Death Is Not Enough

by Karen Rose

  ‘She wouldn’t have known about the key ring,’ Prew cautioned, but then he nodded. ‘But she knows something, otherwise Linden wouldn’t have given her a dime. I’ve assumed it was payment for not testifying, but without her cooperation, it makes for a weak case. Which is why I never pursued it.’

  ‘We’ll need to see when she got the loan,’ Gwyn said thoughtfully. ‘I mean, why then? Why not nineteen years ago, when she ran away to corn-town to keep from having to testify on Thorne’s behalf?’

  ‘We don’t know that they didn’t pay her then,’ Thorne said. ‘Maybe she went back for more.’

  Gwyn shrugged. ‘You could be right. Either way, I want to talk to her. Worst that can happen is that I come away with a nice hairdo, but I may be able to get more.’

  ‘You really think you can get answers?’ Jamie asked.

  Gwyn gave him a coy smile. ‘Counselor, I know how to get hairdressers to gossip. It’s one of my best skills.’

  ‘It’s true,’ Thorne said with a smile of pride. ‘When we first started out, Gwyn would pose as whoever she needed to be to get information for our clients’ cases.’ He’d nearly forgotten about that. ‘I’m glad she used her powers for good and not evil.’

  ‘Evil probably pays more,’ she lamented, then tapped her phone. ‘I’ll make an appointment as soon as the salon opens at ten.’ She pressed the back of her hand to her forehead. ‘I’ll tell them it’s a fashion emergency.’

  Jamie smiled at her dramatic delivery. ‘I don’t even want to know what that entails.’ He checked his own phone for the names of the people they’d wanted to interview. ‘Next on my list are the three friends of Richard who beat Thorne up the day he got expelled. We know where Chandler Nystrom and Darian Hinman are. But we couldn’t find Colton Brandenberg.’

  Prew’s smile dimmed. ‘Be careful there. Darian is a chip off his old man’s block, and that’s not a compliment. Chandler . . .’ He shook his head. ‘Some people should not be given a badge. He’s had some run-ins, gotten written up by IA. I can’t give you details because I don’t know them. But I do know he left the force abruptly and got a job in private security.’

  ‘What about Colton?’ Thorne asked.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Prew admitted. ‘He left town for a while after Richard’s murder. Came back to testify, but he was messed up.’

  ‘I don’t remember him being messed up,’ Thorne murmured.

  ‘I do,’ Jamie said bluntly. ‘I worried that he was on something. He was like . . . a zombie walking. I was prepared to go to the judge and have his testimony stricken if he said anything wacky, but he just confirmed the facts as we already knew them – except for Richard Linden starting the fight with you by groping Angie Ospina. That he claimed he couldn’t recall.’

  Prew was nodding. ‘After the trial, Colton left town and, to my knowledge, hasn’t been back. His sister is still local. She’s a seamstress. Makes draperies. Talented, or so my wife says. I’ll get her details and send them to you.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Thorne said. ‘Really, thank you. You didn’t have to tell us any of this.’

  ‘Yeah, I kind of did. We all get that one case, you know? I was there at the school that day. I remember talking to Sherri and thinking, goddamn, if they’d just given the poor kid his guitar, none of this would have happened. And then Sherri died. I hated that. She seemed like such a nice girl.’

  Thorne swallowed hard. ‘She was. She really was.’

  Prew sighed. ‘And then I talked to you, and you were just . . . lost. Abandoned by your mother and stepfather. Targeted by Linden. So . . . yeah, Mr Thorne, I really had to. Just . . . don’t make any more trouble, okay? I mean, I don’t think you made any back then, but somebody has a hard-on for you. Don’t give them any rope.’

  Thorne made his lips curve. ‘I’ll do my very best,’ he said tightly.

  Prew winced. ‘Ouch. I knew I should’ve shut my mouth while I was ahead. I didn’t mean I thought you were guilty. Not then. And from what I hear at the water cooler, not now.’

  Jamie cocked his head. ‘What do you hear at the water cooler?’

  ‘Well, Gil Segal – the victim’s husband – is a judge, right? Rumor has it that he and the missus were having some hard times. They bought a lot of property and then Patricia’s business tanked. So that was bad. But my wife heard that Patricia was having an affair.’

  All four of them blinked. ‘Where did she hear that?’ Phil asked.

  Prew grinned. ‘Beauty parlor.’

  ‘Told you so,’ Gwyn said. ‘Any water cooler rumors about who she was doing on the side?’

  ‘Not that my wife told me, but I’ll ask her that too.’ Prew shrugged. ‘She wasn’t well liked, Mrs Segal. So take whatever rumors you hear with a grain of salt.’

  ‘What business was she in?’ Thorne asked.

  Prew frowned. ‘I’m not sure. Something she was doing for her father. Again, my wife will know.’

  ‘What salon does your wife use?’ Gwyn asked him.

  ‘I have no idea. I’ll ask her.’ He checked his watch. ‘I have to be going soon. I have a tee time at eleven. Keep me up to speed, if you don’t mind. If there’s any arresting of Linden, I’d really like to be there to witness it. You know, for old times’ sake.’

  ‘We will,’ Thorne promised.

  Baltimore, Maryland,

  Monday 13 June, 10.30 A.M.

  Frederick turned a three-sixty on the deserted dance floor of Sheidalin. ‘Hello?’ he called. ‘Anybody home?’

  ‘Just a second!’ A voice came from an open door behind the bar. Sheldon Mowry appeared, an iPad clutched in one hand. The club’s assistant manager frowned when he saw Frederick hurrying over. ‘What is it? Is Thorne okay?’

  ‘Yes,’ Frederick said. ‘I just talked to Phil and Jamie. Thorne’s . . . you know. Thorne.’

  Mowry rolled his eyes. ‘Yeah, I got that.’

  Frederick studied the man for a moment. He was in his early thirties, slender, with wild hair that looked like it hadn’t seen a comb in a decade. His arms were covered with tattoos. But his eyes were clear and without guile. Almost . . . innocent. Thorne vouched for the guy, but those innocent eyes rang an alarm bell in Frederick’s mind. He’d checked Mowry out before coming here this morning, but had found nothing pre-dating his time here at Sheidalin, and that raised too many flags. There was something going on with this guy, and Frederick needed to know what that was.

  He’d come to Sheidalin with two goals in mind: first, to check out the employees, especially those who’d known Thorne a long time. Whoever had set this plan in motion knew Thorne well enough to know where to dig for his past. The second goal was to meet with Sally Brewster, the friend of Bernice Brown who’d been harassed by a detective. Frederick wanted to know why a detective had been looking for Thorne’s client. Miss Brewster should be arriving in twenty minutes, so he had a little time to dig into the employees before then.

  ‘How long have you known Thorne?’ he asked Mowry.

  The assistant manager’s smile was wry. ‘If you’ve got a question about me, just ask.’ His smile slid into a full smirk. ‘You won’t find what you’re looking for any other way.’

  Frederick’s lips twitched. ‘A challenge.’

  A shrug. ‘Do your worst. Why are you here? I didn’t call for legal assistance.’

  ‘I needed to make sure everything was running smoothly. Gwyn and Thorne aren’t going to be able to give this place their full attention for a while.’

  Mowry’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he didn’t call bullshit. ‘Look, I ran this club before Gwyn became the full-time manager. She did the books then, and some event planning, but she was mostly busy doing paralegal shit for Thorne. I was in charge of the day-to-day. She was basically a performer back then, like Lucy and Thorne are now. So I know what to do.’

  The man was defensive
, Frederick thought. And maybe a little bitter? ‘Did you take a pay cut when Gwyn took over?’

  Mowry sighed, kind of impatiently. ‘Nope. Hold on a minute.’ He turned back to the door through which he’d come. ‘Laura?’ he called, and the bartender stuck her head out. ‘Can you finish the inventory yourself?’

  ‘Of course. Give me the iPad.’ She met him halfway, taking the tablet before giving Frederick a worried look. ‘Why are you here, Frederick? Is Thorne okay?’

  ‘He’s fine,’ Frederick assured her. Twenty-six years old, Laura had been born in Russia and had been adopted by a family in Virginia when she was an infant. Most of her Facebook photos were of her and her little boy. From what information he’d been able to gather, the toddler’s father was not in the picture. Laura’s mother was a big help, though. According to her employment records, which Thorne kept on file at the firm, Laura had missed not one shift in the six months that she’d worked for Sheidalin.

  She gave him the same suspicious look that Mowry had. ‘Okay. I’ll be in the back if you need me,’ she added to Mowry before leaving them alone.

  Mowry’s gaze had become perturbed. ‘If you’re looking for dirt here, you won’t find it. We are all loyal to Thorne.’

  ‘I don’t doubt it,’ Frederick said, and Mowry snorted.

  ‘Come on.’ He led the way to a table near the empty stage. ‘Let’s sit. I’ve got a long day ahead of me, so I’ll rest my feet now.’ He waited until Frederick had taken his seat, then launched them in an unexpected direction. ‘You know what happened to Gwyn, right? Four years ago?’

  Frederick nodded. ‘I’ve seen the police report.’ He’d read how Gwyn’s boyfriend had been using her to get to Lucy because the man had a sick obsession for revenge, believing that Lucy had been involved in the death of his sister. She hadn’t been, of course, but others had. Those people who Evan wanted to kill had been truly bad, but Lucy had been caught in the crossfire. Gwyn had been an unwitting front for him, providing him with easy access to his prey. ‘She was abducted by a killer so that he could lure Lucy. Both Lucy and Gwyn were saved. Gwyn was credited with saving Lucy’s mother.’

  Mowry gave him a disgusted look. ‘That’s all?’

  ‘That’s all there was in the report. All that concerned Gwyn, anyway.’

  ‘Exactly. See, nobody in the media ever goes back to find out how the victims of the crime are doing years later. Yes, Gwyn was saved, and yes, she saved Lucy’s mother. But she had to leave Lucy behind with a killer. Lucy forced her to.’

  Frederick exhaled carefully. ‘I see.’

  Mowry gave him a yeah-right look. ‘Do you? Do you really?’

  Frederick nodded. ‘I was in the army. Special Forces. I had to leave a man behind once so that I could get two others out. I went back for him, but it was too late. He was dead.’ He swallowed hard, pushing the memory away when it knocked at the door of his mind. ‘He was my friend. One of my best.’

  It wasn’t something he spoke of. Ever. But at least it had been the right thing to share, because Mowry’s expression softened.

  ‘Okay, so maybe you do. I don’t know how it affected you, but I do know how it affected Gwyn. She was duped by a man who claimed to love her. She had hearts in her eyes for the first time.’ He shook his head. ‘I always thought she and Thorne would end up together. I was pretty shocked when she brought this Evan guy in.’

  ‘What did you think of him?’

  A sigh. ‘I wish I could say I hated him, that I thought he was “off”. But I didn’t. He fooled me too. I got on with him. We went to ball games together. He was a likable guy.’

  ‘Evil often wears a pretty face.’ How well Frederick knew that. Taylor’s mother had duped him for years. So he supposed he understood Gwyn better than he’d realized.

  Mowry’s chuckle was hollow. ‘Evan did. And Gwyn believed him. She . . . used to be different. Vibrant. Alive.’

  ‘Not dark and sarcastic?’

  ‘If you only knew. See, you met her on her way out of the worst of it. After Evan, she imploded. She wouldn’t perform. For anyone. Lucy wanted her to sing at her and JD’s wedding, but she couldn’t.’ His sigh was ragged. ‘I found her at the piano one day. Nobody was here and it was dark. She was crying because she couldn’t make herself put her hands on the keys.’

  ‘She did last summer. I saw the tape of a wedding for which she and Lucy provided the processional music. It was beautiful.’

  ‘Yeah, well, like I said, she’s been coming out of the dark place. She’s been singing. And recently she’s been doing the silks.’ He pointed at a contraption on the stage, a twenty-foot-tall A-frame with two long pieces of white silk dangling from the highest point. ‘It’s like Cirque du Soleil. Gwyn is damn graceful. I have to admit, the first time she got back on the stage, I cried like a baby.’ One side of his mouth lifted. ‘I wasn’t alone. Not a dry eye in the house. She’s well loved here. So when Thorne asked me to back off my daily duties and allow Gwyn to take over, I did. Not that it was easy, mind you, but I didn’t argue.’

  ‘But you didn’t want to back off.’

  ‘Not at the time. And sometimes I get a little annoyed, still. But Thorne’s a mensch. He knew I hated being idle. He also knew I’d never gotten to go to college, so he’s paid for me to go. I take classes part time. One more year and I’ll have my degree in hospitality. I can write my ticket.’

  ‘Will you leave Sheidalin?’

  He smiled. ‘Probably not. I like it here. It’s home, and Gwyn, Thorne and Lucy are my family. None of us had much family of our own, so we banded together. So you don’t have to come here and look over my shoulder, Freddie. I know my business and I do my job well. I love those guys. We all do, all of the employees. We won’t let them down.’

  ‘So you don’t think Thorne did it. The murder, I mean.’

  Mowry scoffed. ‘Please. You really need me to say it? No, he didn’t. Full stop.’

  ‘And the other employees? Are they as certain as you are?’

  ‘Ask them. Ming!’ he shouted. ‘Laura! Come out here, please.’

  The two came from two different doors. Ming from the main office in the back, while Laura returned from the storeroom.

  Ming was the head of security – aka ‘the bouncer’ – and every bit as big as Thorne. His real name was Clive, but Frederick didn’t think anyone called him that out of sheer fear. He had been with Sheidalin from the very beginning. He and Thorne had played college rugby together. When Thorne had needed muscle, Ming had been the first person he’d turned to. The man was the most upstanding citizen you could think of. Took care of his mother, went to church, and did unpaid work with Meals On Wheels. He even volunteered to hold the abandoned babies of drug addicts in the neonatal wards of the local hospitals, posting photos on social media of the tiny creatures in his enormous hands.

  The sight had made Frederick’s eyes tear up. But Ming knew Thorne better than almost anyone, excluding Jamie and Phil, so he was on Frederick’s suspect list.

  The two of them dragged chairs to the table and Ming put his tablet in front of him. It showed the camera feeds, Frederick realized. The security man was vigilant.

  ‘What’s up?’ Ming asked cautiously.

  ‘He’s worried about the day-to-day,’ Mowry said, one brow raised. ‘Since Thorne and Gwyn are out for a while.’

  Frederick nodded, well aware that the other two hadn’t bought the excuse either. ‘Yes. So . . . is there anything you need in order to function?’

  ‘No,’ Laura said. ‘I just finished the inventory and placed the order.’

  ‘And I just finished this week’s schedule,’ Ming added. ‘So far so good. Nobody’s quit and none of our booked bands have cancelled on us.’

  ‘There’s notoriety in playing Sheidalin right now,’ Mowry said.

  Frederick figured that was true. ‘I understand there was s
ome trouble last night.’

  ‘No more than usual,’ Ming said. ‘We toss drug dealers out three times a week on average. These guys were opportunists. Figured they’d give it a try since Thorne was . . . well, not here.’

  Mowry’s eyes flashed. ‘Sons of bitches,’ he grumbled. ‘But seriously, we have this covered. Yes, we’re getting a lot of media exposure right now, but we’ll make it work for us. Thorne and Gwyn don’t need to worry.’

  ‘They weren’t,’ Frederick said. ‘I was.’

  Ming gave him a dubious look. ‘Who made you the boss?’

  Frederick smiled at that. ‘Old habits die hard. I’m kind of used to taking charge, and I like Thorne. He’s a good man. I’d like his businesses to be intact when he comes back. Having said that, I’ve got some law firm business to take care of. I arranged a meeting with someone here. I hope that’s okay.’

  ‘Make yourself at home,’ Mowry said. ‘If you need privacy, we can make ourselves scarce for a while.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Frederick checked his watch. ‘She should be arriving soon.’

  Ming glanced at his tablet. ‘I think she’s here.’ One of the camera feeds showed a woman approaching the backstage door. ‘How did she get to the alley? There are news vans all up and down the street.’

  One point for Sally Brewster. She listened and complied with instructions. ‘I told her to park at the movie theater and cut through the bookstore next door. They let her out their alley door. Said they owed Thorne a favor, so they were okay with it.’

  Frederick stood up, wondering if these three could really be as loyal as they seemed. He hoped so, because Thorne deserved loyalty. ‘Thanks for putting my mind at ease. If you end up needing any help, please call me.’ He gave them his card. ‘My cell’s on there. I’m serious about wanting to help Thorne. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to let my appointment in before the news vans see her.’

  Nine