“What’s our next move, Sandy?”
“Some planning.” She pointed across the street to Dunkin’ Donuts. “How about coffee? I had a sandwich over there earlier. Suddenly, I really need a doughnut. I can smell them already.” Then she remembered, “I’m sorry, you haven’t eaten all day. You said you were hungry. Let’s find a nice café, or something.”
“I’m okay. I’ll get a sandwich over there. I don’t want to waste time hunting around in a strange neighborhood for a sandwich.”
It was a popular place busy mostly with takeouts although there were officers sitting at the counter. A table toward the back held a squad of cops. Sandy said, “I don’t kid around about cops and their doughnuts. You never know what the guy has just faced on his shift, or what he’ll face before he gets to go home.” She scanned the bustling shop, spotted someone leaving a table near the window and cleared it.
“What do you want?” he asked. “I’ll get it.”
“Glazed doughnut and black coffee.”
After he came back, she attacked the doughnut while he sipped coffee waiting for his egg sandwich. “You’re not pleased with that detective’s attitude, I know,” he said.
“He doesn’t bother me that much. I’m making a bunch of guesses and I’m not always right. His guesses carry more consequences.”
“You know, it’s strange that he doesn’t see any connection between Boyd and Myra’s murder. Boyd’s dead and now Myra’s dead. They were lovers and now both are dead. That would set off all kinds of signals in my mind, if it were my investigation.”
“That’s a good way to put it, Martin. You should have said that to him.”
“He was too busy ignoring you to bother with ignoring me.” His name was called and he stepped over to the counter and brought back his sandwich. “Dominic thought Ryan was guilty to start with. Now the guy has taken off.”
“Myra embezzling money is rather startling although it fits in with the life crisis the poor woman was going through. I don’t see much of a mystery there. I’ll bet you a dime she started stealing company money to finance the affair. Boyd expected money to keep coming around, and as his interest in her lessened his price to stick around probably went up.”
“Cruel, but she’s not the first person to play the fool over sex. And tossing the fact of embezzled money into this mess doesn’t help. We didn’t want her to be an embezzler. We wanted her to be Jane.”
“We really wanted her to be Jane, didn’t we?” Sandy said. “We aren’t as far along in our investigation as we thought. And then she’s murdered and her house gets turned inside out. Someone believed she had money hidden. Could have been the embezzled money they were after. It could have been the payoff money.” She captured the last precious crumb with the tip of her finger.
“Sister Gail might know something about this. You need to interview her.”
“I don’t see that happening. Ryan kicked me out of his office, and he saw her that night. He’d have given her the bad word on me. Plus now, the cops are going to be talking with her.”
He pushed his plate away. “I noticed you didn’t mention her existence to Dominic. That would have saved him some time. Why didn’t you tell him? Right now at the start he has no idea of who comes and goes in that house.”
“I confess. I kept Gail to myself, because I was annoyed with him and feeling obstinate. I don’t like myself when I get like that. But he sneered at my information. And if I’d mentioned Gail, he’d have told me to stay away from her, as well. You noticed he brushed aside my simple request to phone Bristol Trucking and get me Boyd’s current address. I was hoping for more cooperation. Okay, I’m a smartass, I should swallow my annoyance, phone and tell him about Gail.”
“Yes, you should have mentioned her.”
“I was hoping to get Ryan on my side and then have him introduce me to Gail. I’d be more likely to get something useful out of her.”
“That might not happen now. He’s a fugitive.”
“Something else I’d like to try, right now. Let’s drive over to Bristol Trucking in your big black car and find out what address Boyd has been giving his employer. If Dominic won’t get me the address, I’ll get it myself.”
“He told you to stay away from Bristol.”
“Maybe I misunderstood him.”
“Yeah, right. First you need to drive me to the police vehicle pound and get my big black car released.”
Within the hour, Martin skidded his car to a stop directly in front of the entrance to Bristol Trucking. And, just in case someone inside had missed their dramatic arrival, Sandy and Martin jumped out with a great slamming of doors. He was standing by the car trying his best to look menacing, when Sandy hurried over to him. “Tell them you need Boyd’s address as part of the investigation.”
“Me? I’m not going in there!”
“Don’t you want to practice? Go on. They’ve seen me out here. They’ll assume we’re investigating the embezzlement.”
“What if they want to see a badge?”
“Tell them that as a citizen you’ve a right to his address under the Freedom of Information Act.”
“What?”
“I’m kidding. Just give them a hard look that says, ‘Now we can do this the hard way or we can do this the easy way.’ Or maybe it’s the easy way first and then the hard way, whatever. And don’t smile.”
“Should I snarl?”
“Snarling’s good. Loosen your tie and unbuttoned your suit jacket.”
“I could stick my hand in my coat pocket as though I’m carrying heat.”
“It’s not carrying heat, it’s packing heat. How long you been a hood?”
He squared his shoulders and stepped out as if he’d just been named mobster of the year. Within three minutes, he was back out smiling. “They jumped to attention in there. They fell all over themselves getting the address.”
“No one messes with Marty Bronner, if they know what’s good for them,” she growled out of the side of her mouth. “Okay, drive me back to my car while I check out his address.” She brought up the Palm Beach County assessor’s office on her tablet and typed in the address.
She read from the screen, “The home address Boyd gave his employer is listed to a Tonya Rhodes. You suppose Boyd was living with her? Let’s see if the Criminal Database has anything on this woman.” She phoned Jaworski in Park Beach, told him about Boyd being connected somehow to a Tonya Rhodes and gave him her address.
Jaworski said, “Any chance she’s Jane? Maybe they pulled off the extortion together. Maybe you just solved the Lagoon Park murder for me. Hold on a minute...I’m checking.”
Martin said, “It doesn’t mean Tonya is his girlfriend. She could be his old-maid aunt.”
Jaworski came back on, “Hold on, here’s her record...interesting. Tonya Rhodes is not clean, Sandy. Did big time. Five years. Kentucky Correctional for Women. Manslaughter.”
“How about that? Convicted of manslaughter. Remember they once arrested Boyd for assault. They do make a dangerous pair. One more thing, Eddy. Can you send a shot of her driver’s license to my phone? I need her photo and physical description.”
She hung up and waited for the download to come through.
Martin had heard part of the conversation while driving. “Sounds as if Boyd was making out with Myra while living with Tonya. Makes you wonder if one girlfriend was aware of the other. Perhaps Tonya is the jealous kind of girlfriend and shot Myra to get her out of her boyfriend’s life.”
Her phone rang with the license information download. She studied the photo.”Geez, this is Tonya Rhodes? I just met this woman yesterday! This is the gal who runs the Nationwide Driving School.”
Her phone rang again.
When she answered the voice said, “Ryan Cramer here, can you talk?”
She was startled and held the phone over so Martin could hear. “Ryan! This is unexpected. How’d you get my number?”
“You left your card with me in my office. I’m
sorry I kicked you out. You said you were trying to decide if I was complicit. I didn’t realize you were investigating my wife’s embezzlement. I want you to know that I had nothing to do with that.”
“I’m not exactly investigating the embezzlement—”
“I knew nothing about it until Myra confessed to me last night.”
“I think the embezzlement is the least of your worries, Ryan.” She screwed up her face, looked over at Martin and shrugged. “So, you were with Myra last night?”
Ryan answered, “Yes, she came over to Gail’s place all upset. Told us she was in a jam and asked for our help. With her cheating on me I wasn’t really in the mood to help. After she left, I drove up here.”
“Ryan, I guess you know the police are looking for you.”
“Damn, I was afraid it would come to that. Now what do they want with me?”
“You didn’t think the police would be looking for you? Where are you?”
“Disney World.”
“Having fun? Universal Studios also is popular this time of year.” She glanced over at Martin and gave her head a slow shake. “Ever cross your mind the police might want to talk with you?”
“I suspected they might but I didn’t want to be bothered by a bunch of questions.”
“Those pesky police can be so bothersome.”
“I had nothing to do with it. Myra got herself into that mess.”
“Well, you need to come back and explain that to them.”
“Are they likely to believe me? Can you help me?”
“Well, running away doesn’t increase your credibility. Why Disney World?”
“I’m not in the actual park. We have a timeshare nearby. With all that’s been going on, I thought I should just get away.”
“Take a little break and leave your worries behind, huh? I thought you were a bright guy. What you’re doing is crazy. You need to turn yourself in voluntarily. Get yourself back here ASAP. Phone me when you get in town, if you like, and I’ll go with you to the police station. That always looks good.” He should do it and it would earn her some points with Detective Dominic, if she walked in with the fugitive. “Tell me you’re coming back. How long does it take?”
“Around two hours on the turnpike. I suppose you’re right. Okay, I’ll come back.”
“Phone me again as soon as you get back in town.” She hung up and gave Martin an exasperated look. “You hear that? He doesn’t see where it’s that big of a deal to run and hide.”
“Think he’ll show?”
She explained what was said on the phone. “He doesn’t seem to understand the seriousness of ducking out after his wife’s murder. It’s as though he doesn’t know she’s dead.”
“Perhaps he doesn’t. From what I just heard, he left town because he was upset about being dragged into the embezzlement affair. Myra could have been killed after he left.”
“You might be right, Martin. That would explain his bewilderment on the phone. It was as if we were talking about two different things.”
“So, if and when he shows, you’ll go with him to turn himself in. He’ll be sitting in an interrogation room for the rest of the night. I think this is a suitable time for me to duck out of Palm Beach and go back home at least for a day. I want to check on my father, and I’ve work piling up at the office.”
“Good idea. There’s nothing for you to do here right away. Go home and sleep in your own bed tonight. I’ll drive back up to Park Beach late today or tomorrow. I’ve two hours to kill before Ryan gets here. It’ll be late before he lines up an attorney, and we get him turned over to Dominic.”
“You’re not going to get out of here tonight. I wish you hadn’t agreed to meet him. Why did you volunteer? You’re not thinking of representing him.”
“Of course not. When he shows up, I’ll tell him he needs to find someone. My thought is he walks into that police department with his own lawyer. He’s been through quite bit, is really suffering right now and about to be hit with the shock of losing his wife.”
“That’s all true but it wasn’t your obligation. I can’t believe you’re just going to sit around for two hours. Something else is going on in that kinetic mind of yours. Are you going to share all this with Dominic?”
“Share all what?”
“Don’t play innocent, Sandy. There’s an APB out on Ryan and you just talked to him. You have to tell Dominic. You have to keep feeding him information, even if he blows you off. It’s the only way you’ll win him over. You know that both Myra and Ryan confided in Gail, and Dominic isn’t aware that she exists. Now you also know about Tonya Rhodes, who might have wanted Myra out of her boyfriend’s life. What have I left out?”
“He as much as said he doesn’t care what the smartass knows. I’m going to wait and see if Ryan shows up. But you’re right, at some point I need to tell Dominic what I know about Gail and Tonya.” She frowned pulling her eyebrows together. “Except if Tonya were Jane, she’d have reacted badly and with considerable surprise to see her former hostage walk in on her. I want to talk to some neighbors around her home. We’re thinking she’s Boyd’s girlfriend. We could be wrong, and she’s just a relative or something. I want to know more about her anyway. My impression is she could plug Myra without even flinching. She’s a little older than Boyd and seems to be a tough lady with a lot of guts. At some point, I want to talk with her directly.”
“I know it’s wishful thinking, but I really hope you won’t try to confront her until I come back. Remember, she went to jail for manslaughter.”
Chapter Twenty-three
Sandy hit heavy rush hour traffic on her way to the address Boyd had given to Bristol Trucking as his home. A quick check with the county assessor’s website showed Tonya Rhodes owned the property. She could be Boyd’s landlord, sister or even wife. Sandy just didn’t know. She’d snoop around the neighborhood and try to get the facts. She checked the dashboard clock. She had two hours before Ryan would be back in town and phoning her.
“How do people live around here with all this traffic?” she mumbled to herself while enduring another stall on I-95. Almost immediately after exiting, she entered a palm-tree lined, quiet residential area. She looked up at the clear blue sky. “Okay, I take it all back. This is what Florida’s all about.”
Her GPS dictated three more turns and she was at her destination. She double-checked the house number. It was an older—older for Florida—single family dwelling in a pleasant neighborhood; a well cared for white stucco cinder block house with attractive courses of yellow bricks going halfway up the front façade. All trimmed with suitable seasonal plantings. The closed overhead garage door gave no hint of whether Tonya was home.
Sandy went on ahead and parked in front of the house two houses down and across the street from Tonya. A family living there would likely hear gossip about Tonya, yet was far enough away to not be a protective friend. She walked past the car in the driveway, knocked and was pleasantly greeted by a thirty-something woman in jeans and an oversized deep-red Miami Heat jersey.
“Who are you again?”
“I’m investigating an accident. I understand that Mrs. Rhodes...is she married?”
“I’m not certain—”
“I understand Ms. Rhodes might have witnessed something.”
“Why don’t you go across the street and ask her?”
“Oh, I did,” she lied, “no answer. Does she live alone?”
“Where?”
“Where?”
“The accident?”
“Oh, of course.” Sandy tried to think of a street, any street. Then she remembered the Marriott, “Coral Boulevard near I-95.”
“Well, I know who she is but don’t know her very well. Anyway, I don’t see how what I say helps any with the accident. Step in out of the heat. You look like you could stand a glass of iced tea. I was just going to fix up a batch. Will you join me?” She held the door open.
“Sounds nice.” Sandy stepped into the pleasant Florida livi
ng room with lots of pastels and shades of white. “Does Tonya live alone?”
“Really, you can’t expect me to give all the low-down to someone I just met.” Then the woman smiled. “But since you’re going to join me for tea...you just get comfy there, and I’ll be right back.”
The woman disappeared into the kitchen. Sandy walked across to the large living room window and peered out across the street and slightly down the block at the Tonya Rhodes house.
The woman returned saying, “She seems to be a lovely person. Friendly and all that. I remember once the little girl who lives next door, what is she ten? Fell on her bicycle. Tonya was planting something in her front yard—she’s quite the homemaker—came charging across the street to help her.” She paused to look at her watch. “Well, you’d think the girl had broken her arm instead of just a scratch. Tonya was all over her dabbing at the wound and putting on a band-aid. Then you know what? Tonya puts the bike over her knee and straightens out the bent frame on that bike with her bare hands. If that don’t beat all.” The woman checked her watch, then walked across the room and glanced out the front window.
Sandy was bothered by the woman’s watch-checking routine—and rightfully so. There was a knock at the front door and it banged open.
All six feet plus of Tonya Rhodes stormed in with a rush of gray sweatshirt and blue jeans. Sandy recognized her immediately—the woman from Nationwide Driving School. She was attractive in a plain, natural sort of way. Probably didn’t spend much time in front of a mirror. At that particular moment she wasn’t happy.
“Don’t bother giving me a name and a reason for being here, lady. Because I’m not going to believe anything you say. Thanks for texting me, June.”
Sandy recovered fast, “Sorry for the deception. We have a sensitive situation here. Some money was stolen. My job is to track it down.”
Tonya said, “Not that I believe one word, but is Cal involved? Is that why you were asking about him the other day?”
“Yes, all part of our investigation. We don’t believe he stole it. Nevertheless, we believe he has information on the suspect. He gave Bristol Trucking your address.”
Alive After Friday (Sandy Reid Mystery Series) Page 13
