by Rachel Woods
There were still too many questions, too many unknowns. She couldn’t form any hypothetical theories. What was the additional urgent information that Jones travelled to the Aerie Islands to tell Besi? How had Jones found out about the additional urgent information? Did Elizabeth A. Davis know about that information? Maybe Elizabeth A. Davis had agreed to stay quiet about why Derek had been fired—assuming, as Leo believed, that she had hired Jones to investigate Derek’s termination—but she refused to stay quiet about the additional life-changing information? Why? Because she wanted more money and Besi wouldn’t give it to her?
Vivian’s phone buzzed, breaking into her thoughts, and she pressed the button to answer it. “Yes, Millie.”
“There’s an Officer Damon Fields here to see Sophie, but she’s out on a story,” said the receptionist. “You want to talk to him instead?”
“Absolutely,” said Vivian. “Send him to my office.”
Moments later, Officer Damon Fields, a tall, gangly St. Killian native with a wide, engaging smile took a seat. After a few minutes of entertaining small talk, Vivian invited the officer to tell her why he’d stopped by.
“Got a tip for Sophie,” said Officer Fields. “We’ve been, um, collaborating, off the record, of course—”
“Of course,” said Vivian. “And I’m glad you feel comfortable confiding in Sophie. She’s a good reporter, and you’re a good source, hopefully, one we can count on, in the future, and certainly a source that we’ll appreciate and always respect. Anonymous source truly means anonymous. You won’t have to worry about us accidentally on purpose attributing a quote to you.”
“I appreciate your discretion,” said Officer Fields.
“So, tell me about this tip you have.”
“Has to do with the Aaron Jones murder,” said Officer Fields. “You know about the gun found in Jones’ motel room, right?”
“The AR-15 ghost gun used to kill Besi Beaumont.”
Officer Fields nodded. “The gun had fingerprints on it.”
Vivian nodded. “Detective François told me that.”
“We expected to find Aaron Jones’ prints on the gun,” said Officer Fields. “But, we didn’t.”
“Whose prints were on the gun?” asked Vivian.
“They belong to a guy named Manny LaRoche,” said Officer Fields. “He’s a low-rent gun for hire. We picked him up in Handweg yesterday and he had a lot to say about the murder of Bessemer Beaumont.”
46
“Aaron Jones didn’t kill Besi,” announced Vivian, closing the door behind her after entering Leo’s office.
“What the hell are you talking about?” asked Leo.
“We’ve got to get the story out right now,” said Vivian, sitting on the edge of her husband’s desk. “And we need maximum exposure so I’ve called a meeting with the online publicity department.”
“Wait a minute,” said Leo. “If Aaron Jones didn’t kill Besi, then who the hell did?”
“Manny LaRoche,” said Vivian, and then shared with Leo the bombshell information Fields had given her.
LaRoche, a St. Killian native and wanna-be gangbanger, had received a call from an acquaintance, a man who turned out to be the pilot who’d flown Aaron Jones and Elizabeth A. Davis from the Aerie Islands to St. Killian. The pilot, who also flew drugs and illegal guns for the PC-5, had a job opportunity for LaRoche.
A five thousand dollar job LaRoche wasn’t going to pass up, even though he didn’t exactly have the skills, or the tools, to carry out a hit, according to Fields. As LaRoche spilled his guts to the St. Killian cops, the wet work entailed kidnapping a woman, killing her, and then disposing of the dead body.
“Are you serious?” Leo shook his head.
Vivian said, “LaRoche identified Aaron Jones as the man who hired him. LaRoche and Jones met at the Flamingo Inn and sealed the deal. LaRoche still had the photo of Besi that Jones had given him. LaRoche was supposed to grab Besi while she was away from the mansion, but he wasn’t able to do that because Besi rarely left the mansion.”
“Except for that one time when she went to Oyster Farms and then decided not to meet with Skip,” said Leo.
“LaRoche got desperate and ended up shooting Besi at her wedding,” said Vivian. “Apparently, LaRoche had been staking out the mansion and found out the wedding color scheme. He showed up to kill Besi in a peach blazer and accidentally ripped the blazer in his haste to flee the scene and left behind a piece of fabric in the bushes.”
“Which the cops mistakenly thought was fabric from one of the bridesmaid’s dresses.”
“LaRoche didn’t even have a gun,” said Vivian, trying to remember all the details Fields had given her. “That’s why Jones bought a PC-5 ghost gun.”
Leo said, “And paid for it with Derek’s Rolex.”
“Which makes me wonder …”
“Makes you wonder what?” asked Leo.
“Derek said Besi never gave him that Rolex.”
Leo exhaled. “Derek lied.”
“But, what if he didn’t,” suggested Vivian.
“Then how the hell did Jones get that Rolex if Derek didn’t give it to him?”
Vivian said, “I don’t know, but—”
A sharp, percussive knock interrupted Leo.
“You expecting company?” asked Vivian, heading away from the desk, toward the door.
Leo shook his head. “But, I welcome the interruption.”
Opening the door, Vivian stepped back, allowing junior reporters Stevie Bishop and Sophie Carter to enter Leo’s office. “Look, Leo, it’s our dynamic duo.”
Groaning, Leo said, “Hmmm, babe, I think we’re about to be double-teamed.”
Laughing, Vivian invited Stevie and Sophie to take the seats in front of Leo’s desk.
“We heard there’s a huge break in the Besi Beaumont murder case,” said Stevie.
“Where did you hear that?” asked Leo.
“I ran into Officer Fields as he was leaving,” said Sophie, glancing at Vivian. “He told me he’d passed on some information to you that he wanted me to know and when I pressed him, he told me that Aaron Jones didn’t kill Besi.”
Vivian nodded. “That’s true. Maybe you should write the story?”
Sophie’s eyes lit up as an infectious smile spread across her face. “Are you serious?”
Stevie said, “Sophie was hoping you would say that.”
Frowning at Stevie, Sophie gave him a light punch on his arm. “I was not.”
“You were, too,” countered Stevie.
As Leo rubbed his eyes, Vivian caught his look of irritation. Worried, she walked behind her husband’s chair and placed her hands on his shoulders.
“I was not,” insisted Sophie.
Stevie said. “You were—”
“Sophie, I want the Palmchat Gazette to be the first to break the story about Manny LaRoche,” said Vivian, hoping her gentle massage would temper Leo’s frustrations. “So, you should get on it.”
Solemn and serious, Sophie nodded and then turned to Stevie. “Can you tell Viv and Leo about Elizabeth A. Davis?”
As Sophie rushed out of the office, Leo asked, “What about Elizabeth A. Davis?”
“My cousin found an email on Jones’ phone, formerly known as the mystery burner phone found in Besi’s luggage, and in that email, Elizabeth A. Davis asks Aaron Jones to call her and she gives him her phone number,” said Stevie, plopping down in one of the chairs in front of Leo’s desk. “So, me and Sophie used that phone number to trace Elizabeth A. Davis, who is from Los Angeles, California.”
“And?” prompted Leo.
“And up until his death last year, she lived with her late father … Guillermo Davis.” “Samuel Beaumont’s former chauffeur,” said Vivian, remembering the information Sophie had emailed her. “He was rumored to have had an affair with Besi’s mother, Adrienne.”
“I wonder if Besi knew Elizabeth Davis,” said Leo, leaning forward, away from Vivian’s touch.
“The
y might have been friends,” said Vivian.
“Possibly,” said Stevie. “Elizabeth A. Davis is about a year and some months older than Besi.”
“I wonder if maybe Besi confided in Elizabeth A. Davis about Derek’s embezzling,” said Vivian.
Leo said, “And Elizabeth A. Davis told Aaron Jones and then Elizabeth and Jones decided to blackmail Besi, who would not have wanted Derek’s embezzling to come out because she wouldn’t want her fiancé to go to jail.”
“Sounds probable,” said Stevie.
Vivian asked, “But, then how did Jones and Besi get to the point where they were texting about Elizabeth not staying quiet?”
“Here’s how I see it,” said Leo. “Let’s say Besi knows Elizabeth Davis because of the history between Besi’s mom and Elizabeth’s dad. Somehow, they become friends. Besi tells Elizabeth why Derek was fired from Hennessy Capital and Elizabeth decides to use that information to her advantage. She calls her buddy Jones and has him contact Besi, thus leaving her out of it and that’s how I think things went sideways.”
“I don’t understand,” said Stevie.
Vivian did, however. “Jones must have tried to cut Elizabeth A. Davis out of the deal with Besi. So, Elizabeth decided to ruin everything by threatening to spill the tea about Derek’s termination, and if she had, if she wouldn’t stay quiet, then Besi would have no reason to pay Jones.”
“But, Besi would still try to stop Elizabeth from ratting about Derek,” said Leo. “So, she wants Jones to help her deal with Elizabeth. Maybe that’s why Jones and Besi met in the Aerie Islands. To come up with a plan to make sure Elizabeth stayed quiet. I’m thinking when Jones and Besi met the first time, they agreed on payment terms and thought everything was settled. But, then maybe Elizabeth and Jones had a falling out over the money and Elizabeth threatened to renege on the agreement.”
“So, Jones sends that fourth email about the additional urgent information,” said Vivian. “He was talking about Elizabeth threatening to blow up the deal.”
Stevie nodded. “Makes sense.”
“Then why do I have a feeling there’s something we’re missing,” said Leo.
Vivian said, “You mean, how things get to the point where Jones ended up blackmailing Derek and then hiring a hitman to kill Besi?”
“Exactly,” said Leo. “That’s what we don’t know and that’s why we need to find Elizabeth A. Davis. Besi is dead and so is Jones. Elizabeth is the only one still alive who can answer those questions.”
47
At five o’clock on a blustery, balmy afternoon, Vivian could think of a dozen other things she would rather be doing than trespassing at the Dove Street house in Oyster Farms, but Leo had insisted. She wasn’t going to let Leo go alone, even though she didn’t agree with the idea.
Her husband was convinced that there was a piece of the puzzle they needed to find, the crucial piece, the piece that would enable them to finally see the whole picture. Leo was certain they would find that puzzle piece in the envelope Skip Taylor had hidden in the attic at the house on Dove Street.
And now, after they’d headed into the backyard and slipped under the yellow crime scene tape, they stood in the kitchen of the rental home, staring at the envelope Leo had retrieved from the attic moments ago.
“You think we’ll find the missing piece to the puzzle in here?” asked Vivian as she opened the envelope and pulled out a blue file stuffed with papers. Removing the documents, she placed them in a stack on the table.
Leo exhaled and rubbed his jaw. “I’m a little concerned about what we’re going to find. Part of me wants the answers, but if we get them, then what? And if we don’t, then …”
Vivian looked left, glancing at the shattered patio door they’d entered. Late afternoon sunlight crept through the house, casting a coppery glow into the living area that spread into the kitchen.
Exhaling, she picked up the first few documents. “These seem to be … articles about Hennessy Capital. Articles about David Hennessy and Derek … just seems like a bunch of research about the Hennessy family. Doesn’t seem to be anything about Derek’s embezzlement or his termination.”
Leo grabbed the next document. “This is an email from Aaron Jones to Aaron Jones. Skip Taylor mentioned something about Aaron Jones writing emails to himself.”
Taking the email from her husband, Vivian read: “Recently, I was made aware of the following facts which I cannot independently confirm but which were told to me by a highly credible and reliable source with intimate details of this matter, which are as follows: Last year, on or around March, Derek Hennessy willfully embezzled funds in the amount of two million dollars from Hennessy Capital, a leading investment firm with assets in the billions which is founded/owned by David Hennessy, Derek’s father. Derek Hennessy was employed at Hennessy Capital until he was terminated for embezzling the funds from his father’s company.”
“No wonder Skip Taylor decided to pay Jones,” said Leo.
“But who is this reliable, credible source with intimate knowledge of the matter?” asked Vivian. “Elizabeth A. Davis, maybe?”
Leo said, “Maybe it was Skip Taylor.”
“You think Skip told Jones why Derek was fired?” Vivian grabbed another document. “Skip didn’t even know Jones.”
Sighing, Leo said, “I’m not sure what to think but there weren’t too many people with intimate knowledge of the matter who could have told Jones besides Skip, Besi, David Hennessy and Derek himself. Of those four, my money would be on Skip.”
“I still think Elizabeth A. Davis told Jones,” said Vivian.
Leo said, “Speaking of Elizabeth, here’s an email she sent to Jones in January of this year. The one Stevie told us about. Elizabeth writes to Aaron: Hey, it’s Lizzie. I need you to look into something for me. Call me. And she gives her number. Wonder what Elizabeth wanted Jones to look into?”
“Whatever it was, Elizabeth was anxious to get answers,” said Vivian, skimming the next series of documents, which were all emails between Elizabeth A. Davis and Aaron Jones. “Jones must have agreed to help her because she sent an email asking him if he had any news for her. Jones replied that he was still working on it.”
Leo said, “Apparently, Jones got answers because he wrote in an email to Elizabeth that he had news and wanted to meet her to discuss it.”
“Jones’ news had something to do with Besi,” said Vivian, staring at the next email. “In April, Jones wrote to Elizabeth: Spoke to Bessemer Beaumont. She has agreed to your terms and will meet with us this month in the Aerie Islands. Elizabeth replies that she wants to meet with Jones to discuss the details.”
“The fact that Besi agreed to Elizabeth’s term means we were right about Elizabeth blackmailing Besi,” said Leo.
Vivian said, “We were thinking that Elizabeth was threatening to expose Derek’s embezzlement, which Elizabeth knew about because Besi had confided in her, however …”
“The emails between Elizabeth and Jones suggest that Elizabeth wanted him to investigate something for her.”
“Something about Besi that Jones must have confirmed,” said Vivian. “Something that could be used to blackmail Besi.”
“Elizabeth could blackmail Besi with the truth about Derek’s termination,” said Leo. “Maybe Elizabeth wanted Jones to investigate why Derek had been fired from Hennessy Capital because she suspected he’d done something criminal.”
“That’s what I’d thought,” said Vivian, “but Jones emailed himself in July saying he’d found out that Derek had embezzled money from Hennessy Capital. If Elizabeth wanted Jones to look into the reason for Derek’s termination, then according to the emails between Jones and Elizabeth, Jones discovered the reason in March.”
Leo nodded. “Then why, in July, would Jones say that he’d recently found out about Derek embezzling? So, we’re back to the question—what did Elizabeth want Jones to investigate?”
“I don’t know, but there are no more emails,” said Vivian, walking fr
om the table to the center island. “This next document is a letter to Elizabeth A. Davis. It starts: ‘Hello Elizabeth Adrienne, my name is Adrienne Elizabeth—”
“Adrienne Elizabeth?” asked Leo, walking toward the island. “Why would Besi’s mother be writing a letter to Elizabeth Davis?”
“Let me keep reading and find out,” said Vivian. “My name is Adrienne Elizabeth. This is the hardest letter I have ever had to write. I wish I did not have to write it. I wish I could tell you these things in person, but I am afraid that I am not well at the moment and unable to travel. Due to my illness, which I am, unfortunately, not expected to survive, I fear I will never get the chance to see you in person, which breaks my heart.”
“Besi’s mom died of cancer,” said Leo.
“But, I have something very important to tell you,” read Vivian. “Something I should have told you long ago, and I would have if I were not selfish.”
Leo shook his head. “What could Besi’s mom have to tell Elizabeth Davis? Babe, can you skip to the end?”
Walking around the island, Vivian stood in front of the sink and skimmed the words, written in a precise, controlled, cursive. As she read the words from Besi’s mother to Elizabeth Davis, Vivian’s heart slammed. Her mind spinning with confusion, she glanced up, staring out of the window above the sink.
“Babe, what is it?” Leo asked.
Taking a deep breath, Vivian turned. On the opposite side of the island, Leo stared at her, confusion in his blue eyes.
“You’re not going to believe this,” said Vivian. “Adrienne Elizabeth Beaumont is Elizabeth A. Davis’ mother.”
48
“That can’t be right,” said Leo, walking around the island toward Vivian. “Besi’s an only child. No brothers. No sisters.”
“No brothers or sisters that Besi knew about,” said Vivian. “But, in this letter, Adrienne Beaumont admits that she kept Elizabeth’s existence a secret. Adrienne confesses to Elizabeth that she has a sister named Bessemer, and—”
