Laina Turner - Presley Thurman 07 - Cupids & Crooks (5 page)

I ended up leaving Cooper a message and he hadn’t made it back by the time I was going to leave, so I hoped he got it. I also left him a note on the bathroom mirror just in case. I had decided to wear a tight fitting black sheath dress one of the two dressy dresses I had brought. It was sleeveless and had a low neckline. I jazzed it up with some silver accessories and silver sandals and felt as ready as I would ever be.

I walked out in front of the hotel just as Belinda pulled up. Opening the door of her Mercedes I slid in, shutting it behind me.

“You look nice,” I said to Belinda. She had on a gown of a gorgeous vibrant aqua. The color would have washed me out but on her olive complexion looked amazing.

“Thank you. You too. You ready for this?” she said pulling out into traffic.

“I’m not sure. What if he notices us following him around?”

“My contact said there will be about 200 people at this party so it should be easy to blend in.”

We chatted about nothing in particular and it wasn’t long until we pulled up in front of an enormous house and got out giving Belinda’s car keys to the valet.

“Is this a hotel or resort?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Neither. Private residence if you can believe it. It belongs to the producer of her reality show. I’ve only ever seen pictures of this place
and regardless of what we might find out tonight I am thrilled to be able to see it in person.”

She gave our passes to the guard at the gate and he motioned us inside. Walking down a long walkway lined with tea lights we could see people in groups mingling. We reached the main area, the party was outside by the pool, or should I say pools. There was a big pool surrounded by three smaller wading pools. All had beautiful underwater lighting that was giving a color display. Flowers were in the pool floating and I found myself wondering how the chlorine wasn’t killing them or maybe it just took time for that to happen. We accepted the champagne that was offered to us and walked a little farther into the group of people.

“Do you see him,” I whispered.

“Not yet. You look that direction and I will look over here.”

Since I had only seen his picture on Google I hoped he looked the same in person.
Was that him way over there
, I tried squinting. I really needed stronger contacts.

“Belinda. I think he’s over there. By the woman in the red dress. It’s not Lupe though I don’t think. I don’t see her in that group of people.”

“That is him, but where is she?”

“I have to go find the ladies room so you stay out here and keep looking and I will see if I can find her on my way.”

“Ok,” she said positioning herself to be able to see him.

I gave my empty glass to a passing waiter and asked for directions to the ladies room. Following the stone path as directed I wound around the house and past the large enclosed tent where the formal sit down dinner was going to be taking place. I was about to turn the corner and walk into the bathroom when I heard loud voices coming from the direction of the tent. I could see the shadows of what looked in shape and size to be two women. I paused to listen, hoping no one walked by and caught me spying. That would be embarrassing.

“You are a crazy bitch! How dare you crash my party?”

“Lupe, you haven’t seen crazy yet. I tried to warn you. I told you to stay away from my man!”

Was this
the
Lupe Herrera? Who was she arguing with? I walked closer to the tent, almost breaking my ankle as my heel slid into the soft ground and twisted my foot. I bit my lip to keep from crying out in pain and pulled my heel out. I proceeded on tiptoe, hoping they were too busy arguing to see my shadow approaching.

“He divorced you. Get that through your head he doesn’t want you!” Lupe screamed so loud I couldn’t believe everyone at the party didn’t hear her. Who was she yelling at? Could this be Johann’s ex wife? I wish Belinda were here to listen to this.

“He’s just confused! He will come back. He would be back already if it wasn’t for all you whores who throw yourself at him!”

It must be his ex. Wait a minute, was she the one responsible for killing all those women? It kind of made sense. She certainly seemed more than a little unbalanced right now. Oh my God. I needed to get help. But was it safe to leave? What if Lupe was in danger? What a bad time to not have my phone. My indecision on what to do ended when I could see the shadow of a gun being lifted.

“You are going to pay like all the rest,” the woman said.

I had to act fast, so I hurled myself through the tent fabric directly at the shadow of the woman holding the gun and knocked her to the floor simultaneously as the gun went off. I hoped Lupe was out of the line of fire. I heard the sounds of people running in our direction responding to the gunshot and Lupe screaming her head off.

“What happened? Are you ok?” someone said to Lupe and I finally opened my eyes to see she was fine, just shaken up and someone was hugging her. A set of hands grabbed and lifted me off the ground.

“Don’t let that woman escape. She tried to kill Lupe,” I said to no one in particular as the woman tried to scramble away once the weight of my body was off her.

A man in a suit grabbed her. “She won’t be going anywhere until we get this sorted out,” he said. “We’ve been tracking her for a while now.”

Belinda ran up to me. “Presley, what happened? I heard shots and then saw you standing here! Are you ok?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine. It was just a coincidence. I was walking to the bathroom and heard them arguing. I saw that woman pull a gun on Lupe and I tried to stop her.”

Belinda hugged me. “I’m so glad you’re ok!”

“Here’s some coffee, sleepyhead,” Cooper said nudging my shoulder and putting the coffee under my nose to try and wake me.

I yawned. “Don’t wanna,” I said trying to pull the covers over my head in protest, but Cooper wouldn’t let me.

“I know, but it’s our last day here and we’ve got some fun things planned.”

By the time I finished talking to the police it had been after two a.m. when Belinda dropped me back off at the hotel. I had been right in that the woman who tried to kill Lupe was Johann’s ex-wife, Angelica. She had denied trying to shoot Lupe, even thought the gun was still in her hand, but when she saw Johann come over to comfort Lupe she lost it and ended up confessing to the other five murders. She had disguised her voice to sound like a man when she called the women and had been continuously threatening them via phone and email. Belinda felt righteous she had been right in her thinking that the murders were connected and had already started thinking about the true crime book she could write. I was just happy no one else had been murdered and a crazy woman was locked up.

I sat up and took the offered coffee. Taking a sip I said, “Just give me a few minutes for this to kick in and I will get ready.”

“That’s fine. I need to check my email and we have an hour before our tour leaves.”

“Ok.” I drank half the coffee and then took the rest in the bathroom with me to shower. I got ready in record time, forgoing actually doing my hair for a slicked back bun. I wanted to get downstairs a few minutes early as I had called Denise and asked her to meet me.

“Cooper, I will meet you in the lobby. I am running down now to give something to Denise?”

“What?”

“Oh just an address to this really cool store Belinda told me about.”

“Ok. See you in a few.”

I took the elevator down and Denise must have been staking them out as she pounced on me the minute I stepped off.

“I’ve been dying here. You said you had a solution to our problem?”

“Here,” I said giving her a folded up piece of paper.

She opened it and looked puzzled. “It’s an address. For what?”

“For a discreet forger who can get you any documents you need for a reasonable price.”

Her eyes widened. “How…?”

“Don’t worry about how. Now I’ve got to meet up with Cooper. Be careful!”

“I will Presley, thanks!”

I had told Belinda the unfairness of the situation with Denise’s housekeeper and she agreed the law could be very unfair. She had given me the number of someone whom she said could discreetly help with the situation. When I asked her how she had this information she just smiled and said some sources she couldn’t divulge. I guess the less I knew about that illegal activity the better.

What I did want to know more about were the Mayan ruins we were heading to in a few minutes and when it would be considered late enough in the day for a margarita.

Cooper was already in line to get on the tour bus when I reached him and put my arms around his waist. I kissed him on the cheek and sighed happily. Looking forward to good things.

The End

If you liked Cupids & Crooks
then make sure to check out the rest of the Presley Thurman series.

Thank you for taking the time to read this book and I hope you enjoyed it. I encourage you to read about the rest of my books below or head to my website at
http://www.lainaturner.com
.

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Bestselling, mystery with a little romance (nothing too steamy her mom might read this), author Laina Turner introduces you to her heroine Presley Thurman in the following books.

Stilettos & Scoundrels FREE
Presley tells her boss what he can do with her job in HR and embarks on a new career as a freelance journalist. What seems like a simple interview with a Senator turns to murder when the day after her interview the Senator turns up dead. Does the fact that Presley was one of the last people to see him alive make her a suspect? Her ex-boyfriend Cooper, who was in charge of the Senators security, might think so. Presley is determined to clear her name but can she do it and resist Cooper’s charms?

A FREE download available on
Kindle
,
Nook
,
iTunes
,
Smashwords
, and
Kobo
. P
urchase the audio book on
Audible
or
iTunes
.

Necklaces & Nooses

When Presley’s boss is found hanging she thinks its suicide until the police discover its homicide. Who would want to kill a boutique owner? Presley’s not sure but she’s determined to find out. The cute detective assigned to the case makes it all the more exciting.

Available on
Kindle
,
Nook
,
Kobo
,
Smashwords
,
and
iTunes
.
Purchase the audio book on
Audible
and
iTunes
.

Handbags & Hooligans

Presley went to Vegas to watch her friend Anna get married and the event turned into solving the mystery of her brothers girlfriend disappearance. But Ashley wasn’t exactly the schoolteacher she appeared to be. Who was she and was she kidnapped?

Available on
Kindle
,
Nook
,
Kobo
,
Smashwords
,
and
iTunes
.
Purchase the audio book on Audible and iTunes March 2013.

And the holiday short…Mistletoe & Murder

In this holiday short story, Presley goes home for Christmas expecting it to be a relaxing holiday until her old boyfriend, Brian, asks for her help finding out who has been stealing from him and it turns from theft to murder. Why would anyone want to kill Tommy and what was he hiding?

Available on
Kindle
,
Nook
,
Kobo
,
Smashwords
,
and
iTunes
.
Purchase the audio book on
Audible
and
iTunes
.

Gems & Gunshots

Presley heads to San Diego to hang out with Cooper and enjoy the great west coast weather. She didn’t expect that while hanging out at the local coffee shop she would be a witness to a robbery and murder at Gemstone’s Unlimited. Much to Cooper’s dismay Presley feels compelled to investigate. She discovers that not only was the storeowner a womanizer but also was filing false insurance claims for diamonds that weren’t really stolen. Was that why he was being blackmailed? Was that why someone robbed his store? Presley’s determined to find out!

Available on
Kindle
,
Nook
,
Kobo
,
Smashwords
,
and
iTunes
.

Tiaras & Texans

Presley wins a bet and thinks she finally is going to get a chance to work with Cooper and show her she’s got the potential to be a good security detail for his company. She is miffed when she finds out her first assignment is to protect a bunch of self absorbed beauty queens at a Texas pageant. It soon becomes a more interesting gig than she thought, much to her delight and Cooper’s dismay, when one of the beauty queens turns up dead and the fierce competition leave the door wide open to suspects.

Available on
Kindle
,
Nook
, iTunes,
Kobo
, and
Smashwords
.

Cupids & Crooks

Presley was thrilled when Cooper surprised her with a trip to an all-inclusive resort in Cabo San Lucas. No work and all play was all that was on her mind until well renowned Mexican soap opera star, Lucia Vegas, turned up dead in the hotel pool. Accident it was not and Presley couldn’t help but wonder what had happened. Then she met reporter, Belinda, who told her the theory that Lucia was just one of a string of murders targeting young actresses. Vacation or not, Presley had to find the murderer!

The Presley Thurman Boxed Set

This six-book set includes…
Stilettos & Scoundrels
Necklaces & Nooses
Handbags & Hooligans
The holiday short…Mistletoe & Murder
Gems & Gunshots
As a bonus get the short story prequel, A Day in the Life of Trixie Pristine
Available on
Kindle
,
Nook
,
Kobo
,
Smashwords
, and
iTune
s.

If you enjoy reading about Presley’s adventures then you won’t want to miss reading about Trixie Pristine and her friends Berklie and Sophie in A Day in the Life of Trixie Pristine and Books Aren’t Just for Reading.

A Day in the Life of Trixie Pristine

In this short story prequel, Trixie and her friends Berklie and Sophie, considered themselves typical thirty something females until someone turned up murdered in their newly opened bookstore/wine bar. They thought they would be living out their dream in their new shop not trying to catch a killer. Who killed Sylvia and why? Or was one of them the intended target?

Available on
Kindle
,
Nook
,
Kobo
,
Smashwords
,
and
iTunes
along with the audio version on
Audible
,
iTunes
, and
Amazon
.

Books Aren’t Just for Reading

Trixie and her friends, Berklie and Sophie, are excited about the opening of Read/Wine their new business venture of a bookstore/wine bar. All is going well until they happen to find a dead body in the shop and that wasn’t part of the business plan. All signs pointed to Berklie since it was her ex-husbands lover who was murdered. Trixie knew Berklie hadn’t murdered Sylvia so who did?

Available on
Kindle
,
Nook
,
Kobo
,
Smashwords
,
and
iTunes
.
Coming in March 2013 audio book on Audible and iTunes.

Cupcakes Aren’t Just for Eating – coming March 2013

Trixie was a big fan of cupcakes until Harvey Miller dropped dead from eating one at her friend Avery’s bakery. Trying to figure out who poisoned Harvey’s cupcake before Avery’s business went under, Trixie didn’t think things could get any worse until they did. Stephen was back into town and wanting his money, money Trixie did not have. Trixie needed to find Stephen before he found her. Can she do it and find Harvey’s killer before it’s too late?

To be released March 2013.

Other books by Laina Turner…

Raising Awareness for Multiple Sclerosis is a cause Laina is passionate about.

The MS Project – Volume 1

A collection of stories of people afflicted by MS or who have loved ones afflicted. This book is meant to be informational regarding the disease as experienced by real people and to showcase the amazing strength people find when facing adversity.

Available on
Kindle
,
Nook
,
Kobo
,
Smashwords
,
and
iTunes
. Purchase the audio book on
Audible
and
iTunes
.

The MS Project – Volume 2

An inspiring collection of stories by people who have Multiple Sclerosis. These wonderful people give us a glimpse of their life with MS, their courage, and their determination to live the life they want regardless of the obstacles in their way.