by Cindy Bell
“Eddy, what’s up?”
“Did you find Jo?”
“Yes, I did. She was in Roger’s house.”
“Clem’s house. Is she crazy? What was she doing in there?” Eddy’s voice fluctuated with frustration.
“Jo can handle herself quite well you know, Eddy. But I did talk to her. I told her what you found out, and she asked me to look into Clem’s partner, Tony, to see if he is still in prison.”
“We’re getting into a dangerous position here. Walt told me about the man Jo met with. Bucky is a powerful and well-known criminal. If he thinks we’re crossing him we could face some serious consequences.”
“I think we need to let Jo take the lead on this one. She has the experience.”
“Experience? Of being a criminal? I’m not sure that’s the best idea.”
“I don’t think you have a choice here, Eddy.” Samantha flopped down on the couch and closed her eyes.
“Excuse me?”
“You’re not in charge here. Yes, Jo has a criminal past. You have a past of being a grumpy and aggressive officer of the law…”
“No one could ever prove that.”
“I have a past of getting myself into reckless positions and trying to save murderers from well-deserved prison sentences. Walt, I imagine, has some kind of questionable past, too. The point is, we all draw on those pasts in order to contribute our skills. So, Jo is contributing her knowledge. She feels that if Tony is out, which I think is possible, he may be on the hunt for Roger.”
“If Tony got his hands on that necklace, he’s long gone.”
“You’re probably right. But I’m going to look into it.”
“All right.” Eddy hung up before she could say another word. She rolled her eyes and nestled down on the couch. No matter how sleepy she was, she had a few phone calls to make. As she dialed the number to one of her contacts she felt a familiar thrill.
It was always fun to investigate.
“Hi Samantha, it’s been a while since I’ve heard from you.”
“Hi Tasha, I was wondering if you could get me some information on a prisoner.”
“I’m fine thanks, and you?”
“I’m sorry. I was in a rush. How are you, Tasha?”
“Everything is good. What’s the name?”
“Tony Farie. Can you tell me if he’s been paroled or released?”
“It’s going to take me some time to find out since it’s near the close of business. Can I call you tomorrow with the information?”
“The sooner the better. I appreciate your help.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Samantha hung up the phone and yawned again. She found she got more tired out lately. She made a mental note to schedule a check-up.
A few hours later Samantha woke to knocking on her front door. She blinked away sleep and sat up. Her back was stiff from napping on the couch. Her curtains were still up on the windows, it was dark outside. The knocking came again. She pushed herself to her feet and walked towards the door. When she reached it, she paused. Who would be knocking so late?
“Who’s there?”
“It’s me, Jo.”
Samantha opened the door for her friend. She found Jo dressed in skintight black clothes.
“What are you up to in that outfit?” Samantha swept her gaze up and down then looked at Jo’s face.
“I’m going to Roger’s place tonight to check it out.”
“You mean break in?” Samantha titled her head to the side. “Do you think it’s a good idea?”
“It’s not like I haven’t broken in anywhere before.”
“I know that, but this time it’s different.”
“How?”
“How easy do you think it is to break into a thief’s house?”
The question triggered a slew of concerns in Jo’s mind. Samantha had a good point. If Roger was who she thought he was he had pulled off an amazing heist.
“I’m prepared.”
“What are you looking for exactly?” Samantha asked.
“I want to be sure that the necklace isn’t in there. I also want to get a look at his computer. So what if he wasn’t there when Valda died? That doesn’t mean that he didn’t hire someone to be.”
“I see you’ve been working some theories.”
“Yes, and the only way to find out what is true or not is to break in and have a look around. You asked me to keep you in the loop, so I am. Did you find out anything about Tony?”
“No, not yet, it’s going to take some time.”
“All right, well I’ll let you know what I find out.”
“Oh, no you don’t. You’re not going anywhere without me.”
For once Jo didn’t argue. “I could use a lookout.”
“Great, I’m perfect for the job. Just let me text Walt and Eddy to let them know what we’re doing.”
“No.” Jo met her eyes. “Just us. It’s an in and out job. It won’t be a problem I promise. I really don’t have the patience to go through the whole, ‘Jo this is too dangerous speech’ from either of them. Samantha, we’re independent women who have been in plenty of dangerous situations, right?”
“Uh, yeah.” Samantha slid her phone back into her pocket. “Yes, you’re right.”
Samantha and Jo walked to Roger’s villa. As they approached the villa all of the windows appeared to be dark. They started to move closer to the villa. Samantha grabbed Jo’s arm to stop her.
“There’s someone back there, behind the villa.” Samantha looked over at Jo with wide eyes. “I saw a shadow.”
“Stay here.” Jo started to walk around the corner of the house.
“No, Jo don’t.” Samantha grabbed the crook of her elbow again. “I have a bad feeling about this, please.” Jo met her eyes through the darkness. It was clear that her friend was concerned, but Jo was determined to not only find the murderer, but to find the necklace that was stolen. She shook off Samantha’s grasp.
“Trust me, I’ll be fine. Just stay here.” Jo broke away and walked around the back of the house. She moved with stealth and grace. It was easy for her to be silent as she had spent so much time working as a cat burglar, and then isolating herself in prison. When she neared the other side of the house, she saw the shadow. Actually, it was a person, but the person was covered from head to toe in dusty-black clothes, which made the person look like a shadow. Jo was startled by the sight. One of the thieves she had worked with in her early years explained to her that solid-black clothing stood out more than smokey-black clothes. Therefore to blend in, she always wore the same slightly smokey-black clothes. This person wore a similar outfit, which to her meant that the person hidden beneath the mask was an experienced thief. She braced herself for what was about to play out.
“Stop right there!” Jo demanded. The figure froze with fingertips pressed against the glass of the window. “What is your business here?” The figure turned slowly to face her. Jo’s heart raced as despite the fact that the person was concealed by a mask, there was something very familiar about him.
“Walk away, Jo, before you can’t turn back.”
Jo’s breath caught in her throat. Her fingers trembled just at the fingertips. “Drew?”
“Don’t say my name, you know better than that.”
“You did this? You killed a woman?” Jo was so shocked that she forgot to keep her voice low. Samantha rounded the corner just as Drew wrapped his gloved hand around Jo’s mouth and pulled her body back against his.
“Jo!” Samantha shouted.
Jo didn’t hear her because she was far too occupied flipping Drew right over her shoulder. She slammed his lean frame down hard on the ground, then placed a foot on his chest to keep him still.
“Doesn’t look like I’m the one who is going to have a problem with turning back.”
“Jo, let me up.” He grabbed her ankle and held it tight, but he did not attempt to pull her down. “You have no idea what you’re doing here.”
“I know exactl
y what I’m doing,” Jo said. She did not look away from Drew. He reached up and pulled his mask up enough to reveal his face. Jo tried not to be moved by it. He had the same baby blue eyes and full lips, the same rigid jawline and thick eyebrows. He looked just as he did when she first met him, aside from a few gray hairs and wrinkles. The memory of their brief, but passionate affair rushed through her mind.
“I’m going to call the police,” Samantha said. Jo’s heart rate quickened. She did not want the police to come. She wanted nothing to do with the police, but she didn’t want a murderer getting away. She started formulating a plan so she could restrain Drew and escape herself before the police got there.
“You’re going to send me to prison? After all of these years? Have you no respect?” Drew asked when she didn’t protest at Samantha calling the police.
“I have respect for those that deserve it. Murdering someone gets no respect from me.”
Samantha dialed the police while she kept her gaze locked on the two. It was easy to gather their history from their body language and the tension in their voices. What was harder to figure out was whether Jo was angry at him for the murder, or something much more personal.
“I didn’t murder anyone!” Drew yanked hard on Jo’s leg and knocked her off balance. She flipped to the side and landed on her feet, but Drew was able to get to his before she could stop him. “You know better than that.” He glared at her. “I came here for the necklace, that’s all.”
“I don’t believe you.” Jo shifted in a slow circle around him to keep him from running. She could hear sirens in the distance.
“Yes, you do.” He smirked a little and took a step towards her. “You believe me, because you know that I would never kill anyone. You know me better than anyone, Jo, years and lifestyle changes don’t erase that.”
Jo was breathless as he took another step towards her. His demeanor was mild, if not a little seductive. She recalled the amount of times they had celebrated together and the plans they made together for big heists. They never actually did one together, but they dreamed up quite a few adventures.
“I don’t know you at all, not anymore.”
“Then here.” He held out his hands to her. “Tie me up. Do what you will. If you really believe that I killed someone, go ahead and show me.” His eyes met hers with a spark of heat. She couldn’t look away. “Go on, Jo, show me just what you think of me.”
“Jo?” Samantha spoke up and broke the tension between the two. “Do you want me to do it? I have some zip ties in my purse.”
“You have zip ties in your purse?” Jo looked over at her with some shock. In that instant Drew took advantage of her distraction and shoved her hard right into Samantha. He bolted into the darkness as Samantha and Jo stumbled over each other in an attempt to untangle.
“He’s getting away!” Samantha tried to run after him, but Jo grabbed her hand to stop her.
“Don’t bother, Samantha. He’s already gone.”
With sirens fast approaching, Jo felt her stomach churn. She wanted to run, just like Drew had, just like they had in the past. It was already too late as beams of light arched along the outside wall of the villa and over the grass. Within moments Jo had her hands in the air and Samantha stumbled over her attempt at an explanation. “We saw someone back here, it looked like he was going to break in.”
“What are you two doing out so late?” One of the officers asked. Samantha recognized them as two of the officers who had attended the scene when Valda died.
Jo lowered her hands when she saw that no one was going to cuff her. “We went for a walk, to look at the stars,” Samantha replied.
“And the man you saw?”
“I didn’t see much. It was too dark. I ran after him to try to stop him, but he got away.” Jo shrugged. She tried to act casual, but under the surface she was panicking, she hated talking to the police.
“So, what you’re saying is you didn’t get a good look at the man you thought was possibly breaking in to this villa?” The police officer jotted down a note on his pad.
“Yes, that’s what I’m saying.” Jo narrowed her eyes.
“And you?” The officer looked over at Samantha. “Did you see his face? Anything about him?”
“She didn’t see him until he was running off in that direction.” Jo pointed towards the road that Drew ran down. Samantha cleared her throat, but she didn’t argue the point.
“Is that true?” The officer tapped his notepad with his pen.
“I didn’t see anything but a blur,” Samantha stated.
“And what exactly were the two of you doing walking around at this time of night?” The police officer who Jo guessed was just barely above twenty-five addressed her as if she was a teenager hanging out after curfew.
“Walking, like we said,” Jo said.
“Just walking?”
“It’s a beautiful night.” Jo looked up at the stars.
“This is the same villa where a woman died. A woman who you are suspected of poisoning with muffins.” The officer looked over at Samantha. “Are you sure that there isn’t anything else that you want to tell me? Do you have a reason for returning to the scene of the crime?”
“Excuse me, but it was proven my muffins had nothing to do with her death.” Samantha frowned. “It’s a small community, it’s impossible to go for a walk and not be near someone’s villa at some point. I didn’t even realize which one it was, since it’s so dark.”
“So, you were out walking, in the dark, for no particular reason, and ended up catching a man trying to break in, but neither of you saw his face or can give any form of description of him?”
Jo looked sideways at Samantha. She expected her to admit that they had both seen and spoken to Drew, but instead she only shook her head. “Are you going to arrest me for walking and reporting a crime?” Samantha asked.
“No ma’am, not at this time. But I would advise very strongly that you keep your walks to the daylight hours. Understand?”
Samantha nodded without another word. The officer turned back to Jo. “As for you, I’d like to recommend that the next time you see a masked man, run the other way and call the police, don’t try to chase him down. You could have been hurt, or worse. Really, you should consider how dangerous something is before you make the decision to run straight for it.”
“Yes, officer.” Jo folded her arms across her chest and settled her gaze on him. “Next time I’ll call the police instead of doing their job.”
“Jo!” Samantha exclaimed.
“Sorry.” Jo lowered her eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way.” She held up her hands in mock surrender.
The officer shook his head and walked away. “Jo, are you trying to get us thrown into jail?” Samantha asked.
“I’m sorry, he got under my skin.”
“We have to talk, Jo,” Samantha said.
“What’s going on here?” Eddy crossed the grass to reach them. “I heard the sirens and came to check it out. It’s not Roger is it?”
“No, it’s not Roger. Let’s go before that officer changes his mind about me.” Samantha grabbed Eddy’s hand loosely and led him away from the villa.
As the three walked towards Samantha’s villa, Jo filled him in on the details, omitting the fact that she knew who the man was. She knew that Eddy would never understand that she knew him and had let him get away. Samantha listened quietly and Jo hoped she wouldn’t tell him the truth.
“If Jo had let me use my zip ties this case would be solved,” Samantha said as Eddy’s phone rang.
“I have to take this,” he said apologetically as he walked away from the women.
“I got distracted,” Jo muttered.
“You are never distracted,” Samantha said. “You have never made a mistake in the past. You’re not going to fool me into thinking that you did tonight.”
“I’m sorry, I had to let him go,” Jo explained.
“If he’s the one that killed Valda and stole
the necklace, why wouldn’t we want him arrested?”
“He’s not a killer.” Jo frowned. “I know he’s not. Besides why would he come back to the villa again? If he already has the necklace what’s the point?”
“Maybe he wanted to finish the job.” Samantha snapped her fingers. “Maybe he thought that Roger found out or saw too much. Maybe he was here to kill Roger.”
“No way. One of the most important rules of theft is to never return to the scene. If you get away clean, stay away.”
“I didn’t realize crime had rules.” Samantha looked at her. “Isn’t there one about not turning on your fellow thief? Is that what happened here tonight, Jo? Did you really just let a murderer escape because you thought you owed him loyalty?”
“No,” Jo said with conviction. “You don’t understand. I let him go because we will get more information out of him if he’s free than we will if he’s in jail. We’re not going to get anywhere near him to talk to him once he’s locked up.”
“And now you don’t think he’s off and running?” Samantha asked. “If he’s smart he’s headed for Mexico.”
“No, I don’t think he’s running. He wants that necklace, he’s wanted it for a long time. If there’s any chance that it’s still in play he won’t stray far.”
“Or maybe if there’s any chance that he’ll get a second chance with you?” Samantha smiled. “Don’t you think, Jo?”
“Samantha, you have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Maybe not, but I do hope that you will tell me.”
“Why do you have zip ties in your purse?” Eddy looked at Samantha as he walked back towards them.
“You never know when you might need to detain someone,” Samantha replied.
“If you had told me you were going I might have been able to stop him,” Eddy said.
“We can do some things by ourselves,” Samantha said defensively.
“Let’s all just try to get some sleep for now,” Eddy said as he pushed his hat up off his forehead and scratched his head. “No more running off. We need to do this together or not at all.” He looked from Samantha to Jo. “I’m not commanding, I’m requesting.”
“I can agree to that.” Jo nodded.