Murder Strikes Twice: A Catrina Flaherty Mystery, Book 2 (Catrina Flaherty Mysteries)

by Pendelton Wallace

  Reverend Waitley told Catrina to stop by anytime and, she thought, right now sounded good.

  “Catrina Flaherty to see Reverend Waitley,” Catrina said as she handed her business card to the receptionist in the church’s office.

  “Oh, Ms. Flaherty, the doctor said you would be coming.” The receptionist walked back down the hallway to a door, opened it and spoke to the person inside.

  “Go right on in, he’s expecting you,” the receptionist said as she returned to her chair.

  “Ms. Flaherty, so good to meet you.” The reverend was a husky man with a crop of wild white hair and a scar running across his forehead.

  “Reverend Waitley, it’s a pleasure.” Catrina extended her hand.

  The reverend took her hand in both of his.

  His hands were calloused, yet warm, big enough to carry the weight of the world.

  “Please, please, come in. Have a seat. Would you like a cup of tea? Mrs. Thompson has some fresh-baked cookies.”

  “No, thank you,” Catrina said, as she seated herself in a comfortable leather chair in front of the fireplace. “This is a beautiful office.”

  “Oh, thank you.” Reverend Waitley sat in a matching chair on the other side of the coffee table. “It’s none of my doing. My predecessors had all the taste. If it was left to me I’d probably have a plywood desk and orange-crate bookshelves.”

  “I’m here today to ask you about one of your parishioners.”

  The reverend cracked a kindly smile that nearly broke Catrina’s heart. “I’m sorry, Ms. Flaherty, you know I can’t reveal any confidential information.”

  “I know. I’m not asking for anything like that. I’m just looking for background information into what kind of person Brody Barrett is.” Catrina pulled her notepad from her purse.

  “Brody . . . why are you interested in him?” The reverend inched a little closer to the edge of his chair.

  “Just routine questions. His company is looking to make a deal with my client. They’ve asked me to do the due diligence for them.”

  “Well, in that case, Brody is a fine man. The world needs a lot more like him. He’s a member of the church’s board, don’t you know? He probably gives more time than any other board member. No one else is as good at running meetings and gaining consensus.”

  Catrina scribbled on her pad. “How about outside of the board activities? Does he have any close friends?”

  “Everyone is his friend.” Reverend Waitley pushed his glasses up his nose. “He’s always helping people. I’ve never known a more giving man. Everyone loves him.”

  “Can you tell me anything about his marriage?”

  The reverend looked at Catrina quizzically. “I don’t know how that would pertain to any business deal he’s working on.”

  “It’s all quite routine, Dr. Waitley. We just want to get a well-rounded picture of his life.”

  “Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. He certainly has nothing to hide.” The reverend slid back in his chair, crossed his legs and let out a big breath. “He and Lauren had an idyllic marriage. Lauren was a member of this church since she was a teenager. Everyone loved her. She was so beautiful and smart. I never understood why she couldn’t find a man. I guess Lauren was really picky.” The reverend patted his breast pocket, then an embarrassed look came over his face. “I’m sorry. I can never seem to remember that I don’t smoke anymore.”

  “You were saying?”

  “Oh, yes. I was talking about Lauren. She wanted so badly to get married and be a mother. The poor girl prayed on it every night but just couldn’t seem to find the right man. Then Brody joined our church. It was love at first sight. He swept her off her feet. Everyone was so happy for her. And when she had the baby, her happiness was complete. What a tragedy to lose her like that.” A dark expression came over the reverend’s face.

  “So you thought they made a good couple?”

  “Oh, yes. The best. Brody was totally attentive to her, wouldn’t even let her get her own glass of punch at one of our social events. He waited on her hand and foot, and Lauren had no reservations; she would do anything for him and he for her.”

  Making a final note, Catrina asked one more question. “What does your congregation think of him?”

  “Like I said, he’s the best. Everyone loves him. He’s always helping out. He helped the Andersons build their new deck, helped Mike Worth when he had some tax troubles. Brody always donates to all of the fund-raising events. Ask anyone, they’ll all tell you the same thing.”

  Are we talking about the same man here? Catrina wondered.

  “Thank you, Reverend. It’s been a pleasure meeting you. I know you’re busy, so I won’t take up any more of your valuable time.”

  “My pleasure, come back any time if you have another question. Drop by on Sunday if you like. Services start at nine in the morning.”

  A tale of two Brodys. Will the real Brody Barrett please stand up?

  ****

  Tuesday nights were Catrina’s workout night, the chance for her to clear her head and think. Pounding on the speed bag or pumping iron allowed her mind to run free.

  Of course, it was also the night to spend with one of her closest friends, Leah Sykes. Leah, a forensic accountant, often worked for Catrina on divorce cases. Leah had an uncanny instinct for sniffing out money that a wayward husband hid from his wife.

  Jerry’s Gym, an old-time boxing hangout, had more ultimate fighters working out than pure boxers these days. But what could you do? The times, they were a changing.

  One thing that hadn’t changed was that there was no women’s locker room. Catrina didn’t mind changing in Jerry’s office with Leah, although, since Jerry died, it was now his daughter Jenny’s office.

  The smell of sweat, camphor and menthol brought the memories flooding back. Catrina’s dad, a Seattle cop, started bringing his tomboy daughter to the gym to teach her the manly art of self-defense when she was a preteen. She practically grew up there.

  “Anything exciting happening this week?” Catrina asked her tall, willowy friend.

  “I met a man! Cat, he may be the one!”

  Catrina laughed. “Every time you meet a man, he’s the one. Look at the last guy you met.Hhe ended up posting nude videos of you two doing it on the Internet.”

  Leah physically shuddered. “But this is different. Jeremy is a professional, an accountant. We actually have something in common.”

  “Well, before you do the deed, I’d check his bedroom for cameras.” Catrina unzipped her jeans.

  “I don’t know if I thanked Ted adequately,” Leah said, as she pulled her baggy sweater over her head. “Do you think I should send him a gift basket?”

  “Naw. Higuera’s got a knight-in-shining armor complex.” Catrina wiggled into a sports bra. “He got more of a kick out of crashing that website’s servers than he gets out of a paying job. A thanks and a hug should be enough, but be careful, he has wandering hands.”

  Catrina always felt sorry for her tall friend. Her feet were so long and narrow that her shoes looked like something a clown would wear.

  Catrina was proud of her height. She wore boots with three inch heels to increase her sense of power. Poor Leah. Somehow or other, she grew up embarrassed about being tall. Her friend stood at least three inches above Catrina’s five-foot nine frame and had the posture of a question mark. To make matters worse, Leah’s fiery red hair resembled nothing so much as a red Brillo pad.

  “What have you been up to this week?” Leah asked, as she pulled on a baggie sweat shirt and equally baggie sweat pants.

  “It’s been a weird week.” Catrina put on a T-shirt and gym shorts. “I’ve got a new case.”

  The two women headed out to the gym floor. “A woman came to see me. Seems her daughter was killed in an accident changing a tire seven years ago while her husband watched,” Catrina said.

  Leah walked straight to the heavy bag and grabbed on to it. “So? What’s weird about that? Except for the
fact that he’s a real gentleman.”

  The bag looked like it was there since the Hoover administration. It was more duct tape than leather these days. Catrina took an easy punch at the bag. “The husband remarried. His second wife fell off a cliff and died. Seems a little convenient to me.”

  “Lightning doesn’t strike twice.” Leah held on like her life depended on it as Catrina’s punches got harder and faster.

  Catrina tore into the heavy bag like it was her worst enemy. “There seems to have been . . . two Brody Barretts.” She puffed hard between sentences. “Her friends and co-workers . . . loathed him . . . his church friends . . . thought . . . he walked on water.”

  She backed off the bag and drew a heavy breath. “Her friends say he was controlling in his marriage . . . his pastor says he was loving and attentive.”

  Catrina took the break to look around the old gym. Nothing much changed over the years. The walls were still covered with posters from yesteryear proclaiming some bout or another.

  “Sounds like a Jekyll and Hyde,” Leah said, wiping the sweat from her brow with the towel around her neck.

  Catrina focused on a new poster. It announced the world heavy weight fight between Sonny Liston and Mohammed Ali.

  Bet Jenny paid a pretty penny for that.

  “I need to learn more about his business,” Catrina said. “The pastor says he always donated to church causes. His wife’s friends says he didn’t contribute financially to the marriage.”

  “So, do you think he did it? I mean, that’s what you’re investigating, aren’t you? If the accidents were really murders?”

  “I don’t know; it’s suspicious, but there’s no real evidence.” Catrina removed her boxing gloves. “Leah, I need you to look at his finances. Have Higuera hack into his computer, let me know how legit his business is. Meantime, I think I’ll talk to some people that know him well.”

  ****

  Getting Lauren’s babysitter, Tami Boyd’s, cell phone number was child’s play. A quick call to Higuera and he tracked it down in seconds. Catrina called and arranged to meet Tami at her apartment in the Ravenna neighborhood, just north of the U. District.

  The building was a non-descript 1960’s apartment building. Catrina parked her Explorer and walked up the three flights of stairs to apartment 303.

  Tami was waiting. She answered after Catrina’s first knock.

  “Hi, Tami, I’m Catrina Flaherty.” Catrina flashed her fake CPS ID card.

  “Come in. I’m sorry we had to meet so late, but I just got off work.”

  Catrina took in the apartment, a square space with a small kitchen to one side and a bedroom through a doorway. The furniture was all Ikea Modern.

  Tami was an attractive girl. Probably mid-twenties, long brown hair, pretty face, average height.

  “Tami, I want to ask you a few questions about your employer.”

  “Gee, is that all right? I mean, I’m still working for him and everything.” Tami pointed to a white linen covered couch, indicating that Catrina should sit down. “Would you like anything? I have tea, some white wine, orange juice . . .”

  Catrina seated herself. “No thanks. This visit is routine, really. I’m doing some background investigation for Child Protective Services. I’m an advocate for Debby. We want to make sure that she is well cared for.”

  Tami plopped down onto a white linen-covered chair. “Okay, I guess it’s all right then. What do you want to know?”

  “First of all, how long have you worked for Mr. Barrett?”

  Tami rolled her eyes up and to the right. “Let’s see. I think Debby was about six months old when I started. Mrs. Barrett was going to have to go back to work and needed someone to watch her during the day. That must make it about three years or so.”

  “Okay, good.” Catrina wrote in her notebook. “Did you know Mrs. Barrett well?”

  “Yeah. Lauren was a cool lady. I mean, she was a doctor and all and a really good mom. We got along real good. Lauren used to tell me about the girl she sat for when she was a teenager. She said she wanted Debby and me to have that kind of bond. I guess she still saw her.”

  “So you took care of Debby when Lauren was at work?”

  “Yeah. Mr. Barrett was always at home. He worked from his home office, but he didn’t have time to watch Debby, so they hired me. It’s a shame that Mrs. Barrett had to work though. She would have made a great stay-at-home mom.”

  “Did you ever hear the Barretts talk about that?”

  “I heard everything they talked about. It’s not that big a house and I could hear what was going on in the other rooms.” Tami got up and headed into the kitchen. “Mrs. Barrett said one night that she wanted to take a leave from her business to spend more time with Debby. Mr. Barrett wasn’t happy about that. He absolutely forbid it.”

  “Was Mr. Barrett bossy about other things too?” Catrina asked.

  “Like, yeah,” Tami replied from the kitchen, as she pulled a pitcher of orange juice from the fridge. “He acted like he was king-of-the-castle. Don’t get me wrong; he was a really nice guy. I mean he’d take me home after work and all, but when he made up his mind, it was law.”

  “Can you give me an example?”

  Tami returned to her chair, orange juice in hand. “Well, like the last trip they took. He wanted to go camping at Glacier National Park. Lauren didn’t. She thought it would be hard with the baby and all. He said that they were going and asked me to take care of Debby while they were gone. Mrs. Barrett was devastated, being away from the baby for that long. I mean, Debby was only a one-year old.”

  “So,” Catrina asked, “Mrs. Barrett didn’t want to go on the trip?”

  “No, she didn’t want to use any vacation time at all, but Mr. Barrett wanted to go and that was that.” Tami stopped and looked pensive for a moment. “I mean, I don’t want you to get the wrong impression. He was always really good to Mrs. Barrett. Like, he was always bringing her presents and anything she wanted; he’d get it for her.”

  “What else can you tell me about him?” The couch was beastly uncomfortable. Catrina pulled a foot up underneath herself.

  “One thing did seem a little odd to me. He was always going away on business trips. You know, for a day or two. But he never took any luggage. I mean, did he wear the same clothes all the time or what?”

  Yeah, business trips to the No Tell Motel. I better have Mary Beth check this out.

  “How about around you? How did he act around you?”

  Tami finished her orange juice and placed the glass on the floor. “He’s a real touchy-feely kind of person. I mean, he’s always hugging me or patting me.”

  “Does that make you feel uncomfortable?”

  “Not at first. I thought he was just that kind of person, but later on . . .”

  “What happened later on?”

  “After Mrs. Barrett died, I kinda felt that he might be getting a little familiar with me. He offered to let me stay in the guest room, rent free, if I’d take care of the house for him.”

  “But you didn’t.” Catrina made copious notes in her book.

  “No. I felt kinda funny about it. I mean, what if he came on to me while I was living there? I’d have no place to go.”

  Catrina made her note and looked up at Tami. “Did you tell anyone?”

  “No, I really need this job; it pays well. I have a bunch of student loans to pay off.”

  “Can you tell me anything else about him planning the trip?”

  Tami hesitated. “I don’t know if I should say this . . .”

  “It’s okay, Tami.” Catrina looked up from her notebook and gave Tami her sincerest smile. “I’m only looking out for the child’s best interest.”

  “It was kinda funny. I mean, he always locks his office door when he’s gone, but this one day, he left the door standing open.”

  “Yes?”

  “I probably shouldn’t have done it, but I was curious . . .”

  “What shouldn’t you have
done?” Catrina looked at Tami, trying to see inside her head.

  “I went into his office, just to check it out, you know?”

  “And?”

  “He had all sorts of stuff laid out on his desk; travel brochures, maps. He had a notebook opened on the top of the pile.”

  “What was in the notebook?”

  Tami drooped her head forward and spoke in a tiny voice. “Well, he’d been on one of his business trips the previous week, but the notebook had all sorts of information about Glacier National Park in it. And it was dated from when he was on his business trip.”

  “That’s interesting.” Cat said. She pictured Barrett’s office in her mind.

  “There were all sorts of notations about the park in the book. He’d gone on a lot of hiking trails. He had notes like ‘not suitable,’ or ‘too public.’ Then there was the map.”

  Catrina felt the excitement rising. “What map?”

  “He had a map of the park, you know, with all of its hiking trails and stuff. And there was this one trail, with a big black X marked on it.”

  Wow! I’ve gotta get that map. “Tami, do you think you could get that map and notebook for me?”

  “Ummm . . . I don’t know. He keeps his office locked all the time. I don’t know how I’d get in.”

  “It’s really important. We have to see that map.”

  How could she get her hands on that map and notebook and still have it legal to present as evidence in court? Catrina had been burned before; she’d broken into a suspect’s house and found information that could put him away for life.

  The judge threw it out, fruit of the poisoned tree. Catrina didn’t have a search warrant; she couldn’t even serve it if she had one. A PI wasn’t an officer of the law.

  If they were just lying around, did Barrett have an expectation of privacy? She’d call Jennifer Trask, her best friend and newly minted U.S. Attorney this afternoon. Jennifer could answer the question.

  ****

  “Mrs. Flaherty, Miss Sykes here to see you.” Abiba’s rich voice came over the phone speaker.

  Catrina pushed the button. “Okay, Abiba. Send her in.”