Random Acts of Greed: Holly Anna Paladin Mysteries, Book 4

by Christy Barritt

  “Of course,” I said.

  “Listen, I’ve got to get back to work. You promise you’ll keep me updated?” Samantha stood, but her eagle-like gaze remained on us.

  I nodded. “We will.”

  With that, she walked away.

  “Jonah, huh?” Jamie said as we climbed into the car. “Nice name.”

  “I agree. Although I was pretty fond of Sweet Pea.” As I said his name, I tickled his belly and was rewarded with a smile.

  I closed the door and climbed into the driver’s seat.

  “What now?” Jamie asked.

  “I should call Chase.”

  “And then? Because I know there’s a then.”

  I thought through everything we’d just learned. What we should do next was a great question. Samantha had given us some leads, but which was worth pursing? Which one would lead me to answers about where the blood on Jonah’s baby carrier had come from?

  “I don’t think a woman at the gym who’s catty is reason enough to hurt someone,” I started. “I’m not sure the ex-boyfriend is a great angle either.”

  “Unless he thinks this baby is his,” Jamie said.

  She had a point. “True. Maybe we should look into him. And we should try to find Gage also. He works for the newspaper. You think you could track him down?”

  Jamie shrugged. “I can definitely try. The thing is, we probably shouldn’t bring Jonah with us to any of these places. What if one of those people are the very ones searching for him?”

  I frowned. I’d thought of that also. Investigating with a baby was a lot more complicated than I’d thought. Jonah’s safety was a priority.

  “We’ve got to figure out what happened between the time she went clubbing on Saturday until she dropped off the baby on Sunday,” I mused. “It had to be something big, something that made her desperate or put her in danger.”

  “I say we start with her current boyfriend and baby’s daddy,” Jamie said. “He seems like the most logical choice.”

  “I agree. In the meantime, I think I’m going to take a drive past Katie’s house. I want to see where she lives. Maybe it will trigger something—some kind of connection.”

  “Sounds good. While you drive, I’ll get on the phone and see what I can find out. Honestly, I’m really surprised this boyfriend of hers hasn’t contacted the police himself to report her missing. Maybe their relationship wasn’t as strong as it appeared.”

  “Maybe.” I reached for my phone but paused. I’d just downgraded my phone to a device only boasting the basics—telephone services, text messaging, and a camera. I’d found myself getting too distracted with social media and longed to be more present wherever I was. I still wasn’t used to not having a search engine at my fingertips.

  “Uh . . . could you look up her address?” I asked.

  “See, girl. I told you that you were going to miss that phone. But I respect your choice.” She plucked around on her screen for a moment and then told me the address. I knew exactly where to go.

  The car had heated up efficiently so I took off down the road. Jamie talked to two different people on the phone, asking plenty of questions. While she did, I tried to call Chase, but his phone went to voicemail.

  “Guess what, Girlfriend? Girl Genius is at it again.” Jamie did her little Z-shaped finger snap that I called The Diva as she lowered her phone.

  “What did Girl Genius discover this time?”

  “No one has seen good old Gage this week.”

  My heart leapt into my throat. Had he hurt Katie, dropped off the baby, and then run?

  Katie’s house wasn’t terribly far away. It was in an area known as Westwood. We finally pulled onto her street, which was filled with skinny houses painted anything from gray to turquoise to bright pink.

  But as I drew closer to her address, my foot hit the brakes.

  Police cars were scattered farther down. An ambulance. A fire truck, even.

  My heart raced. What had happened here?

  I got as close as I could before putting my car in Park. My thoughts rushed well ahead of me.

  “Jamie, would you—”

  “I’ll stay here with Jonah. You go,” she said. “There’s a bottle and formula in here, right?”

  “Of course. And he should be getting hungry soon. If you need me, shoot me a text and I’ll come right back.”

  “Got it, Retro Girl.”

  I ran from the car and stopped by crime-scene tape that had been strung around the perimeter of Katie’s house.

  Dear Lord, what’s going on? Be with those involved. Be with Jonah.

  My gaze darted around as I desperately searched for answers.

  Something bad had happened here. Something devastatingly bad.

  Was Chase here?

  My gaze went to the street, and I spotted his police-issued sedan.

  He was. He must be inside.

  An officer stood guard near the police line, and I knew there was no hope of getting to the other side.

  Just then, a familiar figure stepped out of the house. He looked up and spotted me.

  Evan.

  He strode my way, grim lines on his face.

  “I’m not even going to ask what you’re doing here,” he started. Gone was his life-of-the-party persona, and, in its place, was grief. “I guess what your friend Jamie said was right. You’re pretty good at tracking down answers.”

  “What happened, Evan?”

  His gaze locked on mine. “We discovered a dead body.”

  “A dead body? Whose?” I closed my eyes, squeezing out images of smiling Katie from her social media profiles. Poor Jonah. He was too young to lose his mom.

  “I can’t tell you.”

  “Please, Evan.” I didn’t want to sound desperate, but I was. I needed to know.

  He looked around, almost as if to see if anyone was listening, and then sighed. Finally, he stepped closer and lowered his voice. “You have to keep this between us. The dead body has been identified as Gage Bowers. We believe he was the boyfriend of Katie Edwards. Based on everything we’ve seen here, we suspect Katie may have been behind it.”

  Chapter 11

  I closed my eyes as my emotions clashed inside. Thank goodness it wasn’t Katie. But, on the other hand, Gage . . . who might be Jonah’s father. The poor baby. He would never know his daddy.

  “What happened?” I asked.

  He glanced over his shoulder again before responding. “He was shot. Based on rigor mortis, we suspected it probably happened sometime this weekend, even though that’s not official yet.”

  “Any sign of Katie?”

  He shook his head. “She’s long gone. There could be a good reason for that.”

  Just then, I spotted Chase stepping outside. He saw me right away and stormed my way. His greeting toward Evan was less than warm. It bordered on hostile.

  Strange.

  “I’ve got it from here,” Chase snapped. “Thanks.”

  Evan raised his chin, his shoulders drawing upward, before stepping away. “I’ll see you around, Holly.”

  Normally, I might ask Chase about the reaction, but I had other things on my mind. As I remembered our steamy kiss from last night, my checks flushed again. My values were more in line with people raised in the 1950s than my millennial counterparts.

  “What’s going on?” I asked instead.

  “I’m assuming you know that this is Katie Edwards’ place. Based on all of the pictures inside, she’s the mom of the baby you’re caring for. We’re still trying to piece together what happened between those walls.”

  I swallowed hard. “Gage . . .”

  Chase’s eyes darkened. “He’s dead. Murdered. I’ve got to be honest here, Holly. It looks like Katie could be behind it.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “There are footprints in the blood. They match her shoe size. The weapon was also left. There are prints on it that we’ll run, of course.”

  “So you think she shot Gage and dr
opped Jonah off with me so she could go into hiding?”

  “Jonah?”

  I shrugged. “I may or may not have figured out his name.”

  He gave me a lingering look before saying, “We’re testing the blood that was found on the baby carrier against the blood in the house since it appears that the car seat was set in blood at some point. It’s the most logical conclusion, but we’re still investigating every possibility.”

  I nodded, feeling like I couldn’t breathe. “I understand.”

  He glanced beyond me to where my car was parked. “You shouldn’t be here, Holly.”

  “I had no idea this was what I’d see. I was just going to drive past.”

  “Where’s the baby?”

  “With Jamie in the car.”

  He nodded. “I need to get back inside. Be careful, okay?”

  “Always.”

  He took a step away but paused. “Are we . . . okay? After last night?”

  I shoved a hair behind my ear and nodded. “Yeah, we just got a little too swept away in the moment.”

  “We can talk about it more later. But . . . I’m sorry about that.”

  “No one ever said that remaining pure was easy.” I offered an unconvincing smile.

  “I can’t deny that. I’ll call you later, okay?”

  I remained at the police line, watching everything play out. I imagined the body of Gage sprawled on the floor. I pictured the blood. The stench of death. I’d only been around it a couple of times, but the memories would never leave me.

  Then my mind went beyond the present. It went back to Sunday, when all of this had gone down.

  I imagined Katie in the house. Seeing her boyfriend’s dead body. Grabbing Jonah and running.

  Had she pulled the trigger first? Was she behind this? Or was she a victim also? Could this have been a domestic violence situation?

  But there was one thing I didn’t understand. If Katie was the one behind this, why had her note said: Trust no one? If she was the dangerous one then it just didn’t make sense.

  A crowd had gathered around the crime scene. I assumed it was mostly neighbors who’d come out to see what the commotion was about. But one woman caught my eye.

  She stood out from everyone else, but I couldn’t put my finger on why.

  She looked nervous, I realized.

  It was the way her gaze kept darting around. Plus, she wasn’t dressed like someone who’d just wandered out of her home and stumbled up on this scene. No, she was dressed in business casual. She wore a heavy winter coat and her purse was slung over her shoulder.

  I observed her light-brown hair. It was glossy and came down below her shoulders. She was probably in her early forties, if I had to guess.

  Tears rimmed her eyes.

  Who was she? How did she know Katie or Gage?

  I wanted to go talk to her, but before I could Evan and Chase passed each other on the pathway leading to the porch. Based on the look each gave the other, there was no love lost between them.

  What was going on? Certainly this wasn’t about me. Evan had only been friendly, nothing more.

  When I glanced back at the woman, she was gone.

  I got back to the car to check on Jonah and Jamie. She sat in the back seat with Jonah in her arms and a bottle in her hand. I fought the need to take the baby from her and cuddle him, to tell him everything was okay.

  Of course, he couldn’t understand any of this. He’d have to deal with the effects later in his life.

  The poor baby. I wished I could take all of the heartache from him and spare him the pain he’d face in the future. If only life worked that way . . .

  “What’s going on?” she asked as Jonah finished his bottle. She propped him up on her shoulder and began patting his back, waiting for a burp. She had two little brothers and was a pro at this.

  I explained everything to her, and her eyes widened with each new detail.

  “I can’t believe he’s . . .” She glanced down at Jonah before mouthing the word “dead.” In response, Jonah let out a soft burp.

  “I know. I really hope Katie isn’t behind it.” My heart ached at the thought of it. It would be a travesty for Jonah to lose both his parents: one to death and another to life behind bars.

  I surveyed the area one more time for a sign of the woman who’d caught my attention at the police line, but I didn’t see her. Maybe it was nothing. But the way she’d acted had made me wonder.

  “So, what’s next?” Jamie asked, patting Jonah’s back again.

  I mentally reviewed everything, and my thoughts came to a stop at one thing. “I need to go back to the Sugar Plum Bakery and talk to Samantha one more time.”

  Jonah let out another burp. “I’ll slip Sweet Pea back in his car seat, and we’ll be good to go.”

  I drove across town, parked on the street, and then hopped out of the car and rushed inside the Sugar Plum Bakery. Samantha narrowed her eyes when she spotted me coming back again. The crowds had slowed as the lunch hour rush dwindled, so she approached me.

  “What’s wrong?”

  I hadn’t thought ahead enough to know how to phrase this.

  Lord, give me the right words.

  I shifted my weight as I stood in front of her, and the scents of everything sweet and soothing floated around me. I felt like my announcement might put a stain on this place and all of its goodness. “Samantha, I just heard something I knew you’d want to know.”

  Her face nearly looked paralyzed with suspense. “What?”

  I licked my lips. “Gage is dead.”

  Her eyes widened, and she reached for the counter beside her. I grabbed her elbow before she collapsed on the fairy-dusted floor below. With my other hand, I grabbed a sparkle-bottomed chair and pushed it beneath her.

  “Sit down. Please,” I urged.

  She slumped into the chair without argument and stared ahead with dull, perplexed eyes. “I don’t understand.”

  “I just went to Katie’s house. The police were there.”

  “Oh no.” She buried her face in her hands.

  I stared at her, trying to carefully watch her reaction as I asked my next question. “Were Gage and Katie having any problems?”

  She raised her head, and her eyes widened again. “Gage and Katie? No. No, problems. No real problems, at least.”

  “You mentioned that he wasn’t the type to commit. Did that cause a lot of tension?”

  Her eyes flickered back and forth before she finally shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe. Some. I mean, every couple has disagreements.”

  “Of course.”

  She sucked in a deep breath and looked up at me as if realization had struck. “You’re asking because you think Katie killed him, don’t you?”

  I used every ounce of my self-control to keep my expression neutral. “I didn’t say that.”

  “Why else would you ask?”

  “I’m just looking for answers, Samantha.” I kept my voice calm and even.

  Her eyes narrowed as she studied me, her back straightening some. “Why are you so interested in this? You hardly know her.”

  “It’s true. But I know Jonah. I want to help, Samantha. I don’t want to cause trouble.”

  She snorted. “You expect me to believe there are really people out there that just,” she made air quotes, “‘want to help’? I gave up believing in that a long time ago.”

  I clasped my hands together and lowered my voice. “I understand that this is a lot to take in. I can tell you this. My boyfriend is a detective. When I spoke with you, my gut told me something was wrong. That’s the only reason I’m pursuing this.”

  She shook her head, her thoughts obviously going all over the place as her gaze skittered around and her breaths came more quickly. “I can’t believe he’s dead.”

  “You said he loved his job. Did he love being a dad as much?”

  She shrugged again and let out a soft sigh. “I don’t know. Not enough to marry Katie. The pregnancy wasn’
t exactly planned. He may have even accused Katie at one point of getting pregnant on purpose to manipulate him into marrying her.”

  “That would be hard to swallow.”

  “She didn’t do it. She wasn’t desperate.”

  “But I take it she wanted to get married?”

  “Of course, she did. Being a single mom is hard. Her job didn’t pay a lot. She doesn’t have any family in the area to help out. Gage worked all the time.”

  “Did he help support her? I mean, they weren’t living together, right?”

  “No, he liked having his own space. I don’t know. I guess Gage wasn’t my favorite person, but Katie was hung up on him. I never think it works out well when that happens.”

  I considered her words a moment but couldn’t grasp exactly what she was saying. “When what happens?”

  “When the girl likes the guy more than the guy likes the girl. Call me old-fashioned, but I think the guy should be the one doing the pursuing. Gage even cheated on Katie once, though he never owned up to it.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “I saw him with my own two eyes. I went out to eat at this restaurant that’s below this hotel downtown—Hotel Plaid, that new trendy one. Who did I see step off the elevator? None other than Gage himself. And he was with a woman. They were whispering and talking real intimate like.”

  “Did he see you?”

  Her face suddenly became animated as she wobbled it back and forth with enough attitude to challenge Queen Diva Jamie. “You better believe he did. I made sure of it. I marched right up to him and demanded answers.”

  I pictured that playing out and fought a smile. Cheaters deserved to be confronted, and Samantha was a good friend for not letting it slide. “How did he react?”

  “He was shocked, of course. He stuttered and went pale and acted like he didn’t know what to say. Finally, he insisted that it was a long story and he couldn’t explain it. Typical. Guys are jerks.”

  I refused to add to her man hate. A few guys might give men a bad name, but they all didn’t deserve that title. “But Gage didn’t deny cheating on her?”

  “He said it wasn’t what it looked like. Isn’t that what every cheater says?”