Chapter Thirteen
On Monday Sam had meetings in the city all day. That made it my turn to get everybody up and fed, and to make sure that both Davey and his homework got on the school bus. Then I dropped Kevin off at preschool.
After that, all I had to do was wait an hour for the stores to open. Then it was time for some serious Christmas shopping. Due to extenuating circumstances, I was way behind on my gift buying. Today was my day to remedy that deficit. Since I had time to kill before I could go wear out my credit cards, I decided to take the dogs for a run.
That idea went out the window when the doorbell rang. I wasn’t expecting anybody. I’m almost never expecting anyone. But that never seems to stop random people from showing up at my door at all hours.
This visitor was a real surprise. And not necessarily a good one. I opened the door anyway.
“Mr. Peebles,” I said. “What are you doing here?”
Before he could answer, all five Standard Poodles came swarming out the open doorway. Only Bud was missing. He doesn’t usually pass up anything of interest, so I wondered what kind of trouble the little miscreant was getting into elsewhere.
There was no opportunity to look for him now, however, because Hank Peebles had thrown up his hands and gone stumbling backward off my front step. A strangled sound came out of his mouth. Judging by the expression on his face, he thought death was possibly imminent.
Karma’s a bitch, isn’t it?
“Don’t like dogs?” I inquired pleasantly.
“Those aren’t dogs,” he growled. “They look like bears.”
Maybe the Poodles’ freshly blown-out coats did make them look bigger than they actually were. But not that big. Definitely not bears.
“Nope,” I told him. “They’re Poodles. And this is their house.”
I added that last part in case it might discourage him from prolonging this encounter. And also because I didn’t exactly trust him. If Peebles had stopped by with something stupid in mind, I wanted him to be clear about the fact that my peeps and I had him outnumbered.
“We need to talk,” he said. “Can I come in?” He gazed around at the Poodles, as though he wasn’t entirely sure that was a wise idea.
Good, I thought. That made two of us.
“I guess so.” It wasn’t an invitation.
Peebles stepped past me through the doorway. The Standard Poodles followed him inside. As he stood in the hallway, the dogs continued to crowd around his legs. I continued not to discourage them from doing so. The dogs were only being friendly, but apparently Peebles didn’t know that. And I had no desire to enlighten him.
I closed the door behind us and asked, “What do you want?”
Peebles was wearing the same tweed cap he’d had on the last time I saw him. Once inside the house, he reached up and swept it off his head. When his hand returned to his side, Augie stepped in close to sniff the cloth cap. Peebles cringed away from the big black dog.
Darn it. I wanted him to be intimidated. But the guy actually looked afraid.
“They won’t hurt you,” I said reluctantly.
“How do you know that?”
“Because they’re my dogs and I trained them. They only attack on command.”
Just kidding. But Peebles paled slightly. The cap twisted in his hands. Clearly the man had never met a Standard Poodle before.
“Look Ms. Travis,” he said. “I’m not your enemy.”
“Are you sure?” My brow lifted. “Because that’s not what it seemed like the last time we met.”
“Yeah, well, that wasn’t the best of circumstances, considering that you and your friend had just broken into a house that’s in my care.”
“I wouldn’t admit that so freely if I were you. That gatehouse doesn’t look like it’s been in anybody’s care for years. Lila said she could never get you to come and fix things.”
“Lila said a lot of things.” Peebles smirked. “I wouldn’t take her word as gospel on any of them.”
“The police must have questioned you about her murder,” I said.
“They did,” he grumbled. “Not that there was a need. It’s not like I knew anything about it.”
“I knew something.” I stared at him across the small space. “I told the police that Lila was afraid of you. That she had something you wanted.”
“What?” I’d expected Peebles to react angrily. Instead he looked perplexed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Who told you that?”
“A woman named Karen Clauson. Her husband worked with Lila.”
He shook his head. “I never met that woman. I have no idea where she’d come up with an idea like that. The only thing I wanted from Lila Moran was for her to go away and leave Ms. Mannerly in peace.”
“And now she has,” I pointed out.
“I had nothing to do with Lila’s death,” Peebles snarled. “Don’t go trying to pin that on me. I didn’t do anything to her.”
The Poodles had grown bored listening to us talk. They’d laid down on the wooden floor around us. But now, hearing the menace in Peebles’ tone, Tar and Faith jumped to their feet. The two Poodles looked at me questioningly. I patted my thigh, and both big dogs moved to stand between me and the caretaker.
Good dogs.
Peebles’ eyes tracked the Poodles’ movements. When they took up their new positions, he backed as far away from me as he could. The length of his body pressed against the wall behind him.
“It doesn’t sound as though you did anything to help Lila either,” I said.
“That woman didn’t need my help.” Peebles was still angry. But when Tar shifted his stance, the man glanced down at the male dog and moderated his tone. “Lila knew all about how to look out for herself. Which is more than you can say for Ms. M. The boss is a great lady, but she’s led a secluded life. She doesn’t always understand how the real world works. All I was trying to do was protect her.”
Right. I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for further explanation.
“Okay, maybe I didn’t always get around to making repairs,” he admitted. “Maybe it occurred to me that if the furnace was smoking and the roof leaked, Lila might decide to pick up and move on to someone else’s cushier digs. That’s what her kind does. They’re users, always on the lookout for someone to take care of them.”
“How would you know that?”
“I’ve got eyes and ears, don’t I? I pay attention to what goes on around me, especially when it concerns Ms. M or the estate. So I’ve seen the kind of people who come and go at that gatehouse since Lila moved in and made herself at home. Bunch of lowlifes, if you ask me.”
Pot meet kettle, I thought.
Peebles frowned. “Except the one guy. Drove a red Ferrari, for Pete’s sake. Classic midlife crisis car. I had to admire his taste in wheels, even if he was stooping to boink the help.”
“The help?” I was confused. “What help?”
“It’s my job to know what’s happening on the estate so I looked up his license plate. The guy was Lila’s boss. He’s been showing up at the gatehouse once or twice a week for the past six months. The guys she hung out with before him didn’t have much staying power, but this one sure did.”
“Who are you talking about?” I asked. “What boss?”
“You know him,” Peebles told me. “You were talking about his wife earlier. Guy named Clauson, George Clauson.”
My stomach dropped. “He was having an affair with Lila?”
“I just said that, didn’t I? That woman, she had him wrapped around her little finger. Probably thought he was going to be her ticket to a better life. And who knows? Maybe he would have been. Guy must have really been into her.”
Damn, I thought. How had I missed that?
“Did you tell Detective Hronis about that?” I asked.
“Sure.” Peebles shrugged. “Last week. I answered every question he had. He said he’d look into what I’d told him, along with everything else.”
“Someone needs to tell him again,” I said.
“Not me.” With an eye on the Poodles, Peebles stepped away from the wall. In two steps he was back at the door. He reached for the knob and turned it. “But if you think it matters, go ahead.”
“I will.”
I’d call the detective just as soon as Peebles left. But meanwhile, I still had no idea what he was doing at my house. And now he was about to go. He’d drawn the door open and was ready to walk out.
“Wait,” I said. “Why did you come?”
Peebles stopped and turned back. “Oh yeah. With your dogs attacking me like that, I almost forgot.”
He reached a hand inside his jacket and my breath caught. I hoped he didn’t have a weapon in there. Then he withdrew his hand and held it out to me. I couldn’t see what he was holding, but I found myself reaching for it anyway.
Something cool and lightweight dropped into my palm. I looked down at it and blinked in surprise. Claire’s gold bangle.
“I found it on the ground near where your friend parked her car,” Peebles told me. “I know she wanted it back. I figured you could give it to her.”
I looked up at him and swallowed. Maybe I needed to reassess a few things. “Thank you for returning the bracelet. Claire will be thrilled to have it back.”
“It’s nothing. Like I said, Ms. Travis, I’m not your enemy.”
No, I supposed not.
I waited until Peebles had driven away before I grabbed my phone and called Detective Hronis. I had to wait two minutes for someone to find him. Or for him to decide whether or not he wanted to speak to me. Either one was possible. By the time the detective picked up, I was drumming my fingers on the bannister impatiently.
“Detective Hronis,” he barked. “Ms. Travis?”
“Yes, I’m here,” I said. “I was just talking to Hank Peebles. You know, the caretaker at the Mannerly estate?”
“Yes, I’m familiar with Mr. Peebles.” He waited for me to continue.
“He told me that Lila Moran was having an affair with George Clauson.”
“We’re aware of that.”
“Did you ask him about it?”
“Ms. Travis, I’m not required to keep you informed of police activity.”
“No, of course not.” I walked around the newel post and sat down on a step. The Poodles were spread out on the floor, listening as I talked. They probably understood me better than Detective Hronis did. “But George Clauson’s wife, Karen—”
“We talked to her too, Ms. Travis.” He was beginning to sound bored.
“Karen’s position as George’s wife and her standing in the community mean everything to her. If his relationship with Lila put those things at risk, or if she was afraid that George might leave her . . .”
My voice trailed away. I was waiting for Detective Hronis to connect the dots, just as I had. Several long seconds ticked by in silence.
“We’ve considered that, Ms. Travis, and we’re looking into it,” Hronis replied finally. “But right now, all we have is speculation. Mrs. Clauson told us she was aware of her husband’s extramarital activities. And both of them told us that he had already ended the affair before Lila Moran was killed.”
“And you believed them?” I asked skeptically.
“Let’s just say I’m keeping an open mind. But as I said, this is all just conjecture. We would need some kind of proof before pursuing this line of inquiry further.”
“I could talk to Chris Sanchez again,” I said. “Maybe she knows something.”
There was another pause before the detective spoke. “I’ll repeat what I told you before, Ms. Travis. This is police business. The best thing would be for you to put it out of your mind. I wouldn’t want you to do anything stupid.”
“Nor would I,” I replied. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to talk to Chris again.
“He didn’t care about what I had to say,” I told the dogs glumly when we’d severed the connection. “Thank goodness for you guys. You always pay attention to me.”
Faith and Eve hopped up. Augie was already on his feet. The Poodle group was ready to play. I still had time to get in a run before heading out to shop. But first I needed to find Bud. What the heck could he be up to that was more interesting than a visitor in the front hall? No doubt it was something nefarious.
Since it was Bud we were talking about, it probably involved food. So I headed to the kitchen first. The pantry door was standing open. Suspicious noises were coming from within. I walked around and had a look.
Bud was lying on the floor next to a forty pound bag of kibble. He’d managed to chew a small hole in the bottom of the bag. Now he was using his tongue to pull out the kibble piece by piece. You know, because we never fed him, poor thing.
“Bud, cut that out!” I said.
He looked up at me and wagged his tail. Happy! Happy!
“You are not happy,” I said firmly. “You’re in trouble.”
Happy! Happy!
Dammit, it was a good thing he was so cute.
I dragged him out of the pantry. Then I went back and taped up the bottom of the bag. It wasn’t a perfect patch, but it would do.
Five minutes later I was finally getting ready to go for that run when my phone rang. I snatched it up. Maybe it was Detective Hronis calling back to tell me I was brilliant.
No such luck. It was Claire.
“Hey,” I said. “Good news! I’ve got your missing bracelet.”
“That’s nice,” she replied. Nice? “But I don’t care about that right now. Can we talk?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“Not on the phone.” Her voice sounded shaky. “In person.”
“I guess so,” I said slowly. There went my run. And my Christmas shopping. But something didn’t feel right. “Claire, are you okay?”
“Yes,” she replied. I wasn’t reassured. “But I need to see you. Now.”
“I can do that. Where are you?”
“I’m at the gatehouse.”
“What?” Thoughts whirling, I nearly tripped over Bud. “What are you doing there?”
“I can’t explain. I just need you to come.”
I was already dodging around Poodles as I hurried from the kitchen. “Claire, what’s going on?”
“Just come.”
Luckily I had the phone pressed tight against my ear. Because that meant I heard her slip out the word “not” in a breathy whisper before saying out loud, “Alone.”
Oh crap, I thought.
“Claire, talk to me!” I cried.
She didn’t reply. The connection had already ended.