Mickey followed close behind.
“It might not mean anything,” Emma said.
“That’s true. They could just be going to lunch. Maybe they’re discussing a case or something.”
They followed them onto the highway and drove two exits south in Plymouth and exited onto Long Pond drive. They took a right at the lights into the Home Depot plaza.
“Maybe they’re having lunch at the 99 Restaurant,” Emma guessed.
But instead of turning right to go to the 99, Justin turned left towards Home Depot.
Mickey chuckled. “Something tells me they’re not going shopping for new fixtures.” Sure enough, Justin took another left and pulled into the parking lot for the Hilton Garden hotel.
“This looks familiar,” Emma said. It was the same hotel they’d ended up at on an earlier suspected cheater case.
“A convenient location for a mid-day rendezvous,” Mickey confirmed.
They watched as Justin parked and a moment later, Ashley got out of the car and walked into the hotel alone.
“That’s weird. Why isn’t Justin going with her?” Emma asked.
“They’re being careful. He’s more well-known than she is. She’s getting the room or maybe he already reserved one and she’s checking in. Then she’ll go to her room and text him. In less than five minutes he’ll be heading in, you wait and see.”
Mickey rustled around in his bag and pulled out two brownies and handed one to Emma. “Betty sent these too. She said they’re healthy brownies made with black beans or something. I was skeptical, but they’re pretty darned good.”
Emma glanced at the brownie. It looked like a normal fudgy brownie. “Black beans? Really?”
“That’s what she said. Tastes the same to me.”
Emma took a bite and had to agree. “Well, I guess I approve of these healthy brownies then.”
“Look, he’s on the move.”
Justin got out of the car, looked around, and then headed into the hotel.
“So, now we just wait, right?” Emma said.
“Yep. We probably have time if you feel like running and getting us a couple of coffees, my treat?” he suggested.
Emma laughed. “I’ll go get them, but you don’t need to treat. You just gave me lunch.”
“Well, I didn’t want to be rude and just ask you to go get them.”
“I don’t mind. I’ll be right back.” Emma walked across the parking lot to the convenience store at the gas station where there was a Dunkin’ Donuts inside. She returned a few minutes later with two hot coffees and sugar packets. Mickey liked his with plenty of cream and sugar. Emma preferred hers black, but sometimes in the afternoon, she slipped in a little sugar. She stirred a bit into hers and inhaled deeply before taking a sip. Something about the smell of a Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. It almost smelled better than it tasted.
They chatted and sipped their coffees, and about forty-five minutes later, Justin and Ashley walked out of the hotel together. Emma thought they’d just get into his car, but Justin was apparently feeling daring. He looked in both directions, glancing right over their car, and seemed to think no one was watching. He pulled Ashley in for a passionate kiss before she pushed him away and looked around nervously. They both climbed into his car and drove off. Emma got plenty of shots.
“So, where to now? Do we follow them back to the law office?” she asked.
Mickey shook his head. “No, we got everything we need. Ashley is most definitely being unfaithful to her husband. And among other potential shenanigans, we know that Justin isn’t going to win any husband of the year awards, either.”
Chapter 21
Cindy looked forward to her date with Rich all week. It had been a long time since she’d felt that kind of anticipation, the thrill of seeing a new crush. They decided to have an early dinner at Mallebar Brasserie, Plymouth’s only French restaurant, which was at the beginning of Main Street. Cindy had been there once with Lee and Rachel when it first opened and they’d all loved it. The menu was very French, with rich cream sauces and elegant cocktails. Cindy looked forward to having the lobster bisque again. It was the best she’d ever had with a whole lightly fried lobster tail in the thick, sherry-laced cream.
After dinner, they walked up and down Main Street, popping into several art shops and galleries that were having an ‘art crawl’ open house kind of thing. There was a good crowd of people strolling along Main Street, and Cindy even found a small painting that she bought to hang in the office.
They decided to stop for an after dinner coffee at Keegan’s Kreations, a pastry shop on Main Street. They walked a few yards to the Town Hall square and sat on a bench there, and people watched as they sipped their coffee.
They hadn’t discussed the case at all over dinner. Which was nice, as it gave Cindy a chance to learn more about Rich. He’d told her his golf game was improving and asked if she’d had a chance to actually get on the course and play a round yet.
“Not yet. But Lee has us booked for a tee time on Sunday. I’m looking forward to it, but am a little nervous too.”
“You’ll be fine. It’s a beautiful course at the Pinehills. You’ll love it.”
Finally, while they were sitting there and there was a lull in conversation, Cindy gave in to her curiosity and asked about the case.
“Any updates on Nancy’s case? Or on the law firm investigation?”
Rich shook his head. “No. It’s a bit frustrating. I haven’t heard anything from the FBI, just that they are still looking into things. And truthfully, we’re no further ahead on Nancy’s investigation either. None of our leads have really panned out. We have ruled out Owen and Sheila’s husband.
And it looks like Brady’s story checks out. He did fly out of town the afternoon that Nancy died. So, we’re kind of back to square one, unless something turns up with the law firm, but that seems like it may be unrelated. It’s a little discouraging.”
Cindy nodded. “I don’t know if this helps any, but Justin Powell is certainly guilty of cheating. We have been working on an infidelity case and the husband of one of the attorneys there thought she was having an affair and asked us to look into it. He was correct. It turned out the person she was having the affair with was her boss, Justin Powell. He gets around.”
Rich chuckled. “That’s interesting. But probably unrelated.”
“I agree. But, that’s all we have, too. We’re continuing to dig though and see what else we can come up with.”
“You know, there’s always the possibility that it was a random killing. That Nancy didn’t know her killer.”
Cindy frowned. “Do you think that’s likely? I thought victims almost always knew their killers?”
“They do, usually. But not always. Sometimes bad things just happen for no apparent reason.”
It was a chilling thought and Cindy found herself shivering even though it wasn’t cold out. It was more reassuring to think Nancy knew her killer instead of it being a stranger. Because if it was random, that meant anyone could be in danger if this person wasn’t found. And Cindy had always thought of Plymouth as such a safe place to live.
“If it is unrelated, a random killing as you say, that means it will be harder to solve?” Cindy asked.
“More challenging,” Rich confirmed. “But, not impossible. Mistakes are always made. We just need to find them. And we will.”
Chapter 22
“Emma, I have a hankering for peppermint stick ice cream. Want to take a ride with me to Gellar’s?” It was hard to say no to Mickey.
Emma drove by Gellar’s every day on her way home. It was where she turned left off of Route 3A to reach Taylor Avenue and the beach. But she hadn’t stopped there for ice cream since she’d been back. Gellar’s sold everything she usually tried to avoid—ice cream, hot dogs, burgers, and fried seafood.
But she was feeling a little stir crazy after being on the computer all morning as she and Mickey worked on a new skip-tracing case. It was a beautiful day, an
d she’d only had a salad for lunch, so she agreed to go.
Mickey drove his convertible and when they reached Gellar’s, there was a short line of children and parents waiting to order. They took their place and didn’t have to wait too long. Mickey got a cone with peppermint stick ice cream, and Emma splurged on a small hot fudge sundae with whipped cream and nuts. They ate at a small picnic table. Emma had her phone next to her and when they were almost done eating, a text message came through from Tess.
Nice article in today’s Patriot Ledger. Great picture of you all.
Emma had no idea what she was talking about.
“Mickey, do you know anything about an article in the paper on us?”
He shook his head. “Nope. We can stop and pick up a paper on the way back to the office though.”
When they left Gellar’s, Mickey drove across the street to the Seven Eleven convenience store and Emma ran in and bought a paper. While Mickey drove back to the office, she flipped through the paper until she found the article Tess was taking about. It wasn’t an article so much as a press release. And since Mickey knew nothing about it, she figured her mother must have sent it in. She wasn’t in the office, so Emma called her.
“Hi, honey. I only have a minute or two before my class starts. What’s going on?”
“Did you send a press release into the paper? There’s something on us in this week’s Patriot Ledger, with a picture and everything.”
“Really? I sent that in to them so long ago. I didn’t think they were going to run it. Remember when we first visited the office and met with Mickey—before you moved back? Betty was there and snapped the picture of the three of us.”
Emma did remember.
“I didn’t realize you sent anything in to the paper.”
“I did it before you were even back, honey. Just as an announcement, to try to get the word out. Does it look nice?”
Emma laughed. “It does. But, it kind of blows my cover. I ran into Sheila the other day as Mickey and I left the office. I told her I just started working here. She seemed to believe me. But, if she sees this… I guess it doesn’t really matter.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it, honey. I have to run. See you in the morning.”
Emma supposed it was good public relations for the agency, but it made her a little uneasy. When they got back to the office, she looked up both Sheila and her new boyfriend in Tracers, their database, to see if either of them had any kind of criminal record.
Mickey raised his eyebrows when he walked by her computer and saw what she was doing.
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about. They probably don’t even read that paper,” Mickey said.
“Probably not,” Emma agreed. She never read it. It was a local paper, and she hadn’t bought an actual print paper in years. She just read her news online, often after seeing a headline on Facebook, and she had a daily recap of breaking news emailed to her.
Mickey was curious, though, to see what she found. “So, any priors for either of them?”
Emma looked up Sheila first and there was nothing there. She was squeaky clean. Her boyfriend, George, though, was a different story.
“Hmmm. This is interesting. There’s nothing on Sheila, but I didn’t expect that there would be. Her boyfriend though—Well I wonder if she knows about his background?”
“Yeah? How bad is it?”
“Two charges of aggravated assault. Looks like he used to work as a bouncer and took the job a little too seriously. Maybe not as bad as it seems.”
“Recently?” Mickey asked.
“No, it was almost ten years ago.”
“Is he still a bouncer?”
“No, looks like he drives a delivery truck for a local food supply business.”
“So, maybe he settled down, now that he’s a little older,” Mickey said. “Doesn’t sound like we have to worry about those two.”
Emma sighed. “No, you’re probably right. If anyone at the law firm is involved in Nancy’s death, it’s probably Justin—if he really is running some kind of illegal scheme. Sheila is just the office manager, so she might not even know the extent of it.”
Mickey nodded. “Right, and like your mother said, Rich told her the FBI doesn’t even know if there’s any kind of connection between that case and Nancy’s death. They might be completely unrelated.”
“Do you think there’s a possibility that Nancy’s death was completely random?” Her mother had told them about her conversation with Rich, and the possibility that there was no motive at all. It was a scary thought.
But Mickey shook his head. “It’s possible. But it’s highly doubtful. Random murders rarely happen.”
“I feel like we are back at square one. Unless it turns out there is some connection with the law firm Ponzi scheme. Too bad I can’t go back in and temp again.”
“Right. Unfortunately, that door is closed. I don’t suppose I could get Justin to agree to talk to me again.”
Emma smiled, remembering a comment Tess had made a while back. “Maybe I can get him to talk to me.”
Mickey frowned. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go back to that law firm.”
“I agree. But I was thinking I’d go to Sushi Joy. Tess said Justin is there almost every Thursday night. I can order some food to go and have a drink at the bar.”
Mickey looked doubtful. “Maybe I should go with you?”
Emma smiled. “I’d love your company, but I think it might be better if I go alone. I’ll be perfectly safe at Sushi Joy.”
Chapter 23
Emma arrived at Sushi Joy at a quarter to four on Thursday. She remembered that Tess had said that Justin usually arrived by four or so. His black Mercedes wasn’t out front yet when Emma parked, but she figured he’d be along shortly. It was early still, before the dinner rush and the bar was empty except for an older gentleman who was paying his bill. Emma scanned the bar, which had about a dozen or so seats along one side and four on the short side. She decided to sit somewhere in the middle.
She settled into a bar seat and set her phone on the bar. A bartender came right over and she ordered a glass of chardonnay and looked over a menu. She always ordered the same thing when she went there—spicy tuna over seaweed salad and a Godzilla roll which was shrimp, tuna, avocado and ginger in a roll that was lightly deep fried. It was ridiculously delicious.
She decided to wait a bit to put her order in though and sipped her wine as if she was having a hard time deciding. At four o’clock sharp, the front door opened, and she recognized Justin’s cheerful, booming voice as he said hello to the girls at the hostess stand before stepping into the bar area. He looked around and smiled when he recognized Emma. He was by himself and sat in the chair on her left.
“Well, hello there. Happy Thursday. Emily, right?”
Emma smiled. “Close. Emma.”
Justin laughed. “Of course. Good to see you, Emma. Did you already eat?”
“No, I was going to order some food to go.”
“Don’t do that. Unless you have to hurry off somewhere. I’m going to order some food too. We can keep each other company.”
Emma didn’t hesitate. “Sure, I can do that.”
The bartender came over and set down Justin’s martini with extra olives. He didn’t even have to order it.
“How’s that for service, Emma? Caitlin is the best.” He beamed at the bartender, who smiled back enthusiastically. Emma suspected that the enthusiasm was because Justin was a good tipper.
“Are you ordering your usual?” Caitlin asked.
He nodded. “Yes. Peking ravioli, Kiss the Fire and a Godzilla roll, and whatever this lovely lady would like.” He glanced at Emma, and she quickly put her order in.
“What’s a Kiss the Fire roll?” Emma hadn’t tried that one before.
“Oh, it’s great. Shrimp and avocado topped with two kinds of sliced fresh tuna and a sliver of jalapeño. You’ll have to try it. I always order too much food.”
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The bar began to fill up as people streamed in, and many of them knew Justin and stopped by to say hello. It didn’t take long for their food to come out, and once it did, he turned his attention to that and to Emma.
“Try a piece of the Kiss the Fire,” he insisted. She did, and it was wonderful. Almost as good as the Godzilla roll.
She pondered how to get Justin to talk about the firm.
“How’s everything at the firm? Busy as ever?” she finally asked.
“Oh, yeah. Business is booming. Busier than ever,” he said proudly.
“That’s great. A shame they still don’t seem to have any idea what happened to Nancy Eldridge. I just read an update today that it sounds like they are back to square one.”
Justin looked surprised. “Really? Back to square one. That’s disappointing. I’d hoped they’d be closing in on someone by now.”
He seemed sincere. So unless he was a really good actor, Emma didn’t think he was involved in Nancy’s death. But then she remembered what Mickey said about Ted Bundy. How no-one ever suspected him either, because he was so charming.
“Sheila said that everyone liked Nancy. So, who would have a reason to kill her?” she wondered aloud.
Justin looked serious for the first time. “That’s what I kept saying too. I still don’t understand it. She was a great girl.”
“Sheila said they were best friends, and it just didn’t make any sense. She couldn’t think of anyone that would have a motive either. Maybe it was just a random thing?”
“Sheila said they were best friends? I didn’t realize they were that close. Ever since she started dating that guy George, she’s been spending most of her time with him. I think she and Nancy were pretty good friends, but just not as close as they used to be. I guess that’s what happens when a new guy comes along, right?”
Emma smiled. “That’s probably true.” She knew lots of girls that dropped their friends as soon as they got serious with a new guy. It was something Emma tried not to do, as she’d been on the receiving end of it, and it was annoying when friends canceled plans to go out with their latest date instead. She understood if it was a onetime thing, but when it happened repeatedly, it was irritating.
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