Murder in Cottage #6 (Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) (11 page)

Darlene had just left the lodge after
delivering two bottles of aloe vera from the spa when Liz’s cell phone rang.
She looked at the screen and saw it was Roger.

“Liz, I only have a
moment, so I’ll be brief. I got in touch with the dermatologist I told you
about earlier this morning. He said, based on what I told him, it sounds like
you definitely are having a reaction to something contained in the gel that
Gina applied to you when you had your facial. He told me you or the spa manager
need to look at everything that’s in Gina’s treatment room cabinets. Call me
back with a list of all the products, and if I don’t answer, leave a voice mail
with the list of what you find in them. The doctor said it’s critical to do it
immediately because you may need an antidote.”

“I’ll take care of it
right now. Thanks.”

“Gotta go.”

She called Darlene and
asked, “Is Gina’s treatment room being used by anyone?” She listened for a
moment. “Good. I’m glad you thought to put Bertha’s friend in one of the other
rooms. I’ll be coming in the back door in a couple of minutes and making a list
of the different products she has stored in her cabinets. When I’m finished, I’ll
leave by the back door, so don’t be concerned if you see lights on in her room
or you hear some sounds. It will just be me. I won’t be long. Thanks.”

She walked over to the spa
with Winston and entered through the back door. She took all of the jars and
bottles out of the cabinets in Gina’s treatment room and began to make a list
of them. When she was finished she returned them to the cabinets and left with
the list of the products Gina used when she gave a facial to a client.

As soon as she got back to
the lodge, she called Roger and left a voicemail message for him. “Roger, I’m
sure you’re in trial. Here’s the list your doctor friend wanted. I don’t know a
thing about any of them. I’ll have my cell phone with me if you want to get in
touch with me. Please tell your friend thanks.” She then read the names off of
the list she’d made when she inventoried the products Gina had stored in her
treatment room cabinets.

When she was finished, she
turned to Winston and said, “Winston, let’s go see Judy and see if she’s found
out anything.”

“Come in,” Judy said when
Liz knocked on her cottage door. “I just got off the phone with Tiffany, and
I’m really getting concerned. I told her everything that had happened and how
worried we were about what was happening to our faces. She told me she’d call
her friend and get her opinion. I was just about to go to the lodge and get you
because her friend said I need to get a list of everything that Gina used when
giving a client a facial.”

“I’m ahead of you. Roger
called a dermatologist he uses as an expert witness, and he said the same
thing. I’ve already called Roger back and left a message on his phone with a
list of the products Gina used. Here they are,” she said, handing the list to
Judy.

“I have more to tell you,”
Judy said, “but let me call her friend directly with this list and see what she
says. She put on her reading glasses and punched numbers into her phone. “Hi,
Lisa. Here’s the list of the products that were in the facialist’s storage
cabinets.” She began reading them off. Liz could hear a scream at the other end
of the line and Judy resumed talking. “Yes, I said phenol. It’s spelled
p-h-e-n-o-l. Why? Is that not a good thing?” She was quiet for a moment, her
eyes widening. “Lisa, are you sure?” She listened again. “Well, what can we
do?”

A few minutes later she
thanked Lisa, ended the call, and turned to Liz. “She said that phenol is also
known as carbolic acid. Evidently it’s an extremely caustic substance, and it
can cause severe blistering when applied to human skin. She said no
aesthetician would ever use it on someone’s skin without the client’s knowledge
and consent because it’s so dangerous and would very likely cause the exact
reactions we’re having. She said to keep applying water on it, and that should
help. She also said since we didn’t take it into our systems we should be okay
and to use the aloe vera. It will probably take a couple of weeks for the
redness and the swelling to completely disappear. Good grief, Liz, I’m having a
hard time believing it was a mistake, since it happened to both of us.”

“I’m not quite there. I
wonder if she inadvertently grabbed the phenol instead of something else. We
may never know. What else did you want to tell me?”

“You know my daughter
Tiffany is a psychologist, and she has a theory about all of this. I think it
may be a very good theory, but I don’t know what to do about it.”

“You’re talking in
riddles. What did she say?”

“Tiffany wonders if Gina
deliberately prepared a gel that would cause the adverse reactions we’re having.
Her thinking is that Gina hates her mother, and because we’re in the same age
group as her mother, we became stand-ins for her mother.”

“That makes her sound even
more unbalanced and dangerous.”

“Well, that might be true,
but let’s get back to Tiffany’s theory. If it’s true, talk about being in the
wrong place at the wrong time! It reminds me of the time when I was in college
walking back to my dorm after I’d been studying in the library one night. Some
guy had taken his date home from a fraternity party after drinking too much
beer and drove his car onto the sidewalk where I was walking. Fortunately, the
car just tapped me, but it was enough to cause some huge bruises on my leg.
That’s what I mean about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe that’s
what happened to us at the spa.”

“Judy, if she really is
unbalanced and has mentally snapped, and since she mentioned several times
she’d like to see her mother dead, I wonder if she’s going to Washington to try
and kill her mother. I know it sounds pretty far-fetched, but the situation
that seems to be developing may be a lot more dangerous than putting some acid
solution on our faces. What do you think?”

Judy was quiet for a few
moments. “I think you’re absolutely right. We probably should call the police
department in the town where her mother lives and alert them of our suspicions.
Maybe they can keep her mother’s house under surveillance and see if Gina shows
up.”

“You’ve been watching too
many crime shows on television,” Liz said. “Do you really think if we call the
police department because of a suspicion we have, based on no firm facts, I
might add, that they will assign one or two policemen to see if she shows up?
Sorry, but I don’t see that happening. They’ll probably take the information down,
and as soon as the phone call is completed, dismiss the whole thing as just
another nut case call like they probably get every day. I know that’s what I’d
think if I were them.”          

Liz began to feel a slight
niggle in the back of her mind, that inner sense that only seemed to make
itself known when it needed to really get her attention.

“What is it, Liz? You’ve
got a really funny look on your face.”

“Judy, I have no idea
where this is coming from, but I have the strongest feeling that Gina is
planning to kill her mother, and I have to stop her.”

“Are you kidding? What can
you do from here? You didn’t like my idea of calling the police.”

“I have to do this. It’s
my spa, and it’s already getting a black eye from Barbara’s death. All I need
is for a spa employee to commit murder. I’m going to Washington, to Bellingham
where her mother lives. Even if the police believed me, they’d still need my
help to identify Gina. I can do that a lot easier than they can.”

“Are you crazy? How do you
think you’d even find her? Washington’s a big state. Where would you start?”

“Well, first of all I need
to get there. Roger has all kinds of sources he uses in his criminal law
practice. I’m sure he could find out if she used a credit card for a plane trip
or a rental car or maybe even a motel where she might be staying. I just can’t
sit by and wait for something horrible to happen.”

“What about the murder
you’re trying to solve here?”

“I’m at a dead end. I’ve
talked to all the possible suspects, and I’m no closer to solving it than I was
in the beginning. I’m going to go back to the lodge and get on the computer and
see if I can buy an airline ticket to Seattle. Hopefully I can fly up from San
Francisco this afternoon.”

“Well, when you make your
reservation, make it for two. I’m going with you. I can’t let you go off
half-cocked by yourself. Anyway, maybe I can at least protect your back side.”

“Right. The only two
things that could protect my back side are my gun and Winston, and I can’t get
either one of them on an airplane. Let’s go, I need to get on the computer and
make our flight reservations.”

“Judy, would you please check and see
when we can get a flight out of San Francisco? I’d like to get on one this
afternoon. I just had a thought, and I want to ask Stephanie about it. I
shouldn’t be gone long.” Winston stood next to her, ready to follow.

Liz walked over to the spa
and was glad to see that none of the guests were in the reception area.
“Delores, is Stephanie available?”

“Good grief, Mrs. Lucas.
When Stephanie and Nikki came back from the lodge, they mentioned that you were
having a reaction to your facial, but I had no idea it would be that red and
swollen. Anyway, Stephanie’s with a guest. Can I help you?”

“I don’t remember anyone
mentioning that Gina had a car. Do you know if she did?”

“She didn’t have a car.
That was one of the reasons she was so excited to room with Stephanie and
Nikki. Stephanie has a car and could take her back and forth between their
cabin and work. Why?”

“Well, if she didn’t go to
the cabin last night, she must have gotten a ride from someone. Who leaves here
around that time?”

“The other people here at
the spa were working late last night because we were booked full and running
behind schedule. Let me look at the book for a minute, and I should be able to
tell you more.” She examined it, and after a moment she looked up. “Gina
finished about 4:30 last night. Stephanie and Nikki didn’t finish until 5:00.
Often the staff will leave through the back door, so they don’t have to
encounter any guests. She may have left the spa that way, and that’s why I
didn’t see her leave.”

Kelly mused aloud, “Well,
if she didn’t ride with them, and the other staff members were still here, I
wonder how she left the area.”

“You might want to check
with Zack,” Delores said. “He parks in the lodge lot, and I have a direct view
of it. I often see him leave about that time, although I don’t remember seeing
him last night, however if I was making a reservation or a client was paying
for their treatment, I wouldn’t be looking out the window.” She realized what
she’d said and quickly went on, “Not that I look out the window all that much.
I’ve just noticed him once in a while. I have so much to do keeping the
reservations and taking people’s payments that I really don’t look out the
window very often.”

Uh-huh
, Liz thought. “Thanks
Delores, I’ll go check with him.”

She left the spa and saw
Zack working in the potting shed. She walked over to him and said, “Good
morning, Zack. Are those the flowers you were talking about planting?”

“Yep. Mrs. Lucas, I
probably shouldn’t be sayin’ anything, but do you know how red and swollen your
face is?”

“Yes, Zack, believe me,
I’m well aware of it and doing everything I can. Aloe vera and water have
become my best friends. Anyway, tell me about the flowers.”

“They’re gonna look real
good when I’m finished. I like to see a lot of color around the lodge and
cottages. We’ve got so much green from the forest I think it makes a nice
contrast.”

“Zack, do you know Gina,
the young woman Bertha hired about a week ago?”

“Funny you should ask. I
hadn’t met her until yesterday because, as you know, I was on a little
vacation. I was getting ready to leave yesterday evening when she walked up to
me and introduced herself. She was carrying a large tote bag and wanted to know
if I could give her a ride into town. She said she was going to ride the bus to
San Francisco and then fly up to Seattle. I asked if she was going to be gone
long, and she said she didn’t know. She mentioned that a family member was
having some problems and needed her. Why?”

“She didn’t tell anyone at
the spa that she wouldn’t be at work today, and it’s causing some scheduling
problems with some of our guests. How did she seem to you?”

“Well, Mrs. Lucas, I did a
few drugs in my younger days, you know, like most of us did, and I remember
thinking when I was talking to her that she was acting really strange. I
wondered if she was on something, but I know Bertha is very careful about who
she hires, so I had my doubts. I remember wondering to myself if Bertha had
carefully checked Gina’s references.”

“So you took her to the
bus depot in town?”

“Yep, I did indeed. Why?
Did I do something wrong?”

“No, it’s just that
everything about Gina seems to be quite strange. Thanks, Zack, I appreciate you
telling me, and those flower pots are going to be beautiful. I know the guests
will love them, and so will I!”

She walked back to the
lodge and as soon as she entered, a very excited Judy said, “It was hard to
find a flight for us. Guess there are a lot of graduations this weekend, and
people are flying all over the place. Anyway, I was able to get us seats on a
flight that leaves San Francisco at 6:30 tonight. That’s the best I could do,
and we’re darned lucky I got those. I don’t need to go home. We can take my car
directly to the airport, and depending on what happens, I can drive you back
here when we return. I need to call Tiffany and tell her I’m going, and I need
to pack a few things. We’ve got a couple of hours before we have to leave. I
think I’ll go soak my face in ice water until we go.”

“That’s not a bad idea. I
think I’ll do the same thing after I take care of a few things in the kitchen.
I did find out something interesting.” She recounted her conversation with
Zack. “I need to call Roger, and I know he’s not going to be very happy about
us taking off for Washington, but I’m sure he can find out if Gina used her
credit card for her airline ticket, rental car, or maybe even a motel. I’m
hoping I’ll get his voice mail, and I won’t have to talk to him directly. I’ll
just leave a message and call him after he’s had a chance to calm down. Oh, I
need to ask Bertha if she’ll keep Winston. She offered to do it if I ever
needed someone to keep him, so I don’t think that will be a problem. I’m hoping
she can serve dinner for the next couple of nights, or if she can’t, she can
probably have Sarah do it. She’s single, so I would imagine she could juggle it
into her schedule. I’ll make a couple of casseroles and leave instructions. It
should work out fine.”

“Okay. Plan on leaving
from here about 3:00. By the time we drive to the airport, park the car in an
outlying lot, and go through security, we should easily make it by 6:30, but
we’ll still have a little wiggle room in case we run into traffic. Never knew
I’d he headed to Seattle when I woke up this morning, but it’s kind of
exciting. See you later.”

After Judy closed the
door, Liz picked up the phone and sent a silent prayer to the phone gods that
she’d get Roger’s voice mail. Shortly she heard the words she’d been praying
for, “You have reached the voice mail of Roger Johnson. I’m not available to
take your call. Please leave your message after the beep.”

“Hi, Roger. It’s Liz. I
know this call is not going to please you, and I’m sorry. Judy and I are flying
to Seattle tonight to see if we can stop Gina before she tries to do something
terrible to her mother. You could help me by finding out if she used her credit
card for anything and also if you have a way to find out if her mother is still
living in Bellingham and if so, her address. Winston is
staying with Bertha. Roger, I promise I won’t take any chances. Please try to
understand, but I really have a niggle that I have to do this. If one of my
employees does something bad to her mother, and she did say she wished her
mother was dead, on top of the murder that occurred here, it could sink my spa
business. I have to do this to protect the reputation of the spa which is the
only investment I have. Here’s Gina’s personal identification information that
I’ve taken from her personnel records here at the spa to help trace her credit
card activity. I’ll call you later.”

Just as she began cooking
her phone rang. She looked at the screen and saw that it was Roger.
I know
he’s going to try and talk me out of going. I’ll let him cool down for a couple
of hours, and I’ll call him when I get to the airport. Maybe he will have found
out the information I need by then
. For the next few hours, she
concentrated on getting everything ready for the guests’ dinners for the next
few nights.