by Maeve Hart
“Okay, thanks.” I decided I had better get started. I slid to the ground and sat cross-legged, pleased that I’d worn stretch jeans and sneakers.
Most of the documents in the first box were items pertaining to his sales job. Most of the next were utility bills going back nearly ten years. I hadn’t realized that Don was such a hoarder.
I felt I wasn’t getting anywhere when I started on the third box. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. I sorted through emails that Don had printed out and then noticed a familiar name. He had printed an email to Detective Andrews. I could scarcely believe it and my heart began to pump hard. I heard footsteps coming back toward the room. Quickly, I folded the paper and shoved it down the front of my blouse.
Peter stuck his head into the room. “How’s it going?”
I smiled and looked up at him. “Rather slow, I’m afraid.”
“Would you like anything to drink? Tea or something?”
Remembering Donald had most likely died by someone making him a poisoned drink, I shook my head. “I brought a bottle of water with me. Thanks anyway.”
When Peter left, I started looking for more emails to Detective Andrews, but there were none in that box. I moved to the next box. Before I started, I took the water bottle out of my bag and took a mouthful.
Peter stuck his head through the door once more. “I’m sorry, Destiny, but it never occurred to me to ask you if you wanted anything of Don’s.”
“No, thank you. I can’t think of anything.”
“Okay, I just thought I’d ask.” And then Peter was gone again.
“Peter, where has Don’s computer gone?” I called out as I stood up.
He came back into the room and stared at Don’s desk. “Didn’t Don tell you about the break-in?”
I whipped my head around to stare at him. “No. He had things stolen?”
“It was a few days before he died. The police came around here and everything. I’m surprised he didn’t tell you.”
“What was taken?”
“His computer, his TV, and a few electronic items. He didn’t really have much else here of any value.”
“Was the same detective working on it as the one who is working on his murder—Detective Andrews?”
Peter shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t help you. I don’t know much about it. All I know is that he called his mother to tell her some of his things were stolen. Jennifer and I were there at the time.”
“Was that before or after our engagement party?”
“I think it was the day before, possibly.”
“Speaking of the engagement party, why didn’t you and Jennifer and Maggie go?”
He frowned. “Don said it was just for his people from work and that he was having a different engagement party for family.”
“Well, that’s news to me.”
“Don liked to do things differently, that’s for certain.”
“I guess so,” I agreed. “I wonder why he never mentioned the robbery to me.” I thought it odd, but then again I’d never known how much money he had, either.
When we both heard a car door shut, Peter looked out the window. “Oh my God!”
“What is it?”
“It’s Gina, Don’s ex-wife!”
Chapter 14
“Don’t tell me this is her house?”
“No, but she probably wants it. She’s trying to get everything else of Don’s. Stay out of sight. I’ll do my best to get rid of her.” He pushed up his tie and straightened his jacket by pulling sharply down on the front of it.
Peter left the study and headed to the front door, and then I heard Gina’s shrill voice. His plan of keeping her out of the house did not work well because she burst past him and appeared in the doorway of the room I was in.
She looked down at me with hands on her hips. “Who are you?” If I had to guess I would’ve said that she was older than Don, a good ten years older than him. She was dressed expensively in a pale pink pencil skirt that stopped at her knees and a matching jacket. Around her neck was a triple strand of large white pearls and on her ears were large white pearl stud earrings. Her light brown hair was pulled back severely from her face.
“I’m Don’s fiancé,” I said, taking an intense and instant dislike to the woman. I wished I still had my engagement ring to flash at her.
“What a load of balderdash!”
I raised my eyebrows. It had been a long time since I’d heard anyone use that expression, which confirmed my suspicions about her age. She was attractive in a well-preserved kind of a way.
“Gina, Don was engaged to Destiny.”
“No he wasn’t. I don’t know what you’re both doing here, going through his things. I’m his legal wife and as such I order both of you out of this house.”
“No, Gina. I’m ordering you out of the house because Don left the house to Jennifer. There’s nothing here that belongs to you.”
“I’ll see about that.” She picked up the papers in a box that I hadn’t touched yet. Peter lunged forward and pulled the box from her. “Destiny is looking for missing paperwork.”
She glared at me. “What missing paperwork?”
Peter answered for me. “Just her own. Nothing to do with Don.”
She shook her head. “What kind of name is Destiny?”
“The kind my mother gave me,” I retorted, thinking she wouldn’t want to say something like that around my mother.
“Please leave, Gina,” Peter said far too meekly.
“No. I need to have a good look around and make sure there’s nothing of mine here.”
“I’m calling the police,” Peter said with a little more gusto.
She dismissed him with a wave of her hand. “Call away.”
I pulled myself to my feet. “If you’re going to court to get the rest of Don’s money, it won’t look good to have a police report against you for trespassing.”
“What’s it to you? You were nothing to Don.”
“He was found dead in my apartment and he spent most of his time there, so you’re wrong.”
“Come on, Gina. You need to leave,” Peter said with his hand on her elbow.
She shrugged herself away from him. “I’ll go as soon as I have a look in every room.”
I could tell that Peter was frustrated and didn’t know what to do. She turned up her nose and scowled at me before she left the room. Peter followed her. A few minutes later, I heard the front door shut and raced to the window. Gina was getting into a white Mercedes and a few seconds later it was roaring up the street. I went to find Peter.
He was sitting on the couch, staring into nothingness and looking as though he’d been run over by a bulldozer.
“What was that all about?” I asked.
He shook his head. “What would she think would be here? They never lived here together. This was a rental belonging to Don and he moved in here after they divorced.”
“Where had they lived?”
“Not far from where Maggie lives, only a couple of streets away. They sold their big house after the upheaval he had at his work and then soon after that they divorced.”
“What upheaval?”
He looked up at me. “Didn’t Don tell you?”
“No. Was that a different company than the one he was working for when he died?”
He nodded. “It was.”
I still didn’t have my answer. “What trouble?”
“It’s hardly worth mentioning now.”
I thought if I got Peter onside I could find out a lot more from him. If only I’d had time to read the email that was stuffed down the front of my blouse. Sitting beside him, I said, “It must be hard for you with Don dying and then Jennifer being accused and everything.”
“It has been difficult. I’ve had to be Maggie’s shoulder to cry on and be a support for Jennifer as well, but who’s there for me? I can’t lean on the kids. I’ve got to shield them as much as I can.”
“I understand. Everyone’s relying on you and zap
ping your energy.” I sighed. “I know what that’s like.”
“It’s nice to talk to someone who understands.”
I nodded. “I do.”
“It’s been hard on the children. Lucky they’re old enough to look after themselves.”
“Yes. They’re teenagers now, aren’t they?”
“Yes. And they’re good kids. They’re not into drugs or anything.”
“That’s good. Peter, what upheaval were you talking about with Don’s work?”
He sighed. “Don was accused of embezzlement. Maggie blamed Gina for putting pressure on him, wanting the biggest and best of everything.”
“How come I never heard about this?”
“The charges were suddenly dropped. Don never said why and I never asked him. He never denied the charges and he was facing a prison sentence.”
“Was it a lot of money?”
“It must’ve been for him to have been facing a lengthy sentence.”
“How would he have gotten another job with a company as big as Jacques Hunter’s?”
“It was obviously kept quiet—the arrest. And there were no charges on file.”
“I wonder why?”
Peter shrugged and straightened his tie. “He must’ve cut some deal.”
“Do you think?”
Peter shrugged again. “I’m just guessing. You see that kind of thing on TV. I don’t know if it happens in real life.”
I thought about Peter’s words. Had Don been forced to spy on Jacques and Granny and deliver information about them to Detective Andrews to get off embezzlement charges? That would explain why Andrews knew so much about Don and it would also explain the email.
I went back into the study and continued going through the papers. Finally, I was nearing the end and I still had only the one email. If only the computer hadn’t been stolen then I might’ve had access to his emails. The laptop he used at my apartment had been taken by the police and not returned. It would look too suspicious if I asked for it back and I might be told I wasn’t entitled to it—his wife might be. She’d be happy about that from what I’d learned of her so far.
Nothing! I’d been there for nearly three hours going through all the papers and I’d only found one email.
My attention was taken by Don’s desk. I walked around the front of it and saw four drawers. Opening one after the other, I was disappointed to see that they were all empty. The bookshelves also were empty and a few hundred books were stacked in rows against one wall. If I weren’t so tired, I would’ve had a look through every book to see if he’d pushed a slip of paper into one of them. Their spines were toward the wall, so I got on my hands and knees and had a quick look to see if any of them looked like their pages weren’t meeting properly at the ends indicating something tucked into the book. Again—nothing.
“Any luck?” I looked up at Peter from my crouched position on the floor.
“Nothing.”
“I’m sorry. You’ve come all this way for nothing.”
I really wanted a good look around the house for clues, but how was I to do that with Peter there? “Now that I’m here, I can help you,” I said. “I’ve nothing on for the rest of the day.”
His face lit up. “Would you?”
“Yes. Show me where to start.”
Unfortunately, he showed me to the kitchen and told me the fridge needed cleaning out. He’d turned the electricity off two days ago and hadn’t opened the fridge since.
When I opened the door, I coughed and put my hand over my mouth. “This has got to be a health hazard.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it’d be that bad. He was hardly here so I didn’t think he’d have food in it. Leave it; I’ll have the cleaners do it.”
I spied some bleach and some rubber gloves. “I’ll do it. I’ll just go to the bathroom first.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” I headed to the bathroom so I could read the email. I opened the door and locked it behind me. Sitting down, I pulled out the email and read it.
Hi Logan,
I met the old woman once as I told you, and I don’t think she likes me. I’ll have to find an excuse to go there without her granddaughter tomorrow. I’ve got that report about the target underway and I’ll have it finished for our next weekly debrief.
Best,
Don
Don had been collecting information for Logan Andrews, the detective! I felt sick, but knew I had to pull myself together so Peter wouldn’t see there was something wrong with me.
I folded it carefully and stuffed it down my bra. The ‘target’ had to be Jacques, and the ‘old woman’ had to be Granny. I stood, flushed the toilet and washed my hands. Cleaning the horrid fridge would keep my mind occupied until I figured out what all this meant.
Just as I pulled the rubber gloves on, I heard the screech of car tires. I called out to Peter, “Peter, are you going to throw this fridge out? It doesn’t look like it’ll fetch much if you sell it.” I was looking for excuses not to clean it. It made no sense to clean it if it would just end up in landfill or wherever old fridges went. “Peter?” It was weird that he hadn’t answered, so I went to find him.
I looked all around the house and couldn’t see him. Glancing out the window, I saw his car was still there. The only room I hadn’t checked was the study. When I walked in, the first thing I saw was Peter on the floor with his legs pointing toward the door.
I screamed.
“Peter!”
Chapter 15
Flinging myself on the floor next to him, I felt his neck for a pulse. There was none. I tried to do CPR by doing chest compressions, but I had no idea what I was doing, so I grabbed my phone and called 911. I couldn’t tell how or why he’d died. There were no obvious marks on him.
While I was answering questions asked by the operator, I thought of the email down my shirt. What if the police searched me? Then they’d know that I knew about Don and what he was up to. I read through the email once more and memorized it and then I ripped it into small pieces, quietly enough so it wouldn’t be heard on the 911 tape if anyone played it back. I quickly placed the phone on the ground and flushed the paper down the toilet, making sure every piece disappeared.
When I picked up the phone again, all I could hear was, “Ma’am, Ma’am.”
“I’m here. I’m sorry, I dropped the phone.”
“Stay on the line.”
“Yes, I am.”
I felt myself getting lightheaded and I dropped to the floor.
Soon I heard sirens and felt a pair of strong arms lifting me.
“Are you alright?” I heard someone say.
I opened my eyes to see paramedics. One of them had lifted me onto the couch in the living room. I blinked. “I’m okay. Is he…?”
“I’m afraid so.”
Movement at the front door caught my eye. I looked over to see Detective Andrews walk into the house.
He shot me a look and walked over to me. “What happened here?”
“Peter’s dead.”
“So it seems. Can you explain to me how that happened?”
“He was fine. We had a visit from—”
“What were you doing here?” Andrews asked.
“I was looking for some missing paperwork. I like to keep records of everything. Peter said I could go through the boxes before he shredded them. And then we had a visit from Gina.”
“Gina Farrell was here?”
Was he trying to rub my nose in the fact that Donald had never divorced by emphasizing her last name? “Yes.”
“What did she want?”
“The house, I think. She wanted to come inside and have a look to see if anything of hers was here. Peter said no and she came in anyway. Peter said he’d call the police if she didn’t leave and then she left.”
“What kind of car was she driving?”
“A white Mercedes. I don’t know what model or anything.”
He walked over to an officer and whispered so
mething to her. The officer nodded and hurried away.
“Do you feel all right?” one of the paramedics asked me.
“Yeah. I must’ve blacked out for a second.”
“It’s common with a shock.”
I’d had enough of those to last me quite a while. More people in white poured into the house.
Andrews came back into the room and asked me, “You didn’t touch anything, did you?”
I blinked hard while thinking. “I felt his neck for a pulse and maybe his wrist.”
“What about the rest of the house?”
“I only went to the bathroom and the kitchen and that’s it.” I held my head. Peter was the second person I’d found dead in a matter of months. I asked, “What did he die from?”
“We’ll get an indication as soon as the coroner gets here.”
“Oh, I remember, I was just about to clean out the fridge when I heard a car drive away with the wheels screeching. I’d just come back from the bathroom and I was talking to Peter and he didn’t answer. That’s when I went to find him.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
I wondered if Gina had doubled back and killed him. “Do you think…”
“Gina?”
I nodded. “Well, they had words and she was furious.”
“We’ll soon find out.”
“Can I go home now?”
“We’ll need you to make an official statement.”
“Can I do that tomorrow? I’ve been through a lot. You know where I live—I’m not going to leave town. If I fall asleep in the interview, I won’t be much good to you.”
“Very well. First thing tomorrow. Can you be there at eight?”
I nodded. I stood and made my way to the door, upset that I’d ripped up the email—the only piece of evidence that Don had been in touch with the detective about Granny and Jacques. I resisted the urge to ask Andrews about the embezzlement and how long he’d known Don.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Andrews asked.
I moved aside for more people who came into the house. “I’m all right. You’ll have to break the news to Peter’s wife, Jennifer.”
He nodded slowly. “And I’m not looking forward to it, but it comes with the territory.”
