"Listen, can you get those keys and show me which cars they went to?"
The salesman nodded his head in agreement, and Megan turned to Zoe, telling her to grab Barney and follow her as she and the salesman headed out the door.
Chapter 13
“I’m not sure what you think you will find out here, Megan. All the cars are accounted for, and none were damaged.”
The salesman who was guiding Megan and Zoe out of the dealership’s office was shaking his head. It was a waste of time going over what he had already reported to the police. However, Owen was well aware of the trust and responsibility that Joe Stevens had for Megan. He figured it was best to go along with any request she made, regardless of how he felt about it.
“Owen, did anyone from the police come out here and check the cars themselves?”
“No, they would have been here all day checking each and every vehicle out. Myself and the other staff made sure all the keys were accounted for and did a quick run-through of the whole site. We didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, so we didn’t check each one out.”
Megan gave the younger man a quick look, wondering why he was so haphazard with his responsibilities. If it was me, I would have every inch of this place looked over, she thought to herself. He looked at her, without a hint of regret in his handling of the break-in. He felt it was the responsibility of the police to do all the work in apprehending the would-be thieves. Zoe caught Megan’s glance. One thing she knew was that Megan would never tolerate that type of attitude from her employees. The man would not have lasted long working for Megan. And she wondered how long he would last with Joe when he heard about the lazy shortcuts that had been taken.
By the time they made it to the holding area in the back lot, Megan concluded that Owen would be of little use to her. With a sweet smile, she held out her hands for him to give her the keys to the cars that she wanted to inspect. Happy to return to the showroom – and the possibility of a new sale – the young man handed them over without a fuss. As he walked away Megan shook her head and Barney gave a low growl. Both of the women looked down at the dog. This was very unlike him, but maybe he sensed something about Owen, too.
"There goes somebody who will do as little as possible to get by, but always just enough to keep himself in the limelight."
Megan smiled at Zoe’s spot-on assessment of the man's character. The young girl was street-smart and highly intelligent, and Megan counted herself lucky to have Zoe on her staff. "I don't believe we have to worry about Mr. Owen much longer. When Joe finds out about the lackluster response to the break-in from his own staff, he will not be happy, and Owen is supposed to be the salesman in charge. That young man might do great at the sales end of the business, but he’s got a lot to learn about the business end of it. Okay, where do we start?"
Holding up the pile of keys in her hands she let her companion pick out the first set. With a mischievous smile, Zoe took a set and held the key fob over her head, pushing the button that would identify which vehicle the keys would open. Following the sound of the car’s honk and the flash of its headlights, they made their way over to a shiny red Jeep.
The Jeep was a beauty, and Megan sighed as she thought of the dull tan Jeep that sat in one of the warehouses at her property. As much as she liked the bright red, she acknowledged to herself that Joe was been right about the boring tan color. It had certainly helped her blend in over the weekend.
"Hang on a second." Megan stopped Zoe as she was about to open the now unlocked car. "Let's check around the car first to see if there's any sign that somebody tried to get into it."
The young woman nodded her head in agreement and they walked around the car. Barney did his part by sniffing as he walked with them, showing excitement when they got to the passenger side. There were no footprints to find, last night's rain would have washed any off of the pavement. They saw no scratches or evidence of somebody trying to force open a car door, so Megan nodded to Zoe to open the door.
The first thing that Megan noticed was the odor. It wasn't that new car smell that everybody raved about, instead it was a sticky stench of a cigar mixed with the sugary aroma of pastry. With a Kleenex that she found in her pocket, she used that instead of her fingers to touch the surfaces inside the car. The driver seat was clean and showed no signs of any intrusion but the passenger side was another story. Donut crumbs were on the floor and the glove box wasn’t closed completely. Motioning to the young girl next to her, Megan stepped away from the car.
"We need to get Sheriff Green or his men back here. This car has been searched. Wait, Zoe--" Megan stopped the girl she pulled her cell phone out to make the phone call. Zoe looked at her in confusion.
"The sheriff is so busy. Why don’t we make his job a little easier, and at least identify which of the cars have been searched?"
Zoe grinned at Megan's suggestion. Help the sheriff out? I don't think so. You just want to find out as much information as you can before he gets here, she thought to herself, while out loud she agreed with Megan's suggestion.
Megan winked conspiratorially, she knew what Zoe was thinking. Her young cohort was correct, she wanted to find out as much as she could beforehand, because she never knew when the sheriff might cut her out of the investigation. As their search proceeded they found that almost every car in the back lot showed evidence of being searched. They were lucky that the intruders were so sloppy; they left clear evidence of their presence. Barney helped, once he had identified the scent of the cigar he could show exactly which car they had been in. Deciding to use Barney's keen sense of smell, Megan instructed Zoe to call the sheriff and stay on the back lot while she went up to the sales floor.
Not wanting to cause disturbance with the sales staff, she walked up and down the sales floor and then out into the sales lot letting Barney sniff the cars. Although he caught a few scents that excited him -- someone had left a McDonald's wrapper in one car -- he showed none of excitement for any the other cars that he had in the back lot. Obviously he wasn’t catching the scent of cigars. Barney had proven that the intruders were not interested in all the new cars, only the one in the back lot. The ones that had not been processed for sale yet.
Her search completed, Megan turned to return to the back lot. Hopefully, the sheriff would be there. She waved Owen off as he came towards her. Megan was not in the mood to answer any of his questions or explain what she was doing.
As expected, one of the sheriff’s men had arrived and was talking to Zoe. Greeting Deputy Young, Megan filled him in on her lack of success in the search of the front sales area, assuming that Zoe told him about their finds in the holding lot. Deputy Sean Young was not only a friend, but he had seen Megan work with the sheriff on past cases, and trusted her judgment. He would do his own sweep of the front lot, but needed to concentrate on where he was first. After giving him as much information as they could, the two women and Barney left him to do his work.
“Zoe, I’m going to send you back to the office to keep working on those files. How about if Barney stays with you since I want to run up to the hospital?”
Megan had an ulterior motive for leaving Barney behind. He would be a lookout for Zoe. Not that she thought the girl would be in any danger, not in broad daylight, but she wanted her to feel secure. Zoe agreed to her suggestion without hesitation. She knew of why Megan was really leaving the dog, and she admitted she didn't mind.
After whispering to Barney to watch over Zoe, as if the dog would understand her, Megan told Zoe to keep the door closed and headed out to her own car. She would head to the hospital first, then she’d go back to Joe’s house. Now that they had some clues, she wanted to see if there would be any of the same indicators in Joe’s den.
Chapter 14
Megan arrived at the hospital, finding Lewis had not regained consciousness. Although he was not allowed visitors in his room, the ICU waiting room was packed with well-wishers and concerned friends there to support Alice. That was one joy of living in
a small town like Citrus Beach, your friends were always there to help you -- in good times and bad.
As Megan was walking in to the waiting room, the sheriff was getting up to leave. With a slight motion of his head for her to follow him, he walked out into the hallway and waited. Megan quickly walked over to Alice and gave her a hug. There was no need to ask how to Lewis was. It was clear everybody was in waiting mode. When she looked around the room, Megan saw many faces she knew including Lucy. She held up one finger to indicate she wanted Lucy to wait for her, and she made her excuses and followed the sheriff out to the hallway.
"Anything new, Sheriff?"
"Not involving the investigation. From what I hear you’re coming up with all the clues on that end. But I managed to talk to Joe briefly."
"Wonderful. Is he on his way back?"
Sheriff Green shook his head at her question, a frown making tracks across his brow.
"No, he's under a severe weather watch. I’m surprised I got a phone call in to him. Joe’s unable to leave the hunting cabin for a couple of days, but he's given me the go-ahead to proceed as necessary. I've got his lawyer's name if we need it and he's reiterated you will be the go-between for him. He's putting it on your lap, Megan."
She couldn’t hide the pleased expression on her face. She expected this, but now it was definite: there would be no way she would be kept out of the investigation.
“Just remember to not to impede my investigation, Megan. Which includes going off on your own tangents without letting me know. I wish Aiden was here to partner up with you.”
“Me too. And thanks for not saying ’watch out for me.’ I’ll keep you informed of anything I find. As a matter of fact, I’m going back to Joe’s house when I leave here. I want another look at the papers in his office.”
The sheriff nodded his head, and told her she could nose around all she wanted, they were done with the site. With a warning for her to be careful, the man said his goodbyes and walked down the hallway to speak to the doctor. Watching him go, Megan thought about his wish for Aiden to be there. She understood his thinking, but at the same time it bothered her he thought she needed Aiden to keep her safe and out of trouble.
“I guess I’m just going to have to prove to him I’m not the helpless little woman.” Lifting her chin up with determination, Megan turned to go back into the waiting room and talk with Lucy.
The two of them spoke in hushed tones. It was hard to talk with everybody else around them and they didn't want to upset Alice with any gossip about the investigation, so they kept the conversation general. Megan stayed little longer, and Lucy told her Charlotte wanted her to stop by the house where she was entertaining Toby and Sammy. Megan nodded her head in agreement and thought how easily Charlotte had stepped into the role of surrogate grandmother for the two kids. Telling Lucy she would stop by, Megan got up to leave, after promising she would also stay for dinner.
As much as Megan loved all the people in the waiting room she was relived as she walked out to the hospital. The room was crowded and with had an underlying feeling of uncertainty as they waited to find out how -- and if -- Lewis would recover. Megan rolled down the windows and enjoyed the cool breeze as she drove. It was a short drive over to Joe’s island residence, but Megan noticed how many people waved when they noticed her vehicle. When her phone rang she let it go to voicemail. She then listened to the messages as they appeared. More than one person mentioned they had just seen her in her car and there was another task for her to do. With a sigh, Megan longed for her new Jeep and the obscurity it offered. In that instant she knew she would keep the Jeep, Joe was right as usual.
When she pulled into the driveway she was relieved to find no signs of police activity. She would have the house to herself, allowing her to search slowly and carefully for something that would stand out. Something others might have missed. Deciding not to go into the front door, she walked around to the back terrace. When she reached the main terrace she took the pathway to the right that would lead to the private terrace that was being built off of Joe's office. By taking this route, she discovered a new vantage point and got a sense of what Lewis might have seen. She had a feeling this was about the same time of day when his attacked occurred, and she would use that her advantage.
By now the sun was getting low in the sky. As she walked into the courtyard, it was a mixture of shadows and glares. The glares were coming off the windows and sliding glass door as the sun hit it. Megan stood for a moment looking around, trying to get a feel as if she was Lewis and what he might have seen. As she stood staring into the windows, not seeing anything because of the glare she caught the reflection of a bird flying behind her.
She thought about it for a moment and then realized she would have to step closer to the window to see what was going on inside. She started take a couple steps forward and automatically steadied herself as she walked around the work area. The same wall that had the bloody fingerprints was where she put her hands. She realized that Lewis had done the same thing. Looking back to the window, she found she was now at a slightly different angle and could see the shadows of the lamp on Joe's desk.
"Okay, so if he was standing here he had to have seen something that struck him as being off," Megan spoke out loud as she walked her way through her thought process. "You've seen something inside the office. You start to take a step forward but something hits you from behind and you fall."
Megan closed her eyes for a moment, envisioning what had happened. When she opened them, the first thing she saw was her own reflection in the window.
"Lewis saw his attackers! That means when he comes out of his coma, he will be able to identify them. The sheriff needs to keep that security guard there for his protection."
Megan was sure that the Sheriff had already thought of that, but she made a mental note to mention it to him. Now that she had made the connection as to what Lewis might have seen, she started to examine the ground, hoping for another clue. The investigators had removed the brick that was used to attack Joe, but Megan was sure there was something else left behind.
Deciding that Lewis had never made it up to the window to peer inside, she concentrated her search in the immediate area where she was standing. She could imagine it play out in her mind. There had been somebody inside the house and somebody else had been behind Lewis, taking him by surprise. But what were they doing? What were they looking for? She spent another 10 minutes searching the terrace area finding nothing. Frustrated, she circled around the house, returning to the front door from the opposite direction of her arrival.
As she walked along the perimeter of the house she couldn't help but admire the beautiful view of the ocean. She enjoyed the salty breeze as it played with the hair, loosening it from her braid. Megan loved living in this area, and she was thankful that her business supported her. She'd been through a lot before the move to Citrus Beach. Her husband passed away when Emma was a young girl. She’d moved to Citrus Beach to be closer to her cousin Paul. She and Lucy became best of friends, and Megan started her gardening business. Over the years the business had gotten much bigger than just gardening and she expanded it to create Citrus Beach Concierge. Joe, Charlotte, and one other customer, Carol Bloomquest, encouraged her every step of the way and were the backers of her expansion.
Megan was lost in her thoughts and almost didn't notice the object off to the side of the path. At first she didn't recognize it for what it was. After squatting down for a closer look, she noted it was another one of those disgusting cigar butts. It was soggy from the rainwater but that was clearly what it was. Grabbing her phone out of her back pocket she took a picture of it before she picked it up to give to the sheriff, noting where she found it. Thankfully she had another tissue in her pocket so that she didn't have to touch the butt with her bare fingers. She had just confirmed without a doubt that the two break-ins were connected.
Chapter 15
When Megan entered Joe’s home office, she gave a disheartened sigh. It wa
s a mess. Between the intruders and then the police looking for evidence, there didn’t seem to be very many things in their normal positions. As she picked up a book from the floor, her phone rang. It was Janice. Before she could say more than hello, her assistant started talking.
“I just spoke with the sheriff and he told me we have an all clear to start the clean-up at Joe’s home. I also know that you are supposed to be there now, so I’m telling you to let the mess go. Remember -- delegate! A cleaning crew is scheduled for first thing in the morning. So put down what ‘s in your hand and don’t worry about the clean-up.” Megan laughed outright and Janice continued. “I’m right, aren’t I? You were getting ready to start putting things away.”
“Yes, okay, you’re right.” Megan controlled her laughter long enough to answer Janice and then asked her what else she wanted.
“Zoe called and asked if she could stop by Charlotte's when she finished. Something about bringing Barney to you and saving you a trip. Apparently she’s spoken to Charlotte.”
“Good heavens, Charlotte doesn’t miss a thing. Would you let Zoe know that is a perfect solution? And I promise, Janice, I’ll leave the mess for the crew tomorrow. I just want to go over some things here and then I’ll be heading to Lucy’s. How is everything else going?”
The two women spoke for a couple minutes more, Janice had a few questions about a client’s request, but she assured Megan that all was fine back at the office. Just as they were about to hang up, Janice told her that Aiden had sent a package, it was over at Megan’s private office. Thanking her, Megan said good bye, curious about what Aiden had sent.
Giving herself a little shake to bring the task ahead of her back into focus, Megan looked around the room. Deciding that there was a very good possibility she might miss something, she pulled out her phone and took pictures of the room from any angle she could. There was no such thing as too many pictures. After her efficient crew was done tomorrow, no reminders of the mess would be left. While she had the phone in her hand, she also called the sheriff to tell him about her find out on the pathway. At his request, she sent him the pictures of where she found it. Then she put the butt, still wrapped in a Kleenex, into a plastic baggie. One of the deputies could pick it up to take it to the crime lab in the next county along with the other evidence.
A Tank Full of Trouble: A Citrus Beach Mystery (Citrus Beach Mysteries Book 5) Page 7