Chapter 14
ENGAGEMENT
After Bart's proposal everything went crazy. We talked for over an hour about our wedding and our future together. Then we went to a club to celebrate our engagement. We drank way too much and had to take a cab home. I know it was after midnight when we were finally dropped off. We made love a couple times and then finally fell asleep.
When I woke up, it was after 9:30 a.m. I couldn't believe I'd slept so late. Bart was already up and rummaging around in the kitchen. As I was trying to muster enough energy to get up, Bart walked in.
"Got to go, love. I'm late for court."
"Why did you let me sleep so late?"
"I just woke up a few minutes ago. Quite an exciting evening, huh?"
"Yeah. Did we really get engaged or was I dreaming?"
He smiled. "Engaged? What are you talking about?"
I frowned. He laughed and came over to me. We kissed. "Yes, we did and tonight we need to go shopping for an engagement ring."
I raised my eyebrows as thoughts of diamonds danced in my head. "Hmm. I can handle that."
We kissed again, longer this time. Bart broke away, "Okay, I gotta go. I'll meet you here at six."
I pulled him back for one more kiss—a long passionate one. Then he was gone. I rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Thirty minutes later I was going out the front door when I remembered I didn't have my car. It was back at the nightclub where we'd ended the evening. I let out a groan of frustration, turned around, and went back inside to call Jodie. She said she'd be right over to pick me up. It actually turned out well because I had some time to tell Jodie about the engagement. She was shocked, but seemed pleased. I asked her if she'd be in my wedding party as my pool of friends and family was kind of light. Being the career girl that I was, I'd lost track of most of my college and law school friends. The law is a merciless slave driver.
By 10:30 I was sitting at my desk in a daze. I still couldn't think of anything but my wedding. Had I been hasty in opening the door to Bart's proposal? I liked my freedom. What would it be like being tied to one man? As I was stressing out, Stan walked in and gave me a hard look.
"What's up with you?" he said. "You look . . . happy."
I looked at him and smiled broadly. "I am happy. Very happy. I'm . . . I'm getting married."
The look of shock on Stan's face jolted me. What had I done? A shroud of fear swept over me. I'd never have him now. He just stared at me for a long moment with his mouth half opened. He seemed to be struggling to keep his composure. Finally, he said, "Wow. I didn't know you were serious with anyone. Is it Bart? It must be Bart."
I forced a smile. "Yes, he asked me last night."
"Gee. . . .Wow! . . . Congratulations. I'm happy for you."
"You don't sound too happy," I said.
"No. I am. It was just so unexpected."
"Don't worry. I'm not leaving the firm or anything. We're going to wait until after the Bennett murder trial to get married. Did you talk to Tex?"
"Yes, he assures me he had nothing to do with Baker's murder and that there is no conflict of interest."
"Yeah, but do you believe him?"
"I don't know. Rebekah wants us to withdraw from the case."
"What?"
"She's never liked me handling murder cases, plus if it turns out Tex is involved, she'd want us to defend him."
"Oh, God," I sighed. "What are we going to do?"
"Well, we have a contract with Jimmy and as long as he doesn't have a problem with the potential conflict of interest, then we have to go forward."
"What about Rebekah?"
"She's a little scared after the Dusty Thomas case and the attempts on our lives. But she'll get over it."
Stan had been kidnapped several months earlier while in Ecuador looking for Tex and we had been shot at during our defense of Dusty Thomas in our last murder trial. Rebekah had gone through a lot and she was understandably concerned about Stan's safety. I didn't blame her for wanting us to bow out of the case, but I was glad Stan hadn't given in to her.
"They'll both have to sign waivers," I said. "We have to cover our ass on this one."
"Right. It won't be a problem with Tex. I don't know about Jimmy."
"I'll talk to him," I said. "I'll convince him."
Stan left and I managed to focus back on Jimmy's case. Feeling much better after hashing out the conflict of interest issue, I started going through my notes. Stan hadn't seemed concerned about it, so I certainly wasn't going to let it keep me from moving forward. I had learned quite a bit about Jimmy and Don Baker but I hadn't investigated Amanda Black as yet. I wondered how she fit into the scheme of things. Was she an innocent victim or was she intentionally murdered along with Don? I had learned that she worked out of a strip club on Greenville Avenue called the Blue Diamond Saloon. It was lunch time when I walked in and a dozen men were enjoying a free buffet while they gawked at two strippers dancing on stage. I asked one of the waitresses if I could talk to the manager. She said she'd get him. I sat on a stool at the bar and waited.
The manager looked like a relic from the 60's with his long greasy black hair combed way back. He sat down on a stool next to me and asked me if I was looking for a job. I laughed and then told him who I was and why I was there.
"I loved Amanda. She was one of my best girls. I can't believe she's dead."
"I'm sorry for your loss. I promise you I'll do everything in my power to find her killer and bring him to justice."
"Thank you. I'm glad to hear that. A lot of people wouldn't care whether her killer was punished."
" I care. Can you tell me something about her? I'm trying to figure out the reason she was killed."
"She's from a wealthy family in Houston. She dropped out of SMU and started dancing here a couple years ago. I guess she just wasn't the academic type."
"Where did she live?"
"Before she moved into Don's place, she lived in an apartment not too far from here. She had a roommate—Melody Hayes. She's a dancer here too."
"How did she meet Don Baker?"
"Don spends a lot of time here. He likes pretty women and spreads a lot of money around amongst the girls. They all smoother him with attention whenever he shows up. Amanda was not only beautiful but had some brains, so Don took a particular interest in her."
"He dated her?"
"Sure. But it was more than that. He used her to entertain investors and get them to open up their pocketbooks. She was more like a partner in crime."
"What was in it for her?"
"Money, jewels, cars—whatever she wanted Don gave it to her."
"What about Jimmy? Did he have a relationship with Amanda?"
"Yes, Jimmy had a fling with Amanda before Don met her. When it cooled down Don stepped in and took up the slack."
"How did Jimmy handle that?"
"He claimed not to care, but I could tell he was jealous as hell. I never understood how Jimmy could put up with the crap Don dished out. I'd have killed him long ago."
"So, you think Jimmy killed him?"
"I'd bet money on it."
The manager found Melody Hayes and graciously sent her to talk to me. She was a short brunette with a slim physique and big brown eyes. She told me about the frequent trips her and Amanda had made to the company condo. I asked her if Don and Amanda had any problems.
"Amanda wanted her own place. She wanted Don to deed the company condo over to her or get her one of her own. Don said he'd do it if she'd help him raise the money he needed to keep Metroplex in business."
"So, exactly how did Amanda help raise money for Don?"
"Don would introduce her to potential investors and she would spend a lot of time with them learning their secrets and identifying their weaknesses. Don would use the information to close the deal. They'd do whatever it took to induce the investors to fork over the desired cash, including blackmail and extortion."
&nbs
p; This was blowing my mind. I'd never run into such a sinister operation. I couldn't quite figure out why Don would have to resort to such tactics to keep his savings and loan afloat. I had always thought a savings and loan would be a very lucrative business. Why was it necessary to get all this capital investment? It didn't make sense to me. I had learned a lot from Melody, but I needed some fresh leads.
"So, in the last couple of weeks before her death, who was Amanda working on?"
"You mean for Don?"
"Right. Who were these investors that Don was courting from back east?"
"The last one I saw her with was a professional baseball player from the Red Sox."
"What was his name?"
"Oh, God. I'm bad with names. Wait, it was Oscar, I think."
"When did you see them together last?"
"Oscar was in town last weekend. Amanda picked him up at the airport on Friday the 16th, I think."
"What did they do all weekend?"
"I don't know. I had to work at the club. The last time I saw Amanda was Friday night when she left to go pick up Oscar."
"Did she say what she planned to do with him?"
"They were trying to get a $250,000 investment out of him. Don had a big presentation set up for Saturday and Amanda was supposed to butter him up and have him in a good mood for the presentation. That's all I know."
"Well, you've been a big help Melody. I appreciate your candor. I may need to ask you some more questions later."
"No problem. I want to help find the bastard that killed Amanda. She wasn't a saint, but she didn't deserve to die."
"We'll get to the truth. Don't worry. I won't let up until I figure out what happened to Don and Amanda."
It was late afternoon when I got back to the office. When I pulled into the parking garage, I noticed a car parked on the curb. Two men were in the car talking. I thought it strange that they would be just sitting there. Were they cops or private investigators? If so, who were they staking out? I wondered.
Black Monday, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 7 Page 14