The Postman Always Purls Twice (31 page)

“Get her off me! My ribs are broken!” Alicia squirmed under Suzanne like a bug, calling for help.

“It's all right, miss. We'll take it from here.” One of the officers stood beside Suzanne and spoke in a calm tone.

Lucy let go of Alicia's leg and Suzanne slowly stood up as the other officer took charge of their captive. He removed the backpack and cuffed Alicia quickly.

“This weighs a ton,” he told his partner as he led Alicia to the cruiser. “Check it out.”

The officer near Lucy picked up the pack and unzipped it a few inches. “Whew . . . nice haul. Cash, jewelry, trinkets.”

“Jennifer Todd's trinkets. She's Jennifer assistant and everyone thinks she's in California,” Lucy told them.

“You know her?”

Lucy and Suzanne nodded. “It's a long story,” Lucy said.

“I had a feeling. Let me take your names and contact information.” He took out a pad and pen. “I guess you should both come down to the station to give your statements.”

“I'd be delighted. I have a lot to say,” Lucy replied, brushing herself off.

“Me, too. We're a team.” Suzanne straightened her blazer and the badge from her real-estate office, then brushed the dirt from her knees.

“So I noticed,” the officer said dryly.

It was about half past noon when Maggie went outside to water the window boxes and flower beds. Even the taunting daffodils deserved a drink, she thought. She had her back to the street and didn't notice Charles until he was right behind her. She turned quickly and nearly soaked him with the hose.

“I'm sorry . . . I didn't see you there.”

He smiled sheepishly. “That's all right. I deserved that.”

Maggie had to smile, though his unexpected visit made her nervous.

They went inside and Maggie brought him a towel. She didn't know what to say. She wondered if Lucy had gone to see him at the station. Plenty of time had passed since Lucy's trip to the beach house with Suzanne. Though she hadn't heard from either of her friends since.

“Did Lucy come to see you today? She's been nosing around the Internet about the movie stars,” she admitted.

“I did see Lucy. And Suzanne,” he added. “And Ava Litowinsky. Also know as Alicia Littel.”

Maggie suddenly realized the case was solved . . . and the police had been wrong about Jennifer. She felt so relieved she wanted to jump up and give Charles a huge hug. But decided not to. She had no idea how he'd react.

“So she told you her theory. How did you put it together? Alicia looks nothing like Lana Lambert—Eileen Litowinsky, I mean.”

“No, she doesn't. Not now. We had been looking into the Lana Lambert lead, too. And came up with photos of Lana—Eileen Litowinsky—and her younger sister, Ava. There's the head shot of Eileen that Lucy found. And one of Ava from a high school yearbook. But we still didn't figure it out. Ava changed her appearance so drastically, along with her name. Intentionally, of course,” he added.

“Of course,” Maggie agreed. “So she could get close to Jennifer, Nick, and Heath, without them noticing a resemblance . . . How did Lucy's information help?”

“It didn't. But Lucy did. And so did Suzanne. They caught Alicia cleaning out a safe in Jennifer's trailer. I don't know how the police search missed it. But it was well concealed. And we did come up with the daffodil bulbs, hidden in a coffee can in the closet, and the pot that Alicia cooked them in. Planted there for us to find,” he added with chagrin. “Alicia didn't have the key to the hiding panel but did know the safe combination. But your friends managed to hold her there until the police came and took her into custody.”

Maggie's jaw dropped. “You're kidding! When was this?”

“An hour or so ago, I guess.” Charles glanced at his watch. “I was called down when the arresting officers brought Alicia in and your friends gave their statements. That's when Lucy pulled out her laptop,” he said with a small smile. “She told me that I should be the one to bring you the news that the case was solved.” He gave her a look, knowing she'd confided their relationship problems to Lucy. But understanding, too.

“I suspect they'll be calling soon with all the gritty details,” he continued. “They were real heroes, both of them. Alicia was armed. Just a sledgehammer,” he added when Maggie nearly gasped aloud again.

“I can't believe it.” Maggie shook her head. “I can't wait to hear the whole story. So you had both photos, and Alicia . . . and figured out the connection and her motive?”

“When Lucy confronted her, she just about admitted everything. She's being held on robbery charges now,” Charles explained, “but she broke down quickly once we started questioning her. She said she did it to avenge her older sister Eileen's death. She blamed the three of them—Nick, Heath, and Jennifer.

“That night at Nick Pullman's house,” he continued, “when Eileen drowned, Alicia believes that Heath and her sister were alone at the pool and he encouraged Eileen to drink too much, trying to seduce her. Then he fell asleep, while Eileen fell into the water and drowned.”

“So all the flowers and poetic references to Narcissus and lost love did make sense,” Maggie said. “Is that true?”

“Well, she was an English major in college. But the statements taken during the investigation of Eileen Litowinsky's death don't match her scenario. However, Nick and Jennifer were in the house and Heath was alone outside with Eileen. That part of her story is confirmed. I doubt we'll ever know for sure,” he added. “But Alicia was also angry that Nick bought her parents off to save his own career . . . and protected Heath and Jennifer. Alicia hated her parents for that, too.”

“So she'd planned this revenge scheme her whole life. Or ever since her sister died,” Maggie murmured.

“Looks like it. She came to LA after college and wrangled her way into the job at Jennifer Todd's house, starting as a dog walker, drawing Jennifer and Nick into her confidence.”

“She did a good job playing the role of devoted assistant,” Maggie mused. “She has some acting talent herself.”

“Undoubtedly. When Jennifer and Nick teamed with Heath to make the movie, the three of them were sitting ducks for Alicia. She saw her chance to finally get revenge. To undermine the production they'd all invested in so heavily. And to physically harm them, any way she could. The combination was too tempting for her to resist.”

“I can see now how it all falls into place. I didn't for the longest time,” Maggie admitted.

“Neither did we,” he said. “The case is closed and the guilty party is behind bars. We just dropped all charge against Todd and are about to release her.”

“I'm glad to hear that,” Maggie said sincerely. She wondered if she would hear from Jen before she left town. She'd probably run straight to Boston, to be with Nick, she realized. “What a shock for her, to hear it was Alicia, who she truly trusted. Even loved. What a painful betrayal.”

Charles nodded. “Jennifer was shocked. It was a blow. Alicia had tricked us all. Operating in clear sight, flying right under our radar. She had a one-way ticket to Brazil in that pack, and was ready to fly out of Logan this afternoon. Fake ID and passport, the works. We would have never found her, if not for you and your friends. They took a big personal risk this morning . . . Not that I'm encouraging it,” he added quickly.

Maggie laughed. “Believe me, I know. But it's good of you to say.”

He paused and gazed into her eyes. “I'm sorry we had words over this.”

“I'm sorry, too,” Maggie said quickly. “It wasn't worth it. I shouldn't be so stubborn. And touchy.”

“I was being a little stubborn myself. Too macho or something?” He made a face that was very endearing.

She reached across the table and took his hand. “Maybe. But I can deal with a little macho . . . or something . . . from time to time. Not a problem.”

“Show us again how you took Alicia down, Suzanne. Please?” Phoebe sat back in an armchair near the fireplace, ready for a show.

Lucy was just coming into the living room with a tray of appetizers: fresh feta cheese and cucumber and tomato chunks with red onion and dill. She'd also made her friends hummus and tzatsiki dip with crudités and pita slices. It was her turn to host their weekly meeting and for once she was ready on time and all her friends had arrived promptly, too.

Which was a good thing, because she and Maggie had cooked up a little surprise for them that did require careful timing.

“Come on, Phoebe. Nobody wants to see that again.” Suzanne shook her head, but Lucy could tell she was tempted to demonstrate their amateur “collar” of Ava—alias Alicia—again.

“I'd like to see it one more time, and I was there,” Lucy encouraged her.

Dana sat smiling and looked up from her knitting. Maggie took a bit of humus and feta salad on her plate. “I bet you could teach us all a class in self-defense, Suzanne,” she said. “That might be useful someday. If we don't have any knitting needles handy.” Maggie added. Of course, that would be her weapon of choice.

Suzanne didn't need too much coaxing. “Okay, one more time.” She came to her feet and stood in the middle of the room. “It was a simple, playground, bad-girl move. I need a volunteer.”

Phoebe jumped up and raised her hand. “I'll be Alicia.”

“You need something on your back, for a pack. Use your knitting bag—perfect,” Suzanne said. Phoebe did use a backpack for her knitting and slipped the straps onto her shoulders.

Suzanne positioned Phoebe and faced her toward the door. “She was yelling at Lucy, about to spill her guts about the murders. So I just snuck up behind her, grabbed the pack, and whirled her around like this . . .”

Suzanne demonstrated her heroic move. But Phoebe was light, much lighter than Alicia, and was caught by surprise with little motivation to hold on to her knitting bag. Hardly the treasure trove Alicia had clung to so fiercely.

Almost as soon as Suzanne spun her, the straps of the pack slipped off Phoebe's slim arms and she flew across the room, screaming with glee. “Whoa!”

Everybody stared, dumbfounded, as Phoebe landed on the couch, like a surfer washing up onshore, across Maggie's and Dana's laps. Maggie grabbed hold of her flying assistant's shoulders to slow her momentum, as a glass of wine tipped over and the basket of pita pieces fell.

The dogs quickly jumped up to gobble the bread and even lapped a few drops of wine.

Everyone gasped and ran to the couch..

“Phoebe . . . are you all right?” Dana pushed Phoebe's hair back so they could see her face. Suzanne and Lucy hovered over them.

Phoebe slowly lifted her head. “I think so . . .” She squirmed out of Maggie's hold and sat in the middle of her friends. “Thanks for catching me,” she murmured.

“Happy to help. You were really moving,” Maggie said sincerely.

Suzanne was upset. “I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to throw you across the room . . .”

“That's okay. It was fun,” Phoebe insisted, in a bit of a daze.

Lucy shook her head and laughed as she quickly dabbed up the wine with some napkins. “Enough of our glory days in law enforcement. I would like to hear more about how Alicia managed all her heinous deeds. Since Charles has been sharing the inside story, Maggie.”

Lucy had not meant to embarrass her friend, but the meaningful note in her voice did make Maggie blush.

“He knows how to get on my good side. What can I say?” Maggie replied. “The DNA tests on the blood droplet on the bottle came back. Alicia's blood is a perfect match. Along with a bit of iodine mixed on the stain, which came from the scab on her hand from the cut she got when the light fixture fell.” Maggie turned to Phoebe and caught her glance. “You were the only one who wondered why the person who poisoned Nick dumped the bottle in such an obvious place and didn't try to hide it better, or destroy it. Now we know why. She wanted it to be found easily and had rigged the bottle to be linked with Jennifer.”