by Rayna Morgan
“Are you forgetting to include someone in your poker charade?” Lea asked.
“Not for a minute.” He erased the board and smiled as he turned around. “This game isn’t for gents only. By all means, invite Holly.”
“How do you expect the guilty party to react to the invitation?”
“By sweating bullets.”
Chapter 35
Lea saw a familiar-looking man as she parked in the garage at Townsend Towers. She entered the lobby and gave a description to the porter.
“Did he take the elevator to the penthouse?” she asked.
“He used the stairs since he was only going to the first floor.”
Lea rushed up the stairway, certain of his destination. Opening the door of Holly’s office, she found herself face to face with her fellow cruiser.
“Hello, Jason,” she said, slightly breathless.
“Well, well. If it’s not the rum lady.” His chilling gaze unhinged her. “We run into each other in interesting places.”
“Are you here for business?” Her voice sounded shrill, even to her ears.
The question seemed to amuse him. “If you’re asking whether I’m visiting a friend, the answer is no. I’m here to make arrangements for a party. If you’re in town, I’ll send you an invitation.”
“I won’t be available.”
“I didn’t say when the party will be held.”
“Whenever you have a party, I won’t be available.”
His lips smoothed into a grin, making her feel foolish.
“Is Holly here?” she asked, breaking away from his stare.
“She was on her way to the bank when I arrived. She asked me to wait, but I’ve got other appointments. You’re welcome to stay. Tell her I’ll call later to finish our business.”
He was gone before Lea could think of a reason to stop him, leaving unanswered questions hanging in the air. But his presence strengthened her suspicion about Holly.
At that instant, an angry woman barged into the office.
“Where’s Holly?” she asked, looking around the room.
“She’s not here. I can give her a message when she returns.”
“She staffed a luncheon for me but put someone in charge of cleanup so she could prepare for her dinner party. Things were left in a mess, not at all to my liking. Tell her to call me. I want an explanation.”
As soon as the woman left, Lea hurried to the drawer where Holly placed the package the deliveryman brought.
The package was gone.
She shuffled through a stack of receipts but there was nothing to indicate what the delivery contained. Before slamming the drawer on her wasted effort, she noticed a passport.
She picked it up and flipped to the last entry.
Holly’s passport was stamped in Guadalajara the day Mario disappeared.
• • •
Lea dropped the document and closed the drawer seconds before Holly entered.
“What are you doing?” Holly asked, finding Lea at her desk.
“You had a visit from an angry customer. I was leaving you a message.”
When Holly heard the visitor’s complaint, she brushed it off. “That’s Phyllis. Always griping about something. I’ll call and smooth things over. Where’s Jason?”
“He had to leave. He’ll call later to discuss arrangements.”
Lea moved away from the desk and took a seat. “I met him on a cruise to Ensenada last week.”
Holly cast a questioning look in Lea’s direction as she dropped a set of keys on her desk.
“I thought you were investigating Cate’s accident.”
“I needed a break so I treated myself to a cruise.”
She hurried on before her explanation was questioned. “Jason told me he’s in the import-export business.”
“He dropped by to tell me about his latest inventory. There are pieces I might buy for my home.”
Jason gave a different reason for his visit, Lea thought. Both explanations - or neither - might be true.
Lea couldn’t think of a way to ask about Holly’s trip without disclosing how she knew. She took a shot in the dark.
“I tracked Mario down in Chapala. I thought I saw you there.”
The startled look on Holly’s face told Lea her trick paid off.
“Lyle called after your visit, concerned about your questions and worried about Mario,” Holly said. “I flew there to talk Mario into coming back and squaring things with the police so people would stop looking for him. When I heard he disappeared, I flew back immediately. I never left the airport.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“For fear you would have the suspicion you’re having now.”
“You were right to worry because I don’t believe you,” Lea said. “But I may be able to prove whether you’re telling the truth.”
She called Ricardo to ask about his passengers the day of Mario’s disappearance.
“I had three fares before I got the news and went to console my family,” he told her.
“Describe the people you picked up at the airport and took to Chapala.”
“My early morning fare was a businessman. Then, a family of four returning from vacation. Finally, a woman traveling alone. She didn’t want to talk.”
Lea lifted her phone and snapped Holly’s picture.
“What are you doing?” Holly cried.
Without answering, Lea continued her conversation.
“The woman you picked up, Ricardo. I’m sending you a picture. Tell me if she’s the one.”
She transmitted the picture of Holly.
An instant later, Ricardo responded. “No, that woman was not my fare.”
Lea hung up deflated, but quickly jumped back on the offensive. “Why did you lie about Cate?”
“What do you mean?” Holly asked casually, spreading her fingers to inspect her polished nails.
“You implied Cate drank enough at your dinner to be intoxicated. That wasn’t true.”
“I told you what I recall. If I overstated the number of drinks, what difference does it make?”
“Cate had only one glass of wine.”
Holly bristled. “How would you know? You weren’t there.”
“Did she tell you her other news? In addition to marrying Mario, they were eager to start a family. How did that make you feel?”
Holly’s eyes flared and then drained of emotion. “I was surprised. In the past, Mario expressed no desire to raise a family. But I knew how much Cate wanted children so I was happy for her.”
“Let’s stop playing games, Holly. The night Cate was murdered, you learned your friend was marrying a man you once loved and would soon be pregnant with his child. Did you realize you were still in love with him?” Her voice trembled as she asked her next question. “Is that why you wanted Cate out of the picture?”
Holly’s bottom lip quivered but she didn’t respond.
“Did you plan to ply her with alcohol hoping she’d drive herself in a ditch? You must have been disappointed when she stopped drinking.”
“You’ve got me all wrong. I’m not that cold-hearted. Still, I wasn’t surprised when I heard. She could never handle liquor. One glass of wine was apparently enough.”
Lea pressed on. “You seemed genuinely upset over her death. Were those crocodile tears you shed when we talked?”
Holly shrugged without responding.
“Let’s return to the night of the dinner,” Lea said. “What emergency did your boyfriend have which made him late? Is he a doctor?”
Holly’s lips spread in a thin line. “Let’s just say you aren’t the only one with ties to the police.”
Lea’s pulse raced as the pieces fell in place.
“Let me guess. Detective Mike Morris.”
“How did you know?”
“I believe Mike used you to set Cate up. Knowing her location, he waited on the road a mile from your house.”
Holly’s face registered shock. “Y
ou aren’t suggesting Mike’s responsible for Cate’s death? What reason would he have to harm her?”
“We’ve got Cate’s recording which implicates Townsend and Kirk in illegal activities. Both men pay Mike to protect their interests. I consider that reason enough, don’t you?”
“I hope you don’t think I knew about his plans or was involved in any way.”
“I’ve come with a means for you to prove it. I should warn you, it may implicate your boyfriend.”
“If Mike had anything to do with Cate’s death, I’m willing to help.”
“Ron Townsend will invite you to a poker game.”
“What makes you think Ron considers me good enough to play with his friends?”
“Poker skill is not the prerequisite to attend this particular party.”
“What is?” Holly asked.
“Having a motive for murder.”
“So you do consider me a suspect,” Holly said angrily. “How could you think—”
Lea interrupted to give instructions. “I assume you participated in Cate’s scheme which means you’re proficient with the equipment. We want you to record the conversation at the game.”
Holly ignored the insinuation of wrongdoing. “I’ll erase more doubts than yours tonight. I’m a good poker player. If Ron and his friends think they’ll make a killing off me, they’re in for a surprise.”
“The only killing I want resolved is Cate’s murder.”
• • •
On her way home, Lea considered Holly’s role in the drug ring. If she tagged Jason as the supplier and Mario as the runner, what function did Holly perform?
Stopped at a red light, she watched activity along the block.
Cars lined up at the gas station for a turn at the pump.
People streamed into a fast-food restaurant reminding her it was almost noon.
A woman carried a basket of clothes into a busy laundromat on the corner.
The sign on that building made Lea forget to move when the light changed.
Wash N Go Laundry.
A horn honked behind her, but she only smiled.
She had an answer for Holly’s role in the drug operation.
Chapter 36
Warren’s first call was to Ron Townsend’s office. Neither his receptionist nor the man himself sounded pleased to hear from him.
“I’m busy," the developer said, impatiently. “What do you want?”
“I was hoping you would invite me to your weekly poker game.”
By the silence on the line, Warren knew the request caught his opponent off guard.
“I’m surprised,” Ron said after a moment. “You don’t strike me as a gambling man.”
“If I were, I would bet plenty that you want to keep the building department from investigating your projects for code violations. All it takes to get the ball rolling is a person submitting a complaint. It can even be done online.”
“Are you threatening to make a complaint?”
“I’m simply stating how little effort is required to start a process that could cost you a great deal of time and money.”
“What you are suggesting is coercion.”
“What I am suggesting should be of no concern unless your contractor took imprudent shortcuts during construction. Are you willing to help or not?”
Townsend sighed. “Who are the other players?”
Warren gave him the names.
“That’s an odd assortment,” Townsend noted.
“You all have one thing in common, or should I say one person in common.”
“Don’t tell me you’re still trying to build a case around Cate Palmer’s accident.” His voice filled with scorn. “Don’t you have anything better to do with your time?”
“If she were your daughter, you wouldn’t say that.”
“All right. My house, tomorrow night, nine o’clock. Be on time. I want this over with as quickly as possible.”
“I’ll remember to mention your cooperation to the judge. It may earn you some points.”
“What judge?”
“The one who eventually tries you for bribing an assemblyman.”
The receiver slamming caused Warren to hold the phone away from his ear.
He smiled with satisfaction.
• • •
The second call received an even less cordial reception.
“If you’re calling to harass me,” the assemblyman said in a frosty tone, “I refuse to listen.”
“You may have forgotten that elected officials are expected to serve in an ethical manner, but let me remind you that we have proof which could result in charges of misconduct.”
“All you have is an illegally recorded conversation. That’s a long way from proof of wrong-doing.”
“Let me finish.”
“All right, but make it quick. I’ve got more important things to do than listen to half-baked theories of collusion.”
“How would you like to partially right your misdeeds?”
His tone was wary. “I’m not admitting to anything, but are you suggesting a way to avoid repercussions for past actions?”
“I’m not saying that at all. I don’t know what your peers or the voters in your constituency might do if the recording finds its way into their hands. What I’m providing is a way to prove your innocence in the larger crime of murder. You may even gain some peace of mind knowing you did the right thing. After all, the way a man feels about himself should be as important as how he’s viewed by the public.”
“What is the right thing you’re suggesting I do?”
“We’ve arranged a get-together for people who had something to gain from Cate’s death. Our problem is figuring out which of you vipers is guilty. It will be up to you to force someone’s hand.”
“How do you propose I do that?” he asked, sarcastically. “Ask the guilty party to raise his hand?”
“You pride yourself on being clever. I’m sure you’ll find a way.”
“Thanks for your vote of confidence.” His tone was peevish. “What will happen if I don’t cooperate?”
“The same things which will eventually happen if you continue on the road you’re pursuing. You’ll lose your job, your reputation, and most likely your wife and family. You may even end up in jail. But rest assured that if you refuse to help, I’ll make those things happen even faster.”
• • •
After gaining access to the squad room, Warren made his way to the detective’s desk.
“You here again?” Morris asked. “What are you looking for this time?”
“Just staying on top of things. So many interesting events have transpired since our last chat.”
Morris crumpled the paper he was reading and turned to face Warren. “Like what?”
“Like finding out Mario Torres is an undercover cop in an operation run by none other than yours truly.”
Morris didn’t look surprised.
“The chief warned me he filled you in.” He threw the wadded paper back and forth between his hands. “Now that you know, maybe you’ll get off my case.”
“As I told you before, my only interest is finding justice for the Palmer family. However, I have one question you might answer for old times’ sake.”
“You must be referring to times before you bounced me off Vice.”
“I wasn’t the reason for your reassignment. You know why you were transferred.”
“To save the department’s reputation by convincing people we don’t allow mistreatment of suspects.” He shrugged. “I understood your reasons. I just didn’t agree with them. But to show I hold no grudge, I’ll tell you what you want to know.”
“The real reason you went in search of Mario. Did your undercover agent go rogue by taking the drug money to run off with Cate?”
“That’s what I went to Chapala to find out,” Mike said.
“Did you get an answer?”
“Mario ran away.” Morris threw the wadded paper in a wastebasket. �
��Wouldn’t you say that’s enough of an answer?”
“Or did you follow Mario intending to kill him?” Warren asked.
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.” He turned back to his desk. “If that’s all you came for…”
“Not quite.” Warren pulled out his recorder. “I brought something which should interest you.”
He played the conversation between Townsend and Assemblyman Kirk.
“Interesting stuff,” Mike said. “Where did you get the recording?”
“Cate Palmer recorded it the night of Townsend’s party.”
“It’s not my bailiwick, but the team investigating bribery and corruption will be happy to get their hands on this information. Leave the tape with me and I’ll make sure they receive it.”
“Wait. There’s more.”
Warren forwarded the tape to the conversation between Kirk and Morris.
Morris cracked his knuckles as he listened.
“Kirk asked you to keep an eye on Cate and you promised to keep him out of trouble,” Warren said.
“I was humoring the man. I didn’t expect trouble from Cate, but Allen worries about being blackmailed.”
“Why don’t you advise him to clean up his act so he won’t have those worries?”
“Is your issue with my client’s morals?”
“My issue is what measures you took to prevent problems for your client.”
“I’m smarter than to do anything which could put my head in a noose.”
“Yet you went for a bigger payday with a person of more substantial means.”
Warren forwarded the tape and played the conversation between the developer and Morris.
“When you told Townsend that Cate overheard his meeting in the study, he said he had extra work for you. What extra work did you do?”
“He only suggested he might have extra work. As it turned out, he didn’t ask for anything. We never discussed what he had in mind.”
“That’s a convenient answer. It doesn’t alter the fact that two men wanted you to protect them from Cate. For all I know, you ended up killing her in the process of carrying out their wishes.”
“You’re way off base. I didn’t kill Cate any more than I followed Mario to Chapala and killed him. I have no proof, so it’s up to you whether you believe me or not.”