A Nose for Justice (35 page)

“Hold on a minute. Mags will surely fuss at me if I let you go without telling her.” Jeep rose and walked down the hall.

Within minutes she and her niece came back to the living room.

“Done?” Mags asked.

“Maybe just beginning. I hope so. Jeep has been wonderful.”

Lonnie nodded. “What a memory. Wish mine were that good.”

“Mind’s a muscle, use it. Your memory will stay sharp,” Jeep advised. “Well, good luck, gentlemen, and I truly hope Robert Benson or whatever his name is doesn’t show up dead.”

“We do, too, ma’am,” said Lonnie. “Tets knows something.”

A
n hour later, no thanks to traffic, Pete and Lonnie pulled into the drive to the Johnson home, an impressive manse. Lonnie called ahead, had gotten Lolly on the phone, so she was expecting them.

She opened the grand front door before they’d even knocked. “It’s not Darryl, is it? I know you’d never tell me that on the phone. Please tell me he’s safe.”

“Mrs. Johnson, your husband’s fine but we need your help.”

“Please, please come in. I am so relieved.” She shut the door behind them and walked them into her sunken living room, much more modern than Jeep’s.

Lolly must have kept decorators happy. Her home was as immaculate as she was. Now in her mid-forties, she may have given in to some “work,” but a woman in her position must literally keep up appearances. For all their money the house still exuded homely warmth. So many don’t. Lolly had warmth and charm, too.

“Oh, do sit down.” She perched on a chair, so they sat, too. “Now what can I do?”

Pete tried to approach carefully. “Mrs. Johnson, this may be sensitive but you may be able to save lives.”

Not knowing what to expect, she tensed. “Go ahead.”

“Your brother.”

“Not again.” Her hand flew to her face.

“Ma’am?” Pete asked.

“He hasn’t been picked up again, has he? He can’t stay straight. He tries. He’s been to rehab a few times.” She paused, a look of concern swept her lovely features. “Oh, God, he’s not dead, is he?”

Pete said consolingly, “No. We think he’s alive.” On seeing the distress on her face, he continued, “We’re sorry to trouble you, but I believe Teton, as he calls himself, knows we’re looking for him and he’s doing his best to steer clear of us. When was the last time you saw him?”

“Four months ago. Don’t tell Darryl, please. My husband is finished with Robert. Look, he has a problem, he can’t get a handle on it. I just don’t understand it at all. He blazed through a lot of Mom and Dad’s money until they gave up on him. Then Darryl, at my urging, lent him ten thousand dollars to go to a fancy rehab. After that, Robert stayed clean for maybe a year, then he went right back on. Darryl can usually keep his temper in check, but that sent him right over the edge.” She paused. “We have money, that’s obvious, but no one wants to lose ten thousand dollars to a relapsed drug addict. I’m sorry to say it, but that’s what he is. Darryl swore we should have given the money to a charity. We might as well have burned it and, of course, I felt just awful. Guilty, you know? Still feel that
way even though my husband is good about it. He said, ‘It’s got to be hell to turn your back on your own brother,’ which I did up to a point. But four months ago I—I don’t know—I had to see him.”

“Where did you see him?”

“I went to his apartment. Fourth Street isn’t my favorite and I was even reluctant to leave my car parked there. His apartment, while very basic, was spotless. Robert was clean, too. You know how people take on a gray pallor when they do drugs? He looked in the pink, as they say.”

“Did he ask for money?”

This surprised her. “No. He knew I was taking a chance to see him, that Darryl would be angry. Robert told me he was working on something to make a nice little nest egg. I’d heard that before, but I let him rattle on.”

“Did he say what it was?”

“You know, Officer, I didn’t ask. I’d heard so many cock-and-bull stories I couldn’t stomach another. I was just glad to see him and I didn’t know when I would see him again. I hope he’s alive. He has struggled so much, and he has made a hash of his life. He’s weak, I guess. Maybe we all are in some ways. His way is just obvious.”

“Would you say that your husband and Robert will never talk again?”

“If they do, it will be a few words, foul ones most likely.” She half smiled. “Darryl was tolerant for years. He said we have to practice tough love. He’s probably right so, really, in my way, I’m weak. I don’t want to give up on Robert. My sister in Texas got stung, too. She lent him the money for his last rehab stint. They are sort of locked up for one month. The place was here in Reno.” She named an upscale rehab center.

“Did your brother know Egon Utrecht?”

“I didn’t know his friends. How would he know a celebrity chef?” She paused. “Well, it is Reno. Anything’s possible.”

“What about Oliver Hitchens?”

She shook her head. “Oliver would never have even spoken to my brother.” She clasped her hands. “I don’t wish to speak ill of the dead, but Oliver was very ambitious. He would never have done anything to offend my husband.”

“So you think Mr. Johnson was aware of how Oliver played up to him?”

“Yes. Darryl knows how to get the best out of people for SSRM. He is a
company man, it’s in the blood. Actually, and again I shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, he thought Oliver a toady, but one who was excellent at his job. Oliver wanted George W.’s job when he retired.”

“Can you think of anyone who would want to kill Oliver?”

She half smiled, as so many loathed Oliver, then her voice rose slightly. “You don’t think Robert killed him, do you? I mean, he had no reason.”

“No, we don’t, but we do think your brother knows a great deal about what is going on. That’s why we must find him. Let me ask you something else: Was Robert angry with Darryl?”

“Can’t stand my husband. As the years passed and Robert spiraled downward, that’s when the hostility came out. Darryl, never one to mince words, used to berate Robert before he hit the bottom, telling him to snap out if it. Pick himself up. Others have done it. Robert, who can be self-involved, really resented it.”

“Do you think your brother would want to get even with your husband, say, through SSRM?”

This stopped her cold. She thought, then struggled to answer. “When Robert is at his worst, yes, I don’t put it past him.”

“Was there anyone else in the company with whom he was friendly?”

“I don’t believe so. It would be hard to imagine, because if Darryl got wind of it they’d be in hot water, excuse the pun.”

“But those who had been with SSRM know who Robert is?”

She nodded. “As time went on, he didn’t come to our parties. They knew him from the summer picnic at Lake Tahoe, events like that.”

“Can you think of anyone who might be in contact with him, either from SSRM or from his former life?”

“No.”

“Did he know anyone from Wade Properties?”

This also surprised her. “I don’t think so. That’s a fairly new company. Robert was already sliding by the time they started up.”

“Do you know any of his current friends or associates?”

“Not personally, but he has a few. His last stint in rehab, he made friends. He mentioned a nurse, Kelly, Carrie? I don’t recall, but he said another ex-addict is the only person who truly understands.”

“We’ve taken up so much of your time. Thank you very much.” Pete stood up. “When we find your brother, we’ll call you.”

“Please, if the news is bad, let me break it to Mom and Dad.”

“I’ll do what I can.”

“Thank you, Officer.” She also stood. “I pray he’s alive.”

“So do I.” Pete meant it, but for different reasons.

She walked them both to the door. As she opened it, she said to Pete, “That was a wonderful thing you did Thursday night, taking Pauline Winters out on the dance floor. That horn on her wheelchair just cracks me up. She was a beautiful woman. Jeep was a looker, too. Both of you danced with our lady vets and then other men did, too. You won every woman’s heart that night.”

Pete blushed and Lonnie did, too—unusual for him.

“Thank you, ma’am,” he stammered.

K
ylie Prentiss’s face curdled when Pete and Lonnie walked through the door of the small medical center where she worked. Fishing out a color-coded file from behind the desk, she stopped, hand in midair.

“Miss Prentiss, if you’d give us a few minutes. It’s extremely important,” Pete said quietly but forcefully.

Kylie nodded and pressed a button on the phone, “Jennifer, can you take a file back to Dr. Zacharis for me?”

Jennifer appeared from down the hall within seconds, took the file from Kylie’s hands, looked at the two officers, then said to Kylie, “I’ll cover for you.”

“Could we step outside?” Kylie asked.

“Sure.”

She grabbed her coat. Pete and Lonnie flanked her in case she decided to bolt.

Once outside on the sidewalk, Pete said, “Three people have been killed. Teton Benson has disappeared. We don’t know whether he’s alive or dead. We think you may be able to help us find Mr. Benson. He’s in danger.”

She took a deep breath. “Okay.”

“You know Teton Benson?”

“Yes. We were in rehab together.”

“Was he the person who told you to buy land in Horseshoe Estates?”

“Yes.”

“Did he tell you why?”

She put her hands in her coat pockets. “He told me that Wade Properties was going to buy up a couple of hundred acres there to develop. He
said there were small parcels that we could pick up now before Wade moved forward. I bought a quarter of an acre, which you know.”

“You had enough money?”

She took a deep breath. “It was twenty-five thousand dollars. I only had five saved so he advanced me the rest. He was right. A year later, the zoning cleared for the development. Wade Properties had bought up all that they could buy, but my little quarter of an acre and Teton’s two acres, they had to pay a lot for them.”

“And you repaid the twenty thousand dollars?”

“The deal was once Wade bought me out, I’d give back seventy percent. That included the loan. I made forty thousand dollars—well, subtract the five I put up, thirty-five.”

“That’s a sweet deal.”

“Teton was a good friend to me. He knew I was struggling. When I went into rehab I resigned my job at the hospital. If I hadn’t, they probably would have fired me. Luckily, nurses are hard to come by, so I was able to get this job when I got out. But I barely had enough to get an apartment. Rehab is expensive.” She looked up at them. “But it was worth it.”

“I’m sure it was,” Pete said. “Did Teton ever tell you how he knew about the future development site?”

“He had a friend in SSRM.”

“Did he tell you his or her name?”

“He said it would be better if I didn’t know.”

“Lonnie, can you read off the list of names?”

Lonnie flipped open his notebook and read the names they’d gathered of property investors.

“Ranculli, Larkin, Haverstock, Utrecht—they were in rehab with me. Not everyone for the full month. Dr. Thomas referred people from Las Vegas, people who didn’t want to go to a center where they lived. I don’t know, people find out sooner or later. Anthony Diamond used to buy coke from Teton back when he was dealing. According to Teton, Anthony went into rehab in California.” She paused. “I heard about Egon Utrecht being poisoned. Teton told me Egon had bought two acres, so that scared me.” She added, “Egon was at the center on an outpatient basis. He worked at night so during the day he’d sit in on sessions.”

“Did Teton tell all these people about this investment opportunity?”

“I think so. I mean, he didn’t tell me everything he did or said but he used to say that those of us who had been through ‘the process,’ as he called it—I called it ‘the grinder’—needed to help one another. Outsiders don’t trust us.”

“I know this has been hard for you.” Pete opened the door for her to go back in.

“You won’t say anything to my boss, will you?”

“Not if you’ve told me the truth.”

“I swear I have. If you find Teton, tell him I’m praying for him.”

“I will.”

As they headed for the car, Lonnie raised his eyebrows. “Larkin next?”

“He’s worthless. We won’t get anything out of him. I think if we find Teton’s SSRM contact we find our murderer, and I’ll bet you Oliver Hitchens was onto him.”

“And Sam Peruzzi?”

“Possibly. Our perp must have creamed a couple of million off this. People kill for less. Sam was some kind of a threat.”

It was turning into a long day. They managed to find Ann Haverstock in her shop in Virginia City. Like Kylie, she was wary, but Teton’s disappearance made her worried. Her version of events paralleled Kylie’s. Teton had advised her to buy her acreage.

As they drove down the steep mountain back into Reno, Sergeant Perez called on the radio.

“Found the 2003 Blazer in Indio, California. Benson switched plates. The original owner of the plates didn’t notice until he got pulled over, thanks to the plates off the stolen car.”

“He’s not stupid, Teton.”