by Laina Turner
“Oh no, not at all.” She chuckled. “Though if James has gone incommunicado, I might know where he is.”
“Really? That would be a big help.”
“James and Solange have a cabin on the water in Crivitz, Wisconsin. I know the last few months when things had been bad between them, James spent a lot of time out there. He said it was calm and peaceful and gave him time to think. The only problem is there’s not a phone there, it’s very remote, and only when the wind blows right do you even get a cell signal. So if he’s not answering his cell you still won’t be able to get a hold of him.”
“Do you think you could call him and just let him know he needs to check in with Willie, er, Detective Landon? He might be more inclined to answer your call than the police’s.”
“I sure will, dear.”
“Thanks, Lorraine. I will call you in a couple days,” I said then hung up. Where did that come from? Maybe that was why James called her so much. She was such a warm person who just sort of sucked you into her circle where you wanted to be. Much more motherly than my own mother, except, maybe most people felt that way about their own mothers. Growing up, I always thought my friends’ moms were the coolest, and my friends thought my mom was awesome, and I didn’t see it. Though now as an adult she might annoy the heck out of me at times, I could at least see she was a pretty cool mom.
“Presley, you’re never going to guess my news!”
Anna called me and asked me to meet her for a drink after work. I told her it would have to be fast because Willie was coming over for dinner, and I was already on my way home. I tried to get her to skip the dramatics and just tell me over the phone, but she said it was important news she didn’t want to share over the phone. That it had to be in person.
“You got the promotion?” I said as soon as she walked up to me at the bar at Muldoon’s where I was waiting for our drinks. That’s the only thing I could guess would have her this excited.
“Not that. I won’t know for at least two more weeks. No, this is way more exciting than work.”
“You’re next on the waiting list for a Birkin purse?” I knew that was what would get me this jazzed—but also, so impossible for normal, non-millionaires like us.
“Stop being silly. This is important.”
“And a Birkin purse isn’t?”
She gave me a look.
“Sorry. Stop making me guess, then. Just tell me.”
Anna held out her left hand and waggled her ring finger. She was sporting a large square-cut diamond ring, at least two carats by my untrained eye. It was absolutely stunning.
“Do not tell me that’s from Jeff.” I instantly regretted my words as I saw Anna’s face fall, and she now looked close to tears. “Anna, I’m sorry. That’s not how I meant it. I was just shocked, that’s all.” Anna looked a little better, but I could tell she was still hurt. “I am so glad he finally came to his senses about how he was treating you and stepped up.”
“I know, Presley. And I understand why you would be skeptical, but he finally realized we belong together, and he has been a completely different person these last few days. I know it’s only been a few days, but we have such a history and I know him so well, I truly believe this is it. He has finally made a commitment to me.”
“Anna, I am so happy for you.” I grabbed her and gave her a hug. “Now, let me see this ring again. Wow, this is a gorgeous ring. I am so jealous.”
“I know, square-cut diamond on a plain platinum band. He actually did pay attention to me every once in a while when I talked about the rings I liked.”
“Interesting what men will pay attention to or hear when they act like they are ignoring you.” I laughed. “I really am happy for you, Anna. I know I haven’t always been the biggest supporter of Jeff, but he is obviously trying to change, and I can’t fault that.” I wanted to believe that he had realized what he had in Anna.
“Thanks, Pres, that means a lot. Now, you know you’re my best friend, so I have to ask. Will you be my maid of honor?”
“Of course I will! Think of all the great shopping for dresses fun we’ll have.”
“And the bachelorette party.”
“Oh yeah, that will be the best. Maybe we can go visit Jesse in Vegas?”
“That would be perfect.”
“When are you planning on setting a date?”
“Well. Don’t freak out, but we figured we’ve been together this long, so why have a long engagement? We were thinking… October?” Anna said tentatively, waiting for me to be shocked. She wasn’t disappointed.
“Three months from now! Not even three months. Are you nuts?”
“You know, you say that to me a lot. I’m starting to get a complex,” she said good-naturedly.
“I can’t help it. You are nuts.”
“Pres, I know it’s soon, but why should we wait?”
“Anna, this has nothing to do with you guys waiting. It has to do with planning. Planning a wedding in general is hard. I should know. I’ve been maid of honor more times than I care to count. But three months makes it stress times ten. Have you told your mom yet?”
“No. Jeff and I are going down there this weekend to tell my parents.”
“Anna, you’re mom is going to flip when she finds out she has three months to plan.”
“Wouldn’t you rather me be a bridezilla for three months than a year?”
“Good point. Okay, maybe we can do this.”
“Besides, his parents thought it was fine.”
“That’s because they love you and know how good you are for Jeff. Maybe his mom will help plan. That would make it easier.”
“So, for a color scheme I was thinking ivory and brown, since it’s a fall wedding.”
“As long as you don’t try to put me in an orange dress I will be fine. I have no desire to look like a huge pumpkin at my best friend’s wedding.”
“I wouldn’t do that to you. Though we could pass out candy and bob for apples at the reception.”
“Funny.”
Anna and I chatted for a few more minutes while we finished our wine, but then I had to go meet Willie. I told her I would call her tomorrow, and we would set up some dress-shopping dates. That part of the wedding planning I was definitely looking forward to.
I rushed home, hoping Willie wouldn’t be early and almost hoping he would be late. He was coming over for dinner, and even though I had made the lasagna before I went to work that morning—it was one of the only things I knew how to cook—I needed to warm it up and make the salad and garlic bread. I wanted to have it ready when he got to my house so we could eat and relax, if that was even possible. It seemed like something always interfered with downtime. He wasn’t waiting in the lobby for me when I got to my building, so that was positive. I waved to John the doorman on duty and pushed the button for the elevator. Unlocking my door, I dropped my bags at the door and walked into my tiny kitchen. I set the oven at 350, took the lasagna and salad fixings out of the refrigerator, and grabbed the garlic bread from the freezer. I put the lasagna on the top rack to warm and pulled out a cookie sheet for the bread. I wouldn’t put that in until he got here, which was at that instant since there was a knock at my door and I wasn’t expecting anyone else.
I wiped my hands on a dishtowel and walked to the door. Opening it, what I saw made me smile. He was so cute in distressed jeans and a soft-looking gray T-shirt. “Hi there,” I said.
“Hi, yourself. Here, put these in some water.” He handed me a pretty assortment of daisies.
“Thanks, Willie. You didn’t need to bring me flowers, but I appreciate it.”
“I thought you might like something for the table, and these looked bright and cheery. What can I say? I like flowers. Just don’t tell my mom.”
“Your secret is safe with me.”
“It sure smells good in here.”
“It’s my famous lasagna.”
“Really?”
“It’s one of the few things I make well, so I
have perfected it over the years.” I laughed.
“Then you’re in luck that I love lasagna.”
We ate until we were stuffed. I almost wanted to go put on elastic pants, but hadn’t known him long enough to go there yet. Then we took our wine to the living room.
“I think I found a connection linking Peter and Steven.”
“Really? How? What?” I was excited. Maybe this was the break we had been looking for. Things had been frustrating without much progress. Same reason I only liked fishing if I was catching something. Patience was not one of my virtues. I knew that Peter had to be involved somehow. It was too much of a coincidence his being around.
“I was canvassing the area, and the bartender at Rookie’s, a dive bar a couple blocks from here, remembered both of them coming in a few times. He said Rookie’s was a regular hangout of Steven’s, before his many attempts at sobriety and each time he had a lapse, kind of his home away from home. The bartender, Ted, said Solange had come in a lot to drive, or drag, Steven home. A couple of months ago, Ted remembers seeing Peter start coming in, and he and Steven would drink together. I think that coincidentally, Peter learned of Solange, maybe talked to her one of the times she came in to pick up Steven. Seems like he found out about her store and realized it was a perfect front for his smuggling. Peter then found a building close to the boutique, and somehow was able to switch out shipments, or something like that. I’m not entirely sure how he did it yet, but I just have a hunch there is something there.”
“Do you think Steven realized?”
“I believe he loved Solange a lot and doubt he would ever do anything to hurt her. But I also think that when he isn’t in his right mind, he might say or do things that could give away too much information. I highly doubt he had any idea what Peter was up to, if that’s indeed what he’s up to. I could be wrong, but I also doubt he knew Peter had a criminal background. Steven had his issues, but he’s never been in any trouble outside of alcohol. He doesn’t have a record of stealing or anything that would link him to Peter. His crimes are all result of his alcoholism.”
“So what does this mean?”
“I’m not sure, Pres. I still feel that Peter is somehow involved, but there’s no concrete proof.”
“Willie, it has to be so obvious that we are just missing it.”
“I know. It will come to me, or you. So what’s your important news?”
“I guess there was a lot of resentment from Sheila toward Solange.”
“Right. We already knew that as a result of your meeting with Steven and Sheila.”
“True, but there is more of a reason than what we thought and this comes right from their mother. I had a long lunch with Lorraine and got a lot of insight. She is such a lovely women; I hate all this for her.”
“And are you going to tell me what you found out?”
“Yes, if you would stop interrupting,” I said playfully.
“Sor-ry. Go ahead.”
“Seems that James and Sheila dated in college. Sheila thought he was the one, and she brought him home to meet the parents, where he met Solange and promptly dumped Sheila for her.”
“Interesting that neither Sheila nor James ever mentioned that.”
“I know, right? It seems like something worth mentioning. And, to make matters worse, Sheila had been pregnant by James when this happened.” I loved the look of shock on his face. As much as I had declared I wanted no part of investigating a crime, I got a great sense of smug satisfaction that I knew something he didn’t. It was the competitive part of me.
“So, let me get this straight. Sheila was pregnant by James, and he left his pregnant girlfriend for her sister?”
“Yes, but Solange didn’t know about the pregnancy; no one outside James, Sheila, and Lorraine knew. And then James thought Sheila lost it. He just found out that he has a daughter.”
“How?”
“Because the daughter, Amber, went looking for her birth parents and found Solange thinking she was her mother. Oh, and to make this even better, Solange is Lorraine’s real daughter.” I watched as he spit out the sip of coffee he had been drinking.
“How in the hell did you find this out?”
“I told you. Lorraine. She must have decided to confide in me, because she told me all the family secrets, or at least most of them anyways.”
“So who knew about that?”
“No one until recently”
“You’re going to have to tell me all the details, and I’m going to have to talk to Lorraine. I can’t believe she withheld this information from the police. This could be considered obstructing justice. It’s no wonder Sheila didn’t like Solange. Even blood sisters would hate each other for that.”
“Don’t be too hard on Lorraine. I bet it didn’t even occur to her that these facts could be related to Solange’s murder. Solange being adopted probably just made it worse for Sheila. Then the grandfather dividing his money equally just fueled her anger even more.”
“I have more on that, Pres. I was digging through old records for the Smiths, and it seems Sheila filed a lawsuit filed against Solange shortly after the old man died. Asking that as an adopted child, she should be removed from the will of both the grandfather and father.”
“Is that even legal?”
“Not according to the judge who heard the case. He said since both wills were legally binding and the adoption was legal, there was no basis for her case.”
“I bet that didn’t make Shelia too happy.”
“No, I’m sure it didn’t. But would it make her unhappy enough to commit murder?”
“You’re the one who said money is a great motivator for wrongdoing.”
“Yes, I did, which is why I am running a check on her financials to see if anything out of the ordinary pops up. She would have had to pay someone to kill Solange. That takes a lot of money, and it’s hard to have it not leave a trail of some sort.”
“I hope for Lorraine’s sake it’s not Sheila. That would be a horrible thing for her to have to deal with.”
Chapter 22
So the plot thickens.”
Willie had called to ask if he could stop over on his way home from the gym. My condo was on his way home, lucky for me.
“Really? Please tell,” I said setting a glass of water in front of him.
“Thanks,” he said then took a long drink.
“I may not exercise, but I know that when you do you must stay hydrated. Now, tell me. What did you find out?”
“James and Sheila may have renewed their affair.”
“What?!” I was so startled at this news I spilled his water and began wiping it up with my sleeve.
“We’ve had the police department in Crivitz stop by and check on James, and according to the cars and people the police reported, there have been a lot of comings and goings between him and Sheila.”
“You mean she has actually been driving to Wisconsin to see him?”
“Yes,” Willie said. “That’s what makes this thing reek of an affair. Surely, they wouldn’t go to these lengths to see each other. Sheila doesn’t seem like the type who would drive the five hours to Crivitz, to a cabin in the woods, if there wasn’t something in it for her.”
“What makes you think this might be anything besides tasteless, to jump into another relationship right after your wife and sister was found murdered?”
“You’ve got a point there.”
“So what’s next?” I asked Willie. “Are you going to question her about this? Or James? How do you even know what path to pursue?”
“Process of elimination. I’m running out of other reasonable trails. You have to follow all leads and hunches until they prove to be completely the wrong avenue.”
“So what does this mean?”
“Maybe nothing, maybe a lot”
“Is that precise detective work?”
“Exactly. It’s the frustrating part about my job, one of them anyway. You can have all these seemingly unrelated piece
s, and you have to figure out how they fit together. Or not. We don’t know if Solange knew about this or if there was anything prior to her death, and I want to ask James.”
“Sheila would be able to tell you if she knew.”
“I’m not ready to reveal to her I know yet.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “Nothing specific. Just a gut thing”
“Ahhh. Another one of those precise detective feelings”
“Exactly.”
Chapter 23
I was at the boutique, and it was a few minutes after six. Willie and I were going to grab a bite to eat. He had taken to stopping by the boutique nightly to make sure I got everything closed up safely, and to make sure I didn’t get anymore unexpected visitors harassing me. So I was expecting him to arrive any second. I heard a knock at the door and looked up. I had finally gotten in the habit of locking the door any time we weren’t open for business. It was Willie, and my heart jumped a little.
“Hey, you,” I said, unlocking the door and letting him in. I could tell he was excited about something. It was all over his face. “What did you find out?” I assumed it had to be something related to the case. Or some case he was working.
“I finally was able to find a direct link between Peter and Solange and smuggling.”
“I assume James or Steven are involved somehow?” I would almost put my money on James, as he was much greedier than Steven. Or at least it seemed.
“No. That’s the part that was stumping me ’cause there wasn’t a connection there. It took a while, but I finally found it. The connection is Sheila.”
“Sheila? But, how?”
“When I went through her financials, I found two payments of fifty thousand dollars made out to an offshore company. I had to dig through a few layers to find the trail, but it ended up in the account of Oak Hill Trust owned by, you guessed it, one Mr. Peter Green.
“So you think Sheila hired Peter to get Solange in trouble for smuggling? All because of what? She hated her, and now that the daughter was trying to have a relationship, she decided after all these years to make Solange pay?”
