Killing the Secret (10 page)

Lexie rose from her chair. “Thanks, Ronald. Don’t give up hope. It may take awhile but we’ll get you out of here.”

Ronald blew his nose on an old white handkerchief retrieved from his pocket. Lexie patted his back.

“Thank you.” He blinked rapidly as if trying to suppress his tears.

Lexie followed Stan back to the group office. His straight man was nowhere in sight.

“That guy should’ve been a girl. He’s such a crybaby,” Stan chuckled.

Lexie turned toward him and pointed to his chest. “You really need to grow a heart in there.”

The grin faded from Stan’s face. “You must be getting tired. Here’s the key to where I stay. I’ll get you a cab and meet you there in a couple of hours.”

Thirty minutes later a cab driver dropped her off at a rundown hotel. After paying him, she looked for a sign to give her some direction as to the location of Stan’s room, but none was visible.

Finally, she saw an elderly man coming out a door. “Where’s room 322?” she asked.

“Can’t get in from the front,” he directed. “You’ll have to go around back.”

“Thanks.” Lugging her bag, she headed in the designated direction.

The room was made up of a large bed in the middle, two stools under a kitchenette bar, a microwave, and a mini fridge. There was a small bottle of wine in the fridge but no food. She sat at the bar writing notes and planning the encounter with Mariah.

Three hours later, when Stan still hadn’t returned, she pulled a phone book out of the nightstand and found the Js. There were three Stan Johnson’s listed. However, it was no surprise when one put “Det.” after his name. She dialed the number and a recording picked up.

Feeling exhausted, she climbed on the bed for a quick nap before the hunk returned.

A few minutes later, she heard a male voice through the haze in her head.

“Wake-up, Sweetheart. I’ve got wine and a naked man for you.” Stan was stripped bare and sat on the edge of the bed holding two glasses of wine. “Get nude, Darling, so I can see what I’m playing with.”

Lexie rolled out of bed. “Excuse me for a minute, Naked Man,” she said as she smiled. “I need to get prepared for this experience.”

As she sat on the toilet her cell phone rang. She recovered it from her pocket.

“He’s married.” Red’s voice was firm.

“I know.” She snapped the phone shut.

Lexie splashed her face to drown the sleepiness and returned to Stan.

“What’s with all the clothes, Baby? You need Detective Stan to help you get naked so I can frisk you.”

“Do you even know my name? It’s not Baby, Honey or Sweetheart.”

“After an hour with me, you won’t remember your name either.” His tone was husky. “Quit talking and get in bed, Honey, before I change my mind.”

“No, thanks,” Lexie shook her head. “You’re not half the man I thought you were.”

“You witch! I can send your friend Ronald to prison for life.”

“You might want to reconsider. If you try it, I’ll tell your wife that she’s married to a man-whore.”

Lexie grabbed her bag and went out the door. She heard a glass shatter behind her. Apparently, the hunk wasn’t thirsty anymore.

Lexie didn’t know when the rain started but now there was a steady downpour. Standing under an eave in the front of the hotel she looked for business lights but there were none. A cab probably hadn’t come around this hotel for a fare in ten years. Rain, and more rain, was all that she saw. The water puddled around her leather shoes and gradually covered the tops.

What am I going to do?
Then she remembered the cell phone. Relief disappeared when the phone didn’t have reception. After a few minutes, a government car sped around the corner. Lexie flattened herself against the rock building. Drowning would be her preference to asking the hunk for help.

She decided that walking was her best bet. Ten minutes after her march through the mud and rain began, a black truck slowed down as it approached her. She jumped the ditch and eyed the passenger door window going down.

“How about a ride before you drown?”

Lexie yelled across the ditch, “Red Anderson, what are you doing here?”

“Are you gettin’ in the truck? Rain’s blowing on my pretty shirt. Not to mention the fact that Avis is going to wonder why their truck is flooded.”

“You’ve got some nerve following me. I don’t need a babysitter.” Lexie struggled into the truck with her bag.

“I can see you’re doing fine on your own. Enjoy a little walk in the rain, do you?”

“I’ve had all I can take from smart-mouthed men for one day. Don’t even talk to me.”

“Gladly. I thought I was your knight in shining armor and all I get is a wet toad instead of a princess.”

“This isn’t a fairy tale, Red Anderson. It’s a nightmare.” Lexie clamped her lips shut and put her wet head on top of her damp bag.

Red turned up the radio and sang with Alan Jackson. “Well, I’m a fool over you. It may take awhile, but I’ll prove it. Well, if it’s lovin’ you want then I’ve got it. If it’s money you want then I’ll get it. I’ll buy you tall trees and all the water in the seas. I’m a fool, fool, fool for you.”

Lexie’s head rose and looked straight ahead. “Where are you taking me?”

“I rented a motel room. We’re almost there.”

“So does it have two beds?”

“No, just one for me. I thought you were spending the night with the hunk.” Red continued, “I didn’t think you’d fall for a pretty face. Those men who love their mirrors are lousy in bed.”

Lexie couldn’t help but laugh. “How do you know?”

“Just a rumor I heard from all my women friends.”

Red parked the truck in front of the motel door. He walked around and took Lexie’s bag. She was too tired to protest.

Inside the room she headed for a hot shower. Afterwards, she put on her long nightgown. When she came out of the bathroom Red was gone, but a blanket covered the recliner so she snuggled into its warmth.

Thirty minutes later, Red returned with hamburgers and fries. After eating, she began round two of her indignation.

“You know, Red, you have some nerve. I don’t need a protector.”

He reclined against two pillows on the bed looking at a sports magazine. His eyes didn’t leave the page. “I know that.”

“Then what the hell are you doing here?” Lexie turned her body to see his face.

“Just worried about you.” He continued to avoid any eye contact.

“I can take care of myself better than most men.”

“I know,” he said, turning a page.

“Did Tye put you up to this? I’m going to fire him.”

“He didn’t.”

“You’re lying.”

Red sat up and looked into her eyes. “No, I’m not. He told me not to come. Said you’d have a fit. I’m thinkin’ the guy has ESP.”

“So why did you come?”

“I love you.” Red said the words then resumed his reclining position on the bed, magazine in hand.

“Shut up. You don’t either love me. Quit messing with my brain.”

“Pardon me,” Red said. “I was sure I loved you. Apparently I should’ve asked you how I felt rather than rely on myself.”

“Oh, be quiet and go to sleep,” Lexie snapped. Pulling the blanket over her head she shut out Red and the rest of the world.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Lexie woke to the smell of bacon.

“Here’s your breakfast, Sheriff. We’ll have to manage with Styrofoam instead of fine china.”

“Well, that’ll be hard for me to get used to, but I can manage this once.”

Red pushed an old desk between the recliner and the bed so they’d have a place to eat.

“This sure tastes good. Thanks.”

“Welcome. What are our plans today?”

“There’s no ‘our’ plan, Mr. Anderson. My job is to go to Mariah’s house and ask her some questions.”

“What time are you supposed to see her?”

“Around ten. My flight to Kansas to investigate Tina’s death leaves at two.”

“I’m willing to fly you to Kansas if you don’t want to mess with all the airport rigmarole,” Red offered. “I just happen to be going that way.”

“I’m thinking you need to go home before I strangle you,” Lexie said the words followed by a smile.

“You sure are a hard woman to help. I can even give you a free ride to Mariah’s place.”

“Okay, okay, I give up. I’ll take both of your offers.”

After finishing breakfast, they stuffed their bags and headed out the door. Much to Lexie’s relief, nothing was said about the love thing from the night before. Hopefully, they both would pretend it never happened.

They got lost three times before Red finally pulled in front of Mariah’s security gate.

“I’ll wait down the block for you. Call if you need me.”

This isn’t a house; it’s a mansion
. The place reminded Lexie of old southern plantation homes she’d seen in photos at school. Huge pillars held up the third story balcony. The mansion was white with sage green trim. The yard looked like a plush green carpet that was never walked on. Rose bushes of every color were strategically located to ensure a perfect balance between the east and west sides of the estate. The place looked like something from a storybook.

Lexie first banged the knocker up and down gently. When no one answered after three minutes, she put some muscle into it. The loud sound seemed out of place in the tranquil surroundings.

A tall man, who Lexie guessed was in his thirties, opened the door. His small-framed glasses were surrounded by straight, black, chin-length hair and bangs that covered his eyebrows. The Beatles look—forty years late.

He opened the door a few inches more. “Yes?”

“I’m Sheriff Lexie Wolfe. I have an appointment to speak with Mrs. Toleson.”

“Certainly,” he opened the door wide. “This way, please.”

Lexie followed him up the curved staircase to a sitting room on the second floor.

Mariah stood when she entered the room. “Thank you, Wade.” He grimaced and exited the room.

“He doesn’t seem to be in a good mood today,” Lexie ascertained.

“Wade’s always in a bad mood when the maid is off. He doesn’t want to do any domestic tasks. Just wants to answer the phone and take care of my paperwork. He’s my personal assistant.”

“I see. What’s his last name?”

“Cartwright.”

“Mariah, I’m so sorry to bother you with this. Your life must be crazy with your husband being on the short list for the presidential nomination. Lexie looked at the statuesque woman in front of her. Mariah’s hair was cut short and highlighted blonde. Her tall, perfectly proportioned body looked elegant in the black silk pantsuit she wore.

“Yes, it is a busy time, but don’t apologize for coming. If I can do anything to help find Abbey’s killer, I want to do so. I will admit, it greatly concerned me when you told me my own life may be in danger.”

“So are you saying that it doesn’t concern you now?”

“I just can’t imagine how the deaths can be related.” Mariah drew a deep breath. “Our history together was so long ago, and to be truthful, I wasn’t part of their clique. They just accepted me during basketball season because I got the ball in the net.”

“I asked Jamie, Loretta, and Beth to think hard about who might want to kill the members of your team. They didn’t come up with anything, or so they said. Frankly, I thought they were lying.”

Mariah straightened her shoulders and put both feet flat on the floor. Her eyes diverted downward as she bit her bottom lip.

Lexie didn’t fill the silence for a couple of minutes waiting for Mariah to say what was on her mind. It didn’t happen so Lexie continued, “I think there’s a secret. Perhaps it doesn’t even have anything to do with the murders, but there is something. I know there is.”

Mariah’s eyes glanced at the door, as if looking for an escape route.

“I’ve come here, Mariah, hoping that you’ll have the courage to tell me the truth. Four women have died. Surely that negates any reason for keeping a secret,” Lexie said solemnly.

“I promised. My words need to mean something.”

Lexie pressed her, “The truth may mean saving four lives, including yours.”

“It’s not logical we’d be killed for what I know.”

“Please, let me help you make sense of it. It’s my job.”

“I hope I don’t regret this.” Mariah’s hands clenched. “Do you have to tell them where you got the information?”

“No, I don’t have to tell.” Implying something that wasn’t true was okay, Lexie rationalized, if it helped her catch a murderer.

“The summer before our senior year, Loretta had an abortion. My father helped her find the midwife. The others were afraid Loretta would commit suicide, so they killed the baby so she could go on with her life. It made me sick. I should’ve told long ago, but we all swore not to.” Mariah dabbed at her eyes with a silk handkerchief.

Donovan appeared at the door. “Ladies, let me escort you to the dining room. Cook said that lunch is served.”

Mariah’s tears ended abruptly. “Dear, this is Sheriff Lexie Wolfe from Diffee. Remember I told you about Abbey’s death?”

“Yes, of course, I remember. Sorry to meet you under such sad circumstances.”

He reached over and gently touched Lexie’s hand. He was a tall elegant man with a head of white hair. Lexie thought it was real, but she wasn’t sure. This man could afford the most expensive hairpiece in the world if he needed one.

Lunch was luxurious and filled with small food and small talk about Donovan’s political future.

After Wade removed the last course from the table, Lexie initiated her best portrayal of gushy envy. “Mariah, I don’t want to be rude but I’ve never seen a house as beautiful as yours. May I have a tour?”

“Certainly,” Donovan answered immediately. “I don’t imagine they have mansions like this in Diffee.”

“Not even close,” Lexie replied.

Mariah didn’t look thrilled at being a tour guide but she stood up and asked Lexie to follow her. Lexie admired everything on the first and second floors. Then they made their way to the third floor, which was a gigantic master suite. Mariah pointed out the original art. Lexie looked admiringly at the art and antiques. She walked as if in a trance taking in the beauty of her surroundings. She opened the closet door abruptly. The light came on automatically and the twelve-by-twelve space was illuminated.