The Death Card: A Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery (9 page)

At 1:30 that afternoon Liz heard a
car pull up in front of the lodge. She looked out the window. “Winston, Roger’s
here. Come on, boy. Let’s go say hi to him!”

She saw Roger looking at
his phone, as she and Winston walked down the steps to greet him. He waved at
her and said through the open window, “Just a minute. I need to make a call.
Can you be free for a meeting here tomorrow morning?”

“Of course. Want to tell
me what it’s about?”

“I’ll tell you all about
it in a few minutes. Go back in, and I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“I’ll meet you downstairs.
You can use the outside stairs on the side of the building.”

“Emily,” Liz said, as she
entered the kitchen, “Roger just got here, so I’m going to ask you to finish up
what needs to be done. I wrote out a list of things I’d like you to do today.
I’ve started some of them, but if they’re not here on the counter, you’ll find
them in the refrigerator. Winston, come. Let’s wait for Roger downstairs.”

A few minutes later Roger opened
the door to her living quarters, put his suitcase on the floor, and walked over
to where Liz was standing looking out at the ocean. She turned to him and said,
“No matter how many times I look at it, I still find this view of the ocean
mesmerizing. Welcome, darling. I’ve missed you.”

Roger put his arms around
her and kissed her deeply. The kiss was interrupted by the sound of Winston
growling. They both looked down at the big boxer who was working his way
between them, forcing them apart.

“Winston, it’s me. You
know me.” Roger put his hand down so Winston could smell him. He stopped
growling and stepped back.

Liz started laughing.
“Roger, you got me a dog for protection. Looks like he wants to protect me from
you.”

“I’m definitely going to
have to work on that with him. I think he’s working off of Pavlov’s theory. You
know the one where the dog keeps responding to the bell because he thinks he’s
going to get food, and then they pretty much stop giving him food, but the dog
keeps responding to the bell. Well, the last few times he’s done this, we’ve
given him a treat for being a good dog and protecting you. I think it’s time to
do away with the treats, and maybe he’ll get the hint there won’t be any more
treats if he comes between us. Maybe he’ll be smarter than Pavlov’s dog.”

“I think it would be
easier to put him in the other room. I kind of like being close to you.
Winston, come.”

Winston looked balefully
at Roger, followed Liz into her office, and laid down on his large dog bed.

“I’m up for resuming where
we left off if you are,” she said when she came back in the room.

“If you think I’d turn
down an invitation like that, you’re crazy, woman!” he said, passionately
kissing her.

*****

An hour later they were sitting at
the kitchen table with Winston lying on the floor between them. “Roger, what
was that phone call about?”

“I have a lot to tell you,
and you probably have more to tell me. I’ll start. Feel free to jump in, if you
need to.”

“Roger, you sound very
serious.”

“I am. I think I told you
last night when I talked to you that I had a very good friend who’s a captain
with the San Francisco Police Department. His name is Jim. I called him and
asked if he could meet me today for an early lunch. He did. I told him about
Leroy’s murder, Madame Dika, what Sean had discovered about her and Anton,
about Ratface, Tom Rice, and about Leroy’s gambling.”

“Does he know who Anton
and Ratface are?”

“Yes, both are well known
in police circles. Ratface is definitely a bookie but very careful and has
never been charged with anything. Anton is known to be part of a group of
Southeastern European men, some of whom have been arrested for operating credit
card theft rings. Unfortunately, none of them has ever been convicted. I showed
him the email photos you sent me of the notebook pages, the electronic device,
the serial numbers on the gun, and the Death card.”

“Did you tell him about my
tarot card readings at Madame Dika’s?” she asked.

“Yes. I also told him all
about her time in prison and the jewelry scam she’d been running in Beverly
Hills. He wanted to know if you’d felt safe when you were there. I told him
about Winston and how he was always with you. I also told him you were very
good at getting out of dangerous situations.”

“Thank you.”

“Even with all of that, he
thinks what you did was foolhardy. He said that Anton runs with a crowd that
has been linked to violence, even though it’s never been proven. Jim’s coming
here tomorrow morning to talk to you. He wanted to know if you had the Death
card in your possession, and I told him you did. He wants it tested for
fingerprints and DNA evidence. Jim did make the comment that it’s people like
you who really hurt police investigations and make policemen’s jobs much
harder. He’s not very happy about the fact you didn’t turn the Death card over
to the sheriff.”

“Swell, can’t tell you how
much I’m looking forward to meeting him,” she said sarcastically.

“Trust me, you’ll like
him. He’s as honest as they come, and he calls them like he sees them, and Liz,
I want you to know that I pretty much agree with him on this issue.”

“Yeah, and if I’d waited
around to see what Seth Williams, who is a policeman like your friend, could do
about the death of Barbara Nelson or Mark Scott, we still wouldn’t know who
killed either one of them.”

“Liz, you know I think
you’re brilliant at solving criminal cases, but there are some who might think
you got a bit lucky with those two. You can stop glaring at me like that,
because Jim wouldn’t be one of them. Let’s change the subject. I’d like to see
the Death card and the notebook.”

“Follow me. They’re in my
desk. I actually locked it last night in case someone was planning on breaking
in. Figured they couldn’t get the drawer open without Winston or me hearing
them.”

She unlocked the desk
drawer, took two pairs of gloves out of a bag on the floor next to the desk,
and handed one pair to Roger. When she had her gloves on, she reached into the
drawer and handed him the Death card and the notebook. He studied them for a few
minutes.

“Liz, you still don’t
realize what these numbers represent, do you?”

“No, do you?”

“Yes. When you told me
about them last night and then sent me the photos, I was pretty sure I knew.
Jim confirmed what I’d thought.”

“Well, tell me. I’d like
to know.”

“The first sixteen numbers
are credit card numbers and the next three numbers after the space are the
security code numbers that appear on the back of a credit card. Jim identified
the photo of the electronic device as being a state of the art type of
scanner.”

“What kind of a scanner?”
she asked, beginning to agree with what Roger had said last night, that this
case was getting to be bigger than just about Leroy’s murder.

“This particular type of
scanner is commonly used to scan credit cards by credit card thieves. Jim told
me how this type of credit card fraud works. Any retail establishment that
takes credit cards could be a target, but the majority of credit card fraud
occurs in restaurants. The waiter takes the customer’s credit card and quickly scans
it with the electronic device. It used to be that the scanner had to be plugged
into an electrical outlet, but recently small ones that run on batteries have
come on the market, making it much easier to scan a credit card. It’s so small
that the waiter or waitress or even the cashier can keep the scanner in their
pocket. The credit card numbers scanned can then be used to purchase items. The
scammer not only has the credit card number, the name on the card, and the
expiration date, but the thief also has the three digit security code that’s on
the back of the card.

“Eventually the person
whose card has been scammed will discover that things they never bought have
been charged to their account, but the thief is long gone and using other cards
by then. Additionally, in the case of cards belonging to wealthy people or
businesses that employ accountants to pay their bills, months can often go by
before it’s discovered that something was charged to the card that had not been
bought by the person to whom it was issued. Then there’s the delay that occurs
in the back and forth communications between the credit card holder and the
credit card company.”

“Wow! That never occurred
to me.”

“Probably because you’ve
never tried to run a credit card scam, and believe me, I’m very glad you
haven’t.”

“Roger, this may be
important. I don’t think I mentioned to you when we talked last night that I’d
asked Madame Dika about her brother. I told her I’d run into him when I stepped
out of the bathroom. She said he had a room in her house but rarely slept there
because he worked at a restaurant in San Francisco. I told her that the
gentlemen who had figured prominently in my two readings lived in San Francisco
and often entertained clients at restaurants in the city. She told me the name
of the restaurant was Le Petite Orangerie, and that it was very expensive.”

“She’s got that right.
I’ve been there a number of times. Hang on just a moment. I need to call Jim
with this information.”

“Roger, wait a minute. I
need to tell you something else.” She told him what Donna had said to Lisette
about the expensive gifts Anton had given her.

“Jim, it’s Roger. I’m with
Liz, and she just told me about a conversation she had with Madame Dika
yesterday that I think you need to know about. She told Liz that her brother
worked at a restaurant called Le Petite Orangerie. I’m sure you know of it.
It’s really pricey. Don’t want to tell you your business, but given the
restaurant’s clientele, it would be a perfect place to run a credit card scam.
Again, don’t want to tell you how to do anything, but if I was you and I heard
information like this, think I’d put a couple of men on it and see where Anton
goes when he leaves from work at the restaurant.

“If we’re correct and it’s
a credit card scam, there’s probably a central place where calls are being made
from. He may go there after work.” He listened a few moments then said, “Yes,
Liz said she’s free to meet with you tomorrow morning. I also have the notebook
with the credit card numbers, so I imagine someone could run a check on them to
see if any have been scammed.

“Of course if he had his
own notebook, he may be running his own scam and not giving any or all of the
numbers to the credit card theft ring, if he’s a part of it, and based on what
I’ve seen, I’d be willing to bet he is. Here’s one other thing Liz just told
me. Anton’s girlfriend had a massage at the spa Liz owns. Liz found out from
the massage therapist that Anton’s been giving his girlfriend very expensive
gifts. He could be holding out on the theft ring he’s probably involved in and
playing cowboy by secretly keeping some of the stolen credit card numbers for
his own person use. Anyway, we’ll see you at ten tomorrow morning.”

He ended the call and
looked at her. “I can see there’s more to this. What else did you find out, and
I thought you weren’t going to do any more with it today.”

“I didn’t. I was talking
to Bertha after breakfast this morning and here’s what she told me about
Leroy.” She relayed the morning’s conversation.

Roger sat quietly for a
few moments. “Liz, this thing is getting very convoluted. So now we have a slew
of suspects in Leroy’s murder: Madame Dika, Seth, Anton, Ratface, Tom Rice, and
Leroy’s ex-wife, Donna. Then we have a Southeastern European credit card theft
ring, or so we think. Additionally we have Anton who may be siphoning off
numbers on the side to buy Donna expensive jewelry and things. I’m glad I don’t
have any of them for clients. It could get more complicated, but I doubt it.”

Later, Roger would look
back and remember those words.

“Roger, I think we both could use a
little down time. Let me call Delores over at the spa and see if she has any
openings for massages.”

She pressed the spa button
on the phone and the call was immediately answered by Delores. “Red Cedar Spa.
May I help you?”

“Hi, Delores. It’s Mrs.
Lucas. I was wondering if you have any openings for massages this afternoon.”
She waited while Delores checked her computer. “You’re booked solid for the
rest of the afternoon, but you just got a cancellation for right now? That will
be fine. Please put it on my account. The name is Roger Langley, and he’s on
his way over there now. Thanks.”

She turned to Roger. “Delores
said a guest in one of the cottages has come down with a cold, and she didn’t
want to expose the massage therapist, so she cancelled her appointment a few
minutes ago. Actually, your appointment is with Lisette, the therapist who told
me about Donna Moore and how Anton was showering her with gifts. They’re
expecting you, so you need to get over there right away. Enjoy! You deserve it.
See you later.”

“What about you? I thought
we were both going to have a massage.”

“Wasn’t meant to be. There
was only one reservation open, and I want you to have it. There’s still a lot I
probably need to do in the kitchen for dinner tonight and for breakfast
tomorrow. I don’t want Emily to feel burdened. I’ve already had to bow out of
part of the meals twice this week and saddled her with them.” She walked over
to him and kissed him. “Go, they’re waiting for you.”

A few minutes later she
walked upstairs. “Hi, Emily. I’m all yours until dinner. What do you need me to
do?”

“Not much. I’ve pretty
much taken care of everything. I just love doing this. It doesn’t even feel
like a job, it’s more like I’m playing.”

“I’m so glad you feel that
way. It’s been so busy lately we haven’t had much of a chance to talk. Are you
still seeing Zachary?” she asked.

“Yes. He’s very nice. I
don’t know if there’s any future with him, but he certainly has helped me get
over Mark. When Mark was murdered, I didn’t think I could go on with my life.
Zachary has shown me I can, and for that I’ll always be grateful to him.”

“I’m glad for you, but if
the best you can say about him is that you’re grateful he helped you through a
rough time, he may not be the one you want to settle down with for life.”

“Yeah, I’ve kind of been
thinking that. Liz, do you think I could get into the Cordon Bleu in San Francisco?
I’ve been looking into their Associate Degree Program, and I’m really
interested in it, although I love my job here, and I’d hate to leave it.”

“I think you could easily
get in. You’ve met my friend Roger who’s visiting here for the next couple of days.
I remember him telling me something about one of his clients being with the
Cordon Bleu. Why don’t you talk to him? He’ll be here for dinner tonight. Maybe
he could help, and although I’d hate to lose you, I’d give you an excellent
recommendation. It’s probably time for you to see where you can go with your
cooking gift, you know, kind of flap your wings and see where they take you.”

“I love San Francisco, and
I’d love to go to school there and eventually work there. I think they even
have an apprentice program with some of the top restaurants.”

“Talk to Roger and let me
know what I can do to help you. I’m going downstairs and get dressed. I’ll be
back in a few minutes.”

Roger was just stepping
out of the shower when she walked into the suite. “Well, how was your massage?”
she asked.

“Terrific. Lisette is very
good. I tipped her, so you don’t have to. I figured that was the least I could
do. I didn’t bring up the Donna Moore subject. I didn’t think it would be
appropriate, and it might really put her on the spot wondering if it was okay
with you if she told me anything.”

“Thanks. I think that was
the right thing to do, and I also think she told me everything about Donna she
thought was relevant.”

“So what’s next?”

“When you finish dressing,
we’ll go upstairs. The guests will be here soon. Oh, by the way, the young
woman who works for me in the lodge, Emily, told me she’s interested in a
program the Cordon Bleu is offering in San Francisco. I told her I thought you
knew someone who worked there.”

“I do. Her son was a
client of mine, and she’s very indebted to me for helping her son get acquitted
in a drug trial. Do you want me to talk to her about Emily?”

“Possibly. I told Emily
she should talk to you, so I’ll leave it up to you.”

“Sweetheart, you must be
mellowing. Usually you want to be right in the middle of the action. Are you
feeling all right?” he asked playfully.

She stuck her tongue out
at him. “I feel fine, and I only get involved when I can’t stay out of
something. I’ve decided you can handle this.”

“Extremely generous of
you, I must say. Okay, I’m ready for the evening. After you,” he said opening
the door and motioning for Winston to follow them. Winston looked resigned to
the fact that Roger was going to be around for awhile.