Gotcha Detective Agency Mystery Box Set

by Jamie Lee Scott

  Henry sat up. I felt like my time here was getting short. “I don’t know who you mean. I haven’t seen so much as a maid since I’ve been here. Not even a cop. They made me come to the station. I’m a suspect, you know.”

  He was in the house, so I figured as much. “Sorry to hear that.”

  “Look, I’ve had a very long couple of days. I’m about talked out. The police know everything there is to know about Esme’s work for us. And I’d really liked to be left alone.” He was back to the same drained Henry that I walked in on.

  “Do you think someone followed you home from the meeting?” I was trying to get some more answers before I was evicted from the room, but I leaned forward to indicate I was ready to leave.

  “No one even knew we were there. This PR thing was something the four of us cooked up. We haven’t presented it to the rest of the players yet.” He contemplated a moment, then said, “Well, Sebastian and Esme are sort of Goth, and I guess that could have attracted some attention. But we haven’t offended anyone, so no, I don’t think anyone followed us home from dinner.”

  “Does Sebastian know about Esme?” I asked.

  “Yes. I called him this morning. Other than the game I haven’t seen him around much.”

  “Do you know why?”

  Exasperated, Henry said, “What?”

  I repeated the question.

  “Of course not. It’s not my business. Besides, until now I hadn’t thought about it.” Standing up, Henry added, “Are you about done here?”

  I stood. “Just one more question.”

  “What?”

  “Where did you have dinner?”

  “That Italian place on Highway 68. I can’t remember the name. Why?”

  I assumed he meant the restaurant in Salinas. I couldn’t think of any other Italian places on that highway. I’d just been there for lunch. Was that why Nick had chosen Georgio’s? He didn’t remember our meals together. He was getting a look at the place. I was mad at myself for being gullible.

  “Can you just give me a rundown on the night’s events? Something about that night has to be connected to Esme’s death.”

  “I just don’t see how.” Henry seemed to be thinking about it.

  “Humor me. Just run through the events.”

  “In a nutshell, we met around eight o’clock. Esme and I rode together, and Sebastian drove up as we were getting out of the car. Esme ran over to give him a kiss. We went inside and got a table right away. Within minutes The Prince showed up. We ate dinner, had some wine with dinner and then Sebastian took Esme home. I stayed on at the table with The Prince to put together some details for a letter to the other players. We wanted to distribute them on Friday night.” He scratched his head with his fingers. “That’s it.”

  “And all of you were present at the table the whole time?” I mean, someone could have gotten up to get a bottle of wine from the bar, or gone to the bathroom. “No one came up to your table to say hello to anyone?”

  “I didn’t recognize anyone in the restaurant that night. The staff probably knows me because I’m fairly regular, but they don’t know me.” He blinked, then closed his eyes for several moments. “I guess Esme did get up to use the bathroom. She was gone quite awhile, but that’s not unusual for a female. God only knows what you ladies do in the bathroom that takes so much time.”

  “We can’t just pee and leave, you know. We have to check ourselves in the mirror. Re-apply our lipstick, literally powder our noses.” Like he didn’t already know this.

  “Women,” he sighed.

  On the same train of thought, but a different view, I wondered, “Do you think you were drugged at the restaurant?”

  Henry contemplated a moment. “I’m not positive I was drugged, but I doubt it was at the restaurant, unless someone in the kitchen had it out for me. No one was ever near my food or wine.”

  “Are you sure?” I had to push his memory. There had to be something more he wasn’t telling me.

  “Look, I trust everyone who was at the table on Monday night.”

  “What about after you left the restaurant?” I asked.

  “I went straight home.”

  “Was Sebastian still there when you got home?”

  “No, I didn’t see his car.” Henry’s brow creased. “But he must have come in because there was an open bottle of wine on the island in the kitchen. And there were two glasses. Yes, that’s right, because one of the glasses was empty, and the other about half full.”

  I didn’t remember seeing the wine when I peeked into the kitchen.

  “I don’t know if you know this, but everyone who lives in the house uses the kitchen door entrance. The main hub of the house is the kitchen. There are many nights Lauren, Esme and I have sat around that island trying to fill holes in a plot. And we all drank wine. Lauren is a connoisseur of wine. Or she likes to think so anyway.” He laughed. It was the first time I’d heard him let go with an uninhibited laugh.

  “Do you have a wine cellar?” Maybe the crime scene guys had already processed that space in the house.

  “No, but we do have a rack, and a small wine chiller in the kitchen. It’s in the far left corner. And I know you’re going to ask, the wine was a Santa Rita Casa Real Cabernet Sauvignon. 2003, I think. I poured myself a glass before I put everything away.”

  I contemplated what Henry just said. I took the hotel notepad and pen and wrote down the name. I tore off the sheet of paper and folded it. Could the Cabernet have been drugged? If Henry got home after the killing, he may never have gone into the dining room. Had the wine been drugged to subdue Esme before killing her? What was the killer’s plan? Was there a plan?

  “Did you wash the glasses?”

  “No, I put them in the dishwasher. I put the wine back in the rack. Believe me, if I’d known there was a dead body in the other room, I wouldn’t have touched anything.” Henry held his hands up in surrender.

  I think I’d know something was wrong in my house before I saw it. The energy would be off. This made me wonder if Henry had ingested something, it may have been before he got home. Maybe the wine exacerbated the drugs, if there were any drugs.

  I didn’t know how much more I could learn from Henry and he looked to be fading fast. I stood.

  “I really appreciate your time. This has all been such a nightmare.” I walked toward the door.

  “Yes, it has.” Henry stood and walked me to the door.

  “Good night,” I said. As I walked out the door, I glanced into the bathroom. Something caught my eye.

  11

  Thoughts on yesterday’s interviews played in my head as I drove to work the next morning. I know the guy in the hall had something to do with all of this. I could kick myself for not following him out of the hotel. I should have pretended I forgot something and followed him to the parking lot. I could’ve gotten a license plate or something. But at the time, how did I know he’d be significant? I still didn’t know if he was, but he was definitely in Henry’s room.

  And the bottle I saw on the counter in the bathroom as I was leaving, I swear it had Susan’s name on it. If only I’d had a second more to focus. But it was a prescription bottle and I was sure the name on it wasn’t Henry.

  Turning onto Central Avenue, all thoughts of yesterday dissipated. There were two patrol cars outside my building. The car in the driveway was parked at an angle and the one on the street had the passenger door open and the lights flashing. To say this wasn’t good was sort of cliché.

  Since the police were blocking the entrance to Gotcha’s parking lot, I drove around the corner and slipped into the closest space on the street. I went around to the passenger side and grabbed my briefcase and laptop. I snapped a leash on Lola before letting her out. She sniffed for a few seconds and started dragging me toward the office. My heart rate peaked as I walked in the front door.

  I set my briefcase and laptop just inside the entrance, looking through the foyer to the reception area. It looked like someone had
a pillow fight since I’d last been here, the kind where feathers start flying. Only instead of using pillows they used file folders, printer paper, Post-it Notes, paper clips, pencils, pens, and computer discs. I could barely detect a narrow trail of floor.

  I let out a breath when I realized I’d been holding it. Holy shit, the place was a mess. Guess I didn’t have to ask why the police were here.

  Lola was having none of it. She trotted right over the mess and into my office.

  I’d never been robbed, or is it burgled? Not as a kid, or in my home, or here at the office. I had no idea how violated I’d feel. Voyeurism came to mind, like someone had gotten a chance to look deep into my private moments. Of course the only thing private about what happened in this building was everything. My business relied on confidentiality. We were so careful not to reveal personal information. Discretion was the bond of the private investigator.

  Hearing voices I turned toward the back of the reception room. Charles spoke to the officers as they walked into the room. As always, Charles was the epitome of control. He pointed to the back corner of the room where the safe was tucked behind the mirrors.

  “Anything pertaining to an ongoing case is kept in our safe. All the closed files have a hard copy and a file on disc. We keep those files here for one year, then they are transferred to a secure storage facility.” He pulled the mirror away from the wall. “Do I need to open it?”

  The older officer, a man in his late fifties with a thin build but a pot belly said, “As long as it wasn’t breached there’s no reason to open it.”

  “My partner says you work on cases for the Salinas PD. Do you have anything you’re working on now?” the young officer asked. This man had a stocky build and no belly, but still looked soft.

  “Yes, but I can’t discuss open cases, even with you. Suffice it to say the chain of custody wasn’t breached and the evidence I’m working with is safe.”

  I sucked in a deep breath and blew it out when I heard Charles’s answer. But still, there were a gazillion files splayed across the floor. How were we going to sort through what was current and what was closed?

  “Mimi. Finally. Don’t you answer your phone anymore?” Charles admonished.

  I looked down for my briefcase. I went back to the door and leaned down to get my cell phone from my bag. I looked and saw eleven missed calls. I’d put my phone on vibrate while I’d conducted my interviews yesterday and forgotten to turn the ringer back on.

  I hustled back into reception. “Oh God, Charles, I had it on vibrate. I’m sorry.”

  “You can see we have a minor disaster.” Good old Charles, pointing out the obvious.

  “What the hell happened?”

  The officers looked at each other and then at Charles, who was obviously the one in control of the situation.

  “Someone broke the window pane out of the back door in the kitchen. From there it was easy to unlock the door and come in. I don’t know what they were looking for, but Esme’s computer is gone. I don’t know if they wanted her computer specifically, or just a new laptop.”

  “And our security system?” What the hell was I paying a fortune for a security system for if it didn’t work?

  “Yeah, about that. I, um, I left around midnight to have drinks with Alex and planned on coming back, so I didn’t set it on the way out. Only I had more than a few drinks and Alex drove me home, not back here.”

  Wide eyed, I was stunned. “Are you kidding me?”

  Charles doesn’t even know the meaning of the word sheepish, but he was doing a good impression now. “I know. What are the chances?”

  “From the looks of this place, I’d say, oh, about a hundred percent.” My frustration was getting the better of me.

  “You know this isn’t like me.” Charles raked his fingers through his perfect hair.

  I did know it. Then I remembered what we were working on and gulped. Oh shit, Nick was going to give birth about this one. He didn’t want me involved to begin with and now we’d had a major breach. Well, this was Charles’s baby, not mine. Nick could take it up with him, if he dared.

  “Don’t worry. I was done with the computer. I have the hard drive and all the contents removed and stored in the safe. I even had the pages from her PDA filed in the safe. I’m not an idiot.” Charles assured.

  “Okay.” I sighed. “So do we have any idea what else is missing?”

  Charles spoke to the police. “Go ahead and take your pictures. I’m going to talk to Mimi in her office. If you need me just knock on the door across the hall.” He pointed to my open office door.

  I headed to my office. At the door I came to an abrupt halt. I could see the floor in the corner where I kept my filing cabinet was three inches deep with manila folders and paper. All six files drawers were pulled open. One had even been yanked from its rollers. I felt a tightening in my chest as the fury worked its way to my throat. Charles wrapped his arm around me just as my knees gave out.

  “Oh, honey, it’s not that bad. We’ll hire a temp from Manpower and get everything cleaned up in a day or so.” He took Lola’s leash and guided me toward a client chair and sat me down.

  I tried to stand. Irritated, I wanted to pace. Charles gently pushed me back into the chair.

  “How will we know if anything is missing?”

  Charles grinned. “Absolutely every piece of paper in this office has a computer backup. Not only do we have a hard copy backup on CD, but I also backup the files nightly to a separate server. That way, if the place burns to the ground we still have everything but the absolute current notes on file.”

  My cell phone rang. I picked it up and looked at the number. “Unknown.” I answered, “This is Mimi.”

  “Stop now if you know what’s good for you,” a nondescript voice whispered in my ear.

  “Excuse me?” I understood what was said, I just didn’t get it.

  The voice repeated, “Stop now if you know what’s good for you.”

  I hung up. I couldn’t process the call along with everything else.

  Charles must have seen the disgust on my face. “Who was that?”

  “I don’t know. But someone wants me to stop doing something.” I tilted my head and raised my brows.

  “Stop doing what?” Charles asked.

  “I don’t know. I’m always doing something I shouldn’t be, so you name it.” I had to laugh at that one because it was so true.

  “Probably a pissed-off cheating husband.” Charles dismissed the call like it was an annoying fly.

  Before I could comment on Charles’s wisdom, Jackie walked in the door. Beyond the horrified look on her face, she looked as put together as always. She wore dark denim tucked into caramel colored boots and a purple T-shirt covered by a tan cotton pea coat. Her auburn hair was pulled into a neat bun at the nape of her neck. She’d recently had her bangs cut. I’d known her most of my life and she’d never had bangs. I still couldn’t get used to them no matter how good they looked on her.

  “This is so not good.” Jackie spoke very slowly.

  “Nice observation,” Charles retorted. “Got big plans today?”

  “Bigger than I expected apparently. What the hell happened?” Jackie stayed in the doorway.

  “We aren’t sure what the motive was, but someone broke in last night. Whether they found what they wanted or not, they wanted us to know they were here,” I said. Steadier now, I stood. “They definitely wanted us to know they were here.”

  “I’ll call Manpower and see if they can get someone over here this morning.” Charles stepped over papers and folders as he headed back to the door.

  I yelled after him. “They have to be licensed and bonded.”

  Jackie braved another step in the door, and Charles kissed her cheek as he moved past her. Lola tugged at her leash and Charles let go. She went straight to her bed, made three turns and plopped down.

  Jackie looked around the corner to my files. “What on earth?”

  “My thought exactly
. Why not just take what you want and get the hell out?” I walked toward the strewn files. It took every ounce of energy I had not to kick the files across the floor. It’d just make more work in the long run, but boy, it would have felt good in the moment.

  “Making a mess of everything will make it that much harder to find what’s missing. The longer it takes, the better the chances are that what they took won’t matter to us as much,” Jackie said. She leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.

  “Duh. I should’ve figured that. But they took Esme’s computer. That was pretty obvious.” I bent down and pushed the paper back into one of the folders.

  “Isn’t that the one Charles is working on for the police department?” Jackie uncrossed her arms and pushed off the wall.

  “Yeah, it was her work computer.”

  Charles popped his head in the door. “Someone will be here in about an hour. She’s got lots of filing experience. But she has a kid in school and has to leave by three.”

  “Great. One more person will be a big help,” I said.

  “Oh yeah, one more thing. You know the threats and the nasty messages on Lauren’s website and blog?” Charles asked.

  “Yeah,” I said, a little impatient.

  “All of the messages came from the same IP address.” Charles turned to leave.

  “Hold up. What does that mean?” Me being the computer dolt that I am, I didn’t know an IP address from UPS.

  “It means that Esme, or someone on her computer, wrote every last one of those hostile remarks, and every threat.” He said this so matter of fact I almost didn’t catch it.

  “What?”

  “You heard me. The whole thing was a farce. There were no threats. She probably doesn’t even need a bodyguard. Maybe she set up Esme’s demise and needed an alibi. That sweet little thing was probably boffing her hubby, and Lauren got rid of her. Setting up the threats could make it look like a crazed fan, and Esme was none the wiser.” He ran his manicured fingers through his hair.

  “Her alibi would have been the book signing. She could hardly have killed Esme when she was in San Francisco.” Jackie loved putting her two cents in.