One Book in the Grave (24 page)

I was starting up the stairs to let Max know the coast was clear when the phone rang twice and stopped again.
Someone else is at the front door? What the heck?
I ran to the kitchen phone to answer it.

“Hey, Brooklyn. It’s me, Ian.”

“Did you forget something?”

“Nope, just wanted to let you know a delivery guy is here with a huge box for you. I let him inside.”

“Oh, my bookshelves. Thanks, Ian.”

We hung up, and it was a full minute later before I heard our building’s ancient industrial freight elevator chug into action.

I cleaned off my worktable and tossed the PVA in the trash can.

The elevator shuddered to a stop and a few seconds later there was a knock on my door. That was one speedy deliveryman.

Max was hidden away on the roof and everything was fine. I took a few deep breaths to steady my heart. I really wasn’t cut out for a life of intrigue.

Oh, who was I kidding? I thrived on intrigue, but this day was driving me batty.

“Brooklyn, yoo-hoo!” A voice called through the door. “You are home?”

My neighbor Vinnie? I ran to open the door.

“Hello, my friend,” she said, and stepped inside.

I wrapped her in a warm hug. “Where’s Suzie? How are you? I haven’t seen you all week.”

“We are fine,” she said in her chirpy voice. I held her at arm’s length to take in her outfit of black bustier, denim cutoffs, and army boots. On her it all worked.

Then I realized there was someone standing behind her.

“Delivery for Wainwright?” he said, parking his furniture dolly while he wiped his forehead with his baseball cap. Towering over him was a large brown box, about six feet tall and almost three feet wide. No wonder he seemed out of breath.

“Right,” I said, grinning. “My bookshelves. Come on in.”

I led the way, and Vinnie followed me from my workshop studio, where my front door was, through the short hall that led to my living room. I pointed to the wall on the left that was bare. “You can leave the box right there.”

“That is why I am here, Brooklyn,” she explained in her lilting Indian accent. “I saw this man stepping off the elevator and I told him I would show him the way.”

“Yo, Brooklyn?”

“There’s Suzie,” Vinnie said, then cried out, “We are in here, Suzie.” Suzie and Vinnie were a loving couple as well as business partners in chain-saw artistry.

“I knew it, you sneaky bitch.”

That wasn’t Suzie’s voice. A sharp pain in my neck made me gasp aloud.

Minka?

She pushed her way past the delivery guy, lumbered right up to me, and smacked my arm. “How dare you?”

“Hey,” I said, rubbing my arm. “What are you doing here?”

“I followed Ian over here. I was sure he was up to no good.” She wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
Ew. What a slob.
“When he left just now, he let this delivery guy in, so now I’ve caught you in a lie you can’t slither out of.”

“How’d you get into the building?”

“Your front door takes forever to close, so I got in after him.”

“Well, get out.”

Suzie moved in closer and Minka cringed. Good. Suzie looked a lot tougher than she was, but at times like this, flexing some muscle couldn’t hurt.

“I’m not leaving until I get some of the books Ian delivered to you.”

“What books?”

“Don’t play dumb with me.” She flicked her chin toward the delivery guy. “You’ve got that whole big box of books to restore. I want some.”

“Oh, my God,” I muttered. “You are deranged.”

“Right here okay?” the deliveryman asked.

I whipped around and saw he was standing right where I’d showed him. “Perfect. Thanks.”

“These are the bookshelves you ordered last week?” Vinnie asked. “Can we see them?”

“Yes,” I said, shifting away from Minka. “They’re a really nice oak and they’re going to go on this wall. What do you think?”

“Perfect,” Vinnie said.

“Cool,” Suzie said. “I like books everywhere.”

We watched the deliveryman maneuver the box off the dolly inch by inch; then he held one end and carefully laid it down on the floor. “There you go.”

“Anybody home?” someone bellowed from my front door.

I jolted. Yet another person was at my door?

But Vinnie smiled and said, “It’s Jeremy and Sergio.”

More fun neighbors.

“Come in,” I shouted in the general direction of the front door. “Close the door behind you, please.”

“A party on a Wednesday afternoon—how delicious,” Jeremy said as he hugged me. Then he gazed beyond me toward the kitchen. “Ooh, cookies.”

“Bring the plate over,” I said.

Jeremy went after the cookies, and his boyfriend, Sergio, grabbed me. “Hi, cutie.”

“Hi, Sergio,” I said, patting his back. “How are you?”

“Fabuloso, as always.”

“Brooklyn, darling, are we having a party?”

“Derek?” I spotted him coming through the hall and into the living room. “You’re home early.”

“A good thing, apparently,” he said, kissing me firmly, then wrapping his arm around my shoulder. “I do hate to miss a party.”

Minka shoved me again. “I don’t care if you’re having a party. I want answers. And I want my share of the Covington work.”

I turned on her. “They’re not books, Minka. They’re book
shelves
. I ordered them a week ago.” I realized I was yelling but I couldn’t help it. She was a delusional moron with a left jab that could land you in the hospital.

“Liar!” she cried.

“Oh, my God.” I grabbed my own hair to keep from strangling her. “You’re a lunatic and you’re trespassing. Now leave before I call the police.”

“Hello, Derek,” Vinnie said brightly, ignoring the commotion.

“Vinnie,” he said, giving her a hug as he observed my less-than-amusing tête-à-tête with Minka. “How are you?”

“Very well, thank you.”

“Sign for this?” The deliveryman shoved a clipboard in front of me. A pen was taped to the steel clip.

“Sure.” I signed my name and he tore off a receipt and handed it to me. Then he turned the dolly around and took off for the door.

“Thank you,” I called after him. I heard my front door slam shut and felt momentarily relieved until I realized Minka was still there.

“Cookie?” Jeremy said, holding the plate out.

“Yes.” I shoved half of the cookie into my mouth. “We have milk.”

“Ooh, yummers,” Jeremy said. “I’ll get it.”

“Darling, what’s going on?” Derek leaned close and whispered in my ear, “Where is our houseguest?”

I stood on tiptoe and answered quietly, “On the roof.” I turned and looked around at the confusion. Derek and I gazed at each other, then shrugged and laughed.

“I’ll open some wine,” he said, and I nodded my approval.

“Hey, Brooklyn, aren’t you going to open the box?” Suzie asked as she munched on a cookie.

“Yeah,” Minka snarled as she adjusted her hat. “I’m not leaving until I’ve seen exactly what’s in there.”

“Whoa.” I must have been distracted before, because I was just now getting my first good look at her—and had to shield my eyes.
Pink
and
plastic
were her watchwords today. The shirt was a shiny, one-shoulder creation that stretched across her voluptuous bosom so tightly that if it came loose, I feared somebody would lose an eye. Her pink stretch pants were sliced vertically all the way up her thighs so her skin popped out appallingly. She wore a matching pink, glittery pillbox hat tilted jauntily to one side.

Words failed me.

Derek stepped forward and held up my heavy-duty Tough Tool box cutters he’d found in my workroom. “Shall we?”

“Yes,” I said. “Would you do the honors, please?”

He knelt down next to the big box and sliced the cardboard top open to reveal another box, this one made of wood.

“Are those the shelves?” Suzie asked. “They look unfinished.”

A highly suspicious Minka stood over one end of the box with her arms folded across her chest, just waiting to point an accusing finger at me. Moronic twit.

“This is so exciting,” Sergio said, fanning himself. “Ooh, Derek, you’re so strong.”

Jeremy licked his lips in agreement.

I giggled at Derek’s momentary look of horror.

He moved around the edges of the wooden crate, using the heavy blade of the cutters to pry the top up. “Help me with this, will you?”

Suzie and I gripped one end while Derek took the other end. Together we lifted off the top and laid it along the side of the crate.

“Well?” I asked, turning around to look at my friends’ reactions.

Jeremy screamed and slid to the floor.

“Holy crap,” Suzie shouted and skittered backward.

Vinnie made some kind of wheezing sound and yanked Suzie back farther. She began chanting something in her native language, then cried out, “Dear goddess, what evil has come into our world?”

I turned and looked. And gasped. Derek grabbed me before I could join Jeremy on the floor, and pressed my head to his chest so tightly I could barely breathe.

“Oh, my God. Oh, my God,” Suzie chanted.

“This isn’t happening,” I muttered, lifting my head to catch my breath.

Minka whipped around, pointed at me, and screamed, “You’re a sick, twisted bitch!” Then she made a gagging sound and ran for the door. I could hear her screaming all the way down the hall.

I braced myself, then turned back to make double sure I wasn’t hallucinating.

But no, it wasn’t an illusion. Lying in the box was Angelica, almost as beautiful as she’d ever been, surrounded by faded, wilting flowers. Her hair was coiffed, her makeup was perfect, and she was very, very dead.

Minka’s screeching could be heard for blocks around. It brought Max racing down from the roof.

“What the hell’s wrong?” he shouted from across the living room. “Sounds like a screaming hyena out there.”

I whipped around. “Oh, Max,” I cried, and ran to meet him.

“Are you okay, hon?” he asked, rubbing my back. “Was that you screaming?”

I shook my head but couldn’t speak, couldn’t tell him what was wrong, so I just stood there as he rocked me in his arms.

I could see Derek bent over the corpse, doing something. Knowing Derek, he was probably checking for a pulse and telltale signs of her cause of death. A minute later, he circled the room, surveying the people, appraising the situation, focusing on triage.

Finally, he approached Sergio and clutched his shoulder. “Take everyone to your place, would you? And tell them to stay there. I’ll be over in a few minutes to ask some questions.”

Sergio nodded, immediately accepting Derek as the top dog. Slipping his arm through Jeremy’s, Sergio lifted his partner off the floor in one smooth movement. “Come on, sugar. Let’s go get some air.”

Suzie latched onto Jeremy’s other side, then motioned for her partner. “Vinnie, baby, come on.”

“Oh, Brooklyn, I am praying for you,” Vinnie said, then grabbed hold of Suzie’s hand and walked out with the others. I watched them go, wondering if my neighbors would ever speak to me again. And with that thought, my eyes filled with tears.

I know I was a terrible person, but I couldn’t help thinking that even
dead
, Angelica was making trouble for me.

“It’s okay, Brooklyn,” Max murmured, then nudged me back and bent down to meet my gaze. “Now tell me what happened?”

I looked up at him and realized he had no clue what had just occurred. “Not sure you want to know,” I said, but I grabbed his hand and turned and steered him slowly across the room.

Derek stopped him. “Be prepared for a shock, mate.”

“Over there,” I said, pointing at the box.

“Yeah, okay.” Max frowned, then straightened his shoulders and stalked over to the box. He took one look inside, then shouted an incoherent epithet and jumped back a foot. He began to swear like a sailor, then instantly found religion. “Holy Jesus! Mother of God!”

Finally, he whirled around and grabbed his head with both hands. “Christ! That’s sick. Who would do that?”

That was pretty much the question of the hour.

“Put the cover back on the box, would you?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Max agreed loudly. “Damn. Let’s do that.”

As he and Derek lifted the heavy wooden top, I brushed my hair back off my forehead and tried to catch my breath. I was still shaking, could still feel the residual terror of that first moment when I realized that a dead body had been delivered to my home.

What had I done? Why had someone sent me such a hateful, macabre message?

More important, what had Angelica done? Well, she’d been a bitch, treated a lot of people badly, but had she deserved to be used as an object of horror?

To someone, she obviously had. And I knew that someone was Solomon. That man had a lot to answer for.

Was this all about Max? Or me? Both of us? Who was the message intended for? My head was spinning with questions and no clear answers.

I watched as Derek and Max straightened the edges of the box; then they both stepped back. Max looked grim as he walked out of the room.

“How did she die?” I asked Derek.

He gritted his teeth. “I suspect asphyxiation.”

“She was strangled?”

“Suffocated,” he corrected.

“Like, with a pillow, you mean?”

“Perhaps,” he said, his eyes narrowed in thought. “Something plastic is more likely.”

I winced. “Oh.”

After a moment of silence, he pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll call Gabriel.”

I nodded. “I’ll call the police.”

“Look who’s moving up in the world,” Inspector Lee said cheerfully as she walked into my workroom.

“What do you mean?” I said, lifting my head from the table. While she’d been observing the crime scene, I’d been resting my eyes for a few minutes. But it hadn’t helped to erase that vision of Angelica in the box. I feared it was permanently planted in my brain.

“I mean, you’re not going out looking for dead bodies anymore,” she explained with a smirk. “Now you’re having them delivered.”

I stared at her in amazement.

“What?” she said.

“That is just so mean.”

She laughed. “Lighten up, Wainwright. We’ve got to keep a sense of humor about these things.”