I wondered if committing murder was one way she’d proved her “street cred” to Layla. I made a mental note to ask Inspector Lee whether any recent unsolved murders might be connected to Layla’s ring of thieves.
Alice went on to boast about how eagerly Layla had glommed onto her.The hotshot executive director had taken “young Alice” under her wing, bringing her into BABA to learn all about the business so Alice could be Layla’s partner in both the legitimate and criminal sides of the biz.
“Sadly, familiarity breeds contempt,” Alice complained. “The more I got to know Layla, the more I realized I’d never be able to work with her long term. She was a pain in the butt.”
Look who’s talking.
“Not only was she a bad manager who desperately needed my expertise,” Alice said, “but she knew it. And yet, when I told her I wanted half the business, she wasn’t willing to pay the price.”
“So she had to go,” Gabriel finished.
“Yeah, she had to go. Now I’m in charge and things will be different around here.”
“But how’re you going to keep the scam going, now that you’ve got the police sniffing around?”
Alice laughed. “You let me worry about that, pretty boy.”
I could imagine Gabriel’s hackles rising at that comment. But his voice was mild as he said, “Rumor has it your associates are dropping like flies. What’s that all about?”
“Price of doing business in tough times.”
“And what’s your racket?” he asked. “You playing the little schoolgirl, Mary Grace?”
“Hey, I’ve got a good gig going on here,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “They think I’m as sweet as sugar pie. I’m all artsy-craftsy, making books and crap, and I’ve got a wonderful fiancé, too. Check this out.”
“Nice bling,” Gabriel said, and I could picture Alice flashing her beautiful diamond ring in his face.
“I like it,” she said, and laughed.
“I assume the fiancé is as fake as that ring is real.”
She simply laughed again.
So there was no Stuart, and I had no doubt she’d stolen that beautiful ring from somewhere. What other lies had she told us? She probably had a perfectly fine digestive system. All those health issues were more figments of her fertile imagination. She’d sucked us in royally. For some reason, her lack of stomach problems burned me more than some of the other lies she’d told.
I wondered why the police weren’t coming in to arrest her by now. Hadn’t she made it clear that she was the one who’d killed Layla and Mr. Soo. Did they need even more evidence?
“Let’s cut to the chase, Mary Grace,” Gabriel said. “I want in. I know books a hell of a lot better than you do. I’ll play the middleman or the seller.”
“It’s an interesting offer,” she said slowly.
“It’s not an offer—it’s a done deal. And we split things fifty-fifty.”
“What?” That was followed by a few expletives and I could hear her pushing chairs around. Guess she wasn’t happy with his offer.
“Is there a problem?” Gabriel said.
“Yeah, there’s a problem, you slug. I’ll give you twenty percent and you’ll like it. You’re in no position to make demands, Gabriel. I was there at the hospital after you were shot. I know you’re still weak.”
“Not that weak, pixie. I can pin your ass to those murders, not to mention your little attempt to put a hole in my head. I don’t mind telling you, that just pissed me off. Fifty-fifty’s the bottom line or I call the cops.”
The tension was growing palpable. Gabriel couldn’t have been happy knowing she’d been so bold that she’d come to the hospital after shooting him. If she was that bold, she would stoop to anything to protect her cut of the book ring profits.
Now I was worried that Alice had her gun with her. I knew Derek was listening in and probably shared my worry. Was he rallying the police to get ready to charge? Maybe Gabriel had told them to wait until he’d riled her up enough to pull a gun on him. I was not happy about that possibility.
I had no doubt that flying bullets could go through the plasterboard wall separating me from Alice’s gun. Nervously, I glanced around the dark closet. That’s when I noticed the stack of books perched dangerously on the shelf above me. They were set to fall right on my head at the slightest shake-up. If Alice started shooting, I wouldn’t have to worry about bullets. I’d be knocked out by flying books.
With extreme care, I reached up and pushed the stack back from the edge so it wouldn’t tumble. A heavy sharpening stone lay on the top book and began to totter, then started to fall directly toward me. I reached to grab it but only managed to deflect it. It slammed against the wall and fell to the floor.
“What the hell was that?” Alice sputtered.
Seconds later, the closet door was yanked open and I stared into the flashing eyes of Alice Fairchild. Gabriel stood behind her, staring at me in horror.
“Well, look who’s here,” she said, and turned to glare at Gabriel. “It’s your little friend. This your idea?”