by Cindy Bell
“I kept slamming the trashcan to get it to go into the cabinet the way it should, and when I did I heard a bottle clanging. I thought it was beer bottles, because there were some missing from the six pack in his fridge. But he got upset with me for trying to help. On my way out I noticed there were empty beer bottles on the table. Maybe it was the wine bottle in the trashcan?”
“That's quite observant of you,” Walt said with admiration.
“I always try to pay attention to small things,” Samantha explained. “It can make the biggest difference in an article.”
“Yes, to an investigation as well,” Eddy agreed. “Do you really think the wine bottle was in there?”
“That might explain why it wouldn't close,” Samantha said thoughtfully. “Usually it gets stuck on the track, but this time it was like something was blocking it. The wine bottle might have been too large for the small trashcan.”
“Maybe it got wedged,” Eddy nodded.
“Do you think it's still there?” Walt wondered out loud.
“Well, there's one way to know for sure,” Eddy pointed out as he sat back on the wooden chair.
“What way is that?” Walt questioned, obviously intrigued.
Samantha looked over at Eddy curiously.
“We break in, and we find the bottle,” Eddy uttered gravely. “If it's there, we have our proof, if it's not, we might at least find the poison that he used to kill James.”
“You can't be serious,” Walt said and raised a thin eyebrow. “You're talking about breaking and entering, Eddy. You of all people should have respect for the law.”
“I have plenty of respect for the law,” Eddy replied and snapped his eyes towards Walt with an offended expression. “I have zero respect for murderers. If Frank is responsible for James' death, I'm not going to let the law be the reason why he gets away with it.”
“I disagree,” Walt said sharply. “We don’t even know if he’s the murderer or even if James was murdered for sure. I won't be involved in it. Don't even think about me breaking into anywhere.”
“I didn't ask you to do it, did I?” Eddy countered, his voice raising with frustration.
Samantha's words cut through the heat of the moment. “I know someone who can,” she said quietly, but with a tinge of excitement in her voice.
“What?” both men asked as they looked over at Samantha with surprise.
“Not me,” she said swiftly. “I mean, I don't think I'd be very good at it,” she explained. “But I do know someone who would be perfect for the job.”
“You know someone who would make a perfect thief?” Eddy asked with disbelief. “Are you talking about Jo?”
“One of the best thieves I have ever known,” Samantha explained with a pleased smile.
“Now you're talking about encouraging a reformed felon to re-offend?” Walt demanded incredulously.
“We don't know that she's reformed,” Eddy reminded them. “We still don't even know for sure that she didn’t have anything to do with this.”
“Oh please, Eddy, why would she want to kill James?” Samantha asked and shook her head.
“Maybe he found out about her secret,” Eddy suggested. “Maybe she panicked and decided to get rid of him.”
“She's a thief not a murderer,” Samantha replied with shock.
“It's a slippery slope, Sam,” Eddy said and drank some of his tea.
“Not Jo, Eddy. I studied her. She was a cat burglar, one of the best. But she never harmed a hair on anyone's head. Even that one time when a museum guard stumbled onto her, she went out of her way to make her escape without harming him,” she reminded Eddy.
“I guess that makes her a saint?” Eddy asked and raised an eyebrow.
“I didn't say that, but I don't think it's fair to make her seem like a serial killer,” Samantha argued in return.
“I think you're underestimating Jo. She had detectives in knots over how to catch her. Everyone knew who she was, but no one could prove it,” he chuckled a little and shook his head. “Detectives lost a lot of sleep over her.”
“Like I said, she did her time,” Samantha said sternly.
“There's one problem,” Walt said grimly. “You said you know her, but you don't really. She was reluctant to even help us find the fence. Do you really think she would help with something like this? You're asking her to risk everything, including her freedom.”
“It can't hurt to ask, can it?” Samantha smiled a little.
“It can if she isn't trustworthy,” Eddy said and narrowed his eyes.
“I can't believe that we've been living in Sage Gardens with a murderer and a thief,” Walt shook his head. “Secure environment the pamphlet said. I knew I should have gotten that second deadbolt.”
“Relax,” Samantha rolled her eyes. “You don't have anything she's interested in I'm sure.”
“Maybe not, but maybe James did,” Eddy said with narrowed eyes. “Maybe Jo had an angle on getting his fortune. Maybe Mike even hired her to make all of this look like an accident.”
“Are we back on this?” Samantha growled. “Eddy, seriously. She helped us find out who stole the watch.”
“Who they claimed stole the watch,” Eddy argued sharply. “It could all be part of her plan.”
“Wow, you are paranoid,” Samantha shook her head. “I really don't think that Jo is part of some vast conspiracy.”
“You have to look at it from all angles,” Eddy warned her. “Right now we believe that Frank might be the killer, but we don't have any more proof that he is, than we do that Jo is.”
“So, let's get some,” Samantha said with confidence. “If Jo's game then I think we should do it. The longer we wait, the bigger chance there is that Frank will get rid of the evidence. If he hasn’t already.”
“I don't know,” Walt hesitated. “This is really treading in dangerous waters.”
“Illegal waters,” Eddy growled. “And don't think that Jo wouldn't sell us all out in a second if she gets caught.”
“Sometimes you have to have a little faith in people, Eddy,” Samantha said and gave him a light pat on his shoulder. “I'll go talk to her, you drink more tea and calm down.”
“I'm calm,” Eddy barked.
“Tea,” Samantha said and pointed to his half-empty cup. “He may need a refill, Walt. Let's meet in an hour down by the lake,” she suggested.
“We'll be there,” Walt said. “Just remember she's still a criminal.”
“I'll be fine,” Samantha assured them both before she walked out of the villa.
Chapter 13
Samantha stopped at her place to pick up a box of muffins she had bought. In her experience it was always better not to show up empty handed when she was asking someone to do something for her. Once she was equipped she bravely walked up to Jo's door. All of that bravery disappeared when she prepared to actually knock. She cleared her throat, straightened her shoulders and gave three firm knocks. A moment later the door opened a crack.
“What do you want?” Jo asked through the door.
“Hi Jo,” Samantha said cheerfully.
Jo reluctantly opened her door. She peered at Samantha intently.
“What do you want?” she asked again, her voice barely hiding her animosity.
“Just to visit,” Samantha explained and held up the box. “I brought muffins.”
“Lovely,” Jo narrowed her eyes. “Are you some kind of stalker?” she asked.
“No,” Samantha said firmly and slipped the toe of her shoe in the crack of the door to keep Jo from closing it. “I just have a matter I need to discuss with you.”
“A matter?” Jo asked, her eyes still narrowed.
“May I come in?” Samantha pressed, her smile still pleasant.
“Do I have a choice?” Jo countered and steadily stared at Samantha. “Now that you know my secret?”
“I'm not trying to cause any trouble for you, Jo,” Samantha said. “Though we all know that our past can come back to haunt us
.”
“Sure, we all know that,” Jo replied with a glare. She reluctantly stepped back and allowed Samantha to slip inside the door. When Jo closed the door behind her, Samantha was abruptly aware of the dangerous position she had put herself in. In all of the research Samantha had done on Jo there had never been one incident of violence involved in her crimes. But that did not mean that the woman was not capable of being violent if she wanted to be. If she thought it would benefit her to get rid of Samantha she might just do it.
“There's two other people that know I'm here,” she abruptly blurted out. Jo took the box of muffins from her and set them down on the counter. She turned to face Samantha with a hint of a smile.
“I'm not going to murder you, Sam, if that's what you're thinking,” she said with a short laugh. “You know that was never my style.”
“I know,” Samantha said nervously. “I guess I just don't know what to expect.”
“Well, that makes two of us,” Jo said as she folded her arms lithely across her slender stomach. “You have a lot of power over me right now, Samantha. You could make my life quite difficult if you wanted to. So, I think it's only fair that you be aware that I could make your life just as difficult, if I felt the need to.”
“So, we're on the same footing,” Samantha pointed out. “There's no reason why we can't have a civil discussion.”
“Okay,” Jo said, though she still eyed Samantha skeptically. “Then discuss.”
“I want to thank you again for helping us out with finding the person who stole the watch,” Samantha said.
“Oh, and here I thought you might apologize for not keeping my secret, like you promised,” Jo said darkly. “And for accusing me of stealing.”
Samantha cringed. “I am sorry about that,” Samantha said as politely as she could. “But you can't blame me for suspecting you, considering your past.”
Jo flicked her eyes away from Samantha with obvious irritation. Samantha continued to speak before Jo could decide to make her leave. “Anyway, James’ death has been ruled a heart attack, but a few of us believe he might have been murdered.”
“Oh?” Jo lofted a pencil thin black eyebrow. “What makes you think that?”
“We just have a suspicion that he might have been poisoned,” Samantha explained. “The tox screen is pending.”
“Who is we?” Jo asked with determination.
“Uh, just two friends,” Samantha explained dismissively. She didn't think it would be a good idea to bring up Eddy's name.
“Their names?” Jo pressed. Her gaze was unrelenting. “I like to know who knows more about me than they should.”
“Walter Right, and John Edwards,” Samantha replied with a faint grimace. “They're not going to cause you any trouble either.”
“So you say, I think Eddy would say different,” Jo said and shook her head. “Not that your word should mean a lot to me, considering that you used to lie for a living.”
“Lie for a living?” Samantha retorted. “What are you talking about? I am a highly acclaimed journalist.”
“You won all of those merits on the backs of your investigations, many of which were flawed,” Jo countered. “Don't think I don't know a little bit about you Samantha Smith.”
Samantha stared at her with surprise. She hadn't expected Jo to know much about her.
“Listen, I'm not here to argue with you about the honesty of our professions. I'm here to ask for your help,” Samantha finally said in a wavering voice.
“I helped you once already,” Jo snapped in return. “Why would I help you again?” she asked skeptically.
“We want to find out if Frank was involved in James' death. The only way we can know for sure is if we get some proof that the poisoning took place,” Samantha explained. “We believe Frank is hiding the bottle of wine that he poisoned inside his villa. We want to break in and see if we can get the bottle.”
“So, what does that have to do with me?” Jo shrugged.
“Well, I,” Samantha hesitated and glanced at her shoes.
“Oh, I see,” Jo nodded. “You don't want to break in yourselves, so you figured you'd recruit an expert.”
“Is that so bad?” Samantha asked shyly. “I mean, it is what you do, isn't it?”
“I'm retired,” Jo reminded her and sighed. “It would be a big risk for me you know. If I got caught I could be in trouble for a lot more than just breaking into a villa.”
“I know,” Samantha agreed. “I just don’t know if we’ll be able to do it ourselves. But, I guess it was a bad idea to ask. I'm sorry,” she shook her head and started to turn away towards the door.
“Wait a minute,” Jo said sharply. “I didn't say I wouldn't do it. I just said that it would be a risk. You could use it against me if you wanted to, since you know about my past.”
“No,” Samantha shook her head. “I wouldn't do that, Jo. You would be doing me a favor. It’s not like we would be stealing anything valuable, it is for the sake of proving the truth. I would never get you in trouble with the law.”
“You can say that now, yes,” Jo replied. “But you can never know what the future might hold.”
“That's true,” Samantha agreed and looked into her eyes. “So, you'll help us?” she asked hopefully.
“I'll help you, Sam,” Jo said with a small smile. “On one condition. I don't want to have to see or speak to that oaf of a man, Eddy. He's never going to believe that I have changed no matter what I do. I want a chance to live my life without always having to look over my shoulder. I don't think that's so wrong of me to want.”
“Of course it isn't,” Samantha agreed and smiled warmly at her. “Fine, then just you and I will go to Frank's. When do you want to go?”
Jo pursed her lips for a moment. She glanced at the clock on the wall, then looked back at Samantha. “Tonight?” she suggested. “Do you think that you could get him out of the house?”
“I'm sure we can come up with something,” Samantha agreed. She studied Jo for a long moment. She didn't know what she had expected from the woman, but she did know that this was not it. She seemed to be a kind person, who was willing to help others. It didn't compute to Samantha that she had once been a criminal.
“Are you just going to stare at me?” Jo asked. “Because that's rather creepy.”
“Sorry,” Samantha squeaked out. “I'll text you tonight.”
“Fine, but we should have a code. Texts can be used against us if we get caught. Just say something like, dinner is ready, okay?”
“Good idea,” Samantha nodded. “Thanks again, Jo.”
“Don't thank me until we don't end up in jail,” Jo said with a shake of her head. “I have a feeling that this is a really bad idea.”
“It’s just stealing a bottle of wine for the sake of justice. It's going to be fine,” Samantha promised her. As she walked out of the villa she felt her heart racing. She had no idea if it would actually be fine.
* * *
When Samantha returned to the meeting point at the bench by the lake, she found only Walt waiting for her.
“Where's Eddy?” she asked before even greeting him. She shifted her gaze in the direction of Eddy's villa but did not see him walking up.
“I don't know if he's coming,” Walt replied and shook his head slightly. “He was ranting this afternoon about crime and how we can't work with a known criminal.”
“Did he say he wasn't coming?” Samantha asked with concern.
“No, he didn't outright say it, but I don't know,” Walt frowned and gazed out over the water. “He's right you know. We really shouldn't be working with someone who has a criminal past.”
“So, Frank should just get away with murder?” Samantha demanded. “It was the poor man's birthday, Walt, and he was murdered in front of his son and all of his friends.”
Walt sucked some air through his teeth and ran the palm of his hand back over the curve of his bare scalp.
“We don't even know if James was murdered. And i
f it is murder we don’t know for sure that Frank is the one who did it. It still could have been James’ son or anyone else for that matter. I've seen some good actors in my time. People that you would never think would be dirty, who are up to all kinds of scams, you can't always rely on a person's word that they wouldn't do something,” he glanced over at Samantha. “You studied this woman, didn't you?” he asked.
“I think that you are missing the point,” Samantha said grimly. “Jo's past isn't in question. She did her time, and now she's out. She's already helped us once, and now she's willing to help us again.”
“Which makes her all the more suspicious, doesn't it?” Eddy asked from a few feet away from Samantha. Samantha jumped a little at the sound of his voice and turned to face him.
“Nice of you to show up,” she muttered with disappointment.
“I'm allowed to have my misgivings,” he replied, his expression detached.
“And now?” Samantha asked. “Are you on board with this?”
“You're going to go through with it whether I am or not, aren't you?” he asked as he took a step closer to her. “It doesn't really matter what my opinion is.”
“Of course it matters,” Samantha said gruffly. “But I think you're being awfully stubborn about Jo. I think if you could look past her history for just a second, you'd see that she's changed a lot.”
“Prison can tame a criminal,” Eddy said calmly. “But it does not change a criminal. She's still in the afterglow of experiencing freedom again. When she starts getting used to the idea, when she starts feeling entitled to be free again, then you'll see her true colors come out.”
“I see it now,” Samantha said quietly.
“You see what?” he asked as he studied her.
“I see why Jo hates us both. The way you're talking about her, is the same way I wrote about her,” she shook her head with dismay. “It's easy to judge a criminal when you don't see them as a person, you just see them as their crime.”
“Or maybe you're just getting soft, Samantha,” Eddy said as he locked eyes with her. “Maybe you're falling for a con, and you're too eager for a friend to see Jo for who she truly is.”