If a woman has a cell phone, chances are it’s kept in her purse. Many purses now even have separate compartments for them. Unless Lisa left it on a table at home and it was overlooked when the paramedics came, I was pretty sure she’d have it with her.
“Odelia, Miriam confirmed that Lisa has her cell phone with her. She said Lisa got two calls on it last night. She knows one call was from Detective Frye because he also spoke a minute or two to Miriam, to thank her for her help. She’s not sure about the other call or whether or not Lisa received or made any after she went to bed.”
“Did Lisa ever call you while she was in the hospital? If so, and she used her cell phone, her number might be stored on your phone.”
There was a pause while Zee tried to remember. “No, sorry. I coordinated everything with Detective Frye.”
“The only way Lisa could have gotten out of Compton last night without us knowing was to have called a cab or called someone to pick her up.” I paused. “Or she could have taken a bus. Do busses run late at night in that area?”
“I’m not sure, but there’s not a bus stop near Miriam’s. So if Lisa left the house on foot to catch a bus, she wouldn’t have any idea where to go to get one or where it was headed.”
I started pacing the kitchen floor, trying to piece all the probabilities together. Something was fishy. Lisa was obviously dead set on going back home, if that’s where she went after leaving Miriam’s. And she was willing to risk her life to do it.
“I think she called someone or someone called her. But just to be safe, Zee, why don’t you call the cab companies that serve Compton and ask if anyone picked her up last night and where they took her—if they’ll even tell you.”
I grabbed my tote bag. “I’m on my way to Newport Beach,” I told Zee as I left out the back door and headed for the garage.
I was in the car, ready to back out of the garage, when I remembered the laundry.
“Hey, Odelia, where ya going?”
The question came from Silas. He was standing by our garage door, holding onto his bike.
“Just running an errand, Silas.”
“Can I come?”
“Actually, I’m heading to a friend’s place in Newport Beach. And I’m in an awful hurry. Besides, you should be in school.”
“Teacher conferences today, so no school. And Billy’s home with a cold. I’m bored.”
“Sorry, sweetie, maybe next time. Okay?”
I scooted back inside and checked the towels in the dryer. They were far from dry, so I reset the timer and hit the start button. A moment later, I was back in the car and hitting the road.
There were two calls I had to make ASAP: one was to Dev and one to Greg. I had promised Greg I would keep him informed, and I intended to keep that promise. Once in the car, I dialed Greg first, knowing that call might take less time than the one to Dev. As soon as Greg came to the phone, I filled him in. He wasn’t pleased that I was heading to Lisa’s.
“I don’t like it, Odelia. Harper could be watching the place. You could be heading right into danger.”
“I’m calling Dev right now, Greg. Either he’ll be there or he’ll send someone long before I arrive.”
Greg was silent for a moment. “Do you have keys to Lisa’s place?”
“No, of course not. I’m just going to see if she’s there and she’s all right, that’s all. I’m thinking that maybe she called a friend to take her home.”
“Good. Then make the call to Dev, pronto. If you insist on going, then just wait outside until he arrives, preferably in your car with the engine running. Although I’d prefer you to just call Dev and keep your nose out of it altogether.”
“I just want to make sure Lisa’s okay.”
“Sweetheart, Lisa made her choice to leave Miriam’s. If she’s in danger, she did that to herself. It doesn’t mean you have to follow her into the land of stupidity.”
My nose twitched, not because what he said offended me, but because I knew Greg was right. Lisa did make this choice on her own and without my involvement.
“As soon as I see whether or not she’s there, I’ll turn everything over to Dev. How’s that? It’s just that I’d feel better knowing myself. And if she is there, Dev might be able to convince her to leave. Maybe she just wanted to go home and pack a few things. Maybe there’s something very personal she needed, and then she was going to go back to Compton.”
“Do you really believe that, Odelia?”
“Not for a New York minute, but I have to know, Greg. As of this morning, both Jane Sharp and Lisa Luke have disappeared. I don’t know if they’re connected or even know each other, but it would drive me crazy to sit home.”
He gave me a big, exaggerated sigh.
Just as I was about to say something more, there was a loud noise, followed by my car acting funny. I pulled over to the curb.
“Greg, I think I have a flat tire. Hold on.”
I got out of the car and checked. Sure enough, my rear right tire was blown. But at least it blew on a surface street and not while I was sailing along on the freeway.
“Honey, I have a flat—the back right tire.”
“I’ll be right there.”
“No, don’t bother, it’s no biggie. I’ll call the Auto Club. They’ll send someone. That’s why we have them.”
“Okay. Damn, I knew those tires were getting bad. First thing tomorrow, we’re taking your car in and having all four replaced.” He laughed. “Someone must be watching out for you, sweetheart. At least the flat will keep you out of trouble for a while and give Dev time to get to Lisa’s.”
My nose twitched again, because again Greg was right.
After hanging up from Greg, I dug out my AAA membership card and called them. The dispatcher said they were very busy and it might be about twenty minutes before the service truck came. Nuts.
I was about to climb back into my car and call Dev when a vehicle pulled up—a white van I didn’t recognize. Although it was broad daylight and I was on a busy street, my natural instinct as a woman alone was to dash back into my car and lock the doors. Then the driver got out and asked if I needed help. I gave a sigh of relief. It was Paul Milholland, Jane Sharp’s delivery man.
“Hi,” he said, standing by the front of his van. “I thought I recognized you when I drove by, so I made a U-turn and came back. Can I give you a lift somewhere?”
“Thanks, but it’s just a flat tire. I called the Auto Club.”
“There’s a nasty tie-up on the 405. Four or five vehicles playing bumper cars. Might be awhile before a tow truck gets to you.”
“They warned me when I called.”
He ran a hand through his sandy hair. “If you have a spare, I’ll change it for you. Hate to see a woman stranded.”
“I couldn’t impose.”
“Not a problem. Why don’t you pop your trunk so I can get to work while you call the Auto Club back and let them know you’ve been rescued?”
It certainly sounded like a great plan to me and would save me a lot of time. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.” He made a gesture for me to open the trunk. After thanking him, I returned to the driver’s side of the car, reached inside, and pulled the trunk release.
Back standing on the curb near the front of my car, I called the Auto Club and cancelled my service call. Then I called Dev but only got his voice mail. I left him a message letting him know that Lisa was missing and I was heading to her place to see if she was there. I asked him to call me if he knew anything about her whereabouts.
Finished with my calls, I walked to the back of the car and watched Paul work. He had the spare out of the trunk and the car up on the jack, and was working on releasing the lug nuts. He worked efficiently, handling the wrench with tanned, muscled arms and work-worn hands. In spite of the slight breeze, he was dressed in just a tee shirt and jeans. On his feet were heavy work boots. At Lil’s I hadn’t noticed that his face was lined beyond his years.
“You have
such a deep tan for so early in the year—do you work outside a lot?”
He shook his head. “Nope, actually spend most of my workday inside or driving.” He glanced at me and gave me a smile. “But I do love to surf. I do it almost every morning. When I’m not working, I spend most of my time at the beach.”
“My husband and I live less than a mile from here, just a few blocks from the beach. Sometimes we go to Sunset Beach on weekends to watch the surfers before breakfast.”
“You ever surf?”
“No, but my husband does on occasion. He’s in a wheelchair, a paraplegic, and very athletic. But his big sport is basketball.”
“Amazing what guys in chairs can do, isn’t it?”
I gave Paul a big smile. “He’s absolutely amazing.”
The last time I had a chance to talk to Paul Milholland, I was in a rush. I really needed to ask him some questions, so maybe the flat tire was a blessing in disguise.
“I left you a voice mail earlier today,” I told him.
“You did? Sorry I missed your call. I’m always missing calls when I’m in and out of the van, then forget to check for messages.” He looked up from his work for a quick moment. “What’s on your mind? Was it about that job you might have for me?”
“Actually, I wanted to ask you about Jane Sharp. Have you worked for her long?”
“Several years now.”
“Was she in this morning? I had hoped to give her a call about something, a surprise for Lillian.” There I go again, lying my fat ass off.
“Sorry, wouldn’t know. I don’t work directly out of Sharp Design. In fact, I’m a contractor and work for several designers, as well as other folks. I like the independence.”
“Mason Bell, too? I heard he left Sharp Design and started his own company.”
Paul nodded. He had the flat tire off and was putting on the spare. “Yes, Mason’s doing quite well. Lately, I’ve been doing more work for him than for Jane.”
“Is Jane’s business going through a slow period? I thought she was the hottest of the hot.”
He tightened the lug nuts as he answered. “It’s a fickle business. One day people are waiting six months just to meet you, and the next day someone else is the darling of upholstery and wallpaper.”
I was trying to figure out how to ask Paul about possible stalkers but wasn’t sure how to do it. And if he didn’t work day in and day out with Jane, he might not know anything.
“Paul, during your time with Jane, have you ever noticed anything odd with her clients, like maybe one who might have had a thing for her?” When he gave me an odd look, I added a quick lie. “Lil mentioned something to me about how Jane has had problems with some of her prior clients—that some of them have almost stalked her. She is very beautiful, so I can see how that might happen.”
With a grunt, he gave the lug nuts a final twist. “That should hold you until you replace the spare with a new tire.”
Without addressing my question, he put the damaged tire into my trunk along with the jack. I was sure he was going to ignore my query. But after he closed the trunk, he turned to me.
“Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like that. I know over the years Jane has become close to some of her clients, but nothing unusual.”
Either Paul was unobservant or clamming up for some reason, maybe even out of decency. Mason Bell and even Steele had made it sound like everyone who knew Jane knew she diddled her male clients. But Paul Milholland didn’t strike me as the sort of person I could push to talk. Better I get down the road to Newport Beach and see what was happening with Lisa.
I held out my hand to him. “Thanks so much, Paul, for helping me out.” He took my hand and shook it, but didn’t release it.
“Well, I’m off to deliver a couple of antiques. Some real beauties. Want to see them?”
I really didn’t have time to window shop and was about to decline, but it was obvious that Paul was eager to show them to me.
I extracted my hand. “I loved that table you brought to Lil’s, but I’m kind of in a rush.”
“If you liked that table, then you’d really love these.” He chuckled. “One of them cost more money than I make in a year.”
The man had done me a huge favor, and I didn’t want to seem rude. “Well, a quick peek won’t hurt.”
When we approached the side of the van, I noticed that Paul moved to stand behind me and was very close. Then I felt his hand on the small of my back. It was an intimate gesture and one I didn’t appreciate. At that point, my cell phone rang. Happy for the interruption, I excused myself to Paul and deftly put some space between us.
When I answered, I couldn’t believe my ears. “Where are you?” I asked the caller. I listened for a few seconds before interrupting. “Hold on, hold on. Just a minute.”
I turned to Paul. “I’m sorry, Paul, but this is a very important call. Perhaps another time.” I started for my car as I talked. “Thanks for everything. You have no idea what a huge help you were today.”
With a smile and a salute, Paul Milholland climbed into his van and took off before I was even settled into my own vehicle.
I went back to my call. “Okay, Lisa, now tell me where you are and why you ran away from Miriam’s.”
According to Lisa, she left Miriam’s because she wanted to go home, pack, and leave town for a few days. She couldn’t stand the thought of being cooped up like a hostage, not even for her own good and with such a nice lady as Zee’s Aunt Miriam. She said she snuck out because she knew we’d try to stop her. Then she remembered Muffin and decided to take the cat with her.
Listening to her explanation, my gut—which was correct, by the way, about Dr. Eddy—told me something wasn’t right. A few days ago, Lisa couldn’t stand the sight of Muffin, and now she couldn’t leave town for a few days without the animal? Maybe now that Lisa realized she had nothing to do with Laurie’s death, she wanted to be near something that her sister had loved. But if she was only going to be gone for a few days, why take the cat? Cats aren’t good travelers even under the best of circumstances, so why uproot an animal from a stable environment just to drag it around to who knows where? It just didn’t make sense.
I agreed to meet her, and I agreed to bring Muffin. And yet again I lied my ass off. I had no intention of bringing Muffin to the rendezvous. Instead, my plan was to talk some sense into the girl and/or find out if she was involved in any way with Kirk and the smuggling. And with Jane Sharp’s connection with Kirk, I was now wondering if Jane was involved. After all, she also had connections to Gordon Harper and was now missing. Maybe Jane wasn’t running from the Blond Bomber, maybe she was running from Harper. Whichever—it didn’t matter. Jane Sharp had two big targets pinned to her designer outfit. We still weren’t sure what Kirk was bringing into the States for Harper, but according to Dev the consensus was pretty much diamonds. It was the number one illegal export from the continent of Africa and easily transportable.
With my spare tire securely in place, I flew down the 405 Freeway towards Newport Beach. Along the way, I saw the remnants of the accident Paul had alerted me about. The cars involved, tow trucks, and police cars were lined up along the right shoulder, and the only slowdown now was caused by lookey-loos.
Arriving at Lisa’s condominium complex, I turned cautiously into the guest parking area, keeping my eyes peeled for signs of Harper’s silver Mercedes or any other suspicious vehicles. I also didn’t see Dev’s car or any sign of police.
After parking my car, I made my way cautiously towards Lisa’s unit. It was on the end, conveniently located to the parking lot. I knocked gently. After a moment’s hesitation, during which I’m sure Lisa was making good use of the peephole, the door quickly opened to allow me inside. Just as quickly, it closed behind me.
Unlike my last visit, this time the condo was dark, the drapes drawn. Although it still looked the same, it felt abandoned—no longer a warm, welcoming home but an empty shell. As soon as my eyes adjusted, I noticed two bags n
ear the door—a small suitcase on wheels and a matching overnight bag. I also noticed that many of the photographs that once sat on the credenza were gone.
I turned to Lisa, who was standing by the door dressed in jeans and a blue sweatshirt, her long blond hair pulled back in a ponytail.
“You leaving until this blows over or for good?”
“Where’s Muffin?” Lisa didn’t look at me when she spoke.
I ignored her question and asked my own. “How did you get here from Compton?” When she didn’t respond, I asked another. “Did Kirk come get you?”
This time she nodded but still didn’t look up. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, Odelia. Both you and Zee. But Kirk thought it best to get me out of town, and I agree.”
“You do realize that Kirk is responsible for Laurie’s death, even though it was only indirectly.”
She nodded again. “Yes, he told me everything.”
“Everything? Even about the smuggling and his deal with Gordon Harper? And what about the smuggling? Was it diamonds?”
“Yes. It was just as you and Detective Frye said. He was smuggling diamonds. That Harper guy killed Laurie to teach Kirk a lesson, to get him to do what he wanted.”
“And now the two of you are going away together?”
“No.” Lisa jerked her head up. “I mean, yes. We are going away, but not as a couple. Kirk just wants to make sure I’m safe. He says if I stay, that guy will kill me.”
“He’s probably right. That’s why you were staying in Compton. You took a big risk coming here.”
“Then give me Muffin and I’ll be going. The sooner the better.”
“I didn’t bring Muffin.”
“What?” Lisa’s eyes went huge and her face paled. “But I told you I wanted her back.”
“And you can have her back, as soon as everything settles down and you’re safe again. If you’re running, an animal will only slow you down. Cats aren’t dogs. You can’t use them for protection.”
“That’s not fair. She’s mine.”
“I’m doing what’s right for both of you. I’d hate to see Muffin abandoned or you get bogged down with her when things get tough, and they will get tough if you’re dodging a scumbag like Harper.”
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