by Rich Foster
Julia took him savagely as though to consummate the deal lest he change his mind. Harry knew he should feel some sense of remorse in that he knew his check was no good, but lust or the suspicion that Julia was using him as much as he was using her led him onward and upward.
After the first round of passion was spent, Harry began to lightly kiss her neck as his hand caressed her face. He wanted to stop but Julia lay back her arms spread surrendering to his affections. His kisses began a slow descent curving down between her perfectly tanned breast. He took the whole breast in his hand and massaged it as he kissed her other nipple. He found a rising disgust at what he expected to see, mixing with unavoidable desire. Julia purred with contentment. Harry moved his hands down between her legs and fondled her gently as his lips followed south planting his kisses. He wanted to stop but his need to know forced him downward. He lightly kissed Julia's well sculpted abdomen and then stopped having found what he knew would be there. Julia's skin was taut and softly curved, the color of cinnamon, yet two small white scars that refused to tan showed just above her belly button. Harry sat up having lost all desire for her.
"What's wrong, babe?"
Harry stood up. Without speaking he dressed. Julia persisted in asking what was the matter.
"Don't cash the checks, either of them!"
"Which checks?"
"Mine or UBI's. My check is no good, in fact I already cancelled payment..."
Julia let out a shriek, threw a pillow at him, and then came at him ready to make a feline claw of his face. He caught her wrists and let her struggle, unable to free herself.
"You used me you bastard! I'll tell the cops you raped me!"
"I doubt I could ever be convicted of raping Julia Stockman."
Harry let her arms go. When she took a swing at him he put his arm out in a harder than necessary jabbed to her chest which knocked the air out of her as she went sprawling spread eagle across the bed.
"As for the UBI check..." But before he finished Julia interrupted.
"You mean they sent the check?" Quickly she was up on all fours, the mattress gently bounced under her excitement, and she resembled a dog seeking a treat. Her eyes burned with greed. "I guess I don't need you then," she snarled. "You really are a bastard. That was the dirtiest trick to get a fuck I've ever known!"
Harry smiled. "Not that you aren't a great lay, but this roll in the hay was detective work, not sex. When you get the check from UBI do not sign it or you're going to jail for fraud."
When Harry turned to leave, her mouth hung open absolutely at a loss for words.
*
Harry left the Ravens Croft sub-division for the last time. He glanced at the Holiday Inn where it all began two months before. He recalled the first time he watched Julia through his telescope and found it surprising how easily desire could become distaste.
Despite the love making, if that's what one could call it, it was still shy of two in the afternoon, still plenty of time to call the East Coast. Harry pulled to the shoulder and dialed the number for UBI's main office. Respecting Crystal Rosen's wishes he did not ask for her but asked for the head of the claims department. There was a bit of delay reaching the man but what Harry offered brought him to the surface and ready to bite.
"Fax me the agreement and I will provide you what you need, Mr. Shrop," Harvey said.
"You are sure?" he asked desperate to believe and afraid not too.
"You have nothing to lose and a lot to save."
"I will have it off to you in ten minutes."
"Fine, but I won't be back to the office until tomorrow. I will contact you then."
"I look forward to it, Mr. Grim."
The drive home went smoothly, in fact Harry remembered almost nothing of it, driving by muscle memory as he thought about things. In town he turned left and swung past the Sheriff's office but Gaines was gone for the day. Harry thought about putting the visit off, but he resisted the urge, he drove to the Gaines' house.
The sheriff lived in a modest ranch home tucked up in the hills behind the Greenbriar Tract. The lots were a half-acre and once wooded with pines. A forest fire a few years before wiped out much of the older growth but some majestic trees survived and saplings were coming back. The house offered a lovely view of the town and the lake.
Harry pulled in the gravel drive. Gaines was mowing the patch of lawn in front of the house. He shut the mower off, wiped his brow, and with mild displeasure asked, "Couldn't this wait, whatever this is?" he stressed the later part.
"It could but I think you'll be interested."
Gaines shook his head, "I've seen that cocksure grin of yours before Harry and it always meant trouble."
"Jillian Donatello wasn't murdered!"
"Bull! What? Do you think she committed suicide?" Gaines asked contemptuously.
"No, she never died."
Gaines started to speak, then stopped. He knew Harry never said a thing he couldn't back up, it was a trait more than one person learned about, to their own regret. Finally, he spoke, "Okay I'll bite, who died?"
"Julia Stockman. The hitters killed the wrong woman!"
Again the sheriff's mouth began to move, then paused, "Let's go inside and get a beer."
Harry had only been in the house once and that was several months back after the funeral for the sheriff's wife of forty-some years. She died when a logging truck careened out of control and crushed her car against a granite embankment.
The kitchen was neat and tidy. The lone cup, plate, and single place setting in the dish drainer spoke volumes. Gaines pulled a couple Budweiser's from a fridge that was as neat as the kitchen and Spartan in its contents. The two men sat down at the well worn table were the Gaines family shared years of meals.
It must be lonely, Harry thought. A picture of Paula flashed in his mind and he knew it was.
The beer cans hissed as they pulled the tabs. Harry sucked off the foam that rose up, followed by a long swig.
"Vito Donatello made a pass at Salvador Montoya's daughter while he was a guest at their ranch. Whether there was anything between them, people disagree, but the daughter claimed it was lies. Salvador was unconvinced and repaid the insult to his families honor by putting a contract out on Donatello's wife. A direct hit on Vito might have started a war, but killing his wife sent a message Vito would never forget,. However, there was little he could do about it without getting into serious trouble with his own people."
"You know this for a fact?"
"Most of it. Miguel Flores who tried to kill me most likely took out Mrs. Montoya. Salvador suspects as much and asked me down to Cabo San Lucas to both thank me and to see if I held any confirmation. I suspect that if I confirmed his suspicions, Vito would already be dead rather than living on the shores of Red Lake."
"But you said Julia Stockman died?"
"The Mexican shooters lacked the same knowledge I lacked, neither of us knew that Jillian and Julia were twins. They probably had a photo and when they saw Julia they didn't ask for ID, they just shot her up on smack. Given more time, they would have found the sister hiding in the bathroom, but Frankie Goth broke up the party."
Gaines was puzzled. He tried to wash down his confusion with the beer but it remained. "So why did everyone lie about it being Jillian?"
"They didn't," Harry's grim was smug. "Jillian lied, Frankie Goth and Vito Donatello both thought it was really her. If the truth had come out, Frankie probably wouldn't have died in the desert."
"You mean to tell me she traded places with her sister and nobody noticed?"
"Harvey Stockman did, or at least he noticed she was different. I suspect that Jillian found the thought of sex with him repulsive. It must have been an interesting dance watching her try to avoid his advances. That is why he came to me, he suspected her of having an affair."
"But how did she do it? And of more interest how did you figure it out?"
"Several things troubled me. The Julia I knew was at odds with how Harvey Stockman
described his wife. Also I found she was a liar, once I realized that, I watched for more lies. Secondly, Vito Donatello's interest in his sister-in-law was puzzling. Why should he want to marry his dead wife's sister unless they planned the killing because they had an on going affair or a broader plan to get the insurance money after killing Harvey, too. But, according to Stockman, Julia didn't change until after her sister's death and the wife Harvey described would not go for the likes of Donatello. It was only after I saw the crime scene photos and realized the women were twins that I understood the attraction for Vito. He's a venal and carnal man, so long as she looked and fucked like Jillian he wouldn't care. "
A thought came to Gaines and he burst out laughing. "I'm imagining Donatello trying to seduce his own wife! If he knew that he'd be furious!"
"Murderously so," Harry added, "that's why I think we should keep this to ourselves for now."
"I'll agree to that. But why did he order a hit on you?"
"Vito saw pictures of me having lunch with the object of his desire. He obviously assumed the worst."
A snicker came from Gaines. Harry merely shrugged, innocently.
"The Mexicans never knew they missed their target. When Frankie Goth took off to chase them down the lake Jillian saw an opportunity. Maybe she was tired of Donatello but I doubt that, I think the girl is hard wired for fast times and easy money. She is also sharp. I imagine it was clear to her who the real target was and it scared her to death. Remember, the two women were extremely different. If you look at the crime scene photos you can see it. Jillian when passing herself off as her sister is wearing a one piece swimsuit that could never pass as flattering. The victim on the other hand wore a bikini cut so low that she would almost need depilation. Another difference in the photos is that the woman in the bikini is pale and the surviving sister is well tanned, however I think the belly button ring probably distracted people from thinking about this fact."
Gaines rub his face. "You really know how to make me look stupid, don't you, Harry?"
"I'm only trying to help."
Gaines laughed. "Sure, or maybe you just want my job."
It was Harry's turn to guffaw.
"Jillian was afraid the killers would be back once they learned they missed. While Goth was shooting it out on the lake, Jillian took her sister's swimsuit off and dressed her in her own bikini."
"That's pretty cold blooded."
"Fear is a significant motivator and she was terrified."
"So they both had belly button rings? Wasn't that sort lucky?"
"They didn't. Julia was dead, dead people don't bleed. Jillian took a needle and pierced the skin above her sister's navel, then put her jewelry on the body. By the time Frankie Goth got back, the stage was set, and though Jillian is a terrific actor, it probably didn't take a lot of emoting to become hysterical"
They stopped to drink beer.
"But how do you know this for sure?"
"Because the woman pretending to be Julia has two small scars from where the abdominal skin was once pierced."
Gaines smiled. "And you learned this through diligent investigation?"
"Absolutely!"
"I guess this answers why Donatello had cause to be jealous. Maybe more so if he ever learns the truth."
"I'm counting on it."
The comment puzzled Gaines but before he could ask the conversation moved on and he would not recall Grim's words until some weeks later.
"Frankie saw what he expected, Vito did the same, besides a body at the morgue has a way of looking peculiar anyway."
To this Gaines nodded in agreement. "So who killed Stockman?"
"I believe it was Proust. He worked the docks in Miami and I think he happened to recognize Grayson Voight, the man who put his brother and pals in prison, boarding the Sterling Princess. That's why he flew to Grand Cayman and joined the cruise. Of course Jillian may still be in the running, she was talking divorce but Harvey Stockman was up to his neck in debt, so where's the percentage even with community property laws? However, she may have decided to go for the brass ring of two million in life insurance money and did him in before Proust had the chance. That would explain why Proust was tight lipped when I called."
"Maybe I should have the Beaumont Police Department bring her in."
"That's a bit of a problem, what about Stockman's extra passport? Her lawyer would argue it tends to indicate he was planning to take off and attempting to implicate his wife in the process. A good lawyer would have her off before the trial began."
"If he did take off why frame her?"
"Perhaps he figured out that she wasn't Julia, or maybe he no longer liked the woman he believed to be his wife and didn't want her to get the two million when he was gone. We'll never know."
"He could be alive if he got away before either one got to him."
"In that case I think Proust would have shown more curiosity, there was no reason for him to think the guy's wife was plotting to do him in, so when I called he would have hoped I knew something."
Gaines scratched his head. "It doesn't seem right she should get off Scott free. I could charge her with filing a false police report."
"Please don't, when Donatello hears the facts it might result in a couple new murders, one of which I have a personal desire to avoid."
"Well I can't sit on this forever, Harry."
"Give me a couple weeks. I have an idea how to clear up the loose ends."
"What sort of lose ends?"
"First of all, how to stop the DEA boys from putting me in prison on a narcotics charge.
*
Harry ate dinner at Maries. Then he hung out at the bar until Barton called to say he had set down at the airstrip, something that would not have been possible until the year before when the Canaan County Airport Authority finally funded landing lights.
"I came up cold." he said to Harry when he climbed into the cab.
The night was warm and the windows were down. Harry was playing a Billie Holiday CD. When they reached the highway, he turned north on Route 12 rather than going back toward town.
"Where we going, Harry?"
"I may have an answer to your dead end."
Barton was puzzled by the comment, but waited for the explanation. As they drove Harry gave Dirk the five minute synopsis. He burst out laughing when he heard about Donatello unknowingly hustling his own wife.
"Man that's just like half the men in America, they're all trying to get into their wife's panties and not succeeding."
Glancing over Harry could only see Barton's faint silhouette and gleaming white teeth grinning in the dark.
"Here's the thing, earlier today Julia AKA Jillian told me she asked Donatello for financial help. He flat out refused. In fact, he didn't even suggest a 'you be nice to me and I'll be nice to you' sort of proposition. Now knowing the girls were twins it's easy to see his motivation to score with Julia, but what would cause him to turn off?"
"He has a new squeeze!"
"And I'll bet her name is Carmen Montoya."
Barton gave a long low whistle, "If Salvador learns of this you'll have a war up here, so much blood is gonna flow that the lake will live up to its name."
"I have a plan for that, but first we need to discover if she is here."
When they reached Donatello's house there were lights in the windows, but the blinds were drawn, there was nothing to do but come back the next day.
Chapter Nineteen
Vito Donatello was having the time of his life.
When he received a call from Carmen Montoya saying she was running away and wanted to come to him he could hardly believe his good fortune. Hell, she was less than half his age and hot. He found he wanted her more than all the easy lays he could get in Las Vegas. To his mind Carmen had class, the fact that she came with a death warrant he chose to ignore. Before her arrival he found a believable reason for his men to go back to Nevada. Nobody argued, they thought Red Lake was the far side of the moon.
&
nbsp; As a result, for the next week Carmen and he wallowed in sex. She was a girl of peculiar tastes and amazing talents, doing things he hardly expected she could learn attending an all girl Catholic school. The rest of their time they swam, motored about in a launch he bought, and went out to eat, publicly showing more restraint than they practiced at home. It was only when he ran out of Viagra tablets and was forced to see a local doctor in order to obtain a new prescription that he found time to think. Unable to get an appointment until the next day he had twenty-four hours to worry about the ramifications of taking up with Carmen.
At first he thought he might pass her off as his maid when his men returned but this seemed sure to fail, tongues would wag and soon rumors abound. Even if he had notified Montoya when she first called, he realized he would still be dead because her father would know she lied about what actually happened between them at the ranch.
The more he brooded the more he realized it would also cause problems for him in Las Vegas. Despite his high opinion of himself, he was not foolish enough to believe his associates would sanction a hit on their major supplier just so he could get away with banging the guy's daughter. This was followed by a small but growing concern that Mr. Marcelli would not take it well no matter what happened. His actions could only rock the boat and one thing he knew for certain was that his boss hated uncertainty.
The more he thought about his predicament the greater grew his concern so much so that for the first time in weeks he wasn't thinking about getting laid. It seemed inevitable that two powerful people might want him dead, men with unlimited money, and the means to find him even if Carmen and he tried to disappear.
He concluded that he would never be safe until he killed her father. He easily remembered the rage in Montoya's eyes when he first suspected him of approaching his angelic angel, something Vito knew she certainly was not. There would be no bargaining, no mercy. Vito also knew the odds of him killing Montoya were low and the chance of getting away with it less than zero.
While he waited in the doctor's office he gradually came to a realization, the answer to his predicament was to make Mr. Marcelli take care of it. About that time the nurse called his name and Vito's mind soon dropped the subject and focused on what he wanted to do as soon as he could drive to the pharmacy and get back home.
