Emma was glad for Mickey’s company. It would have been more boring if she’d been by herself. He kept her entertained with stories of his detective days. And at a few minutes past one, still with no sign of movement from the house, Mickey opened an insulated tote bag and pulled out two tuna fish sandwiches and a bag of potato chips. He handed one of the sandwiches to Emma. “Betty packed these for us.”
“Oh, how nice of her.” Emma hadn’t planned beyond the donuts, but it was so thoughtful of Mickey’s wife.
They munched their sandwiches in comfortable silence. Just as they were finishing up, Emma caught a glimpse of movement at the house. The front door opened and a tall, heavyset man with thinning brown hair and a Red Sox sweatshirt and jeans walked toward a truck in the driveway. He moved quickly, easily and got into the truck and started the engine.
“That’s our guy. He’s on the move.”
Emma watched as his navy truck backed out of the driveway and headed down the street. He passed Emma’s car and didn’t even glance their way. Emma waited until he was down the road a way before pulling out and following him. She took care to keep at a safe distance.
They were in West Plymouth, in the newish Redbrook community. They drove out of Redbrook and followed the blue truck as it turned left on Long Pond Road. They drove along past Waverly Oaks and Crosswinds golf courses until they reached the Home Depot plaza.
Emma laughed as they turned into the parking lot. “Do you think he’s going to the hotel too?” It was the same place they’d been to a few days prior.
Mickey laughed too. “Wouldn’t that be something? I don’t think so, though.”
The truck did not turn left to go to the hotel, but kept going into the Home Depot parking lot and parked close to one of the entrances. They parked nearby, where they would have a good view of Mark returning to his vehicle. They watched him go into the store and waited. Twenty minutes later, he wheeled a cart to his truck that was loaded with gardening stuff. Huge bags of potting soil, a gardening shovel, and several bushes of some kind.
“How much do you think those big bags weigh?” Emma asked.
“At least forty pounds or so. A lot more than he says he can lift.”
They watched as he easily lifted everything from the cart and put it in the back of his truck. Emma caught it all on video from her cell phone. He got in the truck and Emma glanced at Mickey.
“Do we keep following him, or is this enough?”
“It’s probably enough, but let’s see what he does next.”
Emma followed the truck back to Redbrook and slowed way down so that he was way ahead. She assumed he was probably going home and didn’t want him to notice the same car still behind him. When he reached his house, she drove past it, circled around and came back behind and down a few houses but where they still had a view of the house.
“Well, will you look at that. He’s bringing everything outside by the front door. This should be interesting,” Mickey said.
“Hmm. I don’t think he’s supposed to be doing that,” Emma said.
Mark slammed a shovel into the ground, pulling up grass and dirt. He cleared a whole area. Then opened one of the bags of soil and dumped it on the ground. They watched as he planted all the bushes, bending and lifting, over and over. And then, he went into the garage and carried out several big rocks that he placed around the bushes.
Mickey shook his head. “Nothing wrong with that boy’s back.”
“So, what happens now?” Emma asked.
“We’ll turn in all of our video from today to the insurance company, and they will have a little chat with Mr. Thomas. I suspect he’ll be back on the job very soon—and he may have a sizable bill, to repay some of the monies he collected. I think we can head back to the office now. Looks like he’s done with his gardening project.”
Cindy turned when she heard the office door open and saw Emma and Mickey walk in.
“How did it go?”
“It was almost too easy,” Mickey said. “He made the mistake of going to Home Depot and then gardening. We got loads of video.” He and Emma both looked pleased.
Cindy smiled. “That’s great. I’ll email to let them know.”
“I’ll upload the video now.” Emma sat and opened her laptop.
“Well, I’m going to be on my way. Any word from Nancy’s mother? Are we focusing on that again tomorrow?” Mickey asked.
“I spoke with Belinda briefly, about an hour ago. She’s having a hard time with this, as you can imagine. We both thought it was a good idea to put things on hold for at least a week or two. To let the police start their investigation. Now that it’s a murder, it will get a higher priority. She still may want our help, if the police don’t get anywhere.”
Mickey nodded. “I saw in the paper this morning that her funeral is on Monday. Were you both planning to go to the wake? Might be a good idea for all of us to be there and to pay attention. Never know what we might notice.”
“I hadn’t even thought about going,” Emma said.
“Yes, I’m planning to go. Emma, you can ride with me or just meet us there. It’s at Cartmell’s, across from Christ Church. The wake is Sunday afternoon and the funeral service Monday morning. I don’t think we should go to the funeral, that’s usually just immediate family and close friends.”
“Just the wake is good,” Mickey confirmed.
“Oh, Belinda mentioned that Nancy’s boss, Justin Powell, insisted on paying for the funeral. Isn’t that nice? She said the whole office feels horrible and since Nancy worked such long hours there, he felt it was the least he could do.”
“He’s a generous guy from what I hear. Big spender, too. Buddy of mine keeps a small SeaRay at the marina, has had it there for years. We go fishing now and then. Anyway, he said Powell got a new, huge yacht this year. And he has more than one flashy sports car. I don’t know what they are but they’re both red and look expensive.”
“Belinda thinks pretty highly of him. He adored Nancy and paid her very well, she said.”
“Did she say if they have any suspects?” Mickey asked.
Cindy shook her head. “No. She said they don’t have any yet.”
Chapter 7
Emma met Matt and Dana for after-work drinks and dinner Friday night at Su Casa on Main Street. It was a few doors down from Sam Diego’s, the Tex-Mex restaurant that Emma had been going to forever. But Matt and Dana said she had to try this new place.
They sat outside in a very pretty covered area with twinkling lights. They all ordered margaritas, street corn, and a tuna appetizer to share. The street corn was grilled and slathered with a creamy cheese and spices and was insanely delicious. They all got different small tacos as well.
“Order whatever you like, but you have to get at least one fried avocado taco,” Matt said.
She did, and he was right. Once they were done eating, they ordered another round of Margaritas and Emma felt so relaxed, full, and happy.
“I’m really glad to be back,” she admitted.
Matt laughed. “Well, it’s about time. We all missed you. I hoped you’d come home sooner, but I know you had to give it your best shot. How are you feeling about that. Any regrets?”
“No. Not really. Would I have liked it to work out? Yes, absolutely. But so many people want to be actors. Very few actually make it. And to be honest, I didn’t love the lifestyle out there. I missed New England, missed you guys.”
“I know Mom is glad you’re back,” Matt said.
“Is it fun working together?” Dana asked.
Emma thought about it for a moment and grinned. “It is. It’s nice. We work together, but not really together. She talks to clients and manages the office, and Mickey and I are out in the field. Mickey’s great.” She filled them in on the surveillance work they’d done so far.
“That sounds interesting,” Dana said. She glanced at Matt. “You never wanted to be a part of that?”
Matt shook his head. “No, that was always Dad’s th
ing, and Emma’s. I always had the cars. It’s all good.”
“Any updates on that Nancy woman? I know it’s a murder case now. It’s been all over the news,” Dana said.
“No, not really. We’re kind of on hold with it now that the police are making it a priority. She may want us to start up again if they don’t get anywhere after a few weeks.”
“Do you really think you guys could help if the police can’t figure it out?” Matt asked. He looked doubtful, and Emma didn’t blame him.
“I honestly don’t know. Mom and I think it might be over our heads, but Mickey seems pretty keen on it and he’s the one with the experience, so it might be fun to at least try.”
“Are you sure it’s safe, though? Investigating a murder seems potentially a little more dangerous than the usual types of things you do,” Dana said.
Emma smiled. “I’m sure. We’re very careful.”
“Yeah, Mickey knows what he’s doing,” Matt said. “How’s the cottage? Are you all settled in?”
“Yes! I love it. I need to have you guys over soon. Maybe next weekend. If it’s nice out, we can have a cookout on Saturday or Sunday.”
“That would be fun. I haven’t been over to White Horse Beach in a while, and I’d love to see your place,” Dana said.
“Matt, that reminds me. Do you know Brady Smith? He was in my grade. I ran into him when I was coming home the other night. He lives next door. Said he bought his cottage a few years ago.”
Matt frowned. “Brady Smith? Yeah, I know him. I didn’t realize he owned the place next to you. If I did, I might have suggested you rent somewhere else.”
“Why? I haven’t seen him in years, but I always liked him in high school. We had some of the same friends.”
“Well, he’s not that bad personally, but he’s not someone I’d ever want my sister to date.”
“I wasn’t planning on dating him. But what did he do?”
Matt sighed. “He dated a good friend, Caroline, for a few years. Everyone thought they were on their way to getting engaged, and then one day he broke things off and moved out of town. I didn’t realize he was back.”
“Oh. Do you know what happened?”
“No idea. He never really gave Caroline a good reason. Just said he was sorry, but he couldn’t do it anymore and she knew why. But, she said, she had no idea why. She was pretty messed up about it for a while.”
“So, he left and came back. What does he do for work?”
“Some kind of consultant, software, I think. So he travels a lot. Just steer clear of him. I don’t need my baby sister getting her heart broken, okay?”
Emma laughed. “No need to worry about that. So, what else is new?”
Emma said goodbye to Matt and Dana a little after nine and headed home to White Horse Beach. The area was quiet and as she walked to her cottage, she glanced at Brady’s place next door. It was totally dark. He was either traveling or out for the evening. Emma yawned as she unlocked her door and stepped inside. She was ready to fall into bed.
The next day, after sleeping in until eight, she took a walk on the beach with her coffee and decided to go join the gym she used to belong to years ago. Plymouth Fitness was the nicest one in the area, with a pool and racquetball courts, every kind of machine under the sun and lots of classes.
She signed up and put her purse and towels in a locker before heading to one of the elliptical machines. She did thirty minutes on that before going downstairs to work a little with the free weights. She was on her last set of squats when she heard a familiar voice and looked up to see her friend Tess chatting with an older woman by one of the weight machines.
She hadn’t seen Tess in years. They’d been good friends in high school and through college, even though they went to different schools. They’d lost touch once Emma moved to L.A., but she’d wondered how Tess was doing and had been meaning to look her up. Tess looked her way and broke into a grin. She said goodbye to the woman she was talking to and walked over to Emma.
“Emma McCarthy! What are you doing here?”
“I moved home. I haven’t been back long. How are you? Are you still working here?” Tess was a personal trainer and, of course, was in fantastic shape. She was about 5’5” and had big blue eyes, wavy blonde hair and a trim, toned figure. She was full of energy and always upbeat.
“It’s so great to see you! Yes, I’m still working here. My business is going well. We need to catch up. I’ve been married and divorced!”
“Oh my gosh. We really do need to catch up. You married Tommy, right? Tommy Harrison?”
Tess nodded. “The one and only. I should have known better. But it’s over and it’s all good. I have a little girl. Hayley is three, and she’s a handful, but so cute. You have to meet her.”
“I’d love to. Where are you living?”
“I’m in White Horse Beach, the condos on the hill.” Emma knew the ones she meant. They were at the end of Taylor Avenue and were high on a hill, overlooking the beach.
“I’m right around the corner.” She told her about the cottage and her neighbor. “Remember Brady Smith?”
“Of course I remember, Brady. He’s a great guy. He has a membership here too. I think he’s part of the early bird crowd. The guys that come in before work.”
“My brother’s not a fan.” She told Tess what Matt had said about his friend Caroline.
“Hmm. Brady always seemed like a nice guy to me. You never really know what is going on with people’s relationships, though. Maybe Matt didn’t have the whole story.”
“Probably not. So, let’s definitely get together soon.” They put each other’s numbers in their phones and made a tentative plan to meet up the next morning for coffee at Emma’s. Emma was glad that she’d run into Tess. She really didn’t have any other friends in Plymouth, and she missed having girlfriends to do things with. She loved hanging out with her mother and her friends, but it wasn’t the same.
When Emma walked into her mother’s kitchen later that afternoon, Lee and Rachel were already there. Her mother was looking through her shoes in the front hall closet and finally found the ones she was looking for. They were all wearing black, and Emma asked if her mother’s friends knew Nancy or her mother.
“My company does a lot of business with the law firm, Nancy worked at,” Rachel said.
“Belinda goes to my church. I don’t know her well, but I can’t imagine what she’s going through. I wanted to show my support,” Lee said.
“Are we ready to go? I’ll drive,” Emma’s mother offered.
It took them about fifteen minutes to get to the funeral home, and Emma wasn’t surprised to see that there was already a long line of people waiting to pay their respects. They parked and joined the line. A few minutes later, Mickey and his wife, Betty, arrived and joined them in line. Mickey looked distinguished in his black suit with a lavender tie. His wife, Betty, had short curls the same white shade as Mickey. She wore an elegant black dress, and she came and chatted with them all as they waited.
Finally, they made their way inside and went through the receiving line where Belinda and several family members were standing. Belinda was smiling, but she looked numb and her eyes were red. They all told her how sorry they were and then went into the back of the room where people were talking softly and saying hello to people they hadn’t seen in a while.
“See that guy over there, in the dark gray suit, maroon tie? That’s Justin Powell, Nancy’s boss,” Mickey said.
Emma followed his gaze. Justin stood out. He was very tall, 6′ 3” or 6′ 4” she guessed. He looked to be around fifty with a thick head of black hair that was wavy and graying slightly at the temples, but he had it slicked back with gel. His suit was clearly expensive, as was his watch and shoes. Justin dressed to be noticed. And he obviously liked nice things.
The woman by his side was dressed expensively too. She wore a conservative navy dress, but her very high heels were the infamous Christian Louboutins with their signature r
ed soles. Her fire engine red purse was a Prada. And her diamond wedding ring was the biggest Emma had ever seen.
“Is that his…”
“Wife, yes. That’s Deidre Powell. I suppose you could call them one of Plymouth’s power couples, if Plymouth had such a thing,” Mickey scoffed at the thought. Plymouth was not a stuffy town at all.
“Who’s that?” Emma saw a woman who looked to be around forty who walked up to Justin and Deidre and had tears running down her face. Justin pulled her in for a hug while Deidre looked at the two of them coldly. After a moment, she walked outside. A man and woman walked over to the crying woman and Justin Powell and more hugs were exchanged. “Maybe they all work together?” she said.
Rachel overheard her and nodded. “That’s Sheila, the office manager. She was best friends with Nancy. I think the other two are attorneys in the office. They’re all broken up. Justin thought the world of her.”
“His wife didn’t look overly sad,” Emma said.
“No, I don’t imagine she would have. There are rumors that Justin has been unfaithful, and with all the time he spends in the office, I’ve heard he has had flings with some of his staff. If I’ve heard that, odds are Deidre has too. I don’t know why she puts up with it.”
“I can think of millions of reasons why,” Mickey said.
“Right, money. But you’d think she’d do very well if they divorced,” Rachel said.
“Unless there was a pre-nup?” Emma said.
“Good point,” Rachel agreed. “He is a lawyer after all, and he has a reputation as a very good one. He’s something of a celebrity lawyer—he has worked for some very famous people, in sports and politics.”
“Did you ever fill that temp job you mentioned?” Emma asked. A sudden idea came to her.
“I filled one of them, but I still need one more person to go in for two days next week. It’s just a short-term fill-in assignment for one of their secretaries.”
Emma glanced at her mother. “We have a slow week next week, I think you said?”
Plymouth Undercover Page 5
