Case of the Secret Life

by L C Lang

  “This is a really nice club. Do you have a lot of members?”

  Roger nodded. “Yes. Two hundred and fifty. They don’t all come every day or even every week, but they all do come during a month’s time. There is a yearly club membership fee and they pay for their meals and drinks. A lot of them come for the noon meal so they can get away from their offices and be in a quiet environment.”

  “That’s a lot of people, but I think this is a great place where you can go to be with other business owners. Don’t always see that.” I paused a moment. I had found what I came for, and hopefully more, so it was time to leave. “Well, I don’t want to keep you since it is almost time for your lunch crowd and I am sure you will be busy, so I will take off now. Thank you for your help.”

  I stood up and so did Roger. He escorted me to the front door where we shook hands and said goodbye. Then I headed for my Cherokee and got inside. I was dying to read the pages he gave me. As I got into my Cherokee, I noticed several vehicles pulling into the parking lot. Most of those who got out of their vehicles were men in suits. There were a couple of women and they were older and well dressed. It still did not make sense to me why Benton Williams had managed to become a member of this business club. I have too many questions. It is time to look at the papers. I pulled the two pages out of my messenger bag and began reading.

  It did not take long to get through the information. But the further along I read, the worse it got. When I finished, I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes. At this point, I really need a good stiff drink. I rarely drink, but I sure need one now. My mind is racing as thoughts crowded my mind. How could Benton get away with this? What I am sure of is that Hannah has no clue what he was doing.

  I was not sure how long Benton Williams had this scheme going on, but it has been a few years since it began. I am going to have a long day of research here in town, so I need to get going. First, I have to find the rented apartment. Then I have to go see the second home and find out if Benton really has a second wife or just a pretend one that lives there and then go see the second business. Whatever Benton has been up to, he sure has been busy.

  CHAPTER 10

  I pulled out of the parking lot and headed for my next location. Fifteen minutes later, I parked in a small parking lot next to the apartment building. The building was brick and three stories tall. It is an older building and from the condition, no one is taking care of the building. It has a run down look. There are three more apartment buildings close by and I am sure the same company owned them, because they all had the same bland design. Based on the windows, my guess is there are four apartments on each floor. Hopefully, I will not need a key to get in the front door.

  I got out a pair of latex gloves from the box in the glove compartment and the lock pick kit from a side pocket of my messenger bag, and put them in my jeans pocket. Then I pulled out my cell phone, tucked my messenger bag under my seat. Then I got out and locked my truck. Time to see what is in Benton’s apartment.

  When I got to the main door, I held my breath while I took hold of the door knob and twisted. It is unlocked. Great. Now to see what I can find inside. With luck, everyone is at work. At least I hope so. I sure do not want anyone to see what I am about to do.

  I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. A bank of mailboxes was on the wall to my right. The mailboxes only had apartment numbers, no name. However, I knew from the paperwork that Benton lived on the second floor. I found the stairs and then headed up to the second floor.

  Benton’s apartment is at the front of the building. I stood in front of the door and knocked. No noise is coming from inside the apartment or from any other apartment on this floor. So far, so good. I knocked again to be sure. Still no answer and no noise of anyone coming to the door. The hallway was quiet, so I was sure no one was at home in any of the other three apartments. I put on the latex gloves, and then I pulled out my lock pick kit and went to work on the door. Two minutes later, I opened the door to Benton’s apartment and stepped inside, closing and locking the door behind me. Then I looked around.

  The small living room contains a five-foot long muted flower print couch along the side wall. No coffee table, but there is a black faux leather recliner that has seen better days. A small television is sitting on a side table in the corner of the other wall. Lightweight curtains are over the windows. Everything in the room looked second-hand. Maybe the apartment came furnished, which would make more sense.

  The small galley kitchen had even less in it. There is the usual electric stove and refrigerator, but little else. A package of paper plates and boxes of plastic forks, knives and spoons, two packages of Styrofoam cups and a package of paper napkins are sitting on the counter. I opened the refrigerator, but there was no food inside. Just one beer can. I checked the cabinets, but they are all empty. There is no table, but maybe Benton ate sitting on the couch or the recliner. Maybe he didn’t eat here at all.

  So far, I cannot figure out what, if anything Benton did here. This is a one-bedroom apartment, so I headed to the bathroom. Here I found the usual things. A towel, bathmat, soap for the sink and tub. There is no shaving kit, so he had to have taken it with him when he left the last time. There is a musty smell. Probably coming from the towel and bathmat.

  Next, I went into the bedroom. A full-sized bed, one nightstand and a small four-drawer dresser are all that is in the room. Nothing else in the apartment looked like anyone has used it, but the bed did. How long ago, I am not sure. The bed is a mess. The lightweight blanket is at the end of the bed and the top sheet is half off the bed. The bottom sheet is very wrinkled. From the looks of it, more than one person slept in the bed because there are two pillows and two head prints on the pillows.

  To be sure two people had slept in the bed, I walked towards the top of the bed on the right side, leaned over and smelled the pillow. Definitely a woman. There is a faint smell of cheap perfume. Benton was here recently, but who is the woman? I shook my head. Maybe I will never know.

  Then I went to the other side of the bed and smelled that pillow. I wrinkled my nose. Definitely a man. Smelled like sweat. Then I walked to the bottom of the bed, pulled out my cell phone and took a picture. Might as well start gathering evidence.

  I checked the dresser, but it is empty. Next, I headed to the closet and opened the metal folding doors. No clothes. Not even any hangars. Based on everything I have seen, I am not surprised. I was about to close the closet doors, when I noticed a box sitting on the floor. It is in back of the six-foot long closet.

  It is not a large box, but it is large enough to hold a few things. Benton left nothing else personal in the apartment, why would he leave a box here? Is it an empty box? One way to find out. I picked up the box. It is not an empty box. I sat it on the end of the bed, unfolded the flaps on top, and looked inside. I sucked in my breath. What in heaven’s name is this?

  CHAPTER 11

  All I saw was papers. They looked like reports of some kind. But the weight of the box told me something heavier is underneath the papers. Benton Williams will not be coming back here, so I cannot leave the box here. I need to find out why Benton hid the box here and what else is inside. Right now, I have at least two other places to go to today, so I cannot take the time to go through the box right now. I will do that when I get home.

  It is time to get out of here. I picked up the box and headed for the front door. I set the lock on the front door and walked out. A couple minutes later, I walked out of the building and headed for my Cherokee.

  I went to the back of my truck and opened the back door. I stashed the box in the cargo area and then covered it with a blanket I keep back there. With the box now safe and secure, I closed the back door and got in my truck. Then I took off my latex gloves, laying them on the passenger seat. Might as well keep them handy, because I might need them again today.

  Before heading for the next location, I need to stop for some lunch. What I really need is caffeine. My mind is on o
verload and I need to focus. Caffeine will help with that.

  I found a nearby McDonald’s and went through the drive-thru. I placed my order, paid for it and then picked it up from the last window. Then I pulled into an empty parking space and parked. I took a long drink from the large cup of Pepsi I got. Then I opened my sandwich and began eating. It is obvious to me now that Benton Williams had something more going on. What that is, right now I am not sure. Hopefully, over the next couple of hours I will find out.

  I relaxed for a few minutes and tried to clear my mind while I ate. It didn’t work. I am more determined than ever to find out what Benton was doing. So far, I have two possible suspects. Hannah and Joe Millhouse. Who else will I come up with?

  Then I had a thought. Joe Millhouse said that over the past few years Benton was gone from the hardware store more than he was there. From the information I got from Roger Blake at Optical Illusions, it made sense what Benton was doing. How he kept this from Hannah was beyond me. I would have thought she would catch on, but obviously not. She believed his story of going fishing. I shook my head. Benton sure fooled her.

  I finished eating and then thought about where to go next. Benton’s second house or his second business? I chose the house. Will I find someone there? Maybe the second “wife”? If there is a woman at the second house, it might be fun to see what I can find out from her. Time to find out if Benson really has a second wife. So, I punched the address into my GPS and drove out of the parking lot.

  Took me twenty minutes to find the house. I parked half a block down on the same side of the street. I grabbed my messenger bag and got out. Flipping the strap around my neck, I locked the truck and then headed towards the house. While I walked, I noticed how quiet the neighborhood is. No children’s voices, no dogs barking. Not even much traffic.

  I approached the house. It is a two-story craftsman, with white siding and dark green shutters on two of the downstairs windows. A large pot of yellow geraniums is sitting on one side of the dark red front door.

  The plant made the house looked lived in. Although, confronting another woman in Benton Williams’ life is not high on my list of things I want to do today. Especially, if she is anything like Hannah. Still, I had to try. Maybe if someone is in the house I can get some information. So, I knocked on the door.

  Took a few moments and another knock on the door before I heard someone walking towards the front door. When the door opened, what I saw surprised me. The woman was beautiful. She was in her late thirties, has long curly blonde hair, and ice blue eyes. She is five foot seven and has a tan to die for.

  “May I help you?” the woman asked.

  Took me a few moments to come to terms with the fact that the woman had said something to me. All I kept wondering was how did Benton Williams end up with this woman. I have seen his picture. He is not the world’s most gorgeous man, but he is not bad looking. Then I realized that while I had not expected the look of this woman, I had not come up with something to say to her either. So, I had to think quickly. She was questioning why I hadn’t answered her.

  “Sorry. I didn’t know anyone else would be here. I am looking for Benton Williams,” I said. It was all I could think of to say.

  “Why do you want Ben?” she asked, her eyes narrowed at me.

  She called him Ben? First time I have heard him called that. Okay, now I really have to wing this. “I am a private investigator,” I said, pulling out my credentials and showing it to her. “I have a few questions to ask him.”

  The woman looked at my identification packet and then shook her head. “Sorry, Ben is not here and I don’t know where he is. He usually goes on business trips, but he has not come back in a few days. He should have been back two days ago.”

  I nodded. “I see.” Okay, the dates are beginning to fall into place. Now to find out who the woman is. “Are you house-sitting for Benton?”

  The woman’s facial expression changed dramatically and she glared at me. “No, I am not house sitting. I live here.”

  Okay, this is not going well. But it did beg the obvious question. “Are you Benton’s wife?”

  The woman fumbled for a moment. “Well, not legally, but we do live together. That is almost the same thing.”

  Not really, but she would not want to hear that. “How long have you been living together?”

  “Five years.”

  I sucked in my breath. Hannah would really have a fit if she knew about this. “What is your name?”

  “Holly Weaver.”

  I nodded. One more person to research. “Okay. Since, you know Benton very well, maybe you can answer some questions.” I had hoped she would invite me inside, but the look on her face told me I was dreaming if I thought that was going to happen. “Do you know if Benton was having any problems at his job?”

  “You mean at the import rug store?” I nodded. “Not that I know of. He doesn’t talk about work at all.”

  “Has he seemed depressed or worried or anxious lately?”

  Holly thought a moment. “Yes, he has been a bit, but he wouldn’t tell me what was going on. He has always tried not to bring problems home since we have been together. He always just focused on giving me attention and helping around the house. It’s just that sometimes I have caught his expression when he did not know I was around that something might be going on. Guess he just did not want to worry me.”

  I nodded. “Do you work?”

  “Yes, I do. I work in the cosmetics section in Macy’s. Normally, I would have been at work right now, but I took a personal day off today because I am worried about Ben. He usually calls while he is away on a business trip, but I haven’t heard from him since he left a week ago. When he didn’t come home two days ago, I tried calling his cell phone, but it went right to voicemail.”

  I know what happened to Benton, but I am not about to tell her that he will never be coming home again. But, at least I know he has a cell phone.

  “I can understand that. Do you have his cell phone number? Maybe I can track it and find where he is.”

  Holly’s face finally lit up. “Oh, if you can do that for me, I would appreciate it. I would love to find out why he hasn’t come home.”

  I pulled out my cell phone and punched in Benton’s number as she gave it to me. Might be tricky, but I might be able to locate the phone. I looked up at Holly, thanked her for Benton’s cell number and then I got her cell phone number and promised I would get back to her once I located him. There were no more questions to ask, so I thanked her for her help and then said goodbye.

  I headed back to my Cherokee, got inside and then looked back at the house, but the door is now closed. I looked down at my cell phone and saved the picture I had taken of Holly. I had taken her picture while I was putting in Benton’s cell phone number. I took out my notebook and wrote down Holly’s name. Holly Weaver. While I was sure I would not find anything incriminating about her, I still had to check her.

  I took another long drink of my Pepsi and then punched the next address into my GPS. It is time to check out Benton Williams’ second business. It took half an hour to get through the traffic to the other side of Indianapolis.

  As I drove through town, I was surprised at how much I had forgotten about. I have been to many of the stores located downtown, especially the stores in Circle Centre. Now, even though I have only been gone a few days, there is not only too much traffic to deal with, I have no desire to go to the stores I had once liked to go to. Of course, if I want to do some shopping, I can always come here another time. But, I really do not miss living in the city. Not any more. I like my house. I like the smaller town I live in. Maybe once this case is over and Hannah vindicates me, maybe I can find a few people to become friends with.

  CHAPTER 12

  Finally, I arrived at the rug import store. I pulled in the driveway and parked in the spacious parking lot. There is no sign with the company name, but I noticed the dark green awnings over the windows. There, written in white lettering is th
e name of the store. Mercedes Import Rugs. Mercedes? Seems strange that Benton would name the store after his mother. Especially, since his mother lives in California with Benton’s sister and it is doubtful he has seen her in a long time. I found that information when I researched Benton.

  Well, it is time to go inside and see what other information I can find. I grabbed my keys and my messenger bag and got out, locking the truck. Then I walked to the door, opened it and stepped inside the store. Then I came to a stop and my mouth dropped open.

  The showroom is a large open space, measuring about forty feet wide and fifty feet long. As I began walking, I found the showroom filled with the most expensive rugs I have ever seen. Mainly, there are two different kinds of rugs available. Oriental and Persian. This explains their expense. Advertisement signs over each display listed which type of rug it is and that they are handmade, not by machines.

  As I continued walking around the store, I was amazed at the amount of sizes, patterns and colors of the rugs. Yes, they were expensive, but they were also an investment.

  I stopped when one rug caught my attention. It is an Oriental rug, six feet by nine feet, hand-knotted and cost fifteen hundred dollars. Expensive, yes, but as I knelt down to look closer at the knotting, I saw that they were tight and close together. I don’t know how many knots per inch there was, but there was a lot. I stood up, took a step back and looked at the rug.

  The rug has a floral design. Three levels of the border combined flowers with delicate vines. A flower motif is in each of the four corners of the open center area. A large floral motif was in the center. Other floral designs took up the rest of the space around the main motif. The main colors were shades of coral, with a two shades of green making up the contrasting colors of the vines and leaves.

  I blew out my breath. It is well made and very pretty. I know exactly where I can put the rug. There are wood floors in the living room. The rug that is currently there, my grandmother had purchased from a big box store several years ago. The rug is worn and fading. It is time to replace it. Of course, with a nicer rug on the floor, I will have to add some more decorations to the living room, but I will do that later. Right now, the temptation is too great to pass up this opportunity.