by Casey Mayes
At that moment, we saw Charlie drive up, and as Zach waved to him, he said, “Testing time is over. Let’s go see what we’ve got.”
Once we were inside, Jenny hit the stop button on her DVD recorder, and after hitting play, we watched as Zach and I left the porch, and then he approached it from several different directions. “There’s a small gap from the motion detection to the taping, but unless you want to spend a great deal more money, it’s going to have to do.”
“It’s perfect,” Jenny said. “I feel better already.”
“You know this won’t stop anyone from coming up to your front porch. The only thing it does is give us a record of it.”
“That’s more than we had before.” Jenny reset the DVD player, and then she said, “Now that we’ve worked on my problem, what are we going to do about Derrick Duncan?”
“Let me make a few telephone calls,” Zach said. He got out his cell phone and as he began to dial, he walked back outside. I hated when he did that, since it meant that I couldn’t listen in to his side of the conversation, but he needed privacy when he talked so he could speak freely.
“There’s got to be something we can do in the meantime,” Jenny said.
“Don’t worry. If Zach runs into a dead end, I have a few ideas of my own.”
He came back inside three minutes later, scowling.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Nothing. It doesn’t matter.”
“Zach, what happened? Talk to me.” My husband had a way of clamming up when news wasn’t to his liking, and I’d seen it enough in the past to be able to recognize it with no problem now.
“I checked our messages at home,” he finally admitted.
“What’s so bad about that?” A sudden, dark thought came to me. “Nothing happened to either one of my uncles, did it?”
He raised one eyebrow as he looked at me. “What? No, they’re fine, at least as far as I know.”
“Then what is it? Trust me, nothing you can say is going to be able to touch what my imagination can provide, and you know it.”
“That’s true enough. It’s about a job.”
I smiled at him. “What’s wrong with that? I thought you were eager to get another consulting job.”
“It’s not that kind of job,” he said. “Savannah, you remember Greg Starks, don’t you?”
“Sure, he’s the sheriff in Asheville. Hang on a second. He didn’t have the nerve to call you for another consultation, did he? The last time you helped him out, your pay ‘got lost’ in the mail for six months until I started raising a fuss about it at City Hall. I told him you weren’t going to work for him ever again, and I meant it.”
“Apparently Greg delayed more checks than mine. They just fired him for embezzling from his department.”
“Then why is he calling you about a job?” Something clicked at that moment. “Does he seriously want to come work for you? I can’t believe you’d even consider it. You can’t afford to take anyone on, and you and I both know you can’t trust him.”
“Savannah, if you’d let me finish, I could tell you what is going on, instead of you just guessing.”
Jenny started to smile, and I asked her, “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing whatsoever.”
“Good.” I turned back to Zach. “Go ahead,” I ordered my husband. “I’m listening.”
“The mayor called the house looking for me. He wants me to take the job.”
“Hang on a second,” I said. “He knows about your heart, right?”
“There’s nothing wrong with my heart,” Zach said forcefully. While it was true that technically he could have gone back to work after the shooting, his doctors hadn’t recommended it.
“You’re retired, remember?”
“Savannah, people come out of retirement all of the time,” he said.
“And they usually pay for it, don’t they? What are you going to do?”
“I have no idea,” he said.
Zach headed for the front door and then added, “I need to take a drive.”
“You’re just going to walk out? Can’t we even talk about it?”
He stopped and looked at me. “Savannah, I need to figure out what I want to do myself before we have any conversations about it one way or the other.”
Almost as an afterthought, he bent over and kissed my forehead. “I’ll see you later.”
After he was gone, I looked at Jenny and asked, “What just happened?”
“Give him a break, Savannah. He needs some time to think before you discuss it. That’s not a bad thing, is it?”
I frowned as I bit back tears. “It’s not a good thing, either. Trust me. If he’s thinking about it, then there’s a chance he’ll take the job.”
Jenny touched my arm lightly. “He said you’d discuss it. Give him a chance to wrap his head around it.”
“I really don’t have much choice, do I?” A few tears had escaped down my cheeks, and I dabbed them away.
“Well in the meantime, we’re not going to just sit around here waiting for him to come back,” Jenny said with renewed fire in her eyes.
“What do you propose we do?”
“We’re going to go interview our suspects,” she said as she grabbed her car keys.
I knew Jenny was right. I might not be able to do anything about my husband at the moment, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t start going after Derrick’s killer myself. Whatever happened with Zach would work out for the best; I had a strong faith that was true, but with Derrick, I wasn’t so sure.
He’d been murdered in cold blood, and the police had me near the top of the suspect list. If I was going to get myself out from under that cloud of suspicion, I was going to have to do something about it.
“LET’S GO BACK TO THE CREST,” I TOLD JENNY AS WE GOT into her car.
“We should talk to Brady and Sylvia again.”
“I’m sure we will, but I want a little more ammunition before I do. What I’d really like to see is the suite where Derrick was staying.”
She glanced over at me. “How do you know that it’s a suite?”
“Trust me; Derrick had no problem pampering himself, especially if he could write it off on his taxes. That’s just the kind of guy he was.”
“I still don’t understand how we’re going to get into the suite.”
I thought about it. “We could bribe a maid.”
“No thank you. I can’t afford any black marks on my record, and if we pay somebody off, I’m sure it will come back to haunt me later. How about your uncle? Surely he would know someone he could call to help us.”
“He’s out of reach right now.” Then I had a sudden thought. While it was true that Uncle Barton was unavailable, I knew one of his top men.
As Jenny drove I dialed Garrett’s number and heard him answer on the first ring.
“Savannah, how nice to hear from you. I’m sorry, but your uncle is still away.”
“You’re the one I need to talk to,” I said. Garrett ran one of my uncle’s hotels, the Belmont in Charlotte, and he did his job very well.
“You know that I’m happy to be of service, if I can,” he said.
“I need a contact at the MCS Crest Hotel in Raleigh. Can you help me?”
He didn’t even hesitate as he replied, “Ask for Benjamin Lowe. I’ll call him now, so he’ll be expecting to hear from you.”
“How on earth did you come up with something so quickly, Garrett?”
“I’d love to tell you that I’ve got some kind of magical directory at my fingertips, but Benjamin and I were at a conference together last year in Greensboro. He’s the assistant manager there, so you’ll be in good hands.”
“Thanks, Garrett. You’re a lifesaver.”
“When are you going to visit us again, Savannah? You’ve been missed.”
I thought about the luxury accommodations, and the view of Charlotte I’d enjoyed when I’d stayed there last, and began to wonder the s
ame thing. “If we get a chance, we’ll come by soon.”
“Excellent,” he said.
After we hung up, Jenny said, “Wow, so that’s what it’s like to know people.”
“Come on, you know people.”
She shook her head. “I know some folks around the edges, but not with those kinds of resources, at least not yet. Who knew you would ever turn out to be such a mover and a shaker?”
“It’s my uncle, not me,” I said as we pulled up to the hotel, got out of Jenny’s car, and walked up to the front desk.
A dapper young man with a trim mustache was waiting for us. “Are you Savannah Stone, by any chance?”
I admitted that I was, and he extended a hand. “I’m Benjamin Lowe. How may I be of assistance to you?”
“So, you’ve already spoken with Garrett. That was fast, even by his standards.”
He smiled, and I saw a perfect set of gleaming white teeth. “Let’s just say that I’m in his debt, and I’m happy to be able to reduce the burden in any way I can. I must warn you, though, that I won’t breach the confidentiality of our guests, but anything else I can do for you, know that I’m at your service.”
“I need to see Derrick Duncan’s room. I’m willing to bet it’s a suite on the top floor.”
Benjamin frowned. “I’m not certain the police have released their hold on that suite yet.” He turned to one of the young women behind the desk, asked for her keyboard, and then began tapping something into the computer system as he looked at the screen. “I’m truly sorry, but that room won’t be available for occupancy for another six hours.” He tapped a few more keys, and then swiped a golden-hued card from a nearby stack.
As we walked toward the elevator, Benjamin said softly, “I trust you will leave things there as undisturbed as possible.”
“I promise,” I said. “I’m curious, though. Am I to understand that you aren’t willing to breach a guest’s privacy, but you don’t have any problem with disobeying the police?”
“What troubles you about it? We’ve held the suite as a courtesy only. I don’t have to tell you that it’s not a crime scene, since Mr. Duncan was murdered in one of our conference rooms, not his suite. I’ve been told that his widow will be by later to pick up his belongings. From what I’ve been told, the police have finished that part of their investigation, so there’s nothing you can really disturb. Still, I wouldn’t want it bandied about that I’d allowed you free access to someone else’s room.”
“You can trust me,” I said.
“I’m sure of it. Garrett was quite emphatic about that point.”
“Well, please accept my thanks.”
“If it is ever my pleasure to serve you again, do not hesitate to ask.”
We got onto the elevator, and started our ride to the penthouse level. Jenny had been quiet during most of the conversation, preferring to observe rather than directly participate. “I don’t know what Garrett’s got on Benjamin, but it must be something.”
“I’d rather not know, to be honest with you. I’m just glad he has a contact that can help us.”
“Is it right what we’re doing here? I feel a little odd snooping around a dead man’s room.”
“Jenny, if you’re uncomfortable doing it, I’d be glad to meet you back in the lobby after I’m finished.”
“You wouldn’t mind?”
“Of course not. It’s probably better that we give you some deniability about this, anyway. I’ll snoop around a little, and then I’ll be back before you know it. Would you like to meet in the lobby, or should I look for you in the restaurant?”
“You’re being awfully understanding about this,” Jenny said.
“You’ve got a lot more to lose than I do if we’re caught,” I said. The elevator opened on the top floor, and I walked out.
To my surprise, Jenny stepped out as well.
“I thought you were going back downstairs.”
“I’ve changed my mind,” she said suddenly. “I’m not about to leave all of the fun for you. I can’t let that happen, now can I?”
I looked into her eyes and saw that she meant it. “I guess not. Let’s go do a little digging.”
EITHER SOMEONE HAD TOSSED THE PLACE AFTER DERRICK died, or he was a born slob. I was willing to bet it was the latter, given his general personal appearance. There were dirty dishes on the floor by the door, and magazines and newspapers were strewn out all over the place. Clothes had been ditched haphazardly, and I had to wonder how long it had been since a maid had stepped one foot into the room.
“Are you kidding me?” Jenny asked as she stared in disbelief.
“Sorry, but it’s too late to back out now.”
As Jenny surveyed the room, she asked, “How can anyone live like this?”
“I don’t like it any more than you do, but we don’t have much time. Let’s dig in and see what we can find.”
Jenny frowned, and then took a deep breath. “Okay, if you can do it, I can, too. I just wish I had some gloves.”
“Or a biohazard suit,” I added as I looked around. “Do you want the living room or the bedroom?”
“Could the other room really be any worse than this is?”
“We could always flip a coin,” I offered.
“No, I’ll take the bedroom.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. No. Yes. Forget it. I can’t stand the thought of what I might find in there. You take the other room, but you have to do the bathroom, too. Agreed?”
Since I was lucky to be getting any help at all, I could hardly refuse her offer. “It’s a deal.”
I started for the other room when she said, “Hey, wait a second. You gave in too easily just now.”
“Just chalk it up to my easygoing nature,” I said.
“I would, but we both know that you don’t have one,” Jenny said.
“I’ll trade back. Just say the word.”
She thought about that for a few moments, and then said, “We’ll keep things the way they are.”
“Sounds good.”
I left before she could change her mind again. It wasn’t like Jenny to be so wishy-washy, but then again, I’d never asked her to help me search a dead man’s room before and put her career in danger, so maybe it was exactly like her, given the circumstances.
If it was any consolation, the bedroom was even worse than the living room had been.
The only thing I could figure was that Derrick must have been living there more than a few days. Did that mean there was trouble in Paradise? I opened the closet door and saw that he hadn’t been staying there alone. A woman’s clothes were hung neatly inside, and from the look at one of the labels, it was a thin woman at that, a size 2, if the dress I pulled out was any indication.
Did the clothing belong to his wife, or Mindi Mills? If it all belonged to his mistress, then where was his wife? Had the police even spoken with her yet? I wished I could pick up my phone and call Zach, but he was off somewhere thinking and brooding, and I knew he hated to be disturbed whenever he did that. I knew he would take my feelings into account when he pondered his decision, but it was my life, too. I’d just grown accustomed to the idea that he was out of the line of fire these days, though his consulting job put him in harm’s way enough as it was. Working as Asheville’s sheriff would be dangerous, though not as hazardous as running the Charlotte force had been.
As I searched, I kept thinking about my husband, and the wonderfully strange journey our marriage had become.
A thought suddenly occurred to me as I looked around the cluttered room. Where was Derrick’s planner? He didn’t believe in modern technology, clinging to old ways long past their obsolescence, and while other folks had upgraded to PalmPilots and BlackBerries long ago, Derrick had faithfully bought planners every new January to run his life by. Where could this year’s edition be?
Maybe Jenny had better luck than I did. I walked back into the living room and found her sitting on the couch.
“Have y
ou had any luck finding a yearly planner?”
“Like the kind we used in school?”
“Yes, but a little nicer,” I said.
“No, I haven’t seen anything like that. I did find these,” she said as she held out her hand. In her palm was a set of keys.
“They must have been Derrick’s,” I said as I took them from her. “No car keys here, though.” I held one up. “This is probably a house or apartment key, and this looks like it goes to a mailbox. What’s this one for?”
Jenny shrugged. “I’d say it might belong to some kind of safe. Did he have one?”
“I’d be shocked if he didn’t,” I said. “How did the police miss these?”
“They were hidden in one of his shoes,” she said. “There was a sock tucked in hiding it, and I was trying to be thorough, so I pulled it out. Do you think they are important?”
“They could be. What I’d really like to get my hands on is his planner. There must be some kind of clue hiding in there. He put his entire life in that thing.”
“Even his affair?” Jenny asked. “If it’s true, could he have been that stupid? His wife would surely have found out.”
“Found out what?” a voice behind us said.
I wasn’t expecting anyone to interrupt us, and I had purposely locked the door behind us, but someone had still managed to get in. She was a heavyset brunette that had help from Miss Clairol, and when she was younger, she’d probably been labeled cuddly and cute. Now she was simply overweight trying to fit into expensive-looking clothes that barely managed to contain her.
“I’m sorry, can I help you?” I asked in my most professional voice.
“I was about to ask the same.”
“And you are?”
She looked at me with one raised eyebrow. “I’m Cary Duncan, and I’m calling Hotel Security and having you thrown out of my husband’s room this instant.”
Chapter 9
“THERE’S NO NEED FOR THAT,” I SAID AS I CROSSED THE room and extended my hand. “My name is Savannah Stone. I’m so sorry for your loss.”
She hesitated a moment before dialing and looked at me curiously. “You’re the puzzle woman?”
