Destroyed by a Dangerous Man

by Cleo Peitsche

  I crossed my arms. “And what’s all this?”

  Dad looked up and studied me with eyes the same shade of brown as Rob’s. “I’m starting from the beginning, trying to figure out what we’re missing.”

  “You don’t need to bother. Today’s the last day for the investigation.”

  I didn’t add that I was planning to continue working on it in my free time.

  “Yeah, you’re right.” Dad picked up a paper, moved it to another stack. “I’ve never been good at walking away.”

  I did a quick self-inventory. Did I have a problem with not walking away? Was this yet another character flaw that I shared with my dad?

  Hopefully not.

  “Corbin is playing around with the feed from the security cameras,” I said.

  Dad nodded. He knew, of course; he’d been there last night when Corbin took out the videos.

  “Do you feel like you’re going in circles?” Dad asked. He was looking intently at me, his brow lightly furrowed.

  “In what way?”

  “With this.”

  I started to deny it. But then I realized… yeah. I was spinning my wheels.

  Part of me wanted to shut Dad out. My old habits were deeply ingrained, too.

  But he was making an effort. Was it worth risking letting him think I was incompetent?

  Fuck it.

  I cleared my throat. “The stakes aren’t even that high. It’s not much money. We’re not going to get referrals out of this even if we wrap everything up neatly. But it’s making me a little crazy.”

  “You’re not going to be able to solve every case, Audrey. That murder you solved, Jack Davis, that was good work. Great work, even. You should be proud of yourself.”

  “Thank you,” I mumbled.

  “But it’s important to recognize when the stars simply happened to align. You did the work, but you caught a few lucky breaks.”

  “Some unlucky breaks, too.”

  Dad smiled. “I’m trying to give you some wise fatherly advice, here.” He gestured at the papers. “I wish I could be more helpful, but my time is better spent elsewhere.”

  So, why the hell had he gotten involved in the first place?

  “I can take that off your hands?”

  “Sure.” He looked down at the desk. I could see that the problem was still weighing on his mind. “Yes. Go ahead.” He began gathering up the papers.

  And then, all of a sudden, it was clear.

  Everyone knew I wanted to get into private investigation work. Even though my first big case had left a bitter taste in my mouth, it was still what I wanted to do.

  Dad had always opposed it, and now that Rob and I were privy to details of the business’s finances, I understood why. Stroop Finders was surviving on a month-to-month basis. If I transitioned to PI work, that would be a loss to the company.

  By jumping in personally with the Critter Chomp case, Dad was showing his support.

  A lump formed in my throat. “I think I hear my phone. I’ll come back for that later.”

  I bolted from the room and headed for the bathrooms.

  Rob intercepted me. “How long do you think it’ll take Corbin to fix that footage? What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. My throat is dry.”

  Erin popped up from her desk. “Have my soda. I just opened it. Didn’t even take a sip.” She handed me a can. The protruding straw bobbed as I accepted it.

  “Thanks.” The soda was lemon-lime, way too sweet, and tasted like metal. It wasn’t anything I would have normally chosen, and it left a gross residue in my mouth. “What’d you need?” I asked Rob.

  “Nothing important. By the way, there’s a snowstorm coming tonight. What do you think about closing the office tomorrow?”

  “Whatever.”

  Then I ducked out before he could ask me where I was going. Better to avoid the question than to tell a straight-up lie.

  15

  The office’s location wasn’t ideal for walks—a little too much traffic—but I needed a few minutes to pull myself together.

  The day had warmed up considerably, but it was still frigid. I hadn’t grabbed my jacket. That was going to put a serious crimp in my sulking. The sky seemed to hang low with the threat of bad weather.

  I turned down a quiet side street. There was a short brick wall. I sat on it, ignoring how the cold bit through my jeans, and stretched out my legs.

  My mind was spinning. Maybe it was time to back out of the PI case.

  The only real advantage to Critter Chomp was getting a win in my column, but at what cost? I hadn’t seen Veronica once. The insufficient fee we were receiving would be paid either way.

  I couldn’t work on it in my spare time. It wasn’t fair to Stroop Finders. To Dad or to Rob.

  Or Corbin, the one who paid the most when I took on too much work.

  Admitting defeat wouldn’t be easy, but watching the business flounder was even more difficult.

  And now the impending snowstorm. It felt like nature was adding a hard deadline.

  Too bad I hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Kelly.

  I pulled out my phone, intending to try calling him one last time. But then I had an idea.

  After locating his number in my recently dialed calls, I blocked my number and called him again.

  He didn’t answer—things were never that easy. But I hadn’t expected him to.

  “Hi,” I said in my most flirtatious voice. “My name is Audrey Stroop, and I’m calling because your former coworkers at Critter Chomp are spreading nasty lies about you. If you have any interest in clearing your name, call back.” I said my number slowly. Twice.

  It was the best I could do unless I wanted to rely on Corbin.

  As I was pushing to my feet, my phone rang.

  It was Kelly.

  “Hi,” I said. “Would you like to meet up and chat?”

  An hour later, I arrived at the park.

  Kelly wasn’t there yet. Not unless he was disguised as one of the gray-haired women practicing Tai Chi at the edge of the grass.

  After considering the strategic advantages of the different benches, I chose one deep enough in the park that I wouldn’t look like I was ready to run off, but not so far in that I couldn’t reach the parking lot quickly if necessary.

  I made sure I was within shouting distance of the women. If something bad happened, there wasn’t much they’d be able to do for me, but at least there would be witnesses.

  Nothing bad was going to happen. Kelly probably wasn’t even going to show up.

  The minutes ticked away. I sat on the bench, my hands jammed into my jacket pockets, and wished I’d brought something to read.

  Then a skinny man was walking toward me. His head was shaved, but there was enough of a shadow coming in that I could see his hairline was receding. In contrast, a thick, bushy beard jutted out from his chin.

  To his credit, he didn’t glance around distrustfully, just came right over.

  “Audrey, I assume?”

  “Thanks for coming out. You’re a difficult man to track down.”

  He sat on the bench, but at the edge, his narrow body folded up like a jackknife. “What are the rumors about me?”

  “My company was hired to investigate the disappearance of Booze the Bear.”

  A smile flashed across his face when I said the name.

  “Did you take it?”

  “Everyone knows I did. But it got stolen from my house.”

  “Where’s your house?”

  He gave me a skeptical look. “You’re a private investigator. You know where I live.”

  “No one lives there.”

  That smile flashed again. “Been staying at my girl’s place. What are people saying about me?”

  “Tell me what happened, and I’ll fill in the rest.”

  “What happened was that asshole Richard fired me. He gave some bullshit reason, saying I took too many breaks. Bullshit. I called him on it, and he said they weren’t going to
give me my final paycheck if I didn’t leave. He said, ‘Walk away, little man.’ Have you met him?”

  I nodded.

  “Then you know he’s a shit-heel. I was fucking enraged. After I left, I got to thinking, you know, what if he decided to keep my money anyway? So I went back and grabbed the bear. I was only gonna hold it until my money came.”

  “Sounds fair,” I said. I couldn’t condone his actions, but truthfully, I might have done something similar.

  He suddenly grinned, and he sat up a little. “Fair.”

  “Did you get your money?”

  “Yeah. I did, but the bear was already gone. I figured someone at the bar stole it back. Couldn’t fault ’em for that, but breaking down my door was a little much.”

  He looked at me, as if for approval.

  “Totally unnecessary,” I said, though I would have done the same.

  “I was sweating cannonballs until the check came. Then it did, and I figure we’re square. Until I start getting harassed by the cops, and they’re telling me I’m going down for destruction of property.”

  “Where was the bear?”

  “Chilling on my couch. My place ain’t that big. Anyone could have seen in from the window. That was kinda the point.”

  “Did anything else get stolen?”

  “Nah.” He tapped the side of his nose. “That’s how I knew it was someone from the bar that done it.”

  “Clever,” I said, because he was clearly expecting praise. “So, you didn’t even cut it into pieces?”

  “No. Didn’t cut it, didn’t put blood on it. None of that. ’S not my style. Anyone’ll tell you that.”

  “Who might hate you enough to set you up?”

  He shook his head. “I’m not saying I’m everyone’s favorite guy, but that’s craziness. Whoever did that is insane.”

  “Maybe an ex?”

  “My exes are nuts, don’t get me wrong. Wannabe models are cuckoo. But something like that’s not their style, either.” He laughed. “Maybe you should be looking for someone who hates stuffed bears.”

  “Yeah, maybe.”

  I stared at him for a few seconds. He wasn’t the kind of guy I would have asked to watch my house, and he had a certain shifty quality that gave him away as a less-than-honest human being, but in this, I believed him.

  I didn’t trust him, but I believed him.

  “Guess that’s it,” I said. “Any reason you didn’t tell the police about using the mascot as, uh, collateral?”

  He looked at me as if I’d asked why he wouldn’t confess to a murder, but he didn’t answer; his scornful expression said it all.

  “All right.” I stood and dusted off the back of my jeans. “If you think of anything, let me know.”

  “Hold up. What lies are people spreading?”

  “About you stealing the mascot, cutting it up.”

  He sat up a little straighter. “That’s it?”

  “And that you’re a shitty employee,” I said with a laugh. “Where did you work before Critter Chomp?”

  He hesitated noticeably. “I was at Shelby Copier for over a year. I didn’t get fired—they went out of business.”

  Shelby Copier. I remembered their billboard on the highway. They’d closed?

  I wondered if employing lazy slackers was the cause or a symptom of their demise.

  That made me think of Stroop Finders.

  We could be the next business going under.

  Well, I’d gotten Kelly to admit to taking the bear. It didn’t count as a win, but at least I could give Critter Chomp something.

  “Your former coworkers aren’t going to be happy,” I said. “Watch your back.”

  “I’m always watching my back. You’d better make them understand that I didn’t hurt Booze.”

  “I’ll try. By the way, where does your girl live?”

  “You don’t need to know,” he said. “I’m not going on record with any of this. If the cops want to arrest me, they can come dust my couch for fibers, and they’ll find them, but they won’t find stuffing or blood.” He looked up. “I gotta go. I’m losing light.”

  Losing light. It was strangely poetic.

  “Thanks for talking to me,” I said. “For what it’s worth, I believe you, Kelly.”

  He nodded, as if my faith in him was the only thing he’d wanted in the world, and now he could go peacefully on his way. And for all I knew, that was true. People like Kelly tended not to get the benefit of the doubt very often.

  He even awkwardly extended his hand. I caught a glimpse of a gold watch but didn’t stare. We shook hands, and then he walked away.

  It was tempting to follow him at a distance, to see what he got up to.

  But a deal was a deal.

  I turned. The women on the grass had finished their routine and were now chatting in little clusters. Walking through their group was the fastest way back to the car.

  As I neared one of the trees, I became aware of a large man leaning against it.

  “Jesus,” I stammered, my heart hammering in my chest. “You scared the crap out of me.”

  Corbin didn’t look apologetic, and he didn’t look amused. “What the fuck was that?”

  I glanced over my shoulder, but Kelly was out of view.

  “You caught me. I’m cheating on you. He’s my soul mate, and we’re going to get married—”

  “Stop that.” The command was uttered softly, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t as terrifying as if he’d shouted it at the top of his lungs. “Why didn’t you call me?”

  “Um, why would I call you? And before you start going on about how dangerous the situation is, I’d like to point out that it’s a public place, broad daylight, and there are witnesses. Getting information from people is part of my job.”

  Corbin’s handsome face darkened into a glower. “Interesting defense,” he said. “I can’t help getting the impression that you neglected to tell me about this because you thought I’d object.”

  “The deal was that I would come alone, not with some enormous guy who looks like he could pick up a car.” I smiled a little, trying to see if Corbin was open to letting me flirt my way out of this.

  Unsurprisingly, he wasn’t. He threw his head back and ran his hands through his hair. “I’m not upset because I thought it was dangerous,” he said.

  He wasn’t even looking at me.

  “Then why?”

  “Because we’re supposed to be working on this together,” he said. “Because, yet again, you withheld information from me. You assumed you knew how I would react, and rather than deal with that, you chose to be evasive.”

  “Corbin, I was in the office until thirty-five minutes ago,” I protested. Then I frowned. “How did you even find me?”

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  “Corbin…” I got right in his face. Well, I tried to; technically, the height difference made it impossible. “How did you find me?”

  A little smile cracked through his mask. “I’m resourceful,” he said.

  “Oh my god!” I exclaimed. “You copied his phone or something!”

  “Keep it down. I didn’t tell you for your own good. It’s illegal, and you’re better off not knowing about these things.”

  Even though I wasn’t angry, I shoved my finger in his face. “Mister, you just lost a whole heap of boyfriend points.”

  “What do I need boyfriend points for?” he asked. He moved my hand aside and leaned in. He smelled good, like home, like Corbin. “Take away all my points,” he said. “I’ll get them back.”

  He pulled away. “What did you discover?”

  “That the man I love is a hypocrite,” I said cheerfully. Oh, I was going to get a lot of mileage out of this.

  It didn’t faze Corbin in the least. “I’ve made progress with the tapes. I would have emailed them to you, but I’ll show you.”

  “Where?”

  “In the truck.”

  “Ooh, I don’t know if I should get into the truck of a man I me
t at the park,” I said.

  “Suit yourself.” He started walking away.

  After a second, I hurried after him.

  16

  Corbin’s closed laptop was on the dashboard.

  “Don’t you worry that someone might break a window to get it?”

  “Bulletproof glass,” he said. “High-tech security system. I was only seconds away. So, no.” He swiped his thumb over the laptop’s fingerprint sensor, typed in the password, which seemed to be about fifty characters long, then turned the screen so I could see it. “Press play,” he said, but then he did it himself.

  For fifteen seconds, I stared at the image.

  “What do you see?” he asked.

  “A parking lot. Some cars.”

  “It must not be in far enough. Pay attention.”

  A dark-haired man appeared in one corner. He walked out of the shot, then reappeared in another corner.

  A second man walked into the shot from a different direction.

  I leaned in. “Maybe it’s my imagination, but that looks like Richard. And Kelly?”

  “Yes, and yes,” Corbin said.

  “When’s this footage from?”

  “A week before Kelly was fired. But I checked the work schedule, and Kelly wasn’t working that day. Richard was, but Kelly wasn’t.”

  “Huh.” I crossed my arms over my chest. That information would have been useful to have before meeting with Kelly.

  Corbin had to be thinking the same thing.

  But he didn’t rub my nose in it. Instead he said, “Your turn. What did you find out?”

  “Kelly doesn’t like Richard very much. I believe he used the expression ‘shit-heel’. So, why the hell would he drive out there on his day off to meet with the guy?”

  “Not just to meet with him,” Corbin said, looking at the screen. “They met outside. Richard’s body language is furtive. He’s walking quickly, like he doesn’t want to be seen. He’s got his body angled away from the parking lot.”

  “It makes me wonder why Richard really fired him,” I said. “Where’s the folder? I left it in here.”

  Corbin reached into the back to produce it. “What else did you find out?”

  I gave him a quick summary. “He might be wearing an expensive watch; I only caught a glimpse. He made a comment about his exes all being models.”