Color Me Murder

“Hush!” Jacquie slapped a hand over her own mouth. “The guard will be in here any minute.”

I peered at her in disbelief. “Jacquie Liebhaber?”

“Please don’t give me away to the security guard,” she begged. “I’ll explain everything.”

What was I supposed to do? The woman was famous around the world. I didn’t think she was a threat to me or anyone else.

She was dead on about the security guard, though. There was a rap at the door.

Jacquie looked a lot more terrified than I felt. I flicked my hand at her as an indication she should hide. She retreated up the stairs.

I opened the door, still holding the roses. “I feel so stupid. It was a spider. I’m a little queasy about them.” Where the devil had he been when a huge man walked up the driveway?

He gazed around. “You sure?” In a whisper, he said, “If somebody is in here and you’re pretending everything is all right, tug on your left earlobe.”

I burst out laughing. “Thank you. That was very clever of you. But everything is quite fine.”

“I’m just outside if you need me.”

“Thanks. I feel much better knowing you’re there.” That was a fib. If he was on the ball, Jacquie wouldn’t be in the house at all, and he’d have noticed the man with the bouquet of roses.

I closed the door, set the roses on a table, and walked to the stairs. “I thought you were dead.”

“Dead?” She walked back down the stairs. “Why would you think that?”

I told her about the radio report. “I guess they didn’t say you were dead, but I sort of assumed it. Finding a half-submerged car in the river isn’t a good sign.”

“Sheesh. I cannot believe it took them a whole week to find my car. I didn’t even hide it well.”

“You left your car submerged in the Potomac?”

“That should give you an indication of how scared I am. It’s not every day that someone tries to fake her own demise.”

“But why?”

“It’s a long story.”

I figured she was hungry. “How would you like to tell me over a steak and potato salad?”

“Oh yes! Thank you, Florrie. You’re just as wonderful as Maxwell told me. I feel like we’re already old pals.”

“The professor knows you’re here?”

“No, but he always speaks of you with such fondness. I’m afraid I gave you a terrible fright when I tried to get into the carriage house.”

I stared at her in shock, momentarily speechless as I realized what her words meant. “You? You’re the one who jiggled the handle of the French door in the middle of the night?”

“Guilty. I’m so sorry that I scared you. I thought the carriage house was empty and hoped someone had left one of the doors unlocked.”

So it wasn’t Delbert who tried to break in. He might have already been dead by then. “You wanted to hide here?”

“In my books, the heroines never go home to hide because that’s the first place people would look for them. I guess my current residence is where they would expect to find me, but this property feels like home to me, and I haven’t lived here in so long that no one would suspect I was here. Have you heard anything about Maxwell?” she asked. “How’s he holding up?”

“As well as can be expected is what they tell me. His lawyer says he has limited phone access, so I haven’t spoken with him.”

“Florrie, I have a huge favor to ask of you. And then, how about we share a bottle of wine from Maxwell’s cellar with that steak?”

“I think I have a bottle of wine in the kitchen.”

Jacquie smiled broadly. “Oh, you’re a goody two-shoes. No raiding the wine cellar. I love you even more. The nurse has stocked up on the most dreadfully bland foods at the mansion. It’s a wonder DuBois is getting better at all. If I hadn’t managed to intercept a delivery from the grocery store before the nurse put everything away, I would be starving.”

“You’ve been living here?”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it living, but yes, I’ve been hiding out here. It’s a wonderful place, isn’t it? I built this carriage house as my office when I was married to Maxwell. I used to come over here every day to write. In the summer, I sat out in the garden, and in the winter, when there was snow on the ground or the wind howled, I would build a fire. He updated the kitchen considerably since then. Wife number three probably did that. The garden looks fabulous. So lush! These are lovely roses. From your police admirer?”

“Oddly enough, they’re from Delbert’s father, Mr. Woodley.”

“Really? Maxwell was never fond of him. Said he was far too vulgar. It’s been years since I saw him. Looks like he has learned to be more gracious.”

“He came to the store to see where Delbert died. It was very sad. I think he feels like he failed as a father.”

“I can understand why. Delbert was always bad news. I’m no shrink, but I suspect the best parent in the world couldn’t have changed his predisposition to wreak havoc.”

I unpacked the food and fixed her a plate of steak, beans, potato salad, and an ear of corn.

“It’s been so long since I had a cat,” said Jacquie. “Peaches is just lovely. She’s been such a blessing to me.”

A blessing? I could hear Peaches purring. “So that’s why Peaches was always tired when I came home. She played with you during the day.”

“I suspect it was the goldfish that tired her out. I hope you don’t mind. I’ve been so relieved to be able to get out in the fresh air. It did a lot to calm my nerves. Did you notice the cat fence that runs across the fence around the garden? It’s made so that they fall back into the garden if they try to jump out. His third wife must have been a cat lover, too. I’m sure DuBois hated that.”

I set a wineglass and a bottle of my favorite red wine on the coffee table and brought her the plate I had prepared.

“Oh lovely! Thank you, Florrie!” Jacquie ate like she hadn’t seen food in days.

“You’ve been here on the estate since the night you tried to get in?”

“Why do you think I’m dressed like this?”

I had no idea where to start. I knew it was a rhetorical question on her part, but I thought it was as good a place to begin as any. “Why are you dressed like that?”

“Because I can’t go home, and I certainly cannot go shopping! This is Maxwell’s shirt. I took the liberty of cutting the legs off a pair of his old jeans. I was somewhat horrified to find the waist isn’t too large for me.”

“Did you clean up Maxwell’s dresser?”

“Wasn’t that an awful mess? DuBois certainly couldn’t do it. Maxwell wouldn’t have cared. He was never one to be tidy. But I don’t like messes.”

“You weren’t afraid someone would notice?”

“Not that. Who complains when somebody cleans up? All the nurses probably thought a different nurse did it. If they even went into his bedroom.”

“Aside from the creepiness factor, I’m pretty impressed that no one except DuBois knew you were here. And he thought you were a ghost.”

“Crumbs, my dear. In my books, villains always carelessly leave crumbs. I made sure that I didn’t.”

Would it be rude of me to ask why she couldn’t go home? I decided it wasn’t. After all, she was hanging around in my home, sneaking food, and cutting up the professor’s clothes. I dared to ask.

Between bites, she said, “The short and horribly boring truth is that my husband has a gambling problem, and I’m through with him. The longer answer is somewhat more hair raising.”

I sipped a glass of sparkling water and stroked Peaches while Jacquie ate.

“This potato salad is superb. I love the pickles in it. Anyway, on Friday afternoon a week ago, I received a text from my credit card company. I have one of those thingies where they notify me if someone tries to charge more than a certain amount. My husband was away on business, so I thought it must surely be a fraudulent transaction. I’m sorry to say that it was my husband trying to get cash from a machine at a casino.” She dabbed her mouth with the napkin and sucked in a huge breath. “I’ve known about his problem for a long time. But I truly thought he had it under control. He’s been seeing a shrink who was helping him overcome his compulsion.”

She sipped her wine. “After days alone, you have no idea how wonderful it is to talk to someone.” She took a deep breath. “So, you know how sometimes things just occur to you out of the blue? One thing happens and it leads you to other random thoughts? I went home to check on my jewelry and it had been ransacked. Gone, gone, gone. All my beautiful sparkly things and some sentimental items from my mother and grandmothers. That bothered me the most. Those heirloom items weren’t very valuable. But losing them is a crushing loss to me.”

Jacquie interlocked her fingers and held them tight. Her hands trembled slightly. “We had been through it all before—the promises and the tears and the discussions. We’ve lost an enormous amount of money. Just wasted! Gamblers always think they’re going to win it back. They keep pumping money in, certain they will win big.”

She shook her head. “Creditors were calling, and he was getting foreclosure notices on his properties. And still he wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t take it anymore. The next morning, I rose early and moved all my funds into other banks. I don’t have Maxwell-type money, of course, but if my husband knew where it was, he’d have wangled a way to get at it. You can’t imagine how terrible it is to live with a gambling addict. In the evening, I came to see Maxwell for advice.”

She smiled. “Maxwell, for all his reckless adventures, is actually quite wise and very kind. His concern was the life insurance policy that my husband holds on me. If I die, he gets five million dollars. Maxwell was right. I had to leave for my own protection. My husband was out of town, so I hurried home, intending to pack a few things. But when I entered the house, I could hear him speaking with someone. The number five million was mentioned so clearly that I can still hear him saying it today. I didn’t dare stay a second longer. I left immediately. I was afraid to be alone in a hotel somewhere, so I dumped the car to mislead anyone searching for me and came back to Maxwell. And now, he’s not here but I am.”

“He didn’t see you the night you tried to get into the carriage house?”

“I don’t think so. All the lights came on, and I was terrified that I had triggered an alarm. I fled into the mansion and up the stairs to his bedroom. Early in the morning, I could hear DuBois running about, so I hid. Then Maxwell left and later on the police swarmed the place. At first I thought they had come to search for me. I didn’t know about Delbert’s murder at the time.”

She studied her hands. “Florrie, my life is at risk if anyone finds out that I’m here. No one else can know. Maxwell pointed out to me that my husband probably borrowed against his real estate holdings from some unsavory types who would think nothing of helping him knock me off.”

“Did you have a martini with the professor?”

“How did you know?” she asked.

“So you’re his alibi!”

“But I left. I wasn’t with him all night.”

“He was in his office when I left Color Me Read that night at ten o’clock. What time did you get here?”

“Ten thirty. I parked in front of the store, met him at his office, and we walked over here.”

“Did you see Mr. DuBois? It would be great if he could confirm this.”

“No. He tends to retire early because he rises early to make breakfast.”

“So the professor made two martinis and you talked about your problems.”

“Actually, I mixed the martinis. Maxwell likes them very dry with a green olive. He says no one but me ever gets them right.”

“What time did you leave?”

“Around midnight. I walked back to the store, drove home, panicked, ditched my car, and walked here. It’s a long walk from the river. It seemed so close by car. I was exhausted, mentally and physically. Can you imagine how draining and frightening it is to know that someone wants to murder you?”

My heart went out to her. I couldn’t imagine being in her shoes. “You can’t live this way forever.”

A soft smile lit her face. “No, I can’t. Here I am revealing my whereabouts and trusting you to keep my secret. Although, I’m not so sure I wouldn’t enjoy hiding for a longer time. With some clothes and decent food, I could live like this for quite a while. If I weren’t so doggoned scared for my life, it would be like a writing retreat.”

“I changed the locks. All of them. There’s no way you have a key.” I watched her expression carefully. “And I marked the doors. No one opened the front door while I was gone. How did you get in?”

“There’s a passage from the mansion.”

“I hope you’ll excuse me for saying so, but it’s really creepy that you were able to enter without my knowledge.”

“I apologize for that. I never did it when you were here. Not at night or when you were home. Actually, I’ve been using that scenario in a new book that I’m writing. I do understand the ghoulish factor.”

“How did you know when I was home?”

“I’ve been spying on things from the rooms over the garage. I figure if someone enters the property, I’ll hear the commotion and can hide fairly quickly.”

“Where is this passage?”

“It starts at the mansion, runs under the garage, and comes over here. It’s actually a fascinating story. Georgetown was a major stop on the underground railway for escaping slaves. The Maxwell family had some crazy members, but one of them was a remarkable man who helped a lot of slaves on their way to freedom. When I moved into the house ages ago, I discovered the place where the slaves hid. Ugh. I guess when you’re escaping a nightmare, you’ll take refuge anywhere. It was a dark, dank pit far under the house, accessed through a hidden door in Maxwell’s bedroom. It came up out here in what was once a stable. When I found it, I had Alan install lights so it wouldn’t be so dark and terrifying. I shiver when I think that they probably only had candles to light the way. It must have been horrific.”

“Where does it open in here?” I glanced around the room in search of a well-hidden door.

“It’s best if you don’t know.”

“I think I have a right to know. Is there a way to lock it?”

“Whoa! Keeping me out, are you? You can throw a bolt from the inside. I was never concerned about anyone sneaking around. After all, it was just family. And . . .”

Her voice trailed off. She swallowed hard and looked away. “After our little girl was kidnapped, Maxwell and I thought it would be smart to have a safe room in the house. The Maxwells were very prominent and known for being wealthy. You can lock both ends from the inside.”

“I’m sorry about your daughter.”

She nodded and stared at Peaches. “I still think about Caroline with every breath I take. She must have been so scared. My poor beautiful baby. I can only hope that her death wasn’t painful or brutal.”

“Did they ever find her?”

She shook her head. “To this day we don’t know what happened to her. But I know what happened to us. Maxwell and I fell apart. Maxwell and I saw Caroline’s face when we looked at each other. Each of us was a daily reminder to the other of the daughter we had lost. It’s a pity really. I don’t think we ever stopped loving each other. And now, the only thing that makes the fear of dying more bearable is the knowledge that I’ll be with Caroline again.”

She wiped her eyes and bent forward toward me. “I see some of my books on your shelves. I’ll let you in on a little secret. The character of Harrison is based on Maxwell.”

I jerked back. “No kidding? Of course! Why didn’t I make the connection? The intrepid explorer. He’s always such a gentleman even in the most unexpected circumstances. By the way, I spoke with your agent.”

“Aww. Jessica’s a dear. I hate to worry her. I just haven’t been able to figure out a way to contact anyone without leaving a cyber trail. You can’t imagine how hard it is not to have access to a computer or a laptop. I’ve been writing in longhand, something I haven’t done in ages. Which brings me to the favor I must ask of you.”