Third Grave Dead Ahead
Page 45
He seemed to force himself to calm down, then asked, “What did she say?”
Monica appraised her coffee cup as she thought back. “She said he would do strange things like wake her up in the middle of the night, scaring her on purpose, and then just laugh. And one time he said her dog got run over by a car. She cried for two days. Then, out of the blue, he showed up with it. Said he’d been picked up by the pound. But she’d checked the pound. They never picked him up.” She looked at me and shrugged. “He just did odd stuff like that all the time.”
Everything he did was a form of manipulation. Simply put, he was an extreme control freak, a very unhealthy habit. Still, I needed to get Monica alone. Clearly there were things she couldn’t say in front of her brother. I freshened their coffees, mentally calculating how much java his bladder could hold. He was a big guy, but hopefully he’d need a potty break soon.
“Nathan never was the sharpest scalpel on the instrument tray,” he said. “He passed medical school with a C average. Would you want a surgeon who scraped by medical school with a C average?”
“Not hardly.” Though I doubted the legitimacy of such a claim, the thought was admittedly terrifying. I turned to Monica. “Can I ask why you were here yesterday morning? I hadn’t even talked to Nathan yet.”
She lowered her head, embarrassed. “I didn’t realize you saw me.” She drew in a ragged breath. “I’ve been following him. He was in front of the bar, talking on the phone when you walked past.”
“So you didn’t know who I was?”
“No, not at first. When he told me he’d hired a private detective, I looked you up.”
Luther tapped an index finger on the table. “And he hired you to make himself look good, I’m telling you.”
The guy was clearly smarter than he appeared. “He told me you two don’t really get along with Teresa.”
Monica’s jaw fell open. “He said that?” She was appalled.
“See,” Luther said. “See what he’s doing?”
I watched as tears shimmered in Monica’s eyes again, but now she was angry. She leaned into me, the spitfire in her surfacing. “He’s tried to keep us apart for the last two years. He’s so jealous of us, it’s unreal. We’re sisters, for God’s sake.”
Luther nodded. “Chalk that up to one of those strange things Monica told you about. He says things, makes up shit, does everything in his power to keep us away from Teresa.”
“He’s so controlling,” Monica agreed. “That fact alone raised a red flag when they began dating, but Teresa just wouldn’t listen.”
“The more we talked, the less she listened.”
“I can imagine,” I said. “I have a sister, too.”
“And then,” Monica said, her head tilting to the side in befuddlement, “he’ll be so sweet to her. He buys her gifts all the time, brings her flowers, makes sure her favorite sparkling water is on hand at all times. Citrus flavored.”
“In other words, he smothers her,” I said, coming back around to Monica’s original assessment.
“Exactly.” She nodded. “I think it all really bothers Teresa. She doesn’t even drink the water anymore. Hasn’t for months. But she doesn’t tell him, because I drink it.” She grinned then, her smile soft and sincere. “He gets so jealous of our time together, so we meet secretly every weekday and walk through the mountains, supposedly exercising. But really we just talk.” She chuckled to herself then. “And drink his stupid flavored water.”
“So, she doesn’t work?” I asked.
“Oh, no,” she answered as though what I’d asked was ludicrous. “He wouldn’t have it.”
“See?” Luther’s hands curled into fists. “Nuts. I promise, if he did anything to her, he’s a dead man.”
Between the insurance and the bizarre behavior, I was surprised the good doctor was still alive with a brother-in-law like Luther. And Yost knew that. He would know better than to implicate himself in any way. He would’ve known he’d never make it to trial if there was any suspicion of his guilt, so whatever he did, he did it well. He’d have to make it look like an accident, but Teresa’s car was still at the house. And a kidnapping was only as good as the ransom it demanded. With no demand, an abduction would be only slightly less suspicious than a knife in her chest and blood on his hands.
But right now, I needed both Luther and Monica off his back. If he knew they were watching, he would never revisit the crime scene. “Give me a dollar,” I said to him.
He wrinkled his brows. “Why?”
I rethought my demand. “That’s a good question. You’re loaded. Give me a twenty.”
He exhaled, then fished a twenty out of his wallet.
“Now I’m working for you.”
“You’re cheap.”
“This is a retainer,” I said, showing him the twenty he just handed me. “Add a few zeros, and you have my daily rate. You’ll get a bill. It will be large.” I had to pay for my wrestling career somehow.
“I already have a guy on Yost. He won’t leave his side, and I promise you, Yost won’t know.” I wasn’t about to tell them he was a departed teenage gangbanger. “If the doctor does anything suspicious, my guy will let me know. And I have my assistant looking into his background as we speak. If there’s anything that doesn’t fit, we’ll find it.”
Monica appraised her coffee cup as she thought back. “She said he would do strange things like wake her up in the middle of the night, scaring her on purpose, and then just laugh. And one time he said her dog got run over by a car. She cried for two days. Then, out of the blue, he showed up with it. Said he’d been picked up by the pound. But she’d checked the pound. They never picked him up.” She looked at me and shrugged. “He just did odd stuff like that all the time.”
Everything he did was a form of manipulation. Simply put, he was an extreme control freak, a very unhealthy habit. Still, I needed to get Monica alone. Clearly there were things she couldn’t say in front of her brother. I freshened their coffees, mentally calculating how much java his bladder could hold. He was a big guy, but hopefully he’d need a potty break soon.
“Nathan never was the sharpest scalpel on the instrument tray,” he said. “He passed medical school with a C average. Would you want a surgeon who scraped by medical school with a C average?”
“Not hardly.” Though I doubted the legitimacy of such a claim, the thought was admittedly terrifying. I turned to Monica. “Can I ask why you were here yesterday morning? I hadn’t even talked to Nathan yet.”
She lowered her head, embarrassed. “I didn’t realize you saw me.” She drew in a ragged breath. “I’ve been following him. He was in front of the bar, talking on the phone when you walked past.”
“So you didn’t know who I was?”
“No, not at first. When he told me he’d hired a private detective, I looked you up.”
Luther tapped an index finger on the table. “And he hired you to make himself look good, I’m telling you.”
The guy was clearly smarter than he appeared. “He told me you two don’t really get along with Teresa.”
Monica’s jaw fell open. “He said that?” She was appalled.
“See,” Luther said. “See what he’s doing?”
I watched as tears shimmered in Monica’s eyes again, but now she was angry. She leaned into me, the spitfire in her surfacing. “He’s tried to keep us apart for the last two years. He’s so jealous of us, it’s unreal. We’re sisters, for God’s sake.”
Luther nodded. “Chalk that up to one of those strange things Monica told you about. He says things, makes up shit, does everything in his power to keep us away from Teresa.”
“He’s so controlling,” Monica agreed. “That fact alone raised a red flag when they began dating, but Teresa just wouldn’t listen.”
“The more we talked, the less she listened.”
“I can imagine,” I said. “I have a sister, too.”
“And then,” Monica said, her head tilting to the side in befuddlement, “he’ll be so sweet to her. He buys her gifts all the time, brings her flowers, makes sure her favorite sparkling water is on hand at all times. Citrus flavored.”
“In other words, he smothers her,” I said, coming back around to Monica’s original assessment.
“Exactly.” She nodded. “I think it all really bothers Teresa. She doesn’t even drink the water anymore. Hasn’t for months. But she doesn’t tell him, because I drink it.” She grinned then, her smile soft and sincere. “He gets so jealous of our time together, so we meet secretly every weekday and walk through the mountains, supposedly exercising. But really we just talk.” She chuckled to herself then. “And drink his stupid flavored water.”
“So, she doesn’t work?” I asked.
“Oh, no,” she answered as though what I’d asked was ludicrous. “He wouldn’t have it.”
“See?” Luther’s hands curled into fists. “Nuts. I promise, if he did anything to her, he’s a dead man.”
Between the insurance and the bizarre behavior, I was surprised the good doctor was still alive with a brother-in-law like Luther. And Yost knew that. He would know better than to implicate himself in any way. He would’ve known he’d never make it to trial if there was any suspicion of his guilt, so whatever he did, he did it well. He’d have to make it look like an accident, but Teresa’s car was still at the house. And a kidnapping was only as good as the ransom it demanded. With no demand, an abduction would be only slightly less suspicious than a knife in her chest and blood on his hands.
But right now, I needed both Luther and Monica off his back. If he knew they were watching, he would never revisit the crime scene. “Give me a dollar,” I said to him.
He wrinkled his brows. “Why?”
I rethought my demand. “That’s a good question. You’re loaded. Give me a twenty.”
He exhaled, then fished a twenty out of his wallet.
“Now I’m working for you.”
“You’re cheap.”
“This is a retainer,” I said, showing him the twenty he just handed me. “Add a few zeros, and you have my daily rate. You’ll get a bill. It will be large.” I had to pay for my wrestling career somehow.
“I already have a guy on Yost. He won’t leave his side, and I promise you, Yost won’t know.” I wasn’t about to tell them he was a departed teenage gangbanger. “If the doctor does anything suspicious, my guy will let me know. And I have my assistant looking into his background as we speak. If there’s anything that doesn’t fit, we’ll find it.”
