Sometime during the night it had rained, and the air felt scrubbed fresh of grime and toxins. Beast pranced in the cooler air and did what he had to do in the park. Kellen carted cartons of coffee and bags of egg-and-sausage burgers to a bench.
“I love this,” Cate said, feeding a burger to Beast. “It’s a morning picnic.”
“I’d love it better if I felt I could keep you safe,” Kellen said. “I don’t like people breaking into your condo.”
“One of the people who broke in isn’t going to break in any more.”
“True. But there were at least two people in your kitchen. I have a friend who’s a locksmith. I’m going to send him over later this morning to change your front door lock.”
“I can’t do that. It isn’t my condo. And Marty won’t have a key.”
“If Marty wants to get in he can ring the doorbell. And if you aren’t home he can call you. I’m sure he has your cell number.”
“I just assumed someone was picking the lock.”
“It’s possible, but it could also have been someone who had a key. You live in a secure building. The only way to get through the outside door is to get buzzed in by a tenant or to unlock the door with a key fob.”
Cate finished her coffee and breakfast sandwich, and gave one last sandwich to Beast. They gathered the wrappers and bags and cups, tossed them all in the trash, and crossed the street. They were in front of the condo building when Kitty Bergman screeched to a stop and parked her Mercedes in a no-parking zone.
Kitty jumped out of her car and stormed over to Cate, waving a copy of the morning paper. Beast yelped and hid behind Kellen.
“What the heck is this about?” Kitty yelled. “Marty’s agent found dead in the stairwell! Preliminary investigation suggests he fell down the stairs and broke his neck. First of all, I know Marty’s agent, and that sack of horse manure would never use the stairs. And second, you killed him, didn’t you?”
“Why would I want to kill him?”
“Everyone wanted to kill him. He was a disgusting parasite.”
“I didn’t know him,” Cate said. “And I wasn’t in the building when it happened.”
“She was with me,” Kellen said.
“Who are you?” Kitty asked.
“Kellen Koster.”
Kitty hiked her Prada tote higher on her shoulder and narrowed her eyes at Kellen. “Is that supposed to mean something to me?”
“Not today, but maybe someday.”
“Spare me the riddles,” Kitty said. “I wouldn’t be talking to you at all, but you look like you have a good package.”
Cate and Kitty and Kellen studied his package for a moment.
“Thanks,” Kellen finally said, smiling.
The elevator door opened, and Cate stepped in and pulled Beast in after her.
“Nice meeting you,” Kellen said to Kitty. He followed Cate and Beast into the elevator and hit the button for the fourth floor. “Obviously a woman with keen powers of observation,” Kellen said to Cate.
Chapter TEN
Cate and Julie stared at Cate’s kitchen counter. It was filled with cakes.
“Honey, that’s a lot of cakes. Did you bake them all today?” Julie asked.
“Yep.”
“What are you going to do with them?”
Cate didn’t know. She’d already given cakes to everyone she could think of. “I wish school would start,” Cate said. “I need something to occupy my mind. I don’t start my shift at the bar until five tonight. That’s two hours away.”
“How about a pedicure?”
“Just did that.”
“Oh, yeah,” Julie said, looking down at Cate’s toes. “I love that pink color. They’re real pretty.”
“I cleaned the condo. I walked Beast. I balanced my checkbook. I went food shopping.”
“I guess you’re trying to keep your mind off the dead man,” Julie said.
“Yeah,” Cate said on a sigh.
Actually Cate was trying to keep her mind off Kellen. Now that Kitty had drawn attention to his package it was all Cate could think about.
“Did you read the article in the paper this morning?” Julie asked. “It said the man’s name was Irwin Moss. And it said he was Marty’s agent. And the police thought Irwin came over to talk to Marty, and there was a fight, and Irwin left in a huff and fell down the stairs. And the police said they couldn’t locate Marty. And they mentioned your name. They said you were Marty’s housekeeper.”
The phone rang and Cate got it in the kitchen.
“I’m in front of 2B again,” Sharon said. “And I’ve got him this time. I know this will work. You have to come down to see.”
“Now?” Cate asked.
“Now! Right now.”
Cate and Julie stuck their heads out of the elevator when it opened on the second floor. They looked down the hall at Sharon, who was making giant
“Here’s the deal,” Sharon said. “I think he’s in there. I’ve been watching all day. And I heard music playing around one o’clock. So I’ve got a couple packs of cigarettes, and we’ll all light up and blow the smoke under his door. Eventually he’ll see the smoke and rush out, and I’ll have him!”
“Sweetie, you’ve been workin’ too hard,” Julie said. “Even
“It’s driving me nuts,” Sharon said. “I know almost everyone in this building except
“I don’t think I’ve seen him,” Julie said. “But there’s always strange people comin’ and goin’. There’s service people and visitors. There’s dog walkers and real estate people. And I’m not always at the window. There’s times when I go to the bathroom or I make myself a sandwich.”
“I have to start watching at night. That’s the solution to the problem,” Sharon said. “I could unroll a sleeping bag in front of his door, and he’d have to step over me when he came out.”
“Maybe he travels a lot, like Marty,” Julie said. “Maybe there’s no one in there, hardly ever.”
“I heard music,” Sharon said. “Someone’s in there playing music!”
“I’m curious about 2B, but I’m not obsessed like you are,” Cate said. “This is so unlike you. You’re the woman in charge of her own destiny. You’re the kick-ass realtor. Why are you so hung up on this?”
“I don’t know. I have this feeling. And it won’t go away. It’s as if something bad will happen if I don’t find out who’s living in 2B.”
“It could be one of them karma things,” Julie said. “Like you and 2B are star-crossed lovers. My cousin Lily once had a feeling like that. There was a boy got hired at the chicken processin’ plant where Lily was workin’, and the minute Lily saw him she knew he was the one. Trouble was, Lily was working the line in packaging, and this here guy was way down the line where they grind up the beaks and butts for dog food. And every day Lily would try to find a way to walk past this guy in beaks and butts. Lily just knew she was destined to meet him.” Julie looked at her watch. “I should be goin’. I got an early trolley run tonight. Seniors group. We gotta get them back to the old people’s home by nine.”
“But what about Lily?” Sharon wanted to know. “Did she meet the beaks-and-butts guy?”
“Nope. Lily never did meet him. He just disappeared one day. And Lily married cousin Butch.”
