Organized for Homicide (Organized Mysteries Book 2) (18 page)

"
Upstairs." She nodded. "We decided to divide and conquer at the beginning, then we can tag team the larger chores, like the furniture."

"
How do you do that without huge boxes?" he asked.

She pulled a large bolt of plastic wrap from where it leaned against the pantry door.
"We wrap everything in this. It's like food wrap but wider, and the roll is bigger, of course. All the cushions, pillows, everything that goes with a piece of furniture is wrapped like a mummy with the plastic. It's usually enough for wooden items like headboards and chests, too. And it's great for holding doors and drawers closed. We'll use enough so you won't have to worry about the wood getting a lot of dings."

"
I'm not worried." He walked over to one of the custom bookcases and ran a hand along a shelf. "I probably would donate the furniture, too, but I think having it when we arrive will help the kids get settled in. Familiar stuff, you know?"

"
I think it's a great idea." She motioned toward the box on the countertop, one she assembled using red tape. "This will hold all the things I think you might need the first night for the kitchen. I've put most of the pots and pans outside, but I'm adding a small pan and the electric skillet to this box, as well as a few bowls and glasses and some silverware. The kids might want cereal or grilled cheese sandwiches, something easy, when you first get there."

He nodded.
"Good idea."

"
And don't worry about the utilities. Someone has to be onsite for the water to be turned on, but I've scheduled everything with the California Realtor. She'll be there, so you won't have to do any camping out the first night."

"
Great."

Kate didn
't bother going into the full detail of all the places she'd notified of the Colliers' change of address. She'd add that info to the Master List binder she was preparing to hand off the day of the move. Collier would have all the names and numbers he might need, but hopefully everything would already be changed and transferred, and there wouldn't be a single hitch. There was one more detail, however, she did need to talk with him regarding.

"
About Sydney's workroom—"

He held up a hand to stop her.
"The police took away everything they wanted to test. And Sydney will be by here either this evening or tomorrow to pack the rest."

The relief made Kate feel slightly weak.
"Oh, good, they let her go."

"
No, they let her out on a million dollars bail." Collier's face darkened. "Thank goodness I could get a good attorney up here quickly. They talked about an ankle bracelet, but by the time all the arguments were tossed around, the judge decided it wasn't necessary. They said Lila's body would be released tomorrow, so now we can at least plan a quiet family service and have the whole family in attendance."

"
I can't believe the police still think she did it."

"
They don't." Collier fisted his right hand and gave the countertop a good thump. "They're using my daughter to try to smoke out the real killer. I have no doubt. I'm also pretty certain they think the killer is me."

Kate wanted to ask if he had a motive, but she couldn
't get the words out. Instead, she tried a less aggressive stance, "Why would they think that?"

"
It's always the spouse first, isn't it? Or in this case, the ex-spouse. And the fact I didn't come home with Dustin and Dara. The police don't have any evidence to pin it on me, but they've looked into every second of my time from when I left the restaurant until I arrived outside just after the murder. They think they're calling my bluff and that I'll cave if they put pressure on Sydney. I wish they'd stop messing around and look for the real killer."

"
They probably are." At least Kate hoped her statement was true. "Maybe they're trying to get the killer to feel like he or she has gotten away with it, so a mistake will be made."

He raised a cynical brow but didn
't say anything. Kate wished she'd kept her mouth shut.

"
Anyway," he said. "I came by to tell you to pack Sydney's belongings with everything else. I'm going to function under the premise she'll be heading west with the rest of us. Then she can fly to Boston later when her summer program begins."

"
Okay. I'll let the movers know, too, in case they need to step things up to a bigger truck, and I'll let you know if the pricing changes. I've already canceled the second service we'd scheduled to move her to Lila's, anyway, so there's a credit from that cost."

Collier shook his head, as if the details were more than he wanted to even consider at the moment.
"I'll go now, but let me know if you need anything."

The only thing Kate needed was the answer to a question she
'd been worrying over for days now. There was no way to ask without sounding nosy, so she figured spitting it out was the best method. "Lila came by here the day of the murder and said something about talking with you and Sydney later in the evening. Is that why she was here? She just let herself in?"

His gaze moved up toward the second floor.
"Lila always loved the view from the balcony in the evening. I actually think it's the only part of the house she didn't grow to despise. I'm not surprised she arrived early so she could stay out there alone before we got home."

"
You were going to talk?"

One fist balled, the other hand rubbing the back of his neck, Collier said,
"We were going to tell Sydney she wasn't moving in with Lila. There had been a bomb threat in her office, and a section of her apartment building caught fire the night before. Both things were kept quiet. The environmental organization didn't want the publicity, and the apartment complex owner felt it was just an electrical problem. But those things, along with the nasty epitaph scratched into her car door, were enough to sway Lila over to how I'd been thinking all along. We just needed to convince Sydney it was for the best. I'd started breaking the news that morning, and she had a major fit before taking off for school." He scrubbed his face with his hands, then used the last of his pent up energy to run fingers through his damp hair. His frustration was palpable. "I wasn't looking forward to the discussion, and neither was Lila. I'd called her the minute I got to work."

"
I hope you didn't mention this to the police," Kate said.

"
No. But why?"

"
If Lila was coming around to your side, the police could see the decision as a motive for Sydney to kill her mother."

"
I…but…it doesn't make sense." Collier shook his head. "If she killed Lila, doing so would guaranteed she'd be headed for California to finish high school. Exactly what she didn't want. Like she is now."

Kate shrugged.
"The police will simply see this as a teenage girl angry at a mother for changing her mind. It's not logical, but it's a human response for a teenager. Retribution. And the prosecution can find all kinds of expert witnesses to back up the supposition."

He blew out a long breath and suddenly looked ten years older.
"Thank you. I hadn't thought." He sighed. "I'll tell Sydney to keep quiet."

"
You might want to mention it to her lawyer as well. He needs to be prepared in case the police get the idea from some other avenue."

"
Like a student at the high school?"

Kate nodded, thinking immediately of Nikki Parker.
"You said Sydney left the house angry. Even if she didn't say anything at school, someone could do a little guess work and—"

"
Screw over my daughter." He ran his hands through his hair again. Kate hoped he could get his agitation level down before he came into contact with anyone else. He stepped closer. "You won't say anything. Right?"

"
I can't lie if the police ask me a direct question," she said, "but there's no way I'll volunteer the information."

He pinched the bridge of his nose, other hand on his hip, and gazed at the floor.
"That's the best we can hope for," Collier finally said, then looked at Kate. "Thank you. I appreciate you talking to me about this." He spun on his heel and left via the front door.

Wonder where he
's headed? Glad I didn't ask that, too.

Now, of course, she was left to figure out what to do about Meg, and right on cue, her friend poked her head around the upstairs banister.
"Were you talking to someone?"

"
It was Collier stopping by to get the latest update." The kettle was the one kitchen item not packed or not yet destined for the donation pickup pile. Kate grabbed the handle and filled it from the tap before returning it to the cooktop. She needed something calming to figure this out, and tea seemed her best bet. "Come on down and take a break."

Kate knew what she promised Collier, but Meg factored into all of this with her, and her first thought was the oath only extended to the police and the press. They had been talking about the police, so it made sense that
's what Collier would have assumed she meant. Not keeping Meg in the dark. Yet, telling her friend the confirming facts the pair already thought likely, the assumption the parents had now planned to send all the children west for the next school year, also meant Kate risked telling the press if Meg told Gil. Could she expect Meg to keep this from Gil? Could she—or should she ask? She didn't even know for sure she could keep the info from Keith in similar circumstances. Would she tell, then ask him not to tell any radio news people at his station?

Jeez. May as well wade into the deep end and get it over with.
"If Gil learns something that may be detrimental to Sydney's case, would he have to print it?"

"
Not if he ever wants sex again." Meg walked from the entry to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of flavored water. "Why? What did Collier tell you?"

The flame
from the gas burner was beginning to make the area too warm.
Or it could be my conscience.
Regardless, she couldn't keep this to herself. Kate leaned backward against the countertop, propped on her elbows so she could face Meg as she related the confirming information.

"
Well, at least we know for sure." Meg took another sip then stared at a space overhead. "You know, I've talked to people about Sydney, and I've seen her around town for the past few years. She's always comes across as a great kid. I can't believe the police would think otherwise, but I can understand Collier's concern."

"
Unless he's right, and Lieutenant Johnson is focusing on Sydney to smoke out the real killer."

The kettle took that moment to begin a congested whistle. Kate moved it from the burner, then added tea bags to her travel mug.
"Want one?"

Meg waggled her bottled water.
"Getting kind of warm for hot tea."

"
No. It's not." Kate knew her answer was pure wuss, but between Collier's conversation and her obviously thin blood, she didn't care. The tea's added scent of mingled citrus and spice filled the kitchen in an instant. She could feel her pulse slowing, and the aroma helped pull things out of the norm for a moment so she could think. "Do you know what the real problem is?"

"
With the lists you spin constantly, I have no doubt you'll be able to tell me," Meg replied, raising an eyebrow as she grinned.

Kate returned the smile.
"We need to find the missing link. There's something we don't know. Something someone is holding back."

"
So what are you thinking? Do we need to pull out the list, make some more notes?"

"
Maybe. But this isn't really a to-do list kind of thing. I'm thinking more thought process, more what-if. Almost like a word puzzle where we need to find the right term and fill in the correctly numbered boxes. But it's no game. This is murder. But why?"

It was surprising how calm Kate felt saying those words. Panic was not a foreign feeling, and she readily expected it. Instead, this felt…well, maybe not okay, but manageable. She rolled the rubber band around on her wrist but didn
't feel the overwhelming urge to snap it for distraction. She felt cautious, sure—she would be crazy not to. However, she felt…thought…she was at least in some small way comfortable with the idea of moving forward. Nothing that happened and no information that had come out made her change her mind about Sydney's innocence. They simply needed to ramp up their awareness somehow and find the missing link. There had to be one. Or maybe even more.

"
Someone wanted to get rid of Lila," Meg said. "My money is still on Erin. With one murder her twisted little mind could see the possibility of getting back at Blaine Collier for dumping her and making sure her daughter doesn't have Sydney around in high school to outshine Nikki."

Kate shook her head.
"Maybe the second part, but not the first. Killing Lila would only get back at Collier if Erin could somehow pin the death on him."