Matrimony, Money and Murder

by Cindy Bell

  Wendy’s heart thumped heavily as she remembered the fear she had seen in Marcia's eyes. Giuseppe was ruthless. Slowly she opened the door to the conference room. She inched her way inside. It was dark in the back of the conference room. The light that filtered through the windows towards the front didn't make it all the way to the rear. When Wendy tried to see through the shadows, she only succeeded in causing her vision to get blurry. She didn't have to see to know that someone was there. Softly, she heard the rustle of the carpet beneath the sole of a shoe. Her heart pounded heavily and hard against her chest as she froze where she stood. She knew that she should move, or call out, but she simply couldn't. The fear that was coursing through her made her stand perfectly still. This would have been great if she was in the woods with a bear, but instead, she was in the dark with a man she thought was a murderer.

  “You shouldn't have gotten in the middle of my business,” he said without moving again. She couldn't quite tell where he was. His voice seemed a little distorted.

  “I'm not here to cause any trouble, I'm just here to get Veronica,” Wendy said in what she expected to be a brave voice. However, when she heard her own voice, it did not sound brave at all, it sounded more than a little terrified.

  “Veronica?” the man laughed and even his laughter sounded incredibly cruel. “Isn't that sweet, you think you're some kind of hero.”

  “No, I don't,” Wendy said quickly and honestly. “Listen, this doesn't have to be a big deal, just tell me where she is, and we'll both be on our way.”

  When he took a step closer to her, Wendy felt a strong shiver course along her spine. She almost couldn't breathe when his rich brown eyes met hers through the remaining shadows.

  “I'm afraid I can't do that, Wendy,” he said in a mocking whisper that made her certain he was going to enjoy whatever he decided to do to her.

  “Please,” Wendy murmured. She didn't feel the need to put on a tough act when Veronica’s, and now her own life, was on the line. “No one has to know about your past. We all have pasts. As far as I'm concerned, you just haven’t been happy in marriage, just unfortunate matches. You didn't do anything wrong,” Wendy tried her best to sound convincing.

  “Right,” he nodded a little. “So, I should be able to trust you, not to tell any of my secrets, hmm?” his thick accent coursed over Wendy's nerves like nails on a chalkboard. To think she had once been enamored by it, when she had first met him, during the preparation for his first marriage when he used Camilla’s company. She had been so distracted by the melodic rhythm of his voice that she hadn't paid attention to his wandering eyes.

  “Exactly,” Wendy replied, though she could sense that he was not exactly agreeing with her. “So, just tell me where Veronica is, please,” she added and held his gaze directly.

  “I'm afraid I can't do that,” he replied, in a voice so low that Wendy barely heard it.

  “Why not?” Wendy asked, her heart pounding desperately. The more she spoke to this man the more dangerous he seemed to her.

  “Because, Veronica is already gone,” he replied. His words hung in the air before Wendy. Her stomach clenched and her chest tightened. Had he killed Veronica to keep her silent, too?

  Chapter Eight

  “Did you kill her?” Wendy asked her teeth chattering.

  “Did I kill her?” he replied and she felt his hands encircle her wrists. “No, I didn't kill her,” he laughed a little and pulled Wendy towards an empty chair.

  “Wait, no,” Wendy tried to pull away from him but his grip was strong. She was beginning to panic even more. “No, just let me go!” she demanded.

  “I would,” Giuseppe replied with a snort. “I really would, if I thought that you were anything like Veronica. But you're not. Veronica took the money, and happily. After explaining to her that I had to kill Camilla because she wanted too much money from me to keep quiet she even told me that she didn't hold anything against me for killing her. She's one cold lady,” he laughed again, as he forced Wendy down into the chair. “That's why I don't have to worry about her. But you,” he frowned as he looked directly at Wendy. “You would never let it go, would you?”

  Wendy stared up at him with fear in her eyes, she didn't know how to answer the question. She could lie and say she would, but she knew that he wouldn't believe her.

  “I don't want any money,” Wendy said quickly. “I just want you to let me go. That's all.”

  “And you'll let me go on to steal every dime from my new wife?” he inquired with mirth in his voice. Wendy started to nod, but the pain in her expression must have given her away. “No, you just can't, can you?” he asked as he began tying a rope around her wrists, fastening her to the arms of the chair she was sitting in. “True love is too important to you, to let a man like me go free.”

  “It's fine,” Wendy lied as she looked up at him pleadingly. “It's your life, your business. I won't do anything to interfere…”

  The sharp way he tightened the rope on her wrists silenced her. She knew as she stared at him with growing anticipation of her own demise, that he was not going to believe anything she said.

  “You're not going to survive this, you know that, Wendy?” he asked with an almost kind smile as he looked into her eyes. “You know when I offed Camilla I didn't mind too much. She's always been a royal pain. But you,” he sighed as he traced his fingertips along her cheek. “You, I didn't expect to have to kill. It's not that I think you deserve to die, but there's just no other way.”

  “I'm the one that found out the truth about you,” Wendy challenged and glared at him directly in his eyes. Now that she knew he wasn't going to let her go, she was getting angry. “I'm the one that told Camilla about you.”

  “Then I guess you're just as guilty as me,” he chuckled as he stood up and turned towards the table where his gun was stowed. “If you hadn't been so interfering, Camilla would still be alive, and you and I wouldn't be having this difficult conversation,” he explained as he turned back to her. “But then, I guess just like Camilla's death, yours won't be much of a tragedy. No husband, no kids, right?” he smirked a little as he held the gun in his hand, just close enough to Wendy's face for her to see it.

  “There's nothing I can do to stop you,” Wendy said with a grim frown as she waited for the inevitable. “It wouldn't matter if I had a husband or children, and you know it.”

  “You're right, it wouldn't,” he admitted as he released the safety on the weapon. “Any last words?” he suggested.

  Wendy gritted her teeth. She didn't want to cry. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her tears as he pulled the trigger.

  “You're a murderer,” she hissed as she stared at him.

  “You're right, I am, and a cheat, and a blackmailer, and just an all round bad guy,” he shrugged a little. “I'm just so good at it. But the best part of all of this is that everyone is going to think that you're the murderer, not me. Your guilt got the best of you, and you committed suicide to atone for your terrible act.”

  “No one will believe that,” Wendy said quickly.

  “Oh, sure they will,” he chuckled. “Because I know how to make it look like a suicide.”

  “If it was a real suicide, then I would be back at the scene of the crime. The place where I killed Camilla,” she nearly choked on those words.

  “Huh,” Giuseppe mumbled and glanced over his shoulder before looking back at her. “That's really not a bad idea.”

  He stared at her for a long moment in the chair she was tied to. She could tell that he was considering her words.

  “Yeah, it would look a little suspicious for you to kill yourself in here, I guess,” he shrugged mildly and then reached for her arm. He held onto it tightly while he untied the rope from around the chair.

  “Get up!” he instructed her with a sharp tone and gave her arm a firm jerk.

  “Okay, okay,” Wendy said, feeling very flustered as she nearly lost her balance when he pulled her up.

  �
�Start walking,” he said and poked the gun hard into her back. Wendy shuddered at the feeling of the barrel pushing against her shirt. To her there was nothing more powerful than a gun. She reluctantly stepped out of the conference room. With each step she hoped that someone would notice her, a member of the staff would see her and offer help. But it was very late, and the conference rooms of the hotel were all locked up and already cleaned. He pushed her towards a side door that led out of the main lobby and onto the beach. Even the lobby was completely vacant.

  When Wendy stepped out onto the beach she could feel grains of sand slipping into her sandals. The sensation was normally soothing for her, but now she was terrified. The closer she got to the edge of the crashing waves, the more certain she was that this would be her last walk on the beach.

  ***

  Wendy stumbled further along on the beach. Her legs were weak with fear. She could barely stand up straight. But Giuseppe helped her with that by keeping a firm grip on her arm and holding her steady. The entire time she could feel the firm muzzle of the gun shoved into her lower back. She knew one wrong move could mean the end of her life. She wasn't ready for that yet. She hadn't found her great love, as she always had expected to. She hadn't had the chance to grow her business into a success. There was so much she still wanted to experience and accomplish. In particular, the thought that came to mind, was the memory of Brian's arms around her. That was something she was certain she wanted to experience again, no matter where it led. The beach was deserted. She knew if she screamed someone might hear her, but by the time they came to help, the trigger would be pulled.

  “Please, just let me go,” she said as she tried to wriggle out of his grasp.

  “We talked about this Wendy, that can't happen,” he warned her. “Just think, you're giving your life to ensure that a marriage will last,” he laughed a little. “At least until she signs all of her financial information and holdings over to me, as well as that sweet little house in Mexico.”

  “Don't you ever get tired of stealing and killing?” Wendy asked, though she knew the question was a little absurd. “Don't you ever wish that you could find true love, someone who you wouldn't have to trick into being with you?”

  “Oh, I don't trick them,” Giuseppe breathed beside her ear. “They hear my accent, they see my big brown eyes, they lap up every promise I make them. I don't trick them at all. I can't help that they want what I offer them. They're so love-starved and desperate for affection that they don't think their decisions through. Is that my fault?” he asked.

  Wendy was feeling very sick to her stomach. She knew that this man could not be reasoned with. She heard the crash of the waves against the sand. She heard the slow retreat of them pulling back.

  “Please, can I take my shoes off?” she asked, her voice trembling.

  “Your shoes?” he asked and looked at her strangely.

  “Please,” Wendy said as she glanced up at the stars that littered the sky. “I like to feel the sand beneath my feet. It's just one thing I'm asking for.”

  He hesitated as if he suspected that she might be tricking him. She wasn't. She wanted to feel the sand beneath her feet. But she was also stalling. She hoped that someone somehow would suddenly walk out onto the beach, or perhaps a boat would see her from afar. She had never been in such a dire situation, but it was hard for her to believe that these were the last moments of her life.

  “Okay,” he reluctantly agreed. “But slide them off easy.”

  “Okay,” she replied and used the toe of one sandal to push the other one off. Then she knocked the second sandal off with her bare toes. Once her feet sank into the sand she breathed a sigh of relief. It was as if everything abruptly shifted, and despite her terror, she found some sense of peace.

  She saw the gun pointed at her and then heard the safety catch release. She closed her eyes and drew a long slow breath of the warm salty air. Then she heard it, the loud explosion of a bullet leaving its chamber. She hadn't expected to hear it. She thought it would be so fast that she would never know it happened. She braced herself, expecting to experience pain beyond her imagination. But she didn't. Instead she felt something else. A heavy body falling against hers. Wendy was so shocked that she didn't even think to move out of the way. Giuseppe collapsed on her and knocked her into the water. She wriggled in an attempt to get free, still confused about what had just happened. Then she saw it, the flashing lights. There were police cars on the beach. She hadn't even noticed them arrive. There was shouting as she felt the water lapping against her face, washing the tears away that she hadn't even realized were falling.

  Someone lifted Giuseppe off her and she heard him groan in protest. He was still alive, but for how long she had no idea. The gunshot she had heard must have been directed at him. But by whom?

  Strong arms pulled her up out of the water. She drew in a heavy breath and was about to cry out when those arms wrapped around her, and their warmth silenced her fear. She felt her heart flutter in her chest, not from fear, but from familiarity. She looked up into Brian's eyes, which were filled with concern.

  “Did he hurt you?” he asked as he gazed at her intently. She had never seen his hazel gaze so dark.

  “No,” she managed to whisper. “I'm okay.”

  “Wendy,” he sighed and held her closer. “You're okay,” he repeated with relief in his voice.

  “We're going to need a statement,” Officer Polson said from a few feet away. She looked over at him as she reluctantly pulled out of Brian's arms.

  “You want a statement?” Wendy asked.

  “Yes,” Polson nodded as he holstered his weapon. Wendy became vaguely aware that he must have been the one who had shot Giuseppe and ultimately saved her life.

  “I'm innocent,” she said and swallowed thickly. “Just like I told you three days ago.”

  Polson frowned but offered her a slight nod. “You can take a few moments, then we'll have some questions for you.”

  As Polson walked away, Wendy turned back to Brian.

  “How did you know?” she asked him. “I know it wasn't Polson that figured all of this out.”

  “It wasn't me either,” he admitted with a touch of guilt. “I was making calls to all of the contacts I found. I decided to call Veronica again. When I told her we were investigating Giuseppe, she admitted that she had taken a bribe from him. She told me how Giuseppe had called her to the same conference room with the intention to kill her. When I couldn't reach you, I knew,” he sighed and shook his head. “It never should have happened this way. I'm sorry you went through all of that.”

  “I'm not,” Wendy said with a hint of bravery in her voice. “Camilla needed someone to solve her problem one last time. Giuseppe is a truly terrible man.”

  “Yes, he is,” Brian agreed. “And now he won't hurt anyone ever again. Do you want me to drive you home?” he offered.

  “Yes, please,” Wendy said. “Right after I finish with Polson.”

  ***

  Polson went easy on Wendy with his questions. When he was finished, she looked at him with a slight smile. “It was you, wasn't it?” she asked as she studied him.

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “You saved me,” she said calmly.

  “Well, technically it was Brian, he's the one that tipped us off,” he said with a mild shrug.

  “But you're the one who pulled the trigger,” Wendy pointed out. “Thank you.”

  “Just doing my job,” he said sternly and then met her eyes. “Just like I said before. It was nothing personal.”

  “Well, don't take this personally,” Wendy said as she looked at him. “But I hope we never meet again.”

  “Agreed,” Polson nodded and offered his hand. She took it and gave it a quick, firm shake. Then she walked back across the sand to Brian who was waiting for her near the parking lot.

  “Are you sure you're okay?” Brian asked as he looked her over from head to toe. “Your shoes…” he started to say.


  “I don't want them,” Wendy said quickly. “I don't ever want to put those shoes back on.”

  “Okay,” Brian nodded slowly and reached up to brush back a strawberry blonde curl that had fallen in Wendy's face. “Let me get you home.”

  As Brian drove towards her condo, Wendy felt her heart sink. She couldn't bring herself to speak. So much had unfolded in so little time. But the only thing truly on her mind was Brian's touch, which he seemed to be cautious about offering her. She knew that once he dropped her off she would probably never see him again. His job was done. When she made some money, she would mail him a check. That would be that. Anything more that she thought might be happening, was all in her imagination.

  Wendy's cell phone began to ring. Brian glanced over at her as she answered the phone.

  “Hi John,” she said in an attempt to be cheerful. “Is Brenda still locked in her room?”

  “No, you were right, she's okay now,” John said with a sigh. “I just wanted to thank you and let you know that you don't need to come over tonight.”

  “Oh good,” Wendy said with relief. She didn't think she could make it without a little rest first. “I will see you first thing in the morning then.”

  “Okay,” John said quickly. “See you then.”

  As Wendy hung up the phone she felt Brian's eyes still on her. He had already pulled into the parking lot of her condo.

  “Everything okay?” he asked as he pulled into a parking space.

  “Sounds like it,” Wendy laughed a little. “Just pre-wedding nerves.”

  “Are you really going to go tomorrow?” he asked with a furrowed brow. “Don't you think you've earned a day off?”