Love, Money, and Lies

by Olivia Saxton

  Bruce grabbed the items. He placed the Christmas gift in his lap.

  Alec pulled off as Bruce tore the letter open like it was a matter of life and death.

  My beloved Bruce,

  I’m leaving Tampa – for good. I won’t be coming back this way ever again. Don’t try to call because by the time you get this letter my phone will be permanently out of service. Words can’t express how much I’ll miss your smile and jolly nature. I’m sorry I had to do it this way, but it was the only way. If I had told you face to face, you would have never let me out of your sight — not until I told you why I was leaving. I can’t tell you that, Bruce. It’s best for both of us that I don’t. What I can say is that I am . . . involved with something that I can’t get out of now, and a part me doesn’t want to get out. But please know that I am safe and secure.

  Please tell Alec that I’m sorry for lying to him. He probably told you that he caught me with four of my friends helping me move out of the house in the dead of night.

  Bruce’s head snapped up, and he looked at Alec. “You knew she left?”

  “Not exactly,” he said. “I had woken up in the middle of the night last night. I went downstairs to the kitchen to get some water. When I was heading back into the living room, I saw a huge U-Haul drive by at a snail’s pace. I went outside and checked it out. It stopped at the end of the cul-de-sac. Then it started backing up. Hell, I thought they were house robbers. I ran back upstairs for my cell, pants, and gun. Then I went back outside and made my way to the end of the street. The closer I got, I realized they were at Margo’s house. I didn’t see her car, so I thought she had gone to Bobbi’s to spend the night or something. I pulled my weapon and identified myself. Those guys were shocked to see me. Then again, it was a little after three o’clock in the morning. Margo heard the commotion and came outside.”

  “Alec, I can’t believe you caught her moving out of her house in the middle of the night and didn’t call me,” Bruce said with a sense of betrayal.

  “Bruce, she lied to me too,” Alec said defensively. “We went around back to talk once she admitted that she was moving out. She told me that she was only leaving for a while, and she would be back. But she couldn’t tell me why she was leaving. I told Margo she should call you. She had said she would. At that point, I thought she was going to contact you. I didn’t know she lied to me until Lana showed up at the office with the gift and the letter.”

  “She gave these things to Lana for her to give them to you for me?” he asked to make sure he was understanding everything correctly. His emotions were in overdrive.

  “Yes, but according to Lana, that wasn’t Margo’s original plan. She had called Lacey to meet her at the Starbucks a few miles away from our neighborhood. Lacey was with Lana when she got the call. Well, Lacey told Lana it was Margo, and Lana had insisted on riding along. I think Margo wanted to keep Lana out of it because she knew Lana would tell me more than she wanted me to know at that time.”

  “Wait. You said you saw her late last night, so when did she give Lana the stuff to give it to you so you could give it me?”

  “Around one o’clock this afternoon.”

  “Shit!” Bruce roared. He was four hours behind her.

  “Did the letter give a clue to where she might have gone? She could have written something that she didn’t realize would be a clue.”

  “I haven’t finished reading it all,” he mumbled. “Don’t go to the office. Take me to her house.”

  “Bruce, she’s not there,” he said sorrowfully.

  “Just take me there, Alec,” he said with a hint of impatience.

  “All right.”

  Bruce continued to read the letter.

  I hate long goodbyes, so I’ll start wrapping it up. Bruce, please know that I didn’t plan to hurt you. I hadn’t even planned to date you. In truth, I thought if I went out with you once that you would lose interest and go away. Ha. You didn’t. Then, after a while, I didn’t want you to. I also didn’t mean to fall in love with you, but I did. In spite of it all, I did. Looking back on it, it was naïve for me to think that I wasn’t going to grow attached to you. You’re so warm, caring, and sweet.

  I’m sure you’re angry beyond belief right now, but please know that what I feel for you is genuine. I love you, Bruce, but I have to let you go. The best thing you can do is forget about me and find a woman who is truly worthy of that huge heart and big . . . you know, of yours.

  I have enclosed your Christmas gift. I didn’t get to give it to you on the last night we were together. However, I still want you to have it. It is a symbol of my appreciation of you and a sign that I will always cherish the time we have spent together – arguments and all. Goodbye, Bruce.

  Love always,

  Margo

  P.S. I had it engraved on the back.

  Bruce’s chest became tight. As he slowly pulled the thick, gold wrapping paper off the box, he was sucking wind like he had sprinted half a mile. The green box said Rolex on the top. Bruce flipped it open to reveal the most expensive watch he had ever seen. Yellow gold was over the trim encircling the stainless steel on the watch. Diamonds were all around the circle of the watch. Studs with yellow gold around them were used as numbers with the exception of the twelve space; there was a gold crown. The background was dark blue, and the words in the middle of the watch said, Rolex Oyster-Perpetual.

  “Christ,” Alex whispered in awe. “She had to have spent a mint on that.”

  Bruce snatched the watch out of the box and turned it over to read the inscription.

  For the king in my life

  Always,

  Margo

  He bit his bottom lip with harsh force to keep from wailing like an injured lion and squeezed his eyes shut.

  “Bruce, are you all right?” Alec asked with concern. “I know this is hard, man. If anybody understands, it’s me.”

  “Just get me to her house, buddy,” he said hoarsely.

  Chapter 29

  Alec’s and Bruce’s mouths dropped open when they saw the large Ryder moving truck in Margo’s yard. The neighbors at the end of the cul-de-sac looked surprised as well as they stood on their porches trying to pretend they weren’t looking at Margo’s former house. Two brunettes and a man with bleached blond hair came out of the front door.

  “Who in the fuck are they?” Bruce asked with bewilderment.

  “Shit, if I know,” Alec answered with shock. He pulled over at the curb and cut the engine.

  They got out of the truck.

  “Hi,” Alec greeted with a friendly smile.

  “Hi,” the man said.

  “My name is Alec. I live four houses down. Are you my new neighbors?”

  “We sure are, Alec,” the man said happily. “I’m Steve Faulkner.” He shook Alec’s hand.

  The two brunettes who were wearing pink jogging pants and matching shirts started walking toward them. That’s when Bruce realized they were twins.

  “This is my partner, Bruce.”

  “Hi,” Bruce said.

  “Partner? Like you two . . . live together?”

  Bruce’s head jerked back at the question.

  “Oh no,” Alec corrected quickly. “He’s my partner from work and my best friend.”

  “Oh, are you cops?” one of the brunettes asked.

  “I knew this was a safe neighborhood. You can’t get any safer by having a cop in the neighborhood,” the other brunette commented.

  “Actually, we’re FBI agents,” Alec corrected.

  “Even better,” Steve replied. “Oh, where are my manners. This is Fawn, my wife, and Dawn, my sister-in-law.”

  Bruce didn’t know which was which.

  “It’s obvious that you two are sisters,” Alec said with a smile.

  They both laughed, and they sounded the same.

  “So, how did you get this house from Margo St. John? She loved the place,” Alec said.

  “We lucked out,” Steve said. “She had placed an FSBO ad in
the paper. I saw it. Took a chance and called the number. Margo met us here the same day. We loved the place and made an offer. It wasn’t asking price, but when I told her we could pay cash, she accepted it, and here we are.”

  “How long have you’ve been waiting to move in?” Bruce asked.

  “Well, we were going to wait the standard thirty days. Then we were going to move in on January second, but Margo called us on the evening before Christmas Eve and asked if we could move up the date. She had to leave town sooner than she had anticipated when we signed the letter of intent. We were happy to oblige since the funds had transferred to our new bank, and we were living in a hotel. That was getting expensive by itself,” Steve explained.

  She’s been planning this for a while. She had to have been.

  “I see. Do you know where Margo was heading?”

  Steve tilted his head. “Um, she isn’t in any sort of trouble, is she?”

  “Oh no, it’s just that she moved so quickly that my wife didn’t get a chance to get her new address. Margo was a bridesmaid in our wedding.”

  “Oh, how nice,” one of the brunettes chimed. “How long have you been married?”

  “Since June, but we do have a four-year-old daughter together and one on the way,” Alec said proudly.

  “That’s wonderful,” the other brunette chimed.

  “I’m sorry, Alec, but she didn’t leave a forwarding address,” Steve said.

  “Did she leave anything inside? Like a file cabinet or some papers?” Bruce asked desperately.

  “No, just the patio set, which is to die for, by the way,” one of the brunettes said.

  Bruce nodded to keep from yelling that he didn’t give a damn about a patio set.

  “Oh, well. I’m sure we can reach her on her cell when she gets settled at her new place,” Alec said.

  “When was the sale final?” Bruce asked.

  “This morning. We met her in the lobby of our hotel. Steve gave her a check, she signed the deed over to us, and gave us the keys to the palace.”

  “Which hotel?” Bruce asked.

  “The Hilton Tampa on Tampa Street. Why?” the brunette asked.

  “Oh, my parents are coming for New Year’s, and I’m trying to find them a nice place to stay. I live in an apartment,” Bruce lied.

  “Well, they should love the Hilton. It’s a four-star hotel,” Steve said.

  Four star. Margo’s style. She could have gotten a room there.

  “If you want them to have a room, you better call and reserve it for them. New Year’s is just around the corner, and the Hilton was pretty busy when we left this morning,” Steve suggested.

  “I’ll do that,” Bruce replied.

  “It was nice meeting you folks. I’ll be seeing you around,” Alec said.

  They walked back to the truck. Alec started the engine.

  “Alec, we should go to–”

  “I know, the Hilton,” he completed for him. “We’re on the same page.”

  ****

  They had gone to the Hilton. Bruce flashed his badge at the hotel clerks and manager and stated he was looking for Margo and showed them her picture on his phone. One clerk remembered seeing her in the lobby with two other guests, but she didn’t get a room. Then they back tracked to the Starbucks. The manager had remembered seeing Margo with two black women. She had said Margo looked depressed when she first came in, but after one of her friends cracked a joke at the counter, she brightened up. They were there for forty-minutes, and they all walked out the door together.

  Alec and Bruce got back in the truck.

  “Bruce, Lana told me that Margo had a cab waiting when they left the Starbucks.”

  “What kind of cab?”

  Alec shrugged. “I don’t know, she didn’t say.”

  “There is more than one cab company in this town.”

  “I know. I’ll ask her, but until then, now what?”

  “These friends that were helping Margo move, did you know them?

  “The only one I knew was Bobbi.”

  “That’s where we need to go next. Bobbi’s condo. I think I remember where it is.”

  Alec started the truck, and they were off. On the way, Alec described Margo’s other three friends at her house last night. The two black guys sounded familiar to Bruce, but he couldn’t remember their names to save his life.

  It took them thirty-five minutes to get to the condo. Once they walked into the building, Bruce’s memory kicked in. He was able to remember the floor and condo number. When they got to the fifth floor, he was more confident about the door number since there were only four condos on each floor.

  Bruce pressed the button on the doorbell. A loud buzz sounded off.

  They only had to wait a minute before they heard someone unlocking the door.

  Bruce scrambled for something tangible to say. The last time he and Bobbi saw each other, she had slugged him in the face.

  Alec and Bruce recoiled at the sight of the fat, middle-aged, balding man who opened the door. He had dark hair all over his body. The only thing he had on was a large, white pair of BVDs that had light yellow stains on them. He took the cigar from his chapped lips and blew the heavy white smoke out of his mouth and into their faces, making Alec cough.

  “Can I help you gentlemen?” he asked in gravelly voice.

  “Um, yes, we’re looking for Bobbi Bennett? Is she here?” Bruce asked as he rapidly blinked his eyes through the white haze.

  The man took another drag off his cigar. “She doesn’t live here anymore,” he said as smoke rolled out of his mouth.

  “What?” they said.

  “Yeah, I bought the place off of her almost two months ago. She took her clothes and personal things, but she left everything else. Glad she did. Saved me from buying furniture.”

  “I don’t believe it,” Bruce stated with amazement. Margo and Bobbi disappearing without a peep wasn’t a coincidence. They were probably together.

  “Did she leave a forwarding address?” Alec asked and then he let out a cough.

  “If she did, she didn’t leave it with me. I wish she had though. The first and only time I saw her in person was at the closing meeting. You talk about hot? Wow,” the man replied and took a drag. Then he blew it out, masking them in more fog. “She might have left it with the realtor, though.”

  “What’s the name of the realtor?” Bruce asked.

  “Hold on, I got one of her cards. Wait here,” he said and turned around, giving them a view of the skid mark on the back of his underwear.

  Bruce frowned and turned his head. Trifling bastard could have at least put on a robe.

  Alec struggled to clear his throat.

  The man returned holding a card. Unfortunately, he still had the cigar, too. “Here. You can keep that. She gave me three of them like I didn’t know who she was.”

  Bruce took the card. “Thanks. At the closing, was there a blonde with Bobbi?”

  “Nope. Bobbi was alone with her red-haired, sexy self.” He blew smoke in their faces again.

  Alec and Bruce looked at each other.

  “I see. Thanks for your time,” Bruce said.

  Alec started coughing again.

  “No problem. You fellas have a good day.” The man closed the door.

  “And you need to wash your damn drawers,” Bruce said with his nose turned up.

  Alec was still coughing as they made their way to the elevator. “Goddamn. How can someone smoke so much and still be standing?”

  The elevator was still on the floor, so the doors just opened when Bruce pressed the button. They stepped on.

  “I hope you’ll be able to catch your breath long enough to drive us to this real estate office.”

  “Bruce, those people are hardly ever in the office,” Alec said. “You’ll be better off calling her.”

  Once they got to the truck, Bruce called the realtor. She answered on the fourth ring. Bruce stated that he was a friend of Bobbi’s, and he was looking for her. T
he realtor didn’t have a forwarding address and said that Bobbi told her she was moving to Illinois to take care of her invalid mother. When Bruce was dating Bobbi, he had learned that Bobbi’s mother was dead.

  “So basically, you think Bobbi lied to the realtor?”

  “I know she did. Bobbi didn’t want anyone to know where she was going or why.

  Alec, Bobbi and Margo disappearing is not a coincidence.”

  “No, it’s not. You know, Bruce, I’m starting to think this is bigger than Margo played it off to be.”

  “I’m starting to think that too. Whatever it is, Bobbi is definitely involved.”

  Alec exhaled.

  “I’m going to do what I should have done over a week ago, Alec.”

  “And what is that?”

  “Talk to Frank St. John.”

  “Bruce, it’s after seven o’clock. Visiting hours are over.”

  “We’ll flash our badges. The warden should cooperate like he did last time,” he stated.

  “Look, Bruce, let’s go back to my house. We’ll get you some of Lana’s home cooking in your system. You have your clothes in the back, so why don’t you spend the night with us?”

  “No, I can’t stop. The trail is getting cold.”

  Alec put his hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “Bruce, we were already four or five hours behind her when we started, but she has to rest sometime. After packing up the house in the middle of the night, meeting with the Faulkners to finalize the sale this morning, then she had to put all that furniture somewhere, and I’m sure she ran errands before she met Lana and Lacey this afternoon. Hell, she might still be in the city. The woman has to sleep, eat, and shit sometime. Let’s go back to the house, get some grub, strategize, and start fresh in the morning.”

  He thought about Alec’s suggestion. “It’s possible that she is still in Tampa. We’ll go back to your place and start again in the morning — early in the morning.”

  Chapter 30

  Margo had been exhausted when she had gotten back to the factory. It was a little cool in the basement. She was glad that she had brought her blankets from home, and sleeping on her own bed made the office feel cozy. But there was still something missing. She realized it was Bruce’s protective arms around her. She sighed with sadness. Her Bruce.