Person of Interest (A Celeste Eagan Mystery) (5 page)

“Murder?” I gaped at Muldoon. “I thought it was a suicide?” And he thought Colin did it. “You’re way off base. I promise you.” I tried to reason with Muldoon, but he wasn’t listening to me.

He grabbed Colin by the wrist and had him flipped around, face pressed against the wall before Colin could react. Naomi was not so subdued. She smacked Muldoon on the back of the head with her überexpensive coordinating handbag.

“Back off, Conan. Colin didn’t do anything.”

Muldoon slapped a pair of shiny silver cuffs—a feeling I wouldn’t want to repeat, let me tell you—on Colin and turned to grab Naomi, who was winding up to swing again. “Miss Michaels, I presume.” I nodded confirmation. “That’s assaulting an officer.” He snapped a matching pair of cuffs on Naomi, then whipped out his cell phone and called for assistance.

“Celeste? What in the hell is going on?” Colin frowned and toggled his gaze between me and Muldoon. He gave quick sneer, then scrunched up his face. “Shaw? Shaw Muldoon? Is this some kind of joke?”

Paige came running at the commotion. “You can’t arrest him.”

I grabbed my daughter and hugged her to me. The last thing she needed to see was her dad in handcuffs. “Colin, don’t say another word. I’ll call the lawyer and have him meet you at the station.”

Colin looked me square in the eye. “What did he mean by Chad Jones’s murder? He’s dead?”

I didn’t know how much I could, or should, say. I didn’t want to get Colin in trouble by my words. I looked at Muldoon for any kind of go-ahead. His skeptical frown came back, however, and slammed across his face. He was watching us both to see what we knew and what we told each other, either through body language or out-and-out words.

I really needed to lay off all the cop shows on TV as my mind raced with all the thugs incriminating themselves with one little word or two.

“Do not speak, Colin.” I bent and whispered reassurance in Paige’s ear and asked her to run back to her room. Thankfully she minded with no argument.

Once Paige rounded the corner, I turned to the other woman in the room. “Naomi, calm down.”

She’d fallen into a heap on my foyer floor and was blubbering loudly. Mascara streaked down her pale cheeks.

“Naomi, who’s your lawyer? I’ll call for you, too.”

“Same as Coll’s.”

Coll?
Between that and seeing my ex arrested in my home, it was a wonder I didn’t whack her upside the head. But then Muldoon would have to arrest me too and I didn’t want a repeat of that.

Naomi’s caterwauling drowned out any conversation as the red-and-blue lights lit up the foyer.

“Where are you taking him?” Outside I tried to keep pace beside Muldoon as he dragged Colin down the sidewalk to the awaiting officers. “Same station you hauled me off to yesterday?” I didn’t even try to hide the bitterness in my voice.

“Yes.”

“You were arrested?” Colin paused as they were shoving him into the back of a black-and-white squad car. “What did you get us into?”

* * *

“What did
I
do? I didn’t do jack, you odious jerk.”

“Shh.” Coz—Colin’s lawyer, Peter Cosgrove, who also happened to be his cousin—waved a long, bony finger at me. While he and Colin shared the same blond hair, slate-gray eyes and a height right at six feet tall, that was all they had in common. Colin was tight and firm, Coz was lanky and gangly. Colin was boisterous and self-confident. Coz—while a force to be reckoned with in a courtroom—was quiet and reserved. He was a good guy and remained friendly with me since the divorce, unlike several other members of his family.

Yet again I’d had to call Levi to come over and watch Paige. It was bad enough for her to see her dad get cuffed and shoved into the back of a squad car, but to see him locked up like any old criminal...her young psyche—regardless of her IQ level—shouldn’t have to bear that image.

We’d had to wait almost two hours for Coz to arrive at the station, during which time the rest of us sat impatiently—well, okay, I sat impatiently—and waited. The detective did whatever detective work he did when he wasn’t locking away members of the Eagan family.

Muldoon, Coz and I, as well as two uniformed officers, were all crowded in the small front office of the Peytonville police station. I will say I rather enjoyed not being in the back in one of the small cages. Still, being in the vicinity of the cages made my knees wobble a wee bit with claustrophobia.

“My client has an ironclad alibi.” Coz gripped the edge of the counter.

“Both clients,” I whispered.

“Pardon?” Coz’s blond eyebrow tilted upward.

“Naomi said you’re her lawyer, too.”

When he rolled his eyes, I hid my smile—not the time or the place.

“Yes,
both
my clients have an alibi.”

“I haven’t given you a timeframe, yet, Counselor.” Muldoon’s nostrils flared as he took a deep breath and exhaled.

Coz sighed. “Fine. When did this crime allegedly take place?”

Muldoon regarded the tall wiry man for a long moment. Whatever kindness or gentility he’d had at my home, even if briefly, was replaced with an edge that sent a chill down my spine. I hoped never to be on the other end of that stare. It was unnerving at the very least. And totally sexy at the worst possible time. I’m sure I’d melt into a puddle if he turned it on me. He finally said, “Somewhere between late Tuesday evening into early Wednesday morning.”

That was the first detail I’d really gotten on Chad’s death other than the fact that he was indeed dead.

Coz nodded in his lawyerly manner and pulled out several sheets of paper from the dilapidated leather pouch that hung from his shoulder. He shoved them across the counter at Muldoon.

“What am I looking at here?”

“Ms. Michaels’s ticket for parking illegally. The receipt from the towing company. In Little Rock.”

“Arkansas?” I grabbed Coz’s sleeve. “He went to Arkansas Tuesday night?”

Muldoon frowned. “You said he was at your house.”

Oh, no, no, no, he was not going pull me back into this. “He was. He left at eight.”

Coz nodded. “He was at Mrs. Eagan’s. An hour or so after his return home, Ms. Michaels received a call that her mother had suffered a heart attack and had been rushed to the hospital. In Little Rock, Arkansas. They left immediately.”

“And didn’t tell anyone where they were going?” Muldoon asked Coz but kept me pinned with his eyes—with
the look
—dammit.

“Quite the contrary. They notified their boss, the late Chad Jones, of their immediate plans and the need for substitutes for their teaching duties for at least one day. Possibly two.”

“Convenient.”

“Not for Ms. Michaels’s mother.” Coz tsked. “She is in stable condition now by the way, not that you asked.”

Muldoon’s cheeks reddened. For real, the man blushed. He tossed the papers back onto the counter. “This proves
she
was in Arkansas. There’s nothing here showing me that Colin, Mr. Eagan, was out of the state at the time of the murder.”

Murder
. I was still having a hard time wrapping my brain around that.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Coz adjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder. “I can get affidavits from the hospital staff.”

Muldoon flattened his hands on the countertop. “You do that.”

“And Ms. Michaels?” Coz scooped up the papers and shuffled them. “When will she be released?”

“She assaulted a police officer.” Muldoon’s clear blue eyes slammed to near slits.

“She didn’t realize you
were
a police officer.” I couldn’t believe I’d just defended her. Again. “She sees you manhandling Colin after coming home from her mom being in the hospital... C’mon, Detective. You let me go.”

Coz swung his gaze over to me. So many questions hung in his eyes. I gave him a little headshake that said, “Later.”

Muldoon eyed me for a long moment then walked through a door that led to the holding cells. A moment later he returned with Naomi in tow. The bedraggled woman launched herself at poor Coz. “Thank you, thank you for getting me out of there.”

“Wasn’t me.” He pushed her to arm’s length and darted his gaze to me.

“You.” She slammed her hands on her hips. “First you get me thrown in there, then you expect me to thank you for getting me out.”

I scoffed as if I’d swallowed a bug—I would much prefer swallowing a bug than being near her. I settled my hand on Coz’s arm. “Please let me know if there is anything else I can do.”

“You call me, if need be.” Coz glanced in Muldoon’s direction. “For absolutely anything.”

“Don’t help her. She got us into this mess. I’ll bet she told the detective Coll’s name, address and all of our information. She probably pointed him at us.”

“Okay then.” I nodded and turned to go while Coz lectured Naomi on the significance of keeping her mouth shut standing in a police station lobby.

“Hang on, Mrs. Eagan. I’ll walk you out.” Detective Muldoon rounded the counter and was at my side before I could even protest. Neither of us spoke as we headed across the small lot and to my car.

Morning had rolled in and was pushing into a warm, sunny day while the drama in my life quadrupled. It was almost insulting how the day kept to its schedule when I didn’t know what was next in line for me.

I jingled the keys in my hand as we stopped at the driver’s side door. “I know Coz would have my hide for saying this, but I hope you know I didn’t have anything to do with Chad’s murder. I know you can’t just take my word for it. What Naomi said...” I shook my head. I was on a ramble and couldn’t stop. “That’s just mean-spiritedness talking. She’s a harpy. She’s never liked me, feels threatened by what Colin and I had—not that I would ever repeat that again. Once was enough, trust me on that. She can’t seem to understand that. So she makes these little snipes an art form. And I don’t know why I won’t shut up. Did you want something, Detective? Is that why you walked me to my car?”

I pressed my lips together tight—not one more syllable would leak out. The detective stood so close I had to crane my neck back to look up at him. A smile split his face. I almost did a double take. The man had teeth after all. I wasn’t sure. The few times his lips hinted at a skyward tilt had been brief and close-lipped.

The smile fell away and he stepped back. His body morphed into his police stance—shoulders squared, chin up, feet shoulder width apart, hands loose on his hips. I always assumed they stood like that to have quick access to their weapons and be ready to take off running, but I truly had no desire to find out for sure. “I had a couple of my men check with the administrative assistant and the gardener. Both deny being up at the school last night.”

Chapter Five

“That’s not possible.” Levi gawked at me over the top of his coffee mug. We sat at my kitchen table, our usual contemplation spot, be it on world issues—as if—or whatever grievance one of us has suffered.

“That’s what I said.” I ran my finger over the brownie in front of me. Even chocolate held little appeal. “I offered to let him come back to the house and search for anything that might be missing from school.” Not that Muldoon’d let on what was taken. I suspected he wanted me to produce a different alibi. Not that he’d said so, but it was the look of something akin to disappointment on his face when I didn’t. As if he were offering me a chance to redeem myself.

Levi waved his hand at me. “And?”

“He didn’t say much of anything, just glared at me then walked off.”

Levi nodded. “Probably figures you’ve already hidden it.”

“Levi! I didn’t take
it
. I don’t know what
it
is.” I lost my appetite and shoved my brownie over to my friend. He ate the entire thing in one bite. “Whose side are you on?”

He wiped crumbs from his mouth. “I’m on your side, sweets, always. I’m just saying, think like him for a minute.” He snagged my hand. “Did he or did he not show up on your doorstep first thing this morning. Stuff like that is meant to rattle a suspect.”

I jerked my hand away. “Now you’re calling me a
suspect
?”

“Listen and focus.” He tilted his head down like a parent talking to a child. “The man is doing his job. We both know you didn’t do anything, but he doesn’t. He has to look at everyone involved. As far as they know, you killed the man, then maneuvered the situation to look like you found him.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but Levi held up a finger.

“If it were anyone else—if it was Naomi—you’d wonder if they had anything to do with it. Right?”

I slumped my shoulders. “Fine, yes. Whatever.”

“And to make it worse, you’re the only one at the school last night who logged in with your keycard. Because, because—” he repeated when I tried to interrupt “—because you’re actually an honest, law-abiding citizen. And
we
know it wouldn’t occur to you otherwise. He doesn’t know you.”

I got up and paced behind my chair. “But how is he going to get to the bottom of anything if the other folks are lying to him?”

Levi shrugged. “He will figure it out.
Let him do his job
.”

“And in the meantime live under suspicion?” I laughed. “If only I could help him along somehow.” I grabbed a rag and wiped down the table. “And exactly how am I supposed to do that?” I asked more to myself than to Levi. “If they would just tell the truth.” I balled up the rag in my fist. “Yeah, if neither of them had qualms lying to Detective Muldoon, do you honestly think they’re going to talk to
moi
—the person they lied about?”

Levi rubbed his temples. “You’re not making much sense right now. Maybe you need a nap. Or a shot of vodka.” He let out a long-suffering sigh. “They may never tell the truth.”

“To me. Or the detective. But maybe I can get them to open up. To someone else.”

He stood and snagged the rag from my hand to finish wiping down the table. “And who might that be?”

“Me.”

“You said—”

“Me. But not me. I’ll go in disguise.”

“Excuse me?”

“What do I do for a living?”

“You’re a teacher.”

“
Theater
teacher. Duh.”

“Maybe you need a straitjacket.” He tossed the rag in the sink. “You’re crazy if you think you can waltz right up to someone—in disguise—and get them to tell you something.”

“I think it will work. What have I got to lose?”

He rounded the table and stopped right in front of me. “I’d say your sanity but it seems to already be gone.”

Why was it insane? I had the playhouse at my disposal which was filled with costumes and makeup. And they wouldn’t be expecting it. It could work. But what to wear?

“Hello.” Levi snapped in my face. “Where’d you go just now?”

I shook myself. “Trying to figure out what would be the best disguise to use on Kelsey.”

“I can see this will happen with or without me.” Levi slowly nodded. “Someone has to watch over you, so how are we going to do this?”

“We?” I raised an eyebrow. Levi was a lot of things, but his ability when it came to acting was as good as my willpower and java. As a supportive BFF he was, however, perfection.

His smile fell. “You, I meant you.”

I could have dragged it out, made him sweat a little. But as I needed him to babysit Paige while I was sneaking around all dolled up, I broke. “
We
will need to get
me
all made up.”

His smile returned and he all but vibrated with energy. “And how do we do that?” I had him hooked.

I waggled my eyebrows at him. “Paige, honey?”

“Yes?” my daughter called from somewhere in the house.

“You want to go for a ride up to the playhouse for a bit?”

* * *

“Knock, knock.” I peeked into Annabelle’s office. Levi and Paige were looking around the stage. Knowing my daughter, she was standing in the wings pretending to direct. She liked to be in charge. Who knows where she got that from? “Anyone here?”

A thump and muffled “Hang on” came from the closet on the far side. A moment later, Annabelle emerged, her arms loaded down with fabric. “Celeste, honey, hi. How are you?” A huge smile slashed across her face.

Annabelle was a tall woman, close to six feet with no shoes on. She had the most gorgeous jet-black hair that she usually kept in a shoulder-length bob. And a figure to die for. One could easily hate her when they caught a glimpse of her seafoam-green eyes and long, long lashes, but the moment you spoke with her, you couldn’t help but fall a little in love with all her Southern charm. Not that I’d admit it aloud, but I did have a weensy bit of a girl-crush on her. She was a sweetheart through and through.

“What’re you doing here in the middle of the week?” She shifted the large bundle in her arms.

“Let me help you with that.” I hustled over to her side and removed the top few layers.

“Thanks. These are going to the costume shop.” She motioned her head for me to follow. “Have you made a decision?”

“Actually, I have. If you still want me, I’d love to have the job.”

Annabelle smiled over her shoulder at me. “That’s wonderful.”

We stowed the material in the appropriate cupboards. As soon as our arms were free, Annabelle scooped me up in a huge bear hug. “I am so excited to get you full-time.”

The warm fuzzies rushed through me. It would help to combat any of the fear and trepidation that would come with leaving a career-long job.

“Are you excited?” she asked when she finally released me.

I smiled up at her. “Absolutely.”

“I only ask ’cause your eye is twitching and you’re only smiling with half your mouth.” She gave me a playful wink.

“It’s a little scary.” I ignored the shivers at the base of my spine. “But scary in a good way.”

Annabelle smiled. “You’ll love it, I promise.” She’d told me how she’d quit her job ten years earlier. She was a CPA for a large internet company. She hadn’t once regretted her decision. If she could leave such a lucrative job... “Is your ex okay with watching the little one until your contract at the school is up?”

“Not a problem.” Or at least I hoped it wouldn’t be once I told him.

She shut the door to the costume shop. “I have some paperwork you need to fill out. You up to doing it now?”

“I have Paige and a friend with me.” Just about then we heard a rash of giggles coming from the stage door at the end of the hall.

“Bring them on back to my office.” Annabelle headed to the opposite end from the stage door. “I’ll show them some of the new prop jewelry that was donated recently.”

Half an hour later, I had a cramp in my hand, but I was “officially” a full-time employee of the playhouse. Paige, Levi and I toured all the different departments and wound up in the makeup room.

Annabelle was putting away one of the kits with the extra hair pieces when Levi nudged my arm. “That would be fabulous for a disguise,” he whispered in my ear. “Ever gone out in drag?”

* * *

“Sit still.” Levi rolled his eyes and smooshed a mustache against my lip.

I’d given Annabelle a brief—and extremely edited—version of what had happened at school and why I’d like to “borrow” some of the playhouse’s wares. I wasn’t sure if I should be worried she’d agreed so readily and didn’t ask any further questions.

Levi tapped the tip of my nose. “Say something.”

I swatted his hand away. “If you don’t stop bossing me around...”

“I meant in character.” He tsked and moved away. Worried I might smack him again?

I cleared my throat, took a deep breath and lowered my voice. “You best be getting off of me, boy. I don’t take too kindly to being manhandled.” I’d thrown in a Midwestern accent for full effect.

Levi blinked at me several times. “If it weren’t for your eyes, I’d swear one of my mother’s bridge partners came over for a visit.”

“What’s wrong with my eyes?” I scooped up the hand mirror. It was a little disconcerting to see someone who resembled my grandfather looking back.

“Nothing’s wrong. I just know you too well.”

I bit my lip then smacked my lips when I got some of the pancake makeup in my mouth. “If Kelsey recognizes me...” We’d decided I’d go see her first. I knew where she spent her free time—everyone in the entire school knew where she was when she wasn’t working—at Grind Effects. She made my coffee addiction look cute and manageable in comparison.

“She won’t recognize you. I promise.”

“Uncle Levi.” Paige came running into the kitchen. “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t know we had company.”

Yikes. I turned my back on my daughter. I didn’t want to confuse her in the getup. “I’ll be going now.” I reached for my purse on the back of the chair when Levi cleared his throat. I glanced up at him and he was behind Paige, shaking his head.

“Here. Why don’t you use my car?” He tossed me the keys to his Lexus. Kelsey would know my—well, “Celeste’s”—car. Still, I didn’t want to drive around in a pink—even though he said it was some weird champagne color—Lexus.

“Okeydoke. Bye.”

“Bye,
Celeste
.”

I stuttered my step and turned slowly back to my bright daughter. “How did you know?”

She rolled her eyes. “Your walk, for one. Your smell—you always wear the Lacoste perfume. And your eyes. I’m ten, not blind.” She shoved a hand on her hip and arched an eyebrow in a move that mimicked me to a haughty T. “Is Uncle Levi going to have to bail you outta jail?”

“I, uh...” Not a question I’d have ever expected to hear coming from my child. Worse, yet, it wasn’t an unreasonable question. And despite my “No. Of course not,” I wasn’t sure if that was true.

* * *

In the parking lot of Grind Effects, I sat in the car and bolstered my nerve. “Think of this as an acting job. Nothing more. Nothing less. You can do this.”

When I got out of the car and walked up to the building I was mindful of what Paige said. I altered my gait to match that of a much older
man
. Not that I’d ever played across gender before, but there was always a first time.

In late afternoon, Grind Effects wasn’t too terribly crowded so I spotted Kelsey right away. I walked near her once, then on the second pass, I bumped her arm and made her drop her coffee. “I’m so clumsy. I do apologize.” We both grabbed for some napkins and bent to wipe up the mocha-latte stain on the marbled linoleum.

When she looked up at me, and into my eyes, I held my breath as I waited for her to point to me and call me out. Instead, she smiled and said, “No problem.”

“Please let me buy you another.”

Kelsey dabbed at the spilled coffee on the floor. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I insist.” We both stood as the young barista came over with a mop. “Can you get my friend another white chocolate latte?” The coffee scents surrounding me made my system quake for caffeine, but I was afraid the heat would make my mustache fall off. “And a bottle of water for me.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kelsey looked at me oddly. Was I busted so fast? “How’d you know that was what I was drinking?”

Because you always drink it
, I started to stay. But not wanting to sound like a weird stalker, I fumbled with, “I, uh.” I sniffed. “It has a distinctive aroma.”

“Wow, you really know your coffee.”

“Eh.” I did that typical male shrug and tucked my hands down in my trouser pockets. I had several outfits way in the back of my closet that ran on the masculine side. Thankfully, I never throw anything out. With a man’s wig—I didn’t even bother to ask Levi where he’d gotten it—and some body parts strategically placed or significantly flattened, I was getting the hang of being a dude.

I dropped a couple of bills on the counter. “Keep the change for the mess I made.” Then I turned to Kelsey for a quick, “Enjoy your coffee,” before I feigned interest in the rack of CDs for sale.

“Would you like to join me?” Kelsey sat at a scarred wooden table, coffee in hand. “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

A
name
? I hadn’t thought of a name. “Levi.” She’d met my friend once or twice when he’d been my “date” to a couple of the school functions over the years. Let’s hope the name didn’t jump out and—

“So, Levi, do you come here often?”

Did people
really
use that tired old line? “I’ve been here a time or two.” I quickly racked my brain to turn this in the direction I needed. I had to find out why she lied about where she was last night. Taking a chance, I said, “I was here last night.” I sat in the chair across the table.

Kelsey’s smile fell away. “Oh, hmm. I’m usually here every night. But I missed last night.”

“That’s too bad. We might have run into one another.”

A shadow crossed over us. I started to dismiss it until Kelsey’s cheeks paled and she started fidgeting in her seat. What the hell was that all about?

“Ms. Pierce?”

Muldoon. My heart stutter-stepped. He glanced at me for a moment, did a double take, frowned, then looked back at Kelsey.