Sprinkles of Suspicion

by Kim Davis

  “I can print out copies of the last few months’ worth of statements for you.”

  “Thank you.” I closed my eyes. “Can you tell me our checking and savings account balances?”

  I dreaded knowing but knew I had to see the whole picture. I briefly wondered if my defense attorney could handle my divorce at the same time and give me a discount on his services. Kind of like a buy-one-get-one-free type of deal.

  “Your checking account has one thousand two hundred twenty-nine dollars and seventy-eight cents in it.” Del clicked more keys and cleared his throat. “A check for five thousand dollars written to cash cleared yesterday.”

  What was Philip doing with all our money? What was he involved in? The buzzing in my ears got louder, and my cheeks burned.

  “Your savings account balance is five hundred dollars, which is the minimum amount required to avoid fees.”

  Lucky me. Philip didn’t rack up bank fees when he emptied our accounts. My mind was spinning. I needed to check on my 401k account and take him off as a beneficiary. Same thing for my life insurance policy. I didn’t want to end up like Tori if he was so desperate for money.

  “Mrs. Martinez?” Del had been trying to get my attention.

  “Sorry. You can imagine this is a lot to take in.”

  “I’m terribly sorry. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  I wasn’t sure he was sincere when I saw him glance at his desktop clock.

  “What does the balance have to be on the checking account to avoid fees?”

  “That would be five hundred dollars as well.”

  “Can you print out the statements for the last six months on both my checking account and savings account?”

  “Certainly.” He pressed more keys, and his printer hummed again. “Normally there are fees for printouts, but I’ll waive them for you.”

  “I truly appreciate that.”

  He handed me the warm printouts, which I stuffed into my purse.

  “Is there anything else I can do for you, Mrs. Martinez?”

  I knew he wasn’t sincere but decided I’d take up a little more of his time anyway.

  I fumbled to find my blank checks, which had fallen to the bottom of my purse, and wrote a check for cash. “Can you cash this for me, or do I need to visit the teller window?”

  I thought I heard another sigh, but Del nodded. “How do you want your cash?”

  “Twenties are fine.” I was leaving just a bit over five hundred dollars in the checking account, since I figured two could play this game.

  Del disappeared for several minutes then returned with a stack of green bills. He counted out the money so fast I couldn’t follow but decided to trust him. It was already past six, and I’d overstayed my welcome.

  “Thank you for your time, Del.”

  I shoved the cash into my purse and headed to my car to face my mother.

  The drive to my mother’s house in Irvine was far too short. Where was the 405 freeway rush-hour traffic when you needed it? My palms were sweaty by the time I pulled up in front of the guard shack at their development. When the uniformed security guard saw me, he opened the massive wrought-iron gate and waved me through.

  I kept my car five miles beneath the speed limit posted within the neighborhood of cookie-cutter mini-mansions. Carrie was right. My mother and Lars had enough room if I needed a place to stay. Given my financial outlook, my options were nonexistent, but the disgrace made me shudder anyway. I pulled in front of their house, which was painted a neutral sand-gray. The color was replicated in varying shades on all the other houses on her block. The brick-red Spanish roof tiles added the only pop of color on the house. Everyone had the requisite drought-resistant landscaping: cactus, succulents, and what I called scrub-brush. In late winter, some of the plants would bloom, but in the heat of August, they looked dusty green and drab.

  I squinted at the white Tahoe parked across the street. I hoped the vehicle wasn’t Philip’s. I glanced at my mother’s house then walked to the vehicle and looked in. Fast-food wrappers and sacks littered the floorboard, and a windbreaker with the Chargers logo on it was inside. What was that slime doing at my mother’s house?

  Chapter 18

  I rang the doorbell before inserting my key into the lock and let myself in. Piper barked and whined from the kitchen area. I heard her claws scratch my mother’s travertine flooring as she ran full force down the long hallway toward me. My dog jumped and danced in front of me, and I couldn’t help laughing at her antics. Her tail acted like a mini helicopter prop, wagging faster and faster. I gathered her up in my arms and let her give me puppy kisses. I missed her as much as she apparently missed me.

  “Darling, I didn’t know you were dropping by.” My mother breezed in and kissed my cheek. She tried to avoid my squirming dog as she placed her lips close to my ear. “Philip is here. Now would be the perfect time to make up and rescue your marriage.”

  “That is not going to happen, Mother,” I hissed. “There’s a lot of things you need to know about that... that… creep. He’s not the gentleman he’s led you to believe he is.”

  My mother looked shocked. “Now, Emory, that kind of attitude will get you nowhere. Come in here and be nice.”

  I set Piper down. She pranced beside me, not wanting to let me out of her sight. “I’m done letting Philip walk all over me. He’s betrayed me on so many levels.”

  I didn’t have the chance to tell her because the man I hoped would soon be my ex walked in.

  “I thought I heard your voice, Em.” He stood there puffing his chest out, and I swore he even sucked in his gut. “Addie and I have been speaking, and I think there’s been a huge misunderstanding. We’ve put too much time in our marriage to call it quits, and I’m willing to overlook your indiscretion and put it behind us.”

  “My indiscretion?” I sputtered, trying to get the word out. “How about me catching you in the middle of ‘it’ with Tori?”

  “She didn’t mean anything to me.” Philip ran his fingers through his thick black hair and avoided looking at me.

  As if Tori’s insignificance to him made his affair forgivable. “Aside from your fling with Tori, let’s talk about the money you borrowed from my mother, behind my back.”

  “What do you mean, Emory?” I had my mother’s full attention now. “Philip said you were too embarrassed to ask, but you had your heart set on that condo.”

  “I just found out from Carrie. I had no idea we owed you money or that this jerk hasn’t paid one cent back on that loan.”

  “Hey, don’t be calling me names, you…” Philip bit his tongue when he saw my mother’s face. You don’t cuss or use crude language in front of Mother.

  “Is it true, Philip?” Her voice sounded downright frosty.

  Before he answered, I jumped in. I wanted to get all his transgressions on the table before he ran off. I was beginning to see him for the coward he was.

  “Not only did he borrow money from you, but he took out a second mortgage on our home and has neglected to make anything but interest payments. Even those payments have stopped, so now we’re nearing foreclosure.” I took a deep breath. “Would you care to explain how that has happened? We both earned good money.”

  Like I said, Philip was a coward. He flipped me off and flew through the front door, and his tires peeled as he drove down the street.

  “Well, I never…” My mother’s voice trailed off. “I never really liked him and thought you could do so much better for yourself.”

  My eyeballs tried to roll around in their sockets as I picked up Piper. At least my pup was with me now. I wouldn’t give her up.

  I cleared my throat and tried to stand taller. “Now that you’ve heard most of the disaster that is my life, I might as well tell you the rest.”

  “What, there’s more?” Mother placed her hand over her heart. “You’re not pregnant, are you?”

  “No!” I shuddered. I guessed things could be worse than they already were. “I lo
st my job today.”

  My mother uncharacteristically put her arms around me and squished Piper between us. “Oh, darling, I’m sorry you’re going through such a difficult time. Lars and I are here for you.”

  Her tenderness made my eyes sting. When she stepped away from me, I put Piper back on the floor and swiped my hands over my eyes. “I know, but I feel like I should be responsible for this mess. I’m not sure where to even start to make it right.”

  “Let’s have a cup of tea and a cookie. We can go over your options and figure this out.” My mother patted my shoulder. Apparently, one hug was enough. “There’s no way I’ll let my daughter get dragged through the mud. We have a reputation to uphold.”

  There it was. She wasn’t as concerned for me as she was for her reputation. At this point I had run out of options, so I followed her into the spacious kitchen, which brimmed with white marble countertops and stainless appliances, and started the kettle for tea.

  I made Lady Gray tea and plated store-bought chocolate chip cookies from the glass cookie jar sitting on the counter. My sister and I were both great cooks, but for some reason, that skill eluded our mother. Unless we brought homemade goodies, we made do with pre-packaged ones. My mother ignored her tea and furiously tapped on her smartphone instead. When a chime answered her text, she beamed.

  “I’ve scheduled an appointment with the best real estate agent in Orange County tomorrow morning at nine. She’ll meet us at your condo and can show it right away, since she has a buyer who’s already been looking in the area.” My mother looked at me expectantly. “Don’t you agree that the quicker you sell the condo and pay the debt, the sooner you’ll get back on your feet?”

  I nodded. “Of course, except I don’t have anywhere to live. I thought it would take a few months.”

  “Hmmmm. I have an idea, but I’ll need to call in some favors.” She tapped her acrylic French-tipped nails on the glass table. “Give me a day or two, and then I’ll tell you my plan.”

  I stared pointedly at the guest bedrooms on the second floor, situated above her kitchen. “No job means no money for rent.”

  “There’s no need to move back home. We can keep that option as a last resort.” Mother returned to tapping on her cell phone. “If all goes as planned, you’ll have a new job to go with your accommodations.”

  Why did I feel I had made a deal with the devil? I would be beholden to my mother for the rest of my life, and she would never, ever let me forget about it. Piper snuggled into my lap, and I hugged her close.

  “Why was Philip here?”

  “He wanted to know if you had given me a new key to your place. You didn’t waste any time locking him out.” Mother shook her head. “He’s not thrilled about that.”

  “He’s the one who had the affair and moved out. I didn’t like him letting himself into my space whenever he felt like it.” I nibbled on another cookie, even though the cookies weren’t very good. “He wasn’t here to rescue our marriage?”

  “No. I thought I might help you both see reasons to stay together if I got you in the same room. I had him convinced to work on it, and then you blew up.”

  “But why? Why would you want me to stay with someone who cheated on me?”

  “Men stray, but that doesn’t mean they don’t love you and can’t move forward and have a meaningful relationship with their wife.”

  “That’s an archaic way to look at marriage.” I wondered whether Lars had strayed or if she was talking about my father—except that hadn’t worked out at all. My dad left us and never looked back. I wanted to ask, but my mother was being unusually open, and I didn’t want to risk her clamming up again, since my father was a forbidden subject. “Wedding vows apply to both husband and wife. Besides, Philip has betrayed me on so many levels.”

  “I see that now.” She patted my hand. “Don’t worry. I’m on your side.”

  “I guess I need to talk to an attorney and start divorce proceedings. I want to protect myself as much as possible since Philip got us so far into debt.”

  Mother was back on her smartphone tapping away. “I told Lars to set up an appointment with his fraternity brother who specializes in family law. Hopefully he can fit you in within the next day or two.”

  Suggest a task to my mother, and she’d get it done before you’d even finished talking about it. “I can’t afford another attorney, and if he’s friends with Lars, he will be expensive. Do you think Mel Shearwood could do a twofer? Keep me out of jail and write up divorce papers?”

  “Don’t joke about this, Emory. If you want to walk away from this marriage without paying Philip’s debt for the rest of your life, you need someone who knows what they’re doing.” She took a sip of the cooled tea. “You have to wonder how he took out a second mortgage on the condo without your signature. That should clear you of any financial obligation.”

  Unless he had Tori forge my signature. And then what? Would I press charges against him for fraud? My gut told me Philip was in over his head with something shady. Did Tori get him involved? Could he have killed her over it going terribly wrong?

  Mother offered to whip up omelets for dinner, so I stayed until it got dark. Fresh strawberries and honeydew melon accompanied the simple fare. Piper sat at my feet, hoping for a few nibbles of egg, while my mother chatted about inane topics like her golf handicap and the weather.

  I finally headed home, loaded down with collapsed boxes and packing tape with instructions to get ready to move. Piper sat in the passenger seat next to me, her tail wagging. She was happy to be going home. At least she looked like she was well fed and recently bathed and brushed. Despite his actions toward me, Philip loved Piper.

  I pulled my car into the garage. The second I opened the Honda’s door, Piper jumped over me, ran to the door leading into the house, and barked.

  Chapter 19

  “I know you’re excited to be home, Piper. Give me a second to get my things.” I remembered that Mother had sent me home with some leftover fruit too.

  Instead of quieting down, Piper barked even louder. I unlocked the door leading into the kitchen and set my packages and purse on the counter. Piper raced to my bedroom and barked without letting up. When her bark changed to a deep growl, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Was someone in the house? Should I call the police?

  “Piper, come, girl.” Of course she didn’t listen and barked again. Perhaps a rodent had slipped in and she had it cornered.

  I tiptoed to the bedroom and came to a sudden halt. Someone had smashed the window and ransacked every drawer then strewn the contents across the carpet. My clothes had been yanked from the closet and various garments piled in heaps on the floor. My heart broke when I saw my girlhood jewelry box smashed to pieces and my treasured photos ripped in half. I knew I had digital copies on my laptop, and I could always reprint the photos, but somehow knowing my grandmother and my father had once touched these same pieces of paper used to bring me comfort.

  Philip. It must have been Philip, since he had desperately wanted the new key from my mother. I put Piper in her crate so she wouldn’t cut her paws on the glass littering my bedroom floor carpet. After closing the curtain over the smashed window, I wrestled the ladder from the garage into position in my closet and inched my way into the attic. I gave a sigh of relief when I felt the paper bag secured to the back of the furnace. That had to be what he was searching for, and I would do everything I could to keep it from him. Somehow, I knew if Philip got his hands on that little painting, I would find myself framed for another crime.

  I shivered, wondering if I had been living with a murderer. Would I be the next victim? I needed to call the police and file a report. Not that they would do anything about this. Nothing had been stolen, but I hoped insurance would cover the repairs. I hesitated. Was Philip involved in this? Or were other cops involved? I was spooking myself and really didn’t want to be here by myself when the police sent someone to take a report.

  Shutting the bedroom door, I rele
ased Piper. She ran to my bedroom door and barked a few times before running to her food bowl. She looked at me and whined while wagging her tail.

  “Okay, I get it.” I filled her bowl with dry dog food and refreshed her water.

  Piper sniffed her dish once then looked up at me and started the whining again. Oh boy. What had Philip been feeding her? She’d obviously been spoiled over the last couple of days. I rummaged in my freezer and found dog treats I had made from a recipe in a cozy mystery book. After quickly defrosting one treat in the microwave, I crumbled it over her food. She sniffed it, looked at me, and chowed down like she hadn’t eaten in a month. I would need to work on getting her to eat her regular food, but now wasn’t the time.

  I called my attorney’s cell phone. He answered with a gruff, whadda-you-want attitude.

  “Hi, Mel, it’s Emory. Sorry to disturb you after office hours, but someone broke into my house, and I’m afraid to call the police.” I was talking as fast as I could, so some of my words came out garbled. It didn’t help that I had started shivering. Was I catching a cold?

  “Whoa. Slow down. Are you safe? Are you sure the intruder is gone?”

  “I’m sure no one is here, and I have Piper, so I feel safe.” If my husband came after me, though, I wasn’t sure our dog would protect me. “But I think it was Philip who broke in, so I’m worried about calling the police.”

  “Call them to file a report.” I heard a huge sigh on the phone. “I’ll be there in ten minutes. You’d better call a glass repair company while you’re waiting.”

  I called the main number for the police station closest to my house. It wasn’t an emergency, so I didn’t want to clog up the 9-1-1 lines. After giving my information, they told me someone would be out within an hour to brush for fingerprints and take a report.

  I searched my phone for window repair companies and made a few calls. Not one call was answered. Even the number listed as a 24-hour-emergency repair service went to voice mail. I left a message. Fifteen minutes had come and gone from the time I had spoken to Mel. I had probably interrupted his dinner but was relieved I wouldn’t be alone when the police came. I could also give him the painting and let him figure out what to do with it.