Money Can Be Deadly (Sage Gardens Cozy Mystery Book 2) (8 page)

After a short nap, Samantha woke to the sun setting. She blinked a few times as she tried to figure out why she was waking up at twilight. Then everything came rushing back to her. She sat up and yawned. She was still pretty tired, but she was curious about what Walt and Eddy might have found.

Samantha was lost in thought as she walked along the path towards Walt's villa. In the past she would have been on full alert while walking alone in the dark. Since she had become accustomed to the security of Sage Gardens she had begun to let her guard down. Now and then she felt an urge to protect herself, but most of the time she felt as if she was walking through her own backyard.

When Samantha noticed something out of the corner of her eye, she dismissed it at first as palm fronds brushing across the side of a villa. A moment later it registered that the shadows she had seen had a distinctively human shape. She felt uneasy as she thought of the possibilities. Despite the fact that Sage Gardens was a gated community there was always the risk of someone breaking in. There hadn't been any recent break-ins, but with the laid back nature of most of the residents, they might be viewed as easy targets.

Samantha decided to double back and check. Her mind filled with images of what might happen to her if she was in her villa alone and someone broke in. She would hope that someone walking by would notice. She knew that the villa belonged to a much older gentleman by the name of Bill. He was getting weaker in his old age and required a bit more attention than most of the residents. Samantha reasoned that perhaps one of his nurses was responsible for the shadows that she had seen. But there was always the possibility that was not the case.

As she walked up towards the villa, she heard a scuffling sound from inside. Her heart froze. It felt as if it refused to beat. Fear coursed through her as the door burst open and two men rushed out past her. She could only tell that they were men, and nothing else about them, as they wore long, dark clothing and thick, black masks. Samantha jumped back as they blazed past her. Her heart began pounding again, hard. The door to the villa was still hanging slightly open. She fumbled for her phone. As she pulled it out of her purse she poked her head inside the villa. It was very dark.

“Hello?” Her voice carried through the shadows. “Is anyone home?”

She received no answer. She dialed Eddy's number. He answered on the first ring.

“Samantha?”

“Eddy, I think Bill Green's villa just got broken into.”

“What? Are the police there?” Eddy asked.

“No, I called you first. The men who broke in are gone.”

“What's going on here?” The voice drifted from behind Samantha. She turned to find Bill standing a few feet away.

“Bill! I'm so glad that you're okay.” She sighed with relief.

“I'll be right there.” Eddy hung up the phone. Samantha tucked her phone back into her purse.

“Of course I'm okay. I just went to the late buffet. What are you doing here, Samantha? Why is my door open?” He moved past her to look more closely at the door.

“I was walking by and I saw some movement around your villa. I came to check it out and two men ran out! We need to call the police.” Samantha started to reach for her phone again. She was feeling so flustered that she couldn't figure out what she should do next.

“No, no police,” Bill said sternly.

“Why no police?” Eddy asked. He walked up to the pair at a brisk pace.

“Look, I just don't want the trouble. There's nothing in my villa that anyone would want. I have an old television, a broken DVD player and an assortment of coffee mugs. Nothing worth any money. I'll take a look around, but I'm sure they realized there was nothing of value inside.”

“Let me go in with you.” Eddy walked up to the door with him.

“Be careful,” Samantha spoke with concern.

As the two men disappeared into the villa, Samantha looked around the outside. She was searching for some sign of how the two men had broken in. She knew that she had seen their shadows on the outside of the villa when she was walking up. That meant they must have gotten inside rather quickly. She did not find any open windows or other signs of a break-in. When she walked back around the other side of the house Eddy and Bill were stepping back outside.

“It doesn't look like anything was taken.” Eddy frowned.

“Why would someone break in and not take anything?” Samantha asked.

“Maybe you scared them off,” Eddy replied. He glanced over his shoulder at the villa. “They probably saw you coming and decided to get out before you could catch them.”

“But how did they get in?” Samantha wondered. “None of the windows are broken. Bill, did you leave your door unlocked?”

“Never. I always lock up,” Bill said with confidence. Samantha knew that he might have forgotten, everyone had at some point. But what were the chances that on the one night Bill forgot to lock up, someone broke in?

“Did anyone else have a key? Or did you hide one somewhere?” Samantha looked at the doormat.

“No, I've got the only one,” Bill sounded impatient. “Listen, no one took anything. I'm not worried about it. I just want to get to bed.”

“What about the police?” Eddy locked eyes with him. “Don't you think that you should file a report?”

“Of what? Someone breaking into my house and finding nothing to steal?” Bill laughed a little. “Thanks, but I think I'll skip that humiliation. No, what I'd like to do is just forget it happened. Either it was some kids up to no good, or someone broke into the wrong house. I don't want any trouble and now they know there’s nothing to steal they won’t be back.”

“You really should think about filing a report.” Samantha frowned as Eddy steered her away from the door.

“We can't force him,” he said quietly. “If he doesn't want to make a report he doesn't have to.”

“They weren't kids, Eddy.” Samantha looked back at Bill to plead with him again, but he had already closed his door.

“It's a good thing you scared them off. If you hadn't Bill might have walked right into the robbery, and that doesn't always end well.” Eddy gestured to the sidewalk, “I'll walk you to your villa.”

Samantha nodded silently. As they walked her mind was churning. She kept replaying the sight of the two men pushing past her. Had they been armed? She didn't remember seeing any weapons. They didn't seem to be carrying anything.

“First a murder, and now a break-in,” Samantha commented sadly. “I'm starting to think that Sage Gardens isn't that safe after all.”

“Nowhere is safe,” Eddy said grimly. “Not really. We buy into the idea of security, but walls and guards will never stop a determined criminal.”

“But Bill said he had nothing of value for anyone to steal. Why would a criminal be determined to get into his villa?” Samantha questioned as they reached her villa. “Something just doesn't feel right about it, Eddy.”

“I think you're right.” Eddy nodded. “I'll look into whether there have been any other reports of break-ins in the area, first thing in the morning. Let's not go to Walt's tonight. He said he was looking into a few things himself. I think it's better if the three of us keep a low profile right now. Just make sure you lock up tight, all right?”

“Eddy, are you worried about me?” Samantha smiled sweetly.

“All right, enough of that, just make sure you lock up,” Eddy grumbled gruffly under his breath and walked away. Samantha watched him go with an amused smile. It always left Eddy flustered when she called him out on how warm and kind he could be. He seemed to prefer to project the image of a tough guy. But she had learned over the course of their friendship that it was just a show.

Samantha stepped inside and did take extra care to make sure all the windows and doors were locked in her villa. Even though she knew she was secure when she lay down in bed she had a hard time falling asleep. She kept having flashbacks to the two men rushing out of Bill's villa. She had been so frightened by their sudden appearance. Briefly, so briefly that she hadn't even realized it at the time, she had wondered if they would kill her. She still had quite a few fears buried deep within her, and the two men had certainly awakened one of them.

It made her angry to think that she could be doing something as simple as walking home, and two criminals had managed to steal her sense of safety. It made her angrier when she thought about what might have happened if Bill had walked in on them. It wasn't as if she couldn't hold her own in a fight, at least she liked to tell herself she could. But what about the older or handicapped residents that would barely be able to defend themselves? They counted on Sage Gardens to be a safe place where they could enjoy their retirement. She wasn't going to let two criminals ruin that sense of security for her friends and neighbors. By the time the sun rose she was determined to go back to Bill and have another conversation with him about filing a police report.

At first light Samantha was up and in the shower. She was out the door as soon as she was dressed. She knew just where to find the person she was looking for. Walt was awake and sipping his tea on his front porch as usual.

“Morning, Samantha. You're up early. Would you like some tea?” Walt stood up from his chair. Samantha climbed the steps onto his porch.

“Walt, I need your help.” She met his eyes with a determined look.

“At your service.” Walt smiled warmly.

“I want you to come with me to talk to Bill Green. I caught two men breaking into his villa last night and he refuses to file a police report. I want to have another conversation with him about that. Eddy is busy with his police contacts this morning. Bill is a little old fashioned and I just think that he would listen to you.” Samantha took a breath and shook her head. “He has to file a police report.”

“Oh, well.” Walt frowned. “Isn't that really his choice, Samantha?”

“It is, but I want him to think about the other residents that could be at risk. These men need to be caught,” Samantha said sternly.

“All right, all right. Don't get too worked up.” Walt picked up his jacket. “I'll go with you. But you can't force people to do the things you want them to, Samantha. Bill may be of the philosophy of not wanting to ruffle feathers.”

“I can't imagine how anyone could just be okay with someone breaking into their home.” Samantha sighed. “I just want to talk to him about how much of an impact it will have if he files a police report. That way Sage Gardens can amp up the security at night.”

“As if they haven't after what happened to Vince?” Walt pointed out. They began walking across the courtyard towards Bill's villa.

“No, they believe they've caught the killer. That means they will start to relax again.” Samantha grimaced with concern.

“You don't believe that they caught the killer, do you?” Walt asked quietly.

“I don't, no.” Samantha shook her head. “I don't think that Simon is a killer. And like Eddy pointed out, his feet are way too big to have made those footprints.”

“But those footprints might have nothing to do with the crime,” Walt reminded her gently. “It's important to keep an open mind.”

“I guess.” Samantha paused in front of Bill's villa. “I think I'll feel better if I just check with Bill and make sure that he knows he has a right to protect himself.”

“Fair enough.” Walt nodded. The two walked up to the door of the villa. Samantha started to knock, but before she could the door swung open. Bill stood there in his thin, blue plaid boxers and sleeveless undershirt. Samantha gulped at the sight of his curly, gray chest hair.

“What the heck?” Bill fumed. “Samantha, will you please get off my newspaper!”

Samantha stepped back and realized that she had been standing on Bill's newspaper.

“Bill, can we talk to you for a moment?” Walt asked. Samantha was still trying to recover from the shock of seeing Bill nearly naked.

“What is this about?” Bill picked up his newspaper and shook it off with an annoyed frown.

“I think we need to talk about what happened last night a little more,” Samantha pleaded.

“Really, you need to stop harping on about it.” Bill scowled as he looked at Samantha. “I don't know if you're trying to create some kind of drama for yourself, but me, I want none of it.”

“It's nothing like that,” Samantha insisted. “I just want to talk about the men I saw coming out of your house. They had to be in there for a reason. If we let the police have a look, we might be able to find out why.”

“No police,” Bill said staunchly. “I've had enough of them in my lifetime. They never caused me anything but trouble. If I want to have my peace, I should be allowed to have it. Whoever it was that you claimed to have seen didn't steal or break anything. So, I really don't care.”

“And if they come back?” Walt asked. “What are you going to do to protect yourself?”

Bill lowered his eyes nervously. It was clear that he felt vulnerable. Samantha thought perhaps that was why he was so against reporting the break-in. Maybe he was afraid that the criminals would seek revenge and he would have no way to defend himself.

“Look, I'm sure it was just a mistake. What could I possibly have that they would want?” Bill looked perplexed. “There's nothing.”

“There has to be something.” Walt gazed past Bill. “May we come in and take a look around? We're not the police.”

“Well, all right. I suppose.” Bill nodded. He allowed them to move past him into the villa.

“Let me just get some pants.” He headed off to the bedroom. While he was gone Walt swept his gaze over every detail of the living room, dining room, and kitchen. Samantha could see him processing everything he was seeing as if he was some kind of human computer.

She remained silent as he worked as she did not want to disturb him. Samantha took the time to look around as well. She had been so shaken the night before that it was hard for her to focus. Now that she was thinking more clearly she could see that Bill had been right. His electronics were all older and his furniture was shabby. There was nothing within view of the windows that would be perceived as valuable. So why had the men broken in? Samantha narrowed her eyes as she wondered what she was missing.

“Aha!” Walt smiled victoriously.

“What is it? What do you see?” Samantha looked around for what he might have noticed.

“Take a look.” Walt gestured to the table. Samantha looked at the table. There was nothing on it other than the paper that Bill had just picked up.

“I don't understand.” She peered more closely at the table.

“Look at the carpet.” Walt pointed towards the place where the table legs met the carpet.

“Oh, there are indentations beside the legs,” Samantha murmured.

“Which means that someone has recently moved this table.” Walt knocked lightly on the solid wood piece of furniture. “Do you think that Bill would be able to move this on his own?”

“Move that table?” Bill asked. He walked back into the room, luckily this time with pants on. “I haven't moved it since I moved in. I doubt I could budge it.”

“If you didn't move it, then who did?” Samantha asked. “And why?” She eyed the carpet closely in search of any seams that might be showing. “Perhaps there's a hidden compartment?”

“Have you had anyone else in the house in the past few days?” Walt asked as Bill looked at the table strangely.

“Only Jacob, the maintenance worker. He came in to take a look at my garbage disposal earlier this week. But no one else.” He scratched the back of his head. “I'm not sure why anyone would want to move that table. There's nothing hidden as far as I know.”

“Not under the table, above.” Walt pointed up to the ceiling. “See those marks?”

There was a scattering of dark marks on the ceiling around the attic entrance. The table was positioned perfectly so that someone standing on top of the table might be able to open the attic access.

“Did Jacob have any reason to go in the attic?” Samantha asked Bill.

“No, not that I know of, he was only here to work on the garbage disposal. Do you think that whatever the men were looking for is up there?” Bill asked nervously. “What do you think it might be?”

“There's only one way to find out.” Samantha looked up at the ceiling. “We'll have to go in.”

“I certainly will not.” Walt was adamant. “It's going to be filthy in there.”

“I would, but my hip.” Bill patted his right hip. Samantha eyed the opening. In the past she might have been spry enough to make it through, but now with a little more weight around her belly and her hips spreading there was no way she was going to squeeze through the attic door.

“I can't fit. But I know someone who can.” Samantha smiled. After all Jo had offered to help look around.

Samantha pulled out her cell phone. She dialed Jo's number.

“Hi Samantha,” Jo answered with a hint of impatience. “I was just going to head into town. What do you need?”

“Do you have a few minutes? I could use your help with something.” Samantha braced herself for Jo's avoidance.

“Depends on what it is.”

“I need you to get into a small space for me. No one else will fit. What do you say?” Samantha asked hopefully.

“Samantha, I'm not your personal cat burglar you know.” Jo laughed a little. “It has to be right now?”

“It is pretty time sensitive. We're at villa 21.” Samantha felt a bit guilty. She knew that Jo was right about her often asking for her expertise.

“All right, I'll be there in a few.” Jo hung up without another word. Samantha was surprised that she agreed so easily. She hung up her phone and turned to face Walt.

“Jo's going to be here in a couple of minutes to help us out.”

“Why did you call her?” Walt asked. He looked a little tense. He was always a little uncomfortable around Jo because of her past.

“Trust me, she is the best person for the job.” Samantha looked over at Bill. “She'll see what's up in the attic.”

“Don't you think we should call the police about this?” Walt asked.

“No police,” Bill repeated. “I don't care who crawls around in the attic, but unless we find a dead body up there, no police.”

“Oh, I didn't even consider that,” Walt said with concern. “What if there is a body up there?”

“I don't know. I don't think that anyone would go to all the trouble of hoisting a body up into the ceiling. Besides, even if it's hidden, it would begin to smell,” Samantha pointed out. “No, I think it must be something fairly small.”

“I just don't understand why they would hide anything here.” Bill frowned. “I'm not involved with any kind of criminal. Why would they use my villa?”

“Probably because it's the last place that someone would look,” Walt suggested. “It makes sense. You have no connection with the criminals. Plus, it may have been just a matter of opportunity.”

A moment later there was a knock on the door. Bill looked at Samantha and Walt. “Should I answer it?” he asked.

“Go ahead, it should be Jo.” Samantha nodded. Still, when Bill walked towards the door she watched him with some apprehension. She wasn't sure it would be Jo. The case of who killed Vince was unfolding in very strange ways. She had no idea what to expect. Bill hesitantly opened the door.

“Oh, hello,” his voice became soft and warm. Samantha grinned. She was sure it was Jo. The only two men she'd seen not trip all over themselves at the sight of her were Walt and Eddy. Samantha suspected they were just better at hiding it.

“Hi, is Samantha here?” Jo asked.

“She is, come in.” Bill pushed open the door for her. Jo stepped inside. Samantha could see that she was mildly annoyed at being there in the first place.

“How can I help?” Jo asked.

“Last night I saw two men sneaking out of Bill's villa. We suspect that they were in here to hide something or maybe take back what they had hidden. We need your help to check it out.”

“Okay, where did they hide it?” she asked.

Samantha pointed up at the entrance to the attic. “We think it's in there.”

“And you have no idea what it might be?” Jo frowned.

“No clue.” Samantha sighed. “It could really be anything, or even nothing.”

Jo looked up at the ceiling with some hesitation. She glanced over at Walt who was standing nervously beside the table. “Shouldn't a gentleman be the one to do this?”

“No way!” Walt shuddered at the very thought. “Do you have any idea how dirty it will be up there? The dust, the grime…”

“Okay, okay. I don't really want to hear any more about it!” Jo exclaimed and looked over at Samantha. “Aren't you supposed to be the brave one? Didn't you crawl through tight spaces when investigating stories?”

“I did, as in, in the past,” Samantha recalled. “I'm afraid if I tried to wriggle my way through there I might get stuck.”

“Listen, how long is this going to take?” Bill asked. He tapped his foot impatiently. “I have a lunch date with a friend of mine.”

“Sorry, just a few minutes.” Samantha smiled at him to reassure him. Jo looked up at the attic door again.

“It shouldn't take me long. But if there are bats, there will be consequences.” She looked directly at Samantha with a fierce glare.

“Understood.” Samantha nodded.

“Okay, let's see what's hiding up there,” Jo muttered. She jumped up onto the table as if her feet were made of springs. With ease she opened the attic door and slid it to the side inside the attic. She grabbed the sides of the opening.

“Do you need a boost?” Samantha offered. She grabbed Jo's legs at the thighs.

“Ugh! No!” Jo snapped. She shook Samantha's hands off her. With a slight tug she lifted herself up into the attic through sheer upper arm strength. Samantha stared in wonder at the athletic woman. She couldn't imagine doing a single chin up let alone swinging her entire body up into the attic. Once Jo was inside she coughed a few times.

“Yes, there is plenty of dust,” she called down.

“Anything else?” Samantha asked with some urgency in her voice. “Do you see drugs? Or weapons?”