Chapter 21
Zsazsa crooked her finger at me. I followed her upstairs to the very room on the second floor where I had spoken with the professor after Delbert’s murder. Goldblum, Frodo, and Peaches waited for us.
Zsazsa closed the door and motioned me to chairs they had pulled up to a table. “We have been doing some investigating.”
Goldblum leaned in and spoke in a hushed voice. “A bit of clever questioning of Bankhouse has revealed that Helen was fired from her last job because—”
Zsazsa interrupted him. “She flipped out!”
“What happened?” Helen might be grouchy at times, but I hadn’t seen any signs of aberrant behavior.
Goldblum placed his elbow on the table and spoke confidentially. “She was a personal shopper at a very high-end clothing store, and it seems she was stalking one of their clients.”
“The gentleman in question was flattered at first. But his mother found out and became afraid for him,” said Zsazsa.
“Why would the professor have hired her?” I held up my palms. “Don’t bother, I know exactly why. He believes in second chances. Did the guy bring charges against her?”
“No! That’s the thing that’s so intriguing,” said Goldblum. “There’s a very good chance that Maxwell knew nothing of this. Apparently, the guy was from a prominent family and they didn’t want any publicity. Bankhouse and his wife did a little begging and promised to get help for Helen. So the police probably don’t even know about it.”
I sat back in my chair. “I never imagined anything like that. But it fits in a way. She seems obsessed with finding a boyfriend. She’s interested in one of our customers. Maybe we should institute a rule about not dating customers.”
Zsazsa snorted. “That would be impossible to enforce. How would you know if someone dated a customer? Would that include socializing in groups? Attending the same lecture?”
“Of course, this information doesn’t tie her to Delbert’s murder,” I pointed out. “But it turns out she did know him.”
“Really?” Goldblum’s little round face looked mischievous. “What if the man she was stalking was Delbert Woodley?”
“That would change everything,” hissed Zsazsa.
“But that’s just speculation. And it would be a wild coincidence.” I shook my head. “It would be highly unlikely. Though I could see her trying to impress Delbert by bringing him here.”
Goldblum and Zsazsa exchanged a glance.
“We have an alternative theory,” said Zsazsa. “The man who shops here and caught Helen’s eye—what if it was Delbert?”
“That would explain why he didn’t call her.” I waved my hands like I was mentally erasing the thought. “That’s impossible. She knows Delbert was murdered. She wouldn’t still be talking about how he didn’t call. No. No way.”
“Not unless that was her devious way of deflecting suspicion. Did you notice that Bankhouse didn’t show up today?” asked Goldblum.
I stood up. “I love both of you, and I’m all for thinking outside of the box. But I fear you’re grasping at anything. Bankhouse’s absence thus far today doesn’t mean a thing. Maybe he had a class.”
“He’s not teaching this summer,” said Zsazsa.
“Then maybe he had a dental appointment. My point is that there are millions of plausible reasons for him not showing up today.”
They looked so dejected. I had to say something to cheer them up. “But you did an amazing job of uncovering the story behind Helen’s employment. It doesn’t necessarily tie Helen to Delbert’s murder, but it does show that she’s capable of questionable and unsavory behavior. Do either of you know if she had a motive for the murder?”
Goldblum’s mouth shifted to the side with dissatisfaction. “Mmmf. We’re back to the drawing board.”
I excused myself and went back to work. I now understood why Helen hadn’t wanted anyone to know what had happened. I would never see her quite the same way again. And while it didn’t tie her to Delbert’s death in any credible way that I could think of, it did cast doubt on her judgment and temperament.
In the middle of the afternoon, I took a quick break to call my mom and confess that I had lied to Norman.
I winced at the sound of Mom’s quick intake of breath when I told her the truth.
“Oh, Florrie! You should have warned me. What on earth are we going to tell the Spratts now?”
“You see my problem. I didn’t want to hurt Norman’s feelings. It seemed like an easy way to discourage him.”
“So you’re not dating that cute cop?”
“I’m afraid not. He was just being a good egg and trying to help me out of the muddle I had created.”
“Darling, I’m glad you came clean and told me the truth, but now you’ve simply handed your problem to me.”
I cringed. I guessed I had. “Maybe they won’t bring it up again. Or you could tell them that you don’t know because I’m very private about my relationships, which wouldn’t be a lie.”
“You are still coming to the cookout for Veronica and her new friend on Sunday, aren’t you?”
“Will the Spratts be there?”
“Of course.”
“With Norman?”
Mom giggled. “Maybe you’d better bring that nice cop to deflect Norman’s interest. Sweetheart, would you mind baking one of your lovely desserts?”
“Of course not. Something fruity for summertime?”
“That sounds perfect.”
I hung up thinking it was too bad Norman wasn’t Helen’s type and vice versa. That would solve both of their problems.
* * *
There was no sign of the guard when I went home that night. Maybe he was patrolling the other side of the mansion. I considered checking on Mr. DuBois, but it was after ten and I didn’t want to wake him. Peaches was meowing so loud in her carrier that I had to let her out before I did anything else.
I turned the key and swung the door open in haste. Frodo ran inside and disappeared behind the kitchen island. I closed the door and opened the cat carrier. Peaches raced out and followed Frodo.
It only took seconds for me to see what had interested them.
A woman lay on the floor of the kitchen.