by Lena Gregory
She shook her head. “I didn’t have much here. Mostly bills and receipts from the work I did to open the shop, catalogues, employee files—”
“Wait.” His gaze locked on hers. “What kind of employee files?”
“Well, I only have two employees, so there’s not much here.” She lifted a manila file folder from the floor and handed it to him. “Names, addresses, social sec—Oh, man.”
He paged through the thin file and made a note on his pad. “I’ll let them know their social security numbers have been compromised.”
“All right, but tell them I’ll pay for Identity Theft Protection for them, at least until we figure out what’s going on here.”
“Uh…we?”
“What?” She offered her best innocent look.
His eye roll indicated he didn’t buy it. “You are not going to get involved in this. You are going to let the police handle it, right?”
“Um…sure. I just meant, until the police figure out what’s going on.”
“Mmm…hmm… Just stay as far away from this as you can. I already have one body in the morgue. I don’t need another.”
Well, when he put it that way…
He started toward the door. “We’re about done here. Do you want a ride home?”
“Am I allowed to take my car out of the lot yet?”
“Yes, the crime scene techs are done back there.”
A spark of excitement flared. “Does that mean I can open the café tomorrow?”
“Maybe the day after. Depends on when the glass can be replaced in the front door.”
Oh, right. She’d forgotten about that. Whoever had broken in had gained access by tossing a cinder block through the front door. “I’ll have to clean up all that glass too.”
Hunt gripped her shoulders and helped her to her feet, then gently guided her toward the door. “You’ll have plenty of time tomorrow. For now, why don’t you go home and get some rest?”
“I guess.”
He was right. She’d accomplish a lot more after a good night’s sleep. She stepped over a small stack of files and headed for the door. Besides, she’d left Thor home alone, and he was probably nervous. Thinking of Thor brought a new worry. One she should have thought of before bringing him home, but she’d fallen so in love with the roly-poly pup she hadn’t thought of much. “Do you know anyone who takes care of dogs? I can’t leave Thor home alone in a crate all day once I open again.”
“There’s a doggie day care center three blocks over, right on the edge of the park. A lot of the officers use them.”
“Thanks.” She grabbed a pen and pad that had been tossed in the corner of her office and wrote doggie day care on the first line. If she didn’t make a list of what she had to do, she’d never remember. Leaving the mess for later, she followed Hunt to the front of the café, where the crime scene unit was just finishing up.
Glass crunched beneath their feet and ground into the floor as they carried their equipment out.
Call insurance company went on the list next. Great, she’d been in Florida less than a week, and she already had to file two claims. One for the broken window at the house and one for the café. She’d be lucky if her rates didn’t fly through the roof. She contemplated paying for the damage herself and scribbled get estimates for glass on her list, then tossed the pad onto the counter.
“Do you want a cup of coffee?” As late as it was, she’d need the caffeine to keep from falling asleep in the twenty minutes it would take her to drive home, especially after getting only a few hours of sleep the night before.
“Sure, thanks.” Hunt continued talking to officers and techs.
Gia started the coffee pot, then headed for the small, private bathroom off her office. Maybe a little cold water on her face would wake her a little. She flipped on the light and shut the door behind her, then turned on the cold water and scooped a few handfuls onto her face. Even at this hour of the night, humidity still weighed heavy in the hot air, and the cool water was refreshing. She wiped the water from her eyes, then reached behind her for the towel hanging from the rack on the opposite wall.
Movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention. She searched the shadows beneath the small corner cabinet that held towels and supplies. Something black moved again.
Gia brushed away the water dripping into her eyes. What the…
A giant, dark-colored spider with orange striped legs scuttled out from beneath the corner cabinet. It stopped next to the wall, halfway to the door.
She gasped and her chest constricted, like a giant vice squeezing her lungs. She tried to scream, but only a faint wheeze escaped.
The spider’s leg twitched.
Gia leaned back onto the counter and yanked her feet up off the floor, desperately struggling for air to call for help. The overwhelming sense of arachnophobia she’d suffered since childhood held her paralyzed.
The spider started forward, tentatively, moving away from the wall. Toward the cabinet Gia now clung to.
The breath shot from her lungs, and she slid farther onto the counter, pulling her feet closer to her body. She sucked in as much air as she could manage and screamed. As desperate as she was to squeeze her eyes closed and block the image, she didn’t dare. She kept her gaze firmly riveted on the furry creature, certain he knew exactly what he was doing as he stalked her. She tried to scoot back farther, but the corner of the medicine cabinet dug into her back, halting her retreat.
“Gia,” Hunt yelled, then yanked open the door, gun in hand.
“Shoot it.” All she managed was a hoarse whisper. With her hand and arm shaking wildly, she pointed at the spider and tried again, each repeat of the word getting louder. “Shoot it, shoot it, shoot it…”
He glanced at the spider and relaxed his stance.
Relaxed? What was wrong with him? Could he not see the monster threatening her?
Then he turned and moved between the other officers surrounding the doorway with their guns drawn. “It’s all right. Just a spider.”
Just a spider? Was he crazy? The thing had hair for crying out loud!
The spider twitched and started moving again. At least this time it was moving away from her, back toward the safety of the corner cabinet. Every instinct screamed at her to go after it, to step on it before it reached its hiding spot and disappeared. Step on it? Who was she kidding? That thing was bigger than her foot.
She’d never be able to walk back into the café knowing that thing was lurking somewhere in the shadows. Yet, she still sat frozen, unable to fight the grip fear held on her. Knowing her fear was irrational did nothing to calm her.
Hunt strode through the doorway and slapped one of the glass cake dish covers over the spider, then squatted down next to it and examined the foul creature as it tried to climb up the glass.
Some of the tension seeped from Gia’s body, leaving her shaking, sweat and tears pouring down her face. Strands of hair clung to her face, tickling her when she moved, giving her the feeling of something crawling down her face and neck. She slapped at it, then yanked it behind her back.
“Are you all right?” Hunt took her arm and tried to help her down.
“No.” She curled farther into the corner. “It’s going to get out.”
He glanced behind him at the trapped spider. “It’s not going to get out.”
“Are you sure? I’m pretty sure it can move that cover.”
Hunt laughed.
Seriously?
She shot him a dirty look and tried to get a grip on herself.
“It’s just a spider, Gia.”
“Just a spider? Just a spider? Are you kidding me? That thing needs to be on a leash. Are those things running all over the place down here? Am I going to have to be afraid of running into one every time I walk into a dark room?” She sobbed, the thought too intimidating to contemplate. She c
ouldn’t do this. Maybe Florida wasn’t for her. Maybe now that Bradley was dead, she could go back to New York and pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Maybe—
“Well, you see, that’s the thing. That right there…” He pointed toward the offending creature. “That’s a tarantula. And they are not indigenous to Florida.”
She stilled. “What are you talking about?”
“We don’t have tarantulas here. Unless someone was keeping one as a pet and it escaped, which we’ll check into, but I don’t expect that’s the case.”
“Pet?” What kind of madman would keep something like that as a pet? She wrapped her arms tighter around her legs, pulling her knees against her chest.
“Who else knows about your irrational fear of spiders?”
“Irrational? I’ll have you know…” His words started to penetrate. “You think someone put it there?”
“Let’s go into the other room and talk.”
She eyed the spider.
“Don’t worry. One of the officers will collect it as soon as we leave. I don’t want anyone to lift the cover while you’re still here.”
That thought motivated her like nothing else could have. She launched herself off the counter and bolted for the door. When she reached the dining room, she dropped onto a chair, then pulled her feet up with her.
“Can I make you a cup of tea or something?” Hunt asked. “The last thing you need right now is caffeine.”
She’d forgotten all about the coffee she’d put on. Hunt was right. She no longer needed caffeine. Thanks to her run-in with the mother of all spiders, she was wide awake. She might never sleep again. “No, thank you.”
He slid out a chair and sat down across from her. He kept his feet on the floor.
Fool.
“So, who else knows how afraid you are of spiders?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m pretty sure Savannah knows.”
“Did Bradley know?”
“Well, yeah, but why would he do something like that?” she asked.
“Who knows?”
Okay, stupid question. Bradley had done a million things she considered irrational, but still… “Do you think he was trying to kill me? Is that thing poisonous?”
“Nah. Actually, tarantulas are pretty harmless. Even if he bit you, you wouldn’t die. It might be uncomfortable, like a bee sting, but that’s about it.”
“Bit me? That thing could have scared me to death without ever coming close.”
“Bradley knew you’d feel that way, and we know he was in the café to eat breakfast. I already questioned Willow, and she doesn’t remember him, but I’ll try again. See if she remembers seeing a man with a box or bag. He would have had to carry it in something.”
She nodded, though she really couldn’t see Bradley doing something like that. There’d been more than one time during their marriage that he’d come home to remove a spider from the apartment. Granted, he wasn’t far from home at the time, but still. If he didn’t understand her phobia, why would he have done that?
“Come on, let’s get you home. Want me to drive you?”
“No, thanks. I’ll be all right.” She just wanted to go home and get in bed, wanted this day to be over. “But could you do me one favor?”
“What’s that?”
She swallowed hard. No matter how much she didn’t want to give in to the fear, reality was she was still shaking too badly to function. If she tried to drive like that, terrified a spider like the one in the bathroom would creep out from beneath a seat at any— she cut the thought off before she ended up begging Detective Tall, Dark, and Protective to drive her home. “Check my car for spiders before I get in it?”
She had to give him credit. He didn’t laugh, but the corner of his mouth twitched as if he wanted to.
“Sure. Come on.” He placed a hand on the small of her back and started to guide her toward the back door.
She stopped in her tracks before they reached the back room. “Is it gone yet?”
“I’m not sure.” Hunt pushed open the door.
Gia stood staring. Her car sat only a few feet from the dumpster where Bradley had been found. No way she wanted to go out there. She couldn’t go out there. “Would you mind bringing my car around, and I’ll meet you out front?”
“Come on.” This time he didn’t laugh. His dark eyes bored into her; then he placed a gentle hand on her back and led her back toward the front of the shop. He stopped and spoke quietly to an officer, then handed him her keys before leading her through the broken glass and out the front door. “Oh, I almost forgot. I spoke to Don Reynolds again today, and he said he’d be contacting you soon.”
“Who’s Don Reynolds?”
He paused, but she couldn’t read his expression in the dark.
“Remington’s attorney.”
“What are you talking about? His attorney’s name is Horace Rabinowitz.” She should know. She’d spent over a year listening to that weasel defend her ex, all the while raking in a small fortune in legal fees. Everyone knew it was impossible for Bradley to have pulled off his scheme without the guidance of an attorney. Just saying his name out loud left a bad taste on her tongue.
Hunt pulled out his notepad, shined his flashlight on it, and flipped through a few pages. “The man I spoke to was named Don Reynolds. He said he was Remington’s attorney, but maybe he was with the same firm or something.” He stuffed the notebook back into his shirt pocket. “I’ll look into it tomorrow.”
Maybe that’s why Rabinowitz hadn’t called her back. Maybe he was no longer Bradley’s attorney. If Hunt didn’t find out anything from Mr. Reynolds, she’d have to call Rabinowitz back and see if he’d tell her what was going on, although she seriously doubted he’d be anything more than a dead end, but it couldn’t hurt to try.
After walking her to her car and checking for spiders, Hunt followed her home and repeated the process in the house, searching every corner but coming up empty. Then he waited while she took Thor out.
She walked him to the door with Thor weaving between her feet and jumping up on her. Apparently, the few hours he’d spent in the crate while she was at the café were enough to rev him up again.
Hunt stopped behind the front door. “Are you going to be okay?”
She nodded. “I am, thank you.”
Thor bounced up and down.
“Good luck with that.” Hunt waited for her to grab Thor’s collar before opening the door. “Lock the door behind me, and get some sleep.”
“Thank you, Hunt.” She shifted awkwardly, not sure what else to say. That she appreciated him tolerating her phobia and humoring her?
“Any time, ma’am.” He grinned, then pulled the door shut behind him, saving her from having to say anything.
“Come on, boy. It’s bedtime.” She put Thor back into his crate in the kitchen with a pile of toys, then, dismissing the desire to fall onto the couch amid the papers she’d left scattered there, trudged toward the bedroom.
She got into her pajamas in record time, then dropped into bed. She should have brought her notebook and pen with her. She’d forgotten to write down contact Bradley’s attorney on her to-do list.
She’d call Rabinowitz again in the morning and see if she could get anything out of him. She also had to find out who Don Reynolds was. Could Bradley have had a lawyer she didn’t know about? Everyone had assumed Rabinowitz was in on his scheme, him being such a sleaze and all, but maybe he hadn’t been involved. Maybe Bradley had another attorney to handle his illegal activities, but if that was the case, then why would he have handled his estate?
Too exhausted to think straight, she struggled to turn her mind off. She rolled over and turned off the bedside lamp, then laid still, cocooned in darkness…and silence. Pitch black. Silent as a vacuum. Anything could be crawling toward her.
She lurched up and flipped the light back on.
Okay. This is definitely not going to work.
She went to the kitchen and let Thor out of his crate, then dragged the crate down the hallway and—with a little creative maneuvering—through the bedroom doorway and placed it at the foot of her bed, then ushered Thor back inside and closed the latch.
There. That was better. She got back into bed, turned off the light and closed her eyes. If her eyes weren’t open, she couldn’t tell how dark it was. Okay, that was a lie. She could absolutely tell how dark it was. Manhattan was full of lights, probably millions of which shined into her apartment window along with the sounds of the city at night.
She sat up and turned on the light. Her TV wasn’t set up yet, but she had her cell phone. She flipped on all the lights—despite the fact that Hunt had checked every inch of the house before he left—trudged back to the kitchen where she’d left her bag and grabbed her cell phone. After she plugged it into the charger on her nightstand, she searched her cable app for something to listen to while she fell asleep. She settled on a channel that showed old movies, then turned off the light and settled down again.
Letting her eyes drift shut, she dozed off amid the scream of sirens, explosions, and flickers of light pulsing against her closed lids as Lethal Weapon blared from her phone. Much better.
Chapter 11
After a fitful few hours of trying to sleep, Gia gave up and rolled out of bed. She tried to reach Rabinowitz but had to settle for leaving another voice mail. She held the phone in her hand, contemplating the cracked screen. At this point, she was no closer to figuring out what was going on than she’d been when she found Bradley’s body. Actually, things were worse. Now people she cared about were in danger. She swallowed her pride and hit Bree’s number.
“H-hello?”
“Hello, Bree. It’s Gia Morelli.”
“Um…hi, Gia.” She sniffled.
“I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Okay, but first, I just want to tell you I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?”
“For…well…everything that went on with Bradley.” Bree sobbed. “I’m so sorry, Gia. You were my friend, and I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am for getting involved with him. I’ll never forgive myself for that.”
