The Goodbye Body (32 page)

“I could use a drink,” said Daniel. “After we’ve all calmed down, we can decide what’s best for her.”

“One drink,” I said, “and then I’m calling Lieutenant Rosen. He will not show up with a rubber hose and a cattle prod, but if Madison was in the vicinity of the golf course when her cousin was killed, he’ll have some questions. So will I.”

I figured Caron and Inez, who were in the doorway that led to the den, would be able to restrain Madison if she had a miraculous recovery and attempted to bolt. And even if she eluded them, she’d encounter more problems with the two officers in the front yard. I gestured for Lucy and Daniel to go to the kitchen, then opened the front door and called, “Everything’s under control. I’m going to call the lieutenant, so you don’t need to bother.”

Daniel had located the bourbon and was mixing drinks when I joined them. He offered to fix me one, but I shook my head and sat down on a stool.

“I have a question,” I began coolly. “When you learned that Sara Louise had been killed behind the cart shed, you came here to tell me. Why did you think I had any knowledge or interest in her? She wasn’t here when you dropped by to invite me to your party. Neither was Madison, for that matter.”

“There must have been a mention of them in the story in the newspaper,” said Lucy.

“No,” I said flatly.

“Then perhaps Gary said something,” she countered blithely. “Yes, he must have said something. He’s not the type to ignore attractive young women.”

“They weren’t here when he came by, either. And where is he, by the way? If Madison was so desperate that she took refuge under your deck, she must have knocked on your neighbor’s door first.” I paused to think. “Unless she was escaping from him. Instead of crashing into the woods, she chose the nearest place to hide.”

“Gary would never do such a thing,” Daniel said as he set down a drink in front of Lucy, “I’m an excellent judge of character.”

“As well as his supervisor at the Bureau?”

Daniel looked at Lucy. “How could I be? He works for some regulatory agency, something to do with tariffs and quotas. I believe his supervisor is an undersecretary at the Department of Commerce.”

“That is correct,” said Lucy, nodding her head so adamantly that I expected it to topple off her neck and roll across the floor, coming to rest in the butler’s pantry. “He was home when we returned yesterday. He came over with a pitcher of martinis, and we played gin until it grew chilly. He declined my invitation to stay for dinner, saying he had a date. I don’t know which bureau you referred to, but I can assure you that we’d never met him before arriving in Farberville. His family is well known in Virginia; his grandfather served four terms as a congressman. His father owns an investment firm, and his mother is renowned for her charity work. Gary attended a good college, and then spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in some African village. The very idea of him keeping a young woman prisoner is preposterous.”

“I don’t think it matters if his great-grandfather was the last king of Prussia,” I said mildly. “He told me he works for the FBI.”

“The FBI?” echoed Lucy.

“That’s what he said.” I gave them a few minutes to shoot guarded looks at each other, then continued. “And I’m certain that you do, too. Would you like me to wait outside while you concoct another passel of lies? You’d better keep your voices low, though. I can’t swear every inch of the house isn’t bugged.”

Daniel downed his drink and refilled his glass. “You would have found out in the next day or so, anyway. We’re here because of Doris Barlucci. She has significant information in her possession. We have to find her before Velocchio’s thugs get to her. They will not treat her kindly.”

“Has she done something criminal?” I asked.

Lucy reached across the island for the bottle of bourbon, then poured the last of it in her glass. “It’s convoluted, but the answer is no. She has not been charged with anything, and mostly likely will not be in the future. We’re trying to save her life. And yours, too.”

I didn’t bother to ask what significant knowledge Dolly possessed, since I knew perfectly well they wouldn’t tell me. They’d probably have to get clearance from headquarters to tell me my hair was on fire. “So you two and Gary came down here to locate Dolly before Sara Louise and Madison did. Who killed Petti?”

“Hard to say.” Lucy took the empty bottle into the pantry and dropped it in the trash can. She came back into the kitchen and began to hunt through the liquor cabinet. “I’ve never seen so many liqueurs in a private home. Is there another bottle of bourbon?”

I poured myself a glass of water while she and Daniel rattled bottles and mumbled at each other. Daniel finally arose with his trophy. “Actually,” he said as he opened the bottle, “we thought you might have killed him.”

“Me?” I squawked. “Why would I do that? I never even met him.”

Lucy leaned against the counter and regarded me with a complacent smile. “Well, you were Dolly’s only confidante, so you might have known that Petti Mordella was in town. Maybe the Velocchio family got to you and offered a tidy sum to dispose of him. You certainly could use the money. Your bookstore is picturesque and charming, but hasn’t shown much of a profit since you opened it. What with college tuition looming …”

If I hadn’t been so outraged, I would have been flattered. “I am not some sort of amateur hitman. I don’t even put out mousetraps. How can you accuse me of putting a bullet in a stranger’s head? Do you think I killed Sara Louise, too? Did I kidnap Madison and stash her under your deck?” I took a gulp of water and wiped off my chin with the back of my hand. “And how do you know if the Book Depot makes a profit? What business is it of yours?”

“We have connections,” said Daniel. “You’ll be relieved to know that after a lengthy analysis, we concluded that you were nothing more than a somewhat inept small-town bookseller. When we met you, we realized that was why Dolly had selected you to assist her in her scheme to avoid both the FBI and the Velocchio family.”

I would have sputtered had I not known how unbecoming it was. “I am astounded at your perspicacity. It often takes me half an hour to tie my shoes in the morning. Why, just the other day I turned on the microwave and sat down to watch the news. I was relieved to learn that nothing had happened all day. My worst problem now is how to extricate the pizza from the VCR.”

“He didn’t mean it like that,” said Lucy.

I stared back at her. “Then who killed Petti and Sara Louise? Gary Billings?”

Daniel shrugged. “We don’t know who killed them, but I can tell you unequivocally that Gary did not. He’s been working on this case for more than five years. Grand jury indictments will ensure him a major promotion. Why would you think he did?”

“There’s a rumor he’s been suspended.” I left them in the kitchen and went to the doorway of the living room. Madison did not appear to have moved. Caron left Inez to stand guard at the foot of the sofa and came over to me.

“Did you call Peter?” she asked. “This is getting Way Too Weird.”

“I promise I’ll call him in a few minutes.”

“What about Dolly? She must be going crazy, since she doesn’t even know who’s here. Crazier, I mean. While she was fixing breakfast, I went in to ask if I could help and found her digging through the trash. The best she could come up with was some inane excuse about looking for an expiration date on the egg carton. I pointed out the carton was on the counter, and she just kind of laughed.”

“Run upstairs and tell her about Madison. The two in the kitchen seriously underestimate me, and I want to find out what else they have to say. Negotiations are delicate, dear, so don’t even think about listening at the door.”

Caron rolled her eyes. “The only thing I’m going to think about is moving to Argentina to become a famous dancer. I wish I hadn’t slept through Spanish class last year.”

I waited until she had gone upstairs, then returned to the kitchen. “I don’t recall that you mentioned where Gary is right now. I would have thought you might have wanted his help with Madison. She’s not exactly a featherweight.”

“We don’t know where he is,” said Daniel, “but you’re the one who needs to answer some questions. Who told you Gary was suspended?”

“Not that he is,” Lucy added. “We were all three assigned to come here and take Dolly into custody. Normally, only one agent would be sent, but the involvement of the Velocchio family made things more complicated. Now who told you this about Gary?”

“Why, I do declare it’s gone right out of my mind,” I said, simpering like any inept small-town bookseller. “I went to Sally’s for a quick bite to eat, but I can’t imagine her saying any such thing. I bought the
Times
at a newsstand up the hill from my store. Billy and Anastasia are better informed about faculty wife-swapping than FBI plots. Maybe I heard something on the car radio.”

Lucy’s brownie-baking role was long gone. “You are impeding a federal investigation. We can transport you to Quantico if that might improve your memory.”

“Will they let me play with an Uzi?” When they failed to answer, I said, “If you’re working so closely with Gary, why don’t you know where he is?”

“We don’t hold hands on assignment,” said Daniel, whose face was turning mottled from either bourbon or frustration. “Lucy, call Lieutenant Rosen and tell him to get over here. I don’t believe Ms. Malloy understands how much trouble she’ll find herself in if she refuses to answer our questions.”

And he doesn’t know the half of it, I thought as I sat down. I was beginning to think I did, although no more than that. I had a pretty good idea why Petti had come to Farberville, why Dolly had fled with his cell phone, and why she’d come back despite the infestation of federal agents and mobsters.

The kitchen door swung open. “Let’s not make any calls just yet,” Madison said in a remarkably level voice for someone who’d been quivering like aspic only a few minutes earlier. In that she was pointing a gun in our general direction, no one seemed inclined to argue.

She stepped back and shoved Inez into the room. “Everybody have a seat. Where’s Caron?”

“Upstairs, uh, in the bathroom,” I said. “She has a nervous stomach. Why are you doing this, Madison? Do you know who these two people are?”

Daniel cleared his throat. “How could she? We’re just a couple hoping to retire here. Lucy’s always wanted to live in the mountains.”

Madison pointed the gun at his head. “All of you feds have the same rancid stench. Where’s Gary? Shouldn’t he be here with you?”

“Why don’t you put down the gun, Madison?” said Lucy. She began to approach her cautiously. “It’s liable to go off if you keep waving it around like that. You haven’t committed any crime that we’re aware of, so we can all just forget about this unfortunate moment. Daniel and I don’t know where Gary is, and neither does Claire. We haven’t seen him since eight o’clock last night when he left our condo.” If she’d had a plate of brownies, she would have whipped them out like a gunslinger. “Would you like a glass of wine and something to eat? I can make you a sandwich—”

“Shut up,” she said shrilly. “I thought I told all of you to sit down. The last one standing will be the first one bleeding out on the floor.”

It was not the version of Musical Chairs most often played at children’s parties. Daniel, Lucy, and Inez all scuttled to the stools nearest them. I realized we’d have a problem if Caron came into the kitchen, with or without Dolly, since there were only four stools. No one seemed to have much to contribute, so I said, “Why are you so determined to find Gary, Madison?”

“Because he’s a son of a bitch! No one treats me like that. He knows who my father works for. My mother’s maiden name was Velocchio, dammit! All I have to do is make one phone call, and Gary Billings won’t be buffing his badge on some whore’s bare ass ever again.” She pointed the gun at me. “Recognize this, Ms. Malloy? The little ol’ .22 caliber Beretta? It was thoughtful of Dolly to leave it in plain sight, wasn’t it? Inez, would you be a sweetie and fetch me a glass -of wine?”

“You didn’t have the gun when you left the house on Thursday,” I pointed out. “The pool guys would have noticed any, ah, unsightly bulges.”

Madison accepted a glass of wine from Inez, then waved her back. “Oh, I didn’t take it. That would be stealing, and the nuns drilled that into my head. Okay, so maybe I shoplifted when I was younger, but that was for a lark. Even Daddy understood when he had to pay off the store owners. Everybody goes through a phase like that. Isn’t that true, Inez? Don’t you have some cheap pieces of jewelry and cosmetics in the bottom of one of your dresser drawers?”

Inez looked horrified, but had the sense to nod. “Yeah.”

“Then your record is clean,” proclaimed Daniel. “Put down the gun, girl, and we’ll drink a toast to the statute of limitations. As for Gary, not one of us can help you. We haven’t—”

“Shut up!” she said with even more vehemence. Her hair was dangling in her eyes, giving her the look of a feral feline. Sweat (which I’m sure she would have referred to as perspiration) was beading on her upper lip. “I don’t know
where
he is, but I damn well know who he’s with and what they’re doing! He tried to pretend he wasn’t getting rid of me last night. His big plan was for me to hang out in the country club parking lot until a couple of drunks came out, then wheedle them into giving me a ride back here in case Dolly called again. Like I was supposed to buy that crap. We had a fight”—she touched her chin—”and he actually hit me. Me, of all people! Then he told me to get out before he got back with his hot little date. I was going to follow him to the clubhouse, but then I changed my mind and went back to wait for them. Which is when I realized I’d locked myself out, if you can believe it. I felt incredibly stupid. I haven’t done something like that since I was thirteen and so drunk I lost the key while I was throwing up in the bushes. Anyway, I decided to hide under your deck until they came back, but they never did. He didn’t come back this morning, either. I guess I finally fell asleep.”

“You’ve been with Gary since you left here on Thursday?” I asked, shaking my head. “Do you know he’s an FBI agent?”

Madison giggled. “That’s what made it so exciting. I had no idea at first, when he came on to me at a fabulous club in the Hamptons last summer. He said he was a lawyer from DC, and, to be honest, he was so hot that I wouldn’t have cared if he was a bricklayer from the Bronx. We had an absolutely wild summer, then I didn’t hear from him until a couple of months ago, when he took a suite at the Plaza. We were in his room, and while he was taking a shower, I went through all his stuff and found his badge and ID card. It was too funny! I mean, Daddy would have had a stroke. Sara Louise was the only person who knew, and she swore not to say a word.”

“Does he know who you are?”

“Well, of course,” she said, giving me a pitying smile, “everybody knows who I am. My friends at school thought it was a riot. They couldn’t believe Daddy had me on this silly little allowance. He keeps saying that if I don’t get married, I’m going to have to get a job. Can you see me super-sizing fries?”

Apparently none of us could.

I waited in case Lucy or Daniel wanted to jump right in, then said, “Surely you weren’t planning to marry an FBI agent?”

Scowling, she turned the gun back on me. “He told me that he’ll resign and that he’ll have enough money for us to live in a villa on the Riviera. He can occupy his time playing polo and baccarat, and I can have elegant dinner parties for the right people. During the summer, we’ll cruise the Mediterranean or visit friends in Paris. Daddy will get over it when he realizes he doesn’t have to support me anymore. Maybe I’ll send him a genuine mummy for his next wedding present.” Tears began to dribble down her cheeks. “At least that’s what Gary said. But now he’s gone off with some slut who’s spent more time with plastic surgeons than she has with personal trainers and therapists. When she looks in a mirror, she probably doesn’t recognize herself. This is so not fair! Now I’m the one who’s in all kinds of trouble, not Gary.”

“Why are you in trouble?” asked Lucy, adopting the role of a deeply concerned high school counselor. I wondered if one of her training courses had included kung fu or something equally useful. Daniel appeared to be too absorbed in his glass of bourbon to fling himself off the stool. Fall, perhaps, but not fling.

I will admit to a small sigh of relief as Madison turned the gun on her. “A few weeks ago Gary told me he had to go on a business trip, but he wouldn’t tell me where. I thought it’d be fun to surprise him, so when he went out to buy a couple of shirts, I got on his computer and found the e-ticket he’d printed, along with the confirmation for the condo. Sara Louise agreed to drive down with me.”

“You didn’t know he was coming here to find Dolly?” I said, hoping the Velocchio empire never fell under her control. She’d be more likely to order the elimination of cheeky car valets than members of rival families. Bombs would be special-ordered from Gucci. Automatic weapons would be issued in tasteful hues of seashell blush and champagne mist. Even the lowliest goons would be required to have manicures on a weekly basis and take elocution classes.

Madison’s forehead wrinkled, as if the wine was slightly sour. “No, but the funny thing is that Sara Louise did. She said that if we could get to Dolly first, she’d earn a lot of points with her father, and that mine would be so grateful that he might let me run off with Gary. It was her idea that we turn up like a couple of ragamuffins. Sara Louise was really pissed when you answered the door, but she thought it was possible that Dolly was in Dallas and might come back—especially when Petti started popping up and then disappearing. It’s not like I know where Dallas is, but Sara Louise said it wasn’t very far. I feel real bad about Petti. He was always nice to me. He used to take me to the races every Saturday when I was kid, and let me use his binoculars. He took me to see
Cats,
even though he had allergies.”

I could see that Madison was beginning to sag, and the last thing I wanted was for her finger to slip on the trigger. “Madison, why don’t you sit down on Inez’s stool and let her go upstairs to check on Caron?”

“And give her a chance to call the cops? I don’t think so.”

Inez arose to the occasion, as well as to her feet. “I’ll bring the phone receiver in here so nobody can call from upstairs. I’m getting kind of worried about Caron. Last year she had a—what’s it called?—bleeding ulcer and passed out on the bathroom floor.”

Madison studied her for a moment. “And you won’t hang out the window and alert the cops outside?”

“Not while you’re in here with a gun,” Inez vowed solemnly.

“All right, then,” Madison said, wafting her free hand. “Get the receiver, then bring the stool over here and go upstairs. I’d better not hear anyone creeping down the steps, though.”

“I never creep.” Inez did as ordered, then banged the door as she left and stomped up the stairs.

Lucy stood up. “Well, if we’re finished, then perhaps—”

“Sit down,” said Madison. “You still haven’t told me where Gary is. Call him on your cell phone.”

“I’ll try. Daniel, pour Madison another glass of wine. Claire, would you like something? You’re looking a bit flushed.” She took a cell phone out of her purse and flipped it open, punched some buttons, listened for a moment, and then shook her head. “He’s not answering. Maybe he’s back at his condo, taking a nap. We could all drive out there and find out.”

“Excellent idea,” mumbled Daniel. “He’s treated Madison abominably. She deserves an explanation.”

I most definitely did not want to go on a Sunday drive, particularly with a driver who was pie-eyed, despite having managed to spit out the word
abominably,
which I can rarely do in more lucid situations. “Have you been with Gary since you left on Thursday?”

Madison smirked. “I couldn’t bear the idea of playing nursemaid to Sara Louise, so I called him and told him to meet me in the alley. I was just going to tease him a minute about how I was a better spy than he was, and maybe arrange to meet him later, but we kind of got carried away. He begged me to go to his condo for an hour. We ended up in bed all afternoon, and before I realized how late it was, it was already dark. It seemed easier just to stay instead of trying to come up with some kind of explanation. Besides, it was a helluva lot more entertaining.” She giggled like a bride at a lingerie shower. “Gary said it might put more pressure on you if you thought something terrible had happened to me. That’s why he kept having me call you and sound all breathless and terrified. Pretty convincing, wasn’t I?”

I was in no mood to assess her theatrical talents. “Especially your call on Friday about going to the bookstore. Did he attack me?”

“I’m sorry about that, Ms. Malloy. He thought maybe Dolly had left a message on the answering machine, or arranged to have a letter sent there. When he couldn’t find anything, he called me and told me to call you. He was plenty angry. If that goofy guy hadn’t shown up, he was going to keep you in the back room until you talked.”

Lucy sat up. “Gary would never do anything like that. It’s against regulations.”

“That’s right,” added Daniel as he refilled his glass. “Got to go by the book. It’s how we operate. Ask anyone.”

“Call him again,” Madison ordered Lucy. “And keep calling. If he doesn’t answer, I may have to shoot one of you.”

Before any of us could come up with a rebuttal, the doorbell rang. Madison stood up and pointed the gun at me. “Who’s that?”

“I have no idea,” I said.

“Then let’s go answer it,” she said. “You first, and me right behind you with this little ol’ Beretta against your back.”

I glanced at Lucy and Daniel, who offered no suggestions to the contrary. I led the way to the door, trying not to wince as the muzzle bit into me, and opened the door. Both police officers were there, panicked and barely able to speak.

“So sorry, Ms. Malloy,” said the slightly more articulate one, “but these guys are here and they say it’s an emergency. A water main ruptured up on the hill. The city’s already working on it, but these guys say if they don’t cut off the line to the pool, it’ll crack, and then the lines will back up and flood the bottom story of the house.”

“These guys,” I murmured.

Nick and Sebastian propelled the officers in the direction of the sliding glass doors, and told them to start searching for the valve. “We’ll be there as soon as I explain,” Nick called to them as they stumbled out to the patio. He locked the door and turned around. “My apologies for barging in like this, Ms. Malloy.”

He stepped around me and yanked the gun from Madison’s hand, then kept a grip on her wrist. “You are in some kind of trouble, young lady,” he said to her. “Sebastian, please ask those in the kitchen to remain there until we have left. Also, remind them that it would not be wise to attempt to use their cell phones.”

Sebastian lumbered by me and went into the kitchen.

“Let go of me!” squeaked Madison, trying to jerk her wrist free. “Remember that conversation we had in the kitchen after you showed up, pretending to be a pool guy? Sara Louise warned you that she knew all about that truck-load of DVD players you claimed never arrived. You swore you wouldn’t interfere with us. Daddy may be pissed at me for coming here, but he’s going to be livid when I tell him you were ripping off the family!”