I turned into the club, parked and got out. And as I walked toward the entrance, who did I see come out of the club? John Elway, Hall-of-Fame quarterback and Denver’s most famous and popular celeb. I wiped the surprised look off my face as I passed by him. Since the club catered to the Denver elite, I knew I’d have to check in to walk around the facility, but I could at least verify whether Lucy had shown up yet. If not, I could wait outside for her. I strolled inside and smiled at a young man with a buzz haircut who sat behind a mahogany desk to the left of the doors.
“I’m meeting Lucy Li,” I said. “Has she come in yet?”
“She has a tee time?” His eyes drifted to a computer monitor.
“Yes, but I’m wondering if she came early and is having lunch first.”
He clicked the computer mouse a couple of times, apparently verifying the tee time. Then he looked up at me. “I haven’t seen her come in, but she’s golfing at two o’clock.”
“Thanks.” Before he could ask me any questions, I hurried back outside, sat in the 4-Runner and waited and watched for an Asian woman.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, an Asian woman walked from between a row of cars toward the entrance. She wore khakis, a yellow golf shirt, and white visor. The golf bag slung over her shoulder was almost as big as she was. I got out, raced toward her, and cut her off before she could get to the doors.
“Lucy?”
She turned and gazed at me curiously. “Yes?”
“My name is Reed Ferguson.” I often use a pseudonym to retain my anonymity – usually names of my favorite fictional detectives, like Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe – but in case Holly had mentioned me, I figured I’d stick with my real name and see if Lucy had heard of me. But I received a blank look, so I plowed ahead. If Holly was in danger, I needed answers fast. “I’d like to talk to you about Holly Rasmus.”
A small but strong hand flew to her face. “What’s wrong?” She glanced around. “Where is she? Where’s her car? She should be here by now.”
Not Is she coming? or Who are you? but What’s wrong? “Why do you think something’s wrong?” I asked. “What do you know?”
Lucy’s eyes darted around, then back to me. Then it dawned on her. “Who are you?”
“I’m a private investigator. Holly –”
“Oh no!” she interrupted. “What did she do?”
I held up a hand as a man walked past. “Can we talk in private?”
“Is she okay?”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “She was supposed to meet me this morning at Pura Vida, but she didn’t show up.”
I thought she might drop her golf bag. “Oh god,” she muttered.
“Here.” I took the bag off her shoulder and guided her to a bench under a maple tree. She sank onto the seat, then glanced at me. “What’s going on?”
“She hired me to help her get away from her husband. But you know that, right?”
She shook her head. “No, just that she was getting fed up and she needed to do something. I kept wondering what that meant; what would she end up doing?”
I sat down next to her. “Please, tell me what you know.”
She met my gaze, her dark eyes rimmed with sadness. “Holly’s not in a good marriage.”
“I gathered that.”
“Oh, right.” She sighed heavily. “I first met Holly here at the club, about five years ago. We hit it off, maybe because of our backgrounds.”
“What do you mean?”
She hesitated, then said, “Domestic violence.” She paused again. I waited. “Anyway, we started golfing together and then sometimes we’d have lunch, too. And it didn’t take long to figure out things weren’t right. Andre always drove her around and waited for her, but it was more than that, as if he were keeping a close eye on her. And when my husband – my second husband, not the abuser – and I would socialize with Holly and William, you could see how he controlled her. It was awful. And she was scared of him. I finally talked to her about it. Not with any judgment or shame, but because I’d been there. She opened up about it, but she was just too scared to do anything.” She sighed again. “She’s put up with it for so long.”
“What changed? Why’d she decide to get out now?”
She stared off into space. “You know William’s considering politics, right?”
I nodded.
“That seemed to be what pushed Holly over the edge. She didn’t want to be with him, forced to be the perfect wife, but living a lie.”
“So she hinted that she was going to do something?”
“Yes.” Lucy laughed without humor. “I didn’t know what, though. She kept saying ‘William is going to get what he deserves.’ I didn’t know if that meant she was going to leave him or report him…or kill him. And she wouldn’t tell me, even though I asked and offered to help her break away from him.”
“Why wouldn’t she tell you more? She obviously trusted you on some level.”
“She thought William would try to do something to me or my husband.”
“What could William do to you?” I asked, even as Kristin’s words rang in my ears. He’ll punish us.
She shook her head disgustedly. “My husband’s a lawyer, too. Holly figured William could sabotage my husband’s career because they run in some of the same circles.”
“Wow. William must be some piece of work.”
She sniffed. “You don’t know the half of it. Try being around him. Underneath the charm beats a cold, calculating heart. But he’s good, really good, and he’s got people fooled.” She paused and then narrowed her eyes. “Now you know what I know. Your turn. What was Holly’s plan?”
I told her, ending with, “But she didn’t show, and Andre went back to her house alone.”
She cursed under her breath. “William must’ve found out what Holly was doing. He’ll be furious. Oh, what’s he going to do to her?”
“He’s considering politics and he’s a public figure, so I doubt he’d be stupid enough to murder her…unless he accidentally killed her.”
“He could murder her and make it look like an accident,” she said.
I shook my head. “That’s too risky for his career. My guess is he has her holed up somewhere as punishment.” At least I hoped that was the case.
“Poor Holly,” she choked out.
“Any idea where Andre could’ve taken her?”
“They have a condo in Vail,” she said.
“So I’ve been told.” I explained about seeing Andre at the Rasmus house. “I doubt he had enough time to drive her up there and then come back to Denver and be at the house when I saw him. Although,” I paused as something occurred to me, “he could’ve met William and William could’ve driven her up there, or someplace else.”
“That couldn’t happen.”
“Why?”
“William’s supposed to be in court today. Downtown.”
“Then Andre probably took her somewhere close by.”
Lucy grimaced. “I don’t have any idea where.”
“What do you know about Andre?”
“He’s her driver, and she said he was a bodyguard of sorts. But I assumed she said that so people wouldn’t question her about him. Everyone thought Holly was this rich woman, too spoiled even to drive herself, so important that she needed protection. She couldn’t tell anyone that Andre was watching her every move and reporting back to William.”
“Did Holly ever talk about Andre’s background?”
She shrugged. “I think he’s ex-military. All I know is he’s not friendly at all.”
“Capable of murder?”
The hand flew to her face again. “Don’t say that!”
“I’m sure that’s not the case,” I said. “I’m just trying to get a sense of the guy. Do you know his last name?”
“Harper.”
I made a mental note to look him up. Or have Cal do it. He could find so much more than I could, and faster.
“Do you think Holly could’ve gotten away f
rom Andre?” I asked. “I mean, other than what she planned with me at Pura Vida?”
“I don’t see how. Either Andre or William is always around. And as far as today goes, she had church, then yoga at the gym, then lunch at home before she met me.”
She confirmed what I’d learned about Holly’s plans for today. “You know her schedule pretty well,” I said.
“We talked a couple of days ago to confirm our golf date, and that’s what she told me.” She pressed her lips into a hard line. “You’ve got to find her.”
“I will,” I said with more confidence than I felt. “Anything else you can think of that might help me?”
She thought long and hard. “She said a while back that she thought she had known everything about William. You know, some comment about how you think you know someone, and then you find out something completely new? I asked what she meant, and she wouldn’t say. And then later, she said something about William needing to be careful, that people could find out everything about him.”
“Like how he’s an abuser?”
“I assumed that’s what she was talking about.”
I took out my wallet and handed her a business card. “If you think of anything, or if you hear from her, call me.”
“I will.” She stood up, slung her golf bag over her shoulder, and walked away, stooping under the weight of the bag as if it were suddenly much heavier than it had been before.
CHAPTER SEVEN
1:55 PM
I watched Lucy disappear into the building, and I felt the same heaviness she seemed to be carrying as I wondered what had happened to Holly. I’d been trying to act as if I weren’t worried about her, but the truth was, I had no idea if she was okay or not. Would Rasmus harm her, or resort to murder? I knew nothing about him, and I decided it was time to do something about that. Maybe focusing on him would lead me to Holly.
A group of women in designer slacks and blouses came out of the building as I pulled out my phone, looked up William Rasmus’s office, and dialed the number.
“Castro, McCullem, and Rasmus,” a perky woman answered.
“Is William Rasmus available?” I asked.
“He’s in court today, but I can take a message if you’d like, or put you through to his voicemail.”
“His voicemail, please.” I waited a moment and then heard, “This is William Rasmus. I can’t take your call right now. Please leave me a message and I’ll get back to you.” I hung up without doing so. Rasmus had a smooth baritone voice. A good politician’s voice, except he spoke too fast for my taste. Now I knew what he looked like and how he sounded. Not that this would help me. I needed more.
I got up, hurried to the 4-Runner, where I could have some privacy. Then I called Cal again.
“What does the Great Detective need now?” he asked, but there was no irritation in his tone.
“I didn’t tell you Holly’s last name, did I?” I said.
“Not that I recall.”
“It’s Rasmus.”
“Doesn’t mean a thing to me. Oh, wait, is she related to the Rasmus in Castro, McCullem, and Rasmus?”
“Yes. Does the name William Rasmus sound familiar?”
“It’s that Rasmus, the attorney?”
“Yep.”
“The guy who wants to be mayor?”
“The same.”
“Wow.”
“You can say that again.”
“Wow.”
Okay, I walked into that one.
He laughed, then said, “And his wife says he’s a schmuck and she’s trying to leave him.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Wow.”
I didn’t fall for it that time.
“And you want some intel on Mr. Rasmus.”
“Absolutely,” I said as I watched another group of women, all in matching tan slacks and lime-green shirts, leave the club. “I’ll bet Rasmus is worried to death that if Holly leaves him, she’ll tell about what he’s been doing to her.”
“Thus ruining any chance he has in politics.”
“And maybe his high-powered law career, too.” As I talked, I could hear clicking as he typed.
“Let’s see,” he muttered, then started humming. My mind wandered and I thought about Holly, the beautiful but oppressed wife, who turns on her husband. Kind of like the femme fatales in film noir.
“Rasmus has never been in trouble with the law,” he said, interrupting my ruminations.
“Ever?”
“Well, a couple of speeding tickets a long time ago.”
“That won’t hurt his political career,” I observed wryly. “What kind of law does he practice?”
“Looks like mostly civil cases, as a defense attorney. Hey, wasn’t he one of the attorneys for that guy Thacker?”
“Who?”
“Edwin Thacker,” Cal said. “He owns Allied Associates.”
“That’s right. Thacker was accused of SEC violations and fraud. But William Rasmus convinced the jury it was one of the accountants who cooked the books, and the news made a big deal about the accountant’s mom being in court every day to support her son, who maintained his innocence. But it didn’t matter, Thacker was acquitted.”
“Acquitted, what a joke,” Cal said snidely. “I still wonder about Thacker’s involvement.”
“Me, too. Rasmus did a great job defending Thacker,” I said. “What about his other cases?”
“What about them?”
“I’m thinking out loud. What if I needed you to look at them?”
He snorted. “They’re public documents, so of course I can look at them.”
“Okay, dumb question.”
“Reed, you can’t be asking me to go through all of Rasmus’s cases.”
“No, not right now,” I said. “I’m more interested in finding anything that might tell me where Rasmus could’ve taken Holly. Like a second residence. Rasmus owns a house up in Vail, but what if he has another place here in the city?”
“Like an apartment so he can see women on the side.”
“Yeah. Someplace Rasmus, or his driver Andre, could’ve quickly taken Holly.”
“Let’s see.” More typing. “Nothing’s coming up but the place in Vail. Oh wait. He owns another business.”
“How can you tell?”
“He’s registered a business named Vail Valley Incorporated. Looks like he’s part owner in a couple of breweries, in Vail and Denver.”
“An interesting investment,” I said.
“Although it looks like he’s had a bit of real estate trouble.”
“Yeah?”
“He’s got a property in foreclosure, on Walnut Street in downtown.”
“So Rasmus is interested in real estate and breweries.”
“Maybe he wants to follow in Hickenlooper’s footsteps.” Colorado’s current governor, John Hickenlooper, co-founded the Wynkoop Brewing Company brewpub in lower downtown, and then contributed to the redevelopment of the area around Coors Field.
“Could be, but it’s not telling me where Holly is.” I frowned. “Anything else on Rasmus?”
“He has a lot of money.”
“What are we talking about? How much?”
“He’s worth about twenty million. He’ll need it if he wants to run for mayor. Can you believe how much people spend on their campaigns? It’s ridiculous.”
“Focus, Cal.”
He sighed. “If I had that much money…” His voice trailed off and he continued typing. “There’s not much here, Reed.”
“You’re sure?”
“Well, I can keep poking around. I might find something, but it’ll take time. The guy’s clean.”
“Except for abusing his wife.” A thought suddenly occurred to me. “Unless she’s lying.”
“Then why this game with you?”
I pondered that. “I don’t know. And I didn’t get the sense she was setting me up, or her sister. Hey, look Holly up.”
“Already there. She went to Cornell, and was in a s
orority. She belongs to a couple of charitable organizations. That’s about it. So, what’s your next move?”
“Hmm. I’ve got to find her.” I tapped the steering wheel.
“You can follow Andre and see if he leads you to her.”
“Yeah, if I can find him. And speaking of him, do a quick search on him. Andre Harper. A friend of Holly’s said she thinks he’s ex-military.”
“Hold on.” Another pause. “Yes, she’s right. He was a Marine, then in Special Forces. I’ll bet he’s got a classified file somewhere. You want me to look?”
“Maybe later,” I paused. “Why would an attorney need a bodyguard who was in Special Forces? A coincidence?” I mused. “Does Rasmus really think he or Holly needs that kind of protection?”
“Is Rasmus worried that someone he put away might come back for revenge?”
“That doesn’t make sense,” I said. “He’s a defense attorney, right? So why would he worry about that? Maybe he’s created the illusion he has enemies so he could hire Andre to keep tabs on Holly.”
“He gets a scary dude like Andre to intimidate Holly.”
“Exactly.”
“Oh, hold on.”
“What?”
“I’ve been checking on Andre while we’ve been talking,” he said. “He’s got a record.”
“Yeah?”
“Assault and battery. Looks like Rasmus plea-bargained it down for him. Andre beat up a guy, pretty bad, it sounds like. Reed, you be careful around this guy Rasmus. He’s smart and powerful, the type of guy who would delight in ruining you.”
“I know,” I said. “Holly, her sister, and her friend Lucy all said Rasmus will take down anyone who gets in his way.”
“And watch out for Andre, too.”
“I will.”
“You need anything else right now?”
“Where does Andre live?”
“On Leyden Street.” He gave me the address.
I knew the area. It was in the South Park Hill neighborhood, a few miles from the Rasmus house.
“Great work, thanks.” I couldn’t hide my disappointment. “I was hoping you’d find something that would tell me where Holly is, but at least I know a bit more about the people I’m dealing with.”
Night of the Hunted: A Reed Ferguson Mystery (A Private Investigator Mystery Series - Crime Suspense Thriller Book 11) Page 4