Seeds of Suspicion (Lack of Luxury Cozy Mystery #1)

Chapter 24

“Liz and I are going in,” Gloria said. “If anyone is going to get caught, it should be us.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive.” Gloria’s eyes squinted as she studied the back of the buildings. “The store just closed. Becky hasn’t been around, so I doubt we’ll have to worry about her. Our only goal is to get in, figure out what Tammi was searching for and then get back out.”

“Maybe she was rearranging now that Deanna is gone,” Liz theorized.

“There’s rearranging and then there’s tearing a place apart. I’m leaning toward the latter. Follow my lead.” Gloria tapped Liz’s arm. “We’re looking for whatever Tammi O’Toole was searching for and didn’t find. ”

“You’ll need these.” Ruth opened the center console and handed Liz a flashlight and a set of small tools. “Because we don’t know what kind of entry point that you’ll be dealing with, you need to take the variety pack.”

“Variety pack?” Gloria eyed the tools and waved dismissively. “We’ll figure it out once we get up there.” She exited the van and led the way through the parking lot to the building next to the Designer Diva building. With a quick check of their surroundings, she grabbed the fire escape’s lower rung and quickly climbed to the top.

Liz, casting a furtive glance down the alley to make sure they weren’t being watched, followed behind, not stopping until she reached the rooftop. “Now what?” Her armpits grew damp as she followed her sister to the corner of the building.

“Up and over.”

“Up and over.” Liz could feel the blood drain from her face as she realized what Gloria planned. “You want us to jump over to the other building? ”

“Don’t be so dramatic.” Gloria rolled her eyes. “It’s a minor hop.”

Liz peered down, straight down, to the cement walkway below. “That’s gonna hurt.”

“Only if you fall, which I don’t plan on doing,” Gloria said.

“You’re crazy.”

“I can be, but this is your adventure. Do you want the cops off your back?”

“Of course.”

“Then it’s up and over.”

“I’m feeling kinda sick.” Liz clutched her stomach.

“It’ll pass, and your adrenaline will kick in.” Gloria stepped onto the ledge. Without hesitation, she crossed from one building to the other. “You have zero risk of falling.”

“I could get stuck in the gap. ”

“Not gonna happen.”

“If I die, you’re never going to hear the end of it,” Liz gasped.

“You won’t die. We need to keep moving. The clock is ticking.”

“I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Liz refused to look down as she made the small step from building to building.

“See how easy that was?” Gloria grabbed hold of her sister’s arm and propelled her toward the rooftop door. “Hand me the tools.”

Liz handed the “variety pack” to her. “If we get caught, we could go to jail…again.”

“The jail in the Smoky Mountains is a distant memory.”

“Maybe for you, but I can still hear the cell door close, can still feel the lumpy mattress and taste that soggy ham and cheese sandwich. ”

Gloria chuckled. “You remember what they fed us?”

“Of course. It’s etched in my mind. Poor Aunt Ethel. I wish I still had some of those coins.”

“Why? You have a rich husband now.” Gloria twisted the pick. “I can’t get it. Unfortunately, Lucy is much better at this than I am.”

Liz jiggled the knob. “The knob is loose. We can pop the door open.”

Gloria stepped aside. “You sound like you’ve done this before.”

“I have a bad habit of accidentally locking myself out of the house.” Liz grasped the knob and gave it a hard twist.

Pop. The door opened.

Gloria braced herself for the sound of an alarm, ready to bolt, but nothing happened. “I guess they don’t have a rooftop alarm. Let’s keep moving. ”

With flashlight in hand, the sisters crept to the end of a narrow hallway where they discovered a door marked Private . The door was locked. “I think we found Carol’s apartment. I say we start downstairs. If we have time, we’ll search her place on our way out. Whatever Tammi was looking for, she was looking for it down there.”

Retracing their steps, they passed the exit to the rooftop and found a set of stairs leading down to the main floor.

Tap…tap…tap.

Gloria stopped. “You’re making too much noise.”

“I can’t help it. It’s the shoes.” Liz turned on her heel, displaying a mini stiletto. “They’re my favorite pair of Bernard Tusse shoes, and the rubber is wearing off the bottom.”

“Wearing stilettos on a covert mission is never a good idea.”

“I didn’t know I would be involved in a breaking and entering,” Liz hissed .

“It’s too late now. You could take them off and carry them.”

“No way. This floor is filthy.” Liz turned up her nose. “And it smells like a dead person.”

“There’s no decaying body,” Gloria said. “At least, I don’t think there is. We’re wasting time.”

With each step they took, the stairs creaked and Gloria winced, waiting for someone to spring from the shadows, demanding to know what they were doing.

She forced herself to focus on the task at hand. Whatever Tammi O’Toole had been searching for, she had done it when Carol Wright wasn’t around and she was desperate to find it.

They reached the bottom and found themselves in the back of the store.

“Hang on.” Liz tapped her sister’s shoulder. “Do you think there are cameras in here? ”

“Maybe. It’s too late now. You search the desk and I’ll start over there.” Gloria found another door tucked away in the corner. Discovering this one was unlocked, she eased it open and peered inside. At first glance, she thought she had found Carol’s apartment, but on closer inspection she realized the pictures on the wall were of Deanna Andretti.

“What are you doing?”

Gloria clutched her chest. She spun around and found Liz standing directly behind her. “You scared me half to death.”

“Sorry.” Liz stepped closer. “You found Carol’s apartment?”

“I don’t think so.” Gloria pointed to the pictures on the wall. “This is…was Deanna’s office.”

Liz placed a hand on her hip. “It’s a mess. Deanna must have had something good for Tammi to tear this place apart.”

The women split up, each quickly searching both sides of the small office .

“She has it nicely decorated,” Liz said. “The woman had a flair for style, I’ll give her that.”

“I can’t for the life of me figure out what Tammi O’Toole was looking for.” Gloria continued tapping and searching.

Liz picked up a vase and turned it over. “A Baccarat. I adore this vase.”

“Forget the vase,” Gloria said.

“You’re so bossy.” Liz began perusing the bookshelves. “ How to Influence Friends and Connect with Powerful People , by Ophelia Tarnamount. I’ve always wanted to read this book. It has oodles of positive reviews.”

“Who do you want to connect with?” Gloria grinned.

“Good point. Not enough people to make reading it worth my while.” Liz placed the book back on the shelf and reached for the next .

A door slammed, echoing loudly, and a bolt of pure adrenaline coursed through Liz. They were no longer alone inside the Designer Diva store.