Gotcha Detective Agency Mystery Box Set Read online

  “A real Susie Homemaker. And I have no idea about Esme. I haven’t put together enough of a back story to know anything.” Nick said.

  “Did she give you any ideas about who might hate Esme enough to brutally murder her?”

  “She didn’t know shit. I thought she put on a good act, but I don’t think she cared all that much. She did the tissue to the eyes, but they weren’t even wet. She probably couldn’t wait for me to leave so she could find out if Esme had a life insurance policy.”

  Ouch. That said a lot about his view of the woman.

  “What did Natalie think of the mom?” I asked.

  “Not much. But it hardly matters. Oliver is back, and I’m on my own on this one.”

  Not really, I thought. I’ll be behind you all the way. Like it or not.

  “Esme was what, maybe twenty-three?”

  “Something like that.” Nick said.

  “Did you see her clothes?” I remembered the Coach briefcase she’d brought to my office. And her clothes were off the rack, but off a very expensive rack.

  “Sorry, Mimi, I wasn’t really interested in her clothes. Not really a label hound.”

  I almost laughed as I looked at the Polo logo on his shirt.

  “I just meant that either Lauren paid Esme quite well, or the girl had and incredible credit card bill.”

  Nick looked at me. “I’ll look into that. I’ll have to run a check on her bank account and credit cards anyway.”

  “You know she was a vampire freak, right?”

  Again, I got a perplexed look. This was a whole new world of weird for Nick.

  “A vampire freak?”

  “Likes all things vampire. By the way, did you know Esme worked a lot of late hours and had a room in Lauren’s house?”

  “It’s a huge house. You and I could move in and never even be noticed,” Nick said.

  “Have you checked her room?”

  “Until now, I didn’t even know she had one. I’m sure the CSU guys went through the whole house.”

  Nick flipped open his phone. He hit a speed dial number and waited. “Is the crime scene tape still up?”

  I wished like hell I could hear the other end of the conversation. Not because it was interesting, but because I’m nosey.

  “No, no. I want you to leave it up.”

  Sounded like my lunch date was about over.

  “Keep the officer there until I get there.” He hung up.

  “Well?”

  “I gotta go.” Nick stood and pulled his wallet from his back pocket. “I want to check out Esme’s room at the house before they release the scene.”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  “The hell you are,” Nick said. He threw a twenty dollar bill on the table and walked away.

  Twenty dollars wasn’t going to cover our meals, plus a tip. Then I thought about it. He plopped down just enough money to cover his meal and a tip. Not that I’m cheap, or expect a man to pay my way. Never mind. I tossed another twenty on top of his.

  The only question now - how was I going to get back into that house to see Esme’s room?

  8

  I arrived at the house about three minutes behind Nick. I waited on the shoulder of the highway, guesstimating the time it would take him to drive up to the front of the house, talk to the officer, and get past the fence. I figured it pretty damn close, since I saw the heel of Nick’s shoe disappear into the house as I turned into the drive.

  I parked my car behind Nick’s and hitched my dress up as I stepped out of the car. I let one stiletto-clad foot settle on the gravel drive long enough to get the young police officer’s attention. Forget impressing Nick, who’d barely noticed my summer dress and too high heels, I’d turn my sights on the uniformed hunk.

  By the time I stepped fully out of the car, Uniformed Hunk was at my door. I straightened and adjusted my dress. I’d already made sure I had plenty of cleavage, and now I bent slightly forward to afford him a better view.

  “Oh, hi Officer. I’m with Detective Christianson,” I said, using my best jazz and whiskey voice.

  “You don’t look like a detective to me.”

  I read his name tag. “Officer Beal, I’m a private detective.” I showed him my credentials, provided by the state of California.

  “So?”

  “So I’m working with Detective Christianson on this case.” I stepped forward, brushing my breast against his shoulder in my best Gemma impersonation.

  He stepped back, nonplussed. I continued walking toward the house.

  “Stop right there,” Officer Beal said.

  I pretended not to hear him.

  “Ma’am. Stop or I’m going to arrest you.”

  So I was a little rusty with my feminine wiles. I was going to have to work on that. It always worked on decoy jobs. It was the extra ten pounds. That’s why Nick didn’t notice how cute I looked, and now I couldn’t even talk my way past a young officer. Shit. I was going on a diet.

  “Okay, okay. Just go ask Nick. He’ll tell you I’m with him.” I stamped my stiletto in the dirt.

  “Do not step past this tape, or I’ll arrest you,” Beal snapped. “I’ll be right back.”

  Or I’ll arrest you. “Fine,” I said.

  But it wasn’t fine. I wanted in that house. I had a right. Lauren had hired me to help find Esme’s killer. I didn’t want Nick in there by himself, finding something I should have looked for on Monday night. I had access to the damn house before the cops got there, and I didn’t even think to look for the room where Esme stayed.

  I thought about lifting the tape and walking around to the back of the house. I wanted to see where the back door of the kitchen led. Then I thought about spending even an hour in holding cell A, B or C in the Salinas Police Department and decided to wait where I was.

  Nick emerged from the house. “I told you, you weren’t coming with me.”

  Officer Beal followed closely behind, grinning like a cat. I could almost see a mouse tail wiggling at the side of his lips, just before he dropped it in front of Nick as an offering. Little suck up.

  “Nick, this is my case. Lauren wants me here.” I detected a bit of a whine in my voice and I hated myself for it.

  “I really don’t give a shit what Lauren wants. This is an open investigation. Go home.”

  But he hadn’t turned away, so maybe I still had a chance. I said, “Come here.”

  He rolled his eyes and bent under the tape, coming toward me. I grabbed his arm and held him close. I tried the breast maneuver on him. He knew what was under the dress, so maybe I’d have more influence. I held my breast against his arm as I whispered in his ear.

  “I promise to be a good girl. Come on, for old time’s sake?”

  “I thought we didn’t have an old time’s sake,” Nick said.

  Open mouth, switch feet. I swear, if I didn’t have one foot in my mouth, I had the other. It’s no wonder I haven’t had a real date since Dominic died.

  I pushed my breast a little harder into his arm. “Two sets of eyes are better than one.”

  I didn’t know what else to say. And I’ll be damned if I was going to beg. I stepped back and let go of his arm. I looked into his gray eyes. For a moment, I was 19 years old again. For a moment I wanted to be with Nick in my bedroom, not Esme’s. He must have felt something, too. He reached into his pocket.

  “They’ve already released the scene, they just haven’t taken down the tape.” He handed me a pair of latex gloves. “And leave your shoes on the porch. I don’t want you breaking an ankle on the stairs.”

  “So I don’t even need your permission to come in?”

  Nick grinned. “Nope.” He walked back to the house.

  I muttered, “Asshole.”

  I followed several paces behind Nick and stopped to kick my shoes off at the door. I swear I heard my feet say, “Ahhh.” I focused on the staircase, avoiding looking at the dining room, as I entered the house.

  I hadn’t gone into all the rooms
on Monday night. And if I had, I didn’t have time to scope them out. A body of a full-sized man was easier to spot than most evidence. Investigating murders wasn’t my specialty. On the other hand, investigating Nick’s backside as we ascended the stairs, well, let’s just say I had to grip the railing with both hands.

  “Are you going to check out all the rooms? Or just Esme’s?”

  “I’m sure CSU already looked at it, along with the rest of the house. I just want to get a look at Esme’s for my own peace of mind. See if I can get to know her a little better.”

  The drapes hadn’t been opened, and the room was still dark even though it was early afternoon. Nick nodded toward me.

  “Got your gloves on?” Nick snapped the end of his left glove.

  “Uh huh.” I did now.

  “Open the curtains, so we have some light in here.”

  I slipped around the double bed to the far wall and pulled the cord to open the drapes. In the light of day, I could see the drapes were a heavy navy fabric with a sheer navy liner. The shock of sun awoke the room, and we saw a sparse space with a dresser, a double bed, and a nightstand with a reading lamp.

  Esme had stacks of books on either side of the bed, including several of Lauren’s novels. I moved to the stack and picked up the first book. I turned to sit on the bed.

  “No.”

  I jumped.

  “What?” I said. I tossed the book back on the pile.

  “Don’t sit on the bed. Can’t you kneel on the floor?”

  Fine, so I sat on the floor in my black dress and crossed my legs like a pretzel, then tucked the fabric of my dress to cover my crotch. I picked the book back up.

  The Encyclopedia of Vampires. I flipped through the pages and saw nothing significant. I put the book down and opened the next. Doing a quick count, I figured there were fifteen books.

  All of the books had an underworld theme. Novels about vampires, witches, werewolves, and numerous stories about fairies, were stacked with nonfiction books on the same subjects. She had a role-playing book on something called the Masquerade. I picked it up.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m looking through the stacks of books. I wanted to see if she had Prey.”

  “Prey?”

  “Lauren said the murder scene was exactly the same as a scene from her new novel. I wanted to read it.”

  “You haven’t read it yet?” Nick said.

  “It just came out on Monday. I thought I’d take a look and see what happened after the slaying scene. I started to read it last night, but my mind kept wandering to Esme’s head, and I just couldn’t stomach it.”

  “I hate to say this, but that’s a good thread to follow,” Nick said. “I’ll have an officer pick one up at the bookstore.”

  “Where are Lauren and Henry?” I asked.

  “They, or he, packed some things and moved to a hotel in Monterey. The Del Monte, I think.”

  “Why Monterey?”

  “Guess Henry likes it there. And Lauren will be gone most of the time.”

  I’d have to go talk to Henry. I wanted to know why he was so lethargic that night. Was he drugged?

  I decided to get Nick’s opinion. “You think Henry was drugged?”

  “Don’t know. We took a blood sample, but haven’t gotten the tox report back yet.”

  Nick picked through the closet, one piece of clothing at a time, checking pockets, bottoms of shoes, and inside liners of coats. Not that Esme kept much here. At a glance I’d say the closet was less than half full.

  “So, my mom said she saw you at the grocery store,” I said.

  “Yeah, she looks good,” Nick said.

  His comment could have been taken as crude, but I knew he meant it as a compliment.

  “A new lover will do that for a woman.”

  “A new lover, your mom?” Nick turned to look at me.

  “I really think this may be the man for her. He’s kind, handy, and I think he’s looking for the real thing.”

  “The real thing, what’s that?”

  I rolled my eyes. Nick wouldn’t know the real thing if it stepped up and grabbed his crotch. “You know, settling down for life.”

  “Oh, that real thing,” Nick said. “Is your mom looking for that?”

  “Eventually, I think she’ll succumb to his nurturing.”

  I found a wealth of information on psychic phenomenon, werewolves, fairies, witches, and tarot cards. I wondered if maybe Esme had planned to write her own book. I picked up the third book from the bottom of the stack.

  You know how, when you lift something, and you expect it to be heavier than it is, and you nearly smack yourself with it? That’s what happened. The book was at least three inches thick, and had a dust jacket indicating it was a reference about vampires. But when I opened it, the center of the book had been carved out. The cut out section resembled an archway; flat bottom and arched top.

  The interior was lined with burgundy silk. But the book was empty.

  “Nice little hiding place.”

  “Huh?” Nick came up behind me.

  “Look at this.” I handed him the book.

  He did the same thing I did, expecting the book to be heavy. He nearly knocked himself in the head. Then he opened it. “What do you make of this?”

  “Well, it had something in it at one time. But what, or who, was she hiding it from?”

  “Good questions,” Nick said. “Set it aside. We’ll get back to it.”

  I took the book back and put it on the top of the stack. I got up and started looking through the dresser.

  The dresser was bare on top, except the layer of dust. Apparently the housekeeper didn’t clean Esme’s room. I wrenched my head around and looked at my butt and saw a layer of gray dust. I started to brush it off when Nick came out of the closet. Out of the closet, Charles could only wish.

  “Want me to get that for you?” Nick offered.

  “Ha, ha. No.” He’d never touch my butt again. Not in this lifetime.

  “I see you’re wearing a wedding ring. How long have you been married?” Nick asked.

  “Three years, four months and six days.”

  “That much in love, huh?”

  “I haven’t seen him in two years, four months and three days.” I lifted satin La Perla lingerie from the small top drawer. This girl had expensive taste.

  “What’s the deal?” He’d stopped rummaging.

  “He died just after our first anniversary,” I said. I stopped too, and looked at Nick.

  “Oh.” He averted his gaze, again looking through the drawer.

  “You married?” I asked.

  “Nope.”

  “Ever married?”

  “What happened?” Nick ignored the question and started opening other drawers. Black socks, black panties, black nylons, black nail polish, lipstick.

  “Plane crash.”

  “I’m sorry.” He sounded sincere.

  I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to have this conversation with him. I didn’t want him to even think about me, and I’d do the same for him.

  In one drawer, amongst all the black was something silver. I grabbed the handle before Nick shut the drawer. I shoved my hand under the black silk. A pendant.

  “Just wait.” Nick slapped my hand away.

  I saw it. The chain had two silver-toned charms and a vial. I leaned in closer to Nick. God, he smelled good. Oh, the pendant. The three charms were an Ankh, a Shen, and a glass vial shaped like a fang.

  “What is this?” Nick said. He held the pendant up in the sun, squinting at it.

  “The cross shape is an Ankh. The symbol for immortality.”

  “No shit,” Nick said in a questioning tone.

  “And the other charm is a Shen.”

  The Shen resembled a coiled rope, and was found in many Egyptian scrolls. The symbol usually appeared in scrolls with deities.

  “Shen,” Nick repeated.

  “Divine protection,” I informed him.


  “If you have immortality, why do you need divine protection?”

  “Hell if I know.” It was a good question.

  “Well, you knew what this stuff was. Why don’t you know the significance of them together?”

  “You’re leaving out the vial. The three of them may have meaning,” I said.

  Nick flicked at the vial with his middle finger, like it was a test tube in chemistry class. Some of the brown flecks moved, others were plastered to the glass.

  “I’m guessing that’s dried blood,” I said.

  “Yeah…” Nick stared at the vial.

  He set the pendant on the dresser, and continued sifting through the drawers. Just clothes and girl stuff. Then he opened the bottom drawer. Empty.

  I looked at my watch. I had other cases to catch up on, and then the trip to Santa Cruz. If I hurried, I could stop by and see Henry.

  “I’ve gotta go,” I said.

  “Can’t it wait?”

  “No, I mean I have to get going. I have meetings this afternoon.”

  I didn’t wait for his approval. The search had garnered nothing. I was disappointed. What did I think I was going to find, a letter of confession? What did I know about investigating a murder. I was a private eye. I spied on cheating spouses.

  I turned to leave. When I got to the door, I heard Nick clear his throat.

  “Mimi, stay out of this, okay?”

  Incredulous, I said, “What?”

  “Your forte is cheating spouses, not dead bodies. I don’t need you messing in my investigation.”

  “And yet you let me come in here with you today.”

  “I didn’t want to have an embarrassing scene in front of Beal out there. You hanging on me, and rubbing your breasts on me like that. What do you think he thought?”

  I couldn’t look at him. I ran down the stairs.

  9

  Not only was Jackie my best friend, but she was also the best detective in the office. She’d nursed me through every heartbreak in high school. She even knew about Nick. And I’d been with her through the only heartbreak she’d ever had.

  “So I heard Nick’s back in town,” Jackie said. She sifted through a mountain of paperwork that had backed up over the last several days.