Murder at the Wizard-Hero Con Read online

  “I don’t think so. Cole’s skull and brain matter are probably imbedded into that thing. There is probably some hair as well.”

  “Eww. Did I need to know all that?” Aleta grimaced. “A simple yes or no would have been enough.”

  “It’s how you learn, Aleta. I’m giving you Crime Scene Investigation 101.” Georgie sniffed and cleared her throat.

  “Okay, professor. Class is over. Can we go home now?”

  “And miss the last day of the convention? Not likely,” Georgie huffed. “I’ve got a special outfit planned for tomorrow. I can’t let it go to waste.”

  “Heaven forbid.” Aleta rolled her eyes. “Uh-oh. Heads up.”

  Georgie looked in the direction Aleta had nodded and saw Stan walking through the door. She raised her hand in a half-hearted wave when he saw her.

  “Do you want me to leave you two alone?” Aleta whispered.

  “Yes. But don’t go far. I’ve learned my lesson.” Georgie squeezed Aleta’s hand before her sister stood and went to the opposite side of the lobby to look out the window.

  “Are you all right?” Stan asked.

  “Yeah. I gave Mosey all the gory details. I think the weapon was some kind of movie prop. I heard that there were several vendors claiming things had been stolen from their booths. Malcolm probably did it to cause confusion.” Georgie shrugged. “Listen to me, I’m rambling.”

  “Look, Georgie, I know you’ve been through a lot this afternoon. But at some time, you and I are going to have to talk about what you did to Maggie.” Stan placed one hand on Georgie’s and squeezed it gently.

  “What I did to Maggie?” Georgie felt like Stan had just given her a bouquet that squirted water in her face. “What are you talking about?”

  “She said you chased her out of the restaurant.” He pointed toward the restaurant door that was connected to the lobby. “She also said you called her some names and . . .”

  “And you believe her?”

  Stan ran his hand through his hair and looked away, unable to meet Georgie’s accusing glare.

  “I’m asking you a question, Stan. Do you believe her? Have I ever, in all the years you’ve known me, not to mention the years we were married, ever been the jealous type? Have I ever made a scene, gone after someone just because they were talking to you?” Georgie felt her blood starting to boil; she’d been through enough today. She didn’t need this and worse yet, she didn’t deserve it.

  “I’ll tell you this, Detective Toon.” Georgie pointed her finger in Stan’s face. “You want to know the truth? The truth is I love you. I’ve never stopped loving you. But you screwed it up. You threw it away to feel young again. To be a bachelor again. To play cowboy and have an adventure that you thought was better than watching the kids grow or having dinners with me.”

  Georgie didn’t realize her voice was raised and most of the people in the lobby were looking at her. She stood up from her seat, still pointing at Stan and jamming her finger into his chest.

  “You’ve got what it takes to be an adventurer, Stan. I just don’t think you’ve got what it takes to be a husband. And that breaks my heart even more because it’s what I want.” Georgie swallowed and wiped a tear from her cheek. Aleta pushed her way past the gawkers and hurried to her sister’s side.

  “Oh, what’s the use talking to you,” Georgie huffed. “Go on and take care of Maggie. See if I care. I’m used to taking care of myself. You of all people should know that.”

  Aleta looked at Stan and shook her head letting him know he’d made a big mistake. She was pretty sure he already knew. The color fell from his face, and he just looked down at the ground, studying his boots and letting out a deep sigh.

  “Can you believe that?” Georgie sniffled as they got into the elevator alone. “That Maggie told him we chased her from the restaurant? How could he even entertain the thought?”

  “She’s a real piece of work. I’m worried about Stan,” Aleta said.

  “Oh, I’m not worried about him. He told me when he was digging for gold he would sleep under the stars on the ground and that he’d often hear the snakes slithering past. He’s used to bedding down with serpents, I guess.”

  “Speaking of which,” Aleta said, “if you feel like leaving, that’s okay. You know Beau and Neesee will understand.”

  “Leaving? Nope. I’m going to enjoy the last day,” Georgie said as they walked down the hallway to their room. “The event has been fun. And let me tell you what that crazy Malcolm Heady said. He said everyone was talking about my painting of Serpentius.”

  “Really? That’s great. So, he was like your first professional stalker.” Aleta held the door to their room open for Georgie. Once inside, she locked the deadbolt and slipped the safety bar in place. Malcolm may have been in the back of a squad car, but Maggie was still out there.

  “I think I was sort of an afterthought,” Georgie chuckled.

  “Well, it’s the afterthought that counts.”

  “The vendors sometimes cut their prices on the last day,” Georgie said as she removed her jacket and kicked off her shoes. “We still need to pick up something for Emily.”

  “Georgie, did you mean what you said to Stan?” Aleta asked, following her sister and kicking off her shoes, too, before climbing onto the bed to sit cross-legged again.

  “How dare he think I would chase someone out of a restaurant?” Georgie sat down on the edge of her bed. “He knew that couldn’t be true, but you know what I think? I think he wanted it to be true. I think a guy his age really wants to have two women fighting over him. Am I wrong?” she asked Aleta, not giving her time to answer.

  “As if being handsome and smelling good and taking care of a crack in the wall or a stuck drain at your ex-wife’s house isn’t enough. Nope. Gotta have a catfight on the verge of breaking out in order to feel like a big shot.”

  Aleta chuckled at her sister’s description.

  “Aleta, I meant every word.” Georgie stood up and stretched, pushing her shoulders back. “But I don’t expect too much from that man. I learned a long time ago that was a mistake. I’m going to take a nice hot bath. When I’m done, should we get something to eat?”

  “That sounds good,” Aleta replied. She didn’t say anything else as Georgie went into the bathroom and shut the door. Part of her wanted to call Stan and tell him to get his behind up to the room to make amends with Georgie once and for all. Still, another part of her thought it wasn’t her place to interfere.

  Before she could do anything, there was a knock on the door.

  Aleta looked out the peephole and bit her lip. It was Maggie. Leaving the safety bar in place, Aleta opened the door.

  “What do you want?”

  “I’d like to talk to Georgie.” Maggie raised her chin defiantly.

  “Over my dead body.” Aleta squinted and watched as Maggie shifted from one foot to the other. “Maggie, I think you’ve said enough.”

  “Do you? Well, you can tell Georgie for me that Stan is driving me home. I just thought she should know that he more than likely won’t be answering his phone.” With that, Maggie turned and walked quickly away, head high.

  Aleta quietly closed the door, hoping Georgie hadn’t heard any of the conversation. She held her breath and listened. The water was running so loudly filling up the tub that she was sure her sister hadn’t heard anything. That was good. Aleta had no intention of relaying Maggie’s message. But as soon as she had the chance, she’d have words with Stan about it.

  Chapter 12

  “I’m not sure I can be seen with you looking like that,” Aleta said as she and Georgie got into the elevator with their weekend bags in their hands.

  “What are you talking about? The event isn’t over.”

  “Who are you supposed to be? In case anyone asks.”

  “Hmmm, Aleta, let me see. Leopard print off-the-shoulder dress, a ropey vine around my neck. I’m only wearing the bodysuit underneath because I’m modest.”

  “Where
are you keeping your pocketbook?” Aleta said with a snicker.

  “Ha, smarty-pants. In this.”

  “What is that?” Aleta shook her head.

  “You’ve seen my monkey backpack before. Remember. I wore it to Tony Salvani’s funeral,” Georgie replied.

  “Oh, yeah. Gosh, Tony Salvani. How long has he been dead?”

  “About three years now,” Georgie mused. “That was a shame. A heart attack at his age. Heck, that’s our age.”

  “It just goes to show you never know the time or place.” Aleta pressed the button for the lobby.

  “Right. So wear your leopard print whenever you get the chance.”

  “I don’t know about all that,” Aleta said as the doors opened, and they walked through the lobby. There were still many conventioneers milling around and waiting for the event to open to the public for the last day.

  After Georgie and Aleta flashed their badges to get in with the vendors, Beau and Neesee immediately spotted them.

  “Georgie! Thank goodness you are all right!” Beau said scooping her gently into his big, burly arms. “We heard what happened yesterday. Everyone assumed the worst.”

  “Thanks to Aleta, I’m okay,” Georgie said once she could catch her breath. Beau might have tried to be gentle, but he didn’t know his own strength.

  “You look great, Georgie. But I think I like Aleta’s T-shirt better,” Neesee said. Aleta had taken off her jacket to reveal her Serpentius T-shirt. Aleta blushed with pleasure at the compliment.

  They chitchatted a little longer before Georgie and Aleta said their goodbyes in order to see what might be on sale that they could scoop up for Emily. When the doors opened, there weren’t as many attendees. Some of the vendors were already starting to pack up their booths.

  “This really was an action-packed weekend,” Georgie said.

  “I’m telling you. They could so easily make a movie out of everything that happened in just the past three days. Fact is stranger than fiction.”

  “You’ve got that right. Who do you think they’d get to play me if they made our story into a movie?” Georgie asked.

  “That’s a good question. Does the person have to be alive?” Aleta asked.

  “One living and one dead.”

  “Okay, living, I’d have to say that woman from the movie about the two women on the lam for shooting some dude? They drive off a cliff at the end? You’d be the shorter woman.”

  “Oh, yeah. Okay. I could see that. I think.” Georgie cocked her head thinking.

  “She’s always a little slutty in her movies.”

  “Your point, Aleta?”

  “I’m just stating a fact. Now, who do you think would play me?”

  “I know exactly who would play you,” Georgie snapped excitedly. “That woman from that movie with the alien that pops out of that guy’s chest.”

  “Okay, you know I’ve never seen a movie like that. I don’t like movies like that. Has she been in anything normal that I might have seen?” Aleta whined.

  “Yeah, she was in, um . . . I can’t think of it now. But whatever. Both of those ladies aged very gracefully. I think we have our all-star lineup for The Kaye Sisters: The Movie.” Georgie linked her arm through Aleta’s. “Sophia Loren would be who I’d want to play me if I could resurrect her to about age twenty-eight.”

  “Georgie, I’m sorry, but you don’t look anything like Sophia Loren,” Aleta chuckled. “Not a thing.”

  “From the neck up, maybe. From the neck down, you could barely tell the difference.” Georgie laughed making Aleta laugh along with her.

  It was true what Malcolm Heady had said that everyone was talking about the artist who had done the Serpentius painting. It made Georgie anxious to get home to see if there were any new clients looking to hire her. Also, the news of Malcolm’s arrest had spread.

  “What’s going on over there?” Aleta tugged Georgie’s arm and pointed toward the Nuclear Wolf booth that was quickly being dismantled by a bunch of guys who worked for the convention center. “My gosh, Georgie. In all the excitement, I forgot all about Dell and Tabitha. I was sure they’d had something to do with Cole’s death.”

  “So did I. Funny how someone threatening to beat your brains out makes you forget everything.” Georgie looked around and saw Stan was behind a couple of uniformed guys. “I suppose we could ask.”

  Aleta looked at her sister and saw sadness on her face. It was the first time ever that Georgie and Stan were in the same room and Georgie didn’t want to talk to him.

  “Why don’t we wait for the papers? It won’t hurt us to find out like normal, everyday people.” Aleta soothed her sister. When Georgie nodded her agreement, Aleta slipped her arm through her sister’s, and they turned, walking away in the opposite direction.

  Chapter 13

  “Oh, Aunt Georgie! This is beautiful!” Emily squealed. “I’m going to wear it out this Friday.” She put on the brown top hat Georgie had picked out for her. Instead of a flower or a bow on it, there was a cluster of gears and gadgets that mirrored the ones on Georgie’s sunglasses.

  “I knew you’d like it. And I know you’re going to let your favorite aunt borrow it, too,” Georgie teased.

  “I don’t know. I don’t know if I’ll ever take it off,” Emily said after giving her aunt a big hug and a peck on the cheek.

  “Has the paper arrived?” Aleta called from the kitchen. She had made some hot tea and was about to pull a batch of sugar cookies from the oven.

  “I’ll go check, Mom.” When Emily left the kitchen, Aleta looked at Georgie. “Did you hear from Stan?”

  “No.”

  “It’s only been a day. He’s probably up to his eyeballs in paperwork.” Aleta knew paperwork had never kept Stan from Georgie before, but there was always a first time.

  “Maybe.”

  Just then the women could hear Emily laughing and talking to someone as she came back into the house.

  “Aunt Georgie, you have a visitor.” Emily giggled. “See you later, Uncle Stan. I have to get back to the office. Do you like the hat I got?”

  “It suits you,” Stan said. “But then again, you can make anything look pretty.”

  Georgie smiled as she watched Emily flit from person to person for a kiss and a hug goodbye. Bodhi, who hadn’t left Georgie’s side since she got back home, gave Emily a couple of licks but nothing more. Then, Georgie looked at Stan.

  “You look like a man whose dog just died,” she said.

  “I’m just dreading going to work today. That’s all,” Stan said walking into the kitchen where Aleta had set a cup for him, too. “Hi, Aleta.”

  “Stan,” Aleta said but didn’t turn around.

  “Here’s your paper. Emily said you were waiting for it? Any particular reason?” Stan handed it to Aleta.

  “We wanted to see if there was any follow-up to what happened at the convention. There seemed to be quite a buzz going on around Cole Ness’s booth when the event was over,” Georgie said. “We didn’t want to get in the way, so we didn’t go and ask.”

  Stan winced at the words. He knew why Georgie had said it. He’d told his guys to keep everyone away. And he meant everyone.

  “Well, I can tell you. Seems that there was an embezzlement scheme going on with Mr. Ness’s manager, Dell, and one of Ness’s girlfriends. They’d been siphoning off money from Cole’s accounts for some time,” Stan said.

  “It’s a shame Cole didn’t have someone faithful to watch out for him,” Georgie said. She patted his hand gently.

  Just then Aleta’s phone rang. “I’ll be right back.” She picked up her cell phone and hurried into the other room to answer it.

  “You’re right. You can’t put a price on that,” Stan replied sadly. The kitchen became uncomfortably quiet. But that didn’t stop Stan from scooting his chair closer to Georgie’s and looking at her from beneath his long eyelashes.

  “You can’t use that look on me anymore, Stan.”

  “Georgie. Things h
ave taken a strange turn.”

  “That is the understatement of the year.” Georgie leaned closer to him. Darn him and all his sweet-smelling cologne. “But I know I don’t own you. We are not married anymore. You can do what you want with whoever you want. Stan, I want you to be happy.”

  “You know what would make me happy?” he said quietly, his voice sounding soft like velvet.

  “What?” she replied in a whisper.

  “This.” He leaned in and kissed her gently, quickly on the lips. When he leaned back, Georgie’s eyes were still closed. When they finally fluttered open, she punched him in the arm.

  “What the heck, Stan! Do you know Maggie is ready to fight me behind the bleachers after school because of you? Do you know she swiped all of my business cards from Beau’s display table? All of them.”

  “What? No she didn’t, and no she isn’t ready to fight you. She’s afraid of you.”

  “Huh! That’s what you think. I’ll bet she’s outside right now spying on my house with binoculars, wearing diapers so she doesn’t have to leave to take a pee break at the Hardee’s down the street.”

  Stan chuckled.

  “I knew you’d think it was funny,” Georgie harrumphed. “And after I was almost killed, my own ex-husband tells his officers not to let me pass.”

  “Georgie, I was talking with Maggie. How would that have looked if I let you come back and talk to me? She’s really not a bad person.” Stan shrugged. “Plus, when you’ve got it . . . you’ve got it.”

  “You’ve got it, all right.” She clicked her tongue and shook her head. “I got you a souvenir. Do you want it?”

  “A present? For me?”

  Georgie went to her overnight bag and pulled out a plastic bag with no writing on it. Just then Aleta came back smiling happily.

  “Who was that on the phone? You look like you just won a sweepstakes,” Georgie grilled her sister.

  “It was Phil,” said Aleta with a smirk.

  “What? You told me you weren’t interested in him,” Georgie snapped as she pretended to be upset.

  “We had a few things in common and decided to get together for coffee. You know, I don’t need to clear everything with you, Georgie. I can make a few decisions myself.”