Ник Сайнт - Purrfect Advice. Purrfect Passion. A Purrfect Gnomeful

“It’s the garden gnome gang again!” Dooley cried. “First they steal the gnomes and then they use them to kill people!”

“I’m not sure it’s the same gang, though,” I said as I glanced around. I picked up a strong whiff of the scent I’d grown to associate with Maria Power again, which was hardly surprising as the same dress we’d seen hanging in Jack Warner’s apartment was draped across the bed for some reason.

“I wonder why he decided to bring that dress here,” I said.

“Maybe he likes to dress in women’s clothes,” Dooley suggested. “Some men are like that.”

“But why take a hotel room?” I asked. And what did Odelia mean when she said Dan was in mortal danger?

“Yes, we arrested Dan,” Uncle Alec was saying. “One of the cleaners caught him in the act, hovering over the victim, the gnome still in his hand. Her testimony sealed the deal.”

“Where is she?” asked Chase. “The cleaner?”

“Randal sent her home. She was completely overwrought. He told her we’d interview her later, when she’d recovered from the shock.”

Odelia nodded, glancing around. “So describe to me what happened, Uncle Alec. Exactly.”

Her uncle cleared his throat and assumed a wide-legged stance. “Well, Jack Warner arrived at the hotel at eight thirty. According to the receptionist he was in fine fettle. Told her this was the best day of his life. Though he didn’t say why that was, the receptionist figured he probably had a date lined up. Often people use the hotel for that purpose.”

“So then what happened?”

“Well, the receptionist was on the lookout for this illustrious date, Jack being well known to her, as she’s a member of the Maria Power Society herself. And so when Dan suddenly showed up…” He shrugged. “To say she was surprised is an understatement.”

“Dan told me had an important appointment he didn’t want to miss,” said Odelia. “He didn’t tell me it was Jack Warner, though.”

“No, he wouldn’t tell you, would he? Not if he planned to kill the man.”

“So then this cleaner walks in and Dan is standing over the dead man?” Chase asked.

The Chief nodded. “She opened the door by mistake, figuring the room was empty, and caught Dan in the act, still holding the gnome. He dropped it when he saw her and she started screaming her head off.” His face took on a grave note. “And then he ran off.”

“Dan ran off?” asked Odelia.

“Yeah. He did a runner. Didn’t get far, though. The cleaner immediately called down to the lobby, and by the time Dan arrived, they stopped him and called the cops. Randal and Sarah were first on the scene, and they arrested him on the spot.” There was a note of satisfaction in his voice. “And this time he’s not going to walk any time soon.”

Chapter 20

Odelia, as she sat down for the interview, remembered her promise to Dan: that she was going to catch this killer. Only she hadn’t thought that he’d go out and murder a man immediately afterward.

She found it hard to focus on the words of the hotel’s housekeeping supervisor, as her mind kept returning to the conversation with Dan that morning. He’d seemed so down in the dumps. And then to come here and kill his main rival? Why would he do such a thing? And had she read the man wrong all this time? It was hard to imagine.

They were in the bowels of the hotel, where the housekeeping department was located. Cleaners were passing through the supervisor’s office, inquiring after what had happened, but when they saw she was busy talking to the police, just as quickly disappeared again, like diffident creatures of the night.

The supervisor was a sturdily built woman, with an honest open face and a ready smile. “I thought it strange, you know,” she said now. “Daisy wasn’t supposed to come in today. And so when I heard she’d shown up after all, and had witnessed a murder…” She shook her head. “Terrible. Absolutely terrible.”

“Do you have her address, because my colleague forgot to take it down,” said Chase.

“Oh, of course,” said the woman, swiveling in her chair and turning to her computer. She’d placed her glasses on her nose and was frowning at the screen while she tapped a few keys. “Here it is. Daisy Rayo. Been with us four years now. Very nice girl. Hard worker.”

“And you’re saying she wasn’t even supposed to be here today?”

“No! It was her day off. She must have gotten the dates mixed up. Happens sometimes. Though not to Daisy, who’s very precise about that sort of thing.”

“Did you see her before she went home?”

“No. By the time we were told, she’d already left. But Mimi saw her, and said she looked terrible. Crying her eyes out. In a terrible state, Daisy was. Good thing they sent her home, poor thing. To run into a killer like that—he could have turned on her and killed her, too! Isn’t that what these serial killers do with witnesses? Kill them so they won’t talk?” She shivered. “Who would have thought nice and friendly Dan Goory would turn out to be some kind of monster?”

“Oh, come on, Dan,” said Alec. “You can’t keep giving me the same nonsense. This time you were caught in the act—murder weapon in your hands, for crying out loud!”

“I shouldn’t have done that, I know,” said Dan, who looked even smaller and more wizened than before. “I didn’t know what I was doing. I mean, when I saw Jack lying there, that gnome next to his head, I didn’t think. I just picked it up and…”

“Were caught by the cleaner.”

Dan nodded. “Stupid, I know.”

“Stupid is trying to convince me you didn’t do it.”

“But I swear to God, I didn’t!”

“First tell me what you were doing there. I thought you and Jack were sworn enemies?”

“We were. Which is why I was so surprised when I got his message late last night.”

“What message?”

Dan nodded to his phone, which was lying on the table between them. “Check my messages. It’s right there.”

Alec picked up the phone and frowned at the thing. “Um…” he said. “So how do you…” He fumbled around for a bit, then handed the thing to Dan. “You open it.”

Dan typed in his code and Alec immediately grabbed the phone from the editor’s hands again, earning him a sad look in response.

“So what am I looking for here?” Alec muttered, and then found the message and read aloud, “Dear Dan, I propose a truce. Our clubs have been at daggers drawn for far too long. I think it’s time we joined forces. Just think of all the wonderful things we could do if we put our heads together and stopped this ridiculous war! If you’re interested I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow at nine at the Star—room 328. I sincerely hope you’ll come. Jack.” He glanced up. “So he was proposing a truce, was he?”

“Yeah, took me completely by surprise, I have to confess, as last night at the retrospective he was less than friendly. In fact he was downright mean. Claiming my club was bound to fail with this murder charge hanging over my head, and a dozen of my members had already jumped ship and joined his club.”

“So what happened, you walked in, got into a fight and smashed his head in?”

“No! I walked in and he was already dead.”

“Who opened the door?”

“It was open. I just pushed it open further.”

“And there was nobody else there.”

“No one. And then suddenly this cleaner walks in and starts screaming her head off. I thought she was going to attack me, so I panicked and ran. Which of course I shouldn’t have done.”

Alec thought for a moment. Contrary to the day before, he now found himself wondering if the man seated across from him was telling the truth. He could see Dan smashing the head of some woman in a lovers’ tiff, but not that of Jack Warner. The two of them had been at each other’s throats for years, and if they were going to kill each other, they’d have done it a long time ago.