"I understand your anger, but like I said, I did not trash your son"s living room," Sadie said between clenched teeth.
"How did you know it was just the living room, huh?" Mrs. Toth demanded triumphantly.
"The police told me," Sadie said. She glanced across the street, where a curious neighbor was unloading groceries from the trunk of her car. Most of the soccer moms and the nine-to-five dads had avoided her like the plague since they"d discovered her profession. A shouting match on her front lawn was not exactly going to win her any neighborhood popularity contests.
"Why don"t you come inside? I"ll make tea and we can talk about this like mature, rational people," Sadie suggested magnanimously.
"That would a.s.sume that we"re both sane, but apparently only one of us is," Mrs. Toth screamed shrilly. "I wouldn"t be caught dead spending time with you."
"That"s exactly how most people do end up spending time with me," Sadie muttered to herself.
Mrs. Toth spun on her heel. Sadie should"ve got while the getting was good, but she couldn"t help but blurt, "I don"t think Grant killed Trudy."
Mrs. Toth froze comically with her right foot lifted in midstep. She turned around ever so slowly, and Sadie hated the look on the woman"s face-anger first, but then desperation mingled with hope. Sadie knew that she would"ve worn that exact same expression had someone told her that they didn"t believe Brian had taken his own life.
"What did you say?" Mrs. Toth whispered.
"I don"t have any evidence, you understand, just a gut feeling and..." She gave her head a shake. "Forget it. I shouldn"t even discuss this with you."
Mrs. Toth straightened and took a step toward her.
"A cup of tea might be a good idea."
Once inside Sadie"s kitchen, Mrs. Toth sat with her hands tightly folded on top of the table while Sadie took as long as possible to make one small pot of tea. When she"d fussed enough with cream, sugar, and flowery napkins, like this was some kind of a garden party, she took a seat across from Mrs. Toth.
"I have no hidden agenda here," Sadie began. "This tragedy has already torn you apart, and I don"t want to hurt you any more than you"ve already been hurt."
Mrs. Toth simply stared into her cup of tea. A slim tear traced its way down her cheek.
"I"ve never believed Grant was capable of murdering Trudy. It just doesn"t make sense. He was just so d.a.m.ned devoted to her. Trudy and his stores-those were the two things he loved the most." She sighed and took a sip of tea, then put the mug down and looked up at Sadie. "I don"t mean that he didn"t care for me. He did. It"s just that his love for Trudy was everything. He worshiped her. As much as he loved that d.a.m.n sportswear store, he would"ve given it all up if Trudy had said boo. She was everything to him."
"Tell me about the stores," Sadie said, trying to make small talk.
"Grant prided himself on that d.a.m.ned store and everything in it. He wouldn"t even consider stocking any of the top-selling brands if the company had so much as a hint of unethical business practices. He said that he felt globally responsible for the products he sold." She smiled in memory, but then her smile faltered. "Does that sound like the kind of man who turns around and butchers his wife?"
"No. No, it doesn"t." Sadie shook her head sadly. She knew she shouldn"t share what was in the forefront of her mind, but she couldn"t see a way around it. "I have to tell you something now, Mrs. Toth, and you"re going to think I"m crazy. Please, just hear me out."
Mrs. Toth gave her a look that said she already thought that someone who mopped up body parts for a living wasn"t all there.
"Sometimes when I clean someone"s home, I feel a special connection to the person who has pa.s.sed. I know it sounds nuts, and it sounds the same way to me when I say it out loud, but there are times when the person who died communicates with me."
"I don"t understand. You mean you feel ghosts when you"re cleaning a house?"
Sadie wondered what she"d gotten herself into, but she pushed on. She had nothing to lose, since Sylvia Toth already thought she was talking to a lunatic.
"I can actually see the spirit of the person who"s pa.s.sed. Sometimes, for a short period of time, I can even communicate with them."
The woman didn"t run screaming from the house, but she didn"t embrace the idea, either.
"You"re telling me that you saw my son"s ghost and he said he didn"t kill his wife?"
Sadie shook her head. "No. Grant didn"t say anything like that, at least not directly. I saw Trudy, and she did tell me that."
One look at Mrs. Toth and Sadie knew she was losing her audience. Disbelief radiated from her every pore, but still Sadie went on.
"Trudy didn"t speak to me, but she kept showing me hand gestures. That"s why I asked around and found out that she was deaf."
"You think she was trying to tell you something?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, I can"t control how long spirits are in a state of limbo. She left before I could get the full message."
"But she did say, I mean, sign, something to you?" Mrs. Toth asked, still looking at Sadie like she was a crazy person, but Sadie could tell that part of her really wanted to believe.
"I think that what Trudy was trying desperately to tell me before she slipped over was that Grant wasn"t the person who killed her."
"Then did she tell you who did do it?"
"Not exactly, but when I asked her who it was, she showed me this hand gesture." Sadie held up her fingers in imitation of what Trudy had shown her.
"The peace sign?"
"It"s also the letter K, in American Sign Language. I think Trudy was trying to spell out the name of the person who killed her, but she pa.s.sed over before she could finish."
"Someone whose name starts with the letter K?"
"Yes."
Neither of them spoke for a full minute. Sadie was wondering if Mrs. Toth was afraid to bolt for the door.
Mrs. Toth shrugged her shoulders. "None of this makes sense to me."
"And I don"t expect it to," Sadie rushed on. "But there"s more. Kent Lasko was inside your son"s house the very first time I went there to clean. Later, he told me he was there to claim an emerald necklace that he"d given to Trudy. He needed to take it from the house because"-Sadie paused, not wanting to tarnish this woman"s image of her daughter-in-law-"he said the necklace belonged to his mother."
"Kent"s mother, Ramona, is a good friend of mine. I know she does have an emerald necklace that she plans to pa.s.s on to a daughter-in-law one day. Why on earth would Trudy have Ramona"s necklace?"
Sadie shrugged.
"Trudy didn"t even like to own fancy jewelry," Mrs. Toth continued. "That diamond brooch was a gift to me from my husband, G.o.d rest his soul, but Trudy wouldn"t even wear it. She was terrified of losing it. That"s why she kept it hidden away in a file cabinet. She said that she"d keep it in there and only take it out on special occasions. When she did wear it, she touched it continuously to make sure it didn"t fall off. I was hoping one day I"d have a granddaughter who would wear it." She paused and glared at Sadie. "That"s why I noticed right away it was missing. I can"t believe you took it. I trusted you."
Sadie shook her head vehemently. "I know the police found that brooch in my coat pocket, but I swear on my brother"s grave that I wasn"t the one who stole it. I had a date with Kent Lasko, Mrs. Toth. I was a fool to go out with him. He obviously asked me out to dinner only to plant that brooch on me."
"That doesn"t make sense. Why would he take the brooch and give it back to you?"
"Maybe he just meant to get the emerald necklace and the brooch was wrapped with it. It was probably a mistake. Maybe he knew that I would turn it over to the authorities, or maybe he wanted to distract me from my suspicions that he had something to do with what happened to Grant and Trudy."
At her look of disbelief Sadie weakly offered, "I know it sounds crazy. I wish I had all the answers, but, truthfully, I don"t."
Sadie had gone this far and she knew there was no saving face with this woman anyhow, so she went for broke and spilled the rest.
"I was in your son"s house last night. I went there in the middle of the night to try and contact his spirit."
"So it was you who destroyed the house!" she gasped.
"No! Remember when I said I saw only Trudy"s spirit and not Grant"s? Well, I was trying to contact him, and I believe that what happened in the house was his way of sending me a message. I know I"m asking you to swallow a lot here, but last night Grant"s spirit showed up. He touched me when I asked if he loved his wife, and his touch was warm and tender, as if he was agreeing with that statement. Then he used a black candle to draw a heart with Trudy written inside of it."
"I saw that heart."
"Well, when I asked Grant if he"d also killed Trudy, his spirit went nuts. He flew into a rage and flung things around the room. He even lifted that heavy coffee table like it was a toy, and he threw books everywhere. I can"t help but take that reaction as an adamant no."
Mrs. Toth"s eyes glistened with tears.
"I wish I could believe in this-this craziness. I want to believe Grant wasn"t a murderer, but you"re also asking me to think that Kent murdered them instead, and that"s almost as unlikely. I can"t see Kent ever hurting Grant or Trudy. He was the best man at their wedding. He and Grant were buddies since college."
"Sylvia, would you rather believe that Grant killed his wife and then himself?"
She wiped away a tear. "My sister told me if there was any evidence that pointed to someone else, the police would"ve found it."
Sadie had no answer for that.
Mrs. Toth got to her feet. "I need to think about this for a while."
Sadie walked her to the door. She doubted she would ever see the woman again, and it was probably just as well.
"Thanks for hearing me out," Sadie said. "I don"t want to intrude on your pain. You won"t hear from me again, and I won"t be going near Grant"s house. You have my word." Sadie bent to her purse, withdrew the final key for the Toth house, and handed it to Sylvia.
"Can I just ask you a question?"
Sadie nodded.
"Did you see your brother"s spirit and talk to him when he died?"
Sadie swallowed. "No. I wish I had."
Mrs. Toth nodded and opened the door. The minute she stepped outside, a sharp crack rang out and a bullet dug a deep gash in the door frame an inch from where they were standing.
Mrs. Toth screamed but stood frozen to the spot. Sadie watched as a dark green, older-model Toyota gunned the accelerator past the house, only to slam on the brakes, skid to a stop, then rocket suddenly in reverse. A hand holding a gun extended from the driver"s window.
"He"s coming back!" Sadie screamed.
She yanked Sylvia Toth by the arm, but not before a second shot split the air.
Mrs. Toth crumpled to the ground like a rag doll, and Sadie pulled her inside the house and slammed the door shut. She dragged the hysterical woman to the hall, and only there did she look seriously at the wound. Her shoulder was soaked in blood, which was quickly pooling on the floor.
"Don"t leave me," she cried, her good arm locking on Sadie and her eyes pleading.
"I"ll grab the phone to call for help and I"ll stay with you until they get here," Sadie a.s.sured her.
Mrs. Toth"s eyes were wide with fear as she released Sadie"s arm.
Sadie crawled on her belly toward the other end of the room to get to the phone. She reached the cordless receiver just as a third shot exploded her picture window and she was showered with gla.s.s.
13.
After the ambulance attendants sped Mrs. Toth away, Detective Petrovich walked Sadie through an icy drizzle and into the back of his unmarked car. The drive to the station was quiet. It wasn"t until she"d given her statement three times and written it out fully that she heard any news of Mrs. Toth"s condition.
"She"s in surgery. The bullet caught her in the shoulder, but although she lost a lot of blood, she"ll be fine," Petrovich said.
"Thank G.o.d," Sadie murmured.
"I need you to go through these books and see if you can identify the make and model of the car." He tossed two binders in her direction. They landed with a bang on the metal table, causing Sadie to jump.
"I told you it was an older-model green Toyota and the driver"s-side door had some rust."
"See if you can narrow down the year," he said with a bite.
"You think I had something to do with this, don"t you?" Sadie whispered, her fingers trembling as they turned to the first page in the binder. "You think I tried to kill Mrs. Toth."
"Of course not," he said, scratching the top of his head. "Besides, we tested your hands for gunshot residue, and it"s obvious from the trajectory of the bullet that the shooter was in the street. Just like you said."
She nodded.
"But why the h.e.l.l did this happen at your place? Sylvia Toth said that she told n.o.body she planned on going to see you."
"Maybe someone followed her."
"Or they were told to be there."
"You don"t think I asked someone to come by and shoot her?" Sadie asked in disbelief. She narrowed her eyes angrily at him. "Dean, if you"re suggesting for one minute I did this-"
He cut her off.
"The neighbors saw you two fighting in your driveway just minutes before."
"She was p.i.s.sed at me about that diamond pin and her son"s house being busted up. Still, she came inside and we had tea together and tried to work things out."
"You hate tea."
"Which proves how desperate I was to end things on good terms! I was trying to take the bad attention away from Scene-2-Clean. I don"t want to attract more!" Her eyes grew dark and somber. "Did you even bother to try and track down Kent Lasko, like I told Officer Mason to do? I bet Lasko never went to Tahoe. That"s just a lie he told to cover his a.s.s while he slashed my tires."
"As a matter of fact, we found Kent Lasko," Detective Petrovich said evenly.