A Deadly Row mbtn-1

by Mayes, Casey

  “Fine, I’m more than happy to pay for it.”

  As we got closer to city hall, I pulled out my telephone.

  “Who are you calling, Savannah?”

  “I have to be sure Sherry’s okay with the change of plans before I agree to do this.”

  I called my friend, and after a minute of conversation, I hung up. “She’s fine with it. But we’re going someplace nice.”

  “You should.”

  “Zach, it’s no fun teasing you if you’re just going to roll over like that.”

  “So, my plan worked,” he said with a smile.

  “Don’t be smug. It doesn’t suit you.”

  “Sorry,” he said, though the grin on his face showed that he wasn’t sorry at all.

  “WHAT IS IT? I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR A LOT OF FOOLish questions right now,” Grady said as we were shown into his office. I was more than a little surprised that he’d even agreed to see us at all after our last conversation.

  “This won’t take long, and we’re in Charlotte because of you, remember? Are you absolutely positive you didn’t know Cindy Glass until the night of the ball?”

  “That’s what I told you, wasn’t it? She was a last second fix up.”

  “Who made the match?”

  Grady leaned forward in his chair. “What does it matter?”

  “I won’t know that until you answer the question.”

  “An assistant here got us together. Like I said, it was all last minute. Is there anything else? I’m busy.”

  Zach wasn’t finished, not by a long shot, but I could tell by the expression on his face that he knew it was time to move on. “Were you a part of a land development deal with Hank Tristan?”

  “You wouldn’t be asking me the question if you didn’t already know the answer. Yes, we made a few deals together.”

  “One in particular lost a great deal of money, didn’t it?”

  Grady scowled. “Trust me, he made more for me than I ever lost. The man had a real knack for turning a profit.”

  “But he didn’t always make money, did he?”

  “Remember, even the best baseball player on the field strikes out more often than he hits the ball when he’s standing at the plate.”

  “Spare me the sports analogies,” Zach said.

  “Okay, I was trying to be nice fitting you into my schedule, but if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a city to run.”

  Before I knew what was happening, we were being expertly shuffled out of the room by his secretary.

  “What just happened there?” I asked my husband.

  “We hit a nerve. There’s more to that story than Grady’s telling us.”

  As we walked back toward the police station, it started to sprinkle. “Maybe I should have brought my umbrella.”

  “Come on, we don’t have that far to go.”

  As we hurried on our way, I asked Zach, “So, tell me again why Grady holding out on us is a good thing.”

  “It’s simple. The more we can shake things up, the better off we’ll be.”

  “You do realize that most likely we’re aggravating the killer, too.”

  “Hey, it won’t work if we’re not willing to take any chances. You’re not getting cold feet, are you?”

  “No way. I want to see the killer caught now more than ever.”

  “So be happy with our progress.”

  As we rushed up the steps to the station, I said, “If irritating the people we know is our goal, we’re doing remarkable work. We’ve agitated Grady, who happens to be the mayor, and Davis, the new chief of police. Throw in Steve Sanders, and we’re losing friends fast.”

  “That just leaves Lorna.”

  “There’s time to pick a fight with her tomorrow, isn’t there?”

  “I’d really rather you did it now,” Zach said.

  I looked at him to see if he was serious, and there was no trace of a smile on his face. “Fine. I’ll call her. Is there anything in particular you want me to say, or should I just start hurling insults at her?”

  “It won’t do any good if it’s not focused. I want you to work into the conversation that I’m thinking about her ties to both victims.”

  “How does she know Cindy?” I asked as we walked back into police headquarters.

  “As far as we know, she doesn’t, but that doesn’t mean you can’t imply differently. What do you say? Are you up for it?”

  “I’m here to serve,” I said as we got on the elevator and went upstairs. I wanted a little privacy when I called Lorna, so I was at least going to wait until we were behind locked doors. I was kind of surprised when we got up there that Steve wasn’t outside the door. I figured he’d be there, despite my husband’s earlier orders.

  “Where’d your guard go?”

  “Yeah, I thought he’d sneak back up here, too. He’s probably off licking his wounds. You were kind of rough on him.”

  As Zach unlocked the door, I asked, “Does that mean that you don’t approve?”

  “Are you kidding? It was all I could do not to start applauding when you went after him. Do me a favor; don’t get mad at me.”

  “As long as you behave yourself, I won’t have to.”

  “Come on. What are the chances of that happening?”

  “Too slim to count for anyone but a mathematician,” I said.

  I got out my phone as Zach locked the door behind us.

  Don’t pick up. Don’t pick up.

  She picked up.

  “Hey, Lorna. It’s Savannah.”

  “Hey yourself. I was just thinking about you. You’re not canceling on me tomorrow, are you?”

  “Not a chance. I’m looking forward to it. I have a quick question, though.”

  “Fire away.”

  “We know you were friends with Hank Tristan, but when exactly did you meet Cindy Glass?”

  “Who?”

  “The other murder victim.”

  There was dead silence on the other end of the phone. “What are you talking about? Who said I knew her?”

  “Zach doesn’t like me to reveal his sources,” I said, and my husband gave me a thumbs-up signal. I couldn’t let that go without a comment. I told Lorna, “You know how men can be like little children sometimes.”

  “You don’t have to tell me. Does he really suspect me?”

  “Well he wants to cover all of his bases. I’m looking at your name on the board at the task force headquarters right now,” I said, a full and blatant lie.

  “I didn’t realize anyone knew,” she said softly. I wasn’t even sure she knew that she’d said it aloud.

  “Charlotte may look like a big city to an outsider, but it’s really not all that big. People talk.”

  “It was nothing. We met at a seminar two years ago. I barely remembered her until I saw her picture in the paper. You’ve got to convince Zach that I didn’t really know her at all.”

  “I’ll try, but once he makes up his mind about something, it’s tough to get him to back down. He’s sure there’s a connection here somewhere.”

  “You have to at least try, Savannah. Promise me.”

  If her tone of voice was any indication, she was more worried about Zach’s theories than she wanted me to know. “I’ll do my best.”

  “We’ll talk about it tomorrow, okay?”

  “Fine. I’m looking forward to it.”

  “Me, too. And Savannah?”

  “Yes?”

  “I didn’t kill either one of them. I’m not a murderer.”

  “I’ll tell him that, too,” I said, and then I hung up.

  “Wow, that worked better than I’d hoped.”

  “What did she say?” Zach asked me.

  “Lorna met Cindy at a seminar two years ago, so they have a history together. How did you suspect that?”

  “I didn’t, but sometimes it’s fun to guess, isn’t it?”

  I looked around the room, and then I asked, “What do we do now?”

  “I don’t know about you, but t
here’s something that’s been bugging me, and I’m going to dig through the files until I find it.”

  “Can I help?”

  He shook his head. “No, this is a solo job. You can work on the clue segments, if you really want to help.”

  “You know I do.”

  AN HOUR LATER, NEITHER ONE OF US HAD MADE AN ounce worth of progress. The numbers and letters still meant nothing to me, and the more I stared at them and moved the sequences around, the more confused I got.

  Zach looked over at me, and then shrugged. “Whatever it was I just had, I lost it.”

  “At least you had it to begin with. I keep staring at these sequences like they’re Martian cookbook ingredients.”

  He walked over and touched my shoulder. “I know I gave you the worst possible job in all of this. The more we get into it, the more I think the codes were made up just to frustrate us.”

  “Then I’d say it was a roaring success. How about you?”

  “I’m stumped, and I’m not afraid who knows it,” he said.

  “Is there any reason we can’t move our think tank back to the hotel? I know you’ve got copies of just about everything here. Could you pack up a few boxes and take them with us? That way you’d have access to the information without having to live here around the clock.”

  “I suppose I could,” he said reluctantly. “But what if there’s something here I miss?”

  “Would it be the first time that happened to you? In fact, it might help shake up your thought processes a bit.”

  “How do you get that?”

  “Sometimes with my puzzles, what’s not there is more significant than what is.”

  “Would you care to clarify that for me?”

  “I wish I could explain. Come on. Let’s do it.”

  Zach took an empty box, and I started collecting my random notes as he collected copies of his documents. By the time he was finished, I’d been standing impatiently by the door for a good ten minutes.

  “I’m coming,” he said. “Just give me one more minute.”

  “Take all the time you need,” I said. “I’ll just take a little nap while I’m waiting.”

  I pretended to snore, and then I heard my husband laugh. “You’re good for me, Savannah; I’ve told you that lately, haven’t I?”

  “Sure, but a girl can never get tired of hearing it. Or a woman, either.”

  “Then I’ll try to say it more often,” he said. He looked around the room again, and then nodded. “That should do it.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want to have to come back here tonight.”

  “Maybe you’re right. Give me one more minute.”

  Me and my big mouth. I should have known better than to tease him.

  He stuffed a few more copies into his box, and then he smiled at me. “You were right. I’m finished.”

  I was about to ask him if he was sure about that, but I knew better. “Then let’s get out of here.”

  We walked out the door, and as we were locking it behind us, Davis came out of the elevator with a heavy frown on his face.

  “What happened?” Zach asked.

  “We got another note, and this one’s a direct threat toward both of you.”

  Chapter 18

  ZACH AND SAVANNAH STONE. UNLESS YOU LEAVE CHARlotte by midnight tomorrow, I will take my next victim. Your blundering has cost me my patience, and I’m weary of your meddling ways. Remember, if you fail to act, the next murder will be blood you’ve spilled yourselves.

  Zach studied it after he’d read it aloud, and then he flipped it over. Instead of a number and letter sequence, there was some kind of odd-looking grid on the paper, barely discernable.

  “Can I have that a second?” I asked.

  The note was in a plastic evidence bag, and Zach handed it to me.

  There was definitely something there. “I need to get to the copier.”

  “This is no time to make copies,” Davis said. “This is serious.”

  “Really, Davis? Is it? Because I wasn’t sure, what with the murder threat and all.”

  “Easy, Savannah,” Zach said as he unlocked the door again.

  I ignored everyone, turned the copier back on, and then turned the exposure to its darkest setting.

  What had been faint before was now clearly outlined on the copy of the original. In this case, the duplicate was better than the source.

  But it still didn’t make any sense. There were oddly shaped ovoids and faint numbers placed randomly on the page.

  “What does it mean?” Zach asked as he looked over my shoulder.

  “I have no idea. But I will. If the killer thinks he’s going to run us off this way, he doesn’t know either one of us very well.”

  “You’re staying?” Davis sounded incredulous as he asked the question.

  “Of course we are,” I snapped. And then I thought to look over at my husband. “Aren’t we?” I asked softly.

  “I’m willing to hang around as long as you are,” he said.

  “Then that’s settled. Are you ready to go back to the hotel now?”

  “You’re not going to work on the case here at headquarters?” Davis asked. I saw his gaze take in the foam insulation boards filled with copies, notes, and drawings that Zach had been putting together.

  “No. I need some fresh air. Let’s go.” There was no room for misunderstanding in Zach’s tone of voice. It didn’t matter that his former subordinate was now his boss. This was a command, and it was going to be obeyed without question, or there would be consequences.

  Davis left the room first, and I was on his heels as Zach stepped out of the room and locked the door behind us. After he did that, he took the key and put it back into his pocket.

  “You know where to reach me if you need me,” he said to Davis.

  “Yes, of course. I’ll be in touch if anything else comes in tonight.”

  “Thanks, but it won’t,” I said, not realizing that I’d just vocalized my thoughts.

  “Why do you say that?” Davis was looking at me oddly, but Zach just smiled.

  I’d started this, so I had to explain my reasoning. “There’s no need to. We’ve been warned, and until midnight tomorrow, the killer is going to wait and see before he does anything else.”

  “You’re putting a great deal of faith in a theory,” Davis said.

  Zach answered for me. “She’s right, and you know it.”

  We got on the elevator and traveled down to the ground floor. Davis was surprisingly quiet all of a sudden, and I thought I knew why. Zach had backed me to the fullest, instead of taking Davis’s side. It had to sting, but what did he expect? He and Zach might have been friends and coworkers at one time, but I was his wife.

  It helped that I was right, too.

  We left Davis on the ground floor and made our way to our car. Even though we would still be working in our suite, it was a much more conducive atmosphere for critical analysis. We didn’t have to worry about anyone trying to get into our room. It was our sanctuary, and the way things were going, we were going to need it. I wasn’t sure how long we were going to be able to ignore the killer, but I had the feeling that by tomorrow night, I might be packing my bags if we weren’t able to name the murderer.

  Blood on my hands was something I just wasn’t willing to risk, no matter how brave I’d sounded talking to Davis.

  “I CAN’T BELIEVE HOW LONG THIS DAY HAS BEEN,” I SAID AS we walked into our suite.

  “It’s going to get longer. That note has put us under the gun. It’s long past personal.”

  I stared hard at my husband. “Zach, what are we going to do if we can’t figure this out in time? I can’t stand the thought of someone dying because of us.”

  “He’s counting on that, you know. We must have struck a nerve over the last few days.”

  “I don’t doubt it, but who’s guilty?”

  “I have a few ideas.” He tapped the box in front of him. “It’s in here. I just know it.”

&nbs
p; “I have faith in you.”

  “I’m thankful for that, believe me. Are you having any luck with the latest note? I can’t imagine what that clue was supposed to mean. I’m guessing he’s just trying to muddy our thinking.”

  “I have to treat it seriously, though. If there’s something there that could help us, I have to keep searching for it.” I studied the latest copy, and then added, “Even if the clue is inadvertent.”

  “What do you mean?”

  I sighed. “I don’t really know how to explain it. Do you know how you can tell when someone’s lying to you?”

  “Any number of ways, actually. The suspect’s eyes shift downward, he covers part of his mouth with his hand, or maybe his inflection changes.”

  “But sometimes he does none of those things, and you still know.”

  Zach nodded. “Okay, I agree that there are parts of my mind working on levels I can’t easily access.”

  I smiled at him. “Kind of like women’s intuition?”

  “More like a seasoned cop’s gut feeling.”

  “Same thing,” I said.

  “Maybe. What’s that got to do with the codes we’ve been receiving?”

  “Numbers can lie, too.”

  That got his attention. “How can that be true? A four is always a four. It can’t tell you it’s a three.”

  “There are some mathematicians who believe that the entire world of statistics is one big lie. In fact, I had a stat professor in college who had a plaque above his door so everyone would see it when they left the classroom. It said, ‘Figures lie, and liars figure.’ He taught me that you can manipulate data to suit your purposes.”

  “Okay, I can see that,” my husband said. “But that four is still a four.”

  “Sure, but what if it’s disguising itself as one plus three?”

  He shook his head. “It’s still a four.”

  “But isn’t one way of lying telling only part of the truth? Numbers are perfect for that kind of sin of omission.” I tapped the latest copy. “There could be something in here disguised as a lie, but it’s really the truth.”

  “If that’s the case, you’re going to have to find it, not me. I’m lost as usual when it comes to your number discussion.”