The Bogey Man Page 18

  “I know, the law of averages tells me one of these threats could be valid.”

  “I think because things have worked out in the past, you’re not giving this particular threat enough credence.”

  The doorbell rang and Pete stood up, heading for the door. He motioned for me to stay back.

  I rolled my eyes. It was broad daylight, and I could answer the door myself.

  “I saw that eye thing you just did,” Pete said. “Don’t give me any trouble.”

  He opened the door, but I couldn’t see who was there. I was standing behind the door.

  Chris walked in. “I’m here, Boss. Ready to take over the watch.” He looked almost as tired as Pete.

  “Oh, you two are going to do me a lot of good. You’re both ready to fall asleep.”

  “I was up late last night, but I’ll be fine,” Chris said. “I can handle this. Besides, what are the chances that some mug will try to pull something during the day? Slim to none, I would think.”

  Pete turned to me. “You’re right. I’m too tired to do much good right now. I’m heading home to get some sleep. Stanley will spell Chris, and then I’ll pick it up after that.”

  He gave me a quick kiss, Chris a quick handshake, and left.

  “Want some coffee?” I asked Chris.

  “If you don’t mind, yes. I’ll take it out to the car with me.” He paused, probably remembering our last stakeout. “Never mind. I don’t need anything to drink.”

  “At least you’re learning,” I said, smiling.

  Chris left, too, and headed for his car. I checked out the window and saw he’d parked about three houses down and across the street. Close enough to see my house, but far enough away not to be noticed. Hopefully. Of course, he was in the old green Chevy and he didn’t blend into the scenery.

  I fed the dog, ate some breakfast, and roamed around the house. I felt like a prisoner in my own home. I wondered why this threat loomed larger to Pete than others I’d encountered during my career.

  It suddenly struck me. Felicity and Stanley had both said they smelled a chemical odor. I had an idea, but I needed to talk to both of them before I could go forward with my thought.

  I picked up the phone and dialed Stanley’s number. His answering machine picked up and I was disappointed. I was leaving a message when Stanley came on the line and spoke over the machine’s recording.

  “Don’t hang up. I’m here.”

  We both waited for the recorded voice to stop.

  “Stan, it’s Sandi. I need to ask you a question.”

  “Ask away.”

  “You said you thought you detected a chemical odor on the guy who tried to break in last night. Do you think you could be more specific?”

  “I honestly don’t know what it could be. I can tell you that it wasn’t body odor, or food. The odor seemed familiar, but I can’t place it.”

  I needed to talk to Felicity. “Do you think I can reach Felicity on her cell phone?”

  “She’ll be in the middle of her shoot right now, but if you wait until this afternoon you’ll be able to reach her.”

  “Thanks, Stan. I’ll call her later.”

  “Is that all you wanted?”

  “That’s it. I’ve got a theory, but I need more information before I can act on it.”

  “Would you care to share that theory with me?” Stanley sounded beyond curious.

  “Not yet. I’ll tell you more after I speak to Felicity. Talk to you later.”

  We hung up and I started pacing. I thought maybe I was finally putting things together, but I needed to know about the odor both of my friends had detected. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions without knowing more. The problem was that if I was right, I didn’t have a motive to go with my idea.

  I sat down on the couch, but found that my mind slowed with the inactivity. I stood up and started pacing again.

  I’d noticed that Mavis always wore heavy perfume, and she’d been found with her hand on the knife. That was a distinctive odor, but it appeared that a man had been at my window. Somehow I couldn’t picture Mavis trying to climb into my house anyway. Recalling her costume, the mental picture of that little witch climbing up the side of my house caught me off guard and I laughed out loud.

  Similarly, it seemed that Joshua always wore aftershave that was distinctive. I knew what it was, but couldn’t come up with the name of it. He had the best motive of all for murdering Purity. She wasn’t going to leave him alone, and she’d aborted his child, although that last part didn’t seem to be an issue to him.

  Odors. Scents. Jason Redman was a painter. Paint had a distinctive smell. He didn’t really seem like much of a suspect, except he’d been quite angry when Purity knocked him down and stepped on his hand.

  Of course, perfumes and aftershaves didn’t really have a chemical smell. Paint? Maybe. Of course, paint thinners and turpentine for cleaning brushes would have a chemical odor.

  What about Traci Marks? I couldn’t think of a chemical smell that might apply to her, but you never knew. Maybe she secretly worked on cars when she wasn’t waving her arms during her game show appearances. I was grasping at straws.

  Of course, one person we hadn’t even thought about was Mavis’s boyfriend, Hamilton Stewart. He was an agent, but I couldn’t think of any smell associated with an agent. At least, not the kind of smell I was looking for. However, after seeing his behavior at the party, alcohol came to mind.

  I shook my head. Now I was having silly thoughts. Besides, other than sticking up for Mavis, I couldn’t imagine what his motive might be.

  And there was Jolly. He was a photographer. He worked with chemicals when developing film. I knew he developed his own photographs from comments he’d made. Motive? I couldn’t think of any, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t one.

  I thought of Pamela, but at most she’d smell like a hamburgers and onions. Besides, Pamela didn’t know anyone at the party except for our little group. She wasn’t a likely candidate.

  All of my pacing and fussing had made me hungry. I glanced at the clock and saw the time had flown by. I walked outside and waited until I knew Chris was looking at me. I made a subtle eating motion, hand to mouth, and Chris nodded.

  He climbed out of his car and casually started walking down the street, glanced around to make sure no one was watching him, and suddenly darted across the street and into the house.

  “Thanks, Sandi. I am hungry. I brought some snacks with me, but they’re not enough. Can I use your bathroom?”

  “No.”

  “No?”

  “Just kidding. Of course you can. This isn’t like your typical surveillance.”

  I started making tuna sandwiches, adding sliced black olives and hard-boiled eggs, and stopped when the phone rang.

  “Sandi, it’s your mother and I’ve got news.”

  Like I couldn’t figure that out. “Yes, Mom, I recognize your voice after all these years.”

  Uh oh. She’d sounded cheerful.

  “I’ll be arriving in a few hours. Frank only sprained his ankle, and he’s getting around fine with the help of a crutch. I’ll be leaving in about ten minutes. He felt I should still come to see you, too. So put your mind at rest. Mother’s coming, dear.”

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chris walked into the kitchen, saw the distressed expression on my face, and gave me a questioning look.

  “My mother,” I whispered.

  “Oh.”

  “Who’s there?” my mother asked.

  “The Bogey Man.”

  “Oh, I can’t wait to meet him.” She sounded excited. She was looking forward to every part of this trip. She’d have Chris to fawn over and me to protect, if one could call my mother protection. Maybe I should suggest she not take her hormone pills if it was protection I needed.

  “Hold on,” I said.

  I turned to Chris. “Say something in Bogeyese for my mother.”

  He grinned, pulled his fedora lower on his forehead and to
ok the receiver from my hand.

  “Listen, Shweetheart, of all the gin joints in all the world – ”

  I could hear my mother giggling, even though I wasn’t holding the phone. I took it back from Chris.

  “Okay, Mom, that was just a sample. I’ll be waiting for you.”

  “Why, he really does sound like Bogey. See you soon.” She hung up, still giggling.

  The smile in her voice told me with Chris running interference, things might not be so bad after all. “Thanks, Chris. Maybe you’re going to make things a little easier for me.”

  “What’s wrong with your mother? Why are you so upset about her coming?”

  “You may or may not find out why. My mother is, well, I don’t know how to describe her. She’s kind of overbearing sometimes, and she’s going through, uh, menopause. If she takes her hormone pills, she’ll be fine. If she forgets them, well, you’ll have to see it for yourself. Let’s just say she can be moody and leave it at that.”

  I finished making our sandwiches and we sat down at the table.

  “Chris, I want your input on something.”

  His face looked so serious that I almost felt guilty. I realized that this was the first time I’d asked him to try to help me with anything important. He laid down his sandwich and sat straighter, looking expectant.

  “Felicity and Stanley both said they smelled something like a chemical. She noticed it when the intruder was in her house. Stanley noticed it last night when someone tried to break in here.”

  His eyebrows lifted. “Someone tried to break in here? No one told me.”

  I pointed at the broken window.

  “I saw that, but I didn’t know what happened. I should have figured it out.”

  “No, someone should have told you. You couldn’t have known.”

  “Sandi, after that picture being taped to your door, I should pay more attention to everything that’s out of the ordinary. Did you call anyone to come replace it yet?”

  “Yes. They can’t come until tomorrow. Let’s move on. I’m trying to think, of all of our suspects, who might have a chemical smell on them. Have you noticed anything on any of the people we’ve been around?”

  “Not really, except for Mavis’s perfume. That stuff she wears could choke a horse.”

  He had a point. To a man, her scent might not smell all that great, but Felicity would have recognized it as perfume.

  “Besides,” Chris added, “at the party there were several people wearing masks and heavy make-up. There were all kinds of smells.”

  “I didn’t necessarily mean at the party. I meant when we were out interviewing people.”

  “Sandi, Mavis and Joshua are the only two you’ve talked to while I was with you.”

  “Oh, yeah, that’s right. And, of course, Pete talked to some of them by himself. I’m just trying to figure out what type of chemical Felicity and Stanley might have come in contact with.”

  We ate in silence for a few minutes. Bubba sat patiently, waiting for a handout. Chris couldn’t stand it and gave him a piece of his sandwich. Bubba gently removed it from Chris’s hand, and Chris looked surprised.

  “I would have expected this big lug to grab his bite and run.”

  I smiled. “No, actually Bubba is quite gentle.” I patted the dog’s head, but he pulled away to sniff my tuna hand.

  After eating, Chris went back to his surveillance. What a joke. I’d stood on the porch and waved at him, and he’d come into the house for lunch, like the bad guy wouldn’t have noticed. I couldn’t explain why, but this threat seemed more intense than any I’d had directed at me in the past. Maybe it was Pete’s reaction that scared me. He seemed more concerned than usual. I shouldn’t have been so careless about waving at Chris.

  That thought stopped me cold. He seemed more concerned than usual? That wasn’t one of the things I’d expected when I became a Private Eye. I figured I’d be investigating and watching people without receiving threats for my efforts. I was supposed to be invisible, not a target.

  I spent the rest of the afternoon straightening the house. Mother was coming. She’d be wearing white gloves and testing my furniture for dust. Well, not really, but that’s the way she made me feel.

  I checked the refrigerator to see what I needed and made a quick run to the store to stock up on both healthy food and snacks. We’d eat it all, if I knew my mother and me.

  Chris followed me there and back, as inconspicuously as possible, not an easy thing to do in his old green Chevy. At least he kept his distance.

  My mother arrived at five-thirty, bearing In-N-Out hamburgers and fries. I knew immediately that she was trying to stay on my good side. I could live on those burgers.

  “How’s Frank?” I asked, taking the burger bags from her.

  “He’s okay, although a sprain can actually be pretty painful.”

  We hugged, a new ritual for us, and headed for the kitchen.

  While my mother washed her hands at the sink, Bubba nudged her behind. She turned and gave him a look that would scare an ax murderer.

  Bubba grinned.

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake. Is this the big dog you’ve been telling me about? Well, of course it is. And you’re telling me this is a smile? Not a snarl?”

  Without waiting for an answer from me, she bent over and began petting Bubba. His grin widened to the point where my mother pulled back.

  “You’re sure he’s smiling?”

  “Yes, Mother.”

  “Well, I’ll be darned. He’s kinda cute, isn’t he? And you say he’s protective?”

  “When he wants to be, yes.”

  Mother continued petting Bubba’s back. He dropped and rolled over on his back, waiting for some scratching, and my mother giggled.

  “I’m surprised Frank didn’t want to come with you,” I said. “He seems protective toward you, and obviously you’re not here for a typical visit.”

  She scratched Bubba a little faster, avoiding my eyes. “Well, I didn’t quite give him all of the details about this visit.”

  “But, Mom, you said he was all for this idea.”

  “He wanted me to visit you, but I didn’t tell him everything. You and I haven’t seen each other in a while, and he was going to be busy with his friends. That big ninny is still going fishing.” Now she looked disgusted.

  “Don’t worry, Mother. When he tries to climb into the boat and can’t do it, he’ll figure it out.”

  “Oh, I almost forgot. I brought a hamburger for Mr. Bogey, too. He’s still outside, isn’t he?”

  Ah. She was anxious to meet Chris in person. I took her hand and led her out onto the front porch. “See that old green Chevy down the street? That’s Chris. Why don’t you go down and invite him in for dinner?”

  She was halfway down the steps before I could finish my sentence. This could turn out to be interesting.

  I went back inside and got out paper plates and glasses, and started unpacking the bags. My mother knew me well. She’d asked for a side of the dressing they put on the burgers. I loved it on my fries instead of catsup.

  I heard voices coming through the door and called out to them to come into the kitchen. Chris was grinning, using his best Bogey persona, and my mother was giggling again. It made them both happy.

  “Livvie,” Chris said, sounding like Chris instead of Bogey, “you’re a great audience. But let’s eat now. I’m starving.”

  My mother sat down with her eyes glued to the Bogey Man. “Oh, Chris, I know a lot of women who’d just go nuts if they met you. I have to have Sandi take some pictures of us together while I’m here. You know, to show off to my friends in Bullhead City.”

  “Speaking of pictures, what about the chemical smell you get from developing photographs?” Chris picked up his burger and took a big bite.

  “I’ve thought about that. I think I need to speak to Jolly, and you and my mother can go with me. What time is Stanley going to relieve you tonight?”

  “Not until around nine. He had
something to do before coming over here, so I said I’d stick around for a few extra hours.” He took another huge bite of his burger.

  My mother shoved the fries in front of him. “My, but you are hungry. You can share my French fries.”

  Chris grinned. “Thanks, Cupcake.”

  I excused myself and called Jolly. I wanted to talk to him right away, before I lost my nerve. If he was the one Felicity and Stanley had come in contact with, maybe I could take him by surprise and he’d give himself away. Besides, I wouldn’t be alone when I met with him.

  I called the number at Jolly’s studio and he answered on the second ring.

  “Jolly, this is Sandi Webster. Are you going to be at your studio for a while? I’d like to come over and talk to you.”

  “I’ll be here until about seven-thirty.”

  I glanced at the clock. It was after six. “I’ll leave in a few minutes. Will you wait for me? It may take time to find your place. I’ve never been there before.”

  “I have places to go, Ms. Webster. I don’t have all night to wait for you.” He didn’t sound friendly.

  “Uh, Jolly, you tried to break into my house last night.” I sounded as accusing as I felt.

  He was quiet for a moment. “I’ll wait for you.”

  I knew I’d scored with my accusation.

  “You know I have a dog, so why did you even try it?”

  “Your dog knows me. I’ve given him treats. He wouldn’t have bothered me.”

  “Guess you haven’t seen his protective side yet.” I was amazed at how honest Jolly was being with me. And when had he given my dog snacks? It clicked. They day my gate was closed; the day the photo had been taped to my front door.

  He gave me directions. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

  Ominous words under the circumstances. Of course, he didn’t know I wouldn’t be alone.

  I returned to the kitchen. “Okay, let’s get moving. Jolly is at his studio, and he’s waiting for me. I didn’t mention that you two would be with me.”

  “Give me a minute,” my mother said. “I need to get my bags out of the car.”