“That was it?” Nedra was disappointed, although she didn’t know what else she had expected. Russell Ingram would have been a fool if he had confessed to a murder, but more confusing was what could he be called for not having committed one?
“So, your guy thought what about him?” Sin wondered if he could have read Ingram’s body language himself. Would his assessment have been accurate one way or another? What had been asked of James’ employee wasn’t exactly a proven science. In this case, it was an act of desperation.
“First of all, he thinks that Ingram is a man who is in complete control of his emotions. He also thinks that he’s more than capable of having committed murder, and…”
“Wait!” Sin interrupted. “There’s a call coming in.” He checked the ID. “It’s from Mrs. Ruiz. Hold on.”
Nedra leaned in to hear the caller more clearly as Sin greeted the woman.
“Hola, Senora Ruiz. ¿Cómo estás?”
“I’m not doing so good, Mr. Reasoner.” There was a heavy sigh on the other end, followed by, “I’m sorry to tell you this, but Mr. Hardman is dead.”
CHAPTER 10
Hamilton Richmond and Russell Ingram were the same age, but mirror opposites. Ham was a tall, burly man. When he walked into a room he was not easily ignored. Russ was of medium build and height. He was a good-looking man, but unassuming and easily blended into a crowd.
Russell was an only child, raised in an affluent suburb of New York by wealthy, politically connected parents. One of twelve children, Ham was raised in the Kentucky hills. His alcoholic father stayed chronically unemployed, while his mother struggled to support their large family working as a gas station cashier. The poverty was grinding. At fifteen, Ham decided to drop out of school to make it on his own.
While Russ was attending some of the most prestigious schools in the nation, Ham was working as a male prostitute, a striptease club bouncer and at a plethora of other unsavory jobs. Eventually, Ham became the chauffeur for the Ivy League educated Russell Ingram, and that’s where his admiration for and loyalty to Russ began
Ham admired his refined, well spoken employer. While his parents had provided Ham with a fancy sounding name, they didn’t have the financial means or social connections to help him achieve all that he wanted in life. In Russ he found the kind of man he’d always wanted to be. In turn, Russ found a man who was at his beck and call. There wasn’t anything that Ham wouldn’t do for him—absolutely nothing.
Not long after the two men talked, Ham went on the internet and typed in the name Lamont Madison. The name turned out to be more popular than he expected. Ham spent the next couple of hours filtering out those men he suspected had no connection to the man who visited Russell. He made a list of those who might.
Using the covert description he had been given, he narrowed the sources down to two choices. One was an engineer for the city of New Jersey, whose posted Face Book page photo eliminated him. The other one had no Face Book page, no Twitter account or a connection with any other source of social media. His profile was simple. This Lamont Madison was listed as an employee of Webb Starr, a company specializing in corporate security and private investigations, with headquarters in New York and California.
Bingo! A satisfied smile split Ham’s face.
****
As a minister, Nedra couldn’t count the times she had consoled the living left to grieve their loved ones. She would pray for the soul of the dearly departed and try to comfort those left behind, but that wasn’t the case with the death of Thomas Hardman. This particular situation was much more complicated.
“I’m glad he’s dead,” said Sin, and he felt no guilt about admitting it.
Nedra scowled disapprovingly. “You don’t mean that.”
Sin was emphatic. “Yes I do.” He shot Nedra a skeptical look. “You mean to tell me that if this man was Colton Cameron you would want him here on earth?”
“That’s not mine to say.”
“You’d want him able to show up at will to do whatever he wants, like breaking your cousins’ hearts…”
“Well, no…”
“And possibly threatening Ray’s marriage, if not his life?”
Sitting with them in their hotel room Ray listened quietly before deciding to intervene. He pulled no punches.
“Let’s face it, Nedra, if I’m right about him, Colton Cameron murdered the man found dead in his car and dismembered his body in order to hide his own identity. That’s not the kind of man I want my step-daughter to know was her father.”
Sin’s eyes narrowed. “That’s not the kind of man I want to claim as my father either.” The bitterness in his voice was toxic. “Colton Cameron was nothing more than a sperm donor for me. If this Hardman dude was him, I’m not shedding one single tear.”
“Me either,” Ray confessed. “It’s the best solution for everybody.”
Although she didn’t want to think of a man’s death in those terms, it was true that his demise did make things easier. Still, it was difficult for her to admit.
Ray’s cell phone rang. His wife was on the other end. Bev was at the houseboat preparing dinner for the couples. Ray was supposed to be at the wine shop selecting a vintage for their meal.
“What’s taking you so long?”
“I’m at the hotel with Nedra and Sin,” he told her truthfully. “I stopped by to hurry them along. They’ll be following me back to the boat.”
When he hung up it was with a satisfied sigh. “I’m glad I don’t have to lie to her anymore. I hate it.”
Nedra nodded. “We all do, but we can’t pretend that it’s over. The hair sample is coming to be tested for DNA, and James said that his man doesn’t think that Russell Ingram killed Charles Lake.”
Ray was dismissive. “It doesn’t matter now. That was mere speculation anyway.”
“I know we all want this to go away,” Nedra said quietly. “but, there is one reality that needs to be faced. The DNA won’t be speculation.”
The room was silent, but they each knew what the other one was thinking. Ray voiced what no one wanted to say.
“We all know the solution to this. When, or if, the sample arrives at James’ office, I’ll pick it up and destroy it personally.”
Sin liked that resolution. “You do that, and after it’s gone, I never want to hear the name Thomas Hardman again.”
****
Nedra threw her head back and laughed at the antidote that Dana had shared with everyone in the room. It felt like a lifetime since she had feel this good, but it had only been three days—three days since one letter had threatened to disrupt so many lives. Refocusing, she listened as Dana entertained them with a story about a visit she and her husband made to a Yacht Club.
“Can you imagine James and me as members?” Dana snickered.
“No I can’t. If you did join, James, you’d have to crease those blue jeans you wear and starch your t-shirts,” Ray teased, referring to his brother-in-law’s standard wearing apparel.
“Over my dead body,” James growled, laughing with him at the comment. “Why they would want us as members is beyond me. We don’t even own a row boat, let alone a yacht, but they sure serve a good spread.”
“That’s why we accepted the invitation to the open house,” Dana said with a twinkle in her eyes. “Bev told us about the food.”
“Ray and I went through the same ritual when we first moved onto the houseboat and the Club invited us to one of their affairs. We had no intention of joining, but we sure enjoyed the feast.”
“I know James and I did too.” Dana gave a smug grin. “I even managed to sneak some pastries out in my purse.”
“You’re so bad.” Nedra couldn’t help but smile at her audacious cousin.
“There’s never a dull moment in this family,” Bev observed.
“You can say that again,” Sin added, knowing that only three other people in the room were aware of the actual significance of his words.
As the night progres
sed the couples engaged in a spirited game of charades. Popular films were the topic and the lead jumped from couple to couple. By the end of the evening the scores were tied.
Bev and Ray were determined to win. After picking a movie title, Bev worked laboriously trying to get Ray to guess the title. Her efforts were unsuccessful and a draw had to be declared.
“So what is the title?” Ray asked.
“Sleeping with the Enemy,” Bev revealed. She looked surprised by the blank looks she was getting. “Sleeping with the Enemy,” she repeated more animated, certain they would recognize the reference this time. More blank stares. “You know! It’s the movie with that actress with all the hair. What’s her name? She won an Oscar.”
“For Sleeping with the Enemy?” asked Nedra.
Bev was frustrated. “No! It was for some other movie. I forget which one, but this one was about a woman who fakes her death by drowning to get away from her husband, and then she starts a new life.”
The look on some of the faces in the room turned from confusion to astonishment. Dana spoke up.
“Oh, now I know the one you’re talking about! The wife was abused and the husband was wacko.”
“Yes,” Bev nodded. “That’s it, and the woman flushes her ring down the toilet instead of throwing it in the ocean!”
Dana scoffed. “That was a dumb move and so was the movie. The storyline was ridiculous, faking a death. Who would believe that crap?”
No one else in the room said a word.
CHAPTER 11
Lamont Madison was a fastidious man. As the Operations Chief for the east coast division of Webb Starr Security, he was the only one in their workplace who had a private office and it was immaculate. Forms and papers that went into his inbox each day were attended to with great efficiency and then placed neatly in his outbox. His desk was always clear of clutter. His file drawers were as neat as a pin. Every folder was color coded and in alphabetical order. He made it easy for anyone to find whatever they wanted in his office.
It took three days for Hamilton Richmond to discover that fact. He did so after tracking down Lamont’s headquarters in New York City. Using an alias, he acquired a job as a temporary employee with the cleaning company servicing the building that housed Webb Starr. The maintenance company was so desperate for employees that Ham was hired on the spot. He was put on the night crew, making access to Webb Starr’s offices easy and breaking into Lamont’s files even easier. Unfortunately, Ham wasn’t certain what he was looking for.
He had been with Russell Ingram when Moody Lake was killed on orders from the drug cartel for which they all worked. Ham, Russ and a third man had picked Lake up off the streets of San Francisco and strong armed him into accompanying them to his final resting place. By design, Ham didn’t know the name of the third man who went with them. Often it was like that when hits were made—but, Ham did know Russell Ingram. They had met years ago in a restaurant in New York City, where a hungry, but penniless, Ham tried to duck out on paying the tab, but was caught. Russell came to his rescue, paid the bill and gave him a job as his driver. From that day on he would follow Russell into hell.
Eventually, Ham became Russell’s private enforcer, his clean up man. He was paid by him directly to do any job asked. Ham worshiped the man, just as Russell had worshiped Moody Lake.
The older man had been his mentor and father figure. As Lake rose through the ranks of organized crime so did Russell. Ham didn’t really know Lake personally, but when word came that he was to be eliminated, Russell informed the cartel that he would do the job himself. He wanted to make sure the hit was clean and merciful. He cared for Lake and didn’t want him to suffer.
Ham drove them to the final destination, while a resigned Lake sat in the back between Russell and the other man. Stopping in an isolated mountainous area that had been preselected, Ham and the third man stood watch while Russell escorted Lake down the rugged trail where the man’s life ended. Ham heard the shots from where he was stationed. Russell took a photo of Lake’s bloody body. He saw it with his own eyes. Hell yeah, Moody Lake was dead! His bones should be dust by now. So what was this Lamont dude doing asking about his death after all these years? Were the cops trying to trap Russ into confessing to the crime? He didn’t know, but he was determined to find out.
****
Days had passed since word reached Nedra and Sin that Hardman was dead and the hair sample still hadn’t arrived. Nobody dwelled on it. Instead, they focused on enjoying the time spent with family.
The couples went hiking in Muir Woods, enjoying its peaceful solitude. Their husbands resumed their golfing odysseys, while the ladies continued their shopping expeditions, enjoyed being pampered in luxury spas and going sightseeing. By the end of the week it was as though the letter and calls from the housekeeper had all been aberrations. The stress and anxiety faded, replaced by bright faces and infectious laughter. Life seemed to be back to normal—except it wasn’t.
Their last day in Marin County was one of mixed emotions. The time Nedra and Sin had spent here had turned into an unexpected roller coaster ride, with its ups and downs. This evening was to be one of the ups. The couples were going to a concert in the park in the nearby town of San Rafael. Bev and Dana were bringing picnic baskets filled with goodies and Nedra and Sin were looking forward to it.
When she got out of the shower and stepped into the hotel bedroom, Nedra saw her husband quickly slip something into his packed suitcase when he heard her enter. Turning, he flashed a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“My turn?” Grabbing his shower shoes, he headed for the bathroom. As soon as he closed the door, Nedra headed for his suitcase. The letter from Mrs. Ruiz was tucked against the lining, but the photo of the man named Joe was outside the envelope. Her guess was that Sin had been looking at it.
His effort to hide his interest in the man who looked like him saddened her. It was clear that in spite of what he said the mystery of Thomas Hardman was still on his mind.
Replacing the photo, she chose not to say anything to him about it. After dressing, they met the others and went to the event. It was while enjoying the melodious sounds drifting into the night that Nedra came up with an idea that she knew her husband wouldn’t like. Just this morning, when she was looking through her suitcase, she found something that could help execute the plan that was formulating in her mind. However, she needed a little more time.
Leaning over, she whispered to Sin. “I want to stay in Marin County another day. We’ve been going since we got here. Tomorrow we can lie in bed, order room service and make love until we pass out.” She doubted if he would have any objection to that suggestion.
His handsome face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Sounds good to me.”
After the concert, the couples ended up at Dana and James’ home in Tiburon where they engaged in a spirited card game. At one point, Nedra bowed out and was gone so long that Sin went looking for her. He found her sitting in the den typing on a computer.
“What are you doing?”
“James said that I could use his laptop to go on line and check my emails. I got one from Colin. He says that he’s having a good time. The country is beautiful and he’s glad he went.”
“I’m glad he did too. He should get a lot out of the trip.”
Bev breezed into the room. “Oh, there you two are. We need one of you back in there. I’m taking a restroom break, and my partner needs somebody to take my place.”
Sin volunteered. “I’m coming.”
“I’ll be there shortly,” Nedra assured him.
He followed Bev out of the room. As soon as they disappeared, Nedra sent a return message to her son, and then went to the website she had been scouring before her husband entered the room. After obtaining the information, she printed out what she needed to set her plan into action.
The evening in Tiburon ended early in the morning. On their arrival back at the hotel, Nedra and Sin could do nothing more than shower and fall into bed
. They slept until noon.
After lunch, Sin suggested they take the ferry to San Francisco and stroll along the Wharf. Unable to come up with an excuse not to go, Nedra put a covert call into James seeking his assistance. A short while later Sin’s cell phone rang.
She could hear the one sided conversation. Sin came into the sitting room to tell her about the call he had on hold.
“It’s James. He says he needs a partner for a round of golf this afternoon. I told him we have plans...”
“No, that’s okay. You go ahead.” She tried not to sound too eager.
“But, this is our day together. We’ve already slept through most of it.”
“And when you get back we’ll do just the opposite,” Nedra cooed seductively. “You and the guys planned on playing golf until you dropped, and you really didn’t get a chance to do that. One more round with James won’t interfere with our plans. When you come back we’ll dine in a romantic restaurant and then—” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
“One round,” Sin spoke into the phone, “and I’m driving.”
After he left, Nedra went downstairs and utilized the computers offered to hotel guest. By the time Sin returned, her plan had been finalized and she prayed that the repercussions wouldn’t be catastrophic.
Later, she and Sin spent a night of erotic pleasure that didn’t end until the early morning hours. While her husband slept, Nedra lay in his arms glad that they had enjoyed the evening, because she wasn’t sure that after he discovered what she’d done he would be speaking to her again.
****
When the valet brought the car around to the front of the hotel, Nedra slid in behind the wheel while Sin paid the tip. Although he was looking forward to getting home, he had to admit that he had enjoyed the latter part of their time spent in Marin County, especially last night. His wife had been a tigress in bed and he had been her willing prey.
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