Chapter 32
Smoke clouded the cramped room. Looking through a folder, Detective McCallister took a long drag on a cigarette.
“So what do you make of this Grantham guy?”
Annoyed, the other man, Detective Hoffman, fanned the smoke out of his face. He was tired of these fucking young punks sucking on these cigarettes and blowing smoke in his face. Damned room was like being inside a fireplace.
“I talked to him the day we found his wife. I don’t know. He seemed extremely distraught at her funeral.”
“Yeah, the guy passed out in front of everyone.”
Hoffman shrugged. “So? The guy’s wife had just burned to death in a terrible fire. Seems to me he should be pretty upset.
McCallister nodded. “Yeah, I get that, but what about the pill bottle found at the scene? That seemed staged to me. The coroner’s report also indicated that there were cuts to her wrists.”
“Yes, but only we know that. That information is not being released to the public. Perhaps she was attempting suicide and a fire broke out.”
McCallister ground his cigarette in the ashtray. “Are you kidding me? Who would want to burn to death in their own house? Would that really be a suicide?”
Hoffman rolled his eyes. “Of course, it could be. She was getting older, not so attractive anymore, she’s on antidepressants and they’re not working. So when her husband is out of town she starts thinking about how her life isn’t what she thought it would be. She pops a bunch of pills, gets in the bathtub and an electrical short causes a fire. Boom. There you have it. An accidental suicide.” He folded his arms across his chest.
McCallister snorted. “Are you serious? Accidental suicide?”
The older detective nodded. “Sure. Look, the guy had nothing to gain by killing his wife or torching his home. The insurance policy on Lisa was only $500,000.00. The home was worth twelve million. Harrison Grantham is worth a billion. He didn’t need to kill her or burn his house for that amount of money. Besides, the insurance company reported he hasn’t even called to collect.”
McCallister tapped his head with a pen. “Yes, I know, but maybe he wanted her out of the way for some reason.”
Hoffman became annoyed. “What reason?”
The young detective shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. I think there’s more to it though. Perhaps we should look into Mr. Grantham a bit more.”
“McCallister, you are a young detective. You can’t just grab theories out of your ass and launch a full-scale investigation based on them.”
“Well, Detective Hoffman, you tell me then. You have a fabulously wealthy, good-looking man and a not-so-pretty wife. What do you think a man of his age might be looking for?”
McCallister leaned forward to stare at him.
Hoffman sighed. “I don’t know, McCallister. What I do know is that Mr. Grantham has a lot of connections in this department and in the prosecutor’s office. He’s one of the last people you should be harassing. Got it?”
McCallister shook his head, looking at the reports in front of him. “I still say there’s more to this woman’s death than just faulty wiring.”
Hoffman stood up. “Listen, as your superior, I am telling you to back off Grantham. There’s nothing there. Man lost his wife to a tragic fire. Leave him alone.”
McCallister lit another cigarette. “Fine, okay. But if something comes up, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Hoffman leaned over, grabbing the cigarette out of his hand. “And another thing, I am sick of you guys smoking in here! Can’t you read? The sign says NO smoking.” He threw the burning cigarette into McCallister’s coffee cup.
Asshole, McCallister thought.
Chapter 33
Six months passed. Harrison’s guilt and sadness over his wife’s death quickly faded as he and Reese began to shop for a home together. They had narrowed down their choices to a few multimillion-dollar properties on the Gold Coast. As for the girls, Lisa’s parents had requested that they go back to New York with them for a while until the publicity surrounding Lisa’s death abated, so Harrison flew to see them every weekend. He had not yet introduced Reese to them or his family. Reese was delighted with the prospect of living with Harrison full-time. Meanwhile, they had been going out to the most expensive restaurants in Chicago and traveling to Vegas and LA for short getaways. Reese felt just like Cinderella living the high-life with the man she’d always dreamed of marrying.
One afternoon, while Harrison was at work, Reese was scheduled to meet with a decorator to discuss what color scheme she might like in one of the two homes they’d selected.
Reese was swiping mascara on her lashes when she heard a knock at her door. Thinking it was the decorators, she casually pulled her hair into a ponytail as she went to open it.
Two men wearing dark suits stood in her doorway.
“Can I help you?” she asked in a friendly voice, thinking they were lost or something.
“Are you Reese Vogel?”
“Yes, I am. Why?” She was puzzled.
“Ms. Vogel, I am Detective McCallister and this is Detective Wilson. We are with the police department. We would like to come in and ask you a few questions.”
Reese stepped backward. She felt faint.
“What is this regarding?”
“We have a few questions for you regarding your relationship with Harrison Grantham.”
The two men stood there, and one of them had a thick folder in his hands.
“I’m sorry, you must be mistaken. I don’t know anyone by that name.” Reese started to shut the door.
McCallister shoved his foot in the door. “I think you do, Ms. Vogel.” With that, Wilson pulled out several photos of the two of them together at several Chicago restaurants. It was abundantly clear that it was, indeed, her in the pictures with Harrison.
Reese froze. She then stepped back and allowed them in.
She led them to a long table in the study. “Have a seat.”
The two men sat down. McCallister was the more attractive of the two with short dark hair and green eyes. He had a muscular build like he worked out a lot during his time off. He appeared to be in his mid-to-late thirties. Wilson was older, mid-forties with a thin build. Both men wore dark-blue suits with ties.
McCallister passed her several pictures of Harrison and her together. “Ms. Vogel, how long have you known Mr. Grantham?”
“A while.” Harrison had instructed her not to speak to any law enforcement, or to give very vague answers if any.
“Why do you want to know?” Reese asked, picking at her pink cashmere sweater.
“Well, I think you know Mr. Grantham quite well. What is your relationship to him?” Wilson asked.
“We are old college friends. That’s all. I heard his wife had passed and met him for a drink.”
“I see.” Wilson nodded.
McCallister leaned forward. “So you went to Harvard then, Ms. Vogel? Quite a feat for a former Teasers bikini model and Miss California Sun.” He tossed several of her bikini pictures and one of her calendars at her.
Pursing her lips, she gazed down at the photos. “So, are you saying I can’t be beautiful and smart? Pretty sexist, don’t you think?” She cocked her eyebrow at him.
“Maybe, but I’m not interested in rehashing the women’s rights movement. What I am interested in is getting to the truth.”
“I am telling you the truth.”
McCallister smirked. “No, Ms. Vogel, you are not. I happen to know you went to Northwestern where you majored in marketing. You also have an MBA from them as well.”
“So if you know all this why are you asking me?” Reese felt fury burning in her chest.
“You are aware that Mr. Grantham’s wife was found dead six months ago?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Well, we would like to talk with you further, Ms. Vogel, about your involvement with Mr. Grantham. Maybe you could come down to the station with us.”
“Why? Did Mr. Gra
ntham do something? Did I?”
“We didn’t say that. We are just attempting to sort a few things out.” Wilson answered.
Reese stood up. “Look, I haven’t done anything wrong. I will not answer any more questions without my attorney.”
McCallister smirked at her. “Are you sure, Ms. Vogel? We have been watching you and Mr. Grantham for a long time. I know exactly what I need to know about both of you. Make this easy on yourself and just answer a few questions.”
Reese nearly fainted. “I want you both to leave now. Unless you have a warrant, then you have no right to be here.”
“Looks like Blondie here has done her homework.” McCallister smirked at Wilson. Standing up, they gathered their paperwork.
“Ok, Ms. Vogel. Have it your way.”
Reese walked the officers to the door.
“Here’s my card, Ms. Vogel. If you think of anything, call me. I’m sure we will see each other again soon.” McCallister gave her a sarcastic smile.
As soon as they left, Reese texted Harrison.
Get over here asap. It’s an emergency.
What is it?
I need to see you now. It’s an emergency, please hurry.
Ok. Be there in 15.
Twenty minutes later, Harrison burst through the door. “What? What is it?”
He found Reese sitting on the bed, crying.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
Silently, Reese handed him the detective’s card.
“What the fuck is this?” Harrison scanned the card and tossed it onto the counter.
“They wanted to know about us. Our relationship. They had photos of us together at restaurants, at O’Hare getting off the airplane… everything, Harrison. They know where you went to school. They had my old modeling pictures. Oh, God, oh, God… what do we do?”
Harrison breathed deeply. “What did you tell them?”
“I just said you were an old friend from college. I was vague, but they knew we didn’t go to college together. Finally, I asked them to leave.”
Harrison nodded. “Good. Never talk to them without an attorney present.”
“What does this mean, Harrison? Why did they ask me first and not you?”
“Because they were hoping you would crack before I would. Look, if they had anything, they would’ve had warrants. It’s bullshit.”
Reese took his hands and held them to her chest. “Please promise me it will be okay. Things were going so well.”
Harrison kissed her hands. “It will be, baby. I meant to tell you, I put an offer in on that house on Greenview Avenue.”
“Really?” Reese squealed with delight. She threw herself onto his lap and flooded his face with kisses.
“Yep. It was a very generous offer, and my agent tells me that it should be accepted soon. So we will be moving within a few months!”
Reese jumped around and squealed with joy. “I’m so excited, Harrison! You are making my dreams come true!”
Harrison loved the sparkle in her eyes. “Let’s go to dinner tonight to celebrate.”
Reese nodded. “Sounds fantastic! Where?”
Harrison pulled her close to him. “How about the Greek Islands?”
Stunned, Reese embraced him closely. “Oh, my God! Are you serious?”
Harrison nodded, beaming. “It’s time that we get away from all the doom and gloom. I have taken the liberty of booking us a private jet.”
Reese’s mouth fell open.
“And I have another little something for you.”
Just then, Reese’s doorbell rang.
“Go see.”
Tickled with pleasure, Reese ran to the door.
“Delivery for Ms. Vogel.” The driver held out a slip for her to sign.
It was several huge boxes.
Tearing open the boxes, she discovered a new set of Louis Vuitton luggage.
“Oh, my God, Harrison, these are beautiful!”
Harrison took her hand. “But don’t bother to pack, my love. We will fill them while we are in Europe.”
Reese swooned. “Europe? How long? When?”
Harrison chuckled at her enthusiasm. “Yes. However long we want. I was thinking about a month. We leave now.”
Reese smothered Harrison with kisses. “This is unbelievable!”
Harrison called the concierge to retrieve their bags as he swept Reese up into his strong arms. He carried her out into an awaiting limo as opposed to his Aston Martin.
Already, a fine bottle of Dom Perignon was chilling in a silver bucket when they slid into the opulent, stretch limousine.
“Oh, Harrison, this is perfect! Absolutely perfect!”
Pouring her a glass, he turned to her. “Well, I think we just need to relax and enjoy ourselves. We have got to get away from all this. You haven’t been to Europe or the Greek Islands before, so I thought this trip was long overdue.”
Sipping her champagne, Reese crossed her long tanned legs. Running her hands over the rich black leather, squeezed tightly against Harrison, she had never felt more like a princess.
She ran her hands through his hair and kissed him on the neck. “Baby, I hate to bring this up, but what about all this nonsense with the police?”
Harrison waved her concerns away. “It’s not a big deal. I will handle that when we get back. Now, let’s just relax and get ready for the most romantic adventure of our lives.”
Reese smiled as he ran his hands up her skirt. “Nothing underneath?”
“Of course not, handsome. I’m always ready for you.”
Harrison moaned as he began rubbing her bare wetness. She groaned with pleasure. “Oh, baby, keep doing that.” She rolled her head back exposing her long graceful neck. Harrison slowly ran his tongue across her neck to her collarbone, kissing her atop her cleavage. Unzipping her dress, he buried his face in her ample cleavage, his lips seeking out her nipples beneath her lacy bra.
Slowly, the limo pulled to a stop. The driver opened their door and they both nearly fell out. The top half of Reese’s dress was unzipped to her waist and her bra was off. Harrison was laying upon her. They both looked up surprised.
“Oh, I am sorry, Mr. Grantham, but we are at the airport.” The young male driver blushed deeply.
Scrambling for her bra, Reese managed to pull the top of her dress up.
“Sure. Just give us a few. Can you start unloading the bags, please?” The young driver shut the door.
Reese pulled on her clothing as Harrison laughed. “Now we gave him something to think about. Seeing you all undone like that will give him fantasies for weeks.”
Reese smiled, “Shut up, Harrison. You are so bad.”
Chapter 34
McCallister rolled his pen back and forth across his desk. He had been studying the Grantham case all night. He didn’t quite know what to make of it. His cast of characters had a typical strangeness to it – fabulously wealthy, handsome, arrogant, man. Mousy, stay-at-home mom, Brownie troop leader, school and community volunteer. Lovely daughters, very wealthy suburban setting. All the ingredients of a so-called “perfect” life, yet the seemingly happy wife was suddenly found burned to death with possible indications of attempted suicide. Bullshit. The big question was why. Why would such a woman, living amongst such luxury, want to kill herself? Admittedly, her exterior joviality might have been masking a deep, inner turmoil. If that was true, what caused the turmoil? Was it her husband? Was her marriage crumbling, or was it something internal within her? Or had Mrs. Grantham found out about her husband’s affair with Reese Vogel? And how would a fire happen to break out just as she was attempting suicide?
As McCallister studied the material, he pondered these questions. Sergeant Hoffman had warned him against investigating deeper into the Grantham case, but something just wasn’t quite right there. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he was sure Grantham was lying. Now that he had uncovered another piece of the puzzle, Reese Vogel, he knew he was onto something. Whether or not Mrs. Grantham�
��s death was an accident, he couldn’t be sure, but he knew adding Reese to the mix made the situation much more suspicious.
The phone vibrated, shocking him.
“McCallister,” he answered.
“Yeah, it’s Wilson. He’s on the move. Just got on a private jet.”
“What? Where is he going?” McCallister shot up in his seat.
“Grantham and Vogel. I asked at the airfield and they said New York to Athens.”
“Hmmm.” McCallister jabbed his pen on his desk. “Contact our people in New York and Europe and see what can be done to keep an eye on them.”
“Will do, sir. What do you think he’s up to?”
Leaning back in his chair, McCallister lit a cigarette. “Not really sure, Dave. But I am definitely interested in finding out.”
McCallister hung up and drew heavily on his cigarette. For a man so young, he was quite jaded. He had spent several years working undercover in narcotics then had moved onto homicide. He had worked too many cases of spousal murder to not know all the hallmarks. And this one had murder written all over it.
********
With the beautiful, cloudless azure-blue sky overhead, the sun streamed down upon her bronze trim body. Reese, clad in a hot pink bikini, shook the sand from her long blonde hair and pulled her Chanel sunglasses on. The gorgeous green-blue ocean lay out before her as she sat casually in her chaise lounge at the exclusive Greek Island resort. She peered over her sunglasses to see Harrison swimming in the cool water. Calm waves lapped the creamy white sand.
Reese laid back and removed her bikini top so she wouldn’t get strap marks. The soft sound of the waves and the salty scent of the sea lured her to sleep. Suddenly, she awoke with a start! She looked up to see Harrison standing over her, grinning, dripping water all over her. “Hey!” she yelled in protest.
Harrison laughed as he shook his head, getting more cold water on her. His hair was sleek and dark when wet. His chest was well-muscled and darkly tanned. “You look like a goddess lying there like that.”
Wiping his face with a huge blue towel, he looked in her bag for a pair of sunglasses. “The water’s great. You should come in.”
Harrison flopped down in the chair next to her.
Devil She Became (Devil's Angels Book 1) Page 18