Deadly Décor (A Caprice De Luca Mystery) (10 page)

“Partners?”

She hadn’t known Kent was officially Bob’s partner. Could that be a strong enough motive for murder? “Kent’s going to paint the trim on my back porch day after tomorrow.”

“You suddenly needed a back porch trim? Something tells me you’re looking into Bob’s murder, and you’d like to get to know Kent a little better.”

“But you’re not going to tell anybody else that’s what I intend to do, right?”

Juan grinned. “Wouldn’t think of it. Are you doing this for your sister?”

Yes, she was. She was doing this for Bella.

On Friday morning Caprice was on her phone with Roz when Kent Osgood drove up in his truck.

“The painter’s here,” she told Roz. They’d been discussing plans for the fashion boutique Roz intended to open.

“And you think he could be a suspect?” Roz asked, sounding worried.

“It’s possible. If he is Bob’s partner, maybe he inherits the business. And don’t tell me to be careful. He’s going to be painting the trim on my back porch. I’ve got my cell phone in my pocket, and Josie is right next door.”

“And you really think you’ll be able to meet me this afternoon, to talk about the space and displays and everything else?”

“I explained exactly what I wanted him to paint, and he says he should be finished in a couple of hours. I spent most of yesterday at the log house with the real estate agent, taping video, and shooting photos for their Web site. Almost everything is ready for Sunday. I’ll stop in at your new space after Kent leaves.”

“Sounds good. Keep Shasta at your side. She’ll protect you. I know Dylan would drag me out of a burning building if he could.”

Caprice laughed at that picture. Dylan was a ball of fur and weighed about ten pounds. But he was loyal, and Caprice knew Roz was right.

Caprice met Kent at the curb. After their phone conversation, she’d e-mailed him photos of what she needed to have painted. He’d e-mailed her back a ballpark estimate that she’d okayed. Now they exchanged pleasantries and he shook her hand. Kent looked to be younger than Bob, maybe in his midtwenties. He had sandy blond hair and green eyes, and loose-limbed movements that told her he might have been an athlete in high school. The day was already hot, and he wore a tank top and jeans.

Releasing a ladder from the rack at the back of his truck, he hefted it up and carried it as if it weighed very little. Caprice had surmised right away from their phone conversation that Kent, unlike Bob, wasn’t a talker.

At her back entrance, he said, “This is a cinch. I’ll be done by midmorning.”

Small talk obviously wasn’t his forte, but she needed him talking to find out anything.

Hearing them at the back door, Shasta began barking.

“You’ve got a dog,” he said offhandedly as he raised the ladder and propped it against the side of the porch.

Animals always made conversation easier.

“I do. Actually, I found her a week before Bob’s murder. She’s helped to distract me since.”

Which was absolutely true.

At the mention of Bob’s murder, Kent frowned, and she thought his complexion might have gone a little paler.

She’d expressed her condolences on the phone but said again, “I’m sorry you lost him. His murder must have been quite a shock.”

“It was.”

He adjusted the ladder behind two peony bushes.

“Have you heard anything about the funeral?” Caprice asked, thinking the body might have been released by now.

“He’s going to be cremated,” Kent answered, thin-lipped. “There won’t be anything else.”

Since Bob didn’t have family, would those arrangements be left to his partner?

“My sister told me Bob didn’t have any family. His parents are gone. No brothers or sisters. He knew so many people.”

Kent didn’t say anything to that.

Shasta’s barking broke the silence. She heard voices close by and she wanted out.

“If I’m inside with her, she won’t bark and she won’t bother you.”

Although Kent hadn’t seemed interested in their conversation, Caprice felt him watching her now as she went up the steps to the porch, crossed it, and opened the door. Maybe in a little while she could offer him a glass of iced tea and urge him to talk. But before she could slip inside, Shasta bounded out. Seeing Kent, someone new who might play with her, she scampered down the steps and rounded his legs.

Caprice was going to catch Shasta by her new collar, but Kent waved his hand at her and said, “Let her be. She’s fine. Is she friendly?”

“Yes, she is, though she still gets startled if you move too fast. That probably comes from being on her own for a while as a stray. She’s pregnant.”

He stooped down to pet the dog’s head.

“Pregnant.” He eyed the dog thoughtfully. “If you want to leave her out in the yard while I’m painting, I don’t mind.”

“She might get in your way.”

“I doubt that. I’ll keep the paint can closed and just use the tray. But it’s up to you.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to leave her out here awhile, especially while you’re doing the upper section.”

He gave Shasta another pat.

She looked up at him, tilted her head, and barked, and then ran off across the yard.

“When is she due?”

“We don’t know for sure. But my vet thinks in a few weeks.”

“Are her pups spoken for?”

“Not yet. Are you interested?”

“If I can afford one.”

Caprice wasn’t going to charge, not to find Shasta’s babies good homes. And it all depended upon if she found Shasta’s owner. If she did, the pups were theirs.

Would Kent Osgood give a pup a good home? Caprice hoped Bob’s murder would be solved by then, because she wouldn’t give one of Shasta’s pups to a suspect in a murder investigation.

Caprice allowed Shasta to stay in the backyard while she went inside. But she didn’t go far. She wanted to use Josie’s blueberries while they were fresh. Since the recipe she’d developed made two loaves, she’d keep one, giving a slice to Josie, and the other she’d take along for Seth tomorrow night. She was looking forward to their date but afraid to look forward to it too much. An emergency could pop up at the clinic and Seth could be occupied. Or he could be called away. But that was the life of someone who dated a doctor.

And if they went beyond dating?

There would be time enough to think about that later.

Checking on Shasta, seeing that she was nosing around and not getting into trouble, Caprice set her oven at 350 degrees. Baking would make the kitchen warm, but she’d turn on the air before she left for Roz’s. Glancing into the living room, Caprice saw Sophia perched on one of the shelves of her cat tree, sitting in front of the open window. She enjoyed watching the birds, butterflies, and bees, meowing every once in a while as if she wanted to tell Caprice about them.

After washing her hands thoroughly, Caprice pulled out her colander and carefully removed any stems from the blueberries before dropping them in it. Then she rinsed them thoroughly, allowing them to drain while she pulled together the other ingredients. What she liked most about this recipe was the fact that she could dump everything into one bowl, then mix it up. Taking pecan pieces from her freezer—she kept an assortment of nuts there for recipes—she dumped some into her lime-green chopper. The chopper whirled until she had a cup of finely chopped pieces.

Placing her mixer bowl front and center on the counter, she found sour cream in the refrigerator and scooped four tablespoons into the bowl. She added flour, sugars, baking powder, eggs, and milk. After measuring out four teaspoons of vanilla, she mixed it all for about a minute and a half until it was smooth and no flour remained on the bottom or the edges of the bowl. She quickly stirred in the pecans and then carefully folded in the blueberries. They would burst inside the bread while it baked, sending their fruity flavor throughout.

After pouring the batter into two foil baking pans she’d greased and floured, she popped them in the oven and set the timer. Pulling her tablet computer from its charger on the counter, she sat at her kitchen table, checking her list for Sunday’s open house, making sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. But every once in a while, unbidden, Bella’s scream re-echoed in her head and she relived finding Bella with Bob’s body. It would take a while for those pictures to fade . . . a long time.

She glanced outside where Kent was working. The baking blueberry bread filled the house with a wonderful aroma. When the timer rang, she tested the bread with a toothpick, found it had baked just right, and set it on a wire rack to cool. Ten minutes later, she removed one of the loaves from its pan.

Although she’d offered Kent a glass of iced tea and a slice of warm bread, he’d declined, said he was fine, and continued painting. He obviously wanted to be left alone, except for Shasta. It wasn’t unusual for some animal lovers to prefer their furry friends to humans.

Was he a viable suspect? She just hoped the police were looking further than Bella and Joe.

By the time the blueberry bread had completely cooled, Kent had finished outside, packed up, and left. Caprice wondered if he was always stoic and always quiet. Maybe he was just the type of man who didn’t have much to say.

She’d have to ask Josie about that.

After her morning in the yard, Shasta was ready for lunch and a nap. Caprice smiled as Sophia deigned to join her in the kitchen, munching on dry food while Caprice grabbed a serving of pasta salad from the fridge. Fifteen minutes later, she was out the door and on her way to see Roz.

Most locations in Kismet were only five to ten minutes away. Caprice drove to a section of town that had recently been labeled Restoration Row. She should have realized when she saw the address, 11 Bristol Row, that she’d be headed to the street that the town council and a group of investors had taken over. Located there were some of the oldest row houses Kismet had to offer. The city council had arranged with investors to buy the rundown properties, then restore and refurbish them so that this lagging section of Kismet would attract a higher caliber of renters, as well as more businesses. Brick facing had been utilized halfway up the facades of the houses, and gray siding with black shutters hung on the upper half. Trees had been planted at intervals along the street, and old-fashioned lamplights looked like the gas lighting of old. The houses all had similar porches with steps and black aluminum railings.

Caprice wasn’t sure what she thought about the street. It was a uniform look, and she preferred neighborhoods with individual, unique houses. But the refurbishment certainly was an improvement over broken and boarded-up windows, crumbling steps, and peeling paint. Apparently Roz was renting one of these buildings for her fashion boutique.

A public parking lot situated at the end of the street had meters. Caprice dropped in two quarters, hoping that would do it. She’d have to come out and feed the meter again if she was here longer than a half hour.

When strains of “A Hard Day’s Night
”
came from her purse, she dug into it for her phone. She had a text from Vince.

Where are you?

She quickly typed in, At Roz’s store.

He just texted back, Stay there until I get there.

How did he know where the store was? She replied with a frowny face icon. He knew she didn’t like to take orders. What was buzzing around in his mind this morning? If he drove, he’d be here in two minutes. If he walked, it would be closer to five. His office wasn’t very far away.

Putting Vince out of her mind for the moment, she went up the three steps. She didn’t know whether to knock or just open the door. Finally she settled on both. She rapped a few times and opened the door.

Bedlam met her. She heard hammering on the second floor. Workmen in hard hats and heavy boots were working near sawhorses in the interior room. Roz, ever fashionable in a pale green tank top, matching slacks, and sandals, waved from her position at their side, excused herself, and came toward Caprice, her gold earrings swinging. She was beautiful in a model kind of way, and Caprice wondered if she’d ever get married again, especially after what she had experienced in her first marriage. Caprice knew a hurt heart didn’t heal quickly.

Hers still had wounds from Travis. Divorced men were dangerous in more ways than one. If they couldn’t forget their first marriage, they still might have feelings for their ex. She’d never forget about that, just as she’d never forget about her first serious relationship and how Craig had broken her heart by e-mail. She was happy now, so she guessed everything had turned out for the best. However, pain lasted as long as the memories. That’s why she hadn’t been involved with anyone before Seth for a long while.

“Don’t you just look too cool, in tie-dye spaghetti straps and a fuchsia skort. I don’t know, Caprice, that’s not quite vintage.”

Roz was teasing her about her penchant to buy vintage clothes at Secrets of the Past. But it was a little harder to wear vintage in summer, though she’d kept up the theme with her tie-dye.

She motioned to the workmen and the noise upstairs. “You’re really getting things done.”

“I am.
We
are.” She laughed. “It’s exciting. Once it’s not dangerous here, I want to bring Dylan with me so he’s not alone at the town house.”

“You could get him a friend,” Caprice teased. “In fact, remember, I’m going to have pups in a few weeks.”

Roz shook her head. “A pup is a big responsibility, and with the business opening, that might be a little too much. Can you take a look around and work up some ideas for displays for me?”

“I bet you already have ideas.”

“A few. Let me tell you about them.”

So she did while she took Caprice on a tour of the downstairs and the upstairs.

“I know having two floors is a little unconventional, but I can specialize that way. I can use one room upstairs just for evening wear, while another could be purses and shoes. The great thing is that there’s a back stairway, too, so I can put in a chairlift and have a ramp going outside. Anyone who wants to shop here can.”

“You’re barring no expense.” Roz was a rich woman, but Caprice knew she wasn’t doing this just to make money.