Nursing a Grudge is Murder (A Maternal Instincts Mystery) (6 page)

“Block off the apartment?” Melanie asked. “What about Whiskers?”

Jill pressed a hand to her temple. “Whiskers is the least of our worries.”

Melanie shook her head. “No, he’s just a kitten,” she turned toward Ross. “We can’t lock him out of the house!”

Galigani put an arm out toward Melanie. “Don’t worry, we’ll notify the SPCA with the cat description and your information, so you can be reunited.”

Although it seemed like the chances of that were slim, Melanie appeared mollified, because she nodded and wandered over to the window to peek out. Ross left the room to examine the back of the apartment. I jutted my chin at Galigani, then nodded after Ross, signaling Galigani to poke his nose around with the uniformed officer.

Galigani eyed Melanie and Jill, then nodded at me and walked down the hallway toward what I presumed were the bedrooms.

I wanted to call after him to look for a black skull cap with a Smith & Wesson logo on it, but what would that prove?

It would link the man to Perry, but certainly not prove homicide.

Melanie turned away from the window. “So, you’re a private investigator?”

I nodded.

Melanie looked at Jill, “Have you hired her to look into Perry’s case?”

“Case?” Jill shook her head. “I don’t think we have a case—”

“Well, what about the threats?” Melanie persisted. “We have to consider that Brent Miles could be behind this. I mean, what if—”

Jill pressed her fingers into her temples. “No—”

Melanie grabbed my arm. “I want to hire you. Oh, but…” She covered her heart with her hand and said, “But, I don’t have any money. I…what am I going to do? I want you to look into this—”

“Mel, calm down,” Jill said. “I know you’re in shock, but please. All we know is that Perry had a tragic accident—”

“Your TV show! On Foodie Network! You’re going to get some cash out of that, right? Are they giving you a signing bonus?” Melanie asked.

Jill's face flushed red. “No! I’m not getting a bonus. Where did you hear that?”

Melanie took a step back as if deflecting Jill’s anger. She looked surprised and a little confused, but Galigani and Ross returned to the room before she could respond.

Ross had tucked away his notebook and had some business cards in his hand.

“I didn’t see anything unusual, Miss, except that the television looked askew. Like someone was trying to wrench it off the wall. Can you tell if anything is missing?”

Melanie shook her head. “Only Whiskers, as far as I can tell.” She turned to Jill, “Do you want to look around?”

Jill shook her head and shifted her weight impatiently.

Ross handed Melanie a card. “All right. If you think of anything else, call me.”

I wondered about the television. Could they get fingerprints off it? Why hadn’t Ross lifted any prints? Was there something about the burglary he wasn’t taking seriously? Or was that something that was done later?

Could I learn how to dust for prints?

Galigani walked Ross to the door. They exchanged words I couldn’t hear and then Ross left.

Galigani turned to us, looking grim. “I’m so sorry for your loss today, ladies. Please let Kate or me know if we can assist in any way.”

Melanie leapt at him. “Please, oh yes, please.”

Galigani nodded.

“We’ll do what we can,” I said. “Don’t worry about the money. I’ll work pro-bono.”

Galigani gave me a strange look, then reached inside his jacket pocket for his business card.

Melanie took the card while Jill watched nervously, her face set in an expression I couldn’t read.

I recalled her words, this afternoon at lunch, about Brent Miles really being able to mess with her career. Her television foodie show would soon begin filming, and Galigani and I were about to crawl into Brent Miles’ life and make him miserable. No wonder Jill seemed upset.

And how likely was it that Miles had anything to with any of this? For all we knew, Perry could have slipped and fallen on his own.

What about the break-in then? A coincidence? Or an acquaintance of Perry’s trying to help himself to some of the belongings Perry would no longer need?

My thoughts were interrupted by Jill saying, “I’ll drive you home, Mel. You need some rest.”

“How will you get home?” I asked Jill.

“Don’t worry. I’ll stay with Mel for a while, until she feels better, and then I’ll take a cab.”

We left the apartment together and then Jill and Melanie split off from Galigani and me.

“What was that look you gave me?”

“Pro-bono? You’re not even supposed to be charging anyone. You have no license, remember?”

“Well, it’s still my time.”

Galigani snorted.

“Plus, I’ve always wanted to use the word pro-bono,” I said.

“What you meant was that
I
would work pro-bono.”

“I thought you were retired?”

Galigani laughed. “It’s okay. You can’t expect someone like that to pay a bunch of money to a P.I. Why do you think I drive my rattle-trap of a car? If I wanted to make money at this racket I’d be working for the likes of Brent Miles. Those are the P.I.’s that get the dough.”

“The ones defending the bad guys?”

Galigani ran a hand through his hair. “No, the rich guys. Doesn’t matter if he’s guilty or not. And remember, we don’t know anything yet. Brent Miles could turn out to be the good guy.”

<><><>

To Do:

1. Order dust kit!

2. Figure out what happened to Perry.

3. Buy Paula a present for new baby.

4. Get back in shape!

I slept poorly that night. My nightmares were filled with strange images from the hospital and Melanie’s swollen face. I’d even dreamt about a lost kitten.

Poor Whiskers!

My stomach rumbled. I suddenly realized that if I was hungry, then Laurie must be famished. I slipped out of bed and walked down our short hall to the nursery that was doubling as our office.

Jim was holding Laurie while staring at his computer screen, engrossed in some graphics. Laurie had her tiny fists entangled in his hair, laughing as she pulled. Jim let out an exaggerated yelp every time she did it, which seemed to cause an even greater amount of glee for her.

“Good morning!” I said.

Jim swiveled in his chair. “Hi, honey.” He kissed me and passed Laurie to me. “Someone’s been missing you.”

“No. She seemed perfectly happy with you.”

Jim smiled. “Oh, you’re just flattering me.”

I yawned. “Thank you for letting me sleep in. I was exhausted.”

He nodded. “I know. You’re doing too much. You need to relax. I made you breakfast.”

I squinted at him, suddenly suspicious. “Wait. You’re letting me sleep in, you’re playing with Laurie and you cooked? Something’s up. Out with it.”

Jim put a hand over his heart. “I don’t know what you mean. I always make breakfast.”

I guffawed. “No, you don’t! And you never let me sleep in and you certainly don’t play with the baby.”

“Whatdaya mean?”

I leveled a stare at him.

“Okay, maybe I don’t make breakfast as often as you do, but I do sometimes. And I’ve played with the baby before. She’s just getting more aware of things, so it’s more fun now. Before she was like a blob of goo.”

I pressed Laurie to my chest. “A blob of goo!”

Jim laughed. “Well, you know, like a bowl of Jell-O.”

“That’s worse! You went from blob to Jell-O.”

“Oh, but a Jell-O-y blob of goo that I love,” Jim said.

I punched him the shoulder. “I know you’re after something, and sooner or later you’ll spill. But in the meantime, I’m going to scarf down my breakfast.” I walked to the kitchen with Laurie in tow and found some dry toast on a plate and the coffee pot drained to about an inch reserve. “This is it?”

“What?” Jim called from the office.

“Dry toast and coffee dregs? That’s what you call breakfast?”

There was no response from the office.

Conveniently silent!

I broke off a piece of the dry toast and gave it to Laurie to gum. She seemed delighted. How ungrateful was I? I should be happy like Laurie; dry toast was better then nothing.

I smeared butter and some jam on my piece, pondering poor Melanie. I didn’t really have much to go on.

I moved into the living room and put Laurie on her play mat. I propped her up with a Boppy pillow where she practiced her balance for sitting. She wobbled to the left and then the right, and finally pitched forward, still clutching her piece of dry toast. She squealed out at me in protest, like I was a complete betrayer.

“Calm down, bunny girl.” I repositioned her and she swayed only a bit, then steadied herself. “There you go.”

She cooed at me, then immediately lost interest in me in favor of the toast.

I picked up my cordless phone and dialed Galigani. He picked up on the third ring.

“You busy?” I asked.

“I’m on hold with the M.E. Let me call you back.”

I paced while I waited and finally decided to make a fresh pot of coffee. While I was waiting for the coffee to brew, the phone rang.

“What did you find out?”

“About what dear?” Mom asked.

“Oh. Mom. I’m waiting on a call. Let me call you back.”

“Oh no, honey, I only called to find out if you need anything from the mall.”

“No. Thanks.”

“Not even something for Laurie? The little dresses here are so cute. Only $15. Really, how can I pass them up? I’m getting one for Paula’s baby. We’re certain it’ll be a girl, right?”

“Yeah. Okay, grab one for Laurie if you think they’re cute.”

“What size? 3 to 6 months?”

Oh God! I didn’t have a newborn any more.

She was already in the next size up.

Laurie cried out and I saw that she was face down on her play mat and struggling to flip herself over, because the Boppy pillow had her tangled. Okay, maybe she wasn’t so big after all.

“Yes, 3 to 6 months,” I said flipping Laurie over.

My phone buzzed as another call beeped through. “I gotta go, Mom.”

I switched lines. Galigani was on the other end.

“What did you find out?”

“Nothing. I was on hold forever and finally they got on the line and told me they’re doing the autopsy today. So I’ll have to call again tomorrow.”

“What do you think they’ll find? I mean, probably a broken neck or death due to drowning or something—”

“Unless he was killed beforehand and the body was dumped into the bay,” Galigani said.

A chill ran down my spine.

“No!” I said. “That can’t be.”

“Why not? When was the last time he was seen?”

Oh God. I hadn’t even asked Jill that. What kind of investigator was I?

“Ummm—”

Galigani laughed. “Did you forget to ask?”

“No. Forget implies that I’d intended to ask. I never even thought to ask her.”

“Don’t worry about it, kid. We all start somewhere,” Galigani said. “I’ll keep on the M.E. Why don’t you talk to your friend again?”

“Okay.”

“Oh, and if you’re up for it, why don’t you take the hike? It’s a nice day today, weather’s clear. You never know what kind of inspiration will hit you.”

“You mean the Lands End hike?” A fluttering of nervous energy coursed through me. “Yes, we should definitely check out the scene of the crime.”

“Want do you mean we? That hike is all uphill and I’m a desk jockey now.”

“Oh, come on!” I nagged.

“Hell no,” Galigani said. “And don’t get caught up with calling it a crime yet. As far as we know it’s an accident.”

“Right.” I hung up with Galigani and walked down the hall to Jim’s office/Laurie’s nursery. “Can you Google Land’s End and find out if it’s a stroller-friendly hike?”

Jim raised an eyebrow at me. “Uh. If it is, are you thinking family hike?”

I smiled. “The weather is clear—”

“Honey, I’d love to but I’m up to my ears with sales calls and I have to prep for my meeting downtown. Can I take a rain check? How about I stay home with Laurie?”

I sighed. Galigani didn’t want to go with me, Mom was going shopping, Jim had work, Paula was at the popping point and it would be too tender for Jill. For some reason, I wanted a pair of extra eyes. There was no telling what I’d come across and it seemed logical to have someone with me. I thought of my seventeen-year old neighbor Kenny. I sent him a text while I nursed Laurie, then dressed for the hike.

Finally, I did a quick search online for some P.I. tools. I found a dust kit and a lock pick set and ordered both. After all, you never know when they could come in handy!

As I was heading out the door, I got a text back from Kenny.

G
OT A HOT DATE WITH MY BUTTER-EYE
.

I laughed despite myself. Kenny had recently started seeing a gal who worked at our local café who sported a tattoo of a butterfly. Hence, we’d nicknamed her butterfly. However, Paula’s little boy, Danny couldn’t pronounce butterfly and instead called her butter-eye.

I’d have to go it alone, but that was alright. I was ready for adventure. I packed extra water into a day pack for myself along with some protein bars and hopped into my car. The drive along the Great Highway was lovely. For once, there was no fog on the coast and Ocean Beach looked expansive and majestic. I pulled into the parking lot above the Cliff House.

An uneasy feeling crept into my chest as I noticed that Brent Miles’ restaurant,
Philosophie,
was directly across the street from the entrance to the Land’s End hike.

Surely that was a coincidence….

There were a few more pubs and diners down the street and, of course, the Cliff House was a San Francisco landmark. So, hey, I probably didn’t have to read anything sinister into
Philosophie’s
location, right?

I found the trailhead for Lands End and to my chagrin, the path was paved. I could have strolled Laurie after all—although bringing a four-month-old to the scene of a crime…or potential crime…probably wasn’t one of my brightest ideas.

As I ascended, the pavement ended and the trail turned steep and narrow.

Okay, so, a stroller definitely wouldn’t have been a good idea.