We lay in bed for another hour. Talked about Bill, what he did, what he tried to do to us, and the fact that John Carrington and the Manors police had him in custody. They had the old bull locked up, ready to be questioned and then thrown away in a cell for the rest of his life. For a moment, I was happy that at least I could believe that there was justice in this world. That this bad deed would be punished. And then I remembered Eric.
He was killed. Shot. The night that Ginny and I had been on his roof spying on Lee. After that night, I had thought Eric might have been the killer. Maybe not the killer of Carl. But the attempted killer of me. Of that I was certain.
I didn't know what role Eric had played in this affair. Was he the killer? An accomplice? Lee's friend? Or just a sap that got caught up with the wrong people. His death appeared to me the result of someone tying up some lose ends.
Despite our musings, we still had work to do.
"One down and one to go," I said.
"Don't remind me," Imogen said, pulling the covers over her head.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we've still got Steiner to deal with and her death threats."
"Ugh. I know, I know."
"Plus the auction. We might as well stop by her place and let her know the good news that she is going to get her auction at Delmar after all," I said.
"That means that we have to get out of bed?"
I looked over at Imogen, wrapped up, the covers still over her head.
"No one said we're in any sort of rush," I said, pulling the covers off of her.
I leaned over and kissed her.
An hour later we came to the painful realization that we did have to get out of bed and start the day. It was late morning or early afternoon, depending on your perspective. I had looked at it as late morning. That was the more half-full way of viewing the remaining daylight. I was an eternal optimist.
We showered, dressed, and were off in my car on our way over to Alese's house. We wove through the quiet streets of Manors, enjoying the weather, our windows down.
"We're quite the team," Imogen said. "You know, we're actually pretty good at this private investigating stuff."
She was right. We were. I had even started to believe that we had a knack for solving murders. We weren't exactly batting a thousand when it came to figuring out death threats. But, on the other hand, we had also discovered a Ponzi scheme that was poised to bring down one of the largest private investment funds in the country. That was on tap for later today. We planned to head down to the station to talk to John, put another nail in Bill's coffin, and to fill John in on Lee Endicott's scam.
"I think Carrington would agree," I said. "If we're not careful, we might actually have a career on our hands."
We approached Alese's street. Her house sat off to the left surrounded by lush greenery and beautiful landscaping. I pulled up to the driveway, and there sat a car that I had not seen before.
"Was that here the last time we stopped by?" I asked, rolling into the driveway.
"I don't remember any car," she said.
Hmm. I didn't have any recollection of a car sitting in the driveway the last time that we were here. Perhaps it had been parked in the garage.
"It just looks out of place," I said.
I wasn't sure why it looked out of place. The vehicle just sort of looked like a guy's car. When I peeked at the license plate looking for a clue I was disappointed. There wasn't any vanity plate giving anything away. It must have been my gut. Sometimes even my feelings were correct.
We got out of the car, walked up to the front door, and rang the bell. This time Alese wasn't standing there waiting for our arrival. No one answered. I didn't even hear anyone stirring in there.
This gave me pause. The car. The seemingly empty house. Where was Alese? Whose car was that?
"Do you think she's home?" Imogen asked.
"Someone's here. Their car is parked right over there," I said.
We rang the bell again. This time we heard motion inside. There was someone moving around. Then we heard someone say something that we could not make out. It was Alese.
"Did you hear that?" I asked. "It sounded like a bird screeching."
"Oh, Max," she said.
The door finally opened, and Alese stood before us in a T-shirt, shorts, and no shoes. She looked like she had just woken up herself.
"Max, Imogen, hi."
She seemed surprised to see us.
"Hi Alese. Sorry, are we interrupting anything? We can come back later if—"
"No, no. Don't be silly. I was just tidying up. Come in," she said.
Tidying up? I doubted that very much. I couldn't see Alese running around dusting. Something was going on that was out of the norm.
We thanked her, and she escorted us in. As we entered I looked around, but everything seemed right where it was the last time that we were here. No signs of anything weird going on. I also did not see any other person lurking around behind the door or over by the kitchen. But I had a hunch something was off.
She led us into the living room area, complete with the Klimt hanging on the wall and the duck pond just beyond the sliding glass door.
"Do you guys mind?" she asked, over by the window. "I want to let in some fresh air."
"No, please do. It's quite lovely out," Imogen said.
Alese pushed a button, and the glass wall slid out of sight revealing the pond without obstruction, even if that obstruction had just been a clear window. The breeze tickled our foreheads as the air conditioning mixed with the humidity that had entered the house.
My hairs raised on edge. I didn't know if it was the humidity hitting me or my nerves acting up. My senses heightened.
"Ahh," Alese said. "I just love this weather."
"Between the room, the painting, and the scene outside I'm on sensory overload," I said.
Alese sighed, "You get used to it, I guess. So, what brings you two over to my place?"
"I've got some news that I wanted to deliver to you personally," I said.
I wanted to watch her face as I delivered the news.
"It's quite exciting," Imogen said.
"You've figured out who sent the voicemail?"
"Not quite," I said.
"We're still working on that one," Imogen said. "But this should bring a smile to your face."
I paused for dramatic effect.
"Max, please, do tell," Alese said.
"I met with the board of Delmar yesterday, and they wanted you to know that they have agreed to host the auction four weeks from today."
Alese squealed with excitement. She jumped out of her chair, ran over to Imogen, and gave her a hug. Then she made her way over to me. She hugged me and threw me two double air kisses, decided that was not enough, and then gave me two more for good measure.
"This is fabulous news!" she said. "I am thrilled. So thrilled. I am so happy that you came by to tell me in person."
"It is no problem at all. I'm glad that I could help. Now you just need to get the word out there," I said.
"Oh, I will. I will. Thank you, Max. Thank you," Alese said.
Then a voice spoke from the open space at the edge of the room as he entered the living room, "Yes, Max. Thank you."