“I’m not trying to block your happiness, but I’m worried about you. Just two days ago, he was carrying on with a woman who tried to frame you for murder!” As she said it, she remembered it hadn’t actually been Olivia but Jessica who’d done the framing. She tried to double back, but got uncharacteristically tongue-tied, only managing to blurt she was sure Barry was involved.
“Well, which is it?” Mindy finally asked, annoyed that Cam kept skirting the point.
“Jessica Benchly is your neighbor,” Cam said.
Mindy twisted her face in a way Cam didn’t understand. “So?”
“You and Barry both claimed not to know her. It looks to me like maybe Barry and Jessica are working together, setting you up, setting Dylan up. I’m worried they both want you out of the way.”
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. I’ve been miserable since Barry left. Can’t you just be happy we’re working it out? And . . .” Mindy looked flustered, then seemed to come to a decision. She looked either way and leaned in. “Look, you may be right about Jessica . . . In fact . . . honestly . . . I think you are. Did you know this is Telly’s baby she’s carrying?”
Cam nodded.
“Well, I think she thinks she deserves that fortune, if you want the truth. But I’m positive she’s working alone—she wants his money for her baby. Can’t you just leave Barry and me out of it?”
“I can try if you will promise to be careful and watch your back.”
“Well, thank you for worrying about me. You’re a good friend.”
Cam sipped her wine and the two ordered supper.
“So where is Rob tonight?”
“Newspaper deadline. He had to get all his pageant stuff in.”
They continued their small talk as the food came and Cam began to eat, but on about her third bite, her phone buzzed. It was Benny again.
“I’m sorry, I have to get this,” she said to Mindy and got up from the table.
“Benny?” she said as she walked away. “I was going to call you earlier.”
“Where are you guys?”
“Us guys? I’m having supper with my friend, Mindy. Who am I supposed to be with?”
“Dylan. He’s gone and he left his phone here—looks like he left in a hurry—it’s a mess. You were his last call, so I thought he was with you.”
“I talked to him maybe an hour ago, just to check on how he was doing. We talked about the pageant covering his disability time.”
“Yeah, very legitimate stuff, I’m sure. I’m just . . . this doesn’t look so good, Cam. He’s not a neat freak, but there’s a half sandwich . . . and he wouldn’t leave without his phone.”
“Are you suggesting someone took him? Benny, Dylan is about six-foot-two and injured. Do you know what size people those would have to be to take him?” A picture of the men at the bar with Barry crossed her mind; she tried to squash it back.
“Will you help me?”
She sighed. “Yes. Pick me up at Table 50.”
“Be there in about fifteen minutes.”
Cam clicked her phone shut and came back to the table, distracted.
“What was that?”
“It looks like something happened to a friend of ours—one of the grounds staff from the pageant.”
“Friend? Are you friends with those . . . workers?”
Cam raised an eyebrow. This was the Mindy whom Annie hated so badly. “Most people have to work, Mindy.”
“Oh! Of course they do. I just mean . . . well . . . laborers.”
“How is their job a bigger deal to you than the fact that something might have happened to one of them?”
“Oh, you’re right. You probably think I’m terrible.”
Cam didn’t agree out loud, but she couldn’t bring herself to deny it. She took a few more bites of food, then called their waiter over.
“I’ve just gotten a call and have to go. Could I get a to-go box?”
“Of course.”
He rushed off, then returned with a box and the check. Cam slid her rotini in and Mindy grabbed the check.
“You don’t have to . . .”
“Oh, no. It’s my pleasure. You fed my girls and took care of them, so it’s on me.”
“Well, thank you. I should probably run now.”
“Of course. Go! Save your friend!”
* * *
Benny took another five minutes getting there, and Cam opened the to-go box and picked at her pasta while she waited. She was glad to have escaped the snobby version of Mindy that had emerged apparently because of this reconciliation. Barry was obviously bad for her friend.
“Miz Harris! Hop in.” Benny stopped in a no-parking spot, but Cam was right there. He took off before she could secure her seat belt.
“Do you know where we’re going?” Cam asked, unsure why he seemed in such a hurry.
“No clue.”
“Did you try Jessica?”
“Wouldn’t know how to reach her.”
Cam frowned. She didn’t either, without calling to ask someone. “Then where are we going?”
Benny frowned and pulled into the parking lot of a law firm. Nobody else was there. He hit his steering wheel with both hands.
“I just can’t think of anywhere!”
“Okay, breathe, Benny. Does Dylan have any enemies?”
“Everybody does, don’t they? But I can’t think of anyone who’d . . . take him. His enemies are more like . . . try-to-sleep-with-his-girlfriend-type enemies.”
Cam frowned. What would her enemies do? Talk behind her back? Maybe spread a rumor? Funny how different walks of life did things differently.
“Has anything happened with those enemies lately? Has Dylan done anything to make them mad?”
“Not that he said. I don’t think that’s it.”
“So you think it has something to do with the murders and the inheritance?”
“Don’t you?”
Cam sighed. “Yes. I just hoped otherwise. Listen, before I met Mindy for supper, I saw her husband, Barry, in the Patrick Henry bar with two guys who looked like mob enforcers.”
“Mob?”
“I don’t mean that literally. I just don’t see large, menacing men in a nice place like that very often.”
Benny whistled and leaned back. “Where would people like that take Dylan and why?”
“I think the ‘why’ has to do with Jessica Benchly. And I think a call to the hospital isn’t a bad idea—in case they just beat him up and dumped him somewhere.”
“Sucks to have that be what you hope for as best case,” he said.
“It does. But I think our next best bet is one of the properties Barry is representing—he has houses and buildings he has access to where people could hide out.”
“Would he do that?”
“In the short run, it seems the smartest thing to do if he has him. I can’t imagine someone like him has places he regularly does this. So one of his properties would be private—he controls access. He knows the places. He could have just scanned his brain for the best one.”
“How many places would he have?”
“I wish I knew—a bunch—but I think we can narrow it down. He won’t want neighbors who could spot what’s happening, so it’s either rural or has a huge fence.”
“Or a warehouse or something he could drive into.”
“I’m hoping you just watch too many movies, but yeah, that would fit, too. We need to think like criminals.”
“That shouldn’t be too hard for me,” Benny said.
“Oh, stop it. You’re not bad.”
“You’ve never asked me why the Patricks and them think I’m an idiot.”
“They don’t think . . .”
“Okay, dim . . . not very bright.”
“I did wonder. I mean, it wasn’t hard for me to figure out otherwise.”
“That’s because you followed me into my lair. And I appreciate you not saying anything. My dad would probably get canned. When I was
fourteen—the first day my dad ever took me to work—it was at Samantha Hollister’s, actually. Anyway, I spotted this fancy little boom box with removable speakers and great sound, considering it was maybe five pounds. At the time I’d never seen such a thing—Dad is pretty low-tech—and I wanted it so bad. So when my dad was off down in the garden and I was tending one of those fussy trumpet vines, I snatched it and hid it away in our truck. I got caught, of course, by my dad that night. And the story was born. He said we had to not only return it and apologize, but explain that in spite of me being fourteen, I didn’t know any better because I wasn’t really capable. I’ve had to act it out since. See, all his clients are these rich people, and he couldn’t have a thief for a son, especially not when I work for him.”
“That’s harsh. A lot of kids that age make a stupid mistake. Why do you still work for your dad if you have to keep that up?”
Benny shrugged. “It’s a pretty good job. I get to be outside a lot. And I guess as Dad gets older, I worry a little. He had a minor heart attack a year ago, so I like to be there to help him with the big stuff—to do the heavier jobs.”
“Noble” had not been a word Cam had ever expected to apply to Benny, but that was her first thought when she heard his explanation. He nudged her out of those thoughts, though.
“So how do we figure it out?”
“Go to my place—Annie’s, actually. She’s good at this kind of thing—both the computer search piece and thinking like a criminal.”
Benny laughed. “I like Annie.”
Cam grinned back. “Yeah, me, too.”
* * *
Cam called Annie as they drove.
“You cooled off now?” Annie asked. She didn’t sound thrilled but agreed to let them come over.
“You guys are pulling me into that trouble-making web again, aren’t you?” Annie asked as they arrived.
“You don’t have to come with us. You just need to help us find where we need to look.”
“Ah, yes. Find the lair. Send Cam in. Sit at home and do nothing. Because I have no conscience.”
Cam rolled her eyes. “Fine. Come with us. But we have to figure out where it is first.”
“And what are these screening qualifications?” Annie asked as she led them to her kitchen.
“We figure it is one of the properties Barry Blankenship is selling or leasing—that it is either out of town a ways or has a high fence—you know, so two thugs dragging a body from a van isn’t observed by neighbors.”
“Couldn’t that just be an attached garage?”
“I hate you!”
“What?”
“No. You’re right. Although it still seems like they wouldn’t want to chance neighbors getting too close—in case he screamed or something.”
“Well, let’s see what our options are. That will give us an idea how carefully we need to pre-screen,” Annie said.
“Good idea.”
Annie’s laptop was on her kitchen table, which was immediately over Cam’s kitchen table, as their apartments were almost identical in layout.
“There!” Annie said.
“That was fast. What did you do?” Cam said, walking around behind Annie.
“I went to his agency website and picked Barry.”
Cam leaned in. It was a long list, but not as bad as she’d feared—just under forty properties, she thought.
“It won’t be anything with near neighbors or current occupants,” Cam said. “Wait a . . .” It couldn’t be that Barry was actively trying to unload a property he was using, could it? As a salesman it would be more normal just to represent them, but if he knew one was sitting empty . . . She wished Nell had been more interested. As it was, she doubted Nell had gotten an address.
Annie looked at her funny, but when Cam stopped, she just copied the list and then opened a program Cam hadn’t seen before. She pasted the addresses, then took the time to add commas between them. Then she pressed Submit and an arrow started to spiral. It took almost a minute, but then a map appeared with a lot of little markers.
“Couldn’t match these two,” Annie said, pointing at a box in the corner. They’re probably in developments newer than the background map. The rest are on here, though.”
“Wicked,” Benny whispered.
Cam opened her bag and pulled out her own computer. “We can eliminate faster if we tag team, but Annie, you’re amazing.”
“I know. Either that or a map geek. But I’ll take amazing.”
Cam sat across from Annie.
“You know what?” Annie said. “If we sort by price, I bet we can eliminate any of these in-town options that couldn’t work. Cheap and in town means near neighbors and little privacy.”
“Do it,” Cam said as she set up her computer.
“Leaves eight in town, a dozen out, but it eliminated half the list.”
“Are we just going place by place, then?” Cam asked.
“You have a better idea?”
“I hoped maybe you did.”
Annie frowned in concentration. “Where did Dylan get taken from?”
Benny stepped closer and pointed at Annie’s screen. “About there.” Cam walked around to look at where the location was against the dots. It was a west-side neighborhood Cam wasn’t familiar with.
“Okay, so these four are pretty darned inconvenient—heavy traffic to reach them. I think those go at the bottom,” Annie said.
“That helps.”
“But honestly, think like someone who doesn’t do this regularly. Would you want to worry about every detail? I think it’s most likely one of these remote ones.”
“See,” Cam said, “that’s why we pay you the big bucks.”
Annie rolled her eyes. “Again with the promises.”
They split up the eight properties on the same side of town, but focused first on ones outside the city limits. Three were eliminated right away, as they were in new developments with a dozen or more houses each.
“That’s it,” Benny said. He was watching over Annie’s shoulder.
Cam walked around the table to look. “Why do you think so?”
“Look at all the trees.” Annie had pulled the address up under satellite view. “Even if there were neighbors out, they wouldn’t see. And then it’s got that shop in back—seems like that might have handy stuff to keep him imprisoned.”
“You may be right. I’ll write it down, but I don’t want to stop checking just because we found one that fits,” Cam said.
Benny shrugged. Cam went back to her computer. The real estate listings all had the standard square feet, bedrooms, bathrooms, but Cam was keeping a special eye out for bonus features—details like “secluded” or “fully fenced yard.” It seemed the most likely way to spot whatever it was they were looking for. In the end, they had three properties that looked possible.
“What now?” Benny asked.
“I guess we go house shopping,” Annie said.
CHAPTER 21
The first place they checked was off Electric Road. It hadn’t been a favorite, as trees for blocking the view were quite a ways from the house itself, so it seemed more open than they thought they were looking for. But it was on the way, so there was no harm checking.
When they got near, Cam shook her head. “We’re not far from Brambleton. I don’t think he’d want to be near two main thoroughfares, even if they are both clear out here.”
“Let’s just drive up and look,” Benny said. “We’re here anyway.”
They did, Cam noting that the trees were not only distant from the house, but ornamental, rather than privacy oriented. Their answer was confirmed in the driveway: a pair of cars, one with a car seat, the other with FOR SALE signs in the back. The house was being shown—unlikely to be hiding any secrets. Cam thought perhaps one of the family members had been to an open house that afternoon and made an appointment to come back as a family.
Benny pulled back out. “Okay, where now, hot stuff?”
Annie snorted. �
��You know, nicknames like that make Cam blush.”
Benny grinned. “I know.”
“We head south on Jae Valley Road,” Cam said, trying to ignore them. She was annoyed with herself that she was, in fact, blushing.
The sky was yielding to darkness, purple coloring the east, as they made their turn onto Jae Valley Road. Cam didn’t like the idea of doing this in the dark. They definitely looked a lot less legitimate as home buyers—who went shopping for a house when they couldn’t see it?
A wrong turn and two correct ones later, they found the long driveway with the FOR SALE sign hung from a tree. Benny edged the pickup onto the narrow drive.
“Turn the lights off!” Annie said, reaching over like she’d do it herself if Benny didn’t comply.
“I won’t be able to see,” Benny complained.
“We’ll go slow. If this is it and somebody’s there . . .” Cam began.
“Then a car in the driveway can’t hide very well. We should act like we turned in by mistake, pull back out, and then walk in,” Annie said, changing her assessment.
Benny looked at Annie and complied without waiting for Cam, though Cam agreed. “Yeah. Does seem smarter, though last time I crept around somebody’s property at night was a little more adventure than I bargained for,” Cam said.
“Yeah, but you saved me—that’s what we’re doing, right?” Annie asked.
“Yeah . . . with no backup.”
“So call backup. See if it works any better this time.”
“Point taken.” It really hadn’t worked very well the last time.
“And it isn’t possible you trust Rob as backup more than me,” Annie continued.
“He’s faster,” Cam said.
“Define fast,” Annie joked. “Besides, think about overall style.”
Cam laughed. It definitely broke the tension. Benny looked relieved, and they parked up the road by a barn, then returned on foot and started up the driveway, single file, Annie in the lead.
“What if someone comes up the driveway behind us?” Benny asked from the rear.
“We dive into the trees,” Annie said.
“They will have seen us already.”
The Begonia Bribe Page 23
