Cleanup

By Norah McClintock

Connie Suarez, downsized from her job as a legal secretary, is working as a maid. She's getting used to picking up after people and putting their lives in order. But she is not prepared for the mess that awaits her when she arrives at work one morning to find her employer dead on the floor of his bedroom. Connie's co-worker Maria, an undocumented immigrant from Colombia, quickly becomes the prime suspect in his murder.

When Maria begs her for help, Connie cannot refuse. As she tries to discover what really happened, she learns that Maria has been keeping a number of things from her. Now Connie can't decide who or what to believe. And that's not the worst of it. Connie soon realizes that she herself is also a potential target for violence. The question now is, will she be able to clean up the mess that Maria is in without getting killed herself?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
• Release date: Oct 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781459800564

Norah McClintock

Norah McClintock won the Crime Writers of Canada's Arthur Ellis Award for crime fiction for young people five times. She wrote more than sixty YA novels, including contributions to Seven (the series), the Seven Sequels and the Secrets series.

Book preview

NORAH MCCLINTOCK

CLEANUP

Copyright © 2012 Norah McClintock

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

McClintock, Norah

Cleanup [electronic resource] / Norah McClintock.

(Rapid reads)

Electronic monograph.

Issued also in print format.

ISBN 978-1-4598-0055-7 (PDF).--ISBN 978-1-4598-0056-4 (EPUB)

I. Title. II. Series: Rapid reads (Online)

PS8575.c62c542012        C813’.54        C2012-902261-6

First published in the United States, 2012

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012944097

Summary: When an illegal alien working as a maid is charged with her employer’s murder, her only friend is also her only hope for escaping jail or worse, deportation. (RL 4.0 )

Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

Design by Teresa Bubela

Cover photography by Getty Images

Orca Book Publishers

PO Box 5626, Station B

Victoria, BC Canada

V8R 6S4

Orca Book Publishers

PO Box 468

Custer, WA USA

98240-0468

www.orcabook.com

15  14  13  12  •  4  3  2  1

For Sarah and everyone else

who cleans up other people’s messes.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER ONE

Maria called me before I got out of bed. She said I didn’t have to pick her up. She would get to work on her own.

I should have known something was going on. But I didn’t give it any thought. I liked Maria. She was the only person I knew that I could speak to in Spanish. She was alone in the country. And she was lonely, like a lot of illegal immigrants. She was on the run from gangsters back in Colombia. I had tried to convince her to make a claim for refugee status. But she was terrified of being denied and being deported. I felt sorry for her.

But aside from being newcomers and co-workers, we had little in common. Maria liked to chatter about all the things she was going to have one day. You have to think positive, no, Connie? The things she wanted were things she had seen on TV or in out-of-date magazines she bought at the library for ten cents each. They were things like shoes and purses, dresses and jewelry—things I used to have.

Things I told myself I didn’t miss.

I double-checked the two trays of cleaning supplies in the trunk of the beat-up Toyota hatchback that I’d bought for next to nothing—but still on installment— after six months of taking the bus. I put my thermos of coffee, my sandwich and my piece of fruit on the front seat. Then I drove north, to one of the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods.

The gates across the driveway of Mr. Withers’s house were open. So was the side door, the one Maria and I used. Usually the gates were closed and the door was locked.

Frowning, I nudged the door with one shoulder and poked my head in. Missy Maid! I called.

That’s not my name. It’s the name of the company I work for. My name is Connie, short for Consuela.

Mr. Richard Withers, the owner of the house, didn’t appear from the kitchen the way he did every morning when Maria and I arrived. He was a distinguished-looking old gentleman who lived alone except for a cook who came in from ten in the morning until five in the afternoon every day to prepare his meals. He had an easy smile, and when he handed over his list of tasks, he always said please or if you don’t mind.

But he didn’t answer my call that day. Instead, Maria did, in panicky Spanish.

Connie, thank God. I don’t know what to do. I think he’s dead.

Where are you? I shouted.

Up here. In the bedroom.

The bedroom? What was she doing up there?

I dropped my two trays of cleaning supplies and hurried through the mudroom, which I doubt had ever seen any mud. I ran through the kitchen and up the back stairs to the second floor.

Richard Withers was in his early seventies. He had had a heart attack when he was sixty and had been careful ever since. He ate sensibly and exercised regularly, as was obvious from his lean build. But I knew about heart disease—two of my uncles had died from it. So I expected to find that Mr. Withers had had a second, fatal, attack during the night. Poor man, dying all alone, I thought.

That’s why I wasn’t prepared for the scene that greeted me.

It was clear that Richard Withers had not died

Reviews for Cleanup

[dairyqueen84 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Consuela or Connie and Maria are housekeepers for wealthy, older gentleman, Richard Withers. Connie lost her job as a legal secretary and Maria is an illegal alien. Connie usually picks Maria up for work but one day, Maria phones and says she will meet Connie at Mr. Withers’ house. Connie should have known something was up. When she arrived at the house she discovers Maria in the bedroom with wet hair and a murdered Withers. So begins a mystery that unfolds quickly as Connie tries to piece together what she knows about Maria with what she learns as the police investigation progresses and zeroes in on Maria as a suspect. Was Maria a gold digger who wanted a wealthy older husband to make her legal? Or is she just a convenient scapegoat for someone with more to lose? This is part of the Rapid Reads series from Orca for adults. It is a light, quick read for people who like mysteries. While the main characters may not resonate with most teens, some may find the adult problems a refreshing change from teen angst.

[bryndahlquis · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The biggest problem with this book is that it's incredibly short. I'd barely started it and realized that it was almost over and we were entering the climax of the ending. The plot was also weirdly complicated, with lots of weird love entanglements and other things that didn't make a lot of sense. If it were more fleshed out, it could've been good.I also never felt anything for the main character. I didn't get to know her at all. Sure, I learned her basic backstory, but I can't remember ever learning anything about her that made her a person and not just a point of view.To be fair, the other characters were just as one-sided. They had their personality and they stuck to it. When secrets came to the surface, they were just kind of pasted onto the character. Nothing ever really took me by surprise because I barely knew the characters to begin with.

[irenereads · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

When Connie Suarez's friend Maria is suspected of a murder she did not commit, she does everything in her power to clear Maria's name. I have to say, this was not the best book I have ever read. It wasn't the worst, but it could have been better. For example, it was kind of predictable. I knew that Maria didn't murder anyone and I had an idea of who did. Also, this book brought up more questions than answers. For example, why would a man in his eighties fall in love with a young woman who works as a maid? That puzzled me. Other than that, it was an okay book. Not one of my favourites, but not one of the books that I hate either. I recommend this to all of my family and friends.

[caropg_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Originally posted at: A Girl that Likes BooksI received this book from the Early Reviewers program from LybraryThing, and here is my review.Why did I ask for this book? When I read the synopsis I just wanted to read it, I like a book with a strong female character and if it happens to be a Latina with whom I can identify even more, why not?.Turns out I didn’t feel identified with the 2 main characters, but simply because our lives are very different (luckily for me I have to say). However, the problems surrounding them are so current that is easy to understand their actions. (I wont get any political here, but if you haven’t watched Rosie Perez video on how is “easier to be Latino” you are in for a treat). Off course I am not saying that this is only a Latino reality, or that just because you are part of a certain ethnicity you are necessarily doomed, but I’m getting ahead of myself.So, the book. It makes part of the Rapid Reads series, and it was indeed a fast read, so it was perfect during the Read-a-Thon. But it wasn’t fast just because it was a short book; it was fast passed and well written and there were not dead moments in the story. Connie has to help her friend, even though she keeps finding out that Maria has been keeping a lot of secrets from her. Not that they were best friends, but there were the type of things that you share, at least without too many details.I haven’t read anything else from the author, but I liked her style in this book. The characters are presented with enough details so you understand their actions, but you are not swarmed with details that then pop up by surprise.In all it was a fun read, a different read. I would recommend this book when you need something between books; I wouldn't call it a "sherbet" because it has a little bit more content than the books I usually classify in that category, but since the whole plot passes by really fast it works perfectly to open your head for a new coming story.

[cloudnrain · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It was a pretty fast and easy read. the mystery was interesting but a little too predictable. i love how Connie actually uses her weakness as one of her strengths when looking for the killer. overall it was okay.

[annettemills · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Cleanup is part of a series called Rapid Reads, and since it took me a little over an hour to read, I'd say it qualifies. Cleanup, however, did hold my attention.Connie and Maria are maids for Mr. Withers, an elderly man who lives alone. When Connie arrives at work one day to find Maria standing over Mr. Withers' dead body, her life is about to change.Maria is accused of the murder. It turns out she has been having an affair with the deceased, and he's changed his will to cut out his son and give everything to Maria. Connie, who knew nothing of the affair, or that Maria has been lying to her about her past, still decides to help Maria, who Connie believes could not have committed the crime. Connie used to be a legal secretary, so she helps get Maria a lawyer.Since the book is only 128 pages, it never stops. There isn't much description, and the language is simple. But it is a good story, even though predictable.Cleanup has a somewhat unique audience. The books is about adults and targeted to an adult audience. I'm thinking it would be appropriate for ESL students or others who have trouble with English. Cleanup would have appeal to reluctant readers of any age who like a quick who-done-it. For it's intended audience, Cleanup delivers an action packed, easy to read, attention getting plot.

[lms8esmith · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Once again McClintock crafts a fast paced well-written mystery. In Cleanup, Connie, a former lawyer turned maid, must put the pieces of a client's murder together in order to help a fellow house cleaner. Connie learns some important clues in order to quickly solve this murder. I enjoyed that this was a fast read and look forward to reading more from Norah McClintock.

[larestout_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Interesting. I agree with other review. A short story that kept you moving with some twists and turns. It makes me want to check out the authors other works.

[iandssmom · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very quick read but quite enjoyable! Fun mystery and glad to have read it!!