by J A Whiting
“I’ll take care of it,” she whispered to Nicole. “He isn’t going to drop out of school.”
“Thank heavens.” Nicole spoke softly so that Robby wouldn’t hear.
Claire gestured with her head for Nicole to meet her in the front of the shop and they both left the back room.
An expression of worry was written all over Nicole’s face. “I knew it. You were quiet all morning. What’s wrong?”
Before Claire could say anything, the shop door opened and Vanessa strode inside, her jaw tight and her eyes blazing. “I’m down this way to meet a client. I thought I’d come by and pick up an iced coffee to take with me.”
“Is something wrong?” Seeing the young woman’s manner and expression, Nicole knew that something was bothering Vanessa.
“I have a million things to do.” Vanessa put down her briefcase and sighed. “The air-conditioning feels good in here.”
While Claire moved behind the counter to make the beverage, she kept her eyes glued to their friend.
Vanessa’s phone buzzed, but she didn’t reach for it.
“I think your phone just got a message,” Nicole said.
Vanessa let out a groan. “As if I don’t have enough trouble in my life.”
A shiver of chilly air seemed to run down Claire’s back.
“That pest has been hounding me.” Vanessa’s words dripped with annoyance. “I knew it was too convenient for him to accept what I said and leave me alone.”
“Who?” Nicole asked.
“Matthew. He’s been pestering me. Texts, phone calls. He wants to talk. He thinks we should try again. He cares about me. I won’t answer and I don’t respond and the calls increase in frequency until I text and tell him that it won’t work between us. He goes quiet for a few hours and then it all starts again.”
“Block him on your phone,” Nicole suggested.
Vanessa didn’t say anything.
“Don’t you want to?”
Vanessa reached for her bag and grabbed her phone. She punched at the screen with her index finger with such force that Nicole thought it would break. “There. I did it.”
“Why didn’t you do it before?” Nicole questioned.
Vanessa sucked in a long breath. “I was nervous about it. I get the idea that Matthew doesn’t often get told no. I thought blocking his calls could set him off. I just want to be left alone.”
“Did you worry he’d come to your apartment or something?” Nicole eyed her friend.
“No, I was so worked up about everything I let my mind run away with silly ideas.” Vanessa gave a weak smile. “Since we moved out and we’re staying at Claire’s now, I don’t even have to think about it anymore.”
Claire brought over the iced coffee and Vanessa stood up and gathered her things. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“Jeez. Some people. Why can’t they take no for an answer and move on?” Nicole asked wearily. “Now tell me what’s bothering you.”
Claire sat down at the café table with Nicole and explained how she felt when holding Vanessa’s watch that morning. “It used to belong to her father.”
Nicole’s hand moved to her throat. “Why did that happen? What does it mean?”
“I don’t know.” Claire kneaded the back of her neck. “At first, I thought my hand hurt because Dr. Dodd used to wear the watch, but the sensation got much stronger and my vision went black … not exactly black, sort of reddish, and I felt dizzy and almost sick.”
“Oh, no.” Nicole moved her hand from her throat to the side of her face. “It’s your intuition trying to send you some kind of a message, isn’t it?”
“I have no idea what it means, but I’ve felt anxious and worried ever since it happened.” Claire clutched her hands together and rested them on the tabletop. “I’m not sure what to do.”
“Call Tessa.” Nicole’s voice sounded hoarse from nervousness.
“I don’t want to call her over every little thing.” Claire looked out at the people strolling by the big glass window of the shop. “When I saw her last, she reassured me about my skills. I have to pay attention and figure it out.”
Nicole said, “Tessa told you not to push. You’re feeling tense. Try and clear your mind. Close your eyes for a minute and breathe deeply.”
A wave of fatigue came over Claire and she felt like she’d have to sit in the chair for the rest of the day. Slumping down so she could lean her head back, she let her eyelids shut and she concentrated on breathing slowly and deeply. Whenever a thought or an image slid into her consciousness, she gently pushed it aside. The tension in her muscles melted away as her body warmed from the sun’s rays coming in through the window and she slowly opened her eyes.
Nicole leaned closer. “Did it work? Did anything come to you?”
Claire shook her head. “Nothing, but I feel better now.” Turning her head to watch the people moving along the sidewalk outside, she saw a businesswoman catch her heel in the bricks and begin to fall forward. In an instant, an older woman coming from the opposite direction reached out and grabbed the falling woman’s arm and kept her from hitting the ground. Claire watched as the grateful businesswoman grasped her helper’s hand and thanked her.
“Did you see that?” Claire asked. “If that woman didn’t help, the other woman would have taken a nasty fall.”
A bright light popped in Claire’s head blinding her for an instant. Help. Help. She stood up so fast the chair almost toppled. “Can you and Robby handle things here for the rest of the afternoon without me? I need to go somewhere.”
“Where? Should I go with you?” Nicole’s face looked pale.
“We both can’t leave the store.” Claire pulled off her apron. “I’m not sure of anything yet. I want to check something out.”
“Can’t it wait until we close for the afternoon?”
“I don’t think so.” After rushing to the back room to grab her purse, Claire hurried to the door.
Nicole was on her feet. “Call me. Let me know what’s going on.”
Her mind racing, Claire practically ran down the sidewalks of the North End. The afternoon heat was strong and in no time, beads of sweat were running down her back. Thoughts swirled in her head, but were as scrambled as the eggs Vanessa made that morning. The combination of the heat, a sense of vertigo, and her hammering heart made Claire slow and step into the shade for a minute. With her legs feeling weak and rubbery, she knew she’d pass out before reaching the subway station so she decided to hail a cab to take her the rest of the way.
Seated in the vehicle, the cool air helped her feel less dizzy and as she tried to slow her breathing, she watched the buildings and people flash by as the car sped along the busy streets of Boston. Although her thoughts and the images in her head pointed to one thing, she wasn’t clear about the meaning. She only knew she had to listen to her intuition and go check it out. As the taxi approached the building where Claire wanted to stop, she couldn’t keep her heart beat from racing, and despite the comfortable temperature in the cab, her hands became clammy and cold.
Claire paid the driver, got out, and opened the door of the establishment. She stepped inside, moving her eyes over the patrons searching around for the person she wanted to speak with. A sigh of relief escaped her throat when she spotted the man leaning against the far end of the bar regaling a group of young women with a story.
Moving to stand behind the group, Claire caught the man’s attention and he glanced over, looked away, and then recognizing the athletic blonde, quickly returned his gaze to her.
Making eye contact with him, Claire spoke over the shoulder of one of the members of Bob Cooney’s audience. “I need to ask you a favor.”
25
Claire and Cooney moved to the other end of the polished bar.
“I didn’t expect to see you again. Where’s your friend?” Cooney eyed Claire with interest. “You need a job done or something?”
“Not exactly.” Now that Claire was in the bar, she was unsure how to approach the
subject she wanted to discuss with the private investigator.
“What is it then?” Cooney gulped a swallow of beer from the glass he’d carried with him and looked at Claire. “You want a drink or something?”
Shaking her head, Claire said, “I’m not sure how to ask my question.”
Cooney grinned. “Just open your mouth and say the words. What’s the matter? You want me to kill someone for you?” When he saw the expression on Claire’s face, he added quickly, “Only kidding, for Pete’s sake. I draw the line at that.” He smiled again. “But anything else is fair game.”
“When my friend and I were here yesterday, we weren’t exactly up front with you.”
Cooney shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened.”
“We talked about Dr. Dodd,” Claire said to jog the man’s memory.
“Yeah, so?”
“Dr. Dodd is our friend’s father.”
“Go on.”
“We should have said so, but….”
“No hard feelings.” Cooney moved his hand in the air. “Get to the point.”
“Dr. Dodd’s been acting very odd.”
“Surprise.”
“No one knows if he killed his wife or Victoria Lowe, but something is wrong with him.”
“You have strong reasoning skills,” Cooney sassed Claire.
“You told us that Dr. Dodd said someone was after him.”
Cooney cocked his head and leaned back against the bar.
Claire went on. “You told us the doctor had an apartment in the city.”
“And?”
“Do you know where it is?”
“Yeah, I met him there a couple of times.”
“Can you take me there?”
Cooney’s eyes widened. “Why? The daughter want to shoot him or something?”
“It’s just me. I’m alone.”
“Why do you want to go that old goat’s apartment?”
“Because I think he needs help.”
Letting out a loud guffaw, Cooney said, “That’s without a doubt.”
“I’m serious,” Claire told the man. “I think something’s happened to him.”
Narrowing his eyes, Cooney asked, “Why do you think that?”
“I don’t have time to explain the whole thing. I need to get to him before it’s too late.”
“When you came in here, you said you had a favor to ask me.” Cooney crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t do favors.”
“Then will you do it as a job for me?”
“How much?” Cooney asked.
“How much would something like this cost me?”
“You want me to take you to the doc’s apartment? Anything else?”
“Maybe break in to see if he’s okay.”
“That it?”
“If he’s hurt, would you call it in for me?”
“No way. Absolutely not.”
“Then let’s hope he isn’t hurt. My bank is two blocks from here. How much?”
Cooney said evenly, “Five thousand dollars.”
Claire’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding.”
“I don’t come cheap.” Cooney sniffed.
Claire turned on her heel. “Let’s go then.”
With the wad of cash stuffed into his wallet, Bob Cooney sat in the cab with Claire on the way to the address he’d given.
“Near the Common,” Claire noted.
“It’s close to the hospital. The doc can claim he needs the place to crash after work when he’s too tired or it’s too late to go home.” Cooney chuckled. “The old goat doesn’t use it when he’s tired, no sir-ee.”
Claire gave him a dirty look.
“Oh lighten up. Jeez.” Cooney looked out the window. “Why is this so important to you?”
“Because it is.” Claire’s head was spinning again and she didn’t care to engage in any conversation.
The cab came to a stop in front of a brick row house located in a well-heeled neighborhood and the two got out. “The doc has expensive taste. Better to impress the ladies.” When he saw Claire’s expression, he shrugged and got down to business. “You go up, knock on the door. If you need some … ah, assistance getting the door open, come back down and get me. If you don’t come down in ten minutes, I’m outta here.”
“What if Dr. Dodd tries to hurt me?” Claire stared up at the building.
“You didn’t hire me to be your bodyguard.”
“That’s extra, I suppose.”
“Of course it is. It wouldn’t be fair if you asked for one thing, I give you a price and then you start adding stuff on for free. I wouldn’t be in business for long, would I?”
“Come up with me.” Claire’s resolve was fading. “Stand to the side. If the doctor comes to the door, then you can slip away. If he doesn’t, then you can use your skills to get the door open and leave. It will save time if you come up with me now.”
Cooney shrugged and followed Claire into the building. He pressed a code on the door to unlock it.
Claire glared at the man. “You didn’t tell me there was a code. How was I supposed to get in?”
“I was planning to let you in, but I’m not telling you what the numbers are. That’s private information given to me by the doctor.” He held the door open for Claire and they went to the elevator, entered, and Cooney pushed the button for the fourth floor. They walked down the hallway together and Cooney gestured for Claire to knock.
“Don’t tell Dodd it was me who told you where he lives,” Cooney whispered and shuffled away so the doctor wouldn’t see him when he opened the door. “If you need to get outta here in a hurry, the back staircase is that way.” He pointed.
Taking in a deep breath, Claire raised her hand to knock, but she hesitated with her fist in the air. Pressing her fingers against the door, she closed her eyes trying to sense if the man was inside. A humming vibration buzzed in her fingertips and Claire pressed her whole hand against the door in an attempt to better feel the sensation.
An odd, metallic odor entered her nostrils and caught in her throat. Under her hand, the door felt as if it was moving in its frame and Claire opened her eyes to see.
The door was still. What was going on in there? A rush of anxiety flooded Claire’s body and filled her with the urgent impulse to run. She wheeled around towards the elevator.
Cooney stood in the middle of the hall. He gestured a knocking movement. “Go on, knock,” he said softly.
Claire steeled herself, turned back, and hit the door with her knuckles. It remained quiet inside so she rapped a few more times. When no one answered, she waved Cooney over. “Open it for me.”
The man reached into his back pocket and removed a surgical glove and a slender, metal pick.
“Always prepared?” Claire asked.
Cooney wiggled the pick in the lock for a few seconds before it clicked. Turning the knob with the gloved hand, he opened the door a crack. “Do I get a bonus?”
“It was included in the money I already gave you.” Her heart in her throat, Claire pushed the door open with her elbow not wanting to leave fingerprints. “Stay for a minute.”
As they stepped into the shadowy room, the odor got stronger. The heavy drapes had been pulled closed making the place dark, but Claire could make out the high-end furnishings and expensive artwork on the walls. The doctor clearly liked nice things.
Moving slowly around the furniture grouping, Claire stopped short and gasped.
Cooney was on her heels. “What the…?” He let out a curse.
Dr. Dodd lay crumpled on the floor in front of the white sofa. Blood soaked the front of his shirt. Claire rushed to the man and felt his wrist for a pulse. “He’s alive,” she whispered.
“I’m outta here, lady. I’m not getting mixed up in this one. Keep my name out of it. Thanks for the cash.” Cooney took off out of the place like a rocket.
Flicking her eyes frantically around the room for a landline phone, Claire spotted one on the desk near th
e window. Hurrying over, she pulled the bottom of her shirt from her slacks and used the hem to lift the phone from its cradle. She pressed the numbers, 911, with a pencil from the desk. After reporting the accident and the address, Claire carefully placed the receiver back on its cradle when the dispatcher asked for her name.
Taking the pencil with her, she scrambled for the door, and pausing, she looked back at the unconscious body prone on the floor. “I can’t stay here. There’d be no way to explain why I was in your apartment. Hang on. They’re coming. Help’s on the way.”
26
Claire raced down the building’s back staircase and slowed to a walk as soon as she was outside. Crossing the street to a small park, she shakily sat down on a bench and waited for the emergency personnel to arrive at Dodd’s apartment. In a few minutes, she heard the siren approaching. Thank heavens. An ambulance pulled to the corner and a man and woman ran into the building.
After checking her clothes for any blood, Claire started walking back to Nicole’s shop and the entire way her mind raced and her body flooded with guilt that she couldn’t have stayed with the doctor until help arrived. Tears gathered in her eyes, but she pushed them away and wouldn’t let them fall.
Although she wanted to alert Vanessa that her father had been injured and taken to the hospital, Claire had no idea how to explain her presence at the apartment. I had a feeling. I sensed your father was in peril when I touched the watch that used to belong to him. What nonsense. They’d send Claire for a psychological evaluation.
Claire’s thoughts turned to a different concern. Who attacked the doctor? How did the person know where the doctor’s apartment was located? Claire wanted to call Ian, but the same worries stopped her … how could she explain what she knew and why she’d gone to find the doctor?
Nicole was just locking the front door of the shop when she spotted Claire coming towards her. “You look like a ghost. What on earth happened?”
Unable to hold it together any longer, tears cascaded down Claire’s cheeks causing Nicole to grab her arm and steer her to the door of the building that led to Nicole’s upstairs apartment. By the time they sat down, Claire had pulled herself together and she poured out the story of the past three hours.
