Murder for Choir (11 page)

“Well, I did say I’d kill him if he ever did anything like that again. Threatening death tends to put a person in the suspect column.”

True enough, but in this case I was pretty sure I could cross Devlyn off the list.

He held out his hand and asked, “So, do you think I’m a killer? If not, you owe me a lift.”

I wasn’t one to welch on a deal. The first lift wasn’t successful, but neither of us landed on the floor. Things were looking up. The next was better. The third time was the charm. I landed on his shoulder, keeping my chest high and my weight balanced. Devlyn’s left hand sat on my hip. He placed his right hand on my knee to keep me stable. Only now that I was up here, I wasn’t sure how he planned on getting me down. All one hundred and thirty-three pounds of me was going to get heavy—fast.

“Ready.” Devlyn sounded out of breath. Crap. His hands grabbed my hips, and I tried to hop off his shoulder. He must not have been expecting that choice. His hands slipped, and I started to plummet. My arms flailed as the ground neared. Devlyn wrapped his arms around my chest, which pulled him off balance, and together we went crashing to the floor. He was good to his word and cushioned my fall. This time he ended up on the linoleum with me seated in his lap.

“My fault,” he panted into my ear. “We should have talked about a dismount before we did the lift.”

“That would have been helpful.” I shifted my weight on his legs in an attempt to get up. He in turn tightened his grip around my waist. I instinctively leaned into his chest and put my head against his shoulder, enjoying the contact. Then I twisted around to look at him. He smiled at me, and his eyes met mine. I saw a spark of amusement and something
else. His hand brushed my cheek, and he leaned down and kissed my nose.

“Ready to try again?” he asked.

I sighed. For a moment I’d almost forgotten the man was gay. Maybe Aunt Millie was right. I needed a date.

“Let’s do it,” I said, climbing to my feet. “If I don’t do the lift perfect during our demonstration, the kids will eat me alive.”

The next three lift attempts went off without a hitch. We ran the entire number one more time before deciding to call it quits.

Devlyn turned off the music and grabbed a towel from his bag. “What are you doing after this? More murder investigation?”

“I plan to go home, check the bathroom for dogs, and then take a shower.” Devlyn raised an eyebrow, and I laughed. “Don’t ask. You really don’t want to know.”

He shrugged. “Do you want to schedule some time to choreograph the rest of the music? My weekend is open.”

“What about your new love interest?”

“I’m still not sure the feeling is mutual, so I’m taking it slow.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a business card. “Here. Call me if you have some free time. I’ll even buy you dinner.”

“I might just take you up on that.”

His smile widened. “That’s what I hoped you’d say. Come on. I’ll walk you to your car.”

The sun felt great on my skin as we strolled to the faculty parking lot. When we got to my car, I reached into my bag for my keys and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Huh. Aunt Millie must have left me a note this morning. I opened the paper, and my stomach clenched. It was a printout of a
review of a production I’d starred in. I didn’t have to read the paper to remember the reviewer said,
Ms. Marshall would have done the audience a favor if she had died before the curtain opened.

Aunt Millie definitely didn’t leave this. Whoever did had scribbled a message on the bottom of the page.

Take a hint and get off the stage. Or else.

Devlyn called the cops. I stared at the paper for several seconds before putting it back in the bag and getting out my own phone. Conveniently, Detective Kaiser was the last number I’d called. I hit redial expecting to get voice mail, but Mike himself answered.

Taking a deep breath, I explained what I’d found in my bag. Then added, “Another teacher has called the police, but since it happened here at the school, I thought you’d want to know.” I sounded logical and calm, which was a miracle. My stomach hurt, my heart thudded in my chest, and I heard a dull roaring in my head.

I waited for the detective to tell me not to worry about the note. That it was a prank. Instead, he said, “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

Seven minutes later, a black Ford Mustang pulled into the lot with Detective Kaiser behind the wheel. He climbed out as a black-and-white Prospect Glen police cruiser and two uniformed officers arrived.

Detective Kaiser waved at the officers, who stayed in their car, then walked over to me. He was wearing jeans with a white dress shirt, black tie, and gray sports coat. “You’ve had an interesting couple of days.”

The detective held out his hand. I looked down at the paper and cringed. Sharing the worst review of my life made me want to throw up. Or maybe it was being threatened that made me feel that way. At the moment it was hard to tell.

I put the paper in his hand and leaned against my car. Devlyn put his arm around me and gave me a hug. I leaned against him, grateful for his support.

The detective looked up from the paper and raised an eyebrow. “When did you get this?”

“I don’t know.” Which scared me more than the note itself. “I went to get my keys out of my bag and found the note. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t there this morning when I got here. Someone must have slipped it into the bag after I arrived.”

“Was your bag locked in your office?”

Office? What office? “I sat it on one of the bleachers in the field house during camp. Once camp was over, I took it with me to the choir room until Devlyn and I were done working.”

“So, your bag was out in the open.”

I nodded.

He sighed. “You probably shouldn’t do that. It’s a good way to lose your wallet.”

Or get threatened. I got the message.

Detective Mike pointed to the guys in the squad car, and they climbed out. “Officer James and Officer Mesching are going to take your statement while I chat with Mr. O’Shea. Technically, this doesn’t fall under my job description, but I still want to talk to you after they’re finished. Just in case.”

The two officers took my statement, put the note in a plastic bag, and gave me a copy of the report. Neither of them seemed to think they’d find the person behind it, but they promised to do their best.

When they were gone, Devlyn asked, “Are you okay? You look pale.”

Probably because I was feeling faint. “I’m fine. I didn’t realize anyone around here knew about that review.”

“The Internet makes those kinds of things easy to find,” Detective Mike said with a shrug.

Devlyn gave my hand a squeeze. “Don’t worry about people seeing that review. I saw that show. The reviewer was an idiot.” He looked at the detective. “I’ve got to run, but the detective promised me he’d make sure you got home safely. Call me later so we can plan dinner this weekend. You keep your chin up.”

I squeezed his hand back and watched him climb into his red BMW and drive off.

“Nice guy.” Detective Kaiser leaned against my car. “Have you known him for long?”

“I met him yesterday.”

“Did you see him near your bag this morning?”

“He was standing next to me when…” I stared at the detective. “You think Devlyn planted that review?”

“I don’t know what I think. That’s why I ask lots of questions.” He pushed away from the car and frowned. “Sounds like you’ve been asking a lot of questions, too.”

“You told me to,” I reminded him. Or maybe Aunt Millie suggested I do it. I couldn’t remember.

“I told you to keep your ears open and let me know if you heard anything I’d find interesting. Stirring up trouble wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

“So you think my questions and the note are related?”

“If they aren’t, it’s a big coincidence.”

“And you don’t like coincidences.”

“I’m a cop. I’m genetically predisposed to dislike them.” He shrugged out of his jacket and rolled up his shirtsleeves. I was impressed he’d worn the jacket for that long in the eighty-degree weather. “You didn’t answer my question. Was Mr. O’Shea around your bag when you left it unattended?”

I started to say no, then remembered. “He was standing in front of the bleachers after camp today. My bag was about a row behind him.”

“So he could have slipped the paper in your bag without you noticing.”

“He could have, but he didn’t.”

“How can you be so sure? You’ve known Devlyn O’Shea for twenty-four hours.” Detective Kaiser shook his head and gave me a stern look. “I’ve been asking around. The man had a beef with the victim, and his office is near the murder site. If he knows you’ve been asking questions about the murder, he might have good reason to try and scare you off.”

When the detective put it that way, I understood his point even if I couldn’t make myself believe it. Since I wasn’t going to change his mind, I decided to change the subject. “Did you get my message about the football coach?”

He smiled. “I did.”

“And? What do you think?”

“I think you’ve got too much free time on your hands.” He looked at his watch. “It’s time to get you home. I have an interview to conduct back at the station.”

“Detective, are you going to arrest Eric?” If he was, I wanted to know. It was going to totally ruin my day.

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “How do you know I’m meeting with Eric?”

“He mentioned it after this morning’s camp session.”

I could see the detective trying to find fault with that. He must not have since he said, “I try not to arrest people unless I’m certain I have all the pieces in place. And remember, I asked you to call me Mike.”

Right.

After climbing into my car, I headed back to Aunt Millie’s with Mike’s Mustang trailing behind me. I pulled into Millie’s crowded driveway, and Mike honked twice before pulling away.

Millie’s incredibly long drive was a parking lot filled with expensive, recently washed and waxed cars. It looked like Millie was having a party—which, knowing my aunt, was entirely possible. I backed out my car, parked it on the street in case I needed to make a quick getaway, and hiked up the drive to the front door.

A wave of sound hit me the minute I stepped into the arctic air. For a minute I thought I’d walked into the monkey house at Brookfield Zoo. I crept toward the noises into the living room and froze in the doorway. At least a dozen diamond-wearing women were munching on sandwiches, sipping wine spritzers, and getting facials. Monkeys would have been better.

“There you are, Paige. We’ve been waiting for you.” Millie hurried over to me as fast as her pink pencil skirt and four-inch heels would allow. She grabbed my arm before I could beat a retreat. “Everyone, this is my niece.” A bunch of heads swung toward me. Millie leaned toward me and whispered, “All of them belong to Dana Lucas’s country club. If we ply them with enough pampering and liquor, they’ll tell us every detail down to the style of her bikini wax.”

I was going to pretend I didn’t hear that, and if any of
these women decided to talk about their own bikini waxes, I was going to dive out a window. I couldn’t afford the therapy bills.

“Why do they think they’re all here?” I asked.

Millie smiled. “I’m holding a spa day with Mary Kay products. By the time today is over, the women will give us the dirt on Dana and buy thousands of dollars in products.”

Leave it to my aunt to find a way to turn spying into a marketing plan. There was a reason she was the number one sales associate in the Midwest. This was it.

“Get a sandwich and a glass of wine and mingle.” My aunt grabbed my hand, pulled me to the middle of the living room, and headed off to help one of her “clients.” I looked around the room, trying to decide what to do. Three women were sitting on the couch and two on the love seat. Seven other guests with green-and-white goo on their faces sat in chairs while two twentysomething stylists hovered over them. All the women were impeccably dressed in tailored shorts and matching tops. The Stepford wives had come to life.

My stomach growled, which made my decision for me. I headed toward the dining room, where a lady with brown teased hair and an unfortunate choice of bright blue eye shadow was busy piling mini sandwiches and raw vegetables on plates.

I grabbed one of Millie’s silver-and-white china plates and said, “Hi. I’m Millie’s niece, Paige.” Not the best opening, but it’s what I had.

The woman pulled a carrot stick out of her mouth and gave me a tentative smile. “Millie talks about you all the time. I’m Eliza.”

The woman sounded like she’d performed CPR on a helium tank. “It’s nice to meet my aunt’s friends. Do you belong to her country club?”

“No. My husband and I belong to the Glen. I met your aunt at a dog show two years ago. My Binkie competed against Killer for Best in Show.” Eliza put down her plate and reached for her wallet. Moments later, I was viewing professionally retouched pictures of Eliza’s wire fox terrier, Binkie. Binkie running. Binkie sitting. Binkie wearing a sparkling blue-and-white tiara. The little white-and-brown face was cute, but after the first ten photos I stopped paying attention.