by Lena Gregory
Then something moved on the bed.
Miranda Ainsworth, or someone who looked remarkably like her, minus the classy clothes, gaudy jewelry, and snooty attitude, rolled over on the bed. Her hair stuck up around her head. She wore a ripped T-shirt over a pair of boxer shorts. Her mouth hung open.
Something didn’t add up. Gia started to back away.
“Lookin’ fer somefin’?”
She barely stifled a scream as she spun around.
A man stood between her and the car, his too-big, filthy sweatshirt reeking of booze. He held up a brown paper bag with a bottle sticking out the top. “Y’all wanna party?”
“Uh, no. Thanks.”
He smiled, a huge gap where most of his top teeth should have been, and smoothed his matted mess of long brown hair. “Sure now?”
“I’m sure. I have to go.” She inched toward the car without taking her eyes off him.
“Got some friends like to party.”
She had no idea what he was talking about, but she had to get out of there. Going to the motel had not been her smartest idea ever. With her gaze glued to the man in front of her, she slammed the side of her knee into the bumper. That was going to leave a bruise if she ever got out of there.
Another man stepped out of the shadows a few feet away. “Leave her alone, man.”
“Harley?”
“You shouldn’t be here,” Harley told her.
“No. I mean yes. I mean I know. I was just leaving. Thank you.”
He nodded once and waited for Gia to reach her car.
She scrambled in and slammed the lock button down. Thankfully, she’d left it running. She backed up and turned the wheel to angle the car toward the exit, then rolled down the window and called out to Harley. “Do you need a ride?”
He waved and disappeared back into the shadows.
The other man watched him, then ambled down the sidewalk muttering to himself.
First thing in the morning, she’d call Hunt and hand over the box of files and the contact information Miranda Ainsworth had given her. Let him figure out what it all meant.
Chapter 16
Gia poured coffee into an oversized mug.
“Isn’t that like your third cup?” Willow nodded toward the pot Gia still held.
“I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
Willow frowned. “Everything okay? I mean, aside from the usual…”
“Yeah, it just takes me a while to get used to sleeping somewhere new.”
“I get that.” She took the carafe from Gia and started making a fresh pot. “Seems like business picked up a little this morning.”
“I guess.” Though there had been a few more customers than yesterday, she would need a lot more to make the mortgage payment come the first of the month.
“It’ll get better.” Her smile brightened the room, her optimism almost contagious.
“I know. Thanks.”
“Any time. Want me to sweep the sidewalk out front?”
“Sure, that’d be great, thanks.”
She grabbed the broom and the dustpan and headed outside. On the sidewalk, she paused for a minute and tilted her face up toward the sun, then started sweeping, offering a smile and a greeting to everyone who walked by.
Gia couldn’t complain about Willow’s work ethic. Despite the lack of customers, she always managed to look busy, finding odds and ends to clean up, rearranging things to make them work more efficiently if they did get a sudden influx of customers.
Gia set her mug on the counter, then went around and sat on one of the stools. Though the breakfast and lunch rush times had past, she would still have expected a straggler or two to be lingering over a second cup of coffee, but the café sat empty.
Savannah stopped to say hello to Willow before joining Gia at the counter. “How y’all doin’?”
Gia just looked at her.
She laughed. “All right, so things are a little slow. They’ll pick up.”
“And if they don’t?”
“Well then, our vacation will last a little longer.” She pulled a stack of brochures out of her bag and slapped them on the counter.
“Vacation?”
“Yup. I’ve decided you need to get away for a little while. You should have taken a break after leaving New York. I understand why you chose not to, Gia, I honestly do, but you need a break. You’re pale, your hands are shaky, and you’ve lost weight. You jump at every little thing. And I’ve never seen such dark rings around your eyes, not even when you used to fly down on the weekends when everything was going on.”
Gia sighed. Trying to hide her feelings from Savannah was useless. And, quite honestly, she lacked the energy to try. “I had a visitor yesterday.”
“Okay, I’ll bite, but don’t think that gets you off the hook about getting away for a few days. But first, have you eaten anything yet today?”
She shook her head and sipped her coffee.
“I’ll be right back.” She stuck her head through the cutout to the kitchen and asked Mark to make them both omelets, then poured herself a cup of coffee and returned to her seat. “Okay, now, who was your visitor?”
Gia stirred the spoon around and around in her coffee. She needed something to do, but her stomach already burned, and there was no way she could keep down another sip of coffee without eating something. “One of Bradley’s mistresses.”
“Oh, honey. I’m so sorry.”
She shrugged. “What are you gonna do? It’s not like I didn’t know he had tons of them. I found that out during the trial, along with the rest of the world.”
Savannah remained quiet, her gaze pointedly averted.
Gia continued, grateful Savannah was a close enough friend to realize sometimes it was better not to say anything. “Anyway, it was weird. She showed up here dressed to the nines and said Bradley left something of hers with me. I had no idea what she was talking about, so I went home and searched through more boxes.”
“Did you find anything?”
“I’m not really sure. I found something, a list of names and numbers, including his mistress’s, but I don’t know what any of it means. I thought maybe you could call Hunt and give him the box. Maybe he has people who could figure it out.”
“Sure, no problem.” She pulled out her cell phone and made the call.
This is where it got tricky. She’d already planned on turning the box of files over to Hunt, so that was no big deal, but she had a feeling there would be fallout once they heard about her late-night visit. If they heard about it. Maybe she could gloss over some of the scarier details. Or maybe she just wouldn’t mention it at all.
“Hunt will swing by and pick it up later.”
“Thanks.”
Mark slid two plates in front of them with meat lover’s omelets, huge piles of home fries, and toasted bagels loaded with melted butter. He then poured a glass of orange juice for Gia and put her half-full coffee cup in a bin of dirty dishes beneath the counter. “Enjoy, and if you need anything else, just give a yell.”
“Thank you.” Gia eyed her heaping plate, then glared at Savannah. “What are you trying to do, fatten me up?”
She laughed. “Whatever it takes.”
Gia put a forkful of sausage, bacon, scrambled egg, and cheese into her mouth and moaned. “Mmm… I didn’t even realize how hungry I was.”
“Did you ever eat dinner last night?”
“Sort of.” If you count dry Cheerios as dinner.
“Did you sleep?”
“Not really, by the time I got home, it was really late.”
“I thought you got out of here early yesterday.”
“Uh…” Oops. “I did, but then I went out again.”
Savannah paused, her fork halfway to her mouth. “Went out where?”
Gia’s appetit
e fled, and she dropped her fork onto the plate. “When I found Miranda Ainsworth’s name on the documents, I wanted to know what it meant. So I might have taken a ride by her motel.”
“Might have?”
“Uh huh.”
“Taken a ride?”
“Yup.”
“But not stopped?”
“Weeell… I might have stopped the car and peeked in her window.”
Savannah shook her head and shoved in a forkful of potatoes. She chewed and swallowed before responding. “And what might you have seen when you maybe peeked in the window?”
She picked up her fork and started eating again. Now that Savannah knew and hadn’t totally freaked out, she was anxious to get her take on Miranda Ainsworth. She would have to be careful not to put her own spin on anything if she wanted to get Savannah’s uncorrupted opinion. “The motel was in a really bad neighborhood. And the room was a mess. So was Miranda. She was sleeping on the bed, but no sign of the woman who came into the café was in that room.”
“Could it have been a different woman?”
She thought back while she ate. Though Miranda’s hair had been up when she’d come into the café, she could tell it was fairly long and bleached blond. And the woman in the bed had hair stuck up all over the place, stiff, as if doused in hair spray. From what Gia could see of the woman’s upper body and leg sticking out of the blanket, she was built slim and curvy, but not skinny, the same as the woman who’d come into the café. “I don’t think so. I can’t say a hundred percent, but I think it was the same woman.”
“Do you think the jewelry she was wearing was fake?”
“Hmm… I hadn’t thought of that. I guess I just assumed it was real.”
“Why?”
Good question. “I think it was her attitude. She just came of as so pretentious and snobby, it never even occurred to me she could be a phony.”
“Maybe she wasn’t a phony. Maybe she really was a snobby socialite before Bradley robbed her of her fortune.”
Gia had thought of that. And her heart ached, not only for Miranda, but for all of Bradley’s victims. It was easier to think of them collectively, but every time she came face to face with someone Bradley had robbed, her heart broke a little more.
“Tell Hunt what happened.” Savannah used her fork to point at Gia. “Everything that happened.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
“He’ll be able to research Miranda Ainsworth’s background.”
She threw her napkin onto her empty plate and pushed the plate aside, then pulled out her phone. “I was so tired last night, I didn’t even think of typing her name into Google.”
“You need to get your screen fixed.”
“Yeah, I know.” She typed Miranda’s name into Google. “Hmm…”
“Something interesting?”
“Actually, nothing. At all. There’s a few people with the same name on social media, a pediatrician, and an artist, but from what I can tell, none of them are the woman I saw yesterday.”
“You think it’s an alias?”
She set her phone aside. “I have no idea what to think.”
“Talk to Hunt. Let him worry about it.”
“Yeah. I’ll tell him when he stops to pick up the folders.”
The door opened, and Captain Hayes walked in.
Savannah stiffened.
“Hello, Captain Hayes.” Gia stood to greet him and extended a hand.
He shook her hand. “Good afternoon, Ms. Morelli.”
“Is this a business visit, or would you like something to eat?”
“I just stopped in for a cup of coffee.”
“Have a seat.”
He settled onto a stool.
She poured a mug of coffee and set it in front of him.
“Thank you.” He took a sip. “Delicious. Just like the other night.”
“Thank you.” She waited, certain Captain Hayes had come in for more than just a cup of coffee and idle chitchat.
He took another sip. “Ahh… It’d be a real shame if it turned out you were guilty.”
Savannah crossed one leg over the other and swung her stool to face Hayes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He studied Savannah over his mug, then took a sip and lowered the mug. “Not supposed to mean anything. But it does seem kind of odd she shows up here and a body she used to be married to winds up in the dumpster out back. Could be she waited until she got down here to do away with him so she wouldn’t get caught. The detectives I spoke with in New York certainly seem to think she’s guilty.”
Experience had taught Gia to keep her mouth shut. Protesting too much only seemed to make those questioning her more suspicious. Let him think what he wanted. He couldn’t prove she did something she didn’t do. Unless, of course, someone was trying to frame her. Then all bets were off.
Savannah huffed and turned away.
Hayes watched her as he finished his coffee, then left his mug on the counter and stood. “See ya around. Thanks for the coffee.”
He stood and started out of the café.
Savannah’s voice sweetened. “Don’t worry, it’s on the house.”
Haynes turned long enough to tip his hat and walk out.
“What an ass.” Savannah pushed away from the counter and paced back and forth behind the stools. “Can you believe that guy?”
Gia shrugged it off. “No big deal. I’m used to it.”
Savannah paused, then slid back onto her stool. “I’m sorry. That was insensitive. I’m letting my own low opinion of that man interfere with being there for you. There’s no excuse for that.”
“I’m fine, Savannah, really.” This wasn’t the first time she’d noticed Savannah tense up around Captain Hayes. When he’d entered the café the night Bradley had been found, Savannah and Hunt had both changed, sobered. He was only the second person she’d ever noticed Savannah disliked. The first being Bradley. “What’s up with you and Hayes?”
“What do you mean?”
“You are one of those rare people who gets along with pretty much everyone, yet you couldn’t stand Bradley, which we can talk about another time, and you practically hate Captain Hayes. I can’t help but wonder why?” Oh, and Maybelle. But the situation between Savannah and Maybelle seemed different, as if Maybelle was more of an annoyance. The disdain she showed for the captain bordered on full-blown hatred.
Savannah traced circles with her finger on the counter. “You know my mother passed away when I was young. What you don’t know, because I never, ever talk about it, is that she was murdered.”
Shock slammed through her. Savannah never talked much about her mother’s death, only a mention that she’d passed away when Savannah was young.
“When she was killed, Hayes got it in his head he knew who her killer was. He was a rookie at the time, and he made no bones about sharing his opinion with whoever would listen. To this day, he swears my father got away with murder.”
Gia’s heart broke. She’d only met Savannah’s father a couple of times—he tended to keep to himself—but he’d seemed like a nice man. And Savannah adored him. “Did they ever find out who…”
“No. The investigation wasn’t handled properly. Hayes’s rush to judgment compromised the whole investigation. That’s part of what drove Hunt to become a detective. He’s a good man, Gia. A man you can trust to do his job the right way. He will not rest until he finds out who really killed Bradley.” She gestured toward the door. “No matter what Hayes thinks.”
“Yeah. Thanks, Savannah.”
“Any time, my friend.”
Chapter 17
“Good night, Gia.” Mark interrupted Gia rehearsing her speech about why she couldn’t go out with Trevor, the speech she’d recited a million times in her mind and had every intention of delivering as soon as he arrived
to pick her up.
She waved, still distracted with thoughts of letting Trevor down easy. “See you tomorrow.”
She added a couple of blueberry muffins to Harley’s bag and poured a large sweet tea. Then she strode through the back room, cracked the door just enough to set his bag of food and his drink on the table, and pulled it shut. His bag from the night before was gone. She hoped he’d been the one to take it.
Her thoughts went back to the night before. Harley didn’t seem the type to hang out in such a drug-infested neighborhood. Despite whatever misfortunes plagued him, the couple of times she’d seen him, his eyes were clear and he’d seemed sober. She’d have to remember to ask Savannah if he used.
“Hello?” Trevor called from the front of the café.
“Coming.” She checked the back door was locked and shut the light off, then practically ran for the dining room, not that she was in any hurry to hurt Trevor’s feelings, but she couldn’t stand the thought of anything crawling in the dark. “How are you doing, Trevor?”
“Great. It’s a beautiful night for a walk. I’ve been looking forward to it all day.”
Ugh… How was she supposed to let him down easy when he was standing there with a huge smile and a bouquet of daisies?
He held the flowers out to her. “I hope you like them.”
“They’re beautiful, Trevor, thank you.” She took the flowers around the back of the counter and filled a glass with water. “Didn’t you say you were bringing Brandy?”
“Yes. She’s outside waiting.”
“Is she okay out there?”
“Oh, sure. Everyone knows her, and she’s very well trained, but I hooked her leash over the bike rack, just to be on the safe side. We should go, though, if you’re ready. I don’t like to leave her tied up too long.”
“Oh, no. Of course not.” Looked like she was not going to be able to back out of their date, after all. She put the flowers in the water and set them on the counter beside the register. “I’m ready. I just have to grab my purse.”
“So, you’re new to Boggy Creek. How do you like it so far?”
