The Missing Mistress

by Thomas Fincham

  “How did she get it?”

  “I don’t know that either.”

  He shook his head. “Then you are only seeing one part of the story. Whoever took that photo is trying to smear my name. I bet Heather is in on it. Have you read what she’s written about me?”

  “I have, but I hate to say it, she’s not fabricating anything.”

  His eyes hardened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means you have a checkered past and Keele is shining a light on it.”

  “I can’t believe you would side with her,” he snapped. “You’re my sister!”

  “I’m not siding with her. I’m on your side. But as a detective, I can smell when something is not right,” she replied.

  “Like what?”

  Fisher fell silent.

  “Just say it, sis. You don’t believe I’m innocent.”

  “I never said that. But there are parts of your story that don’t add up.”

  “Which part?”

  “When you said Miranda was having family issues and that’s why she wanted to meet you. I’ve dug up as much as I can on her family, and from all accounts, they are as stable as they come. Her father runs a non-profit organization, and her mother works in health care. They’ve asked for privacy from reporters, or else I wouldn’t be surprised if they were all over the news demanding you be given the death penalty.”

  Casey looked away. He slowly said, “Miranda asked me to take her to Leaside Forest Park.”

  “Why?”

  “She said she had something to show me.”

  “What?”

  It was Casey’s turn to go silent.

  “You have to be completely honest with me,” Fisher said. “That’s the only way I can help you.”

  Casey stared at her. He sighed, and his shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry, sis, but some things are best left unspoken.”

  He got up and left the room.

  FORTY-THREE

  Callaway rushed back to Joely’s restaurant. After picking up Nina, he drove straight to the zoo.

  When they reached the front entrance, the sign read that the zoo would be closing in an hour.

  It’s still enough time for Nina to see the pandas, he thought. When he turned, he saw his daughter was passed out in the backseat.

  He debated whether to wake her up. After all, she had been waiting all day to go to the zoo. But the way she was sleeping so peacefully made him not want to disturb her.

  He felt a pang of guilt. He should have spent the day with her. He should have taken her to the zoo.

  You’re a jerk, Lee, he scolded himself. You dumped your little girl off on someone, so you could run around being a private eye instead of a dad.

  He shut his eyes and sighed. David’s death had shaken him to the core.

  Callaway was a lot of things. A gambler, a lousy husband and father, and even a drunk at times. But he was honest and dedicated.

  He performed his duty to his clients as honestly as possible. And he was dedicated to the tasks given to him by them.

  He did not take any case lightly. He knew private investigators got a bad rap, which had a lot do with how the movies portrayed them as down on their luck schmucks. Callaway would be the first to admit that he fit that role at times.

  But he did not take the profession for granted.

  The jobs were few and far between, so when he landed a case, he gave it his all. Even to the detriment of his health and personal life.

  There were too many times to count when he had put himself in a dangerous situation. Somehow, he was always able to walk away unscathed. He knew one day he would find himself in a position where he would not be able to talk himself out of a tight spot so easily.

  He just hoped he had quit the business before that time ever came.

  He looked back at Nina again. His little girl was fast asleep. He would never let any harm come to her. He also did not want anything to happen to him.

  His daughter needed a father, and he wanted to make sure he was there for her.

  Today he knew he had let her down, and he had a feeling she did too.

  He turned the car around and drove back to Patti’s house. He pulled up into the driveway. He got out and went to the back seat. He was about to lift Nina up and carry her inside when her eyes snapped open.

  She yawned. “Daddy, are we there yet?”

  He shook his head. “I’m sorry, darling, but the zoo was closing, and I didn’t want to wake you.”

  She looked disappointed.

  “I promise, I’ll make it up to you.”

  The front door swung open and Patti came outside. “So, how was the zoo?”

  Callaway froze. If Patti found out what he had done, she would never leave Nina with him again.

  Nina suddenly brightened up. “It was great, mom.”

  “What did you see?”

  She shrugged. “Animals.”

  “What type of animals?”

  “You know, lions, tigers, elephants.”

  “What about pandas?”

  “The pandas were asleep.” She turned to him. “But Daddy promised he’ll take me again to see them.”

  “I will,” he quickly replied. “I sure will.”

  “Okay,” Patti said. “You can tell me all the details inside.”

  “I’m too tired, mom.”

  “All right, you can shower and then go straight to bed.”

  Nina turned and hugged him. She then whispered in his ear, “The fortune cookie was right. Today was an exciting day. I had a lot of fun at Joely’s. Thank you.”

  His eyes welled up. He did not deserve a kid like her. He was sure she would tell Patti all about his latest goof up, but instead, she had his back.

  “I love you so much, baby,” he said, kissing her on the forehead.

  FORTY-FOUR

  Fisher hung up the phone and sighed. She had just spoken to Holt, and without going into specifics, she explained why she abruptly left him hanging at the beginning of an investigation. He was very sympathetic. He offered to come down to Lockport and help her in any way possible.

  She declined. With her gone, he was needed in Milton more than ever. Also, Casey’s problems were her problems, since this was a family matter requiring a great deal of care.

  Casey did not want any strangers involved in his mess, which was why he had asked only his sister to come down. She was grateful that the news of Miranda Temple’s death had not travelled outside the state, or else her parents and older brothers would surely have come as well.

  Holt told her to take as long as she needed. She appreciated having her partner’s support at a time like this.

  After her spat with Casey, he left the house and drove off to blow off steam.

  She regretted being so harsh with him. She should not have behaved like a detective. She should have behaved like an older sister.

  She could not imagine what he was going through right now. He had finally found a place he was happy in, and she could hear in his voice how much he loved teaching. And from Nunes, Fisher got the sense she cared for him. Why else would she risk destroying her career by taking on his case?

  But Fisher knew, from experience, Nunes had put herself in a tough spot. Regardless of the outcome, there would be blowback over her decision.

  If Casey was never formally charged, or maybe even exonerated after the fact, people would always assume Nunes had something to do with it.

  If Casey was charged and convicted, people would always wonder why she was involved with such a person in the first place.

  Fisher knew the answer. Casey was hard to hate but easy to love. He had that special quality about him. His heart was in the right place. He just had a way of making dumb mistakes.

  He should never have met Miranda outside the school, Fisher thought. The way it looked was terrible for someone in his position.

  But if Casey was telling the truth, he went to meet Miranda because he thought he was doing the right thing by trying
to help her.

  Had Miranda not ended up dead, Casey would have continued his day like he always did, and Fisher would still be in Milton, spending an evening having dinner with Lance.

  Lance!

  She cringed.

  In all the commotion, she forgot to tell him why she had flown out to Lockport.

  There were several missed calls and several text messages from him.

  He must think I’m ignoring him, she thought.

  She pressed a button and pulled up his messages.

  Where are you, babe?

  I hope everything’s okay.

  Spoke to Holt. He said you had family matters to deal with.

  Call me. I’m worried.

  She smiled. Even though she had disappeared without a word, he was still concerned for her.

  She let out a breath and dialed Lance’s number

  “Hey,” she said. “First off, I owe you an apology…”

  FORTY-FIVE

  Holt was at his desk when he spoke to Fisher. She told him only what he needed to hear. He did not push her for details. It was not his place to get in between her and her family. All he could do was let her know he was there for her if she needed it.

  Fisher had stood by him through all his trials and tribulations.

  Holt had seen his share of personal pain.

  He lost his parents at a very young age. His sister, Marjorie, raised him with the help of their grandparents. His mother suffered a mental breakdown after her second child, a boy born before Holt, died of cerebral palsy. Even after having Holt, his mother never got over the loss. Seeing his mother fall apart, his father slowly drank himself to death.

  If that was not enough, Holt and his wife, Nancy, endured half a dozen miscarriages. When they realized they could not have any children of their own, they decided to adopt a boy from Ukraine.

  The Holts thought they could finally have the family they had dreamed of. But the dream turned into a nightmare when the boy was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer seven months after his arrival in the United States. Holt poured all his time, energy, and money into finding a cure, but before the year was up, the boy succumbed to his illness.

  Holt was devastated. His grief then turned to anger, and he flew to Ukraine to find the boy’s birth parents. The doctors believed if the boy had been diagnosed earlier, there might have been a chance to save him. But no one, not even the adoption agency, made any mention of the boy’s medical condition.

  Even if Holt had known, he would have still adopted the boy, but he would have made sure he had gotten treated sooner.

  His trip to Ukraine left him lonely and lost. He was unable to find the boy’s birth parents, and the agency had closed its doors and disappeared.

  Nancy fell into a deep depression she still had not fully come out of. She was on medication, and she saw a therapist on a weekly basis. Holt made sure to check on her throughout the day.

  He could not imagine how he would go on if anything were to happen to her.

  To make matters worse, Holt lost his nephew in a brutal murder. He was a star college basketball player with the potential to make it to the pros. Marjorie was heartbroken, and Holt felt helpless he could not do anything to bring his nephew back.

  They would never get over their losses, but they had each other for support.

  He checked the time.

  Holt and Nancy were supposed to go ballroom dancing. One of their neighbors had put the idea in Nancy’s head. Holt hated having to prance around in front of strangers. When it came to dancing, he had two left feet.

  He debated cancelling tonight’s event, but he knew how much Nancy enjoyed dancing. For a short while, she forgot all her worries. He would do anything to make her happy.

  Nancy must be waiting for me, he thought.

  He dialed his home number and said, “Darling, get my tux ready. I’m on my way.”

  FORTY-SIX

  Callaway took the elevator up to his two-bedroom apartment on the fourteenth floor. After spending months in a hotel, he had wanted a place he could settle down in.

  Callaway had always moved around, though not because he enjoyed going from one place to another. He just could not afford nicer lodgings.

  He had lived in places where the heating did not work during the winter months, or the hot water stopped working in the middle of a shower, or, even worse, the toilet would overflow after each flush. And if any place had rodents, he would hightail out of there.

  He did not mind insects. He had slept in beds with roaches, ants, and even bed bugs. They were more of a nuisance. But rats or mice were another thing. He worried about the diseases they carried. On top of that, he had this phobia that they would crawl up his pants and bite his nether regions.

  He shivered at the thought.

  Prior to moving to the two-bedroom, Callaway had thoroughly inspected the building. He wanted to see how management took care of the place, which would tell him whether he would have to deal with a rodent infestation.

  The building was clean, well-maintained, and the elevators were in working order. This was something else he made sure to check. He once lived in a building where the elevators were always breaking down. His unit was on one of the top floors. He would end up waiting fifteen minutes just to get an elevator.

  The smell of fresh paint still lingered as he entered his unit. The parquet floor still had the shine from the polish. Old appliances had been replaced with new ones, and the kitchen had been given a facelift. Management had gone out of their way to fix up the unit prior to him taking possession.

  The rent was far more than he had ever paid for a place, but he saw where the money was being spent, so he did not mind. He was tired of living in rundown dumps.

  Callaway had still not properly furnished the apartment. When he moved in, he brought with him a used futon, a coffee table, an old television, and a bed. He also had a small fridge he had picked up from the sidewalk outside the last hotel he had lived at, but now that he had a full fridge, he decided to get rid of the old one.

  The space was big for a single man, but he had plans.

  He walked over to the second bedroom. He had painted the room pink, and he had also purchased a single bed with pink bedsheets. This room would be Nina’s whenever she stayed over for the night.

  He smiled. I’ll let her decorate it, he thought.

  He went to the kitchen. From the freezer, he pulled out a frozen dinner, chicken strips with mashed potatoes and corn. While his meal cooked in the microwave, he got a bottle of iced tea from the fridge and took a sip. In other times, he would have been sipping beer, but because of Patti, he was cutting back on alcohol.

  The microwave beeped. He grabbed his meal and moved to the living room.

  He removed the envelope David had given him and placed it on the coffee table. He stared at the envelope while he ate his meal.

  Callaway knew he could just pocket the money and walk away, but he did not want to.

  He was not superstitious, but he did not like having negative energy hanging over him. And taking a dead man’s money and not completing his last wish was not right.

  He grabbed his drink and walked out onto the balcony. There were advantages to living this high up. The view was breathtaking, especially at night.

  In the distance, he could see the freeway. Cars roared by at high speed, creating a pattern of lights.

  He took a sip from the bottle. He could not help but wonder, where are you, Lana Anderson? And what are you doing right now?

  FORTY-SEVEN

  Fisher sat on the porch with a cold drink in her hand. The sun had started to set, casting a warm glow on the horizon.

  Fisher was feeling anything but warm. Casey’s predicament had put her on high alert. As a detective, she was constantly analyzing all aspects of the case from every angle. She could not help herself. She needed answers, and, right now, she had none.

  Witnesses saw Miranda get into Casey’s car. They then drove to Pine Trail, where, a
few hours later, her dead body was discovered below the road.

  Everything pointed to Casey being the murderer. And yet she still felt troubled. Was it because he was her brother? And that she could not believe him capable of such a hideous crime?

  She took a sip from the bottle. She had to be objective. She had to let go of all her emotions, which were clouding her judgement. She was not seeing the evidence for what it was.

  But there was a reason she believed Casey when he said Miranda was alive when he left her.

  After leaving Pine Trail, Casey had driven to a gas station nearby. He had bought himself a bag of chips, a can of pop, and a lottery ticket. Fisher had seen the cash register receipt.

  Would a person do that if they had just murdered another human being? Was Casey a cold-blooded psychopath?

  She shook her head. She had to give her brother the benefit of the doubt. In all the cases she investigated, she always went in with the mindset that a person was innocent until proven guilty. This helped her gather evidence in a proper manner so that even the prosecutor had little or no trouble getting a verdict when the case eventually went to trial.

  A car pulled up in the driveway.

  Casey got out and came up to the porch.

  He sat on a chair next to her.

  Without saying a word, she offered him a bottle.

  He took it.

  There was a long moment of silence before he said, “I’m sorry about earlier.”

  “No worries,” she replied.

  He opened his bottle and took a long gulp.

  She took another sip. Her eyes were fixed on the sun that was quickly disappearing from view. She then asked, “Where did you go?”

  “I needed to clear my head. And… and I went to see Helen.”

  “Do you think it’s a good idea for you two to be seen together? Nunes is investigating a crime you are suspected of committing.”

  “That’s why I needed to see her. We’ve decided to keep our distance until this all blows over.”

  “What if this doesn’t blow over?” she asked, finally turning to him.