Laina Turner - Presley Thurman 09 - Romance & Revenge (16 page)
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Authors: Laina Turner
Tags: #Mystery: Cozy - Chicago
We made it up to the floor and as soon as we stepped off the elevator, Julie stepped out of her door. She must have been watching for us.
We quickly joined her where she proceeded to fill us in.
“About thirty minutes ago I heard a noise out in the hall. I thought maybe some drunk neighbors and went to look. The same woman I saw the other night trying to get in my door. I recognized the jacket.”
“It only took her a minute or two to get the door open. She must have had a key and that’s when I called you. She’s still in there.
I looked at the rest of them.
“Well, we need to go in there,” I said and made a move to the door.
“Wait,” Willie said, grabbing my arm. “You don’t know who’s in there. Let Cooper and I go in.”
I started to argue but realized when seeing the look on Willie and Cooper’s faces that arguing would be pointless. “Fine. I’ll wait here.”
“Good girl,” Cooper said giving me a quick kiss.
I watched them walk into Becky’s apartment. The door had been unlocked. The intruder’s first mistake. A few seconds later I heard a scream and loud voices and then silence.
My heart was beating fast and I wondered what the hell was going on.
“What do you think happened,” Jared whispered.
“You don’t think anything happened to them, do you?” Julie asked.
I shook my head. “No. Willie’s a cop and Cooper’s in private security. They are just fine.”
At that moment Cooper popped his head out and motioned for us to come in.
Chapter 22
We walked into the apartment and I saw Willie and Cooper standing with an older woman who looked none too happy.
“Glenda?” Jared said.
She just stared at us and then made a sudden dash for the door but Cooper was faster and grabbed her arm before she made it two steps. “What are you doing here?” Jared said and a question we all wanted to know.
“Was it you who killed Becky?” I finally asked and broke the silence.
Glenda broke out in a hoarse laugh. “It wasn’t me, but if I had to guess it would be Peter, her good for nothing boyfriend.”
I thought for a second and things finally started falling into place.
“You were the one using John, Sr.’s credentials. You were embezzling from the company.”
Glenda stared at me, her eyes cold and giving nothing away.
“And Becky found out,” I continued. “But what does this have to do with Peter?” I said, pacing in small circles. There wasn’t much room in this cramped area. I snapped my fingers. “Peter found out. Did Becky tell him?”
“She was such a fool over that man,” Glenda finally spat out.
Clearly her anger getting the better of her need for silence.
“So was Peter going to turn you in?”
She laughed again. “Right,” she said, shaking her head. Clearly I had amused her. Then I remembered what Julie had said about Peter using Becky.
“Did Peter try and blackmail you? And my guess when Becky wouldn’t go along with his scheme he got her out of the way.”
I started to ask another question when I heard the door open again and the cops walked in. Of course, Willie would have called them.
They
hand-cuffed Glenda and started to lead her away when I remembered to ask my question.
“Why Glenda?” I wanted to know what drove her to steal from her long time employer who trusted her.
“I needed it,” was all she said and walked out the door.
Chapter 23
“I’m so glad New Year’s Eve was on a Saturday, so we have more time to recuperate before having to go back to work and the normal routine,” Jared said Sunday morning. The three of us, Jared, Katy, and I, were sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee, waiting for Cooper who had left a note saying not to eat, which made me assume he went to get us food. I hoped that was the case as I was starving.
“You’re still hung over? I didn’t think you drank that much?” I said.
“I didn’t. It’s not the drinking that did me in. It’s the staying up until four in the morning. My body just can’t handle that.”
After the cops had taken Glenda away, they had questioned us and it had taken forever to get home.
Katy and I laughed. “You act like you’re seventy,” I teased.
“My grandmother is seventy and she can hang out all night better than I can,” he said, as I heard the front door open. “You should see the energy that woman has.”
“Hello. Anyone hungry?” I heard Cooper call.
“In the kitchen,” I yelled back.
The smell hit me before he actually made it to the kitchen.
“Krispy Kreme donuts!”
“And still hot,” he said, reaching the kitchen and setting an insulated tote on the counter. As he pulled out the box, an even stronger donut smell filled the kitchen.
“They need to make a candle with this scent,” Katy said.
“Except it would make me crave donuts all the time. That’s what the vanilla candle from Yankee Candle does. Makes me want cookies.”
I grabbed one of the glazed donuts that was warm like it had just come out of the oven and bit into the flaky goodness.
“These are the best,” I said, with a mouthful of donut. “And you’re the best for getting them,” I said to Cooper.
Everyone else nodded their agreement.
We sat there quietly, except for the sound of chewing. I was debating the wisdom of grabbing my third donut when there was a knock on the door. I looked up at Jared.
“Who could be visiting us today?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll find out,” he said, getting up and walking to the door. I heard him open the door and then voices. It sounded like he was talking to John.
I was right, as they both came into the kitchen.
“Hi, John! Help yourself to a donut,” I said.
“No, thank you. I’m sorry for coming in unannounced, but I thought you would probably want this news. I just left the police station.”
“What did they say?”
“It was Glenda who was using my dad’s credentials and she was stealing.”
“How?” Jared asked.
“She was invoicing clients small amounts for extra fees. It was clients we had a history with, so they didn’t even question it.”
“But how did she get the money?” I asked. “Wouldn’t the checks have had the company name on it?”
“Yes, they would, and did. She set up a business with the same name in Florida. She then set up a bank account and then on the bill had a different address, so it went to her P.O. Box in Florida. Because these were long-term clients, they didn’t pay attention and just paid it. She kept the amounts low so no one would notice, and no one probably would have, at least for a while, had it not been for what you uncovered. I can’t thank you enough, Presley.”
“It was all of us.”
“So what’s going to happen to her now?” Jared asked.
“Back to work as usual for us. The police have been contacted here and in Florida and we will be filing charges against Glenda. Theft and mail fraud are just two I know right now. My dad is going to be crushed when he finds this out. He had such trust in her.” John shook his head sadly.
“What about Becky?” I asked.
“After what Glenda told them about Peter, the cops picked him up and he confessed to killing Becky with some of her dead grandmother’s insulin. Apparently, Peter had helped Becky clean out her house when she died and stole it. Who knows why, but poor Becky.
”
We all sat in silence because it was a tragedy.
For greed to overcome basic human decency.
“Are you happy you can go back to work tomorrow, Jared,” Katy said.
“Relieved is more like it.”
“Speaking of work, I don’t want to take up any more of your time. I just wanted to tell you the news in person. See you at work tomorrow, Jared,” John said.
“Don’t remind me,” he grumbled good-naturedly.
“I’ll let myself out. Have a great New Year!”
“Thanks, John,” we all said.
“I have an announcement to make.”
They all looked at me and I was excited to share this news. It was the one thing I had filled Cooper in on and got his opinion on last night. I don’t think we slept at all between the talking, and other things, but I wasn’t tired. I was too excited to be tired. Cooper and I had some things to work out still but I wasn’t worried anymore.
“Don’t keep us in suspense. Spill it,” said Katy.
“I’m going to take James up on his offer. I am going to call him this morning. If everything checks out, I will soon be the proud owner of one slightly failing retail boutique,” I said, unable to contain my grin
“Oh, Presley! That’s wonderful!” Katy exclaimed, jumping up to hug me.
“What finally convinced you?” Jared asked.
“Cooper did. He said the same things you both said and I think it finally sunk in. I would be crazy not to try.”
“Sure, listen to him not us,” Katy teased.
“I still think you should move here and help me,” I told her.
Katy smiled. “Well, now that I know you’re all in, I will really think about it.”
“Anyone up for a celebratory Law and Order marathon on A&E?” Jared said, walking into the living room.
“I’m in!” I said.
Sitting on the couch next to Cooper with my head on his shoulder, I thought what a great start the year was already off to.
Things were back on track with the man I love. I had a new business venture. Life was good. I wondered what else the New Year had in store for me.
The End
See what’s in store for Presley in her new venture as a business owner in Accessories & Alibis.
Presley buys failing retail boutique, Silk, and on the first day of business ownership the store manager Roxanne is arrested for murdering her boyfriend. Roxanne insists she’s innocent and asks for Presley
’s help.
Presley believes her and tries to help while getting the boutique up and running just to find out someone has been paying themselves from company funds? Who is stealing from Silk and is there more to Rod and Roxanne’s relationship than meets the eye?
If you loved this book, I know you’ll enjoy the rest of my novels. Scroll through the titles below, or check out my website at
http://www.lainaturner.com
. If you sign up for my
mailing list
you will receive a free book! Thank you for reading!
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?
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.
Presley went to Vegas to watch her friend Anna
get married and the event turned into solving the mystery of her brother’s girlfriend disappearance. But Ashley wasn’t exactly the schoolteacher she appeared to be. Who was she and was she kidnapped?
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?
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!
Get the first 5 Presley Books PLUS the short
story
A Day in the Life of Trixie Pristine
in the
Presley Thurman boxed set
.
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.
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!
Back in Alkon for her best friends wedding, Presley shaded her eyes with her hands and leaned against the front window to eliminate glare so she could see in better. She looked around and could see Katy had replaced the tile colors with a softer blue, which gave the salon a much lighter feel than it had before. As she looked around she saw a mannequin sitting, or rather slumped over in one of the hair styling chairs. Why would Katy have a mannequin in there? Or was it a mannequin? She squinted to see better and almost wished She hadn’t. Holy
crap, that was most certainly not a mannequin. Presley reached for her phone thinking where were the odds this would happen to her twice. She had just found a dead body.
Coming out summer 2014
S
omeone is trying to sabotage the company Presley’s best friend Jared works for by leaking company documents to other firms who are then upstaging their presentations. To take her mind off Cooper, Presley tries to help the owner figure out who wants to ruin the company but it’s not really working.
Presley and Cooper are on a break or are they broken up? It was never really clarified and she just found out he’s in town and he hasn’t called. Is he avoiding her? What does that mean?
Are they done for good?
Coming out summer 2014
Presley buys a failing retail boutique, Silk, and on the first day of business ownership the store manager Roxanne is arrested for murdering her boyfriend. Roxanne insists she’s innocent and asks for Presley’s help.
Presley believes her and tries to help while getting the boutique up and running just to find out someone has been paying themselves from company funds? Who is stealing from Silk and is there more to Rod and Roxanne’s relationship than meets the eye?
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.
