Merry Wrath Mysteries Boxed Set Volume III (Books 7-9) Page 8

  A little llama was embossed in the middle, next to the letters M. P.

  "It's the fortune!" Kelly's voice squeaked. "It does exist!"

  "Why was it here?" I wondered out loud.

  Edna was frozen in place, never taking her eyes off the bar.

  "Edna Lou?" I nudged.

  The spell broke, and she looked from Kelly to me. "I don't know. It wasn't there before. I clean the whole building every Tuesday. I even moved the filing cabinets to get underneath. If this had been there, I would have seen it."

  "Which means that Ike must have brought it here." My mind was racing.

  "Can I hold it?" Edna Lou asked.

  I handed it to her, using the cloth. "Don't touch it directly." I understood the lure of the gold.

  "Why would Ike bring it here?" I asked. "Did he tell you he was coming over?"

  Edna Lou's fingers tightened around the treasure as her eyes welled up. "What? Oh. Um, yes. He said he had something to talk about."

  "He must've found the treasure," Kelly said. "He was bringing it here to show you."

  Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she said nothing.

  "Did he say anything else?" I pressed. "Something that could give us a hint?"

  The woman shook her head. If Ike did say anything more, she wasn't sharing it.

  A police cruiser pulled up, and Rex stepped out of the passenger side. Officer Kevin Dooley continued to sit behind the wheel while eating marshmallows from a plastic baggie.

  Rex held out his hand to Edna Lou, but she hesitated. It was pretty obvious that she didn't want to give up the gold bar. After a few seconds, she reluctantly handed it over.

  I described where we'd found it and admitted that my prints might be on it from when I picked it up.

  "Show me exactly where you found it," Rex said.

  Inside the cabin, I took him to where I'd found Ike's body. Rex pulled on some latex gloves and got down on his hands and knees. He shone a flashlight under the cabinet, and got to his feet, shoving the furniture aside.

  There was nothing there. That was too bad. It would've been nice to find a note that implicated the killer and explained where the rest of the bars were.

  "Did you search Ike's house?" I said.

  Rex could've rolled his eyes, because duh, of course he searched the victim's house. But he didn't, because he's awesome.

  "We did. But we must have missed something. I'll take Officer Dooley and head back over there."

  I groaned. "He won't be very helpful."

  Rex thought about this for a second. "You might be right. I'll take someone else."

  I grinned. He was talking about me.

  "I'll ask Dr. Body to help."

  My smile vanished.

  It was very difficult to get the girls to leave when their parents came. We'd asked them to keep the discovery to themselves, and I had no doubt they would. My troop had no problem practicing discretion.

  We helped Edna Lou clean up. Tears rimmed her eyes more than once, reminding me of the loss of her cousin. It also must have been a shock to have the legendary treasure this close, only to find the one person with information about it was dead. Okay, that sounded harsh. This woman lost a family member. I'd have to remember that.

  "Thanks again," I said as we finished. "I know the girls loved it."

  "I loved it," Kelly said.

  Somehow, I knew it wasn't the cleaning up part she was talking about.

  "Thank you for cleaning the scene of the…of the…" She didn't finish. Tears started to run down her cheeks for the second time. I'd guessed that the shock finally wore off and she was mourning the loss of her cousin.

  "It's okay," I said quickly. "We were happy to help out."

  The woman wiped her tears away looked up at me. "I'd really like to see that map. I could use a distraction."

  Kelly patted her shoulder. "We'll get it to you."

  As we walked back to our cars, I couldn't help getting excited. Stuff was happening! Cool stuff. Well, except for Ike's murder, that was.

  "Want to come over for a glass of wine?" I asked.

  She nodded. "I'll pick up Finn and meet you there."

  Twenty minutes later, Finn was sitting on the kitchen floor, playing with a big plastic spoon and various pots and pans. Philby, who'd taken a liking to the baby, sat next to her as if supervising. Martini climbed into one of the pots and fell asleep. The fact that a small child was smacking that pot with a spoon didn't seem to bother her.

  I had made a copy of the map, one page for each side. I laid these out, side by side on the breakfast bar, and we studied them.

  "Mehitable, or Mimi," Kelly said, "lived here. In the house where your sisters-in-law now live and work." She ran her finger toward where my house would be and stopped. "And here's where the map was."

  "Which was, at the time, her brother's farm."

  I looked in the phone book and found Ike Murphy's address. I didn't have a landline, but old people still did. Turned out, Ike lived across town, next door to the zoo.

  "We should go over there," I said.

  "Didn't you tell me Rex and Soo Jin are there, searching for more gold?"

  I gave her a look. "When did I tell you that?"

  "When we were walking to our cars."

  "Maybe they aren't there anymore."

  Kelly's right eyebrow rose, "Is that a risk you're willing to take?"

  Good point. Even though Rex wanted to solve the mystery of Mad Mimi's fortune, he was there right now investigating a murder. He probably wouldn't consider the two things linked…even though I thought they were. Did I want to annoy him right now? I was really good at that.

  I smiled at Finn, who had put one of the pot lids on Philby's head and was hitting it with the spoon. The cat wasn't mad at her but looked at me with murder in her eyes.

  "When was the last time Finn went to the zoo?"

  CHAPTER TEN

  "Why is he doing that?" Kelly held Finn away from the glass where Mr. Fancy Pants, a king vulture, was throwing himself at the glass in my direction.

  She should know the answer. My troop and I had a history with the raptor. Originally from the National Zoo in DC, the bird had helped me with a troublesome Yakuza member during a trip to our nation's capital.

  He had a crack-like addiction to Girl Scout Cookies.

  "I may have been visiting him." I shrugged. "In the off hours. It's possible I may have brought cookies."

  Finn squealed with delight, clapping her hands at the antics of the large, googly-eyed bird. Kelly tightened her grip.

  If you'd never seen a king vulture before, it was a startling sight. A large white bird with black on the wings, the raptor had what appeared to be a hairless purplish head with bits of stubble where I guessed feathers would normally be. A bright beak with a brilliantly orange wattle hanging over it and large googly eyes gave it a deranged, muppety sort of appearance.

  Children were starting to surround us as their mothers tugged them back in fear.

  "I have animal crackers in my diaper bag," Kelly hissed at me.

  "Then you should probably walk away quickly because they are known for their sense of smell."

  Kelly rushed away with the stroller to the next exhibit. Fancy Pants quieted down, and the children, disappointed, wandered away.

  I knelt down in front of the glass. The bird came over and eyed me suspiciously. Or maybe it was affectionately. It was hard to tell when the eyes went in different directions like that.

  "I'll bring you some cookies later," I whispered to the glass. "But only if you behave."

  The bird stared at me before hopping back to the big branch I usually sat on with him when I broke in at night. He climbed up and sat there, staring out.

  A month or so ago, the bird was loaned out to our zoo. The girls were delighted because they adored him, and I paid a significant fee to "adopt" him. As a result, the zoo let me visit. Most of the time I broke in after hours and picked the lock to his cage. I'd smuggle him co
okies, and we'd have a nice chat.

  He was an excellent listener.

  I caught up with Kelly and Finn as they were heading to the reptile house. The zoo was only open until 6, and the time was drawing near. By now, Rex had to be done searching Ike's house.

  "Mama!" Finn shouted as we neared the gift shop exit.

  "She's talking?" I marveled.

  Kelly nodded. "She is. Mama is her first word."

  "Merrr-yyy" I said slowly and loudly to my goddaughter.

  "What are you doing?"

  "I want her next word to be Merry." I shrugged. "Merrr-yyy."

  But Finn wasn't having it. She just shouted "MAMA" and pointed to a statue a few feet away.

  "I think she's saying llama," I teased Kelly.

  A large, lifelike sculpture of a llama with a surprised look on its face stood a few feet away.

  "She doesn't know what a llama is." Kelly bit her lip.

  This was a lie. A few months ago I'd bought Finn a board book about a llama with intestinal gas issues. I happened to know that Robert read it to her every night.

  "That must be new," Kelly said as she walked her daughter over to the statue. "We were here last month, and I don't think it was here then."

  "MAMA!" Finn shouted again as she clapped her hands at the statue.

  I stepped closer to examine it. The llama was looking straight ahead, eyes open wide, tongue hanging out of the right side of its mouth. He looked demented.

  "Look!" Kelly pointed at the plaque on the ground in front of it.

  Tinkles the Llama, beloved pet of Mehitable Peters.

  "When? Why?" I had trouble putting words together.

  This was too much of a coincidence. Why did this appear here, now? I stared at the writing to make sure I was reading it correctly. There was some very small print, and I had to crouch down to read it.

  Donated by Ferguson Taxidermy—Where Your Pet Lives On Forever!

  I read this out loud, in case I was hallucinating.

  "Randi and Ronni donated this?" Kelly asked. "What a strange coincidence."

  I shook my head. "I don't think its coincidence at all."

  An announcement came over the loudspeaker telling us the zoo was closing and to please visit the gift shop on our way out.

  "It's six," I said. "Their shop will be closing too."

  "Let's go tomorrow," Kelly suggested. "I'm free first thing in the morning."

  We agreed. I took a picture of the statue and on the way out bought a stuffed king vulture for Finn. She chewed happily on his wattle while we drove out the exit and around back to the address listed for Ike.

  A tiny white house sat on a large lot surrounded by trees. It didn't have one single neighbor. Maybe that was why Ike liked it. Privacy was more important to some people than having a big house.

  We drove by slowly to make sure Rex wasn't there. It was deserted. With no neighbors, it would be fairly easy to check out. Kelly parked a block away and got out the stroller. She would walk Finn around the neighborhood, and if she saw anything suspicious or Rex (I wasn't sure which would be worse), she'd call me.

  The front door was level with the sidewalk. There were windows on each side of the door. I walked around back via the driveway on the left. There was another door to the driveway and sliding glass doors facing the backyard. No garage, no shed. Just the house.

  Peering in through the sliding glass doors didn't tell me much. A simple kitchen with a small table and two chairs were all I could see. My guess from the layout was that there'd be one bedroom, a small living room, and a bathroom on the other side.

  A bunch of pamphlets on the table promoted the Who's There Historical Society. There wasn't a gold bar in sight.

  What did I expect? That there'd be a pile of gold with a note that said who killed Mehitable and here's a puppy, just for your trouble?

  A lion roared, and I jumped backward into a defensive stance. Oh. Right. The zoo was in this guy's backyard. And what kind of defensive position would stop a lion attack anyway? I was getting rusty.

  Pulling on a pair of bright yellow cleaning gloves (what? They were handy), I gently took hold of the sliding glass door and pulled.

  It was open.

  Two things were happening here. Either Officer Kevin Dooley had been with Rex and Soo Jin and left the door open, or someone else had the same idea as me. There was no lock on the outside, and it didn't look like it had been tampered with. Which meant someone got in through another door and exited this way.

  Had Rex surprised someone? Why didn't he check to make sure the door was locked? It didn't sound like Rex. Or Soo Jin. The coroner had to have some police training. Right?

  Well, their mistake was my gain. Was it breaking and entering if the door was unlocked? I entered and closed the door silently behind me. And waited.

  Here was where spies got caught. Upon breaking into an unknown location, you had to wait to make sure no one heard you. If there was someone home, you beat a quick retreat. If not, you could proceed…but with extreme caution, because people with something to hide rarely left doors unlocked.

  To my surprise, the house was neat as a pin. The kitchen was spotless and smelled of cleansers. Not one dish languished in the sink. There weren't even any water stains in the stainless-steel sink.

  I started with the cupboards first, opening each drawer and door as quietly as I could. Nothing looked out of sorts. In fact, if I didn't know any better, I'd say this house was totally staged. Everything was tidily stacked with not so much as a dust speck anywhere. Either Ike was very neat, or he didn't live here at all. I took that idea and shoved it into the back of my mind.

  After crawling under the table and chairs to see if anything was taped to the seat or table, I got up and looked around. Was this a slab house with no basement? I'd heard of prefab houses after World War II being set up on slabs of cement. But I'd never really been in one.

  There wasn't any other way out of the kitchen but through to the living room. It was small, cut in half by a doorway to a bedroom and a bathroom. A clean but worn leather recliner sat in front of a huge, state-of-the-art smart TV. A small end table completed the furniture suite. The floor had brand-new carpet. I'd have to remember to rub out my footprints on my way out.

  The room was dark because the shades were drawn. I waited a moment for my eyes to adjust. Turning on a light might alert someone to my presence. Checking my phone for any messages from Kelly was a bust. Which was good news.

  The TV was mounted on a wall. I had to use the flashlight on my cell to check the back of it, but I didn't see anything unusual. I walked around the carpet, checking to see if any corners pulled up where messages might be hidden. Nope. It was tacked on tight.

  The table had nothing on it but a remote for the TV. I checked the underside. Nothing. Very slowly I opened the recliner and got down on the floor. I couldn't see anything underneath, and it was hard to feel around with a thick rubber glove on. After coming up empty, I moved on to the bedroom.

  Once again, the room was spotless and Spartan. One twin-sized bed divided the little room in half. There was one dresser and one nightstand and one closet. I'd have to take a little more time in here.

  If I was asked which room I'd most likely find secret stuff, I'd say the bedroom every time. People put their most precious possessions in the room they slept in, for extra security. I'd found everything from nuclear codes to stacks of passports in bedrooms. Once, I even found a boa constrictor named Heather.

  This was why I always kept my stuff in my unfinished basement. My theory was that if a burglar was looking for something important, they'd skip the basement entirely, thinking if I didn't put any effort into finishing the room, I certainly wouldn't keep valuables there.

  After checking the carpets, I made quick work of the nightstand and bed. The closet was easier than I thought it would be because Ike only owned two pair of shoes, two pair of pants, and two shirts. Huh. There wasn't even a jacket or winter coat. That was strange f
or Iowa. It was possible he stored his things somewhere else, but the closet was almost completely empty. There was no reason not to keep coats in there.

  I rapped on each wall and studied the one shelf, but found nothing. The dresser was next. There had to be something in there.

  There were three drawers. The first one held two pair of boxer shorts and two pair of white tube socks. A pattern was developing around the number two. No, wait. He'd been wearing clothes when murdered, so there must've been three of everything. Still, how often did this guy do laundry? I hadn't seen a washer and dryer yet.

  The second drawer held one belt. One. That was all. Which meant Ike had two. I ran my fingers over it to see if it had hidden pockets. Nope. I pulled out the drawer above it and turned it over. Nothing was taped to the bottom. I pulled out the second and examined it. Nothing.

  Something was very wrong here. Surely Rex and Soo Jin had seen it too. This house rang hollow. It was as if no one lived here. I'd found food in the kitchen, but it was all in cans. Now this.

  I turned my attention to the bottom drawer and immediately wished I hadn't. It was full of women's wigs in all shapes and sizes—long, curly, short, wavy, and every color imaginable. I tried to picture Ike's head without the axe in it. I got the impression he was bald.

  I pulled out the wigs and set them on the floor around me. I didn't like the second layer any better.

  Thong panties and push-up bras, again, of every size and color. They seemed brand new. Did Ike like to dress up as a woman? If so, why all the different sizes? I found thongs in size zero and XXL. The bras ranged from size 30A to 50DDD.

  I replaced everything as I remembered it. This was all wrong. My spy-dy senses were tingling. Maybe because this didn't make any sense. After checking under the drawer and behind the dresser, I made my way to the bathroom.

  Standing in the doorway, I gasped audibly, clapping my hand over my mouth. The bathroom was neat as a pin. But there was a flamingo skeleton in the tub, looking back at me.