He peered sideways at her. “I don’t know where it’s at,” he said.
“I’m not saying you do. I just want to know if she told you how she got it.”
A frustrated sigh escaped his lips. “My posse warned me she was prob’ly trouble, but I didn’t listen. All she said was she had a boat load of money that had to be hid somewheres safe.”
“In order to hide it somewhere, it had to already be somewhere. Did she give you any indication where the money was right then?”
He shook his head.
Now it was Jonelle’s turn to express frustration. She pulled out her cellphone and found the photo of the paper with the code. She turned it toward Luther. “Does this mean anything to you?”
He took the phone from Jonelle’s hand and squinted at the image. “What’s that?”
“I was hoping you could tell me.”
“Looks like gibberish.” He handed the phone back.
“What’s really strange about this is while she wanted you to help her hide the money, I know she had it in her possession when she arrived in Maryland. Where was it?”
Luther shrugged. “She didn’t give it to me if that’s what you’re thinkin’.”
“Anybody else she was close to besides you?”
“Naw. She didn’t like nobody else but me.”
“Were there occasions when the two of you were apart for extended periods of time? I mean, you didn’t keep watch over her right?”
“We wasn’t joined at the hip, if that’s what you mean,” Luther said.
“How much time would you say elapsed when the two of you didn’t see each other? Was it hours? Days?”
He squirmed on the bench.
Jonelle was on to something. “Was there a time when you didn’t see her for twenty-four hours or more?”
“Couple times. Here an’ there. But she always came back,” he said with a touch of pride in his voice.
“So then, it’s possible that she stayed somewhere else. Or with someone else. Like at that motel Chester told you about.”
“Mebbe. I gots to go.” He stood.
“Hold on.” Jonelle didn’t know how to put it, but the issue of Susanna and Luther’s total relationship had to be addressed. “Were you and Susanna intimate?”
“Hell no. What’s wrong with you anyway? I was helpin’ her that’s all.”
“Sorry, but I had to ask.” Another question bugged her. Burt might know the answer, but she wanted to hear it from Luther.
“How did you wind up kneeling over Susanna’s body?”
Luther’s eyes narrowed. “What you mean?”
She got right to it. “Were you following her? Her murder occurred some distance from the warehouse, out of view from passing traffic.”
“I … I mighta been watchin’ her.” His feet kicked the dirt. “I wanted to keep an eye out. Didn’t want her to … get hurt. So, I followed her but got distracted a few times.” He sniffed. “Damn good thing I did before the rats got at her.”
Jonelle shivered. “There’s something else Chester told you. Right?”
“It don’t mean nuthin’. He drinks more’n I do and sometimes his eyes don’t work right.”
Jonelle stood and faced him. “Tell me anyway.”
Luther scratched his left armpit and stared off in the distance. “It don’t make no sense.”
“Luther.” Jonelle’s voice indicated she wanted to hear everything.
“He claims he started hangin’ around that hotel where he saw Susanna go into that day. And before you ask, he don’t know the name. Don’t think he can read. Anyway, this time he says he saw her go in dressed like one of them fancy business ladies.”
Jonelle tried to tamp down the excitement rising up within her. “Did he follow her inside this time?”
Luther glared at Jonelle as if she’d just sprouted a third eye. “You kiddin’ me? He don’t go inside nowhere he figures he’d be thrown right back out again. But he was nosey, so he sat down and watched for a while.”
He stopped and dug around for another cigarette. Jonelle clamped her lips tight to keep from screaming, get on with it!
“He says after a long while he sees her come out. And then he says somethin’ strange which made me think that all the while he was waitin’ he was drinkin’.”
“Strange how?”
“He says he saw two Susanna’s leave with the same man he saw before.”
CHAPTER 24
The address where Sophia Reyes claimed she was staying and the location where Chester maintains he saw Susanna “single” and “double” were miles apart in location and class. Based on the description Luther got from Chester, Jonelle studied a map of the west side and narrowed down two possible hotels where Susanna, or someone who looked like her, might have stayed. Of the two, the second hotel, The Lancelot Inn, sounded a little better. Though both “one-stars” sounded run-down and threadbare, at least the Lancelot offered coffee and tea in the morning.
Armed with the photo of the twins, Jonelle ignored the unattended, bullet-proofed check-in desk, hurried to the elevator and took it to the top floor. A quick look down the hall showed her two overflowing carts and three open hotel room doors. She peeked into the first door just in time to witness the maid strip off the bedroom sheets. Straightening up, she jumped when she found Jonelle looking at her.
“Sorry. I was wondering if I could ask you a quick question.”
“I come back later if you want,” the maid said, momentarily confused as to whether she should put the sheets back on the bed or take them with her.
“No. This isn’t my room. I’m a private investigator looking for someone.” Jonelle pulled out her PI license and shield. A quick glance and the ID looked like a police detective’s identification. Next, she held out the picture of the twins.
After a brief hesitation, the maid looked at the picture in Jonelle’s hand. She shook her head. “No. Not familiar. So sorry.”
“You sure? Blond, thin. They’re twins so at some point the two of them may have been together. Along with a distinguished-looking gentleman.”
The maid shook her head.
“Do you think your other co-workers might remember her?”
She shrugged.
Around the corner, Jonelle discovered another cart and found someone who displayed a hint of recognition.
The young woman stared at the photo with such intensity that it appeared as if she was trying to imprint the image in her mind. Jonelle waited. If she finally found someone who recognized Susanna, she’d stay there all day if she had to. After a few minutes, the dark-haired woman handed the picture back to Jonelle.
“Looks kinda like the lady that was stayin’ here,” she said. “But she gone now.”
Jonelle nodded. “Do you recall seeing her with someone?” Dare she hope?
The cleaner shrugged. “Only the man with her.”
When Jonelle met with Kelly she’d swiped one of his business cards. Fortunately, the card had his picture on it. She showed it to the maid. “Does this look like the man you saw with her?”
The young woman studied the card with the same intensity that she had when she looked at Susanna’s picture.
“No. Not him.”
Though disappointed, Jonelle tried another way. “Was the man black or white?”
“Brown. Like me, but not like me.”
This added a new wrinkle. “About how tall would you say? I’m five foot seven so was he taller or shorter than me?”
“About same.”
“Okay. Thin? Fat? Average weight?”
The young woman scrunched her face in concentration. “Not fat, but … how you say?” She placed her arms about two feet out from her sides.
“Heavy? Say like an American football player?”
“Yes, like Falco on Ravens.” She grinned broadly, proud to brag about her American culture reference.
“That’s great. What about hair color?”
The maid visibly relaxed as she w
armed into answering Jonelle’s questions. The time between question asked and answered was brief. “Black hair. Real straight and almost pretty. Shiny, like a woman.”
Jonelle thought back to Luther’s description of what the men who attacked Chester looked like. Could one of them have been with Susanna?
Another maid exited from two doors down and called out. “Esmeralda?” Followed by something in Spanish.
The young woman hastily put the dirty towels away, grabbed clean ones and hurried back into the room with Jonelle on her heels. “Just one more thing.”
“Don’t want to get in trouble.”
“I know. One more question. Did you hear them say anything? If so, can you recall any of their words?”
The young lady shook her head and quickly replaced the towels.
Jonelle sighed. That was all she was getting. “You’ve been very helpful. Thank you.” Jonelle turned to go. Out in the hall, the woman called for her to wait a moment. “I just remember something.” She looked quickly behind her and lowered her voice. “The lady say to the man something about the truth. ‘I swear I’m tellin’ the truth.’ Like that.”
“‘I’m telling the truth’?”
“Yes. Like that.”
“Esmerelda!”
“Gotta go.”
CHAPTER 25
When Jonelle returned to the agency Rainey was on the phone. She whispered “Any messages?” and was answered with a head shake. Seated in her office, Jonelle dialed the number Sophia had given for her hotel. Jonelle got the front desk and was put through to the room. After several rings and no answer, Jonelle left a message asking Sophia to call when she returned.
A quick call to Kelly’s office indicated he was with a client. She left a message asking him to call her as soon as possible.
Next, she went over her notes on her trip to Michigan and got a nagging feeling that something was missing. She reviewed her interview with the girl’s mother and debated whether to call and ask if either twin had a fear of or fascination with clowns.
Rainey’s buzz decided the issue. Jonelle’s client Polly Cole had arrived to settle her final bill. Jonelle walked to the front and greeted Mrs. Cole. “Hope everything’s all right,” she said. She’d planned on setting up again outside of the house. In fact Jonelle looked forward to it, hoping to flush out the two men from the previous night.
“Everything’s fine. I’m completely satisfied with your agency. The shift change I’d requested came through so I’ll be working from seven in the morning to three thirty in the afternoon. Times when my daughter will be in school,” she said.
“I’m glad we could help. If you prefer, we can mail you a final bill.”
Mrs. Cole shook her head. “I can go ahead and settle it now.”
Before Jonelle could say anything to Rainey, the secretary had already prepared the invoice. While Jonelle could now concentrate all her energies on Susanna’s case, she secretly wanted a few more days to get a bead on the men in the gray rental car.
After a quick goodbye from Mrs. Cole, Jonelle walked back to her office. She’d powered up the computer when Rainey announced detective Burton wanted a quick word.
“Send him back.”
She’d barely stacked the papers on her desk when his stout frame stood in the doorway.
“This is unexpected,” Jonelle said as she indicated for Burt to take a seat.
“Thought you’d like to know I’ve been in contact with Norman Finkleberg. Don’t believe I need to explain to you who he is. He told me the two of you had talked. I didn’t know you’d paid him a visit.” An uncomfortable silence hung in the air as Burt fiddled with his “Finding Nemo” tie.
Jonelle’s back stiffened. Something in Burt’s tone of voice irked her. “You don’t need to know since you aren’t my client. Sophia Reyes is.”
“Anything that has bearing on Susanna Quinley’s murder says otherwise.”
“If that’s all you wanted to tell me, you could’ve phoned.”
Burt made a time-out motion with his hands. “Fair point.”
Jonelle didn’t trust herself to speak so she merely nodded.
“Good. Now to why I’m here. Heard you’ve been asking questions about the vic at a hotel where it’s believed she stayed. True?”
“You heard? From who?”
“You’re not the only one with contacts on the street. Plus, Susanna’s body was discovered a little over two blocks from there.”
Jonelle flinched. She hadn’t known the exact address where Susanna’s body was found.
“Well?” The detective’s all-business tone was different from their usual back and forth banter. She wondered what had changed.
“I got a clue from a friend, who heard it from his friend. So I checked it out. Problem?”
“What’d you find out?”
“Talked to a maid who confirmed that Susanna had stayed there for a while.” Jonelle took a deep breath. “She also said she was with a man. When I showed her a picture of Barrington Kelly, she said it wasn’t him.”
“What was the maid’s name?”
Jonelle shook her head. “Didn’t get that far. I assume you guys talked to the staff, right?”
“Only the front desk. They admitted someone checked in who looked like her, but they had no record of the name. We figured she used an alias. The one thing they did reveal was that she had the manager lock a leather satchel in the office.”
“The money?”
“We can only guess. Problem is she left one day and took the bag with her and it hasn’t been recovered.”
“Crap. So you still have no idea where the money is.” It was more a statement than a question.
Burt drew his eyebrows together. “Are you going behind my back on this case?”
“Oh, please. What are you talking about? I told you I have a duty to my client to—”
“Your duty as you call it was to find out why Susanna ended up with the homeless. Sounds like the answer was because she embezzled money. So from where I’m sitting, your duty is over.”
Jonelle stood. “You need to leave before I lose my temper and this ends up in a place where neither of us wants it to go.”
A frustrated sigh escaped Burt’s lips. He remained seated. “Fair enough. But if I hadn’t come over here, would you have told me about going to the hotel?”
“Of course.” When she got around to it. “You seem to forget that Luther is also my client, so whatever information I get, remains confidential unless he gives me the okay to tell you.” That included the two guys she was sure had followed her. She’d keep that information to herself while she checked out whether or not they had anything to do with Susanna’s case.
Her blood pressure returned to normal and she sat. “By the way, I haven’t been able to reach Sophia. I was wondering if she’s been in touch with you?”
Burt leaned back in his chair. “That’s another reason I stopped by. She hasn’t returned my calls, so I went to her hotel. She’s not there and according to the staff she hasn’t checked out. I called Dr. Kelly and he claims he hasn’t seen her either. Since you have a penchant for finding out things that sometimes elude us mere police detectives, I thought maybe you knew where she was.”
Jonelle shook her head. “Before you came in I tried calling her hotel as well. Got nowhere, but I did leave a message. I can’t imagine she’d go back to Michigan without letting us know, but her mother is sick, so I guess that’s a possibility.” Saying it out loud made sense to Jonelle. She held up a finger to indicate he should hold on. Jonelle found Sarah Quinley’s phone number and dialed. While it rang, she said to Burt, “There may be an emergency which is why she didn’t tell anyone.” After several rings and no answer, Jonelle left a voice message inquiring after Mrs. Quinley’s health and asking her to please call when she got the chance.
“I hope she’s all right. She didn’t look at all well when I was there.”
Burt stood. “It makes sense she’d leave in a hurry if he
r mother needed her. I’ll wait awhile for her to call.” He held out his hand. “I don’t have Sarah Quinley’s number. Okay if you write it down for me?”
Jonelle hesitated. She knew what a thorough detective he was and felt sure he already had the woman’s number. She played along and wrote the number on a sticky pad and handed it over to him.
“Thanks.” He put the note in his coat pocket without looking at it and headed for the door.
“Wait a second. I’ve got something to ask.”
He indicated with his head for her to continue.
“When I first interviewed Sophia, she told me a lot about their childhood together in Michigan. One of the things she said was that the girls had gotten tattoos. Why didn’t you mention that to me?”
He shrugged. “Didn’t think it was important for you to know. Why?”
“I just want to verify that it was obvious during the autopsy.”
“Sure it was. Hold on.” Burt pulled out his phone.
“You keep autopsy results on that thing?”
“Of course not. Just unusual or interesting information, in case I need a quick reference. Like someone asking me information that, technically, doesn’t concern her.” He winked at Jonelle. “For instance, like that note we found on the body.” His fingers scrolled through several screens. “I don’t see that info but I know I have it. I’ll get back to you on that.”
CHAPTER 26
A few hours later Burt called Jonelle from his office. “No, she didn’t,” Jonelle said into her phone. “She had a smiling red fox above her right hip.”
“I attended the autopsy, Jonelle. I know what I saw. Problem?”
“Guess I misunderstood. Thanks.”
“Sure. I’ll talk to you later.”
Jonelle pulled up the notes from her interview with Sophia and found what she was looking for. She hadn’t made a mistake. Sophia was clear about the types of tattoos the girls had. What did it all mean? Did Sophia deliberately lie? If so, why? Jonelle hadn’t mentioned all the details of her relationship with the police, so it was possible that Sophia figured Jonelle would never pick up the discrepancy. Unless. Unless Sophia lied. Why would she?
The Trickster (A Jonelle Sweet Mystery Book 3) Page 16
