by Mary Ellis
Kate stared at him with her mouth open. ‘Was one of them dark-haired and -eyed, wears glasses, and doesn’t see the value of a daily shower?’
‘That would be Charley Crump, who I believed to be the mastermind, not your brother.’
‘And the other man very skinny with kind of reddish hair?’
‘That was Jimmy Russell, someone Liam met when he went to Juvenile Hall. How would you know that if you have no memory of that night?’
‘Let’s leave that alone for the moment. You knew who they were but they still went free?’
‘As I said, Miss Weller, I didn’t have a shred of evidence connecting them to the hold-up or the shooting. And neither of them spent copious amounts of money in the years since. If they robbed that armored car and got away with it, what happened to the half-million dollars that went missing?’
Kate exhaled through her nostrils. ‘I have no idea. Maybe it’s in some offshore account. Which one of them do you think has been my stalker?’
‘Well, it definitely isn’t Jimmy Russell. He shot himself while hunting three years after the hold-up. The coroner listed the shooting as an accidental death, but I always thought it a suicide. Maybe he couldn’t live with himself after killing that guard. And that could be why he never spent all that money.’
‘Then it must be this Charley Crump. If he masterminded the robbery, he’s probably the one who’s afraid I’ll regain my memory.’
‘Doubtful. Charley Crump doesn’t have the mental wherewithal to rig a car with an explosive device. Even an armored car robbery was way out of his league. He’s your average smash-and-grab kind of criminal.’
Kate sat silently for a moment. ‘Then it has to be the third man in a red plaid flannel shirt, the one who knocked out Liam.’
Mendez’s chin snapped up. ‘What on earth are you talking about? Your brother was the third man. One of his pals knocked him out and he took the fall for them.’
Knowing there was no way around it, Kate told the detective about her two sessions with a hypnotherapist and then waited for him to break into hysterics. That never happened.
‘I heard about hypnotic regression to restore suppressed memories, but they’ve never helped me solve a cold case.’ He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
‘I had my doubts, too, until you confirmed the two men I saw were Charley Crump and Jimmy Russell, two of Liam’s cronies. If I accurately described those two, then the third man – the one who knocked Liam out – wasn’t a figment of my imagination either.’
‘What did he look like?’ Mendez leaned forward in his chair.
‘That’s just it. I listened to the recording the therapist made several times, and I just plain didn’t get a good look at him. All I can tell you is he was average size and wearing a red plaid flannel shirt.’
‘Was he with Crump and Russell in the stolen car that crashed into the armored car?’
‘I hadn’t arrived on the scene yet. Neither had Liam.’
‘And your brother didn’t see who hit him?’
‘No. When he came to, the gun was in his hand and everyone else was gone.’
Mendez pulled the case file towards him. ‘So this fourth gang member probably took the loot and instilled serious fear in the other two. He, most likely, is your stalker and the mad car bomber.’ He rummaged through the papers. ‘Looks like my cold case is officially reopened. I’ll go have another chat with Charley Crump and ask someone to look at the Russell shooting with fresh eyes.’
‘What about the other armored car driver – the one who ran off? Could he have been in on it?’
‘I spent hours keeping an eye on him. After the heist he took a short medical leave, but was back on the job two weeks later. The guy has no police record, married to his high-school sweetheart with two kids, lives in Ensley, and goes to church every Sunday. I ran a check on his financials for years, but no windfalls of cash ever surfaced.’
‘So what can I do to help, Detective?’ Kate asked.
He stared at her. ‘Find a safe place to stay until this is over with and don’t let anyone near your car. This is a job for the police, not a private investigator.’
‘But I could—’
‘No, Miss Weller. You’ve already helped by telling me about the fourth man. Although let’s hope I never have to testify in court as to how I came by that information. Juries usually aren’t open-minded about things like hypnosis, past-life regressions, and out-of-body travel.’
‘It was a present-life regression. I don’t believe in reincarnation and I certainly never left my body.’
‘Whatever, you get my point. Do you need to be placed in protective custody?’
‘That won’t be necessary. I have a bodyguard provided by my pals at the agency. I ditched him to come here alone.’
Mendez stood and handed her his card. ‘Take this and call me if you get any more threats. And, in the meantime, no more ditching the bodyguard. You’ll need him until this is over.’
‘If I’m not safe, neither is Liam. Bad things happen all the time in maximum security prisons.’
‘I can’t move him to a safe house, but I’ll check into the situation. Right now, I’m walking you to your car to make sure the undercarriage is clean.’
Kate left the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office with a bad feeling deep in her gut. She’d had this sensation before. It was fear. But this time it was for Liam, a brother she’d all but given up on.
ELEVEN
When Kate got back to her hotel room, Eric was sitting on her sofa. ‘Did you get fired already, Manfredi? Some master chef you are.’
He didn’t so much as smirk at her joke. Instead Eric picked up his phone and tapped a few keys. ‘Good evening, Miss Weller. Pour yourself something to drink and make yourself comfortable. I just sent Beth a text. She will be calling you in a few minutes.’
‘Why would Beth be calling me now?’ Kate asked, glancing at her watch. But she already knew the answer.
Eric fixed her with a cool stare. ‘Business was slow tonight, so when the boss told me I could leave early, I had the waitress ring up two shrimp dinners, which I then cooked. I thought we could eat supper down by the pool. But when you weren’t here, I realized that me being your bodyguard wasn’t working.’
‘So you alerted Beth and Michael?’ Kate perched on the arm of the couch, her drink forgotten.
‘Yes and not just them. I called your boss too,’ Eric muttered through gritted teeth. ‘I care about you, Kate. Since that means nothing to you, I called the other people who care about you. Maybe you’ll listen to one of them.’
Kate felt her cheeks grow warm as her eyes stung with tears. ‘I care about you too.’
‘You sure have a strange way of showing it.’
‘I went to see Tony Mendez, the detective who investigated Liam’s robbery–homicide sixteen years ago.’
Eric dropped his face into his hands. ‘You’re even more reckless than I thought.’
‘What I am is embarrassed by this whole business with my brother. You already got caught up in this once. I won’t have you killed because of my family.’
Eric sat for a minute, immovable. Finally, he stood and walked toward the door. ‘Maybe Beth can talk sense into you, because I’m done here. Not everything is your decision, Kate.’ Then he was gone.
Kate felt frightened and nervous. Not for her safety, but because she had pushed Eric to the edge. It had only been a matter of time. There was good reason why she’d never had a serious romantic relationship at her age. If her phone hadn’t rung, she would have cried herself silly.
Picking up her phone, she held it a couple of inches from her ear. ‘Hello, Beth.’
‘Don’t you “hello” me. Did someone drop you on your head as a baby? What’s the matter with you?’
‘There are too many things to list. Let’s cut to the chase, shall we?’
‘All right then, let’s. Why won’t you let Eric back you up while you’re gallivanting all over P
ensacola?’
‘Back me up? Eric doesn’t even carry a weapon.’
‘Actually, he does.’
‘You gave him one of your guns, a gun he doesn’t even know how to use? How totally irresponsible.’
‘No, Kate. I didn’t give Eric anything. He brought his own weapon from Charleston and knows exactly how to use it. Now, I’m going to talk while you listen.’ Beth paused to see if she had the guts to argue, but Kate did not. ‘You agreed to work with Eric or Michael and I never would have left. We’re up to our eyebrows on a new case and can’t drive to Florida until Friday, at the earliest. As much as I don’t want to, you’ve left me no choice but to ask Nate to fire you. You don’t know how to be part of a team.’
The sincerity in her friend’s tone turned Kate’s blood to ice water as the one thing she wanted more than anything evaporated before her eyes. No, make that two things – her job and Eric, because he was as good as gone too.
‘I won’t stop seeking the truth about my brother’s case,’ Kate said feebly.
‘I realize that, but without Price Investigations footing the bill for your expenses, you’ll be forced to get another job and only investigate on your free time. I’m still willing to help on the weekends, except for the one I’m getting married.’
If Beth had been trying to make her feel guilty, she couldn’t have done a better job.
‘Please don’t call Nate. I’m willing to change, if you give me one more chance.’
Beth sighed with exasperation. ‘Will you work strictly on the Westin homicide with Eric and leave everything else until Michael and I get there?’
‘I would, but Eric has already washed his hands of me. He stormed out of here ten minutes ago.’ After her true confession, Kate burst into tears.
‘You’ll get no pity-party from me, girlfriend. You had that coming.’
‘I know,’ Kate wailed. ‘Could you talk to him? Please, Beth? Eric will listen to you.’ She sat for a full minute, listening to the icemaker replenish cubes, while noise from the pool dwindled to one country music station.
‘I could, but I won’t. If you want to salvage whatever it is you have with that man, walk down to his room and beg for mercy. Do it tonight before he checks out and heads back to his sane life in Charleston.’
Kate hiccupped. ‘I’m going right now. Will you still be awake if I call you later?’
‘You think I could sleep while your entire life implodes?’ Beth screeched. ‘Yes, call me later. And good luck.’
Kate heard the click as her call to action. Without washing her face or refreshing her makeup, she blew her nose and marched out her room, not bothering to grab her key card. At Eric’s door she knocked with conviction. When no one answered, Kate knocked again, fully prepared to keep knocking until the door opened or the manager appeared with an eviction notice.
‘Okay, okay, hold your horses.’ The door opened a few inches, revealing Eric in sweat shorts and a T-shirt. ‘Can’t a guy heat up his dinner?’
‘Not unless he has enough for a neighbor who’s lost her two best friends in the whole world,’ Kate said meekly.
Eric crossed his arms. ‘That would be Beth and Michael?’
‘No, Michael thinks I’m a crazy-woman. That would be Beth and you.’
‘I also think you’re a crazy-woman.’
‘No argument here, but hopefully you’ll let me apologize while we eat shrimp and rice.’
The door remained at six inches. ‘I need to know exactly what you’re sorry about.’
‘For going back on my word to you and Beth.’ Kate hesitated, finding the second part harder to say but far more important. ‘And for letting my personal baggage keep you at arm’s length. I swear I don’t want to do that anymore.’
‘I’m not looking for commitment, Kate, only the assurance you’ll let me help you.’ Eric spoke softly, but with the clarity of a man who knows his mind.
‘I understand. I want your help on the Westin case and with my brother’s mess. And most of all I want your friendship.’
‘All right. First we’ll eat, then we’ll call Beth. We’ll have a four-way discussion of what you learned tonight from the detective and how she and Michael think we should proceed. Do you agree?’
‘I do, with my whole heart.’
Then the door, along with her second chance, swung open.
After eating dinner on his balcony, Kate punched in Beth’s number and put her phone on speaker. Beth did the same for Michael’s benefit. Kate filled everyone in on what she learned from Detective Mendez, including his decision to reopen the cold case. Next she reassured Beth and Michael that Eric would accompany her everywhere except to the ladies’ room and brought them up to date on the Westin case.
‘So Lainey’s fiancé struck you as an upfront kind of guy?’ Beth asked after Kate finished.
‘Yes, apparently Agnes had threatened to disinherit Lainey many times over the years. This was nothing new. Plus Lainey inherited a big chunk of cash from her grandfather.’
‘And Steve Rivera told us he has plenty of money,’ Eric added to the conversation. ‘Although I’d like Michael to verify that if he gets a chance.’
‘No problem,’ Michael interjected.
‘So who does that leave?’ Beth demanded.
‘Okay, let me review,’ said Kate. ‘Kim Westin had plenty of motive, but no access to the house or boat that day. Mark Harris had tons of access but no motive. In fact, Agnes’s death seriously crimps his future plans. If it turns out Rivera is as loaded as he says, we need to look at the household staff. According to Rivera, one of them had a problem with Agnes in the past – the housekeeper. She could still be carrying a grudge.’
Eric took control. ‘Kate and I will return to the Westin home first thing tomorrow. The house sits empty, but the staff is maintaining the property until after probate. Hopefully, Lainey paid them while she was there.’
‘Kate, do you agree with this plan?’ Beth asked.
‘Yes, of course I do. I will go nowhere without Eric.’
‘He has our blessing to duct-tape you to a chair if necessary, including a wide piece over your mouth.’
‘You’ve made your point, Beth.’
‘Good. We’ll try to get there Friday night. Now turn off the speaker, hand the phone to Eric, and walk away, Kate.’
Kate couldn’t hear a single word being said, but she could see Eric’s face from the bathroom doorway. He listened, then smiled, then laughed; then finally all the color drained from his face.
That evening they swam in the pool and watched an old movie on TV, but Kate didn’t have the guts to ask about Beth’s final instructions.
Eric volunteered no information, not that night nor on the way to Mrs Westin’s in the morning. To pass the time, Kate called Lainey with a case update and to make sure she’d paid the hired help. She had. Once they pulled into the driveway, Eric was first to break the silence.
‘Who should we question first? We still haven’t talked to the cook. She’s still on the payroll and would’ve had access to the picnic hamper that day.’
Kate climbed out of the car. ‘True, but I doubt that she’s here today. Who on earth would she be cooking for? Plus the cook got along well with Mrs Westin, according to the gardener. Let’s talk to him again and then track down the housekeeper.’
‘He sure had a bug up his nose. You take the lead, boss,’ Eric added.
They found the horticulturist in a tidy cottage behind the garage, sharpening his shears and clippers with a grinding wheel. Seeing the array of sharp objects didn’t imbue Kate with extra confidence.
‘Excuse me, Mr Chapman, Kate Weller and Eric Manfredi. Could you spare us a few minutes?’
Frowning, Chapman turned around with a scythe in his hand. ‘I remember who you two are.’
‘Wow. I’ve only seen one of those in old movies.’ Kate pointed at the tool. ‘What on earth do you cut with it?’
‘Nothing, not for a long while. But I want to be rea
dy if the neighbor lets his yard turn into a pasture again. I won’t have every kind of varmint nesting close to my roses. Now what do you want?’ he snarled.
‘First, you’re going to put down that tool,’ said Eric. ‘Then you’ll lose the bad attitude. We had enough of it two days ago. Then you’re going to answer this lady’s questions, either the easy way or the hard way.’ Eric loomed over the gardener like a storm cloud.
‘Fine, no need to get huffy.’ Chapman placed the scythe on the workbench. ‘What do you want to ask?’
Kate choked back a smile. ‘First, tell me about the blow-outs you had with Mrs Westin. After all, the woman wasn’t easy to get along with.’
Chapman squinted, peering from Kate to Eric. ‘Don’t know who you been talkin’ to, but I never argued with the old lady. She paid so much better than the rest, I just said “yes, ma’am” and “no, ma’am” to any cockamamie request she had.’
Eric resumed his benign posture. ‘Then tell us who did have a grudge.’
Chapman glanced down at his dusty boots. ‘Man, I don’t like stirring up trouble.’
Kate poked his shirt with her index finger. ‘You don’t have much choice. Start talking.’
He lowered himself to a stool. ‘Mrs Westin overheard Luisa – she’s the housekeeper – talking to Betty – she’s the cook – that her son couldn’t find work as a carpenter. And that if he didn’t find a job soon he’d have to go back to Mexico. Well, Mrs Westin butts in and offers Luisa’s son a job as a handyman. She had a long list of repairs she wanted done around this place.’
‘What kind of work?’ asked Kate.
‘Everything from painting all the bedrooms, to cleaning gutters, to adding on to the sun porch. Mrs Westin asked to see his work visa because she didn’t want trouble with the INS and Luisa gives her a photocopy.’ Chapman pulled off his cap and ran a hand through his gray hair. ‘Mrs Westin saw that it had expired, so she calls the Immigration office. She thought since Miguel had a job, there wouldn’t be a problem getting the visa renewed.’