Dead in the Water (23 page)

I tried to stop her from saying more, but I knew this was a train wreck I couldn't stop. Alex turned accusing eyes on me and indicated how much he'd like to hear more. He invited them to join us just to ensure he didn't miss a detail. I was screwed.

They had a great evening while I lost my appetite for my dinner. Why hadn't I phoned Madeleine and told her to hush up about her kidnapping and the mugging until I filled Alex in on the story? Again, I said to myself, it's because I'm involved in yet another scheme that's taking up my psychic energy and chasing other items out of my brain. Like who knows what and who shouldn't know anything.

We were in the ladies room repairing our lipstick when she gave it to me. I knew it was coming, so I'd steeled myself with a brandy after dinner.

“
Alex is your boyfriend. How can you not tell him what happened to me, to you, to Jerry? Besides, it's over now. How mad can he be?”

I looked at her reflection in the mirror and gave her a nervous smile.

“
Now
what are you up to, Eve?” Madeleine said.

The ride back to the coast was accompanied by loud silence.

“
Want to come in for a nightcap?” If I sounded less than eager to spend any more alone time with Alex, it was only because my plan to tell him slowly about my adventures of the last few days needed serious revision. I had such a headache from the tension over dinner that I couldn't think well enough to construct another approach.

“
Do you want me to? I mean, because you seem to be so preoccupied with your other men: Nappi, Jerry, that Russian guy, the Russian mob, the missing Hardys, Madeleine's kidnapper …. Have I left anyone out?” He snapped his fingers. “Oh yeah, Sammy Indian and his grandfather. Am I right?”

“
Don't be mean, Alex. I'm sorry.”

“
You're always sorry after you get caught. How about your vow not to get involved in this business? Tell Frida everything and let it go.”

“
I can't. I made promises. I have to keep them.”

“
You made promises to your uncle's stepchildren, which was fine until you found out you didn't have his money to pay the ransom. It's not your problem, Eve. The police need to be in on this one. Now.”

“
It's not as simple as that.”

“
How not simple is it?”

“
Come in and I'll tell you everything. Then maybe you'll understand.” I had my fingers crossed behind my back. How could I tell him everything without lengthening the distance between us?

He nodded, and I unlocked the door.

“
Have a seat. I'll get us coffee.”

He sat on the couch, but got up again. “Something's poking me in the butt.”

He flipped aside the cushions and extracted a small plastic object, a cellphone.

“
You left your phone here, and you also forgot to charge it. It's dead.”

“
What?” I left off brewing the coffee and came to see what he was talking about.

“
See. It won't even turn on.” He handed the phone to me.

“
It's not my phone.”

“
It must belong to one of your many men.”

“
Don't start that again, Alex.”

But I figured he was right. It did belong to one of my “men.” I was sure it was Uncle Winston's discarded burner phone.

I
held the phone in my hand and knew I'd confronted one thing I ought not to keep to myself.

“
You know what you have to do, don't you?” Alex's voice was calm and steady, the kind of lifeline I needed with all the craziness happening around me.

Maybe he was right. I was trying to take on too much. I'd start here. Whatever was on this phone couldn't hurt Winston now, but it might just reveal who had killed him.

“
Unless you're afraid there's an incriminating message on there from one of your mob friends.” Alex searched my face for a reaction.

Nappi? No, I knew there was nothing, not even Nappi's phone number, that could connect him and Winston. He'd told me they only met in person. Unless he lied to me and thought I'd never find out because the burner was destroyed.

“
I'll have to take that chance, won't I?” I said.

I reached for my own cell, but before I could call Frida, it rang in my hand.

“
Eve? It's Darlene. I need to talk to you.”

“
If it's about the ransom money, Mr. Napolitani is handling that now.”

There was a moment's hesitation on the line.

“
Oh, he is. That's … good, right? I'm not calling about the money. Well, not really. I just have to talk to you. You're the only one I can trust. I think someone is trying to kill me.” She began to sob.

“
Take it easy. Can we meet tomorrow?”

As quickly as she had lost control, she regained it. “Yes. Meet me at Macy's in City Place at noon.”

“
I'm not driving down there. I've got a business to run, and it's not had much of my attention lately. You can drive up here and come to the shop.”

“
I'll have to rent a car then.”

“
Borrow Sophia and Boris' car. Tell them you need to go shopping for something.”

“
Sophia would want to come with me. She watches me like a hawk. I don't think she trusts me. Sometimes I get the impression she thinks I'm responsible for the money disappearing.”

“
Are you?”

“
What? Like I'd be crawling around in a swamp absconding with that.”

“
You're still living with them?”

“
Where else can I stay? I've got no money.”

“
Winston left you something in his will.”

“
I already spent that.”

“
On what?” I was about at my wit's end with her and the siblings. I felt as if I was the parent of clinging, needy children.

“
I had some debts.”

“
Tomorrow. At the store.”

“
Can we go to lunch?” she asked.

“
Lunch. I thought you were afraid someone was after you, but you can think about food?”

“
Why should I die on an empty stomach?”

Why indeed?

I ended the call.

Alex frowned. “Don't tell me. This had something to do with the alleged kidnapping?”

“
Only indirectly.” I told him what Darlene wanted.

“
I swear you're like a social worker with too many cases. You can't rescue every Russian girl who comes to you for help.”

“
Arguing about it won't get us anywhere.”

“
You're right. I'll keep my mouth shut. For now. Call Frida.”

I did. She wasn't on duty, so I tried her home phone. She didn't sound happy to hear from me.

“
You said I could call you here, you know.”

“
It's after midnight. This better be important.”

“
A burner phone?”

“
You found it?”

“
Yup. In my couch. If you're too tired, we can talk about this tomorrow, although I've got a pretty full schedule. Some cop told me I'd be better respected in the business community if I opened my store on a regular basis. I'll try to fit you in between customers.”

“
Don't get uppity on me. I'll be right over.”

Alex and I were only on our second make-up kiss when she pounded on my door.

“
Hi Alex. Long time, no see. I'm glad you're back here. Maybe you can keep a rein on our gal here.”

I batted my lashes in a feigned look of total innocence. “Whatever do you mean?”

“
When I don't hear from you in a while, I know you're up to something. I heard a rumor that you and Madeleine took a dip in the lock at Deer Mound the other night. Any truth to that?”

“
We'd have to be out of our minds to swim in alligator infested waters.”

“
My very point. Hand it over.” She held out her hand for the phone.

“
Don't I get to know what's on it?”

“
It's evidence in a murder case. You'll find out when I decide to tell you.” Her expression softened. “Look, I know you want to find out who killed your uncle as much as I want to arrest the bastard, but it is evidence, and I'm glad you turned it in. Thanks. You did the right thing.”

“
He helped me do it.” I leaned back into Alex, and he put his arms around me.

“
She would have called you without my advice.” A few kisses and Alex had good things to say about me.

“
Yeah, but she would have done it next week.” Frida took the phone, winked at me to let me know she was kidding, and left.

“
Where were we?” Alex turned me around in his arms so that we were facing each other.

“
I think we were about to make up.”

There was a knock on the door.

“
Tell them to go away.” Alex always had great ideas.

“
Go away.”

“
It's Jerry. I need to talk to you.”

“
Go away.” Alex and I spoke in unison.

“
I thought you'd like to know they released me from the hospital. I wanted to thank you.”

“
At this hour?”

“
Hospital? Jerry was in the hospital? What happened?” Alex threw open the door. “Jerry, old man, are you okay?”

“
Eve didn't tell you?” Jerry's face was black and blue and his mouth puffy.

I groaned. This was not going to be a night of fun.

Madeleine and I arrived at the shop the next morning within minutes of each other.

“
Are you sure you don't want to take off a few days? Take some down time and recover from that awful experience. I can cover for you.” I hugged her and unlocked the door.

She shook her head.

As we readied the shop for opening, we talked about her kidnapping and the events leading up to it.

“
I think I blew it with Alex last night, but I was certain you would keep him abreast of what was going on. You didn't tell him a thing, did you?” she said.

“
No. I always want to, but he gets so mad when I insert myself into anything he thinks will be dangerous. It's not as if I look for trouble, you know.”

“
Don't you? Sometimes I wonder, when you have an appetite for adventure, if you're bored with the life you have here. In business. With me.”

“
No. Don't say that. I love working here with you. You know how I feel about fashion and a bargain.”

“
How does it compare to murder?”

Opting not to answer that, I changed the subject. “Guess what I found in my couch?”

I told her about the burner phone and what it was used for among mob folks.

“
A clue?” Madeleine's eyes danced with delight.

“
Maybe. Or there could be nothing on it.”

“
Did you and Alex make up last night?”

“
Kind of, at least we were trying until Jerry showed up. Again he hadn't arranged for a motel room and there's that mud bog racing thing in town. Alex took him home with him to his apartment.”

“
You and Alex get all the breaks.”

“
And how did your date turn out? He sure is a hunk of a man—tall, muscular, dresses well, too. You met him on that Internet dating site, right? He's handsome and he seemed nice when we met at the restaurant.”

Madeleine's eye started to twitch, and she turned her attention to one of the skirt rounds. “We should put some of these items on sale this weekend, don't you think?”

“
Okay, honey. What happened?”

“
Oh, Eve. What's wrong with me? We were having such a great time! Then he asked me to dance. We were doing a slow dance, and he looked down at me as if he was going to kiss me. I panicked.”

“
Panicked? How?”

“
I thought to myself, this is just silly. We'll date for a while, get attached to each other, and then I'll do something to hurt him somehow. I pulled away and told him I didn't want to see him again.”

“
Madeleine Boudreaux, how could you? Letting something that hasn't happened stand in the way of something that might be good.”

“
I'm jinxed. You know that.”

Well, yes. I knew she was jinxed, but things could change. At least I hoped they could. I told her so, and she seemed to perk right up.

“
Maybe I should call him tonight and talk,” she said.

“
Good idea.”

We gabbed though the morning, reestablishing our old camaraderie. Nothing could come between us—not a murder, not a kidnapping, not her clumsiness or my lack of social sensitivity. We loved each other like sisters. For the first time since my uncle died I felt as if everything would turn out just fine.