I had one hour ‘til the reading of the will. I headed back to Bow Wow with more questions than answers. When I’d arrived at Mona’s, I’d leaned toward Jo as the killer. Now I believed it was Cliff.
I unlocked the shop door. Lately, the boutique was closed more than it was open. I turned on the laptop in my office and rummaged through the desk drawers for a USB cable. I couldn’t find one.
Within minutes of my return, Bow Wow was full of customers. I abandoned my search and tended to business. I sold a few pounds of Bowser Treats, a handful of doggie sweaters and a tiara. The whole time I was thinking about the video camera tucked in my jacket pocket.
I’d also overheard gossip.
Not that anyone was trying to keep it a secret. Most of the talk was inaccurate but close enough to the truth that if I hadn’t been at the funeral, I might have believed it myself.
Instead of Tricia and Jo fighting in the bathroom, they’d fought in the vestibule. And instead of Cliff being accosted in the parking lot by some random stranger, he’d been arrested by Malone.
After talking to Camilla, I was pretty sure his visitor wasn’t random or a stranger, but someone from the mob. He was lucky he’d gotten out of there alive. If Detective Malone hadn’t followed Cliff to his car, Cliff would have been batting practice.
Were the police aware of Cliff’s side venture? It was possible Mona’s death had been a mob hit. What if Batty had one of his boys knock her off to scare Cliff? It was time to call Malone. Lord, I dreaded that conversation.
The last customer walked out the door as Tricia breezed inside with a humongous Michael Kors tote. And a cloud of Mona’s signature perfume.
“Make it quick. I have somewhere to be in thirty minutes.”
“We had a meeting this afternoon. You were closed.” She was all business in her Prada suit as she headed straight for the counter where I was standing.
“With Mona dead that appointment was canceled.”
She smoothed the skirt of her dress. “Now it’s uncanceled.”
“You can’t uncancel an appointment.” Uncancel wasn’t even a word. “This isn’t a good idea.”
“What? Meeting today?”
“Everything. You, me. I’m not interested.”
“You will not kick me to the curb because Mona’s dead. She wouldn’t approve.” Tricia flipped her blond hair off her shoulder and tried her version of a Mona glare. She had a long way to go before she’d achieve Mona’s level of bored disdain.
“I couldn’t give a flying fig for what Mona would or wouldn’t approve. If you remember, I didn’t want to sell your dog line in the first place. How can I market a clothing line by someone who hates dogs?”
“I don’t hate dogs,” she huffed, eyes lids fluttering in protest. “I certainly don’t hate Fluffy.”
Who was she kidding? She’d called Fluffy a beast on more than one occasion. If Tricia had a sudden love-fest for Snob Dog, it was because she was worth millions.
As she stood rooted in front of me with her superior attitude, I remembered something Camilla had said. “Speaking of Mona, what were you looking for at her place yesterday?”
Tricia dropped her bag on the counter. “You’ve spoken to Camilla.” She spread two extravagant dog dresses in front of me. “She’s a hysterical mess. I don’t trust her for a minute.”
I picked up the lavender ballerina dress. It was absolutely adorable. Damn. “So you accused her of stealing?”
Her head snapped up, eyes narrowed. “Yes.”
“What do you think she took?”
“The signed contact between Mona and me.”
That didn’t make any sense. “Shouldn’t you have your own copy?”
She blinked a couple of times, surprise fighting her Botoxed forehead. “I misplaced it. I’d asked Mona for a copy, and she said she’d make me one. I never got it. You’ve obviously snooped through Mona’s belongings, maybe you saw it.”
I didn’t believe her for a doggone minute. “I’m sure either the police or Owen have Mona’s legal documents.” I had no idea what I was saying. I was making stuff up as I went along. I didn’t even know if her so called contract even existed.
My gut said Tricia was hiding something, and I wanted to know what. I picked up the second dress, a cute denim with pink flowers and crystals, perfect for Shar’s Babycakes. It dawned on me Tricia had been using Mona to get her business off the ground. Without her, Tricia would have to find a new investor.
“Did Mona owe you money?” I asked.
She snatched the dog dress from my hands. “What are you talking about?”
“Most contracts involve money changing hands. You’re looking for the contract, minutes before the reading of the will.”
Tricia packed away her samples haphazardly. “You do realize it’s not a reading like you see on TV? Owen will give you a copy of the paperwork, you’ll sign a release, and that will be the end of it.”
I didn’t know that. I had imagined everyone sitting around while Owen read off who was getting what and who wasn’t getting what they thought they deserved. Apparently, it wasn’t so dramatic. I watched Tricia with renewed interest. How many will readings had she been to that she was so well versed in the procedures?
“Thanks for the heads up. Your samples are charming. What were you and Jo arguing about at the funeral?”
Her shrewd brown eyes turned on me. “That’s none of your business.”
“It’s not, but you should tell me. I don’t trust Jo, and I can’t believe for a minute Mona actually believed Jo could predict the future.”
“You’re wrong. Mona did believe. And it turned out she was right.”
At some point Tricia had to stop living in the land of denial. “Did you ever stop to think maybe Jo had something to do with Mona’s death?”
“That’s ridiculous. If anything, Cliff and his brother are responsible for Mona’s death. They just wanted her money.”
Hello, pot. Was she listening to herself? She wasn’t any different than Cliff and his brother. She wanted Mona’s money, too, although she probably wasn’t dumb enough to borrow money from the mob.
“Cliff constantly harassed her for cash for himself and Ted.”
I nodded. “Batty.”
“So you’ve heard.”
I wasn’t about to throw Camilla under the bus. “Stuff like that gets around. Why would they hook up with the mob?”
She looked at me with a smug smile. “You don’t know as much as you think.”
“But as Mona’s best friend you do.” I appealed to her vanity.
“The Michaels brothers like to drink and gamble.”
Again, Captain Obvious. Even my Mama knew about Cliff’s “vices.” “I’ve never asked you this before, but where were you when Mona was killed?”
Tricia snapped her bag shut. “I’ve already given a statement to the police. Since you’re not the police, I don’t have to answer.” Contempt oozed off her tongue.
I didn’t believe for a minute she was the killer, but her reaction confirmed my earlier gut feeling she was hiding something. “You’re right, you don’t have to. But since you don’t have anything to hide, why wouldn’t you?”
“I was on a date.”
That wasn’t what I thought she’d say. “With who?”
“No one you know. My private life is not open for discussion.” A sense of false bravado shrouded poor Tricia. She just didn’t have the same tone of contempt as Mona.
She was so hiding something.
Because it’s Laguna, and we’re a stone’s throw from LA, I have to admit, my first thought was she was dating a married man. Why else would she want to keep him a secret? The name of the game in her social circle was to be seen with someone higher on the social ladder than yourself.
What if Mona knew who Tricia was dating, and it was a scandal waiting to break? Maybe that’s what Tricia was really looking for. Not a contract, but proof of her private life.
Like pictures she didn’t want anyone else to see.
If someone had told me I’d feel sorry for Mona, I’d have thought they were crazy. But with each day I was learning she was one of those unfortunate people who wouldn’t know if someone was her friend or if they saw her as nothing more than a cash cow.
It had to be a miserable existence.
Tricia wanted Mona for her name and money. That wasn’t a motive for murder. With Mona dead, Tricia didn’t have a backer. Cliff and his brother wanted Mona to pay off their gambling debts. If she was dead, she couldn’t cough up the cash. It seemed they didn’t have a motive either.
Unless Mona had cut off Cliff’s money, so he killed her out of anger. Maybe that’s what Kate had heard them arguing about? What if Mona hadn’t changed her will right away, and Cliff thought she was worth more dead than alive? That was certainly a motive for whacking his rich ex-wife.
After further thought, I’d given up on the mob hit. Mona was killed with a trophy, not a bat. She had to have been killed in of a moment of passion. If it had been planned, the killer would have brought a weapon.
That left Jo. Jo wanted Mona for… I hadn’t figured that part out. What did Jo want? To make a name for herself? If Mona Michaels was a believer, wouldn’t that draw a larger client base? But Jo had stupidly predicted Mona’s death. So if Mona didn’t die, people would believe she was a fake.
I was missing something. Jo needed Mona alive and dead. Unless Jo was in cahoots with Tricia. Or Cliff. Now that would be something. I needed to talk to Jo. But first, I was about to find out the biggest motive of all.
Mona’s will.