Sunset in Old Savannah

by Mary Ellis

  “Tell me what’s on your mind.”

  “I was on the phone with Evelyn earlier. She was crying, almost hysterical. Detective Rossi had just left her place after questioning her for a full hour. Since Rossi had done so without an attorney being present and no one had Mirandized her, the police must not be planning to arrest her. But she was upset nevertheless.”

  “We knew this was coming.” Michael rewrapped his tasteless sandwich.

  Beth fixed her attention on a freight hauler sitting low in the water. “Do you think if one of those ships sinks, the top few layers of containers would still be above water?”

  “I have no idea how deep the Savannah River is, but I do know there’s something else you want to say.” Michael put a hand on her shoulder. “Spit it out, Beth.”

  “I know I agreed to let the Tybee Island police do their job, but I can’t abandon my friend. With her sister back in Atlanta, Evelyn has no one but me.” Beth pushed to her feet. “I wanted to tell you to your face that I’m going out to see her.”

  “How are you planning to get there?”

  Her expression indicated that she hadn’t thought that far ahead. “I guess I’ll call Uber. Might as well spend the expense money on something other than food.”

  Michael picked up her forgotten sandwich. “Absolutely not. As your boyfriend, I forbid you to spend another minute with that Latin Casanova.”

  “José is at least fifty years old and harmless as a dove. So you’ll have to shoot me to stop me.”

  “Gunplay won’t be necessary, because I’m going with you.” Michael took a huge bite of eggs, bacon, and cheddar inside a buttery croissant. “Just as soon as I finish eating your breakfast.”

  “What about Rossi?”

  “What about her? We simply want to hear our client’s side of the story. That doesn’t sound like interference or obstruction to me.”

  Grabbing her coffee, Beth pulled open the sliding glass door. “Are we going to tell Nate?”

  “Of course we are.” Michael followed her through his room, grabbing his jacket from the back of a chair. “It just won’t be today and probably not tomorrow either. He will receive a full update in our weekend report. This is only Thursday.”

  Inside the elevator, Beth bumped him with her shoulder. “Why the change of heart? I could have sworn you wanted to stay far away from Evelyn.”

  “You’re my partner. If you have complete faith in her, I’m in this with you until the bitter end. Did the Karate Kid turn his back on Mr. Miyagi?”

  “Who’s Mr. Miyagi?” She fluttered her eyelashes.

  “We’ll save that movie for some rainy Saturday in January.” When the elevator opened, they stepped into a lobby filled with tourists. “In the meantime, let me take the lead with Mrs. Doyle. It’ll be good practice for me.”

  Once they reached Evelyn’s, no one answered the door despite several hard knocks.

  “This can’t be good,” Beth muttered. “Evelyn, it’s me, Beth. Please let us in so we can talk.”

  “Want me to go around to the water side?” he asked, stepping back to watch for movement through the filmy curtains.

  “You check the deck while I go down to the—”

  Before Beth could finish, the massive oak panel swung wide. “Mrs. Doyle didn’t think you would come,” the maid said. “It’s been nearly an hour.”

  “Traffic was heavy,” Michael explained as they stepped past the maid into the foyer.

  “Would you like me to tell Mrs. Doyle you’re here?”

  “No, thank you,” said Beth. “We can find her on our own. And this conversation needs to be private.”

  Michael cast the woman a stern look to preempt any argument before they headed down the hall.

  As expected, they found her in the expansive living room sitting in a leather recliner with her feet beneath her. An afghan covered her legs and a book was open in her lap. But she wasn’t reading. She was staring at the turbulent surf beneath a gray and ominous sky. The view through the expanse of windows perfectly matched the somber mood in the room.

  Evelyn startled when Michael cleared his throat. “Beth, Michael, I was lost in a daydream and didn’t hear you come in.”

  “We got here as soon as we could,” Beth said consolingly as she went to her friend. “How are you doing?”

  “I’m better now that the lady detective is gone. Why can’t she find Lamar’s killer without bringing up hurtful subjects that are none of anyone’s business?” She peered up at them with moist, red-rimmed eyes. Any makeup she might have put on that morning was gone. Her skin looked as thin as tissue paper, and she had dark smudges beneath her eyes.

  “Until Detective Rossi has every bit of pertinent information, she will keep coming back.” Beth took hold of her hand. “That’s why you should have been up front with us from the beginning.”

  The woman flinched. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  Beth dragged an ottoman closer to Evelyn’s chair. “I think you do. Michael is going to ask you some questions. You must tell us what you told Rossi and anything you might have left out. Then if you wish to fire us, you can, and your secrets will not leave this room.”

  Two large tears ran down her sallow cheeks. “Why are you being like this, Beth? I thought we were friends.”

  Michael crouched down on his haunches to be closer to eye level with the older woman. “She is, Evelyn. We both are. That’s why we need to know why you went to see Bonnie Mulroney two days before Lamar died. You agreed to go to a hotel, but instead you drove straight to the individual who might have shot at you on the beach.”

  “Because I’m a foolish old woman. I thought if Bonnie met me, if I became a real, flesh-and-blood person, she would realize what she was doing was wrong.” Evelyn dropped her head into her hands. “So I drove to the address in the historical section that was on the report you gave me.”

  “You knew Lamar wouldn’t be there,” Beth prompted. “He was already in Augusta.”

  “Yes. It was a perfect opportunity for some girl talk.”

  “Miss Mulroney knew who you were?” Michael asked.

  “Not at first. She thought I was collecting money for charity.” Evelyn’s laugh sounded brittle as she tightened her grip on the chair. “When I introduced myself, Bonnie turned pale as milk but then soon recovered. She said I had no business there because this was her apartment, hers and Lamar’s. She said I was his past and she was his future. She told me I needed to accept it.”

  “That had to be awful,” Beth murmured. “But the horror could have been avoided.”

  Michael wanted the conversation to remain on track. “Didn’t you consider the possibility of Bonnie being the one who shot at you?”

  Evelyn looked him in the eye. “Yes, at first. But I’d spent hours that day considering how to live the rest of my life. If someone wanted to kill me because I still loved Lamar, then so be it. I went to that apartment to fight for my husband—not with fists and hair pulling, but like a civilized, God-fearing woman.”

  “What happened next?” he prodded.

  “I told her that despite what my husband might have promised, he would never leave me. I said it would be better for everyone if she went home and reunited with family and friends her own age.”

  “How did she react?” Beth asked, casting Michael a sideways glance.

  The woman’s face crumpled. “Bonnie was stomping around the apartment as though she were crazy. “Go back home? Oh, do you mean that dump I shared with Lenny so he can smack me around some more?” Evelyn’s voice became high-pitched and shrill, as though mimicking the younger woman. “Nothing I ever do is good enough for Lenny Mulroney—not the way I cook or clean the house or launder his filthy clothes.”

  For several moments, the living room went deathly quiet. Then Mrs. Doyle resumed the narrative in her own voice. “All of a sudden Bonnie stopped ranting and raving. She calmly told me that Lamar loved her and that they were starting a new life together. Then she picked up
a vase to admire, handling it very carefully as though it were a rare artifact from the Ming Dynasty. She said she would be a fool to leave all this behind.” Evelyn pulled a tissue from her pocket and blew her nose. “I felt so sorry for her. That vase was probably just a cheap knockoff, but Bonnie didn’t know the difference.”

  “Is that when you left the apartment?” Michael asked, mildly annoyed by her arrogance.

  “No, that’s when I pulled out a check for twenty thousand dollars so she wouldn’t have to return to that horrible Lenny. I told her to go back to school and maybe earn a degree or train for a better-paying career. She could make a new life for herself.”

  Beth sucked in a lungful of air. “You tried to bribe her to go away?”

  Mrs. Doyle nodded affirmatively. “I know it was shameful. That’s why I didn’t want to tell you, but I didn’t want to lose my husband. If the temptation was no longer around, Lamar would come to his senses that much faster.”

  “Bonnie could have been the one trying to kill you!”

  She shook her silvery head. “That’s something else I decided after you two left. If someone truly wanted me dead, I would be. How hard is it to shoot a person on a wide-open beach? If they had been trying to scare me off, twenty thousand dollars might convince them to go instead.” Mrs. Doyle ran a hand through her tangled hair, a far cry from her usual elegant coiffure. “Are we finished? I really need to lie down for a while.”

  “Almost, Evelyn.” Beth laid a hand on her arm. “Tell us how Bonnie reacted to that much money.”

  “The girl tore the check into little pieces and dropped them into the trash can. She said she was never going back to Lenny and would stay right there in her dream home. She told me to call my lawyer and prepare for the inevitable.” With a weary sigh, Evelyn struggled to her feet.

  Beth jumped up to support one arm. “Did you tell this to Lamar when he came home early from his conference?”

  “Of course I did. After I confronted him and showed him your report, he broke down and wept. He said he knew what he was doing was wrong, but he didn’t know how to stop. Bonnie was very manipulative, but he also felt sorry for her. He knew she came from an abusive household. That’s when I told him I went to see her.”

  “And you were ready to forgive him? Just like that?” Beth asked.

  “You’re very young, my dear. By the time you’re my age, you learn that people make mistakes, including those you love. But if they are remorseful, they deserve to be forgiven.”

  “I’m starting to figure that one out,” Beth said with a weak smile.

  Evelyn patted her arm and shuffled down the hallway to the bedrooms.

  “Did you tell your husband about offering a check for twenty grand?” Michael called.

  She halted and looked back over her shoulder. “Yes. I wanted Lamar to know I had no ill feelings toward Bonnie. I told him I had given her landlord a check for her rent and I’d given her a check to use as she saw fit. But she ripped it up. That’s why when he went to see her on Saturday he took an envelope of cash for her fresh start. Ripping up a check was very dramatic, but no one would rip up two hundred one-hundred-dollar bills. Now if you’ll let yourselves out, I must take an aspirin and lie down.”

  Michael and Beth stared at each other. Then they walked out of the house—a designer showplace that grew more formidable each time they visited.

  Beth clung to his arm on the way to the car, as though she were suddenly weak-kneed. “That little viper took twenty thousand dollars and then killed the guy? How depraved is that?”

  Michael slipped his arm around her waist. “Murderers aren’t known for their ethical code. Who is this Lenny Mulroney? If Bonnie already had a husband, why was she eager to marry Lamar?”

  “Maybe Lenny is her ex or her about-to-be ex-husband.” Beth buckled her seat belt. “Time to pay Miss…or perhaps Mrs. Mulroney…another visit.”

  “You let me take care of Bonnie while you go talk to Kaitlyn.” Michael started the engine and drove down Oleander Drive well above the speed limit.

  “Our Kaitlyn?”

  “One and the same. I noticed a few things in her résumé that aren’t adding up. Hey, don’t look at me like that. The boss told me to check her background thoroughly. If Nate decides to hire her permanently, he doesn’t want any surprises down the road.”

  Beth rubbed the back of her neck. “What kind of things?”

  “Like the fact that Kaitlyn Webb didn’t exist until a couple years ago.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding. There’s no record of her working at the Florida Bureau of Worker’s Compensation?”

  “Oh, she worked there all right, for a little more than a year. Her one and only professional reference, Mrs. Stephens, really is a supervisor at the Florida bureau. But I found no record of her at Florida State, supposedly her alma mater. Several Kaitlyn Webbs live in Florida, but none of them seem to be the one who works for us. My guess is she is on the run from something or someone.”

  “And it’s not an abusive husband or boyfriend like I thought originally.”

  Michael tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

  “With everything happening so fast, I honestly forgot about this until now. Two days ago when we followed Bonnie back to Lamar’s apartment, Kaitlyn said she couldn’t give me advice because she had little relationship experience. Her last boyfriend had been during high school.”

  Michael scratched his head. “Why were you seeking romance advice from someone we just met?”

  Beth blushed from the neckline of her blouse to her hairline. “You’re missing the point. Kaitlyn’s not starting over after a bad breakup. So much for my gut instinct.”

  “No, I caught the point, but if we could digress for a moment… Tell me what had you so upset that you were asking a total stranger about relationships.” Michael reached for her hand.

  Beth didn’t pull away from his touch, but she did turn her focus out the window. “Because I’m not very good at this. And I don’t want to mess up because I might be in love with you.”

  Michael switched off the radio. “What? I didn’t quite catch that.”

  Beth swiveled around. “You heard me, Preston. In case this turns out to be the real thing, I don’t want you giving up on me too soon.”

  Michael fought the impulse to burst out laughing. This was about the oddest way to find out his dream just might come true. “Let me ask you a couple questions. When I couldn’t shoot and hit the barn, let alone a can on a fence rail, did I give up?”

  “Um…no?”

  “In my early attempts to get into shape, did I give up when five push-ups made me pant like a dog?”

  “No, and I believe you’re up to at least seven now.” Beth covered her giggles with her hand.

  Michael bumped her with his shoulder. “I can do fifty without breaking a sweat. And what about the time we decided to run that 5K race along the river?”

  “Okay, okay. I get it that you’re not a quitter, but maybe romance isn’t the same thing as running a marathon.”

  He let her “maybe” hang in the air awhile. “Haven’t you been listening to Evelyn, your new best friend? Love is exactly like a long-distance race. Now it’s up to you to decide whether or not this is love.”

  “Give me until this case wraps up. I should have my mind made up by then.”

  Michael smiled. After what they had learned today, that could be in no time at all.

  THIRTY-ONE

  Kaitlyn punched in Mrs. Tanaka’s cell number at 4:00 p.m., the exact time when the owners of Tanaka’s Culinary Creations usually left for the day. “Hello, Mrs. Tanaka. This is Kaitlyn Webb.”

  “Good afternoon, Miss Webb. I gather you either have news for us or decided you’ve rolled enough sushi to last a lifetime and you quit.” The woman’s laughter sounded a little forced.

  “Both of the above, ma’am. Could we meet to talk? I would prefer discussing the case in person.”

  “Of course. Why don’t you come b
y our house? Would within the hour be too soon? Eric and I are attending the grand opening of a new art gallery tonight.”

  “An hour would be just fine. See you then.” Kaitlyn ended the call, checked her watch, and slipped on running shoes. If she walked fast, she could reach the Tanakas’ magnificent home from her modest rental unit before they had to leave. And walking would give her a chance to figure out what she would say.

  When she had accepted the assignment, Kaitlyn assumed the Tanakas were just like any other hardworking, self-made American entrepreneurs who also happened to be parents. They struggled and sacrificed for years to build a successful business. From their efforts came expensive private schools, prestigious colleges, fancy cars, and luxury family vacations. Kaitlyn had also assumed Amy and Jason were like all other overindulged, pampered rich kids—disrespectful and ungrateful for everything they were handed.

  Funny how so many preconceived notions a person formed were incorrect.

  Amy and Jason had been handed just about everything in life, but they weren’t ungrateful. Neither were they disrespectful, at least no more so than any other independent twentysomethings. Amy and Jason had strong social consciences for the disenfranchised of the world—something they hadn’t inherited from their parents. Weren’t those who had so much obligated to share with those who had little or nothing at all? It wouldn’t be easy for the elder Tanakas to open up their doors and give away the lifeblood of their business. Kaitlyn could hear her grandfather’s favorite maxim still ringing in her ears: “If we can pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, why can’t everyone?” She had a feeling Mr. and Mrs. Tanaka might share that conviction.

  No matter how Kaitlyn tried to see both sides, there was only one correct conclusion: Mrs. Tanaka had hired Price Investigations to find out what was going on in her restaurant when she wasn’t there. She had an obligation to provide that information and file a case report with Nate. What Mrs. Tanaka did with the information was her business.