Scottsdale Sizzle: a romantic light-hearted murder mystery (Laura Black Mysteries Book 3)

by B A Trimmer

  ~~~~

  I parked my car and we spent a couple of minutes putting on sunscreen. I pulled out a sun hat and asked Les if he wanted a hat from the assortment I had accumulated in my trunk. He picked one with a wide brim and we walked down to the stone ramada.

  As with the view from Les’ granddad’s house, you feel like you can see every detail of every building and the city itself seems to be alive. Like most people, Les was fascinated with the mountaintop view of the city. I showed him where his granddad’s house was on the south side of Camelback Mountain, then pointed out downtown Scottsdale, Bank One Ballpark, Sky Harbor airport, the University of Phoenix stadium, and the campus of ASU.

  “The view from up here is similar to the view from the terrace at Granddad’s house,” he said. “But we seem to be a higher up and you can see a lot further. It’s seems amazing to be able to take in a city this big in one glance.”

  “The note in the vault said the next clue is under the coffin rock,” I said. “I suggest we look around for anything that looks like a coffin.”

  We spent about twenty minutes walking together, looking for anything that could be the right rock. Eventually, we separated and each of us followed whatever seemed promising. I saw a lot of rocks, but nothing that looked like a coffin. I went back to the parking lot to get a broader view of the lookout. I was thinking maybe the buildings or the footpaths would form a coffin shape, but I didn’t see anything looking even vaguely similar to a coffin.

  After about an hour, I met up with Les who was back at the ramada. His face was flushed and I could see the heat was getting to him.

  “Any luck?” I asked.

  “No, not a thing. Since this mountain is nothing but thousands of rocks, with a cactus between each one, you’d think somewhere out here was one shaped like a coffin. For the last half an hour I’ve been loosening my standards on what a coffin shaped rock would look like, but it’s still nothing doing.”

  “I haven’t seen anything either. You’d think coffin shaped rocks would be pretty common, but I guess not.”

  “Well, what’s next?” he asked.

  “Well, we know the treasure chest is somewhere in the house. Let’s find out when the police will release the crime scene and then go back and look for it.”

  We walked back to my car and opened the doors to let it air out. Opening a door in a car that’s been sitting in the Arizona summer sun is roughly the same sensation you get when you open the door to an oven. There is a big whoosh of heat followed by a minute, or so, of hot air escaping to the outside.

  After the car had aired out, we climbed in. I turned the AC to high and got a bottle of water for each of us. We sat there for several minutes letting the cold air wash over us.

  I had put the car into gear to back out of the parking space when the theme to the old TV show Wonder Woman started blaring out from my cell phone.

  “It’s Gina,” I said. “Hold on.”

  I put the car in park, hit the button, and held the phone to my ear.

  “Those two guys who are following you,” Gina said, “I think they’re Fed’s. The license plate shows the car is part of a motor pool of private vehicles confiscated by the government and are about to be put up for auction.”

  “Any idea which part of the government they’re from?”

  “Not yet. The car was transferred to the general accounting office about three months age. Any Fed could use it. Sophie is doing a deeper search on the license plate, but so far that’s what I know.”

  “I’ll ask Les about it but it doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

  “I agree, but remember, the Fed’s aren’t the bad guys. Maybe you could meet up with them and let them know that you know who they are. You could even offer to help with whatever they’re doing.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” I said, not quite convinced.

  “By the way, Lenny talked to the detective in charge of the murder and they’ve agreed to only keep the bedroom and vault secured as a crime scene. You’ll be allowed in the rest of the house without restrictions sometime tomorrow morning.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “I’ll let you know what I find out.”

  I disconnected and looked over at Les. “We need to talk. Why would the Feds be following you?”

  He looked at me with a strange look on his face.

  “Feds? Is that who’s following us? I have no idea why they’d want to follow me. I haven’t done anything worthy of the attention of the government.”

  Again, maybe it’s only my suspicious nature, but the way he said it rang alarm bells in my head. I could tell this assignment was going to be long and difficult.

  I had noticed when we first came into the park the Feds had turned into a parking lot near the entrance. They must have looked at their maps and seen there was only one way in and one way out of the park. But if Les was acting squirrely about whatever he’d been hiding from me, I decided we should ditch the Feds, for at least the afternoon.

  I pulled out of the parking lot at the Dobbins Overlook and took the turnoff to San Juan Road. The map shows the road dead-ends at a small scenic lookout but right before you get to the overlook there’s a dirt side road that wasn’t going to be on anyone’s map.

  I took the dirt road as it snaked its way down the hill, through an arroyo, and finally we were dumped onto 51st Avenue, in the bedroom community of Laveen. From there we made our way over to Scottsdale and Lester’s hotel. The Feds were nowhere to be seen. For some reason, that fact made me happy.

  I dropped Les off in the parking lot next to his room. “Relax this afternoon and tonight,” I said. “Have a big dinner or maybe go for a swim. If they’re having another party by the pool tonight, you should go and have a nice time. You’ve been though a lot the last few days. The house should be released by tomorrow morning. I’ll be over about ten o’clock. We can go over and look around again.”

  ~~~~

  I drove back to the office feeling a little guilty. I knew I shouldn’t have ditched the Feds, but I somehow couldn’t help myself. As Gina had reminded me, I knew they weren’t the bad guys. I just don’t like having anyone following me, Feds or not.

  ~~~~

  I parked in my spot and went in through the rear door. The back offices were quiet so I walked up to reception. I saw Gina had pulled a chair next to Sophie’s desk. It looked like they were working one of Gina’s reports. I was going to ask Sophie how she was coming on my report, but I didn’t want to disturb her while she was in the middle of a report for Gina.

  I was about to go back to my cubicle when my phone started ringing. I looked down in surprise when I heard the theme from the Love Boat, the old TV show from the Eighties. Two months before, Sophie had set Max’s ringtone to the theme from the show. It was her idea of a joke.

  My heart skipped a beat then I started to panic. I wanted to answer it, but not in front of Sophie and Gina. I looked over at them. The panic must have shown in my eyes, because Sophie started laughing and clapping her hands.

  Gina grabbed a pen from the desk to use as a microphone, stood up, and started singing the theme to Love Boat along with the ringtone.

  “Shut up,” I said. I could feel my face growing hot. Sophie started singing with Gina, grabbing her water bottle to use as a microphone. They were dancing, singing, and laughing, as I got more annoyed.

  As the song finished, I saw they were both singing into their microphones, their arm’s stretched wide.

  The phone stopped ringing. Sophie had a fit of the giggles until they both collapsed into their chairs.

  “You both think you’re funny?” I asked. My face still felt hot and I knew it was bright red from their karaoke antics.

  “Why didn’t you answer it?” Sophie asked, still laughing and wiping tears from her eyes. “We wanted to hear you talk to Max.”

  “I panicked,” I said. “It’s been two months since I’ve talked to him. I wouldn’t know what to say. I don’t even know if talking to him is a good idea or not.

/>   “It sounds like you still have feeling toward him,” Gina said.

  “It’s complicated,” I said.

  “You mean complicated because you’re with Reno but you also sort of want to be with Max?” Sophie asked. “Complicated because you know Reno is the safe choice but Max is a dangerous bad boy with a hot body? Complicated because you feel like you are settling with Reno, when Max could be perfect for you? Or maybe it’s complicated because you could have a real future with Reno and all you would get with Max is visiting hours at the state prison in Florence?”

  Gina looked over at Sophie and raised her eyebrows.

  “Yup,” I said. “That about covers it. I know Max isn’t a good choice for a boyfriend, until I get around him. Then I want him to rip my clothes off and have him molest me, repeatedly.”

  “I know you’re attracted to him,” Gina said. “But it is never a good idea to get romantically involved with a criminal. I’ve seen it too many times. It’s easy to get pulled into their world of crime and that never ends well.”

  You don’t know the half of it.

  “I hear what you’re saying,” I said. “I’ll be careful around Max.”

  My phone made the trumpet fanfare sound, indicating Max had left a voice mail.

  “Well, good luck with that,” Sophie said. “We’ve seen you with him, remember? The first time you two kissed, you about had multiple orgasms.”

  “I can control my reactions to him,” I said, “mostly.”

  “Well,” Gina said, “Maybe you can control yourself. But I’d still play it safe. If you see him again, only meet in a public location, preferably in the daytime.”

  “Yes, mother,” I said.

  I went back to my cubicle in the back offices and listened to the voicemail. Hearing Max’s voice after all of this time still had the effect of making my heart pound along with making me tingle and sweat all over.

  “Laura,” said the deep and powerful voice of Max. “Forgive me if I’ve disturbed you. This is Maximilian. I’d like to meet with you if you have some free time in the next few days. It concerns business. Well, it mostly concerns business. Please give me a call when you have a moment.”

  I am so going to regret this.

  With my heart pounding, I punched the button for Max’s cell phone. After two rings, he answered.

  “Laura, thank you for returning my call. Hopefully, I didn’t catch you in the middle of anything.”

  “No, I was with Sophie and Gina. But I really didn’t want them to hear every word of our conversation. You already provide them with too much to gossip about.”

  “Oh really?” he asked with a laugh. “You’ll have to tell me sometime what they talk about. But to why I called, I’d like to meet with you sometime in the next few days, if you have some free time. I have some questions about the people you met with about two months ago.”

  I suddenly got a hard knot in my stomach. Two months before I had come face to face with Carlos Valentino, also known as Carlos the Butcher. He’s the local leader of a violent drug cartel from Mexico and not a nice man. At the time, it looked like Tough Tony and Carlos the Butcher were going to be in a war with each other for control of the drug trade in Arizona. This was something I wanted no part of and I was actively avoiding any involvement. I was lucky to have escaped from Carlos the Butcher the first time. I had no desire to see the man again. Ever.

  “Laura? Did I lose you?”

  “Sorry, I sort of got lost in my thoughts for a minute. Actually, I’m probably free tonight. Where should we meet?”

  Like maybe your place?

  “I’ve been trying to get you to a Different Pointe of View for months.”

  “That’s in one of the Hilton resorts. Are you checking out the competition?”

  “Not at all, I like the view of the city. Dinner?”

  “Ummm, maybe not dinner,” I said. “Why don’t we meet up there for drinks out on the patio at the Terrace Room? It has the same great view and we can talk without anyone listening.”

  “Alright, would eight o’clock work for you?”

  Again, I started to panic. What time was it now? I looked at the clock on my desk and saw it was already after five. That would give me less than three hours to go home, get cleaned up, get dressed, and then drive up to the resort. If I hurried, I could just do it.

  “Alright,” I said, in a voice I hoped sounded both sexy and confident. “I’ll see you at eight.”

  ~~~~

  I walked back into the front offices. Sophie and Gina both stopped talking when they saw me.

  “Well?” Sophie asked.

  “Well what?” I asked innocently.

  “Don’t keep us waiting,” Gina said. “What did Max want?”

  “Umm, we’re meeting for drinks tonight at the Terrace Room at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort.”

  Sophie started giggling. Gina shook her head with concern.

  “What?” I asked. “It’s only for drinks and it’s in public. He wants to ask me about what happened two months ago. They apparently still have some questions on it.”

  “Just be careful,” Gina said.

  “Just use birth control,” Sophie said.

  I sighed with exasperation. “I don’t know why I tell you two anything,”

  ~~~~

  I drove home, took a shower, blew my hair dry, then spent almost half an hour trying to figure out what to wear. Part of me was saying it really wasn’t a date and Max only wanted to talk. If that was the case, I could wear some Capri’s and an oversized tee shirt. The other half said yes, it was a date, and I had better look the part. At last, the date side of me won out and I went to my closet.

  First, I tried on a yellow strapless sundress. It was cute, but I thought maybe it made me look a little too young. Since Max is a few years older than I am, I didn’t want to look like a teenager. I took it off and tossed it on the bed.

  Next, I pulled out my little black dress. Black typically isn’t the color for summer in Scottsdale, but I usually look good in it. Unfortunately, when I looked at myself in the mirror, I could see a roll of back-fat showing above my waist. I was slightly grossed out about how fat I looked so I took off the dress and tossed it on the bed.

  Time to go back on the diet.

  Out of desperation, I pulled out my short black skirt that hangs slightly above my knees. It’s my favorite evening skirt and I save it for special nights on the town. It’s made of a silky miracle fabric that never wrinkles or keeps a stain, which is ideal for me. I also like it because it has little silver rainbow sparkles that flash as I move. It makes me feel special whenever I wear it.

  I had my usual dilemma about which panties to wear with a short skirt. It would be sexier if I wore a lacy thong, but like everyone, I had the fear of catching a sudden breeze and having the skirt lift up. In my case, there was also the outside possibility I would get into a fight with someone. If that happened, I didn’t want the world to see my ass-cheeks as I tussled on the ground with some guy.

  In the end, I decided it didn’t matter. It wasn’t as if anyone was actually going to get a chance to see my panties tonight. I dug around my drawer and pulled out a pair of short black Spanx.

  Once I had the skirt, the top was easy. I pulled out a short-sleeved red knit top with a plunging neckline. I had found the top on sale at Dillard’s about a month before and so far had only worn it once. It was almost as nice as a similar top I had received as a Christmas gift the year before from Sophie. One I happened to be wearing when the building I had been standing next to blew up. Sophie still reminds me about the holes I had put in the top. If I didn’t know her better, I’d wonder if she’d ever forgive me for ruining it.

  My last decision was the shoes to wear. Almost everything I have are wide short heels or flats. This is the result of having to run too many times in heels. I dug around the back of the closet and came up with a cute pair of three-inch strappy wedges. Three-inch heels are about as high as I can go. I’ve trie
d to go with a four-inch heel, but I can barely walk in them and I’m in constant fear of turning my ankle. I don’t see how the cougars do it. I’ve seldom seen any of them in less than a five-inch heel. They practically live in them.

  I put myself together and looked in the mirror. The heels had given the illusion that I had nicer legs and a somewhat of a perky butt. I sighed with frustration, but this was as good as I was going to get.

  I looked at the clock and realized I needed to leave in about fifteen minutes. I put a towel over my shirt and quickly did my hair and makeup. I tried to get the hair to lay flat, but part of it was doing its own thing. I applied more mascara and eye shadow than I normally wear, but we were going to be outside at night and I didn’t want my eyes to disappear completely into my face.

  Six

  Both the Different Pointe of View restaurant and the Terrace Room lounge were located on top of a hill overlooking a long canyon at the beautiful Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort in north Phoenix. The views from both the restaurant and the lounge are spectacular. My favorite view was from the outdoor patio at the lounge. Here, you could sit at the top of a steep overlook and look down the canyon to the sparkling lights of downtown Phoenix and beyond to South Mountain. I especially like going there in winter when you can both look out over the city and warm yourself next to the fire pit.

  I took Camelback west to the northbound 51, got off at Northern Avenue, and then drove up 7th Street to the entrance to the Pointe Hilton. Once inside the resort, I wound my way up to the restaurant at the top of the hill. The parking lot was almost full and I had to park near the back. The temperature was down to about a hundred and five and was slowly falling. There was even a surprising light breeze blowing around the hot air. The sun was about to set and the western sky was already starting to change colors.