Random Acts of Greed: Holly Anna Paladin Mysteries, Book 4

by Christy Barritt

  “I can’t say. It’s complicated.”

  “Tell the police. They’ll protect you.”

  “I can’t do that. Like I said, it’s complicated.”

  I needed to keep her talking until I got some answers. She’d put me in this situation. The least she could do was help. “Why’d you leave Jonah with me?”

  “He’s safer without me . . . or so I thought. I should have known they’d find him.”

  She’d mentioned the elusive “they” again. I needed to know who. “Who? Who found him?”

  “I’ve got to go. My time is up. I’m afraid my call is being traced.”

  Panic surged in me. I couldn’t lose her now. “By whom?”

  “I’ve gotta go. Find Jonah. Please.”

  Guilt thudded inside my chest. “I’m doing my best. But I have no idea who snatched him. Is there anything you know that will help me find him?” I rushed, hoping she wouldn’t hang up.

  “It’s complicated, Holly.”

  That was the third time she’d said that. And what was that emotion in her voice? I couldn’t read it, and I was usually good at reading people. “Did you kill Gage, Katie?”

  “No, I was set up.”

  “His blood was found on Jonah’s car seat carrier. Your footprint was near his body. You fingerprint was on the gun . . .”

  “I was set up. Please help me.”

  “Katie, you need to give me more to go on here.”

  “You won’t believe me.”

  “Why?”

  She gasped. “Holly, I’ve got to go. Please, find Jonah. Please.”

  The line went dead.

  I sat in a stunned silence, still grasping the phone in my hands.

  Who could have set Katie up in Gage’s death? Heathcliff was the only person who came to mind. But if he had done it, why?

  Was Gage going to write his article, exposing Heathcliff, even if it meant incriminating his girlfriend and baby mama in the process? It was a possibility.

  Another theory raced into my mind. What if Katie was working with Heathcliff and trying to throw me off her trail by calling me now? The uncertainties tugged at my mental well-being. If I could just find one solid lead . . .

  That reminded me that I needed to get started with this investigation. Now that someone had snatched Jonah, I had nothing to hold me back and every reason to move forward. I’d deal with my aches and pains later.

  Where did I start?

  I glanced around the kitchen. With tea, I decided. I wanted some tea.

  After letting the water boil in the kettle, I fixed some oolong with a touch of cream and stevia. I turned on some Frank Sinatra—because he always made everything better. Then I sat down with some homemade scones I’d baked this past weekend.

  I took a bite of my scone. It crumbled around my lips, but since there was no one home, I didn’t really care. My mom was out showing more houses this morning.

  I took a sip of tea and came back to my original question: Where did I start with this?

  Chase had warned me to stay away from Heathcliff. It wasn’t completely out of the realm of possibility that I’d speak with him, but I needed to figure out if there were any other places I could start first.

  I’d still like to talk to Katie’s babysitter. She was someone who’d most likely seen Katie five days a week. She might have a pulse about what was going on in her life. But I had to figure out who she was first.

  I grabbed a tablet from the hutch beside me, jumped on GregsList, and I began scanning through the ads there since Samantha said this was where Katie had found her.

  A lot of the ads were still scrambled, just as they’d been when Jamie and I looked earlier. This site really needed to work on their design a bit. That ad for bulk orders of juice boxes was still there, just waiting for a VBS organizer or preschool director to seize the opportunity.

  I started at the top of the list of childcare providers and began making phone calls. Five calls in, and I’d had no luck. Sixth time’s a charm?

  Six, seven, and eight were dead ends also. But on the ninth call I found my first real lead.

  “I’m calling about someone named Katie Edwards,” I started, just as I’d started the past eight conversations.

  The soft-spoken woman on the other end hesitated. “Are you a friend? I’ve been so worried about her. She was supposed to bring Jonah in this week, but I haven’t heard from her. She sent me a text saying she was going out of town, but that just seems so unlike her.”

  “I am a friend, and I’m worried about Katie also. I was wondering if I might stop and ask you a few questions. I’m trying to find her.”

  “Of course. I’m only watching one little girl today for a while. Could you come by at two, after she’s gone home?”

  “Yes, that’s fine. Thank you.”

  She rattled off the address, and I hung up. Finally, maybe I had a lead.

  I hoped I did, at least.

  Chapter 23

  “I used my connections at the newspaper to find out two things for you,” Jamie announced when she came over a few minutes later. She was fresh from jogging and still wearing her cute new workout clothes, which was fine with me. I was just glad she was here and that I had someone to rehash all of this with.

  I sat down with her at the kitchen table. “What did you learn?”

  “First of all, I’m glad you’re here. I was afraid you might do something crazy like going into work or something.”

  I shook my head. It was Friday, and I’d already missed the earlier part of the week. I knew I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to jump back into office work.

  “Ralph already knows that I won’t be able to concentrate until Jonah is found. He said to take as much time as I needed.” That was the one plus to working for my brother. The job wasn’t as demanding as social work had been.

  “It’s a good thing you put in so much overtime for him on a normal basis. I guess he has no reason to complain.”

  “That’s what I keep telling myself. Now, please, go on.”

  “Second, I learned some things about the blonde woman who died last night. Her name was Morgan Bayfield, and she worked at the local jail.”

  I’d just started picking at a taco croissant ring that was left over from the meal train at church. Jamie now had my full attention, though. “Worked at the jail? Doing what?”

  Jamie gulped down some more vinegar water before sucking in a deep breath. “A nurse. She was thirty. Raised in this area. Single with no kids. I couldn’t find any connections between her and Katie or Gage—but that doesn’t mean they’re not there.”

  I chewed on that for a minute. “Heathcliff has a record. Maybe the two of them met while he was in jail.”

  “It’s a possibility. As far as I can tell, Morgan had no prior history—she probably couldn’t get a job at the jail if she did. In fact, everyone thought she was upstanding. Her mom is sick—needs a kidney transplant, apparently, and most of Morgan’s time was devoted to caring for her.”

  “Then why was she involved in all of this? How was she involved, for that matter?” Jamie was right—she didn’t seem like the type to get mixed up in something illegal.

  “I have no idea.” Jamie chugged more water. “Something really weird is going on.”

  “You can say that again.” I crossed my arms, feeling like we were on the verge of discovering answers. We had to plan our next moves carefully. “She was definitely the person who was following us, and she had met with Chase. Why?”

  “You could ask him.”

  I frowned and pulled off a flakey layer of croissant. “I have a feeling he’d say he can’t tell me.”

  She spread her hands across the table, a look that clearly said she meant business. “We’ll talk about that later. Because I have more. I talked to a reporter at the Ledger also. He was a friend of Gage’s.”

  I sat up straighter. “Okay . . .”

  “He said Gage was working on a story and was acting secretive. When thi
s guy asked Gage about it, he got really defensive. Said it was a private matter.”

  “So he has no idea what it was on?” I knew it was connected with Bo. I just didn’t know how exactly.

  Jamie shook her head. “No idea.”

  I bit down, trying to put the pieces together and figure out the next step. That led me to only one logical conclusion. “I say we go talk to Heathcliff next. He seems like a good link.”

  “I’m up for anything. But the things I’m learning are putting me on edge. We could be digging into some ugly stuff.”

  “We’ve dug into some ugly stuff before.”

  “That’s true. We’ve survived. I’m worried sometimes that we’re pressing our luck.” She made a face.

  “There’s no such thing as luck. We’ve got angels watching over us.”

  “You preach it, girl.”

  I stood. “Now, let’s go track down this Heathcliff guy and see what we can find out.”

  Heathcliff Caswell lived in an apartment in a rough area near downtown. His complex was a huge brick building with litter clinging against the sides and patchy grass where flowerbeds were meant to thrive.

  After we had looked up the address, Jamie convinced me not to wear a dress. Instead I’d thrown on some leggings and a tunic, along with some ballet flats—but only because she’d told me high heels were too hard to run away in. She had a point. She still wore her shiny spandex exercise outfit, so she was ready to jet if the need arose.

  When I spotted the people loitering outside the building, I was glad I’d listened to her. It was never a good sign when groups of people gathered outside during the middle of the day and seemed to have nothing better to do rather than watch people come and go. That usually led to trouble and showed people who were territorial and, therefore, often dangerous.

  I wouldn’t be here—except I hoped to find answers about Jonah. Maybe even evidence that he’d been here.

  Jamie and I pushed past the crowd, ignoring the wolf whistles and catcalls, and knocked on Heathcliff’s door. I fully didn’t expect him to answer. To my surprise, he did.

  Heathcliff looked as I’d envisioned him from his pictures. He was tall and lanky and wore his jeans about four inches too low. He had scrawny facial hair. Dark, sporadic strands that contrasted with his pale skin almost made him look sickly. A diamond earring and a black trucker hat completed his look.

  He blinked when he saw Jamie and me on the other side of the door. It was almost like he was expecting someone. But not us.

  His eyes narrowed as he assessed us. “Can I help you?”

  “We need to talk to you about Katie Edwards.” I glanced behind him, desperate for a glance of Jonah. But I didn’t see any signs that he was currently here or that he’d ever been here. No baby stuff lay around nor did the scent of dirty diapers linger in the air.

  “What about Katie?” Heathcliff’s voice was full of undue attitude.

  I had a feeling it wasn’t just reserved for us, but that this was the way he always spoke.

  “We’re looking for her,” Jamie said. “Worried about her. Worried about Jonah.”

  “You think I know something? You think Katie talks to me?” He pointed to himself and jerked his chin inward. “I don’t know nothing.”

  “We think she might be in trouble,” I continued, trying to somehow reach him.

  His gaze volleyed from both of us. “You the police?”

  “Just friends who are worried. The police don’t really dress like this.” I ran my hand down the length of my sheep-printed leggings.

  He studied us both. “I don’t remember Katie ever talking about you two. I think I’d remember Little Bo Peep and her Diana Ross sidekick.”

  “Did you talk to her a lot?” I tried to turn the questioning around on him and take the attention off of us. Information was key here—and I was not Little Bo Peep, although I could suddenly see why he and Katie got along so well. They both loved giving people unflattering nicknames.

  Heathcliff’s gaze burned into me. “No, not a lot. But enough. I knew most of her friends. You work with her or something?”

  I shrugged, trying to remain levelheaded. “I knew her in high school. We went to church together.”

  Though I’d known Katie when I was younger, our connection only went as far as the church. She’d never brought her boyfriends with her, nor had we socialized outside of youth events at the church. Because of that, I’d never seen Heathcliff before, and I had to assume he’d never seen me either.

  He nodded—if raising his chin could be considered a nod—as if that explanation made sense. “So you lost your peep and don’t know where to find her?”

  “Very funny.” Actually, it was quite clever.

  “What do you want to know?” He looked outside the door as some of the crowd gathered near his building got louder. It almost sounded like a fistfight was going to break out. “You need to come in.”

  I stepped inside but remained close to the door, just in case I needed to make a getaway. This would afford me the opportunity to get a better look in his apartment, which smelled like trash that hadn’t been taken out for weeks.

  As Heathcliff sauntered across the room, I saw a gun tucked into his waistband. My throat suddenly felt like sandpaper. Our lives were in his hands right now. We had to proceed carefully.

  He plopped down on the couch and picked up a beer. Five empty cans rested on the end table, and I couldn’t help but wonder how many he’d gone through just today.

  My eyes fell on something else. Another gun rested on the kitchen counter on the other side of the room.

  I cringed as a second surge of anxiety rose in me. “When did you last talk to Katie?”

  “Saturday evening. She asked me to meet her at Club 21.”

  “What did you fight about there?” Jamie asked.

  He gave her a sharp glance. “How’d you know we fought?”

  “We’ve been following Katie’s trail since Saturday evening,” I said. “The bartender there told me. Told me you got kicked out.”

  He hoisted up one shoulder, and his eyes smoldered. “It’s like I told the cops yesterday, I was trying to get her to leave that Gage jerk. The two of us were meant to be together. She knew it. She didn’t think I’d be good with her little brat, though.”

  My insides churned when I heard him talking about Jonah like that. But I had to stay focused. “Is that the only reason you wanted her to leave Gage? Just so you could date her? Or was there more to it?”

  “She’d never be happy with Gage. I just wanted her to see it. He wasn’t going to settle down for her. He’s the kind of guy that likes to string girls along.”

  He was the second person who’d said that about good old Gage.

  “What did Katie say when you told her that?” I asked.

  He puckered out his lips in an exaggerated frown. “She got all emotional. And then mad at me. Told me to leave her alone. Said Gage was an honorable man.”

  “Had they been having problems lately?”

  He took another swig of beer before crushing the can in his hands and tossing it behind him. “You could say that. I mean, she didn’t tell me any details. It was just my impression. Apparently, he was buried deep in some story he was writing. She didn’t tell me that either. I overheard her on the phone outside the bar that night.”

  “What was she saying?” My blood spiked with anticipation.

  “Said for the baby’s sake he needed to let it go.”

  “Let what go?”

  He shrugged. “No idea. She didn’t spell it out. But she seemed real worried. Whatever it was, it wasn’t worth risking anyone’s life over.”

  “You posted something on one of your social media accounts that evening about Katie,” I said. “You said: Some women just string you along in an effort to get their way. They ain’t worth it. Now or ever. Good riddance. What did that mean?”

  “You really do your research, don’t you, Peep?” He shrugged. “Katie just wanted a g
un. She didn’t care about me. It was all about what I could do for her, and that evening proved it.”

  Was he angry enough about that to try and kill her? Had Gage interceded and been killed? “You know Gage is dead now, right?”

  I watched his reaction.

  He grimaced, almost snarled. But then his shoulders slumped. “Yeah, I heard. I didn’t have nothing to do with it. In fact, I have an alibi for that evening. The police already checked it out. I’m into a lot of bad things in my life, but I ain’t ever killed no one.”

  I shifted my weight from one foot to another before changing the course of the conversation. “Heathcliff, did you ever wonder if Jonah was yours?”

  His eyes locked on mine. “At first, I did. I paid for her to have a paternity test. Turns out the baby was Gage’s. That was part of the reason she wouldn’t leave him. Said she wanted to do better than her own mom. She wanted her baby to know his dad. She wanted more for Jonah than she’d had growing up.”

  Jamie crossed her arms, looking as uncomfortable as I felt as we stood in the middle of his dirty, stinky, weapon-laden apartment. “But you have no idea what kind of article Gage was working on? Or if he was involved in something else dangerous?”

  He shook his head. “No, I have no idea.”

  “How about Morgan Bayfield? Do you know her?” I asked.

  No sign of recognition flashed across his face. “No, never heard of her.”

  “Thanks for your time,” I finally said.

  “I hope my Katie girl is okay. I really do love her. If someone hurt her, I just might have to hurt them.”

  Chapter 24

  At two o’clock, Jamie and I showed up at Sarah Sullivan’s house, just like I’d said we would. As we stood on her porch waiting for her to answer the doorbell, I glanced around. This place struck me as the home of someone who was struggling to make ends meet. The red bricks out front were cracked. The cement covering the porch below me was dingy. A tiny plastic slide was the only flowerbed decoration.

  Sarah answered the door on the first knock, and I could see the lines of worry around her eyes. The woman was probably in her fifties with faded blonde hair that stretched halfway down her back. She was slim, even though the baggy clothes she wore weren’t flattering to her frame and made her look a bit deflated.