“If the cops had found this cash, they’d have confiscated it and Dr. A would have to prove where every penny came from.” Fab shoved the money back into the jars and screwed on the lids. She handed me the long boxes and placed the envelope on top. “Let’s get the heck out of here.” She picked up the fire safe and jars. “We’re not leaving anything behind, are we?” She spun around, giving the room one last check. “I’ll call Toady to get someone over here to repair the baseboards in case the police come back. They see the damage, it’ll raise red flags.” She’d shoved the trim boards back in place, but they leaned precariously and, with a nudge, would easily fall over.
“Next time Dr. A calls, I’m going to ask if he wants me to get someone to clean up the place. At least, get the stuff off the floor and the clothing rehung. It would suck to come home to such a mess.”
“Before you do that, get an okay from Lucas. We don’t want to get anyone in trouble.”
Except ourselves. Removing evidence?
We slid under the tape and back to the SUV, storing the boxes behind the front seats. I tossed a couple of cloth shopping bags on top so they wouldn’t be noticeable to someone peeking in the window.
“There’s more to this case than an overindulgence in drugs.” Fab slid behind the wheel and was quiet as she merged back into traffic on the main highway through town. “The apartment was a ruse, and aside from the clothing, there wasn’t a single personal item belonging to Nicolette at Dr. A’s house. At a quick glance, it appears as though she and Dr. A lived together, but did they? Or was it another temporary address for her? A place to change clothes? Collect mail? Did she have yet another address?”
“Nothing would surprise me at this point. I’m waiting for a ‘what next?’” I pulled the keyring from my pocket and gave her a rundown on the keys. “How do we go about finding out if there’s another residence?” I examined the keys again, as though they’d give me the answer.
Fab took a shortcut well known to locals, which wound around down to the docks, and headed over to the far end. She pulled into the driveway of JS Auto Body and parked in front of the barbed wire-topped gates, which were chained and locked. No cars were parked in front.
As soon as the car doors closed, dogs started barking and jumping on the ten-foot chain-link fence with a green cover to block the view of the inside.
“How many?” I asked.
“Sounds like two.”
“Wonder when Spoon got them. We can’t get in safely. I’m assuming the dogs are here to keep people from gaining access by jumping the fence or picking the lock, so that leaves the front door, which you and I both know will sound alarms as soon as we touch the knob.” I looked up and down the street as the dogs continued to bark. “This was a marginal idea to begin with; now it’s terrible.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called the man. When he answered, I asked, “When did you get the dogs?”
“What the hell are you doing at the garage?” Spoon barked.
“Use your quiet voice, or I’m going to tell Mother on you.”
“She’s going to ask the same damn question.”
“That’s not a quiet voice,” I whined, which made Fab laugh.
Spoon sighed. “I’m getting a headache as we speak. What are you doing at my establishment after closing?”
“We came by to use some of your tools, but we’re reconsidering if there’s a chance we’ll get eaten by your two killers.”
“I’m going to remind you one last time—no picking the locks at my business,” he ground out.
“And the dogs?”
Fab walked the front of the property, and one of the dogs followed along the fence line, barking.
“They won’t eat you, but they’ll work you over pretty good. I suggest you come back tomorrow.”
“Oh, all right.”
“If I get a call from the security company, I’m going to let them arrest you,” Spoon threatened.
“Good luck running that past Mother. Tomorrow then.” He was laughing as I hung up. “I’ve had enough of this day. How about you?”
Chapter Thirteen
Creole brushed my lips with a kiss. “Do you think you’ll be staying out of trouble today?” he asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
Glancing over my shoulder, I turned back with a weak smile. “You talking to me?” I asked in mock surprise. “I can’t promise because the day’s just gotten started.”
“When Dr. A initially called, what did he want?” Creole asked, handing me a cup of coffee and sliding onto a stool next to me.
“For me to find him a good lawyer.”
“Have you done that?” I nodded. “Then it’s time to put an end to your involvement.”
“But—”
He cut me off. “You read the police report, so I don’t need to list all the reasons why it’s a good idea to keep your distance. This case involves a large quantity of drugs, and a dealer is certainly lurking in the shadows. I don’t want you in their sights.”
I was feeling guilty for not telling him about yesterday’s find. “Next time Dr. A calls, I’ll tell him,” I said reluctantly. Saying no was not my strong suit, no matter how many times I reminded myself to do just that.
“Dr. A or his girlfriend, or both, are neck-deep in something illegal.”
“Agreed.” I rested my head against his chest.
“So you’ll have an uneventful day.”
“Now that I can’t promise.” I half-laughed.
* * *
“As I get each box open, you inventory the contents before I move on to the next one,” Fab said, cruising into the driveway of JS Auto Body.
I had called and let Spoon know that we were on our way. He was full of questions, and I told him he had to wait.
“After Didier left this morning, I sat on the bed and counted the money in one of the jars. It had two bundles and took a while.” Fab grimaced. “One hundred thirty-three thousand in hundred-dollar bills.”
“Nice, but probably illegal,” I said. “Don’t forget to remove the pictures from your phone.” I waved to the man standing at the gates, who closed them after we drove through. “According to the background report, Nicolette had no verifiable work history, which means she had to have another healthy source of income. And apparently she didn’t believe in banks.” A stack of cash that large presented to a bank teller would trigger paperwork to the IRS.
Spoon ran an appointment-only business catering to luxe autos and classic cars. It would have been hard to miss the new doghouse in the far corner. It was the size of a studio apartment and even had a porch, where the Dobermans were sacked out on a plush bed.
“Aren’t you excited to find out what’s inside these boxes?” Fab asked.
I was more excited to get them out of the back of my SUV, which Fab had locked in her garage the previous night. If I told her I didn’t have a good feeling, would that change what we were about to do? “It’s not too late to put everything back where we found it and mind our own business for a change.”
Fab backed into the last open bay. “We’ll do that next time.”
Spoon came out of his office and crossed the driveway, closing the distance between us.
“I need to use your tools,” Fab said, popping the liftgate in her efficient style and shoving it open.
“Don’t look at me; I have no clue which ones,” I said as Spoon walked up. I filled him in on the finds from Dr. A’s house.
Billy, a longtime employee and friend of Spoon’s, had joined Fab, letting out a low whistle as she handed off the steel boxes. Both men were tall and lean, the kind of quiet guys you messed with at your own peril. We trusted them both. In the past, when we had a problem, Billy would always show up, no questions asked.
Spoon put his arm around my shoulders. “You okay?”
I nodded as we joined Fab and Billy, who had commandeered a workbench. Fab relayed how we found the boxes.
Billy had one of the long steel boxes on end and was examining the lock. “This would
be an easy lock to snap open, but it will never work again.” He looked to Fab for confirmation that it was okay to proceed. “After that, the box will be useless.”
“I’ve got a nose for trouble,” Spoon said. “This doesn’t look good for your doctor friend. Going to this much trouble to hide something indicates it must be valuable, illegal, or both.”
Billy retrieved a crowbar and hammer off the wall and had the lid open a moment later with one well-placed swing. It was filled to the brim with stacks of cash. Same in the second box.
Spoon picked up one of the bundles and fanned through it. “Damn. All hundreds.”
“Same as last night’s haul,” I said.
Billy popped the top off the fire safe with same finesse as the other two. On the top lay a Glock 22, which he lifted out with a screwdriver, laying it on the counter. Under it was a plastic ziplock bag, containing two driver’s licenses from different states, both in Nicolette’s name, which lay on top of six plastic zip bags of a white substance marked 1 thru 4, each also labeled 2.2 plus coding of some sort.
A silence fell over the four of us as we stared, inspecting the contents without touching. I wasn’t sure what the others were thinking, but I didn’t want my fingerprints on any of the bags.
Spoon whistled. “Since it’s probably exactly what it looks like, I’d estimate the street value to be roughly a half-million, maybe more.”
“Now what?” I mumbled, growing more uneasy at the twists this case was taking. “Nicolette was a drug dealer? Or Dr. A? But if all this belonged to Dr. A, he wouldn’t hide it in her bedroom.”
“Every time we uncover something about this woman, it leads to more questions,” Fab said. “Dr. A is really lucky the cops didn’t find this; he’d never have gotten out of prison.”
“What are we going to do with it?” I looked inside the box again, shuddering. “If this were found…no one would believe it doesn’t belong to us. They’d come to the conclusion that we’re dealers.”
“Is Ruthie Grace Dr. A’s attorney?” Spoon asked.
“They didn’t get along—mutual dislike.” I wished I’d been there for that scene. “After that, she wouldn’t take my calls, so I got Dr. A another attorney.” And to think that at one time, I’d wanted the woman to represent Fab or me if we were in need of legal assistance.
“How about I make the drugs disappear without a trace and we pretend we never saw them?” Spoon suggested.
“Show of hands,” I said, mine shooting into the air along with the others’.
“Getting rid of the boxes would also be a good idea,” Billy said.
“If this all belonged to Nicolette, I’m surprised that whoever she was doing business with didn’t do a search once the cops were done.” A shiver went through me. “Dr. A’s arrest and detention made the headlines, signaling that his house is vacant.”
“Considering the shape we found his place in, maybe they did,” Fab said.
“On second thought, I think we should return this to where we found it,” I said.
“Forget that,” Billy said sternly. “You two girls need to stay away from the doctor’s place. You have to go back for some reason, you call me. I’ll search the place first, then guard the door until you’re done.”
“I second that,” Spoon said emphatically.
Fab winked at Billy, whose cheeks turned pink.
My phone rang, and when I took it out of my pocket, I saw GC’s name come up on the screen. I stepped away to take the call.
“What the f—?” GC yelled when I answered. “You go behind my back and contact my brother to represent your skeevy friend?”
“It—”
“I told you I didn’t want my brother getting wind of any association between the two of us,” he ground out.
“Could I—”
“You find the doctor another lawyer. Now,” he roared. “Your word doesn’t mean piss.”
I took a deep breath, hoping that when he was done ranting, I’d get a word in.
“I’m telling you now, no one f—s me over like this. No one.” He hung up.
My heart beat wildly. I’d never been talked to quite like that, and I didn’t relish having GC as an enemy. Or anyone else. I didn’t do hate relationships.
I turned, and Fab took one look and rushed over to me. “You okay? Who was that?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
I knew from the thunderous expression on Spoon’s face that he’d heard the angry voice coming through the line. Hopefully, he hadn’t been able to make out the words, or he’d want to talk to the man. That wouldn’t go well.
I took a deep breath and walked over to the SUV. I reached inside, grabbing my water bottle and taking a long drink to calm my nerves before rejoining everyone.
“You got room in your floor-to-ceiling safe for the cash?” Fab asked Spoon.
He’d recently found an antique safe and had it installed in his office.
“Don’t forget the half-mill in the back seat. It needs to be added to the stash.” I’d told Spoon about the painted mayo jars, and he said he’d heard of the idea but hadn’t thought anyone would actually do it.
Fab related the story to Billy.
“That’s an old trick.” Billy laughed. “It’s typically used to stash a few bucks in the refrigerator. Don’t know what good it would do in a plant pot.”
“Are you sure about getting involved?” I asked Spoon. “I would understand if you didn’t. We’re all staring at big-time trouble.”
“This way, we’re all assured that it will be done right and never come back to haunt us,” Spoon reassured me.
Hopefully.
Talking with Spoon had reminded me that I’d forgotten to peruse the contents of the envelope and notebook, which I’d left at home.
“You’re the best.” I hugged Spoon. “Anything you ever need, we’re available at the snap of your fingers.” I flicked a hand between Fab and I.
“There’s more to this case than an overindulgence in drugs,” Spoon said gruffly. “You two need to be careful. It appears that you’ve stepped into something illegal, and it could boomerang and get dangerous on you fast. Drug dealers don’t leave witnesses that can come back on them.”
“I agree with the boss,” Billy seconded. “In fact, I suggest you cut off visits, or whatever you’re doing, with the doctor and keep a damn low profile. You don’t know how many pissed off people the dead woman left behind, and if the doctor is involved, he won’t make it to trial. Keeps him from talking, telling what he knows.”
I shuddered, thinking of news accounts of what happened to people that crossed criminals in general.
“I must be maturing or something.” Fab frowned. “I’m not the least bit interested in kicking over a hornets’ nest.”
Spoon and Billy hid their smirks before Fab saw them.
“We’re out of this case,” I said, tired of waffling. “I fulfilled my promise and got Lucas Mark to represent Dr. A. As for the rest of this…” I waved my hand at the workbench, where Billy had packed everything back into the boxes. “I say we wait until Dr. A’s out of jail, and he can decide what he wants done.”
Fab handed Billy her business card and whispered something to him that I couldn’t hear.
Spoon growled. “You ungrateful brat, trying to steal my employee…”
“I’m not going anywhere, boss.” Billy laughed.
I stepped in front of the big man, hugging him. “I know you’d probably never call on the two us, preferring to handle your own problems, but we’re available.”
“You’re not leaving until we’ve had a short chat. In my office,” Spoon ordered, picking up the boxes. Once inside, he opened the safe, took the bundles of bills out, and put them on the bottom shelf. “You ever want to count it, you know right where it’s at.”
“How are you going to dispose of the drugs?” Fab asked.
“Just like the DEA—burn them. The boxes are headed to the dump.”
Fab clearly appro
ved. I didn’t care, as long as I never saw the illegal substance again.
Spoon regarded us with a stern expression. “I suggest that you trust no one, and if you have questions, get your answers from Creole. At least, he won’t steer you right into jail.”
Creole! Wait until he heard about today. He wouldn’t be happy, but as Spoon suggested, he was the perfect person for advice, since he’d built a career as an undercover officer before retiring.
“This is the second time I’ve agreed with you in a short time. Don’t get used to it.” Fab’s lips quirked up in a smug smirk.
Chapter Fourteen
“Where next?” Fab pulled out of the driveway, and we hung our arms out the window, waving to Billy as he closed the gates.
“I say we stop and get tacos and margaritas and christen that beautiful beach I guess you own. I’ve had enough of this day already.” It annoyed me when she turned in the opposite direction of home. “Why even ask me if you already have something planned?”
“You owe me.”
I shook my head, which she knew meant “fat chance.”
“You’ve apparently forgotten about Joseph. I’m doing the good-partner thing by driving by The Cottages. Before this case goes much further, we need to get Butthead to drop the charges.”
“You never remember people’s names, but this one you remember?”
“It’s a start.” Fab smiled cheekily. “Almost forgot—who was on the phone? Don’t say you don’t know what I’m talking about or don’t remember. The call made the color drain out of your face.”
“GC.” I’d forgotten about him for a few minutes, and at the reminder, I got a stomachache. “He found out that Lucas is Dr. A’s attorney and flipped out.” I relayed the gist of the call. “If Creole knew the language he used, he’d break his face.”
“He’ll calm down.”
I wasn’t so sure. I reached for my phone and called, hoping to get a word in this time. “Disconnected.” I threw my phone into the back. What an ass!
“Breathe,” Fab instructed. “We do know where he lives.”
“Next door to my brother.” I heaved a sigh. “After that phone call, I’m not sure I want to use him again, even if he agrees. I’m telling you, I’m tired of not having reliable resources.”
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