“How do you figure?” Izzy asked.
“If Alexia killed Cody while I was there, and now she’s after me, why didn’t she just kill me the same night? I was asleep. Totally defenseless.”
“Yeah, good point,” Aria said.
“She obviously wants to tell me something, and I want to know what it is. It might have something to do with Kat.”
“You haven’t heard from her?” Aria asked.
“No. Not a word.”
“That’s not completely out of character though, right?” Aria asked, a little unsure of herself.
“No, it’s not, but given the circumstances…” I let the words trail off.
“Oh, that reminds me!” Izzy said. “I found something online. A way for psychics to work together to boost their powers. Sort of like adding an antenna to a television.”
“Send a stronger signal?” I asked.
“Exactly. We can band together to look for Kat. I know a couple other psychics in the area and gave them a call. Just waiting to set something up. Hopefully tomorrow.”
“That would be awesome,” I replied.
“What are you going to do about Devonshire?” Aria asked.
“I need to take him down. I just don’t know how,” I said.
“Do you have a picture?” Izzy asked me.
I brought up Devonshire’s picture on my phone and handed it to Izzy.
“Yeah, this man has some bad juju. Oh boy.” Izzy peered closer at the phone. “I would add some anger issues as well. He’s secretive, too. He’s hiding something. Money? I can’t tell. He just has a lot of greed surrounding him.” Izzy put the phone down.
“Vince said he had a temper. In fact, he had a run-in with him before. It didn’t end well,” I said.
“Really? He didn’t tell me that,” Aria said.
“It wasn’t really a big deal, but I’m betting Devonshire hasn’t forgotten about it,” I said.
“Hmm, maybe we could use that to our advantage. Use his anger to beat him somehow. Set him up,” Aria said.
“Set him up where? And what do we do once he gets there? I don’t have anything on him that would hold in court. Nothing that would even warrant an arrest. His lawyers would stonewall that from ever happening,” I said.
“Gotta love our justice system,” Izzy added.
Generally, I had nothing against the system. In fact, I had seen it successfully convict and put away five murderers. However, corrupt millionaires were a whole new territory for me.
“Okay, I’ve got it. Isn’t the Little Miss Atlantic pageant this weekend?” Aria asked.
“Yeah, I don’t believe he’s changed the date. In fact, I know he wouldn’t, given what I’ve learned,” I said.
“Okay, why don’t we go down and register Amelia?” Amelia was Vince’s 7-year-old daughter and hence Aria’s stepdaughter.
“No way. Vince would never forgive me if something happened to Amelia. I’m not even going to go there,” I replied.
“We’re not actually going to take Amelia with us and she won’t participate. We’ll just go and poke around a bit, throw out some bait, and see what we find out.”
I shrugged my shoulders. It was the best we had and I was ready to do something. All this thinking had made me jittery.
“Okay, what time do you want to do this?” I asked.
11
The pageant headquarters was located in an old white Victorian in downtown Port Haven. It was the same area that was home to Dr. Michelson’s office and a handful of other residences turned businesses. It was southern charm at its finest.
Izzy had texted me on the drive over to say the psychic pow-wow was on for tonight at 7PM.
“Want to come with?” she texted.
“Sure. Just tell me where.”
Izzy texted back an address. I plugged it into my phone and saw that it was The Palms Motel located off Highway 17. Convenient, I thought. I could swing by Kat’s on my way and see if she was home. How lucky would that be?
We walked inside the pageant headquarters, and right off the bat Devonshire seemed to be in a bad mood. I considered that a good sign.
“Three hundred points! It can’t keep falling like this. I’m going to have to put my money someplace else,” he grumbled aloud. The man looked wholly out of place in a pastel-themed office with honey-oak hardwood floors and fresh white roses on the desk.
I sneezed unintentionally to signal our entrance.
Devonshire ignored us. “That’s it. I’m calling my broker. Don’t know what he’s doing all day. Obviously not watching the numbers.” I assumed Devonshire was talking about the stock market, which had been tumultuous in recent days, or so the news told me.
Devonshire had been at the front desk, but he jerked his thumb to the lovely woman sitting behind him to get her to switch spots with him. She stood up graciously and welcomed us.
“Good morning, what can I do for you?” she asked with a smile. Her blond hair was styled in flowing waves down her back. Her teeth were straight and white, and her lipstick, soft and pink, much like the pantsuit she was sporting. Oh yeah, she was a former beauty queen, and I was betting she was Devonshire’s wife.
Aria took the lead. “I know it’s last minute and all, but my daughter would really love to compete in the Little Miss pageant this weekend,” she said.
“Oh, is that so? How old is she?”
“Seven and she’s such a doll. She would love this opportunity.”
“Let me see if we have room,” the woman said. Aria and I watched as she scrolled through some spreadsheets on her computer. “The pageant has different requirements. I’m not sure you’d be able to get everything in time,” she said sincerely.
“Whatever it is, I’m sure it won’t be a problem. She’s her daddy’s little girl,” Aria said with a smile. That was true. Vince adored his daughter.
“Aren’t we all?” the woman replied with a laugh.
Her comment made me think of the run-in with my dad yesterday. Even after I solved this mess, I wouldn’t feel right until things were fixed between us.
Devonshire started pacing between the office windows, mumbling under his breath, with his cell phone pressed to his ear. The woman nervously looked over her shoulder before turning back to us and asking, “What was your daughter’s name?”
“Isabella Delgado,” Aria said, purposely not using her daughter’s real first name.
Devonshire whipped around. “Did you say Delgado?”
“Yes, why?” Aria asked innocently.
“No, absolutely not! I will not have a Delgado in this pageant. I didn’t like him then, and I don’t like him now.”
“Excuse me?” Aria asked.
“Vincent Delgado, right? He lives around here. I’m not having any relation of his in this program!” Devonshire bellowed. The man’s spray tan looked less orange and more red at that moment.
“Dear,” the woman said. It was more of a warning than anything else.
“No. No, no, no. Delgado made me lose thousands. I’m not having it. Get out of here!” Devonshire said, dismissing us.
His wife was absolutely horrified.
“Excuse me for just one moment,” she said before turning to face her husband. “Remember what we talked about,” she said in hushed tones.
“I don’t care about all that karma crap,” Devonshire said.
“Your heart then. You don’t want to keel over now, do you?” the woman said.
Devonshire seemed to reconsider. “No…I don’t. It’s just...”
“Just breathe. Remember what I said. We get what we give. You need to send out the good if you want to get good back,” the woman continued.
“That Delgado, though. He made me so mad!”
“Sweetie, that was the past. Focus on the now. Remember, your thoughts become things. Choose them wisely.” The woman stroked Devonshire’s arm in a soothing manner. It was amazing watching him melt in front of her. His breathing slowed and his shoulders relaxed.
>
“Why don’t you go for a walk? I think some quiet reflection or even a little meditation would do you wonders,” she said.
“Yeah, okay, I’ll do that,” Devonshire said, almost in a trance-like voice. I was thinking Aria might want to see about hiring this woman down at the yoga studio. She’d probably do awesome with the guided meditations they offered. I was feeling calm and shouldn’t have been shocked to see Devonshire do an about-face and walk out the back of the office. The woman waited until he left the building before apologizing to us.
“I am so terribly sorry about all of that. My husband has some anger issues, but we’re working on them.”
“Yeah, wow, I see that. You have a way with calming him,” I said.
“I try,” Mrs. Atlantic said. “Did you still want to register your daughter? I completely understand if you don’t. But if you do, I’d be happy to waive the registration fee,” Mrs. Atlantic said.
While Aria and Mrs. Atlantic went over the program and the paperwork, I thought of something. “I see you guys have a lot of sponsors. Are you open to new ones? I own Sugar & Sass, the beauty company off Main Street. I think it’s a perfect tie-in,” I said.
“Yes, absolutely. I have a separate packet of information. Oh, where are those?” Mrs. Atlantic began looking behind the counter, opening drawers and lifting up folders. “That’s right, Paul updated them. They’re back here.” Mrs. Atlantic found a packet and handed it over to me. I took a cursory glance and did a double take. Entry sponsors required a twenty-five-thousand-dollar donation. How much scholarship money was up for grabs here, anyway? It was a good tie-in, but I don’t know about it being worth twenty-five thousand.
“Thanks so much. I’ll check it out,” I replied. My mother would’ve been proud of me for keeping my thoughts to myself.
“Did you see how much the lowest entry level sponsor was?” I asked Aria as walked back to my car.
“No, how much?”
“Twenty-five thousand dollars!”
“You’re kidding me! That seems absolutely ridiculous.”
“I know, which makes me think about what Izzy said last night. How much is the scholarship that’s up for grabs this weekend?” Like most beauty pageants, this one offered a scholarship to the winner.
“Hang on, let me look.” We got into my truck, and Aria rifled through the papers. “First place is $10,000. There are a couple of other smaller prizes, but nothing more than $500.”
“You’re telling me all of the sponsors are giving them thousands and thousands of dollars, and they’re only giving out one $10,000 scholarship? That can’t be legal.”
“I think you’re right. Definitely warrants looking into. Would that be enough to take Devonshire down?” Aria asked.
“Probably not, but it would make good fodder for blackmail. Run it by Vince and see what he thinks.”
“Good idea. I’m betting Mrs. Atlantic has no idea.”
“You’re probably right, and I’m betting Devonshire doesn’t want to rock the marital boat he’s just set sail on.”
“I’ll call Vince right now,” Aria said.
Vince thought we had something there. Since this seemed more like a business deal now, I left it up to him to handle. This was his forte, and I was happy to let him take the lead.
I dropped Aria off at the yoga studio and went the rest of the way to Sugar & Sass. Izzy was wonderful, but I still needed to check in with my crew and put some hours in at the office. The Chicago contract should be coming through any day now, and I hadn’t even been checking my email. Plus, seeing Devonshire again had me wanting to explore developing a more natural-looking artificial tanning product. I thought my clients would love it. I was also hoping work would give me a sense of normalcy as it was the only thing that wasn’t falling apart in my life.
“Everything going okay here?” I asked when I walked into my shop.
“Ziva! It’s so good to see you,” Anna said. “Izzy’s been great but it’s still not the same without you here.”
“Well, it’s nice to know I’ve been missed. Hopefully things will be back to normal soon.” By soon I meant the sooner the better. I was tired of my life being in limbo and worrying every second of the day. I sincerely hoped Izzy’s friends would be able to peg down Kat, and that Vince could negotiate with Devonshire to call off this little game of his. At this point, I had no idea who killed Cody, but I was hopeful it would all piece together.
“I’m going to be in my office doing a little bit of computer work. Just holler back if you need any help.”
“Sure thing. Oh, I forgot to tell you. A woman stopped in for you yesterday.”
“A woman, like a reporter?” I hadn’t forgotten that the press would still love to talk with me.
“No, this woman definitely didn’t feel like the press to me.”
I stopped in my tracks. Could this have been Alexia?
“Did she leave a number by chance?” How convenient would that have been?
“No, nothing, but she did say she would look out for you.”
Well, that was cryptic. I wasn’t sure I wanted Alexia looking out for me.
“Okay, thanks. Let me know if she comes back in or if anyone else asks for me.”
“Will do.”
I walked back to my office and flicked on the light. I love my office. I had it painted Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams. It was my absolute favorite color. Depending on the light, the room looked either blue, green, or gray. It was the most soothing color I had ever seen, and I was completely in love with it. On my walls were a framed wedding portrait of Finn and me, a black-and-white photo of Captain Jack, and a picture of my parents. Aria’s family portrait was on my desk. I was becoming such a softy.
I had managed to keep the knickknacks to a minimum, and anyone who knew me knew that was impressive. I had a love for antiques. In fact, before Finn and I moved in together, I lived above the antique store downtown. White porcelain and rose glass were two of my favorites. I had only a few pieces in my office: a white porcelain elephant and a pair of vintage rose glass candlesticks with two white pillars in each one.
This was my happy place. I took a second to close my eyes, take a deep breath and just be still. It felt good to be in my space. A place that hadn’t been violated by death and was all still wholly my own.
Scratch that.
When I opened my eyes, I saw a thick white calling card had been left on my keyboard. Curious, I picked it up and turned it over. A phone number had been embossed on it. Nothing else and nothing handwritten.
Instinctively, I looked around, but there wasn’t anything else out of place. I reminded myself that the card could’ve been from anyone. Alexia was only one of the possibilities. A reporter, murderer, or maybe it was from someone who had kidnapped Kat and this was their ransom attempt. And I hadn’t been back to work in the last three days. What type of sister-in-law was I?
Without hesitating, I picked up my phone and dialed the number. A woman answered on the second ring.
“Who’s calling?” She asked when our lines connected.
“This is Ziva. A card was left in my office.” I figured that was a safe thing to say.
“Meet me at the Twisty Twirl in 20 minutes. Come alone.” The woman hung up the phone.
I stared at my receiver for a second. The Twisty Twirl, huh? Whoever heard of an assassin or kidnapper asking to be met at an ice cream parlor? Then again, maybe it hadn’t been either one on the phone. For all I knew, it could very well be another mystery from Finn’s past about to make itself known. I needed to be prepared for the unexpected.
One thing was for certain, whoever it was, they hadn’t given me much time to make it across town.
“Anna, I’m running out. I’ll try to pop back in later. I have my cell, or call Izzy if you need to reach someone right away.” I didn’t even wait for a response before I was through the door and getting back into my little pickup truck.
I got to the Twisty Twirl two minutes late. I park
ed and walked in, looking for someone who appeared to be waiting to meet someone. No one stood out. Not wanting to stick out myself, I went to the counter and ordered a waffle cone of mint chocolate chip. I figured I might as well indulge in my favorite sweet treat while I was there. Besides, I never did have any the other night after Agent Cooper and the mystery guy stopped over.
“Are you Ziva?” the girl scooping my cone asked me. She had choppy black hair, matching nails, and purple lipstick. I hadn’t looked at her twice, but I was now.
“Yes, I am. Why?” I eyed the young girl suspiciously.
“I have a message for you. The lady said to meet her at the park across the street. She’ll be at the fountain.” The girl handed me the cone.
“What did the lady look like?” And did she look like an assassin, I wanted to add.
“She was dark. Hair, eyes, personality.” I thought this was saying something from a girl dressed in all black. She shrugged her shoulders as if to say that was all she knew.
I gave her five dollars and walked out of the shop. I could’ve just gone back to my truck and left, or better yet called Detective Brandle, but truth be told, I wanted answers and I wanted them right now. I was tired of waiting around for something to happen.
I jogged over to the park and found the area surrounding the fountain to be completely empty. I sincerely hoped that whoever wanted to talk to me would just come out and do it. I walked around the fountain and looked under the benches for another clue but came up empty. That was a good thing. Yes, I wanted answers, but I wasn’t going to play any games.
I was about to turn on my heel and say forget it when I saw a woman step forward from the path behind the fountain and approach me. Her smooth, measured movements reminded me of the woman on the video footage. Oh yeah, this was Alexia. I was sure of it. She was even more graceful and beautiful in person.
I should’ve skipped the waffle cone.
I looked at Alexia’s hands to see if she carried a weapon, but I realized that was ridiculous. She could kill me with her bare hands, of that I was certain. The fact that Cody had been shot was another checkmark in her favor. I was eighty-percent sure she hadn’t killed him.
Charm & Deception Page 10
