by Vivien Chien
“The seats are heated, just give them a minute,” he said, adjusting some knobs on the center console.
“This is way nicer than my junky car,” I said, running my hand along the dashboard in front of me.
He glanced over at me. “If you put your mind to it, you can have anything you want.”
The potential of that sentence having a double meaning was too likely, so I just let it hang there. I kept my gaze fixed outside the window and avoided any awkward conversations that might take place.
We drove to soft jazz music and I enjoyed the smooth ride from the plaza to the auto shop.
When we got there he offered to stay and wait to make sure that everything was okay. But I insisted that he go on ahead.
At the counter, I paid for my new tires, cringing as I signed the receipt. I’d be putting in extra time once my parents got back from vacation to cover this cost.
I sank into my own seat, glad to have my car back, but wishing that it would magically heat like the one in Ian’s car.
While I daydreamed about that distant moment when I’d have the money to enjoy the finer things in life, I made my way home for a quick change of clothes before heading to the casino.
CHAPTER
29
I found Carmen in the food court at our designated meeting spot, as promised. She paced back and forth in front of the burger place. I rushed over.
“What took you so long?” she asked, clearly agitated. “I have to get back to the bar before they wonder where I’ve been.”
“Sorry,” I said, trying to catch my breath. “Getting in was a nightmare. The woman in front of me couldn’t find her ID and held up the line.”
“Whatever.” She turned away from me. “Let’s go already.”
We started to leave the food court, but just as we reached the escalators, a tall man with a distinct haircut caught my attention. There on his way down was my mysterious Captain Kirk! I squealed and Carmen gawked at me in disgust. “What is your problem?”
“That guy,” I said, pointing at the man descending the escalator. “I’ve been looking for him!”
Carmen squinted her eyes in the direction I pointed. “Oh … well, great.” She shrugged and continued on. “Come on, we have to go.”
“Wait.” I grabbed her arm. “You don’t understand, that’s the guy I was telling you about. The one who was with Brandon that night.”
She jerked her arm away from me. “Yeah … so?” Her eyes darted in the direction she wanted us to go. “We have to hurry.”
“But I saw them leave the plaza together. He could know something.”
“I don’t have time to waste while you go chase this guy down,” Carmen said. “So what if he was with Brandon that night? They’re probably gambling buddies or something. We need to go. Plus, I already told you, that guy disappeared long before I lost track of Brandon.”
“You told me you thought you might know who he was … do you?” I asked.
“He looks familiar. That’s all,” she huffed. “Quit stalling … we have to meet Ryan at the blackjack table before it’s too late.”
Something bothered me about her insistence. It left me with a bad feeling I didn’t care for. “Either way, I can’t miss my chance. I have to get ahold of him. Who knows if I’ll find him again?”
She groaned. “You know what, if you want to chase him down, go ahead. Just come find me when you’re done.”
We split up at the top of the escalator and I headed back down, keeping an eye on my mystery man. By this time, Captain Kirk was already back on the first floor. I watched him take a left and head toward the craps tables.
There was hardly anyone going down when I got on, so I took two steps at a time, trying to speed up the process. An elderly man with a cane stopped me from totally jumping off the moving stairs. I waited with all the patience I could muster for him to get off so I could go around him.
Captain Kirk was well over six feet tall, so I was able to spot him easily once I made it off the escalator. I just had to catch up with him.
And I did. He was slowed down by a cluster of people standing in the narrow aisleway between the tables and the wall. I tugged on the back of his sleeve.
He turned around and looked down at me. “Hey,” he said with such a casual tone, I almost felt like he’d been expecting me.
“Um, hi,” I said. It hadn’t dawned on me until this moment, but I had no idea what I was going to say to him. This wasn’t part of the plan. With everyone else, I’d had a chance to craft some type of story or be somewhat prepared. I had no idea what to do with myself.
“You look familiar.” He cocked his head. “Do I know you from somewhere?”
“I’m friends with Brandon … was…”
He stiffened. “That’s right. You work at that Chinese plaza with him or something, right?”
“Yeah, that’s me.” I moved closer to the wall, letting a couple pass.
“Oh, okay. See ya,” he said and then turned around to walk away.
“Hey,” I yelled, tugging on his arm again. “Wait, I want to talk to you.”
“I suppose you want to borrow some money, too,” he said, folding his arms over his chest. “Well, I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I’m going to have to pass this time. That last broad was enough to make me rethink my line of employment.”
“Huh? Borrow money?”
He looked around us, and then grabbed my arm, pulling me off to the side, out of the way of people walking by.
“Hey!” I yelled. “What do you think you’re doing?”
He backed me against the wall and threw an arm out, shielding me from the crowd. He pressed his hand firmly against the wall next to my head. “Who sent you?”
My eyes widened. “Sent me? No one. I swear. I just wanted to ask you about Brandon.”
His eyes traveled the length of my body. From afar, I’m sure it seemed like we were about to be inappropriate in public. “So you’re not here to take out a loan?”
My brow crinkled. “A loan? No … I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
His body relaxed and he removed his hand. “Wait a minute … are you Katherine?”
I let out a nervous laugh. Ah-ha! So this was Bobby. My mystery men were the same man! “Nope, my name is Lana.”
He shook his head. “Sorry, I got a weird call the other night and I thought you might be the same woman.”
While we stood together in an awkward silence, I started to put all the pieces together. The times Brandon had been seen with this man, the trips they made to the casino together … the money that came out of nowhere … his unwillingness to introduce him to anybody. “You’re a loan shark!”
He threw a hand over my mouth. “Shhhh…”
A few people turned our way, but they were too absorbed in their potential future winnings to pay us much attention so the glances were short.
“No one says that.” He removed his hand from my mouth and straightened, rolling his shoulders. “I prefer the term opportunity investor.”
I pushed away from the wall, trying to straighten myself. “So Brandon wasn’t actually your friend?”
“Nah.” He shook his head. “A client. I liked the guy well enough, but it’s best not to get emotionally attached to anyone that borrows money from you. That leads to a lot of messy outcomes.”
“I see,” I said. “Well, I hate to break it to you if you don’t already know, but he died recently.”
He nodded, scrubbing his chin with the back of his hand. “Yeah, I saw the whole thing on the news. Such a shame. The guy was young … and his wife was a knockout. I don’t know why a guy like that would want to go and mess all that up.”
“So I guess you’re out some money then,” I said, coming up with a new angle to this mystery. He might not have been a hit man like I’d originally considered, but maybe he’d had a hand in this whole thing after all. “How much did he owe you?”
“He didn’t owe me anything. His debt was paid.”
“He paid you off?” Well, there went that theory. But was this what had happened to the missing money? Had Brandon used his winnings that night to pay off Bobby?
“No, that crazy Chinese broad did.” He looked away. “No offense or anything.”
“None taken…” I said, unsure if he was sorry for calling her crazy or a broad. But I figured it wasn’t the best time to have him elaborate.
“Who was this woman? Did you happen to get her name? Did she wear a black fur coat?”
“No, no fur coat,” he said. He studied the ceiling, shaking his head back and forth. “Oh man, what was her name? Something like … Mary … or maybe Marie … yeah, Marie.” He shook his head again. “Nah, that ain’t right … wait … yeah … Mary. It was definitely Mary.”
“Marcia, you mean?” I suggested.
“Yeah, that’s it! Marcia!” He snapped his fingers, relief washing over his face. “That was going to bug me forever.”
“When did she pay you?”
“The same night I saw Brandon for the last time.”
“Wait … she was with the two of you that night?”
He nodded. “She met us here and she was out of her mind when she found out how much he owed me, which was a few tens of thousands, if you’re wondering. She chewed into him for a hot minute and then cut me a check. Normally, I only accept cash. But for this amount, I was willing to make an exception. I left right away and went straight to the bank just in case she tried any funny business. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
That’s all it took. This was the information I needed to know that she’d been lying for sure. I had an actual witness—someone placing her in the city the night that Brandon and Isabelle were murdered. Out of reflex, I reached out and hugged him. “You have no idea how much you’ve just helped me.”
He stood there, still as stone. “Uh, yeah. You’re welcome.”
“Just one question,” I said, letting go of him.
“What?”
“What’s your name?” I asked, pretending not to know.
He looked at me skeptically. “Bobby.”
“Huh. I wouldn’t have pegged you for a Bobby.”
“What do I look like to you?” he asked, appearing genuinely curious.
“A James.”
* * *
I didn’t bother to find Carmen on my way out. I had everything I needed and I didn’t think it was necessary to see the man she thought might be involved. Megan was probably right—it was probably something to throw me off the right trail. Now that I knew Marcia had been in town that night, I could almost be certain that there was some type of affiliation among her, Carmen, and Ryan. Especially since they’d gotten so weird when I’d mentioned her name.
I hightailed it to the parking garage and locked myself in the car. Something had been weighing on me since the murders: the break-in. Nothing had ever come of it because at the time, Carmen and her boyfriend had been the only likely suspects. At least in my book. But now, knowing that Marcia had lied about quite a bit, I wondered if she’d lied about going back to New York, too. With things in the state they were in, it was hard to believe that she’d run back before things got resolved. She probably had been here in the city this entire time.
I had to tell Adam right away. Once he knew that she’d been lying for sure about when she’d arrived in Cleveland, he could bring her in for questioning again. It might even speed up the process of him getting his hands on the tollbooth photos.
Things were starting to look up.
CHAPTER
30
On the way home from the casino, I tried calling Adam’s cell phone, but he didn’t answer. I left a cryptic message telling him that I had important information and that he needed to call me back. I knew I would have a lot of explaining to do and I didn’t want to say too much without actually talking to him.
I’d have to implicate Bobby, and he probably would not be too happy about that, but he was the only one who could verify seeing Marcia. Aside from Bobby’s wrath, I also worried about Adam’s reaction, but that was something I would just have to deal with when the time came. This information was too important not to hand over. I still didn’t have solid proof that she’d been at the actual crime scene, but hopefully the Bobby angle would be enough.
I pulled into the parking lot of my apartment complex and thought about calling Adam again. But it had only been a few minutes. I needed to calm down. I would walk Kikko and then give him another try.
After I parked the car, I sent Megan a text letting her know I had exciting news about the case. She was never going to believe it.
I got out of the car and practically ran with nervous excitement to my apartment. Kikko came waddling to the door, squiggly tail wagging. I gave her a quick pat on the head and searched for her leash, anxious to walk her so I could get back and call Adam. I decided to check my phone one last time before we headed out.
Damn … my phone was missing!
I rifled through my purse and my coat pocket, but it was nowhere to be found. I must have dropped it or left it in the car. Leaving Kikko behind, I trekked back to my spot, searching the ground on my way.
As I made it to the front of my vehicle, a car raced into the parking lot with its high beams on, blinding me with their light.
“Geez, jerk,” I said, shielding my eyes with my hand. “Do you really need those bright lights? We’re not in the freakin’ country.”
The car pulled up behind mine, hitting the brake abruptly, almost grazing my car in the process.
“Hey!” I yelled. “Watch my car!”
The lights flicked off and a shadowy figure got out of the car.
My stomach dropped when the person came into view.
Marcia.
“Hi, Lana,” she said. Her voice a little higher than usual, and the peppiness in her tone sounded fake and sarcastic. “I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time. I was wondering if we could talk for a quick minute. It’s about the store. You don’t mind, right?”
“Oh, uh … can this wait?” I started to back away from my car. “I have a headache. It’s been a long day and I was planning on heading straight to bed. Maybe we can talk about whatever it is tomorrow? Stop by the restaurant … I’ll even give you lunch on the house.”
She laughed. “No, I think we’ll talk about this now.” She maneuvered around the car, hopping onto the sidewalk. “Aren’t you going to invite me in? It’s cold out here, and we wouldn’t want to catch cold.”
I continued to back away from her as she closed the gap between us. “You know, my place is a mess and it’s kind of embarrassing. I’d hate for you to see what a wreck it is.”
She smirked. “I don’t mind.”
I heard the click of the gun before I saw it.
I froze as the realization of what was happening fully registered. A brief flashback from the night Charles An held me at gunpoint flittered through my mind. I slowly raised my hands in surrender.
“Move, Lana,” she said through clenched teeth. “Besides the fact that it’s freezing and you seem to have lost your manners, we don’t want other people to hear our conversation, do we?”
“Fine,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “Just don’t shoot me, okay? We can work this out. I’ll do whatever you want.”
“We’ll see how I’m feeling once we get out of the cold.” She nudged me forward with a wave of the gun.
I shimmied to the door, keeping an eye on Marcia and her trigger finger. My hands shook as I unlocked the door. Once I stepped a foot over the threshold, Kikko came rushing to me, no doubt impatient to go on her walk. She took one look at Marcia and immediately set off in a bout of irritated yips.
Marcia’s gun flicked to the ground where Kikko stood, barking at her. “Shut that thing up, or I’ll shut it up.”
“No!” I yelled, stepping in front of my dog. “Please, leave her alone. She doesn’t know any better. You’re a stranger. She always barks at strangers.”
She pointed the gun upward, back at me. “Okay, shut her up then.”
I picked up Kikko and cradled her in my arms. “Let me put her in my room.” I kissed the dog’s forehead and she returned the favor with a slurp to my cheek. I hurried to my room, setting her on the floor and shutting the door behind me.
Muffled barks came through the door. She scratched at the wood in protest.
When I turned around, Marcia was standing right behind me. Her eyes were wild and she appeared completely untethered. Nothing like the woman I had met on prior occasions. The gun was inches away from my chest. I could hardly breathe. If I passed out, I didn’t know what would happen. I tried to inhale a slow breath, telling myself I would make it out alive. I had to. I wasn’t going to go out like this. Not shot to death by a madwoman who was nicknamed “Manic Marcia.”
When it was clear she had my attention, Marcia waved the gun at the living room. “Go, sit down. Make yourself comfortable.”
I did as she said, moving in slow, measured steps.
“I have to figure out what I’m going to do with you.” She scratched the side of her head with the barrel of her gun. “You’ve put me in an odd position.”
“I didn’t do anything to you,” I whispered.
“Oh, stop,” Marcia spat. “I know exactly what you’ve been up to. I told you I have eyes around here. Do you think Carmen was so helpful out of the kindness of her heart?”
My mouth dropped. “Carmen?” They were involved with each other after all!
She laughed at the expression on my face. “I know quite a few people at the casino. This isn’t my first rodeo, sweetie.”
Carmen’s willingness to help, and her attempt—with Ryan—to steer me toward Constance really had been part of the master plan. As I’d suspected, there probably wasn’t even a disgruntled blackjack player. The whole thing was most likely made up to lure me to the casino so Marcia could confront me. If I’d gone along with Carmen, who knew if I would have made it home? Although that wasn’t exactly making much difference at the moment. Marcia had still gotten to me before I could tell anyone the full story.