by Jaden Skye
“Especially if someone in the family killed him,” Olivia couldn’t help but add.
“If Tyron was killed by someone he left money to, then his inheritance would definitely be up for grabs,” Wayne quickly filled in. “But very often the dead person has the last laugh. When the will is read you find that they haven’t left their money to anyone in the family at all. It’s their last revenge. Their money goes to someone entirely unexpected. Sometimes it’s a secret relationship no one knew about.”
“Then all breaks loose, I’m sure,” Olivia murmured.
“It definitely can,” Wayne agreed.
Olivia and Wayne got out of the taxi, walked into the police station and then down the long hall to the main office. They knocked on the door briskly.
“Come in,” James Gallant called out. “Door’s open.”
Wayne opened the door and they entered. Two other officers were there as well, sitting around a long table with Chief of Police James Gallant. Olivia recognized Marcus from the first time they arrived, but didn’t recall seeing the other one.
The other officer stood up and smiled at them. “Ed Mahoney,” he introduced himself.
“Ed specializes in working with surveillance video reconstruction,” Marcus offered.
“Wonderful,” said Olivia. Ed was young and slender with sharp, blue eyes. She liked him immediately.
“I hope you found something in the video that will turn things around,” Wayne remarked.
Ed smiled at Wayne and shook his head slowly. “I wish I had too, but it’s complicated,” he replied.
“We’ll play the video for both of you,” Gallant offered. “You see for yourself what you think. Then we can go over our conclusions.”
Ed walked over to a screen opposite the table while Olivia and Wayne took their seats. After he pulled the shades down and the room grew dark, he switched on the video quickly. There was a long humming sound as the picture slowly came up on the screen. At first there was nothing but a blur, then a few wavy figures appeared.
“What’s that?” asked Olivia.
“Not really sure,” Ed responded. “It could be anything. We can’t even be exactly sure what time or day this was taken.”
“It looks as though there are a few people in the background, doesn’t it?” Olivia leaned closer to the screen.
Wayne immediately stood up. “Not at all! It doesn’t look like anything! This video’s clearly been tampered with.”
“Exactly,” Ed agreed. “The humming noise and the wavy lines give it away completely. The evidence has been tampered with!”
“Oh my,” breathed Olivia. “Were there other cameras at the front or back of the house?”
“One other at the front of the house,” Marcus joined in. “This particular video was kept on the back patio to monitor Tyron. Seems he sat out there alone a lot. If Bella or Megan were somewhere else in the house, they would then be able to see him. And if he needed them, he rang a bell he had close by, so he could reach them.”
“Perfectly orchestrated,” Gallant murmured. “And not only that, upon closer examination of the premises we discovered that Megan could have easily seen what was happening to Tyron all the time. The window in her upstairs office looked right down onto the back deck. It’s actually quite likely that she was an eyewitness to his death.”
“Wow,” breathed Olivia. “And what about Bella?”
“She claims she was in the kitchen the whole time,” Gallant replied.
“Tyron must have rung the bell for her when there was trouble out there,” Olivia jumped in.
“If he had time to, he might have,” Marcus jumped in. “If he wasn’t taken unaware.”
“What about the surveillance video in the front of the house? Any help?” Wayne joined in.
“That one’s blurry too, but easier to make out. They’re working with it right now at headquarters. As soon as it’s ready they’ll let us take a look.”
“The basic point is that with what we have here, there’s no way to know exactly what happened to him,” Gallant exclaimed. “There’s no hard evidence yet.”
Ed wasn’t comfortable with that conclusion. “We do know that this back surveillance video was definitely tampered with though,” he declared. “That itself is evidence of foul play.”
The room grew quiet for a moment.
“There were no fingerprints on the video?” Olivia asked quietly.
“I only wish there were.” Ed smiled at Olivia. “But whoever did this planned each step carefully. It wasn’t an amateur, that’s for sure.”
Ed shut off the video and went back to the windows to pull the blinds open. A harsh sunlight filled the room.
“If you asked me”—Gallant took over the discussion then—“I would say that the tampering with the video points to Megan, more than anyone else. She was a resident of the home and would have been most likely to know how it worked. “
“Why not Bella?” Olivia interrupted. “She was the one caring for Tyron.”
Everyone turned to Olivia, surprised. It seemed as if Megan was the suspect the group favored at the moment.
“We’re not ruling Bella out,” Gallant countered quickly. “But what possible motive could she have? She worked for Tyron for years and needed the salary. And, from what I hear from those checking the front surveillance video, they think they can see Bella in the kitchen cooking when Tyron was killed.”
“Isn’t it possible there are other videos somewhere that have been taken down or hidden?” Wayne broke in then.
“We’re searching for them, of course,” Marcus responded. “Oftentimes they turn up, but as of now they haven’t.”
“Megan’s the one with motive.” Gallant picked up where he left off, addressing his words to Olivia. “You’ve heard of black widows, haven’t you?”
Olivia nodded. This was the second time that idea had been mentioned.
“We get a lot of them down these ways,” Gallant went on. “Young girls hungry for older guys’ money. They’re determined to get it too, any way they can.”
“Thieves,” Olivia mouthed.
“And sometimes violent killers,” Gallant continued. “That scenario makes sense to me in this case.”
“No. It’s way too early to say that.” Wayne raised his hand as if to hold back the accusations.
“I know Megan’s the one who hired you,” Gallant continued. “But you’ve got to stay open about this. You two could be the perfect cover-up for her.”
Wayne wasn’t averse to the suggestion. “The idea’s crossed my mind,” he mentioned. “Don’t worry though, I’ve been in the business for too long to let something like that happen.”
Gallant seemed relieved. “Good,” he said. “Because as of now, it’s not looking good for your client.”
“We plan to explore this further,” Olivia chimed in as Gallant smiled at her.
“Great,” Gallant emphasized. “It’s a pleasure to have two honest, open-minded detectives to work with, no matter how it turns out.”
*
When Olivia and Wayne left the station it was too hot to walk outdoors in the streets.
“Let’s get out of here and go somewhere shady with breezes,” Olivia said spontaneously.
“How about the Botanical Gardens?” Wayne perked up. “There’s plenty of shade there and it’s a gorgeous nature preserve.”
“Wonderful.” Olivia felt relieved by the idea of it. She needed time in a new environment. It would help to go over what they had so far, and decide where they were headed.
Rather than take a taxi, Olivia and Wayne jumped on the air-conditioned trolley that drove through the city on its way to the Gardens.
It was fun gazing out the windows at the flashy town. They passed along streets filled with expensive shops, beautiful cafes, and charming restaurants. At the end of the line the trolley turned straight into the renowned Botanical Gardens.
*
The Botanical Gardens was a welcome shelter from the heat, filled with trai
ls, tropical gardens, and beautiful trees.
After they entered and walked along a bit, Olivia and Wayne seated themselves under an old tree with large, waving branches. Fortunately, a breeze had blown up and as they enjoyed its coolness, they were surrounded by an incredible array of flowers in every hue. It was uplifting to be seated in the midst of nature with its unspoiled beauty.
“This was a great idea,” Wayne said as they settled in. “Nothing like some downtime to recoup and decide our best next steps.”
“I agree,” said Olivia, pleased to have Wayne there to go over everything with. It was a totally different experience working with a partner rather than taking on a case alone. Olivia loved it. She felt supported, challenged, and able to harness resources she might not have had access to before. Olivia learned a lot from Wayne and respected the way he interacted with others.
“It seems like they’ve all decided that Megan’s the culprit,” Olivia commented.
“It’s not unusual to latch onto an initial person of interest,” Wayne replied. “That’s a common way to launch an investigation. Besides, what else do they have right now? Nothing, really.”
“It’s not good to be skewed so early on, though,” Olivia replied. “Once you focus entirely on one person other clues are easily bypassed. Aren’t they?”
“True,” said Wayne, smiling. “How’d you get so good at this?”
Olivia smiled along with him. “I guess it’s always been natural, in my bones.”
“That’s for sure,” Wayne agreed. “But I’m also sensing that you really don’t think Megan did it. Do you?”
“Somehow I don’t,” Olivia replied. “I’m keeping my options open, though.”
“You have to,” Wayne implored. “And that’s what I like so much about you. You want what’s right. You keep your mind open. That’s exactly what got me into this work as well. Fairness and justice. Even when I was a little kid I couldn’t stand to see the wrong person accused of doing something he didn’t.”
“Who did you see accused when you were little?” Olivia loved it when Wayne told her more about his life.
“Nothing terrible,” Wayne continued. “I saw kids accused in school, fights on the playground. My mother always jumped to accuse my little brother Tim when he and I got into a fight. Even when I told her I was the one to blame, she kept accusing him. It bothered me.”
“Of course it would,” said Olivia. “And what did Tim do then?”
“He would just cry.” Wayne looked upset at the thought of it. “Tim could never defend himself very well, and my mother knew it.”
The story touched and troubled Olivia. She hadn’t realized the full extent of how kind Wayne was.
“That’s awful for your brother,” she continued. “Did he outgrow it? Did he grow stronger?”
“Not really,” Wayne replied. “Tim’s okay now, but he still can’t stand up for himself.”
“So you’re doing it for him now, and for the whole world,” Olivia exclaimed.
Wayne looked startled by her comment. “I never thought of it that way,” he said quietly.
“That’s beautiful, Wayne,” Olivia continued. “We all have incredible reasons for doing what we do. Most of us have no idea about what most of our reasons are either.”
“That’s for sure,” Wayne couldn’t help agreeing.
Wayne stood up then and took a few steps away. Olivia wondered if her comment may have been shocking for him. Or perhaps the conversation was too close for comfort. She stood up then as well.
“It would be good to get moving,” said Wayne then, running his hands over his face. “How about taking a walk on the hiking trails?”
“Sure,” said Olivia, “let’s go.”
They started walking away from the bench down to a beautiful trail. Surrounded by trees and large bushes, the trail was home to many little birds which flew happily overhead. It was cool and refreshing here too, good to be walking.
They walked along in silence for a while. “What’s next in the investigation?” Olivia asked, wanting to get back on focus and have a plan in place by the time the trail ended.
“I was just thinking about that.” Wayne picked it right up. “Obviously we have to look more deeply into Megan’s background and also Tyron’s finances. I’ll dig into the finances and you see what you can find out about Megan’s life.”
“Good plan,” Olivia agreed as they suddenly arrived at the end of the trail.
“I just want you to know how much I appreciate working with you,” Wayne said suddenly as they approached the front gate. “I learn something new every day.”
Olivia felt grateful. “Me, too,” she replied. “We’re a good team, Wayne.”
“You can say that again,” he replied. “Definitely.”
CHAPTER NINE
After leaving the Botanical Gardens, Olivia and Wayne drove by Tyron’s home. The place was bustling, with many members of his family and close friends gathering. Olivia knew they were there to prepare for the funeral, memorial, and burial. The outside of the home was surrounded by reporters, looking for a slice of the story that had taken South Florida by surprise. Every news station was carrying recent developments. Along with the reporters, sightseers stood snapping photos for mementos.
“Should we stop and go in?” Wayne asked as they drove by.
“Not right now,” said Olivia. At the moment Olivia felt her picture of Megan was skewed by others, and informed by rumors. She decided that before she met with Megan again in person, Olivia wanted to gather more background information about her. It would be best to work from the quiet of her hotel room, she thought.
“I’d rather go back to the hotel and do some research first,” Olivia continued. “It’s quiet there, I’ll be able to think.”
“Good idea,” Wayne agreed. “I’ll start researching Tyron’s business dealings in my room as well.”
When they arrived at the hotel Olivia went into her room, while Wayne walked down the hallway into his. She felt both relieved to be alone for a while and also glad that he was close by. Olivia imagined that Wayne felt the same way as well. They seemed to be on the same page about most things.
Olivia took her computer out onto the patio of her room. Thankfully, it was cooler by now, as the light of the day had faded. Still, there was enough light to see clearly and Olivia scrolled from one site to another, pulling up articles about Megan and her background and her wonderful, unexpected marriage to Tyron Barr.
As Olivia scrolled through the information, she suddenly stopped cold at the sight of a broken link to an article about Megan. What was this piece about? Why was it taken down? On a whim Olivia quickly put a call in to the publication to find out more.
After being connected to one person after another at the publication, Olivia finally hit gold.
“Can you find the article that the broken link leads to?” Olivia pleaded. “This is a police investigation.”
“I’ll look,” the woman responded nervously.
Olivia waited for a few moments until the woman spoke again. “Yes, I see the article you’re talking about,” she finally replied. “It’s about Megan Barr. It seems her husband, Tyron, paid to have the piece taken down.”
Olivia shivered. This was more important than she’d realized. “Thank you so much,” she breathed. “Please tell me what the piece is about.”
“Well, I’m not sure I can,” the woman faltered.
“This is important,” Olivia interrupted. “I’m investigating a possible homicide and your cooperation is essential.”
The woman’s voice lowered. “I see,” she replied.
“The case is all over the news, I’m sure you’ve heard about it,” Olivia pressed her.
“Yes, I have,” the woman acquiesced. “It seems it’s a long article about Megan Barr that was written about her at the time of her marriage to Tyron and printed in the society columns.”
“Read it to me,” Olivia demanded.
Without hesit
ation, the woman continued. “The headline says, ‘Beautiful Rag-Tag Model and Escort Nabs Older Rich Tycoon.’”
“Rag-tag model and escort?” Olivia was stunned. “Are they referring to Megan Barr?”
“Yes, they are,” answered the woman. “It says that originally, Megan came from a poor home on the other side of the tracks. As she grew older and more beautiful, she worked both as a model and an escort.”
An escort? Olivia wondered. Was that a nice word for a high-class call girl?
“Megan met Tyron through her work,” the woman continued somberly. “A few girls from her agency had been invited to spice up a party he was throwing. The girls were there for his clients, of course. However, the night Megan attended something entirely different happened. Tyron himself became the object of her attentions. The two of them were instantly inseparable. The rest was history!”
History, indeed, thought Olivia. “Thank you so much,” she said to the woman. “You’ve helped a great deal.”
“It’s my pleasure,” said the woman. “Should I send the article to you?”
“Yes, you must,” Olivia replied before she hung up.
It took a while for Olivia to absorb all she’d just heard. Alice had told Olivia that Megan and Tyron met at one of his parties. She neglected to mention, however, that Megan was a paid escort. Perhaps Alice felt that would have made her look even worse. Olivia thought about the networking parties that Megan now ran. Who was she introducing to whom? Was this a continuation of the work she used to be in? None of this looked good for her in any way. Nothing did. But why would Megan continue to run these parties? She certainly didn’t need the money. Olivia realized she’d have to talk not only to Megan, but to the people she interacted with. Hopefully, they might see her and her past from a different point of view.
As Olivia sat there musing, there was a light knock on her door. She got up, went in, and opened up.
Wayne stood there, smiling . “Time for dinner?” he asked as he strolled inside.
Olivia hadn’t realized how much time had passed already. “Sure, why not?” she said.
