Pretty, Hip, & Hoodwinked

by Madison Johns

  The women left and were back on the road before Kimberly said, “That’s not the timeline I hoped for. If I was here at two picking up the walker, I’d have plenty of time to go to the bank and withdraw the money.”

  “In theory. Did you stop by anywhere else, visit your family, perhaps?” Agnes asked.

  “No, I came here and then brought Mrs. Barry her walker.”

  “Did you stay with Mrs. Barry or go home?”

  “I picked up Abigail from my parents and went home. Jeremy wasn’t here either, so unless Abigail suddenly can talk when I get home, I can’t image the sheriff will believe I didn’t make a trip to the bank.”

  “Don’t forget to stop at the store on the way home,” Eleanor reminded them.

  * * *

  They walked into the party store and Agnes had to fan away the smell of vodka from a broken bottle that was shattered on the floor. A woman rounded the counter with a broom and dustpan. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and when she looked up, she smiled.

  “Watch your step,” she said. My last customer slipped and dropped his bottle on the floor.”

  “It’s sure a waste of vodka, if you ask me,” Eleanor said.

  The woman smiled at that, then looked at Kimberly, “Hey, haven’t you been in here before?”

  “Before?” Kimberly asked.

  “Yes, but you had on high heels and sunglasses. I just love your ads for that Pretty and Pregnant perfume and lotion. It’s great to see a girl from the area make it big.”

  “I don’t know about big, but it’s lucrative,” Kimberly admitted.

  “When did you see that other woman in here?” Agnes asked.

  “Umm, I think it was Thursday. The only reason I remember is that I saw that ad for Pretty and Pregnant lotion in a magazine. You even signed the magazine for me.”

  Agnes glanced at the calendar and realized it was the tenth. “Could we see that?” Agnes asked.

  “Sure, after I clean this up.”

  The saleswoman quickly cleaned up the mess and motioned the other women toward the counter. She pulled the ad off the wall and showed them the signature.”

  “This is interesting,” Kimberly began, “but it’s not my signature.”

  “It’s an imposture,” Eleanor added.

  The woman’s eyes widened. “Really? And she seemed so legit to me. She even looked the part with a pink ensemble that looked just like in that ad.”

  Agnes pulled out her cell phone and snapped a picture of the ad and Kimberly promptly pulled out a pen. “Could I get your address? I’ll send you a signed poster.”

  The woman’s eyes widened. She jotted down her address and handed the paper to Kimberly, who tucked it into her purse.

  “I can see why that perfume and lotion flies off the shelves. You’re one of the nicest models I’ve ever met.”

  Agnes handed her a card. “Please call us if that woman comes back into this store.”

  “You’re a private investigator?”

  “Yes, it’s just a small matter we’re investigating, but Eleanor and I take even the smallest cases to heart.”

  Agnes led the way back outside before the clerk could question them further.

  Chapter 9

  Agnes drove back. “So now I’m certain that someone is going to a lot of trouble to place the blame of that missing money on you, Kimberly.”

  “I can’t imagine who would do such a thing.”

  “It’s not your fault, Kimberly,” Eleanor said. “Whoever is doing this, though, knows you’ve been handling Mrs. Barry’s finances.”

  “Eleanor is right. There has to be a connection somewhere. We just need to find out what it is.”

  Kimberly sighed. “I’m so glad you’re here to help me out. I can’t imagine what would happen if you two hadn’t shown up.”

  “Luckily I was able to join the party,” Eleanor said. “It appears that Jenny didn’t have anything to do with it since she was at work all day.”

  “We’ll retain the printout of her schedule, just in case,” Agnes said. “Can you think of anyone who would do this to you?”

  “No, but right now I think we might want to dig into the death of Rosemary. We need to find out if she has any family in town or a boyfriend who we could question.”

  “Spoken like a true investigator,” Agnes said. “Have you ever had anyone go to the bank for you, even to deposit a check?”

  “Jenny offered once, but she was just trying to be helpful.”

  “She certainly couldn’t have been to the bank on the tenth,” Eleanor said. “Is that all you have?”

  “Yes, sorry.”

  “You have nothing to be sorry for, Kimberly. So don’t blame yourself for any of it. Someone here in Redwater knew what you were doing and plotted to find a way to gain access to the account,” Agnes said.

  “We should look for the teller we spoke to the other day at the bank,” Eleanor suggested. “She might be able to tell us if Rosemary had any family or boyfriend.”

  “Her neighbor didn’t tell us much of anything, but we could go back there and see if she’s ready to talk now.”

  “Do you really believe her neighbor knows more than a co-worker?” Kimberly asked. “No, I think that other teller might be a better idea.”

  “Do you know the other teller, too?”

  “Not personally, but Jill Tessin has waited on me at the bank before, but I know of a bar, or I mean spa, that many of the girls from the bank go to after work.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Agnes said.

  * * *

  They strolled into the spa, but nobody was waiting, which was strange since there were plenty of cars parked outside.

  Eleanor rang the bell at the counter and an older woman came out. “There will be a wait today, ladies. The girls from the bank come here after work.”

  Agnes stared at the door and smiled. “We’ll take a seat and wait.”

  They walked over presumably to take a seat, but instead, once the woman at the counter disappeared, Agnes, Eleanor, and Kimberly hurried into the back room.

  The hallway was darkened, but had lights near the bottom of the wall, guiding their way. The smell of jasmine oil wafted into the air and they peeked into the massage rooms. One had a large masseuse who massaged oil into a slim brunette’s back. The masseuse even put her elbows to good use. Agnes winced and they quickly moved away.

  After peeking into every room, no banking employees were found, until they heard laughter coming from the sauna, “I bet that’s where they are,” Eleanor said.

  They walked to the sauna, but were stopped by a large woman in a blue robe. “You can take off your clothes in that other room. Towels are in the cabinet.”

  Eleanor nodded and shrugged walking into the room.

  “What on earth are you doing, Eleanor?” Agnes asked as Eleanor began to remove her clothes.

  “Isn’t it obvious? I’m going into the sauna.”

  “We most certainly are not.”

  “If we don’t, we’ll never find that teller. We need to question her about Rosemary and you know it. You aren’t chicken to be in a room full of nearly naked women, are you?”

  Agnes cleared her throat noisily. “It’s not like I normally do this.”

  “Since when do we normally do half of the things that we do? Nobody’s going to bite you.” Eleanor winked. “Or they might.”

  “Leave me out of it. I don’t think it’s safe for a pregnant woman to go into a sauna. Besides, if the teller is in there and sees me, she might clam up,” Kimberly said.

  “Good point, are you waiting in here, then, Kimberly?”

  “No, I’ll wait in the SUV. I’m going to call Jeremy.”

  Agnes disrobed and wrapped a towel around her body, which covered her nicely, but the towels didn’t come near to covering Eleanor properly. “You can’t go in there like that,” Agnes said.

  “Why not? I don’t see anything wrong with what I’m wearing.”

  Agnes s
potted the robes that were covered in plastic and found one in Eleanor’s size and took it out, handing it to her to don. Eleanor put it on with a chuckle and led the way into the sauna where a large woman was sitting in between two young women they recognized from their visit to the bank, one of them Jill.

  Eleanor and Agnes sat down and it took everything in Agnes not to get dizzy on the spot when the heat got to her. Sweating wasn’t on her list of favorite things to do, either.

  “I see you had to wear a robe, too,” the larger woman said to Eleanor.

  “Yes, it’s a shame that they don’t have towels here for us larger women.”

  “That robe would be too hot for me to wear,” Agnes admitted.

  “That’s easy enough,” the woman said, as she stood and took her robe off.

  Agnes practically trembled and quickly adverted her eyes.

  “I had no idea we were on an episode of Wentworth,” Jill remarked, indicating a woman’s prison show featured on Netflicks.

  “Wentworth? Whatever happened to Orange is the New Black?” the woman said.

  “Wentworth is darker,” Jill insisted, staring at Agnes. “You two will do anything to solve a case, won’t you?”

  “Actually, yes.”

  “Good, I’m glad you didn’t try to tell me you were some kind of federal investigator. Miss Jackson was quite upset when she found out the truth.”

  “Oh, did she call the cops?”

  “No, but I think she’s sweating it that she gave you so much information.”

  “I didn’t think that woman ever sweated,” another girl said.

  Agnes didn’t want to tell them that Rosemary was dead, so instead she asked, “We couldn’t catch up with Rosemary. Does she have any family in Redwater?”

  “Yes, her father owns the local motel in town,” Jill said.

  “The only motel in town,” the naked woman said.

  “Was she dating anyone?”

  “Some jerk to hear her talk, but she still dates him from what I’ve heard.”

  “Do you have a name?” Agnes asked.

  “I’d rather not get involved there. I don’t want that man to come after me if he heard I told anyone about Rosemary.”

  “What do you mean, about Rosemary?”

  “She has a record for theft. Apparently Miss Jackson missed that in the background check.”

  “Or it’s not her real name,” Agnes said.

  “She could have had someone else submit her fingerprints,” the naked woman said. “I’ve done that before.”

  “Oh, you have a record, Marge?” Jill asked.

  “I did an armed robbery about twenty years ago, but I’ve kept it clean since I’ve been out. Prison isn’t a place anyone wants to see the inside of.”

  “I bet not,” Agnes said.

  “I feel bad for Rosemary,” Jill began, “and I’m kind of worried about her. She didn’t make it in to work again today.”

  Agnes exchanged a look with Eleanor, who swallowed hard. “Thanks for your information. We had better get going. We snuck back here.”

  Marge laughed with a snort and Eleanor joined her with snorts of her own. Agnes didn’t say anything as she exited the spa.

  They joined Kimberly in the SUV and she had a long look on her face. “What’s the matter, Kimberly?”

  “Oh, nothing much. Jeremy’s case ended in mis-trial. He’ll have to do it all over again, but he’ll be home tomorrow.”

  “That too bad about his case, but I’m glad to hear he’s coming home soon. I think you need Jeremy now,” Agnes said.

  “I know, but all I can think about now is how long he’ll be gone with the next case. He’ll have to prepare and that takes plenty of time. It really stresses him out.”

  “You need to focus on yourself right now. We found out Rosemary’s dad owns the motel in town. If we hurry, we might get there before the sheriff does to ask questions.”

  “Enough said.”

  Kimberly pulled out and arrived at the motel not long after. The sheriff wasn’t there and there were only a few cars parked in front of the rooms at the single story motel that was in a horseshoe shape. It didn’t border the lake but was on the other side of it and it was without a view since woods were to the back.

  They walked inside and the bell rang, alerting the motel clerk. He stood up and strode to the counter. “How many rooms would you like, or just one?” He laughed, amused by his own joke.

  “Are you Rosemary Johnson’s father?”

  “Rosemary? I suppose you could say that, even though I haven’t seen her since she cleared her things out, or most of them.”

  “She works at the bank, doesn’t she?”

  “Yes, I don’t know how she managed to get away with that. She embezzled money from her last job.”

  “That’s why we’re here. We believe she might know something about money missing from a senior citizen’s account.”

  The man shook his head. “No, Rosemary would never steal from an elderly person. Although she didn’t have a problem with stealing from me, at times.”

  “Did she leave anything behind? I’d sure like to see it if we could,” Agnes said. “Kimberly here is taking the blame for something she hasn’t done.”

  The man pulled a key off a hook and slid it across the counter at them. “Knock yourself out, but if you ever find that daughter of mine, tell her she can come back when she parts ways with that damn Eddie. The girl has no sense when it comes to men.”

  “Thanks,” Agnes said on the way out.

  She led the way down to room two and unlocked the door. The key ring was attached to an oval piece with the number 2 on it. She had no idea that there were motels that still used them, but from the looks of this place, it was no wonder. It had a seedy look to it, a place where society’s outcasts might hole up.

  They went through the door and Agnes had to hold her shirtsleeve to her nose as the moldy and musty smell slammed her straight in the face. The bed was covered with a ramshackle yellow bedspread and the television looked like the first one ever made.

  “They certainly don’t keep this place up,” Eleanor remarked.

  “Nope. Let’s search through those suitcases in the corner so we don’t have to be in here any longer than necessary.

  They tossed the suitcases on the bed and dust rose and shimmered from the motion. Agnes cleared her throat as she opened the suitcases. For the most part there was only clothing inside, but she found a picture frame in the bottom.

  “I wonder if this is Rosemary’s boyfriend,” Agnes said, showing Eleanor and Kimberly the picture. Rosemary was smiling and wearing a leather jacket and was standing next to a man that they assumed was Eddie, wearing jeans and a dirty white t-shirt. “I wish Rosemary’s dad told us Eddie’s last name.”

  “I have it,” Eleanor announced, as she handed Agnes a notebook. “It says Eddie W. here.”

  “That’s hardly a last name,” Agnes said with raised brow.

  “I have to get out of here,” Kimberly insisted, rushing out the door.

  “We better get going, too. I’d hate to be here if the sheriff showed up,” Agnes said, as she tossed the notebook on the bed.

  They left the room, hopping into the SUV, and passing the sheriff on the way out. Agnes swallowed hard, half expecting the sheriff would turn around and come after them, but he didn’t. It was only when they finally pulled into Kimberly’s drive that Agnes was finally able to calm down.

  They walked inside and Agnes said, “Sit down, Kimberly. You must be exhausted by now.”

  “I am, but at the rate this case is going, I’ll be locked up for sure.”

  “But we do have a lead.”

  “Yes, but my trip to Port Austin didn’t pan out. It appears that I can’t use that as an alibi.”

  “Oh, did Deputy Danworth ask you where you were on the tenth?” Agnes asked.

  “No. I guess that sounds strange, but he might still be investigating.”

  “But why would he questio
n Kimberly at all if he didn’t have all the facts?” Eleanor asked. “It seems he would have come more prepared.”

  “Yes, but perhaps he was expecting Kimberly to confess that she stole the money.”

  “That’s exactly what he wanted me to do,” Kimberly said. “Why would I confess to something I didn’t do?”

  “Cops have a way of tricking people into saying things that they never intended to say,” Agnes said. “He didn’t take her down to the sheriff’s department so perhaps they don’t have enough on her yet.”

  “I hope the sheriff doesn’t think we’re responsible for Rosemary’s death,” Kimberly remarked.

  “What do you mean, we?” Eleanor asked Kimberly.

  “Well, we were all there together,” Agnes said. “I’d rather get back to investigating later, but after Kimberly has a nap.”

  “Only if you promise you won’t go anywhere while I’m gone.”

  “I promise.” Agnes nudged Eleanor in the ribs. “And so does Eleanor.”

  “Do you have a computer, Kimberly?” Eleanor asked. “If I have to wile away my time, I’d rather do it playing computer games.”

  “I’ll get my laptop, but I don’t have any games on it.”

  “I don’t need any. I play mine on Facebook.”

  Agnes shook her head at her friend. Kimberly left the room and returned with the computer and set it up for Eleanor to use. Only then did Kimberly leave the room.

  Eleanor sighed as if she hadn’t used a computer before. It still shocked Agnes that she even knew how. Agnes had to admit she wasn’t all that good with a computer.

  Agnes stared at the computer screen. “Facebook, really?”

  Eleanor smiled as she logged in. “What’s your problem with that? It’s a good place to investigate, you know.”

  “Only if someone uses their real name.”

  “True.”

  Weenie trotted into the room and whimpered until Agnes picked him up to pet him. “I wouldn’t mind a dog so much if he was this size.” Weenie responded by licking her face until she laughed.

  “I found a dog once and you told me I was too irresponsible to have a pet.”