Lethal Legacy

by Amanda McKinney

  His gaze landed on a picture of Victoria scattered on his desk. “I’m in the middle of a big case right now, but I hope to wrap it up very soon.”

  “I understand. Let’s touch base at the end of the week. Sound good? I want to get this position filled in the next few weeks. You want it, it’s yours.”

  A few weeks. “Thanks, Tisevich.”

  “See ya.”

  “Bye.”

  Danny hung up the phone. He couldn’t believe he had any hesitation whatsoever about going back to California. More than that, he couldn’t believe a woman was the cause of that hesitation. Aside from getting the occasional text or call from his ex-wife, he had no love interest in his life, and that was just the way he wanted it. How had Victoria changed that? Why couldn’t he stop thinking of her?

  His thoughts were chased away by the ringing of his phone. “Dabrowski.”

  Silence.

  Danny sat up. “Hello?”

  “Danny Dabrowski?” A nervous, female voice.

  “Yes. Who is this?”

  “This is Natasha Watson. Victoria Henry’s friend. We met at the charity event.”

  “Yes. What can I do for you?”

  “I was wondering if you could meet me somewhere. Um, off the record.”

  Off the record was never good. “Of course. When?”

  “As soon as you can.”

  “I can now. Where?”

  “There’s a coffee shop a few blocks down from the gallery. Do you know it?”

  “Yes, see you in ten.”

  Under ten minutes later Danny pulled open the door to Hazy Dayz coffee shop.

  It was a hippie coffee shop full of college students and professors. Smooth jazz played over the speakers. The smell of good quality coffee made his mouth water as he glanced around until he saw Natasha in the corner waving at him.

  She smiled as he sat across from her. “Hi. Thank you for meeting me.”

  “Of course. Can I get you some coffee?”

  “I was going to offer, but since you beat me to it, yes.” She couldn’t turn off her flirt.

  Danny laughed. “Lucky me. What would you like?”

  She rattled off a very intricate order and Danny struggled to remember it as he placed his order up front. He came back to the table and sat down. He could tell she was uncomfortable meeting him, so he got straight to the point.

  “So, what’s going on?”

  She looked down for a moment. “Well, I’m worried about Victoria.”

  He nodded.

  “I’ve been opening and closing the gallery since everything happened. You know, helping her out.”

  The waitress brought their drinks. He was surprised hers didn’t have an umbrella in it.

  “Well, strange things have been happening.”

  “Strange things?”

  “Yes. I feel like I’ve been followed a few times. And, there have been a few times I’ve caught a man peering through the windows at the gallery. And, watching me from a bench across the street.”

  “A man? Can you describe him?”

  “Tall, for sure. I think longer dark hair? But that’s really all I can tell. He always has a baseball cap or hat on, pulled down low. And always wearing dark colored long sleeves and pants.”

  “What kind of baseball cap? Color? Image?”

  “Well, now that you mention it, I think the cap might be orange.” Her face lit up. “Yeah, orange!”

  “Like a University cap?”

  “Yes! It could be!”

  He smiled at her excitement, but decided not to tell her there are thousands of those caps sold in Texas every year.

  “What time of day? Different each time?”

  “I saw him leaning up against a tree across the street the other morning, when I was opening. And then a few times in the evening when I close. But, I also just have that feeling I’m being watched when I get home at night too.”

  “You’re sure it’s the same guy?”

  “Yes. But, that’s not all.” She leaned closer. “Last night I caught someone trying to break into the back door of the gallery.”

  Danny narrowed his eyes. “Did you call the cops?”

  She looked down. “No.”

  Shocker. Why the hell are women so hesitant to call the police? “Do you think it was the same guy that has been watching you?”

  “I’m pretty sure it was a guy she met at a bar last week. I think his name was Anthony. It was dark but I’m sure I recognized his face.”

  Danny’s jaw clenched.

  Natasha continued. “This was right before her house burned down. I was late meeting her at a bar after work, and when I walked in, this guy was talking to her. Seemed to be flirting with her, if you ask me. Anyways, he was handsome and seemed nice enough.”

  Obviously, Natasha wasn’t aware that Anthony had attacked her friend.

  “Did he see you when he was trying to break in?”

  She shook her head. “No. No, I don’t think so.”

  “Okay, walk me through everything.”

  “Okay. After I got home, I realized I had forgotten some paperwork for a sales meeting I had the next day, so I went back. It was probably an hour after I closed. Right when I rounded the corner, I saw him fiddling with the lock on the backdoor. Hunched over, looking suspicious, ya know? I immediately darted behind a dumpster. But, something must’ve spooked him because he was gone when I looked again.”

  “Do you have security cameras outside the building?”

  “Yes.”

  “Perfect. I need you to pull those images for me.”

  “Yes, of course.” She sipped her nine-dollar drink. “Have you spoken with Victoria lately?”

  “Yes.”

  “So, you know where she is.”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. I do, too. I don’t like her being out in the middle of nowhere, all secluded like that. But she feels safer being out of town, I guess. I’ve tried calling her but the reception is shoddy.” She laid her hand on his. “Take care of her, okay?”

  “Natasha, next time you see Anthony I want you to call me immediately.”

  She nodded.

  “And stay away from him. Don’t go up to him or talk to him. I’ll have officers patrol the gallery and your home regularly until things calm down.”

  “Thank you.”

  Never much of a small talker, Danny pushed back his chair and stood. “And, let me know if you hear from her.”

  “Will do. Thanks, Lieutenant Dabrowski.”

  Danny walked to his car, scanning the streets. It was a perfect area for stalking someone. Plenty of trees, tourists, vehicles, shops. As he rounded the corner to the parking garage, his cell phone rang.

  “Dabrowski.”

  “Hey, it’s Wilson.”

  “What’s up?”

  “I haven’t got all the information you requested this morning, but I’ve already got something I think you’d be interested in.”

  “Alright…” Get to the point, buddy.

  “Juan Martinez, the burn vic from the house fire. He is tied to the CCO. His father worked with Carlos Chavez, and William King visited Juan last time he was in Mexico.”

  Danny’s heart skipped a beat. Finally, something. “Nice work, Wilson. This is exactly what we needed to link William. Get me a BOLO on William King. We want him for questioning.”

  Surprised, Wilson asked, “Questioning on what, exactly?”

  “His association with Juan, and if it correlates to his house blowing up. But mostly, we want to know why the hell this man decided to up and disappear. We have a reason to question him now.”

  “Got it.”

  “Also, I want you to personally patrol Victoria’s gallery and her associate, Natasha Watson’s, home residence. Be on the lookout for any suspicious activity. Anyone who looks out of the ordinary.”

  “Will do.”

  “Thanks, Wilson.”

  Click.

  Finally, something to bring William in for.
Even if it’s just questioning. He needed as much information on him, and Victoria for that matter, as he could get. So far, every stone he’d uncovered seemed to lead to interesting information, but nothing rock-solid.

  After speaking with Natasha, he had a renewed sense of urgency to close this case. Especially before the Chief found out he was meddling in cases that were beyond his jurisdiction.

  His mind was racing when he decided to make a last minute detour before going back to the office.

  Thirty minutes later, Danny pulled up to a quaint, one story brick house. Autumn flowers and bright green plants decorated the front porch. A freshly painted porch swing blew in the breeze.

  Danny stepped onto the welcome mat with the words wipe your paws written across it and rang the doorbell. A few seconds later the door creaked open.

  “Oh, hello.” A look of surprise came over the woman’s face. She wore an apron with cats rolling in pink yarn all over it.

  Danny smiled, attempting to calm her nerves. “Hello ma’am. I’m looking for Beth Maynard?”

  “Oh, yes, hang on.” The woman started to close the door, but then remembered her manners. “Oh, I’m so sorry, please, come in.” She opened the door and stepped aside. “I don’t get many visitors, especially not policemen. Please forgive me. I’ll just go get my sister.”

  “Thank you.” He stepped inside. Not to his surprise, the house was decorated in cat and kitten décor. Cat pillows, statues, pictures. Cats everywhere. Danny’s skin started to crawl. He’d always been a dog person.

  A minute later, Beth came bustling down the hallway.

  “Hello, I’m Beth.” She reached out her hand. “How can I help you?” A concerned look spread across her face. Her sister stood closely behind her.

  “Beth, my name is Danny Dabrowski and I’m with the Austin PD. I’d like to ask you some questions about William King and Victoria Henry.”

  “Oh, yes, of course. Is everything…okay? Is Victoria okay?” She motioned him to a small sitting area by the front window.

  He noticed a motherly concern in her voice. “Yes, everything’s okay. You were their live-in housekeeper, correct?”

  She nodded.

  The sister walked up, eager to join the conversation and hear any gossip. “Can I get you anything to drink, sir?”

  “No, thank you…uh?”

  “Anita. Is it true William is still alive?”

  “Oh, Anita stop!” Beth rolled her eyes and looked back at Danny. “My sister believes everything she hears on the news. She so gullible.”

  “Actually, Mrs. Maynard, William might still be alive.”

  “What?” She almost came out of her chair.

  “Yes, ma’am. And, if you see him or hear from him, I need you to call me immediately.”

  She began fanning her face. “I wasn’t sure if I should believe it, when I heard the gossip. Oh, dear, Victoria must be a mess about all of this. Are they together? Wait, then who died in the house that day?”

  “I can’t really get into that, ma’am.”

  “So, he just kind of disappeared? I haven’t spoken with him, or with Victoria for that matter.”

  Danny hesitated, considering how much he should tell her. He chose his words carefully. “I haven’t been able to get hold of him either.”

  Understanding, she nodded.

  “Mrs. Maynard, do you remember anything suspicious on the days leading up to the fire?”

  As Danny spoke, he noticed Beth tensing up. She seemed reluctant to share any information whatsoever on the family.

  Silence hung in the air after he finished speaking. He needed to relax her. He turned to Anita.

  “Anita, I might like something to drink, after all.”

  She smiled, eager to please the unexpected policeman. “Oh, great, okay, what can I get for you? Let’s see, we have tea, coffee, soda…”

  “Tea would be nice.”

  “Sugar?”

  “Yes, please.”

  Anita scurried off to the kitchen. Beth looked down. “You’ll have to forgive me, I’m rather reluctant to speak about Victoria or William. I’ve grown very close to her and would hate to betray any trust she has in me.”

  Danny leaned forward. “I understand. Although I can’t discuss specifics with you, I can assure you that Victoria is eager to understand Williams’s recent activities, the house fire and other…abnormal situations she’s been involved in since the fire.”

  Beth’s eyes grew wide. “Is she okay? Safe?”

  A knot formed in Danny’s stomach. “Yes, and I’m sure you’ll see her soon.”

  She exhaled. “Okay, good. You asked about suspicious activity. Let’s see…” She gazed out the window. “I’m sorry, I don’t recall any. William has been working a lot more than usual the last few months. Victoria spent her days at the gallery, as usual. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.”

  Danny felt impatient. “Any guests at the house?”

  “No. Believe it or not, they didn’t get many visitors. William kept the house pretty secluded that way. He was passionate about his security.”

  “Did they have a security system?” Danny thought of Juan Martinez, and the odds of someone William didn’t know getting into the house were slim considering this new information.

  “Oh, yes. The house had an intricate security system. I don’t think he trusted too many people.” She rolled her eyes. “And he hired that beefed up Russian to guard the house.”

  “Russian?”

  “Yes, his name is Alek. Victoria couldn’t stand him. Quite frankly, I couldn’t either.”

  Danny scribbled the name on his notepad. “Can you give me the names of everyone they employed?” Although he already had that information, he wanted Beth to confirm.

  She rattled off the names as he wrote them down.

  “Thank you. Who took messages for the family while they were out?”

  “Almost always, me.”

  “Anything stand out? Think back, even months.”

  Anita walked in with a tray carrying three ice teas and a plate of fresh blueberry muffins. “Here you go!”

  “Thank you.” Danny’s stomach growled.

  Suddenly, Beth’s eyes opened wide. “You know what? Yes! There was an odd message, the day before the fire.”

  Danny sat down his tea and picked up his pen.

  “Yes. Oh dear, I’m trying to remember.” She squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her forehead. “A man called. He sounded very old. He asked to speak with William, directly.” She paused. “I specifically remember because he seemed nervous. He just sounded so odd.”

  “Okay, and then what?”

  “I asked again what I could help him with and he just said nothing, and hung up.”

  “He didn’t leave a name or anything?”

  She shook her head. “No, I’m sorry.”

  Well, it was something, Danny thought.

  “Other than that, I really can’t think of anything else.”

  Sensing this conversation wasn’t going to go anywhere else, Danny took one last sip of his tea. “Well, thank you very much, Mrs. Maynard. If you think of anything else, at all, please call me.”

  He handed her his card.

  “I will.”

  Danny stood. “Thank you, Anita, for the tea.”

  “Please, take a muffin. Take two!”

  He was hoping she’d say that. “Thank you.” Just as he turned to walk out, Beth called out to him.

  “Lieutenant?”

  He turned. “Yes?”

  “William is not a nice man.” A scowl crossed her lips and anger burned in her eyes. “He’s an arrogant little weasel and I wouldn’t put a thing past him. But more than that, he treated Victoria like shit. ‘Scuse my language.” She delicately sipped her tea with her pinky finger raised. “He wasn’t faithful either, Lieutenant. And, I know his mistress’s name. Lisa, and she’s a little floozy.”

  “Lisa. Thank you, Beth.”

  “I’ll be in touch if I t
hink of anything else.”

  Danny nodded and walked out the door. In his car, he pulled out his phone and dialed the station.

  Chapter 19

  Chest burning, Victoria pulled herself up onto the dock. Between her morning jog and this afternoon’s swim, she was exhausted. She had to find some other way to burn her anxiety.

  After her jog, she’d come home, made herself a breakfast she barely touched and then did more cleaning and organizing around the lake house. She had intended to return phone calls and check on the gallery, but her cell phone got zero reception all day. Usually she got at least a few hours, but not today.

  She sat on the dock, stretching her aching muscles. The afternoon was dark, due to the thick cloud cover. Goosebumps ran over her body as the cold air swept past her. There was supposed to be a cold front coming in today, with temperatures potentially reaching record breaking lows for this time of year.

  Her hair dripping wet, she tilted her head back and looked up at the sky. Sure enough, dark, menacing clouds darkened the western horizon.

  She inhaled deeply and sensed something in the air. The wind rippled the top of the dark lake water. Black birds crowed in the trees. A flock of geese flew overhead. The woods were dark with shadows.

  She wasn’t sure what, but something was coming.

  Victoria wrapped up in a thick towel, padded across the deck up to the house. Stepping through the sliding glass door, she was surprised how dark the house had gotten during her swim. She paused and glanced around, her eyes stopping on the gun she left in the kitchen. Her protection. Not a man, but a gun was her protection.

  She flicked on a low light, poured a glass of wine and drew herself a hot bath. An hour later, she pulled on her sweats and tank top, grabbed a pen and paper and curled up on the loveseat.

  She sat and stared at the wall. What key? In deep thought, she fingered the chain of her sapphire necklace, closed her eyes and searched her memory. What key? She’d already racked her brain trying to remember anything her father might have said involving a key, but came up with nothing.

  She began drawing on her paper. Soft, slow strokes. Searching her memory. Her hand seemed to guide itself, as it usually did when she was painting.

  She drew a key. A small, copper key. Tracing her hand over the drawing, she tried to remember. But, nothing.