Found and Destroyed: The Second Sarah Martin Mystery

by Danelle Helget

  “Good! Let the bastards rot!” Doug said.

  Doug was a man of few words, but I always liked what he had to say. He thanked me for putting myself in danger and doing what I did to help catch them. I again shook my head. I really didn’t feel that they needed to thank me.

  We sat there and visited for about an hour, and then Derek announced that we had to get going. It was about 1:00 p.m., so I was fine with that. We said our goodbyes and walked back out to the lot. At my Jeep I unlocked the door and tossed my purse in and started it. It was cool and Faith was awake. The sunny spot I parked in had become shaded already.

  “When can I see you again?” Derek asked, leaning into my window.

  “Whenever you want,” I told him. He tipped his head. “I don’t really know what my schedule looks like, but it would be nice to just hang at the cabin for a few days and be drama-free. I need to be at Lost and Found for a couple of days, for paperwork, but other than that I’m flexible.”

  “All right, well, when I know my schedule better I’ll give you a call and see if I can come out there or you can come to my place. Okay?” he said and kissed me.

  “Okay,” I replied when we parted.

  “Drive careful, sweetness,” he said and headed to his Jeep.

  I turned towards home. The drive there was long … and boring. The trees were no longer pretty and everything including the grass was brown. I found a talk radio station and listened for a while, but that got boring too. Does it really matter that another celebrity is getting a divorce? Ugh!

  I played with my GPS while I drove and typed in C.S. Landscaping. Apparently they like to get out of work on time. Can’t say I blame them, but I’ve never quite been told like that. I wouldn’t say they had bad customer service, just a blunt, straight-to-the-point approach. Hopefully they did a good job, because I don’t have time to go home and check first.

  My GPS led me through Nisswa to the outskirts of town just past the Jefferson farm. It had a newer aluminum-sided building, tan with a green roof, and had three white, automatic doors on one side. There was a nice brick entryway with windows and an office area near the front. It was pleasant. There was a large, hand-carved, log sign that read, C.S. Landscaping, with the phone number. I slowed and made the left turn. There were three vehicles in the lot and the lights in the office were on. After exiting the Jeep, I tossed my purse over my shoulder and walked in. The place smelled like new carpet and was very clean. When I’d passed the entry way door, I heard Mexican music playing. It seemed appropriate. Then I heard a familiar voice: “Hello, lady!”

  “Hello,” I said with a smile.

  “Come in office. What your name, lady?”

  He briefly looked at me, then got up from the desk and walked over to the wire file basket on top of the credenza behind him. He was Mexican, short, petite, black hair, black eyes, and in his mid to late thirties. He was donning dark-blue, denim jeans with cool designs on the back pockets and a perfectly fitted, red, Ed Hardy polo with a graphic that wrapped over his right shoulder and down the shirt sleeve. He was clean cut, clean shaven, and very nice looking.

  “I’m Sara Martin.”

  “Haa haaa, yes, yes, I remember you. You the funny one!” he laughed and shook his head while digging through the large pile of files. Apparently they run a large, successful business here. “You the one that call to reschedule the fallen leaves! Ha ha ha. Lady …” he said shaking his head. “One thing I tell you. When leaves on the ground, leaves not going anywhere. Leaves no go out of town with you, no?” He shook his head, amused.

  After pulling my file he walked back up to the front counter.

  I think he’s mocking me. “No,” I said. “That’s not what I meant. I just didn’t know if I needed to be there when you came,” I tried to explain.

  “I just joking with you, lady. Relax, relax,” he laughed.

  I smiled at him. His teeth were really crooked. He was much better looking when he didn’t smile. I was trying not to visibly cringe at the sight. “You need us grass, or leaves, or snow, or even till garden or move dirt, anything, you not need be there. We know how to do it! You go do you stuff, we get you work done while you gone. Is okay, yes?” he looked up at me awaiting my response.

  It felt funny to keep responding yes, but I did. “Yes.”

  “Is you cash or card? We no allow check.”

  “Card,” I said and handed it to him. A quick swipe through the machine, and signature later, and he was paid.

  “Lady, we see you have large driveway. Snow coming! They say this week, snow! You have plow and truck, yes?”

  “No,” I said. I hadn’t thought that far ahead.

  “You need us do that? Here, I show you how it work,” he said and went to a drawer. After flipping through a few folders, he pulled out a sheet of paper and laid it on the counter in front of me. “This is contract for snow. It snow two or more inches, we come and plow it out of way. We bill you each time we come out. If you want us take snow away, it cost more. You have big yard though, you can leave snow on side by trees. It melt. You want that? We come as soon as we can. Can’t be everywhere at once, but we get done fast! Yes?”

  “Yes. Yeah, that sounds perfect.”

  “Sign here, and we add you to route. You get bill next day after we plow. You send card info, or stop by, or pay online or auto pay. No mail check. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  I reached over and signed the paper. He had written in ninety-five dollars each time in the blank. That seemed reasonable to me. I told him to do the auto pay so I didn’t have to worry about it every time it snowed two inches.

  “Okay, here is where we put it.”

  There in the file was a Google Earth print out of my property. He drew with a yellow marker where they would push and pile the snow.

  “That looks fine to me,” I told him. “Thank you.”

  “Yes, yes. Thank you for business. Much appreciated. Have good day.”

  “You too. Bye.” I tossed my bag back on my shoulder and walked back to the Jeep.

  There was only about an hour before my meeting with Miss Kitty, so I drove home. When I pulled in the driveway, I noticed what a great job they did on the yard. There was not a leaf anywhere. I unpacked my Jeep and got Faith all set up inside. I looked out the deck door and noticed that they had even gotten the leaves that were piled up around the grill. Very nice! I unpacked the cooler and my clothes, and then loaded myself back into the Jeep.

  The drive to Morning Glory was nerve racking. I just need to stand my ground, tell her that I have no special abilities, and that she needs to find someone else for whatever she needed. I mean really, did she think that I was going to read her palm or tarot cards?

  I made my final left and pulled into a space in front of the entry door. It was a few minutes before 6:00 p.m. I turned the key and jumped out. When I opened the door, I saw Tannya right away. Good, at least I have a back-up if things go crazy.

  “Hey, girl!” Tannya yelled from across the room when I entered.

  I waved and smiled. The place was pretty busy. It was mostly older couples who had already finished eating. The daily special sign said, Monday Mash and Pot Roast Special, and that’s what was on almost everyone’s plates too. I scanned the place for a booth near the back where people wouldn’t be able to overhear us. Tannya came over with a pot of decaf as I sat down.

  “Coffee, hun?” she asked me.

  “No, just a diet Pepsi.”

  “How’s Faith doing?” she asked.

  “Great. She stopped throwing up, and has even more energy, so the medicine must be working.”

  “Oh, that’s great! She is such a sweet cat. I’ll watch her anytime!”

  “Thank you. I’ll probably need you again. Ya never know.”

  She leaned closer to me and quietly asked, “So how are you doing since the whole incident? Your arms healin’? Your face looks good.”

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” I said quietly. “The bruise on my face is com
pletely gone and the scratches are healing nicely.”

  “Oh, good. So are you here for dinner?”

  “Kinda, I’m meeting Miss Kitty here any minute.”

  “Oh! Really! Tonight? You changed your mind?” she said excitedly.

  “No, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer over the phone, so I had to meet her. I guess I’ll just take the pop for now, and see if she is going to eat or not when she gets here. So, how will I know it’s her? Will you give me a signal or something when she comes in?”

  Just talking about it made my heart beat faster. I didn’t know why she made me so nervous.

  “HA! Oh, honey, you won’t need my help. You’ll know when she arrives. The girl practically arrives with her own theme song,” she laughed and walked away.

  Tannya returned a moment later with my pop. I couldn’t help but notice that her pants were new and fit her much better, and her hair was much healthier looking. Her makeup was still very loud though.

  RING, RING, TING! The bells on the door chimed and in walked Miss Kitty. There was no mistaking her. And I was pretty sure that I actually did hear theme music! She was tall, about six foot and all legs. She was wearing a bright pink, velour sweat suit. The bright pink pants had rhinestones in a line down the outside of each leg. Her white tank showed about a foot of cleavage said, Sexy, also in rhinestones, right across the girls. The suit included a matching bright pink, front zip hoodie. And, of course, the hoodie had rhinestones on it too. The pants were elastic at the cuff and skin tight so they looked more like leggings. She weighed only about 120 pounds and had no fat anywhere.

  Miss Kitty was in silver, spiked stilettos with pink toenail polish with rhinestones on her big toes. Over her shoulder was a huge purse that may or may not have contained a small dog. Her hair was a yellow-brassy, fake blonde color that was pulled up into a sloppy pony tail with loose curly pieces falling around her face. She was pretty, but it was way too much! She stopped and scanned the room. I glanced at Tannya, She was just smiling back at me nodding. When I looked back to Miss Kitty, she was already wiggling her way over to me.

  “Sara, I presume,” she said in a valley-high voice.

  “Yes. You must be Elenore,” I said extending my hand.

  She took my hand, but had her hand palm down and her wrist bent as if wanting me to kiss it. I shook it quickly and let go. Her scent was overpowering. She must have bathed in perfume. It made my throat scratchy.

  “Please have a seat,” I offered. She sat and set her purse gently on the floor. I noticed it did have a vent in it and wondered about its contents.

  “Please call me Miss Kitty. I hate the name Elenore, makes me sound old,” she said with a wink. “Did you eat, dear? Regardless of the interior design of this … this place, they do have pretty good food,” she said with a lot of hand gestures. “It’ll be my treat of course!”

  “Um, okay sure. I’ll eat.” Tannya came over with a tall glass of iced-tea and set it in front of Miss Kitty.

  “Hello, Miss Kitty. How are you today?”

  “Fine, fine. We’ll take the special and whatever she wants,” she said in a pleasant but hurried tone.

  “I’ll have the special too,” I told Tannya.

  “Thank you, gals. You can go to the salad bar when you’re ready. It’s unlimited visits, just take a clean plate every time,” she said and picked the menus up and walked away.

  “Let’s go now, Smoochy Poo is starved,” she said.

  “Smoochy Poo?” I questioned.

  Miss Kitty put her finger to her lips, “Shhh, she’s in the purse. Come on let’s get some food.”

  I followed her to the buffet. When we returned to the table I noticed that she had mostly chocolate pudding on her plate, along with a few bread sticks and a large scoop of the mystery salads. I had a large lettuce salad with no dressing and I skipped the bread stick. So how is her ass half the size of mine?

  While we ate she asked me about myself. I told her the basics. Then she asked about the situation on the lake a few months back. I told her a brief story and emphasized that, while I did have dreams that led me to two dead bodies, I had not had any since, or even before that.

  “I really don’t have any special skills. I’m not sure why you think I’m the girl to help you … What is it you need help with?” I asked, just as Tannya returned with our plates.

  Tannya wiggled her eyes brows at me from behind Miss Kitty and set the plates down. I ignored her gesture and thanked her as she walked away.

  “Sara, darling. I’m perfectly aware that you’re not psychic. If you were you would already know what I want. Ha! Ha! Ha!” she said as she laughed at me. When she calmed herself, she stuck some more food into her purse vent and continued on. “Love, the reason I need your help is because you are a woman scorned.”

  “What?”

  “Your husband cheated on you, and with your best friend no less. You’re a girl who understands what that’s like. I, too, think that something’s going on with my husband. Not just with another woman, but there’s something going on with his business,” she told me as she stuck more food through the hole. Whatever breed it is, it’s very quiet. “I don’t work, so all my money comes from my husband’s business, and lately I’ve noticed that the numbers are down. He doesn’t know that I look at his computer at night when he sleeps, but I have noticed that there are a lot more withdrawals lately, and the money’s not being given to me. I’ve been trying to pay attention to where it might be going, but I can’t find anything. I don’t want to ask because I don’t want to be cut off or cause a fight. You see, my husband and I aren’t exactly close. I love him … but more like a father than a lover. The money’s satisfaction enough for me. I’ll stay with him until he croaks, as long as I continue to get my allowance for making him ‘happy’ once in a while,” she added air quotes with her fingers. “If you know what I mean.” I wished I didn’t.

  “So you want me to spy on him?” I asked.

  “Yes! Would you, darling? I’ll pay you whatever you want. This will be a good start and, depending on your time and efforts, I’ll pay you more when you are finished.” She pulled a fat envelope from her purse and slid it across the table to me. “It’s ten thousand. Is that enough to get started?” she asked.

  Gasp! I choked on the food in my mouth and coughed. After taking a sip of pop, I took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes. I had no idea what to say. Suddenly Tannya appeared with a pitcher of iced-tea and another diet pop. She was nodding as she approached the table, but stopped when she came into Miss Kitty’s sight.

  “Refill?” Tannya asked. “You can never have enough of something this good,” she said topping off our glasses. “Even if you don’t need more, there’s some one who might!” she said, all loud and chipper. “Anything else I can get you?” I was sure she was meaning me.

  Miss Kitty chimed in first, “No, we’re fine, Tannya. Thank ya, dear!” Tannya nodded and left.

  “I really don’t need the money,” I told her.

  “Bull shit!” she snapped. “Everyone needs money. You can never have enough. And if you think you do, then give it away to one of those charity thingy’s and make someone else happy. You know it’s true, money can buy happiness. It’s the broke people that came up with that bullshit about money not buying happiness.”

  “I … ah … I …”

  “Please, Sara,” she begged. “I know we just met, and you don’t owe me anything, but you know firsthand how it feels to be cheated on. Wouldn’t you have wanted to find out earlier if you could have?” Her tone was serious and sad. I could see hurt behind all that makeup. I nodded slightly. “So you understand what I’m going through? Sick to my stomach every day. Constantly questioning his every move. If someone could’ve taken that from you, wouldn’t you have paid anything for that?”

  I thought seriously about that. Yes. She begged some more.

  “Please, Sara. Please help me to figure this out, so I can stop this icky feeling I’m livi
ng with every day.”

  “I … um … okaaaay,” I whined.

  “Thank you so much! I promise to make it worth your while, or if not your while, than someone else you know, or a charity you love! You can decide what to do with the money.”

  “All right, but I need to know more about this whole situation. Your husband, his work, the address for both, any partners, and suspected lover’s names and addresses … everything!” I said, sounding all official. I was surprised at my own voice.

  “Okay, love! Now we’re talking! I have everything you need in here,” she said and handed me a manila file folder.

  I opened it and quickly paged through it. It contained a picture of her husband, Vincent Alburgus, a complete bio, addresses to the properties he resided at, and a list of the properties he owned. There was also a similar page on a man named Dave Stone.

  “Who’s Dave Stone?” I asked.

  “He’s Vincent’s assistant. He’s worked for my husband for the last twenty years. I don’t like him. I never liked him, but lately he’s really been rubbing me the wrong way. He’s mean, rude, and slimy.”

  The way she curled her lip when she spoke about him made me a believer. There was also a picture of a young twenty-something woman, in a bar, taken from across the room.

  “Who’s this?”

  She threw her hands up and shook her head. “I was checking up on him one night, and I saw her stumble out of my husband’s limo and walk into the bar. So, I parked and followed her. I took that picture right before she went into the bathroom, threw up, and passed out. I couldn’t even confront her because she wouldn’t wake up. I just left and that’s when I really started thinking about things.”

  “How long ago was this taken?” I asked her.