“Are you sure?” Diana got up from her chair. “No Big Al?”
“I would never work with some Big Al. I don’t know anything about that.” Dave raised a tear-streaked face and then—boom!
Slammed his head back down.
“It was just Blanche and me. I don’t have anything to tell them.” He mumbled against the desktop and then suddenly raised his head again. “I didn’t kill that man. That wasn’t me. Blanche did it.” He wiped his eyes against his jacket sleeve and then down his head went again.
My eyes teared up. I felt a little sorry for the idiot, but only a little. Blanche? A killer? What an awful mess. When I thought of all the people who’d been taken advantage of and all the animals who’d gone without help because of Dave’s greed and Blanche’s apparent addictions, I was short on compassion. I felt sad for them, but mostly sad for the people they’d used.
I looked over at Diana and could see the same emotions reflected on her face.
When I looked up, Agent Milner stood in the office doorway, a couple of other agents behind him.
“You two all right?”
We each nodded.
“Cuff him and put him in the car,” he told the others. “Then send the team in here to pack up this office.”
They led Dave out.
“Well, there you have it.” I looked around. “Not exactly what you wanted, but at least we have answers about why Dirk was investigating and why he was killed.”
“That’s right.” Agent Milner’s tone was neutral, which I now knew was pretty much default mode for him. He couldn’t be happy. The sting had turned out to be a dead end on his big case, but I imagined dealing with dead ends was part of the job. “Let’s get you two ladies outside and let Nick unwire you.” He held the door for open.
Diana and I stepped outside where the block had collected a line-up of police cars and other official vehicles. Nick waited by a van. I’d be glad to get the listening devices removed. They were light and not difficult to have on, but it was a little creepy knowing everything you said was being recorded.
Nick had us free of wires in a short time. The Laguna Beach police department had cordoned off the area, but Dino was allowed through to speak to Diana. I spotted Sam near one of the FBI sedans talking with one of the agents and headed in his direction.
When he saw me, he left the man standing there and ran to me. He grabbed me in a hug and lifted me off my feet. Once he put me down, he cupped my face and searched my eyes. “Are you okay?”
Milner’s question from earlier, but with much more intensity.
“Yes.” I smiled at him. “I was never really in harm’s way, sugar.”
“Not physically perhaps, Caro, agapi mou. But this was an ugly business.” The man had a way of zeroing in on the heart of things.
“Seriously, Sam.” I hugged him hard. “I am okay. Go finish what you were in the middle of.”
It seemed like forever, but was probably no more than thirty minutes and the FBI’s work was done. Dave’s office was packed up and the boxes loaded into a van to be taken for the financial forensics team to review. Dave was off to Orange County to be booked. Malone had drawn the short straw and was on his way to notify Alana that Dave wouldn’t be home for dinner.
As for the rest of us, we were free to leave. Dino offered to take Diana home and she accepted. I was kind of glad. We could rehash the evening later. I was more than ready for my sweats, a bowl of popcorn, a good light-hearted movie, and a snuggle with my furry roommates.
I’d bragged about enjoying a glass of celebratory champagne earlier, and Sam had offered, but I truly was plain old exhausted.
Chapter Twenty-Five
IF YOUR CURIOSITY says one thing and your common sense says something else, you should always listen to your common sense.
The street was deserted when I slipped back into the Greys Matter offices using the code I’d watched Dave use earlier. Everyone was gone; Dave Benda had confessed. But something wasn’t right.
There were a dozen reasons to think the FBI had the right guy. Dave Benda had access to the rescue’s books of account. There was no reason to doubt his claim that Blanche had given him a portion of the money he’d helped her embezzle from the Greyhound rescue. A look into his finances and the rescue’s books would confirm it.
He would be prosecuted for being a party to the mishandling of the rescue’s funds. Blanche would be on record as the one who’d killed Dirk Pennick and then herself. Case closed.
But I was still worried we’d missed something important. Mainly, I was still bothered by Blanche’s suicide. So much didn’t jive. The carefully written suicide note when she’d told me she always used her tablet computer because her handwriting was awful. Leaving Blaze and Trixie.
Was it possible Dave was the killer and not Blanche? We knew he was a liar. Why couldn’t he have lied about that? It wasn’t as if Blanche were here to contradict him.
Was it possible Alana was the killer and Dave confessed to protect her? Especially if the detective had uncovered the funny business between her and Matt Bjarni. Matt had even said a woman could have done the deed. Come to think about it, he’d had a lot of questions that day at the dog park.
I tried to picture Alana stabbing Victor. The con man had not been a big man. I knew because I’d been up close with him. A strong woman could have done it. The FBI believed that a woman had and that woman was Blanche.
I sat down at Blanche’s desk and thought.
Who else could have had a reason to kill Victor, aka Dirk?
I pictured all the people at the event and tried to recall what they’d said about their interactions with Dirk that night. Many of them had told lies or, at the very least, only partial truths.
Eugene had words with Dirk about being there. Verdi’s brother had failed to mention his record, but I better understood why now. The one good thing to come out of this was Eugene getting a fresh start.
Blanche had said she didn’t know Dirk, but she had in fact talked to him earlier in the week.
Dave had also claimed to not know him, but of course he would lie if the private detective’s investigation had led him to Dave’s unscrupulous accounting.
Who else had mentioned seeing him at the event? Diana had heard of him but hadn’t met him until that night. Alice Tiburon mentioned seeing him and Eugene come in from outside. Which was a big part of why the police immediately focused on Eugene.
Wait a minute. If Victor had been outside, his clothes would have been wet. I remembered noticing the raindrops on Tova Randall’s already dewy skin. But when I had grabbed his arm and he had fallen against me, his suit wasn’t damp at all.
Why would Alice lie about seeing Victor coming in from the outside? A silly thing, really, to lie about.
I sat up quickly, and as I did, I felt something jammed into the cushion of Blanche’s chair. It was the small tablet computer she’d always carried. How had they missed it? I’d need to get it to Agent Milner. It might hold some information that would help.
It was probably dead, but I hit the power button anyway. It came on. I looked at the screen and wondered what answers it might hold. One of the apps was the one Blanche and I had used to update the spreadsheet of Greyhound owner visits. I wondered what other information or documents she might have shared. And with whom.
Dang it. A password was needed.
I tried a couple of guesses and then sat back. Anyone with the love Blanche had for her dogs would use a dog reference. Blaze and Trixie. TrixieBlaze. BlazeTrixie. Blaze&Trixie. It took me only a few tries for the right combination and there it was. I opened the document titled “Pennick Detective Agency” and read through quickly. As I did, all the pieces fell together.
Hold your ponies, people. Blanche hadn’t killed the private detective. She was the one who’d hired him. He’d uncovered a money-laundering operation that’d been going on for more than a year.
Blanche had not killed Dirk.
Blanche had not killed he
rself.
Not only that, Big Al wasn’t a man, but a woman.
“Oh, wow.” I said to the empty office. I reached for my phone to call Agent Milner.
“So you figured it out?”
I whipped the chair around as Alice Tiburon stepped out of the shadows and into the office.
“It was always you, wasn’t it?”
“It was.” She wasn’t taking any chances with a carving knife tonight; her long, elegant, perfectly-manicured fingers were wrapped around a small handgun.
“You were using the rescue to launder money.” It wasn’t a question. The document detailing the findings was clear.
“The perfect setup. Dave was hungry for extra cash to keep his fancy trophy wife happy, Blanche was so busy with the rescue she wasn’t paying attention to accounting, and all you people crazy about saving the stupid dogs kept the money coming through. Easy to hide and process hundreds of thousands over time.”
“Until Blanche got worried and hired a private detective,” I pointed out.
“Yes, Blanche and her detective. A man who’d been in prison, no less.”
“That’s the trouble with ex-cons.” I shrugged. “They know where the dirt is, and they aren’t afraid to dig.”
A movement behind Alice caught my eye.
I could see the hallway and reception area in the mirror, just like Blanche had been able to see the front desk the day I’d come to see her at the office.
And I could see Diana tiptoeing closer and closer.
“So what are we to do now, Alice?” I kept her talking to cover any sound. “Or should I call you ‘Big Al?’”
“I’d hoped to take care of things earlier when I found out Dave was meeting you. A nice murder-suicide was the plan. Poor Dave would shoot you and your Hollywood has-been friend, and then, filled with remorse, sadly shoot himself.” Her red lips lifted in a sneer.
Hollywood has-been?
I heard Diana’s sharp intake of breath at the comment, but thankfully, Alice was too busy waving her gun around and telling me how I was going to die.
“But then something didn’t smell right about that setup. So, dimwit Dave was coached on exactly what he was to say if he was caught. I’ll have him out in no time.” She smirked. “Poor bleeding-heart Blanche will take the fall for everything. After all, she’s not here to defend herself.”
“The FBI has all of the rescue’s books of account. I think their forensic team is pretty smart.”
“All they have is the dummy evidence I had Dave create.”
Well, don’t knock yourself over patting yourself on the back, sugar.
“And what about me?” I asked.
“Don’t worry, Pet Shrink, I have something planned for you.” She motioned with the gun. “Give me that computer.”
I stepped from behind the desk, held it out to her, and took a full step forward.
Right on cue, a shrill scream pierced the air.
You know the one. Ear-splitting horror movie, I-Married-a-Zombie scream.
That was my signal. I quickly moved to the side, grabbed the muzzle of the gun, slapped Alice’s forearm, and took the weapon. Just like in class.
Matt would have been proud.
Alice was stunned.
Frankly, I was stunned too. Just a little.
“Great job, Caro.” Diana stepped where Alice could see her. “Hollywood has-been, huh?”
Diana looked like she’d like to try out a few more of the moves we’d learned in Matt’s class. On Alice.
Alice looked like she might make a run for it.
“I wouldn’t try it, Alice. The FBI is right outside.” Diana lifted her cell phone to her ear. “Did you get all that?”
Suddenly, the office was full of FBI agents.
Agent Milner cuffed a coldly furious Alice and sent her off with one of the other agents.
“Are you okay?” he asked for the second time that night.
My pulse wasn’t quite back to normal, and I was a wee bit shaky but yeah, I was okay. “I’m fine.”
“What?” He held his hand to his ear. “I can’t hear you. I think that scream may have broken my eardrum.”
And then Agent Milner actually smiled.
Big Al was in custody. He’d gotten his man, er, woman. All was right with the world.
“It was epic.” I grinned.
Chapter Twenty-Six
THIS TIME, THE after party did involve champagne.
Agent Milner and his forensic team had work to do at the rescue office, but there was no need for me to stick around. In fact, Diana and I really needed to get out of the way so they could do their thing.
My house was closest so we decided to meet there to debrief. On the way, I called Sam who joined us. Once home, I called Verdi.
Dino supplied some much-needed food and the champagne. He made himself at home in my kitchen filling plates with fruits, nuts, breads, and cheeses. In the excitement of the evening, we’d all skipped dinner, and so the snacks were welcome.
The doorbell rang. I opened it to Verdi and Eugene who wore big smiles.
“Come in.” I hugged her. There were tears in her eyes.
“Caro—I, ah—” Eugene stammered.
I hugged him, too. “Come in,” I repeated and pulled them inside.
They joined the group in my living room. Diana had kicked off her shoes and sat on the end of the couch, one leg under her, a pillow at her back.
I settled into my favorite chair, and Dogbert jumped up to sit on my lap. Sam perched on the arm just as he had the previous night, though the mood was much less sober tonight. I looked around the room, my heart full. How lucky was I to be surrounded by such amazing friends?
“So, tell.” Verdi dropped into one of the other easy chairs.
I took a deep sigh and rubbed Dogbert’s back.
“After Dave was arrested, I was still concerned we’d missed something important and went back to the Greys Matter office,” I explained.
“I felt the same worry,” Diana added. “I had Dino circle back to the rescue office, and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Caro slip inside.”
“Oh, wow.” Verdi’s eyes were wide.
“When I saw Alice Tiburon go in also, I followed her,” Diana continued. “And called Agent Milner.”
“Thank goodness you did.” I leaned back in my chair and snuggled my pooch.
“I didn’t really think you were in danger, or I wouldn’t have been so calm.” Diana laughed.
“I didn’t think I was in danger either, or I wouldn’t have gone back alone.” I shook my head at the risk I’d taken.
“And I didn’t think either of you were in danger, or I would not have sat in my car and let you two waltz into the arms of a killer.” Dino raised his hands in the air. “It was Alice Tiburon, I thought. I know her. I am sitting in my car, checking email on my phone, thinking you’re in there having a nice chat.”
“You couldn’t have known.” Diana smiled at him.
“Then all these police cars come racing up. Oh, mio Dio!” Dino clutched his chest. “I almost have a heart attack.”
“I was halfway home when you called me and—” Sam stopped and took a deep breath. Then he dropped his hand gently on the back of my neck and leaned forward to kiss the crown of my head.
I smiled up at Sam and reached up to touch his hand. “If it hadn’t been for the self-defense course you enrolled us in, we wouldn’t have had the moves to take down ‘Big Al.’”
“Look out, these are deadly weapons.” Diana waved her arms around like Pajama Betty.
I smiled at her. “What a night, huh?”
I still found it difficult to believe all the signs I’d missed, we’d all missed, that should have pointed us to Alice Tiburon.
Dino passed out crystal flutes and filled them with sparkling champagne. I couldn’t help but think back to the Fifty Shades of Greyhound event that had started this all. And Victor, or rather Dirk, and his investigation. Hired by Blanche, he must
have followed the money which had eventually led him to Dave and to Alice. And had gotten him killed. I had almost become a “Big Al” victim myself. Thankfully, Diana had felt the same uneasiness I had, and had gone back.
I lifted my glass in salute. “here’s to friends and rescuers.”
We all sipped.
“And”—Sam raised his glass—“here’s to the two most courageous women I know.”
“Thank you, Sam.”
Diana unfolded her legs and stood. “One final toast.” She was suddenly serious. “Here’s to Blanche and the others like her, who give so much to rescue these wonderful and gentle dogs.”
We all raised our glasses in salute.
“Yes,” I whispered. “To Blanche and the Greyhounds.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
FBI AGENT JOHN Milner was waiting for me when I got to the office the next morning.
As always, he wore the same slightly disheveled look. A suit and tie that, while good quality, had seen better days. Today, he also wore a very official air.
“Good morning,” I greeted him.
He stood as I approached. “Good morning, Ms. Lamont. We really appreciate your assistance and the risks you took to help us with the case.” He cleared his throat.
He was a good agent, a smart man, and, I believed, a genuinely nice guy. I felt a little bad about all the grief I’d given him. A little bad.
“I wanted to personally return this.” He reached in his suit pocket, pulled out a plastic bag, and handed it to me.
Thank the heavens! Grandma Tillie’s brooch.
“Oh my, sugar! Thank you so much.” I patted his arm.
I would have hugged him, but I was afraid it would give him a heart attack.
I didn’t know what strings he’d had to pull to find it, but the fleeting satisfied smile said he felt like he’d paid his debt.
Opening the bag, I carefully unwrapped the paper swaddling. There’d better not be any damage to the brooch. I lifted the paper away and the pin dropped into my hand. It was a beautifully garish, and expensive piece of jewelry.
Fifty Shades of Greyhound (The Pampered Pets Mystery Series) Page 16
