Emma smiled. Her father had always loved to talk about his work. He was proud of what he did and he’d been good at it.
“Emma and I are still learning the ropes, we’re nowhere near Fred’s level of skill, but we do have Mickey’s experience and expertise to help guide us.”
“I know it’s not going to be the same, but I thought that maybe you could try. Like you said, you do have Mickey’s help.” Belinda glanced his way and he nodded.
“What can you share with us about what’s been done so far and where things sit with the investigation?” Mickey asked.
Belinda took a deep breath. “First of all, I know it doesn’t look good. It’s been too long now and what they have found, well, I just don’t know what to think.”
“Take your time and start at the beginning,” Mickey encouraged her.
“My daughter, Nancy, recently turned thirty-nine, and she was doing so well. She made partner earlier this year, and they loved her at her company. Everyone loved her. Nancy was always such a hard-worker and her best friend, Sheila, worked at the law firm too. She was the office manager. Nancy and Sheila had gone out for drinks and dinner after work, the night she went missing.”
“When did they discover she was missing?” Mickey asked.
“She didn’t go into work the next day. And when Sheila called Nancy’s cell phone and home phone, she didn’t answer and she didn’t call back. It wasn’t like Nancy at all. She was usually the first person in the office. Sheila called the police and when they went to the house, they saw that the garage door was unlocked and Nancy’s car was missing.” She paused for a moment and then her eyes grew damp and it was hard for her to speak again. Finally, she said, “They found pepper spray residue on the inside of the garage door. The police said they suspected that someone was waiting for her in the garage and surprised her when she got out of her car. She wasn’t dating anyone that I was aware of. She lived alone, and she always carried pepper spray with her.”
“I’m so sorry, Belinda,” Emma’s mother said. “Did they find the car?”
Belinda nodded. “Yes, they found it two days later, in the parking lot of an apartment complex a few streets over. They found one of Nancy’s earrings in the trunk. At first, they thought it was a robbery, but after a week, they admitted it was probably something else, possibly worse.” She looked around the room at the three of them and her voice broke. “I know she’s probably gone. I just want answers, to know what happened and to get justice for Nancy.”
“What kind of updates are the police giving you?” Mickey asked.
“I think they were very good, at first. They searched everywhere and talked to everyone at Nancy’s company. But everyone loved Nancy. They didn’t turn up anything at all. I’m not sure how hard they are still looking, at this point.”
“The longer someone is missing, the harder it is to find them,” Mickey said.
“Yes, they said that. It’s just so discouraging. I was hoping that maybe you all could help. Or at least try to help?”
Emma wanted to help, but worried that they wouldn’t be able to do anything more than the police had already done.
“Belinda, I’d really like to help. I just worry that we won’t be able to do better than what the police have already done,” Emma’s mother said.
“We could try, but she’s right, there are no guarantees,” Mickey added.
“I understand that. But, if you’re willing, I’d still like you to try. I can write you a check for a retainer for the first month. I’d like this to be a priority and I can pay you well. It’s worth it to me. I hope this will be sufficient.” She wrote out a check and handed it Emma’s mother, whose eyes widened at the amount.
“We’d be happy to try to help you, Belinda. Thank you for trusting us. We’ll get started on this today.”
Belinda stood and shook everyone’s hands as she said goodbye.
“Thank you. I’ll keep you posted if I hear anything further from the police as well.”
Once the door shut behind her, Emma got a look at the check and her jaw dropped. She showed it to Mickey, and he whistled softly. “She’s not fooling around.”
“So, where do we start with this, Mickey?” Emma asked.
“Pull up a chair and we’ll make our game plan.”
For the next few hours, Mickey walked her through the databases they used for skip-tracing cases. Emma had known that her father had access to various databases they could search to find information on people, but when she was younger, she was never allowed to actually run the searches as they were meant for licensed investigators only. She needed to actually work as an investigator for three years before she could get licensed. In the meantime, she would work under Mickey and his license was good for the whole office.
He walked her through how to use the three databases he and her father had liked to use most, Tracers, TLO, and IRB.
“Tracers is my favorite. But I like to use them all, so we don’t miss anything. It’s best for when someone goes on the run though, when they move leaving a pile of debt behind them and don’t want to be found. There’s always a trail. Eventually they surface with a new mailing address or phone number.”
“So, this probably isn’t going to help us find Nancy?” Emma said.
“Probably not. From all accounts, it doesn’t sound like she willingly went anywhere. But it will rule out her taking off. Sometimes people do just up and leave and start over somewhere else.”
Emma heard the whirring sound of the printer and a moment later her mother walked over and handed them a sheet of paper with names and phone numbers printed on it. “Belinda just emailed this over. It’s a list of everyone in Nancy’s life. Friends, co-workers, ex-boyfriends. She said the police have talked to all of them and didn’t turn up anything.” Before she walked back to her desk she added, “Oh, and the girls are coming over for drinks tonight, why don’t you join us, honey? They’d love to see you.”
“Sure, that sounds fun.” Emma turned her attention to Mickey. “So, what do we do with this?”
He grinned. “We start dialing and asking for meetings.”
“Will they talk to us if they’ve already talked to the police?”
“Some will. Some won’t. They don’t have to like they do with the police.”
Mickey divided up the list, which wasn’t all that long. He called Nancy’s boss, Justin Powell, and her co-worker and her best friend, Sheila, the office manager. He also had her neighbors on either side, the Richardsons and the Cunninghams.
Emma had Nancy’s two ex-boy friends, Ed and Tony. She listened to Mickey make his calls first. He had to leave messages for everyone at the law firm. No one took his call, but he got through to both of the neighbors and they both agreed to meet with him that afternoon.
Emma had to leave a message for Ed but Tony agreed to meet with them the following day.
After lunch, Mickey and Emma headed out to meet with Nancy’s neighbors.
“Do you think they might know something? Was she close to her neighbors?” Emma wondered out loud as she drove to the first house.
“Even if they didn’t know her well, they might have noticed if something was off with her normal routine, people coming and going. If someone was there in the garage when she got home, maybe someone noticed a strange car hanging around the neighborhood.”
But after spending close to an hour with the Richardsons and then the Cunninghams, they learned nothing that they didn’t already know. Both couples were older and didn’t know Nancy all that well.
“She’s a lovely girl, but we almost never saw her. She works such long hours at that job of hers. Or she used to,” Joyce Richardson said. “Do you think something awful has happened to her? That poor girl.” She squeezed her husband’s hand tight and looked close to tears.
“We don’t know much of anything yet. That’s why her mother hired us. She’s anxious to find her daughter, to find answers to what happened,” Mickey said.
Joyce nod
ded. “I wish I could be more helpful. I hope you find her.”
Their visit with the Cunninghams went similarly. They also thought Nancy was a lovely girl, but rarely saw her. And didn’t notice anything that evening.
When they left, Emma was discouraged, but Mickey wasn’t. “I didn’t think we’d learn much from them. But, you never know. It’s the people that were really close to her that might have some answers. Or can at least point us in the right direction.”
Emma turned on the radio as they drove back to the office. She hoped that they’d have better luck the next day when they met with Nancy’s ex-boyfriends. Mickey was on the phone telling his wife, Betty, that he’d be happy to pick up some milk for her at the store and that he was looking forward to her chicken pot pies for supper, when the news came on the radio.
“This is breaking news. The body of missing Plymouth woman, Nancy Eldridge has been found, washed up on the shore where Eel River meets Plymouth Harbor. No further information is available at this time.”
Chapter 5
Cindy stopped by Wood’s Seafood when she left the office and picked up a pound of cooked cocktail shrimp and homemade cocktail sauce. She also picked up some cheese and crackers at The Market when she reached the Pinehills. The Market was the neighborhood store that had a bit of everything, including a very nice cheese section. She grabbed a few bottles of wine at the connected liquor store as well.
The girls were coming at six-thirty and it didn’t take long for her to get ready for them. She opened a bottle of red wine, dumped the shrimp on a platter and the cocktail sauce in a small dish. And she made a cheese tray with the various cheeses and crackers. At six twenty-eight, she poured herself a glass of cabernet and took a sip.
Everyone arrived within a few minutes of each other. Lee brought chips and salsa, and Rachel brought a big bowl of homemade guacamole. Emma came rushing in with a bottle of chardonnay and a container of Marcona almonds tossed in olive oil and salt from The Market.
They gathered in the kitchen around the island and set all the food in the center. Cindy poured wine for everyone except Lee, who brought her favorite vodka and soda. Lee and Rachel fussed over Emma, giving her hugs and catching up before they all settled onto chairs around the island and dove into the snacks.
“Did you hear they found that missing girl?” Lee said as she dipped a chip into the guacamole.
“I heard that on the news earlier, so sad,” Rachel said.
“We actually just started working on her case today,” Cindy said. “Her mother met with us at the office. She was frustrated that the police hadn’t found her yet.”
“What does that mean for your case now?” Lee asked. “Will she still want you to investigate? I mean, the police will be all over it now, I would think?”
“I’ll call her first thing in the morning, to offer our condolences and of course tell her we’d be happy to let the police take over.”
“Mom was hesitant to take her case, as it was,” Emma added.
“I was. I had a bad feeling that it might end up like this, and I’m not sure we should be involved. The police can handle it.”
“We do a lot of work with the law firm she worked at,” Rachel said. “They actually just called us right before I was about to walk out the door. They need another temp to start this Friday. Someone went out on maternity leave earlier than expected.”
“What kind of work?” Emma asked.
“Secretarial, typing, filing, answering phones. Do you know anyone?”
Emma laughed. “No. I don’t know a soul anymore around here.”
Cindy smiled. “If she didn’t already have a job, Emma could do that with her eyes closed. You worked in a few law firms in L.A., didn’t you, honey?”
“I did. I did a lot of temping when I was in between acting work, which was most of the time. My typing speed is pretty good!”
“Well, if you ever want to temp, let me know. We can put you to work right away.” Rachel laughed. “How are you liking it at the agency?”
Emma’s face lit up. “I’m really liking it. I always liked helping my dad out when I was younger, but it’s more fun to actually do the job.” She told them about the surveillance job she’d done with Mickey and the cheating husband they’d followed.
“Wow, two different women in one day. That’s crazy,” Lee said.
“How did the wife take it?” Rachel asked.
Cindy sighed. “That’s one part of the job I don’t care for. Even though she suspected what was going on, she still broke down and cried when I talked with her on the phone and told her what we’d learned. I’m sure she was hoping we wouldn’t find anything.”
“What is she going to do about it?” Lee asked.
“I think she’s going to file for divorce. She said it’s just too much to forgive. She could never trust him again.”
“No. How could you?” Rachel agreed.
“I can’t imagine,” Emma said.
They chatted and laughed for another two hours. The time flew by. Emma told stories of her time in L.A. and had them all laughing. Cindy sighed with happiness. It was really a perfect night with her girlfriends and her daughter. She was so happy that Emma was back in Plymouth, and she hoped it would work out and that she’d stay.
Emma left her mother’s house a little after nine. She was full and yawning as she pulled onto Taylor Avenue. Parking was at a premium with the houses like Emma’s on the sand, as there was no normal driveway. But she did have access to a parking spot, right off Taylor Avenue and just a short walk to her cottage.
This time of year, many of the cottages were empty as they were only used during the summer months and not winterized. Emma had never felt unsafe in the area, but it was a bit deserted and so when she saw a dark figure walking near her cottage, she stopped short for a moment.
But when the person took another step, and she saw his face in the moonlight, she recognized him. She also realized he was heading to the cottage next to hers.
“Brady? Is that you?”
He stopped short, turned around and broke into a grin when he saw her.
“Emma? What are you doing here? You back in town visiting the family?”
“Back in town to stay for a while. I just moved into this cottage a few days ago.”
He looked surprised. “Helen’s place?”
She nodded. “She said she got tired of weekly rentals.”
“I heard about your dad. I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks. He and Helen were friends. So, that’s how I ended up here. What about you? Are you living down here too?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I bought this cottage a few years ago. Got a good deal on it right after a big storm washed the deck away. Been here ever since. We’ll have to catch up soon over few beers. I’d invite you over tonight, but you look like you’re just coming home.”
Emma smiled. “I’d love to catch up another time, definitely. I was just at my mom’s and I’m about ready to fall into bed.”
“Well, sleep tight, Emma. If you ever need anything, just give me a holler.”
“I’ll do that. Goodnight, Brady.”
Emma let herself in and locked the door behind her. She was pleasantly surprised to discover that her neighbor was Brady Smith. They’d graduated high school together and ran in the same circle of friends. She’d always liked Brady. He was a nice guy, and she’d always found him attractive too with his green eyes and wavy dark blond hair. They’d never been single at the same time, so dating had never really crossed her mind, though. She was sure he was probably dating someone now, anyway. Brady had never been single for long.
She was glad to have a neighbor nearby that she knew. It would be fun to catch up with him, though it wouldn’t be over a beer as he’d suggested. Her beer drinking days ended when she discovered wine in college. She smiled as she drifted off to sleep, picturing the two of them relaxing on her deck, watching the sunset and filling each other in on what they’d been up to since they’d last seen
each other, at least five years ago.
Chapter 6
“I might as well have one of those donuts you brought,” Mickey said. It was the next day, a little after eleven and Emma and Mickey were sitting in a different neighborhood, parked on the side of the road, waiting for their subject to leave his house and go somewhere. Emma handed Mickey the paper bag of donuts.
Mickey fished out a jelly donut and handed it back to her. “You’re not going to join me? There’s a lemon one in there and a chocolate one, too. Both excellent choices.”
Emma sighed. She’d gone for a walk that morning and had a yogurt with her coffee. She thought she’d be able to resist. She’d brought them just because she knew Mickey loved them. Though lemon-filled was her favorite, so who was she kidding? She reached for it and Mickey grinned.
They’d been sitting there for over an hour and it was getting boring. The donuts helped.
“What if this guy never leaves his house today? Could be a long day,” Emma said after she took a big bite. The donut was delicious.
“He’ll probably go somewhere. They almost always do. Who wants to stay home all day?”
Their subject was Mark Thomas, aged thirty-two. He was a union sheet-metal worker and had been on a big construction site, a new office building in South Boston. He’d been injured on the job and had been out on workman’s comp insurance for over six months. Supposedly his back was too injured to return to work. He claimed that he couldn’t lift anything and could barely move. Most people recovered more quickly from an injury like his, so the insurance company wanted to confirm that he was as injured as he claimed.
“Is it common that people lie about this?” Emma asked.
Mickey chuckled. “More common than you might think. About half of these cases show that the person isn’t as injured as they claim. We’ll see about Mr. Thomas.”
Plymouth Undercover Page 4
