Nina’s voice said, “There’s someone in your house. Get out now.”
TWENTY-THREE
From “THE GOOD LIFE”:
Dear Sophie,
I’ve inherited a collection of copper pots and pans from my aunt-in-law who is downsizing. They’re gorgeous, but I never use them because I hate cleaning the copper. She’ll be offended if I give them away. Any suggestions?
—Copper-phobic in Coeburn
Dear Copper-phobic,
If you decide to use them, make it easy on yourself by keeping a salt shaker and a vinegar cruet by your sink. Shake on a hefty dose of salt, add a splash of vinegar and the tarnish will clean up as if by magic.
If you still don’t want to cook in them, hang them over your cooktop or display them on a baker’s rack as a beautiful decoration.
—Sophie
Terror gripped me unlike any I’d ever known. I was on the second floor. I couldn’t leave the house without walking down the stairs. Where was he? Had Nina called the police? Had the intruder hurt Daisy?
Clutching my towel, I padded softly to the stairs and listened. I heard a chair scrape across the floor. I tiptoed down the stairs, trying to remember where they squeaked. At the landing in the foyer, relief flooded over me. Daisy wagged her tail, panting and perfectly fine. I picked up Mochie and peered around the entrance to the dining room.
Panic hit me full force. The intruder, dressed in baggy gray sweatpants and a sweatshirt, was pawing through the silverware drawer. Seeing the intruder scared me silly. He could have all the silverware he wanted as long as he didn’t hurt any of us.
Moving stealthily, I crossed behind the opening to the dining room, toward the front door, and safety. A floorboard creaked under my bare foot and the intruder turned around. He wore a Paula Deen mask and Paula’s friendly smile took on the sinister appearance of a fake clown smile. I screamed and lunged for the door. My fingers trembled and I fumbled with the lock. Seconds passed like an eternity but I swung the door open, called Daisy, and ran onto the front lawn.
Police sirens pierced the quiet night. My wet skin prickled in the freezing winter air. Two squad cars pulled up and blocked the street as Nina ran to me with a fuzzy bathrobe and a huge blanket. She held Mochie while I gratefully donned the bathrobe and dropped the wet towel to stand on. At least it was an improvement over the freezing brick of the sidewalk.
Two police officers rushed into the house. Wolf arrived minutes later. His face grim, he stopped to ask me what happened. “I don’t like this,” he grumbled. “Not one bit.”
“Do you think it could be the same person who broke into Vicki and Andrew’s house earlier?” I asked.
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”
When the house had been searched, Wolf and Nina ushered me into the kitchen to warm up. My teeth chattered, partly from the cold but mostly from sheer terror. One of the uniformed officers called us into the sunroom where the door to the backyard stood ajar.
“I presume you didn’t leave the door open,” said Wolf. “Any sign of forced entry?” He stepped around the door to examine the exterior and the lock.
The uniformed cop said, “Either it was unlocked or her intruder picked it.”
Wolf scrutinized me from head to toe. Even though I wore the robe Nina brought me, I felt exposed and vulnerable. I’d pinned up my hair haphazardly for my bath and my feet were bare.
He shut the door and studied the sunroom, still not saying a word. I followed his gaze. Nothing had changed since he sat here earlier with Bernie. I hadn’t even taken the tray into the kitchen yet or removed their coffee mugs to be washed.
“How big was the intruder?” he asked.
I felt foolish. All I could see in my mind were the baggy sweats and the mask. “I don’t know. I was a little panicked.”
Wolf walked out of the sunroom, down the hall, and up the stairs to the second floor. Nina and I followed.
“Where’s the bathroom?” he asked.
I pointed to the open door.
Wolf paused in the doorway, taking in the unfortunate green-and-black tile I longed to rip out. He crouched to examine my wet footprints on the tiny squares of green tile Faye had installed decades ago. When he rose, he dipped his hand in my bathwater. Only then did it dawn on me that he didn’t believe my story.
“Do you really think that I’d have made this up and run out into the freezing night wet and wrapped in nothing but a towel?”
“I don’t know what to think about you anymore.”
“I can’t believe I told Sophie she should go out with you,” Nina said. “She’s not fabricating anything, I saw him. She has a witness.” Nina jabbed her forefinger toward her throat. “So there.”
Wolf folded his arms across his chest and I wondered if he realized how intimidating he looked when he did that.
“Where exactly was he when you saw him?”
Nina threw her shoulders back and lifted her chin. “He was crossing through the kitchen. I was walking the dog, outside on the sidewalk, and I saw him through the bay window of Sophie’s kitchen. That precise enough for you?”
“That wasn’t even a good stab at lying,” said Wolf. “You don’t have a dog.”
Nina’s cheeks flamed. “I’m fostering one. You can ask Karen down at the shelter.”
I thought I saw a flicker of a grin on Wolf’s face, but he suppressed it quickly.
“Don’t worry, I will.”
I patted Nina’s arm. “He thinks I’m the killer. He thinks Bernie’s the killer. He probably even thinks Mars is the killer. It’s a good thing you didn’t join us for Thanksgiving dinner or he’d think you were the killer.”
Wolf showed no emotion in spite of my deliberate barb. “You’re so right. Mars hasn’t been excluded.”
“But why not?” This was ridiculous. “Surely you don’t think he poisoned himself?”
“Desperate people have been known to take desperate measures. What better way to throw suspicion off himself? Everyone would feel sorry for him and assume that he couldn’t be the culprit.”
“Sophie! Sophie!”
A man’s despairing call echoed up the stairs.
“Who’s that?” asked Nina.
I shrugged and the three of us hurried to the landing to peer down.
In the foyer, at the bottom of the stairs, Humphrey tangled ineptly with one of the uniformed officers. “Unhand me, you heathen!”
“Wolf, tell him to let Humphrey go.” I charged down the steps with Wolf and Nina behind me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I happened to be driving by and saw the police cars. Naturally, I was concerned. Thank goodness you’re not hurt.” Humphrey tucked his shirt in and straightened his overcoat. “What happened?”