Fatal Lies ( Lies Mystery Thriller Series Book 2)

by Andrew Cunningham

  There was nothing else he could offer, so we said our goodbyes. As we got back into the car, I held up my hand to preempt Sabrina.

  “I already know what you are going to say: ‘It’s time to go to Phoenix.’”

  Chapter 25

  Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport was one of the nicer ones we’d been in. Certainly a far cry from the ancient crowded mess of the Philadelphia airport. We had spent an uneventful night near the airport in Philadelphia, with tickets for a 9am flight to Phoenix. Sabrina had been lucky for the last few flights in not being recognized. We must have let our guard down, because that morning in Philly we hit the jackpot.

  We were in the boarding area, just minding our own business when all of a sudden, Sabrina was the center of attention in a crowd of a couple hundred people. Anonymous to overwhelmed in five seconds.

  It probably had something to do with a woman with a loud, screechy voice screaming, “Oh my god! It’s Sabrina Spencer!” She was in the center of the room pointing at Sabrina. It couldn’t get any more obvious.

  “Oh, God,” moaned Sabrina next to me.

  Suddenly there were dozens of cell phones being pointed at her, with people yelling things like, “Sabrina, look up,” “Sabrina, over here,” and “Are you really her?” One guy called out, “Sabrina, will you marry me?”

  Someone else I had to kill.

  “Be strong,” I whispered to her.

  She nodded, lifted her head to look at the crowd and gave a smile and a wave. You would have thought the heavens had just opened up. Knowing her reputation as a recluse, people cheered and waved back. Reluctantly, Sabrina stood up. And then she did the bravest thing I’d ever see her do. For the next fifteen minutes, she actually let people take selfies with her. Wives made their husbands run to the airport bookstore and buy one of her books so they could get it signed. Men were drooling and women were close to fainting. She was finally saved when they announced that our flight was boarding.

  It was a flight with a first-class section, so we were among the first to board. As we sat down, Sabrina looked at me with a sense of pride and said, “I did it.”

  “You sure did. I’m so proud of you.”

  “Yeah, well, don’t get used to it. That was sheer hell.”

  “But look at how many people you made happy.”

  “Whoopee.”

  If we’d known then that her airport experience would be the best part of our day, we would have turned around and gone home.

  *****

  At the Phoenix airport, we once again found ourselves at the car rental counter. All this traveling was starting to take its toll on us. We were both grouchy—not at each other, but at the world in general. We were tired of it all. We wanted to go home and be normal, but we were pretty sure that wouldn’t happen for a while.

  We checked into a hotel to drop off our bags and freshen up. That’s when we realized how hungry we were. Maybe that’s why we were grouchy. We headed out to find a decent place to eat. Instead, we saw some old friends.

  We were driving down a main road with lots of chain restaurants on either side and were trying to decide what we were in the mood for when Sabrina suddenly said, “Pull over!” My reflexes worked pretty well and I pulled into the parking lot of a Chili’s in two seconds flat, much to the annoyance of all the other drivers who honked and yelled obscenities at me.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “Look, quick,” she said, pointing at a nondescript late model white car, most likely a rental.

  “What?” I asked, peering at it.

  “Look at the driver.”

  It was a blonde woman. She was alone in the car.

  “Our old friends are back,” said Sabrina.

  “Are you sure?” I asked. By now, the car was many car lengths up the road. To make an I.D. of the driver was next to impossible. “This is Arizona. There are a few blonde women here. And where’s her little friend? What makes you think it was her?”

  “Because I saw her clearly in my side mirror. They were behind us by only two car lengths.”

  “They?”

  “That’s the other reason I know. The guy was in the car with her. When you made your sudden turn into the parking lot, she knew she was going to have to pass you, so she probably told the guy to duck down. One blonde woman was forgettable, but together they would be much too familiar to us. They just didn’t know that I had seen them in the mirror.”

  I looked again. They were about ten car lengths ahead, but it appeared as if there were two people in the car, not one.

  I gave an audible sigh.

  “Why are they still following us?” I asked, as much to myself as to Sabrina. “Lucas Holt is dead. What reason would they have to keep following us?”

  The car was gone. Since we were already in the parking lot, we decided just to eat there.

  *****

  It was the middle of the afternoon, so we figured we still had time to try to get some answers. Sabrina had done a good amount of research and discovered the name of the company Derek had worked for: Johnson Medical Supplies. With a name like that, we could only hope that it was a family-owned business still owned by a Johnson. Would they remember Derek after twenty-something years?

  We found the company in an industrial park in a somewhat sketchy part of town. Not bad, but not a place I’d want to hang out in after dark. The building was decent-looking and when we walked through the front door, we were greeted by a well-lit, comfortable interior. Sitting at a reception desk behind a glass divide was an efficient-looking woman in her late forties. Behind her were a couple of other women entering information into computers. Some mild contemporary music played quietly in the background.

  “Good afternoon. May I help you?”

  “Hi,” said Sabrina. “My name is Sabrina Spencer. I’m an author doing research on the murder of a man who once worked here. This is Del Honeycutt. We were wondering if we could talk to someone who might have been with the company back when he worked here.”

  The woman smiled and the other two workers left their desks and crowded up to the window.

  “I’ve heard of you. You seem to be in the news a lot these days.”

  Obviously, the other two had also heard of Sabrina, as they were almost panting in anticipation of being in the presence of a famous person. They were younger than the first woman and nowhere near as cool. It appeared that they were going to claw their way out of the office through the open partition.

  “You’re talking about Derek Boyer, right?”

  “I am.”

  “I wasn’t here then, but I can see if Mrs. Johnson is available. She’s run this business from the beginning. She’d be the only one who might be able to help you. Why don’t you have a seat.”

  “Thank you,” said Sabrina.

  The chairs were comfortable, which was a good thing, since it was almost half an hour before the door to the inner sanctum opened and an older woman came out to greet us, hand outstretched. We stood up and took turns shaking hands. I noticed her firm handshake and no-nonsense demeanor. A force to be reckoned with. But I was impressed that she chose to come out and greet us herself, instead of having someone bring us to her.

  “Hi, I’m Rachel Johnson. I’m so sorry to keep you waiting. I was in the middle of an excruciatingly long phone call. Please come back to my office. Hopefully I can answer your questions.

  We followed her down a long hall to a large office with a picture window overlooking the company parking lot. It was a working office, with boxes and files in every corner. And yet, as crowded as it was, I didn’t get a sense of disarray. It was like every box and every file served a purpose.

  Rachel Johnson sat behind a massive mahogany desk and motioned for us to sit in chairs in front of the desk.

  “Derek Boyer. That’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time.” No wasting time on her part. “How can I help you?”

  “Anything you could tell us about him would be appreciated.”

>   “Nice guy. Quiet. Competent. Not super motivated, but he did his job. Frankly, I wouldn’t even remember him if it weren’t for the fact that he was murdered.”

  “What did he do for you?” I asked.

  “He was a supervisor in our warehouse. At that time we weren’t very big, so it wasn’t a particularly demanding job.”

  “Did you meet his wife?” asked Sabrina.

  “Possibly at a Christmas party or at a barbeque, but honestly, I don’t remember anything about her. I say that we weren’t very big as a company, but we were big enough that I could go the whole day without seeing someone in Derek’s position. Honestly? He was the sort of employee who stays a couple of years, then moves on to another job. Forgettable. I know that sounds terrible, seeing that he was murdered, but he was just one of those employees who didn’t stand out.”

  “I understand,” I said. “I used to be a manager and I had many employees like that over the years.”

  “Then you know what I mean.”

  “With that in mind,” I said. “Do you remember anything about him leaving?”

  “I do, simply because it was strange.”

  “How so?” asked Sabrina.

  “As I said, he wasn’t an indispensable employee. He did his job, but that was about it. He wasn’t lazy; the job just wasn’t that demanding. So when he said he was leaving because a company came out of the blue and offered him triple what he was getting here, I was shocked. People with his skills were a dime a dozen. Why would someone offer him triple what he was earning here? And, why would they approach him and not the other way around? It didn’t make sense. At first I didn’t think he was telling me the truth, but apparently he was. However, it wasn’t my business. Besides, we were kind of preoccupied with the death.”

  “Death?” I said.

  “Yes. Very sad. We were all so upset. Darlene Muir. She was murdered right here in the parking lot. I think it was about a week before Derek gave his notice.”

  Chapter 26

  We didn’t say anything for a minute. We had to absorb that one big time. After all, what were the odds? A woman they knew was murdered the week before they were leaving Phoenix to go back east. In fact, probably at about the same time Derek was offered a good job at a salary he apparently didn’t really deserve. Was it all to force Daisy to make the move?

  “How do you remember that it was a week before he gave his notice?” asked Sabrina.

  If anyone else had asked the question, Rachel Johnson might have been insulted that someone was questioning her like that. But Sabrina had a way about her. An honesty. People responded to that.

  “Because he was very upset and asked for some time off. Evidently, his wife was good friends with Darlene, and Darlene’s death devastated her. Whatever happened to his wife? I read that she went to prison for his murder. Was she ever released?”

  “About a year ago,” answered Sabrina. “Then she was murdered a few weeks ago. We’re looking into why she was murdered.”

  “Do you think she really did it?”

  “Killed Derek?” asked Sabrina.

  Rachel nodded.

  Sabrina shook her head. “No. We are convinced she didn’t. Finding out who killed Derek might help us figure out who killed Daisy.”

  The interview was coming to an end, so I asked, “Do you happen to have the address for Derek and Daisy here in Phoenix?”

  “I’m sure I do, and after all this time—and considering they are both dead—I don’t think it will be a problem giving it to you.” She picked up her phone and called out to the front office, asking someone to find Derek’s address.

  “It should only be a few minutes,” she said.

  When the address arrived, we stood up and shook hands with Rachel, thanking her for all of the help.

  It would soon begin to show signs of dusk, so we decided to look for the neighborhood, then return the next day to see if we could locate any neighbors who remembered them. It took about an hour, but we eventually found it. Unlike in Philly, their home in Phoenix had been in an apartment complex. It was looking a little worse for wear, but probably at the time had been pretty modern.

  “I don’t hold out a lot of hope that we’ll find anyone who knew them,” I said. “Most people don’t stay in a place like this for twenty years or more.”

  “I know, but we have to try. We might get lucky. We can get a good night’s sleep and tackle this in the morning.”

  As we were driving back to the hotel I looked in the rearview mirror and saw a familiar car behind us with a male and a female in the front seat. Boy, they were getting ballsy.

  “We have company.”

  “Oh God, not again. Can I look?”

  “I don’t think it matters. They are only two cars behind us, so I doubt that they are going overboard to keep themselves hidden.”

  She turned and looked, needing only a second to make the I.D.

  “Yup, that’s them. Think they are going to pay us a visit?”

  “I think we can count on it.”

  “Well,” she said, “I’m not afraid of them anymore.”

  *****

  We were tired of restaurants, so we picked up a pizza and found a beautiful park that had a spectacular view of some of the surrounding mountains. We sat next to each other at a picnic table, appreciating the warm evening breeze. Restaurants can be fun, but eventually—like hotels—they all start to look the same. Besides, the park was empty, so the chances of our meal being ruined by Sabrina gawkers was next to zero.

  However, there were other ways to ruin a meal and we knew ours was going to hell the minute we saw the blonde and her quiet friend drive up and park next to our car. They got out of the car, looked around carefully, and then approached us.

  Déjà vu all over again.

  The man sat on the bench opposite Sabrina and the blonde stood with her arms crossed.

  “You didn’t listen to us,” she said.

  “Does anybody?” asked Sabrina. “Let’s face it, your credibility is shot. We know you’re not really going to kill us. Your job is to keep track of us and/or try to intimidate us to give up our search. It’s not going to happen. Already you have two police departments looking for you. One call to 9-1-1 and your asses will be in jail.”

  If the blonde and her friend were scared, they didn’t show it.

  “Have a seat,” Sabrina said to the blonde. “Standing there like that, you’re not doing a very good job of intimidating us.”

  “We’re serious,” said the blonde. I found it interesting that she followed Sabrina’s advice and took a seat on the bench. “What will it take to get you to give it up?”

  “I don’t understand exactly what you’re doing,” I said. “You told me that you’re working for Lucas Holt. Lucas is dead.”

  “Barbara isn’t, and if you know anything about them, you know that she is the driving force. Look, we know that people have died over this, so when we warn you off, we’re being serious. We don’t know what it’s all about. We’re paid to do a job. Frankly, we have no problem following you every day. More money for us. So when we try to get you to give it up, it’s because you are in danger. We are sincerely concerned about your health. As you’ve found out, there is another player in this. We’ve never tried to kill you, but someone has and we don’t know who that someone is. For whatever reason, you dropping this would please Barbara Holt. At the same time, by dropping it, you might save your own lives.”

  “Sure, I can believe that,” I said. “But like you, we’ve committed ourselves to doing a job, and we have to see it through.”

  I reached for my water. My mouth was dry. I was talking tough, but I sure wasn’t feeling it. I must have been nervous, because as I reached for the bottle, I knocked it over. Silent Bob—or whatever his name was—sitting across from Sabrina, moved slightly to get away from the river flowing across the table.

  That move saved Sabrina’s life.

  I heard a pop just as the man’s head exploded.

/>   Chapter 27

  I grabbed Sabrina and threw her to the ground. Or maybe she threw me to the ground. It all happened too fast. Two more bullets hit the table, sending splinters everywhere. I heard multiple pops from a rifle, but couldn’t connect them to the bullets hitting the table. Nothing seemed connected to anything.

  There were two large trees about twenty feet behind us, so we scrambled on our hands and knees in a desperate attempt not to end up like silent Bob. I heard more pops and the dirt around us flew into the air.

  We reached the trees and sank behind them, grateful that we were still alive. I was holding Sabrina tightly when the blonde plopped down next to me. She was visibly shaking, which was understandable, having just watched her partner’s head get blown off. I don’t know why I did it, considering how she had treated us, but I reached out and put my hand over hers. A show of support. She gave me a sad smile and then burst into tears. The tough persona was gone.

  On my other side, Sabrina was breathing heavily, but seemed to be reasonably in control. I, on the other hand, was shaking uncontrollably.

  “Breathe,” Sabrina whispered to me. “Deep breaths.”

  While I was breathing, Sabrina took out her phone and dialed 9-1-1.

  “There’s a man with a rifle.” She gave the name of the park. “He’s already killed one person and has three of us pinned down behind a couple of trees.”

  In this new era of mass murders, the operator took her very seriously and asked Sabrina a few questions that she answered, and then Sabrina hung up. No more bullets came, but we stayed hunkered behind the trees nonetheless, waiting for the police to arrive.

  “I can’t believe Bob is dead,” said the blonde through her tears.

  His name really was Bob!

  “Well, I’m done with this job. Barbara Holt can go fuck herself.”

  The breathing had worked. I was now calm. I had my arm around Sabrina, but she didn’t seem any worse for wear.