Bundle of Trouble(83)

I pulled my shirt down and hiked up the waist of my jeans. Hey, they were fitting a little better. I plucked Laurie’s car seat from the Chevy and walked up Mrs. Avery’s driveway.

I was out of breath when I arrived. The fatigue of not sleeping well and the case were getting to me.

Huffing and puffing, I climbed the few stairs to her house.

Mrs. Avery’s maid, Marta, greeted Laurie and me at door. She ushered us into the sitting room and directed me to a tan chaise lounge with delicate purple and green flowers on it.

After a few minutes, Marta reentered carrying a silver tea service, which she placed on the coffee table in front of me.

Mrs. Avery emerged, dressed in a red power suit. “Kate! Oh! And little Laurie! How are you, dear?”

I pulled the ledgers out from my bag and showed them to her. “I found these at Michelle’s house.”

Mrs. Avery crossed to a side table and retrieved a pair of reading glasses from the top drawer. She studied the reports a moment, her eyes darting back and forth across the pages. “Rich was hired to look over the affairs of the restaurant and the store. Are you saying he’s cheating me, Kate?”

I looked at her, surprised. What if Mrs. Avery was ignorant of the whole drug operation?

“Well, what do you make of these?” she asked.

I hesitated. Why not go for it? I thought. “I thought maybe you were involved in an illegal activity, Mrs. Avery.”

“Illegal activity? Like what?”

“Like drug dealing,” I said, feeling foolish. The woman was in her seventies. What was I accusing her of?

Well, hey, hadn’t George said they were looking into going legit with medical marijuana? Maybe Mrs. Avery was involved in that campaign. I imagined her setting up shop at the country club, dealing pot to seniors.

Mrs. Avery made no effort to hide her indignation. “Do you know what you are saying, Mrs. Connolly? I have no such involvement,” she said firmly. “And neither did my son.”

“Mrs. Avery, I happen to know for a fact that there is a drug operation functioning under the auspices of the restaurant. You can’t deny it.”

Mrs. Avery’s blue eyes locked on mine. They seemed cold in a way I hadn’t noticed before. “I won’t have this kind of talk in my house.”

“All right, I’ll leave,” I said, gathering up my things.

“Have you gone to the police?” she asked.

“Not yet,” I said.

“Why not?” she challenged.

“I wanted to talk to you first.”

Her lips puckered. “Thank you for that. I didn’t have any knowledge of this drug business, Kate. In fact, if what you say is true, I’m shutting the businesses down myself. I won’t have it. I’m not that type of person. I would have thought you’d have known better by now.” She got up from the couch, nearly knocking over the tea service. “I don’t deal in drugs. My family doesn’t deal in drugs.” Her anger was building. Her voice cracked as she tried to restrain herself and she nearly spat out, “My family is very respected in the San Francisco community and the nation at large.”

“That may be,” I acknowledged. “I may be totally wrong. All I know is that drugs have been going out of El Paraiso and Heavenly Haight and somebody you appointed is in charge.”

Mrs. Avery froze. She turned on her heel and grabbed the phone from the den. “Well, we’re going to call Rich right now and straighten this out. I won’t have you thinking I’m some sort of common criminal, bandying about accusations and slandering my family name.”

She dialed a number into the cordless phone and spoke quietly into it. “Rich assured me he’s on his way,” she said.

I sat, defeated, and put my head into my hands. “How long will it take him to get here?”

Mrs. Avery pulled the glasses off her face, then served herself and me tea from the beautiful silver server that Marta had brought in. “He should be here shortly. Fifteen minutes at the most.”

I remember the glasses found at Michelle’s house.

“Mrs. Avery? How long have you worn reading glasses?” I asked.

“Thirty years now, dear. Why? Are you starting to have to push things further out to read them?”

God. Did I look that old? I had to get some sleep!

I smiled tightly. “No. Not yet.”

After about ten minutes of waiting, Rich’s car finally screeched onto Mrs. Avery’s driveway. A moment later Marta entered and announced Rich’s arrival. He came into the room and immediately approached Mrs. Avery, kissing her cheeks. He acknowledged me with a nod and a curt hello.

Mrs. Avery gestured toward the sofa. “Sit, Rich. Thank you for seeing us on such short notice.”