Traci Tyne Hilton - Mitzi Neuhaus 03 - Buyer's Remorse (6 page)

While Mitzy waited in her office for Joan to return from the coffee hut she pulled out the big, clunky white pages. She thumbed through until she came to the M’s. Alice McNinch was listed. She tore the page out of the book and went outside to meet Joan.

Her keys jangled against her office door handle as she locked up her shop. The key stuck a little and it took some effort to pull it out. The copy she had had made to replace her missing keys didn’t work with ease, but the new locks were coming in the evening, which was a huge relief. A dark shadow crossed the door as she yanked the key out and turned around. “What did you buy me?” she asked with a smile.

Joan wasn’t there.

Mitzy put her hand up to give her eyes some shade and looked down the sidewalk. Tabby’s door was swinging shut. Just a customer passing, Mitzy thought. But there weren’t any new cars in the parking lot since she had last looked. Mitzy walked the few feet over to Tabby’s shop and popped her head in.

“Hey there!”

“Oh, hey Mitzy.
How are you doing today?” Tabby greeted Mitzy with a sympathetic smile.

“I’m doing well. Did someone just come in here?”

“Some guy popped his head in for a second, but he didn’t come all the way in. Must not be the artsy type.”

“Weird,” Mitzy said under her breath. Something tapped her shoulder, and she jumped.

“Here’s your coffee,” Joan said. “Let’s go.”

Mitzy had not been able to convince Joan that real art was made in Tabby’s paint your own ceramics shop. But now seemed like a good chance. She decided to forget about the mysterious shadow and went all the way in to the shop.

“Come in, Joan. You really have to see Hannah’s stuff.”

Joan dragged her feet a little but made it all the way in.

“Tabby, this is Joan, our stager. I wanted her to see Hannah’s work.
As much of it as you have.
She is always looking for beautiful things for homes.”

Tabby stepped forward and smiled. “Sure. I love showing off my kid’s work.” She motioned to the shelf that held another
Mt.
Hood
scene platter.

Joan walked to the shelves and peered at the platter. “This is really beautiful. It’s like the one in your office, Mitzy, but different. They’re all one
of a kind pieces
, aren’t they?”

Tabby smiled proudly.
“Of course.
She makes a number of these every time she comes down from school.”

“I’d love to see what she does with dinnerware. Has she done plates and things?”

“She has done a few sets. I have her card if you are interested.”

Joan stretched out her hand but didn’t look away from the work on the shelves. “Yeah, this is really great.
Not at all what I expected.
I owe you an apology.”

“Don’t worry. I run the shop for hobbyists and parties, but we do get artists in who just want to play. Even I’m surprised at how beautiful the work that comes out of my kiln can be.”

“Mitzy, I want to buy this platter. I want it right now and I don’t want to carry it all over town.” She dug in her huge bag and pulled out a card. “I don’t care how much; it’s a lovely piece.”

Tabby took the card. Mitzy checked her watch. “Okay, get it, run upstairs, and then come right back.”

Joan snatched up her new platter as soon as it was wrapped in paper and toted it back to her office.

Mitzy turned to Tabby but she had taken a call. Mitzy drummed her fingers on the shelf in front of her for a moment and then moved on to the next shelf of pottery. She inched her way to the door, hoping Joan would come back. Mitzy leaned her forehead against the glass door and watched the street.

Traffic was heavy; it looked to be a busy delivery day in the Eastside Industrial neighborhood. Three semis stopped as the light at the nearest intersection changed. Each truck turned cautiously to the right, heading in the direction of the freeway. Two men were standing on the sidewalk, looking across the street. Mitzy squinted to see them better. One was tall, and skinny, wearing a cap. The other was built like Alonzo, and wore a trench coat.

She looked down at her watch. Three minutes had passed since Joan left with her platter. Were those men waiting for a bus? She couldn’t remember if there was a stop there or not. She looked up again to see if there was a bus stop sign, but the men were gone. There wasn’t a bus stop sign. Mitzy shivered. She didn’t like strange men standing around and staring in her direction. As innocent as they probably were, she preferred people to just keep moving. She tapped her boot on the linoleum floor and glanced back at Tabby. Tabby was still on the phone.

The door swung open, and Joan grabbed Mitzy by the arm, “Let’s get out of here before I drop more of my artistic sensibilities.”

Mitzy groaned, “Hang on, I should say goodbye to Tabby.”

Joan led Mitzy by the arm to the Miata, “Did you see that delicious man cross the street a minute ago?” she asked, ignoring Mitzy’s pleas to stop back in the shop.

“The tall one?”
Mitzy guessed.

“Yes, his friend wasn’t my type at all.
Yumm
-o.
You’ll have to get Alonzo to introduce me,” she said.

“Alonzo knows them?”

“They went into his office.”

“What do you mean? I saw them across the street, but they sort of disappeared in a blink.”

“They crossed the street, dingy. How hard is that? I watched them from my office window. I love that window.”

“Those two guys are up in Alonzo’s office? But he’s not there today. He’s at the site.”

“His secretary is in. I’m sure she’ll take a message. What’s wrong?” Joan was looking at Mitzy with her head tilted, like a curious dog.

Mitzy was breathing a little shallower but tried to pull herself together. She opened the Miata and got in, shutting the door quickly. She hit the lock button and stared at the front door of her office building. A rapping at the window made her jump.

Joan stood at the door and waved her hands mouthing, “Hello, unlock!”

“Sorry,” Mitzy mumbled and unlocked the door. As soon as Joan was in the car she locked the door again. “I don’t trust those guys. They just stood there staring and now they are upstairs in Alonzo’s office. What if they are connected to the murder? Should I call the police?”

“You’re paranoid.”

“You didn’t see them staring at me.”

“Actually, I did see them. They were looking at the traffic, and then they crossed the street.”

“Can you be sure?” Mitzy asked.

“If they were staring at you why didn’t they come into the pottery shop, hmm?”

“Let’s just see how long it takes them to come downstairs.”

“I’d rather not,” Joan protested. She shrugged out of her chunky knit sweater and wriggled it out from behind her. She draped the sweater over her knee and pulled her new satchel up from the floor. Mitzy watched her, entranced. Joan opened the satchel and pulled out a small cylinder. She slid it open.

“Lipstick, Mitzy.
Seriously.”
Joan pulled the cap off and applied the velvety red color. “You need to relax. What did you think I was going to get out?
A pen gun?”

Mitzy shook her head and laughed. “I don’t know,” she said.
“Maybe.
I am a bit stressed out. I see killers in all of the shadows right now.”

“Then I think we do need to go find
Alice
. This murder was not about you and the sooner you believe that the better off you will be.”

Mitzy thought about her phone message. Was she wrong? No, she was not wrong. But she decided not to tell Joan yet. She wanted more evidence first.

They drove straight to Alice McNinch’s home address on the first try. It was a very plain split-level ranch, painted a faded sky blue. Mitzy sidled her car next to the curb and turned off the engine. She turned to Joan, smiled, and let a small laugh escape. It led to another laugh. Her shoulders shook, she laughed so hard. When she started snorting Joan put a hand on her shoulder.

“We don’t have to ring the door bell,” she said.

“Well, no,” Mitzy said, gulping for air, “We don’t.” She looked at the house again and tried not to laugh. She sold that house to
Alice
eight years ago. That’s why the name had felt familiar; she knew
Alice
.
Alice
was a crazy young thing with a sewing machine and an inheritance. Mitzy stifled one more giggle and stretched her arms out, gripping the steering wheel.

“She picked this house because the day light basement made a perfect sewing studio. She hated everything else about it, even the color. Did you know I’ve sold thousands of houses over the years? If someone lives in
Southeast Portland
, it is very likely that I’ve been inside their house at least once. And if someone strikes me as familiar, it is probably because they were a client once. I can’t believe I totally forgot who Alice McNinch was. But I helped her buy her house during the bubble. Those were crazy days.”

“Yeah.
And this is the wrong side of town for you. Are you really saying
Alice
was a client?”

“Yes. I am. Now I’m wishing I had called first. But we’re here so we might as well just go up and do it.”

“Are you sure you’ve pulled yourself together?”

Mitzy took a deep breath.
“Nope.
Not at all.
But I think it will be fine.”

Alice
answered the door with a mouth full of straight pins and a headband with a built in pincushion. As Mitzy said hello
Alice
patted her head frantically looking for the cushion. She found it, waved them in and began to poke the pins into her hair. She had on a leather apron and Tom’s wrap shoes.

“Mitzy!” she said finally, when her mouth was free.

“Hi
Alice
!
It is so good to see you again.”

“And you. But, I have to ask…no wait, first please come inside and I’ll make tea. Then tell me what brings you here. I promise I pay all my bills.”

Mitzy laughed, “You’d better. You put enough money down on this place. It looks like the studio is working. I was just at Neveah’s Wardrobe and saw all of your beautiful work.”

A smile lit up
Alice
’s freckled face, “Thank you so much. They carry my goth wear right now.” She led the ladies into the kitchen and put the kettle on for tea. Her smile slowly slipped away. “But did you hear about the murder?
The girl from Neveah’s?”

“Yes, actually.
That’s why we’re here.” Mitzy watched
Alice
’s face carefully. Her little nose started to turn red and the corners of her mouth wavered from her cheerful smile.

“I still can’t believe she’s gone. I had wanted to talk to her so bad after the fight. I just felt awful not taking her side.” The words poured out of
Alice
as her face crumpled into a cry.

“Slow down,” Joan said in a motherly tone. “Take your time. We’re not going anywhere.”

“Did you guys get in a fight?” Mitzy asked. “I am so sorry. Having that on your conscience must be awful.”

“I didn’t have a fight with her,”
Alice
said. She closed her eyes for just a moment and took a deep breath. “I was delivering product to Neveah’s just after closing time, and Fiona and Lara were in the middle of something. Fiona was in tears so I wanted to calm everyone down. I thought if they would calm down, they could talk it out.”

“What was Lara doing?” Mitzy asked.

“She was yelling. When I walked in she was saying something like ‘that’s not good enough anymore.’ Lara is always—sorry, she was always so direct. She didn’t mince words. Fiona is very sensitive. It doesn’t really matter who was right or wrong. Lara was just more equipped in an argument. Anyway, I tried to calm them down and then David came in.”
Alice
stopped and put a hand over her eyes.

“What did David do?” Mitzy leaned forward and spoke in a hushed tone.

“David slapped Lara right across the face.”
Alice
waved her hand in front of her reddening face. She picked up a tea towel and held it under her eyes for a moment.

“Then what happened?”

“Lara lit into David with some choice words: really horrid names and just filthy language. I’d never heard her go off like that before. Fiona started to wail and just turned around and went to her office. I grabbed Lara by the shoulder and begged her to calm down and talk sense.”

“Did it help?” Mitzy asked.

“No, not at all.
David told me to mind my own business. Then Fiona came back in red-faced, and told me I needed to leave, so I did.”

“Did you ever find out what the fight was about?” Mitzy asked.

“No. I haven’t been back since. I left my delivery there and walked out. They don’t need to see me in person, at least not right away. Now Lara is dead, and I never had a chance to make it right.”

“It doesn’t sound like she needed you to,” Joan said.

“She was my friend. She had a mouth on her and strong opinions, but I liked her. I wanted to make it right but never did.”

“How long ago was the fight?” Mitzy asked.

“It was four days before she was killed…just four days.”
Alice
turned away and gripped the edge of the stove.

Joan looked at Mitzy and shrugged. Mitzy shook her head. There had been trouble at the shop shortly before the murder. But that wasn’t all she needed to know. She still wanted to know how Neveah’s was able to keep all of its employees in such style. She had some questions to ask over the tea.

Once the tea had steeped and
Alice
had taken a moment to compose
herself
, the three women sat down together with their mugs and a plate of biscotti. They were in the living room, which had lovely views of a wetland preserve. The naked branches of the trees shivered in the December wind. Mitzy sipped her tea for a moment and calculated the value of the view while she composed her next question.

Joan jumped in first, “I just bought one of your bags but feel like I should apologize because I got it from a resale shop online.”

Alice
gave her a small smile. “I see your bag. What shop did you buy it from?”

“Someone called Winter Rose on eBay.”

Alice
nodded. “I thought so. That’s my eBay shop. I use it for items that the boutiques return to me. No need to apologize at all.”

Mitzy straightened up a little. “I’m going to plunge right in,
Alice
. I’m here because I found Lara’s body.” Mitzy let a little stream of air escape her lips.

“Oh how awful!”
Alice
said. “What a horrible experience for you.”
Alice
picked up her teacup and then put it right back down again. Her thin white hands were shaking. “Did you know Lara?”

“No, I had never met her before.”

“Wasn’t she killed at her new place?”
Alice
reached for the teacup again, but pulled her shaking hand back to her lap and clasped it in the other. The shaking seemed to calm down.

“She was. She was buying my condo. I want to help solve this crime. I feel…I feel responsible. I went to Neveah’s and talked to David and Fiona, but they didn’t share anything with me. I saw your name on the clothing labels and thought I could
come
talk to you.”

“I don’t know how I can help.”
Alice
unclasped her hands and shook them a little. They were much steadier and she finally picked up her tea cup. Then she sighed. “But I’ll do anything I can. What do you want to know?”

“I have a ton of questions,” Mitzy said. She also picked up her tea cup and took a drink. “For example, she was putting a twenty percent down payment on the condo. How did she save up that much money working at a dress shop?”

Alice
shook her head. “Sales at Neveah’s aren’t great. Some months I wonder how Fiona keeps the business running. She can’t have been paying her staff anything more than minimum wage. Lara, David, Renata…I think there was one other sales person for a while. But no, her sales, at least of my stuff, haven’t been very high.”

“I’ve been there once. And if David is the same fellow I saw, he was dressed like he makes a lot of money,” Joan stirred her tea with a thin silver spoon. “Did you see his watch? It was no knock off. It was a real
Fendi Chronograph
. I’d recognize it anywhere.”

“How could you tell?” Mitzy asked.

“I’m into luxury. I’ve got to know what luxury looks like when I stage a home for million dollar clients.”

Mitzy nodded and sipped her tea.

“David is fashion obsessed. I’d imagine he’s in hock up to his eyeballs. You probably didn’t see his scooter. Top
of the line, but oh so green.”

Mitzy set her cup down on the saucer with a clatter. Her throat constricted. She knew too many bad guys on scooters. “David rides a scooter?” she managed to squeak.

“He does. He has a really fancy commuter pedal bike as well. He doesn’t have a car but he does use those zippy-car car-shares things sometimes. He carries the highest end electronics too.”

Mitzy shivered. David drove an expensive scooter. Had he bought it at Scooter-Niks before the fire? Did he do work on the side for the Mafia that ran the scooter shop to help him afford his expensive tastes? “What about Renata?” Mitzy asked. “I didn’t meet her. Does she seem like she spends a lot of money as well?”

Alice
nodded and thought for a moment.
“Maybe so.
When she’s at work she only wears designs that Neveah’s Wardrobe carries. Fiona doesn’t loan clothes to employees and she doesn’t give them a discount either. I certainly can’t afford to wear what I design for Neveah’s. I don’t know how Renata can.”

“Maybe they all have other jobs.” Joan suggested.

“No. None of them do. David is constantly clubbing, Lara travels and Renata is a part time student.”

“Lara travels?”

“With Hector.
They go away at least twice a month. Not exotic, but she’s always off with him. I don’t think she could be gone like that and work two jobs.”

“Probably not.
But Hector could be paying for the trips. He seems to do well with his business.”

“He could pay for it, but there is still the time issue. When would she work the second job if she used all of her spare time for vacation?”
Alice
shook her head. “I think
it’s
odd how Hector and Lara were always either going away together or fighting. They never seemed to have a normal week of spending time at home. But I guess some relationships are like that.”
Alice
shrugged.

“I guess,” Mitzy said. Mitzy thought about Alonzo and how they spent all their time wrestling the Mafia and talking business. She was certainly not one to
judge
Lara’s relationship.

“Am I helping at all? I really want to do something for Lara. I just hate how it ended between us.”

“I don’t know. You’ve confirmed that more money is getting into the hands of Neveah’s employees than seems logical. And even though she was your friend, it sounds like Lara was kind of hot-headed and maybe was the kind of girl to make people really mad.”

“That’s the truth. She could really make people mad. I liked her, but my tastes aren’t everyone’s.”

Joan nodded. “You like people with personality.”

“That I do. In fact, Lara was the only one I really liked at Neveah’s. Everyone else …I don’t know. I just don’t feel like I ever really got to know them. I suppose there is time still. I’m not going anywhere.”