Hidden Deception: A Shelby Nichols Adventure

by Colleen Helme

  Inside, I spotted Dimples at his desk and hurried over. He was on the phone, but he smiled and motioned for me to sit down. He finished his conversation and hung up, then glanced at me with narrowed eyes.

  “That was Chris,” I said.

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “He just wanted to let me know a client of his would be coming in this afternoon. You know anything about that?”

  “Sure. I know everything.” I tried not to smile and gave him an apologetic shrug. “Do you think you can wait until then to find out?”

  “Hell no,” he said. “Why can’t you just tell me?”

  “I don’t know. Attorney-client-consultant privilege and all that?” He shook his head in exasperation, so I cut him some slack. “How about I tell you on the way to get our Dirty Johnnys, and you can tell me about your lead?”

  “All right.” He huffed out a breath. “Let’s go.”

  He slipped his jacket on and we headed out. Just then, the chief spotted us from his office. He yelled Dimples’ name and motioned us both inside.

  “How’s the investigation coming?”

  “It’s good,” Dimples answered. “We’re close. Just following up a lead now.”

  “All right.” He sighed. “Bring me something. We need to close this case.” He was getting pressure from the mayor to solve more cases, especially in light of the rising murder rates in the city. He’d made the mistake of telling the mayor about my involvement on this case, and what an asset I was to the department, so he really needed us to solve it.

  “We will,” I said.

  “Fine. Get out of here.”

  We left the building and I sighed. “Talk about pressure.”

  “What?”

  “He told the mayor I was helping with this case, so we need to solve it, or his reputation… and mine, are ‘dust in the wind’… uh… his thoughts, not mine.”

  Dimples smirked, thinking that was pretty funny. “All right, then let’s do this.” We got in the car and pulled out onto the road.

  “I did a little digging on the name Harper,” he explained, “and found a Harper Construction Company. But get this… remember the development going on behind Bella’s Bakery?” I nodded, and he continued. “Jake Harper owns it. He’s the one developing the property. I also found out that he’s been trying to buy that piece of land ever since he started the development several years ago, but they wouldn’t sell.”

  “Whoa. So you think he was using Lincoln to collect on their debt so they’d lose everything?”

  “Yes, exactly. And when Lincoln tried to do that, he met with them and had a change of heart, probably because of their little girl. When Harper found out, he must have been angry enough to kill him for it.”

  “That makes perfect sense.”

  Dimples nodded. “Right now, Harper’s construction office is on site. So I thought we’d pay him a visit, and you could find out if it’s true.”

  “Do you have enough evidence to arrest him?”

  “Not really. All of the evidence is circumstantial, but if we can establish his whereabouts at the time of death, we could possibly tie him to the murder. Other than that, we might need a confession, or at least we need to find out if there’s someone else involved who knows something and is willing to talk.”

  “Dang,” I said, feeling the pressure. “It looks like it’s up to me. So… I’ll do my best.”

  “Hell yes! You’ll nail him. I’m sure of it.”

  I smiled at Dimples’ enthusiasm, but I couldn’t help the nervous twinge in my stomach. Confronting a killer didn’t sound so good to me. Of course, I’d certainly done a lot of that lately, so maybe I was good at it.

  Plus, I had to remember that Dimples was a cop, and he was armed, so it wasn’t like I was alone in this. Even if Harper didn’t like what I said, there wasn’t much he could do about it with Dimples standing there, right?

  Dimples pulled the car into the driveway, but with the tall security fence in the way, we couldn’t go any further. One of the workers came through the gate, telling us to move our car out of the way. Dimples explained that we were with the police and needed to speak with the management.

  After showing the worker his badge, we were allowed inside, and the worker pointed us to the parking lot where the offices were located. The large, mobile office looked like a mobile home with a metal staircase coming down from the door.

  We climbed the steps, Dimples pulled the door open for me, and I walked inside. The cramped office space held the secretary’s desk on one end, and another door with Harper Construction on the other side. Dimples told her we were with the police and looking for Jake Harper.

  “The police? What for?” she said, surprised. She was sure they had all the permits in order, so it couldn’t be that. Had one of the workers filed a complaint? One of the guys had been injured on the job, but that wouldn’t involve the police.

  “We just need to ask him some questions about a lawyer,” Dimples said. “Lincoln Montgomery. Did you know him?”

  “Um… I’m not sure who that is.” But she remembered Lincoln. He had come in a few times to talk to Harper. The last time had been the day he’d died. She’d heard them yelling in Harper’s office, and when Lincoln left, Harper was furious. But if she told us, would Harper fire her?

  “That’s strange,” I said. “Several people saw Lincoln come in here the morning he died. Are you sure you didn’t see him?”

  “Oh… yeah. Now I remember. He did come in that morning.” She sighed and decided to tell us everything. “He and Harper had a huge fight, but I don’t know what it was about.”

  “Where is Harper now?” Dimples asked.

  “He’s out on the project somewhere. But he shouldn’t be far. Let me have Erwin take you to him.” She picked up a walkie-talkie and spoke. “Erwin, please come to the office. Erwin, come to the office.” A minute later, he responded that he’d be right there, and she set the receiver down. “He’ll be here in a minute. But you’ll have to put on a couple of hard hats and some safety glasses before I can allow you on site.”

  She pushed away from the desk and turned to a small mountain of yellow helmets on a shelf in front of the window. She handed two of them to us, along with the safety glasses, determined that the cops wouldn’t have any reason to cite the company for a violation. Just then, the door opened, and Erwin stuck his head in.

  “Will you take these people to Harper?” she asked.

  “Sure boss,” he said with a wink, then he told us to put on our hard hats and follow him.

  I slipped my hat on and found that it was a little on the big side. It wobbled all over my head with every step I took. I’d probably get injured wearing this hat before anything fell on my head. Of course, the safety glasses were too big, too, and kept sliding down my nose.

  With one hand holding the hat on my head, I followed behind Dimples and Erwin. He led us deep into the project, and then across another parking lot to a huge building that was mostly metal. It was open on the outside with finished floors on the inside. With all this walking, I thanked my lucky stars that I’d worn my sneakers.

  Erwin led us inside the building to a safety elevator that was like a big cage and slid the door shut with a lever. He told us Harper was on the third floor and held down a red button. As we slowly ascended, I wasn’t sure I liked the cage part and was grateful to stop and get out of there.

  Loud sounds of drills and other equipment assaulted my ears, and we had to step around a few workers who hardly gave us a second glance. Erwin led us toward a couple of men speaking together in the middle of the room. They both wore hardhats, but the one dressed in khakis and a nice button-up shirt looked in charge and had to be Harper.

  They turned to glance at us, and Harper’s eyes narrowed, then widened as he caught sight of Dimples’ badge at his waist. He quickly excused himself from the other man and came toward us.

  “Jake Harper?” Dimples asked, extending his hand, and speaking loudly. “I’m Detective Harris,
and this is my partner, Shelby Nichols. We’d like to ask you a few questions.”

  Harper shook his extended hand and smiled pleasantly. “Sure, what’s this about? I’ve got all the permits in my office if someone’s complained.”

  “Oh, no. It’s nothing like that,” Dimples assured him. “We just have some questions about a lawyer by the name of Lincoln Montgomery. We know you met with him a few times, is that right?”

  Harper let out a breath and shook his head. “Yeah. I heard he was killed. Let’s go over there where it’s not so noisy.” He led us past the elevator and through a doorway onto the other side of the building where most of the work was already done.

  He stopped to face us with his lips drawn in a tight line. “I felt pretty bad when I heard he’d been killed, but I figured it was over that list. Did you know about it? The debt list?”

  “Yes we do,” Dimples answered, surprised that he was being so straightforward.

  “Well, I was one of three investors who bought the list to begin with. That sort of thing is a gamble, but it’s a good way to earn a little extra money without doing anything. Anyway, we hired Lincoln through a lawyer at our law firm, Cohen, Larsen and Pratt… uh, I guess it’s changed now with a new partner, but that’s the firm.

  “So, if you ask me, I’d guess that someone he’d been trying to collect the money from decided to kill him rather than pay. You should go over that list. It’s got to be someone on it. But that’s all I know. I’m sorry I didn’t come forward with it sooner, but I’ve been busy here.”

  I could not get a read on this guy. He was sticking so close to the truth that it was hard to discern anything else in his mind.

  “We’ve come to the same conclusion,” Dimples said. “That’s why we’re here. We found a link from that list to your development.”

  “What?” he asked, trying to sound surprised, but this time I knew he was faking it.

  Dimples glanced at me, wondering if he should continue. I nodded, and he turned back to Harper. “Lincoln was trying to collect money from that little bakery right in the middle of your development.”

  “So… you think they did it?”

  “Not at all. In fact, Lincoln told them he’d forgiven their debt. Must have been their sick little girl that changed his mind. Anyway, the person who stood to gain the most is you. When Lincoln told you he wouldn’t go through with it, you killed him.”

  Harper shook his head in denial. “No way. You’ve got it all wrong. Sure I wanted that property. This whole plan was based on buying out everyone on the land, but we can work around one little shop. At least that’s what I told the man who’s backing the whole development. It’s his money on the line. He’s the one you should be looking at, not me.”

  “And who would that be?” Dimples asked.

  My breath caught, and my mouth went dry. Oh no! I willed him not to say it, but it was too late.

  “Joseph Manetto, the owner of Thrasher Development. You know he has ties to organized crime, right? He’s the one you should be talking to. Not me.”

  Chapter 14

  I wanted to shout that he was lying. Then I wanted to tell him it wasn’t a good idea to throw Uncle Joey under the bus, because it would get him killed. Instead, I clamped my mouth shut and took a moment to gather my wits, not about to let him accuse Uncle Joey.

  “Mr. Harper,” I began, throwing a shade of disbelief into my voice. “That can’t be true. We checked the records. Thrasher Development doesn’t own this property. You do. It’s under your name.”

  His direct gaze caught mine, and he thought that I’d better not mess this up for him. He’d never meant to kill Lincoln, but at least Manetto was the perfect fall guy. The cops should love it. So why hadn’t we fallen for it? At the very least, it should put us off his trail long enough for him to figure out his next move.

  “Well yes, technically I do,” he answered. “It’s under my name because that’s how Manetto does business, but he’s the one who put up the money for it. I tell you, if anyone killed Lincoln, Manetto was behind it. If you need my help to nail the cold-hearted bastard, I’d even be willing to testify about our business dealings.”

  I sucked in my breath. Now he’d gone too far. Uncle Joey may be a mob-boss. And he may have other failings, but he wasn’t a cold-hearted bastard. A sudden urge to scratch out his eyeballs came over me, so I clenched my fists to keep them still and let out a breath to calm down.

  Dimples glanced my way. He’d caught my gasp and noticed the anger on my face. What was going on? Was it Manetto? And I felt bad about it? He had to admit that Harper’s reasoning made sense. But he wouldn’t put it past this guy to pin it on Manetto, either. So right now, he didn’t know what to believe.

  “That’s…” Ridiculous? The stupidest thing I’ve ever heard? A death wish? “That’s… uh… interesting. But before we get sidetracked, can you tell us where you were on the night Lincoln was killed?” Since I didn’t know the exact date, I let Dimples fill him in.

  “That was a while ago,” he said. “So I don’t remember for sure. I’ll have to check my calendar.”

  “Okay,” I said. He opened his mouth to tell me I was wasting his time, but I held up my hand to stop him. “Look. I think it’s time we stopped this little charade, Harper. We both know you killed Lincoln. You went to his office to get him to see reason, but he refused to listen. You then threatened to collect the debt yourself, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He told you the list belonged to him, and you couldn’t take it away.

  “He told you that the bakery owners didn’t deserve to lose everything after what they’d been through with their daughter, and he wasn’t about to let you, or anyone else, tell him what to do about it. That’s when you lost it. He told you to get out, and you turned toward the door, like you were leaving. When he turned his back, you picked up the fire extinguisher and hit him over the head as hard as you could.”

  Harper’s eyes widened with astonishment. That’s exactly how it happened, but how did I know? I must be a good guesser. Yeah, that’s all it was. He’d cleaned up after himself. There couldn’t be any physical evidence linking him to the crime.

  Then he thought of the gold paperweight, but quickly dismissed it. Nobody knew where it came from. Hell, nobody knew it had belonged to Lincoln, either. He didn’t even understand why he’d taken it in the first place. It was a stupid, crazy thing to do. But when he’d seen it on Lincoln’s desk, he just had to have it. It was like a trophy. Now he knew he never should have touched it. Still, his secret was safe.

  It also hit him that he’d made the right choice to leave the list. If he’d taken it like he’d wanted to, he would have been caught for sure. Because of that, we had nothing to pin on him. And I was just blowing hot air to make him crack, but he wasn’t about to do that.

  “Where’s the gold paperweight? You know we’ll find it.”

  Harper gasped in astonishment. How did I know about that? He swore a blue streak in his mind and wondered what the hell was going on.

  I turned to Dimples. “You need to arrest him and get a search warrant for his office. There’s a solid gold paperweight on his desk that belonged to Lincoln. It should have both of their fingerprints on it. With everything else we have, I think it’s enough for probable cause.”

  Dimples nodded and took out his handcuffs. “You have the right…”

  “No!” Harper panicked and shoved Dimples, then made a dash for the back of the room intending to run down the stairs. Dimples tackled him, and they both slid across the floor, closer to the exposed edge than I liked.

  Continuing to struggle, Harper broke Dimples’ hold and took a swing at him. Dimples threw up his arm to block the punch and hit Harper in the stomach. His breath whooshed out, and he stepped back, so close to the edge that it wouldn’t take much for him to fall right out of the building.

  “Stop!” I yelled. “You’re both going to fall!” Knowing Dimples might need my help, I grabbed my stun flashlight from my purse, and inch
ed closer to them, hoping I could get a chance to use it.

  I picked up that Harper knew how close to the edge he stood, but he wasn’t about to give up, deciding it was him or the cop. With steely determination, he grabbed Dimples’ arm by the sleeve and held on while taking another step back. Dimples ripped his arm away from Harper’s grip, and Harper lost his balance, falling backwards.

  At the last moment, Dimples reached out and grabbed the front of Harper’s shirt, holding him there on the edge for only seconds before his weight began pulling Dimples closer to the abyss. Harper’s face twisted in panic, and he grabbed ahold of Dimples’ arm and wouldn’t let go, tipping the balance.

  With a little scream, I rushed to grab Dimples’ other arm with both hands and pulled with all my might. My hardhat slipped off my head and bounced along the floor to fall over the edge, but my added strength turned the balance my way. With a tremendous heave, we all fell into a heap of arms and legs on the floor. Panting heavily, Harper rose to his hands and knees, then scrambled to his feet.

  Before he could take a step, I grabbed my stun flashlight from the floor where I’d dropped it, put it to his leg and pushed the button. He gave a yelp and jerked with spasms, then fell unconscious to the floor.

  Dimples swore heavily in his mind, thinking how close that was. His gaze caught mine, and his eyes widened. “Uh… sorry.”

  “It’s okay. Besides, you’re right. That was close, and he is a greedy little bastard.”

  He smiled, causing those dimples of his to do their happy little dance that always fascinated me, and I grinned back. Then he stood and finally got his handcuffs locked around Harper’s wrists. “So it was him all along. Good thing you figured it out.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed.

  “I’m going to call it in and get some back-up.”

  I nodded and let him get to work. As I stood, my legs shook a little. I hadn’t been sure I could stop them from falling, and visions of us all going over the edge with my hardhat made me a little light-headed. Swallowing my fear, I shuffled toward the inner wall where it was safe and sat down.