Thirty-Six and a Half Motives
Page 36
“So we figure out how Roberta ties into all of this, then what?” Neely Kate asked. “Kate has to know her old housekeeper’s granddaughter is in town.” She turned her attention to me. “Remember last week when she said she was stickin’ around for the show? She knows.”
“That almost makes her sound like a bystander,” I said. “Not an instigator.”
“Not true,” Skeeter said. “J.R. specializes in setting wheels in motion, then sitting back and watching his plan unfold. If Kate Simmons set this in motion, she is most definitely gonna stick around to see how it plays out.”
“But why would she warn me that I was about to get arrested?” I asked. “When she knew I’d have no idea what she was talkin’ about until after the fact.”
“It’s all part of the game,” Skeeter said.
“Let’s move onto something else,” Jed said, speaking for the first time since we’d sat down for breakfast. “Tell us what you know about Sam Teagen’s friend—Marshal, was it?” he asked me.
“Yeah, he seemed like an older guy, scratchy voice. But it was clear Teagen was in charge.” I took a sip of my coffee and then set it down as another thought struck me. “Oh! And unless they’re really fast at pickin’ a lock, they had a key to the shed.”
I gasped, overcome with horror as I remembered the few words Maeve had been able to translate from shorthand. “Oh, my word.”
“What?” Neely Kate asked.
I turned to her. “Key. Shed. Sound familiar?”
Her eyes flew wide. “The journal page.”
“Whatever was hidden in there would have been destroyed in the fire.”
Skeeter set down his fork. “Even if it’s the same shed, you’re presuming that whatever Dora was referring to was still in there.”
“Let’s assume it was,” I said. “Whoever owned that building twenty-five years ago would have owned the shed, too, right? They either put something in that shed or rented it to someone who did.”
“If they’re still alive,” Jed countered.
“True.”
“I can find out who owned it,” Neely Kate said. “I still have my sources at the courthouse. We could know by lunchtime.”
“Back to Teagen and Marshal,” Jed said. “We need to figure out more about their connections.”
“I know I’m stating the obvious,” I said, pushing my plate away. “But Sam Teagen’s dangerous. He not only kidnapped me to have me murdered, but he was going to kill Mason. And I think he killed Eric Davidson.”
“Why would he have offed Davidson?” Jed asked.
“Neely Kate and I talked to a kid at Burger Shack, where Eric worked. He remembered Teagen comin’ in to meet with Eric. After that, Eric started tellin’ everyone who’d listen that he was workin’ for someone big. A few days later, Mason was run off the road and his phone was stolen. Mason remembers seeing a gun pointed at him, but someone else approached the car to check on him, and the gunman hightailed it out of there. Eric was found dead in his garage soon after. They said it was suicide, but I never believed it.”
“You’re right,” Jed agreed. “If Davidson chickened out and didn’t finish his job, it makes sense that Teagen would try and cover his tracks.”
“Eric couldn’t be the one who ran me off the road last month. He was already dead.”
Skeeter’s lips pinched. “It could have been Teagen or his friend. What do we know about Teagen?”
Jed studied his fork. “Not much. Teagen’s done some petty theft of his own, but he’s never really tied himself to anyone before. As for Marshal? Never heard of him.” He lifted his gaze to me. “Did you get a look at him?”
“I saw them from a distance when they were running down the alley to my back door. He was wearing all black and had a hat on. I only saw their legs in the shed. And then when I was about to jump off the building—”
Jed and Neely Kate stared at me like I’d sprouted snakes on top of my head.
“—I only saw Teagen,” I continued. “Oh! Marshal thought he broke his ankle when he jumped. And I noticed he was the one who picked the lock on the back door to my office. They had high-powered rifles, so they weren’t playin’ around.” I gasped, remembering what they’d done with those high-powered rifles. “How’s Merv?”
Skeeter’s eyes hardened. “It’s touch and go.”
“Who’s runnin’ things while you two are holed up here?” I asked.
“That’s none of your damn concern!” Skeeter shouted.
Jed turned to face me and lowered his voice. “We don’t have to be out in the open to run things. We can work remotely for a few days, and we’re hoping it won’t take longer than that to flush Simmons out.”
“I would suggest usin’ me for bait again, but I suspect it won’t go as smoothly as it did last time.”
“No one is gettin’ used as bait,” Skeeter said in a tone that suggested he expected our full cooperation.
Lucky for him, I agreed. “I’ll talk to Anna, see what I can find. And I’ll also see about retrieving the bag. I suspect the page you found from Dora’s journal might be a dead end, but I’ll talk to my bookkeeper about finding someone to translate it. Leave no stone unturned, my great-grandma used to say.”
A grin tugged at the corner of his lips. “Jed, you have our sources look into Kate Simmons’s finances, specifically if she made a million-dollar withdrawal recently, and see if the investigator can find out what she was doing in California for two years . . . if she was even there.”
Jed nodded.
“Rose, you and Neely Kate find out who used to own that building, and then talk to Hilary and see what you can find out about Roberta. Jed’s gonna drive you, and I want you both in the backseat. Do not stand out. We don’t want to make it easy for Simmons to up and snatch you.”
“Okay,” I said. “Then we’ll meet back here and share what we’ve learned.”
Skeeter stood and placed his plate in the sink. “Let’s get goin’. We have things to do, and they ain’t gonna get done on their own.”
Then he went out the back door, slamming the door behind him.
“That almost makes her sound like a bystander,” I said. “Not an instigator.”
“Not true,” Skeeter said. “J.R. specializes in setting wheels in motion, then sitting back and watching his plan unfold. If Kate Simmons set this in motion, she is most definitely gonna stick around to see how it plays out.”
“But why would she warn me that I was about to get arrested?” I asked. “When she knew I’d have no idea what she was talkin’ about until after the fact.”
“It’s all part of the game,” Skeeter said.
“Let’s move onto something else,” Jed said, speaking for the first time since we’d sat down for breakfast. “Tell us what you know about Sam Teagen’s friend—Marshal, was it?” he asked me.
“Yeah, he seemed like an older guy, scratchy voice. But it was clear Teagen was in charge.” I took a sip of my coffee and then set it down as another thought struck me. “Oh! And unless they’re really fast at pickin’ a lock, they had a key to the shed.”
I gasped, overcome with horror as I remembered the few words Maeve had been able to translate from shorthand. “Oh, my word.”
“What?” Neely Kate asked.
I turned to her. “Key. Shed. Sound familiar?”
Her eyes flew wide. “The journal page.”
“Whatever was hidden in there would have been destroyed in the fire.”
Skeeter set down his fork. “Even if it’s the same shed, you’re presuming that whatever Dora was referring to was still in there.”
“Let’s assume it was,” I said. “Whoever owned that building twenty-five years ago would have owned the shed, too, right? They either put something in that shed or rented it to someone who did.”
“If they’re still alive,” Jed countered.
“True.”
“I can find out who owned it,” Neely Kate said. “I still have my sources at the courthouse. We could know by lunchtime.”
“Back to Teagen and Marshal,” Jed said. “We need to figure out more about their connections.”
“I know I’m stating the obvious,” I said, pushing my plate away. “But Sam Teagen’s dangerous. He not only kidnapped me to have me murdered, but he was going to kill Mason. And I think he killed Eric Davidson.”
“Why would he have offed Davidson?” Jed asked.
“Neely Kate and I talked to a kid at Burger Shack, where Eric worked. He remembered Teagen comin’ in to meet with Eric. After that, Eric started tellin’ everyone who’d listen that he was workin’ for someone big. A few days later, Mason was run off the road and his phone was stolen. Mason remembers seeing a gun pointed at him, but someone else approached the car to check on him, and the gunman hightailed it out of there. Eric was found dead in his garage soon after. They said it was suicide, but I never believed it.”
“You’re right,” Jed agreed. “If Davidson chickened out and didn’t finish his job, it makes sense that Teagen would try and cover his tracks.”
“Eric couldn’t be the one who ran me off the road last month. He was already dead.”
Skeeter’s lips pinched. “It could have been Teagen or his friend. What do we know about Teagen?”
Jed studied his fork. “Not much. Teagen’s done some petty theft of his own, but he’s never really tied himself to anyone before. As for Marshal? Never heard of him.” He lifted his gaze to me. “Did you get a look at him?”
“I saw them from a distance when they were running down the alley to my back door. He was wearing all black and had a hat on. I only saw their legs in the shed. And then when I was about to jump off the building—”
Jed and Neely Kate stared at me like I’d sprouted snakes on top of my head.
“—I only saw Teagen,” I continued. “Oh! Marshal thought he broke his ankle when he jumped. And I noticed he was the one who picked the lock on the back door to my office. They had high-powered rifles, so they weren’t playin’ around.” I gasped, remembering what they’d done with those high-powered rifles. “How’s Merv?”
Skeeter’s eyes hardened. “It’s touch and go.”
“Who’s runnin’ things while you two are holed up here?” I asked.
“That’s none of your damn concern!” Skeeter shouted.
Jed turned to face me and lowered his voice. “We don’t have to be out in the open to run things. We can work remotely for a few days, and we’re hoping it won’t take longer than that to flush Simmons out.”
“I would suggest usin’ me for bait again, but I suspect it won’t go as smoothly as it did last time.”
“No one is gettin’ used as bait,” Skeeter said in a tone that suggested he expected our full cooperation.
Lucky for him, I agreed. “I’ll talk to Anna, see what I can find. And I’ll also see about retrieving the bag. I suspect the page you found from Dora’s journal might be a dead end, but I’ll talk to my bookkeeper about finding someone to translate it. Leave no stone unturned, my great-grandma used to say.”
A grin tugged at the corner of his lips. “Jed, you have our sources look into Kate Simmons’s finances, specifically if she made a million-dollar withdrawal recently, and see if the investigator can find out what she was doing in California for two years . . . if she was even there.”
Jed nodded.
“Rose, you and Neely Kate find out who used to own that building, and then talk to Hilary and see what you can find out about Roberta. Jed’s gonna drive you, and I want you both in the backseat. Do not stand out. We don’t want to make it easy for Simmons to up and snatch you.”
“Okay,” I said. “Then we’ll meet back here and share what we’ve learned.”
Skeeter stood and placed his plate in the sink. “Let’s get goin’. We have things to do, and they ain’t gonna get done on their own.”
Then he went out the back door, slamming the door behind him.
