What She Gave Away (Santa Barbara Suspense Book 1)

by Catharine Riggs

  “Where are you from?” I ask, not that I really care.

  “I grew up in Bakersfield, but I was born in Reno, Nevada.”

  “Reno?” I slump forward.

  “Something wrong?” she asks.

  “No. Nothing.”

  “Maybe the heat’s getting to you.”

  “Yes, that’s it.” I wipe my brow with the back of my hand.

  “Anyway,” Crystal continues. “You asked me about my family. I typically don’t like to share.”

  “Then maybe you shouldn’t.”

  “But I’m ready to tell my secret. I’ve never done that before.”

  “You don’t even know me.”

  “That’s okay.” Her blue eyes sparkle. “I feel like I’ve known you for years. And I’ll bet you’ll understand. You see, I went looking for my birth mother expecting the typical story. I found something else.”

  I don’t want to hear any more. “You should go,” I say, standing up.

  She lowers her voice to a whisper. “You see, my mother wasn’t single or poor or crazy. She just didn’t want me. That’s it. She gave me away because I looked different. Isn’t that the saddest thing you ever heard?”

  My heart begins to race. I think I might faint. Then a voice calls out, and I jump. I blink twice, thinking I must be seeing things. Arthur stands at the pocket doors holding what looks like an unconscious child in his arms.

  “Look what I found in the trash,” he says. The child lifts her bloodied face.

  Crystal

  September 2, 2016

  “Arthur!” Kathi sways from side to side. “Is it really you?”

  “Of course it is, my love.” Van Meter is dressed in black and wears a blazer despite the summer heat. There’s a sharpness to his tone. A tightness to his features. A glitter in his eyes. I glance from him to Kathi. She must be shit-faced. Can’t she see what he holds in his hands? He smiles big and wide. “I’ve missed you, Kathi. I so enjoyed our romantic dinner. And the lovemaking, wow—that was out of this world.”

  “Arthur.” Kathi lowers her gaze.

  “Forgive me. That was in poor taste. No man should kiss and tell.” Mimi moans and lifts her head again. Her mouth is bloodied, her right eye swollen, her left arm strangely bent.

  “Let her go,” I say softly.

  Van Meter’s eyes narrow. “Why, hello there. It’s Crystal, isn’t it? From the bank? Fancy meeting you here.”

  “You’re hurting her.”

  “Who? This?” He jiggles Mimi, and she moans.

  “What’s going on here, Arthur?” Kathi asks, finally gaining a clue. “Who is this girl? What’s wrong with her?”

  “This homeless maggot? Why don’t you tell us, Crystal? Feel free to fill us in.”

  “Crystal?” Kathi’s bleary eyes meet mine. She looks scared and confused. “Do you know this girl?”

  My heart pounds through my chest as my mind works the odds. What does Van Meter know? What did he see?

  “I found this maggot lurking by the terrace,” Van Meter says. “When I tried to grab her, she tripped and hit a rock. I believe she hurt her arm.” He wipes his forehead with his sleeve. “It’s sure hot out tonight. And these winds? We better hope the arsonists stay home. It would be a terrible night for a fire.”

  “But I don’t understand,” Kathi says. “Who is she? How did she get here? And what were you doing out there?”

  “We’ll get to that.” He gives Mimi a shake. “First, I must ask for your forgiveness, Kathi. I should’ve called you weeks ago. I hope that night was as good for you as it was for me, but I’ve been in a terrible place of late. Kind of depressed. Yes, depressed. Depressed about so many things. First and foremost would be the death of my good friend Rich. That, of course, goes without saying. But then there’s the implosion of my lovely Casa Bella. That one is almost harder to take.”

  He drops Mimi to the ground and hauls her into the house by one arm. “Can you believe my bad luck? Of all the ways my project could have gone sideways, I never would’ve guessed Native American bones. Chumash bones, for god’s sake. Give me an earthquake, fire, or flood. I can understand those, and so can my insurance agent. But human remains? Hell. You got me there.” He laughs, but his eyes stay dark and flat. “But you want to know something? It’s the craziest thing. I just found out the joke’s on me. Can you guess why? Huh? Can you? Kathi? Crystal? How about you, little maggot? No? No one wants to guess? Okay, then. I’ll tell you. The lab just confirmed the bones are pure Caucasian. Caucasian. Damn. Can you believe that? Not a single Native American gene anywhere to be found.”

  “Well, that’s a good thing, right?” Kathi says. “You can start building again.”

  “Oh, Kathi.” Van Meter drags Mimi to the fireplace and releases her with a shake. She squeals like an injured mouse. I want to punch him in the nose. “I know you’re naive, but please don’t act stupid. You must know that the investor money is gone and the loan has been called. And you know what? I can’t help but be pissed as hell.” He drops to his knees and pulls plastic handcuffs from his pocket and slips them over Mimi’s wrists. She moans when he yanks them tight. He does the same thing to her feet and then stands and glares at me. “How tall is your little maggot?” he asks.

  “Her name’s Mimi.”

  “Mimi? Mimi the maggot? How very sweet. I’m guessing she’s five feet max. And you? Well, you’re a behemoth. That jogs my memory about something I saw in the news. Hmmm. What could it be?”

  I glare at him like I don’t give a damn, but I’m shivering inside.

  He turns his attention back to Kathi. “Anyway, we’re both in a jam, aren’t we, sweetheart? We’re both totally fucking broke.”

  Kathi looks at him, confused. “Aren’t you and Eileen doing fine?”

  “Why? Because my bitch wife has a trust?”

  “Isn’t it partly yours?”

  “Unfortunately, it’s family money.” He laughs a little too long and loud. “And we split, remember?”

  “I heard you renewed your vows.”

  He shrugs. “I made a futile attempt to secure my financial future, but Eileen’s no dummy. She left me when I couldn’t pay the hotel bill. What an embarrassing moment. Even my kids think I’m a schmuck.” He places his hands on his hips and stares me down. “So now. Let me finish the rest of my story because I’m hoping someone here can fill me in.”

  “I don’t know anything about anything,” I say. “I just gave Kathi a ride home.”

  “Whatever. Let me finish. And please don’t move while I do.” He pushes his blazer to one side and traces his fingers across a handgun. “You must know by now I’ll use this. It won’t take much, you understand?”

  I swallow, my throat stone dry. “Yes.”

  “Louder.”

  “Yes.” Fear smothers my hatred. I can’t let myself fall apart.

  “Good. Anyway, I received some additional information from the lab.” He reaches out and gives Kathi’s shoulder a rub. “Focus here, Kathi. You’re a writer. If this were a novel, it would be a key plot point.”

  “I don’t understand what’s going on,” she says, plucking at her wrist. “Why have you tied up that girl?”

  “You don’t need to understand. Just sit back and pay attention.” He gives her a push, and she falls back on the couch. “Now listen carefully. The real surprise is that the bones didn’t come from just one person. Apparently, they’re a mix from a dozen poor souls. So concentrate a moment. What does that tell you, Kathi?”

  She bunches up her forehead like she’s actually trying to guess. “That a lot of people died in that spot?”

  “Strike one. Try again.”

  “It used to be a cemetery?”

  “Strike two.”

  “I don’t know . . .”

  “Strike three. No surprise there. You’re not the brightest crayon in the box. So I’ll just have to tell you. It means some schmuck of a human being bought the bones off the internet and buried them at the constructi
on site.”

  “Why would anyone do that?”

  “That’s what I’d like to know. But the schmuck wasn’t as smart as she thought she was. She didn’t know there was a tiny identifying symbol stamped into each and every bone. I traced the purchase back to a recent shipment to a private mailbox in Santa Barbara. The person that ordered the bones used a cash-loaded credit card to disguise their identity.”

  Kathi’s mouth hangs open. “But who would do such a thing?”

  “I’ve been trying to sort that out. At first I thought it might be the crazy neighbor. Then I spoke to a very nice gentleman at the local Mail Box Express. For a hundred bucks he gave me a description of his customer. Apparently, she looks a lot like your friend Crystal.”

  I can’t stop the flush that spreads across my face.

  “Thought so. Now, Crystal, would you be so kind as to take a seat next to your friend?”

  I consider running for the open doors. Van Meter laughs and nods. “Go ahead and try it,” he says, drawing his gun and aiming it my way. “Let’s see how fast a fat girl can run. But I’m warning you: I’m a regular at the shooting range. You’ll be dead before you step outside.”

  “Arthur?” Kathi wobbles to her feet.

  “Sit,” he orders, swinging the gun her way. He waits for her to collapse on the couch before turning back to me. “I’m serious,” he says. “You know what I’m capable of.”

  I grit my teeth and ease down next to Mimi. She smiles with her pale-blue eyes. “It’ll be okay,” she whispers. “He doesn’t scare me.”

  “How sweet is that?” Van Meter laughs. “The gimp consoling the giant. Now, Crystal, please heave that body of yours onto your knees, and hold out your wrists.”

  I do what he says, gazing out to the garden, where darkness has settled in. Scattered lights flicker from far off. Would anyone hear me if I screamed?

  “Good girl.” He yanks my wrists together and snaps on the plastic ties.

  “That’s too tight,” I say, my fingers tingling.

  “Sorry about that.”

  “I don’t understand.” Kathi rubs her hands across her face as if she’s sweeping cobwebs away. “Can you please explain what’s going on?”

  “Oh, Kathi,” Van Meter says. “You might consider slowing down on the drink.”

  “But I’ve only had one glass this evening.”

  “Really?” Van Meter strides to the kitchen and throws wide the oven door. “So what do we have here? Hmm?” He pulls out a box of chardonnay. “Someone must have confused the oven for the refrigerator. I wonder who that could be.” He grabs a wine glass from the cabinet and fills it to the top. Then he walks over to Kathi and refills her glass from the box. “Damn it, Kathi, don’t hoard the good stuff. You should share it with your friends. Otherwise people will start calling you a drunk. You don’t want nasty rumors to spread.”

  Kathi plucks at her wrist. “I can’t understand how that happened. Maybe the housekeeper put it there?”

  “Housekeeper? Ha. When’s the last time this dump got cleaned?” Van Meter sighs deeply as if his feelings are hurt. “I’m disappointed in you, Kathi. We’re supposed to be lovers. You should be truthful with me.”

  “I am truthful.”

  “Sometimes.” His face hardens. “You should know I’ve been worried about you, living on your own in the secluded foothills. No husband. No son. No gardeners. Letting your security service go. I’ve been worried enough to stop by every now and then to watch you from the terrace.”

  A look of horror crosses Kathi’s face. Her hand creeps up her neck.

  “I know. You must be thinking about the nights you passed out drunk on your kitchen floor. But honestly those nights aren’t as bad as the ones where you collapse in your garden. You do realize coyotes and raccoons are out and about. And don’t get me started on what could happen if you were visited by a wolf of the human kind.”

  “But . . .”

  Van Meter waves her off. “No need to deflect. I’m not judging you. You know what they say. People living in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that I’m crawling with human flaws. Speaking of flawed humans, have you figured out where Rich’s money is hidden?”

  Kathi nods like a puppy dog. “Leo said it’s in a bank on some island.”

  “Leo?”

  “My lawyer.”

  “Didn’t I tell you not to speak to him?”

  “Yes, but . . .”

  “But what?” He shakes his head and then eyes her slyly. “Did Leo say you would get your money back?”

  “In a few weeks.”

  “Good to hear.”

  My hands throb, and Mimi’s close to passing out. We can’t take much more of this. “Can we finish this up?” I ask. “Please? Mimi needs help. Her arm’s broken.”

  Van Meter makes a sad face. “Poor little thing. But I don’t think that’s such a good idea. You just be patient and take care of your friend.”

  “There’s nothing you need from us,” I say. “Please just let us go.”

  “And let you hurt Kathi? Are you crazy?”

  “She wouldn’t do that, would she?” Kathi asks, her eyes growing large.

  “Yes, my love. She had plans to hurt you. Thank god I intervened. But it’s not up to me to convince you. Let’s give Crystal her turn.” Van Meter regards me with a wry smile. “Feel free to get in a more comfortable position. I want you to tell Kathi the story about your chance meeting this afternoon.”

  “It was a chance meeting,” I say. A rush of warm wind blows through the open doors, scattering dried leaves across the rug.

  “Then maybe you can explain who was hiding in your car trunk.”

  I shake my head. “No one,” I insist.

  “Is every woman I know a compulsive liar?” He walks over and taps my head with his gun. “I’d hate to do anything to your pretty face. It’s the one part of you I like. Now, let’s tell Kathi the truth about today.”

  The words slip out before I can stop myself. “How about I tell her the truth about Rich?”

  Van Meter slaps my face. My ears ring like a tuning fork. A metallic taste coats my tongue.

  Mimi pushes herself up on her elbow. “I’ll kill you if you do that again.”

  “Shut up, maggot. You too, Kathi. Stop your crying.” He grabs his wine glass and drains it and then downs Kathi’s. “I’m sick of women. All of them. Scheming, nattering, useless women. They’re taking over my life.”

  “We’re sick of you too,” Mimi says.

  Van Meter gives her a swift kick in the side. She moans once and grows silent. He turns to me and lifts the butt of his gun above my head. “Another word on the Rich subject, and I’ll hurt you bad, understand? And then I’ll hurt your friend. Got it?”

  “Got it.” I wish him dead.

  “Good, because I can’t take much more of this. My patience is wearing thin. For reasons unknown you’ve fucked with me and destroyed my project, so it’s my turn to destroy you. To start with, tell Kathi the truth about your visit.” He strokes the side of my face with his gun.

  “Mimi was in the trunk of my car,” I say flatly, not looking Kathi’s way.

  “And she was there because . . . ?”

  “Because I could see Kathi was in trouble. Her car had been towed.”

  He knocks my head with the gun. “I said the truth.”

  “That is the truth.”

  “Why didn’t you want her to meet Mimi the maggot?”

  “Because . . . I don’t know.”

  “Let’s be honest. You thought she might recognize the two of you from the video footage.”

  “No.”

  “Well, I sure did. Are you listening, Kathi?”

  “Yes . . .”

  “Then stop your blubbering. Sit up and pay attention. Good. Now, go on, Crystal. What happened next?”

  “I drove Kathi home.”

  “And?”

  My voice sounds strangled. I can’t
help it. I think I might throw up. “She invited me inside.”

  “Did you happen to mention the maggot hiding in the trunk?”

  “No.”

  “And you let her out without Kathi knowing.”

  “It’s not like it sounds. It was too hot to leave her in there.”

  “Right. Did you hear that, Kathi? Because the next thing they planned to do was kill you.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “Just like they killed Rich.”

  “We didn’t kill him. You did.”

  “Shut up.” He presses the gun to my forehead. “Tell Kathi that you and the maggot are the women the police are looking for. You were there the night of Rich’s death. You held him on the tracks.”

  “Crystal?” Kathi asks, her red-rimmed eyes growing wide.

  My gaze moves from Kathi to Van Meter and back again. “It’s not true,” I say, thinking my truth is stranger than his fiction.

  “You killed Rich?” Kathi asks. “You lied and told me Rich was your mentor, when you actually hurt him instead?”

  “No, Kathi. You have to believe me. I didn’t . . . I wouldn’t . . .” But I did lie. I did hurt him. And I made every effort to hurt her too. My game used to be so clean. So pure. How had it come to this?

  “She was blackmailing Rich,” Van Meter says. “She found out about Mabel’s stolen money and knew he was hiding it in the safe deposit box. She demanded a payoff, or she’d rat him out to the feds. That’s why they were at the train tracks that night. She killed him. And tonight they came looking for the rest of the money. They planned to kill you too.”

  “That’s not true,” I cry. “You killed Rich. Mimi and I saw you. You took his money and threw him on the train tracks and ran away. We tried to save him.”

  Van Meter knocks my head again. There’s a hush in the air. A buzz in my ears. I may have peed in my pants.

  “Now, Kathi,” Van Meter says. “Think hard. If it didn’t happen like I said, what exactly were Crystal and Mimi doing there that night?”

  Kathi stares at me, waiting. I open and shut my mouth. And then I open my mouth again. But no words come out.