“How did you meet Chase?” Fisher asked.
“The three of us were planning to start our own record label. Chase said he would take care of the upfront costs. I was part of a rap group and—” he nodded to the second man “—he used to manage our group. But when Chase’s studio biz fell apart, he bailed on the plan.”
“And do you think he was bitter at his father for not helping him out?”
“Yeah, sure he was. You would be too if you knew your old man got millions sitting in the bank and he won’t give you any of it.”
“Do you know where we can find him?” Holt asked.
“He’s got a place in Westport.”
“We’ve been there. He’s not there.”
“You talk to his girl in Kesseltown?”
“He’s not there either.”
“Then you’re out of luck, man.”
Fisher said, “How do you contact him?”
His face contorted. “What?”
“If you need to speak to him, what do you do?”
“I call him.”
“Give us his number,” Holt sternly demanded.
FIFTY-FOUR
Callaway was surprised when he received the call from Isabel Gilford. She wanted to see him. Her voice sounded strained on the phone. He told her he would meet her at a place of her choosing. She told him she would pick him up.
As he stood waiting for her on the sidewalk, he had a feeling she would ask him about his investigation. But not enough time had passed since he last saw her. He did not have the concrete proof she was looking for.
Just then the black limousine turned the corner and pulled up next to him. He got in and sat across from her. She was wearing a black coat, a scarf covered her head, and she had her usual sunglasses on.
The limousine moved. Callaway asked, “Where’re we going?”
“Someplace… private.”
She stared out the tinted windows as they drove to their destination. Callaway studied her. Even in the low light he could see something was different about her.
After ten minutes, she turned to him and said, “Before you ask, it might be better if I showed you.”
She pulled off her sunglasses.
There was a purple bruise under her right eye.
He clenched his teeth. “Who did that to you?”
“Who do you think?”
He knew. “Your husband.”
She nodded and put the sunglasses back on.
“Why?”
“Yesterday was our wedding anniversary. My husband bought me chocolates and flowers. He had also reserved a table for us at one of the most exclusive restaurants in the city. I told him I was not going. I could not muster the energy to sit across from him when I know what he’s been doing behind my back. Naturally, he was not pleased. He reminded me it was our anniversary and that I should go upstairs and get ready. I am aware that very important people go to this restaurant. So, my husband wanted to put on a show that our marriage was as strong as his investment firm. I was not in the mood to play his games. We got into an argument, and then he…”
“He hit you,” Callaway finished for her.
Isabel said nothing. She turned and faced the window again.
He waited a moment before he asked, “Has your husband hit you before?”
“Once before, but he regretted it immediately. To show how remorseful he was, he bought me a five-hundred-thousand-dollar diamond brooch.”
Callaway was horrified. “And you accepted it?”
She smiled. “Throughout history, women have endured far worse abuse and received far less for it. I sold that brooch and bought myself a nice property by the lake. I go there whenever I need to get away.”
“Is that where we are going?”
She shook her head. “No.”
There was a moment of silence.
Callaway said, “You need to report this to the police.”
“I have taken photos of my injuries and I intend to use them during our divorce.”
“Okay, sure, but I don’t think it’s safe for you to go back to your house.”
She smiled again. “Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”
The limousine came to a halt.
Isabel got out. Callaway followed her.
He suddenly realized they were parked at the curb on a busy bridge.
“What are we doing here?” he asked.
“I told you we were going someplace private.”
He was confused.
Over the roar of the traffic, she said, “I think someone is following me.”
“Who?” he asked, raising his voice.
“I don’t know, but I’ve seen a car parked outside our house.”
Callaway’s eyes widened. He now realized why she chose this very spot to speak to him. If anyone was following them, they could not park their vehicle without getting spotted. “I’ve seen the same car as well,” he said.
She frowned. “I believe my husband has hired someone to watch me, which means he may know I’ve hired a private investigator.”
Callaway looked over the bridge at the water below. The water was still and calm, but the sight did not match what Callaway was feeling.
This is not good, he thought. If Cary Gilford knows I’m following him, then my job just got a lot harder.
“I need those photos, Lee,” she said. There was desperation in her voice. “And I need them as soon as possible.”
“Are you sure what I gave you is not sufficient?” he asked.
“I should have told you this earlier. I don’t plan to just divorce Cary. I plan to use those lurid photos to blackmail him,” she replied.
“Blackmail him?” Callaway repeated.
“Yes!” Isabel said, raising her voice. “I want to destroy him for what he has done to me, physically and emotionally. And I know exactly how to do that: by taking control of his firm. When he sees what I have on him, he will have no choice but to succumb to my demands. If he doesn’t, then those photos will make their way onto the internet and the world will see what he has been up to. Then no one will ever want to do business with him.”
Callaway was reminded of the saying: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Isabel Gilford had been wronged and she would do everything in her power to get justice.
Callaway felt a shiver go up his spine.
FIFTY-FIVE
Holt rang Chase Burley’s number and found it was no longer in service. They tried to trace the number, but even that was not possible.
Then they received a call from Suzanne Burley. She wanted to know when she could return to the house to gather her belongings. The house was still sealed off.
Mrs. Burley’s interest in the property, Fisher knew, did not have something to do with anything she left behind. She had already moved out and taken most of her possessions. Mrs. Burley wanted to see what else she could take before the trustees took control of Big Bob’s assets. The family—more specifically, Big Bob’s heirs—would want their piece of the estate. If there was any cash, jewelry, artwork, or anything else of value left behind, Mrs. Burley wanted to get her hands on it without anyone knowing.
The crime scene had already been combed, so there was no reason to stop her from gaining access to the home, but Fisher decided to take one last look.
She and Holt drove up to the house and parked next to a police cruiser. An officer was stationed at the door to prevent anyone from entering and contaminating the scene.
They pulled on latex gloves and went inside. Nothing had changed from the last time they were there save for a chalk mark of Big Bob’s body near the stairs.
Holt moved toward the office where the safe was. Fisher moved up the stairs to the second floor. She was interested in the room with the bullet holes. She examined the door closely. She put her eye to the hole and peeked through. The bullet had gone completely through the wooden door and then struck the concrete wall, where it had remained until the CSU removed it as evidence.
She checked the other rooms before checking the bathroom. She was not sure what she would expect to find here. She noticed that someone had used the toilet but had failed to flush. It was a pet peeve of hers when people did not flush the toilet or put down the seat.
She flushed the toilet and was about to leave when she stopped and listened. She waited and then flushed again. There was an odd sound coming from the toilet. With gloved hands she removed the lid from the water tank. Submerged in the water was a black object. She placed her hand inside and pulled the object out. It was heavy, and the size of a clay brick.
She knew exactly what it was.
She went downstairs and found Holt in the living room. She held the object up for him. “I found it in the bathroom.”
He took the item and frowned. “Do you suppose there are more in the house?”
“I bet there are.”
They spent the next two hours checking every nook and cranny, and when they were done, they had five more bricks. One was found taped under the kitchen sink, another was found behind the refrigerator, a third in the toilet of the guest bathroom, and the last was in the air vent.
Just to be certain, Holt pulled out a Swiss Army knife and made a small cut across one of the bricks. He stuck the knife into the cut and when he removed it, there was a white powder.
The bricks contained cocaine.
If they had to guess, the bricks belonged to Chase Burley.
They now knew why Chase had come to the house. He had hidden the drugs in his father’s property, and in the process of trying to retrieve them, he had a fight with Big Bob.
But that raised another question.
If Chase had killed his father, why did he leave the drugs behind?
FIFTY-SIX
Callaway rang the doorbell and waited. A moment later, the door swung open and he nearly lost his breath.
Patti was wearing a blue dress that flowed down to her knees. She had on matching blue heels. She wore a pearl necklace and pearl earrings. She had on eye shadow and red lipstick.
“You okay, Lee?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
His palms were clammy, and his throat was dry. “I’m… I’m fine,” he said, swallowing whatever spit he could summon up.
“Nina’s had dinner, so don’t give her anything else.”
“Okay,” he said.
“No, I mean it,” she firmly said. “Whenever she eats late, her stomach is upset all night.”
“Right. Gotcha.”
“I should be back in a couple of hours. She can watch TV, but make sure she goes to bed on time.”
He felt like a teenage babysitter who was given a list of precise instructions to follow.
“Okay, no problem,” he said.
A car roared down the street and stopped at the curb. To Callaway’s dismay it was a red Ferrari. A man stepped out and walked up to them. He wore a blue blazer, white dress shirt, and blue jeans. He had on brown dress shoes, and on his wrist was an expensive watch.
He walked past Callaway as if he was not even there and kissed Patti on the cheek. “You look absolutely stunning,” he said.
Patti beamed like a little schoolgirl.
She turned to Callaway and said, “Lee, this is Dr. Michael Hayward.”
He smiled and extended his hand. “How do you do?”
Callaway noticed he had perfect hair and perfect teeth. He seethed with envy.
Patti said, “Michael is a surgeon.”
“Yeah, so don’t squeeze my hand too tight,” Hayward quipped. “I need it to save lives.”
I would rather squeeze your neck, Callaway thought.
He smiled and gently shook Hayward’s hand.
“Patti told me you’re a private detective. Is that right?” Hayward asked.
“I am.”
“I thought they only existed in comic books.”
Callaway gritted his teeth. “You mean detective novels.”
“Right, sure. I don’t have time to read fiction. I prefer spending my time engrossed in medical journals.”
If I punched him in the face, Callaway wondered, how long would it take for him to stitch himself up?
“I better go and say goodbye to Nina,” Patti said.
She went into the house.
Callaway said, “It’s a nice ride you got there.”
Hayward smiled at the Ferrari. “Thanks.”
“I prefer a manly car.” He pointed to his Charger. “That’s mine. It’s all power and testosterone.”
Hayward grimaced at the pot shot.
Patti returned. Hayward held her hand and escorted her to the car. He held the door for her like a gentleman. When she was inside, he turned to Callaway, grinned and winked, and then got in the driver’s seat.
As they drove off, Callaway had the urge to get in his Charger and follow them. He then heard a voice ask, “Dad, you okay?”
Nina was standing by the door with a curious look on her face.
He blinked. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You don’t look fine.”
He smiled. “Let’s go inside, honey.”
FIFTY-SEVEN
Holt would rather be working on the case, but after the brutal murder of his nephew, Isaiah, Holt had vowed to spend more time with his sister, brother-in-law, and niece. They were the only family he had left.
Holt’s parents died when he was young, so it was up to Marjorie, who was several years older than him, to raise him. She guided and protected him at a time when he needed it most. Their mother had a mental breakdown after her second child, a boy born before Holt, died of cerebral palsy. His father was a proud man who mourned the loss in his own quiet way: by drinking himself to death.
Holt had suffered his own loss. When Nancy found she could not bear any children, they decided to adopt a boy from the Ukraine. His adopted son did not live to see his first birthday, dying from a rare form of cancer.
Holt spent months trying to locate the boy’s real parents. They knew the child was suffering when they gave him up for adoption. Even the adoption agency never mentioned this to Holt and his wife when they went to see the boy.
Would Holt have refused the child because of his illness? Absolutely not. He would have gotten the child immediate medical attention. He would have done everything to save him, just like he tried to do in the end, but by then it was too late.
Nancy wanted him to pick up a bottle of wine. His sister was not a big drinker, nor was his brother-in-law, Dennis, but if they had to choose, they would go with red over white.
He selected the finest bottle he could afford and then decided to take another detour. Brit, his niece, had recently graduated from high school. While her older brother, Isaiah, excelled in sports, Brit was one of the top students in her school. Her algebra grades were the highest amongst all the students in her class.
Brit had applied to Stanford, MIT, and Harvard. They would all go out and celebrate the moment she was accepted into one of her chosen schools. Holt had no doubt she would.
He regretted never spending much time with her. He was much closer with Isaiah. They had the same interests and hobbies. Holt played basketball in high school and Isaiah was a major star in college. There was a belief that he would have made it to the pros one day.
When it came to Brit, Holt found he could not keep up with her intellectually, but that did not mean he could not get to know her better. They found they both liked working on crossword puzzles. They raced each other to see who could finish one first. Holt was competitive by nature, and there were times he would make up solutions to beat her. She would catch him, of course, and they would argue for the longest time, but it was all in good fun. Holt and Brit’s crossword battles were always the highlight of his visits to his sister’s.
He searched the aisles of the department store. He knew Brit l
oved listening to music. He remembered she was complaining about her headphone wires tangling up. He knew what to get her for her graduation gift. He purchased the best wireless headphones he could buy. After that,
he drove straight home.
Nancy is waiting for me to pick her up, he thought.
FIFTY-EIGHT
Nina was already fast asleep when Patti came home. Callaway wanted to know all the details of her date, but he did not ask her. As Patti had said, who she dated was none of his business.
Throughout the evening, though, Callaway was irked that Dr. Michael Hayward was educated, good-looking, and far more accomplished than him.
As he left the house, he could not help but think about Patti.
He always had feelings for her, he just did not realize how strong they were until now. Knowing she was with another man ate away at him, but he had been with countless women after his marriage ended, so he had no right to point any fingers at her. Besides, he was not a hypocrite.
After what he had done, she deserved all the happiness in the world. He was surprised she had not gotten remarried sooner.
He knew the reason why.
Nina.
At the expense of her love life, Patti was devoted to their daughter. She knew how fragile this stage of her life was for her development as a person and, eventually, a woman. There were countless stories of children moving between divorced parents. There were just as many stories of children being affected by their parents’ personal relationships. This did not mean that all children were not happy in second family units. On the contrary, if a person’s first marriage was dysfunctional or abusive, the second marriage might provide the children the security and comfort they most needed.
Patti and Callaway’s marriage was filled with love and understanding. They hardly ever fought, and never in front of Nina. Also, Callaway never cheated on her.
He was just bored and restless.
He wanted more out of life. Each day he spent not doing something exciting was draining his soul. There were times he could not even get out of bed. His joy was gone.
The Invisible Wife Page 13
