by Ann Mullen
The roads were flooded in some of the low lying areas, but not so bad that I couldn’t navigate them in my 4Runner. I loved my Toyota SUV. It could go almost anywhere, and to prove it, I’ve taken it through some pretty treacherous places. During one of my more adventurous moments, I drove it across South River in a low spot just to see if it would make it. It did, but I won’t ever do that again unless I absolutely have to.
I took the back way to the office, avoiding the traffic on Rt. 29, and made it there in no time flat. I was praising myself when I pulled into the parking lot of Blackhawk & Blackhawk Investigations, until I hit a slick spot. It was all I could do to keep from plowing through the double glass doors of the building. The 4Runner seemed to have a mind of its own, but fortunately, it stopped in time to keep me from turning into windshield pizza. My hands were shaking when I walked into the office.
“Need a cup of coffee?” Lila Grayce asked as she took my purse and then helped me with my jacket. “I just made a fresh pot.”
Lila Grayce is our office manager… and lifesaver.
“No thanks,” I replied, shaking the rain off me. “It’s pouring out there.”
“And it’s supposed to be like that all day.”
I looked around the office, and started to ask about our client when the door alarm chimes went off. The front door opened and in walked a short, heavyset, black woman with big hair. She was wet all over.
“You must be Mae Bridges,” I said, extending my hand. “I’m Jesse Watson Blackhawk. It’s good to finally meet you.” I looked at Lila, but before I could say anything, she came over and helped Mae out of her wet things, asking about her interest in a cup of coffee.
Mae shook my hand, and then said to Lila, “A cup of coffee would be nice. Thank you.” Then, she turned to me and said, “I bet I can read your mind.”
“I hope not. I keep some pretty bad stuff hidden there. You wouldn’t want to visit that place.”
She laughed out loud and said, “I like you already. Your mom said I would, and she was right. She also said that I could trust you.”
“You can. Tell me your darkest secrets and I’ll take them to my grave… unless I’m tortured. If that happens, you’re on your own.”
“Have you ever been tortured?”
“Physically… no, mentally… all the time. In my line of work, crawling out of bed in the morning can be torture. Traffic can be torture, especially on a day like this.”
“Murder can be torture,” she said. “Especially on the ones left behind.”
“Why don’t we sit down,” I said, pointing to an overstuffed sofa.
She looked around the room as if she was checking it out to make sure no one else was there. “Oh, don’t worry,” I assured her. “We’ll have our privacy. There’s no one here but the three of us.”
We both sat down and waited until Lila had placed the coffee on the table in front of us. When she walked away, I said to Mae, “So… tell me about your problem.”
“Let me just say how glad I am that Sarah is going to be okay. I was really worried about her for a while.”
“You know Billy’s mother?”
“I know all the Blackhawks. They do their banking with us, or they did with my husband before he was murdered. Now, someone else handles their accounts.”
“Tell me about your husband.”
Mae told me all about her husband and how much she loved him. They had a great life together until Dakota Stone killed him. “If she didn’t kill him, she had someone do it just as sure as I’m sitting here drinking coffee with you.”
“Explain.”
“Look at me,” she started. “I’m short and fat, my hair is a disaster, my complexion sucks, and I’m black. Black people don’t usually get into snazzy joints like The Body Shop. But… I have a lot of money, and money will open a lot of doors.”
“I hate to admit it, but you’re right about that. Money is power.”
“Dakota Stone welcomed me with opened arms and acted like we’d been best friends for years. I don’t trust people like that. Something didn’t seem right about her, but I dismissed the feeling, thinking maybe I was just being too judgmental. Then one day something happened, and that’s when I realized there was a devious side to Dakota Stone and everyone working at The Body Shop.”
“And that would be what?”
“Don’t get me wrong. The Body Shop is a fancy joint. The place is gorgeous. They have a fabulous spa and gym, a masseuse, a nutritionist, and even a psychologist on staff. I was impressed with how nice the place was. They really know how to pamper a woman. I felt revived after my first visit. And then, on my third visit, I had a session with Olivia Swales, the psychologist. Everyone talks to the psychologist by their third visit. It’s part of the program. They not only want to fix your body, but they also want to fix your mind, so they claim. Well, they are pretty good at the body aspect, but the part about your mind, that’s another story. I didn’t like her sticking her nose in my private life.”
“Isn’t that what they’re supposed to do? How can they help you if you don’t let them get to know you?”
“That’s just it. I didn’t need help. I was happy with myself and my life. After only a few sessions with her, I felt worse about everything… and I couldn’t shake that eerie feeling I had. I knew something wasn’t right. It was like she wanted me to have problems with my husband or kids, or anyone for that matter.”
“What was the event you mentioned?”
“I remember the day as vividly as if it were yesterday. I had just had a massage when Dakota approached me and asked me why I hadn’t had a session with Olivia lately. I told her that I didn’t need one. I was fine. She said I didn’t look fine. She said I looked sad, and she was worried about me. She wanted me to see Olivia right away, so I did, just to get her off my back. Olivia wanted to know how it was going in my marriage. Did my husband treat me badly? She said I had all the signs—withdrawn, unhappy, scared, and a bunch of other malarkey. At first, I was shocked, and then I got angry. My husband was the kindest person you’d ever meet. Nathaniel wouldn’t hurt a fly. So, I decided to fix her wagon. I lied. I told her that my husband had a bad temper and was so mean to me that I’d have him killed if I could. I was flabbergasted when Olivia said there were ways to get rid of a bad husband and then asked me if I wanted to know more. I kept my cool and said yes just to see what she’d say. She told me she knew someone who could dispose of my husband—for a price—and the incident would never lead back to me. I told her that I’d think about it. I wasn’t ever going back there, so what did it matter? A week later, my husband was dead. I’m not proud of what I did. I want you to know that upfront. My lies probably got my husband killed.”
“I know you’re not a bad person, Mae. I can see that. Did you give her money to kill your husband?”
“No way!” Mae said, shocked at my question. “I didn’t want my husband dead, so why would I pay someone to kill him? You have to believe me! I want Nathanial back, but that’s not going to happen. They killed him, and now he’s gone forever! They have to pay.”
“You’re not responsible for your husband’s death, so don’t blame yourself because of a few lies you told to a crazy woman. It was foolish of you, but I understand why you did it. Sometimes you’ll say anything just to get them to shut up.” I tried to make her feel better by letting her know I understood her behavior. I changed the subject. “What did you tell the police? I know they questioned you. The spouse is always the first suspect.”
“I had an alibi. I was at my sister’s house in Cleveland. But… there is that matter of the tips. That would look bad for me if the cops ever found out. That’s why I told them I had no idea who would want my husband dead when they asked.”
“What tips?”
“Two weeks after Nathanial’s death, I got a call from Dakota. She said I hadn’t tipped any of her employees, and tips were expected. Mine totaled twenty thousand dollars, and it would be wise to settle my account in cas
h, or my membership would be canceled. What she really meant was that she would cancel me—as in killing me off. She had my husband killed and she wanted her payment. They’re all criminals.”
“And you paid her.”
“What else could I do? I was scared not to pay. She had already killed my husband. What next, my daughter, Marsha? I took the cash from the safe, paid her, and never went back again. I haven’t heard a word from her since, but I haven’t forgotten what she did. I might not be able to go to the police, but there’re other ways to settle a debt. She owes me her life for taking my husband’s. I want all of them tortured and then killed, but I’ll settle for killed. That’s right. I want them dead. Dakota Stone and Olivia Swales. Both of them. Dead as a corpse. Name your price. Everyone has a price.”
“Sorry, Mae. Can’t help you there.”
I told Mae that if she tried to hire a hit man, she’d be the one who would wind up in prison, and most likely, Dakota and Olivia would never be brought to justice for their crimes. I hoped she took me seriously, but Mae Bridges was a woman with revenge in mind.
This was not going to bode well for anyone.
Chapter 3
I assured Mae that she had come to the right place for help in bringing the two women to justice, and promised to call her with updates. We had a lot of digging to do. Before she left, I made her swear to give up her quest for a hit man. She agreed to my demand.
Lila and I stood at the front door, looking through the glass as we watched Mae battle her way through the pouring rain to her car. The wind was whipping up, blowing leaves and debris through the air. Scary lightning flashed overhead and thunder boomed repeatedly.
“This is a dangerous storm,” I said. “Hurry up, Mae! Get in the car.”
“Jesse, you worry too much,” Lila said as she patted me on the back. “She’ll be fine. She’s almost there. See, she’s got her hand on the door…”
Once again, lightning flashed and thunder exploded in the air like a bomb, rattling the windows. Seconds later, another bolt of lightning shot down from the sky and hit Mae’s car. It all happened so fast, we froze. Mae shook for a few seconds, and then dropped to the ground, her hand still stuck to the door handle.
“Oh, my God!” I screamed. “Call 9-1-1, Lila.” I grabbed for the doorknob, ready to run to Mae’s aid, but Lila stopped me. “It’s too late for her, Jesse. Stay put. I’ll call 9-1-1.”
“But she needs help!”
“You want to end up like her?”
“No, but…”
“Then do what I say. Don’t go out there. I’ll call for help.”
Lila made the call while I stood at the door and stared at Mae’s motionless body crumpled up on the cold, wet pavement. Thunder and lightning continued as if nothing had happened. I watched in horror as Mother Nature continued her rampage. Mae never moved. I was sure she was dead. I thought about how awful it was to die like that. Sometimes, death doesn’t give you a warning.
“The ambulance is on the way,” Lila said, joining me at the door. “They should be here real soon. Our emergency services are the best.”
In a matter of a couple of minutes, an ambulance showed up, followed by another, three police cars, and then a fire truck. Red lights and sirens filled the parking lot. It was a welcomed sight, although a little too late. Mae Bridges was dead. I knew it the second the bolt of lightning hit the car. Her hand was stuck like glue on the door handle. She couldn’t pull away to safety.
My stomach felt like hamburger in a grinder. I didn’t know whether I was going to throw up or suffer a severe case of diarrhea, but something was going on down there.
Lila handed me a glass of water and a little pink pill.
“What’s this?”
“Xanax. Take it.”
“Did you take one?”
“No. I took two.”
With the storm raging outside, there was no way either one of us were going anywhere for a while. I tossed the pill back and chased it down with the water. I was unaware at the time that Xanax could make you feel so good. Before long, I was floating on a cloud.
“Why haven’t the cops questioned us yet about what we saw?” I asked, feeling a little fuzzy. My eyes seemed to have a hard time focusing.
“Why would they? Once they assess the scene, they’ll know what happened.” She looked me up and down. “You might want to go into Billy’s office and take a nap. You’re beginning to act a little loopy.”
“I’m fine. Am I slurring my words? Wow! I want more of these pills! They work great for stress.”
“That’s how it starts, and then you get hooked.”
“You’re not hooked, are you, Lila? I don’t want to have to worry about you. Look what happened to Mae when I worried about her. She died.”
“I think you have a buzz. You need to lie down.” She didn’t usher me to Billy’s office, but instead, walked me over to the couch in the waiting room, and then insisted I lay down.
I dozed off as soon as I sprawled out on the comfortable sofa. According to the wall clock, two hours had passed by the time I woke up. “What happened? I feel weird.”
“You crashed.”
“Crashed into what?”
“You don’t remember?”
I sat there for a moment, waiting for the fog in my head to lift. The sight of Mae being struck by lightning came back to me all too real. “Oh, how awful! I remember everything now. Poor Mae is dead.”
“Actually, she isn’t dead.”
“She’s not? Oh, thank goodness!”
“Don’t be so happy just yet. It might’ve been better for her if she had died.”
“How can you say that?”
“I ran out before the cops left and asked about her condition. They said she was barely alive, but at least she was alive. Detective Downey said the outlook wasn’t good. Most folks don’t survive a lightning strike and the ones who do, suffer severe after affects.”
“Like what?”
“Burns, memory loss, heart and liver problems. You name it. The list is long.”
“I need to get to the hospital.” I got up on wobbly legs and walked over to the front door. “Look. The storm’s just about over. I can go outside now.” I looked back at Lila. “Call Adam’s office for me. I need to get some drugs for Athena. She freaks out during a storm, so Helene suggested I get her some tranks. Hey, I wonder if I can give her a Xanax.”
“I don’t think so. You can’t give people pills to animals. It could kill them. I’ll call Adam for you. He’ll give you something safe for her to take.” Lila walked off, made the call, and then returned carrying a can of soda. “Here. Drink this. You’ll feel much better if you do.”
“Why?”
“You need to re-hydrate. Tranquilizers take it out of you. You need to drink a lot of liquids. And don’t drink any alcohol today. It intensifies the effect of the drug—in a bad way.”
I took the can of soda, popped the tab, and took a long drink as I walked back to the sofa to sit down. “Hmm. Good. I didn’t realize how thirsty I was.”
“Adam wasn’t at the office, but the woman I talked with said she’d pull Athena’s chart and have something ready for you when you got there. Helene and your mother both called. Helene was worried, and your mother wanted you to know that they still couldn’t get out. The bridge is flooded over. Oh, and Billy’s still in bed. I guess the stress wore him out.”
“He needs to recover from getting drunk yesterday.”
Lila raised her eyebrows. “That’s unusual for him. I’ve never known Billy to drink much. In fact, I’ve rarely seen him drink at all.”
“Well, he did yesterday. He had so much to drink, I thought he was going to fall down. Luckily, he didn’t. We made it home, and he went straight to bed.”
“I can see why he got drunk. He was still upset about his mother.”
There was a lull in the conversation.
“I better get on home. I wanna take a shower before I go see Mae at the hospital.”
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br /> “I’ll be glad to drive you anywhere you want to go. That pill hasn’t worn off yet. You don’t want me to have to worry about you, do you? The same thing that happened to Mae might happen to you if I start worrying.”
We both laughed, but not at Mae.
“I think I can manage. I feel fine.” I began to feel woozy again. I sat back down on the sofa and said, “Maybe you should drive me home.”
“I’ll get my purse.”
We left the office, stopped at the vet, and then headed home. The roads were littered with trash and debris from the storm. Even though the storm had passed, accidents were still being worked. But all in all, it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been… well… except for Mae.
Mae Bridges—I hated having to tell Mom about her. She’d be devastated. She believed Mae’s accusations and wanted justice. My old mom Minnie would never be in the middle of something like this, but my new mom Minnie is a real go-getter. She has a knack when it comes to getting at the truth. Why did I ever think she might not be able to slink around in the shadows like a regular P.I.? She can, and she’s good at it. So is Eddie. No one suspects two little old folks.
My fear was: If Mae’s story was accurate, Dakota Stone and Olivia Swales could be a threat to anyone who nosed around in their business, or got in their way—the kind of threat that leaves one dead. The Body Shop. Just the name gave me visions of rusty cars, not a spa for everything your body and brain wants, needs, and has to have.
I needed to learn more about Mae and Nathaniel Bridges, and their daughter Marsha. After that, I wanted to see The Body Shop for myself, inside and out.
Just a few miles from home, I asked Lila for her cell phone. The battery was just about dead in mine. She handed it over. I clicked on the image of a camera, the screen came up, and then I turned around backwards and took several shots of the SUV behind us… discreetly as I could. Immediately, I emailed the images to my computer at home and to Billy’s cell phone.
