Elaine Viets [Dead End Job 06] Murder With Reservations (v5 0) (pdf)

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boss at my last job, the Barker Brothers Pampered Pet
Boutique. I ve got to get to him before Rob does.
What was I thinking? Helen asked herself.Why didn t
I call Jeff yesterday, after I talked with Millicent at the
bridal shop? Phil wasn t the one who underestimated
my ex.
Denise handed Helen her cell phone. Here, she
said. Make the call now.
She stood so close, Helen could smell her old-
fashioned soap. Camay? Denise acts like I m going to
bolt out the door, Helen thought. She wished she could.
Suddenly Helen wanted to be far away from this hotel.
She felt a brief stab of nostalgia for Jeff s dog boutique,
with Lulu the well-dressed beagle-dachshund.
Hello, Helen said into the cell phone.
Jeff recognized her voice even before she identified
herself. Sweetie, how are you? She could hear fran�
tic barking. Lulu, quiet! I ll give you a treat, but only
if you re a good girl. The barks turned into hopeful
whines.
You must have been a very good girl, Helen, for
someone to leave you nearly a million dollars, Jeff said.
Rob was at your store. Helen gripped the phone as
if it would leap out of her hand. She tried to make her
voice sound normal, but it skidded up and down like a
teenage boy s.
Yes, he was. Such a cutie, Jeff said. Nice buns on
that boy, and bearing gifts, besides. Aren t you the lucky
one? We re so sorry we couldn t remember the hotel
where you re working now.
Helen let out the breath she didn t know she was
holding.
But we remembered the name of the divine little
Art Deco apartment building where you live, Jeff said.
Irk, Helen said.
Don t thank us, Jeff said. Although any part of that
110 ] Elaine Viets
million you want to give us as a token of your regard will
be just fine. Lulu, don t nip the nice customer. Helen, I
have to go.
The line went dead. Helen felt like her brain had been
disconnected at the same time.
Rob found you, Denise said.
He found my home, Helen said. I need to call my
landlady.
Helen s fingers fumbled so badly with the phone
buttons she couldn t make the call. After the third try
Denise took the phone from her hands. What s the
number? she asked.
Denise punched in Margery s number and hit send,
then handed Helen the phone.
Margery answered on the first ring. He s here, she
said, her words flat and clipped. Outside by the pool.
I m making him a drink. Call me in an hour. She hung
up before Helen could ask anything. If Margery made
him a drink, Rob wouldn t be able to cause trouble this
afternoon. Her screwdrivers could anesthetize a rhino.
Helen spent a miserable hour trying to clean the
rooms. She knew she was doing a terrible job. The beds
were lumpy. The freshly polished furniture looked like
it was smeared with grease. Cheryl kept straightening
the bedspreads and wiping down the dresser tops after
her.
At one o clock Helen called Margery. All clear, her
landlady said. Rob s gone, but I don t think he s going
back to the hotel right away. I ll give you the details
when you come home. Don t worry. You re safe.
Helen didn t feel safe. She stumbled through two
more rooms, tripping, dropping things, and putting the
sheets on sideways. When Helen sprayed a mirror with
furniture polish, Cheryl said, You need to go home.
I don t want to leave you alone with all this work.
Cheryl looked at the oily film on the dresser mirror.
No offense, Helen, but I ll finish faster working alone.
Murder with Reservations ] 111
Room 323 has the Do Not Disturb sign up, so I won t
have to clean it.
Helen started to go, but hesitated. Cheryl had too
much to do on her own.
Don t feel guilty, Cheryl said. When Angel gets a
tummy ache at school, I ll have to leave you in the lurch.
You ve had a bad fright. Go on, get out before your ex
comes back. I ll clear it with Denise.
Helen felt more relieved than guilty. She left her
stained smock in the laundry room and slunk home like
a felon, watching for Rob as she rounded every corner
and passed every clump of trees. She kept away from
Las Olas, in case he was lunching at a sidewalk caf�.
She saw no sign of her ex, but she did see a pale,
skinny figure with long orange-red hair strolling along
the sidewalk.
Rhonda! Helen said, surprised but happy.
The woman turned around. She looked nothing like
the murdered maid.
Sorry, Helen mumbled.
When someone died suddenly, you saw them every�
where for a while, Helen thought. That s natural. Then
why did it feel so unnatural?
Margery met her with a screwdriver in an iced tea
glass. Helen figured it held nearly a pint of vodka and
orange juice.
Drink, her landlady said. You re a wreck.
Helen took a stiff swig. Margery handed Helen a ham
sandwich and a bag of chips.
Where s the black-bean-mango salsa and vanilla-
rum butter? Helen said.
I can slap on some French s mustard, Margery said.
I prefer the indigenous local products, Helen said.
Good. You ve got your sense of humor back. Come
on out by the pool, where we can talk.Arlene and Peggy
are both gone.
Her landlady clip-clopped back to the pool in purple�
112 ] Elaine Viets
heeled sandals. There weren t many seventy-six-year�
olds who could wear a lavender halter top, but Margery
had smooth, tanned shoulders. She artfully lit a cigarette
and took a deep draw that would have left Helen chok�
ing on the smoke. Margery looked sophisticated.
It was one of those perfect afternoons that made Flo�
ridians realize why they endured the roasting summers.
The fine weather was wasted on Helen. She d turned
cold at the thought of Rob. He d been here at her home.
He d probably sat on this very chaise.
He really thinks he s slick, Margery said. He
thought he was conning me the whole time, pouring on
the charm for an old lady who d be grateful for a man s
attention, no matter how phony.
I batted my eyelashes and told him you d moved
out. I said you went to Sarasota, on the other side of
the state. Two can play the lying game. Well, I did tell
the truth, sort of. I said you were short of money, and
couldn t even afford a car. I made it clear he wasn t
going to get much out of you, even if he did find you.
Didn t Rob say he could solve all my problems with
that million-dollar inheritance? Helen said. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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