When she’d turned forty a few months earlier, Mimi knew that the phrase ‘Forty and Fabulous’ didn’t really do her justice. In addition to her career goals, she had high personal standards that she maintained at all times. Perfect and poised was her motto. She’d progressed from a ‘plain Jane’ type of California girl to an immaculately groomed Seattle sophisticate. The highlights that sun-kissed her shoulder-skimming already golden locks were hand-painted on by the stylist with the longest waiting list in the city. It took sweat, tears, and patience to get on that list. She treated her manicurist, facialist, nutritionist, personal stylist, and personal trainer like family, in fact, they’d taken the place of the suburban working-class parents and sister she’d left behind in San Diego and was always too busy to visit. The sparkling crystal rocks gleaming on her ear lobes, fingers, and wrists were the real thing, because in Mimi’s case, diamonds were her best friend. Mimi had always gotten what she wanted, and she wanted Johnny.
“I think we both know that there’s something…unsaid between us,” Mimi murmured, reaching her right hand up to her already revealing sheer blush-colored silk blouse and unbuttoning it a notch lower. Her breasts nearly spilled over the top of her delicate lacy bra.
Johnny remained impassive and maintained eye contact with his employee, rather than looking at what Mimi was obviously displaying.
Mimi held her position, deciding that the best option was the direct approach. Johnny was a no-nonsense kind of guy, and she figured he’d probably appreciate that type of approach.
“Do you find me attractive, Johnny? Because the feeling is mutual,” she said in a husky voice. Mimi watched Johnny watching her, and imagined what it would feel like when he kissed her. They would have to be discreet, of course, but she’d been in similar situations before. The fact that Johnny had a ring on his finger didn’t bother her.
“You’re a very attractive woman, Mimi,” Johnny said “and I’m flattered by the implied offer, but I’m a married man.”
Mimi smiled, revealing her perfectly even teeth. Her dental veneers had been fitted shortly after she arrived in Seattle, sixteen years earlier. Her own teeth were uneven and unsightly, and adult braces revolted her.
She didn’t skip a beat. “I’m not interviewing for a husband, Johnny, just a lover. Call it a business deal. We’re both good at those.”
Johnny stretched back in his chair, looking relaxed. “I appreciate your honesty. Have you ever been married, Mimi?”
Mimi was surprised Johnny had asked. Most people assumed that Mimi had never been married, because that was the impression she liked to give. Her backstory was of a survivor, an average girl without a college education who had made good. When she recounted her journey from Michelle Edmonds, working the cash register in a food market in her hometown, to Mimi, pulling down a six figure a year income and driving a top of the line Mercedes SLK, she always omitted the part about Ken and Josh. Something made her decide to open up to Johnny. Better that she was honest with him, if they were going to have a relationship. Then he would understand why his marriage wouldn’t be threatened by her.
“Yes. Married at eighteen, widowed at nineteen.” She shrugged, keeping her composure, deciding at the last minute not to reveal that she had a son. “Ever since then, I’ve had a no strings attached policy with men. My heart will always belong to someone else, the man who was my husband and died tragically at such a young age. Believe me, your wife has nothing to worry about.”
“Since you know what it’s like to love someone, Mimi, that’s how I feel about my wife. I almost messed it up once, and I won’t take that chance again. I’ve had other offers before you, and the answer’s always the same. Why go out for a hamburger when you can have steak at home?” Johnny guffawed, pleased with his joke.
Mimi glared at him. He was starting to annoy her now. This was not the way this conversation was supposed to go at all. She tried a change of direction. “You cheated on your wife before? So, what happened? Did she give you another chance, and you’re afraid to blow it?”
“No, it was…” Johnny shook his head. “Never mind, it’s ancient history. What I have with my wife, Cassie, is solid. We almost split up because of something that doesn’t even matter anymore, but in the end, it brought us closer together. We both realized we had too much to lose.”
Mimi’s face hardened, and she laughed bitterly. “You’re a sentimental fool, Johnny. You only live once, as my dead husband could tell you. We can have a little fun together, and no one will ever know.”
“No, Mimi, I’ll know. I’m not prepared to jeopardize my marriage for you or any other woman. It’s not a reflection on you, believe me. That’s just how I roll.”
Mimi folded her arms, jutting her chest out. “I see. In that case, I’ll need to consider how this may change our working relationship. I can easily get a position somewhere else where my talents are more appreciated, like Northern BMW, for instance.”
Johnny chuckled. “Mimi, of that I have no doubt. As far as I’m concerned, we can forget that this whole conversation ever happened.” He tapped the side of his nose. “L.A Confidential. J.R. Mercedes would be sorry to lose you, but that’s a decision you’ll have to make. Why don’t you think things over, and let me know what you’ve decided when I get back from Whistler next week?”
A wave of disbelief washed over Mimi, but there was no way she would let Johnny see how mortified she felt. She gave Johnny a quick nod, and thought she saw pity in his eyes. Have some dignity, she said to herself, standing up and willing her body to stop trembling. She’d learned all about dignity after Ken had died, and she’d held her head high and walked tall ever since. Stares from co-workers and customers followed her as she left Johnny’s office, fumbling to close the top button of her blouse.
Back in her own office it was another story. How dare he, she fumed, sitting at her desk in the small office she shared with Nick, who managed the corporate leasing side of the business. She was glad Nick was out of the office on a lunch break, because he would have asked her what was wrong, and she might not be responsible for what she might say right now. Every time she rewound the conversation with Johnny in her head, the playback got worse. Not only had Johnny rejected her, he’d compared her to a hamburger. And then he’d had the audacity to laugh! That was the worst insult anyone had ever directed at Mimi, and there had been a few.
And as for Cassie Roberts, what a joke she was. Mimi had seen her when she stopped by the dealership occasionally to see Johnny. She was a pathetic, tiny little woman with a convict hairstyle, whose signature look favored comfort over style. How could he want to go to bed with her instead of a hottie like me? Cassie also had an annoying habit of talking to the employees and asking about their families. She knew everyone’s name, and Mimi thought that was just creepy as well as being intrusive. Cassie had a boring job at a museum, did charity work, and probably had hairy legs.
Mimi poured herself a cup of coffee from the machine in the corner of the office. She picked up Nick’s newspaper and sat down at her desk. If she could just take her mind off the whole episode, she could decide what her next move should be. The fact that Johnny would be away for a few days later in the week gave her some breathing space.
Glancing at the whiteboard on the wall, she could see the rows of pins stuck in it, with each one representing a sale of hers and indicating how close she was to hitting her monthly and annual sales quotas. The incentive bonus plan at J.R. Mercedes was structured in such a way that she would lose all of her lucrative accrued bonuses if she quit any time soon. Walking away from J.R. Mercedes and leaving that kind of money on the table was not a viable option for Mimi.
She leafed through the newspaper, skimming over the usual sensationalist headlines, while a part of her mind began to form a plan that would allow her to avenge the slight she’d just gotten from Johnny. The solution was very simple.
Mimi called her son, Josh, who had moved to Seattle after he’d recently finished his prison sentence.
Every time she thought of the scar he’d gotten from one of the inmates when they’d had a fight, it sickened her. He’d been the spitting image of Ken before the scar, but now his handsome face was a distant memory, and the resemblance to Ken was only in her mind.
“Good morning, Josh. I have a little something I’d like you to take care of for me.” She listened to him for a minute and then said, “Josh, if you take care of this, I’ll be happy to continue to give you a monthly allowance, and I think it’s time I even raised it. Here’s what I’d like you to do,” she said, explaining what she had in mind. When she’d ended the call, she sat back in her chair, satisfied with the plan she’d made.
If Mimi couldn’t have Johnny, Cassie shouldn’t have him either. Let Cassie find out what it’s like losing a husband, Mimi thought. She’d survive, just like Mimi had, but Cassie had the luxury of a large inheritance to soften the blow. For Mimi, there was even a bonus involved in her plan. She wouldn’t have to live with the shame of having to work with Johnny after the way he’d turned her down and utterly humiliated her.
She heard Johnny laugh from the showroom.
Stupid man. He just messed with the wrong hamburger.
CHAPTER 9
Jake was waiting outside the hotel when Clark and Roz drove up to the entrance promptly at 8:00 a.m. Jake could see Roz gesturing animatedly to a bemused looking Clark, who raised his hand to greet Jake.
Roz jumped out of Clark’s jeep, leaving the door open for Jake. “Hi Jake,” Roz said, “Where’s DeeDee?”
“Upstairs, feeding Balto,” Jake said. He told Roz the room number and explained to her that the elevator for suites was located to the left of the lobby area.
“DeeDee and I can take her car,” Roz said. She nodded toward Clark, who was waiting inside the jeep with the engine idling. “You jump in with Clark to go to the golf course. See you later back at Chalet Whistler de Roz, otherwise known as Clark’s and my place.”
“Okay.” Jake watched Roz as she quickly walked into the hotel to meet DeeDee. Jake knew that DeeDee was excited about spending the day with her baby sister. Over breakfast, they’d discussed Jake’s impression of Clark, which was positive.
“Women read too much into everything,” was all Jake had said about the matter. “You always think there has to be some inside story on everything. Clark doesn’t strike me as having anything to hide, and I consider myself a pretty good judge of character. So, he’s either a man of few words, or he can’t get a word in edgewise what with all of Roz’s jabbering.”
Jake had to quickly lean to one side to avoid DeeDee’s aim at him with the breakfast menu card. He tsked, “Too slow. I’m a trained Marine, remember? Special Ops. You can’t get a menu over on me.”
DeeDee had laughed. “You do have a point about Roz,” she’d said, spreading manuka honey on her wholegrain toast. “Clark must be some kind of a saint to put up with her constant talking.”
Jake turned and walked towards the waiting jeep with a smile, and got in beside Clark who drove the short distance to the golf course. Jake waited while Clark removed his golf clubs from the back of the jeep, and then the two men walked towards the clubhouse.
“Some of the members from the Island View golf trip are over there,” Clark said, as they approached the group of about half a dozen men standing at the registration table. The men were a mixture of ages, and Jake wondered if any of them was Lyle, DeeDee’s ex.
“Jake, this is Greg Baker,” Clark said, introducing him to a man with a nicely trimmed goatee beard.
“Jake Rodgers,” Jake said, extending his hand to Greg, who responded with a nod and a handshake that had all the personality of limp lettuce.
While they registered for the tournament, Clark continued talking to Greg. “We’re going to get Jake some rental clubs and then hit a few shots on the practice driving range.”
“It’s a shotgun start at 9:00,” Greg said, “so everyone begins at the same time, but from different tees. Check which tee you’re on, and make sure you give yourself enough time to get there by 9:00.”
Jake looked at his watch. “In that case, we better get moving,” he said to Clark. “I’ve developed a bit of a slice that needs some work before we start.”
A bucket of balls later, Jake and Clark had bonded over a mutual love of golf and a competitive spirit that had Jake looking forward to seeing which one of them would triumph with the lowest score for the day. Just as Jake had suspected, Clark was perfectly capable of holding a conversation without Roz present. The mood between the men was relaxed as they loaded their clubs into a golf cart, and Jake drove toward their designated tee box which Greg had informed them was the nearby first tee.
Several of the other Island View Golf Club members were driving away, one by one, each heading in a different direction as the players made their way to their respective starting points.
Clark raised his hand to shade his eyes from the sun as he and Jake approached the first tee box. He looked towards something laying on the grass, then he squinted and pointed to a heap on the ground. “What do you suppose that is? Looks like someone has fallen.”
Jake swerved the cart to where Clark had pointed. As they drove closer, they realized the person laying on the ground wasn’t moving. The cart had barely come to a stop when Jake leaped out. Striding across the grass, he took in the situation in an instant. The body wasn’t just motionless, it was lifeless. He held up his arm to warn Clark, who was a couple of steps behind him.
“It looks like Johnny Roberts,” Clark said from where he stood.
Jake moved closer to the body. “You know him?”
Clark nodded. “Yes, he’s part of our group. He’s the one who organized the trip for the Island View members to come to Whistler.”
As Jake processed this information, something about the name sounded familiar to him. He crouched down and reached his right hand under the side of Johnny’s chin, pressing two fingers gently on his neck to feel for his pulse, but there was none. There was no sign of trauma to the body, and it was still warm. Jake immediately swung into action, moving Johnny into the recovery position on his back before attempting CPR.
“Call 911,” Jake ordered Clark in between mouth-to-mouth resuscitation attempts and forcefully pumping his hands up and down on Johnny’s chest. By the time the sirens could be heard in the distance, Jake had conceded defeat.
He stood up and shook his head at Clark, whose face had a stricken look on it. “He’s gone. I can’t get him back.” Jake did, however, remember where he’d heard the name before.
“Is Johnny’s wife’s name Cassie, Cassie Roberts?” he asked Clark. “Do they live in a big house on Mercer Island?”
Clark replied in the affirmative. “Yes, that’s them.”
Jake rubbed his chin. DeeDee’s neighbors at her home before she moved to Bainbridge Island had been a family named Roberts, and DeeDee and Cassie were friends. He explained the situation to Clark.
“I know you and the other members of the club can identify Johnny, but I think it might be comforting for Cassie if DeeDee makes the formal identification of the body. They’re very good friends, and Cassie would probably feel better knowing that it was DeeDee. This is going to be a huge shock for her, and DeeDee too, come to think of it.”
Jake looked grim. “Would you please call Roz and ask her to break the news to DeeDee and also see if Roz can drive her here in DeeDee’s car?”
Clark nodded, and tapped the screen of his cell phone.
Jake turned to face the commotion behind them. The arrival of Emergency Medical Services at the clubhouse had drawn the attention of other golfers on the course. As the paramedics approached the spot were Johnny was laying, so did several men from the Island View golf group.
“Thanks, Clark. I’ll see if I can contain this until DeeDee and Roz get here.”
*****
A short time later, Jake stood with his arm around a red-eyed and tearful DeeDee, who nodded her head. “Yes,” she said. “Th
at’s Johnny Roberts.”
She could hardly believe that Johnny, the big friendly giant of a man she’d lived next door to for over twenty years on Mercer Island, was laying dead on a gurney in front of her. She hadn’t seen Johnny since she’d moved to Bainbridge Island, but there he was, as tanned and handsome as ever, with his distinguished white mustache, shiny bald head, and chunky Rolex watch. She’d know him anywhere. He even looked like he was smiling. DeeDee had never heard Johnny raise his voice or say a cross word to anyone.
“He looks like he’s sleeping, doesn’t he? Peaceful,” DeeDee said. She was emotionally overwhelmed and feeling vulnerable, as she looked up at Jake for guidance. She allowed herself to be wrapped up in his arms.
“You’re in shock, DeeDee,” he said, steering her over to Roz, who had a worried look on her face. Jake went back to stand with Clark and several other men who knew Clark.
“I can’t believe it,” DeeDee whispered. “I feel so bad for Cassie.”
Thirty minutes earlier, DeeDee and Roz had been giggling like teenagers about their respective relationships and swapping stories about people they both knew, oblivious to the drama that was unfolding on the golf course.
“Poor Cassie. Wherever she is right now, she has no idea that her life is about to be changed forever, and she’ll never again see Johnny alive. Her children will never see their father alive either.” DeeDee started crying again, and Roz attempted to comfort her by gently patting her on the back.
DeeDee whispered in Roz’s ear. “Can you check something for me please?” She watched and waited while her sister went over and pulled Clark aside from the other men, then made a phone call before returning.
When Roz came back she glared at DeeDee. “I can’t believe you made me do that,” she said. “I have confirmed that Lyle is not in Whistler, he is definitely alive, and at work in his office in Seattle. Your children still have a father.”
Northwest Cozy Mysteries #1 Page 19
