Condo Crazies: Murder At The Albatross Page 7

  “Hold it,” Yetta howled at Valentina. “Since when is the lobby Catholic? Judge?” She turned to Phoebe, eyebrows knitted. “Isn’t there a law about this?”

  Phoebe raised her hand to silence Yetta and thumped her cane at the Latina who seemed oblivious to the crowd around her. She raised her voice. “Valentina Lopez, you are to cease and desist with whatever you think you are doing here.”

  Valentina stopped all movement and chanting. She turned a baleful stare on the judge. “I’m cleansing this place of the devil. Only the devil can smell this bad.”

  “You can do whatever you want in your condo. Not here.” Phoebe turned to the residents clustered near the exit. “All residents will leave the lobby at once. You will use only the freight elevator and the exit door at the rear of the building until further notice. There will be an officer on duty until the police leave the premises. Does anyone have a question?”

  “I do—arrugghhh—what happened here?” Chester wheezed.

  “That’s what the police are here to determine, Mr. Cheney. Now let’s clear the lobby.”

  The feisty judge fixed a steely glare at the now silent group. She waited as the residents faded away.

  “It’s all yours, Detective. Please keep me apprised of what’s happening.” Phoebe nodded to Porfirio, who opened Elevator Two’s doors for her. “And this is the last time either of the two elevators will be used,” she told the manager. “Lock both down as soon as I get to my floor.” She stomped into the elevator, resting heavily on her thick cane. She shut her eyes as the doors closed and tried not to breathe in the overwhelming, foul odor. I’m too old for this nonsense. Why didn’t I go with my gut when I heard the name of this place? At least the old sailor had only one dead bird hanging from his neck. This place is full of loony birds.

  Chapter 28

  Devin murmured a soft, “Good morning,” as Tom Delaney entered the elevator, hauling two golf bags. Living on the top floor meant you met residents all the way down or all the way up the elevator. Devin wished the condo had private, or at least express, elevators.

  “Looks like another steamer.” Tom didn’t look happy at that prospect.

  “Florida in July, par for the course. And it looks like that’s where you’re headed.” Devin nodded at the golf bags.

  “Thought I’d start spending more time with Carly, teach her golf. Kinda got the idea from Kate when she told me off in the parking lot the first time I met her.” He shook his head. The elevator reached ground floor and both men walked out of the lobby into the parking lot.

  “How is Kate?” Tom turned to Devin. “She’s a tough lady to get to know. I feel as if I’ve done something wrong by asking her out to dinner. Even if the girls come with us, she won’t go.”

  “Kate’s been really busy. She’s trying to get her business off the ground, and with this economy, people aren’t throwing the parties they once did.”

  “Yeah, I understand all that.” Tom shrugged. “I didn’t think I did, but I may have pushed her too soon.” He shouldered the bags. “Well, have a good one, Devin. See ya.”

  “Tom?” Devin chose his words carefully. “U-m-m, don’t give up. Kate’s been through a rough time. She likes Italian food. Have you eaten at Carmine’s? On the water, outside at night with Dean Martin singing. Leave the girls at home. Get to know each other without the kids. Get the picture?” Devin raised his eyebrows as high as they could go.

  Tom grinned. “Yeah. Thanks, Devin. I owe you.” He continued walking to his car.

  Devin got into his car and rolled down his window. “Hey, Tom,” he called and waved.

  Tom, trying to fit the two golf bags into the miniscule back seat, looked up.

  “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie…” Devin sang in his best Dean Martin imitation, “You take it from there with the amore part, my boy.” He knew Tom would.

  Chapter 29

  Kate stared at Devin. “They found Delores Pruitt at the bottom of the elevator shaft in a garbage bag? Are you kidding, Dev? You’re freaking me out.” She turned off the kitchen faucet and dried her hands on a towel.

  Devin leaned his elbows on the counter and rubbed his face. He stared at the wall and shook his head. “Sorry, but it’s true, Kate. The judge knew what the odor was, where it was coming from, and called the police. The crime scene investigators are downstairs now going over the area. I know Delores was a pain in the butt, but killing her and putting her into a garbage bag—”

  “Whew.”

  “Judge Phoebe called me at work and I came back to a circus. The police were trying to cordon off the area. Valentina was exorcising the lobby of evil spirits with a crucifix and baptized Yetta Horowitz with a splash of holy water. And Chester didn’t make it any better, but at least he wasn’t in the middle of it all as he usually is. Where’s Alexis?”

  Kate heard the anxiousness in his voice. “She and Carly went to the Gardens Mall. They left a couple of hours ago.”

  “Call and tell her when she comes back to use the freight elevator and come right up. No locker room, no gym or sauna, no pool, no lounge. Until Latasha tells us they’ve caught the killer, we have to take special precautions. I’m calling the locksmith to put on a deadbolt today. The door has to be locked at all times, and we need to walk Alexis to the car, to the pool, wherever. She’s not to be alone in the building.” He looked at Kate. “I know this isn’t going to go over big with her, but hey, there’s a killer loose and we have no idea who it is.”

  Kate nodded. “Alexis won’t like it for sure, but,” she shrugged, “she’s not liked quite a few things that have happened in the past couple of years.” The front door slammed shut. The girls’ excited voices reached the kitchen. “Alexis, in here,” Kate called.

  “Mom, you hear about Ms. Pruitt?” Alexis sat at the counter next to Devin.

  “Hi, Mrs. Parker.” Carly smiled at Kate.

  “Sit down, Carly. Have some cookies. Yes, Alexis, I heard, all right.” Kate set the plate of freshly baked macaroons in front of the girls. “You’re here just in time to hear this. Delores disappeared from her apartment. She was found murdered in the building. Until they find out who killed her, we’re going to have to set up some routines to keep us all safe.”

  “Like what?” Alexis bit into the chewy cookie and munched thoughtfully.

  “I’m getting a new lock on the door,” Devin said. “You come in, you lock yourself in. You leave, you lock the door.” He left the distasteful part of the new routine to Kate.

  “Until Latasha tells us they’ve found the killer, we can’t be walking around the building to the locker room or gym or pool the way we have been. Either we go in pairs or we don’t go at all…that means to the parking lot as well.” Kate held up her hand as Alexis began to speak. “No negotiating on this, Ally.”

  “No,” Alexis said as she reached for another cookie, “I was going to say, couldn’t Carly stay with us until her dad comes home at night?”

  Kate hesitated. “Carly’s father may have other plans in mind.”

  Devin looked up from his coffee. “Have you called your dad about Ms. Pruitt, Carly?”

  She shook her head. “No, we just found out when we couldn’t get into the lobby.”

  Devin turned to Kate. “Why don’t we plan a meeting here tonight? Judge Phoebe will come, and any residents who want to discuss what steps we should take to protect ourselves. I’ll call Detective Ezuma to see if she can join us. Then we can update Carly’s dad and ask him about letting Carly stay here with Alexis until he comes home.”

  Kate studied Devin. “Hold the meeting, where? Here? Not here in the apartment, Dev.”

  “Why not?”

  “Simply because we don’t know who killed Delores. Her body was found in the building. It could be anybody from outside or inside the building.”

  “Mrs. Parker, you really think it could be someone we know?” Carly looked at Alexis worriedly.

  The girl’s demeanor made Kate suspicious. “W
hat’s going on, girls?”

  “Chester told Carly that Adrian Spaltro blamed Ms. Pruitt for the breakup. And it was just before Ms. Pruitt went missing,” Alexis explained.

  “Carly, you need to talk to your dad and see what he wants you to do with this information.” Kate was playing it safe with the hot-tempered Tom Delaney. His daughter, his decision.

  ***

  Loud, insistent knocking on the foyer door interrupted the discussion. Devin waved the others to stay seated and opened the door.

  A red-faced Tom Delaney stood there. “Is my daughter here?”

  “Yeah, c’mon in, Tom,” Devin invited.

  “No, Carly needs to come home. I heard the news on the radio and came home right away. She’s not where she’s supposed to be.” He looked over Devin’s shoulder into the apartment.

  “She’s fine, Tom,” Devin reassured him.

  “She may be fine, but I’m not. She’s got this bad habit of not being where she’s supposed to be. Usually your place.”

  “What’s going on?” Kate joined them.

  “Tom was just looking for Carly,” Devin said cordially.

  Kate looked calmly at Carly’s father. “Would you rather Carly not be here? Because that’s what it sounds like.”

  “I’d rather Carly be in her own home.”

  “Um, Tom, why don’t you come on in and let me get you a drink,” Devin said.

  Kate turned to Devin. “It’s clear Mr. Delaney wants to leave with his daughter.” After one long look at a now deflated Tom Delaney, she turned and walked briskly away.

  “I did it, again, didn’t I?” Tom looked at Kate’s retreating back.

  “I’d say you did it again, Tom. I’ll get Carly for you but you’ll have to get Kate on your own. I just don’t know how you’re ever going to have that moon hit your eye like a big pizza pie, my boy. This is definitely not the way to amore.”

  Chapter 30

  Sleep eluded the tired judge and there was no use trying to catch it. Judge Phoebe rose, pulled on her robe, and made her way down the long, darkened hallway to the kitchen. Bright moonlight streamed in through the wide windows. There was no need for turning on lights. Phoebe reached the kitchen and poured herself a glass of spring water from the gallon bottle on the counter. She took a sip. It didn’t taste like the spring water from the well on her father’s farm. It tasted like the plastic jug it came in.

  She walked to the kitchen window overlooking the parking lot. Her hand froze midway to her mouth. She reached into her robe pocket for her glasses. At this distance she couldn’t tell what she was seeing. She looked again. There it was, a shadow flitting across the lot. It moved quickly. Was it a resident returning from a night out on the town? Phoebe didn’t think so. The swiftness of movement indicated it was someone who was there for a purpose other than just going home. Phoebe lifted the handset on the wall and dialed 911.

  “Phoebe Burlingame calling from The Albatross…yes, that Albatross. There’s something going on here. We need no sirens, no lights, just a couple of policemen to investigate movement in the parking lot.”

  More questions.

  She drew a tired breath. “Send the car. Tell them there was a dark figure crossing the lot in the direction of the building in a big hurry. That’s unusual here and residents don’t come in this late. I’m in Unit 507.” She hung up and returned to the window.

  The shadow was gone. She looked at the sparse assortment of cars in the driveway, but she didn’t see any unfamiliar vehicles. There were few cars there. It was summer in Florida—anyone with any sense would have escaped the torrid sun. She looked down on the lot. There were no strange cars parked there, either.

  She stiffened. The shadow was back. It disappeared into the patch of trees bordering the front lawn, just as two patrol cars whizzed down the street, no sirens but lights flashing.

  “Damned fools,” she muttered. “Just can’t help themselves.”

  The judge peered at the patch of trees again. The silhouette was gone. She sighed and turned from the window. Last time she saw a figure in the lot, Delores Pruitt went missing and was later found dead. She wondered what might have transpired tonight. She was tired. As soon as she finished talking with the police, she was going to pour herself a shot of scotch and go back to bed. It would be a reward for putting up with this nonsense.

  Chapter 31

  “No, Chance, you can’t go shoot hoops at the schoolyard by yourself. You stay with Gram ‘til I pick you up. Clear?” Latasha patiently waited through another of her son’s litany of complaints. “You just say you’re bored? Did you finish your art project? No? Then I’d say you have ’nough to keep you from bein’ bored. We’ll go for pizza when I pick you up. Howzat?” She didn’t wait for his answer. “Love you, son.” She clicked off her cell phone and looked at Kate. “He’s a good kid, but I’m guessin’ the teen years are creepin’ in.” She sighed. “I knew it was too good to last. So, where were we?”

  “Enjoy these years, hon, ‘cause before you know it, they’ll be over,” Kate said. “So, new subject…a store I found to house ‘Kate’s Kitchen.’ The facility is turnkey. Clean, fairly new ovens, and plenty of refrigerator and storage space. It’s almost too good to be true, but Devin had a hand in getting it. The landlord is desperate. Most of his other tenants couldn’t make rent and moved out. Devin even got a great lease with free rent for the first six months and no rental increases for three years.”

  Latasha folded her hands on the kitchen counter and looked at Kate. “Love it. Great name people can remember. I’ve been thinkin’, Kate. I’m never gonna get rich on the force, and I wanna be around for my kid. How’d you feel about takin’ on a partner? I put money away for somethin’ like this. I can buy in as a one-third partner. You’ll still be boss and I’ll be your right hand. You tasted my cookin’ and you know I’m a hard worker. Whaddaya think?” Her dark eyes rested on Kate.

  Kate stopped ladling batter into the muffin pans and joined her friend. “I thought about that already, but you have a job and I didn’t want to…”

  “Anytime you want to ask me anything, just ask.” Latasha’s face beamed. “This is gonna be great. And I’m gonna be there for you. I already decided I’m cuttin’ back on hours at the station.” Her cell rang. “Hold on. Detective Ezuma speakin’.” She listened. “Yes, sir. I’m at The Albatross now. I’ll get right on it.” Latasha got to her feet, picked up her tote bag, and called over her shoulder, “Gotta go. I’ll be in the building.” A moment later, she was out the door.

  “Woman moves fast,” Kate murmured to herself as she picked up the ladle, finished filling the muffin cups, and slid the pans into the oven. “She’s going to be a real asset to Kate’s Kitchen.”

  Chapter 32

  Detective Ezuma did, indeed, move fast. In a few minutes she was knocking on Yetta Horowitz’s door.

  “Miz Horowitz, it’s Detective Ezuma.”

  Yetta peered through the door’s peephole and checked out her visitor. Latasha could hear locks unbolting and chains sliding. Yetta opened the door, looked around the corridor, and motioned the detective in. “You came fast,” she said, sliding chains and bolting locks back into place.

  “I was in the building. What’s the problem?”

  Yetta slid open a china closet drawer, retrieved a sheet of paper, and handed it to the policewoman. “This.” The detective reached into her shoulder bag and retrieved plastic gloves. She slid them on before taking the paper from Yetta. Words from a glossy magazine had been cut and pasted on the paper. “When did you get this and where did you find it?”

  “I opened my door to get the newspaper. This was taped on the door this morning.” Yetta’s face was pale. “I called as soon as I found it.”

  “Wish you’da left it on the door. But it’s good you left the tape on. Who else knows about this?”

  “No one.”

  “Miz Horowitz, do you have any enemies in the building?”

  “Enemies?”

&n
bsp; “Anyone you argued with? Had a problem with?”

  “No-o-o. I mean I talk to everyone.”

  “So, you have no idea why anyone would put this on your door? Or who that person might be?

  “No, I don’t.” Yetta shook her head.

  “Is there anyone you could ask to come and stay with you?”

  Yetta nodded. “My sister in Boca. Maybe I should go there?”

  “We’ll need to talk to you again.” Latasha took out her cell and dialed. “Lieutenant, Ezuma here. I’m at Miz Horowitz’s. Someone taped a threat note to her door. I need someone for prints and scene inspection. I’ll wait.” She clicked off and turned to Yetta. “An investigator is coming up. Don’t open the door to anyone but the police and don’t call or tell anyone about this.”

  Latasha opened the door and checked the exterior. “Lock up. I’ll be outside.” She waited until she heard the locks sliding into place before rereading the sheet of paper in her hands. A tiny black swastika preceded the only two words on the paper.

  YOU’RE NEXT

  Chapter 33

  “If you think you’re safe here, you’re damned fools.” Chester Cheney groused at his fellow residents. “We were all questioned by the police after Delores was killed. Days later, the police still don’t have a clue who killed her.” He looked around the room. “And somethin’ fishy’s going on. I called Yetta to tell her about this meeting and she hung up on me. Then I knocked on the door and she told me to go away, didn’t even open the door. Anyone know anything about that?”

  The frightened residents were silent.

  Finally, a feeble voice in the audience called out, “I’d leave and go to my son’s home but the police told us we had to stay.”

  “We’re pr-r-r-isoners in our own building. We pay condo dues. We’re entitled to some answers. This is not Cuba,” Valentina Lopez said, her dark eyes flashing.