“Why do I always get the blame?”
“Because you take after your Gram.” She laughed and sat back down.
“What’s the story with Ms. Ruby, whose hair color almost matches her name?” I asked.
Gram fluffed up the ends of her hair. “Ruby thought I’d look good with a rainbow of color.” I groaned. “Don’t worry, I told her she was off her rocker.”
“Gram, really? You could’ve been… well, nicer.”
“You can’t live in this joint and have thin skin. You do, and you’ll be in a snit all the time.”
“Joint?” I shook my head at her. “The owners of this upscale establishment would take exception to your description.”
“As long as no one gets hurt and the cops don’t show up…” Gram snorted. “If they were that picky, they’d have made mental health testing mandatory, and then half of us wouldn’t be here.”
“They might have a mass exodus if the residents find out someone is robbing the joint.”
“Don’t you think it’s weird that she’s been the only target?” Gram asked in a conspiratorial tone, as though we weren’t the only two in the house. “We need to get this figured out and stopped pronto.”
“What we need to do is let Grey handle it.” I barely refrained from wagging my finger at her. “That’s why you called him in the first place. Nice of you, by the way, even though you trampled my feelings, not being your first call.”
“You needed to press your hand to your forehead.” Gram demonstrated. “Unleash a long sigh.” Another demonstration. “Sauce it up a bit.”
Instead, I unleashed an exaggerated eye roll that made her laugh.
“What do you hear from your old man?” Gram asked.
“Not squat.” I regularly searched online for any mention of his name. I knew if I found one, it wouldn’t be good. Avery was also keeping an eye on his bank accounts, and he hadn’t been dipping into them. “When he returns,” I said firmly, refusing to have it any other way, “I plan on repeating your ‘old man’ reference. That’s after I’m done yelling and laying down a few rules.” I’d probably envelop him in a hug and not let go. “There will be no more damn disappearing acts. Or else.”
“You’ll send him to his room and throw away the key?” Gram hooted.
“I’ve got one better. I’ll cry.”
“That would be mean of you. But it’s sure to make him crumble. Remember the time Skippy teased you until you cried? Your old man came out of the house and caught him in the act, grabbed him by the back of his shirt, and shook him until he slipped his arms out of the sleeves and ran. The chase was on.” She smacked her knee. “Little turd just barely got in the house and locked the door.”
“What I remember was that Skippy told anyone at school who’d listen that my dad was dangerous and to stay away or risk bodily harm.” I glanced at the clock on the mantle. “If those two aren’t back in three minutes, we’re going to go hunt them down. We should’ve gone along so we could eavesdrop.”
“I’ve heard the story over and over. Told her to file with insurance, but that would’ve required a police report and she’s dragging her feet about doing that. She waits too long, and insurance will deny her claim. That’s where lover boy comes in—I’m hoping he’ll talk some sense into her.” Gram flicked her finger at the pitcher, which I deciphered as fill up my glass.
Finally, Grey and Ruby came tromping back through the door.
“I got the security camera reconnected and it’s in the process of uploading the footage it stored. Whoever hooked it up didn’t know what they were doing,” Grey said. “I’ve got the code to access the history, which I’ll go through tonight. In the meantime, I’ve instructed Ruby, and now you, not to discuss the break-ins with anyone. Wouldn’t want word to get back to the culprit.”
Gram zipped her lips. “I know how to keep my trap shut.”
“I’ll get back to you tomorrow, once I’ve reviewed everything.” Grey held out his hand to me, and I stood. “I’m headed back to the office to get started, so you’ll have peace of mind.”
I stood and hugged Gram, then waved to Ruby. “Nice to meet you.”
Grey felt in his pockets, not once but twice, and leveled a stink eye at me. “I’ll need my keys.”
Gram giggled, knowing what I’d done.
“Here they are.” I pulled them out of my pocket.
Grey hugged Gram, and whatever he whispered in her ear, she laughed, then winked at me. He hooked his arm around me as we walked out.
When the door closed, I asked, “What did you say that had Gram laughing?”
“I told her that I was going to kill you.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
On the drive home, my burner rang, and I groaned as I fished it out of my purse. The number on the screen was ‘unknown.’ “I wonder who this is.” I answered with, “This is Brenda,” then pushed the speaker button.
“Cathy Silver. Rally told me you were trying to get ahold of me.” Her voice was all babydoll breathy.
I glanced at the screen again. “I had a different number for you.”
“Once I decided to get a new phone, I went with a new number and threw the old phone out.”
“I’m happy to hear from you, since I saw a report that you were missing,” I said.
“That was a misunderstanding.”
“I don’t know what Rally told you—”
Cathy cut me off. “That you were writing a book about my friend Mindy Graham. I don’t know why he didn’t tell you that I don’t like talking about the murder. It’s upsetting and creepy that I knew someone who was murdered.”
“I hoped that we could meet up and talk in person.”
“No, no, that’s not possible.” She mumbled to herself, and I held the phone closer, trying to figure out a word or two. “Ever since I filed a police report about that horrible detective, I’ve been inundated with interview requests. I find it all bothersome. If you want one quote, here it is: I’m not sad about what happened to the man.”
I reached out and patted Grey’s arm. “I’m sorry that I won’t get to meet you.” I didn’t know what else to say.
“The only reason I called is because Rally’s been such a sweetheart to me, and I just couldn’t find it in me to say no. I want to be helpful, but I just can’t. I don’t want to do anything to hurt his and my friendship. I’d appreciate it if you told him that I was fully cooperative. It’s not like he’ll ever know that I wasn’t unless you rat me out.” She giggled again.
“I understand. I appreciate your calling.”
“Don’t forget, not a word.” She let out a long “ssh” before hanging up.
“That giggle of hers made her sound unhinged,” Grey said. “I had about a hundred questions, starting with whether the cops know that she’s not missing after all.”
“I agree that there was something off about her.” I hadn’t been paying attention to the drive and was surprised to see we were home, Grey turning into the garage. “Even though I asked, I’m fine with not meeting with her. Not sure what I’m supposed to say if Rally asks how our conversation went, though.”
“My skepticism speaking… I think Rally knew Cathy wasn’t going to be the least bit helpful, but being upfront doesn’t get him his author gig, hence the lie.”
“I’m ready to shelve this project. I’m tired of insinuating myself into people’s lives to ask questions that they have no interest in answering. Once was sort of fun… until it wasn’t. I’m over it, and telling Rally to buzz the hell off is long overdue.” I squeezed my eyes shut for a second. “If you want to get the ‘boyfriend of the year’ award, you need to come up with one heck of a story for me.”
“I’ll tell him.” Grey cracked his knuckles.
I pulled him to me and kissed him.
When we got back upstairs and through the door, I said, “I should let this drop, but I’m curious. Since the number Cathy called me on isn’t the same as her old area code, I’m going to get Avery to
trace it.”
Grey and I went out to the balcony and worked on our respective laptops. I sent off an email to Avery while Grey scanned the security footage. It wasn’t long before he came up with several images of a guy in the twenty-something range coming out of Ruby’s house on the days she said items had gone missing. He didn’t appear to be the least bit nervous about getting caught.
He turned his laptop around. “You know this guy?”
“Never seen him before, but Gram could probably ID him if he’s a regular visitor in the neighborhood.”
“I’ll email her and attach the picture.”
“Free tip: you need to do that in person. If you don’t and she does recognize him, she’ll drag Ruby along and the two will confront the guy. Worst case, one or the other goes by themselves. And telling them not to will blow straight through their ears.” I attempted a wind noise, and it sucked. I laughed at myself.
“What about this motorcycle?” Grey pointed to the corner of the screen.
“It’s not against the rules to drive one around there, but I haven’t seen any of the residents riding one.” I leaned in for a closer look. “For this guy to get past security, he’s either got a sticker or is on someone’s guest list, since he’s shown up several times.”
“That will make tracking him down easier. You can bet the guards at the gate will remember him and his motorcycle.”
“You start asking them questions, won’t they be compelled to call in the cops?” I asked. “And if you’re able to ID the owner of the bike, then what? Isn’t there a certain amount of risk if you confront the man? That could jump ugly quick.”
“I’m thinking this is a good case for Floyd to get his feet wet. I’ll take him along, show him the ropes, and whatever we turn up, I’ll let him take credit for.”
“You’re putting a lot of trust in someone you barely know. I’m hoping he doesn’t out you.”
“Unless my instincts are totally off, I think he can be trusted. If not, you need to take a vacation.”
“Then you’re coming with me.”
“Being Steve Smith was fun for about five minutes. I’m ready to get on with life, and to do that, I need to find out who wants me dead.”
I couldn’t stand the thought of anything bad happening.
“My only other option is to stay completely hidden and immerse myself in this new identity, which would require me to break the law, and that’s not who I am.”
My phone rang, and it was Avery. “The number was from a burner purchased in Ft. Lauderdale. The woman was local when she made the call.”
“Does it ever scare you how good you are at this?” I asked.
“It’s fun.” Avery laughed. “As much as I enjoy running numbers, and I do, I love when I get one of your calls needing information.”
“You’re the best. I’m certain there will be more requests. Just know that you can tell me at any time that you’ve had enough and don’t want to do it anymore.”
“No chance of that happening.” We both laughed and hung up.
Grey had gotten up and gone into the house to make a call of his own while I was talking and now came storming back outside. “I called Ruby to set up a time to see her tomorrow, and she had people over. I couldn’t very well interrogate her about who, and it took everything in me not to throw questions at her, especially since she was telling her guests that the security agent on the phone was the one who fixed the system and was now reviewing the tape.”
“It was too exciting for her to keep to herself.” I wasn’t surprised in the least and should’ve have realized this would probably happen. “Did you lecture her ear off?”
“So close… Instead, I lied and told her that the footage didn’t yield anything, hoping that she’d relay that information to her guests. She did after someone questioned the ‘Oh damn’ she muttered.”
“How did you leave it?”
“I somehow managed to control my grumbly tone, reminding myself she was an older woman and this was probably too exciting a situation for her, despite it also having the potential to be a dangerous one. Told her that I’d see her in the morning to give the system one last check to make sure it’s working.”
“Be sure you give Ruby the stern look you have on your face right now. She’ll melt into a puddle.”
“Why doesn’t it work on you?”
I laughed.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The next morning, Grey left early, but not before joking that he found his keys where he’d left them.
“If I didn’t have client issues that require my immediate attention, I’d be hot on your heels.” I waved him off, picked up my laptop, and went outside to join a scheduled online meeting.
It was almost noon before the door banged closed. “Want something to drink?” Grey yelled as he stomped toward the kitchen.
“Surprise me,” I yelled back.
Grey took a shortcut, coming out the slider from the kitchen, and closed the distance between me and him, handing me a cold bottle of water. I winked at him.
“Turns out the thief is Ruby’s grandson,” Grey announced as he sat next to me. “I also found out that the little pecker has a drug problem.”
“How did Ruby take it when you showed her the pictures?” I felt bad for her, knowing how glowingly she spoke about her family.
“She took one look and went off on a tirade, lecturing my ears off.” Grey huffed. “Respect for the fact she could be my grandmother is the only thing that held me in check. Floyd stood by with a silly smirk, reading my mind. All I said in the car was ‘payback,’ and he laughed.”
“Why was Ruby irked at you?”
“She apparently forgot that I didn’t know the guy’s identity and was mad that I didn’t divulge it in the phone call. Could I get a word in? No. She stood right in front of me and started going on about some half-baked plan she was concocting to confront her grandson on her own.”
“Did you take my advice to trot out the stern look and tell her that her idea sucked?” Judging by his evil glare, I guessed the answer was no.
“I wanted to leave her to her own bad ideas but couldn’t, knowing that she could get hurt… worse than her feelings. That’s when Gram showed. Having spied my arrival, she waltzed through the door and told Ruby, ‘Shut up and listen.’ It was like Gram had deflated her. She threw herself in a chair, arms crossed, and glared.”
“Leave it to Gram to cut through the nonsense.”
“Gram listened politely to Ruby’s plan to confront the grandson, Kash, on her own.”
“Kash, huh? Which he’s short of.” I laughed.
“That wasn’t funny.”
I made a face.
“Gram told her, ‘Of all the stupidest. You need to listen to a professional and not go off half-cocked. If you weren’t going to listen, why have me call him?’ I thought she went too far when she asked what kind of funeral Ruby wanted.”
“Love Gram. She cuts through the BS—sometimes, anyway—and gets to the point.”
“Ruby had wound down by this point and was out of fight. I offered to drive her to where her grandson was living so she could confront him with backup.”
“I take it she was amenable?”
Grey nodded. I felt bad about laughing, so I covered my mouth. I got the stern stare, which I liked.
“While I had some cooperation going, I gave Floyd a signal, and we hustled both women into the car. Floyd, the ass-kisser, charmed Ruby and got her smiling, and even to laugh a couple of times. I told him later that he didn’t have to rub it in. He told me that if I had a southern mom and mom-mom, I’d also have the skills to get back on their good side and fast if I knew what was good for me.”
“I was going to suggest that for the next old peep case, you take Gram, but heck, you’ve got Floyd.”
He turned and grinned at me. “Thankfully, it was a short drive. When we got there, the garage door was open, the motorcycle from the security footage parked inside. Kash was holding co
urt with a couple of friends, and judging by the smell, they’d been smoking weed.”
“With the garage door open? What a great way to irritate the neighbors into calling the cops.”
“Gram stepped up and told his friends to hit the road. One started to tell her off, but Floyd cracked his knuckles.” Grey laughed. “I bet they were finding out just how fast they could move.”
“His hands are like skillets; they could knock you into the next life.”
“Ruby got in Kash’s face and confronted him with the pictures. He launched himself into her arms and pled for her understanding. That’s when he confessed that he had a drug habit, aside from the weed—he likes to snort cocaine.”
“Swell.”
“Ruby wrangled a promise out of him to go to rehab and took his word that he would. Having been down this road during my cop days, I’d say chances of him following through are slim.”
Kash would only go if forced, and that wouldn’t work either.
“It was Floyd who stepped up and asked how he fenced the stuff. Pawn shop, apparently. Floyd then told Ruby that if she wanted the stuff back, to make sure Kash accompanied her, as she couldn’t redeem the items on her own. She’d need his signature. At that point, Kash smirked. I walked out before I could wring his neck and left Floyd to tie up the loose ends.”
“Don’t be mad at yourself; it doesn’t sound like there was much else you could do.”
“Kash stole from his grandmother, and when confronted, he ran a con that she sucked up, believing every word. Floyd told me on the drive back that he offered to change Ruby’s locks, and she agreed. So he’s picking up what he needs and going back.”
“The ladies are going to be happy to have a new man to fawn over.”
“I warned him not to turn his back on either woman or they’d jump him and want to go for a ride.”
I laughed, despite knowing it was true. “Everything was amicable when you left?”
“Surprisingly. Seriously happy that I took Floyd. He had more patience than I did. When I had time to think about it, I realized that the last thing Ruby wanted to hear was that her grandson was the culprit. If given the choice, she’d rather not know and let it go… although she wasn’t taking into consideration that he wouldn’t have stopped until he cleaned her out.”
Hired Killer (Biscayne Bay Book 1) Page 17