She released it and it clattered to the coffee table in front of us. “When I went into the kitchen, I went straight to the oven to check on the goose. The oven is behind the kitchen island,” she said. “In the corner. I pulled the goose out and set it on the counter, and then I got the carving knife out of the drawer. When I turned back, I saw Blitz’s body on the floor. You came in and I dropped the knife. I was in shock.”
“Then this knife should have stayed at the fire hall. Somebody else knew your fingerprints were all over it. They wanted to frame you. Where did you say you found it?”
She stared at it as if hypnotized. “In the bushes behind my back door. Sitting among the leaves, like someone tossed it when they walked past.” She reached into the neckline of her tank and ran her fingers over her clavicle.
“Why aren’t you wearing your medallion?” I asked suddenly.
“I can’t find it.”
The doors to Shindig opened and three uniformed police officers came in. One of them was Detective Nichols. I didn’t know the others.
“Ms. Welles, Ms. Tamblyn,” Detective Nichols said, nodding at each of us. “Ms. Welles, I’d like for you to come with me so we can have a long talk.”
The knife sat on the table in front of us. It was the only thing on the table, and if the detective looked down, she’d see it. There was no way to hide it without making my actions obvious.
Detective Nichols looked down.
When she looked back up, her expression changed. “Ms. Welles, do you want to tell me what that is on your coffee table?” she asked in a tight voice.
Ebony looked at me. The strongest woman I’d ever met looked terrified. I put my hands on her shoulders and squared her so she was facing me. “Now, listen to me. Never fear, because Margo’s here. Nothing bad is going to happen on my watch. You got that?”
“You got enough on your mind with your dad that you don’t need to be worrying about me too. I’ve gotten myself out of worse jams than this.” She tried to smile, but tears filled her eyes.
“I will fix this,” I said. The tears were contagious and my own eyes welled up.
Ebony turned to face the detective. “That knife came from the kitchen the day Blitz Manners was killed,” she said.
“Am I going to find your prints on it?”
“Yes. And I agree. I think it’s time we had a long talk.”
The detective pulled a white handkerchief out of her pocket and picked up the knife. She didn’t look at me. She gestured to Ebony, who stood and followed her out the front door, leaving Ivory and me alone inside of Shindig.
Yesterday, Detective Nichols had brought my scooter to Disguise DeLimit and had acted like a normal, nice human being. Twelve hours later, here she was, carting Ebony away like a common criminal. What had happened in that short amount of time? Just last night she’d agreed to look into what I told her about Amy Bradshaw. Clearly, she hadn’t.
I was shaking. There was one person who would know how Detective Nichols thought, and that person was Tak. As much as I didn’t want to make the call, I did.
“It’s Margo. I’m at Shindig. Detective Nichols was here. She took Ebony away—” My voice caught and I coughed. I did not want him to hear how upset I was. “Do you know anything about this?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t. I had a meeting this morning and I left early. What did Nancy say?”
“Someone planted a knife at Ebony’s house and the detective saw it. She and Ebony left to talk. What does that mean? Is a talk just a talk, or is it worse? You know how this stuff works from working for the district attorney, right?”
“Depends on what led Nancy to Ebony’s house. Right now she’s probably going to interview her, but if they left Shindig together, then Nancy has enough to hold Ebony overnight. After that, she’s going to need a warrant to make an arrest.”
“How long will that take?”
“She can only hold her for twenty-four hours.”
Which meant if Detective Nichols was planning on arresting Ebony, she would need a judge to sign off on a warrant by tomorrow morning. Which meant I was going to have to find some answers tonight.
Chapter 24
“I DON’T KNOW what time I’ll be back in Proper, but stop by the restaurant when you close the store. I’ll try to meet you there,” Tak said. I couldn’t promise anything, so I thanked him and hung up.
My efforts to navigate Proper City via the bus had left me at the mercy of its every-twenty-minute schedule, and from a glance at the clock, I saw that I was between twenty-minute intervals. Besides that, I was now the temporary caretaker of one fluffy white bichon frise. I found Ivory’s leash in a kitchen drawer and clipped it on, grabbed a bag of dog food, and then locked up Shindig behind me.
By the time I returned to Disguise DeLimit, the store was twelve minutes late in opening. A woman in a flowy floral dress and cowboy boots stood outside, staring into the windows at the sailor and South Pacific costumes. I said hello and unlocked the store while Ivory lifted his leg on the front of the building. The woman stepped over the small puddle and followed me inside.