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

by Christy Barritt

  Perhaps it was. I couldn’t deny it. But there was a chance he was telling the truth also.

  “One more question: who took care of Jonah while Katie worked?”

  She let out a long sigh. “I don’t know her last name. Some woman that Katie found online through GregsList. Her first name was Sarah, and she sounded nice enough. That’s all I know.”

  “Thanks, Samantha.”

  She touched my arm before I stood up. “Now I’m more worried about Katie than ever.”

  “I’m going to find her.”

  I only hoped the police didn’t arrest her when that happened.

  Chapter 12

  “So I did some more research on Gage Bowers,” Jamie announced as soon as I reached the car. “He has quite a history as a reporter. I mean, for real. He’s covered some great stories. The man has nerves of steel.”

  “What do you mean?” I pulled my seatbelt on, curious to hear what she had to say and also anxious to share what I’d learned.

  I tried to steal a glance at Jonah in the rearview mirror, but I couldn’t see him. He must be asleep again. It was the only way to explain the quietness in the car. Now more than ever, I felt the desperate need to love on him and let him know everything would be okay.

  Jamie stared at her screen, scrolling through something that I couldn’t see. “I mean, there’s no topic this guy is afraid to cover. He’s done an exposé about the mayor’s spending habits on the taxpayers’ dime. He confronted a man who owned a car dealership for selling lemons and turning back the odometers. He went undercover at a factory to expose the working conditions there. He’s kind of my hero.”

  “Your hero?” My eyebrows shot up in surprise.

  She nodded. “That’s how I want to be. Fearless. Unafraid to take on the bad guys, no matter the cost. To be an agent of change and stop corruption.”

  I hated to break the news to her, but . . . “He may have been fearless when it came to his job, but he was a coward when it came to love. Samantha thinks he cheated on Katie. Not only that, but he apparently wouldn’t commit. He wasn’t crazy about being a dad either.”

  Jamie frowned and glanced over at Jonah. “So maybe he wasn’t always awesome. That’s a shame. Did Samantha think Katie might have gone all scorned lover on him and killed him?”

  “No, and she seemed sincere in her assessment. But who knows what lengths a person might go to if pushed hard enough. We need to figure out more information about Katie. Until we know more about her, we won’t have any answers.”

  “How are we going to do that?”

  “I say we pay a visit to Club 21. It’s the last place we know Katie was seen.”

  Jamie shot me a concerned look. “With little baby Jonah? Are we taking him with us?”

  I thought about it a moment and then glanced at my watch. It was two o’clock. The club wasn’t even open for nightlife yet. “Let’s go back to my house. I want to change him and let him play for a while. But I want to go to the club before it opens tonight.”

  “Sounds like a plan to me.”

  “As the saying goes, here goes nothing.” I straightened my black dress, glad I’d chosen a classy one with a modest v-neck and a flowing skirt down to my knees.

  I’d still stand out like a sore thumb at Club 21, but, I reminded myself, I wasn’t going clubbing. No one else should even be here yet. Dress codes should be the least of my worries.

  Despite those thoughts, I had some reservations about bringing Jonah with us. Was I putting him in danger? Were there any angles I hadn’t thought through? Any scenarios where this was a bad idea?

  You’re going to be a terrible mom one day.

  I shook my head, refusing to cling to that thought. If I thought Jonah would be in danger here, I wouldn’t have brought him.

  “Let’s go do this.” Jamie raised her hand in a fist bump.

  We tapped knuckles before I picked up Jonah’s carrier, and we stepped into the dimly lit club.

  I was right—there wasn’t anyone here yet. I’d heard this was the happening place in the evenings, with bouncers manning the outside doors and a line to get in that stretched for more than a block. I’d never been the clubbing type myself.

  When my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I spotted a bartender across the room. I stepped farther into the building and noticed the overwhelming scent of sweat and body odor hit me. Someone had tried to cover it up by spraying air freshener, which only made me want to puke even more.

  “We’re not open yet, ladies,” the bartender called.

  I expected to see him wiping down the counters—I’d watched a lot of movies, I supposed. Instead he was playing beer pong by himself. The man looked a little scary for my taste, even though he could be perfectly nice. He had a huge blond beard and hair with a sharp part on the side. His well-muscled arms were covered with tattoos, and when he talked each word was said with a grunt.

  “We’re not here as customers,” I started. “We have a few questions for you.”

  He stared at the baby carrier in my hands, bounced one more ping-pong ball against the counter, and turned long enough to watch it land in one of the shot glasses. “Shoot.”

  “Do you recognize this woman?” Jamie held up a picture of Katie on her phone.

  He didn’t even look at the picture. Instead, he looked back and forth from Jamie to me. “You the cops?”

  I shook my head no. “No. Just two people who are concerned.”

  “I’m the cop,” a voice said behind us.

  I turned and saw Chase standing there. He cast a scowl my way before flashing his badge at the bartender and walking closer.

  “Detective Chase Dexter. I was hoping to ask you a few questions.” He cast me one last glance, edging in front of me.

  “Of course.”

  “Was this woman in here on Saturday?” He held up a photo of Katie.

  The bartender glanced at it. “Yes, she was.”

  “What do you remember about her?”

  The bartender shrugged and picked up a rag. “Can’t forget her. She and this guy got into a shouting match.”

  “This guy?” Chase held up another photo, this time of Gage.

  “No, not him. This guy had dark hair. He was taller. Lanker. No idea what his name was.”

  I set Jonah’s carrier down on a stool beside me as my arm muscles strained under the weight of holding it. He looked up at me and smiled.

  He was such a good baby. He deserved some answers.

  “What were they yelling about?” Chase asked.

  The bartender shrugged, looking nonplussed by the entire situation. “Not really sure, but it looked heated. She ended up storming out of here. We had the guy escorted out about ten minutes later.”

  “You have no idea who he was?” Chase continued.

  The bartender shook his head. “No idea. Never seen him before. Don’t care if I ever see him again. This is supposed to be a feel-good place, not couples’ therapy.”

  “Can I borrow your phone?” I asked Jamie, really missing my old one.

  She jerked her eyebrows upward before handing it to me. I found Katie’s profile there and did a search under her friends for anyone named Heathcliff. A picture popped up.

  I blinked when I saw it. With a name like Heathcliff, I’d imagined someone who was a part of society’s upper crust. This guy looked like a punk. Like trouble. Like the kind of guy who’d make me cringe if I met him in a dark alley.

  “Was this the guy?” I held up Jamie’s phone.

  The bartender paused from his work for long enough to nod. “That’s him.”

  Chase cast another look my way before nodding toward the bartender and sliding a card across the counter. “If you remember anything else, will you give me a call?”

  “Sure thing.”

  Then Chase turned to me. “Can I have a word?”

  “Sure thing,” I echoed the bartender’s sentiments as I braced myself for the chastising I was sure would come.

  “What are
you doing here?” Chase asked as soon as we stepped onto the sidewalk.

  I nestled near the building, trying to avoid the breeze. “Just asking questions.”

  “With Jonah with you?” He nodded down toward the baby.

  My defenses rose, and my spine tightened. “It’s not club hours yet. There was nothing dangerous about being there at this time of day.”

  “It’s not smart.” His jaw flexed as he stared down at me.

  I tilted my head up, all thoughts of being polite disappearing. “You think I should stay inside indefinitely and make a little prison out of my house?”

  His eyes narrowed but his shoulders loosened ever so visibly. “That’s not what I said.”

  Jamie pointed behind her, a dramatically awkward expression on her face. “How about if I take Jonah and walk back toward the car?”

  I didn’t say anything, just handed her the keys from my purse. It was better if no one heard the rest of this conversation because I was sure it wouldn’t be pretty.

  “You shouldn’t be out here, Holly.” Chase lowered his voice as Jamie’s footsteps faded in the distance. “Leave the investigation to the police. Did you forget that there’s already one person dead? We don’t know who’s responsible or what role the baby plays in all of this. You’re setting yourself up as a target.”

  My jaw hardened this time. “Don’t be a jerk, Chase.”

  His eyebrows flinched upward, as if my words surprised him. The surprise quickly turned to frustration then empathy. “I’m not being a jerk. I just worry about you. I try to keep you safe. I do, but I feel like you’re working against me sometimes.”

  “I’m just trying to figure out this catawampus case!”

  “Catawampus?”

  “Yeah, you know . . . not arranged correctly.”

  “I know what it means, Holly.”

  “I was just asking questions.” Weariness crept into my tone. We weren’t married. We might not ever be. I was free to be my own person and make my own choices.

  “Asking questions can get you into trouble. I thought you would have realized that by now.”

  Fire flashed through me. “And I thought you would have realized that asking questions is just a part of who I am. It’s what I do. I refuse to sit back and be a wallflower. I refuse to let life take me wherever the current is running. I feel like my calling in life is to speak for the voiceless. I thought you knew that about me.”

  We stared off at each other, and my heart pounded against my ribcage as I waited for what he would say next. He didn’t look happy—at all. His hands were on his hips; his eyes were narrowed; and his lips pulled into a grim line.

  But I refused to apologize or back down.

  Finally, he let out a long sigh and slumped his shoulders. He raked a hand through his hair, looking away for a moment. “I don’t want to fight with you. I’m sorry, Holly. I just won’t forgive myself if anything happens to you.”

  My heart softened some. I didn’t want to fight with Chase either. “I’m a big girl, Chase. I like the fact that you protect me, but I’m not your responsibility. I’m prepared to deal with the decisions I make.”

  He stepped closer, and his hands went to my waist. His eyes looked smoky, and his voice cracked as he said, “I just don’t want to lose you like I lost Hayden.”

  His brother had been killed, and the anger over what had happened gripped Chase more than he wanted to let on. It didn’t come out in violent ways, but it was always there, simmering in the back of his mind. It occupied his thoughts. Could turn his life upside down at any minute. Might control him, if he let it.

  I squeezed his arm as pain flashed in his gaze. I hated to see him hurting, especially since he was the guy who was always there for people, who was always there for me. “I know, Chase.”

  He ran a hand over his face and stepped back. “Let’s not do this anymore, Holly.”

  My heart panged. Do what? Date? Was he breaking up?

  I placed a hand over my stomach as bile churned there. “What do you mean?”

  “Let’s not fight.”

  In an instant, my stress flushed through me. Fight. I could handle that better than breaking up. Much better. Even if I was having doubts and even if there was friction between us, I wasn’t ready to call it quits. “I like that idea.”

  He pulled me into a hug, right there on the busy sidewalk. I nestled in his overpowering arms, not even caring if it was improper to show such PDA. I couldn’t stand it when my relationships were out of balance. It always left me feeling unsettled and uneasy.

  “You’re definitely someone I want on my side and not working against me,” he murmured in my ear.

  I smiled. “I want to be on your side also. I don’t like it when we fight.”

  When he released me, I stepped back. My heart still pounded as adrenaline surged through me after all that had happened. Almost hesitantly, Chase seemed to drop his hand. He scanned the area—probably for any sign of trouble—before looking back at me.

  “Now, who was the guy in the picture back there?” he asked.

  “Heathcliff Caswell—Katie Edwards’ ex-boyfriend.”

  A mixture of amusement and exhaustion flickered in his gaze. “I’m not even going to ask how you know that.”

  I shrugged, really not wanting to get into it anyway. “It’s probably better that way.”

  “I’m going to question him and see what he knows. We’ve had no success in locating Katie yet. I thought you’d want to know that her fingerprints were found on the gun.”

  The words made me pause, made my thoughts race. Had Katie done it? There had to be other viable theories like . . . “Could have been left from when she handled it earlier.”

  “They were bloody fingerprints, indicating she handled it—finger on the trigger—after touching his blood.”

  “Whose gun?”

  “It wasn’t registered to her. It was actually stolen.”

  “Stolen?”

  He nodded.

  Where had Katie gotten a stolen gun? There was obviously a lot more to this story than I could comprehend. “Did any of the neighbors hear anything?”

  “There was a silencer on the gun,” Chase said. “No one heard a thing. It doesn’t help that there are train tracks nearby.”

  A silencer? In my mind, only someone experienced would know about those. Katie didn’t seem like the type. “I doubt Katie would know how to use a silencer.”

  “We really don’t know anything about Katie, Holly. She could know a lot more about weapons than we think.”

  My throat clenched. I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to defend her. I didn’t even know her. But I knew Jonah, and I supposed that was why. “If you’re sure she’s guilty, why question everyone else?”

  “We’re not sure she’s guilty. Besides, we need to find her—guilty or not. Maybe this Heathcliff guy has some answers for us.”

  I raised my hands in surrender. “I’ll let you question him—and just you. Being a temporary mom and part-time detective has been exhausting, and all I want right now is to go home and have some dinner.”

  “It sounds like a good plan.”

  “And while you’re questioning people, there was a lady at the gym Katie was having problems with. You may want to talk to her also. Rhonda’s Fitness over in Kentucky.”

  He let out an airy chuckle. “You are one determined lady.”

  “I try to make that work in my favor as much as possible.” I paused. “I guess dinner at my house tonight is out?”

  He frowned. “Tonight is out, unfortunately. I’m sorry, Holly.”

  I shrugged, not wanting to make him feel bad. He shouldn’t feel bad. He was doing his job—and it was a noble job at that. “Figure out the answers for Jonah, Chase. He deserves them.”

  “Well, that was awkward,” Jamie announced when I climbed into the car.

  I twisted my key in the ignition, the fire in my blood simmering. “Sorry.”

  “You want to talk about it?” />
  I put the car in Drive, ready to get back to my place and unwind. Though I’d defended myself to Chase, a touch of guilt crept in. Was I being irresponsible? What if my actions had put Baby Jonah in danger? I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to him that I could have prevented.

  “There’s nothing to really talk about,” I finally said.

  “Well, you know I’m here if you need me.”

  “I know, Jamie. Thank you. Right now, I just want to go home and process everything. Maybe this was all a mistake.”

  She didn’t say anything as I cruised back down the road toward my house. Jonah cooed in the back seat, breaking me from my somberness. Maybe Chase was right. The best thing I could do was stay home and take care of Jonah until we had some answers. I needed to build a little nest around him to keep him safe and sheltered. But would even that work? After all, someone had tried to break into my home.

  “Is this a bad time to give you an update?” Jamie asked.

  Part of me screamed yes! But the other part of me wanted to know what she’d learned. Listening could do no harm, right? “Let’s hear it.”

  “I did a little search on this Heathcliff guy, and this is what I found out. He’s thirty. He works for the railroad. He’s originally from Cincinnati. Not to sound all judgy-judgy, but he looks like a punk. It’s the way he’s dressed—jeans sagging well below his waist, the I’ve-got-no-fashion-sense white tank top, the defiant expression. I’m sure you can imagine.”

  Yes, I certainly could. How we presented ourselves, whether we liked it or not, was exceedingly important when making first impressions. People didn’t like to acknowledge it—and it wasn’t always right—but stereotypes became stereotypes for a reason.

  “Did you get on his social media account?” I asked.

  “Girl, you know I did. Thankfully, he hasn’t set his profile to private, so I could access quite a bit. He did check in at Club 21 on Saturday evening. He posted this late Saturday night: Some women just string you along in an effort to get their way. They ain’t worth it. Now or ever. Good riddance. Wordy dird. Wordy dird. Wordy dird.”