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  The two women left in the direction of the lingerie department, and Marissa leaned on the counter, watching the lunch crowd stroll by. Occasionally, someone would stop to look at a perfume, but there were only window-shoppers today. Marissa enjoyed the smells of the perfumes and tried on some of the new Calvin Klein as she waited.

  Rhonda walked to the counter, looking as if she'd created her own tornado to get here. Her long blonde hair was flat on one side and slightly curly on the other. Marissa felt sorry for her. The new clerk had a classic face with high cheekbones which didn't need make-up to be beautiful. Rhonda was relatively new to Cincinnati from eastern Kentucky, and the other clerks made fun of her different attitudes and country voice.

  Rhonda flipped her hair a few times and started talking to a customer. Marissa had learned in a short time that Rhonda's hair flips were a gauge to her anger. Marissa had wondered how happy the clerk would be with being called in to work on her day off. She'd already counted enough flips to know that Rhonda was pissed with good reason.

  Within seconds, Opal and Ellen were at the counter. Opal had the ornaments in her hand, carrying the bounty like an award. She rushed to the counter and handed them back to the department head. "Marissa, you're never going to believe what happened."

  "You busted someone?"

  "No, we circled around the store, through lingerie, then better dresses and childrens. Finally, I saw that woman in the juniors department. She just stuffed a dress right into the stroller as we watched. Ellen started to approach her, and she ran off like a flash! I was beside myself that she left that little baby behind just to save herself."

  Ellen spoke up. "I thought I was going to have to restrain Opal here from hunting that woman down. She took off after her like an Olympic sprinter. I didn't think the old girl had it in her."

  "Well, I was raised a certain way, and you just don't leave your baby, no matter what happens. I started off after her, and Ellen called me back. There was no baby. I've never been so surprised in my life."

  "She didn't even have the decency to fake it on her own money. It was one of our strollers with a price tag tucked inside. She must have come in, taken one of the strollers off the floor and started using it like a grocery cart. There was over $300 worth of merchandise in that thing." Ellen spoke with a certain amount of admiration for anyone with that much nerve.

  Rhonda looked at both women. "I thought you said you saw a baby."

  Opal flushed again. "That's just the thing. I would have been willing to swear in court that I saw a little baby in that stroller. Ellen says that happens all the time. People see what they want to see. She says that's why most people are terrible witnesses. They don't pay enough attention to detail."

  "Are we training a junior detective here?" Marissa was still counting Rhonda's hair flips as she spoke. Two more would set a record.

  "Are you kidding? Opal is much too trusting to make it. Not like us, right?" Ellen poked Marissa in the ribs. "Opal, would you mind if I took your boss to lunch? I know that she promised you a break, but could you hold off an hour so that two old friends can talk? We haven't seen each other in ages."

  Opal patted Ellen on the arm now and leaned towards the two women. "I was just going to suggest that. I thought I might take the time to try to calm Rhonda down. She's a little peeved at having to come in. Have fun."

  Chapter 7

  Ellen took a deep breath and softly exhaled, the blue-white smoke drifting up through her blonde curls. She smiled as she let her hand and the cigarette butt drop to her side. "You don't mind if I smoke? I can't believe you're supposed to ask that these days. Everyone here is way sensitive about this. I've been trying to quit, but honestly, this new job has frayed my last nerve."

  Marissa turned her head to breathe and tried to think of a perfume that would mask the smell of smoke, but none seemed strong enough. "It's fine. I'm probably going to start drinking at any minute so I definitely know the feeling. How did you end up here? The last I heard you were happily ensconced at Tri-County."

  Marissa returned to the mall with her friend once her cigarette dissolved to just a filter. Ruby Tuesday's had been added to the mall during its expansion. The restaurant and bar positioned movie posters around the tables and booths so that Marissa sat next to a ad for "Rebecca". Ellen took a drink of coffee and set the cup down on the table, sliding the cup into a small spill of brown liquid. She didn't seem to notice the mess as she looked directly at Marissa. "And you were downtown in cosmetics. Besides, I wasn't asked. I was told that I would be coming here to help Adam Ziegler with security. I put up a wicked fuss even though I was ready for a change. You know, new store, new people. At least the restaurants here are nicer. I couldn't stand another lunch at those damn food courts. Fast food and screaming kids aren't my idea of lunch."

  Marissa leaned back against the plastic seat. Under the table, she allowed herself the luxury of slipping off her shoes. None of her professors at Ohio State had mentioned the hours standing in heels. Although she would have had the energy for retailing at 23, she'd given it up to be a wife and mother. Dan had gotten a job in Cincinnati when they both graduated, and she'd come to the Queen City with him. Before Marissa could send out a resume, she'd discovered she was pregnant with Josh and hadn't worked until he'd left her for Tiffany. "Why is Adam having such a problem with security? You always made it look easy."

  "It's not hard once you get the hang of it. He's having personal problems. His sister just died, and he's been shuttling back and forth between here and the west coast trying to settle the estate. Zack wasn't even sure if Adam would be back for the store opening, and you know how he is about attendance."

  "I saw Adam that day. He didn't look very good."

  Ellen took a long draw from her cup of coffee and continued, "I told him I could come in and help with the opening, but he seems bent out of shape over management asking me to help out. The only thing he had to do all day was escort Steve Douglas around. It didn't seem like a tough assignment on paper. Little did we know."

  "Maybe he's just worried about the fact that he didn't do a great job of watching the star."

  "I think it might have more to do with the fact that I'm a woman." Ellen raised an unplucked eyebrow at her friend.

  "What does that have to do with anything? You're the most qualified person for the job."

  Ellen shrugged. "You know those old-school military types. He may only be thirty-four, but he has a seventy year old mindset. Women belong at home with the kids."

  "Anne needs to check out these candidates more closely. I can't see Adam wanting an independent wife." Marissa rolled her eyes at the thought. Complain as she might about the circumstances, part of her loved this newfound sense of independence.

  "I'm not sure he wants any kind of wife. He was discharged from the army over some incident. I never heard the details, but I wondered that it might be his sexual orientation. That's when he came to Kantor's."

  "Where he can let movie stars die at his feet."

  Ellen stopped the waitress and asked for more coffee. Turning back to Marissa, she said, "That wasn't his fault. He was supposed to be a nanny, not a bodyguard. No one was expecting Douglas to get bumped off. Security's a lot like police work, not very glamorous for the most part."

  "But then there was the missing cologne. Eight cases of the stuff disappears from under our noses, pardon the pun. Then, the conference room is cleaned before the police have a chance to investigate." Marissa counted the incidents on her fingers as she spoke. Had all this really occurred in such a short time? "That's a lot for a store in three days, especially since it's only the first three days. Maybe this store is jinxed."

  Ellen sat up in her seat. She leaned towards the middle of the table. "Did I tell you what we found out about the conference room? The store janitors actually admitted to breaking down all the furniture and taking it to the store room. They said that someone called them and asked them to take care of it."

  Marissa tried to gras
p the implications, but her mind wandered to the sales figures again. How could you pull in customers with a murderer running around? "Do you think they were telling the truth? I can't think why the janitors would want to cover-up the murder."

  Ellen smiled and crinkles showed up around her eyes. Marissa noticed them and thought it a shame that Ellen was growing older alone. At least Marissa had a son to keep her company now. Ellen was a little rough around the edges, a mix of Shirley Temple and Sherlock Holmes, but a sweet person who deserved happiness. Marissa shook her head in amazement. She was starting to sound like Anne.

  "They were telling the truth. I checked their story to see if it held water. I was able to go back through the phone logs and find the call. It originated from Zack's office."

  Marissa's eyes grew wide. "What does Zack have to do with this? You don't think he killed Steve, do you?"

  Ellen pulled out a small notepad and a pencil. That woman was always prepared. "I don't know. You know what the offices are like around here. Anyone could go into any one of them and use the phone. If you get caught, you just tell the person that you were looking for someone and were going to page him. I tried it this morning in Zack's office, and no one saw me. Louise didn't even look up from her book."

  "So what do you think was so important that they wanted the room cleaned?" Marissa couldn't think of any reason to clean other than a dire emergency. Maybe these guys made house calls.

  Ellen dabbed her napkin at the coffee on the table. "For starters, it makes the police work harder."

  "Good. That ass Bandarra needs to work as hard as he can."

  Ellen's lip twitched slightly, and she turned her head. "I heard about your encounter with the police. Bandarra's not that bad once you get to know him. He's just a typical cop. You shouldn't take a lot of his crap personally. My family is full of cops, and I know how they are. They are rule-bound and by the book. Not a lot of room for gray in their lives.”

  Marissa crossed her eyes. She sometimes thought she shouldn't take life personally. "Remind me never to go to one of your family reunions. That man was — unbearable. He kept yelling at everyone, and he practically accused me of stealing Steve Douglas' coat."

  Ellen faced her lunch companion with a smile, tinged with an emotion Marissa couldn't read. "Could this have something to do with a certain law officer?"

  Marissa smacked Ellen on the arm. "How do you do that? I've never met anyone who knows so much gossip. The next thing you know, you'll be telling me his family history."

  Ellen shrugged. "I could. I went out with him a few times. Things just never seemed to click between us. A little too soft for my taste."

  "Let's just change the subject." Marissa sighed as she thought about her recent love life. "I have one man in my life, and Josh takes about all the time I have. Besides, I don't think I'm ready for another relationship. I couldn't stand to be hurt by some stupid man again. I'd rather have three more murders in my department."

  Ellen crushed the cigarette in the ashtray. "So who do you want to talk about? I do need to know about the seating arrangement for the Douglas luncheon. I'm trying to help Bandarra determine who was sitting where."

  "What's the matter? Is he afraid to question me again?" Marissa stretched out against the seat back, raising her arms over her head. She enjoyed the thought of intimidating the sergeant.

  Ellen pulled out a pen and drew a U on Marissa's napkin. "You can be a bit daunting especially when you try. Bandarra thought I'd probably do better with you than he would. So what do you know about the seating plan?"

  Marissa stopped mid-yawn and snapped to attention. "You little sneak, you acted like you didn't know about all this when I talked to you this morning."

  "You know how I am. Two days and I already know the deep dark secrets of the whole staff. How about we trade some information here?"

  The waitress stopped at the booth and filled the two coffee cups. Marissa fiddled with one of the plastic creamer containers, waiting for her to leave. When she walked to the next table, Marissa spoke. "Steve Douglas was at the middle of the U shape, since he was the guest of honor. On one side were Mr. Grayson and Zack. Then Adam and Sam Munson, the manager of the young men's department. He seems like a nice guy, but I don't know him too well. I forget who was after that. I was out on the far end with Margie, the woman from lingerie. I can tell already that she's going to be a problem. She was complaining about her job loud enough for the whole room to hear."

  Ellen started scribbling on her notepad again. "What about the other side?"

  Marissa closed her eyes and tried to picture the table again in her mind. The images were clouded by the lists of things to do and a certain boredom with the luncheon. It had been hard not to fidget when there was so much work to do. "There was the business manager, West and then Zack's secretary, Louise. Then a couple of other department people who I haven't met so I really don't remember what order they were in. With the new store, I haven't gotten around to meeting many of the other area managers."

  Ellen pushed across the table a little sketch of the table with the names written beside the seats. "Assigned seating, right? Were the seats identified in writing or did someone direct you to the places?"

  "There were little nametags at the seats, but Louise was also showing people where to sit."

  Ellen stuffed the napkin into her purse and pulled the flap shut with disgust. She picked up the lukewarm coffee and drank it. Marissa cringed as she poured a creamer into her cup.

  "I was afraid of that. We're back to the same scenario with the phone call. Anyone could have come into the room five minutes, ten minutes before the meal, dumped something in Steve's food and left. If you get caught, it's just a matter of saying that you were looking for someone."

  Marissa smiled. "You have a very suspicious mind. I knew there was a reason we're friends. Why don't you help me dig up some information on a new employee of mine? She's driving me crazy."

  Ellen frowned. "Not Opal. She seemed like such a nice woman, even if she doesn't know a shoplifter when she sees one." She slurped her coffee.

  "You don't have a dossier on her? I'm surprised. You must be slipping." Marissa raised an eyebrow at her companion.

  "So who's the employee? Some of the staff are saying that a certain young woman is in a protected status, if you know what I mean." Ellen made a crude gesture with her fingers when the waitress wasn’t looking.

  "I hope you're talking about Zack and one of the staff. The thought of Grayson doing it is enough to make me sick."

  Ellen let out a loud nasal laugh that caused some of the other patrons to turn and stare. Marissa checked to see if anyone else from Kantor's was in the restaurant, but she didn’t spot a familiar face. She already had enough trouble at the store without having people carry back tales outside of work.

  When she turned back around, Ellen had regained her composure. A wide grin still lit up her features as she tried to extract a cigarette from the pack with shaky fingers. "Whew, I'm sorry. It was just that mental image of Grayson. I was talking about Zack. Actually, I was going to suggest that if he does that as fast as he does everything else, his friend might miss the whole thing."

  Marissa covered her mouth. "Just please tell me that it wasn't Nicole Wilson. The thought of her staying in my department forever is more than I can stand."

  Ellen shook her head. "That wasn't the name I heard. In fact, I don't know anything about her."

  Marissa looked at her watch and slowly slipped her shoes back on. She tried to think of a way to torment Nicole now that she was in no danger of being chastised by Zack. Maybe she could have the clerk sort the stock by box height. "I have to get back to work. If you do hear anything about her, please let me know. The more disgusting, the better." She threw a five dollar bill down on the table to cover her part of the bill. She left Ellen heading outdoors to smoke another cigarette.

  Chapter 8

  The events of the past week hadn't been scared off shoppers. As the Saturday mor
ning crowds passed back and forth in front of her, Marissa concentrated on the little man who stood about ten feet from the counter. "Nicole, who is that?"

  Nicole leaned up from her crossed-leg position on the floor and stuck her nose over the glass counter. She seemed to have made a miraculous recovery from the previous day. Marissa couldn't believe that a grown woman would sit like that in a skirt. What could management have been thinking in overriding her decision to not hire that girl? "He looks familiar. Do you think he's waiting for his wife?"

  Marissa watched the man as he paced in front of the cosmetic department. He looked like someone from a fifties time warp with his crew cut and bow tie. The expression on his face was one of extreme displeasure with a mouth puckered so tight that Marissa wondered if a noodle could slip between his lips. His eyes looked gray, but Marissa had a hard time telling because his lids were almost shut as he muttered to himself.

  "I don't think he's waiting for his wife. I can't imagine what she would look like, but I don't think she would be the perfume type."

  Nicole giggled and sat back down on the floor to finish arranging the bottles in the display case. "He doesn't look like something from a Obsession commercial. Maybe Drakkar Nerd. Oh!" Nicole tugged on the hem of Marissa's red skirt and motioned her to lean forward. Marissa bent down with a sigh. She pulled at the waist of her skirt trying to adjust it from Nicole's beckoning. "He's one of the picketers that was here the other day. You know, that day, the day Steve — you know. I thought he looked familiar."

  "You mean the people who were here when Steve was killed, protesting the name of his cologne?"

  Nicole nodded. "I think he was one of the ringleaders of the group. I saw him yelling at the customers as they came in the door. Brenda from Bridal told me that he harassed her as she came in."

  Marissa stood back up, her face matching the scarlet of her clothes from bending over so long. "I'm going to talk to him and find out what he wants. Stay by the phone in case he causes a scene."