Read Online Death by Cashmere by Sally Goldenbaum - Free Book Online Page B

"That gives me the creeps."
    "Harry wasn't sure--he assumed it was Gideon, I guess you'd say. But he didn't actually see anyone go into the apartment."
    "But someone did," Izzy said.
    "Purl," Birdie declared from across the coffee table.
    "Pearl?" said Nell, looking up from fixing her salad.
    The kitten stopped in the middle of the floor and looked up at Nell, its head cocked to one side, as if to argue the point if necessary.
    "We'll call her Purl," Birdie said. "With a U, of course."
    "I like it," Izzy said.
    "To Purl," Nell said, lifting her wineglass.
    "To Purl," Birdie, Cass, and Izzy repeated, glasses lifted toward the purring kitten rubbing up against Nell's leg.
    Izzy leaned over and planted a kiss on Birdie's lined cheek. "It's a perfect name for her, Birdie."
    A rapping on the back door startled the group into silence.
    All heads turned toward the sound.
    "Visitors?" Birdie asked.
    "Sometimes my UPS man comes late," Izzy said, brushing away the anxiousness the noise had stirred up in the room. She pushed her knitting to the side and walked over to the door.
    On the alley step stood two policemen.
    "Hi, Tommy," Izzy said to the awkward young man whose hand was still raised in the air, ready to knock again. She smiled and nodded to his partner, a tall skinny man named Rob who rarely spoke but wore his uniform proudly.
    "What are you two doing here?" Nell asked, thinking that the Sea Harbor police were perhaps more efficient than she'd sometimes given them credit for. Perhaps they'd seen the lights, wanted to be sure everything was all right.
    "Could we . . . c-come in?" Tommy asked. His cheeks were flushed, and he shifted from one foot to another.
    Tommy Porter's discomfort reminded Nell briefly of the summers when he had been unabashedly in love with Izzy. The two had been in the same sailing class one summer, and she remembered Tommy's painful stutter when he'd try to talk to Izzy and the teasing he got from the others in the class. Tommy went on to win every race, shine in every regatta, but he never overcame his awkwardness in Izzy's presence.
    "Of course. You, too, Rob," Nell said. "We're just about to eat and knit--two things we do very well."
    Izzy smiled at Tommy and tried to ease his discomfort. "How are things for you, Tommy?"
    Tommy shifted from one foot to the other. A small sheen of perspiration appeared on his forehead.
    Birdie stood and walked over to the two men. She stood as tall as her frame allowed and looked up into Tommy's somber face. "You look very nice in your uniform, Tommy. Your mother must be proud of you." She reached up and touched his shoulder, her voice almost a whisper. "But you might want to stand up a tad straighter."
    Tommy immediately pulled his shoulders back, sucked in his abdomen, and took a deep breath. "Miz Favazza," he began, looking down at Birdie. He paused, and then stepped farther into the room. The movement seemed to bring him confidence. He kept his eyes on Birdie, which oddly allowed him to speak clearly and evenly. "We're here because of Angie Archer."
    "Her drowning?" Nell said, encouraging him to continue.
    Tommy shook his head. "She didn't drown, Miz Favazza," he said, still looking at Birdie.
    Rob stepped up beside Tommy and spoke for the first time. "Well, the thing is, she did drown," he said. He cleared his throat and looked down at his large black shoes.
    Nell followed his eyes. His shoes must be specially made, she thought. They were bigger than Ben's size thirteens. She wanted to talk about Rob's shoes, where he got them, were they specially ordered? Shoes were easy to talk about, and no matter how Rob got his shoes or didn't get his shoes, it wouldn't interfere with the lives of those she loved. But his words, Nell suspected, would do exactly that.
    Rob cleared his throat and continued. "She drowned because someone put a drug in her drink and the drug paralyzed her. When she fell into the ocean, she couldn't swim or move a muscle to save herself.
    "Angie