
. . .
I mean, Mrs. Martini,” said a deep voice.
“This is Jo . . . seph.”

“Why, hello Joe,” I answered, looking at Nigel in surprise. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, I thought you’d like to know something. I know where that scumbag Leo is. I just saw him at a club I go to sometimes. He’s in there throwing around money like it grows on trees.”

“Technically, it does,” I said.

“Huh? Oh. Yeah.Well, anyway, I thought I’d let you know. So, we’re good, right? You’re not going to tell Mrs. Beasley about my past, right?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I said with true honesty. “Speaking of which, are they home yet?”

“No. I had to stop in to deliver some things for Mrs. Beasley. I thought I’d call you while I was here.”

“I appreciate that Joe. What’s the name of the club?”

“It’s The Lucky Lady. It’s on 83rd and Broadway.”

“Thanks, Joe. But enlighten me, why are you telling me this? You know as well as I do that Frank Little has put a bounty out on Leo’s head. You could have called Frank and made some money in the process.”

There was a brief pause. “Yeah, I know. But I know how much it means to Miss Audrey to have Leo at her party. She’s a nice kid. She don’t deserve this. I figured Frank could wait one more day before getting his hands on Leo. But it seemed a shame to ruin Miss Audrey’s party.”

“You’re a regular softie, Joe. Thanks. I’ll check it out.” I hung up and told Nigel.

“The Lucky Lady?” he repeated. “Let me guess; it’s listed in the phonebook under ‘I’ for irony.”

Traffic being its usual fickle self, it was some time later before we arrived at the club. The Lucky Lady was housed in a nondescript kind of building. Shuttered windows. Peeling paint. A heavy steel door. The only bright spot was the neon sign. It featured three naked female silhouettes under the words “LIVE NUDES!” A large man smoking a cigarette and sitting on a wooden stool guarded the entrance. He looked bored.

As we approached, he recited mechanically, “Twenty dollar cover. Each.” He didn’t mention Skippy. The man looked liked he’d seen everything. Twice.

Nigel reached into his pocket for his wallet. “Okay, but first can I have your assurance that your sign is correct?” he asked jerking his chin toward the marquee.

The man glanced up at the sign. “Yeah,” he said. “they’re nude.”

“That’s not the adjective I’m worried about,” Nigel said as he handed over the money.