No Other Lover Will Do (11 page)

“Crawford,” he said when he answered the phone.

“Solomon,” Carmen said with relief in her voice. “I've been trying to reach you. There is a problem in New York.”

“Carmen, I'm sure you can handle it,” Solomon said. “I'm on vacation.”

“Business calls,” Carmen heard Kandace say. “I guess the cake is mine.”

Carmen pounded her fist into her thigh. That woman was still with him and in his suite. He never shared his space with anyone. What made this bitch so special?

“Actually, I can't handle it. Danny was murdered,” she said.

“What? What did you say? Carmen, Danny was murdered? I just talked to him yesterday.”

“That's when it happened, at the office. Richmond is making a lot of noise about not knowing why Danny was hired or what he was doing at the office. Maybe you need to come back to New York.”

“I'm going to call you back,” he said, then hung up the phone. Carmen tossed her phone on the passenger seat and rubbed her throbbing thigh.
How am I going to get in his suite and get her away from him? What if he doesn't come back to New York because he's so hung up on her? She can't be that special. It's only been a few days. Other than sex, what does this tramp have?

Knowing that Solomon was in his suite, Carmen figured it was time for her to get to know her enemy. She started her car and drove it to the back of the resort, where the employees parked. She noticed a group of housekeepers smoking near the employee entrance as she parked her car.
Great,
she thought bitterly.
Now I have to get past these women and find a uniform.

Carmen exited the car and walked over to the women. “Hello,” she said warmly.

“Hi, ma'am,” the short woman holding a cigarette said. “The guest entrance is around the front.”

“Oh, I know. I work here. I'm just going inside. How are things today?”

The other two women looked at Carmen and assumed she was one of the front desk clerks. “Fine,” the short woman replied. “Except somebody kicked over a plant on the fifth floor.”

“Some bad ass kid, probably,” one of the other women chimed in. “Parents need to watch those little monsters. We have to keep this place looking like the brochures.”

“Yeah,” the other woman said. “Especially since Mr. Crawford himself is staying here.”

The short woman puffed on her cigarette. “From what I heard, he isn't thinking about how clean anything is. He's with his girlfriend.”

Carmen gritted her teeth and headed for the entrance.
She is not his damned girlfriend, you low class idiot.
Once she was inside, Carmen headed for the locker room, which was empty. She found a maid's uniform and put it on. Then she snatched a pass key card from one of the carts near the locker room door and headed up the service elevator. She hoped that Kandace wasn't back in her suite because she had work to do.

 

The tense look on Solomon's face as he dialed numbers on his cell phone worried Kandace. She wondered what was so intense that it had shifted his mood from carefree to melancholy.

“Damn it,” he swore as he tossed his phone across the room. “How did this happen? How did this happen?”

“What's wrong?” Kandace asked timidly.

Solomon sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose. “My best friend was murdered at my office last night.”

“Oh no,” Kandace said as she crossed over to him and wrapped her arms around his sagging shoulders. “How did it happen?”

“Police think it was a robbery gone wrong right now. But I don't understand how some punk robber got the jump on Danny. He is—was—a security expert. That's why he was working for me. We were doing background checks on the employees to make sure everyone was documented and that I didn't have any criminals on my payroll,” Solomon said. “I talked to him and he said everything was fine. But he did say something about…No, when I called him back he'd said he made a mistake. This is crazy.”

“Do you have to go back to New York and see how the investigation is going?” Kandace asked.

“I think I'm going to have to,” he said. “I hired Danny and I want to know how a robber got past our security. I swear to God, I will fire everyone in that building if I don't get the answers I need.”

“Solomon, you need to calm down before you go back to the city and fire your employees. You need to get the facts first,” she said. “Going to New York half-cocked isn't going to change anything.”

Solomon expelled a frustrated breath. “You're right. I still can't believe Danny's dead.” He slapped his hand against his forehead. “He's always been closer to me than my own brother. Danny and I went through everything together and for some son of a bitch to just kill him…It's inconceivable that this happened to him.”

“Crime is so random,” Kandace said as she stroked his back. “Do you know if they caught the person who did it?”

“No. I'm sure the police are doing all they can since this is a high profile case. Damn it, I need to get with the publicity department to release a statement to the press. I should call his mother. Mrs. Jones is going to be devastated. He was her only son and…” Solomon's voice trailed off as he dropped his head in his hands. Kandace pulled him against her chest, not knowing what she could or should say to comfort him. Then she thought about how she'd feel if one of her friends had been murdered. She wouldn't know how to move, what to do, or be able to find comfort in anything. But she knew that she wouldn't want to be alone.

Solomon pulled back from Kandace and wiped his watery eyes. “I have to make some more phone calls and you're here on vacation, so if you want to go back to your suite, I understand.”

“I'm not leaving you alone. What can I do to help? I can call the airlines and book you a flight while you make some more personal phone calls.”

“Yeah, I didn't take the jet here,” he said. “I'm going to need a car too.”

“I can drive you to Charlotte Douglas International Airport,” Kandace said as she picked up the hotel phone.

“No, no, you're not going to cut your vacation short because of me,” he said. “Just have a car come and take me to the airport.” Solomon walked over to Kandace and kissed her on the forehead. “Thank you for doing this.”

“I can't imagine what you're going through,” she said as she hugged him tightly.

“This is too much,” he said as he started punching numbers into his cell phone. Kandace dialed the US Airways reservation line. Though she knew money wasn't a problem for Solomon, she negotiated a bereavement rate for his nonstop flight to New York. She hung up with the reservation agent just as Solomon was finishing up a call on his cell phone. “Is everything all right?” she asked.

“As well as can be expected,” he said. “Mrs. Jones is beside herself with grief. I told her that I'm not going to rest until the person who did this to Danny is behind bars.”

“Solomon, I hope you will allow yourself to grieve too,” Kandace said as she sat on the edge of the bed beside him. “You're not going to be any help to anyone if you don't take care of yourself as well.”

He laid his head on her shoulder and she stroked his cheek. “I'm not going to grieve until I find out why this had to happen to Danny. He didn't bother anyone.”

“Do you think he may have known his killer?”

“Had to because there is no way anyone could have gotten the drop on Danny. Shit, I need to call Carmen back and find out what she knows.”

Carmen grabbed her cell phone as it rang and hit the
IGNORE
button before looking at the caller ID. The last thing she needed was to give away her position in the Wonderland Suite before going through all of Kandace's things. She was surprised that the woman didn't have a cell phone or a laptop in the room.
What kind of businesswoman leaves those things at home? She's just a poser. I bet she thinks she hit pay dirt with Solomon Crawford sniffing after her. Bitch! He is mine and you are not going to get in the way of what I have spent years building.

Carmen moved across the room and grabbed Kandace's purse. She flipped through her wallet, taking note of the baby picture that was inside it.
A single mother? I guess she's trying to find a replacement for her child's father. She'd better keep looking because Solomon doesn't even want kids and he's not going to raise her bastard.
She dropped the wallet back in the purse and put it in the closet. Then she looked at Kandace's clothes, some of which still had the price tags.
I bet this low class tramp is going to return the clothes when she gets back to Charlotte,
Carmen thought as she snatched one of the more expensive tags off a garment. She turned toward the bed and seethed as she saw the crumpled sheets. Closing her eyes, she imagined the things that Kandace and Solomon did on those sheets. “That should've been me!” Carmen shrieked as she threw herself on the bed and pounded the mattress. “Bitch!”

She rose from the bed and went into the bathroom to wash her face. Carmen knew she had to hold it together until she could come up with a plan to get Kandace out of the way. She'd been hoping that searching the suite would've given her a clue about what Kandace had done to bewitch Solomon, but there was no indication. Carmen gave the suite another once over before deciding to leave. If she couldn't find out anything about Kandace in her room, maybe she could find out something about her in Charlotte. She decided that she would drive to Kandace's restaurant and poke around.

Carmen dashed out of the room and rolled the housekeeping cart onto the service elevator. She hoped that no one was in the locker room when she arrived down there to change her clothes. Right now, she needed to be anonymous. The elevator doors opened and Carmen peeked around the corner to see if anyone was walking down the hall. She sighed with relief when she saw no one. Quietly, she rolled the cart to the locker room.

“Hey,” someone called out as Carmen entered the locker room. “What are you doing in here?”

Carmen turned around and saw the shorter woman who had been outside smoking. “Yes?”

“You don't work in housekeeping. What are you doing in the uniform?”

“I do work in housekeeping,” Carmen said calmly. “Why does it matter to you?”

“Because I'm the head of this department and I know I didn't hire you. I'm going to call security.” The woman headed for the phone and Carmen pushed the cart at her, knocking the woman over.

“You're not calling anyone,” she growled as she stood over her. “If you know what's good for you, you're going to pretend you didn't see me.”

The woman coughed as she struggled to catch her breath. “Who are you?”

Carmen knelt down over her and grabbed her by the lapels. “I can be your worst nightmare. I'm going to change my clothes and you're going to keep your big fat mouth shut.”

“You're crazy, I'm going to call security,” the woman said.

Carmen knew that she couldn't allow the woman to call security but the look in the older lady's eyes told her that she was going to be a problem.

“You're not calling anyone,” Carmen said then grabbed her hair and slammed her head into the concrete over and over again. It wasn't until she saw blood that she stopped.

“Oh my God!” Carmen whispered under her breath. “I didn't want to kill you. I didn't want to do this to you. You made me, you dumb bitch.” She knew she had to act quickly. Carmen walked over to the locker room door and closed it. She rolled the cart against it to keep anyone from getting in. When Carmen returned to the woman's body, she looked down at her name tag for the first time. Her name was Anita. A small part of Carmen was sorry that she'd killed the woman. But that sympathetic voice in her heart was overruled by the loud voice in her head that told her Anita had to die. “She was in the way, and no one will stand between me and Solomon,” she muttered as she dragged the woman's body from the middle of the floor into the bathroom.

 

Solomon lay back on the bed, unable to sleep. He envied Kandace, who was sleeping soundly. He'd been thankful for her and all the help she'd offered him. No matter what happened in New York, Solomon knew Kandace was going to be a part of his life for a long time. But he didn't want her to be just his friend. He wanted more. He wanted something real. Wanted to be the only man she offered comfort to, the only man she slept with and made love to.
Love? What in the hell am I thinking about? She's a good woman and I'd like to think anyone would've stayed and helped me through this. I am not going to fall in love with this woman.
As Solomon looked at her angelic face, he knew keeping his vow was going to be easier said than done. Kandace had already broken down a few of the walls he'd built up. He felt her stir slightly against him. Part of him wished that she would wake up so that he could talk to her about anything that would take his thoughts away from Danny's death.

Had one of the subjects of Danny's many investigations found him and exacted revenge? Over the years, he had cost cheating spouses millions of dollars. How many times had he told Solomon that he'd been threatened after testifying in court? What if one of those cheating husbands shot him?

That doesn't make sense,
he thought.
It's not as if he'd investigated anyone with Mafia ties who could pull something like this off. But whoever killed him got past my security too easily. He'd said there was a problem with Carmen. I wonder if…No. Carmen wouldn't hurt anybody and least of all Danny. Maybe he'd found something on the computer about one of the employees. I should've taken his call more seriously. Danny wouldn't have called me that late for nothing. I should've known that.
Solomon eased out of the bed and grabbed his cell phone. Maybe Carmen could tell him what the police said the day after the murder.

“Hello?” she said breathlessly.

“Carmen, I've been calling you all night,” he said.

“Sorry, I had the ringer off. Are you all right?”

“Not really. My best friend is dead, how do you think I feel?” he asked angrily. “Carmen, I'm sorry, you don't deserve that.”

“It's all right,” she said. “I know his death has come as a surprise to you.”

“What did the police say about this case? Was anything missing?”

“They said it looked like a robbery. His wallet and laptop were gone and someone shot the computer on his desk. The police said it probably happened during a struggle for the gun,” she said.

“Damn. I hate to think of him dying alone like that. Any idea how this person got inside? At night we have three security guards on duty and you have to have clearance to get up on the executive floors.”

“Richmond has launched a full investigation to see if protocol was followed.”

“Well, I'm flying back to New York in the morning to make sure Richmond doesn't make a mess of things,” he said.

“You're going back to New York?”

“Of course. I won't rest until Danny's killer is caught.”

“I was coming to North Carolina because I couldn't reach you by phone,” she said. “I'm actually at the airport in Charlotte. Should I wait for you?”

“Carmen, you're too good to me. But you can head back to New York, or why don't you come to the resort and take my suite. I imagine this thing has you shook up as well. Who found the body?”

“Richmond did. But I came in right after and it was terrible,” she said, her voice wavering. “I was so scared, Solomon. I really wished you had been there.”

“We're going to find out who did this and you won't have to be afraid again.”

“Thank you, Solomon. I guess I will come and check out the property,” she said. “What suite are you staying in?”

“The Mountain Top on the eighth floor. I'll leave my key at the front desk for you. I'm going to try and make it back down here by the end of the week.”

“Why?”

“I have some unfinished business. I'll talk to you later,” he said as he saw Kandace get out of the bed and head to the bathroom.

Carmen slammed her hand against the steering wheel after hanging up with Solomon. She knew what—rather—who—his unfinished business was. Kandace Davis. She was going to put an end to all of that when she returned to the resort. All she had to do was figure out what buttons she needed to push to get rid of Kandace. Carmen checked the GPS system in her rental car for the location of Hometown Delights. Her plan was to camp out in the parking lot until the restaurant opened and then she'd make her move.

Maybe I should just burn this place down and then she'd have to cut her vacation short,
she thought as she drove. The further she got down the road, Carmen decided against the arson. But one way or another, she would get rid of Kandace.

 

Kandace walked over to Solomon as he watched the snowfall from the window. It was a little after midnight. “Don't you think you should try and get some rest?” she asked. “You were tossing and turning so much before you got up.”

“I can't sleep. I called Carmen to see if she could give me some more details about the investigation.”

“Who is Carmen?”

“My business partner,” he said. “She was in the office when Danny's body was discovered.”

“Is she all right?” Kandace asked as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Shaken up, she said. My brother is allegedly running an investigation to find out how the killer got in.”

“At least you know something is being done,” Kandace said.

Solomon sucked his teeth. “You don't know my brother,” he said as he turned around and faced her. “Richmond is doing whatever he can to make himself look good. He doesn't give a damn about Danny, and knowing him, he probably blames Danny for dying.”

“You and your brother don't get along at all, huh?”

“He thinks he should be running the company. I wonder if he had something to do with Danny's death.”

Kandace shook her head. “You can't be serious. Why would he do that? This thing is probably a nightmare for your public relations department, and if your brother wanted you to look bad, then he would've gone about it in a different way, don't you think?”

“I'm grasping at straws here,” he said. “But everybody is a suspect until I find out the truth.”

“Can I give you some totally unsolicited advice?” Kandace asked.

Solomon nodded. She rubbed his forearm gently, then said, “Don't go to New York hurling accusations. I'm sure everyone is upset about your friend's death. You're going to have to trust that the police will do their job.”

“Yeah,” he said unconvincingly. “I'm sure they are.”

“Come on, let's go back to bed. Your flight leaves at eight and the car will be here at five-thirty.”

“Thank you for being here and getting my flight and everything,” he said, kissing her cheek.

“You're welcome,” she said.

Solomon and Kandace snuggled against each other under the comforter, and this time, he drifted right off to sleep.

It seemed as if only a few minutes had passed when the blaring alarm of Solomon's BlackBerry woke the couple up at four
A.M
. Kandace rolled out of bed as Solomon padded toward the bathroom. Yawning, she reached for her yoga pants and pulled them on. She began to worry about Solomon and what he was going to do when he returned to New York. What if he did burst into his offices full of rage and accused everyone of being involved in the murder? That wouldn't solve a thing.

Why am I so worried about it? It's not my problem or my place to tell this man what to do. Solomon can handle this, I pray that he can,
she thought while she put her shirt on and watched him walk out of the bathroom.

“You didn't have to get up,” he said as he walked over to her and kissed her cheek.

“I wanted to see you off and make sure you're all right,” she said. “Besides, I'm sure housekeeping is going to come and clean your room. I don't need to be asleep in your bed when the vacuuming starts.”

“Take my number and use it. I've got the feeling that I'm going to need to hear your voice these next few days. In a perfect world, you'd be coming to New York with me so I could show you off,” Solomon said.

“Maybe one day,” she said.

“I'm going to hold you to that,” he said. “And hopefully the circumstances will be a lot better.”

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the end of his nose. “Please be careful when you get there and don't go off half-cocked,” Kandace said.

“I'm not going to tell you that I won't lose my temper when I get there, but I'm going to make an effort to control it,” he said.

“That's all I can ask you to do,” Kandace said. “Do you want me to walk down to the lobby with you?”

“You can if you don't want to go to your room and go back to sleep.”

She stroked his cheek and offered him a small smile. “I can do that after you leave.”

“All right, let me grab my overnight bag,” he said.

Moments later, Kandace and Solomon were in the elevator heading to the lobby. As they rode downstairs, he held her against his chest. “I really enjoyed our time together,” he said. “And as soon as this mess is cleared up, I expect to see you again.”