“Oh, Nicole,” he whispered. “I’ll never leave you, my darling. Don’t you know I feel the same way you do? You’ve given me back my life and a love I never dreamed I’d possess. I’ve got to find you. There’s no way I’ll ever be able to live if I lose you.”
He read another passage. Today, I found the names of all the people involved in Connor’s accident. I borrowed Lita’s car and went out to talk to the truck driver’s wife. She told me she would mail me a copy of something which would prove Connor was innocent. I don’t know what it could be, but as soon as I get it, I will tell him what I’ve done. All I want is for him to be happy again. I love him so much.
The doorbell rang downstairs and he jerked himself into reality. He instinctively knew the police would want to see her room. There was no way he was going to let them see her journal. He wouldn’t let them delve into her private life through her words. He went out of the room and saw a small closet in the hall. He jerked the door open. It was a linen closet. He shoved the notebook between some towels and headed down stairs.
Chapter 28
Dora sat up in bed when Janice walked into the room. “Have you had your lunch, Mom?”
“Yes, honey. The nurse fixed it about thirty minutes ago. Have you eaten?”
“I’m fine.” She sat in the fuchsia chair beside the bed. “Now, tell me. What have you done since I was here last night?”
“Not much, dear. I read a little and watched a little television. You know there’s nothing much on during the day that interests me.” She leaned back on her pillows. “I’ve also had a little company.”
“Oh. Who?”
“A couple of women from the garden club came by early this morning. I’d just finished breakfast.” She pointed to a potted plant. “They brought this to me. Said I could plant it when I felt up to gardening again.”
“It’s a pretty plant.”
Dora went on, “Connor Cottingham came by about mid-morning.”
Janice looked surprised. “What in the world did he come by for?”
“He was looking for Nicole Lynch.” Dora smiled. “He’s in love with her, you know.”
“No. He can’t be. She hasn’t been in town that long.”
“Sometimes when you meet the right person it doesn’t take long to fall in love, Janice.” She smiled at her daughter. “I hope you find a love like that sometime.”
“Well, I don’t think Connor Cottingham would want Nicole when he could have Elsie Franklin.”
Dora laughed out loud. “Honey, the last woman on earth Connor would want is Elsie Franklin.”
“I don’t believe that Mom. Elsie is a beautiful woman and she’s so nice.”
“Honey, there’s nothing nice about Elsie Franklin. I could tell you things about her that would curl your fingers and toes.”
“I can’t believe that.”
“Believe it child. A husband of one of my friends was a victim of her venom a couple of summers ago.”
“Who?”
“I’m not going to tell you who, but I’ll tell you what happened. Elsie kept hanging around him at the club and being thirty years older than her he was soon sucked in. He started buying her diamond jewelry and the old fool actually thought he was in love with her. His wife knew something was going on and arranged for him and their son to take a fishing trip hoping the son could make his daddy see things more clearly. Well, so happened the son was in an accident and broke his leg and the old man decided to take the trip alone. When he came home he told everybody it was the best fishing trip he’d ever had. Two weeks later when the wife found a video of Elsie Franklin and her husband she knew why he thought it was the best trip he’d been on.”
“What happened then?”
“The old fool told his wife he was going to divorce her and marry Elsie because she was the love of his life. When he told Elsie this, she laughed in his face. Two weeks later Elsie married her third husband and took off with him leaving the man devastated and his wife wondering what to do.”
“What did she do?”
“She inherited his fortune because a month or so later he died. I think it was ruled a stroke, but insiders say he took an overdose of drugs.”
“I can’t believe this, Mama.”
“You’d better believe it my dear. Also if you’re really interested in this new man in your life, you’d better keep him away from Elsie Franklin.”
Janice bit her lip. She knew Elsie was meeting with Cliff at two this afternoon. If what her mother said was true, she knew she’d better put a stop to that meeting.
* * * *
“So you’re saying, Miss Lynch didn’t show up at work and you were worried and came to look for her?” William Milo looked at Connor.
“That’s right.”
“Is she usually late for work?”
“Never. She usually beats us to the office.”
“Us?”
“We’ve told you before, my Dad and my brother and I work together.”
“Could Miss Lynch have decided to leave town?” Trudy Collins looked at him.
Lita answered. “No. There’s no way she’d leave. She couldn’t wait to get to the office and see Connor. She loves him, you know.”
“No, I didn’t know.” Trudy Collins looked at Connor.
“Before you ask, yes, I love her too.”
William Milo nodded. “So she left here a little after eight, but she never made it to the office.”
“That’s what we’ve been telling you.” Lita looked exasperated. “Something has happened to her. I know it.”
“Did you happen to have a disagreement or something, Mr. Cottingham?”
“No.”
Lita threw her hands in the air. “Man, I’m telling you these two are in love. Why, last night when he was kissing her good-night, I thought he’d take her out the door and home with him in spite of everything. They’d just spent four romantic days in Savannah. You know what a romantic place that city is.”
“No, I don’t believe I do.”
“Well, Detective Milo, look it up on the internet. I did after Nicole called me from Savannah and told me where they were staying. If a man doesn’t care about a woman, he wouldn’t spend that kind of money on her.” She stood. “Now quit asking these dumb questions and get out there and find Nicole.”
“We need a description. What was she wearing?”
“A yellow skirt and blouse, and a sweater with blue and yellow and pink in it. She said Connor bought it for her in Savannah and he liked to see her in it.”
“Do you have a picture of her?”
“I do.” Connor stood. “We made some in Savannah and they’re in my car. I’ll be right back.”
Milo nodded at him. “Now, Mrs. Mancini, could you show us to Miss Lynch’s room? We need to check it out.”
They were going up the steps when Connor came back with a pack of pictures. “Here’s one of her which details her face. We were having a late lunch.”
Trudy took the picture. “She does look happy.”
“We had a wonderful time.”
The detectives looked through Nicole’s room, but didn’t seem to find anything they thought would help in their search for her. They left with the picture and said they’d be back in touch soon.
Connor turned to Lita. “I’m going to look for Nicole now. I know I probably won’t find her, but I’ve got to try.” He put his arm around her shoulder. “I don’t think I could live through losing another woman I love.”
He kissed her forehead and started for the door then turned. “By the way, I found the notebook she writes her private thoughts in. I didn’t think the cops should see it so I shoved it in your linen closet. You might want to put it back in her room.”
“Was there anything in it to indicate what could have happened to her?”
He knew he couldn’t lie to Lita. “I don’t think so. I glanced in it and it seemed to be mostly about her feelings for me. I didn’t want to read too much of it because I knew it wa
sn’t meant for anyone to read.”
“Then I won’t read it unless we don’t find her soon.”
“We’ll find her, Lita. We have to.” Again he started toward the door.
“Connor,” she said. He turned and she went on, “Could I look at the pictures?”
He handed her the envelope. “I’ll come back for them later.” He went out the door.
Chapter 29
Elsie came bouncing in the office at lunchtime. She went directly to Connor’s office and was stunned to see it empty.
Paul came up behind her. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see Connor.”
“As you can see, he’s not here.”
“Where is he?” She saw the picture frame on his desk and picked it up. “Well, I’ll be damned. He has the gall to put her picture on his desk.” She put her arm back to throw it, but Paul grabbed her wrist.
He took the picture from her hand. “Get out of my brother’s office, Elsie.” He set the picture back on the desk and took her arm. When he had her in the hall, he closed Connor’s door.
“I asked you a question. Where is Connor?” She jerked her arm out of his grasp.
“Where do you think he is?”
“I don’t know. With a client, maybe.”
“No, he isn’t with a client.”
“Maybe he’s at home resting up.” She stopped herself. “No, he can’t be. He’s been here because he has put that damn picture on his desk.” She looked at Paul. “Why would he do that anyway? She’s not that great to look at.”
Paul looked at Elsie for a long minute. It had dawned on him that she wasn’t putting on an act. The woman was actually mentally unbalanced. Otherwise why would she keep coming back here where she’d been told off and insulted? She acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had ever taken place in this office. She was probably delusional enough to believe she was going to get Connor to come to her whenever she wanted him.
“Elsie, why don’t you come in my office and let me get you a cup of coffee? You look as if you could use it. I bet you’ve had a busy morning.”
“I can’t Paul. I have an appointment. I just wanted to chat with Connor a minute and tell him we’d go to dinner tonight. After I take care of my appointment, I’ll come back and see him.”
Paul walked her to the door. “Maybe he’ll be here then.”
She turned her head to the side. “Why, Paul that’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me since I’ve been back in town. Maybe you’re not so bad after all.”
“I try to be nice when I can, Elsie. Connor should be back in a while.”
“I guess he’s out looking for her.” She nodded toward the desk.
“Yes, that’s exactly where he is.”
“It figures. It’s going to take some doing, but when he doesn’t find her, I’ll make him forget all about her. I know I can. He couldn’t possibly prefer her to me.” She went out the door and got into her car.
Paul started to close the door, then he realized what Elsie had said. He’d been so preoccupied with his assessment of her mental condition he’d let it slip by. He ran out on the sidewalk and tried to flag her down. He was too late. She was pulling out of the parking lot.
Paul ran back into the office. He was in such a hurry to get to his desk he knocked over one of the pull-up chairs. His father heard the noise and came running into the office. “What’s going on?”
He held up his hand. “Hold it Dad. I’ll explain in a minute.” He dialed Connor’s cell number. When his brother answered, Paul said, “Connor. I think Elsie knows where Nicole is.”
“What?’
“You heard me.”
“How in the world would she know?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sure she does.” He explained about the visit and ended with, “And when she left she said, I bet Connor is out looking for her and nodded toward Nicole’s desk.”
“Everyone probably knows I’m looking for her.”
“You don’t understand, brother. I hadn’t told her Nicole was missing. I don’t know how, but she knew it already.”
“Damn! Where is she?”
“She said she had an appointment and she got away before I could stop her. She did say she was going to come back by to see you.”
“When she comes back, call me. I’ll make her tell me if she knows where Nicole is.”
“I’ll call you the minute I see her.”
* * * *
Janice’s heart beat faster than it should when she saw Elsie’s car parked in the lot of Cliff’s motel. Could her mother be right? Would Elsie make a play for Cliff?
No. She shook her head. I won’t think that. Elsie likes me, and she wouldn’t do that to me. I don’t care what anyone says, she’s a nice person. Mom just doesn’t understand her.
Janice slipped the room key Cliff had given her in the lock and pushed the door open quietly. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw Cliff and Elsie on the bed. They were both naked. “How dare you!”
They jerked apart, startled. When Elsie saw the tears forming in Janice’s eyes, she laughed.
Cliff pushed Elsie aside and came toward Janice. “Baby, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen. She came on to me so...”
Elsie interrupted. “Oh, come off it, Cliff. Janice is a big girl. She knows what we were doing, don’t you my friend?”
“Don’t you call me your friend. A friend wouldn’t do this to me. How could you?”
“Don’t be stupid, Janice. There’s nothing wrong with two adults having a little fun.” Elsie casually swung her long legs off the bed and began putting on her underwear. “And Cliff was having a lot of fun, weren’t you big boy?”
“Janice, don’t listen to her. I’m sorry. I made a mistake and I shouldn’t have. Please forgive me, baby.”
“Why did you let her talk you into this?”
“I didn’t talk him into anything, Janice,” Elsie giggled. “He took one look at me and said, ‘I want you pretty woman.’” She looked at him. “Tell her. You couldn’t wait to get me in bed.”
“You can both go to hell as far as I’m concerned,” Janice yelled and ran out the door.
“Janice, wait honey.” Cliff started after her.
* * * *
“Better not do that, big boy.” Elsie laughed. “You might get arrested for indecent exposure.”
He turned back inside. “Now look what you’ve done.”
“Honey, I haven’t done a thing. She’ll be mad for a little while, but mark my words; she’ll be back and in your bed by tomorrow.”
“I don’t know. She was awfully mad.”
“Cliff.” She reached out and put her arm around his neck. “Grow up. One of my husbands told me one time that women are like cigarettes. You light them up, enjoy them while they’re lit and when they burn out, toss them in the gutter, and light a new one. I figure if it works for women it works for men too.”
“But Elsie...”
“Don’t worry, honey. Like I said. She’ll be back.” She looked at him. “Why don’t you put your pants on? It’s kind of hard to conduct business with a naked man.”
He pulled on his jeans. “Okay, I’m dressed. Where’s my money?”
“Don’t get in such a rush. I’ve got your money.” She reached for her purse. She took out some bills and handed them to him. As he began to count it, she said, “It’s all there. When I make a deal I stick to it.”
“It’s going to cost you another two thousand if you want her dead.”
“Let’s not kill her yet. I want to make her suffer.” She looked at him. “Where is she?”
“Don’t worry, they’ll never find her.”
“You haven’t killed her already, have you?”
“No. You almost did when you were beating her though. She may die from that. Like I said, it’ll cost you a couple more thousand if you want me to do it.”
“I’ll let you know when.” She smiled at him. “It was fun and I’ll expect
you to take me to see her when I come back.”
“I’ll take you to her.”
“Good.” She reached down and grabbed his privates. She squeezed so hard he fell to his knees.
She went out the door laughing a hearty laugh.
Chapter 30
Janice had her head lying on the side of her mother’s bed. “You were right about Elsie, Mom. I found her and Cliff in bed together.”
Dora reached over and stroked Janice’s hair. “I’m sorry you had to learn the truth about her that way.”
“I should have listened to you.”
“It’ll be alright, darling. If he fell in bed with Elsie that quickly, I don’t think he was worth your time anyway.”
“Mom, I have to ask you something.”
“What is it?”
“Is Nicole Lynch my half-sister?”
“Oh, my heavens, no. What gave you that idea?”
“The peculiar way you act when she’s mentioned.”
“I’m sorry if I gave you that impression, but no Darling. Nicole Lynch isn’t my daughter.”
Janice looked into her mother’s eyes. “Are you telling me the truth?”
“Yes, Janice, I am. At first I thought Nicole might be the child I gave up, but I was wrong. The little girl I gave up for adoption is dead.”
“Dead?”
“Yes. She had a rare form of cancer and she died when she was seventeen years old.”
“Oh, Mama, how awful.”
“It is sad, but it’s true. Jeff Bowie called me the morning I was attacked. I tried to tell my attacker that, but he wouldn’t listen to me.” She shook her head. “I can’t figure out why he was so interested in my illegitimate child.”
“I wonder why he wanted to know about that.”
“He kept saying something about how Derrick...” Dora’s eyes filled with tears. “I swore I wasn’t going to tell anyone this, but I can’t seem to hold it in any longer.”
“What is it, Mama?”
“My attacker told me Derrick hired him to rough me up. He said he didn’t care if he killed me because Derrick would pay more for that.”
Murder in Georgia Page 18
