Mourning Commute

by Sam Cheever

  Robard noted everything we told him and then gave us a sour look and told us to stay available in case he had any further questions. I put my hand on his arm as he started to walk away and he glowered down at it until I removed it.

  “Leland told us he and Mitner had been bribing people for business. You wouldn’t by any chance know something about that, would you, Detective?”

  Robard didn’t speak. Instead, he jerked his head to a spot several feet away, where there were no bystanders and no police.

  Deitz gave me wide eyes as Robard turned his back on us and I shrugged.

  I was getting tired of tiptoeing around and putting myself and everybody else in danger.

  Robard whipped around as we joined him under a big, old tree near the street.

  He jammed a finger toward me, his eyes narrow and tight with rage. “You’ve got a lot of nerve, actress!”

  I didn’t flinch. I’ll give myself kudos for that. But his inflection on the title was clearly meant to remind me that I wasn’t a cop. Heck, I hadn’t even played one on TV. “It’s a question that needs to be answered.”

  “I don’t owe you any explanations. In fact, I’ve been told that you aren’t supposed to be sticking your nose into this investigation in the first place. Your father…”

  “You let me worry about my father, Robard. Did you or did you not take bribes from Crime Clean in exchange for sending work their way?”

  He glanced at Deitz but, to his credit, Eddie acted like my partner. He stood tall next to me, returning Robard’s glower with expectant silence.

  Finally, Robard growled out an expletive. “Okay, I’m only telling you two dweebs this to get you off my scent. I don’t need you getting in the way of me doing my job.”

  I lifted a brow.

  “I don’t know anything about any bribes. What I know is that Alex Mitner’s been getting threats from the cartel.”

  “Why?” Eddie asked.

  “Because, as you know, they like to keep a very low profile. That means when they occasionally screw up and do some of their more violent business in a place where they don’t want anybody to know, they need somebody to clean up their mess in a way that can’t come back to bite ’em.”

  “They wanted Crime Clean on their payroll,” Eddie murmured. He didn’t act surprised. James had already speculated the same.

  Robard nodded. “This is a mess you don’t want to get mixed up in. These people are dangerous and they’ll do anything to keep you quiet.”

  I thought of the pool and the deadly embrace of the massive tree, backlit by lightning, and shivered. “Was Alex playing ball with them?” I asked.

  “No. And that’s why they killed Josh.”

  The words were so stark. So unambiguous. And they hit me like a brick upside the head. “They killed him as what, a warning to his dad?”

  “That’s what I believe, yes.”

  “But why not just use their own organization?” Eddie asked. “It can’t be that hard to train good forensic cleaners.”

  Robard nodded. “But they wouldn’t have the connections with the police Mitner’s people do. And then there’s Alex himself. He’s friends with a lot of cops and he understands crime. It’s kind of a hobby for him. His knowledge and connections are invaluable.”

  “Then, the whispered conversations May heard between Leland and Alex at the viewing were probably about Alex’s little cartel problem,” Eddie said.

  “And if she’d have acted on that knowledge, she would have endangered what the cartel was trying to build with Alex,” Robard responded. “And put Mitner’s organization under the type of suspicion that would have killed his business. Even if he’s refusing to cooperate with Morellis.”

  I nodded, feeling suddenly very cold. When we believed Tomlinson was the person who was targeting us, it was scary but not overwhelmingly so. Tomlinson was just one guy. He was a businessman. And though I knew on some level that white-collar guys could do bad stuff, I had visceral knowledge of what the cartel could do. “No wonder Val Mitner is so jumpy.”

  “Yeah. She has reason to be. If her husband continues to resist, I wouldn’t be surprised if they make a play on her next.”

  I grabbed his arm.” You need to protect her!”

  Robard jerked free of my grasp. “The police can’t protect every citizen who needs it. We don’t have the manpower.”

  “I thought Alex Mitner was your friend,” Eddie said.

  “We go way back. Sometimes I call for him when I see a particularly nasty scene. He’s the best in the business. I respect the heck out of that man. But that doesn’t change reality.”

  When we both glared at him, he expelled a breath. “Look, I drive by there several times a day. I’m keeping an eye on the place. But I’m just baggage at this point. They hired James Thomas. He has the best independent security organization in the city. He’ll keep Val safe.”

  His words reminded me of what Leland had muttered. “Leland told me to get security.” I frowned. “Do you think I’m in danger from these guys?”

  Robard shrugged. “If they have reason to believe you’re a loose end then, yeah. You are. I’d take his advice.”

  19

  “I think we need to talk to James again,” Deitz said.

  I agreed. “Before we do that, can we go over what we know and what we don’t know? My head’s spinning.”

  He nodded. “I know the feeling.”

  “Good.” We were sitting in his truck in the street near the Market. After the ambulance carted off Doc Leland, the crowds had slipped away and the vendors had closed up shop.

  All that was left of the incident were a few small pieces of cauliflower nestled in the grass inside a crime scene tape barrier.

  One uniformed officer guarded the taped off area, keeping people from going inside. My concern was less for the place where the bullet had grazed Leland’s skull, and more for the place where it had left the gun.

  “Did they determine where the shooter was standing?”

  Eddie pointed toward the three-story brick building across the street. It had a flat roof, and one of those old-fashioned metal fire escapes leading to a narrow alley. “Up there. He probably just slipped down the escape and hoofed it through that alley to Market Street.”

  “How good of a shot would you have to be?” I asked him.

  “The distance isn’t all that much of a challenge for a rifle with a scope. But there were a lot of bodies between the shooter and Leland. And they were all moving.”

  I frowned. “There’s no chance one of us was the target, right?”

  He slid his gaze to my face. I must have looked pretty pathetic because he reached over and patted my hand. “We weren’t the target.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  “Because if we were, the shooter was really bad. I mean really bad. Leland was a good nine or ten feet away from you and eight feet from me when he was shot.”

  I chewed the inside of my lip.

  “What are you thinking?”

  I didn’t want to tell him what I was thinking. I’d never felt so insecure before. It seemed like there were forces at work all around me that I couldn’t imagine or anticipate. It was a strange and terrifying feeling. “I just need to understand all this. It feels like it’s rolling over me and I don’t have a grasp on any of it.”

  “You need to take back some control. I totally get it. Let’s go over what we know and try to pull it into a shape we can understand.” He inclined his head. “If we believe Robard, then Josh was most likely killed because of something his father was doing that probably had nothing to do with him.”

  “Okay, if we go with that, then why was he talking to Collen Landon about his sister’s murder?”

  Eddie thought about that for a minute. “That’s a very good question. Maybe he was investigating the murder because he suspected Crime Clean was involved somehow. But whoever killed him did it because he was getting too close to the truth.”

  “The truth abou
t Tomlinson or the cartel?”

  “Not sure at this point.”

  I nodded. “Okay, so let’s assume for a minute that Josh and Collen are trying to get the goods on Tomlinson. But only Josh gets killed. Why?”

  We thought about that for a long moment and then Eddie sighed. “I go back to something his father was involved in. That’s the common thread in this.”

  “Crime Clean does seem to be at the center of everything.” I thought about the people I’d met there and had a lot of trouble believing any of them were criminal types. “Do we believe Mitner and Leland were paying off Robard? Because, if we do, that pretty much takes everything he just told us out of play.”

  “I believe some of that has happened. But I don’t think that’s at the center of what’s going on with Josh and Allie Landon.”

  “Okay, let’s assume the two deaths are connected. What connects them? James told us the man he saw Allie Landon fighting with at the bar was a businessman. His description didn’t sound like a Hispanic man, a.k.a. cartel.”

  “We should probably clarify that with James. I asked Collen about it, but he doesn’t remember that specific incident so he can’t help us. We know Allie had a thing with Tomlinson. Lovers have fights. I don’t think that’s part of the equation.”

  “Except James thought Allie and Josh might have hooked up after. That’s a connection.”

  Eddie nodded. “Yeah. That’s one connection. And if Tomlinson found out Allie had slept with Josh, that would be a classic motive for murdering both of them. It’s really the simplest explanation.”

  “But it doesn’t match what Robard told us,” I said, frowning. “And it doesn’t explain the machinations between Leland and Mitner. And it doesn’t explain why somebody tried to drown me in the pool and run us off the road at the cemetery.”

  We sat in silence for a long moment and then Eddie started the truck. “I think we need to talk to James again,” Deitz said. “He’s working for Mitner. Maybe he can shed some light on some of this.”

  I didn’t hesitate for long. “I agree.”

  James Security was located in a black marble building near the center of town. Its surface shone like glass as we approached, and the people milling around the front door were dressed in black and had duty belts around their waists just like the police wore.

  “It looks like James is doing pretty well for himself,” I told Eddie.

  He nodded. “He’s a smart guy. He’s going with his strengths. Ex-military, and he worked for the FBI anti-terrorism unit for a couple of years. He’s got the chops to back the security gig up.”

  “Sounds like a good guy to have on our side.”

  Eddie pulled the door open for me. “It does, doesn’t it?”

  I slipped inside, stopping to let my eyes adjust to the soft lighting after the bright sun.

  “Can I help you?”

  The young woman striding toward us wore a crisp black shirt and black trousers that fit her narrow hips and long legs, tapering down to high black boots with a medium heel. Her white-blonde hair was a stark contrast to the unrelieved black, but her pretty face made it all work. She smiled widely, offering me a hand as she approached. “Welcome to James Security. I’m Dani.”

  “Hey,” I said as she dropped my hand and took Eddie’s.” Her sharp green gaze slid over him like a metal detector, seemingly cataloging the level of danger he presented. I hadn’t noticed her doing that to me and I was strangely disappointed. Did I really look so harmless?

  “We’d like to talk to James,” Eddie told her. “My name is Deitz. He and I are old friends.”

  She inclined her head. “Wait here, please.”

  While we waited, I walked around the small lobby, perusing the photos of James shaking hands with Asheville’s Mayor and a few celebrities he must have provided security for. I was impressed by his clientele.

  Dani’s boots tip-tapped back our way. I heard her a few beats before she emerged from a hallway and approached. “Mr. James is just finishing up a phone call. If you’ll come with me...”

  We followed her perfect behind all the way down a long hallway, to a nondescript door with no plaque. I wondered if that was a security thing. None of the doors leading off the hall had plaques announcing their use.

  Dani rapped two quick times and then opened the door, ushering us inside as James was saying goodbye to someone on the phone.

  She looked at him. “Coffee?”

  He nodded as he stood. “Please.” James came around his desk and smiled. “May. It’s nice to see you again.” He clasped my hand warmly, staring into my eyes.

  I felt something twitch in my belly, wondering if it was interest or alarm. I wasn’t used to being gazed at with such intensity. “James.”

  The door snicked quietly shut behind us.

  Eddie cleared his throat and James turned with a grin. “Deitz. I didn’t see you standing there.”

  “Har!” Deitz said. “Nice place you have here.”

  I took a moment, while James was distracted by Deitz, to glance quickly around the room. The office was large and dark, like the rest of the place. One wall appeared to be all windows but heavy drapes obscured most of the light, leaving only a narrow ribbon of sunlight around the edges to provide a soft glow.

  The room was pleasantly cool, and I figured that was probably the reason James had the windows covered.

  James’ desk was oversized, of a highly polished wood that was nearly black. The floor was covered in gray-washed wide planks, largely unadorned by rugs. I’d have expected black leather chairs, but James surprised with white leather club chairs, round and slightly informal in a space that felt like it was striving for the ultimate seriousness.

  A round red rug sat beneath James’s desk, the only spot of color in the room. Aside from the faint glow of sunlight around the curtains, the room was lit by five matching lamps, which were black with plain white shades. They gave off a soft glow that illuminated without feeling overly bright.

  “Have a seat,” James told us, indicating the barrel-shaped club chairs. “I’m surprised to see you again. So soon.”

  His statement seemed directed at me, but we all remembered how he’d left things at the diner and I knew it was actually directed at Deitz.

  “We need you to tell us who might want Leland dead,” Deitz responded.

  James’ square jaw tightened. He held my gaze and, for a moment, I thought he wasn’t going to respond. Then he turned to Eddie. “We’ve already had this conversation.”

  “The cartel,” Deitz said.

  “If I had to guess.”

  “You saw the news?” Eddie asked his friend.

  “I did.” James frowned. “What were you two doing there?”

  “Questioning Leland,” I told him.

  The door opened, and James held up a hand. “Hold that thought.”

  We talked about the weather while Dani pulled steaming mugs of black coffee off a tray and placed them in front of us. The mugs were black porcelain with the James Security logo in gold lettering.

  Very classy.

  “Thank you,” I told the other woman.

  She gave me a pretty smile. “You’re welcome.” Dani picked up the empty tray and hesitated. “You’re Mark Ferth’s sister, aren’t you?”

  Something about the way she said it, or maybe it was the interested glint in her pretty eyes, warned me that the question wasn’t just a passing one. Our Miss Dani had stars in her eyes for my brother. “I am.”

  Deitz looked confused by the obvious question, so I clarified. “Argh.”

  “Ah.”

  Dani grinned. “He won’t tell me what that stands for. I was hoping you’d give me the inside information on it.”

  I pretended to be considering the request very seriously. Actually, I didn’t need to pretend all that hard. “I don’t know if I should.”

  “Please?” Her slender brows dipped in a pleading frown. “I’ll owe you a big favor.”

  “Do you promise to to
rture him with it endlessly?”

  Her lips twitched under a barely repressed grin. Lifting her hand, she said, “On my honor and with great pleasure.”

  “Okay.” And I told her.

  She left smiling from ear to ear.

  “That wasn’t what you told me about how he got the name,” Eddie said.

  I tried not to smile too wide. “I know, but that version will cause him maximum embarrassment. And that’s key to every successful negotiation involving Argh.”

  James chuckled. “This is why I’m glad I don’t have any sisters.”

  I shrugged. “Back to what we were talking about?”

  He nodded, sipping his coffee.

  “We’d been told by a reliable witness that Leland and Alex had been talking about me. That I’d found something out and that Leland was talking about getting rid of me.”

  James’ brows lifted. “Seriously?”

  “Do you have any idea what that might be about?” Eddie asked.

  “No. I promise, if I did, I’d tell you and I’d put a stop to it.” He frowned. “What did you find out that has them so spooked?”

  “I wish I knew.”

  He didn’t look like he believed me. “Honestly.” I hesitated before admitting to the reason Leland suspected me. It wasn’t my finest hour. “I might have been eavesdropping at the viewing.”

  James stared at me a long moment and then barked out a laugh. “You were what?”

  I explained about trying to leave and hearing the two men whispering with urgency in the empty viewing room. “I stopped because I didn’t want Alex to see me…”

  Both men gave me a funny look. “It’s a long story. But I kind of stepped back behind a potted palm.”

  “Oh, May,” James groaned. “That’s so clichéd.

  “I know. But that was the only thing I could hide behind.”

  “It’s true,” Eddie said, nodding. “I found her there just before Alex and Leland came out of the room. Leland apparently believes she overheard whatever they were discussing.”