Murder the Tey Way: A Golden Age of Mystery Book Club Mystery (The Golden Age of Mystery Book Club Mysteries 2) (28 page)

Though I expected another lecture on the dangers of snooping, I couldn’t resist stopping by Joy’s house to report my lack of findings. I found her feeding Brandon his dinner. My news brought a gleam to her eyes.

“The cops know that’s where the gang’s storing their ill-gotten goods.” She grinned. “And you’ve confirmed something else.”

“What’s that?”

“They only bring in the dogs when they’ve plenty to protect. It means one night very soon the gang will load up a truck and sell the stuff to out-of-state fences.”

I felt a surge of excitement. “Is that what the cops are waiting for to make their bust?”

“They want to catch the entire gang in the act,” Joy said. “Now I’m going to check out all robberies and burglaries in the vicinity for the past three months. I should have done it already.”

“What will that prove?” I asked.

Instead of answering, she handed me Brandon’s dish and sat me down beside his high chair. “Get him to eat as much as you can while I gather some vital information.”

I grinned at her. “You’re hacking into the police files.”

Joy punched my arm. “Not hacking, Lexie. Checking up on a few facts. This will save us hours of poring through news articles.”

Brandon gurgled and gave me a big smile, not the least bit upset that his mother had disappeared in the room beyond.

“You’re a good boy,” I crooned, offering him a spoonful of sweet potatoes.

He shook his head and clamped his little jaw shut. I decided to play a game I’d played with Jesse when he was a baby. I lifted the spoon higher than his head, to his left, then to his right as I sang a silly jingle. Brandon’s eyes followed the action. I zoomed the spoon toward my mouth and pretended to eat it. Then I zoomed it toward his mouth, and he opened it obediently.

His plate was empty when Joy burst into the kitchen, her eyes gleaming with triumph. “I found the pattern!”

“You did? Tell me.”

She sat down and placed the printout on the table. “There’s been a robbery every two weeks in central Nassau County, as regular as clockwork. Not always the same day or the same time, but a pattern all the same.”

I studied the sheet. Most of the robberies took place within a thirty mile radius of Ryesdale. “I’ve read about a few of these in the paper.”

“Check out the last column,” Joy ordered.

I laughed. “I can’t make out all those abbreviations.”

Joy took the sheet of paper from me and started listing what was stolen.

“They take a variety of items—jewelry, coin and stamp collections, crystal, figurines, paintings, pieces of sculpture, small antique pieces. Nothing large. Here it is! One pair of ornate sixteenth century silver candlesticks from Germany.”

“That sounds like the pair I saw.”

Joy thought a moment. ”I bet they made Evan go along with them one night and steal the candlesticks to incriminate himself.”

I thought a bit. “Corinne helped the Billingses bring Eloisa to the U. S. Do you think she’s involved with this gang of thieves?”

Joy shook her head. “I don’t see the connection, though anything’s possible.”

I rolled my eyes. “Come on, Joy. Look at her background. Her father was a Mafia boss.”

Joy gave me a pitying look. “Corinne’s female. Can you see a bunch of criminals like that goliath you described taking orders from a woman?”

“Maybe she murdered Tim and Len Lyons,” I persisted.

Joy threw me a scornful look. “Anything else you want to pin on her?”

I shrugged.

Joy patted my arm. “I know you don’t like Corinne, and you don’t like the way she treats her sister. But she’s the VP of a bank, for God’s sake.”

“A bank that was robbed.”

“A coincidence. Banks are robbed all the time.”

Brandon started to whimper. Always the good mother, Joy lifted him from his highchair and started crooning to him.

I stood to leave.

“Do you want to check out the warehouse tonight?” Joy asked. “Maybe catch some action going down?”

“I’d love to, though Brian told me to stay away.”

Joy laughed. “Since when has that stopped you?”

I felt my face grow warm. “Never, I guess.”

“You can tell him all about it tomorrow, after we check it out tonight.”

We agreed I’d pick her up at ten o’clock, then I drove home and fed a hungry Puss his meal and a few of the treats I’d bought earlier in the week. I spent a few hours grading essays. When words began to dance before my eyes, I realized I was starving. Since I wasn’t in the mood to prepare dinner, I decided to grab a light dinner at the local diner.

I drove into town, my mind ceaselessly churning. Did I really believe Corinne was Ryesdale’s Villainess of the Year? God knew I wasn’t fond of the woman. She was abrupt and hostile toward me every chance she got. I certainly didn’t approve of how she treated poor Felicity. In fact, she seemed utterly contemptuous of her sister, ever since Felicity had declared her intention to move out and live on her own. I shuddered, remembering the picture of poor Felicity’s Oscar, his neck twisted.

Did Corinne do that?

Or did Johnny Scarvino kill the poor creature and make it look like Corinne was the bad one?

Was Corinne the criminal boss behind the gang robbing communities all around Ryesdale? I had no proof, only the sense that Corinne was a nasty piece of goods even though she’d helped the Billingses bring Eloisa to the U.S. And look how well that had gone for Evan? Somehow, he ended up owing the thieves big time. Why?

Corinne was a woman, and a formidable one at that. She’d become VP of her bank, and from a comment Felicity let drop, was up for a promotion. She was making it in a man’s world without having to pretend to
be
a man, like Lee Searle felt she had to in
To Love and Be Wise
.

Still, playing
donna
to a crew of gangsters was a far cry from succeeding in the financial world. This might be the twenty-first century, but it wasn’t likely that hoodlums like The Giant would consent to taking orders from a woman. And why would Corinne, who was making good money as an officer in a reputable bank, want to risk it all to make more money than she could possibly spend?

The busy supper hour was over, and the diner was half empty. The hostess led me to a booth beside a window in the main dining room. I glanced through the menu and had no sooner put it down when my waitress, a middle-aged pleasant woman who knew me by sight, appeared at my side.

“A grilled chicken breast over a Greek salad and decaf coffee, please.”

“You got it,” she said with a smile, and hurried off to put my order in.

I unzipped my parka and headed for the ladies’ room past the long counter in the adjoining room. I’d reached the cashier’s station when I heard a familiar giggle. I retraced my steps and glanced down the row of booths I’d just passed. Sure enough, there was Felicity.

She didn’t notice me because she was gazing adoringly into the eyes of the young man sitting across the table. He had his back to me so all I could see were broad shoulders and curly black hair, but they was enough to tell me he was one hot-looking guy.
How did Felicity manage to attract the likes of him?
I bIinked away the unkind question and told myself I wasn’t being fair. The girl was slow, but she was pretty and very sweet.

Felicity said something to her companion. He must have found it amusing, because he began to laugh, a genuine mirthful sound. He turned his face for a moment, allowing me see his profile. I covered my mouth in time to stop my gasp.

The man with Felicity was Johnny Scarvino!

I ran to the bathroom and scrubbed my hands while I tried to calm my agitation.  How could that be Johnny Scarvino when Johnny Scarvino was dead! According to Brian, he’d been shot in a holdup.

Of course it wasn’t Johnny Scarvino!
Felicity would never spend time with the person she feared the most in the world. She wouldn’t be sitting in a diner, laughing and talking as though he were a close friend.

Only it was Johnny Scarvino sitting with Felicity. I knew because I’d seen him the night of the baby shower.

I felt like Alice in Wonderland finding herself in one preposterous scene after another. My head began to spin. I leaned against the tiled wall in keep from falling. All my suppositions were wrong. I thought of Josephine Tey and the psychology of studying faces. Johnny Scarvino looked like a nice guy, so maybe he wasn’t the villain.

Maybe Felicity was as fake as her name. What if the childlike, fragile person I knew and liked was nothing more than an act?

What if Felicity had killed her boyfriend and Tim?

What if she and Johnny Scarvino worked together?

I washed my face and hands and returned to my booth as the waitress was bringing over my salad. I forced myself to take a bite of chicken, then discovered I was ravenously hungry. I glanced at Felicity and Johnny across the room. They were conversing in low tones and she no longer looked happy. A few times their voices rose with emotion, drawing glances from the other diners. Finally, Felicity shook her head vehemently at what he was saying.

“No, I don’t believe you!” she shouted, and ran out.

Johnny put money on the table and chased after her.

I wanted to help, but had no idea what I could do other than call Brian. Brian, who had told me Johnny was dead.

I finished eating and paid my check. I stepped outside, shuddering as a blast of cold wind hit me in the face. It was only early December. I dreaded to think of all the cold weather we were in for the next few months. As I backed out of my parking space, my headlights caught the couple in the car beside me. It was Felicity and Johnny. He was holding her in his arms as she sobbed her heart out.

At ten o’clock, Joy climbed into my car. She set down a large thermos of coffee, fastened her seatbelt, and rubbed her hands with glee. “All set! Let’s find out what going down at the warehouse.”

I drove slowly. “Where did you tell Mike you were going?”

“I told him the truth.” Joy scrunched up her face. “Maybe I shouldn’t have. He laughed and said I’d be home in fifteen minutes.”

“I suppose we will be,” I said as we passed the Roberts sisters’ house. No lights were on. No car was in the driveway. “This isn’t a stakeout, is it?”

“I guess not, at least not for long.” Joy yawned. “I’m too tired to stay out late. Been up since six.”

“I saw Felicity at the diner with Johnny Scarvino,” I said as I turned right.

“Did you?” I heard the smile in Joy’s voice. “Do tell.”

I did. After a long minute, Joy sighed. “It sounds like he was telling her a few home truths, truths she didn’t want to hear, judging by her tears.”

I laughed, embarrassed. “At first she looked so happy. I was beginning to think everything I liked about her was all an act. What do you think he was telling her?”

“Could be about her sister. Or their father.”

I pressed my lips together. “Brian told me Johnny Scarvino was dead. Killed in a shootout.”

“Interesting.”

I stopped at a red light and faced Joy. “He lied to me.”

“It sure sounds that way.”

“Bastard,” I muttered.

“And you’re angry?” Joy asked. She sounded puzzled, as if she really didn’t understand.

“I can’t have a relationship with someone who lies to me,” I said peevishly.

“I don’t see the problem,” Joy said reasonably.

“Thanks.”

“No, really. Sounds to me Scarvino’s part of an ongoing investigation, and they needed him out of the picture till today. Brian must have had strict orders from above to put out the word that Scarvino was dead.”

I frowned. “Why would Brian be involved with New Jersey gangsters?”

Joy shrugged. “Cases cross over state lines all the time. Maybe this group of thieves has ties to New Jersey.”

I remembered Brian’s hesitation when I’d brought up Johnny’s name.

“Makes no difference. He shouldn’t have lied to me. He should have trusted me.”

Joy burst out laughing. “Because you’re now a member of the Nassau County Police Department?”

I gritted my teeth. “Thanks for seeing it from my perspective.”

She didn’t bother to answer. We rode in silence. When we were five or six blocks from the warehouse, Joy exclaimed. “Look at that!”

In the distance to the right of us the sky was lit up like the Fourth of July. “They’ve started without us,” she mumbled.

I had to slow down because traffic was moving at a snail’s pace. Because of the curve in the road, I could see the bright lights were coming from the warehouse parking lot. Ahead of us, several cop cars were parked helter-skelter, blocking the road. I opened my window and heard someone shouting orders above lots of yelling and cursing. A uniformed officer instructed us to pull over to the side of the road.

“Sorry. Police business. You’ll have to turn around.”

I opened my mouth to ask what was happening, when Joy delivered a sharp jab to my ribs. She smiled sweetly as the cop.

“Certainly, Officer. We don’t want to get caught in the crossfire.”

He nodded and watched me make a U-turn, then directed other cars to do the same.

I’d driven a block when Joy barked out, “Stop!”

The brakes squealed as I obeyed.

“Hang a left and park.”

Again, I obeyed and stopped at the curb of the first house on our right. A few neighbors were walking toward the main road, asking each other what was happening.

“No crowd yet,” Joy murmured. “It must have just gone down. We’ll get out and cross through backyards.”

Minutes later we’d worked our way to the back of the pet supply warehouse. I blinked at the bright lights shining on the parking lot and the thieves’ warehouse, making everything as visible as it would be in the noonday sun. My eyes were drawn to the huge moving truck jutting out from the open doors of the warehouse. Several uniformed officers were overseeing the parade of handcuffed hoods being led into the paddy wagon.

“Recognize anyone?” Joy asked.

I shook my head. “It’s difficult because they’re all looking down. Yes! There’s The Giant!”