Part 20 (1/2)

Did we dare try our luck again? I slipped in right behind the fabulous car, admiring the gleaming chrome on the b.u.mper. I gunned the motor just before the gate closed. Success!

I drove like a maniac for several minutes until I knew we were clear of Sanjay's goons. Finally, I stopped at a water-ice joint, ordered two lime slus.h.i.+es at the drive-through window, and turned to Mom.

”What in the world were you doing with a FedEx envelope? You must be a magician. It appeared like a rabbit out of a hat.”

”Not exactly, dear,” she said, patting her straw bag. ”I had an extra mailing envelope with me. I needed to overnight a contract to Edgar, and I was going to mail it from one of those FedEx drop boxes.”

”Amazing,” I said.

A flash of a wry smile was followed by a happy sigh. ”Yes, dear. I really am, aren't I?”

No one can accuse Lola of false modesty.

Chapter 27.

Half an hour later we were heading back to Cypress Grove. I needed to check in with Lark to find out the latest on the case. And I wanted to call Nick and tell him Travis was getting ready to fly the coop and ask him to do a deep background check on him.

What else? I wanted to touch base with the ever-elusive Rafe Martino. I felt a little tingle of antic.i.p.ation at the idea of picking up the phone and hearing that s.e.xy voice. I gave myself a stern reminder that my interest in him was purely professional. It had to be.

But was it? The rational side of my brain, my prefrontal cortex, told me that it made perfect sense to check in with him. How else would I discover what leads he had and whether any new suspects had emerged during the course of the investigation? But the emotional center of my brain, the amyg dala, was doing the happy dance at the thought of seeing him again. A dilemma.

I had no idea how to resolve it, but I knew I needed to get my emotions under control before calling Rafe.

Mom was silent for most of the ride, but she broke into my thoughts as we pulled up in front of my condo.

”That meeting with Travis Carter. It was all very interesting, you know.” She was speaking in a stagey way that reminded me of Joan Hickson playing Miss Marple. I waited for her to say that it reminded her of another case, or maybe someone back in Saint Mary Mead. It was obvious that she wanted me to go along with the game, so I took the bait.

”Okay, I'll bite. What was interesting about it?”

”The fact that Sanjay and Travis went deep-sea fis.h.i.+ng together.”

That was interesting? Who cares? And anyway, how did she know that?

”I missed that.”

”It was the photo, of course, that tipped me off to the fis.h.i.+ng expedition. You know, the one that Travis slapped back into the box.”

The photo? ”I didn't get a look at it.”

”It was a picture someone took of Travis deep-sea fis.h.i.+ng with the guru. And you notice he tucked it away as fast as he could. Either he didn't want me prying through Sanjay's things or there was something significant about that photo. It has to be one or the other, doesn't it?”

”I don't know,” I said honestly. The idea that Sanjay occasionally went deep-sea fis.h.i.+ng with Travis Carter didn't surprise me. They worked closely together, and maybe Sanjay made it a habit to socialize with his employees. He was always harping on the idea that Team Sanjay was one big happy family. So what was the significance of a fis.h.i.+ng trip? I didn't think Mom was going to give me any more hints, so I decided to call Nick as soon as we walked into the kitchen.

Lark was out, but Pugsley greeted me with doggie devotion, winding himself around my legs, begging to be picked up. I gave him a liver treat while he licked my face, delirious with joy at my return. I called Nick and he picked up on the first ring.

”Maggie? What have you got?” he said. I heard Rage Against the Machine blaring in the background. I briefly filled him in on our visit to Travis. ”He's hiding something. I know he is. You can check him out for me, right?”

I heard keyboard noises in the background. Nick has an uncanny ability to find out people's secrets. If information exists anywhere on paper or online, he'll find it. The clicking stopped and I heard Nick muttering to himself. I could just see him hunched over the keyboard, chin jutting forward, as he pushed his gla.s.ses up on his nose. ”Okay, nothing is coming up on him.”

”Nothing?” I was dismayed.

”Nothing incriminating. He won an award for sports fis.h.i.+ng.” A pause. ”Actually, he won a few awards for sports fis.h.i.+ng. But that's not the kind of thing you're looking for, right?”

”Unfortunately not.” I put Pugsley down on the sofa. ”Anything new from the cops?”

Nick's tone thumped up a notch. ”Yeah, I was gonna call you tonight. The tox screen came back.”

”You're kidding! What's the verdict?

”Sanjay was poisoned. It's conclusive.”

Mom glanced over at me, and I raised my eyebrows. Was this good news for Lark, or was this adding to the case against her? I didn't think it was good news.

”What kind of poison?” I pulled out a writing pad, ready to jot down notes.

”They're keeping quiet on that, at least for the moment. I couldn't even get them to tell me the name of the poison or what cla.s.s it belonged to. Rafe told me off the record that it was fast acting, but that's all he'd say.” Nick hesitated. ”There's something else I need to tell you, Maggie.”

Uh-oh. I steeled myself. This was bad news coming--I felt it. ”Go ahead.”

”There are only two sets of fingerprints on the bottle of Calming Essence. The fingerprints belong to Sanjay and to Lark. I'm afraid it's not looking good for her.”

”The Calming Essence bottle--is that what you're talking about?”

”You got it.” I heard more clicking as Nick was checking out something else.

”Nick, she's innocent!” I wailed. ”What can we do?”

”Nothing for the moment.” He sounded preoccupied, as if he was hot on the trail of another investigation. ”Maggie, all you can do is hang in there with her and ride this out. Got another call coming in. Talk to you later.”

I sank onto the sofa next to Pugsley and flipped on the local news. I blinked in surprise when I channel surfed for a few minutes and spotted Lenore Cooper on a talk show. She looked younger and more attractive than the last time I'd seen her, and I wondered whether she'd had a makeover. I suspected she'd had her teeth bleached, and her hair was cut in a sleek bob, taking years off her face. She was looking almost telegenic.

Mom wandered out into the kitchen and returned with a dish of maple walnut ice cream, Pugsley's favorite. He immediately abandoned me and crawled into her lap, looking up at her with adoring puppy eyes. She pointed to the TV. ”Isn't that Sanjay's wife?”

”Ex-wife. She's the one who got him started in his career, and then he dumped her.”

”Ouch.”

I turned up the volume. Lenore Cooper was being interviewed about a new series of seminars and book-signing events she was doing. She'd just signed with a new agency, she said gus.h.i.+ngly, and she was happy her career was back on track. Happy? That didn't surprise me. Success is the best revenge.

Ironic. Maybe Sanjay's death had given her the visibility she needed. Her book had made both the USA Today list and the New York Times list, and it looked like she was back in the game.

At one time, she'd been my number-one suspect, but now everything had changed. Sanjay's death may have revived her flagging career, but I didn't think that was enough of a motive for murder. It was just a lucky outcome for her.

Lark came in later that evening, looking pale and distracted. She slumped with exhaustion but brightened when she saw us in the living room. ”You're back!” She enveloped each of us in a hug. I could tell she had dropped a few pounds from her already-thin frame.

”How are you?” I pulled back to look at her, taking in the gaunt expression and dark circles under her eyes. ”You haven't been sleeping, have you?”