Fool's Moon, page 26
But the why didn’t really matter. What did was the fact that Joan had seen Luis and Ruby with the papers and known they were important, and that she’d managed to deliberately take them away.
Now, patting the pillow back into place and smoothing the wrinkles from her pink dress, Joan gave a satisfied smile and went to answer the door.
“This is our chance,” Ophelia whispered. “Ready? Now!”
Like twin shadows, the pair scuttled across the marble tile and leaped onto the sofa. In a swift move, Ophelia batted aside the pillow so that Brandon could grab the plastic bag in his teeth. Grip secure, he dragged the packet off the sofa and across the marble tile again. Ophelia propped the pillow back into place again so that Joan wouldn’t notice, and then she bounded after him.
“No, not there,” she hissed when he would have returned to their spot behind the palm. “There, under the armchair.”
Nodding, Brandon wheeled about and made a beeline to what had once been a favorite hiding spot of theirs.
It was the seat that the old woman had preferred to the sofas … a sturdy, high-backed chair covered in pale yellow cloth that was stamped with little gray pictures of cows and humans and trees. A ruffle of fabric in the same pattern wrapped around the chair’s curved wooden legs like a tent, turning it into a cozy refuge for felines as well. At least once a day, she and Brandon would lounge beneath the chair while the old woman sat above, reading a book or listening to her music.
The son had hated this chair almost as much as he’d hated the rugs, Ophelia recalled. He’d called it old-fashioned and claimed it spoiled the look of the room. And yet, though he’d replaced the old woman’s pictures and taken away her fuzzy carpets, for some reason he’d left the chair untouched in its original spot.
Maybe it was because a hint of her perfume still clung to it, Ophelia thought with a reflexive little mew. For a few moments, at least, she could pretend that the old woman was still alive and sitting on the chair while she and Brandon played beneath it. Maybe the son did that sometimes, too.
She didn’t have time to puzzle over the son’s vagaries, however. They’d barely squeezed beneath the chair, and the flap of fabric had just fallen back into place, when they heard Ruby and Luis talking to the Joan woman.
“What’s taking her so long to answer?” Ruby asked in a low voice as they waited before the salmon-colored double front doors at the main house. Not caring if she was noticed, she tried peering through the narrow sidelight windows at either side of the entry for signs of movement. Unfortunately, white plantation shutters effectively blocked any view of the inside.
Luis juggled the box he was holding, indicating his own impatience.
“Who knows with her. Without Givens around, she’s probably playing lady of the manor and letting us peasants cool our heels until she’s ready to open the door.”
“It doesn’t matter, I guess, as long as we get that box with Luciana’s papers back from her. Any ideas how to do that without raising suspicions?”
“A couple,” Luis replied and rang the bell again. “Just follow my lead.”
A few moments later, one side of the double front doors opened and Joan peered out, expression quizzical. “Oh, hello again. Have you finished packing your auntie’s things already?”
“Not quite, but it’s turning out to be more than I thought there would be,” Luis explained. Indicating the filled box he held, he said, “And I decided you were right. At a time like this, it doesn’t hurt to be charitable. The maids might as well take all the food with them.”
“That’s very kind of you,” the woman replied with a cool smile, reaching out to take the box from him.
Ignoring the hint, Luis pushed past her, Ruby on his heels. “You put that other box in the kitchen already, right? Don’t worry, it’s been a couple of years since I’ve been here at the house, but I remember how to get there. Why don’t I carry this one on back, too?”
Not waiting for a response, he turned and started down the open foyer. Joan quickly closed the door after them and then hurried after Luis, heels clicking against the marble.
“Really, darling, I can carry the box, myself. This isn’t necessary.”
“Of course, it is. Besides, Aunt Lu would slap me upside the head if she knew I let a lady carry something heavy like this.”
Trailing the pair, Ruby tried not to roll her eyes. While she was sure Luis was putting it on for effect, she knew enough Cuban men to have witnessed firsthand the old chivalry routine that was second nature to most of them. And while she had nothing against common courtesy, sometimes the older men, in particular, carried good manners to extremes.
But she promptly forgot about manners as they walked into the kitchen. Almost as large as Luciana’s whole quarters, it was an interesting combination of vintage and new, the high end stainless steel appliance and gleaming granite countertops set against glass-fronted wooden cabinets painted a cheery turquoise. The look shouldn’t have worked, but it did … perhaps because there was not a stray crumb or a gadget out of place save for the box of food that Joan had left on the long expanse of kitchen island.
“I’ll put this one right here next to the other box,” Luis said, setting his box down.
Ruby shot a covert glance at the original packing container and inwardly gave a sigh of relief. The cereal box was still there. All they needed was a way to spirit it out of the mansion without Joan noticing.
Luis, meanwhile, reached into his box and pulled out the cash. “Here’s another little bonus for the ladies,” he said, counting out the bills into two equal stacks and tucking one into each box. “I want to give each of the maids a grand from Aunt Lu. I’m sure they’ll put it to good use.”
Ruby glanced over at Joan. An expression flashed across her pale features that looked oddly like avarice, but the emotion vanished far too quickly for her to be sure. All she said, however, was, “Why, how thoughtful of you. I’ll be sure the ladies get it.”
“Thanks.” Then, nodding in Ruby’s direction, he went on. “Ruby told me not to ask you, but I knew you wouldn’t mind. She’s never been in a house like this before. Is it all right if she takes a quick look at some of the main rooms? That is, if you’ve got the authority when Givens isn’t around”
The question hung there a moment, and Ruby obediently assumed an eager look. Luis was playing to Joan’s pride, she knew. While she suspected from her expression that Joan was more than eager to be rid of the peasantry, no way would the woman want to admit that she didn’t have the authority to treat the Givens estate like her own. And with Joan elsewhere in the house playing duchess-slash-tour guide, Luis would have ample time to pull the bag out of the cereal box, stick it under his shirt, and then meet up with them again at the door.
As Luis had no doubt expected, pride won out. With a gracious bow of her head, she said, “Certainly. Come along, Ruby.”
Then, when Luis casually remained where he was, leaning up against the kitchen counter, she added with just a bit of regal steel,
“You too, darling. You’ll want see the changes Terry made since … well, since he became sole owner. Really, I insist—you must come along.”
He could hardly refuse without arousing suspicion or looking ungracious. With a shrug, he straightened and followed after them.
The woman took them on a brief but—Ruby had to admit—impressive tour of the first floor. Her favorite room was actually the sunken bathroom. With its geometric yellow-and-black-tiled floor, yellow stucco walls, and freestanding tub, sink, and toilet, it reminded her of the bathroom in the old Hemingway House down in Key West.
The tour ended back in the main living area … a rather sterile room, in Ruby’s opinion, save for a definitely shabby chic wingback chair in yellow and gray toile that had an undeniable charm to it. Joan, however, seemed to have tired of playing tour guide, though she did an admirable job of remaining polite.
“Well, that was fun, but I’m sure you need to get back to your packing,” she said in duchess-speak, “so please don’t let me keep you any longer.”
Which statement, Ruby thought, pretty much translated to, get your butts out of here, now! Any other time, she wouldn’t have blamed the woman, since technically it wasn’t her house to open up to strangers. If Givens came back unexpectedly and saw them hanging out together, he might be justifiably ticked. But they couldn’t leave until they retrieved Luciana’s paperwork.
And, fortunately, Luis had another arrow in his quiver of excuses.
“We’ve got time,” he said with a dismissive shrug. “But here’s something interesting. Did you know that Ruby runs a Botanica not far from my pawnshop? It so happens she reads Tarot cards. I bet she’d be glad to do a reading for you … right, Rubes?”
Ruby winced a little at the nickname but did her own duchess nod. “Of course,” she agreed, reaching into her hoodie pocket for the pre-stacked deck of Tarot cards. “We could do a quick reading, just a little five-card spread for fun.”
Not waiting for Joan’s reply, she took a seat on the closer of the two big black leather sofas since Joan’s little gold purse was lying on the opposite one. The glass tabletop between the couches was the perfect place to lay out the spread.
Taking the cards out of their box, she began a swift but controlled overhand shuffle that, as she’d planned to do with Givens, left the “scary as heck” cards at the top of the deck. Then, divvying the cards into three piles, she swiftly restacked them but left the original cards as the top layer.
“All right, we’re ready,” she said with a bright smile. “Come sit down.”
“Oh dear, I think not,” the woman replied, giving her messy updo a seemingly nervous pat. “It’s not … well, this voodoo stuff … it’s not done around here.”
“It’s Tarot, not voodoo,” Luis countered. “And Ruby was just here on the island the other night reading Tarot at a bridal shower for a whole gang of rich ladies. C’mon, be a good sport.”
Even with that encouragement, Ruby was certain that the woman would refuse. And while that wouldn’t be the end of the world, that would mean arrow number two was also a fire and miss. They were going to run out of subtle ploys to get the paperwork back. They’d probably have to do a grab and run, and hope it didn’t end up a wrestling match on the estate’s front lawn.
And then Joan shrugged.
“Oh, all right,” she agreed, and plopped onto the sofa opposite Ruby.
Twenty-Four
Feeling suddenly nervous, Ruby shoved her glasses into place and dealt five cards from the deck facedown onto the table … three in a single row, and the other two arranged one above and one below. The spread looked a bit like a mathematical plus sign. Hence, its name.
“I call this the ‘Adding Abundance’ spread,” she told the woman. “It’s basically a snapshot of where you stand in your life.”
She pointed to the line of three cards. “The first card will tell us where you were … the second where you currently are … and the third card, where you are going. The fourth card”—she indicated the one below—“tells us what’s holding you back. And the card on top tells what’s pushing you forward.”
Joan frowned. “So I don’t have to make a wish or anything?”
“Not at all. Now, let’s see what our cards are, and then we’ll talk about them individually. Here’s where you were,” she said and flipped the first card over.
Now it was Ruby’s turn to frown as she saw the cheery Ten of Cups card. It was one of the desk’s most positive cards, with its depiction of a happy family rejoicing at a rainbow made of ten shiny gold chalices. Definitely not one of the scary cards that she’d stacked in her deck. She must have screwed up the shuffle.
Holding her breath, she flipped the next card over. “Here’s where you are.”
More like it, she thought as the Eight of Swords appeared. Again, it wasn’t one of her scary cards, but its image of a bound and blindfolded woman in a red dress surrounded by swords indicated something serious afoot.
“And here’s where you’re going,” she said and turned over the third card.
Justice. The same sword and scales-bearing female that was the lawyer statue JoJo had admired the other day. Ruby gave the card a quizzical look. Serious, but not scary. Definitely, she’d screwed up that shuffle big time.
“Uh, I’m going to grab a drink of water,” Luis interrupted. “Anyone need anything?” Not waiting for a reply, he turned and headed off to the kitchen.
Joan huffed and got to her feet, cards forgotten. “Luis has no idea where anything is in there. Excuse me, I’d better check up on him.”
“But what about your reading?” Ruby asked, hoping to stall her.
It didn’t work.
Joan gave her a cool look. “I’m sorry, I’m sure this is all a lot of fun, but I really need to make sure he doesn’t make a mess in there. Terry likes things just so.”
So saying, she smoothed her pink sheath dress and headed for the kitchen, too.
Ruby muttered a bad word and scrambled to her feet. At least Joan’s clicking footsteps would sound a warning she was on the way. With luck, Luis would be swift enough to grab the bag and hide it before she caught him. First, however, she needed a look at the last two cards. What’s holding you back? What’s pushing you forward?
She flipped the cards over and scanned them, her heart suddenly racing.
The fourth card was one that had been in her stack that she’d prepared in advance … and, she feared, was far too telling. The fifth card had been a random draw, like the others, and hopefully spoke the truth.
She flipped those cards back over again and hurried off to the kitchen only to find Luis and Joan in a virtual face-off. The former was holding the cereal box upside down.
Empty?
Joan wore an expression of cool confusion. Luis looked ticked, to put it mildly. Giving the box a shake by way of demonstration, he demanded, “All right, what did you do with the paperwork?”
“Paperwork?” She raised narrow, painted brows. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”
“And I’m sure you do. When you walked out with the box of groceries, there was a bag of photocopies inside this empty cereal box. Now it’s gone, and you’re the only one who could have taken it. So hand it over.”
She shrugged and gave a little laugh. “Darling, I know you’re upset over your auntie, but this is ridiculous. I don’t have any papers. Now, why don’t you and Ruby go finish packing.”
“Fine.” He tossed aside the empty box and stalked past her. “C’mon, Ruby, let’s see if she stashed those papers anywhere.”
“Wait! You have no right … ”
Joan clicked her way in the same direction, while Ruby stared after the pair in dismay. How had the woman known the papers were in that box, and that they had any importance? The other items in the packing container appeared untouched, so it wasn’t as if she had dug through the boxed and bagged food and accidentally discovered the cache. Unless she had stumbled across the pages earlier that day, while she’d been alone in Luciana’s place packing up things? That or maybe when she’d driven up to the guest house that night, she’d looked through the window and seen Luis with the pages and felt compelled to see what they were.
But none of that mattered at the moment. No matter how they’d somehow ended up there, the papers were now in Joan’s possession. And despite Luis’s threats, they could hardly tear apart the place searching for them. One call from Joan to the Palm Beach cops and Luis would be leaving the estate handcuffed in the back of a patrol car! And given her connection to Luis, there was a good chance that she, Ruby, might also be caught up in the same high society dragnet.
Muttering even more bad words, Ruby rushed out of the kitchen. She had to dial down things between Luis and Joan before someone dialed 911.
But when she reached the living room, the scene before her was not the one she’d expected. Rather than seeing sofa cushions flung about and potted plants overturned, she found Joan slumped on the sofa, face in her hands. Luis stood nearby, looking distinctly uncomfortable. The bag of papers, however, was nowhere in evidence.
“I didn’t mean to spy,” Joan was saying in a sobbing voice. “But I glanced through the guest house window earlier. I saw you and Ruby hiding those pages while you were packing up Luciana’s kitchen, and things fell into place.”
“What sort of things?” Ruby asked, sitting on the sofa opposite her.
The woman heaved a sigh. “I—I’d had my suspicions for a while. Mrs. Givens did, too. She finally confided in me. Of course, she didn’t want to believe it … I didn’t want to believe it either.”
“Believe what?” Luis demanded.
“Mrs. Givens—Hilda—discovered that some of her money had been moved from one account to another, without her knowing about it. And some charitable contributions, well, they never reached the charities they were meant for. And then money—lots of money—began to go missing. She told me that your aunt was an accountant, and that Terry had been spending a lot of time with her recently. He’d made some bad investments, and … ”
“What are you trying to say, Joan?” Luis asked as she trailed off.
Joan lifted her face from her hands and stared back at him. “I don’t know quite how to tell you this, darling. I think Luciana was helping Terry embezzle from his mother.”
The accusation hung there for a single shocking moment. Then Luis slammed a fist on the sofa back.
“That’s crazy! No way was Aunt Lu conspiring with Givens and helping him embezzle. If anything, maybe she was working for Mrs. Givens gathering evidence against her son. Tell her, Ruby.”
“Luis is right,” Ruby promptly agreed. “That’s why Luciana came to see me at the Botanica. She wanted me to read the cards and see if … ”
