by D. B. Henson
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Based on the number of sales I’ve had the last two quarters, I was thinking of hiring some help for you and Cheryl. I know you could use it.”
“Really? We have been spread pretty thin lately, not that I’m complaining or anything.”
“I know. Anyway, there’s a girl named Marcie. She works in the human resources department at Chadwick & Shore. I need you to call her and ask her to bring her résumé by the office. Have her fill out an application while she’s there. And make sure she understands she’ll have to take classes and get her real estate license.”
“I’ll do it as soon as we hang up. Anything else?”
“That’s it. How are things on your end? Any problems?”
“Not so far.”
“I’ll knock on wood.”
“Oh, before you go, you do have a message here. Townsend Mortgage called. They approved the loan on Rachel Court. They set the closing for two o’clock tomorrow. Do you still want me to cover it for you?”
“Yes, if you don’t mind. I’m not really up to it yet.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll hold the sellers’ hands for you. They won’t even realize you’re not there.”
“Thanks.”
Toni hung up the phone. She was glad to hear the mortgage company had approved the loan. It was touch and go there for a while. A few problems had surfaced regarding the buyer’s recent divorce. His ex-wife had failed to make payments on a car still in his name. Luckily, he had managed to clear things up.
That was it!
Why didn’t she think of it sooner? She had all the required information.
She dialed the number for the loan officer at Townsend.
“Helen Dove.”
“Helen, it’s Toni.”
“How are you, sweetie?”
“I’m holding up.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I’ve been thinking about you. Saying a few prayers too.”
“Thanks. I need all the prayers I can get.”
“Did Janet tell you about Rachel Court?”
“Yes she did, but that’s not why I’m calling. I have a buyer I need you to pre-qualify.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
“He recently did some work for Chadwick & Shore. I’m not real sure about his credit history. He was a little sketchy with the details. I’d like to get a credit report pulled before I spend a lot of time showing him houses.”
“Smart girl. What’s his name?”
“Nico Williams.”
“Address?”
“Umm, well, I didn’t realize it until now, but he has it listed as a post office box. Is that a problem?”
“No. It won’t matter. His physical address will come back on the report.”
“That’s what I thought.” Toni gave Helen Nico’s social security and driver’s license numbers.
“Okay. I’ll go ahead and pull the report.”
“Thanks. Oh, and Helen, could you give me his correct address when it comes back? I like to have my files complete.”
“Will do.”
“Great. One more thing, I don’t know when I’ll be back in the office, so phone me either on my cell or at home with the information.”
“You got it. Take care, sweetie.”
Toni smiled as she ended the call. Maybe she would be able to find Nico after all. Even if he had moved, it was possible that he had left a forwarding address with his neighbors. Or they might know his relatives or a girlfriend. Anything that could help her track him down.
Now, if she could only get a lead on Gloria Keith. Who was she? What was her connection to Scott?
Toni drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. If she were Detective Lewis and she wanted to find out about someone who had died, who would she talk to? Who would she take a statement from? The obvious choices were the deceased’s close friends, relatives, and co-workers.
Where did Gloria fit in? She had to be a business associate. That would be the only way to explain why Toni had never heard of her. Maybe she had met with Scott the day before he died. Maybe that’s why Lewis decided to question her.
Toni scanned her memory, trying to recall anything Scott might have said about his schedule that day. The only thing she could remember him talking about was the hotel. But if Gloria had been involved with the project, Jill would have known her.
Then Toni realized something. She had spent the previous night scouring phone listings for Nico’s number, but she had never once thought to search for Gloria’s.
The next exit was less than half a mile down the road. She glanced at the car beside her and then checked her rearview mirror. A steady line of cars filled the right hand lane. Toni stomped on the gas and swerved over, inciting a riot of honking horns. She threw up her hand in apology and pulled off the interstate. She drove into a gas station near the exit.
Toni parked her car and pulled her laptop computer out of the case on the back seat. Luckily, she had a strong wireless signal. After connecting, she ran a phone directory search. Two listings were possible matches. G.A. Keith and G.S. Keith. Toni dialed the first number. A man answered.
“May I speak to Gloria?” Toni asked.
“You’ve got the wrong number.” The man slammed down the phone.
Strike one.
Toni punched in the second number. After the third ring, an answering machine picked up.
“Hi, this is Gloria. You know what to do.”
The machine beeped and Toni hung up the phone. It had to be her. How many Gloria Keiths could there be in the Nashville area? She wrote down the address then pulled up the map on her car’s navigation system. Gloria lived on a small street off West End Avenue, near Vanderbilt University.
Toni checked her watch. It was only eight forty-five. How long before Gloria would be home? Did she come home for lunch? Or would it be after five before she returned? Finding her address had been easy. Waiting was the hard part.
Toni packed up her laptop computer and then pulled out of the gas station. She drove along a side street, lost in thought. What information did Gloria have? Did she know Brian?
Toni ran through several different scenarios in her mind, driving on autopilot again. The next thing she knew, she was at the cemetery. And like the day of the funeral when she had driven to the hotel, she couldn’t remember exactly how she got there. The feeling was even stranger today. Like an unseen force had called silently to her, had drawn her to the place where she last said goodbye to Scott.
She rolled through the gates and stopped near the same spot she and Mark had parked for the funeral. There were dozens of other cars lining the lane up ahead, and she could see a memorial service in progress down the slope. The same funeral home that conducted Scott’s service, the same green awning.
Toni switched off the ignition and got out. Unconsciously, her hand slid to the knife holstered on her side. She scanned the cemetery, looking for anyone who seemed out of place. Seeing no one of interest, she locked her car door and headed up the slope to Scott’s grave.
Brian parked the mustang just outside the gates of the cemetery and watched her through his binoculars. He half believed she was on to him. Why else would she have conned her way into his hotel room?
And today, she had been overly cautious. Almost as if she knew he was following her. He had noticed her constantly checking her rearview mirror, and then she made the sudden exit from the interstate. Now the trip to the cemetery. Although he didn’t think she had actually spotted him, he knew she was suspicious.
At least one thing was certain. She hadn’t yet found the tap on her phone line. He had camped outside her home the night before, hidden in the clump of evergreens, listening to her make call after call, desperately trying to locate Nico Williams.
He guessed that was the reason she had driven to Chadwick & Shore the first thing this morning. He considered following her inside just to make sure, but decided against it. He wondered where she would go next. It didn’t really matter.
With the tracking system installed, she wouldn’t be able to lose him. He would stay out of sight. Make her feel at ease.
But wherever she went, whatever she did, he would be right behind her.
CHAPTER 15
Toni knocked on the door of apartment G-101.
It was only eleven thirty, but she hoped by some chance Gloria might be home. When there was no answer, she knocked again. She leaned toward the door and listened for any sounds coming from inside the apartment. Not able to hear anything, she decided to leave. She had already started to walk away when the door swung open.
A woman with short honey-colored hair and the body of a centerfold model stood in the doorway. She looked to be in her early twenties and was wearing a turquoise tank top and low-rise jeans. A pair of oversized gold hoops dangled from her ears.
“Are you Gloria Keith?”
“That’s me.”
“My name is Toni Matthews. I was hoping –”
“I know who you are. I’ve been expecting you. Come on in.”
Gloria led her into the small living room, stuffed with large antiques. “Have a seat,” she said.
Toni sat down on a Victorian sofa in mint condition. She glanced around the room. A matching side table held pictures of Gloria and a man in his mid-thirties, along with pictures of a thin older woman, probably her mother. Most of the other furnishings were from the same period. Each as perfectly preserved as the sofa. Whoever Gloria was, she had expensive tastes.
Gloria sat next to Toni. “I see you like the furniture.”
Although Toni had never been fond of the Victorian style, she smiled. “You have some very nice pieces.”
“They belonged to my grandmother. She died a few months ago.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It happens. But little miss real estate agent knows that. Don’t you?”
Surprised by Gloria’s rudeness, Toni hesitated, then nodded. “Yes, I do.”
“Which is why you’re here, right?”
Toni wondered why a woman she had only just met would regard her with such veiled hostility. “I wanted to talk to you about Scott Chadwick. You gave a statement to Detective Lewis after he died.”
“And you want to know why.”
“Yes.”
“I thought you would have figured it out by now.”
“Figured what out?”
“They say the wife is always the last to know. I guess it’s true.” Gloria smiled. “Scott and I were lovers.”
Toni felt like someone had just punched her in the stomach. “What do you mean, you were lovers? You mean before I met him?”
“No. I mean exactly what I said. We met a couple of years ago at Vanderbilt. He was a guest lecturer for my design class. We started seeing each other back then, and we never stopped. We were together right up until the very end.”
Toni felt her intestines knot. “I don’t believe you.”
“Believe it. It’s true. I have no reason to lie.”
Toni just sat there staring at the blonde. It couldn’t be true. There was no way. “Why are you doing this?”
Gloria grinned like she’d just won a prize. “Face it. Scott needed something more than you could ever give him. He wasn’t satisfied sharing his bed with a boring, uptight businesswoman.”
Toni slapped Gloria hard across the face.
“You, bitch!” Gloria jumped up from the sofa. “You have no right to come into my house and think you can knock me around.”
“You’re right, I don’t. Just like you have no right to lie about your relationship with Scott.”
“I’m not lying.” Gloria rubbed her left cheek. “He was here, in this apartment, the day before he died. We had sex on this very rug. And afterward, we had a long talk. He was upset. I don’t know all the details, but his business was going belly up and it was his fault. He said he was losing everything. His money, his properties and you too. He knew you would call off the wedding once you found out he was going broke.
"That's insane. His money never mattered to me."
"He didn't believe that. And he said there was no way to start his business back up again. That no banks would ever lend to him once he declared bankruptcy. Scott felt like his life was already over. Rather than go through the humiliation, he just wanted to end it. To kill himself. And he wanted me to help him. I'd had some problems with an ex-boyfriend a while back. He had threatened me, so I bought a handgun for protection. Scott asked me for it. I lied and told him I didn't have the gun anymore."
"Do you realize how ridiculous all this sounds? Scott would never want to die just because he lost his business. He knew I would always be there for him, that I'd love him the same rich or poor. If he had been upset enough to even think about shooting himself, he would have come to me first. He would have talked to me about it."
"Newsflash – Scott didn't tell you everything. You didn't know him half as well as you think. He was a totally different person when he was away from you."
Toni stared Gloria straight in the eyes, challenging her words. The man she was describing didn't even remotely resemble Scott.
Unable to hold her gaze, Gloria looked away. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get some ice for my face.” She started toward the kitchen.
Even though she didn’t believe a word of what Gloria had said, Toni felt like she might puke. “Do you mind if I use your bathroom?”
“Go ahead. It’s at the end of the hall.”
Toni let the cold water run over her hands and then splashed some on her face. How could this be happening? Why would Gloria make up such a crazy story? What did she have to gain?
Toni opened the medicine cabinet. She found all the usual things a woman would keep in her bathroom. She noticed there was only one toothbrush. There weren’t any men’s toiletries at all. Under the vanity, Gloria had stowed several rolls of toilet paper and some cleaning products. Toni checked the tub. Shampoo, conditioner and some lavender bubble bath. There was nothing in the room to indicate Scott, or any other man for that matter, had ever showered there.
Toni eased open the bathroom door and glanced down the hallway. She could hear Gloria still in the kitchen. Leaving the bathroom light on, she pushed the door closed and then slipped into one of the bedrooms.
An elegantly carved bed stood against one wall. A chest of drawers, a dresser, and an armoire crowded the remainder of the room. There were several photos on display featuring the same three subjects as those in the living room.
Toni closed her eyes and tried to sense Scott’s presence, to smell a hint of his cologne. Anything that would lead her to believe he had been there. She felt nothing.
She slid open the door to the closet. The trendiest of women’s fashions hung inside along with several designer gowns and a full-length sable coat. Toni wondered what Gloria did for a living. Her wardrobe was worth a fortune. Maybe Grandma had left her the money to pay for the clothes. Not to mention her silicone boobs.
Toni checked the hallway again.
She sneaked out of the first bedroom and into the second. The décor came as a shock. A child’s painted white furniture and a canopy bed filled the room. A menagerie of stuffed animals littered the ruffled pink bedspread. Paintings of horses lined the walls.
Did Gloria have a daughter? Toni hadn’t seen any pictures of a little girl anywhere in the apartment. She realized there were no pictures of Scott either.
She opened one of the chest drawers. It was empty. So was the dresser. Something was off here.
Way off.
She hurried out of the bedroom and back to the bath. After flushing the toilet, she turned off the light and returned to the living room. Gloria sat on the sofa holding an icepack against her face.
“I’m sorry I took so long,” Toni said. “I needed some time to regain my composure.”
“Good. I don’t feel like getting a bruise on my other cheek.”
Toni didn’t bother sitting down. “I shouldn’t have hit you. But you
shouldn’t have provoked me either.”
“I’m just telling it like it is.”
“No, you’re not. It may be true that you had a fling with Scott at one time. And you may have remained friends. But there’s one thing I know for sure. There’s no way he slept with you after he starting seeing me.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. And here’s another thing I know. Scott may have been having problems at the office. He may even have mentioned them to you. And for some reason, maybe for the attention, maybe to get back at him for dumping you, you decided to make up a story about him wanting to commit suicide. You even went to the police. But there’s one thing I know that you don’t.”
“Really? What’s that?”
“Scott wasn’t alone at the hotel that morning. Someone met him there. They argued. There was a struggle in the elevator. He lost his pen. When the elevator stopped, the fight continued. Someone pushed Scott off that balcony. He was murdered. I know who killed him. And in a few days, I’ll have all the evidence I need to prove it.”
Gloria stared at her, dumbfounded. She opened her mouth like she was about to say something, but then closed it again.
It didn’t matter. Toni had heard enough. She turned her back and walked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her.
CHAPTER 16
Toni reread the first handwritten condition listed on the sales contract and again failed to comprehend the words. She had been staring at the document for the last twenty minutes and she still had no idea what it said.
Her mind was stuck on Gloria Keith, and it refused to budge.
She dropped the contract on top of her desk and cradled her head in her hands. She closed her eyes and massaged her temples. Was it possible? Could Scott have had a lover on the side?
The very nature of his job kept him out of the office most of the day, and he had no one to account to for his time. The opportunity had definitely been there. But none of the signs were.
Wouldn’t she have known if he had been seeing someone else? Wouldn’t she have sensed it? During all the time they were together, she had never once suspected Scott of being unfaithful. He was too straightforward. Too loyal. She knew him inside and out. Cheating wasn’t in his personality. He just wasn’t the type.