Numbers Can Be Deadly (Sage Gardens Cozy Mystery Book 7)

by Cindy Bell

  Chapter Twelve

  Eddy glanced at his watch and frowned. “Are you sure she said she was on her way?”

  “Yes Eddy, please try to calm down, she’s only a few minutes late,” Samantha said.

  “A few minutes can mean everything. What if Kent comes back early?”

  “He won’t. He has to finish his shift.”

  “Still.”

  “Look, there she is now.” Samantha pointed to a car as it pulled into the driveway of the empty parking lot.

  “About time.” Eddy frowned. Jo stepped out of the car and hurried up to them. She always surprised Samantha when she saw her dressed for a break-in. She was dressed in skin-tight black clothes with her long, black hair tied in a tight ponytail. She looked impeccable as always.

  “I’m sorry I’m late.” She looked at Eddy, who looked down at his watch, then back up at her. “I needed to pick up a few more things for tonight.”

  “Are you all set now?” Samantha pulled her phone out of her purse. “I can get anything else you might need.”

  “No, I should be fine. We can head right in.”

  “Okay. I went ahead and put a little tracker on Kent’s car,” Samantha said.

  “You did?” Eddy raised an eyebrow. “When did you do that?”

  “You don’t need to know all of my secrets, Eddy.” Samantha smiled. “It should let me know when Kent is headed home. That way there’s not so much risk to Jo.”

  “How thoughtful of you, Samantha.” Jo smiled at her. “Well then, I’ll get to work.” She saluted Eddy and jogged out of the parking lot. Eddy and Samantha followed several feet behind. They made their way to a spot they’d chosen earlier. It was a small bus stop, close enough to Kent’s residence to keep an eye on Jo. Not only did the bus stop offer them shelter, it provided them with a reason for being there.

  “Do you think she’ll find anything?” Samantha watched as Jo disappeared.

  “I hope so. We need a break in this case, fast. I know that it’s weighing heavily on Walt.”

  “I think it’s more than just the case. The memories of the past are bothering him,” Samantha said.

  “I imagine they would. Working for Magnus was no treat,” Eddy said.

  “Neither was never having his chance with Madeline.”

  Eddy looked over at her. “Do you really think that’s what’s getting to him?”

  “Who knows with Walt? He doesn’t exactly let anyone in. The important thing is that he knows we support him. As long as he knows that, he’ll be fine,” Samantha said.

  Eddy pursed his lips and looked in the direction of Kent’s house. “Maybe we should have let him be here tonight.”

  “I think it’s best that he isn’t. Until his name is cleared, he’s got to stay out of sight. No need to tempt the detective into arresting him.”

  “You’re right.” Eddy nodded. He pulled out his phone and checked it for any new messages from Chris. Maybe he would come up with something to break the case. Or maybe he would at least be able to give him some insight as to why Magnus was killed. There wasn’t a single voice message or text.

  ***

  Jo rounded the side of the townhouse and headed for the back. Getting to the balcony would be easy enough for her. There was a drainpipe that she climbed easily. When she jumped down onto the balcony, the loud thump of her feet made her cringe. Perhaps she was a bit rusty. Or maybe in her rush to make it on time she’d forgotten to take a few calming breaths and focus. The loud noise reminded her that she was still at risk, even with the tracker on Kent’s car, even with her friends only a few steps away. She took a moment to breathe deeply.

  After a little fiddling with the handle on the balcony door, Jo found that as she had hoped, the door was unlocked. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. The interior was messy. Clothes hung over the back of the couch, dirty dishes were strewn across the coffee table. She made her way through the DVD collection, and the assortment of mostly untouched books on a small shelf. Nothing caught her interest. She skipped the kitchen and headed for the bedroom.

  When Jo opened the bedroom door she was greeted by a stale odor. Perhaps he didn’t change his sheets much, or maybe there was a stray plate of food tucked away somewhere and forgotten for far too long. Either way, it urged her to complete her task quickly. Right away she noticed an overflowing laundry basket. It was the best place to look. She tried to ignore the fact that the crumpled up clothes were at least a week overdue for a wash as she dug through the pile. She ran her fingers through the pockets of each of the shirts and pants. If Kent had Jimmy’s card, then he would be the main suspect without question. What a great way to frame someone for the murder, use their keycard. When she reached the bottom of the laundry basket she felt something hard. A smile spread across her lips.

  “There it is.” She fished out the item with mounting confidence. However, when she pulled it out she found that it was just the cardboard tag still attached to a t-shirt.

  “Really? New, clean clothes mixed with dirty clothes, Kent? Yuck.” She shook her head and tossed all of the clothes back into the basket. She doubted there was any chance that Kent would notice a difference in the pile, but it was always good to be careful. As she walked away from the laundry basket she noticed that his bedroom closet was half-open. She pulled back the door and peered inside. The closet was almost as bad as the laundry basket. She cringed and took a deep breath. It wasn’t pretty, but she didn’t have any other options. After a quick search she found the light switch and flipped it on. The closet didn’t look any better with the light on. However, she did notice an abandoned banana peel which was better than coming across it by touching it.

  Section by section Jo sorted through everything in the bottom of the closet. All she managed to discover was that Kent didn’t believe in hangers. As she emerged from the closet she had to fight the urge to toss the banana peel in the garbage. Everything needed to remain the way it was. She left the bedroom and headed out to the living room. On the way she passed by a computer. The screensaver was on and caught her attention as it was filled with pictures. One of the pictures featured the restaurant they were at earlier that day. Kent stood beside the bar with a big grin, as the bartender rested a hand on his shoulder with a thumbs up. Behind them a television screen displayed a baseball game. Jo studied the picture for a long moment. For some reason that she couldn’t pinpoint it held her attention. She snapped a picture of it with her cell phone, then continued her search. Luckily, the rest of the house was not as cluttered as his bedroom.

  Jo rummaged through the kitchen drawers in search of the keycard. All she found were some coasters from the restaurant, bottle openers, and old paper clips. Nothing that would incriminate Kent. Her heart sank as she realized that she was going to end up with nothing from her search. Just when she decided to take another look at the bedroom, her phone buzzed with a text. Kent’s car was on the move. She headed for the balcony. Along the way she double-checked to make sure that she didn’t leave anything out of place. By the time she was on the ground again, Samantha was there to meet her.

  “It was a false alarm, I’m sorry. He went in a different direction.”

  “That’s all right. Should I go back in?”

  “No, it’s too risky, you’ve already been in once.”

  “I didn’t find anything.” Jo frowned. “I’m sorry.”

  “Maybe there was nothing to find. We don’t know for sure that Kent is the murderer after all,” Samantha said.

  “Why does it feel like we keep running into brick walls?” Jo narrowed her eyes. “I think there is a lot more to this case than we are seeing.”

  “It would be a good idea to regroup and review what we know. We should see if Walt can meet up with us. I don’t want him to feel too left out.” The two women met Eddy at the bus stop.

  “Nothing.” Jo shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. If you say there was nothing, then there was nothing.” Eddy met her ey
es. “I know what a good job you do.”

  “Samantha thinks we should have a meeting.”

  “Let’s do that. I’ll try to get hold of Chris for an update. Let’s say, half hour, my place?” Eddy looked between them.

  “Yes, I’ll catch a ride with Jo, if that’s okay, Jo?” Samantha glanced at her.

  “Sure that’s fine. It’ll give us some time to review things.”

  “I’ll text Walt.” Eddy tapped at his phone as he walked back towards the car.

  Walt meeting at my house in thirty.

  He sent the text then climbed into the car. He expected Walt to text him right back. When he didn’t, he was a little surprised. Eddy started the car and drove back towards Sage Gardens. When he reached his driveway he received a text in return.

  Be there as soon as I can.

  Eddy raised an eyebrow. He wondered what that meant. Walt was only a few villas down, how long could it take him to get there? He dialed Chris’ number. After a few rings Chris answered the phone.

  “Eddy?”

  “Chris, I just wanted to see if there is any new information on the case. I wanted to check if they have their sights on anyone?”

  “Honestly, from what I can tell they are chasing their tails. Everyone has an alibi which makes pinpointing a suspect pretty difficult.”

  “What about Kent? Are they looking into him? I’m pretty sure he had something to do with it.”

  “You say he might be a suspect, but so far the detective hasn’t figured that out. Right now he’s their hero and only potential witness. He’s not even considered a suspect.”

  “They are really dragging their feet on this one aren’t they?”

  “They’re just being very, very careful. One mistake on this kind of case can ruin a detective’s career.”

  “Well, one mistake could ruin my friend’s life.”

  “Then it’s good that they’re being careful.”

  “I suppose. Let me know if you hear anything, Chris.”

  “You know I will. Keep me up to date too, Eddy.”

  Eddy thought about the break-in they had just conducted. He smiled to himself. Some things Chris was better off not knowing. “Sure will, Chris.” After he hung up the phone he grabbed some food to prepare a sandwich. Walt’s text still stuck out in his mind. He wondered just what his friend was up to.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Walt arrived at the restaurant with tension in his chest. It was so heavy that he considered taking a detour to the emergency room. However, he convinced himself that it was statistically more likely that it was anxiety. After a few steady breaths he parked outside the restaurant. As he walked up to the door he wondered if she would be there. Why would she be? She had no reason to have dinner with him. His suspicions began to rise. Was she trying to throw him off the investigation by pretending to be interested? The thought caused the tension in his chest to grow even heavier. When he opened the door to the restaurant he spotted her right away. After another deep breath he walked inside. She smiled as he walked up to her.

  “Right on time, just as I expected.”

  “You’re early.” He sat down across from her.

  “I didn’t want to miss you.”

  “Oh, and why is that?” He looked across the table at her.

  “I’m sorry? I’m not sure that I understand the question.”

  “It seems far too important to you to have dinner with me. So, what’s the catch?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “You like to get straight to the point don’t you?”

  “I don’t like to be manipulated.” Walt locked eyes with her. “Either you tell me what you want from me, or I get up and leave.” The words sprang from his lips faster than he expected. He frowned. “I mean, there’s no point in us wasting our time here.”

  “Walt, this isn’t like you. Is something wrong?”

  “All due respect, Madeline, but you can’t possibly know what is like me. It’s been years, and even when we knew each other, we didn’t know each other that well.”

  “Maybe you didn’t know me very well, but I admired you from afar for some time. Either way, Walt, it’s out of character for you.” She tilted her head to the side. “Am I wrong?”

  Walt sighed and met her eyes. “Can you just tell me why we’re really here?”

  “I’m trying to do just that. I invited you to dinner because I wanted to spend some time with you, Walt. But it is true that there is something specific I want to discuss with you, while we share a meal.”

  “What is it?” He waved away the waiter that approached.

  “It’s about Magnus.”

  “I knew it.” He sighed.

  “Listen, it’s not what you think. I want to share something with you because I know that you can get to the bottom of it.”

  Walt smoothed out the napkin on the table beside him. He evened out the edge of the tablecloth. “Tell me.”

  “Can’t we order first?”

  “Please, Madeline. I don’t do well with uncertainty.”

  “Okay. Here is the situation. Hiller Brothers has been a long term customer. However, when Mr. Hiller branched out and opened Hiller Maximum, Magnus refused to sign a contract with it, because the company was so small. I think he was hoping it would fail, as he did all small companies.”

  “Why is this so important?”

  “I heard about the four digit number written on that piece of paper along with your name.”

  “Yes, we think it might be Kent’s employee number. If you read the four digits upside down it’s 9889.”

  “Well, that is one possibility. However, there is another.”

  “What?” Walt narrowed his eyes.

  “We often label our different contracts with the last four digits of their customer number. As I was reviewing some records I came across those four numbers. They belong to Hiller Brothers.”

  “Okay.” Walt looked puzzled. “I’m not sure how it’s relevant.”

  “That’s just it, neither am I. Clive Hiller has always paid on time. In fact I don’t even pay that much attention to his account because it is always paid. However, when I checked into his account I discovered that he has quite a large outstanding balance.”

  “Oh? That’s very interesting. A balance like that might be a good reason to break into the computer system.”

  “Yes, it might be,” she agreed. “I’d never suspect Clive of something like this, but I don’t know what else to think. Maybe he was angry that Magnus refused to work with his smaller company and so he stopped making his payments. Maybe he was upset with Magnus for other reasons. I thought about reaching out to him, but I decided to speak to you about it first. I don’t want to do anything to harm the investigation.”

  “What about the police? Have you talked to them about this yet?”

  “No, not yet. Like I said, Clive Hiller has always been a loyal customer. I would rather not bring the police into it unless we know for certain that he was involved. That’s why I came to you with it. I know that you and your friends can be subtle about your investigation. You have that woman, what’s her name?”

  “Samantha? Jo?”

  “The one that used to be a reporter.”

  “Samantha. How did you know that?”

  “You’re not the only one that can do a little detective work, Walt. I wanted to be sure that I could trust them, and you.”

  “I see.” Walt sat back in his chair and stared at her. “I guess I have the same concern about you.”

  “As you should. It’s been years. We don’t know each other very well. But I’d like to change that. I wish this mess wasn’t the reason that we were drawn back together, but I’d love for it to be an opportunity to start something new.”

  Walt smiled. He nodded to the waiter that approached. “Well, now is as good a time as any to get to know each other, right?”

  “Absolutely.”

  After they had ordered their meals, Walt tried to sort through his thoughts. Every time he
looked up at Madeline, all of his concern disappeared. It was a very strange sensation. Once the waiter walked away he met her eyes.

  “So you think that Clive Hiller is involved, but not that he’s the killer?”

  “I doubt he’d ever get his hands dirty. But I also don’t think he would order the murder. I don’t know. I have this feeling that he’s involved, but I just can’t figure out how.”

  “Do you know him well?”

  “No, I wouldn’t say that. I barely know him at all.”

  “After all these years?”

  “He’s a private man. And there was some tension between Hiller and Magnus.”

  “What kind of tension?”

  “Magnus considered him competition. It’s not like their businesses were in competition, it was more like he and Clive Hiller were in competition, in life. I think there was some issue between Clive and Magnus’ wife.”

  “Oh? That might be motive enough then.”

  “No, I don’t think so. It was nothing more than a fling really, before they even went out. Not something that would have lasted over the years. It’s just that Magnus took things so personally. You remember the way he blew up when he thought someone was stealing from him.”

  “Yes, I remember.” Walt scowled. “I’d call him a passionate man if I didn’t know better.”

  “Yes, he was just plain angry. But he’s gone now. So it doesn’t matter anymore.”

  “Madeline, what were things like between the two of you? I always worried about you.”

  “I can handle myself, Walt, I could then, and I can now. But it is nice to be worried about sometimes.”

  As they finished their meal Walt wiped his mouth and excused himself from the table.

  “Just need to wash up.” As he headed for the bathroom his phone buzzed with a text from Eddy. He sent a quick text back, then stepped into the bathroom. As he scrubbed his hands he wondered if he should tell Eddy about his dinner with Madeline. He really didn’t want to. He didn’t want to give Eddy any more reason to suspect Madeline. When he returned to the table he found Madeline signing a receipt.