Death By High Heels (The Kim Murphy PI Series Book 1)

by Violet Ingram

  The thought of eternity was terrifying. I was a good, somewhat of a good, person, but I didn’t have any guarantees which way my soul was headed. Was my eternal resting place one giant party or someplace that required a sunscreen with an SPF of about a million?

  Kevin whimpered, drawing me out of my depressing thoughts. I knelt down beside him. His whole body jerked when I placed my hand on his arm. “It’s okay, Kevin, they’re gone.” What I didn’t say was for now. I was sure if he hadn’t already, he would soon figure it out. There was no need for me to point it out.

  “Are you sure?” He lowered his hands, revealing his beaten, terrified face.

  “Yeah. Do you think you can sit up?”

  “I think so.”

  I stood up and took several steps back to give him some room but to be close enough in case he needed help. Kevin pushed up and leaned back against the wall.

  “I’ve felt better, that’s for sure.”

  “Sorry.”

  “What do these guys want?”

  “I have no idea, but they sure as hell are determined.”

  At his questioning look I filled him in on my previous kidnapping, careful to leave out the part about finding Angie’s lifeless body in the dumpster.

  “Jeez, Miss Murphy, that’s crazy.”

  I had to agree. This whole thing was crazy. “Yeah, I just wish I knew what they wanted.”

  “So if they want you, what am I doing here?”

  Kevin was collateral damage, a witness that would need to be dealt with. “Wrong place wrong time, I guess.”

  “Story of my life.”

  “Me too. Don’t worry, we’ll get out of here.” I tried to sound more positive than I felt.

  “You think so?” he asked, sounding so hopeful.

  “Absolutely,” I lied.

  Kevin’s smile morphed into a wince as blood seeped from his bottom lip.

  “How do you feel?”

  “Like I got hit by a semi.”

  “Well, you kinda look like it too.” I smiled.

  “Good to know.” His laughter turned into a round of coughs.

  I held his hand while his body shook in time with each cough. Eventually the coughing stopped, as did the shaking.

  “Thanks.”

  “No problem. I always help my co-kidnapees.”

  “I don’t think that’s really a word. Is it?”

  “It is now.”

  I smiled and let go of Kevin’s hand. Desperate and determined to find a way out of this, I stood up and walked around the room. It was possible, though unlikely, our captors had left something behind. It took less than a minute to discover that, sadly, they had not been quite so stupid this time. With nothing left to do I sat back down next to Kevin and leaned against the wall.

  “So, how was your day?” I was rewarded with a smile.

  “I’ve had better. How about you?”

  “I hate to admit it but, sadly, I’ve had worse.”

  “Worse than this?” he asked, his eyes wide open in what I assumed was disbelief.

  “Yeah, I’m just sorry you got dragged into this.”

  “Me too, I mean…”

  “It’s okay. You should blame me.”

  “Miss Murphy, what do you think they want with us?”

  “I don’t know, but I wish to hell I did.” I laid my head back against the wall and closed my eyes. “I wish I knew.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Monday

  I opened my eyes and wiped the drool from my chin. To my left, Kevin slept curled up into a ball. The steady rise and fall of his chest was the only reassurance I was likely to receive anytime soon. A thin line of light peaked from underneath the metal door. It made me wonder if the man with the deep voice was on the other side. Was he the one in charge? Had they just dumped us here and left? Not very likely, especially after all the trouble they had gone through to bring me back here. Was there someone guarding the door in case we attempted to get out?

  None of this made any sense. If they had somehow seen me as a threat, wouldn’t they have eliminated us by now? Why just keep us here? I knew one thing. I had too many questions and absolutely zero answers. Frustrated, I stood up, relieved when my sore ankle didn’t buckle under my weight. Sometime in the night I had kicked off my shoes. My pantyhose were shredded. Looking back to make sure Kevin was still asleep, I took them off and stuffed them into my bra. As far as weapons went, they were pretty pathetic, but they were all I had. While I was thrilled our kidnappers hadn’t killed us in our sleep, I couldn’t help but wonder what they were waiting for.

  A little voice in my head was urging me to stop pacing, sit down, and save my energy. While another voice was busy telling that one to shut up and look for a way to get the hell out of this mess. With a headache, the last thing I needed was dueling voices in my head. It just figured I’d spend what was sure to be my last few minutes or hours on Earth going insane. Which I guessed would have been okay as long as I wasn’t sane enough to figure that out.

  The pacing back and forth accomplished absolutely nothing except for making me irritated as hell. I felt like a caged animal. If I ever got out of here, I’d have a lot more sympathy for zoo animals, though at least they had nice little exhibits similar to their natural habitats. Plus, besides living rent free, they also had food delivered daily and had free medical care. So maybe being on display at a zoo wasn’t half bad.

  I sat back down, careful not to disturb Kevin. Patience, according to my parents, was a virtue. Evidently it was one I had not received. If our hosts’ intent was to do nothing but wait for us to slowly unravel, I feared they were about to get quite a show.

  “How long was I asleep?”

  My body jerked at both the voice and the hand on my shoulder. Embarrassed, I used the sleeve of my dress and swiped at the sudden stream of tears. “It must be morning. There’s some light coming through the window.”

  “I bet Lizzie’s worried I never came back.”

  “The police have found your car by now. I’m sure they’re looking for us.”

  “Good.”

  “I’m thirsty,” he said. His stomach growled. “Hungry too.” He smiled.

  “Me too. Do you think they’ll bring us a menu so we can order room service?”

  “It would be nice.”

  The door opened, letting in our kidnappers, ending our conversation. Our friend, Mr. Ski Mask, entered along with his jerky partner, Mr. No Mask. They walked in and stopped at the center of the room. They had left the door open. I looked away, trying not to draw their attention any more than possible. “Great, you’re here. We were just discussing what we’d like for breakfast.”

  Mr. Ski Mask chuckled while his buddy glared at us.

  “Oh, and a shower and a change of clothes would be great too.”

  Before either could respond, a gentleman in a dark blue suit, striped tie, and expensive-looking shoes entered the room. His dark hair was graying at the temples and as he walked toward us he exuded an air of authority.

  Just great. Though I had limited fighting skills I kicked ass in self-preservation, but now, with this guy’s arrival, our odds of getting the hell out of here had just been flushed down the toilet.

  “Kimberly Murphy, I’m terribly sorry we had to meet like this.”

  “You’ll have to excuse us for not getting up.”

  He chuckled. “Of course, I’m just pleased you’re still here.”

  “Well, unfortunately, your employees learned from our previous encounter.”

  “I’m afraid your early departure was a bit inconvenient.”

  “It was a bit inconvenient for me as well.” I looked pointedly at my ankle.

  “I’m terribly sorry about your injury. If you had stayed, this whole thing could have been wrapped up and one of my associates would have taken you home.”

  What he meant was one of his goons would have taken care of me, just like they did Angie. This guy dressed and talked like a businessman, but he was a ki
ller, or, at the very least, employed killers. It was doubtful this guy got his hands dirty unless he had no other choice. “You didn’t have to go to all this trouble. You could have called.”

  “True, but sometimes a more personal touch is necessary.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek. I had a huge problem with the touching part. My family and half the Lakeview Police Department were looking for me. I just had to stall until they could find me. I faked a yawn and rubbed my eyes.

  “Sorry we’re keeping you from your beauty sleep. Not that you need it.” Mr. Suit smiled.

  Oh jeez. Did this guy really think I’d be flattered by his lame compliment? I yawned again and leaned my back against the wall, ignoring Kevin’s glare. “I certainly could use a couple more hours of sleep, or, at the very least, a pot of coffee.”

  Mr. Suit turned toward Mr. No Mask. “Go get our guests some coffee.”

  “Ooh, I’ll take two creams and two sugars.” I smiled.

  Mr. Suit chuckled before asking Kevin, “What about you?”

  “Black. Thanks.”

  Mr. No Mask glared at me before turning around and stalking off without a word. Unfortunately he remembered to close the door behind him.

  “So, what should we talk about while we wait for our coffee?”

  I had an idea about what he wanted to discuss but I had zero interest in that conversation. “The Reds won,” I said.

  “Hardly impressive, considering they lost the previous three,” said Mr. Suit.

  “Huh, you must be a Cleveland fan.”

  “Not at all, I’m just a realist. So, no love for the Browns?” he asked.

  “Hell no.”

  “Something else we have in common.”

  I hadn’t realized we had a first, but I certainly wasn’t going to ask.

  Oh hell. “What else is there?” I hated myself but I had to know.

  “You certainly are a curious one.”

  “Yeah, like a cat.” I really should have learned to shut my mouth.

  “Don’t fret. I can assure you that you won’t end up like that unfortunate creature. Besides, I have a feeling you’re quite clever. Both of my feline friends are as well.”

  A cat lover? Well, he couldn’t be all bad, then, for a kidnapping, psychopathic killer. “So we both like cats and hate the Browns. What else do we have in common?”

  Before Mr. Suit could answer, Mr. No Mask returned. Wordlessly he passed around coffee to each of us. With a cup of his own, he positioned himself next to Mr. Ski Mask.

  Before I could stop him, Kevin took a sip from his cup. “How do I know you didn’t put something in this?”

  Mr. Suit sighed. “Miss Murphy, if I’d wanted to harm you, that could have been easily arranged. I wouldn’t waste my time with poison.”

  Next to me, Kevin sputtered and coughed. I patted him on the back. “Kevin…”

  “Oh for God’s sake.” Mr. Suit walked over, took the cup from my hands and drank. “Yuck.”

  I gasped.

  “Relax.” He handed me the cup. “I take mine black. You must have one heck of a sweet tooth.”

  I took the cup from his hand and once again hesitated.

  “Now what?” asked Mr. Suit.

  “You don’t have any diseases or a cold?”

  Mr. Suit laughed. “No diseases and no colds, I swear.” He put his hand over his heart.

  He could be lying, but at this point it didn’t really matter. If I had to go out, there were worse ways to die than by coffee. I inhaled the scent and couldn’t wait any longer. I gulped down half the cup and sighed.

  “Well?” asked Mr. Suit.

  “Heaven in a cup.”

  A lifetime of Catholic church had me wincing and adding a silent prayer of forgiveness for what my grandparents would have considered blasphemy.

  “Now that we’re all caffeinated I think we should talk.”

  “We have been talking,” I pointed out.

  “Yes, well, as pleasant as this has been I’m afraid we have business to discuss.”

  “Business? You want to hire me?”

  “I may have need of your services in the future.”

  Mr. No Mask chuckled. One quick glance from Mr. Suit silenced the laughter.

  “For now I have a little problem that needs to be handled.”

  Though there was nothing menacing in the words per se, I wasn’t thrilled to find out what he wanted. Plus, not for a minute did I believe we would be having any future dealings, especially if Kevin and I didn’t have a future of any kind. Though if he could pretend we were all walking out of here, so could I.

  “Now, Miss Murphy, I’m missing something rather valuable and I was hoping you could tell me where to find it.”

  Of all the things he could have said that wasn’t one I’d expected. “What are you missing?”

  “Someone stole a small, black bag from one of my employees.”

  “What was in the bag?” I swore I couldn’t help myself. Sign me up for Nosy Addicts Are Us.

  “A list of my clients and some medications.”

  It figured drugs was the connection between them. Kevin, the poor guy, had been right. Too bad his reward for being right was an untimely death. “Yeah, well, I would love to help you but I have no idea where they are or even where to begin looking.”

  “That’s unfortunate. You see, Brian took the list and the medications and he hid them. Sadly, he died before he could tell my associates and me where they were. That list could get my clients into quite a bit of trouble. Now you see my dilemma.”

  “Yeah.”

  “So do you have any idea where we should look?”

  “I guess I’d start with Brian’s car or his…”

  “His what?”

  “His home,” I said, afraid of what would happen to Brian’s mother and sister if they came home while Mr. Suit’s goons were there.

  “Yes, we’ve already searched his car and his sister was kind enough to let us search their mother’s home.”

  “His sister?” Oh God, was she in one of the other rooms, or was she like Angie, in a dumpster somewhere?

  “Yes, she was rather cooperative at first.”

  No, no, no. People who ended up in this guy’s way had a habit of ending up dead. It was bad luck for Kevin and me.

  “It’s the least she could do after causing all this mess,” Mr. No Mask said.

  “Causing it?”

  “Yes, I’m afraid Sara couldn’t keep her mouth shut about our little business venture.”

  “She worked, I mean, works, for you? I thought she was a nurse.”

  “A home health nurse actually. We had a profitable arrangement but now that’s over.”

  Over as in he dumped her off a cliff? That was silly, we didn’t have any cliffs in Lakeview. I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes. An unwanted image of Sara in her scrubs surrounded by a pool of blood refused to go away. I blinked several times and looked up at Mr. Suit.

  “You’re shivering. Are you cold?”

  “No, I mean yes. I’m fine.” Maybe I’d have believed his concern for me was genuine if he didn’t have a body in his dumpster, and I was only ninety-nine percent sure he and his colleagues had killed Brian and Adam. Plus, Brian’s sister was missing and most likely dead. These guys had bodies piling up all over town.

  “It would be very bad for me and my clients if the police got ahold of that,” he said, staring me in the eyes.

  Oh crap. He knew. Somehow he had figured out my connection to the police. “As far as I know, the police don’t have what you’re looking for.”

  “Excellent.” He clapped his hands and smiled. “I really need to find my bag. Now.”

  “Look, I really don’t know anything else.”

  “I understand.” Mr. Suit turned and looked at Mr. No Mask. He nodded his head before turning back to me.

  Mr. No Mask tossed his coffee cup across the room and walked over to us. I braced myself but gasped when he grabbed Kevin and
yanked him up by the arm. Kevin shouted and tried to break free but he was out-muscled and outmatched. Meanwhile, Mr. Suit pulled a gun from his pocket and pointed it in Kevin’s general direction.

  “Wait. Don’t!” A completely stupid idea popped into my head but I didn’t have anything to lose at this point. “Lindsay’s apartment.”

  “Sorry, but that has already been searched.” He gestured to Mr. No Mask.

  “Not completely. Did you check the oven?” I asked.

  All four heads turned and looked at me, wearing identical confused expressions.

  “Well, did you?” I asked.

  Mr. Suit looked at his employees. Both shook their heads no.

  “So, why, Miss Murphy, do you think what I’m looking for is in the oven?”

  “I’m assuming Sara was Mrs. Kanisky’s nurse. Right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, Mrs. Kanisky didn’t use her oven for at least six months before she died.”

  “I’m missing the point.”

  “You’ve obviously not met Lindsay.”

  “I can’t say I’ve had the pleasure,” Mr. Suit replied.

  “Trust me, there’s no pleasure.”

  “If you have a point, please make it.”

  “Oh, right, well, anyway, if Lindsay wants food, she orders it. She probably has more restaurants on speed dial than all four of my brothers combined.”

  “So you think Sara or Brian hid my things in Lindsay’s oven?”

  “Yes. It makes perfect sense.”

  “Boss, maybe we should check it out,” Mr. Ski Mask said. Once again his voice sounded familiar. I couldn’t figure out where I’d heard it before.

  “It sounds pretty stupid to me,” said Mr. No Mask.

  “That’s ’cause you’re stupid,” Mr. Ski Mask said.