Killer Investigation

by Amanda Stevens

  “It was Green Taxi,” Reid said. “I remember the driver’s name. It was Louis.”

  “Shouldn’t be too hard to track down. Maybe he saw something after he dropped you off.”

  “It’s certainly possible.”

  Graham gave Arden a brisk nod. “Miss Mayfair.”

  “Detective.”

  She moved back beside Reid as they watched Graham depart. Once he was out of earshot, she said, “Not exactly the friendly sort, is he?”

  “I get the distinct impression he doesn’t like our kind.”

  “Our kind?”

  “People who grew up South of Broad. Trust fund babies.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Who does? Half the time, we can’t even stand ourselves. Not that my trust fund is anything to write home about these days. Once work begins on Berdeaux Place, I’ll be lucky to have two nickels to rub together.”

  “And I’ve been disowned so...”

  They shared a knowing look before she turned back to the street. “What was he doing here anyway?”

  “Graham? Just what I said. He’s investigating a homicide in the area.”

  “The homicide?”

  “Yes.”

  Her eyes widened. They looked very green in the morning light. “You never said anything last night about the murder being in your neighborhood.”

  “I didn’t think it relevant.”

  She said incredulously, “Not relevant? Are you kidding me? After all our talk about the magnolia blossom found at the crime scene?”

  Reid tried to downplay his omission. “I figured I’d already dropped enough bombshells on you for one night. I was going to tell you, just not right away.”

  Her gaze narrowed before she turned back to the street. “What did you tell the detective?”

  “There wasn’t much I could tell him. I don’t know anything.”

  “Why did he come to see you?”

  “He’s talking to everyone on the street, apparently.”

  “Then why did he get in his car and drive off just now?”

  “What is this, an inquisition? I don’t know why he drove off. Maybe I was his last stop. I didn’t ask for his schedule.” Reid watched her for a moment as she watched the street. “Why are you here? Something tells me you didn’t just drop by.”

  “No, I came for a reason,” she admitted. “I have a proposition for you.”

  “A proposition? For me?” He ran fingers through his hair as he gave her a skeptical look. “The guy you couldn’t get rid of fast enough last night?”

  “That’s not true. Things started out a bit rocky. You did catch me by surprise, after all. I wasn’t expecting to see anyone in the garden, least of all you, and then you dropped your bombshells. Was I supposed to welcome you with open arms after that? I was a little preoccupied in case you didn’t notice.” She paused, slipping her hands into the pockets of her dress as she gave him a tentative smile. “The evening ended well enough, didn’t it?”

  He had been trying not to think about that kiss. The way she’d instantly parted her lips in response. The way, for just a split second, she’d melted into him. No one could melt like Arden. No one had ever made him feel as strong and protective and at the same time as vulnerable. “I guess that depends on one’s perspective,” he said.

  Her smile faded and she grew tense. “I didn’t come over here to pick a fight.”

  “Okay.”

  “I just...” She seemed at a loss as she closed her eyes and drew in a long breath. “Do you smell that?”

  “You mean the jasmine? It’s all over my neighbor’s fence. Gets a little potent when the sun heats up.”

  “No, Reid. That’s the scent of home.”

  Something in her voice—or maybe it was the dreamy look on her face—made it hard for him to keep up the pretense that her presence had no effect on him. He said almost sharply, “You didn’t have jasmine in Atlanta?”

  “Of course we did, but not like this. Not the kind of fragrance that sinks all the way down into your soul. There’s no perfume in the world that can touch a Charleston summer morning.” She hugged her arms around her middle as she drew in the scent. “I’ve missed this city. The gardens, the people, the history.”

  “Since when did you become so sentimental?”

  “I get that way now and then. Comes with age, I guess. I even have my maudlin moments.” She turned with her perfect Arden smile. “Would it be forward of me to admit that I missed you, too?”

  Now it was Reid who had to take a deep breath. “Forward, no. Suspicious, yes. What are you up to, Arden?”

  “Let’s go inside and I’ll tell you all about it.”

  He nodded and had started to turn back to the door when he spotted a familiar figure across the street. Dave Brody stood on the sidewalk, one shoulder propped against a signpost as he picked at his nails with a pocketknife. He dipped his head when he caught Reid’s eye and gave him an unctuous grin.

  “Go on in,” Reid said. “I’ll be right back.”

  Arden followed him to the edge of the porch. “Where are you going?”

  “Wait for me inside. This won’t take a minute.”

  He hurried down the steps and across the street. This time Brody didn’t run away. He waited with that same oily smile as Reid approached.

  “Morning, Counselor. Mighty fine company you’ve got waiting for you over there on your front porch.” He nodded in the direction of Reid’s house and then lifted the hand with the knife to wave at Arden.

  Reid glanced over his shoulder. Instead of going inside, she lingered on the porch, watching them from the shade. He could almost hear the wheels spinning inside her head. He turned back to Brody. “I told you last night, she’s off-limits. That means don’t wave at her. Don’t talk about her. Don’t so much as glance in her direction.”

  “Touchy, aren’t we?” Brody pushed himself away from the post. “And I told you I have no interest in your girlfriend so long as you help me get what I want. I gave you the night to make your decision so here I am.” He spread his arms wide as he moved toward Reid, displaying his ominous tattoos. “What’s it going to be, Counselor?”

  Reid frowned. “Not so fast. Did you have anything to do with a police detective showing up at my door this morning?”

  “No, I did not, but I’m flattered you think I have that kind of sway, considering my background and all. I couldn’t help noticing the good detective—Graham, was it?—didn’t look too happy when he drove away just now.”

  “How do you know his name?”

  Brody gestured with the knife. The action seemed innocent enough, but Reid had no doubt it was meant as subtle intimidation. “He’s been hanging around the neighborhood ever since the body was found. Surprised you didn’t know that. Been preoccupied, have you?”

  Reid wasn’t buying any of it. “Are you sure you didn’t say something to him? Maybe put a bug in his ear that caused him to come sniffing around my place?”

  “Now that sounds downright paranoid. You’re the lawyer. Don’t it stand to reason he’d be talking to everyone in the neighborhood? Of course, it could be that word has already gotten out about your activities on the night in question. Or...” Brody shaded his eyes as he peered across the street. “Maybe someone else put that bug in the detective’s ear. The same someone who’s trying to set you up. Seems to me like you’ve made a powerful enemy in this town.”

  “And just who is this enemy?” Reid demanded. “Does he or she have a name?”

  Brody dropped his hand to his side and shrugged. “How would I know? I’m just a guy who happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

  Reid thought about that for a moment. “Okay, let’s say I do have an enemy. If this person is already talking to the police, then how does it benefit me to help you?”

  “A fair question,
but you’re forgetting something, aren’t you? I have photographs that prove someone drugged you. I believe that’s called exculpatory evidence? And then there’s the matter of some video footage that happened to come my way.”

  Reid’s pulse quickened even though he wasn’t about to let Brody prod him into a reaction. “What footage?”

  “I’ll be happy to email you a copy for your edification, but for now a little preview will have to do.” Brody took out his phone. “Amazing what they can do these days. Sure is a lot fancier than the one I had when I got sent up.” He scrolled until he found what he wanted. Then he moved into the shade and held up the phone so that Reid could view the screen.

  The video was grainy and greenish, like the feed from an outdoor security camera. Reid appeared in the frame and stood silhouetted at the entrance of the alley. Then he ducked under the crime scene tape and walked quickly to the spot where the body had been found, crouching beside the bloodstains as he glanced up to scour the windows and balconies that overlooked the alley. In actuality, he had been wondering if anyone had heard the victim’s screams, but to the police, it might appear that he had come back to the scene of the crime to determine whether or not he’d been seen.

  “I’m not a cop, but that looks mighty incriminating to me,” Brody said.

  Reid glanced up. “Where did you get this?”

  “Like I said, it just happened to come my way and I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.”

  “That video doesn’t prove anything.”

  “Maybe, maybe not, but people get convicted on circumstantial evidence every day of the week. No one knows that better than me.”

  “Your situation was completely different,” Reid said. “The evidence against you was overwhelming.”

  Brody looked as if he wanted to dispute that fact, but he let it pass with a shrug. “You’re right. The video and those photographs won’t send a guy like you to prison, but at the very least they can instigate an uncomfortable conversation with the cops. A perp walk is all it would take to scare off a sizable portion of your clientele. But there’s no need for it to come to that. You help me find Ginger Vreeland and nobody sees any of this but us.”

  Reid glanced over his shoulder. Arden was still on the front porch waiting for him. He could imagine the questions going through her head. He nodded and gave a brief wave to let her know he’d be right there. “Even if I could find Ginger Vreeland after all these years, do you think I’d give you her name and address so that you can terrorize the poor woman?”

  “You’ve got me all wrong, Counselor. I’ve got no beef with Ginger. She had to claw and scratch for everything she got just like I did. If somebody made her an offer she couldn’t refuse, I can’t fault her for taking it. I would have done the same thing in her place. All I want to know is who paid her to leave town and why. If it was Boone Sutton, then I want to know what she wrote in that little black book of hers every time he came calling. I bet, deep down, you’d like to know that, too.”

  “You’ll never touch him,” Reid warned.

  “We’ll have to see about that, won’t we? Like I said last night, the best place to go looking is in his personal papers. A little birdie tells me that your mama spends a whole lot of time all by her lonesome in that fancy house on Water Street. I bet she’d dearly love a visit from her one and only son.”

  “Leave my mother out of this.”

  “That’s up to you. If you can’t or won’t finish the job, then I’ll have no recourse but to have a little chat with Mrs. Sutton. Find out what she knows about her husband’s affairs. No pun intended.” He went back to work on his nails with the pocketknife.

  “All right, you win,” Reid said. “I’ll do what I can to find Ginger Vreeland, but she’s been gone for ten years. The trail is ice-cold by now. I’ll need some time.”

  “I’ll give you till Friday. If you haven’t made what I deem as sufficient headway, we’ll have to reevaluate our arrangement. But fair warning, Counselor.”

  Reid waited.

  Brody’s gaze hardened as he moved out of the shade and stood peering across the street at Arden, running his thumb along the sharp edge of the knife blade. “I wouldn’t go getting any ideas about trying to double-cross me. I have friends in low places. You know the kind I mean. Hardscrabble guys that would slit a man’s throat—or a woman’s—for not much more than the loose change in your pocket.”

  Chapter Six

  “Who is that man?” Arden asked as Reid came up the porch steps.

  “No one.” He pushed past her and opened the front door.

  “Didn’t seem like no one to me. From where I stood, it appeared the two of you were in a pretty heated exchange.”

  “He’s an ex-client,” Reid said. “No one you need to worry about.”

  She gave him a long scrutiny. “Really? Because you sure look worried.”

  “Didn’t you say you have a proposition for me?” He stepped back and motioned for her to enter, catching a whiff of her fragrance as she glided by him. The top note was honeysuckle, but he’d never been able to place the softer notes. He thought again of raindrops. And sunshine. Darkness and light. That was Arden. She’d always been a walking contradiction. An irresistible riddle with a killer smile.

  Her timing was lousy, though. He considered making some excuse to send her on her way, but he didn’t like the idea of her being out on the street even in broad daylight with Dave Brody lurking nearby. Smarter to keep her inside until Brody had had time to move on.

  She hovered in the foyer, suspended in a sunbeam as her gaze traveled from the front parlor into his office and then up the stairs, just as Detective Graham had done before her.

  “So this is your new place.”

  He checked across the street and glanced both ways before he closed the door. Despite Brody being nowhere in sight, Reid had a feeling he hadn’t gone far. “What do you think?”

  Arden shot him a look over her shoulder. “You want my honest opinion?”

  “I would expect nothing less from you.”

  “You’ve got your work cut out for you. I would advise a gut job, but at the very least, the floors will need to be refinished and the windows replaced. The electrical and plumbing will undoubtedly cost a small fortune to bring up to code, and then you still have the less costly but time-consuming tasks of scraping wallpaper and painting drywall. But...” She turned with gleaming eyes. “I love it, Reid. I really do. The millwork is beautiful and the location is perfect. And all this natural light.” She stepped into his office and went straight for one of the long windows that opened into the side garden. “This is my favorite style of architecture. I used to dream of owning a house like this. Do you remember? Berdeaux Place always seemed so oppressive to me.”

  “I remember.”

  Her gaze turned playful. “You always wanted something sleek and glamorous on the waterfront.”

  “I had that for a while. I discovered it didn’t suit me at all.”

  She gave him an inquisitive look before turning back to the window. The yellow dress left her tanned back and shoulders bare. Reid had to tear his gaze from her slender form. Too many memories floated between them and his mind had a tendency to linger in dark places when he thought too much about the past. He needed a clear head to deal with Dave Brody. Needed to remain focused if he wanted to stay a step ahead of the police. And to think his life had been relatively uncomplicated just two short days ago.

  “Do you want something to drink?” he asked. “I have some iced tea in the fridge.”

  “That sounds divine. The walk over was longer than I anticipated.”

  “You’re not likely to cool off in here,” he warned. “I’ve been meaning to get someone in to check the AC, but I’m spread a little thin these days.” He picked up the detective’s water bottle and carried it into the kitchen. Then he got down two tall glasses an
d poured the tea, taking his time until he had his mask back in place. “I have a couple of cases that have been consuming most of my time,” he said in a conversational tone as he came back into his office and placed the drinks on his desk. Arden had already taken a seat, looking as comfortable as could be with her legs crossed and hands folded in her lap. One of the straps of her sundress had fallen down her arm. Reid had the urge to slide it back into place with his fingertip. Or to tug it all the way down with his teeth.

  Yes, way to stay focused.

  Arden seemed oblivious of his attention. Swiveling her chair around, she gestured to the file boxes strewn across the floor. “All that for just two cases?”

  “One of them could be a class action.”

  “That’s exciting.” She leaned in to claim her glass and the strap slipped lower, revealing more than a hint of cleavage. Reid tried not to stare, but damn.

  “What is it?”

  “Nothing.”

  “You seem distracted.”

  “No, I’m all yours.”

  She looked doubtful. “I suppose we should get down to it then. I don’t want to take up too much of your time.”

  He nodded. “Whenever you’re ready.”

  She settled back against her chair. “My uncle Calvin was at Berdeaux Place last night. I ran into him in the garden. He said he’d been working in the greenhouse.”

  Reid frowned. “At night?”

  “That’s what I said, too. It just seemed odd. But considering his strained relationship with Grandmother, I would have been surprised to see him there at any hour.”

  “How did he get in?”

  “He said he’d been letting himself in through the side gate so someone must have given him a key. Maybe Grandmother made arrangements before she died. I don’t know. But, evidently, he’s been coming by every evening to take care of Mother’s cereus.”

  “Her what?”

  Arden made a dismissive gesture with her hand. “It’s a night-blooming cactus. Some call it a Queen of the Night. When it blooms, the scent is out of this world.”

  “You people and your flowers,” Reid muttered.