The Trickster (A Jonelle Sweet Mystery Book 3)

by R. Lanier Clemons

  Jonelle’s fingers flew over her keyboard so fast she had to keep going over words she misspelled. The gist of her reply was yes to a meeting, anytime and anywhere. In the meantime, she called Sophia’s hotel again, not really expecting her to be there and she wasn’t disappointed. Next, she called Kelly’s office even though she’d been told he wouldn’t be in until the next day. She left another message with the secretary to have him call.

  The worst part of her job was the waiting. The urge to pace propelled her out of the chair. After the second pass around her office, a ping from the computer notified her of a new email. In it, Hackett stated he’d be available from around the one o’clock lunch break on either day until three, or if that wasn’t possible, the seminar ended at six so he could meet sometime around seven p.m., on Tuesday. She responded that two or two thirty would work better on Tuesday and that she looked forward to it. Excited at the prospect of learning something new about Susanna, Jonelle grabbed her bag again and decided to stake out Sophia’s hotel. If the woman was avoiding her she wanted to know why.

  The possibility also existed that Sophia and Kelly were together. Almost as soon as the thought entered her mind, Jonelle dismissed it. Jonelle was certain Sophia was the blond she saw Friday afternoon, and the man wasn’t Kelly. The only person she could think of was Finkleberg. If so, why steal the envelope?

  CHAPTER 31

  Jonelle sat in a large chair inside Sophia’s Inner Harbor hotel, near the entrance. The area was semi-secluded and hidden by a long, low wooden partition, the top half of which contained several large, dracaena, philodendron and pothos plants. Surveillance work bored her; being ignored ticked her off.

  Settled in, Jonelle waited. The only reasons she could think of that would answer the question of why Sophia didn’t return her calls was that her client had something to hide. Jonelle shifted in her chair.

  Two butt-numbing hours later, with no sign of Sophia, Jonelle had had enough waiting. And she was tired of beating around the bush. At a near run, she left the lobby of the hotel and retrieved her Jeep from the expensive underground lot. She didn’t believe Kelly was out until Tuesday, so she decided to travel to DC to see for herself.

  For the first time since she walked into Kelly’s practice, the receptionist’s smile faded as Jonelle strolled up to the desk. “I’m afraid the doctor doesn’t have time to see you today. All his appointments are filled.” The receptionist searched her computer.

  “Why did you tell me that the doctor wouldn’t be in until tomorrow?”

  “He, um, he had to cancel his previous commitment so he could see a few more clients.” She searched her computer. “The only time he has free is next week, at—”

  “I’m not waiting until next week. He’ll see me as soon as he’s free with his current client.” Jonelle stomped over and sat close to an elderly gentleman who slid over into another chair.

  A worried expression clouded the secretary’s face. She picked up the phone and spoke quietly. Fifteen minutes later Jonelle was told Kelly was free and to go on back.

  “What’s this about? I’ve been away and I don’t really have time for you today,” Kelly said as soon as she entered. His eyes looked at a space on the wall behind Jonelle.

  “I’ll make this as brief as possible. Where is Sophia Reyes?”

  He sighed dramatically as his eyes looked up at the ceiling. “I told you before, I don’t know.”

  “I think you’re lying, doctor.”

  Kelly’s eyes slowly settled on her face. “How dare you say that? You need to leave now.” He started to rise from his chair.

  “Oh, cut the dramatics please.”

  With shaking fingers Kelly reached up and straightened his already straight tie. His eyes wandered to his desk.

  “What’s the matter Doctor? You seem a bit, I don’t know, out of sorts.”

  “Um. Well, it appears someone tried to break into my desk.” He gave a nervous laugh.

  “Have you contacted the police?”

  He shook his head. “No. Nothing of any, uh, value was stolen.”

  Jonelle moved over and inspected the damage. “Wonder why someone would do this? You don’t keep drugs or anything in there, do you?” Jonelle got perverse pleasure in watching the doctor squirm. Serves him right for holding back.

  She returned to her seat. “Any of the other doctors burgled?”

  Kelly paled and shook his head. “No,” he said. “I asked everyone.”

  “So this”—she pointed to his desk—“is personal then.”

  “Since you put it that way I suppose it is,” he mumbled. He looked as if any moment he’d have to excuse himself and run to the bathroom.

  Jonelle wasn’t about to let up. “Why do you suppose whoever did this, targeted you specifically?”

  “Targeted?” Kelly blanched.

  For the first time since they’d met, Jonelle believed that the stories about the man being the abused rather than the abuser were probably true. She kept prodding him.

  “Sure. Looks like they were looking for something they knew only you had … and they wanted that something. What do you suppose it was?” She looked him in the eyes.

  He shrugged.

  “Did they get whatever it was you had in there? Come on, Doctor Kelly. Help me out here. If you had nothing to do with Susanna’s death—”

  “I didn’t,” he interrupted, voice raised. A thin line of sweat formed on his upper lip.

  “Okay. Fine. I’d like to know everything that happened after Susanna called and said she wanted to stay with you for a while. You said no because of the relationship you said you were in, but is that true? I’m guessing that when she asked you for help, you gave it to her.”

  Sweat migrated from lip to forehead. He pulled his wedding photo closer to him.

  “That’s none of your business,” he said. He lifted his eyes and shifted them to the side window. She didn’t want to interrupt whatever it was he was thinking about, so she waited.

  He nodded, as if coming to a conclusion. “I did see Susanna after her initial phone call. When I say I told her she couldn’t stay with me, that’s the truth. Imagine my surprise when after that phone conversation, she showed up here at the office a few days later.”

  Jonelle leaned forward in her chair. “Whoa. You’re saying Susanna came here? What happened?” She rummaged through her bag, found notebook and pen and removed both.

  Kelly’s eyes widened. “Wait a minute. What are you doing?”

  “Relax. I’m just taking a few notes for my use. I’m still trying to figure out why Susanna ended up with homeless people.”

  He stared at the pad and pen for a few moments. An exasperated sigh escaped from his lips. “Fine. Guess it doesn’t matter much at this point.”

  Jonelle indicated for him to continue.

  “So. When she realized she couldn’t stay with me, she appeared at the office in disguise and insisted on at least meeting somewhere.”

  “What kind of disguise?”

  “Typical Hollywood stuff. Laughable really. She had on a headscarf and dark glasses.”

  “Then what?”

  “She said she had something to tell me. I agreed that we should walk over to the park off of K Street. I was more than a little nervous because by this time, I’d heard from Norm Finkleberg, and that really spooked me. My God. She’d stolen money from the town.” He slapped his hand against his forehead. “They can’t afford that.” He stared at Jonelle. “What was she thinking?”

  “Unfortunately, we can’t ask her,” Jonelle said. She immediately regretted the comment when she looked at the expression on Kelly’s face. “Sorry.” She motioned for him to continue.

  “She told me she was staying at some two-bit hotel on Baltimore’s west side. You know the type of area, right?”

  Jonelle didn’t answer.

  “Anyway, it was surrounded by bars and pawnshops, those kinds of businesses. And if you went just a few blocks east, a bunch of rundown row hou
ses. At the time I couldn’t understand why she’d choose to stay in a place like that and then I figured it was because she didn’t want anyone from Oldenberry to find out where she was.”

  Jonelle shook her head. Something wasn’t right. “You knew what she’d done because Finkleberg told you. Did you let on where she was staying?”

  “I … not exactly.” Kelly looked sick.

  Jonelle waited. When nothing was forthcoming, she said, “Please explain to me what not exactly means. Either you told Finkleberg where she was or you didn’t.”

  He looked sharply at Jonelle. “I told him she was in Baltimore, but I didn’t say exactly where.”

  Jonelle shook her head over and over.

  “What else was I supposed to do? She committed a crime for crissakes.” Kelly lowered his voice. “When we met at the hotel, I tried to get her to contact Finkleberg and return the money. I told her that if she gave the money back, maybe they wouldn’t be too hard on her.”

  “Did she tell you why she took the money in the first place? She came from a wealthy family and was making a decent salary. I considered that maybe she had some kind of addiction, but no one has indicated anything liked that.” Jonelle studied Kelly’s face which remained passive, but she thought she saw something flicker in his eyes. When he didn’t say anything, she continued.

  “Other possibilities were she had a personal vendetta or wanted some kind of sick thrill. To say to the town ‘screw it.’ So, I’d like to ask you. Did she say why she took the money?”

  Kelly kept his mouth shut.

  Jonelle leaned forward in her chair and pointed a finger at him. Her patience with his wishy-washy attitude was wearing thin. “You said you tried to get her to return the money. So don’t tell me you didn’t ask the question.”

  The doctor swiveled in his chair, all the while avoiding Jonelle’s eyes. “Fine. I did ask. But I swear the only response she gave was that she’d tell me everything later if I promised not to tell Finkleberg where to find her. Susanna told me she needed to think some things through first.”

  “Did she tell you where the money was?” Luther said she’d sometimes go places on her own.

  Kelly picked up a pen and held it between his fingers. Jonelle saw him wince as his eyes landed on the burglarized desk drawer. “I swear to God she didn’t tell me where the money was hidden. What she did say was that it was in a place where no one would think to look. That’s all. I swear.”

  He stood and checked his watch. “I have a client coming soon. I’m afraid you have to leave.”

  To Jonelle’s ears it didn’t sound as if Kelly was sorry to see her go. “One other thing,” she added. She ignored the sound of a groan coming from his lips.

  “A detective friend of mine stated that Finkleberg is coming to the area for an interview. Did you know that?”

  Kelly’s face remained impassive.

  “I’ve been told I could have a few words with him, and just to be completely honest with you, I plan to go over what you and I discussed. Just so you know.”

  He swallowed hard. “Fine.”

  Jonelle turned to go. She stopped at the door and faced Kelly. “Also, I haven’t been able to locate Sophia. I’ve left several messages and I even went to her hotel but no luck. She hasn’t checked out so I wonder if you’d heard from her.”

  Kelly paled and shook his head.

  Jonelle’s eyes narrowed. “If … I mean when … you do, tell her it’s important I speak to her.” Jonelle needed to tighten her grip on Kelly. She left his office with a curt, “I’ll be in touch again, Doctor.”

  The whole family was messed up, she thought as she waited for the elevator to take her to the lobby. A wealthy woman stole money she didn’t need, and called her ex to ask to stay with him. Jonelle exited the building. Kelly claimed he rejected the request. “But he still kept her picture close,” Jonelle mumbled to herself. She ignored stares from passersby as she expressed some of those thoughts out loud and continued going over the case in her mind. Susanna took a room in a sleazebag hotel, met Luther and alternated living with him on the street and in the hotel room. After her death, no one found the stolen 330,000 dollars.

  And where was Sophia?

  CHAPTER 32

  Jonelle wandered over to one of DC’s many little parks and sat on a bench. She wondered if Sophia knew more about Susanna’s possible involvement in the embezzlement than she let on. One of the things Jonelle hated was being taken for a fool. She went over the few established facts and still couldn’t resolve why Susanna’s twin would be interested in rental car and hotel receipts? And who was the man with her?

  While she contemplated her next move, Kelly emerged on the opposite side of the street, head down and fast walking over to the Farragut subway station. On impulse, she followed. He seemed so intent on where he was going he barely noticed the people milling around him, much less Jonelle looming behind. He rode the escalators on the Red line side heading toward Union Station. The crush of people hurrying to get home hid her as she stood at the end of the subway car, eyes laser focused on the bald spot on the back of his head. When the doors opened at Union Station, Kelly rushed off.

  Jonelle fought her way through the crowded car. Once on the platform she didn’t see him. She turned in a circle. Where was Kelly? She swore under her breath. There he was! He stood midway on the up escalator. Grateful that the people knew the rules, with the riders standing on the right, while the walkers scurried up the left side, Jonelle spotted Kelly as he headed for the MARC station’s Penn Line platform. Where the hell was he going? Jonelle rushed over to the window and with one eye on his back, purchased a MARC ticket.

  She’d learned from Chester that he’d seen Susanna, or at least he thought it was Susanna, entering the Lancelot Inn. If that’s where Kelly was headed she couldn’t understand why. Unless he thought the money was still there and Sophia went looking for it. Jonelle’s pulse raced as she allowed several commuters to board in front of her, all the while keeping tabs on Kelly.

  Kelly left the train at the West Baltimore station with Jonelle close behind. At the corner of Baltimore and Charles streets, he paused and looked left and right as if confused on where he should go. Jonelle slipped behind a bus kiosk. A quick glance to the left and in the distance, posted high on a pole, Jonelle read “Lancelot Inn” and “Vacancy.” She smiled to herself, proud she was able to predict Kelly’s actions. The smile quickly faded as Kelly crossed the street and instead of walking in the direction of the Lancelot, he turned right. With Jonelle several paces behind, he walked a few blocks to where another man stood, pacing back and forth in front of what looked like a small bar. From her vantage point she watched Kelly approach the man with a slight build and thinning hair, dressed in gray slacks and navy blazer. A sharp intake of breath followed as she realized the pacing man was Finkleberg.

  The two men entered the bar. She hung back and waited a few minutes for either one to come back out. Maybe they planned to go to the hotel together. Tired of playing yet another waiting game, Jonelle crossed the street.

  A few feet before the bar, she heard a swoosh as something covered her head, plunging her into darkness. She tried to scream but couldn’t open her mouth or her eyes. Her nose lay flat against her face. Her breathing became labored. She tried kicking her legs behind her and once heard a yell as her heel connected with flesh. She raised both arms over her head and tried to grab the face of her attacker, to no avail. Rough hands pulled her backwards, and she lost her balance, falling to her knees with the attacker’s weight on her back.

  Afraid he’d crush her ribs, she was relieved when coarse hands pulled her up. Warm, rank breath huffed on the back of her neck. Her feet scraped the pavement and she was filled with dread when she realized she was being dragged down the sidewalk. Whoever had hold of her possessed enormous strength. The overwhelming urge to breathe coupled with the thought of being hauled down a blind alley kick-started her adrenaline into overdrive.

  Her finger
s clawed behind her and this time her nails connected with skin and she dug deep. After a loud “dammit” the grip tightened around her even more. All she could do was twist and turn, hoping to dislodge the viselike hold around her neck and shoulders. Breathing became more difficult. She felt lightheaded and willed herself not to faint.

  Where the hell were all the people? It was still daylight. After what seemed like an eternity of fighting an increasingly losing battle, sounds penetrated the cover over her head. Seconds later, searing pain erupted from the side of her head, and as she slid to the ground, darkness followed.

  Annoyed at something hitting her face again and again, Jonelle moaned and tried to wave the irritation away. She opened her eyes and stared up at two fuzzy shapes looking down at her. She blinked several times dislodging the fog behind her eyes. Two women gazed down at her. They asked if she was all right and should they call the police. She performed a mental evaluation of her condition and decided she felt fine. Or so she thought. As she attempted to rise, dizziness seized her and she sat back down on the pavement until the feeling passed. Her head hurt like hell.

  “You don’t look so good,” said the woman in a blue-flowered dress. “You want me to call nine eleven?”

  “No. Really. I feel better. Just stood up a little too fast.” The women looked at each other and nodded. Each took an arm and helped Jonelle to her feet. A slight wave of nausea came and just as quickly passed. That was followed by a quick intake of breath as she realized someone had mugged her. “My bag. Did he get my bag?”

  “I got it right here,” said the other woman in gray sweat pants and white crew neck sweater. “We saw the whole thing. Bastard dragged you down the street and when we started hollerin’, he slugged you and took off. Didn’t see him even try to take your purse. Why you suppose he didn’t?” That last question was addressed to the other woman with her, who shrugged.