Condo Crazies: Murder At The Albatross Read online

  “Deve-e-e-n,” the woman cooed at him. “Naughty boy.” She shook her shiny, black Frederic Fekkai bob at him, and arched her eyebrows waiting for the inevitable introduction.

  “My friend, Kate Parker. Kate, Valentina Lopez,” Devin said.

  Eighth floor. The elevator stopped and the doors opened.

  Valentina didn’t move. She was still looking at Kate.

  “You have a good face, Kate Par-r-ker,” she said, rolling her r’s. “Honest, open. You must come and see me. Dev-e-e-n, you will bring her down, yes? We will have wine and tapenades, and we’ll talk. Deveen will tell you, I love to talk. Yes, Deveen?” She didn’t require an answer from him. This was a woman who was used to having her way with men. With everyone. Kate already seemed as if she liked her, and she didn’t even know her.

  The elevator alarm went off.

  “Ah, the elevator tells us what to do.” Valentina moved out of the elevator with her designer cargo. “Don’t forget, Deveen,” she called over her shoulder, ample, swaying hips accentuating her walk.

  The elevator doors shut, and the trio continued the ascent to their floor.

  “Now there’s a woman with personality, glamour and charm,” Kate said to Devin.

  “She’s quite a gal, for all her talk, with an incredible story of escape from Cuba.”

  They reached the penthouse floor and proceeded down the hall.

  Penthouse One’s door cracked open again. “How does she know when to look out her door?” Kate whispered to Devin.

  “She has the instincts of a bat, radars in on any motion or noise. One of these days I fully expect her to fly out and climb into my hair,” Devin remarked. He unlocked his door. “I really wouldn’t lock my door here, but I’m not willing to give her access to my home, and I’ve no doubt she would snoop given a chance.” He walked to the window overlooking the pool.

  “Huh, would you believe this?”

  Kate joined him and looked down. Alexis was sitting at the foot of Chester Cheney’s chaise lounge, looking at a book and talking away to him. Chester was just listening and nodding.

  “Wonder how that happened?” Devin mused. “Ol’ Chester isn’t exactly into kids, and most people don’t want to hear his constant narrative of ‘Life as Cheney Sees It.’ ”

  “Ally’s always been good with people. Until…you know.”

  “It’ll take time, Kate. Leaving Jersey was the best thing you could have done. Got her away from it all, into a totally different environment.” He turned to her. “Now, I’ve got a great place to go for dinner—Waterway Café. It’s lively and we can eat on the floating dock and watch the boats go by. Tonight there’s a reggae band.”

  “Close by?”

  “Honey, everything is close by here. Next town over, in Palm Beach Gardens. By the ‘Broken Bridge’.”

  “Doesn’t sound good.”

  “It’s a drawbridge. Usually works. But when it doesn’t, it bottles up traffic like crazy.” Devin looked down at Alexis again. She was getting up and shaking Chester’s hand. “Looks like she’s made a friend…though for the life of me I don’t understand why she’d want to even talk to Cranky ol’ Chester.”

  Chapter 9

  The warm stones on Kate’s back gently coaxed tight muscles to unknot and relax. Whoever thought of heating stones and using them as part of a massage treatment must be rich by now, Kate’s thoughts drifted. Kind of like the pet rock success story. Take an inanimate object, give it a catchy name, a function, a patent number and presto: instant millions. Lying on the massage table in the women’s lounge at The Albatross, Kate idly wondered what she could invent and make millions for her and Alexis. She must have fallen asleep before anything came to mind, because the next thing she knew, Alexis was standing over her mother, her long, brown hair falling over her face…a face that looked older and thinner from even a few months ago.

  “Mom? You okay?”

  Kate rolled over and the stones, now lukewarm, slid off.

  “I’m fine—why?” Kate remembered when her dad died and thought if anything happened to her mom, she’d be totally alone. She saw the worry in her daughter’s expression change to relief. “Ally, nothing’s going to happen to me. I’m just really tired from everything, but I feel so much better now. How’d you like the massage?”

  “It was good. Just a little creepy having a strange woman rub my back.”

  Kate wondered how creepy it would be for her to have a boy rub her back—at eighteen, she guessed not so much.

  “Mom, can we talk about—” Alexis stopped and turned at the sound of sobbing coming from the lavatory.

  Chapter 10

  “Someone is really unhappy,” Alexis said worriedly.

  Kate sat up and wrapped the Turkish towel around her. “If it doesn’t stop in a minute, I’ll go in,” she assured Alexis. Kate knew, given the nature of her daughter’s life during the past year, it didn’t take much to distress her. Kate pulled on the uniform of southern Floridians—shorts, tank top, and flip-flops.

  The crying hadn’t abated.

  “Let’s see if we can help.” Kate headed for the lavatory. A dainty pair of feet adorned with ten Promise Me Pink polished toenails peeked out from under a stall.

  “Excuse me, do you need help?” Kate knocked gently on the stall door.

  “Wha—” Sniffling noises mixed with sobs. “What?” a young female voice answered.

  “I’m sorry to intrude, but are you all right? Would you like to come out and talk? I’m Kate and my daughter, Alexis is here too.”

  They heard the rolling of toilet paper and then the blowing of a nose. Dry sobs continued.

  “What’s your name?” Kate asked through the closed door.

  The answer came slowly. “Carly Delaney.”

  Alexis came up to the door. “Hey, Carly, I’m Ally Parker. Y’wanna come out and let’s talk? My mom is really good at talking to kids with problems—” She gave Kate a rueful look. “I oughta know…I’m one of them.”

  Kate did her best not to look shocked. Ally was giving her mother credit for helping her?

  “No one can help me with this one,” the girl whimpered.

  “Why don’tcha c’mon out and let her try?” Alexis moved away from the door as it opened slowly.

  A teenager, around sixteen or so, emerged with swollen eyes and a tiny pink nose to match her toenail polish. She looked like a model—tall and willowy, with long, silky blonde hair, emphasizing bright blue eyes—a beautiful child. A white midriff T-shirt and tiny white shorts accentuated her tan.

  “Hello, Carly,” Kate said, holding her hand out. The girl took it limply and Kate seized the opportunity to draw her out of the stall.

  “Would you like some water?” Kate asked.

  She shrugged and glanced around, Kate guessed, for an escape route.

  Alexis went to the water cooler, filled a paper cup and handed it to the girl. “So, what’s so bad?” she asked.

  Carly sipped the water, and looked over the top of the cup to Alexis, then to Kate. “I—I don’t know how telling you will help.”

  “Try us,” Ally encouraged.

  “There’s this guy, Adrian Spaltro. He comes over and we go to the beach.”

  “That’s a problem?” Alexis asked.

  “It is when a nosy neighbor calls my father at work and tells him Adrian’s in the apartment with me.”

  “Does your dad know him?” Alexis prodded.

  “Uh, yes. He’s not exactly crazy about him. Adrian’s older.”

  “Really older?”

  “He’s twenty-five, and I’m almost seventeen.”

  “Hey, Carly. Definitely not cool for you. I’m eighteen and my mom would throw a fit,” Alexis said.

  How well she knows me. Still, Kate was surprised by her daughter’s mature attitude toward another teenager.

  “Nothing happened with us. He’s out of a job and takes me out or just comes here and we watch TV or go to the beach.”

  “Your dad
knows you’re going out with him?” Kate asked.

  “He does now! The ol’ bat in Penthouse One called him and told him she saw us on the beach and then going out in his car.” Her hands curled into fists. “Someone should kill that witch.”

  Delores Pruitt strikes again, but in this case, she may have done some good.

  “If Adrian’s not working, how does he get the money to take you out?” Ally’s mind was working overtime. Kate guessed she already knew the answer.

  Carly reddened. “I’ve been giving him some money. Y’know, just ’til he gets a job.”

  Kate pointed to some chairs by the window in the lounge. “Let’s sit and talk this out a bit.”

  Carly appeared reluctant as she took a chair across from Kate. Alexis stood to the side.

  “Carly, this man, and he is a man, can be arrested. You’re underage and he’s an adult. And you know, don’t you, this can only end in trouble?” Kate asked.

  Carly looked down at her feet and wiggled her pink toes. Kate recognized the face of petulance. “Yeah, I guess. But—”

  Kate’s motherly instinct wouldn’t let her quit. “There really aren’t any ‘buts’ to this issue, Carly. You need to find kids your own age. This man knows better. It’s why he took off. He’s using you for money, and it’s only a matter of time before he moves on.”

  She nodded her head. “I know. My dad said the same thing. After Witch Pruitt called him, Dad called me and made me put Adrian on the phone. When he finished talking to my dad, Adrian told me not to call him anymore and took off. Man, my dad is going to be ticked when he gets home tonight.”

  “What does your mom say?” Kate asked.

  Carly shrugged. A stony look came over her face. “She’s gone.”

  “She’s dead? That’s tough,” Alexis said.

  “No, gone as in gone off with her new boyfriend to Brazil. She’s starting a new life there, she said.” Carly looked closely at her fingernails before adding, “She said she’d send for me—eight months ago. Now she doesn’t even call anymore. So who cares if I hang with Adrian?”

  “From what you told us, your dad cares a whole lot,” Kate replied. “If you think he’s going to be angry, that proves it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t say anything at all. I suggest, when your dad comes home, you tell him it’s over with Adrian. I’m guessing your mom leaving is as hard on him as it is on you, Carly. Besides losing a wife, now he has to be mom and dad to a teenager. That’s not easy.”

  Alexis stared at her mother as if a new thought dawned on her.

  “It’s not easy,” Kate looked directly at Alexis. “But it’s what parenting is all about. You do what you have to do because you love your child and want the best for her.”

  Alexis swallowed and blinked hard a few times.

  Kate turned back to Carly who was looking at them with great interest.

  Alexis looked at her too. “We’re kinda in the same boat, Carly. You know the stores around here?” she asked Carly.

  Carly nodded.

  Alexis said to Kate. “Mom, can I take the car to go clothes shopping with Carly?”

  “She’ll need to call her father and ask him if it’s all right,” Kate said. “If you want, Carly, you can put me on the phone and I’ll introduce myself.”

  A hesitant Carly pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and speed dialed a number. “Daddy? Um…Mrs. Parker wants to talk to you.” She thrust the phone in Kate’s direction, as if it were burning her hand.

  Chapter 11

  “Hello, Mr. Delaney, this is Kate Parker. My daughter and I met Carly in the women’s lounge today, and Alexis, she’s my daughter, would like to take her shopping. We’re calling to see if you would give your permission.”

  Kate listened to a deep, husky voice barely suppressing anger for a few moments. The gist of the conversation was he didn’t know Kate, was furious at his daughter for not following his rules and, no, he wouldn’t give his permission and would she please put Carly back on the phone. He sounded even more annoyed that he’d left a meeting to take the call.

  “Certainly. Sorry to have interrupted your business day,” Kate said icily, and handed the phone back to Carly, who had another minute of conversation.

  On Carly’s side, it consisted mostly of “Uh huh, uh huh, okay. Bye.” She clicked the phone off. “He said I need to go back to the apartment and stay there ‘til he gets home.” Carly shook her blonde head despondently. “I’ll probably be grounded until I’m twenty-one.”

  “You did break his rules, Carly. So, go home, wait for your dad, and try to work it out with him.” Kate rose and gathered her things.

  “Okay if I stay here with Carly for a while?” Alexis asked.

  “Sure,” Kate replied. “Just be upstairs by six. Devin wants to take us out for dinner.” Kate looked over her shoulder on her way out. Alexis and Carly were deep in conversation. A peal of laughter followed Kate out the door. Alexis had made two friends on her first day in Juneau Beach—first Chester and now Carly. All Kate had done was tick off Carly’s father. She hadn’t met him, but his telephone persona made Kate think she understood why his wife left him: she wanted a new life. Kate stopped short. Wasn’t that exactly what Stewart had said to her? “I’m tired of this life. I want a new one.”

  I’m throwing stones at Mr. Delaney and I live in a glass house. Nice going, Kate Parker.

  Chapter 12

  Kate stared into the darkness from the cushioned chaise lounge on the balcony off her bedroom. She’d always respected the formidability of the ocean. By day, it was unconstrained but observable. By night, it evolved into a menacing blackness, no matter how many stars adorned the sky or ribbons of light the moon cast down. Tonight was no different. The salty air mingled with the fragrance of potted gardenias outside the sliding door. Gardenias were flowers from her youth—in corsages delivered from nervous boyfriends before a prom or dance and later pressed between the pages of a heavy book, to yellow and still bear a delicate fragrance years later, evoking memories of that occasion.

  It was Devin who gave Kate her first gardenia corsage at their junior prom. Devin and she had been friends since seventh grade, when Kate was sent home from school for giving a boy a bloody nose after he called Devin a “homo.” It wasn’t anything Devin had done or even said; he just looked delicate with his blond hair and graceful body. Devin was a good kid. He never caused any problems and wasn’t deserving of the taunts from this bully. Kate was happy; Everett Benson was disgraced forever for losing a fight to a girl. It was well worth the grounding she got for starting a fight, though it wasn’t much of one since Everett ran off holding his nose and crying before Kate could land another blow. Devin’s friendship remained a comforting constant through the years.

  Kate stretched and left the sliding door open as she prepared for bed. The soft lapping of the waves was relaxing and the bed was welcoming. This had been a wonderful evening. Sitting on the floating dock at Waterway, Alexis, Devin, and Kate dined and listened to reggae music. Devin entertained them with stories of his rich and not-so-rich Palm Beach clients, those fleeced by Bernie Madoff. It was all flash and show, Devin said, not just keeping up with the Joneses but becoming the Joneses. Devin was in his best Irish story-telling mode, and Alexis and Kate relaxed, able to leave the past behind them and enjoy the present.

  Kate was just drifting off to sleep when she heard the soft ding of the elevator. The clock said one-thirty. The only other resident on this floor was Delores Pruitt. Maybe Devin was right. Maybe she was a human bat, emerging nocturnally for sustenance.

  Kate fell asleep dreaming of Delores swooping down the long corridor with her grey, sticky wings, myopic dark eyes covered by long, straight eyelashes, and thick black eyebrows. She pulled the covers over her head…she’d heard bats love to crawl into human’s hair. For a second, she opened her eyes before she drifted off again. Was that a scream…or did she dream it?

  Chapter 13

  “Ohmigosh. Look.” Alexis grabbed her mother’
s arm.

  “What?” Kate asked.

  “There in the parking lot. The red Porsche—”

  Kate looked at the car. “SLUT” in two-foot high white letters had been sprayed over the otherwise flawless paint job.

  “And you thought New Jersey was bad.” Alexis looked accusingly at her mother.

  “I didn’t say nothing bad happens in Florida. Bad is all over, Ally. Wonder whose car it is.”

  “Oh, no.” Alexis’s eyes widened in shock. “Carly said her dad bought a red car when they moved here.” She looked at her mother, struck by a sudden idea. “Mom, you don’t think this is because Carly was with Adrian Spaltro, do you? Her father is going to be livid. What should we do?”

  “We? We don’t need to get involved. I only spoke with Carly’s father for a few seconds, but I got the distinct impression he’s not a pleasant person to deal with. Frankly, I don’t want to get involved in this.”

  “So, we just leave? Huh, so not like you.”

  Kate turned to Alexis. “It is now. Whoever owns the car will be out, sooner or later, and can deal with—”

  The lobby doors opened and a rugged, red-haired man emerged, carrying a loaded golf bag. He nodded briefly in greeting and kept walking.

  “Wanna bet he’s Carly’s father?” Kate asked, under her breath. “I recognize the attitude. Let’s get out of here.” She propelled Alexis to their car parked farther down the same row.

  Within seconds, it was clear Kate’s guess was correct; the Porsche belonged to the disagreeable looking man. He stood transfixed, staring at his car. He pointed at the white lettering and turned to eye Kate and Alexis as they passed.

  “Paint? It’s paint, not shaving cream, friggin’ paint. Who would do this?” He leered at Kate. “You know anything about this?”

  “Do I look like I spray paint cars?” Kate retorted coolly. “I don’t even know who you are and you certainly don’t know me.”