The Bloodstained Bride

by Rachel Woods

  “The briefcase had Derek’s fingerprints on it,” said Leo. “Did you know that? That’s how the cops put Derek in Jones’ motel room.”

  “That one’s on me,” said Skip. “But, I thought Jones would take the money and the briefcase and leave the island. Never thought he’d get his ass shot off.”

  “What do you know about that?” Leo asked.

  “About Jones getting shot?” Skip shook his head. “Not a damn thing. Must have been some shit he was mixed up in that didn’t have nothing to do with Derek.”

  “Jones was mixed up in Besi’s murder,” said Leo, fighting the urge to grab the walking cane and whack Skip Taylor across the head with it. “That has everything to do with Derek.”

  Skip shook his head. “Jones wasn’t involved with Besi’s murder.”

  “The cops believe Jones killed her,” said Leo. “The gun used to kill Besi was found in his motel room.”

  “I don’t know how the gun got in his motel room,” said Skip. “What I know is Jones ain’t the guy who killed Besi. Jones was a blackmailer. He wasn’t no hitman. Trust me. I know guys that do wet work. They got a look. A way they carry themselves. Jones didn’t have it in him to blow nobody’s brains out.”

  “Well, somebody killed Besi.”

  “Wasn’t Jones,” Skip reiterated. “He was looking for a payoff. He wanted to make a deal. Money in exchange for evidence.”

  “Jones gave you the evidence he had on Derek?”

  Skip nodded. “Handed me one of them oversized envelopes. Says, it’s all in here. I took it back to the place I’m renting, a little house in a neighborhood called Oyster Farms.”

  “What was in the envelope?”

  “I was expecting a bunch of damaging emails about Derek’s crimes between David Hennessy and the company’s HR and Legal departments,” said Skip, “but wasn't nothing like that.”

  “What was it?”

  “Emails that Jones wrote to himself about Derek’s termination, but no proof about the embezzlement that would have incriminated Derek. No documents about why Derek had been fired, or nothing like that. It was kinda like Jones’ personal email diary, but it could have been easily disputed. Wasn’t like he had any Hennessy Capital emails about the situation.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Wasn’t the only thing that didn’t make sense,” said Skip. “Jones had a separate file with stuff in it about Besi.”

  “Besi?”

  Shaking his head, Skip said, “Crazy, unbelievable stuff. I called her and told her to meet me at the Oyster Farms house I was renting. Said it was very important that we talk about the crazy stuff that Jones gave me.”

  “What did Besi say about the stuff?” asked Leo.

  Skip shrugged. “She never showed up.”

  Surprised, Leo asked, “She didn’t?”

  Shaking his head, Skip said, “She said she was coming, but she ghosted me.”

  “What was in the envelope?” asked Leo, wondering where Besi had gone in the white BMW if she hadn’t met with Skip at the Oyster Farms house.

  Skip said, “You need to see for yourself or you ain’t gonna believe me.”

  “Where is it?”

  “Hid it in the attic at the rental house,” said Skip.

  Fighting frustration, Leo said, “Give me an idea of what I’m going to find inside.”

  “Crazy shit regarding Besi,” said Skip. “It’s gonna be hard to believe, but—”

  A gasping grunt escaped the fixer’s lips as he leaned forward, and slumped to the ground.

  Leo jumped up, gazing at the back of the fixer’s head—what was left of it …

  Heart lurching, Leo stared at Skip Taylor’s skull, which seemed to have exploded into a pulpy mass of blood, brains, and bone.

  44

  “Baxter François doesn’t believe my story,” said Leo, dropping down on the couch against the wall in Vivian’s office. “He thinks there’s something I’m not telling him.”

  Stretching out on the plush cushions, Leo closed his eyes and tried to forget about the terse interrogation he’d endured. Three hours of evading and avoiding, trying to make sure he didn’t get tripped up by the detective’s verbal sleight of hand and cunning misdirection.

  Two days had passed since Skip Taylor was shot in the back of the head, in broad daylight, right in front of him. After alerting the hospital staff and calling the police, Leo had dropped to his knees and tried to give the fixer CPR. Seconds later, an emergency response team took over while Leo glanced around the area, scanning the trees and bushes behind the bench where he and Skip had been sitting, trying to determine where the shot had been fired from. When the deputies arrived, Leo gave his statement, revealing only that he was trying to find out if Skip knew anything about Derek’s involvement in Besi’s murder but the fixer had been shot before Leo could get any information out of him.

  “He’s right,” said Vivian. “There is something you’re not telling him. François thinks Derek paid Jones to kill Besi. He has no idea that Jones was blackmailing Derek.”

  “I can’t tell him that,” said Leo, opening his eyes. “Not yet. Not until I figure out the truth. Not until I can determine whether or not Derek was being blackmailed.”

  “Skip Taylor confirmed Derek’s story,” said Vivian.

  “Did he confirm Derek’s story because it’s true?” asked Leo, staring at the ceiling tiles. “Or, because Derek paid him to confirm his story?”

  Vivian sighed. “How do we figure out the truth?”

  Leo wished he knew.

  What Skip Taylor had confided in him only confused the issue even more. The whole situation was already like a giant puzzle missing several pieces. Skip had provided additional pieces, but Leo couldn’t figure out how to make them fit.

  “You know what’s so weird,” said Vivian. “According to Skip, Jones blackmailed Derek by claiming he has proof of why Derek was fired. But, when Jones gave Skip the evidence that could ruin Derek’s life, none of it would really hurt Derek. But he does have something on Besi. What’s up with that? What could be so crazy about Besi?”

  “We need to see what’s inside that envelope,” said Leo, sitting up and swinging his legs to the floor. “Skip said it was hidden in the attic at the Dove Street house.”

  “Can’t go today,” said Vivian. “Sophie says the Dove Street house is still swarming with cops collecting evidence.”

  Leo cursed.

  “Speaking of Sophie,” said Vivian. “She’s developing a good relationship with Officer Fields. He confided in her that the handprint on the glass pane was blood—which Detective François conveniently avoided telling me when I asked him—and Fields told her the blood was Skip Taylor’s.”

  “I didn’t get a chance to ask Skip about the break-in,” said Leo.

  “According to Sophie,” said Vivian, “Fields said the cops’ theory is that Skip Taylor surprised a burglar who shot him and then chased Skip into the street where he was accidentally hit by a car.”

  “Was anything taken from the house?”

  “Not that the cops could tell,” said Vivian. “But the cops identified Skip a week, or so, ago, when he was hit by the car. He had his wallet with him. They decided not to share that information with the media, however.”

  “See, the cops keep secrets, too,” said Leo.

  “Speaking of secrets,” said Vivian. “I’ve been thinking about the reason Derek was fired from Hennessy Capital. I wish Skip had asked Aaron Jones how he found out.”

  Rubbing his eyes, Leo said, “So do I, but—”

  There was a knock on the door.

  Leo sat up as Vivian called out, “Come in.”

  With his customary slow, loitering stride, Stevie Bishop loped into the office, with a lopsided grin and a manila folder.

  “Got some results from my cousin,” said Stevie, waving the folder.

  Smiling, Vivian clapped her hands. “What did your cousin find out?”

  “Did he
trace the number associated with the anonymous texts Besi received from the mystery burner phone?” asked Leo.

  “Yes and the mystery burner wasn’t really a burner,” said Stevie, dropping down in the chair in front of Vivian’s desk. “It was a legit phone registered to Aaron Jones.”

  “Are you serious?” Vivian asked.

  “Why the hell would Besi and Aaron Jones have been in contact with each other?” asked Leo.

  Stevie said, “These emails may shed some light on that.”

  “What emails?” asked Vivian.

  “My cousin found some deleted emails on Besi’s real phone,” said Stevie. “They’re very interesting. I printed them out for you.”

  Stevie handed Vivian a manila file folder.

  Opening the file, Vivian removed one of the print-outs and stared at it. “Interesting is an understatement.”

  “What do the emails say?” asked Leo.

  Clearing her throat, Vivian read: “Ms. Beaumont. My name is Aaron Jones. I am a private investigator.”

  “Jones was a P.I.?” interjected Leo.

  Stevie said, “Which makes me think that maybe he was blackmailing Derek Hennessy.”

  Vivian continued: “Recently, I have learned of disturbing facts that you should know. Please contact me on this secure line: 555-8977.”

  “The strange burner phone,” said Leo.

  Nodding, Vivian read, “Time is of the essence. Please do not delay in contacting me as soon as possible. Sincerely, A. Jones.”

  “What the hell?” Leo shook his head. “What do the other emails say?”

  Vivian read the second email. “Ms. Beaumont, two weeks ago, I contacted you regarding disturbing facts that I feel you should be made aware of so that you can deal with these facts swiftly and accordingly. As I have not heard from you, I must implore you to contact me as soon as possible and do not delay. Sincerely, A. Jones.”

  “What do you want to bet that those ‘disturbing facts’ had to do with why Derek was fired from Hennessy Capital?” asked Leo. “Jones was a private investigator, so that’s probably how he found out about Derek.”

  “But, why?” asked Stevie.

  Leo glanced at Stevie. “Why what?”

  “Why did Jones start looking into why Derek was fired?” asked Stevie. “Someone must have hired Jones.”

  “Maybe it was Elizabeth A. Davis,” Leo said.

  “Who’s Elizabeth A. Davis?” asked Stevie.

  “The brunette in the sunglasses,” said Leo. “Jones’ accomplice, according to the cops.”

  “Let me read the rest of the emails,” suggested Vivian. “Maybe they’ll answer our questions. The third email from Aaron says: Ms. Beaumont, apparently, for some reason, you are ignoring me. That would be a mistake. I have information you need to know. If you do not contact me today—and today is typed in all caps—I plan to release the information I know to the public. I hope you make the right decision and contact me immediately! This is your final warning. A. Jones.”

  Stevie said, “Sounds like Jones was threatening to tell the world why Derek was fired.”

  Dragging a hand along his jaw, Leo said, “But, the thing is, according to Skip, Besi already knew why Derek had been fired. Jones wasn’t going to tell Besi something she wasn’t aware of.”

  “Maybe that’s why Besi was ignoring Jones,” opined Stevie. “She already knew what he was going to tell her.”

  Vivian said, “What Besi didn’t know was whether or not Jones was serious about revealing what he knew. Obviously, Besi wouldn’t want anyone to know why Derek had been fired.”

  “Why was he fired?” Stevie asked.

  “That’s not the point,” said Leo, wondering why he’d been so quick to keep Derek’s secret. The bastard’s reputation did not deserve to be protected. “We need to find out who hired Jones to investigate the reason behind Derek’s termination. My money is on Elizabeth A. Davis.”

  Vivian said, “Let’s continue with the emails before we start speculating. The fourth email says, Ms. Beaumont, we must meet again concerning an extremely urgent matter! I have come into possession of information that you must be made aware of. This information will be life-changing to you! Please call me immediately! A. Jones.”

  “Wait a minute,” said Stevie. “Read that email again.”

  After Vivian complied, Stevie said, “Did you guys catch that?”

  Frowning at Stevie, Leo asked, “Catch what?”

  Stevie said, “Jones wrote ‘we must meet again,’ which means that after the third email where Jones mentioned Derek, Besi must have decided to meet with him.”

  “Good catch, Stevie,” said Vivian. “I totally missed that.”

  Grudgingly impressed with Stevie, Leo nodded. “During that meeting, I’m guessing Jones told Besi that he knew why Derek had been fired and he probably outlined his payment demands.”

  Vivian said, “But, why did they have to meet again? At their first meeting, Jones told Besi the urgent, life-changing information he knew. So, what’s with this email about more urgent information that Besi had to know?”

  Leo was stumped. “Maybe the urgent, life-changing information had something to do with the crazy stuff about Besi in the file that Jones gave Skip Taylor.”

  “There’s crazy stuff about Besi in a file?” asked Stevie.

  “I’ll tell you after Vivian reads the last email,” said Leo.

  “The last email is from Besi to Jones,” said Vivian. “And it seems Jones did get Besi’s attention because Besi emailed Jones about her plans to visit the Aerie Islands. In this email, she tells Jones to meet her there so they can discuss things further.”

  45

  Finishing an email to the Bronson Publishing Digital Marketing department, Vivian used her mouse to click the send button and then leaned back in her creaky leather chair.

  She grabbed the cup of coffee sitting on her desk calendar and took a sip. She could go for a blueberry muffin to complement the strong brew, especially since she’d spent most of the morning talking to Melanie.

  Forsaking Lemmie’s delightful breakfast buffet, Vivian had asked Melanie about the deleted emails Stevie’s hacker cousin had retreived from Besi’s phone. Shocked by the emails, Melanie claimed to have no idea that the man who’d been harassing Besi was Aaron Jones, the person who eventually had killed her.

  “Sorry about all the questions,” Vivian had said as the conversation wound down. “Thanks for talking to me.”

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t be more helpful,” said Melanie. “Guess I didn’t know my best friend as well as I thought I did.”

  Melanie’s pronouncement struck a melancholy, depressing chord within Vivian. Instantly, she’d been reminded of how she, too, hadn’t known her best friend. She was debating whether or not to admit that she could empathize when Melanie said, “Listen, I want to apologize for my behavior at dinner the other night. I didn’t mean to lose it and slap Derek. I was thinking more about the Rolex. I remember asking Besi about the watch when she came back from the Aerie Islands. At first, she didn’t seem to know what I was talking about but then she remembered and said she was going to give it to him, but maybe she didn’t. Maybe Derek was telling the truth. In any event, I’m truly sorry for making a scene.”

  Nodding, Vivian said, “No apologies necessary. This situation has been very devastating, and no one blames you for being frustrated. But, I have to ask. Do you really think Derek hired someone to kill Besi?”

  Melanie had admitted that she wasn’t sure what she believed, and then said, “But, it wasn’t right to blame Derek for the surgery. Besi always hated that bump in her nose. Sometimes, she would wear glasses to try and hide it. She always told me that she didn’t know where the bump even came from because her father doesn’t have a bump in his nose and neither does her mom. Besi always wanted to look like her mom. They could have been twins except Besi had that bump, but her mom didn’t.”

  “Was Besi close to her mother?”

  “Th
ey were very close,” said Melanie. “Besi took it really hard when her mom passed away, especially with her dad having dementia. She felt like she’d lost both of her parents. Would have been easier for her if she had a brother or a sister, but she was an only child. All alone in the world.”

  Trading the coffee for a red editing pen, Vivian made a few doodles on a legal pad.

  Thinking about the revelations from the deleted emails, Vivian recalled the conclusions she, Leo, and Stevie had come to in her office yesterday afternoon.

  Aaron Jones, a private investigator, contacted Besi three times about urgent, life-changing information she needed to know and warned her not to ignore him.

  Eventually, Besi agreed to meet Jones.

  During that meeting, Jones and Besi came to an agreement where Jones would stay quiet about what he knew in exchange for a certain amount of money.

  Then, a month later, Jones contacted Besi a fourth time claiming to have more urgent information she needed to know and shouldn’t ignore.

  Besi agreed to meet Jones in the Aerie Islands, where she was travelling to have plastic surgery in advance of her wedding to Derek

  Presumably, Besi and Jones did meet in the Aerie Islands.

  While in the Aerie Islands, Besi’s purse was stolen and she had the surgery to remove the bump in her nose. Also, while in the Aerie Islands, Besi and Jones exchanged strange texts about a woman named Elizabeth A. Davis who wasn’t going to stay quiet.

  A week before Besi and Derek’s wedding was scheduled, Jones arrived in St. Killian, from the Aerie Islands, with a brunette in sunglasses, recently identified as Elizabeth A. Davis, the woman who wasn’t going to stay quiet.

  Jones blackmailed Derek with the information about the reason for Derek’s termination from Hennessy Capital.

  And then, Jones killed Besi …

  Vivian thought it all added up to something she should be able to figure out, and yet she couldn’t. She wasn’t sure if the pieces were all there, but she couldn’t make them fit. Or, maybe she knew what the picture should look like, but several pieces were missing. Either way, the puzzle was still unsolved.