Pretty Dangerous

by Emery, Lynn

  Chapter 16

  The next morning MiMi went to Edselle’s office and they made a call to Detectives Drake and Forrester. She let the attorney do the talking. The detectives took turns asking questions, but they didn’t say much. Edselle told them what MiMi had learned from Nairoby first. Then he described MiMi’s volatile encounter with Yvette Theirry. Drake remarked dryly that they had suspects up to their eyeballs. When the call ended the lawyer wore a wide smile.

  “Following up on those juicy leads will keep them busy for a while. And the fact that we haven’t heard from the FBI could be an encouraging sign. I think they overplayed their hand hoping you’d panic and lead them to Mr. Crown’s money.” Edselle rocked back in his chair.

  MiMi sighed. “If only. We haven’t been able to find a scrap of paper that even hints he had an offshore account, much less where. So far Willa’s only hit dead ends.”

  “I’ve dealt with hidden assets with previous clients. People who were, um, very creative when it came to burying cash, art, even real estate they didn’t want found. I may be able to point Cedric in promising directions he may not have considered.” Edselle sat forward and tapped on the keyboard of his desktop.

  “That would be lovely. Now I’m off to a brunch.”

  MiMi looped her designer purse into the crook of her arm as she stood. She smoothed down the skirt she wore. A chevron pattern in black and white, it accentuated the curves of her hips. She wore a red belt along with a white blouse tucked in. Red pumps and her red purse matched her ruby red lipstick.

  “Good, enjoy yourself. You’ve been through a lot lately.” Edselle stood and came around his desk.

  “Thanks, but I’m looking for fun.”

  “Ah, a business mixer dressed up as a brunch.” Edselle opened the door for her.

  “No, my mission is very personal. But I mean serious business.” MiMi smiled at his puzzled expression. She slipped on her sunglasses and waved goodbye to him.

  ****

  MiMi sipped a mimosa as she made her way around the room. She smiled at a group of matronly socialites as if her life was not in turmoil. One of three Baton Rouge Links, Incorporated chapters sponsored the brunch as one of their annual charity events. The new Marriott Hotel looked elegant. Decorating committee members had gone all out as usual. Fresh flowers graced each round table. A raised dais held a podium and microphone, but the speeches were over. Attendees engaged in power networking, check writing and gossiping. MiMi figured she was the subject of more than one hushed discussion. Of course no one would be uncouth enough to be obvious. Still she didn’t miss the furtive glances her way. She even raised her glass to a couple of prominent ladies staring at her. They blushed, gave her twin nervous smiles and hastily look away.

  “Hi MiMi, how are you holding up?” Brianna Draper strolled over. A state senator’s daughter and former college classmate, she was also a Links member. She wore a faux sympathetic expression.

  “I’m good. How’ve you been, Bree? I read you’re running for the school board seat in district two. Good luck.”

  “Thanks. The children of our community deserve the best public education can offer. As a parent I know how vital the right decisions can be,” Bree said, easily switching into campaign mode. “We can make the schools excellent for my children and your little girl.”

  “Hmm.” MiMi sipped from her glass to keep from saying. Brianna’s kids had been in private school until recently. Even then she got them into the best magnet schools in town. Not to mention Brianna, like MiMi, had attended only private schools herself.

  “Anyway, it’s so tragic what happened to Roderick. Crime is linked to a poor education system, you know. Just one more reason we all should be concerned about our public schools. Probably some young person or persons who meant to rob him. Right?” Brianna leaned closer to MiMi she hoped for inside scoop.

  “The only thing I know is I didn’t kill him.”

  MiMi’s blunt reply made Brianna jump, but she recovered fast. “Well, um, of course not. Though Roderick wasn’t the type to have enemies, not of that sort.”

  “What sort?” MiMi raised an eyebrow at her.

  “You know; the violent criminal kind. Not in our circles for sure.” Brianna nodded as though her logic was obvious.

  “You never know. I heard Roddy didn’t always make friends when he did business. The police are keeping an open mind.” MiMi gasped when she spotted Yvette Theirry across the room. She didn’t act as if she’d seen MiMi yet.

  Sharp-eyed Brianna noticed and followed her gaze. “I know her, though not well. I understand she and Roderick… dated.”

  “Yes, they dated,” MiMi said and gave Bree a wink. “Of course the way I found out was a shock, but I got over it. Men.”

  Brianna let out a soft sigh as if she understood. “Yes.”

  MiMi kept a close watch on the object of their discussion. After five minutes, Yvette went around shaking hands and then left. MiMi felt a wave of relief. The last thing she needed was a dramatic scene with psycho girl. MiMi’s real goal lay elsewhere. When finally saw her true object, she turned her back and focused her full attention on Brianna.

  “Well, that was close. Can you believe Yvette Theirry got in my face about Roderick? I told her she was a side piece. Roderick was going to give me the ring. The ‘other woman’ always gets it wrong.”

  “They don’t last either.” Brianna took a deep gulp from her wine glass. Her voice had turned throaty with emotion, as if she knew from experience.

  “Yes.” MiMi switched her attention to Brianna. “What counts is who gets the assets. The wife wins big every time, if she’s smart and patient.”

  “Like Adrienne. She…” She put a hand to her mouth. “I’m so sorry to gossip about your sister.”

  “Chris might play, but he’s going nowhere honey.” MiMi waved a hand dismissing Brianna’s phony concern. Brianna’s acting skills could use some work.

  “You must be furious,” Brianna said.

  “He hasn’t done anything to Adrienne. Like you said, she’s one of the smart wives.” MiMi let out a short laugh.

  “She’s standing right across the room,” Brianna whispered.

  “Who? Where?” MiMi started to turn around, but Brianna pulled her back.

  “Nedra,” Brianna whispered through tight lips.

  MiMi managed to turn to the side and look without being obvious. She sipped more of her mimosa. “So, Nedra Xavier is his latest play thing. I hope she realizes it’s temporary.”

  “Maybe she does, and maybe she doesn’t.” Brianna drank more of her red wine. “I heard Nedra is very much in love with your brother-in-law.”

  “Chris understands the concepts of community property. He’s heard of a little thing called alimony, too.” MiMi giggled and Brianna joined her.

  “You know what happens when a woman falls in love. The ‘other woman’ starts saying she doesn’t care if he stays with the wife. Some of them might even convince themselves they believe it. But eventually there’s the ultimatum.” Brianna really seemed to speak with authority.

  MiMi’s curiosity about Brianna went up, but she couldn’t be distracted. Instead she nodded with compassion. “I know, girl. Jack and I got together when he was separated. My friends told me not to do it, but I was caught up.”

  Brianna gulped more wine. “I dated a professor in the astronomy department when we were in college. Dr. Federspiel was so… everything.”

  “Blonde, tall guy from Sweden, the hunky Dr. Fed?” MiMi didn’t have to pretend shock at this revelation. She almost dropped her glass. “He was married to that professor in the physics department.”

  “Three perfect blonde kids, a cocker spaniel and tenure. He couldn’t give all that up.” Brianna cleared her throat and brushed a hand over her eyes. “Anyway, I got some sense, and my Ph.D.” Brianna gave MiMi a grin at the old joke. She’d married Payton Draper, a doctoral student in chemical engineering.

  “Snatched that prize right from under three s
orority girls’ noses. I salute your awesomeness.” MiMi raised her glass. When Brianna frowned at her empty glass, MiMi got another full one from a server passing by. She needed to keep Brianna’s lips lubricated.

  “If Nedra thinks Chris is going to leave Adrienne she’s got a long wait. They’ll have grandchildren and still be married.” MiMi shook her head.

  “She’s looking this way,” Brianna whispered. “Oh my God, she’s actually headed over here.”

  Nedra made her way through the crowd. She stood tall, at least five feet nine, with naturally auburn hair and brown freckles sprayed attractively across her brown sugar skin. MiMi blinked several times. The closer she got, the more MiMi noticed how much Nedra reminded her of Adrienne.

  Brianna looked nervous for the first time. “I hope she doesn’t cause a scene. Don’t say anything to Adrienne.”

  “Relax, Bree. I know how to handle this situation.” MiMi faced her brother-in-law’s mistress wearing a wide smile.

  ****

  Detectives Drake and Forrester sat across the table in the interview room wearing twin blank expressions. Forrester’s pen remained poised over the legal pad on the gray metal surface. Edselle Underwood wore the smug look of a defense attorney who’d just beat the system on his client’s behalf.

  “It’s raining suspects up in here,” Drake said breaking the silence. “You got anymore names of folks who had a beef with Roderick Jefferson? Hell, I wouldn’t be shocked if you handed me the phone book.”

  Detective Forrester, good cop, cleared his throat. “Ms. Landry, let me make sure I have this correctly. Yvette Theirry is the woman who had an ongoing affair with your boyfriend. She’s jealous, possessive and threatened you.”

  MiMi nodded. “She’s been following me, too. She went ballistic when I reminded her Roderick had proposed. She said he wasn’t going to go through with it, even though he’d given me the ring.”

  “You rubbed her nose in it, didn’t you?” Detective Drake raised one dark eyebrow.

  “I told her the truth. Roderick had his faults, but he was practical. Our families have known each other for years. His father and mine do business on occasion.” MiMi shrugged.

  “Right.” Detective Drake looked at his partner.

  “Motive, detectives,” Edselle put in.

  Forrester didn’t look at him or respond to the comment. “Then you say the victim did business with this Dominican group. Their legitimate cover hides some kind of criminal activity. Jefferson stiffed them on a juicy deal.”

  “According to Ms. Villa, yes. She came here as their representative. I think they wanted him to compensate them for the loss. I had no idea Roderick traveled in such shifty company.” MiMi shook her head slowly as if disappointed. “Still, he didn’t deserve to be killed, not in such a brutal way.”

  “Was there another way you would have preferred?” Drake snapped.

  “Your remark is out of line, detective,” Edselle said quickly. “Ms. Landry has been cooperative during a very difficult time for her.”

  “It was worse for her boyfriend,” Drake retorted and gave a louder grunt.

  “Okay, okay.” Forrester held up a hand before Edselle could reply. He shot his partner a look. Some message passed between them. Drake leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

  “I suggest you lay all of these facts out to the district attorney. Let’s save the tax payers money and valuable time for all of us. Not to mention the emotional toll this would further inflict on my client, a single mother who—”

  “Yeah, yeah counselor. We get the point,” Drake broke in. He pulled a large chocolate brown hand over his face. Then he cut another glance at his partner.

  “I’m guessing that’s the same speech you’d give the DA,” Forrester said. He wore the faint outline of a grin.

  “You’d be right, detective. I have another version for the grand jury, if the DA has time and money to burn calling one. I don’t have to guess on that one. He doesn’t.” Edselle nodded to MiMi and she stood with him. He buttoned his suit jacket. Both detectives stood as well. “We’ll wait for your call.”

  Detective Forrester let out a brief sigh. “Thanks for your cooperation.”

  “Yeah, always a pleasure.” Drake gave a grunt.

  “Thank you, detectives, for listening with an open mind.” Edselle cupped a hand under MiMi’s right elbow as he opened the door with his other one.

  Outside the police station, they paused on the broad walkway a few yards from the entrance. People streamed by. Most wore impassive expressions. A few looked glum. Even fewer smiled and held conversations with companions. MiMi figured they must either be employees or people who weren’t in trouble.

  “They didn’t seem all that thrilled to have leads to follow,” MiMi said with a sour look. She put her sunglasses on.

  Edselle squinted against the sunshine for a few seconds. He nodded to a couple, who said hello and scurried by. Then he carefully removed his own designer sunglasses from an inside jacket pocket. He gestured for them to walk along farther from the entrance instead of answering right away. They reached the edge of the shade before going into the full blast of hot late spring day.

  “The police like cases to be simple. We just complicated their jobs. But at the end of the day, following all leads is their job.”

  “Excuse me if I don’t feel bad for them. The easy way meant arresting me. No thanks. Let them be frustrated as hell for a little bit.” MiMi slung the strap of her purse over one shoulder.

  “They’ll get over it, trust me. Those two love tracking down clues. I have no guarantees, but I don’t think you have to worry about being a murder suspect. They’ll probably tell the DA pretty much what I just told them. They’re back to the starting line instead of closing their case.” Edselle took out the keys to his BMW sedan.

  “I’ll be sobbing into my pillow all night about how hard I made their jobs,” MiMi retorted.

  Edselle laughed as he walked MiMi to her Lexus SUV.

  ****

  That evening MiMi was stunned to find her father standing at her front door. He’d been the last person she expected to see when the chimes sounded and she peeked outside. Even in early May the light lingered until after seven o’clock in the evening. Drexel James Landry, Jr. stood looking quite handsome for man closing in on sixty-two. He wore his expensive tan cotton knit shirt and slacks well. Only a slight bulge at the waist hinted that he was getting the typical older man gut. He played golf and tennis to keep fit.

  “This is a surprise. How are you?” MiMi said and waved him inside with her free hand. Sage perched on her opposite hip.

  Her father pecked the toddler on one velvet cheek as he passed by. “My baby girl is pretty as spring day.” Without waiting he headed into the kitchen.

  “Yeah, make yourself at home,” MiMi whispered softly as she followed him. Sage replied with baby chatter, reminding MiMi that she’d be talking soon. She’d have to get in the habit of watching what she said.

  “You’ve redecorated. The place looks wonderful.” He sat down on a comfortable stool at the breakfast bar. He smoothed a hand over the granite counter surface. Then he looked across the open floor plan at the den. “Very tasteful. Did Adrienne help you decorate?”

  “Believe it or not I was able to create my own interior without Adrienne. In fact I live day to day without asking anyone to hold my hand.”

  “Don’t be so touchy, I only meant your sister has a knack for decorating. That’s all.” Drexel spread his hand out.

  “Yes, she’s sheer perfection. Did you come over to sing her praises, or is there another point to this visit?” MiMi made sure Sage’s favorite toys were within her easy reach before she faced him.

  “I came to see how you’re holding up, and check on my grandchild. I fail to see why that’s such a surprise,” her father replied in a mild tone. “Yes, a cup of coffee would be great. Thanks.”

  MiMi bit back another tart comment as guilt pricked her. “Sorry. Fixing a pot w
on’t take long.”

  Neither of them spoke for a few minutes as MiMi poured filtered water into the well of the fancy coffee maker. Her father picked up the remote and turned on the television across the room on the wall. He watched with the sound low while MiMi finished. Seconds later the smell of a gourmet Louisiana blend floated around them. The faint scent of cinnamon, the remains of dinner, and coffee brewing created a feeling of warmth. Sage continued baby speak across the room as she played. Drexel crossed over and patted her head. His granddaughter looked up at him briefly, and continued to play.

  “I think she has my mother’s eyes. At least I think so,” he said with satisfaction and sat down again. He muted the television. “So the police have other leads. I’m glad you won’t have to deal with their questions.”

  “How do you… Right, never mind.” MiMi didn’t need to ask since her father ‘knew people’. “Of course you have the latest on the investigation.”

  “Nothing the police won’t release if reporters ask. You’ve had excellent legal advice obviously.” Drexel fingered the television remote.

  MiMi set up the creamer, sugar and a cup on the counter. “Yes, and help from my friends.”

  “Hmm. Though I wish you’d consulted me before talking to those detectives. I’m sure Roderick’s business dealings had nothing to do with his murder. I could have told you as much.” Drexel looked at MiMi.

  “Then the police will find out when they investigate. In the meantime they’re not warming up a cell for me,” MiMi replied evenly.

  “Of course I’m happy you’ve been eliminated as a suspect. I’m just concerned about how they’ll treat our colleagues in the DR. Business culture is different in other countries. What we might think of as… out of the ordinary is just a different way of doing things. You see what I mean?” Drexel rested his elbows on the counter.

  “No, I don’t. You’re going to have to be a tiny bit more direct, Daddy.” MiMi poured coffee for him.

  Her father fastidiously poured cream until the coffee turned a rich mocha color. He stirred once with a spoon, sipped and put the cup down. “Quentin and I are working with them on a deal that could be very lucrative.”